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Recovery: Chapter 6 - Time & Opportunity
Aug. 12th, 2009 07:37 pmRATING: PG-13 for this Chapter for some swearing
WORDS: ~ 1600
CHARACTERS: Ianto, Owen, Jack, Ocs - Brigadier Hamilton, Saundra Bennett
SPOILERS: None, Not canon. This Chapter set pre-Series 1.
SUMMARY: Recovery is a journey not a destination.
Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity - Hippocrates
Ianto felt himself being lifted up out of the debris. The light burned his eyes as he tried to focus on his surroundings. He sensed blurry movement around him, but nothing he could see clearly. He closed his eyes, but the light still seared through his lids. Every part of him hurt, but the pain in his right hand was excruciating. Even the slightest movement sent waves of scorching heat coursing through his hand. He struggled to sit up, but pain exploded through his body and he felt a buzz rising up from his feet. Then darkness.
“Don’t let him move. Get him secured to that backboard. Immobilize the head, then the right arm and leg. Quick but careful, he’s running out of time.” The paramedics worked efficiently securing him safely in place. It was probably a blessing, thought one, that he’s not conscious. He’s got to feel like he’s been to hell and back.
*****
The emergency personnel at the hospital rapidly assessed his condition. His heart, liver and bowel were undamaged. One lung was punctured, his skull was fractured, his right leg was broken and the right hand – well that might not even be salvageable. All agreed that the life threatening injuries had to be addressed first.
Within an hour he was taken in for emergency surgery to insert a chest tube to remove air from thoracic cavity, check for other internal injuries and determine the extent of the cranial damage. In a way Ianto was lucky. The damage to his skull was a simple lateral fracture which could be secured with pins and screws. There was only minor swelling of the brain. The surgeons however, concerned that once the skull was closed pressure could build up, decided to put him in a medically induced coma. The simple fracture to his tibia was set and his hand was stabilized. As bad as the hand had been damaged, it wasn’t immediately life threatening and would have to be addressed at a later time. Seven hours later, Ianto was brought out of surgery alive.
*****
His wallet was still miraculously on him when he was rescued so ID-ing him had been easy. Accessing his personnel file, Brigadier Hamilton asked his attaché to work on locating his emergency contacts even though it was already past 22:00 hours. First on the list was a Lisa Hallett, in London listed as a ‘friend.’ The attaché located her easily enough, but she made it clear that the information was outdated and while she was very sorry to hear about Ianto, she didn’t want to get involved. Next on the list was his mother who lived in Cardiff. Her phone number was no longer in service. The final name on the list was his sister, Rhiannon Davies. She was concerned, but explained that with two small children, and an invalid mother to care for, she couldn’t just drop everything for a brother she hadn’t spoken to in several years. But she said she try to make some arrangements and get to London to see him if she could.
The attaché sighed. The Brigadier passed by her office and saw the look on her face. ”Saundra, what’s wrong.”
“You’re not going to believe this. You know the Jones kid you asked me call about, well he’s got no one. I called his girlfriend; turns out she’s an ex-girlfriend and made it clear that she couldn’t be arsed about his situation. I couldn’t reach his Mum, but the reason I couldn’t is because she had a stroke last year and is living with her daughter in Cardiff. And Ianto’s sister, I don’t know what to say. She seemed upset, but not upset enough to make much more than a token promise to come to see him. He’s 23 years old. If he lives, he’s going to need a lot of support and he’s got no one. Not one living soul gives a damn whether he lives or dies.”
“You mentioned Cardiff, is he from there?”
“Born and raised there. Came to London to attend University.”
The Brigadier smiled. “Saundra, I appreciate your help and try not to be too upset. He’s going to have lots of support. I have the perfect family for him there.” Saundra looked at him like he lost his mind.
“The medic who found him is from Torchwood Three. He’s very concerned about Mr. Jones’ welfare. Got a bit of a hero complex. I think Mr. Jones just found himself a new big brother. And Captain Harkness already knows that any survivors from Wales are under his jurisdiction, so assuming Mr. Jones survives, I think he’ll be just fine.”
Saundra rolled her eyes. Hamilton nodded. “I know. They are a bunch of rogues aren’t they, but I honestly believe that Dr. Harper will be a great support to him. And who knows, Jones may just be what the doctor ordered.” He chuckled a bit to himself as he thought about tomorrow’s meeting.
