Bingo Fic - Animal Rescue
Dec. 31st, 2011 05:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silkendreammaidTitle: Of Chalk and Chocolate
Author: silkendreammaid
Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones. Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor ever will, Torchwood or the characters within.
Note: This is for my longliveianto bingo card prompt ‘Animal Rescue’
This is the fifth part of my Terrane ‘verse that began in ‘The Rough Treatment of Stones’, ‘Lodestone’, Foundations of Liberty and Upon This Rock
Author’s Note: i've had this half-written and waiting while i did the Advent challenge, so with Advent over, here is this one completed... and as you can see i now have a name for this verse... Terrane... which is when part of the earth's crust breaks from one tectonic plate and then manages to attach itself to another plate which seemed quite symbolic for Slate and his Ikaite ... a fuller definition is at the end of this chapter...
Summary: Jack was going to rescue Ianto Jones whatever it took. The dinosaur was just a bonus.
Of Chalk and Chocolate
A block of chocolate landed on the bed with a small thump and was studiously ignored.
“Owen’s worried about you,” Jack Harkness announced as he dropped unceremoniously onto the bed next to the chocolate.
“So are you,” Ianto Jones replied without looking up from his book. Jack reached over, pulled the book from Ianto’s hand and replaced it with the chocolate.
“And so am I,” Jack repeated easily as he threw the book across the room. “What are you going to do about it?” he asked.
“Nothing, and I was reading that.” Ianto frowned at him. “What’s with the chocolate?”
“Owen says it’ll make you happy, that it’s good for your serotonin levels apparently, and besides, all you do now is read,” Jack said. “You’re depressed and you’re hiding and its time you stopped.”
“Jack…”
“No,” Jack interrupted and shifted closer to Ianto. They curled into one another and settled into their favourite position. “It’s been two months. You can’t stay down here forever.”
“I have forever, two months isn’t that big a deal,” Ianto retorted.
It had been two months since the battle of Canary Wharf. Two months since Ianto had been half-converted. Two months since Owen and Jack had removed all the cyber technology from him as well as half his body. It had been a month since he had woken up from over three weeks of heavy sedation completely healed after having regrown the amputated limbs and internal organs. As soon as he could get out of bed he’d made his way down to the rooms he and Jack had had for over a century and there he had stayed. Only Owen and Jack knew he was even in the Hub. He wanted to have nothing to do with Torchwood Three.
“Two days is a big deal for me, Ianto,” Jack replied. “I want you up there with me. If I didn’t drag you up to see Owen every few days you’d never leave here. It’s like you’ve been imprisoned again but this time it’s you doing it.” Jack’s voice dropped. “Don’t let Torchwood cage you again, Ikaite, please.”
Ianto sighed, his breath wafting at Jack’s throat. “I know. But I just can’t seem to… there are too many nightmares.”
“There’s always going to be nightmares. We’ve both got more than enough and I know you didn’t need anymore, but you can’t let it get the better of you. Not now. Not after all we’ve already been through.”
Ianto pulled out of Jack’s arms, lying flat on his back and staring upwards. “That’s the problem I think,” he said soberly before turning his head to look at Jack. “We have all these nightmares and until now we’ve never had the time, the freedom, to really think about them. For the first time in Goddess knows how long there’s no Torchwood shrink or scientist or sadist watching, recording or cataloguing what we do. How many times have we had to shrug off a nightmare? How many times did we not admit to how much they hurt us? Not just the physical pain, but their inhumanity in how they treated us. How many of them refused to admit that we were even human? Without that first contract we would have been little more than animals to them by now.”
“Torchwood is us now, Ianto. Together we can make this a completely different place to what it was. I’ve already made changes and with One gone now, I can do a hell of a lot more. We can do more.”
Ianto got off the bed and paced around their room. Jack sat up and eyed his mate carefully. “They nearly brought about the end of the world, Jack. Cybermen and daleks. How much of the future would have ceased to be if the Doctor hadn’t been there? Would we have even existed? It’s not just almost being converted that I have nightmares about. We’ve still got so far to go and it’s never going to get any easier. We could leave,” Ianto added without looking at him.
