Fic: Never Say Never - Chapter 22B
Series Rating: PG-NC17
Characters/Pairings: Jack; Ianto; Doctor (10); OC's; Gwen; Martha; Mickey - Jack/Ianto
Spoilers: Anything from Torchwood S1 & S2 and Doctor Who through S4 is fair game.
Length: 26 chapters, Prologue/Epilogue and various Interludes, it grew again!
Warnings: Slash; Mpreg; Angst; Violence; Mention of past miscarriage; Crossover with Dr. Who
Summary: Martha makes a surprising discovery....
A/N - Big thank you's to
christine_twfan , teachwriteslash and cjharknessgirl for all their suggestions and encouragement with this chapter. Hope you enjoy!
Beta'd by
christine_twfan
Previous chapters here
Martha studied the test results again. They were the same as the time before and the time before that. Healer Nestad had brought it to her attention after testing Eswen’s DNA. Martha had run the experiment at least ten times and the results never changed.
“Doctor, you need to look at this,” she called.
“What have you got?” he asked.
She handed him the results and watched as he looked them over. The astonishment on his face almost made her laugh.
“You get the same results every time?”
“Yes. Exactly the same. Do you think…?” Martha was almost afraid to hope.
“It looks like,” the Doctor replied. “Let’s run it through the TARDIS before we say anything, though.”
Ianto sat in the rocking chair they’d purchased, feeding Eswen. Her weight at birth had been 2.97 kg and had weighed 3.01kg when they left the hospital three days later.
“You eat like your daddy does, sprout,” Ianto teased.
Sleepy blue eyes looked up at him briefly before closing again, content with her bottle and being held in her tad’s arms.
Ianto leaned his head against the back of the chair, rocking gently. His thoughts wandered as Eswen drank the rest of her formula. Shifting her to his shoulder, he set the bottle down and started patting her back. Jack came through the door just as Eswen let out a loud belch.
“Ooh, good one, Essie,” Jack said laughing.
Ianto rolled his eyes. “Don’t listen to Daddy, Essie. His manners are rubbish. I remember this one time-”
“Ahem! Haven’t we had this discussion about my manners before?” Jack questioned.
“Jack! Like I’d tell her that story,” Ianto protested quietly. He continued to rock Essie and rub up and down her back.
Jack leaned down and kissed the top of Eswen’s head, then moved to kiss Ianto’s lips. When he straightened back up, he whispered, “I think she’s asleep now.”
Ianto nodded. He could feel the little body relaxed against him in sleep. He stood up and gently laid her down in the travel cot they’d purchased. He covered her with the blanket Martha had given them and stroked his fingers through her dark hair. He felt Jack’s arms wrap around his waist and leaned back against his lover’s firm chest.
“It’s a good thing the TARDIS is much bigger on the inside,” he commented. “We’re going to be taking a lot more home with us than we came with.”
“Yep,” Jack agreed. “Speaking of the TARDIS, Martha called and the Doctor is back from taking Gwen home. She said they are coming over in a few minutes with some news.”
“I’ll put the water on to boil, then,” Ianto said, stepping away from the shelter of Jack’s arms. “Did she say what kind of news?”
“No, but she sounded excited…and nervous,” Jack replied, following Ianto into the small kitchen.
After putting the kettle on, Ianto found himself abruptly back in Jack’s arms. Relishing being able to feel his partner’s body from head to toe, he pulled Jack even closer and started nibbling along Jack’s lower lip.
“Mmm,” Jack murmured. “Maybe she’s coming to say you’re medically cleared to have sex again.”
“I don’t think she’d be overly excited about that, Jack. Nervous, yes. But not excited.” Ianto paused thoughtfully. “Then again, it is Martha. The girl who loves to hear all about our innovative, avant garde dabbling and purveyor of fine headgear.”
A knock sounded on the door as Jack doubled up in laughter. Ianto moved to answer it, admonishing Jack to behave. Opening the door, he greeted their guests.
“Martha, Doctor, come in. The kettle’s on and tea will be ready in a minute.”
Ianto noticed that Jack had been correct about Martha’s feelings. He could see the mixture of excitement, nervousness and a touch of defiance in her eyes. Looking closely, Ianto decided the defiance was directed towards the Doctor. The Time Lord’s face was a picture of surprise, worry and resigned disapproval.
Traces of laughter colored Jack’s voice. “Doctor! Did you have a good trip? Gwen get home okay?”
“Hmm? Oh, yes. She was a little upset that she missed seeing the baby. She gave me strict instructions to get you home as close to the time I dropped her off as possible,” the Doctor replied, walking into the kitchen where Jack was sitting.
Martha had stopped to peek at Eswen asleep in her cot. She turned to smile at Ianto standing next to her.
“She has your nose and curls.”
“Yes, and Jack’s lips,” Ianto replied. “Let’s talk in the kitchen so we don’t disturb her nap.”
“So, Miss Jones, what’s this news you said you have for us?” Jack asked as they all settled around the table.
“Before we get to that, Jack, I have a question for you,” the Doctor said. “Have you ever met the Face of Boe?”
Jack frowned at the odd question, but answered slowly, “You mean that giant head in the jar? Yes, we’ve met. Even dated him for awhile when he was younger.” Jack grinned. “No hands, but the things he could do with his mouth.”
“Jack, stop it,” the Doctor scolded. “This is serious. You actually know him and know where he came from?”
“Yes, I told you, I dated him for awhile,” Jack insisted. “We met at a party when I was doing modeling before I joined the Time Agency. He was a damn thief, too. His real name is Howard Smith.”
“Howard Smith, really?” The Doctor asked, distracted.
“Yes, really. He stole the whole ‘Face of Boe’ thing from me. Remember, I told you and Martha that they used to call me that?” Jack ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Doctor, what is this all about?”
Martha spoke softly, “Timelines, Jack. He had to make sure before I told you my news.”
“What news, Martha?” Ianto asked, placing his hand over Jack’s on the table. “Is it about Eswen?”
“Not exactly, Ianto. Healer Nestad and I were working on a blocking agent in case Eswen’s accelerated growth continued after birth. One of the combinations we were testing produced some interesting results,” Martha explained, sliding a sheaf of papers across the table.
Jack and Ianto looked at the information shown, but couldn’t understand what it was saying.
Shaking his head, Jack frowned at Martha. “What are we looking at here?”
“I ran the test several times, and the results were the same every single time. Jack, it’s a…well…a cure, I guess you could call it.”
“A cure to what?” Jack demanded.
Looking her friend directly in the eyes, Martha said the words Jack never thought he’d hear.
“A cure to your immortality.”
Chapter 23