Linger - Part X
Title: Linger, Part X/X
Author: sariagray
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Gwen/Rhys, Andy, John Hart, OCs
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 978
Spoilers: I spoil EVERYTHING. Which isn't much, actually. Takes place post CoE.
Warnings: Slight swearing, innuendo, stuff.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction. No monetary compensation is gained. This is purely for entertainment purposes (mainly, the entertainment of the author).
Beta: Thanks to the lovely badly_knitted again for all of the help! Once more, that said, all mistakes are mine. Point and laugh.
Author's Note: The end! The end is here! *Gasp* Wait, that sounds a bit dramatic. Anyway please, feel free to feed the author with comments. She is is hungry. :) Also, thanks to all of you lovely people for your comments and encouragement, and for bearing with me through it all! :)
Previous Chapters: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX
Linger
Part X
Gwen noted the gleeful look on Hart’s face, and his hesitance to move, and swore internally. Pushing out of the SUV, she ran after the two foolhardy men now standing in the path of a beast that seemed quite intent on killing.
The creature saw her coming and tried to speed toward his true target to beat her there. He swiped a hand out to grab Ianto, but she was in the way and he clutched her instead. Still, he managed to slash Ianto across the chest and he collapsed to the ground.
Pain.
Jack fell to his knees beside Ianto.
“Fuck!” Hart roared and ran out to salvage things, turn events back in his favor. Truthfully, he was grateful for the chance to save Gwen. If anything would put him back in Jack’s good graces, he was sure rescuing a damsel in distress would do it.
“Andy,” Rhys shouted as he activated his comm. “It’s got Gwen! Don’t trust Hart. Ianto’s down, Jack won’t leave him.”
“Right. I’m in place. Drive ‘round to cut him off. I’ll come up from behind and shoot. Blast his head clean off, I will.”
“Got it,” Rhys confirmed and hopped to the driver’s seat. He floored it and the three open doors wavered a bit before slamming shut.
----
“Jack,” Ianto gasped. “Help…Gwen….”
“I’m not leaving you. I lost you once; I’m not going to lose you again.”
“There’s nothing you can do. I’ll be fine.” It took all of his energy to sound whole. Jack pulled his hand away and stared at the thick coating of blood sliding down his arm.
Love.
Hope.
“Ianto, please,” Jack whispered, tears threatening his vision. “Don’t go.”
“I’ll never leave you, you know. I promise. I’ll always be there, guiding you. I’ll find a way. Now. Go. Save. Gwen.”
Jack refused to listen, leaning down instead to kiss him desperately.
Ianto saw a shimmer as Life flooded him, and then he felt it quickly drain away. Jack pulled back in confusion. He tried again, with the same result. And again.
Clutching Jack’s shirt, Ianto gasped.
“It’s not going to work.”
“Something’s interfering,” Jack said, his voice on the edge of panic. “I don’t know what it is.”
He looked around frantically, saw Hart yelling something at the beast that sounded suspiciously like “not her, you idiot. You’re done. You’ve already got him.”
Then there was a blast, and the monster disappeared. He saw Rhys running towards Gwen to catch her, both of them tumbling to the ground. Andy’s car was quickly approaching the couple.
Jack tore his gaze away and leant back down to Ianto, capturing his lips in a powerful, determined kiss. Focusing what he could of his energy, he pointed it toward and filled Ianto. It was charged with a thousand lives, a million chances, and an infinite amount of hope and love.
Ianto’s face flushed with color and Jack rejoiced, sobbing in relief, as Ianto made to sit up. Then his face went pale grey and he collapsed back down again, the drain of blood starting anew.
“What’s going on!?” Jack cried out, his world crumbling around him.
“Oh, that,” Hart gestured casually as he sauntered over. “You won’t be able to save him. Something seems to be stealing the life out of both of you.” He consulted his wrist strap. “Yep. Siphoning it, whatever it is.”
“You knew all along,” Jack accused with narrowed eyes, still clinging to Ianto.
Hart shrugged. “They said no one was supposed to die.”
“Then what do you call this!?”
“Clearly, they lied. Then again, he was already dead.”
