Fanfic - The Spirit of Torchwood 4/4 [Torchwood: Jack/Ianto]
A/N: Hey, guys - just so you know, I'm not going to watch Torchwood Season 4. I'm sure most of you know that I didn't like S3 (and no, not just because Ianto died; I didn't like the stylistic, structural or thematic direction of the season). It frankly turned me off Torchwood, and what I've heard of S4 hasn't given me any incentive to return.
I've made a conscious decision not to watch S4. If you do, and you enjoy it, I'm glad for you; just don't ask me if any of my fics will take S4 revelations into account. They won't. I suspect I won't be writing as much Torchwood fic once S4 starts, but whatever I do write will stick to S1 and S2 canon. There will probably be cameo appearances from Rhiannon and her family; anything else from S3 and S4 will be disregarded.
Still, it's been a fun ride, y'all. Don't give up on me just yet - I still have a few Torchwood fic ideas I want to throw out there and share with you. Meantime, I hope you enjoy the last part of this little tale:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
By the time they could safely leave the hotel, Ianto felt a little like a wrung-out dishrag. Jack was snoozing in a contented - and naked - pile next to him on the bed, though, so he couldn’t quite bring himself to be annoyed about it.
His phone buzzed and he reached for it before it woke Jack.
“Hi,” he said softly, lying back down and turning his eyes on Jack again. There was something restful about watching Jack sleep. He was always so full of energy, always fidgeting even when sitting down, so rarely ever still. In his sleep, though, he was relaxed and tranquil in a way Ianto had never before seen him.
It was fascinating.
“Hi,” Toshiko said. “Any idea where Jack is? He’s not answering his phone.”
“Yeah, he fell asleep in my room a while ago,” Ianto said. “Why?”
“Oh, he’s with you, is he?” Toshiko said significantly. Ianto heard muted laughter in the back, and blushed. “Gwen’s asking if it’s safe to head back now. Owen wants to give her another once-over in the Hub, and then she wants to go home before Rhys starts worrying.”
Ianto double-checked the time, just to be certain. They were well past the danger zone.
“Yes,” he said. “It’s fine to go on now.”
“I suppose you won’t be leaving just yet,” Toshiko said slyly.
Ianto paused, then shrugged and decided to go for broke. “Still plenty of things I want to try out,” he said cheerfully. “So no, not for a few hours yet.”
Sleepy blue eyes peered up at him in amusement. Ianto smiled down at Jack even as Toshiko sputtered through her laughter on the other end of the line.
They exchanged a few pleasantries and then Ianto hung up. Jack was stretching out on the bed now, lithe and cat-like, in a manner which made Ianto want to do all sorts of unprintable things.
And this time, there was no need to restrain himself.
“I never did ask,” Jack said, patting the wet, leathery skin of the huge alien. “Can you see the ghosts of aliens? Or is it just humans?”
“Aliens too,” Ianto said. “Ever wrestled with a dead Weevil before?”
“Just when you think it’s over,” Jack muttered.
“This one isn’t here, though,” Ianto said. “Can’t blame him for not wanting to stay.”
“Suppose not,” Owen sighed. Ianto reached out without looking and put an arm around Owen’s shoulders, half-hugging him briefly in commiseration. It said something about how much Owen regretted having to euthanise the alien, that he permitted the action for a good minute before finally stepping away.
“Oi, what’s this, then?” he said, catching sight of Ianto’s hands as he moved back. The skin had been scraped raw and bloody around the wrists.
“Had to get out of the ropes somehow,” Ianto said, shrugging.
Jack looked him over in distress and Ianto shook his head slightly.
“Come on,” Owen said. “Let’s get this cleaned up.”
“What about Rhys?” Ianto asked.
“I’ve already patched him up,” Owen said. “I’ll take a better look when we’re at the Hub, but he’s not going to keel over.”
“I’ll go talk to them,” Jack murmured, and brushed past.
“He’s gonna be a problem,” Owen observed.
“Probably,” Ianto agreed. “I’ll talk to him later.”
“You reckon Gwen’ll let him Retcon Rhys?” Owen asked quietly as he worked on Ianto’s hands. Toshiko came over to join in the quiet conversation, away from the other three.
“No way she’ll do it,” Toshiko said.
“I’m with you on that,” Ianto agreed.
“Ah, but think Jack will see it that way?” Owen asked.
Toshiko and Ianto exchanged knowing looks. “Nope,” they said together.
“Considering what they’re talking about,” Damien said, wandering over, “I think you’re right.”
“Why, what are they saying?” Ianto asked in an undertone.
“Gwen and Jack are ganging up on poor old Rhys,” Damien reported. “Alternating between yelling at him for being an idiot and getting involved, and praising him for doing pretty well under fire… for an untrained civilian.”
“Who’s doing the yelling?” Ianto asked, grinning.
“Both,” Damien said. “Though mostly Gwen.”
Ianto smirked and relayed what Damien had said to the other two.
“Somehow, I’m not surprised,” Toshiko giggled.
“Look, even this goes the way I think it will,” Ianto said. “I don’t want Rhys knowing about my ability, all right?”
“He won’t hear it from us,” Owen said, wrapping off the last of the bandages. “You’d best have a chat with Gwen later.”
Ianto nodded and flexed his wrists experimentally. There was still some pain, but it wasn’t too bad.
“All right, we’re done!” Owen called, packing up his medical kit with Toshiko’s help. “What’s the plan?”
“Back to the Hub, first off,” Jack said. “UNIT’s on the way to lock down this place and get it cleared up. Tosh, nothing in the systems, right?”
“Nothing we need to be concerned about,” she replied. “I’ve flagged all the distributors they were selling to, and sent out warnings about contaminated meat from this place. I’ll keep an eye on that, make sure everything does end up destroyed.”
“Good job,” Jack said. “Ianto, how’re the hands?”
“Fine, sir,” Ianto replied. “Just a little twinge now and then.”
“All right, then I want you to stay here and work with UNIT,” Jack decided. “Owen, we’ll need you back at the Hub to give Rhys a proper once-over. Ianto, Tosh and I will coordinate with you from the Hub if you need anything.”
“Got it,” Ianto said. In the bustle as everyone got their things together, he managed to catch Gwen’s shoulder. “Gwen,” he said quietly, “I know he’s found out about Torchwood, but he still doesn’t know about my ability. I’d like to keep it that way.”
“He wouldn’t tell anyone anyway,” Gwen said.
“I know,” Ianto lied. “But it would make me feel a lot better. Look how long it took me to tell you lot. And I only did that because I trusted you not to tell anyone else.”
Gwen’s eyes softened. “Of course I won’t, pet,” she said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think how it must be for you.”
“It’s been a hard day on you,” Ianto said, smiling briefly. “I think you’re allowed a lapse now and then.”
She flashed him a quick grin which quickly faded. “I’ll -” she hesitated. “I’ll have to Retcon him, won’t I?”
Ianto bit his lip. “We’ll talk about that later,” he said. “Let’s just worry about getting him healed up first, all right?”
“Sir, quick word with you?” Ianto asked, phone pressed to his ear.
“What is it?” Jack said. Ianto could hear the SUV’s engine humming in the background, and the quiet murmur of the rest of the team and Rhys.
“You probably don’t want to discuss this out loud right now,” Ianto said. “Not with Rhys and Gwen there, especially.”
“Mm,” Jack said.
Ianto leaned in the doorway and watched the road for any sign of UNIT’s vehicles approaching. “I don’t think we should Retcon Rhys.”
“No?” Jack asked.
“He’s got a bullet hole in him,” Ianto said. “If we Retcon him, it’ll take some doing explaining how that happened. And, as he’s proven, he’s not a complete imbecile.”
“Just a partial one,” Jack said, a grin in his voice.
“Sir,” Ianto said reprovingly.
“I’ll be good,” Jack said with a laugh. “Anything else?”
“I think it’ll be good for Gwen,” Ianto said. “The job’s getting to her. And… she just doesn’t know how to talk about it, Jack. We all know how much is safe to say, when and how to lie, when and how to just cut off any questions. She doesn’t. She’s too open for that. Retconning Rhys will hurt her.”
“You think so?” Jack asked thoughtfully.
“Yes. Though I don’t really understand it myself,” Ianto confessed. “I suspect it’s because I’m far too accomplished a liar.” He paused. “Sometimes, I envy her a little.”
“Me too,” Jack said. After a moment, he added, “All right. We won’t.”
Ianto grinned. “Tell Gwen while Owen’s working on Rhys,” he said. “She’ll be happy.”
“All right,” Jack said. Lowering his voice, he said, “And you really weren’t hurt, right?”
“I really wasn’t hurt,” Ianto assured him. He straightened, spotting flashing lights heading his way. They didn’t look like police vehicles. “We’ll talk about that later if you like, Jack. But I wasn’t hurt, and I understand why you had to send me after them. I’m not angry or upset in any way.”
“Thanks,” Jack said in a small voice.
“You’re welcome,” Ianto replied. “I should go now. Looks like UNIT’s arrived.”
“All right,” Jack said. “Be safe.”
Ianto absently wondered why Jack had said that, when the danger was already past.
“Have you ever watched The Princess Bride?” Ianto asked by way of greeting.
Jack turned to look at him in disbelief. “No,” he finally said. “Can’t say I have.”
“Don’t be deceived by the title,” Ianto said with a smile. “It’s actually quite brilliant.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Jack said, looking back down into the medical bay. Rhys was looking a little nervous at all the blood covering Owen’s hands, but it seemed like he’d be fine. With Toshiko helping Owen and Gwen sitting with Rhys, no one else was listening to their quiet conversation.
“I was thinking we could watch it some time,” Ianto said. “Better than going to the movies and needing to run out halfway to catch a Weevil. I know I’ve got a copy somewhere.”
“All right,” Jack said equably. “What’s it about?”
“Sort of a fairy tale, except hilarious,” Ianto said. “Starts off with a man having brought a book over to read to his grandson, who’s laid up in bed.”
“Story in a story?” Jack guessed.
“Right,” Ianto said. “Grandpa has to assure his grandson that it’s not entirely a kissing story, of course.”
“I like kissing stories,” Jack said with a grin.
“I don’t doubt it,” Ianto said. “That’s right at the beginning. Buttercup’s always making unreasonable demands of Westley -”
“Buttercup?” Jack interrupted. “Seriously?”
“Oh, hush,” Ianto said.
“Sorry,” Jack said, sounding not at all sorry.
“And every time she makes a demand,” Ianto went on, “Westley replies, ‘As you wish.’ Eventually, she realises that every time he says that, he’s really saying ‘I love you.’”
“Ah,” Jack said. The very tops of his cheeks reddened slightly.