“We could,” Jack agreed. “But we both know we won’t.” He smiled slightly at the grimace he caught on Ianto’s face. Jack scooted down the bed, sitting on the edge and reaching a hand out. “Come here. Please,” he gently coaxed.
Ianto let his breath out and frowned but moved closer and let his hand drift into Jack’s and was pulled gently to stand between Jack’s parted knees.
“As you said we have so many years ahead of us, Ianto. But right now, we have a job, something worthwhile that we can do for the next few decades – even centuries. You can’t let the nightmares win before we’ve even started. We’ll always have nightmares, but now we can have dreams.” Jack looked up into Ianto’s eyes and softly begged. “Dream with me, cariad.”
Ianto dropped his head, his eyes suddenly prickling. Jack began twining their fingers together as he spoke in his native language. “You’re my soul-mate, Ikaite. Heart-bonded bloodmate. For always. We have an eternity ahead of us. Leave the nightmares in the past where they belong. Dream a future with me.”
Ianto slipped to his knees, burying his head into Jack’s chest and wrapping his arms around Jack. Jack leant over him and held him close. “I can’t do this without you, Ianto.”
“I wouldn’t leave you,” Ianto’s voice was soft and muffled.
“But you are. You’re leaving me in a different way. You’re closing yourself off down here and I don’t want that. I want you back.”
Ianto was silent for a long moment. “I want me back too,” he finally said.
“Come upstairs with me tonight. Just to the Hub,” Jack asked. “Come and see the changes I’ve made so far.” He shrugged. “It’s not much, but it’d be a start and you could tell me what I’m doing wrong and help me to do it right. We could eat the chocolate by the water tower.”
There was a snort as Ianto raised his head and looked at Jack. “Tell me honestly. Is that chocolate really for me? Or was it more for you?”
Jack grinned, feeling relief as Ianto’s eyebrow rose with the light sarcasm in an expression he hadn’t seen for so long. He shrugged in a careless manner. “Both of us?” he replied in a questioning tone.
“Oh, you were planning to share were you?” Ianto asked with a small answering smile and Jack pounced happily pulling Ianto up and sideways onto the bed.
“I always share with you,” he murmured before kissing Ianto’s nose.
“Chocolate’s not going to make me happy right now,” Ianto said as he nipped at Jack’s bottom lip.
“No?” Jack asked with gleaming eyes.
“No,” Ianto replied softly as he caught Jack’s mouth in a deep kiss.
“We can eat the chocolate later,” Jack agreed when they parted to breathe again and he wormed his hands into Ianto’s clothes. He groaned as his wristband beeped.
“Weevil alert,” he said as he reluctantly sat up. “I sent everyone else home but I will be right back,” he added as he leant down to press emphatic kisses to Ianto’s lips. “So you need to stay right here.”
He was halfway to the door when Ianto spoke.
“Do… do you want me to come with you?”
“This is a bribe, isn’t it?” Ianto asked as he looked from the suit that was hanging on the wardrobe door to the expectant expression on his soul-mate’s face.
“Well, I wouldn’t call it a bribe – exactly,” Jack said.
Ianto’s eyebrow rose and he placed his hands on his hips. “What would you call it then?” he asked.
“It’s a gift,” Jack told him brightly.
“A gift?” There was disbelief in Ianto’s voice.
“It’s to say thank you for saving my life last night,” Jack replied in a seemingly completely sincere voice. “If you hadn’t hit that weevil with that branch I could have been seriously hurt – even killed perhaps.” Jack widened his eyes and appeared to be doing his best to look like an adoring puppy. Ianto’s lips twitched and he was hard-pressed to keep from laughing.
“Uh-uh, because dying would have completely ruined your evening,” Ianto remarked.
Jack gave him a quick grin. “I did get a few injuries.”
