Keep Dreaming

Ret-conned - Ianto's POV

"Fuck's sake" I muttered as I stood a few inches from the seemingly-too-modern door for the faded redbrick offices it was fixed onto.
How did I let Jack talk me into this?
I wondered before checking my watch.
04:52 a.m.
I rubbed my eyes, sighed begrudgingly and then pressed the buzzer, a battered sticker beside it on which I could just about make out the name "Erin Evans" scrawled in black biro.
A silhouette shortly appeared at the other side of the door, and as she got closer I could make out her furrowed brow and pursed lips.
She changed her face to mimic a more helpful, friendly expression before opening the door, as though she thought I hadn't seen her previously-concerned one through the glass panes.
"Hello, can I help you?"
She asked. I smiled politely.
"You can indeed. Mind if I step inside?"
I asked promptly: partially desperate to get out of the cold; partially because this was part of the plan.
Mostly because I was cold, though.
She looked puzzled, possibly a tad defensive.
"Who are you, might I ask?"
I took a breath.
"Jack Harkness' lawyer"
Her eyes widened and her face went a few shades paler (something I didn't think was possible) and she nodded understandingly.
"Come in. Can I get you a cup of tea?"
"That would be lovely, thank you."
She guided me to her office and I followed close behind. The office was surprisingly spacious for a something funded by the government. It had cream walls, a carpeted floor, a desk at one end of the room and a peeling, black leather sofa opposite it. Wooden cabinets were dotted around the room, plants and books, coloured blocks and framed inspirational quotes propped up on them. I drank in the unfamiliar sight as I attempted to imagine Jack in the middle of it all.
Erin pointed to the couch in indication that I could sit down. I smiled a tight-lipped smile at her and mumbled thanks in response.
The air hung stale between us for a moment before she excused herself to the staffroom to make tea for us both. I sighed a heavy sigh of relief, and realised that it felt like I had been holding my breath. I looked around the room, tapping my feet out of boredom. I whipped out my phone to check it briefly, then realised that my hands were shaking. I flapped them furiously in an attempt to stop.
As luck would have it (not), Erin chose that exact moment to walk back in. I looked like a deer caught in the headlights and blushed furiously, a sheepish smile on my face.
"Sorry, uh... nervous habit."
I explained hurriedly. Erin looked a bit hesitant, but nodded.
"I know all about those."
She smiled politely, but I could tell she felt uncomfortable.
Erin popped the tray with mugs, a teapot and a small jug of milk on her cluttered desk. We both poured our tea and stirred in our preferred amount of milk. I was enjoying the normalcy of this moment, but then Erin had to ruin it by asking a stupid question.
"Oh, I forgot to ask, do you take sugar?"
I hated tea with sugar. Tea was the kind of drink you had when you were avoiding drinks with sugar. But I had to suck it up, because I knew I needed an excuse to get Erin out of the room for a minute. While it pained me to do it, I smiled and nodded.
"That would be nice, thanks."
Erin nodded and promptly set about getting it.
"I'll be back in a tick."
She said as she ran off. I took a quick glance around the room, eyes darting frantically. I poured a Retcon pill out into my hand and slipped it into Erin's tea, giving it a stir for good measure. I realised as I did so that my hands were shaking again, but I didn't want to quell their nervous display as aggressively (or as obviously, for that matter) as I had last time.
I wandered around the room and looked again at all the bric-a-brac littered around as a means of distracting myself, but to no avail. I figured if I could wash my hands it would at least make them less sweaty, so I went in search of a bathroom. There was evidently not one in Erin's office, so I wandered outside the doors into the main building. While doing so, I bumped into Erin on her way back from nabbing some sugar from the staff room - unfortunately she had succeeded in doing so, I noticed, as she had a little white pot and teaspoon in her hand.
"Oh, hi. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, uh, I was just looking for a bathroom. Is there one nearby?"
