Day Twenty-seven and Twenty-eight Red is My Colour - The Foresaken Road
Title: The Forsaken Road
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these lovely men. Though if I did… *grins*
Summary: Ianto misunderstands what Jack really fears…
Spoilers: None
Warning: Not beta checked therefore probably mistakes.
A/N: Written for day 27 and 28 of redismycolour . Okay, I cheated a little with this one and am using it for two days. Not because I’m lazy but because I started it for day 27 and when I was done it also seemed to fit with day 28. Not entirely happy with it but such is life…
A/N2: I have also wasted a great deal of time making Doctor Who Icons for my iPhone so if anyone has been looking/wanting some let me know :).
"Jack would you slow the hell down and for god sakes use your mirrors!" Ianto hollered from the SUV's passenger seat. The two men were heading back to the Hub after a very unsuccessful Weevil hunting trip. Both Jack and Ianto had been caught off guard when what they thought was one Weevil had turned out to be three. Jack had died twice and Ianto and had been cut up badly with a large bloody gash on his forehead.
"You're bleeding all over the place and you want me to slow down? I'm getting you back to the Hub so you can be properly stitched up so you won't bleed to death and you want me to drive like what a grandma? Give me a fucking break." Jack then proceeded to take a corner too tight and took off the passenger side mirror on a mailbox. Ianto was not in the mood the call the detailer again.
"JACK! Be reasonable, I am not dying! Yes I am bleeding, maybe like a stuck pig but I will survive so calm the fuck down. Drive like a sane person so I don't end up as road kill because you might bounce back but I won't!" Ianto pulled out his favorite handkerchief to help stanch the blood from his forehead, as the compress Jack gave him was already soaked.
"That was a low blow," Jack said in a dangerous voice. Ianto had put with Jack's bullshit too long to be frightened or deterred by Jack's tone.
"It's true. I'm not a porcelain doll and when I tell you I am okay I expect you to believe me." Their fight would have continued indefinitely if the SUV did not tear into the underground parkade, skidding to a stop. Jack opened and slammed his door before Ianto had even undone his seat belt. What surprised Ianto the most was that Jack did not come and open his door for him but began to stalk back to the main part of the building.
"Bastard," Ianto hissed, increasing the pressure on his compress. When Ianto finally managed to fumble his way out of the SUV he was seeing red figuratively and literally. "You couldn't have even waited for me could you?" Ianto yelled at Jack's back.
Jack stopped and turned around on his heal. "Since according to you, you're perfectly fine I though you could handle it from here." Jack gave him a nasty look and resumed his trek, stomping his boots along the way.
"Oh grow up!" Ianto threw and Jack's retreating back. He was used to Jack acting like a child sometime by doing silly thing and finding joy in small places but today he was acting like the nastiest brat on the playground. After finding another hand towel in the garage Ianto headed back to the main Hub as well hoping Owen could stitch him back together decently. He knew the gash on his forehead was ragged and would probably leave a rather ugly scar.
"Well look what the cat finally dragged in." Owen commented dryly as Ianto entered the medical bay. "He said you were coming by but I didn't expect you to be such a mess."
"Stupid Weevil bit me on the head; what do you expect?" Ianto tried to maneuver his suit jacket off while continuing to hold his compress. His shirt might be ruined but at least he could save the suit.
"Useless," Owen snorted and helped Ianto out of his jacket. "Get up on the table and let me have a look." Ianto did as he was asked, slowly removing the compress as Owen snapped on his gloves. Owen clean out the cut with a bottle of sterile saline and gave it a fast assessment before it started to well with blood again.
"How bad?" Ianto asked, wincing a little as Owen pulled the sides of the cut together.
"It's going to need stitches and it's not going to leave a pretty scar."
Ianto swore softly. "Fuck, I knew it..."
"Alternately I can use that bonding cream Jack gave us but it going to hurt like a bitch for a few hours. On the bright side no ugly ass scar. Which do you want?" Ianto looked relieved when Owen mentioned the second option.
"I'll take the latter."
"Here lie back and put the compress back on while I go get the cream from Jack." Ianto laid back and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. It bothered him how the day had turned so rotten. Though he and Jack fought regularly their spats were not usually so hurtful or angry. Ianto had become vaguely aware that they had started fighting about his safety more severely since Jack returned from his trip with the doctor but they had never been as bad as today. Ianto decided that it was time he and Jack had a talk about his mortality because neither could do their job while worrying about maybes and things left unsaid.