“Naturally, they get split up just as they’ve realised they’re in love with each other,” Ianto continued casually. “And thereafter, it’s battles and pirates and miracle men and rodents of unusual size.”
“We’ll watch it,” Jack said. “At some point.” He didn’t quite seem able to meet Ianto’s eyes.
“Thanks,” Ianto said, politely not smirking. “Be nice to unwind. So, what’s going on with Rhys now?”
“Jack, could I speak with you a moment?” Ianto asked.
“Sure,” Jack said. “What is it? And are Owen and Gwen in yet?”
“No, not yet,” Ianto said, entering Jack’s office and closing the door. He stepped over to the monitors and quickly switched them on, checking to see where Toshiko and Adam were. With the screen firmly on Adam, Ianto perched on the edge of Jack’s desk.
“Adam’s been with us for ages,” he said slowly.
“Yes,” Jack drawled out. “Why?”
Ianto shook his head. “Can you pull up the security footage without anyone else knowing?” he asked. “From about eight yesterday evening?”
“What’s this about?” Jack asked, but his fingers were already flying over the keyboard as he retrieved the necessary information.
“Damien and Corinne told me some disturbing things,” Ianto said. “I’d like to verify them before I say anything else.”
Jack frowned, but continued to work. “All right,” he said at last. “What are we looking for?”
“According to Damien,” Ianto said without looking at the screen. “At just past eight yesterday, we got something coming through the Rift. You were the only person in the Hub, so you went out after it.”
Jack took a few minutes to review the security footage, and nodded. “Seems right.”
“About two hours later, Damien said you came back with Adam,” Ianto said.
Jack skipped forward a couple of hours, finding the moment when he’d returned. “Must have met him along the way,” he said.
“Can you remember that?” Ianto asked.
Jack’s brows furrowed. “Now you mention it - no,” he said thoughtfully.
“Damien doesn’t remember Adam,” Ianto said softly. “None of them do.”
“I remember him perfectly fine,” Jack began, then stopped. “I trust him. Why do I trust him?”
Ianto looked away. “I trust him too, but the more I wonder why, the less I feel capable of answering that,” he said. “I know all the reasons I trust you. There are real emotions associated with my memories of you, or Owen, or Tosh, or Gwen. But the memories of Adam, they…”
“Don’t feel real,” Jack whispered.
“Six thirty today morning,” Ianto said. “That’s when I got here.”
Jack hastily scrolled to the appropriate time. Adam had spent most of the time at a computer. At approximately half past six, the cog doors rolled open.
“Who’re you?” Ianto asked warily when he came across Adam, his hand instinctively going to his gun in preparation.
“Oh, come on,” Adam laughed, placing a hand on Ianto’s neck. “That joke’s getting old fast, Ianto. It was funny the first time though, remember?”
Jack and Ianto watched in growing discomfort as on-screen, Ianto visibly relaxed after a moment, hand falling away from his gun. He smiled. “Couldn’t resist just once more,” he said, clapping Adam on the back and moving past him. “You’re in early today.”
“Ran into Jack earlier,” Adam said with a smile. “We decided to spend a little time together, so I came back with him.” He laughed. “You know him. It’s hard to say no.”
Ianto paused. “Mm,” he said noncommittally. “Well, I’m off to the archives now. Be up around eight for the usual round of caffeine.”
“Looking forward to it,” Adam called after him.
Jack hit pause. “Was he just insinuating I hit on him?” he asked.
“Seemed that way to me,” Ianto said. “Which also struck me as odd. Adam’s never been mean that way, but that was - either he was being nasty, or he didn’t know about us, neither of which makes sense. That was when I left to go talk to Damien.”
“And he said?” Jack asked.
“Exactly what we saw,” Ianto said. “When I came back up, Tosh was already here, but Corinne said he’d done the same to her.”
A few more minutes with the security footage proved Corinne had been speaking the truth. Jack dialled Owen and Gwen in rapid succession, informing them that they were to stay away from the Hub until further notice.
“Lock-down?” Ianto asked.
“Do it discreetly,” Jack instructed. “I don’t want to tip him off before I’m ready.”
Ianto nodded. “Think there’s a way of getting rid of him?” he asked.
“First, let’s find out what he is,” Jack said grimly. “Then we’ll decide what to do with him.”
When Ianto woke up, it was to the sight of Damien’s concerned face.
“Ugh,” he mumbled. “What hit me?”
Damien looked inexplicably relieved. “You’re all right?” he asked. “What do you remember from this morning?”
Ianto blinked blearily, trying to focus. He felt like he’d just come out of a very deep sleep. “Morning?” he asked. After a moment, he frowned. “Nothing. What happened?”
“An alien that did something to your memories,” Damien informed him. “It got to you, Jack and Toshiko. You had to Retcon yourselves to stop it.”
Ianto suddenly felt a bit more awake. “It got in our heads?” he asked in horror. Looking around, he saw Jack and Toshiko both asleep at the conference table next to him.
“Yes,” Damien said. “Jack found out that the only way for it to survive was by implanting memories of itself into other people. Getting rid of those fake memories killed it off.”
“But you remember it,” Ianto said in confusion.
“Believe me, there were quite a few hours of discussion about that,” Damien said, smiling slightly. “Jack was fairly certain its existence depended specifically on the people whose memories it had directly manipulated. We saw it, but it didn’t affect us. You all decided to risk it, and it looks like it’s worked.”
Ianto glanced at Millie, who was fidgeting impatiently near Damien, clearly recognising that Ianto was speaking to someone else and waiting for her turn. “Millie?” he asked. “It worked? It’s dead?”
“I kept a watch over it,” Millie said immediately. “Disintegrated into nothing. You’ll have to start up the security cameras again. Jack had to shut them down and permanently erase all the footage from the past day or so, to get rid of all traces of the alien. Oh, and Jack had to erase more of his memories, so he’s lost the latter half of yesterday too.”
Ianto watched as Toshiko stirred next to him. Jack was still completely out of it. “But it’s over now,” he said.
“It’s over,” Damien assured him.
“There was no way out but to kill it?” Ianto asked.
Damien didn’t look happy. “No,” he said. “It managed to escape Jack for a while there, Ianto. Did some terrible things to your head. I won’t lie. I’m glad it’s dead.”
Ianto looked around. “Well, no new friends hanging around,” he observed. He gave Damien a little smile. “Thank you.”
Damien inclined his head slightly. “You’re welcome.”
“Makes me wonder,” Jack said. “Do all creatures that die have the potential to become ghosts?”
Ianto frowned. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve seen humans, Weevils, a blowfish once, a Hoix once. Only the humans ever seem inclined to stay long. The others all moved on within the day. I’ve never seen any animals or any other type of alien before though.”
Jack sighed and rolled out of bed, padding over to the window.
“Exhibitionism is still illegal,” Ianto said, taking a few moments to enjoy the sight of a naked Jack.
“Give it a few decades,” Jack advised him with a grin, parting the curtains just slightly, to look out.
“Only a few decades?” Ianto marvelled. “Sooner than I thought.”
“The twenty-first century is when everything changes,” Jack told him.
“You do keep telling us,” Ianto murmured.
“Am I boring you?” Jack asked archly, closing the curtains again and moving back to the bed.
“Not at all,” Ianto said. “Really, boring’s not quite the word I’d associate with you.”
“What is?” Jack asked, straddling Ianto playfully.
“Innovative,” Ianto suggested. “Ground-breaking. Positively pioneering.”
“I like the alliteration there,” Jack noted.
“It’s rather nice,” Ianto agreed.
“Did you have a good birthday?” Jack asked.
“Save for the possible invasion of Earth,” Ianto said. “The rest of it was really quite enjoyable.”
Jack smiled at him. “Good.”
“You really should get off me now,” Ianto said conversationally.
“Why?” Jack asked, settling in more comfortably.
“Isn’t Martha coming over today?” Ianto asked. “I ought to get my work done sooner, so I can be there to help her when she needs it.”
“Fine, fine,” Jack sighed. “Be practical.” He leaned down and kissed Ianto firmly. “But we will pick this up later.”
“I have no doubt about it,” Ianto said, grinning.
The moment Owen was shot, Ianto felt something freeze in him.
As Martha attempted to help him, Ianto turned his eyes on Owen, who was standing next to his body.
“Oh, bugger,” Ianto said with feeling.
“Well,” Owen said, looking up at Ianto. “At least you can see me, eh, mate?”
“He’s dead,” Martha said, instinctively looking up at Ianto.
“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Ianto said. “But I rather wish I couldn’t.”
Owen squatted and attempted to poke his body, only to have his hand go through. “Oh,” he said. “Well, that’s peculiar.”
“Ianto,” Jack said, eyes glimmering. “Is he -?”
Ianto nodded silently.
Toshiko looked rather like her world had just ended.
“Can’t touch her, can I,” Owen said, getting back up.
“Nope,” Ianto said.
“But you?” Owen asked, coming over and laying a hand on Ianto’s shoulder. “Hm, that’s peculiar.”
“You never did run your tests,” Ianto said. “You might’ve known why, then.”
“Couldn’t even figure out something that would help,” Owen admitted. “Obviously nothing weird about your blood-work or brain scans or anything. Didn’t know where else to look. What to look for.”
Ianto took a deep breath and nodded. “You’re awfully calm,” he murmured.
“I am, aren’t I?” Owen said. “I wonder why.” He looked at his body. “Suppose I was expecting it, in a way. Knew that if I couldn’t talk him down, I’d be dead. And well, here we are.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Jack said abruptly, roughly. “We need to get back to base for now.”
Ianto reached up and took Owen’s hand, weaving his fingers with Owen’s. He didn’t comment on the minute tremors running through Owen’s body. He didn’t let go, either, throughout the entire journey back.
Without Owen, they were short a doctor. Once Martha was back in her hotel room, Jack called a quick meeting.
“Any objections to asking Martha to stay on for a bit?” he asked. “Just while we - get back on our feet.”
“Well, if anyone’s going to replace me,” Owen said. “At least it’s a pretty girl.”
Ianto slanted an amused look at him.
“Is - is he here?” Toshiko asked hesitantly.
Ianto nodded towards the seat where Owen was lounging. “Right there,” he said. “He said that at least it’s a pretty girl replacing him.”
Toshiko’s lips trembled.
“Mind playing messenger boy?” Owen asked, watching Toshiko closely.
“Now?” Ianto asked.
“Later,” Owen decided. Ianto nodded.
“Oh,” Jack said. “I need the codes for the alien morgue.”
“That’s what he wants to know?” Owen asked indignantly. “Come on!”
“Priorities, Owen,” Ianto said. “Codes?”
Owen sighed. “2-3-1-1-6-5,” he rattled off.
