Fic: Another Sleepless Night

[badly_knitted]

 


Title: Another Sleepless Night
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Tosh.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1530
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Jack can’t sleep without Ianto there to chase the nightmares away.
Written For: Prompt ‘Any, Any, another sleepless night,’ at spring_renewal.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
 


 
Jack slumped at his desk in the dimly lit Hub, feeling completely drained; it had been one of those days when everything seemed to happen at once. The Rift had kept the team on the go since early morning, finally settling down just before midnight, at which point Jack had sent everyone else home, telling them to get some rest. For once, nobody had argued, slouching their way wearily out through the garage with barely a goodnight. Jack hadn’t blamed them; they’d looked about ready to collapse.
 

Before she’d left, Tosh had told Jack it looked like it would be a quiet night, and he’d been relieved to hear that. Immortal he might be, but he was still only human; he got as tired as anyone else, although he generally needed less rest than his team. He knew he should follow his own advice, go down into his bunker, stretch out on the old army cot that served as his bed, and grab some sleep while he could. Chances were, even if the Rift remained quiet one of the many other alarms would go off before morning and he’d have to deal with it. He didn’t move though; he already knew he wouldn’t be getting any sleep.

 
It wouldn’t be the first time. His team might not know it, he was good at putting on an act, keeping them from seeing what he didn’t want them to see, but he hadn’t slept in four days; tonight would be the fifth, and while he was capable of operating on little to no sleep when necessary, it was far from ideal.
 

He’d thought he was used to having nightmares; he’d been having them for decades. His life had served up plenty of nightmare fodder: letting go of Gray’s hand, the Doctor and Rose abandoning him on the game station, Alice and Emily’s not so tender ministrations when he’d first come to Torchwood’s notice, and his experiences serving in several wars, among other things. Since coming back from the Year that Never Was though…
 

It was understandable, he supposed. Being tortured to death over and over, sometimes several times in a day, having his team brought before him one at a time only to be brutally murdered, had left scars on his soul, even while his body remained unblemished. The year had been rewound, but for those who’d been aboard the Valiant, the memories still remained. The rest of the world was oblivious, but Jack’s experiences throughout that year were indelibly stamped on his memory, and they haunted him in his dreams.

 
He missed Ianto, wished his lover was here with him, because the nights weren’t so bad when he was. The warmth of another body pressed up against his own let Jack get the rest he needed, knowing Ianto would wake him from his nightmares, soothe him, and help him to drift off again, feeling safe and protected. But Ianto had been in Glasgow for the past four days, helping Archie sort through a load of crates salvaged from Torchwood One that had been tucked away in a seldom used storage room and forgotten about until recently.

 
Sighing, Jack rubbed his hands over his face and considered getting drunk. Maybe then he’d be able to get a couple hours’ sleep before he sobered up. But then if there was an emergency, he might not hear the alarms; it was a risk he wasn’t prepared to take.
 

Instead, he turned his attention to paperwork; usually it bored him, but for the past few nights he’d welcomed anything that would keep his mind occupied for a while. The only problem was that there was very little left for him to do, and he was finished in hardly more than an hour. Putting the last file folder in his out box, he stood and stretched, easing the kinks from his back and shoulders, wondering what to do now.

 
He was just about to leave his office and see if there was any cleaning needing to be done when his phone rang. Not the heavy, old-fashioned black one on his desk but his personal mobile, blaring out a Glenn Miller classic. Frowning, he pulled it from his pocket and checked who was calling him so late, expecting it to be telesales of some description. It wasn’t.

 
“Ianto, is everything alright?”

 
“Everything’s fine, Jack. I meant to call earlier, just sort of lost track of time. Wasn’t sure if I might be calling too late, but something told me you’d still be awake.”
 

“You’re right, I am.”

 
“Yes, I gathered that. Most people don’t hold phone conversations in their sleep.”

