fic - Lazarus 16/? [Torchwood]
Title: Lazarus (Chapter 15)
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating: PG-13 (mostly swearing)
Pairing/Characters: Ianto; Jack; Gwen; Martha; Mickey; Rhys; Alonso; OCs (Jack/Ianto and there probably will be mentions of Gwen/Rhys)
Genre: General so far, but maybe romance eventually? It is after all a Janto fic
Summary: Nine months later and Ianto wakes up from death.
Warning: None
Spoiler: Mentions of Children of Earth, but nothing especific, except Ianto's death, but I don't consider it a fix it fic; at least not yet.
Disclaimer: Sadly, they are not mine. I'd never kill Ianto and ruin the best cannon shipper ever!
Notes: Huge thanks to specialj67 for being my beta. Jackie, you rock!
Chapter 15
They arrived in Earth's orbit faster than he would have thought; Jack wasn’t sure if he was glad for it or not. He was of two minds: part of him couldn’t wait to get back to the planet that had been his home for over a century--well, over two millennia to get more precise, but a waking death underground didn't really count--but part of him was dreading doing so and reliving all the pain and grief that blue planet would bring him. But, as most things in his life, Jack didn’t really have a choice. He was needed back there. Martha needed him. He guessed Gwen had been right all along: he couldn’t run away, no matter how far he tried to go. He stood by the state room windows and watched the swirl of white and blue and brown miles and miles below...so many memories, people, places...on that one damn planet!
“Whenever you’re ready,” Alonso said in a soft tone and that made Jack smile. He turned away from the windows, toward Alonso who was fiddling over at the teleport console. Sweet understanding Alonso. No wonder the Doctor sent him Jack’s way. He knew the younger man would be able to mend some of Jack’s broken soul.
“Let’s get this over with,” he finally replied, taking one of the teleport bracelets from Alonso.
Jack quickly pulled off his watch and replaced with the bracelet on his right wrist, nodding to Alonso. He nodded back and pushed the lever that would activate the bracelets. It wasn’t too different from traveling with the Vortex Manipulator, except without the ringing in the ears; one second Jack was inside the ship, the next he was standing on a green hill a few meters away from the Torchwood Institute, a.k.a. Torchwood Two, Torchwoood House, T2, and That Old Dump (thanks, Owen). He looked over at Alonso to make sure he was alright, but the man seemed unfazed except for the growing look of excitement. Right, first trip to Earth and all.
“Where to?” he asked, turning slowly in a circle, eyes darting all around.
Jack nodded left and led the way towards the manor. Once they were close enough, Jack noticed the tell-tale signs of invasion, but that didn’t surprise him. The background noise coming from Archie’s message had told him as much. He had just hoped nothing was too badly damaged, and his old friend was alright. It didn't take much doing to get inside; the main gate was wide open. Inside, the doors, if they were still on hinges, hung crookedly, tossed furniture and destroyed computers spilled into the hallway from the main work rooms, papers and miscellaneous alien tech and detritus covered every surface.
Jack led them slowly through the first floor and down a stairwell to the catacomb of underground offices and rooms to arrive at their destination: the laboratory Archie had sent the message from. Jack's tiny flame of hope died out as soon as he crossed the threshold and took in the horrific tableau: Archie's bruised and bloodied corpse slouched against a cupboard, blood spattered behind his head and more blood dripping and pooling behind him on the floor. Obviously dead. Work tables overturned and computer screens smashed, papers and specimen samples flung every which way. Jack stepped gingerly through the mess to get to him, gathering his head on his lap, unshed tears burning his eyes.
“I’m so sorry, old friend,” he whispered, carefully wiping some of the red smears from the man’s face. Jack felt Alonso’s comforting hand squeezing his shoulder and sighed. “This is my fault.”
“Don’t say that.” He sensed Alonso kneeling by him and the hand on his shoulder squeezed a little harder. “There was nothing you could do.”
“If I had never lef--”
No good will come from thinking what if.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” he sighed. “Help me with his body.”
Together, Alonso and Jack lifted Archie’s body from the floor and moved him to the medical bay, where they carefully laid the dead man on the gurney and, respectfully, the Captain covered him with a white sheet.
