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moon_blitzTitle: Maple Leaf Fever
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Gwen, Tosh and Owen
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Beta:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jaune_chat
Summary: Jack takes the team on a vacation to Canada, but they take an unexpected detour while there.
Author's Note: Written formerryghoul for the the 2012 ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
vacationthon exchange. Many thanks to jaune_chat for being a wonderful and very patient beta.
Chapter 1
“I thought a vacation was going to London for a few days. Or Scotland. Or even Ireland. So remind me again why we’re going to Canada to supposedly ‘take a little break’?”
Jack glanced in the review mirror and grinned as he saw Owen glaring at him. Clearly the jet lag was getting to the doctor. “Because it’s different. C’mon, how many of you have been to this country before now?” There was silence from his team. “See? Thousands of Canadians come to Britain for a vacation each year, so I figured some of us could return the favour.”
“Hold on, you’re not one of ‘us’; you’re an American. And have probably been here before. That argument only applies to myself, Gwen, Ianto, and Tosh,” Owen objected loudly. “And why are we going as a team, anyway? Vacations are things people usually do by themselves, anyway.”
“Uh….because it’s cheaper this way?” the man said, inwardly wincing at his answer. In reality, he wanted to make it up to the team for abandoning them by having a vacation together and perhaps bond a little, but he wasn’t about to admit that. Besides, the Rift was stable, and they all needed a break.
“Cheaper? Yes, you’re big on the cheap stuff, what with an underground base filled with state-of-the-art equipment,” Owen replied sarcastically. “How much is our power bill again? Oh, that’s right, I forgot. The government pays for it, or so you say. I’m sure Parliament just loves us, right? Since we’re doing such a wonderful job protecting Cardiff and all.”
“Boys, can we try not to fight until we get to the cabin?” Gwen cut in, sounding like she was trying not to laugh. Tosh was smiling in the passenger seat beside him, and Ianto was doing the same in the back.
“But he started it!” Jack responded playfully, getting a groan from Owen. “Alright, alright, I’ll behave. But for the record, I consider myself British due to have lived there for so long.”
“That raises an interesting point of what any given person considers themselves to be if they are living in another country, actually,” Tosh began, and Jack chuckled at her rapid change of subject. He was sure the ensuing debate would take up much of the time it took to drive out to their cabin.
- - -
“This is a log cabin?” Ianto asked, looking skeptical as he stared at the massive house before them. Jack nodded silently as he took in the two-story building, eying the large windows and impressive deck stretching off one end. Now he knew why the rental fee had cost so much - the place was more like a mansion loosely based off of a log cabin than a true log cabin.
“Well, it is made of wood, so I guess it technically qualifies as one,” Tosh replied, sounding just as surprised. Turning away to help with the luggage, Jack caught Ianto’s eye and raised an eyebrow. A place as luxurious as this had to have great bedrooms, right? His lover smiled faintly as he realized what Jack was thinking and nodded back in agreement. They were certainly going to share a room, never mind what it said on the rental agreement.
Unlocking the front door a moment later, the man nudged it open and whistled as he saw the interior. It was big, it was roomy and it definitely justified the rental cost. Jack smiled as he continued to examine their home away from home. “I like it!”
“Yeah, me too. The wood paneling is elegant, yet rustic. Good choice, Jack,” Gwen said, slipping past him to drop her bags by the foot the stairs.
“I didn’t realize you were a interior decorator expert,” he said, looking at her in surprise. He hadn’t even noticed the wood paneling that much, being more focused on the overall look of the place.
“Oh, I’m not. Definitely not. Rhys has been thinking about doing some remodeling, so I’ve been doing some research,” she replied, giving him a smirk. “It’s kinda fun, once you get into it.”
“Not bad, for the middle of nowhere,” Owen commented as he entered with his own luggage. Jack glanced at him as saw that he looked mildly impressed with the place.
“We’re not in the middle of nowhere, we’re just a little ways into the woods,” Tosh corrected as Jack stepped outside again to see if Ianto needed help with the rest of their things. For five people on a two-week vacation, it seemed like they had brought enough luggage to support a small army for a month.
“Fine. Because being in the woods doesn’t equal the middle of nowhere. It’s not like we could get lost or anything,” Owen countered, but Jack could tell by his tone that he wasn’t about to start a fight.
