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waldos_writingsTitle: Chase Down the Trash Day
Written for:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
thestopwatch's summer exchange. My recipient was ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
agentmonk.
Summary: Jack manages to make camping romantic, but then it all goes downhill from there.
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 12,020 (total)
Author's Notes: These were turned back to us this morning. For those of you who had to hear me whine in mid-July about OMG!Must finish exchange thing while traveling!... This is that story. I worked in as many parts of Agentmonk's prompt as I could: camping, NC-17, Top Ianto and H/C and, as you might have guessed by the 12,000 words, something like a plot and not just a PWP. Title is a play on the West Wing episode “Take Out the Trash Day”. Like a dork, I referenced another one of my own stories in this one. Not the best idea ever in an anonymous exchange. Oops. But the reference to 'the last time they went camping' was to my story Rarely Pure and Never Simple.
PART III
As Ianto walked in the silence of the forest he let himself wonder, for the first time in two years, what he’d be doing in London if the Cybermen and Daleks had never invaded. He still missed Lisa, sure, but he couldn’t imagine that his life would be more exiting, more interesting if he was still working in the research labs on Floor 8: Technology Deemed Inactive or Harmless. Like everyone at Torchwood One, he’d heard of Jack Harkness, but he’d only believed maybe a tenth of the stories. It took meeting the man to understand that most of them were probably true after all. In fact, they were probably soft-selling him half the time.
He heard the roar of a river in the distance and hoped that there would either be a bridge or that he’d find his target on the near bank, because unless he’d been more lost in thought than he’d figured, a thousand yards would be right about in the middle of the stream.
He made his way quickly to the banks, not sure if he was hearing thunder in the distance or if it was just the river crashing further down. By the time he reached the river, he understood why there was such a discrepancy in the altitudes between his and Jack’s targets. The river was at the bottom of a twelve-foot valley cut into the mountains. The sky chose just that moment to open up, quickly slicking up the rocks and grass that he’d need to climb down.
Deciding that standing there staring at the problem wasn’t making it any better, Ianto began carefully picking his way down the bank. He’d made it about half way down without incident and was feeling confident so he began to move a little quicker as the rain soaked through his jacket. He wanted to retrieve his piece of space trash before Jack rang him and told him to pack it in.
He had another five feet to go when his mobile went off in his pocket, surprising him. His foot hit a slick rock as he turned his attention from his climb to fishing his phone out of his denims and he lost his balance and went down hard and fast.
When he stopped tumbling arse over teakettle, his first thought was that he’d learned how to fall well enough that he’d managed to keep his head from impacting with anything harder than the weeds that had sprung up between the rocks. Though when he put his hand up to his jaw, he realized something had poked through his skin and he was bleeding a little, and even though it stung a tad, he was sure he’d done himself worse shaving.
He sighed and sat up, rearranging himself on the wet ground. It was when he untucked his left foot from where it was pinned under his right leg that he realized what his true problem was. It was also when his mobile went off again. He leaned back to retrieve the damn thing from his pocket and stabbed the ‘accept call’ button.
“Ianto?” Jack asked through the speaker before Ianto could even get the phone to his ear.
“Yes Jack?” he asked, grimacing and biting back a cry before Jack could hear it.
“I’ve called three times, your mobile kept going to voicemail. What the hell are you doing?”
“Falling down a riverbank,” Ianto said flatly as he finished stretching his feet out, and bit back another yelp.
Clearly that wasn’t the answer Jack expected because there was a shocked silence before Jack asked “Are you <I>okay</I>?”
Ianto reached down and pulled up the hem of his jeans and saw the way his left ankle was already starting to swell. He decided to start with the good news. “I haven’t hit my head or anything like that.”
“But…?” Jack asked, knowing when Ianto was cushioning bad news.
“But I seem to have done a bit of a number on my ankle.” He found that he needed to loosen his bootlace to accommodate the expansion of his limb. “Quite a number,” he added.
“Sit tight, I’m on my way,” Jack told him and Ianto could hear Jack’s breathing quicken as he began moving towards him. “Stay on the phone with me, I’m using the signal to locate you.”
“Jack, I’m not dying, I’m just… highly inconvenienced.” Ianto leaned back on his arm and looked down the riverbank. “Of course,” he sighed at what he saw.
“’Of course’ what?” Jack asked.
“Well,” Ianto said as he began dragging himself downriver, “I was fortunate enough to land within a dozen feet of my target.”
“Sit still!” Jack admonished.
“Almost there,” Ianto grunted knowing Jack could yell all he wanted, but he couldn’t actually stop him and now it was a matter of pride. He wasn’t going to take a hit like this <I>and</I> be denied his prize. “Hm… found it,” he said as he reached a metallic green box half buried in the silt at the edge of the river.
“Ianto!” Jack scolded.