 
Jack chuckled, feeling tension he hadn’t been aware of draining out of him. “It’s good to hear your voice.” It would be even better to see Ianto in person, but talking to him would have to do for now.
 

“Good to hear you too. I did call the Hub around lunchtime, but Tosh said things were a bit… busy.”

 
“Chaotic, more like. Between the Rift, a tag-team of Weevils, and a trio of stoned Blowfish, we spent the entire day running around like headless chickens. Barely had time to breathe.”

 
“Sorry I wasn’t there to help you all.”
 

“Not gonna lie, we could’ve used another pair of hands, but we managed. Wore everyone out though. I sent them home and told them to take tomorrow morning off. With luck the Rift will behave long enough for them to get some rest.”

 
“What about you?”
 

“What about me?”
 

“You need rest too, and don’t try to tell me otherwise. I know you.”

 
“Someone has to keep an eye on things.”
 

“Have you slept at all since I left?”

 
Jack considered lying but knew Ianto would see right through him. “I tried, but…” He trailed off.
 

“Nightmares?”
 

“Yeah. I thought I’d be okay for a few days; I hadn’t been getting them as often, figured I could power through, but they’re as bad as when I first came back. I think, when you’re with me, you scare them away. I miss you.”
 

“I miss you too, but I’m almost done here; I’ll be back day after tomorrow.”
 

“That’s good to know. Guess I can manage two more sleepless nights.”
 

“You shouldn’t have to. Are you still at the Hub?”

 
“Where else would I be?”

 
“Good point; you’re a creature of habit. Look, why don’t you go to my place? You’ve got a key. At least that way, if you can’t sleep you can watch TV, or read a book. Anything would be more relaxing than ploughing your way through a mountain of paperwork.”
 

“Too late, I already did that.”

 
“All of it?” Ianto sounded surprised.
 

“Yep!”
 

“Lovely. Means I’ll come back to a mountain of filing.”
 

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

 
“Doesn’t matter, it would have to be done eventually anyway.”
 

“I know, but I didn’t mean to pile more work on you. Matter of fact, I was just about to see if there was anything I could clean,” Jack admitted.

 
“That does it! If you start cleaning, I’ll have even more work waiting for me. Get thee hence, Jack Harkness. Go to my house, make yourself at home, just promise you won’t rearrange the furniture, or anything equally drastic.”

 
“Alright, I get the message. No cleaning, no moving things, and I promise not to make a mess either.”
 

“I’ll hold you to that.”
 

Jack smiled, already feeling better just at the thought of not spending another night alone in the Hub. The prospect of relaxing in Ianto’s cosy little end of terrace house was far more appealing, with all his lover’s books, music, and DVDs to keep him occupied.

 
“You’re sure you don’t mind me being there alone?”
 

“I wouldn’t have given you a key if I didn’t intend for you to go there whenever you wanted. Just go, relax, enjoy. I’ll call you sometime tomorrow; hopefully by then I’ll have some idea of what time I’ll be back in Cardiff. I’ll expect you to pick me up from the station.”
 

“Not bringing anything back with you?”

 
“I’ll be bringing myself; what more d’you want?”
 

“You’re all I need, I just thought there might be something in all those crates that would be better off here.”
 

“There are a few items, actually several crates full, but I’m arranging to have them brought down by road. Archie has a driver who can do the job, no questions asked. Now, it’s almost two in the morning so I’d best get some sleep. Goodnight, Jack. Go home; I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

 
“Alright, I’m going, just as soon as you hang up. Goodnight, sweet dreams.”
 

“If it’s anything like last night, I’ll be dreaming of cataloguing. Not exactly relaxing, but not surprising either. Okay, hanging up now. Love you.”
 

“Love you too. Goodnight.” The call disconnected, leaving Jack standing in his office doorway, a silly grin on his face. Pocketing his phone, he turned around to fetch his coat. Even if he didn’t get any sleep the next couple of nights, he could relax surrounded by all things Ianto. That would be good enough until his lover came home.
 

 
The End