Ianto repeated the number to Jack, and added, “He’s also rather annoyed that of all things, you chose to ask about that.”
Jack ducked his head and shrugged half-heartedly. “What, I’m supposed to ask what it’s like being able to walk through things?”
Owen’s eyes widened. “I can too, can’t I?”
“Don’t get any ideas,” Ianto warned. Owen leered at him. “I swear, Owen, I see you anywhere near my house and you are in for a world of pain.”
“Oh, come on,” Owen wheedled. “Just for a bit, sometimes.”
“Visits are fine,” Ianto agreed. “But you follow the house rules. Number One is that no ghosts are allowed in the bathroom or bedroom except by invitation.”
Owen blinked. “Only you would have a house rule like that,” he said.
“What kind of house rule is that?” Gwen asked at the same time, looking like she was torn between sadness and laughter.
“A very necessary one,” Ianto replied. “Now, if anyone would like to ask anything, I’m quite used to being - as Owen put it - messenger boy.”
Getting Toshiko alone was the easy part.
Telling her - verbatim - everything that Owen had to say… and watching as she broke down completely, on the other hand…
Ianto held her as she cried, and wished he could do more for her.
The next week was a blur to Ianto. Martha got a temporary transfer to Torchwood, giving them a bit of breathing room while they started hunting for another doctor. Owen tagged along on all their runs, usually alongside Ianto. They discovered, through Owen’s newly-found spying ability, that Henry Parker’s nifty little gadget wasn’t anything to worry about. They also discovered, after gaining the contents of his collection, that some of those things were certainly something to be worried about. Ianto got used to repeating Owen’s commentary, usually in a fake accent that never failed to make Gwen laugh and Owen hit him.
Toshiko slowly remembered how to smile.
“You know,” Jack said to Ianto. Martha’s transfer period had finally run out, and they were once again one person down. They were coping, for now - Owen was able to instruct Ianto well enough, but they really had to winnow down their list of possibilities soon. “I thought I might go after the second Glove. I know someone who probably knows where it is. Where I can find it.”
“What on earth would you want it for?” Ianto asked.
“To talk to Owen,” Jack said. “To -”
“Ah,” Ianto said.
“It’s so dark when you die,” Jack said, staring up at the ceiling.
“Only when you don’t know where else to go,” Ianto replied. “It takes a while, sometimes. Less if you believe there’s somewhere you’re going. Doesn’t matter what belief in particular, far as I can see.”
“Are you sure?” Jack asked, rolling over and pinning Ianto with an intent look.
“Positive,” Ianto said. “I can’t see it myself, but I can - feel certain things, through them. Damien, he’s told me he can constantly feel the pull to move on. They all do. Some are afraid to, some take a while to register the pull, but they all eventually go on.”
“Why is he still here, then?” Jack asked. “And Owen?”
“Probably for similar reasons,” Ianto said. “Damien got fond of me, somewhere along the way. He’s sticking around now to make sure I’m all right. And Owen’s worried about Tosh.”
Jack smiled sadly. “They never really got that going,” he mused.
“That’s probably why he’s staying,” Ianto said. “Insulting all of us, ranting about our incompetence and proclaiming he’d do much better, is just a bonus.”
Jack smothered a laugh in Ianto’s chest.
“He will die a slow and painful death,” Ianto promised no one in particular as he exited the bridal shop. “Or at least, his reputation will. Shut up, Millie.”
“Sorry,” she said through her giggles. “It’s just - he completely thought it was for you!”
“As if I’d wear a dress,” Ianto said, sniffing. “I’d have far too much shaving to do.”
That set Millie off again. Even Ianto was grinning a little, against his will, as he hurried back with Gwen’s makeshift dress. The stress of the wedding and her unplanned pregnancy appeared to have turned her into a real Bridezilla, and he didn’t want to give her any more reason to be unhappy.
The wedding was a fiasco in the end, but one thankfully rescued by a ghostly Owen’s instructions on how to use the Singularity Scalpel. Ianto hadn’t the first clue what he was doing, and he rather suspected that Owen wasn’t entirely sure, either.
Fortunately, Rhys didn’t know that.
Gwen and Rhys finally got married while covered in exploded Nostrovite. It was, Ianto reflected, oddly appropriate for a Torchwood wedding.
“You realise,” Ianto told her afterwards, “that there was no way around this without Retcon.”
“I don’t even know why I was acting so irrational,” she confessed. “If real pregnancy’s anything like that, I’ve been put off for life.”
“It’s not,” Ianto said, grinning. “Nostrovites secrete a chemical mix that interferes with human biochemistry. It would have sent your emotions all over the place, far more than normal human pregnancies supposedly do. Why do you think we just went along with everything you wanted?”
Gwen choked on a small laugh. “Don’t agitate the crazy woman with the alien baby in her, right?” she asked.
“Exactly,” Ianto said. He glanced over at Jack and found him talking to Rhys. Ianto wondered absently if he ought to be worried. “It would’ve sped up the maturation. Unfortunately, it was a high-stress situation anyway, so… Mam came for her baby a little sooner than we expected.”
“I did cause a lot of chaos, didn’t I?” Gwen said sadly.
“It wasn’t all you,” Ianto said kindly.
“Ianto,” Gwen said hesitantly. “Earlier, I - I nearly kissed Jack.”
Ianto stilled.
“Who turned out to be the Nostrovite,” Gwen said hastily. “It wasn’t actually him. I just… I don’t even know why I tried. I had such a crush on him when I started, but I don’t feel - he’s very important to me, but it’s not him I want, it’s Rhys.”
“Nostrovite chemicals,” Ianto said after a moment. “Like I said, sends your emotions all over the place.” It had likely dredged up old feelings, and she hadn’t been able to stop herself from acting on them. He gave her a small smile. “Thank you for telling me, but I don’t blame you.”
She gave him a slightly watery smile. “Thanks,” she said.
“It’s all right,” he said, reaching out and hugging her lightly. “Don’t you cry now, your makeup will run.”
She sniffed a bit as she hugged him back, but withdrew with a smile on her face and no tears in her eyes.
“I’ll get the music set up for your first dance,” Ianto said. “Go on and grab your husband from Jack before Jack puts any ideas in his head.”
Gwen laughed and nodded. “Thanks for doing this,” she said, and hurried off towards Rhys.
The music selection he had to work with wasn’t the best, but Ianto had done a little moonlighting as a DJ, back when he’d been trying to put himself through university. He might have dropped out mid-way through the course, but he still remembered everything he’d learned through his various jobs. He put on the most appropriate song he could find and watched as Rhys and Gwen finally had their first dance as a married couple.
“Nice and chaotic, this one,” Damien remarked.
“Torchwood wedding,” Ianto said as if that should explain everything. It did, really.
“Mm, yes, give you that one,” Damien agreed.
Ianto smiled slightly.
“Are you going to dance with Jack?” Corinne asked eagerly.
“Not planning on it, no,” Ianto replied.
“Oh, come on,” she said, pouting. “You’d look so good together.”
“Secretly, you’re just a voyeur, aren’t you?” Ianto said. “Or, come to think of it, it’s not that much of a secret.”
“Oi,” she said in mock-offence. “I don’t watch, I just… instigate.”
“Because that makes it so much better,” Ianto said, rolling his eyes.
“Ianto,” Owen said, in a preoccupied tone of voice that suggested he hadn’t realised Ianto had been speaking to empty air. “Do me a favour, would you?”
“What is it?” Ianto asked.
“Go have a dance with Tosh,” Owen said. “Just one song.”
“Any requests?” Ianto asked. The second song had just begun, and Jack was watching Rhys and Gwen as if he was wondering whether to cut in.
“Nothing really,” Owen said. “Just… sweet.”
Ianto ducked his head to hide a smile at the uncharacteristic hesitance in Owen’s voice. “I can do that,” he agreed.
Midway through the second song, Jack finally decided to cut in and dance with Gwen. Ianto watched, letting the song play through. “Wind Beneath My Wings” was already queued to play next. As the current song came to an end and Jack and Gwen separated, Ianto straightened his tie and confidently stepped over to Toshiko.
“Hullo, Ms Sato,” he said, smiling at her.
“Something I can help you with, Mr Jones?” she asked playfully.
He held out a hand. “I’d like this dance, if I may,” he requested. “In lieu of someone who can’t do so at the moment.”
Her smile stayed strong. “Whose idea was this?”
“Owen’s,” Ianto admitted, as she placed her hand in his. He led her out onto the dance floor, as Bette Midler’s voice softly rang out. “He’s right here with us now.”
Owen’s hand was reassuringly warm and solid on his shoulder as Ianto moved slowly with Toshiko. Her smile was heartbreakingly beautiful.
“You said before,” she murmured, “that there’s somewhere for them to go.”
“There is,” Ianto said. “But he’ll go when he’s ready. It’s not doing him any harm, being here.”
“Where -?” Toshiko asked. Ianto nodded slightly to the side, and Toshiko turned to face that direction, resting her head on Ianto’s chest.
“Go on whenever you feel like it,” she whispered. “I do still feel sad, but I think I’ll be all right, now. I want you to be happy, Owen, and if it’s better for you there, then go on.”
Ianto chanced a look at Owen. Such a look of genuine tenderness wasn’t something he was accustomed to seeing on Owen’s face. Smiling slightly, he looked back down at Toshiko. That look wasn’t meant for him.
Jack cornered Ianto in the Hub, just as he was about to leave. A few seconds later, Ianto found himself pinned against the wall, determined hands working his clothes off.
Owen howled in dismay and took off running through the cog door.
“Were you trying to make me jealous?” Jack growled. For a moment, Ianto thought Jack was actually serious, but then he heard the playfulness beneath the words.
“What?” he asked eloquently. Jack’s fingers were performing a few clever tricks that were rapidly making him lose the ability to think coherently.
“Dancing with Toshiko like that,” Jack said, biting down hard on Ianto’s exposed shoulder.
“It was for Owen,” Ianto protested. “Besides, you looked pretty cosy with Gwen there.”
“I asked Rhys for a dance,” Jack said. “He looked like he was a second away from a heart attack.”
Ianto stifled a laugh.
“And then I thought, let me dance with Ianto,” Jack went on. “So I look over and what do I see?”
“I’m dancing with Tosh and Owen?” Ianto supplied.
Jack paused. “And Owen?”
“All I was,” Ianto said, “was a reason for Tosh to be out on the dance floor.”
Jack’s eyes softened. “How’re they doing?”
“Better,” Ianto said. “Much better. I think Owen’s almost ready to go on now.”
“Oh,” Jack said, suddenly stilling.