“I have it and now I’m going to hobble back to the larger rocks I landed on, where I am going to sit still and wait for you.” Ianto was panting by the time he got back to the boulders that would be comfortable enough to sit on while he waited. In the mean time he turned the green box over and over in his hands. It had a lid that seemed to be wedged on pretty tightly. Ianto debated using his pocketknife to wedge it open, but for all he knew it contained someone’s smelly old underwear or possibly some lethal alien plague. So best to let Jack take that risk.
Jack was nattering away as he worked his way through the forest using the open mobile signal to track Ianto. Ianto set the phone on the rock next to him, shielded slightly by his backpack. The rain had become more intense and Ianto found himself trying to wipe off his face with a soaking wet sleeve. Eventually he resigned himself to having his hair drip into his face.
“Ianto!” Jack hollered from where he was hiking up the riverbed.
“Down here!” Ianto hollered back, waving his hand.
Jack trotted over and skidded to a stop next to his battered employee. “How bad is it?”
Ianto rolled his eyes. “For the last time, Jack, I slipped. I did not hit my head or break anything. I’ve just … done something to my ankle.” Ianto waved a hand nebulously at his leg.
Jack knelt next to Ianto’s foot. “I wouldn’t count on nothing being broken,” he said after examining the swelling as best he could without touching it. He pulled his mobile out and punched the speed dial.
“Who are you going to call out here? I can’t imagine –“
“I’m calling Owen,” Jack cut him off.
“Well, I’m not sitting here while he hauls himself out of whatever posh London B and B he’s gotten himself into.” Ianto leaned down and loosened his boot a little more.
“Owen? Yeah, it’s Jack. We’ve had a bit of an accident… What? No… Yeah… No, Ianto fell and did in his ankle and we’re about four and a half miles from civilization. Uh huh. I think it may be broken.”
“It’s not <I>broken</I> Jack, I told you,” Ianto interrupted.
“Says you,” Jack replied, one hand over the speaker. He turned his attention back to the phone. “Well, it’s been about half an hour or so and it’s already about twice as big as his other one and he keeps loosening his boot string. Uh huh. Kind of red and purple in spots, white in others. No, it’s <I>facing</I> the right way, but I don’t think he can bend it.” He looked up at Ianto, “Can you wiggle your toes?”
Ianto screwed up his face as he attempted it. “I can, but all the same I’d prefer not to.”
Jack repeated Ianto’s words to Owen and ‘uh-huhed’ a couple more times before saying thanks and ending the call. “Owen actually agrees with you – it’s probably not broken – but he says to splint it up the best we can and to get you to the nearest town and get an x-ray.”
Ianto sighed. He could have figured that out for himself. Four and a half miles back to camp in the rain with a bum ankle. This was going to suck so hard.
“Stay put,” Jack told him. I’m going to find some branches we can use as a splint and another that we can use for a cane or crutch.”
Ianto just nodded. He really didn’t have a lot of options at that point.
Jack was able to find some suitable branches that he could break down to usable size with his boots. A few dozen yards past that he found a branch that seemed to be a good size to use as a crutch, with a piece sticking out that might just make a decent handle.
He came back to find Ianto still sitting on his rock, turning the green box over in his hands. “Okay, now we just need to bind these up…” Jack knelt down and evaluated the situation. “This would be easier if we could take your shoe off, but I’m thinking that may not be the world’s best plan while we’re still a half a dozen miles from the SUV.” Instead Jack set to work pulling the lace completely out of the boot and tugging the edges of the hiking boot away from Ianto’s rapidly expanding leg.
Ianto hissed, but otherwise refused to complain about the pain as Jack managed to insert the ends of the branches into his shoe and use the lace to tie them around his calf. When Jack seemed to be done, Ianto slid his leg down from the rock it rested on to the ground and let out a sharp cry as the sticks slid back towards his heel. “Okay as much as this is going to really, really suck,” he told Jack as he pulled the splints closer to where they needed to be, “I think you’re going to have to tie them closer to my ankle as well.”
“With what?” Jack asked as he realigned the splints.
Ianto actually laughed as he came up with it. “That string I pulled from that bird’s nest today. It has to be at least a meter long. It should make it around my ankle at least once, even in it’s current shape.”
Jack laughed then too, realizing that if Ianto could find a certain amount of humor in the situation, then he could too. Jack pulled his backpack off and rummaged around until he found the string and very carefully used it to bind the splint in place. He gently wiggled the very slap-dash contraption and deemed it to be as stable as they could get it. “Here, let’s get you up.” Jack wrapped an arm under Ianto’s shoulders and heaved him up onto his good foot. “So far so good?”
Ianto nodded, knowing that the worst was yet to come. He had to be able to walk on it.
Jack held out the larger stick, one that was about as big around as Ianto’s wrist. “Can you lean on that on one side and me on the other?”
Ianto shifted to get his hand onto Jack’s shoulder and tested his balance with his weight on their makeshift crutch. “I suppose I’ll have to,” he said fatalistically as he put just a fraction of his weight on his left foot and promptly bit his lip against the shooting pain. “I have a feeling this is going to be quite slow going,” he admitted.
