Fandom: Torchwood

Characters: Ianto, Kate Stewart

Author: m_findlow

Rating: PG

Length: 3,490 words

Content notes: Post CoE AU.

Author notes: Written for Challenge 312 - Rumour

Summary: The longevity of Ianto's new position with UNIT is already coming into question.

Ianto wasn't sure whether to dread being called into the UNIT Commander's office or not. He wasn't scheduled to report in with an update for a few weeks yet which made him wonder whether something had happened.

Kate Stewart wasn't precisely scary, but he was still new around here and he didn't want to overstep any invisible lines, even if his employment arrangements were mutually beneficial to both of them.

He knocked on the door. Unlike just about everyone else in a senior position around here, she didn't have some UNIT soldier or executive assistant barring access to her domain. That made her reasonable and approachable in his eyes, and a far cry from most of the individualshe'd dealt with from their organisation over the years.

'Come in,' came the voice from within. He turned the handle and pushed it in. 'Right on time,' Kate observed. 'You don't know how rare that is these days. Sit.'

He took the offered chair opposite her and rested dhisnhands in his lap. Without any explanation why he'd been called in he hadn't been sure whether to bring his compendium to take notes. In any case, he always kept a pen and a small notepad handy in his breast pocket.

Kate looked all, business as she leaned forward over her leather blotter and clasped her hands together. 'I heard a rumour about you, Jones.'

'Me?' He couldn't imagine what. He'd mostly kept his head down since he'd been here. He hadn't exactly made any friends, seeing as how he had come from the other side of the pond, and UNIT, whilst having a little egg on their face, still weren't fans of Torchwood, or anyone who may have worked for them. He'd managed to work mostly on his own so far, again partly because he came with baggage, and partly because no one wanted the job he'd been assigned. He'd come here for it it specifically in a lot of respects. The aftermath of the incident with the 456 had ruined a lot of lives but it was the people who'd ultimately been on charge of the whole thing that needed to be held to account. Many of them had quickly gone to ground, citing stress leave or family emergencies, nipping out of their offices and not returning. Others had gone and spoken out publicly, decrying anyone who accused them of wrongdoing as being malicious and treasonous. Most of them no longer worked here.

It wasn't really in UNIT's remit to get involved with it all, given that they were focused on the defense against the wider threat of alien lifeforms, however some of their own people had been the ones involved in the sort of political, behind closed doors, back scratching and gerrymandering that had perpetuated the whole mess that had lead to these disastrous consequences in the first place. Ianto wanted, for the better part of it, to rip them root from stem, untangle all the political allegiances that put personal gain ahead of the safety of the human race, and put an end to them. It was not the kind of assignment you brought up in conversation over the cafeteria table. Everyone hated spies and auditors, and whilst he had some minor projects that gave him an air of doing nothing more than transitioning some of his Torchwood knowledge into a UNIT environment - on the assumption that Torchwood was now dead and buried - this more important and off the record investigation was giving him a purpose.

'This whole thing has been a right bloody mess,' Kate declared folding her arms as she sat in the leather chair opposite him. 'You know it and I know it. UNIT have been up to their eyeballs in secret deals and exchanges of intelligence and now all of our dirty laundry is getting hung out for everyone to see. My father would gave been horrified to see what had become of his organisation.'

'I expect that a few bads seeds have ruined it for the rest,' he replied, trying to placate her.

'Quite. Things were so much simpler when we just focused on the science and any military applications. All of that somehow got lost along the way. I expect that's why I got the tap on the shoulder. They wanted someone who had been so absorbed in the science they couldn't possibly be compromised. Someone to come along and clean house. I wouldn't even know where to begin. Damned if I know how you're getting on with it.'