"All set," Owen said coming back with Jack in tow.
"And the reason he is here is?" Ianto knew they needed to talk but he was stilled pissed at Jack and hadn't had enough time to cool off yet.
Owen rolled his eyes. "To hold your head still so you don't crack yourself a concussion while I put this shite on." Owen held up tube as if reiterate his point to a stupid child.
When Owen and Jack remained silent Ianto gave in and grunted in consent. Owen cleaned out the wound more thoroughly this time and poked at it a bit trying to decide how much of the cream was needed. Ianto was getting more than a little impatient. "Would you just get on with it?"
"Sure I'll just slather on the whole tube and let your face burn for a few days instead of hours. You're so fucking up tight. You know that right." Ianto growled and went back to counting titles on the walls until Owen was satisfied with his poking. "Jack get over here and hold his head and not in a lovely dovely way either. Though he might be liable to bit your hand off if you tried anything."
"Owen," Ianto warned. Jack came up behind the examining table and secured Ianto's head by placing his hands on each side of face, carefully avoiding the jagged cut.
"Count of three," Owen said, getting Jack to change the angle on Ianto's head slightly. He knew Owen was going to doing it on 2, he always did it on 2, so Ianto braced himself; he would be ready on the count of 2. The Welshman did not appreciate Owen's spontaneity when he squirted a long thick line on 1 instead of 2. The cut stopped throbbing and then Ianto felt an odd tug before a burst of pain blackened his vision for a moment. He gasped loudly and tried to jerk his head back, Jack kept his grip firm. Ianto was quite sure he would have bashed his head against the steel table if Jack hadn't been holding him. Slowly the roaring in his ears decreased and the pain slithered into a fierce burning that was almost as bad.
"When is the burning going to stop?" Ianto ground out.
"Sorry mate not for a few hours and I can't give you a thing. The burning is the new cells forming so anything I gave you would only numb what is there not what is growing." Ianto moaned and squeezed his eyes shut. Maybe he should have picked the stitches.
"The burning should lessen in a few minutes," Jack said, finally daring to say something. Jack relaxed his grip and began to run a soothing finger along Ianto's hairline. "Owen can you give him to make him a little sleepy? It shouldn't cause any problems with the bonding cream." Ianto agreed with Jack; something to knock him out sounded heavenly.
"I guess I can give him a low dose of diazepam. I won't thin his blood and should knock him out fairly quickly. Sound good to you tea-boy?"
"Best idea you've had all day." Ianto slowly brought a hand up to rub his forehead but Jack pushed it back down, running a soothing hand along his arm. Owen measured out the medication and administered to Ianto's deltoid.
"Alright mate, I think I've tortured you as much as I can." Owen's voiced sounded muffled and far away but Ianto's forehead still hurt too much for him to sleep.
"Why does this shite always happen to me?"
Owen shrugged and then looked at Jack. "I have a few things to get done. Watch him until that stuff is finished and then you can move him to the couch."
"Sure." Jack's voice drifted. Whatever Owen had given him was good and although the Welshman still felt a burning sensation, it seemed to belong to someone else. "Ianto go to sleep, you've gone completely slack."
"Mmmm," Ianto murmured. He did feel rather loose and heavy. "I'm sorry Jack," he added, almost as an after thought.
"Me to." Jack stroked his hair and neck slowly. "We can talk about it when you're feeling better."
"Okay." Ianto drifted off to Jack telling him stories about past exploits with Torchwood vehicles.
TORCHWOOD
Ianto woke to find himself no longer in the medical bay but in Jack's bed. He had been stripped down to his undershirt and boxers and was under at least two blankets. Ianto turned onto his side and was considering going back to sleep when Jack's voice broke through the humming noises that often filled the small room.
"How is your forehead feeling? Ianto opened his eyes to find Jack sitting in the antique rocking chair that resided in the far corner of his bunker.
Ianto ran his fingers along where the gash had been; the skin was now smooth although still tender. "Better, it's stopped burning."
Jack smiled tightly. "I'm glad..."
Ianto push himself into a sitting position. "Can we talk now? I...I can't stand this tension around us."