Taking the two backpacks Ianto handed him with a smile, the man made sure no one was watching and give his lover a quick kiss on the cheek. “Nice place, huh?”
“Very nice. Even if it is in the middle of the woods,” Ianto said, returning the smile as they walked up the front steps together. Clearly he had caught Owen’s comment.
“Sorry, all the places by the nearby lake were full. I could have booked something farther away, but you didn’t want to spend all day in a car, did you?” Jack asked, setting the packs down and stretching. The drive, combined with the flight from Cardiff, had left him a bit stiff as it was.
“Nope, not me! This is a great spot, and I know we’ll have a blast here!” Gwen answered with a smile, and he smiled fondly at her. She had been looking forward to coming the most, and he hoped that what she had seen so far hadn’t been disappointing.
“Alright, lets go settle in and relax a little,” Jack said, grinning at his team. “This is a vacation after all, and I’m ready to enjoy it.”
“Finally, something we can agree on,” Owen replied, picking up his bags and heading up the stairs as the rest of them chuckled in amusement.
- - -
“Good morning,” Ianto murmured softly as Jack stretched sleepily and snuggled up to him.
“Mornin’,” he mumbled back, grateful for the chance to relax with his lover. They had indeed shared a room, and made good use of the large bed that was in it. The rest of the team hadn’t heard a thing, thanks to the thick walls. At least, he hoped they hadn’t heard anything.
“Coffee’s on downstairs,” Ianto said some time later, rousing the man from a light doze.
Jack yawned and cracked open an eye, giving his lover a critical look. Was he unaffected by jet lag or something? “This is a vacation. That means sleeping in. So. Sleep. In.”
“I did!” Ianto responded, dropping a kiss onto Jack’s forehead. “I slept in until nine-thirty, then I got up and made some coffee and tea for everyone.” He paused, then added with a smile, “I wore a bathrobe, don’t worry.”
Jack gave him a playful poke in the ribs at that, then rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. “What time is it, anyway?” His watch was on the bedside table, which was on the other side of Ianto, and he was too lazy to reach across and grab it.
“Uh…just past ten. But I think only Tosh and us are up so far.”
“Oh, but we’re not up yet.” Jack smirked as he propped himself up on an elbow and leaned over to kiss Ianto. “And we’re not getting up for a while, am I right?”
“Yes. Yes you are.” Ianto replied, sliding a hand around the back of his head as they kissed again. Ah, the joys of being on vacation.
- - -
“Please tell me they have decent food here,” Owen said as he came down the stairs, looking only somewhat refreshed from his night’s sleep.
“Don’t worry, the fridge is full of food. There’s plenty for you to eat,” Gwen answered, looking up from her cup of tea to smile at him. “And good morning to you too.”
“What, you mean you didn’t manage to empty the cupboard yet? And here I though I’d have to go shopping just to have breakfast,” Owen said as he poured himself a cup of coffee. He took a long drink, then turned around and looked at them. “I take it you haven’t eaten, then?”
“Nope. We just got up ourselves, actually. I wanted to wake up a little before I tried to cook anything,” Jack replied, and Gwen made a sound of agreement.
“Cook?” Owen focused fully on him and raised an eyebrow. “You’re actually gonna cook breakfast for us?”
“Yep. I can cook, you know.” And he was a pretty good cook too, if truth be told. Granted, he didn’t cook that often, but he didn’t mind doing so for his team. It wasn’t like they were going to get room service here. Unlike in Barcelona, where the team had gone for their last real vacation. What a trip that had been. Having to deal with a small army of fire-breathing flying snake aliens hadn’t been how he had imagined the trip going.
“Yeah, but will you kill us all in the process like you nearly did in London?” Owen asked with a dark smile, settling down in the chair across the table from him.
“Don’t worry. If I poison someone, it won’t be by accident,” Jack joked back, getting a smirk from the doctor. Owen, himself and Tosh had gone for a quick trip to London, whereupon he had accidentally mixed two similar ingredients while trying out an exotic dish. Luckily, they were all fine, but he was going to be extra careful if he ever tried that dish again.
“I can cook, if you want,” Gwen offered, rising to get a fresh cup of tea.
“As can I,” Tosh called from the lounge area at the other end of the room, and Owen leaned sideways around Jack to look at her.
“You’re a scientist, so of course you can cook,” he called back sarcastically, then added, “And what are you doing in there, anyway?”