“There’s someone else here,” Alonso said suddenly, after long minutes of quiet. Jack was stood by Archie's head, smoothing his hand over Archie's forehead almost compulsively, while Alonso tried not to stare too obviously but at a loss to do anything else. The semi-irregular staccato of multiple sets of footsteps finally gave him something else to focus on.
“Hopefully, it’s just Gwen,” Jack said, moving to the door, Webley already out of its holster, “but if it happens to be one those bastards, I won’t really complain.”
Slowly, they exited the medical bay, guns at drawn. They crept down to the right down the hallway and stopped just before the corner, listening carefully. By the sounds of it, two people were heading towards them. Jack gestured for Alonso to stay put and, in a swift move he rounded the corner and the invaders line of sight, gun raised. There they were, a tallish stocky man in a Harwood's Haulage jacket cradling something to his chest and a dark-haired woman whose face lit up in a gap-toothed smile.
"Gwen?!" He slipped his gun back in the holster. "Rhys? What the hell is going on?"
“Jack!” Gwen exclaimed in surprise and threw herself in his arms. He was here and warm and alive and HERE!
Guessing everything was alright, Alonso holstered his weapon again and also made the turn, catching sign of a brunette woman hugging Jack as if her life depending on it.
“It’s good to see you again, Gwen,” Jack said, hugging her back just as tightly and smiling almost as brightly. After a couple more seconds, they finally parted and looked at each other with big grins. “Rhys,” Jack nodded in acknowledgment, and the bigger man nodded back.
“Who’s this?” Gwen asked, when she finally noticed Alonso standing behind Jack, waiting silently.
“Oh…” Jack's smile turned approximately 33% more lascivious as he walked over to Alonso swinging one arm over his shoulder. “Gwen, I’d like you to meet Alonso Frame. Alonso, this is Gwen Cooper, that’s her husband, Rhys Williams and, if I’m not mistaken, the lovely little lady in Rhys’ arms is their daughter.”
“Hello,” Alonso greeted a little shyly. “Good to meet you all.”
Gwen smiled back uncertainly. It wouldn't be a Jack escapade without him bringing someone back with him, but from the looks of him, at least Alonso didn't seem on the surface to be as unscrewed as John Hart. Carys fidgeted in Rhys' arms, turning her head to look at Alonso before turning back to bury her face in Rhys' shirt.
“Alright! Let’s get to work,” Jack smiled, leading them to the boardroom. Well, he didn't know what Archie had called it, but he was calling the largish room with the conference table, chairs and bank of monitors he'd found himself in front of the boardroom.
“Where’s Archie?” Gwen asked softly, making Jack pause tensely. That was really all the answer she needed.
“Dead. It’s just us here now.”
If anyone else heard the flat way Jack had uttered that sentence, they could think he was a heartless bastard, but Gwen knew better; she knew that was Jack’s coping method: get detached, focus on the work in front of them. Once they were all seated around the boardroom table (Jack at the head, of course), Rhys was the first to speak as he bounced the baby in his arms to sooth her.
“So, what the hell is going on?”
“I don’t know yet,” Jack replied with a shake of head. “This is what I got from Archie.” He pressed a few keys on his wrist-strap and Archie's last message played out to the silent audience. Jack shut his eyes during the last 30 seconds when the fighting sounds reached a crescendo before the whole thing cut out. He didn't need to see the others' reactions. Gwen was the first to break the silence.
“So, the only thing we know for certain is that Martha seems to be in some kind of trouble that has something to do with Ianto," she stated, getting out of her seat and starting to pace. “Two nights ago I got a call. The speaker said he was Ianto.” She sighed deeply and her shoulders dropped. “The voice… it sounded like him, but I didn’t want to believe, not until the UNIT woman, if she was indeed UNIT, showed up in my doorstep looking for Martha.” She stopped at the other end of the table, staring at Jack apprehensively.
“What? What is it?” he asked with a frown of worry and just a little mistrust.
“We...dug up Ianto’s grave,” Rhys replied when he noticed Gwen couldn’t make herself say it. Jack’s breath hitched slightly, but otherwise he didn’t react. “It was empty.”