“A couple of scratches. You’ve had worse shaving,” Ianto pointed out.
“You could have offered to kiss them better,” Jack pouted.
“You are incorrigible and so predictable, Jack, and they were healed before I got to you,” Ianto smiled at him before waving his hand at the suit. “But really, Jack, a suit?”
Jack stepped close and lightly pressed his forehead to Ianto’s. “I’m not the only who’s predictable. I know you like your suits and I know that a new suit will do you more good than the chocolate Owen is making me bring you.” Jack pulled a bar of chocolate from his pocket and tossed it on the bed. “So, I think you need to put on this new suit and let me take you out to dinner. Tonight.”
Ianto stepped back. “Jack…”
“No. Nope, not listening to anything but ‘yes Jack, I’d love to come to dinner with you’.” Jack reached out and caught Ianto’s hand. “Besides I have a proposal pending and this time I’d like to ask it over dinner rather than over the phone.”
“Jack…” Ianto let his breath out and then gave a wry smile. “Yes, Jack I’d love to come to dinner with you.”
Jack’s face lit up and he kissed Ianto hard.
“I’ll even eat the damned chocolate,” Ianto added when Jack finally let him go.
“Save it,” Jack ordered him. “I can think of better uses for it.” He leered happily and Ianto laughed.
“I know you can,” Ianto agreed as he began changing out of his jeans. “And no,” he added, holding up a hand as he saw Jack move closer. “No, we are not having dessert now.”
“You’ve got egg on your collar,” Ianto remarked as they drove through the evening streets of Cardiff.
“I haven’t had much time to get the dry-cleaning done,” Jack replied with a shrug.
“What about the one we used to go to?”
“Oh it’s still there but with only four of us it gets a bit hard to find time for housekeeping.” Jack grimaced.
“You could hire more staff,” Ianto suggested.
“We’ve had this discussion before and it doesn’t need repeating. What I want is for you to come back and work with me.”
“So I can organize your dry-cleaning?” Ianto asked in an amused voice.
“Well that of course as well as other stuff. There’s your coffee that I’ve missed, and the Archives. You always did like the Archives. Dry-cleaning’s not the only thing that’s been neglected while you’ve been gone.”
“How bad are they?”
“Bad, really bad. Absolute chaos. No-one’s been in there since the millennium. You were the last person to set foot in there.”
“You are exaggerating,” Ianto said with a frown. Jack sounded way too cheerful.
“Well, no, I’m not. Things have just been piling up in corners and spare rooms and other places. I knew you’d get upset if anyone else ever worked in there and played around with your system. So I just made sure nobody and nothing ever went in there.”
Ianto turned in his seat. “So you mean that for the last seven years, any retrieved tech and all the files have just been sitting around gathering dust and are in no order whatsoever.”
“Yep,” Jack said happily.
“You’re an idiot, you know that, don’t you?” Ianto asked and then held up a hand to stop Jack from responding. “That was a rhetorical question.”
“You and your rhetorical questions,” Jack grinned at him. “You always ask them, but this time there really was method to my messiness. I didn’t want just anyone nosing around in there. There are boxes and boxes of our lives down there. Everything Torchwood ever did to us is there. Much as I want to destroy it, I know I can’t but even the best hiding place will be found out eventually. Electronically I’ve deleted all I can and hidden the rest. The hard copies are still in the Archives though, buried under as many unmarked boxes and security locks as I can manage. Making the Archive an unattractive and downright nightmare to negotiate has kept everyone out of there.”
“The Secure Archives not secure enough for you?”
“Not really. Tosh tries every now and again to break into them and she’s getting closer each time. One day Mainframe is not going to be able to keep her out.”
“I’ll have a word with her,” Ianto frowned slightly.
“Who? Tosh?”
“No, with Mainframe. She used to be quite fond of me.”
“She still is. It was surprisingly easy to hide our files and she never complained once at all my deleting. I think she was quite happy to help me protect us.”
