InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "SPLADAOW!"

Ianto Jones (notjusta_teaboy) wrote,
@ 2008-07-29 23:33:00

Current mood:

worried

Welcome My Son, Welcome to the Machine
He hasn't really been avoiding Caprica the last few days. At least not consciously. Not to the extent that it looks like anything other than him being a bit busier than he usually is. Except he's not. Just, after hearing what she had to say at the Cafe, he needs some time to process everything. It sounds too much like the Cybermen. Too much like Lisa. And if he said something right then, he was sure to regret it. He knows Caprica, she's his friend. He's not going to turn against her, hate her automatically, just because of something like that. But still, he needs...time. And he's had it, now. No sense in waiting any longer.

He catches Caprica as she's getting ready to leave at the end of the day. "Caprica. Can I talk to you?"

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numbersix
2008-07-29 11:56 pm UTC (link)

Caprica has gone through her workdays with some awkwardness and uncertainty. She's sure that Ianto listened to what she said in the café, but with how busy he's been, she hasn't had a chance to ask him how he feels about it. She supposes, though, that if there was a problem, she wouldn't be allowed in to work, would she?

When he calls out to her, she offers him a polite smile, though she's feeling jittery. "Of course, Ianto."

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	notjusta_teaboy 2008-07-30 12:00 am UTC (link)
	He considers talking to her in his office, but that just feels...wrong. This isn't about the business; Caprica is a good worker and he's glad to have her here. He leads her through to the living room, quiet and private. "Can I get you something to drink?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	numbersix 2008-07-30 12:06 am UTC (link)
	Caprica looks around them as they walk; she hasn't been in here too many times. Ph`dre. Little other reason to. "Just some water would be fine, thank you." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notjusta_teaboy 2008-07-30 12:08 am UTC (link)
	He nods a bit. "All right. I'll just be a minute. Please, make yourself comfortable." He heads off to the kitchen and returns shortly with two glasses, handing one of them to Caprica. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	numbersix 2008-07-30 12:10 am UTC (link)
	She accepts the offered glass and holds it between both hands, not drinking it quite yet. "Thank you." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notjusta_teaboy 2008-07-30 12:20 am UTC (link)
	He stands there, feeling a bit awkward, hands clenched around his own glass. "Please, sit." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	numbersix 2008-07-30 12:21 am UTC (link)
	She nods and takes a seat on the sofa, then lifts her water up for a careful sip, not wanting to accidentally shake it or otherwise spill it. "What did you want to talk about?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

notjusta_teaboy
2008-07-30 12:26 am UTC (link)

He sits down on the sofa as well, hands still holding the glass tightly, not drinking any of his water. "Just...I know things have changed a lot around here recently. Phedre leaving, Jack moving in, having the puppies here. Wanted to make sure you were okay, not feeling that it interferes with work or anything." All right, not the main reason, but still, something he's been wondering about.

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	numbersix 2008-07-30 12:32 am UTC (link)
	"I don't think it's affecting the work I do. Phèdre was never exactly involved in my work. She helped me adapt to techniques here, but by the time I was ready for clients..." She grips her glass a bit tighter. "I haven't had any difficulties with Jack. And... I hope you don't need any assistance with those puppies, because I'm, ah, not good with small animals." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notjusta_teaboy 2008-07-30 12:39 am UTC (link)
	"Ah, um, no, thank you. Jack and Alex and I have got it under control. And if anything or anyone is bothering you, or keeping you from doing your job, just let me know. And you do your job wonderfully, I don't think I tell you that enough." He takes a deep breath; he's been stalling long enough. "I also wanted to talk to you about what you said in the cafe." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	numbersix 2008-07-30 12:44 am UTC (link)
	"I will if anything does, thank you. It's been very positive. And I appreciate hearing that, thank you." She swallows hard and keeps looking into her water. This could go badly, or it could be a gesture of acceptance; she has no idea which it will be. She lied to him. "All right." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notjusta_teaboy 2008-07-30 12:48 am UTC (link)
	"You're welcome." He takes a deep breath, unable to feel angry or frightened or any of the things he had felt back at the cafe. "I didn't say anything there because I didn't want to say anything I'd end up regretting. I wanted to give myself time." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	numbersix 2008-07-30 12:51 am UTC (link)
	That definitely doesn't sound like he would've had something positive and supportive to say, if he worried he might regret it. She nods slowly. "And now that you've had time?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

notjusta_teaboy
2008-07-30 01:03 am UTC (link)

He shivers a bit. He hasn't told many people this, but Caprica is a friend, a good friend, and she needs to know where he's coming from, even if it does mean revealing something deeply personal about himself. "For a few years, I worked for the London branch of Torchwood, before moving back to Cardiff. And we were invaded by creatures from another dimension, calling themselves Cybermen. A robotic race, created by humans, for human benefit, but who had rebelled against them. There was a terrible battle, almost no survivors. People were killed, or turned into Cybermen themselves. My girlfriend Lisa was one of them, but she wasn't turned completely. I tried to save her, help her. But she was too far gone. She took over our Hub in Cardiff, trying to turn into the base of operations for a new Cyber invasion. Almost killed me, almost killed Jack." She had killed Jack, but that's not for Caprica to know. "And just, hearing you say what you said..." He trails off, not really sure how to finish that sentence.