“That’s alright,” Jack reassured him as he steadied him. “Stand still for one second,” he said as he disentangled himself and quickly shoved the green box into his backpack, followed by Ianto’s backpack and the handheld. Once his bag was shouldered again, he wrapped his arm back around Ianto. “Okay, here we go. This can take as long as it needs to. If you need to stop and rest, just say so.”
“No,” Ianto said firmly taking a determined step forward, forcing Jack to move with him. “I need to do this in as close to one shot as I can. If I stop, I am not going to want to get back up.”
Jack took as much of Ianto’s weight as he could and they eventually found a hobbling gait that seemed to be slightly less than excruciating for Ianto. “However you want to do this,” Jack agreed.
“Besides, the ibuprofen is back in the SUV. The sooner we get back, the sooner I can take some pills and get some ice and –“ Ianto stopped suddenly and Jack got his first glimpse into how much pain Ianto was apparently masking. Talking and walking at the same time seemed to be a bit too taxing.
“Alright,” Jack agreed, just to keep Ianto from expending energy he couldn’t afford to waste right now. “And some dry clothes wouldn’t hurt us either. But once we manage that I’m driving you into town to find the nearest place to get you an x-ray and a real splint, if not a cast.”
Ianto rolled his eyes at the idea of the cast, but didn’t waste the breath arguing.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It had taken them a little over an hour to walk the four miles out in the first place. It took them more than three to get back. By then even Jack was soaked clear through his greatcoat. Ianto’s jacket and jumper weighed at least fifty pounds with the added water and Ianto’s face was so gray from the pain that Jack was starting to debate the wisdom in a fireman’s carry.
Jack did have to lift him up the two steps into the caravan when they finally made it. Once inside, Jack got Ianto out of his sodden clothes, warning him that getting his boot off would probably hurt – which it did. The sock was virtually plastered to the swollen skin, so Jack pulled out his pocketknife and simply cut it away. Jack inspected Ianto’s swollen foot and ankle. Despite his earlier assertion that it was probably broken, he didn’t see any obvious deformity so he grabbed a towel from the bathroom and rubbed the water out of Ianto’s hair before rubbing him down brusquely with it. He then grabbed the duvet off the bed and wrapped it around Ianto. “Sit here for a second. I’m going to run to the SUV for the first aid kit.” Jack got Ianto situated at the table with his bad foot up on the opposite bench.
Ianto watched out the window as Jack ducked back out into the rain and rummaged through the back hatch of the SUV for the well-stocked first aid kit Owen always kept back there. As Jack approached the caravan’s awning, Ianto reached over and held the door for him.
“Hang on a second,” Jack said as he set the box on the floor of the caravan and then proceeded to strip and leave his sodden clothes on the grass, under the awning. “No point in dragging more water in here,” he said with a grin as he hopped up and towel dried himself quickly. After rummaging around in his bag he found a pair of sweatpants and a clean white t-shirt and a pair of dry socks.
“Okay…” Jack said as he put the kit on the table. “First thing we need to do is give you these,” he said as he ripped open two packets of pain tablets and handed three pills to Ianto and ran him a glass of water from the tap. “And now,” he continued to narrate his actions, “Let me look for…” he grabbed Ianto’s duffle and dug through it. “Tell me you brought some pajama pants or sweatpants or something,” he said as he dug past jumpers and jeans.
“Pajamas at the bottom, why?” Ianto slammed back all three pills at once and leaned his head back against the back of the bench and waited for them to kick in.
Jack pulled out the pants triumphantly. “Because I found a real splint in the first aid kit, but it’s going to need to be taped in place. I think you’d really rather I didn’t tape it directly to your skin.”
“Ah, yes. I do appreciate that,” Ianto said as he claimed the pajamas and slid to the edge of the bench where he let Jack help him very, very carefully slide them over his left foot before sticking his right foot in and gingerly standing and wiggling them up the rest of the way. Jack’s little arched eyebrow of interest wasn’t entirely lost on Ianto. “Don’t even think about it,” Ianto warned caustically.
“I promise to be very well behaved,” Jack said earnestly as he sat on the floor and pulled the busted up foot into his lap. He fitted the ankle splint under his foot, carefully folding the sides around Ianto’s leg, up over the pants. “Hand me the wide tape?” Jack asked, holding the splint gently.
Ianto dug through the box, finally locating the two-inch wide tape and handing it down to Jack who tore off long strips and very, very carefully secured the plastic supports in three different places. Gently resting a hand on Ianto’s knee, Jack finally took a deep breath and let himself relax. “How are you feeling now?”
Ianto looked out the window where it was still pissing down rain. “Better. Thank you. I suspect the pain pills should kick in soon too.”
“You need an x-ray,” Jack said quietly, knowing neither of them wanted to go back out in that god-awful weather.