“You did flirt an awful lot with her back in the thirties,” Ianto smiled indulgently.
“So did you. And all through the forties and beyond as I recall. But she did need us. Torchwood would have had a field day with her if they’d known how close to sentience she was getting.” Jack paused. “I think another fifty years maybe and she could be fully sentient.”
“We should draw up a contract for her,” Ianto said thoughtfully.
Jack smiled. “And that, Ianto Jones, is why I need you in Torchwood with me.”
“You’re a sap, Jack. You’d have thought of it soon enough – if you haven’t already got one half written up,” Ianto added with a slightly accusatory tone. “Have you?” he asked pointedly and Jack laughed.
“Actually, no, I don’t. But I will have in a few days. And you can go through it and make sure I haven’t missed anything. I’ll draw it up like the ones the Agency used to use without all the ‘You can not’s’. I think there was more option for free will in them than the Torchwood ones.”
“There was,” Ianto nodded. Jack and he had fought with the bureaucracies of the Time Agency and Torchwood – both past and future – to know exactly what should be in a fair and equitable contract. “And she might have some suggestions of her own we could incorporate.”
“Sounds like a plan. So, I know a Ianto Jones whose employment file lists him as a junior researcher for Torchwood One who’s possibly looking for work now seeing as London has come to an unfortunate end. I wouldn’t mind it if he wanted to join my small Cardiff team. He’s pretty handy against weevils and he makes good coffee and would be able to take over my dry-cleaning and paperwork and he looks pretty good in his suit – and even prettier out of it. What do you think?”
“I think it sounds like you’re after a glorified butler. With benefits.”
“I’ll throw in the Archives,” Jack offered.
“Because the thought of working in them after your earlier so very tempting description makes that such an attraction,” Ianto remarked with heavy sarcasm.
“Knew that would get you. Welcome aboard Mister Jones, I’m sure you’re going to just love working for Torchwood Three,” Jack replied overly cheerfully and Ianto groaned.
“The benefits better be extremely good,” he said.
“The best. You’ve never complained about them before,” Jack grinned. “Come on, Ikaite, you know you’re going to say yes eventually,” he wheedled gently.
Ianto sighed. He’d never been able to say no to anything Slate wanted and they both knew it.
“And no-one will know about us?” Ianto asked as a delaying tactic.
“No-one knows about me but you, and only Owen knows about you and he won’t tell. I’ve already threatened him with everything from retconning him back to infancy to feeding him to the weevils.” Jack looked sideways at his soul-mate. Ianto was tugging at his jacket sleeve. Jack hid his grin. Ianto was almost at the point of agreeing. “Although I have no doubt that once he’s tried your coffee, he won’t do anything that could jeopardise his future supply of it.”
“And the others? Toshiko Sato and Suzie Costello?” Ianto shifted in his seat. “I know you couldn’t say much while I was in London, especially about Sato, but you’ve been rather reticent about them in your attempts to woo me back into service. Aren’t they interesting enough to be incentives as well?”
Jack grinned. “I thought I’d let you make your own mind up about them. Besides, the only one you’re supposed to be interested in is me.”
Ianto laughed. “I’ve been interested in you since I was six years old. I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon.”
“It’s never going to change. Not for you and not for me,” Jack said firmly. He took a deep breath. “It’s not the idea of working for Torchwood that’s making you reluctant, Ianto. What’s really behind all this?”
Ianto stared out the window. “For the first time in over a hundred years we’re free. Putting ourselves back into Torchwood … Even with an eternal future ahead of us, staying here for a few decades, centuries, whichever it is, it feels like being imprisoned again.” He turned to face Jack. “How long can we survive on just dreaming about our future? When will we get another chance to actually start living it?”