Erin's gaze softened.
"Ah, just to the left there."
She signalled to where it was. I nodded gratefully and dashed off.
When inside, i washed my hands with cold water and then splashed my face with the same. I tried to talk to myself rationally.
Torchwood always did illegal stuff, so this particular illegal task shouldn't put me so on edge. I inhaled sharply and looked at myself in the mirror, adjusting my collar, before walking out again.
Back in Erin's office, I noticed she had pulled another chair over to her desk so I could sit nearby to talk. She sat at the chair behind the desk, legs crossed, steaming mug of tea cradled by her chest.
"So..."
Erin began, almost as though it pained her to say it.
"Is Jack okay? I got an unusual text from him at a bizarre hour, and now you're here."
I took a sip of my tea, again internally cursing Jack for making me do this.
"Well... a body was found this morning."
Erin's eyes, previously wide and engaged, immediately lost their sparkle. Her eyebrows drooped. It was as though she was trying her very best to not have any form of reaction. She inhaled deeply.
"I'm very sorry to hear that but... are they sure it's him?"
I cleared my throat.
"Police checked his house this morning..."
I shook my head sympathetically. Erin nodded slowly, eyes fixed on the table.
"They need me to identify the body, is that it?"
I fixed my tie, feeling extreme discomfort now.
"Yes. He doesn't have any close friends or family, so... You were the closest person to him."
Erin shook her head slowly and ran her fingers through her curly hair. She sat in silence and took a sip of her tea.
"Sorry, I just need a moment to process this."
I gave her a lopsided smile, doing my best to be empathetic towards a person grieving over someone who wasn't actually dead. Erin sat, drinking her tea, and I followed suit. The news hung, suspended in the air, the room so thick with a tangible sadness that you could almost reach out and touch it.
I drained my tea and placed it gently down on the table. Despite myself, I found myself yawning - the early morning was getting to me. Erin's head seemed to jolt up from where her eyes had previously been fixed on the ground. It was then that I realised she was looking at me. I knew it was rude to yawn in this kind of situation, but I didn't think it would garner this response. Erin's upper lip twitched and in a moment of panic, I thought she would start crying. But- no, that wasn't an upset lip twitch. She seemed... happy? Amused?
I checked frantically to see if I had spilled anything on myself, but no, nothing was there. I eventually shot Erin a confused look.
"Is something wrong?"
A smile crept onto Erin's face and I started to feel a sense of dread in the bottom of my belly.
"How do you feel?"
My eyes widened.
"Wh- what do you mean..?"
She frowned and shrugged.
"Nothing much. How was the tea?"
It slowly started to dawn on me what was happening.
"... did you swap the mugs?"
Erin's eyes widened, as did the smirk on her face. I wasn't loving where this was going. Had Jack sent me to a psycho shrink?
"So you did put something in my tea - I knew it!"
She gasped, standing up abruptly.
"Wh- how did you know?"
"The cameras."
"What? Jack disabled the cameras in this room - actually, in the building - just an hour ago."
She raised a brow.
"And you think that isn't suspicious?"
Her point, in fairness, was valid and I couldn't fault it. Before I could speak again, she started talking again.
"Also, I knew Jack couldn't be dead."
My eyes widened. How did she know he couldn't die? My eyes narrowed.
"How did you know that?"
"Well,"
She began,
"You said he was dead, but you also just told me he managed to disable the cameras an hour ago. Now tell me what the fuck is going on."
I could at least sigh a breath of relief that she didn't know anything too crazy. However, I was quite worried about whatever it was she planned on doing to me.
I stumbled clumsily backwards towards the couch, stealthily pulling my phone out behind my back so Erin couldn't see, and dialled Jack's number.
"I would love to tell you, Ms. Evans."
I drawled as I managed to drag myself to the couch, collapsing onto it.
"But the unfortunate thing with Retcon is, it works fast."
I slurred before I felt the world go black.