'I had dealings with a lot of government agencies over the years. You get a feel for the kinds of people who might look to curry favour.' It doesn't take a clinical psychologist to put together a profile of the kind of person inside UNIT that might be swayed. Ianto had long held suspicions about some particular individuals within the highest levels of government and had been making inroads on uncovering more. Some were just selfish and self-interested, but other he suspected were the puppets of the Committee - a deep-rooted threat which had never been eliminated nor an investigation closed out to his satisfaction. Somehow he knew they were always lurking there in the shadows, looking for an opportunity to regain a foothold. It wouldn't have surprised him if this whole situation had been concocted by their agents in a bid to put the whole planet into a spiraling nosedive that would ultimately end in their destruction.

'Appalling business, really,' Kate muttered. 'Glad you're sorting it out.'

'Doing what I can,' he clarified. 'I don't think you'll ever root out all of them.'

'We can try. That's why I wanted to speak with you. I've heard mutterings that you might be leaving us.'

'Leaving?' He'd only just gotten here a few months ago. Where would he be going?

Kate Stewart gave him a piercing look. 'I believe that your former employer Captain Harkness has been in London on some business of his own.'

That was news to Ianto. Not the part about Jack being here, of course. That he knew only too well, having had Jack turn up at his apartment late one night, claiming that he was only there to say goodbye and then head off for the stars, never to be seen again. Only a little begging and contrition on Ianto's part had stopped him, plus the fact that they'd fallen straight back into bed with each other after months apart. He hadn't been quite ready to let Jack back into his life, but he was far less ready to have him walk out of it forever. Hearing that Jack had other things he was doing whislt trying to win back Ianto's affections surprised him, and yet didn't. He should have known that Jack wasn't entirely candid with him - still, even after everything.

He squirmed a little awkwardly in his chair, thrown by this new revelation. 'Business?'

'He's looking to start up Torchwood again, isn't he?'

'I... don't know.' He supposed Jack might have changed his mind about leaving. It hadn't come up in conversation. Most of what they talked about, when they were talking, was smalltalk. They hadn't really had any big conversations. It was all still a little raw for both of them. No one wanted to be the first to overstep the mark.

Kate raised an eyebrow at him. 'You don't know? He's been living with you, hasn't he?'

Ianto should have known they'd have the apartment monitored. It was theirs after all. It was large and luxurious and more than he'd expected, but they'd foisted it on him in the blink of an eye. They'd wanted him here and they were prepared to spoil him to seal the deal. It hadn't been necessary of course. He wanted out of Cardiff. No, needed out of Cardiff. He was tired of doing nothing, of having to face his family every day in the house he now shared with them, too scared to go back to his old flat and stay there on his own lest someone from the government decide to reinstate the blank page order for his immediate execution. He couldn't stand the sight of the city he'd once loved morphing into something else, something darker, where everyone knew they were no longer safe. And he hated that awful crater down by the bay where his whole life had been obliterated in an instant.

Jack had been gone, disappeared off the face of the earth. There was genuinely nothing left there for Ianto so he had packed up and left, despite his family's, and Gwen's, protests. Jack had eventually come back, shocked to discover Ianto had survived. Maybe if Jack hadn't bolted so quickly after the destruction of the 456, Ianto might have caught up with him in London, or at least Jack might have bothered to return to Cardiff and check that Gwen was okay, at which time he would have known Ianto had made it.

Ianto had moved back to Cardiff instantly, and back in with Jack, trying to work remotely, but after just two weeks he knew he couldn't do it, and it had nothing to do with the job. He didn't know who Jack was anymore. All the secrets and the lies had created a rift between them bigger than anything Cardiff had. Moving back to London had been the easy way out in some respects, and also the hardest thing he'd ever done. Jack didn't come after him and that hurt even more. Months went by before Jack dared show his face again Ianto wasn't sure who either of them were anymore. Still, Jack had been semi-moved in with him for a few weeks now, even though he only saw Jack at night after he came home from work. They cooked dinner and skirted around any serious topics, watched TV in silence, went to bed, sometimes made love, and then Ianto would get up in the morning and do it all over again. There was no laughing, smiling Jack anymore, just as there was no dry-witted, teasing Ianto. They were just two people cohabitating without quite knowing why.