“Checking the internet for unusual occurrences that may have taken place around here recently,” she answered, and Owen settled back in his seat and looked at Jack.
“Bloody hell. You’re not going to make us work on our vacation, are you?”
“Not unless there’s something you really want to look into. Or an alien invasion happens,” Jack responded.
“Given our luck, one will happen and we’ll be forced to deal with it,” Ianto said as he came down from upstairs, looking far more sexy in casual wear than he should.
“God, I hope not. Two weeks of peace, that’s all I want right now,” Owen mumbled into his coffee and Jack chuckled in agreement. Some peace and quiet would be wonderful for all of them.
“So now that we're all up, what's for breakfast?” Gwen asked as she returned to her seat and looked at Jack curiously. “Because now I’m really interested in seeing what you can do in the kitchen.”
“Well…I was planning on making pancakes, but if you guys want something else, I will happily make that,” he said, giving Ianto a brief smile by way of greeting as he waited for a response from the others.
“I like pancakes,” Tosh answered from behind him, and Jack turned to see that she had come into the kitchen area, laptop tucked under her arm. Noticing his look, she smiled and added, “There seems to be nothing out of the ordinary, so we should be fine.”
“The universe is actually going to let us relax for once? Unbelievable. And yeah, I can live with pancakes. Just don’t add any extra ingredients this time, yeah?” Owen said, smothering a yawn as he went for more coffee.
“Sounds good to me.”
“I agree fully.”
Jack grinned at Gwen and Ianto, pleased that they were ok with the breakfast choice. “Regular pancakes it is! Gwen, you checked out the food situation last night. How much maple syrup do we have?”
“Loads. And it’s the real stuff too, not the flavoured-water kind we get back home,” she replied, and a murmur of appreciation went through the team. Jack had tasted the real deal before, but he bet that most of the others hadn’t, which was partly why he had decided on pancakes.
“Real maple syrup and enough bacon to feed a small army. Both in a huge log cabin in the middle of the woods. Why am I not surprised?” Owen muttered as he moved into the lounge area, steaming cup of coffee in hand.
“Because it’s Canada and they know that some tourists only know the stereotypes, three of which are bacon, maple syrup and log cabins?” Tosh answered cheekily as Jack rose and began assembling ingredients. Real pancakes would take longer, but were worth the effort.
“Need a hand?” Ianto asked, leaning against the counter as Jack looked over the recipe he had brought.
“Nope, I’ve got this. Go sit down and enjoy yourself,” he replied, giving his lover a quick smile.
Ianto returned it and nodded. “If you need a hand, call me in.”
“Yeah, yeah, I will. Now shoo!”
- - -
Jack sighed in pleasure and tipped his face up towards the morning sun. They were three days into their vacation, and things were progressing very nicely. Everyone was settling into their own routine, whether it be shopping in the nearby town, lounging around all day, or hiking the local trails and such. Even the weather was cooperating, even if it was a little bit cooler than what he had hoped for.
“Good morning, Jack.” The man turned slightly at Tosh’s voice, returning her smile as she stepped out onto the deck and settled in the chair beside him.
“And what a lovely morning it is,” he observed, looking out at the forest around them. Aside from some local birds, he hadn’t seen much in the way of wildlife yet, but he hadn’t really gone exploring like Ianto had. Hopefully the activity he had planned would change that, though. Glancing at Tosh, he saw that he was also enjoying the view, and chuckled softly. “It’s certainly not Cardiff, is it?”
“No, but that’s the point, isn’t it? To get away from it all, just for a little while.” She closed her eyes for a moment, soaking in the sun. “It’s nice here. Different, but nice. I’m just surprised we can get a decent wireless connection all the way out here.”
“I figured you guys would riot if I cut you off from civilization completely,” Jack joked, and Tosh smiled at that. “We’re still in the heart of Ontario. If you really wanted to get away, you’d have to go further north. It just seems quiet because of the forest.”
“I guess you’re right. Thanks, Jack. We needed this, even if the others won’t admit to it,” Tosh said softly, and he reached over and squeezed her hand gently. It had been a rough period for his team, having to cope on their own after he vanished like that. But they had managed well, and were stronger because of it. Now he just hoped he could regain their trust.