“Ianto died in my arms,” Jack remarked in a hard, icy tone. “I saw him draw his last breath. I saw the life leaving his eyes. He’s…”
“How do you explain it then?” Gwen cut him off abruptly and visibly angry. “Everything we got so far seems to point out that Ianto is a…”
“Don’t say it!” Jack cut her off, bolting up and slamming his first on the table, startling everyone. “Don’t you dare say it! You saw him Gwen. You saw him.” His eyes were glistening with wetness.
“So we should just ignore the evidence?” Gwen shouted as she always did when she was exasperated, and Carys began to cry. She looked at Rhys apologetically as he sighed in annoyance and moved out of the room. He really was the best husband she could ask for; once this was sorted and done, she was going to take him out and get a room at the St. David's and do the filthiest things to him to show just how much she adored him for putting up with her.
“There’s no evidence, Gwen,” Jack replied in a controlled tone. “All we know is that Martha is involved with something dangerous related to Ianto.”
“What about the empty coffin?” She asked challengingly.
“Well…” Alonso started carefully, not knowing how much he could say without stepping on people's toes, “that doesn’t mean he’s alive; it may just mean someone has his corpse. It’s much more plausible than thinking that he came back from the--” he shut up quickly as he caught Gwen’s deadly glare.
“Alonso’s right,” Jack agreed. “Until someone proves to me otherwise, Ianto is dead. And that’s final.” He sat back down, resting his hands flat on the table in that way that said 'I have made my decision, do you really want to mess with me?'
For a moment, Gwen just glowered at Jack, seemed ready to protest and argue a little more. Jack stood his ground, sending her a hard look back. The tension was obviously palpable, and Alonso felt a sudden urge to sink on his chair and disappear from sight. The whole thing lasted for long moments until Rhys strode back into the room, Carys quietly suckling on her pacifier in her father’s arms. He glanced from Jack to Gwen and rolled his eyes.
“You got a call,” he stated simply.
“What?” Both man and woman turned to look at him in shock.
“I said you got a call, back at that laboratory we passed by when we came here.”
Exchanging mutually confused and suspicious looks, Jack and Gwen bolted out of the room; both had only one thought in mind: Martha.
xxx
Chapter 16
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating: PG-13 (mostly swearing)
Pairing/Characters: Ianto; Jack; Gwen; Martha; Mickey; Rhys; Alonso; OCs (Jack/Ianto and there probably will be mentions of Gwen/Rhys)
Genre: General so far, but maybe romance eventually? It is after all a Janto fic
Summary: Nine months later and Ianto wakes up from death.
Warning: None
Spoiler: Mentions of Children of Earth, but nothing especific, except Ianto's death, but I don't consider it a fix it fic; at least not yet.
Disclaimer: Sadly, they are not mine. I'd never kill Ianto and ruin the best cannon shipper ever!
Notes: Huge thanks to specialj67 for being my beta. Jackie, you rock!
Chapter 15
They arrived in Earth's orbit faster than he would have thought; Jack wasn’t sure if he was glad for it or not. He was of two minds: part of him couldn’t wait to get back to the planet that had been his home for over a century--well, over two millennia to get more precise, but a waking death underground didn't really count--but part of him was dreading doing so and reliving all the pain and grief that blue planet would bring him. But, as most things in his life, Jack didn’t really have a choice. He was needed back there. Martha needed him. He guessed Gwen had been right all along: he couldn’t run away, no matter how far he tried to go. He stood by the state room windows and watched the swirl of white and blue and brown miles and miles below...so many memories, people, places...on that one damn planet!
“Whenever you’re ready,” Alonso said in a soft tone and that made Jack smile. He turned away from the windows, toward Alonso who was fiddling over at the teleport console. Sweet understanding Alonso. No wonder the Doctor sent him Jack’s way. He knew the younger man would be able to mend some of Jack’s broken soul.
“Let’s get this over with,” he finally replied, taking one of the teleport bracelets from Alonso.
Jack quickly pulled off his watch and replaced with the bracelet on his right wrist, nodding to Alonso. He nodded back and pushed the lever that would activate the bracelets. It wasn’t too different from traveling with the Vortex Manipulator, except without the ringing in the ears; one second Jack was inside the ship, the next he was standing on a green hill a few meters away from the Torchwood Institute, a.k.a. Torchwood Two, Torchwoood House, T2, and That Old Dump (thanks, Owen). He looked over at Alonso to make sure he was alright, but the man seemed unfazed except for the growing look of excitement. Right, first trip to Earth and all.