Jack looked back at the rest of his team. They seemed all right, thanks to Andy and Rhys’ quick thinking. He wanted to be proud of them, but all he felt was a sick emptiness.
----
Closing his eyes, Ianto felt awash with Peace and Guilt. A familiar form entered his internal vision. He grasped at the recognition. Fremenka. She glowed softly, but the light was receding.
*I killed him,* she whispered breathily as though she were talking to someone else who wasn’t there. *I had to. I guess I killed us all, too.*
“Who did you kill?” he asked, tentatively.
*Garunsal. Probably our whole race. We needed the Immortal’s lives. You were the only way to get them, get him to release them. We’re dying out.* Her voice wavered hollowly in his mind.
“Why did you kill him?”
*I saw you and I saw him. I saw love. I couldn’t let him destroy that, destroy himself. Killing comes at an even higher price when love’s involved.* She sobbed a laugh at the irony.
“I’m sorry. Your people…”
*Deserve to die out if we can’t value love. Garunsal,* her voice shuddered, *Garunsal had a staff. He managed to capture some of the Immortal’s lives in it before he died. It will be by your side when you wake. Use it. Guard him. You‘ll both be around for a long time.* And she faded away, nothing more than a broken echo from another time and place, a ghost of the being she once had been.
----
He came to, slowly, as if waking from a dream. He was cold, on something solid. His eyes opened carefully, blinking back the harsh fluorescent light. Inside, then. Images came through to him in flashes. Stone. Gray. Metal. Medical bay.
He felt a pressure on his chest and looked down to see Jack’s head resting there as if in prayer. His left hand was clutched firmly between two comfortingly warm ones.
“Jack,” his voice cracked with disuse.
Jack sat bolt upright, Hope flooding the room.
“Ianto! You’re…you’re alive!”
He tried to smile, but his lips were too chapped.
“Where’s…Hart?”
“Ran away again,” Jack grimaced. “But you’re alive!”
“Alive,” Ianto transmitted, his thoughts much stronger than his physical voice. His free hand sought out the solid wood staff at his side. “For a very long time.”
Love.
Forever.
The End.
Accomplishment.
Author: sariagray
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Gwen/Rhys, Andy, John Hart, OCs
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 978
Spoilers: I spoil EVERYTHING. Which isn't much, actually. Takes place post CoE.
Warnings: Slight swearing, innuendo, stuff.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction. No monetary compensation is gained. This is purely for entertainment purposes (mainly, the entertainment of the author).
Beta: Thanks to the lovely badly_knitted again for all of the help! Once more, that said, all mistakes are mine. Point and laugh.
Author's Note: The end! The end is here! *Gasp* Wait, that sounds a bit dramatic. Anyway please, feel free to feed the author with comments. She is is hungry. :) Also, thanks to all of you lovely people for your comments and encouragement, and for bearing with me through it all! :)
Previous Chapters: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX
Linger
Part X
Gwen noted the gleeful look on Hart’s face, and his hesitance to move, and swore internally. Pushing out of the SUV, she ran after the two foolhardy men now standing in the path of a beast that seemed quite intent on killing.
The creature saw her coming and tried to speed toward his true target to beat her there. He swiped a hand out to grab Ianto, but she was in the way and he clutched her instead. Still, he managed to slash Ianto across the chest and he collapsed to the ground.
Pain.
Jack fell to his knees beside Ianto.
“Fuck!” Hart roared and ran out to salvage things, turn events back in his favor. Truthfully, he was grateful for the chance to save Gwen. If anything would put him back in Jack’s good graces, he was sure rescuing a damsel in distress would do it.
“Andy,” Rhys shouted as he activated his comm. “It’s got Gwen! Don’t trust Hart. Ianto’s down, Jack won’t leave him.”
“Right. I’m in place. Drive ‘round to cut him off. I’ll come up from behind and shoot. Blast his head clean off, I will.”
“Got it,” Rhys confirmed and hopped to the driver’s seat. He floored it and the three open doors wavered a bit before slamming shut.
----
“Jack,” Ianto gasped. “Help…Gwen….”
“I’m not leaving you. I lost you once; I’m not going to lose you again.”