“You’re welcome, Tosh,” he said simply, knowing that there was really nothing else to say. She smiled at him, and they both returned to enjoying the wonderful morning.Chapter 2
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Gwen, Tosh and Owen
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Beta:
jaune_chat Summary: Jack takes the team on a vacation to Canada, but they take an unexpected detour while there.
Author's Note: Written for
merryghoul for the the 2012 vacationthon exchange. Many thanks to jaune_chat for being a wonderful and very patient beta. “I thought a vacation was going to London for a few days. Or Scotland. Or even Ireland. So remind me again why we’re going to Canada to supposedly ‘take a little break’?”
Jack glanced in the review mirror and grinned as he saw Owen glaring at him. Clearly the jet lag was getting to the doctor. “Because it’s different. C’mon, how many of you have been to this country before now?” There was silence from his team. “See? Thousands of Canadians come to Britain for a vacation each year, so I figured some of us could return the favour.”
“Hold on, you’re not one of ‘us’; you’re an American. And have probably been here before. That argument only applies to myself, Gwen, Ianto, and Tosh,” Owen objected loudly. “And why are we going as a team, anyway? Vacations are things people usually do by themselves, anyway.”
“Uh….because it’s cheaper this way?” the man said, inwardly wincing at his answer. In reality, he wanted to make it up to the team for abandoning them by having a vacation together and perhaps bond a little, but he wasn’t about to admit that. Besides, the Rift was stable, and they all needed a break.
“Cheaper? Yes, you’re big on the cheap stuff, what with an underground base filled with state-of-the-art equipment,” Owen replied sarcastically. “How much is our power bill again? Oh, that’s right, I forgot. The government pays for it, or so you say. I’m sure Parliament just loves us, right? Since we’re doing such a wonderful job protecting Cardiff and all.”
“Boys, can we try not to fight until we get to the cabin?” Gwen cut in, sounding like she was trying not to laugh. Tosh was smiling in the passenger seat beside him, and Ianto was doing the same in the back.
“But he started it!” Jack responded playfully, getting a groan from Owen. “Alright, alright, I’ll behave. But for the record, I consider myself British due to have lived there for so long.”
“That raises an interesting point of what any given person considers themselves to be if they are living in another country, actually,” Tosh began, and Jack chuckled at her rapid change of subject. He was sure the ensuing debate would take up much of the time it took to drive out to their cabin.
“This is a log cabin?” Ianto asked, looking skeptical as he stared at the massive house before them. Jack nodded silently as he took in the two-story building, eying the large windows and impressive deck stretching off one end. Now he knew why the rental fee had cost so much - the place was more like a mansion loosely based off of a log cabin than a true log cabin.
“Well, it is made of wood, so I guess it technically qualifies as one,” Tosh replied, sounding just as surprised. Turning away to help with the luggage, Jack caught Ianto’s eye and raised an eyebrow. A place as luxurious as this had to have great bedrooms, right? His lover smiled faintly as he realized what Jack was thinking and nodded back in agreement. They were certainly going to share a room, never mind what it said on the rental agreement.
Unlocking the front door a moment later, the man nudged it open and whistled as he saw the interior. It was big, it was roomy and it definitely justified the rental cost. Jack smiled as he continued to examine their home away from home. “I like it!”
“Yeah, me too. The wood paneling is elegant, yet rustic. Good choice, Jack,” Gwen said, slipping past him to drop her bags by the foot the stairs.
“I didn’t realize you were a interior decorator expert,” he said, looking at her in surprise. He hadn’t even noticed the wood paneling that much, being more focused on the overall look of the place.
“Oh, I’m not. Definitely not. Rhys has been thinking about doing some remodeling, so I’ve been doing some research,” she replied, giving him a smirk. “It’s kinda fun, once you get into it.”
“Not bad, for the middle of nowhere,” Owen commented as he entered with his own luggage. Jack glanced at him as saw that he looked mildly impressed with the place.
“We’re not in the middle of nowhere, we’re just a little ways into the woods,” Tosh corrected as Jack stepped outside again to see if Ianto needed help with the rest of their things. For five people on a two-week vacation, it seemed like they had brought enough luggage to support a small army for a month.
“Fine. Because being in the woods doesn’t equal the middle of nowhere. It’s not like we could get lost or anything,” Owen countered, but Jack could tell by his tone that he wasn’t about to start a fight.