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numbersix
2008-07-30 01:14 am UTC (link)

She listens silently to him, growing sympathy and pain in her eyes. "... It made you think of that. Wonder if as a Cylon, I'm like these... Cybermen were."

It's a very unhelpful time for Gaius to offer her a comment, "Hmmm, I wonder where he could possibly see the similarities? Cybermen, Cylon, rebellion and desired destruction of the human race, rebellion and-- oooh, I do believe that's a match. Your people weren't turning them into Cylons, but it's not much better, is it?"

She draws in a deep breath and doesn't respond to it, looking up to Ianto instead. "I'm not sure how to reassure you that I'm not one of these 'Cybermen.' But I'm... I'm sorry for what you experienced. What happened to your girlfriend. That's terrible."

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notjusta_teaboy
2008-07-30 01:31 am UTC (link)

It's the expression on her face, more than anything, that reassures him. No Cyberman ever felt pity, or compassion, or pain. "It did. Make me wonder that."

He takes a sip of water, more to cover his trembling than anything else. "I know you, Caprica. You're my friend. And I see you, I know you're not like that. You feel, you hurt, you have sympathy and compassion. I don't want to think of you like I think of them."

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numbersix
2008-07-30 01:38 am UTC (link)

She sets her water down, feeling her hands shake too much to keep it steady, and then clasps her hands together to try to settle them. Her voice is quiet and a little strained with suppressed emotion. "Thank you, Ianto. I really... I appreciate that you think that, thank you."

"But you haven't told him the full story, of course. Not like you told the Doctor. But he knows what it's like to sentence billions to death. I don't think your boss does."

She draws a shaking breath. "You're my friend, too. And I'm sorry I lied to you before. I thought it was necessary. I've... lied to humans before. Done things I can never make up for. But I know I've grown since then. I wouldn't make the same decisions."

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notjusta_teaboy
2008-07-30 01:44 am UTC (link)

He sets his water down as well, reaching out a hand, trembling slightly, to rest on top of Caprica's. "You're welcome."

"It's...understandable. I lied too. Kept things hidden. When I took Lisa from London, back to Cardiff, I kept her hidden in the Hub, kept her a secret from the rest of my team. Because I had to try and save her, and I knew they would try to destroy her. It was stupid, and dangerous, and nearly cost countless lives. You were just protecting yourself, I can't fault you for that."

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numbersix
2008-07-30 01:57 am UTC (link)

She turns her hand over to squeeze his briefly.

"Love can make us protect people that others think we shouldn't-- and perhaps they're right sometimes. I know what that's like. I... I fell in love, with a human man. At first it wasn't that. I was using him for my people's plans. For vengeance."

As she speaks, her words start to rush, letting out more and more and not knowing where to stop herself.

"But I realized that I'd fallen in love with him along the way and I've never been able to let go of that. It changed me. Maybe in a way it humanized me, because-- some of my own people think there's something wrong with me for it. Like I was defective. I don't think of us as machines, but some of the models do, and they wanted to treat me like a defective machine. Isolate my memory and put it in cold storage, because it would be dangerous if I influenced others, showed them that we can grow to love humans instead of wanting to punish them, that what we'd done was wrong. God is love, and that's how we should live, not what we'd been doing. I tried to show them that. I failed. I told you I was in prison before this, presented the humans as some other society we were at war with, instead of our makers."

She looks down to their hands and her voice falls quieter. "I don't know what to think of myself as any more."

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	notjusta_teaboy 2008-07-30 02:05 am UTC (link)
	He returns the squeeze, keeping his hand resting on hers. He listens quietly as Caprica speaks. "Love is wonderful. And terrifying, sometimes. But it's not a mistake. You're not defective, and you're certainly not wrong." He gives her hand another little squeeze. "You're Caprica. You're you. That's all you need to be." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	numbersix 2008-07-30 02:10 am UTC (link)
	The kindness in his expression and voice, what he says, makes her eyes well slightly, but her smile is genuine. "Thank you, Ianto. Maybe whoever I am, I can be more of that here, away from that conflict." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notjusta_teaboy 2008-07-30 02:14 am UTC (link)
	He smiles warmly at her, noticing the wetness in her eyes, and willing, more than willing, to be here if she needs to let something out. "You're welcome. And I hope you get that chance. You're a wonderful person, Caprica, and maybe now, more people will see it." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	numbersix 2008-07-30 02:21 am UTC (link)
	The smile is so kind, and the Doctor-- the Doctor before-- he had believed well of her even after what she revealed to him. But then he could relate to it, so how could he judge her for it? She chokes up a bit and clears her throat. "You're a better person than I am. I hope I can be more like that." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notjusta_teaboy 2008-07-30 02:31 am UTC (link)
	He smiles softly, stroking his thumb over the back of her hand. "You are, Caprica. Really. And I'm here for you, if you need anything." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	numbersix 2008-07-30 02:53 am UTC (link)
	She gives his hand another brief squeeze before she releases it to pick up her glass of water. "I'll keep that in mind. I think I have some thinking to do. Thank you." She sips her water and settles back against the sofa. "Did you have any, ah, questions? Q certainly had a lot of them." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)