“Would you rather we just leave and wander around Earth for the next century?” Jack retorted. “We have no guaranteed safe way to get off-planet. Friendlies are few and far between and to be blunt about it, while Torchwood is as it is, no-one even halfway friendly is going to want to come here and there is no way either of us will chance the Rift. And we still don’t know how we ended up with an eternal future. Here, at least we have a chance of the Doctor returning and getting some answers and possibly even a way home. We can change Torchwood while we wait for the Doctor. We can be our own bosses for once. With responsibilities, yes, but at least now we’ve got the freedom to leave when we need to.”
Jack pulled the SUV over to the side of the road, turning the engine off before facing Ianto fully. They stared at each other for a long moment.
“Jack…”
“I don’t want to do this without you,” Jack interrupted before Ianto could say anything. “I know you’ll say yes and you’ll follow me even if you don’t want to, but this time Ianto, I want you to want this too. Don’t say yes to please me, say yes because you want to say yes.”
“Yes, I follow you. Yes, I will always follow you. Yes, I will always want to follow you. So yes, I will join Torchwood Three. And yes I am doing this because you want me to. Also, I am doing this because now London is gone, you are more than likely to upset UNIT, the parliament, the Queen and every other agency known to mankind - and some that aren’t – and have them all baying for Torchwood blood. So I need to make sure you don’t antagonise the bureaucrats…”
“Like you did with the Agency and future Torchwood,” Jack interjected with a grin and Ianto nodded.
“Yes, and that is how I know exactly how you’ll be,” Ianto paused and looked at him soberly. “I am doing this for us, Slate. I wouldn’t do it otherwise.”
“For us is good,” Jack said softly. “I know we rarely say it but I do love you.”
“And I love you. We’ve never needed the words. Heart-bond, soul-bond. They say it for us.”
‘Give it another few centuries and our bonds could get fully telepathic,” Jack remarked almost casually.
Ianto nodded. “Yeah, because we’re actually going to live long enough to see if all those theories were correct or not.”
“I think I’d like to have a telepathic bond with you,” Jack mused and then leered at his mate.
Ianto laughed and then sobered. “It would be nice to feel something other than death through the link.”
Jack leant across and kissed him before bringing their foreheads together. “For every death we’ve shared I promise we will replace them with kisses and hot sex.”
Ianto laughed softly and brought his hands up to cup Jack’s face. “I’ll hold you to that, Franklin Slate.”
Jack closed his eyes and Ianto kissed his eyelids.
“I will see what you see.” Ianto’s voice was a solemn whisper in Jack’s native tongue and Jack recognised the first line of the blood bond.
“I will share my tears,” Jack replied equally quietly and solemnly. Ianto kissed Jack’s ears.
“I will hear what you hear,” Ianto said the next line and Jack followed with the rote response.
“I will listen to your words.”
“I will speak the love in my heart.” Ianto’s breath was warm against Jack’s lips as he spoke the line of the heart bond.
“I will speak the love in my heart,” Jack repeated the line before kissing him. “My blood is yours.”
“My heart is yours,” Ianto replied.
“My soul is yours,” they finished together. They rested against each other for a long moment.
“Always was, always am,” Ianto said gently with a last kiss before straightening up.
“We don’t do that often enough,” Jack said as he stretched. Ianto smiled.
“Because you don’t like being seen as a sap,” he remarked.
“Dashing and handsome is just a better look for me,” Jack stated with happy certainty.
“Well, I won’t tell anyone your secret,” Ianto replied.
“No-one would believe you,” Jack said smugly and Ianto smirked.
“So this dinner you’ve talked me in to – it’s not a romantic dinner for two but more a hero and his sidekick event?” Ianto queried pensively.
“No!” Jack was quick to deny the accusation before he saw the smirk. “You are nobody’s sidekick, Ianto Jones,” he admonished his soul-mate with a wide grin, pleased to see the much improved mood. “Come on, let me show you just how romantic I can be,” he said as he restarted the SUV.
The beeping of his wristband had them both groaning.
“There’s something in there,” Ianto said as they approached the warehouse. “A single life sign,” he reported as he focused on the scanner in his hand.
“How big is it?”