“I know,” Ianto said just as the fatigue of the whole day caught up with him. “But right now I think I’m more tired than in pain. Why don’t we wait and see if the rain lets up in a bit.
Still on the floor, Jack carefully wrapped his fingers around Ianto’s toes. “You’ve still got decent circulation. I guess it could wait until after we’ve had a bit of a nap. Possibly some lunch.”
Ianto made a face. “I guess I am a bit hungry.”
Jack dug through their provisions. “We have some soup and the bread left over from last night.”
“Bril-“ Ianto let out a huge gasp before finishing, “Brilliant.”
Jack dashed back to his side. “You okay?”
Ianto’s head was dropped back against the wall, his eyes closed. “Those pain pills kicked in rather suddenly. I wouldn’t call it one-hundred percent better, but a <I>marked</I> improvement,” Ianto told him with such a look of relief on his face that Jack couldn’t help but lean down and kiss him.
“I’ll get lunch. You relax. Owen says there’s morphine in that kit if we need it.” Jack rattled around pulling out pans and plates as he spoke.
“It’s not that bad. As long as I can stay still and off it, I think I’ll manage on the pain tablets. They’re making quite a difference already.” Ianto wasn’t even bothering to open his eyes to look at Jack as he spoke.
“Ooh!” Jack said suddenly, “You got frozen peas yesterday.”
Ianto could hear him tossing the bag up and catching it, breaking up the little pellets of peas that had frozen together. “The soup and bread are enough for me, Jack.”
“No, not to eat,” Jack said rubbing the bag to break up any remaining clusters before wrapping the bag in the teatowel and carefully placing the peas over Ianto’s taped ankle. “How’s that?”
Ianto nodded, “Fine. Thank you.”
Ianto rested as Jack made lunch. He eventually managed to drag his bag over to find a clean shirt and asked Jack to put the duvet back on the bed so they wouldn’t risk getting lunch all over it.
Jack sat next to him, the bench being a little cozy for two men, but Jack reckoned it was better than jostling Ianto’s foot. They were quiet while they ate, Ianto eventually pushing his mostly empty soup bowl to the middle of the table and resting his head on Jack’s shoulder. “Jack, is it possible there was something else in those pills you gave me?”
“Something like what?” Jack asked quietly, reaching up to run his fingers through Ianto’s hair..
“I’m awfully sleepy.” Ianto snuggled into Jack’s shoulder.
“Well, you just hiked back a half dozen miles on a broken ankle –“
“It’s not broken,” Ianto butted in predictably.
“Whatever, it’s not surprising that you’re tired.” Jack pulled the first aid kit from the counter he’d set it on while setting up for lunch and found the tablet packets he’d tossed back in there. He showed them to Ianto. “Owen told me to give you paracetemol with codeine.”
Ianto chuckled. “No <I>wonder</I> I feel so much better.”
“Yeah, that could have something to do with it,” Jack sighed as he put an arm around Ianto and kissed his forehead. “How about we get you tucked into bed while you sleep them off.”
“Hmm…” Ianto mumbled, “Will you come lay down with me?”
“Once I get the dishes cleaned up,” Jack promised as he carefully extracted Ianto from his side. “Come on, let’s get you in bed before you’re of no use at all.” Jack helped him stand and balanced him as he hopped the few feet to the bed where Jack helped him crawl in and then arranged the blankets for him. He glanced back at the dirty soup bowls and open sodas on the table. They’d keep for a few, he decided before crawling in after Ianto and wrapping his arms around Ianto’s chest from behind.
“I thought you were doing the dishes,” Ianto slurred into the pillows.
“Once you’re asleep,” Jack promised. “And once you’ve slept. And when you do wake up, you’re going for that x-ray,” he told him in as much of a no-nonsense, I’m-the-boss voice as he could muster.
“If you insist, Jack,” Ianto said before stretching and snuggling back into Jack.
“Then from there I’ll bring you home and Tosh and I will come finish the trash collecting, okay?”
There was no response so Jack sat up and peered into Ianto’s face. Ianto’s eyes were closed and his lips were ever so slightly parted. The rise and fall of his chest under Jack’s hands evened out and Jack realized it would be several hours before Ianto would be in any position to discuss further plans for collecting Rift refuse.
And after seeing him in so much pain he was gray, so wet and miserable that he’d been shaking even after being under the duvet for a while, Jack realized that it was okay that he was resting now. They’d get to civilization later and he’d be checked from stem to stern and then Jack would get him home and safely installed in the hub to finish his recovery. Jack wondered if maybe it wouldn’t be a horrible abuse of his relationship with Martha to try and get UNIT to finish this recovery operation. Nothing they’d found seemed particularly dangerous so far. And even if something turned out to be, UNIT was well trained. It wasn’t as if Jack wanted to get into a possession debate over some space trash.
Jack started feeling the toll of the day creep up on him too. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d ever napped during the day, but it was starting to sound like a brilliant idea, so he curled up tight against Ianto and let himself drift off to the sound of rain hitting the tin roof of the caravan.