"I know I said we'd talk but what else is there to say? I'm sorry I freaked out, I'll try and keep it from happening again."
"Jack I'm sorry too but we both know there is a bigger issue here than us being frustrated and fighting." Ianto held his hand out to Jack. "Please cariad..."
Jack took Ianto's hand and hesitantly sat on the bed. "I just wish you would be a little more careful when we are out in the field."
"Jack our job." The other man cut Ianto off before he could finish.
"Yes our job is dangerous but it doesn't mean you have to do stupid things." Jack increased the pressure on Ianto's hand. "When I was younger - before I was immoral, my mortality scared me. Being able to die and grow old would give me panic attacks. I can't die anymore but you can and I have had to accept that to be with you. What I can't accept is not making as many memories as possible with you. In a 100, 500, 1000 years from now I won't have you any more, I'll only have grainy memories at best. The longer I'm with your the longer they will linger."
Ianto couldn't believe how grossly he had misjudged the situation and Jack's fears. The older man, in an odd way, had accepted that they wouldn't be together forever. What he couldn't seem to deal with was the idea that he might not remember Ianto and what he meant in the future. "Jack." Ianto wasn't sure what to say.
Jack seemed to sense this and pulled Ianto into his arms, resting his chin on top of the younger man’s head. "Please, please stop trying to be everything to everyone and stop jumping in the way of things I can take. I can take the bullets, the Weevils, the explosions, and I will always come back to you. When there is a choice let me take it."
"I can't make any promises but I'm sure you'll continue to yell at me when I am being dumb. I really don't want to leave you sooner than I have to; you believe that right?" Ianto felt his throat tighten and tucked his face into Jack's neck when he eyes become warm. This conversation had gone much differently than he had expected.
"I believe you. I know it's hard - you're still so young and have always taken care of everyone else. You spent so long being the caregiver and provider for your mother, sister, and for Lisa I am not sure you know anything else right now. It's a learned behavior that is going to take time to break. I just hope nothing happens to you between now and the day you realize you don't have to do it all alone."
"But I don't even want to be like that now," Ianto insisted, frustrated with what his actions had been doing to Jack.
"I know and I promise we'll work on it later," Jack soothed, dropping a kiss to the Welshman's freshly healed forehead. "You're still tired though and probably a little doped up."
Jack leaned them forward and shifted the pillows back onto the bed, away from the headboard and then got Ianto to scoot down with him so the were on the mattress fully. "You must be tried too," Ianto said, his eye focusing on Jack worn face. "You died twice today; I know it takes a lot out of you."
"We'll both take a nap then and hope Hub keeps until we wake up."
"Sound lovely," Ianto agreed around a yawn. "Jack?"
"Yeah?"
"I think I just thought of something that will help your memories last a little longer. I'll start putting it together next week."
"I can't wait." And he couldn't. The present was precious to Jack but so was protecting and remembering what he had when the end of time eventually came.
TORCHWOOD
Later that month, Jack remembered fondly, Ianto had given him a memories box. They had spent the next 60 years filling it with photos, digital fames, silly notes, doodles, and trinkets that made up the good and bad times they had been through. The box and most of it's contents had weathered Jack over 500 years thanks to Tosh's crafty technology skills and Ianto's pure ingenuity but with all things time eventual took it's toll with immortals frequent handling. At least 200 years back Jack had lost the last trinket he had, a ring Ianto bought for an occasion he couldn't remember. He didn't even really remember how he lost it just that he had been heartbroken for months afterward.
Eventually other things faded from Jack's memory: his mother's face and name, where he grew up, what he did with most of his years on earth, and even his real name. Losing these things never concerned Jack, it was the natural course as no human was ever meant to live as long as he had. The day he had forgotten Ianto's name for month he panicked and cried in relief when a stripped piece of cloth reminded him of a tie Ianto owned once. He promptly had Ianto's name tattooed in dark block letters on the inside of his arm. Even if he could no longer remember what the Ianto looked liked or how strongly he impacted Jack's life he would remember the man's name until he no longer had a functioning body left.
Jack severely hoped that day eventually came and he could finally rest. If it never did what good where faculties if you couldn't even remember who you were or what mattered most in your life? He could not hold onto these scraps perpetually. Jack wasn't scared of a failing body anymore he was scared of his failing memories. Odd how he had wished for the opposite before the day he woke up on the game station alone. Youth was a funny and confusing thing.