“Where to?” he asked, turning slowly in a circle, eyes darting all around.
Jack nodded left and led the way towards the manor. Once they were close enough, Jack noticed the tell-tale signs of invasion, but that didn’t surprise him. The background noise coming from Archie’s message had told him as much. He had just hoped nothing was too badly damaged, and his old friend was alright. It didn't take much doing to get inside; the main gate was wide open. Inside, the doors, if they were still on hinges, hung crookedly, tossed furniture and destroyed computers spilled into the hallway from the main work rooms, papers and miscellaneous alien tech and detritus covered every surface.
Jack led them slowly through the first floor and down a stairwell to the catacomb of underground offices and rooms to arrive at their destination: the laboratory Archie had sent the message from. Jack's tiny flame of hope died out as soon as he crossed the threshold and took in the horrific tableau: Archie's bruised and bloodied corpse slouched against a cupboard, blood spattered behind his head and more blood dripping and pooling behind him on the floor. Obviously dead. Work tables overturned and computer screens smashed, papers and specimen samples flung every which way. Jack stepped gingerly through the mess to get to him, gathering his head on his lap, unshed tears burning his eyes.
“I’m so sorry, old friend,” he whispered, carefully wiping some of the red smears from the man’s face. Jack felt Alonso’s comforting hand squeezing his shoulder and sighed. “This is my fault.”
“Don’t say that.” He sensed Alonso kneeling by him and the hand on his shoulder squeezed a little harder. “There was nothing you could do.”
“If I had never lef--”
No good will come from thinking what if.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” he sighed. “Help me with his body.”
Together, Alonso and Jack lifted Archie’s body from the floor and moved him to the medical bay, where they carefully laid the dead man on the gurney and, respectfully, the Captain covered him with a white sheet.
“There’s someone else here,” Alonso said suddenly, after long minutes of quiet. Jack was stood by Archie's head, smoothing his hand over Archie's forehead almost compulsively, while Alonso tried not to stare too obviously but at a loss to do anything else. The semi-irregular staccato of multiple sets of footsteps finally gave him something else to focus on.
“Hopefully, it’s just Gwen,” Jack said, moving to the door, Webley already out of its holster, “but if it happens to be one those bastards, I won’t really complain.”
Slowly, they exited the medical bay, guns at drawn. They crept down to the right down the hallway and stopped just before the corner, listening carefully. By the sounds of it, two people were heading towards them. Jack gestured for Alonso to stay put and, in a swift move he rounded the corner and the invaders line of sight, gun raised. There they were, a tallish stocky man in a Harwood's Haulage jacket cradling something to his chest and a dark-haired woman whose face lit up in a gap-toothed smile.
"Gwen?!" He slipped his gun back in the holster. "Rhys? What the hell is going on?"
“Jack!” Gwen exclaimed in surprise and threw herself in his arms. He was here and warm and alive and HERE!
Guessing everything was alright, Alonso holstered his weapon again and also made the turn, catching sign of a brunette woman hugging Jack as if her life depending on it.
“It’s good to see you again, Gwen,” Jack said, hugging her back just as tightly and smiling almost as brightly. After a couple more seconds, they finally parted and looked at each other with big grins. “Rhys,” Jack nodded in acknowledgment, and the bigger man nodded back.
“Who’s this?” Gwen asked, when she finally noticed Alonso standing behind Jack, waiting silently.
“Oh…” Jack's smile turned approximately 33% more lascivious as he walked over to Alonso swinging one arm over his shoulder. “Gwen, I’d like you to meet Alonso Frame. Alonso, this is Gwen Cooper, that’s her husband, Rhys Williams and, if I’m not mistaken, the lovely little lady in Rhys’ arms is their daughter.”
“Hello,” Alonso greeted a little shyly. “Good to meet you all.”