“No more than we can handle,” Ianto replied consideringly. “It’s moving around a lot. Do you a net or anything?”
“No.” Jack shook his head. “Never had much call for them.”
“London would have had nets,” Ianto commented blandly.
“London would have had nets big enough for dinosaurs,” Jack snapped back, rising as Ianto had known he would. “And they still would’ve shot it first.”
Ianto chuckled and Jack glared at him. “Oh funny one, Jones,” and he pushed open the warehouse door.
“Goddess!” the two men swore as they say the creature flying around the empty warehouse and then it came right at them and they stepped back and slammed the door shut.
“What was that about dinosaur nets?” Ianto said inanely as he shared a wide-eyed look with Jack.
“We gotta catch it,” Jack said excitedly. “There should be some tranqs in the SUV. Oh Ianto, just think, our very own dinosaur!” He pulled Ianto into a massive hug before running to the SUV. Ianto shook his head in disbelief.
“Oh no, Cardiff is nothing like London,” Ianto muttered sarcastically. “Yet they both go straight to shoot first, ask questions later.” He raised his voice. “You need to get some nets,” he called. “Save on the shooting.”
“Just tranquilisers Ianto. London would have used live rounds, you know that,” Jack said as he returned with a small box in his hands.
“I know, but it was just too coincidental for this to happen right after what we said.”
Jack shrugged. “Half the time I think the Rift is built on coincidence.” He opened the box. “I have two shots. I’ll distract it and you try and inject it with this.” He held up a syringe and placed the box in Ianto’s hands. He pulled out the needle and attached it to the fluid filled syringe.
“Why don’t I try to distract it and you try and inject it?” Ianto retorted. “And why don’t you have a proper tranq gun instead of this… this?”
“Because it broke last time we used it and I’ve never gotten around to replacing it yet.”
“You need a bloody keeper, Jack,” Ianto told him as he closed the box and slipped it into his pocket.
“That’s your job too,” Jack grinned and Ianto rolled his eyes sighing heavily.
“I’d better be getting paid for all of this,” Ianto grumbled as he opened the door a fraction and slipped in leaving Jack holding the syringe behind him.
“Hey!” Jack protested in a hoarse whisper as he followed and closed the door behind them. “I’m supposed to be the decoy.”
“And a lovely decoy you’d make too,” Ianto replied automatically as his eyes followed the creature soaring effortlessly above them. “Goddess, but it’s magnificent,” he said awed.
“Pterodactyl you think?” Jack questioned.
“Pteranodon would be more accurate,” Ianto responded.
“And you know that because?” Jack prompted.
“Because I did a lot of reading about dinosaurs and fossils when Torchwood was setting up that Piltdown Man hoax.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Jack nodded.
“And they didn’t believe that you’d actually been there,” Ianto added never taking his eyes off the dinosaur.
“I promise not to eat this one,” Jack said, tracking the creature’s circling movements as well.
“Good. It’s going to attack on the next pass,” Ianto said.
“Yeah, figured that too,” Jack nodded, waited a beat and as the large dinosaur turned towards them he began to run to the left. Ianto ran to the right. The dinosaur screamed and swooped upwards in confusion.
“Come on lovely one,” Ianto called almost crooning as he reached into his jacket and pulled out an oblong package.
“What is that?” Jack asked in a hoarse whisper that had the dinosaur swinging between the two of them.
“It’s chocolate and I’m being the decoy here. You need to be quiet and still now, Jack, or this won’t work,” Ianto ordered briskly as he began unwrapping the block of dark chocolate. “Come on, girl. At least I hope you’re a girl. I have something for you. Come on, gorgeous,” Ianto pitched his voice upwards and held the chocolate above his head.
The creature flapped over him and circled twice before dipping in front of him.
“It’s only chocolate, my lovely. Good for your serotonin levels – if you have serotonin levels. Mine are pretty low the doctor tells me but I don’t mind sharing this with you. Come on, lovely one.” He broke a piece off and tossed it gently making sure it landed midway between himself and where Jack stood statue still.