'He didn't have anywhere else to stay,' Ianto answered feebly. 'Has someone been following him during the day?' It was a blunt question that needed a blunt answer. He didn't know what Jack did during all those daylight hours when he was at work. He wasn't sure he wanted to know but now Kate had pressed the issue.

'You tell me,' Kate said. 'He wasn't just your boss, was he?'

'No. But we're... on a break. Er, sort of.'

'And so the only reason I can see that he has come all this way, hiding out in your apartment, is because he's trying to win you back. I have plenty of contacts in this city and he hasn't met with a single one of them. The occasional walk around the block to stretch his legs and that's it.' She looked at him, expecting Ianto to fill in the blanks.

'You said he was here on business.'

'Isn't that what this is? Convincing you to go back to Cardiff and relaunch Torchwood? I should think he hasn't worked on anything else.'

That did surprise him a little. Had Jack truly only come here for him? Was he Jack's business?

Kate leaned back from the desk and folded her arms. 'Of course this is all speculation on my part based on what I'm hearing. I say it because I like you, Jones, and I like that you're here prepared to do the work that no one else can, or will. I don't really want to lose you. I think we could be a good partnership. A directorate position once this investigation blows over a bit. But if you're going to shoot through on me before will job is done, well, I will be disappointed. I thought I had commitment, but Jack Harkness changes things.'

Ianto bristled at the sudden accusation. 'No. I mean, I do want to do this and see it through. I haven't thought about Torchwood. Well, no, that's actually a complete lie. I think about it all the time. When I wake up it's the first thing on my mind, every day, what I left behind, what isn't there anymore. But... I know then rift is still there, and I know that maybe there's a one kind of role still to play there, but I don't know. I honestly don't. Torchwood killed my girlfriend, two of my best friends. It killed me, very nearly. I don't know that I want to go back to that again.' He selfishly wondered for a second whether he could have this life and Jack, or whether the two were mutually exclusive.

'And Harkness?'

He slumped in the chair, feeling wrung out. All the things he hadn't wanted to face were coming quickly to a head. He couldn't start diverting away from honesty now. 'Part of me still loves him, but Im not going to just say yes just to make things work. If Jack wants to start Torchwood up again, he can. I just couldn't say for certain I'd want to be a part of it.' Jack would understand, wouldn't he? Or was that why he hadn't mentioned it yet? Once Ianto said no, that was it. It would be final, the end. Maybe for them too.

'So, you're with us? At least until this investigation is done?'

'Of course.' He needed something good to come of everything he'd lost. People needed to pay for all the lives it had cost.

Kate nodded. 'Good. That's what I wanted to hear, right from the horse's mouth. That's the trouble with rumours and hearsay. You never know what to believe.'

'I come from a job where the crazier the story, the more likely it is to be true.'

'That's what worried me. Jack Harkness coming all this way simply to woo you back into the fold was just crazy enough for me to believe it. But, can I give you some advice?'

He nodded because he didn't feel like he had a choice in the matter. Usually when someone offered him advice it was something he already knew for himself but had yet to accept.

'I never really understood what it was my father did for a living. There were a good deal of things he never discussed and difficult decisions he had to make. His life was often in danger as a result of the work he did, and because of it, his grandson grew up never knowing his grandfather. I wasted all those years, never realising until I joined UNIT myself, what it was he had done for this country and the sacrifices he made.'

Ianto couldn't disagree. The Brigadier's reputation was legendary. He'd never met the man but he knew that amongst UNIT and even beyond, he was as respected a man as any who had served the country. He doubted anyone might fill those very sturdy boots, although his daughter, influenced by him or not, had the potential to be the next great leader here. That in itself was exciting. The world was lacking in good people to lead its most important causes.