Written for:
thestopwatch's summer exchange. My recipient was agentmonk.Summary: Jack manages to make camping romantic, but then it all goes downhill from there.
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 12,020 (total)
Author's Notes: These were turned back to us this morning. For those of you who had to hear me whine in mid-July about OMG!Must finish exchange thing while traveling!... This is that story. I worked in as many parts of Agentmonk's prompt as I could: camping, NC-17, Top Ianto and H/C and, as you might have guessed by the 12,000 words, something like a plot and not just a PWP. Title is a play on the West Wing episode “Take Out the Trash Day”. Like a dork, I referenced another one of my own stories in this one. Not the best idea ever in an anonymous exchange. Oops. But the reference to 'the last time they went camping' was to my story Rarely Pure and Never Simple.
PART III
As Ianto walked in the silence of the forest he let himself wonder, for the first time in two years, what he’d be doing in London if the Cybermen and Daleks had never invaded. He still missed Lisa, sure, but he couldn’t imagine that his life would be more exiting, more interesting if he was still working in the research labs on Floor 8: Technology Deemed Inactive or Harmless. Like everyone at Torchwood One, he’d heard of Jack Harkness, but he’d only believed maybe a tenth of the stories. It took meeting the man to understand that most of them were probably true after all. In fact, they were probably soft-selling him half the time.
He heard the roar of a river in the distance and hoped that there would either be a bridge or that he’d find his target on the near bank, because unless he’d been more lost in thought than he’d figured, a thousand yards would be right about in the middle of the stream.
He made his way quickly to the banks, not sure if he was hearing thunder in the distance or if it was just the river crashing further down. By the time he reached the river, he understood why there was such a discrepancy in the altitudes between his and Jack’s targets. The river was at the bottom of a twelve-foot valley cut into the mountains. The sky chose just that moment to open up, quickly slicking up the rocks and grass that he’d need to climb down.
Deciding that standing there staring at the problem wasn’t making it any better, Ianto began carefully picking his way down the bank. He’d made it about half way down without incident and was feeling confident so he began to move a little quicker as the rain soaked through his jacket. He wanted to retrieve his piece of space trash before Jack rang him and told him to pack it in.
He had another five feet to go when his mobile went off in his pocket, surprising him. His foot hit a slick rock as he turned his attention from his climb to fishing his phone out of his denims and he lost his balance and went down hard and fast.
When he stopped tumbling arse over teakettle, his first thought was that he’d learned how to fall well enough that he’d managed to keep his head from impacting with anything harder than the weeds that had sprung up between the rocks. Though when he put his hand up to his jaw, he realized something had poked through his skin and he was bleeding a little, and even though it stung a tad, he was sure he’d done himself worse shaving.
He sighed and sat up, rearranging himself on the wet ground. It was when he untucked his left foot from where it was pinned under his right leg that he realized what his true problem was. It was also when his mobile went off again. He leaned back to retrieve the damn thing from his pocket and stabbed the ‘accept call’ button.
“Ianto?” Jack asked through the speaker before Ianto could even get the phone to his ear.
“Yes Jack?” he asked, grimacing and biting back a cry before Jack could hear it.
“I’ve called three times, your mobile kept going to voicemail. What the hell are you doing?”
“Falling down a riverbank,” Ianto said flatly as he finished stretching his feet out, and bit back another yelp.
Clearly that wasn’t the answer Jack expected because there was a shocked silence before Jack asked “Are you <I>okay</I>?”
Ianto reached down and pulled up the hem of his jeans and saw the way his left ankle was already starting to swell. He decided to start with the good news. “I haven’t hit my head or anything like that.”
“But…?” Jack asked, knowing when Ianto was cushioning bad news.
“But I seem to have done a bit of a number on my ankle.” He found that he needed to loosen his bootlace to accommodate the expansion of his limb. “Quite a number,” he added.
“Sit tight, I’m on my way,” Jack told him and Ianto could hear Jack’s breathing quicken as he began moving towards him. “Stay on the phone with me, I’m using the signal to locate you.”
“Jack, I’m not dying, I’m just… highly inconvenienced.” Ianto leaned back on his arm and looked down the riverbank. “Of course,” he sighed at what he saw.
“’Of course’ what?” Jack asked.
“Well,” Ianto said as he began dragging himself downriver, “I was fortunate enough to land within a dozen feet of my target.”
“Sit still!” Jack admonished.
“Almost there,” Ianto grunted knowing Jack could yell all he wanted, but he couldn’t actually stop him and now it was a matter of pride. He wasn’t going to take a hit like this <I>and</I> be denied his prize. “Hm… found it,” he said as he reached a metallic green box half buried in the silt at the edge of the river.
“Ianto!” Jack scolded.
