Fandom: Torchwood

Characters: Jack, Ianto, OCs

Author: m_findlow

Rating: PG

Length: 1,443 words

Content notes: none

Author notes: Written for Challenge 234 - Did what where?

Summary: Jack never expected to get this particular phone call.


Jack was minding his own business when his phone rang. The caller ID had been suppressed, leaving him perplexed as to how they’d gotten his number.

‘Jack Harkness, speaking.’

He listened intently to the person on the other end of the line. ‘Sorry?’ Jack was positive he’d misheard the conversation. ‘Did what, where?’ He continued listening, getting the full details. He rubbed a hand down his face. ‘Yeah, okay, I’ll be down there soon,’ he promised.



The Cardiff Metropolitan Police station was not unfamiliar territory for Jack. If anything, he tried to avoid it as much as possible, if not for his disdain of the majority of its employees, then simply because it always brought him more grief.

‘Dad! Dad!’ came the cry as three youths ran towards him.

‘Are you okay?’ He gave them all the once over before spotting the female constable.

‘They’re fine, Mr Harkness,’ she replied. ‘We were just keeping an eye on them until you got here. They are still unaccompanied minors, after all.’

‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘Would you mind staying with them while I sort this out?‘

‘Of course. Come on, you lot.’

Jack watched them be lead away to a family waiting room where they’d be plied with chocolate bars and free to air television while they waited. He made his own way over to the main counter and explained why he was here.

‘Name of the arrestee?’

‘Jones,’ Jack replied.

The bored constable looked up at him. ‘Which one?’ The policeman caught the look of hesitant confusion. He set his pen down. ‘This is Cardiff, son. Lot of Joneses.’

‘Ianto Jones,’ Jack clarified.

The constable tapped in the information, reading the details of the charge. He hummed a little sound. ‘Not exactly a criminal mastermind, eh?’

‘You have no idea,’ Jack replied. ‘He’ll be running the world one day.’

The constable ignored Jack’s attempt at humour, sliding the clipboard under the narrow grille. ‘Fill this out and return it to the bail clerk. Direct debit payment is preferred.’

Dismissed, Jack took the paperwork and sat in the hard plastic chairs, filling it out. He could understand why Ianto got annoyed with him now. This was both tedious and unnecessary, he thought, finally adding his signature to the bottom of the forms with more flourish than was strictly necessary.

Jack returned the paperwork and waited while it was processed, before a second constable finally came to take him down to collect his husband.



Jack couldn’t help but smile as he saw the holding cell and its interesting collection of misfits. All being held on the same charge, no doubt.

Ianto spotted him immediately, standing up and coming over to the door. ‘What took you so long? How are the kids. Are they okay?’

‘They’re fine,’ Jack said, quelling Ianto’s rising panic. ‘They’re more worried about you.’

He let out a relieved sigh. ‘Good. I mean, not good. Obviously. Fine. I’m fine.’

Jack watched his flustered lover with amusement. ‘Seriously, I think I need to take a photo so that I can remember this moment for all of eternity. The day Ianto Jones got arrested all by himself.’

Ianto’s look was one of displeasure. ‘That’s not funny.’

Jack sighed. ‘No, it’s not really,’ he replied, thinking about the circumstances. ‘What on Earth were you thinking?’

‘I don’t know,’ Ianto replied. ‘It was all meant to be just an innocent little demonstration.’

Jack raised his eyebrows at his husband, arms folded. ‘Innocent? Ianto, they arrested you for chaining yourself to a bulldozer. Not just any bulldozer, but a council bulldozer. You remember the council, Ianto?’ Jack said, giving him the eye. ‘The one you keep telling me we have to be on good terms with?’

‘It’s wasn’t just me!’ he protested, looking to his cell mates for moral support.

‘No,’ Jack replied, agreeing with him. ‘You had our kids chained up as well.’

Ianto held up a finger, before realising he didn’t have a good argument. ‘Okay, I admit that probably wasn’t what I intended on happening.’

Jack shook his head. ‘What were you doing down there?’

It felt cheap to blame the whole thing on their three fifteen year old children. He’d just wanted to do something nice for them. Jack was the cool dad, the one that took them exciting and fun places. Ianto was the one who always said “no”, or “you’ve got homework”, or “it’s too dangerous”. When he’d picked them up from school and they’d asked to go along, he’d readily agreed. Cardiff‘s history needed to be preserved. If anything, he was thrilled that they were taking such an interest.

‘Their teacher, Mrs Robinson, told them about the demonstration, protesting against the demolition of the old Cardiff Unity building.’

Jack grinned. ‘Never pictured you as the long haired, bell-bottomed, save the whales, tree hugger type,’ he joked.

Ianto was clearly aggravated by Jack’s nonchalance, gripping the bars, since he couldn’t reach Jack. ‘That building is older than both of us put together. It’s historically significant and they just want to tear it down.’

Jack chuckled at that. ‘I don’t think they need to worry about tearing it down. It’s pretty much doing that all on its own.’

‘That’s not the point. We were only going down there to sign the petition and lend our support. I think it’s great that the kids care enough about the city they live in to want to preserve it.’

‘Yeah!’ came a cry from one of the other protesters. Ianto ignored him. It wasn’t doing his own argument any favours.

‘I remember walking down that road with my dad after he’d taken us to the movies. He’d point up at it and say, “one day they’ll give that a lick paint and she’ll be good as new”.’ He’d continue muttering to himself after that, about council wasting money. All Ianto was worried about was what flavour milkshake he wanted when they reached the cafe around the corner.

‘Ianto, you know I’ve lived here forever and that I love this old town as much as the next person. Hell, there’s hardly a street corner I don’t have fond memories of. But that building is well past restoration. It’s been a condemned public hazard for thirty years.’

‘And it’ll stay that way because the council are too tight-fisted to spend money on it.’ God, he sounded just like his dad, now.

‘They are spending money on it,’ Jack argued. ‘They’re going to put a brand new building on that block. Something people can use, instead of it just being a public eyesore.’

‘Yeah, and it’ll be all modern and shiny,’ he grumbled.

‘You like modern and shiny,’ Jack argued.

‘No, I like my toaster modern and shiny,’ he said. ‘Buildings should be old with lots of history and character.’

Admittedly, things had escalated rather more quickly than Ianto expected. Quite how they’d ended up at the front of the mob and agreeing to join the ranks of people being chained up was still a mystery. They’d just gotten caught up in the energy of the moment. The guilt that he might have put their kids in the line of danger hadn’t sunk in until they were cuffing him and putting him in the car, watching his children being corralled into a second car. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Jack sighed. He was becoming a bad influence on his husband, even if he didn’t yet know it. ‘Ianto, sometimes we have to let go of the past, so that something new can spring up in its place. This is just one of those times. I’m not saying it’s not right to let people have a voice-‘

‘Not that they’re listening,’ Ianto muttered.

‘They are. Whilst I was waiting for them to post your bail, I put in a few calls. Turns our public consultation is still open on what they should build there. Do you think the kids might like to put forth a few ideas?’

Ianto flushed with embarrassment. Why hadn’t he just done his research in the first place, instead of going off headlong into trouble? Mrs Robinson was going to be getting an email when he got home, telling her the same. He was never going to get over being arrested for something so ridiculous.

‘I think that would be a lot safer,’ Ianto confessed. Peaceful protesting wasn’t quite as peaceful as advertised.

Jack stepped back and let the constable unlock the cell, finally freeing his impulsive lover.

‘Come on,’ he said, grabbing Ianto in a headlock and mussing up his hair. ‘Let’s go home. The only one around here who’s allowed to put you in handcuffs is me.’