Jack. Was he a good man? He'd done some terrible things, but surely the good he'd done had to outweigh that, didn't it? Ianto couldn't claim the high moral ground in this. He'd done some terrible things. People here knew it too. Torchwood One had a rumour mill that was efficient and deadly. He forgotten what that was like when he'd returned to Cardiff where their team had been so small that they'd lived in each other's pockets. He hadn't though any of them could keep a secret from the others, only Jack. UNIT were no different to Torchwood One in that respect. All the important information wasn't contained in emails or bulletins, it was what was shared in the corridors, in the elevators and over egg salad sandwiches and cups of tea. He'd heard the hushed whispers about Jack and Torchwood. Bad news it seemed traveled faster than good. Everyone seemed to know what Jack had done to secure victory over the 456, which only made it all that much harder for Ianto to forgive it, reminded constantly.

When he walked through that apartment door each night he put on a brave face, trying hard not to think about what Jack had done. It was too high a price to pay, and what was to say Ianto wouldn't be the next person he sacrificed. Love perhaps didn't come into the equation. If Ianto was going to die, he wanted it to be on his terms, just like before. He'd chosen to risk his life, walking into Thames House. He'd also come to realise it was foolhardy. He was no good to anyone dead. He'd been in so many deadly situations, so many places where his life had stood on the edge of a knife, that he'd just accepted it. He wasn't going to live very long and that was that. All ridiculous now, he'd decided. There was no happy place in the hereafter where all the people he'd loved in his life would welcome him with open arms. There was just nothing, and if it came down to nothing, or fighting to stay alive and make a difference, he knew which was the obvious choice.

'What I choose to do in my private life isn't decided,' he said, being honest about it, 'nor is it really anyone's business. But I will do whatever is right, in whatever form that takes. I made a choice to be here, because doing this is what is right, at least for now. What happens in the future none of us know. But if that were to involve Torchwood, then I hope that we would continue to work together instead of against one another. We've seen what happens when we don't align ourselves and it nearly cost the whole planet its existence. UNIT has a responsibility to this world, not just Britain. It has the people and the resources. Torchwood never had that. Three people can't defend a whole planet.' Even if that was exactly what they'd done, for years. 'You might need to consider extending resources to cover the work that Torchwood once did.' The rift was still out there after all, still causing havoc, but now it was unsupervised.

A pensive expression clouded Kate's face as she considered this before speaking again. 'So, you don't think Harkness is here to rebuild?'

'I can't tell you what Jack is thinking. All I ask is that for now you keep your people out of our private life. If it concerns UNIT and the work we do, you can trust that you'll hear it from me.'

If she was ruffled by his terse response she didn't show it. Perhaps she'd inherited some of her father's military stoicism. 'Okay. Surveillance on Harkness will be stopped effective immediately. You of course understand our concerns.'

'Of course. But Jack is not a threat, any more than I am, so please. Let me do what I came here to do.' He still wasn't entirely sure himself what that was, but he prayed everything would sort itself out in time. Jack included.

'I'm glad we had this chat. I can see what it is about you that drew you to Torchwood and now here. We're on the same side, you and I. And, if you want some assistance in Cardiff on a temporary basis, I can give you it, provided you oversee its function.'

He almost laughed. That sounded very much like she was giving him assets and putting him in charge of something that was Torchwood in all but name. He almost wished Jack were here to hear it. Him in charge of Torchwood? That was madness. It would however give him the peace of mind he might sleep at night when he thought of Gwen back home, trying to keep a toe in the water without Rhys killing her for it.

'Let's just focus on the task at hand,' he replied. 'If things I Cardiff become unsettled, we can reassess.' Perhaps by then he'd know where he stood with Jack and what his intentions were. Perhaps by then he'd have figured out how to keep Jack without having to go back to Torchwood.

Kate Stewart closed the flap on her notepad, its page left blank. 'Very well. If you change your mind, my door is always open.'

'Thank you, ma'am,' he said, remembering his position in relation to hers.

'I hope that from now on, the only thing I hear is that things are going well. In the personal sense, that is. These last few weeks you've seemed... less melancholy. Whatever your differences with Captain Harkness, settle them. Take it from one who knows.'