Ficlet: One More Bloody Mess

[bk_forever]

Title: One More Bloody Mess

Author: badly_knitted

Characters: Ianto, Jack, Team mentioned

Rating: PG-15 for gore and temporary character death.

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Cleanup is part of Ianto’s job. All kinds of cleanup. It’s the worst part of his job

Word Count: 459

Written For: juliet316’s prompt ‘Torchwood, author's choice, bloody mess’ at fic_promptly.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.

Ianto’s always the one left to clean up every bloody mess the team makes, and frankly he’s tired of it. Not that he can complain; as general support, cleanup comes under his purview, whether he likes it or not. Most of the time he doesn’t. He knows the others think he has OCD or something, just because he likes things to be clean and in the right place so they’re ready when needed, but surely that’s just common sense?

Every day he has to clean up the messes they leave in the Hub. Empty takeaway containers, pizza boxes, overflowing rubbish bins… Sometimes he’d swear no one ever taught them to clean up after themselves. Empty mugs and dirty dishes have to be ferreted out of the most ridiculous places; Owen’s frequently turn up in drawers, Jack’s get shoved on his office shelves.

Worse than that are the literally bloody messes, those left behind by the aliens they’ve had to kill, and sometimes by the victims of those aliens. That part is as grim as his job gets, collecting human remains and sluicing away blood and viscera so that no trace remains. Times like that he’s thankful for a strong stomach and the ability to focus on the task at hand without dwelling on the cause.

None of that could prepare him for dealing with this though. Jack is dead, eviscerated by a creature with razor-sharp eight-inch long talons. The creature is dead, but it’s left to Ianto to stuff everything back inside his lover, preferably without adding anything that shouldn’t be there, before Jack can revive. Wouldn’t do for him to heal with his insides on the outside. He works quickly, rinsing the worst of the dirt off, hoping everything will sort itself out as Jack heals and praying his lover won’t revive until the worst is over.

The carcase of the alien is in the boot of the SUV; Jack is roughly bandaged around the stomach to keep everything from falling out again. Best not to move him until he revives. As much as Ianto wants to sit with him, he can’t take the time right now, he needs to clean away as much of the blood and gore as possible. There’s a lot.

By the time Jack gasps back to life, most of the cleanup is done; there’s just the pool of blood where Jack is lying. He’s apologetic when he revives, knowing the toll his deaths take on Ianto, but sometimes it can’t be avoided. Later, they’ll talk, hold and comfort each other, but work always comes first so Jack moves out of the way to let Ianto finish the job at hand.

In the end, it’s just one more bloody mess to be dealt with.

The End

Comments

[red-day-dawning.livejournal.com]

Oh wow. Heartbreaking pragmatism.

[bk_forever]

That's Ianto though, pragmatic to the last, even when it feels like his heart is being torn out. He does what has to be done, because the job has to come first. Later, he and Jack can take time for themselves, as long as there isn't another emergency.

Thank you!

[too-beauty.livejournal.com]

ohhhh and they both cursed and blamed TW for a while ...
However, duty calls first and it seems to be a mean wife too .

[bk_forever]

They both understand that the job must take priority, but that doesn't mean it's easy for them. Ianto will always do what's necessary though.

Thank you!

[milady-dragon.livejournal.com]

And yet, as awful as it is, Ianto wouldn't want anyone else to clean up after Jack.

[bk_forever]

If Owen had been there, Ianto would have probably deferred to his medical abilities, but he did all he could so that Jack would suffer as little as possible on revival.

Thank you!

[owensheart.livejournal.com]

great story from Iantos perspective.

[bk_forever]

Thank you! He has a tough job and most of it's not very pleasant, but he just gets on with it anyway.

[tardisjournal.livejournal.com]

Oh my! That certainly puts my job (as housewife) in perspective. I'll keep this in mind next time someone leaves laundry on the bathroom floor or doesn't restock the fridge with water bottles even though the case is right next to the fridge. :-p

Poor Ianto. It seems likes he gets all the worst jobs.

[bk_forever]

Ianto has to deal with those other things too, he just has to deal with literally bloody messes too. He's good at it though, and very pragmatic. He does what needs to be done with single-minded efficiency.

Thank you!

[timelordshines.livejournal.com]

Good description of Ianto's work life and the pragmatic attitude that gets him through it.

[bk_forever]

Thank you! This is one of the ones I'm most pleased with, despite the gruesomeness, I see Ianto very much as practical and pragmatic, doing what's needed, but he still has a need to be with Jack until he revives, for his own sake as much as for Jack's.