“It’s a good thing,” Ianto said gently, wrapping his arms around Jack in a hug that was more about comfort than sex. “Toshiko’s willing to let him go. And once he’s sure she’s all right, I think he’ll go on.”
“It’s good for him?” Jack asked in a tiny voice.
“It is,” Ianto said, and kissed Jack’s lips softly. “I promise.”
The Doctor informed Ianto, via Martha, that his investigations thus far hadn’t turned up anything reliable. He did have a few new promising leads that he was planning on checking out, and would contact Martha again once he learned anything of significance. More importantly, hidden in the message Martha read to him, was an apology to Jack. Ianto didn’t think Martha realised it was there, and so he didn’t ask her about it. Jack had smiled when Ianto had relayed the message. He hadn’t said anything about it, but he did seem more relaxed than before. That was something, at least.
Owen moved on. Toshiko had both laughed and cried when she’d found out.
“Ghosts can’t see each other,” Ianto told Jack. “It’s just me who can see all of them. I think I can pretty much see anyone, living or dead. And vice versa. Living or dead, they can see me. It makes me wonder, when I die, will I still be able to see them? Will they be able to see me?”
“Don’t stay,” Jack said immediately. “You don’t have to stay and help them.”
“Not for that,” Ianto said, and no matter how much Jack tried to convince him, he refused to elaborate.
After the Night Travellers, Ianto spent the next few days with the victims who’d died, talking to them, explaining what had happened, apologising. He couldn’t shake the guilt at not having been able to save them. Even though he knew Jack was getting worried about him, it was hard to pull himself back together. It didn’t help that none of the victims could accept what had happened to them.
Everyone has a breaking point, he thought dully. Damien kept telling him that. There comes a time when you can’t take any more and you have to get out while you can.
But that in turn brought up the question of how Jack could possibly get out of anything. How could he keep living, without losing himself?
“You trusted me to figure it out and keep it going,” Ianto said in an undertone. “Why not let them know?”
Jack turned a frustrated look on him. “Do you remember, you once said Gwen doesn’t know how to lie?”
Ianto nodded cautiously.
“She doesn’t know how to accept when something’s out of her ability to fix, either,” Jack said. “I don’t want to do that to her.”
Realisation dawned in Ianto’s eyes. “You don’t want her to have to realise she can’t help everyone.”
“More or less,” Jack said. “I don’t know how she manages to still think she can, in this job, but she does. She needs that. I think I need that, too.”
Ianto nodded. “She also doesn’t know how to give up, Jack.”
Jack stared at him wordlessly.
“She’ll find out,” Ianto pressed on. “Maybe not now, not immediately. But she won’t let it go. Remember how she was with Eugene? Or even when trying to find out about us? She won’t let this go. Isn’t it better to control the information she gets?”
“If she finds out a bit,” Jack said tiredly, “she won’t rest until she’s got the rest. And then she’ll still -”
“There’s nothing you can do to stop that,” Ianto said softly. “Sooner or later, it’s a lesson she’ll have to learn.”
Jack fell into a brooding silence. Ianto glanced over at the conference room, where Toshiko and Gwen were talking quietly. Gwen looked distinctly unhappy. So did Toshiko, but unlike the Japanese woman, Gwen didn’t seem like she had any intentions of letting it go.
“I’ll explain it,” Jack said. “But I’m not letting her near the island.” He gave Ianto a near-pleading look.
“I’ll call Helen and inform her to debrief the staff,” Ianto said. “Send her pictures to give them. Gwen won’t get inside. Toshiko too, for that matter.”
Jack leaned in slightly, then stopped and gave him a small smile instead. Ianto took a step forward and brushed his lips lightly against Jack’s.
“I’ll call Helen,” he repeated, stepping away. “Go talk to the girls.”
Jack’s eyes followed him as he left.
“There’s nothing inside,” Adrian reported. “Unless you count the bombs.”
Ianto stopped short. Jack, Toshiko and Gwen continued on a few paces before realising they’d lost him, and turning back.
“Bombs?” Ianto repeated.
“Bombs,” Adrian confirmed. “They’re not strong enough to do more than bring down this building, but I wouldn’t advise any of you being inside at the time.”
“What’s the time left on them?”
“Probably a little under a minute now,” Adrian said.
“Right, then,” Ianto said, giving the team a strained smile. “Apparently, the building’s rigged with bombs which will go off in less than a minute. I’d suggest we stay out here.”
“Good idea,” Jack said after a moment. “Nothing living in there?”
Adrian shook his head. “Absolutely nothing that I saw.”
“Millie?” Ianto asked.
“I didn’t find anything,” she said. “Just the bombs.”
“Nothing,” Ianto said. “Now, I hate to bring this up now, but if we got readings that brought us out here and there’s nothing here but bombs, then clearly -”
The windows blew out with a deafening crash, and the old building slowly began collapsing in on itself.
“- Someone’s trying to set us up,” Ianto finished.
“Well,” Jack said, staring at the destroyed building. “Let’s find out who, shall we?”
Gwen had rallied the police around. A few judicious lies had prompted the police to treat the Weevils like they were all having violent psychotic breaks. Once they were prepared for violence, they stopped going down quite so easily. That in turn meant that they could help more people, and that the number of fatalities and injuries had started dropping. Of course, it also meant that the police got up close and personal with the Weevils - enough to realise that they weren’t, in fact, men in masks.
Ianto had no idea how this mess was going to be cleared up.
Toshiko was on the phone, directing frantic power station personnel on how to contain the imminent nuclear meltdown. Since the breakdown had been caused by alien technology interfering with the power supplies, including all the fail-safes, they’d been at a loss to stop what was happening. Fortunately, with Toshiko’s remote assistance, that particular catastrophe looked like it had been averted.
It was a real pity, Ianto thought, that he wouldn’t be around to help fix all this. The cover story alone would be a pain.
Jack was still missing.
Ianto stared down the barrel of the gun and suddenly wished he’d said something a little more intelligent to Jack, as his last words. Something that might have lasted.
“Don’t you go down without a fight!” Damien roared. It was as if something jolted to life in Ianto, and he went for his own gun instinctively.
Two guns fired, almost in unison.
“Jack?” Toshiko asked, bewildered.
“Long story,” Jack said, clambering out of the cryo-storage unit. “What’s happening?”
“No clue,” Toshiko said. “Nuclear station’s contained, still panic on the streets though.”
“Weevils are contained,” Gwen added. “They finally started going back into the sewers, so I got back here as quick as I could.”
“And what are you doing here?” Jack enquired of John.
“I was helping,” John protested.
“He actually was,” Toshiko said reluctantly. “He was the one who noticed an anomaly in the morgue, too.”
“Good thing,” Jack said, looking around. “Grey?”
“He’s disappeared,” John said grimly. “No clue where’s he got to, which obviously isn’t a good thing.”
Jack took a deep breath and shook his head. “Okay. Where’s Ianto?”
Toshiko ran a hand through her hair in frustration. “Don’t know, can’t raise him,” she admitted. “He said he was going to run down to the lower levels of the archives, see if there wasn’t anything we could use to stop the Weevils, and you know sometimes the comms go out, that far down -”
“He knows better,” Jack said, taking off. After a moment of startled silence, the others followed in his wake. “He wouldn’t go into a dead zone without warning you first.”
When they found them, the bodies had already begun to cool.
A long trail of blood marked Ianto’s progress towards Grey. Then, a smear on the floor and bloody handprints on Grey’s chest and sides and hand. Ianto was on his side, staring at nothing, firmly clutching the device Grey had been using to drive the Weevils mad.
“He stopped them,” Jack said numbly.
Toshiko whimpered. John looked away, uncomfortably aware that at least part of the blame for this death could be placed on him.
“Ianto,” Jack whispered, taking a hesitant, unbelieving step forward.
“Hi,” Ianto replied.
Toshiko, Gwen and John (though he would later deny it) all let out high-pitched shrieks.
Ianto faded in and out of view, kneeling next to his body. He looked up at them, an expression of mingled hope and surprise on his face. “Sorry,” he said. “Wasn’t sure if you’d be able to see me. Haven’t quite got the hang of this. Jack, don’t faint, there’s work to be done yet.”
Jack nodded automatically, still looking perilously white.
Ianto looked off to his side and frowned. “Well, I wasn’t exactly planning on it, was I?” he snapped, then returned his attention to the living people in the room. “So yes, my fellow ghosts can still see me,” he added dryly.
“Ah,” Gwen managed.
“I didn’t think you would, though,” Ianto said. “Suppose there’s a reason for that?”
“Could ask the Doctor,” Toshiko said after a long pause.
“Should do that,” Ianto agreed. He looked down at Grey. “I’m sorry about him. He was rather intent on killing me, though.”
Jack made a vague sound of understanding.
“I’m not seeing things, am I?” John asked quietly, a near-hysterical tinge to his voice.
“Ah, yes, John Hart,” Ianto said reprovingly, standing up. “You know, this was all quite selfish of you. And really, haven’t you learned by now not to let people attach bombs to you?”
“Um,” John said.
Ianto looked down at himself. “So, am I more or less visible to you now?” he asked hopefully. “This is really rather hard.”
“Flickering,” Toshiko said. “Like - static through your body.”
“Oh,” Ianto said. “Well. I’ll work on that.” He gave them an apologetic look. “All a bit new to me, I’m afraid.”
Which was when Jack decided to faint.
“Never going to let you live this one down, you realise,” Ianto said, eyes twinkling with amusement.
“Shut up,” Jack groused.
“No, really,” Ianto said. “Great, invincible leader of Torchwood, he who makes UNIT generals quake in their boots, fainted at the sight of a ghost!”
“I did not faint,” Jack corrected primly. “I blacked out.”
“You fainted,” Ianto said gleefully. “Like a little girl. No, not like a little girl, that’s just insulting to little girls everywhere, my niece would never forgive me. Like a - mmph!”
Ghost or not, Ianto was still pleasantly solid to the touch. True, he looked a tad transparent, but Jack could still shut him up quite effectively with a kiss.
“Aren’t you going to leave?” Jack asked against his lips. Something a little like static shock buzzed between them at all points of contact. It didn’t hurt a bit - quite the opposite - and Jack decided he quite liked the feeling.
“Not just yet,” Ianto said. “I think I’ll stay a while longer.”
Jack closed his eyes and rested his head against Ianto’s neck. Ianto didn’t feel any different. He’d always said that he could interact with other ghosts exactly as if they were human, but Jack had always thought Ianto was exaggerating to make his ability seem less otherworldly. Not any longer. He opened his eyes a sliver, taking in Ianto’s faint body and the parts of the Hub he could see through Ianto.
It was peculiar, but Jack rather thought he could live with it.