FIN
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these lovely men. Though if I did… *grins*
Summary: Ianto misunderstands what Jack really fears…
Spoilers: None
Warning: Not beta checked therefore probably mistakes.
A/N: Written for day 27 and 28 of redismycolour . Okay, I cheated a little with this one and am using it for two days. Not because I’m lazy but because I started it for day 27 and when I was done it also seemed to fit with day 28. Not entirely happy with it but such is life…
A/N2: I have also wasted a great deal of time making Doctor Who Icons for my iPhone so if anyone has been looking/wanting some let me know :).
"Jack would you slow the hell down and for god sakes use your mirrors!" Ianto hollered from the SUV's passenger seat. The two men were heading back to the Hub after a very unsuccessful Weevil hunting trip. Both Jack and Ianto had been caught off guard when what they thought was one Weevil had turned out to be three. Jack had died twice and Ianto and had been cut up badly with a large bloody gash on his forehead.
"You're bleeding all over the place and you want me to slow down? I'm getting you back to the Hub so you can be properly stitched up so you won't bleed to death and you want me to drive like what a grandma? Give me a fucking break." Jack then proceeded to take a corner too tight and took off the passenger side mirror on a mailbox. Ianto was not in the mood the call the detailer again.
"JACK! Be reasonable, I am not dying! Yes I am bleeding, maybe like a stuck pig but I will survive so calm the fuck down. Drive like a sane person so I don't end up as road kill because you might bounce back but I won't!" Ianto pulled out his favorite handkerchief to help stanch the blood from his forehead, as the compress Jack gave him was already soaked.
"That was a low blow," Jack said in a dangerous voice. Ianto had put with Jack's bullshit too long to be frightened or deterred by Jack's tone.
"It's true. I'm not a porcelain doll and when I tell you I am okay I expect you to believe me." Their fight would have continued indefinitely if the SUV did not tear into the underground parkade, skidding to a stop. Jack opened and slammed his door before Ianto had even undone his seat belt. What surprised Ianto the most was that Jack did not come and open his door for him but began to stalk back to the main part of the building.
"Bastard," Ianto hissed, increasing the pressure on his compress. When Ianto finally managed to fumble his way out of the SUV he was seeing red figuratively and literally. "You couldn't have even waited for me could you?" Ianto yelled at Jack's back.
Jack stopped and turned around on his heal. "Since according to you, you're perfectly fine I though you could handle it from here." Jack gave him a nasty look and resumed his trek, stomping his boots along the way.
"Oh grow up!" Ianto threw and Jack's retreating back. He was used to Jack acting like a child sometime by doing silly thing and finding joy in small places but today he was acting like the nastiest brat on the playground. After finding another hand towel in the garage Ianto headed back to the main Hub as well hoping Owen could stitch him back together decently. He knew the gash on his forehead was ragged and would probably leave a rather ugly scar.
"Well look what the cat finally dragged in." Owen commented dryly as Ianto entered the medical bay. "He said you were coming by but I didn't expect you to be such a mess."
"Stupid Weevil bit me on the head; what do you expect?" Ianto tried to maneuver his suit jacket off while continuing to hold his compress. His shirt might be ruined but at least he could save the suit.
"Useless," Owen snorted and helped Ianto out of his jacket. "Get up on the table and let me have a look." Ianto did as he was asked, slowly removing the compress as Owen snapped on his gloves. Owen clean out the cut with a bottle of sterile saline and gave it a fast assessment before it started to well with blood again.
"How bad?" Ianto asked, wincing a little as Owen pulled the sides of the cut together.
"It's going to need stitches and it's not going to leave a pretty scar."
Ianto swore softly. "Fuck, I knew it..."
"Alternately I can use that bonding cream Jack gave us but it going to hurt like a bitch for a few hours. On the bright side no ugly ass scar. Which do you want?" Ianto looked relieved when Owen mentioned the second option.
"I'll take the latter."
"Here lie back and put the compress back on while I go get the cream from Jack." Ianto laid back and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. It bothered him how the day had turned so rotten. Though he and Jack fought regularly their spats were not usually so hurtful or angry. Ianto had become vaguely aware that they had started fighting about his safety more severely since Jack returned from his trip with the doctor but they had never been as bad as today. Ianto decided that it was time he and Jack had a talk about his mortality because neither could do their job while worrying about maybes and things left unsaid.
