Out of Place Chapter 6

[galadriel1010]

Jack stamped on the brakes and pushed the door open, rushing around to the boot and pulling it open to get out the containment box. “Any further instructions before I go in there Jazz?”

“Nothing new, readings are fairly consistent and the CCTV’s not showing any activity. Good luck Jack.”

“Thanks.” He pulled the box out and checked it, then turned to the street. “I won’t be long.”

“Hey.” Ianto stopped him with a hand on his arm and leant close to kiss him gently, “Be careful, OK.”

Jack pulled him closer for just a moment, holding on to that reassurance, “Always.” He kissed him once more and turned away, pulling out his gun with one hand and carrying the box with the other, “Let’s do this.”

The two mortals watched him go nervously and waited on his call. Ianto shivered and turned up the collar of his coat, trying to pretend that it was the cold that had him shaking and on edge. Unsurprisingly, John didn’t buy it and laid a hand gently on his arm, “You OK?”

The Welshman shook his head but smiled, “It never gets any easier, watching him go off into danger and having to stay behind. What wouldn’t I give for a normal life?”

“Well?” John leaned on a lamppost and watched him carefully, “What wouldn’t you give? What’s the one thing you couldn’t live without?”

Ianto smiled at the floor as he leant on the SUV, “You don’t half ask stupid questions.” He sighed, “Point taken though.”

“I wasn’t trying to make a point.” John smiled, “Just wondering. I guess it was a stupid question though, the way you look at him.”

Silence fell between them for a moment until Ianto broke it, “Are you ever jealous?”

“Hell yeah.” John chuckled, “Who wouldn’t be? He’s drop dead gorgeous and looks at you like you’re the only other person in the world, like he can’t quite believe that you’re his.” He grew suddenly serious, “But would I change our positions? Not for a second. A) I like you too much to do that to you. B) I have Zee, and I wouldn’t change that for the world. C) I couldn’t put up with him, I don’t know how you do it.” He grinned, “Do you ever wonder how it happened?”

“Every day. Every single day.” The young Welshman confessed with a soft smile.

“Jaaaay.” Jack’s drawl was even more drawn out than usual, into an almost petulant whine, “You had me all worried there for a moment.”

The responding laugh was girly and relieved, “It’s not dangerous then?”

“Not very, come on you two, it’s safe to come out.”

Ianto and John shared a secret look as they strolled idly around the corner, although his casual demeanour did nothing to hide Ianto’s intense relief, especially as he hurried straight into Jack’s arms as soon as he was in sight. “Heya baby, didya miss me?”

“I was only around the corner.”

“Hah, flattered.” Jack wrapped a single arm around Ianto’s waist and gestured at the floor, pulling out his phone and taking a photo to send to Jasmine, “You know when you checked for biological visitors, how come you missed this one?”

There was silence for a moment, then a sigh, “Well OK, I checked for life signs, not that there’s any other way to scan for biological. How did he die?”

“You’re the CSI.” He pointed out with a smirk

“Yes, but I’m in the wrong country, wrong continent even.”

“True enough.” He let go of Ianto reluctantly and bent closer to check the body, quickly identifying the cause of death, “Whoa, OK, so he died because he’s very bad at surfing.”

“Surfing?”

“Yeah, surfing, what does that look like to you?” He sent her a photo and laughed at her reaction

“Is that a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator?”

He bellowed with laughter and clapped, “Couldn’t have put it better myself. Yeah, so basically he was out surfing.”

“Caribbean Galaxies?”

“Entirely possible. God that was a long time ago.” He shook his head, “We’re having a Shrek marathon tonight Yan. But yeah, out surfing, caught a burst he couldn’t handle, got sucked into the rift.”

“Dead before he got here.” John finished, “God I’m glad we were good.”

“Hell yeah, although I do remember some… unexpected deviations from our intended route.”

“Hell yeah, they were fun.”

“Erm… hello, gentlemen, the present please?” Jay sighed at them down the line, “You need my help anymore? Cos I gotta go put some clothes on.”

“We’re good Jay, we’ve got it from here.” Jack sighed, “Just got to get him into the freezer and his surfboard into the archive.”

“Jack…”

“No.” He mock-glared at his ex-partner, “No, you’re not having a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator for Christmas darling. Get that thing in the boot, we’ll deal… On second thoughts; Ianto, can you deal with the board, we’ll do the body.”

“Got it Jack.” They cleared up quickly and were gone before Andy got there, waving to him as the disappeared. John even blew the frustrated PC a kiss, chuckling as they pulled away. Ianto caught a glimpse of him in the rear view mirror and groaned, “Do you ever stop?”

John stared in mock horror, “My girlfriend’s in America, I’m sexually frustrated. Would you rather I flirted with your fiancé?”

“Quite frankly, yes, it’s more entertaining and I won’t get an earful from him this evening.”

Silence greeted this announcement, until Jack grinned broadly, “So John, whilst Ianto’s busy getting an earful from Andy, how about it?”

“Hey.” Ianto slapped his thigh, leaving his hand there and stroking gently, which made Jack’s driving even more interesting than usual, “I said he could flirt with you, not the other way around.”

“I love it when he gets possessive.”

“Well once I’ve finished getting an earful from Andy, you, me… chocolate?” He laughed as Jack swerved left slightly, “OK, let’s finish this conversation once you’ve parked up.”

“Sounds like a good idea.” Jack gulped, moving Ianto’s hand slightly to make concentration easier, “But the best part is definitely resuming the conversation.”