“It’s all right if I stay, isn’t it?” Ianto asked anxiously.
Jack privately reflected that it had been a long time since he’d heard such a stupid question.
“Well,” he deadpanned. “That depends. Think a ghost is capable of shagging?”
~fin
I've made a conscious decision not to watch S4. If you do, and you enjoy it, I'm glad for you; just don't ask me if any of my fics will take S4 revelations into account. They won't. I suspect I won't be writing as much Torchwood fic once S4 starts, but whatever I do write will stick to S1 and S2 canon. There will probably be cameo appearances from Rhiannon and her family; anything else from S3 and S4 will be disregarded.
Still, it's been a fun ride, y'all. Don't give up on me just yet - I still have a few Torchwood fic ideas I want to throw out there and share with you. Meantime, I hope you enjoy the last part of this little tale:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
By the time they could safely leave the hotel, Ianto felt a little like a wrung-out dishrag. Jack was snoozing in a contented - and naked - pile next to him on the bed, though, so he couldn’t quite bring himself to be annoyed about it.
His phone buzzed and he reached for it before it woke Jack.
“Hi,” he said softly, lying back down and turning his eyes on Jack again. There was something restful about watching Jack sleep. He was always so full of energy, always fidgeting even when sitting down, so rarely ever still. In his sleep, though, he was relaxed and tranquil in a way Ianto had never before seen him.
It was fascinating.
“Hi,” Toshiko said. “Any idea where Jack is? He’s not answering his phone.”
“Yeah, he fell asleep in my room a while ago,” Ianto said. “Why?”
“Oh, he’s with you, is he?” Toshiko said significantly. Ianto heard muted laughter in the back, and blushed. “Gwen’s asking if it’s safe to head back now. Owen wants to give her another once-over in the Hub, and then she wants to go home before Rhys starts worrying.”
Ianto double-checked the time, just to be certain. They were well past the danger zone.
“Yes,” he said. “It’s fine to go on now.”
“I suppose you won’t be leaving just yet,” Toshiko said slyly.
Ianto paused, then shrugged and decided to go for broke. “Still plenty of things I want to try out,” he said cheerfully. “So no, not for a few hours yet.”
Sleepy blue eyes peered up at him in amusement. Ianto smiled down at Jack even as Toshiko sputtered through her laughter on the other end of the line.
They exchanged a few pleasantries and then Ianto hung up. Jack was stretching out on the bed now, lithe and cat-like, in a manner which made Ianto want to do all sorts of unprintable things.
And this time, there was no need to restrain himself.
“I never did ask,” Jack said, patting the wet, leathery skin of the huge alien. “Can you see the ghosts of aliens? Or is it just humans?”
“Aliens too,” Ianto said. “Ever wrestled with a dead Weevil before?”
“Just when you think it’s over,” Jack muttered.
“This one isn’t here, though,” Ianto said. “Can’t blame him for not wanting to stay.”
“Suppose not,” Owen sighed. Ianto reached out without looking and put an arm around Owen’s shoulders, half-hugging him briefly in commiseration. It said something about how much Owen regretted having to euthanise the alien, that he permitted the action for a good minute before finally stepping away.
“Oi, what’s this, then?” he said, catching sight of Ianto’s hands as he moved back. The skin had been scraped raw and bloody around the wrists.
“Had to get out of the ropes somehow,” Ianto said, shrugging.
Jack looked him over in distress and Ianto shook his head slightly.
“Come on,” Owen said. “Let’s get this cleaned up.”
“What about Rhys?” Ianto asked.
“I’ve already patched him up,” Owen said. “I’ll take a better look when we’re at the Hub, but he’s not going to keel over.”
“I’ll go talk to them,” Jack murmured, and brushed past.
“He’s gonna be a problem,” Owen observed.
“Probably,” Ianto agreed. “I’ll talk to him later.”
“You reckon Gwen’ll let him Retcon Rhys?” Owen asked quietly as he worked on Ianto’s hands. Toshiko came over to join in the quiet conversation, away from the other three.
“No way she’ll do it,” Toshiko said.
“I’m with you on that,” Ianto agreed.
“Ah, but think Jack will see it that way?” Owen asked.
Toshiko and Ianto exchanged knowing looks. “Nope,” they said together.
“Considering what they’re talking about,” Damien said, wandering over, “I think you’re right.”
“Why, what are they saying?” Ianto asked in an undertone.
“Gwen and Jack are ganging up on poor old Rhys,” Damien reported. “Alternating between yelling at him for being an idiot and getting involved, and praising him for doing pretty well under fire… for an untrained civilian.”
“Who’s doing the yelling?” Ianto asked, grinning.
“Both,” Damien said. “Though mostly Gwen.”
Ianto smirked and relayed what Damien had said to the other two.
“Somehow, I’m not surprised,” Toshiko giggled.
“Look, even this goes the way I think it will,” Ianto said. “I don’t want Rhys knowing about my ability, all right?”
“He won’t hear it from us,” Owen said, wrapping off the last of the bandages. “You’d best have a chat with Gwen later.”
Ianto nodded and flexed his wrists experimentally. There was still some pain, but it wasn’t too bad.
“All right, we’re done!” Owen called, packing up his medical kit with Toshiko’s help. “What’s the plan?”
“Back to the Hub, first off,” Jack said. “UNIT’s on the way to lock down this place and get it cleared up. Tosh, nothing in the systems, right?”
“Nothing we need to be concerned about,” she replied. “I’ve flagged all the distributors they were selling to, and sent out warnings about contaminated meat from this place. I’ll keep an eye on that, make sure everything does end up destroyed.”
“Good job,” Jack said. “Ianto, how’re the hands?”
“Fine, sir,” Ianto replied. “Just a little twinge now and then.”
“All right, then I want you to stay here and work with UNIT,” Jack decided. “Owen, we’ll need you back at the Hub to give Rhys a proper once-over. Ianto, Tosh and I will coordinate with you from the Hub if you need anything.”
“Got it,” Ianto said. In the bustle as everyone got their things together, he managed to catch Gwen’s shoulder. “Gwen,” he said quietly, “I know he’s found out about Torchwood, but he still doesn’t know about my ability. I’d like to keep it that way.”
“He wouldn’t tell anyone anyway,” Gwen said.
“I know,” Ianto lied. “But it would make me feel a lot better. Look how long it took me to tell you lot. And I only did that because I trusted you not to tell anyone else.”
Gwen’s eyes softened. “Of course I won’t, pet,” she said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think how it must be for you.”
“It’s been a hard day on you,” Ianto said, smiling briefly. “I think you’re allowed a lapse now and then.”
She flashed him a quick grin which quickly faded. “I’ll -” she hesitated. “I’ll have to Retcon him, won’t I?”
Ianto bit his lip. “We’ll talk about that later,” he said. “Let’s just worry about getting him healed up first, all right?”
“Sir, quick word with you?” Ianto asked, phone pressed to his ear.
“What is it?” Jack said. Ianto could hear the SUV’s engine humming in the background, and the quiet murmur of the rest of the team and Rhys.
“You probably don’t want to discuss this out loud right now,” Ianto said. “Not with Rhys and Gwen there, especially.”
“Mm,” Jack said.
Ianto leaned in the doorway and watched the road for any sign of UNIT’s vehicles approaching. “I don’t think we should Retcon Rhys.”
“No?” Jack asked.
“He’s got a bullet hole in him,” Ianto said. “If we Retcon him, it’ll take some doing explaining how that happened. And, as he’s proven, he’s not a complete imbecile.”
“Just a partial one,” Jack said, a grin in his voice.
“Sir,” Ianto said reprovingly.
“I’ll be good,” Jack said with a laugh. “Anything else?”
“I think it’ll be good for Gwen,” Ianto said. “The job’s getting to her. And… she just doesn’t know how to talk about it, Jack. We all know how much is safe to say, when and how to lie, when and how to just cut off any questions. She doesn’t. She’s too open for that. Retconning Rhys will hurt her.”
“You think so?” Jack asked thoughtfully.
“Yes. Though I don’t really understand it myself,” Ianto confessed. “I suspect it’s because I’m far too accomplished a liar.” He paused. “Sometimes, I envy her a little.”
“Me too,” Jack said. After a moment, he added, “All right. We won’t.”
Ianto grinned. “Tell Gwen while Owen’s working on Rhys,” he said. “She’ll be happy.”
“All right,” Jack said. Lowering his voice, he said, “And you really weren’t hurt, right?”
“I really wasn’t hurt,” Ianto assured him. He straightened, spotting flashing lights heading his way. They didn’t look like police vehicles. “We’ll talk about that later if you like, Jack. But I wasn’t hurt, and I understand why you had to send me after them. I’m not angry or upset in any way.”
“Thanks,” Jack said in a small voice.
“You’re welcome,” Ianto replied. “I should go now. Looks like UNIT’s arrived.”
“All right,” Jack said. “Be safe.”
Ianto absently wondered why Jack had said that, when the danger was already past.
“Have you ever watched The Princess Bride?” Ianto asked by way of greeting.
Jack turned to look at him in disbelief. “No,” he finally said. “Can’t say I have.”
“Don’t be deceived by the title,” Ianto said with a smile. “It’s actually quite brilliant.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Jack said, looking back down into the medical bay. Rhys was looking a little nervous at all the blood covering Owen’s hands, but it seemed like he’d be fine. With Toshiko helping Owen and Gwen sitting with Rhys, no one else was listening to their quiet conversation.
“I was thinking we could watch it some time,” Ianto said. “Better than going to the movies and needing to run out halfway to catch a Weevil. I know I’ve got a copy somewhere.”
“All right,” Jack said equably. “What’s it about?”
“Sort of a fairy tale, except hilarious,” Ianto said. “Starts off with a man having brought a book over to read to his grandson, who’s laid up in bed.”
“Story in a story?” Jack guessed.
“Right,” Ianto said. “Grandpa has to assure his grandson that it’s not entirely a kissing story, of course.”
“I like kissing stories,” Jack said with a grin.
“I don’t doubt it,” Ianto said. “That’s right at the beginning. Buttercup’s always making unreasonable demands of Westley -”
“Buttercup?” Jack interrupted. “Seriously?”
“Oh, hush,” Ianto said.
“Sorry,” Jack said, sounding not at all sorry.
“And every time she makes a demand,” Ianto went on, “Westley replies, ‘As you wish.’ Eventually, she realises that every time he says that, he’s really saying ‘I love you.’”
“Ah,” Jack said. The very tops of his cheeks reddened slightly.
“Naturally, they get split up just as they’ve realised they’re in love with each other,” Ianto continued casually. “And thereafter, it’s battles and pirates and miracle men and rodents of unusual size.”