"All set," Owen said coming back with Jack in tow.
"And the reason he is here is?" Ianto knew they needed to talk but he was stilled pissed at Jack and hadn't had enough time to cool off yet.
Owen rolled his eyes. "To hold your head still so you don't crack yourself a concussion while I put this shite on." Owen held up tube as if reiterate his point to a stupid child.
When Owen and Jack remained silent Ianto gave in and grunted in consent. Owen cleaned out the wound more thoroughly this time and poked at it a bit trying to decide how much of the cream was needed. Ianto was getting more than a little impatient. "Would you just get on with it?"
"Sure I'll just slather on the whole tube and let your face burn for a few days instead of hours. You're so fucking up tight. You know that right." Ianto growled and went back to counting titles on the walls until Owen was satisfied with his poking. "Jack get over here and hold his head and not in a lovely dovely way either. Though he might be liable to bit your hand off if you tried anything."
"Owen," Ianto warned. Jack came up behind the examining table and secured Ianto's head by placing his hands on each side of face, carefully avoiding the jagged cut.
"Count of three," Owen said, getting Jack to change the angle on Ianto's head slightly. He knew Owen was going to doing it on 2, he always did it on 2, so Ianto braced himself; he would be ready on the count of 2. The Welshman did not appreciate Owen's spontaneity when he squirted a long thick line on 1 instead of 2. The cut stopped throbbing and then Ianto felt an odd tug before a burst of pain blackened his vision for a moment. He gasped loudly and tried to jerk his head back, Jack kept his grip firm. Ianto was quite sure he would have bashed his head against the steel table if Jack hadn't been holding him. Slowly the roaring in his ears decreased and the pain slithered into a fierce burning that was almost as bad.
"When is the burning going to stop?" Ianto ground out.
"Sorry mate not for a few hours and I can't give you a thing. The burning is the new cells forming so anything I gave you would only numb what is there not what is growing." Ianto moaned and squeezed his eyes shut. Maybe he should have picked the stitches.
"The burning should lessen in a few minutes," Jack said, finally daring to say something. Jack relaxed his grip and began to run a soothing finger along Ianto's hairline. "Owen can you give him to make him a little sleepy? It shouldn't cause any problems with the bonding cream." Ianto agreed with Jack; something to knock him out sounded heavenly.
"I guess I can give him a low dose of diazepam. I won't thin his blood and should knock him out fairly quickly. Sound good to you tea-boy?"
"Best idea you've had all day." Ianto slowly brought a hand up to rub his forehead but Jack pushed it back down, running a soothing hand along his arm. Owen measured out the medication and administered to Ianto's deltoid.
"Alright mate, I think I've tortured you as much as I can." Owen's voiced sounded muffled and far away but Ianto's forehead still hurt too much for him to sleep.
"Why does this shite always happen to me?"
Owen shrugged and then looked at Jack. "I have a few things to get done. Watch him until that stuff is finished and then you can move him to the couch."
"Sure." Jack's voice drifted. Whatever Owen had given him was good and although the Welshman still felt a burning sensation, it seemed to belong to someone else. "Ianto go to sleep, you've gone completely slack."
"Mmmm," Ianto murmured. He did feel rather loose and heavy. "I'm sorry Jack," he added, almost as an after thought.
"Me to." Jack stroked his hair and neck slowly. "We can talk about it when you're feeling better."
"Okay." Ianto drifted off to Jack telling him stories about past exploits with Torchwood vehicles.
TORCHWOOD
Ianto woke to find himself no longer in the medical bay but in Jack's bed. He had been stripped down to his undershirt and boxers and was under at least two blankets. Ianto turned onto his side and was considering going back to sleep when Jack's voice broke through the humming noises that often filled the small room.
"How is your forehead feeling? Ianto opened his eyes to find Jack sitting in the antique rocking chair that resided in the far corner of his bunker.
Ianto ran his fingers along where the gash had been; the skin was now smooth although still tender. "Better, it's stopped burning."
Jack smiled tightly. "I'm glad..."
Ianto push himself into a sitting position. "Can we talk now? I...I can't stand this tension around us."
"I know I said we'd talk but what else is there to say? I'm sorry I freaked out, I'll try and keep it from happening again."
