Title: The Glen Fiddich Blues
Author: protoplasmica
Pairing: gen
Characters: martha, jack, ianto
Rating: G
Summary: Angst.

***

"Glenfiddich on the rocks with a twist of lime," Martha's voice doesn't tremble, despite the faraway expression in her eyes. "On second thoughts," Her shoulders slump as she slides a hand into her back pocket to retrieve a crumpled fifty, "Make it a bottle."

"You should go home." Jack can see Martha's face fall just a bit then. It isn't obvious and if he wasn't scrutinising her reaction he wouldn't have noticed; but Martha's mouth does twitch downward for a millisecond or two, and her eyes are definitely brighter. "This isn't right."

"This," She licks her chapped lips, "Is all I have left."

That, Jack muses, isn't true. Martha Jones may have sacrificed her family and the Doctor to save the world but she is definitely not alone; Jack won't allow it.

--

Ianto watches them carefully from the Tourist Office'a tiny black woman and a man wearing an RAF greatcoat, their arms interlinked, as they sing New York New York at the top of their voices. They make no move toward the Tourist Office, dancing past it as smoothly as though it were made of perception filters; and almost without meaning to Ianto reaches under his desk.

Glenfiddich was not Ianto's first choice, or even his second, but the off-license across the road seemed to have that particular brand stocked in abundance'and after a careful whiff Ianto swallows a quarter of the bottle in one go.

Perhaps he should have gone to the Himalayas with the others after all.

***