“I have it and now I’m going to hobble back to the larger rocks I landed on, where I am going to sit still and wait for you.” Ianto was panting by the time he got back to the boulders that would be comfortable enough to sit on while he waited. In the mean time he turned the green box over and over in his hands. It had a lid that seemed to be wedged on pretty tightly. Ianto debated using his pocketknife to wedge it open, but for all he knew it contained someone’s smelly old underwear or possibly some lethal alien plague. So best to let Jack take that risk.
Jack was nattering away as he worked his way through the forest using the open mobile signal to track Ianto. Ianto set the phone on the rock next to him, shielded slightly by his backpack. The rain had become more intense and Ianto found himself trying to wipe off his face with a soaking wet sleeve. Eventually he resigned himself to having his hair drip into his face.
“Ianto!” Jack hollered from where he was hiking up the riverbed.
“Down here!” Ianto hollered back, waving his hand.
Jack trotted over and skidded to a stop next to his battered employee. “How bad is it?”
Ianto rolled his eyes. “For the last time, Jack, I slipped. I did not hit my head or break anything. I’ve just … done something to my ankle.” Ianto waved a hand nebulously at his leg.
Jack knelt next to Ianto’s foot. “I wouldn’t count on nothing being broken,” he said after examining the swelling as best he could without touching it. He pulled his mobile out and punched the speed dial.
“Who are you going to call out here? I can’t imagine –“
“I’m calling Owen,” Jack cut him off.
“Well, I’m not sitting here while he hauls himself out of whatever posh London B and B he’s gotten himself into.” Ianto leaned down and loosened his boot a little more.
“Owen? Yeah, it’s Jack. We’ve had a bit of an accident… What? No… Yeah… No, Ianto fell and did in his ankle and we’re about four and a half miles from civilization. Uh huh. I think it may be broken.”
“It’s not <I>broken</I> Jack, I told you,” Ianto interrupted.
“Says you,” Jack replied, one hand over the speaker. He turned his attention back to the phone. “Well, it’s been about half an hour or so and it’s already about twice as big as his other one and he keeps loosening his boot string. Uh huh. Kind of red and purple in spots, white in others. No, it’s <I>facing</I> the right way, but I don’t think he can bend it.” He looked up at Ianto, “Can you wiggle your toes?”
Ianto screwed up his face as he attempted it. “I can, but all the same I’d prefer not to.”
Jack repeated Ianto’s words to Owen and ‘uh-huhed’ a couple more times before saying thanks and ending the call. “Owen actually agrees with you – it’s probably not broken – but he says to splint it up the best we can and to get you to the nearest town and get an x-ray.”
Ianto sighed. He could have figured that out for himself. Four and a half miles back to camp in the rain with a bum ankle. This was going to suck so hard.
“Stay put,” Jack told him. I’m going to find some branches we can use as a splint and another that we can use for a cane or crutch.”
Ianto just nodded. He really didn’t have a lot of options at that point.
Jack was able to find some suitable branches that he could break down to usable size with his boots. A few dozen yards past that he found a branch that seemed to be a good size to use as a crutch, with a piece sticking out that might just make a decent handle.
He came back to find Ianto still sitting on his rock, turning the green box over in his hands. “Okay, now we just need to bind these up…” Jack knelt down and evaluated the situation. “This would be easier if we could take your shoe off, but I’m thinking that may not be the world’s best plan while we’re still a half a dozen miles from the SUV.” Instead Jack set to work pulling the lace completely out of the boot and tugging the edges of the hiking boot away from Ianto’s rapidly expanding leg.
Ianto hissed, but otherwise refused to complain about the pain as Jack managed to insert the ends of the branches into his shoe and use the lace to tie them around his calf. When Jack seemed to be done, Ianto slid his leg down from the rock it rested on to the ground and let out a sharp cry as the sticks slid back towards his heel. “Okay as much as this is going to really, really suck,” he told Jack as he pulled the splints closer to where they needed to be, “I think you’re going to have to tie them closer to my ankle as well.”
“With what?” Jack asked as he realigned the splints.
Ianto actually laughed as he came up with it. “That string I pulled from that bird’s nest today. It has to be at least a meter long. It should make it around my ankle at least once, even in it’s current shape.”
Jack laughed then too, realizing that if Ianto could find a certain amount of humor in the situation, then he could too. Jack pulled his backpack off and rummaged around until he found the string and very carefully used it to bind the splint in place. He gently wiggled the very slap-dash contraption and deemed it to be as stable as they could get it. “Here, let’s get you up.” Jack wrapped an arm under Ianto’s shoulders and heaved him up onto his good foot. “So far so good?”
Ianto nodded, knowing that the worst was yet to come. He had to be able to walk on it.
Jack held out the larger stick, one that was about as big around as Ianto’s wrist. “Can you lean on that on one side and me on the other?”
Ianto shifted to get his hand onto Jack’s shoulder and tested his balance with his weight on their makeshift crutch. “I suppose I’ll have to,” he said fatalistically as he put just a fraction of his weight on his left foot and promptly bit his lip against the shooting pain. “I have a feeling this is going to be quite slow going,” he admitted.
