✘ 26

[damnfinecoffee.livejournal.com]

[Ianto's borrowed the Hub's autopsy room and is currently doing a rather substandard job of stitching up a small stab wound on his arm. He's slow, and from his winces it's pretty obvious he's missing the area he's applied anaesthetic to more often than not.]

Comments

[damnfinecoffee.livejournal.com]

It does in my world. Most don't even need conditioning.

[contract_star]

...Damn.

[Long pause.] Something happened to you, didn't it?

[damnfinecoffee.livejournal.com]

[Snort.] If something had happened to me I wouldn't be here.

[contract_star]

That's what I mean. What was it? A cyborg that came through the Rift? Someone close to you who turned out to be one?

[damnfinecoffee.livejournal.com]

Has anyone here ever told you about Canary Wharf?

[contract_star]

No...

[damnfinecoffee.livejournal.com]

What about the Cybermen?

[contract_star]

[Frowns, because that name rings a bell. They were mentioned at some point somewhere...]

[damnfinecoffee.livejournal.com]

[Assumes the frown means he does know, and continues, voice almost inaudible.] They took down Torchwood London. Out of everyone who worked there, less than 100 of us survived.

[contract_star]

And they were cyborgs?

[damnfinecoffee.livejournal.com]

They were different to Henrietta, but they were still cyborgs.

[contract_star]

[Long pause.] And what did they do?

[damnfinecoffee.livejournal.com]

I already told you they took down London. Do you really need me to elaborate?

[contract_star]

Maybe I do. Because it's more than that, isn't it? It affected you, specifically. And you were talking about humans and cyborgs before. It seems like if an army of cyborgs took down London, you'd have nothing but resentment for them. But you asked if I thought that cyborgs could learn to be human.

That's interesting, isn't it?

[damnfinecoffee.livejournal.com]

I worked there. I had friends there. Why wouldn't I be affected by it?

[contract_star]

[Regards Ianto for awhile in silence.] Hm.

[damnfinecoffee.livejournal.com]

[Just watches, waiting to see if he'll say anything else.]

[contract_star]

[Unfortunately Fortunately for Ianto, Hei doesn't know that the Cybermen "upgrade" people, so he's not going to be able to make that connection. Still...]

Did you lose someone close to you?

[damnfinecoffee.livejournal.com]

[Ianto pauses to consider this, then shakes his head.] Not at Canary Wharf.

[contract_star]

[Stays silent, waiting to see if Ianto will elaborate.]

[damnfinecoffee.livejournal.com]

[Which he does, after a long pause.] My girlfriend, Lisa. She was partially converted during the battle. I found her. Got her out. Everyone else just assumed she was dead.

[contract_star]

Converted? You mean-- [Click. Oh. Oh shit.]

[Loooong pause.] I'm sorry.

[damnfinecoffee.livejournal.com]

It's fine.

[contract_star]

It's not, though, is it?

[damnfinecoffee.livejournal.com]

But it is. It has to be.