"Jack I'm sorry too but we both know there is a bigger issue here than us being frustrated and fighting." Ianto held his hand out to Jack. "Please cariad..."
Jack took Ianto's hand and hesitantly sat on the bed. "I just wish you would be a little more careful when we are out in the field."
"Jack our job." The other man cut Ianto off before he could finish.
"Yes our job is dangerous but it doesn't mean you have to do stupid things." Jack increased the pressure on Ianto's hand. "When I was younger - before I was immoral, my mortality scared me. Being able to die and grow old would give me panic attacks. I can't die anymore but you can and I have had to accept that to be with you. What I can't accept is not making as many memories as possible with you. In a 100, 500, 1000 years from now I won't have you any more, I'll only have grainy memories at best. The longer I'm with your the longer they will linger."
Ianto couldn't believe how grossly he had misjudged the situation and Jack's fears. The older man, in an odd way, had accepted that they wouldn't be together forever. What he couldn't seem to deal with was the idea that he might not remember Ianto and what he meant in the future. "Jack." Ianto wasn't sure what to say.
Jack seemed to sense this and pulled Ianto into his arms, resting his chin on top of the younger man’s head. "Please, please stop trying to be everything to everyone and stop jumping in the way of things I can take. I can take the bullets, the Weevils, the explosions, and I will always come back to you. When there is a choice let me take it."
"I can't make any promises but I'm sure you'll continue to yell at me when I am being dumb. I really don't want to leave you sooner than I have to; you believe that right?" Ianto felt his throat tighten and tucked his face into Jack's neck when he eyes become warm. This conversation had gone much differently than he had expected.
"I believe you. I know it's hard - you're still so young and have always taken care of everyone else. You spent so long being the caregiver and provider for your mother, sister, and for Lisa I am not sure you know anything else right now. It's a learned behavior that is going to take time to break. I just hope nothing happens to you between now and the day you realize you don't have to do it all alone."
"But I don't even want to be like that now," Ianto insisted, frustrated with what his actions had been doing to Jack.
"I know and I promise we'll work on it later," Jack soothed, dropping a kiss to the Welshman's freshly healed forehead. "You're still tired though and probably a little doped up."
Jack leaned them forward and shifted the pillows back onto the bed, away from the headboard and then got Ianto to scoot down with him so the were on the mattress fully. "You must be tried too," Ianto said, his eye focusing on Jack worn face. "You died twice today; I know it takes a lot out of you."
"We'll both take a nap then and hope Hub keeps until we wake up."
"Sound lovely," Ianto agreed around a yawn. "Jack?"
"Yeah?"
"I think I just thought of something that will help your memories last a little longer. I'll start putting it together next week."
"I can't wait." And he couldn't. The present was precious to Jack but so was protecting and remembering what he had when the end of time eventually came.
TORCHWOOD
Later that month, Jack remembered fondly, Ianto had given him a memories box. They had spent the next 60 years filling it with photos, digital fames, silly notes, doodles, and trinkets that made up the good and bad times they had been through. The box and most of it's contents had weathered Jack over 500 years thanks to Tosh's crafty technology skills and Ianto's pure ingenuity but with all things time eventual took it's toll with immortals frequent handling. At least 200 years back Jack had lost the last trinket he had, a ring Ianto bought for an occasion he couldn't remember. He didn't even really remember how he lost it just that he had been heartbroken for months afterward.
Eventually other things faded from Jack's memory: his mother's face and name, where he grew up, what he did with most of his years on earth, and even his real name. Losing these things never concerned Jack, it was the natural course as no human was ever meant to live as long as he had. The day he had forgotten Ianto's name for month he panicked and cried in relief when a stripped piece of cloth reminded him of a tie Ianto owned once. He promptly had Ianto's name tattooed in dark block letters on the inside of his arm. Even if he could no longer remember what the Ianto looked liked or how strongly he impacted Jack's life he would remember the man's name until he no longer had a functioning body left.
Jack severely hoped that day eventually came and he could finally rest. If it never did what good where faculties if you couldn't even remember who you were or what mattered most in your life? He could not hold onto these scraps perpetually. Jack wasn't scared of a failing body anymore he was scared of his failing memories. Odd how he had wished for the opposite before the day he woke up on the game station alone. Youth was a funny and confusing thing.
FIN