Taking the two backpacks Ianto handed him with a smile, the man made sure no one was watching and give his lover a quick kiss on the cheek. “Nice place, huh?”
“Very nice. Even if it is in the middle of the woods,” Ianto said, returning the smile as they walked up the front steps together. Clearly he had caught Owen’s comment.
“Sorry, all the places by the nearby lake were full. I could have booked something farther away, but you didn’t want to spend all day in a car, did you?” Jack asked, setting the packs down and stretching. The drive, combined with the flight from Cardiff, had left him a bit stiff as it was.
“Nope, not me! This is a great spot, and I know we’ll have a blast here!” Gwen answered with a smile, and he smiled fondly at her. She had been looking forward to coming the most, and he hoped that what she had seen so far hadn’t been disappointing.
“Alright, lets go settle in and relax a little,” Jack said, grinning at his team. “This is a vacation after all, and I’m ready to enjoy it.”
“Finally, something we can agree on,” Owen replied, picking up his bags and heading up the stairs as the rest of them chuckled in amusement.
“Good morning,” Ianto murmured softly as Jack stretched sleepily and snuggled up to him.
“Mornin’,” he mumbled back, grateful for the chance to relax with his lover. They had indeed shared a room, and made good use of the large bed that was in it. The rest of the team hadn’t heard a thing, thanks to the thick walls. At least, he hoped they hadn’t heard anything.
“Coffee’s on downstairs,” Ianto said some time later, rousing the man from a light doze.
Jack yawned and cracked open an eye, giving his lover a critical look. Was he unaffected by jet lag or something? “This is a vacation. That means sleeping in. So. Sleep. In.”
“I did!” Ianto responded, dropping a kiss onto Jack’s forehead. “I slept in until nine-thirty, then I got up and made some coffee and tea for everyone.” He paused, then added with a smile, “I wore a bathrobe, don’t worry.”
Jack gave him a playful poke in the ribs at that, then rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. “What time is it, anyway?” His watch was on the bedside table, which was on the other side of Ianto, and he was too lazy to reach across and grab it.
“Uh…just past ten. But I think only Tosh and us are up so far.”
“Oh, but we’re not up yet.” Jack smirked as he propped himself up on an elbow and leaned over to kiss Ianto. “And we’re not getting up for a while, am I right?”
“Yes. Yes you are.” Ianto replied, sliding a hand around the back of his head as they kissed again. Ah, the joys of being on vacation.
“Please tell me they have decent food here,” Owen said as he came down the stairs, looking only somewhat refreshed from his night’s sleep.
“Don’t worry, the fridge is full of food. There’s plenty for you to eat,” Gwen answered, looking up from her cup of tea to smile at him. “And good morning to you too.”
“What, you mean you didn’t manage to empty the cupboard yet? And here I though I’d have to go shopping just to have breakfast,” Owen said as he poured himself a cup of coffee. He took a long drink, then turned around and looked at them. “I take it you haven’t eaten, then?”
“Nope. We just got up ourselves, actually. I wanted to wake up a little before I tried to cook anything,” Jack replied, and Gwen made a sound of agreement.
“Cook?” Owen focused fully on him and raised an eyebrow. “You’re actually gonna cook breakfast for us?”
“Yep. I can cook, you know.” And he was a pretty good cook too, if truth be told. Granted, he didn’t cook that often, but he didn’t mind doing so for his team. It wasn’t like they were going to get room service here. Unlike in Barcelona, where the team had gone for their last real vacation. What a trip that had been. Having to deal with a small army of fire-breathing flying snake aliens hadn’t been how he had imagined the trip going.
“Yeah, but will you kill us all in the process like you nearly did in London?” Owen asked with a dark smile, settling down in the chair across the table from him.
“Don’t worry. If I poison someone, it won’t be by accident,” Jack joked back, getting a smirk from the doctor. Owen, himself and Tosh had gone for a quick trip to London, whereupon he had accidentally mixed two similar ingredients while trying out an exotic dish. Luckily, they were all fine, but he was going to be extra careful if he ever tried that dish again.
“I can cook, if you want,” Gwen offered, rising to get a fresh cup of tea.
“As can I,” Tosh called from the lounge area at the other end of the room, and Owen leaned sideways around Jack to look at her.
“You’re a scientist, so of course you can cook,” he called back sarcastically, then added, “And what are you doing in there, anyway?”