“Forward his file to my computer, I’m meeting the Captain Harkness and Dr. Harper first thing tomorrow and I want to have a better understanding of Mr. Jones’ background.
*****
The next morning Owen and Jack were waiting in the mess hall before 7:00 AM. The atmosphere was grim. Listening to conversations around them, it was obvious that these were the men and women who were going to the site to look not for the living but for casualties.
The Brigadier arrived; laptop and folders tucked under his arm and joined them at a table in a quiet corner. He told them that they had identified the survivor as Ianto Jones and did a brief review of his medical condition. “I have downloaded his detailed records to Torchwood Three, and alerted the staff at the hospital that you have UNIT’s approval to access any of his records.” Owen nodded his thanks.
“I have to ask you Dr. Harper about something you said yesterday that I’m still puzzling over….why did you refer to Mr. Jones as 'Gramps?' ”
Owen’s face stretched into a thin smile. “You know, the suit, the pocket watch. I didn’t get a good look at him, but I’m guessing he must be one of those employees you’d like to have retire, but they just hang on forever. I didn’t mean it disrespectfully.”
“Of course not. But I have to tell you for a doctor, you need to work on improving your patient assessment skills.” Jack could feel Owen bristling but caught the twinkle in the Brigadier’s eye.
“Owen, don’t go getting all defensive, let’s hear Brigadier Hamilton out.” Owen took a deep breath and prepared himself for the worst. Had he missed something crucial about Mr. Jones’ injuries, or endangered him by climbing into the wreckage?
As Brigadier Hamilton turned the laptop toward the men he announced, “Gentlemen, I give you the illustrious Ianto Jones.” Jack burst out laughing.
“Bollocks!” Owen was furious. “That’s really not funny Brigadier.”
“Actually it is.”
“Come on, you show me picture of a high school kid, and think I’m going to find that amusing?”
Jack interrupted. “Lloyd, I know you’re not one to joke at a time like this. What’s going on?”
“This really is Mr. Jones. He’s 23 years old, recruited by Torchwood straight from college only six months ago.” Brigadier Hamilton leafed through the file. “I’ve downloaded his whole file to you so you can read it at your leisure. But here’s some highlights: born in Cardiff, grew up in a housing estate, thought to be bright but not terribly motivated, a shoplifting incident at age 15, attended London University on scholarship. He took the Torchwood screening tests on a dare from a classmate. Scored exceptionally high on the deductive reasoning tests, off the chart on the memory tests, and above average on empathic ability. Girlfriend in college, the relationship ended shortly after he joined Torchwood.
He was promoted from junior archivist to artifact analyst within three months of starting at Torchwood. His supervisors raved about the quality of his work, and more than one refers to him as a ‘nice, polite, young man.’ The suits and pocket watch seem to be a bit of an eccentricity on his part.”
“You think,” smirked Jack. Owen looked at the Brigadier as they both bit back a smile. After all, Jack had his own eccentricity concerning a coat from a certain era.
“Otherwise, he seems to be a quiet, harmless individual, toiling away in the archives for queen and country and all that nonsense. Oh, and I guess I should mention that his only family are a mother who is incapacitated by a stroke and a sister, who seems a bit indifferent.”
Owen listened to Ianto’s narrative as his gut tightened. He insisted that he wasn’t going to return to Cardiff, not when there was no one to look out for Ianto Jones. Jack really didn’t want a scene in the front of the Brigadier. Fortunately, the Brigadier proposed a reasonable compromise. Owen would return to Cardiff and he’d assign a UNIT physician to oversee treatment at the hospital. Assuming Jones came out of coma; Owen could come back to London at that point and oversee the plans for the next part of Ianto’s rehabilitation. Jack and Owen both agreed that this was a logical way to proceed.
“And when you think about what’s down the road if things go well, it makes transitioning his care later on much easier. Don’t forget, once he’s stable, he’ll be transferred to Cardiff to continue his recovery and rehabilitation under Torchwood Three’s supervision.”
Jack and Owen looked at each other and realized that they would be involved with Ianto Jones’ recovery not just for the next few months, but perhaps for the rest of his life.
Chapter 7 is here: http://aviv-b.livejournal.com/3486.html