“We’ll watch it,” Jack said. “At some point.” He didn’t quite seem able to meet Ianto’s eyes.
“Thanks,” Ianto said, politely not smirking. “Be nice to unwind. So, what’s going on with Rhys now?”
“Jack, could I speak with you a moment?” Ianto asked.
“Sure,” Jack said. “What is it? And are Owen and Gwen in yet?”
“No, not yet,” Ianto said, entering Jack’s office and closing the door. He stepped over to the monitors and quickly switched them on, checking to see where Toshiko and Adam were. With the screen firmly on Adam, Ianto perched on the edge of Jack’s desk.
“Adam’s been with us for ages,” he said slowly.
“Yes,” Jack drawled out. “Why?”
Ianto shook his head. “Can you pull up the security footage without anyone else knowing?” he asked. “From about eight yesterday evening?”
“What’s this about?” Jack asked, but his fingers were already flying over the keyboard as he retrieved the necessary information.
“Damien and Corinne told me some disturbing things,” Ianto said. “I’d like to verify them before I say anything else.”
Jack frowned, but continued to work. “All right,” he said at last. “What are we looking for?”
“According to Damien,” Ianto said without looking at the screen. “At just past eight yesterday, we got something coming through the Rift. You were the only person in the Hub, so you went out after it.”
Jack took a few minutes to review the security footage, and nodded. “Seems right.”
“About two hours later, Damien said you came back with Adam,” Ianto said.
Jack skipped forward a couple of hours, finding the moment when he’d returned. “Must have met him along the way,” he said.
“Can you remember that?” Ianto asked.
Jack’s brows furrowed. “Now you mention it - no,” he said thoughtfully.
“Damien doesn’t remember Adam,” Ianto said softly. “None of them do.”
“I remember him perfectly fine,” Jack began, then stopped. “I trust him. Why do I trust him?”
Ianto looked away. “I trust him too, but the more I wonder why, the less I feel capable of answering that,” he said. “I know all the reasons I trust you. There are real emotions associated with my memories of you, or Owen, or Tosh, or Gwen. But the memories of Adam, they…”
“Don’t feel real,” Jack whispered.
“Six thirty today morning,” Ianto said. “That’s when I got here.”
Jack hastily scrolled to the appropriate time. Adam had spent most of the time at a computer. At approximately half past six, the cog doors rolled open.
“Who’re you?” Ianto asked warily when he came across Adam, his hand instinctively going to his gun in preparation.
“Oh, come on,” Adam laughed, placing a hand on Ianto’s neck. “That joke’s getting old fast, Ianto. It was funny the first time though, remember?”
Jack and Ianto watched in growing discomfort as on-screen, Ianto visibly relaxed after a moment, hand falling away from his gun. He smiled. “Couldn’t resist just once more,” he said, clapping Adam on the back and moving past him. “You’re in early today.”
“Ran into Jack earlier,” Adam said with a smile. “We decided to spend a little time together, so I came back with him.” He laughed. “You know him. It’s hard to say no.”
Ianto paused. “Mm,” he said noncommittally. “Well, I’m off to the archives now. Be up around eight for the usual round of caffeine.”
“Looking forward to it,” Adam called after him.
Jack hit pause. “Was he just insinuating I hit on him?” he asked.
“Seemed that way to me,” Ianto said. “Which also struck me as odd. Adam’s never been mean that way, but that was - either he was being nasty, or he didn’t know about us, neither of which makes sense. That was when I left to go talk to Damien.”
“And he said?” Jack asked.
“Exactly what we saw,” Ianto said. “When I came back up, Tosh was already here, but Corinne said he’d done the same to her.”
A few more minutes with the security footage proved Corinne had been speaking the truth. Jack dialled Owen and Gwen in rapid succession, informing them that they were to stay away from the Hub until further notice.
“Lock-down?” Ianto asked.
“Do it discreetly,” Jack instructed. “I don’t want to tip him off before I’m ready.”
Ianto nodded. “Think there’s a way of getting rid of him?” he asked.
“First, let’s find out what he is,” Jack said grimly. “Then we’ll decide what to do with him.”
When Ianto woke up, it was to the sight of Damien’s concerned face.
“Ugh,” he mumbled. “What hit me?”
Damien looked inexplicably relieved. “You’re all right?” he asked. “What do you remember from this morning?”
Ianto blinked blearily, trying to focus. He felt like he’d just come out of a very deep sleep. “Morning?” he asked. After a moment, he frowned. “Nothing. What happened?”
“An alien that did something to your memories,” Damien informed him. “It got to you, Jack and Toshiko. You had to Retcon yourselves to stop it.”
Ianto suddenly felt a bit more awake. “It got in our heads?” he asked in horror. Looking around, he saw Jack and Toshiko both asleep at the conference table next to him.
“Yes,” Damien said. “Jack found out that the only way for it to survive was by implanting memories of itself into other people. Getting rid of those fake memories killed it off.”
“But you remember it,” Ianto said in confusion.
“Believe me, there were quite a few hours of discussion about that,” Damien said, smiling slightly. “Jack was fairly certain its existence depended specifically on the people whose memories it had directly manipulated. We saw it, but it didn’t affect us. You all decided to risk it, and it looks like it’s worked.”
Ianto glanced at Millie, who was fidgeting impatiently near Damien, clearly recognising that Ianto was speaking to someone else and waiting for her turn. “Millie?” he asked. “It worked? It’s dead?”
“I kept a watch over it,” Millie said immediately. “Disintegrated into nothing. You’ll have to start up the security cameras again. Jack had to shut them down and permanently erase all the footage from the past day or so, to get rid of all traces of the alien. Oh, and Jack had to erase more of his memories, so he’s lost the latter half of yesterday too.”
Ianto watched as Toshiko stirred next to him. Jack was still completely out of it. “But it’s over now,” he said.
“It’s over,” Damien assured him.
“There was no way out but to kill it?” Ianto asked.
Damien didn’t look happy. “No,” he said. “It managed to escape Jack for a while there, Ianto. Did some terrible things to your head. I won’t lie. I’m glad it’s dead.”
Ianto looked around. “Well, no new friends hanging around,” he observed. He gave Damien a little smile. “Thank you.”
Damien inclined his head slightly. “You’re welcome.”
“Makes me wonder,” Jack said. “Do all creatures that die have the potential to become ghosts?”
Ianto frowned. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve seen humans, Weevils, a blowfish once, a Hoix once. Only the humans ever seem inclined to stay long. The others all moved on within the day. I’ve never seen any animals or any other type of alien before though.”
Jack sighed and rolled out of bed, padding over to the window.
“Exhibitionism is still illegal,” Ianto said, taking a few moments to enjoy the sight of a naked Jack.
“Give it a few decades,” Jack advised him with a grin, parting the curtains just slightly, to look out.
“Only a few decades?” Ianto marvelled. “Sooner than I thought.”
“The twenty-first century is when everything changes,” Jack told him.
“You do keep telling us,” Ianto murmured.
“Am I boring you?” Jack asked archly, closing the curtains again and moving back to the bed.
“Not at all,” Ianto said. “Really, boring’s not quite the word I’d associate with you.”
“What is?” Jack asked, straddling Ianto playfully.
“Innovative,” Ianto suggested. “Ground-breaking. Positively pioneering.”
“I like the alliteration there,” Jack noted.
“It’s rather nice,” Ianto agreed.
“Did you have a good birthday?” Jack asked.
“Save for the possible invasion of Earth,” Ianto said. “The rest of it was really quite enjoyable.”
Jack smiled at him. “Good.”
“You really should get off me now,” Ianto said conversationally.
“Why?” Jack asked, settling in more comfortably.
“Isn’t Martha coming over today?” Ianto asked. “I ought to get my work done sooner, so I can be there to help her when she needs it.”
“Fine, fine,” Jack sighed. “Be practical.” He leaned down and kissed Ianto firmly. “But we will pick this up later.”
“I have no doubt about it,” Ianto said, grinning.
The moment Owen was shot, Ianto felt something freeze in him.
As Martha attempted to help him, Ianto turned his eyes on Owen, who was standing next to his body.
“Oh, bugger,” Ianto said with feeling.
“Well,” Owen said, looking up at Ianto. “At least you can see me, eh, mate?”
“He’s dead,” Martha said, instinctively looking up at Ianto.
“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Ianto said. “But I rather wish I couldn’t.”
Owen squatted and attempted to poke his body, only to have his hand go through. “Oh,” he said. “Well, that’s peculiar.”
“Ianto,” Jack said, eyes glimmering. “Is he -?”
Ianto nodded silently.
Toshiko looked rather like her world had just ended.
“Can’t touch her, can I,” Owen said, getting back up.
“Nope,” Ianto said.
“But you?” Owen asked, coming over and laying a hand on Ianto’s shoulder. “Hm, that’s peculiar.”
“You never did run your tests,” Ianto said. “You might’ve known why, then.”
“Couldn’t even figure out something that would help,” Owen admitted. “Obviously nothing weird about your blood-work or brain scans or anything. Didn’t know where else to look. What to look for.”
Ianto took a deep breath and nodded. “You’re awfully calm,” he murmured.
“I am, aren’t I?” Owen said. “I wonder why.” He looked at his body. “Suppose I was expecting it, in a way. Knew that if I couldn’t talk him down, I’d be dead. And well, here we are.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Jack said abruptly, roughly. “We need to get back to base for now.”
Ianto reached up and took Owen’s hand, weaving his fingers with Owen’s. He didn’t comment on the minute tremors running through Owen’s body. He didn’t let go, either, throughout the entire journey back.
Without Owen, they were short a doctor. Once Martha was back in her hotel room, Jack called a quick meeting.
“Any objections to asking Martha to stay on for a bit?” he asked. “Just while we - get back on our feet.”
“Well, if anyone’s going to replace me,” Owen said. “At least it’s a pretty girl.”
Ianto slanted an amused look at him.
“Is - is he here?” Toshiko asked hesitantly.
Ianto nodded towards the seat where Owen was lounging. “Right there,” he said. “He said that at least it’s a pretty girl replacing him.”
Toshiko’s lips trembled.
“Mind playing messenger boy?” Owen asked, watching Toshiko closely.
“Now?” Ianto asked.
“Later,” Owen decided. Ianto nodded.
“Oh,” Jack said. “I need the codes for the alien morgue.”
“That’s what he wants to know?” Owen asked indignantly. “Come on!”
“Priorities, Owen,” Ianto said. “Codes?”
Owen sighed. “2-3-1-1-6-5,” he rattled off.
Ianto repeated the number to Jack, and added, “He’s also rather annoyed that of all things, you chose to ask about that.”
Jack ducked his head and shrugged half-heartedly. “What, I’m supposed to ask what it’s like being able to walk through things?”