“That’s alright,” Jack reassured him as he steadied him. “Stand still for one second,” he said as he disentangled himself and quickly shoved the green box into his backpack, followed by Ianto’s backpack and the handheld. Once his bag was shouldered again, he wrapped his arm back around Ianto. “Okay, here we go. This can take as long as it needs to. If you need to stop and rest, just say so.”
“No,” Ianto said firmly taking a determined step forward, forcing Jack to move with him. “I need to do this in as close to one shot as I can. If I stop, I am not going to want to get back up.”
Jack took as much of Ianto’s weight as he could and they eventually found a hobbling gait that seemed to be slightly less than excruciating for Ianto. “However you want to do this,” Jack agreed.
“Besides, the ibuprofen is back in the SUV. The sooner we get back, the sooner I can take some pills and get some ice and –“ Ianto stopped suddenly and Jack got his first glimpse into how much pain Ianto was apparently masking. Talking and walking at the same time seemed to be a bit too taxing.
“Alright,” Jack agreed, just to keep Ianto from expending energy he couldn’t afford to waste right now. “And some dry clothes wouldn’t hurt us either. But once we manage that I’m driving you into town to find the nearest place to get you an x-ray and a real splint, if not a cast.”
Ianto rolled his eyes at the idea of the cast, but didn’t waste the breath arguing.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It had taken them a little over an hour to walk the four miles out in the first place. It took them more than three to get back. By then even Jack was soaked clear through his greatcoat. Ianto’s jacket and jumper weighed at least fifty pounds with the added water and Ianto’s face was so gray from the pain that Jack was starting to debate the wisdom in a fireman’s carry.
Jack did have to lift him up the two steps into the caravan when they finally made it. Once inside, Jack got Ianto out of his sodden clothes, warning him that getting his boot off would probably hurt – which it did. The sock was virtually plastered to the swollen skin, so Jack pulled out his pocketknife and simply cut it away. Jack inspected Ianto’s swollen foot and ankle. Despite his earlier assertion that it was probably broken, he didn’t see any obvious deformity so he grabbed a towel from the bathroom and rubbed the water out of Ianto’s hair before rubbing him down brusquely with it. He then grabbed the duvet off the bed and wrapped it around Ianto. “Sit here for a second. I’m going to run to the SUV for the first aid kit.” Jack got Ianto situated at the table with his bad foot up on the opposite bench.
Ianto watched out the window as Jack ducked back out into the rain and rummaged through the back hatch of the SUV for the well-stocked first aid kit Owen always kept back there. As Jack approached the caravan’s awning, Ianto reached over and held the door for him.
“Hang on a second,” Jack said as he set the box on the floor of the caravan and then proceeded to strip and leave his sodden clothes on the grass, under the awning. “No point in dragging more water in here,” he said with a grin as he hopped up and towel dried himself quickly. After rummaging around in his bag he found a pair of sweatpants and a clean white t-shirt and a pair of dry socks.
“Okay…” Jack said as he put the kit on the table. “First thing we need to do is give you these,” he said as he ripped open two packets of pain tablets and handed three pills to Ianto and ran him a glass of water from the tap. “And now,” he continued to narrate his actions, “Let me look for…” he grabbed Ianto’s duffle and dug through it. “Tell me you brought some pajama pants or sweatpants or something,” he said as he dug past jumpers and jeans.
“Pajamas at the bottom, why?” Ianto slammed back all three pills at once and leaned his head back against the back of the bench and waited for them to kick in.
Jack pulled out the pants triumphantly. “Because I found a real splint in the first aid kit, but it’s going to need to be taped in place. I think you’d really rather I didn’t tape it directly to your skin.”
“Ah, yes. I do appreciate that,” Ianto said as he claimed the pajamas and slid to the edge of the bench where he let Jack help him very, very carefully slide them over his left foot before sticking his right foot in and gingerly standing and wiggling them up the rest of the way. Jack’s little arched eyebrow of interest wasn’t entirely lost on Ianto. “Don’t even think about it,” Ianto warned caustically.
“I promise to be very well behaved,” Jack said earnestly as he sat on the floor and pulled the busted up foot into his lap. He fitted the ankle splint under his foot, carefully folding the sides around Ianto’s leg, up over the pants. “Hand me the wide tape?” Jack asked, holding the splint gently.
Ianto dug through the box, finally locating the two-inch wide tape and handing it down to Jack who tore off long strips and very, very carefully secured the plastic supports in three different places. Gently resting a hand on Ianto’s knee, Jack finally took a deep breath and let himself relax. “How are you feeling now?”
Ianto looked out the window where it was still pissing down rain. “Better. Thank you. I suspect the pain pills should kick in soon too.”
“You need an x-ray,” Jack said quietly, knowing neither of them wanted to go back out in that god-awful weather.
“I know,” Ianto said just as the fatigue of the whole day caught up with him. “But right now I think I’m more tired than in pain. Why don’t we wait and see if the rain lets up in a bit.