With a rush and muted cry the dinosaur landed and watched Ianto intently before leaning forward and picking up the small squares. It tossed its head back and swallowed. Ianto waited as the creature shook its head before stepping forward with a hiss. Ianto was quick to break off another piece of the chocolate and threw it, this time aiming it at the dinosaur’s long beak.
“You’re a pteranodon aren’t you?” Ianto spoke softly as he watched her catch and swallow the chocolate. “And you like chocolate.” He was awed as he threw more to it. “Between us, we are going to have Owen buying so much chocolate.”
Jack smiled, distracted by the absolute enjoyment he could see on Ianto’s face. It had been a long time since he’d seen such wonder and happiness openly expressed by his soul-mate and he thanked the Goddess and the rift for bringing the dinosaur to them.
“…today, Jack, preferably before I run out of chocolate,” Ianto was saying and Jack blinked and remembered what he was supposed to be doing.
“Oh right, on it,” he said, hurrying forward and the dinosaur turned at the sound of his voice. Jack had enough time to see Ianto roll his eyes before the creature lunged at him. Jack ducked under the long beak and spun around the pteranodon. He reached out and grabbed at the thin wing, pulling the creature off-balance. The wing slipped free and he could hear Ianto calling as he over-balanced and suddenly found himself gripped in the pteranodon’s claws. A second later and he felt himself pulled upwards and airborne.
“Jack! Jack!”
Jack looked down and saw Ianto chasing after them as the pteranodon flapped harder trying for altitude. Jack waved at his soul-mate, feeling giddy at the sensation of flying and it was almost regretfully that he stretched his free hand up and plunged the needle deep into the pteranodon’s thigh. With a screech the pteranodon opened its claws and suddenly Jack was falling, shouting as the hard concrete rapidly approached.
Ianto caught him and Jack’s impetus sent them tumbling on the floor.
“Oh Goddess, Slate,” Ianto murmured in relief as he held Jack tight to him.
“Ianto,” Jack soothed as he wrapped his own arms around Ianto. “That was some ride,” he said happily.
“Whoa!” Ianto exclaimed and rolled them over and out of the way as the pteranodon landed beside them in a boneless heap. They looked at the creature, its eyes blinking slowly and heavily and finally closing.
“I hope it’s okay,” Ianto said and Jack laughed.
“And what about me?” he asked.
“You were always going to be fine.” Ianto looked at him, feeling the laughter shaking them both and settling comfortably over Jack’s warm body. “Not quite a romantic dinner,” he said and kissed Jack’s nose. “But this has been a perfect night.”
“Will you marry me, Ianto Jones? Bind us together by the laws of this planet?”
“Yes, Jack Harkness.”
Jack caught him in a deep kiss and only the soft grunts of a rousing pteranodon stopped them from going further. “You realise,” Jack said as they untangled themselves and stood up. “You realise, that I’m going to marry you on every planet we ever end up on.”
Ianto smiled as he gave the pteranodon half of the second syringe. “I know.” He walked over to Jack and straightened his coat. “And you know I’ll always say yes. You big sap.” He kissed Jack again. “Come on, let’s get this sleeping beauty to the Hub and then you can introduce us both to your team.”
Author's Notes:
The Cretaceuos Period is also known as the Chalk Period, and was when pteranodons and pterasaurs existed.
The Piltdown Man was a hoax in which bone fragments were presented as the fossilised remains of a previously unknown early human discovered in East Sussex in 1912
From Wikipedia : A terrane in geology is short-hand term for a tectonostratigraphic terrane, which is a fragment of crustal material formed on, or broken off from, one tectonic plate and accreted or "sutured" to crust lying on another plate. The crustal block or fragment preserves its own distinctive geologic history, which is different from that of the surrounding areas – hence the term "exotic" terrane. The suture zone between a terrane and the crust it attaches to is usually identifiable as a fault.
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