Owen’s eyes widened. “I can too, can’t I?”
“Don’t get any ideas,” Ianto warned. Owen leered at him. “I swear, Owen, I see you anywhere near my house and you are in for a world of pain.”
“Oh, come on,” Owen wheedled. “Just for a bit, sometimes.”
“Visits are fine,” Ianto agreed. “But you follow the house rules. Number One is that no ghosts are allowed in the bathroom or bedroom except by invitation.”
Owen blinked. “Only you would have a house rule like that,” he said.
“What kind of house rule is that?” Gwen asked at the same time, looking like she was torn between sadness and laughter.
“A very necessary one,” Ianto replied. “Now, if anyone would like to ask anything, I’m quite used to being - as Owen put it - messenger boy.”
Getting Toshiko alone was the easy part.
Telling her - verbatim - everything that Owen had to say… and watching as she broke down completely, on the other hand…
Ianto held her as she cried, and wished he could do more for her.
The next week was a blur to Ianto. Martha got a temporary transfer to Torchwood, giving them a bit of breathing room while they started hunting for another doctor. Owen tagged along on all their runs, usually alongside Ianto. They discovered, through Owen’s newly-found spying ability, that Henry Parker’s nifty little gadget wasn’t anything to worry about. They also discovered, after gaining the contents of his collection, that some of those things were certainly something to be worried about. Ianto got used to repeating Owen’s commentary, usually in a fake accent that never failed to make Gwen laugh and Owen hit him.
Toshiko slowly remembered how to smile.
“You know,” Jack said to Ianto. Martha’s transfer period had finally run out, and they were once again one person down. They were coping, for now - Owen was able to instruct Ianto well enough, but they really had to winnow down their list of possibilities soon. “I thought I might go after the second Glove. I know someone who probably knows where it is. Where I can find it.”
“What on earth would you want it for?” Ianto asked.
“To talk to Owen,” Jack said. “To -”
“Ah,” Ianto said.
“It’s so dark when you die,” Jack said, staring up at the ceiling.
“Only when you don’t know where else to go,” Ianto replied. “It takes a while, sometimes. Less if you believe there’s somewhere you’re going. Doesn’t matter what belief in particular, far as I can see.”
“Are you sure?” Jack asked, rolling over and pinning Ianto with an intent look.
“Positive,” Ianto said. “I can’t see it myself, but I can - feel certain things, through them. Damien, he’s told me he can constantly feel the pull to move on. They all do. Some are afraid to, some take a while to register the pull, but they all eventually go on.”
“Why is he still here, then?” Jack asked. “And Owen?”
“Probably for similar reasons,” Ianto said. “Damien got fond of me, somewhere along the way. He’s sticking around now to make sure I’m all right. And Owen’s worried about Tosh.”
Jack smiled sadly. “They never really got that going,” he mused.
“That’s probably why he’s staying,” Ianto said. “Insulting all of us, ranting about our incompetence and proclaiming he’d do much better, is just a bonus.”
Jack smothered a laugh in Ianto’s chest.
“He will die a slow and painful death,” Ianto promised no one in particular as he exited the bridal shop. “Or at least, his reputation will. Shut up, Millie.”
“Sorry,” she said through her giggles. “It’s just - he completely thought it was for you!”
“As if I’d wear a dress,” Ianto said, sniffing. “I’d have far too much shaving to do.”
That set Millie off again. Even Ianto was grinning a little, against his will, as he hurried back with Gwen’s makeshift dress. The stress of the wedding and her unplanned pregnancy appeared to have turned her into a real Bridezilla, and he didn’t want to give her any more reason to be unhappy.
The wedding was a fiasco in the end, but one thankfully rescued by a ghostly Owen’s instructions on how to use the Singularity Scalpel. Ianto hadn’t the first clue what he was doing, and he rather suspected that Owen wasn’t entirely sure, either.
Fortunately, Rhys didn’t know that.
Gwen and Rhys finally got married while covered in exploded Nostrovite. It was, Ianto reflected, oddly appropriate for a Torchwood wedding.
“You realise,” Ianto told her afterwards, “that there was no way around this without Retcon.”
“I don’t even know why I was acting so irrational,” she confessed. “If real pregnancy’s anything like that, I’ve been put off for life.”
“It’s not,” Ianto said, grinning. “Nostrovites secrete a chemical mix that interferes with human biochemistry. It would have sent your emotions all over the place, far more than normal human pregnancies supposedly do. Why do you think we just went along with everything you wanted?”
Gwen choked on a small laugh. “Don’t agitate the crazy woman with the alien baby in her, right?” she asked.
“Exactly,” Ianto said. He glanced over at Jack and found him talking to Rhys. Ianto wondered absently if he ought to be worried. “It would’ve sped up the maturation. Unfortunately, it was a high-stress situation anyway, so… Mam came for her baby a little sooner than we expected.”
“I did cause a lot of chaos, didn’t I?” Gwen said sadly.
“It wasn’t all you,” Ianto said kindly.
“Ianto,” Gwen said hesitantly. “Earlier, I - I nearly kissed Jack.”
Ianto stilled.
“Who turned out to be the Nostrovite,” Gwen said hastily. “It wasn’t actually him. I just… I don’t even know why I tried. I had such a crush on him when I started, but I don’t feel - he’s very important to me, but it’s not him I want, it’s Rhys.”
“Nostrovite chemicals,” Ianto said after a moment. “Like I said, sends your emotions all over the place.” It had likely dredged up old feelings, and she hadn’t been able to stop herself from acting on them. He gave her a small smile. “Thank you for telling me, but I don’t blame you.”
She gave him a slightly watery smile. “Thanks,” she said.
“It’s all right,” he said, reaching out and hugging her lightly. “Don’t you cry now, your makeup will run.”
She sniffed a bit as she hugged him back, but withdrew with a smile on her face and no tears in her eyes.
“I’ll get the music set up for your first dance,” Ianto said. “Go on and grab your husband from Jack before Jack puts any ideas in his head.”
Gwen laughed and nodded. “Thanks for doing this,” she said, and hurried off towards Rhys.
The music selection he had to work with wasn’t the best, but Ianto had done a little moonlighting as a DJ, back when he’d been trying to put himself through university. He might have dropped out mid-way through the course, but he still remembered everything he’d learned through his various jobs. He put on the most appropriate song he could find and watched as Rhys and Gwen finally had their first dance as a married couple.
“Nice and chaotic, this one,” Damien remarked.
“Torchwood wedding,” Ianto said as if that should explain everything. It did, really.
“Mm, yes, give you that one,” Damien agreed.
Ianto smiled slightly.
“Are you going to dance with Jack?” Corinne asked eagerly.
“Not planning on it, no,” Ianto replied.
“Oh, come on,” she said, pouting. “You’d look so good together.”
“Secretly, you’re just a voyeur, aren’t you?” Ianto said. “Or, come to think of it, it’s not that much of a secret.”
“Oi,” she said in mock-offence. “I don’t watch, I just… instigate.”
“Because that makes it so much better,” Ianto said, rolling his eyes.
“Ianto,” Owen said, in a preoccupied tone of voice that suggested he hadn’t realised Ianto had been speaking to empty air. “Do me a favour, would you?”
“What is it?” Ianto asked.
“Go have a dance with Tosh,” Owen said. “Just one song.”
“Any requests?” Ianto asked. The second song had just begun, and Jack was watching Rhys and Gwen as if he was wondering whether to cut in.
“Nothing really,” Owen said. “Just… sweet.”
Ianto ducked his head to hide a smile at the uncharacteristic hesitance in Owen’s voice. “I can do that,” he agreed.
Midway through the second song, Jack finally decided to cut in and dance with Gwen. Ianto watched, letting the song play through. “Wind Beneath My Wings” was already queued to play next. As the current song came to an end and Jack and Gwen separated, Ianto straightened his tie and confidently stepped over to Toshiko.
“Hullo, Ms Sato,” he said, smiling at her.
“Something I can help you with, Mr Jones?” she asked playfully.
He held out a hand. “I’d like this dance, if I may,” he requested. “In lieu of someone who can’t do so at the moment.”
Her smile stayed strong. “Whose idea was this?”
“Owen’s,” Ianto admitted, as she placed her hand in his. He led her out onto the dance floor, as Bette Midler’s voice softly rang out. “He’s right here with us now.”
Owen’s hand was reassuringly warm and solid on his shoulder as Ianto moved slowly with Toshiko. Her smile was heartbreakingly beautiful.
“You said before,” she murmured, “that there’s somewhere for them to go.”
“There is,” Ianto said. “But he’ll go when he’s ready. It’s not doing him any harm, being here.”
“Where -?” Toshiko asked. Ianto nodded slightly to the side, and Toshiko turned to face that direction, resting her head on Ianto’s chest.
“Go on whenever you feel like it,” she whispered. “I do still feel sad, but I think I’ll be all right, now. I want you to be happy, Owen, and if it’s better for you there, then go on.”
Ianto chanced a look at Owen. Such a look of genuine tenderness wasn’t something he was accustomed to seeing on Owen’s face. Smiling slightly, he looked back down at Toshiko. That look wasn’t meant for him.
Jack cornered Ianto in the Hub, just as he was about to leave. A few seconds later, Ianto found himself pinned against the wall, determined hands working his clothes off.
Owen howled in dismay and took off running through the cog door.
“Were you trying to make me jealous?” Jack growled. For a moment, Ianto thought Jack was actually serious, but then he heard the playfulness beneath the words.
“What?” he asked eloquently. Jack’s fingers were performing a few clever tricks that were rapidly making him lose the ability to think coherently.
“Dancing with Toshiko like that,” Jack said, biting down hard on Ianto’s exposed shoulder.
“It was for Owen,” Ianto protested. “Besides, you looked pretty cosy with Gwen there.”
“I asked Rhys for a dance,” Jack said. “He looked like he was a second away from a heart attack.”
Ianto stifled a laugh.
“And then I thought, let me dance with Ianto,” Jack went on. “So I look over and what do I see?”
“I’m dancing with Tosh and Owen?” Ianto supplied.
Jack paused. “And Owen?”
“All I was,” Ianto said, “was a reason for Tosh to be out on the dance floor.”
Jack’s eyes softened. “How’re they doing?”
“Better,” Ianto said. “Much better. I think Owen’s almost ready to go on now.”
“Oh,” Jack said, suddenly stilling.
“It’s a good thing,” Ianto said gently, wrapping his arms around Jack in a hug that was more about comfort than sex. “Toshiko’s willing to let him go. And once he’s sure she’s all right, I think he’ll go on.”
“It’s good for him?” Jack asked in a tiny voice.