Still on the floor, Jack carefully wrapped his fingers around Ianto’s toes. “You’ve still got decent circulation. I guess it could wait until after we’ve had a bit of a nap. Possibly some lunch.”
Ianto made a face. “I guess I am a bit hungry.”
Jack dug through their provisions. “We have some soup and the bread left over from last night.”
“Bril-“ Ianto let out a huge gasp before finishing, “Brilliant.”
Jack dashed back to his side. “You okay?”
Ianto’s head was dropped back against the wall, his eyes closed. “Those pain pills kicked in rather suddenly. I wouldn’t call it one-hundred percent better, but a <I>marked</I> improvement,” Ianto told him with such a look of relief on his face that Jack couldn’t help but lean down and kiss him.
“I’ll get lunch. You relax. Owen says there’s morphine in that kit if we need it.” Jack rattled around pulling out pans and plates as he spoke.
“It’s not that bad. As long as I can stay still and off it, I think I’ll manage on the pain tablets. They’re making quite a difference already.” Ianto wasn’t even bothering to open his eyes to look at Jack as he spoke.
“Ooh!” Jack said suddenly, “You got frozen peas yesterday.”
Ianto could hear him tossing the bag up and catching it, breaking up the little pellets of peas that had frozen together. “The soup and bread are enough for me, Jack.”
“No, not to eat,” Jack said rubbing the bag to break up any remaining clusters before wrapping the bag in the teatowel and carefully placing the peas over Ianto’s taped ankle. “How’s that?”
Ianto nodded, “Fine. Thank you.”
Ianto rested as Jack made lunch. He eventually managed to drag his bag over to find a clean shirt and asked Jack to put the duvet back on the bed so they wouldn’t risk getting lunch all over it.
Jack sat next to him, the bench being a little cozy for two men, but Jack reckoned it was better than jostling Ianto’s foot. They were quiet while they ate, Ianto eventually pushing his mostly empty soup bowl to the middle of the table and resting his head on Jack’s shoulder. “Jack, is it possible there was something else in those pills you gave me?”
“Something like what?” Jack asked quietly, reaching up to run his fingers through Ianto’s hair..
“I’m awfully sleepy.” Ianto snuggled into Jack’s shoulder.
“Well, you just hiked back a half dozen miles on a broken ankle –“
“It’s not broken,” Ianto butted in predictably.
“Whatever, it’s not surprising that you’re tired.” Jack pulled the first aid kit from the counter he’d set it on while setting up for lunch and found the tablet packets he’d tossed back in there. He showed them to Ianto. “Owen told me to give you paracetemol with codeine.”
Ianto chuckled. “No <I>wonder</I> I feel so much better.”
“Yeah, that could have something to do with it,” Jack sighed as he put an arm around Ianto and kissed his forehead. “How about we get you tucked into bed while you sleep them off.”
“Hmm…” Ianto mumbled, “Will you come lay down with me?”
“Once I get the dishes cleaned up,” Jack promised as he carefully extracted Ianto from his side. “Come on, let’s get you in bed before you’re of no use at all.” Jack helped him stand and balanced him as he hopped the few feet to the bed where Jack helped him crawl in and then arranged the blankets for him. He glanced back at the dirty soup bowls and open sodas on the table. They’d keep for a few, he decided before crawling in after Ianto and wrapping his arms around Ianto’s chest from behind.
“I thought you were doing the dishes,” Ianto slurred into the pillows.
“Once you’re asleep,” Jack promised. “And once you’ve slept. And when you do wake up, you’re going for that x-ray,” he told him in as much of a no-nonsense, I’m-the-boss voice as he could muster.
“If you insist, Jack,” Ianto said before stretching and snuggling back into Jack.
“Then from there I’ll bring you home and Tosh and I will come finish the trash collecting, okay?”
There was no response so Jack sat up and peered into Ianto’s face. Ianto’s eyes were closed and his lips were ever so slightly parted. The rise and fall of his chest under Jack’s hands evened out and Jack realized it would be several hours before Ianto would be in any position to discuss further plans for collecting Rift refuse.
And after seeing him in so much pain he was gray, so wet and miserable that he’d been shaking even after being under the duvet for a while, Jack realized that it was okay that he was resting now. They’d get to civilization later and he’d be checked from stem to stern and then Jack would get him home and safely installed in the hub to finish his recovery. Jack wondered if maybe it wouldn’t be a horrible abuse of his relationship with Martha to try and get UNIT to finish this recovery operation. Nothing they’d found seemed particularly dangerous so far. And even if something turned out to be, UNIT was well trained. It wasn’t as if Jack wanted to get into a possession debate over some space trash.
Jack started feeling the toll of the day creep up on him too. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d ever napped during the day, but it was starting to sound like a brilliant idea, so he curled up tight against Ianto and let himself drift off to the sound of rain hitting the tin roof of the caravan.
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Date: 2008-09-11 12:01 am (UTC)