Gwen smiled back uncertainly. It wouldn't be a Jack escapade without him bringing someone back with him, but from the looks of him, at least Alonso didn't seem on the surface to be as unscrewed as John Hart. Carys fidgeted in Rhys' arms, turning her head to look at Alonso before turning back to bury her face in Rhys' shirt.
“Alright! Let’s get to work,” Jack smiled, leading them to the boardroom. Well, he didn't know what Archie had called it, but he was calling the largish room with the conference table, chairs and bank of monitors he'd found himself in front of the boardroom.
“Where’s Archie?” Gwen asked softly, making Jack pause tensely. That was really all the answer she needed.
“Dead. It’s just us here now.”
If anyone else heard the flat way Jack had uttered that sentence, they could think he was a heartless bastard, but Gwen knew better; she knew that was Jack’s coping method: get detached, focus on the work in front of them. Once they were all seated around the boardroom table (Jack at the head, of course), Rhys was the first to speak as he bounced the baby in his arms to sooth her.
“So, what the hell is going on?”
“I don’t know yet,” Jack replied with a shake of head. “This is what I got from Archie.” He pressed a few keys on his wrist-strap and Archie's last message played out to the silent audience. Jack shut his eyes during the last 30 seconds when the fighting sounds reached a crescendo before the whole thing cut out. He didn't need to see the others' reactions. Gwen was the first to break the silence.
“So, the only thing we know for certain is that Martha seems to be in some kind of trouble that has something to do with Ianto," she stated, getting out of her seat and starting to pace. “Two nights ago I got a call. The speaker said he was Ianto.” She sighed deeply and her shoulders dropped. “The voice… it sounded like him, but I didn’t want to believe, not until the UNIT woman, if she was indeed UNIT, showed up in my doorstep looking for Martha.” She stopped at the other end of the table, staring at Jack apprehensively.
“What? What is it?” he asked with a frown of worry and just a little mistrust.
“We...dug up Ianto’s grave,” Rhys replied when he noticed Gwen couldn’t make herself say it. Jack’s breath hitched slightly, but otherwise he didn’t react. “It was empty.”
“Ianto died in my arms,” Jack remarked in a hard, icy tone. “I saw him draw his last breath. I saw the life leaving his eyes. He’s…”
“How do you explain it then?” Gwen cut him off abruptly and visibly angry. “Everything we got so far seems to point out that Ianto is a…”
“Don’t say it!” Jack cut her off, bolting up and slamming his first on the table, startling everyone. “Don’t you dare say it! You saw him Gwen. You saw him.” His eyes were glistening with wetness.
“So we should just ignore the evidence?” Gwen shouted as she always did when she was exasperated, and Carys began to cry. She looked at Rhys apologetically as he sighed in annoyance and moved out of the room. He really was the best husband she could ask for; once this was sorted and done, she was going to take him out and get a room at the St. David's and do the filthiest things to him to show just how much she adored him for putting up with her.
“There’s no evidence, Gwen,” Jack replied in a controlled tone. “All we know is that Martha is involved with something dangerous related to Ianto.”
“What about the empty coffin?” She asked challengingly.
“Well…” Alonso started carefully, not knowing how much he could say without stepping on people's toes, “that doesn’t mean he’s alive; it may just mean someone has his corpse. It’s much more plausible than thinking that he came back from the--” he shut up quickly as he caught Gwen’s deadly glare.
“Alonso’s right,” Jack agreed. “Until someone proves to me otherwise, Ianto is dead. And that’s final.” He sat back down, resting his hands flat on the table in that way that said 'I have made my decision, do you really want to mess with me?'
For a moment, Gwen just glowered at Jack, seemed ready to protest and argue a little more. Jack stood his ground, sending her a hard look back. The tension was obviously palpable, and Alonso felt a sudden urge to sink on his chair and disappear from sight. The whole thing lasted for long moments until Rhys strode back into the room, Carys quietly suckling on her pacifier in her father’s arms. He glanced from Jack to Gwen and rolled his eyes.
“You got a call,” he stated simply.
“What?” Both man and woman turned to look at him in shock.
“I said you got a call, back at that laboratory we passed by when we came here.”
Exchanging mutually confused and suspicious looks, Jack and Gwen bolted out of the room; both had only one thought in mind: Martha.
xxx
Chapter 16