“It is,” Ianto said, and kissed Jack’s lips softly. “I promise.”
The Doctor informed Ianto, via Martha, that his investigations thus far hadn’t turned up anything reliable. He did have a few new promising leads that he was planning on checking out, and would contact Martha again once he learned anything of significance. More importantly, hidden in the message Martha read to him, was an apology to Jack. Ianto didn’t think Martha realised it was there, and so he didn’t ask her about it. Jack had smiled when Ianto had relayed the message. He hadn’t said anything about it, but he did seem more relaxed than before. That was something, at least.
Owen moved on. Toshiko had both laughed and cried when she’d found out.
“Ghosts can’t see each other,” Ianto told Jack. “It’s just me who can see all of them. I think I can pretty much see anyone, living or dead. And vice versa. Living or dead, they can see me. It makes me wonder, when I die, will I still be able to see them? Will they be able to see me?”
“Don’t stay,” Jack said immediately. “You don’t have to stay and help them.”
“Not for that,” Ianto said, and no matter how much Jack tried to convince him, he refused to elaborate.
After the Night Travellers, Ianto spent the next few days with the victims who’d died, talking to them, explaining what had happened, apologising. He couldn’t shake the guilt at not having been able to save them. Even though he knew Jack was getting worried about him, it was hard to pull himself back together. It didn’t help that none of the victims could accept what had happened to them.
Everyone has a breaking point, he thought dully. Damien kept telling him that. There comes a time when you can’t take any more and you have to get out while you can.
But that in turn brought up the question of how Jack could possibly get out of anything. How could he keep living, without losing himself?
“You trusted me to figure it out and keep it going,” Ianto said in an undertone. “Why not let them know?”
Jack turned a frustrated look on him. “Do you remember, you once said Gwen doesn’t know how to lie?”
Ianto nodded cautiously.
“She doesn’t know how to accept when something’s out of her ability to fix, either,” Jack said. “I don’t want to do that to her.”
Realisation dawned in Ianto’s eyes. “You don’t want her to have to realise she can’t help everyone.”
“More or less,” Jack said. “I don’t know how she manages to still think she can, in this job, but she does. She needs that. I think I need that, too.”
Ianto nodded. “She also doesn’t know how to give up, Jack.”
Jack stared at him wordlessly.
“She’ll find out,” Ianto pressed on. “Maybe not now, not immediately. But she won’t let it go. Remember how she was with Eugene? Or even when trying to find out about us? She won’t let this go. Isn’t it better to control the information she gets?”
“If she finds out a bit,” Jack said tiredly, “she won’t rest until she’s got the rest. And then she’ll still -”
“There’s nothing you can do to stop that,” Ianto said softly. “Sooner or later, it’s a lesson she’ll have to learn.”
Jack fell into a brooding silence. Ianto glanced over at the conference room, where Toshiko and Gwen were talking quietly. Gwen looked distinctly unhappy. So did Toshiko, but unlike the Japanese woman, Gwen didn’t seem like she had any intentions of letting it go.
“I’ll explain it,” Jack said. “But I’m not letting her near the island.” He gave Ianto a near-pleading look.
“I’ll call Helen and inform her to debrief the staff,” Ianto said. “Send her pictures to give them. Gwen won’t get inside. Toshiko too, for that matter.”
Jack leaned in slightly, then stopped and gave him a small smile instead. Ianto took a step forward and brushed his lips lightly against Jack’s.
“I’ll call Helen,” he repeated, stepping away. “Go talk to the girls.”
Jack’s eyes followed him as he left.
“There’s nothing inside,” Adrian reported. “Unless you count the bombs.”
Ianto stopped short. Jack, Toshiko and Gwen continued on a few paces before realising they’d lost him, and turning back.
“Bombs?” Ianto repeated.
“Bombs,” Adrian confirmed. “They’re not strong enough to do more than bring down this building, but I wouldn’t advise any of you being inside at the time.”
“What’s the time left on them?”
“Probably a little under a minute now,” Adrian said.
“Right, then,” Ianto said, giving the team a strained smile. “Apparently, the building’s rigged with bombs which will go off in less than a minute. I’d suggest we stay out here.”
“Good idea,” Jack said after a moment. “Nothing living in there?”
Adrian shook his head. “Absolutely nothing that I saw.”
“Millie?” Ianto asked.
“I didn’t find anything,” she said. “Just the bombs.”
“Nothing,” Ianto said. “Now, I hate to bring this up now, but if we got readings that brought us out here and there’s nothing here but bombs, then clearly -”
The windows blew out with a deafening crash, and the old building slowly began collapsing in on itself.
“- Someone’s trying to set us up,” Ianto finished.
“Well,” Jack said, staring at the destroyed building. “Let’s find out who, shall we?”
Gwen had rallied the police around. A few judicious lies had prompted the police to treat the Weevils like they were all having violent psychotic breaks. Once they were prepared for violence, they stopped going down quite so easily. That in turn meant that they could help more people, and that the number of fatalities and injuries had started dropping. Of course, it also meant that the police got up close and personal with the Weevils - enough to realise that they weren’t, in fact, men in masks.
Ianto had no idea how this mess was going to be cleared up.
Toshiko was on the phone, directing frantic power station personnel on how to contain the imminent nuclear meltdown. Since the breakdown had been caused by alien technology interfering with the power supplies, including all the fail-safes, they’d been at a loss to stop what was happening. Fortunately, with Toshiko’s remote assistance, that particular catastrophe looked like it had been averted.
It was a real pity, Ianto thought, that he wouldn’t be around to help fix all this. The cover story alone would be a pain.
Jack was still missing.
Ianto stared down the barrel of the gun and suddenly wished he’d said something a little more intelligent to Jack, as his last words. Something that might have lasted.
“Don’t you go down without a fight!” Damien roared. It was as if something jolted to life in Ianto, and he went for his own gun instinctively.
Two guns fired, almost in unison.
“Jack?” Toshiko asked, bewildered.
“Long story,” Jack said, clambering out of the cryo-storage unit. “What’s happening?”
“No clue,” Toshiko said. “Nuclear station’s contained, still panic on the streets though.”
“Weevils are contained,” Gwen added. “They finally started going back into the sewers, so I got back here as quick as I could.”
“And what are you doing here?” Jack enquired of John.
“I was helping,” John protested.
“He actually was,” Toshiko said reluctantly. “He was the one who noticed an anomaly in the morgue, too.”
“Good thing,” Jack said, looking around. “Grey?”
“He’s disappeared,” John said grimly. “No clue where’s he got to, which obviously isn’t a good thing.”
Jack took a deep breath and shook his head. “Okay. Where’s Ianto?”
Toshiko ran a hand through her hair in frustration. “Don’t know, can’t raise him,” she admitted. “He said he was going to run down to the lower levels of the archives, see if there wasn’t anything we could use to stop the Weevils, and you know sometimes the comms go out, that far down -”
“He knows better,” Jack said, taking off. After a moment of startled silence, the others followed in his wake. “He wouldn’t go into a dead zone without warning you first.”
When they found them, the bodies had already begun to cool.
A long trail of blood marked Ianto’s progress towards Grey. Then, a smear on the floor and bloody handprints on Grey’s chest and sides and hand. Ianto was on his side, staring at nothing, firmly clutching the device Grey had been using to drive the Weevils mad.
“He stopped them,” Jack said numbly.
Toshiko whimpered. John looked away, uncomfortably aware that at least part of the blame for this death could be placed on him.
“Ianto,” Jack whispered, taking a hesitant, unbelieving step forward.
“Hi,” Ianto replied.
Toshiko, Gwen and John (though he would later deny it) all let out high-pitched shrieks.
Ianto faded in and out of view, kneeling next to his body. He looked up at them, an expression of mingled hope and surprise on his face. “Sorry,” he said. “Wasn’t sure if you’d be able to see me. Haven’t quite got the hang of this. Jack, don’t faint, there’s work to be done yet.”
Jack nodded automatically, still looking perilously white.
Ianto looked off to his side and frowned. “Well, I wasn’t exactly planning on it, was I?” he snapped, then returned his attention to the living people in the room. “So yes, my fellow ghosts can still see me,” he added dryly.
“Ah,” Gwen managed.
“I didn’t think you would, though,” Ianto said. “Suppose there’s a reason for that?”
“Could ask the Doctor,” Toshiko said after a long pause.
“Should do that,” Ianto agreed. He looked down at Grey. “I’m sorry about him. He was rather intent on killing me, though.”
Jack made a vague sound of understanding.
“I’m not seeing things, am I?” John asked quietly, a near-hysterical tinge to his voice.
“Ah, yes, John Hart,” Ianto said reprovingly, standing up. “You know, this was all quite selfish of you. And really, haven’t you learned by now not to let people attach bombs to you?”
“Um,” John said.
Ianto looked down at himself. “So, am I more or less visible to you now?” he asked hopefully. “This is really rather hard.”
“Flickering,” Toshiko said. “Like - static through your body.”
“Oh,” Ianto said. “Well. I’ll work on that.” He gave them an apologetic look. “All a bit new to me, I’m afraid.”
Which was when Jack decided to faint.
“Never going to let you live this one down, you realise,” Ianto said, eyes twinkling with amusement.
“Shut up,” Jack groused.
“No, really,” Ianto said. “Great, invincible leader of Torchwood, he who makes UNIT generals quake in their boots, fainted at the sight of a ghost!”
“I did not faint,” Jack corrected primly. “I blacked out.”
“You fainted,” Ianto said gleefully. “Like a little girl. No, not like a little girl, that’s just insulting to little girls everywhere, my niece would never forgive me. Like a - mmph!”
Ghost or not, Ianto was still pleasantly solid to the touch. True, he looked a tad transparent, but Jack could still shut him up quite effectively with a kiss.
“Aren’t you going to leave?” Jack asked against his lips. Something a little like static shock buzzed between them at all points of contact. It didn’t hurt a bit - quite the opposite - and Jack decided he quite liked the feeling.
“Not just yet,” Ianto said. “I think I’ll stay a while longer.”
Jack closed his eyes and rested his head against Ianto’s neck. Ianto didn’t feel any different. He’d always said that he could interact with other ghosts exactly as if they were human, but Jack had always thought Ianto was exaggerating to make his ability seem less otherworldly. Not any longer. He opened his eyes a sliver, taking in Ianto’s faint body and the parts of the Hub he could see through Ianto.
It was peculiar, but Jack rather thought he could live with it.
“It’s all right if I stay, isn’t it?” Ianto asked anxiously.
Jack privately reflected that it had been a long time since he’d heard such a stupid question.
“Well,” he deadpanned. “That depends. Think a ghost is capable of shagging?”
~fin