“Checking the internet for unusual occurrences that may have taken place around here recently,” she answered, and Owen settled back in his seat and looked at Jack.
“Bloody hell. You’re not going to make us work on our vacation, are you?”
“Not unless there’s something you really want to look into. Or an alien invasion happens,” Jack responded.
“Given our luck, one will happen and we’ll be forced to deal with it,” Ianto said as he came down from upstairs, looking far more sexy in casual wear than he should.
“God, I hope not. Two weeks of peace, that’s all I want right now,” Owen mumbled into his coffee and Jack chuckled in agreement. Some peace and quiet would be wonderful for all of them.
“So now that we're all up, what's for breakfast?” Gwen asked as she returned to her seat and looked at Jack curiously. “Because now I’m really interested in seeing what you can do in the kitchen.”
“Well…I was planning on making pancakes, but if you guys want something else, I will happily make that,” he said, giving Ianto a brief smile by way of greeting as he waited for a response from the others.
“I like pancakes,” Tosh answered from behind him, and Jack turned to see that she had come into the kitchen area, laptop tucked under her arm. Noticing his look, she smiled and added, “There seems to be nothing out of the ordinary, so we should be fine.”
“The universe is actually going to let us relax for once? Unbelievable. And yeah, I can live with pancakes. Just don’t add any extra ingredients this time, yeah?” Owen said, smothering a yawn as he went for more coffee.
“Sounds good to me.”
“I agree fully.”
Jack grinned at Gwen and Ianto, pleased that they were ok with the breakfast choice. “Regular pancakes it is! Gwen, you checked out the food situation last night. How much maple syrup do we have?”
“Loads. And it’s the real stuff too, not the flavoured-water kind we get back home,” she replied, and a murmur of appreciation went through the team. Jack had tasted the real deal before, but he bet that most of the others hadn’t, which was partly why he had decided on pancakes.
“Real maple syrup and enough bacon to feed a small army. Both in a huge log cabin in the middle of the woods. Why am I not surprised?” Owen muttered as he moved into the lounge area, steaming cup of coffee in hand.
“Because it’s Canada and they know that some tourists only know the stereotypes, three of which are bacon, maple syrup and log cabins?” Tosh answered cheekily as Jack rose and began assembling ingredients. Real pancakes would take longer, but were worth the effort.
“Need a hand?” Ianto asked, leaning against the counter as Jack looked over the recipe he had brought.
“Nope, I’ve got this. Go sit down and enjoy yourself,” he replied, giving his lover a quick smile.
Ianto returned it and nodded. “If you need a hand, call me in.”
“Yeah, yeah, I will. Now shoo!”
Jack sighed in pleasure and tipped his face up towards the morning sun. They were three days into their vacation, and things were progressing very nicely. Everyone was settling into their own routine, whether it be shopping in the nearby town, lounging around all day, or hiking the local trails and such. Even the weather was cooperating, even if it was a little bit cooler than what he had hoped for.
“Good morning, Jack.” The man turned slightly at Tosh’s voice, returning her smile as she stepped out onto the deck and settled in the chair beside him.
“And what a lovely morning it is,” he observed, looking out at the forest around them. Aside from some local birds, he hadn’t seen much in the way of wildlife yet, but he hadn’t really gone exploring like Ianto had. Hopefully the activity he had planned would change that, though. Glancing at Tosh, he saw that he was also enjoying the view, and chuckled softly. “It’s certainly not Cardiff, is it?”
“No, but that’s the point, isn’t it? To get away from it all, just for a little while.” She closed her eyes for a moment, soaking in the sun. “It’s nice here. Different, but nice. I’m just surprised we can get a decent wireless connection all the way out here.”
“I figured you guys would riot if I cut you off from civilization completely,” Jack joked, and Tosh smiled at that. “We’re still in the heart of Ontario. If you really wanted to get away, you’d have to go further north. It just seems quiet because of the forest.”
“I guess you’re right. Thanks, Jack. We needed this, even if the others won’t admit to it,” Tosh said softly, and he reached over and squeezed her hand gently. It had been a rough period for his team, having to cope on their own after he vanished like that. But they had managed well, and were stronger because of it. Now he just hoped he could regain their trust.
“You’re welcome, Tosh,” he said simply, knowing that there was really nothing else to say. She smiled at him, and they both returned to enjoying the wonderful morning.
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