“There’s nothing you can do. I’ll be fine.” It took all of his energy to sound whole. Jack pulled his hand away and stared at the thick coating of blood sliding down his arm.
Love.
Hope.
“Ianto, please,” Jack whispered, tears threatening his vision. “Don’t go.”
“I’ll never leave you, you know. I promise. I’ll always be there, guiding you. I’ll find a way. Now. Go. Save. Gwen.”
Jack refused to listen, leaning down instead to kiss him desperately.
Ianto saw a shimmer as Life flooded him, and then he felt it quickly drain away. Jack pulled back in confusion. He tried again, with the same result. And again.
Clutching Jack’s shirt, Ianto gasped.
“It’s not going to work.”
“Something’s interfering,” Jack said, his voice on the edge of panic. “I don’t know what it is.”
He looked around frantically, saw Hart yelling something at the beast that sounded suspiciously like “not her, you idiot. You’re done. You’ve already got him.”
Then there was a blast, and the monster disappeared. He saw Rhys running towards Gwen to catch her, both of them tumbling to the ground. Andy’s car was quickly approaching the couple.
Jack tore his gaze away and leant back down to Ianto, capturing his lips in a powerful, determined kiss. Focusing what he could of his energy, he pointed it toward and filled Ianto. It was charged with a thousand lives, a million chances, and an infinite amount of hope and love.
Ianto’s face flushed with color and Jack rejoiced, sobbing in relief, as Ianto made to sit up. Then his face went pale grey and he collapsed back down again, the drain of blood starting anew.
“What’s going on!?” Jack cried out, his world crumbling around him.
“Oh, that,” Hart gestured casually as he sauntered over. “You won’t be able to save him. Something seems to be stealing the life out of both of you.” He consulted his wrist strap. “Yep. Siphoning it, whatever it is.”
“You knew all along,” Jack accused with narrowed eyes, still clinging to Ianto.
Hart shrugged. “They said no one was supposed to die.”
“Then what do you call this!?”
“Clearly, they lied. Then again, he was already dead.”
Jack looked back at the rest of his team. They seemed all right, thanks to Andy and Rhys’ quick thinking. He wanted to be proud of them, but all he felt was a sick emptiness.
----
Closing his eyes, Ianto felt awash with Peace and Guilt. A familiar form entered his internal vision. He grasped at the recognition. Fremenka. She glowed softly, but the light was receding.
*I killed him,* she whispered breathily as though she were talking to someone else who wasn’t there. *I had to. I guess I killed us all, too.*
“Who did you kill?” he asked, tentatively.
*Garunsal. Probably our whole race. We needed the Immortal’s lives. You were the only way to get them, get him to release them. We’re dying out.* Her voice wavered hollowly in his mind.
“Why did you kill him?”
*I saw you and I saw him. I saw love. I couldn’t let him destroy that, destroy himself. Killing comes at an even higher price when love’s involved.* She sobbed a laugh at the irony.
“I’m sorry. Your people…”
*Deserve to die out if we can’t value love. Garunsal,* her voice shuddered, *Garunsal had a staff. He managed to capture some of the Immortal’s lives in it before he died. It will be by your side when you wake. Use it. Guard him. You‘ll both be around for a long time.* And she faded away, nothing more than a broken echo from another time and place, a ghost of the being she once had been.
----
He came to, slowly, as if waking from a dream. He was cold, on something solid. His eyes opened carefully, blinking back the harsh fluorescent light. Inside, then. Images came through to him in flashes. Stone. Gray. Metal. Medical bay.
He felt a pressure on his chest and looked down to see Jack’s head resting there as if in prayer. His left hand was clutched firmly between two comfortingly warm ones.
“Jack,” his voice cracked with disuse.
Jack sat bolt upright, Hope flooding the room.
“Ianto! You’re…you’re alive!”
He tried to smile, but his lips were too chapped.
“Where’s…Hart?”
“Ran away again,” Jack grimaced. “But you’re alive!”
“Alive,” Ianto transmitted, his thoughts much stronger than his physical voice. His free hand sought out the solid wood staff at his side. “For a very long time.”
Love.
Forever.
The End.
Accomplishment.