Ficlet: Anxiously Waiting

[bk_forever]

Title: Anxiously Waiting

Author: badly_knitted

Characters: Jack, Ianto, Owen, Team.

Rating: G

Spoilers: Nada.

Summary: Jack knows he’s to blame as he waits for news…

Word Count: 372

Written For: My own prompt ‘Any, any, Tense and waiting, the seconds seem like hours,’ at fic_promptly.

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

Jack was pacing again. He’d tried sitting down, but that way lay insanity; he needed to be doing something, anything, because he couldn’t settle, and so he paced. Not that it was helping much. The waiting was always the worst part, never knowing if this would be the time that nothing could be done.

The girls kept giving him sympathetic looks, Owen had already yelled at him twice for hovering, saying it was annoying him; Jack knew there were things he should be doing, but his thoughts were whirling too much for him to even remember what they were, never mind focus on any one of them.

This was all his fault. He’d been careless, so stupid, he’d let himself get distracted just for a moment but that was all it had taken. He and Ianto had been tracking the creature for over an hour; they were both out of breath, winded and panting from the chase, when they cornered it in a cul-de-sac. Ianto always looked so good when he was breathless and dishevelled, Jack just hadn’t been able to resist sneaking a peek at him. He’d only taken his eyes off the beast for a split-second, but that had been enough. It had leapt at them, slashing with razor-sharp talons, and though Jack had managed to shoot it, it had been too little too late. The damage had been done and the bottom had fallen out of his world. He hardly remembered the drive back to the Hub.

Backwards and forwards he paced, silently cursing himself for his own stupidity. Time passed with glacial slowness as he waited for news; the seconds ticking past felt like hours and his whole body ached from the tension. If only he could turn back the clock, undo the last couple of hours, do things differently…

Approaching footsteps broke through his tortured thoughts and he spun around, half afraid to hear the news, but still he had to know.

He stared with anxious eyes at the man approaching him. “Tell me.”

“Think yourself lucky, the blood made it look a lot worse than it really was. It took quite a few stitches, but your coat will be fine once it’s dry,” Ianto reassured him.

The End

Comments

[akawho.livejournal.com]

Geez, you really had me going! lol

[bk_forever]

Yay! Wrote this one for a challenge where I had to write a fic whose final line reversed its meaning. This ended up being my third attempt because the first one I wrote for a prompt that had already been used so it didn't count, my second attempt I couldn't get to work, and I had to find a third idea! I was really happy with this one though.

Thank you!

[too-beauty.livejournal.com]

OMG! you got me with the coat! I thought Ianto was the one injured!

[owensheart.livejournal.com]

Man u have a way with words, i was getting all upset that something had happened to Ianto and then it was jacks coat.

Great ficklet.

[bk_forever]

Heehee! The challenge was to write something misleading and I love doing that anyway. Jack was genuinely worried about Coat though!

Thank you!

[bk_forever]

You were meant to think that, the challenge I wrote this one for was very specific, lol! I had a ball writing so it would look like Ianto was injured when all along it was the Coat!

Thank you!

[sagrario martínez castro (from livejournal.com)]

That coat is very important for Jack, like Ianto (and his suits).

[raynewton.livejournal.com]

What a clever use of distraction. Poor Coat. I@m sure it would rather itself than Ianto. It has a heart

[reddevilpoes.livejournal.com]

That poor coat..

[bk_forever]

He'd worry most about Ianto, but the Coat definitely comes second ;)

Thank you!

[bk_forever]

Very true, it's a very caring Hero Coat, it would willingly sacrifice itself for Ianto's sake, kn owing that Ianto will tenderly care for it afterwards.

Thank you!

[bk_forever]

Yes, poor Coat, but it will be fine. It's wounds have been stitched up so now it can heal. It has amazing recuperative powers. ;)

Thank you!

[maldeluxx.livejournal.com]

*exhales* He sure likes his coat a lot! XD

[bk_forever]

It's second in his affections only to Ianto, lol!

Thank you!

[black59.livejournal.com]

oouuuu ffffffff !!!
you really took me by surprise !!
it was only the coat !!! not Ianto
phew!
nasty !! ;-)

[bk_forever]

Heeehee! I had to do it to fit the day's challenge. The Coat will recover, thanks to Ianto!

Thank you!