“Agreed.”

---

Jasmine, Greg and Nick wandered into the break room laughing together and drawing subtle glances from members of their team. Some people knew there was something going on between Greg and Nick and were wondering at the fact that this was the first time they’d arrived together, some thought there was something going on between Jasmine and one of the guys and they were very confused at the three of them arriving together. Others, like Grissom, were completely oblivious, “Commander Donovan, I understand your case has stalled for the moment?”

She sighed, “Call me Jazz Doctor, I feel ancient when people call me Commander, and yeah. It has, nothing we can do on it for the moment.”

“Can I have my CSIs back then?”

“Sure, and you’ve got another one if you want me.”

He looked at her intently, “Do you have the training?”

“Sure I do. Forensics and criminology from Stanford, and forensic science from Glamorgan. Trained with Scotland Yard, served with NYPD, but that was for all of three weeks before I packed my bags and moved back to the UK.” She shrugged, “Sure, my specialty’s in cases without evidence or courts, but I’m more than capable.”

He continued to look at her slightly askance, “You look seventeen.”

“I know, it’s a curse, I can’t get served anywhere. So how about it?”

He shrugged, “You’re in, I’ll put you on the case with these two.” He moved away before they could respond and left them staring after him in amusement

“OK folks, this is Jasmine Donovan. She’s a bit strange.” They stared at him openly, “She’s joining us for a while, and she’ll be working with Greg and Nick, so you three have a double at a club on the strip. Catherine you’re got a B&E. Riley, you’re on a hit and run, and Doctor Langston you’ve got a home invasion. Vegas is reasonably quiet for once.”

“Nice.” Catherine stood up, “I’m not going to complain.”

“Me either.” Nick stood up and offered his hand to Jazz, who took it with a laugh and let him pull her up, “Let’s clean these streets up.”

---

Jazz was good, everyone had to admit it. She was thorough, patient, prepared to take calculated risks and never complained about being sent dumpster diving. Well, not much anyway. She sat now with Catherine in the break room, going over a case they were working together. The older woman found the apparently younger one a complete mystery, which was aggravated by her constant answers of ‘classified’. It was getting to her after two weeks. “So, Jasmine, what really brings you to Vegas?”

“You know I can’t tell you that Catherine.” She sighed and closed the folder, running a hand through her hair tiredly, “My work’s normally top secret; it’s nice to be doing a job I can talk about with someone other than my co-workers and my boyfriend. Not that I have anyone else to share it with.”

“No parents, friends?” Catherine asked in surprise

“Parents died in… In gang warfare when I was thirteen. Sister tried to kill me in retaliation for their deaths a few years ago, not many people have survived doing that.”

“You killed your own sister?”

“No, my extremely defensive boyfriend did. I was lucky to get out alive.” She rested her head in her hands and smiled gratefully when Catherine touched her shoulder gently, “And as for friends, my hours are worse than yours. What’s the most you’ve had to pull, a triple?”

“Yeah, done a few triples in my time though.”

Jazz chuckled, “My longest was a week with two hours of sleep. I don’t meet people outside work, which is why I relish the chance to get away and do stuff like this.”

“I’ll bet, so a triple homicide is reasonably easy for you.”

“Hell yeah. Heya baby, how’s things going?” She looked up at Greg as he walked in and made himself a coffee, chuckling all the way

“Very well actually.”

“You got him?”

“We got him. Easy, he trapped his thumb in the lid of his pen.” They looked confused, “In the victim’s apartment. Where he said he’d never been. Fessed up quickly.”

“Nice one.” Jazz laughed and grabbed his coffee mug, breathing deeply before taking a sip, “Nice stuff.”

“I know that.” He glared at her and took the mug back, “And you wonder why people think we’re together?”

“No, I don’t actually. I know exactly why they think that, it’s a carefully constructed impression.”

“And no one who knows Greg very well thinks it, we all know he’s with Nick.” Catherine stared at them both, “But why pretend you two are together? Or that you’re with Nick, which I’ve seen you do?”

“Because I’m bored and I know they can take it.” Jazz laughed, “I left my boyfriend in London, he’s now in Cardiff and I speak to him twice a day by video conferencing. These two are great fun.”

“And how, how did you know?” Greg asked with evident discomfort as he sat down next to Jazz, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and letting her curl against him happily

“OK, that’s a bit weird.” Catherine shook her head, “I’ve known for years. You don’t know how hard I pestered him to make a move before he did.”

“He didn’t, I did.”

“Then you probably know what I’m talking about. There’s a few know, but we’d never tell anyone.”

“Tell anyone what?” Grissom asked as he came into the break room

“Well that would defeat the object or not telling anyone, wouldn’t it?” Jazz asked with a laugh, “Hey Nick.” The CSI had followed Grissom in

“I guess it would, Jasmine, Liberty Towers sent a message, they want you and your two. Whatever your two is.”

She bolted upright and grabbed her bag, pulling out her blackberry and navigating through it, “Shit. Greg, Nick, you’re with me. We’ve got a triple, two of which are distinctly hinkey, one more than the other.” She slung her bag over her shoulder and checked the contents, alarming them when she pulled out a gun and checked it, “Let’s go.”

“Pardon?” Grissom looked astonished, “And no guns in the lab.”

“No phones in the call centre, I know.” She skirted past him and paused in the doorway, “This is why I’m here Doctor Grissom, remember?”

“And you need two of my CSIs why?”

“I have three dead bodies, why do you think?”

“Fair point, good luck.”