Resonating Through Time -- I Can Resist Everything But Temptation
Title: I Can Resist Everything But Temptation
dwtwprompts prompt: Enthralled
Date Written: 4/25/08
Rating: PG-13/T to be safe
Word Count: 2,582
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Characters/Pairings: Torchwood Team, Donna, Doctor, Jack/Ianto, TARDIS (That's right, people) mentions Doctor/Rose, Ianto/Lisa, and Martha
Spoilers: Torchwood seasons 1 & 2, Doctor Who Seasons 01-04
Warnings: None, really.
Author's Notes: Here we go, into AU LAND! Part one of two. MUAHAHAHA! See, I'd been nice before!
1/9: Salt and Pepper
2/9: That's the Thing About Gloves, Sir
3/9: Leading Back To Rome
4/9: It's So Nice To See That Insanity Translates
5/9: Cariad, Dwi'n Unig
"Okay, so Doctor, where are we?" Donna Noble asked as she stepped out of the TARDIS. Her skirts were bothersome, and she instinctively lifted them so they wouldn't brush against the ground. The petticoats were itchy, and she wanted to scratch in all sorts of inappropriate ways, but it could have been worse. Ianto had insisted on the petticoats when she'd turned down the hoop skirt, and he'd downright sulked when she'd turned down the corset.
The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS as well, coming up to her left shoulder and looking around. "Tokyo, Japan. Meiji Era."
"Earth then?" Donna was slightly disappointed. They'd done Earth loads of times now, she'd wanted to go somewhere with at least some green men running about this time.
She'd been rather disappointed to find out that Martians did exist, but they were not green at all. Apparently they were a sort of reddish color, making it easier for them to blend into the Martian terrain. Life so wasn't fair sometimes.
"It's Ianto's first time out, I thought we'd break him in gently," the Doctor replied.
Donna laughed. "Oh yeah, like that'll happen."
"Hey!"
"Now children, do I have to spank both of you?"
Jack Harkness stepped out of the TARDIS, holding the hand of Ianto Jones. Ianto looked about, his eyes wide with childlike amazement. Donna wondered if she'd ever looked like that.
The three men were wearing suits; the Doctor in his favorite brown and his trainers (which Ianto noted with distaste. the man was a Time Lord, he should know better than to go around flashing fashions that weren't going to be invented for years yet), Ianto and Jack in matching navy blue that they'd pulled out of the TARDIS' wardrobe room. Ianto fiddled with his tie in a nervous gesture before smoothing his hands down his jacket sides.
"You lot get normal clothing, why do I have to wear this?"
"Because it's the style for Western women in the Meiji Era," Ianto replied. "It's Japan's industrial age, before World War I."
"It's not fair. We're with the Doctor, Jones, we're going to be running and doing all sorts of things that I'm not going to be able to do properly in this!"
The Doctor pulled an injured look, and Jack laughed. "She's got a point!"
"It's the experience of the thing," Ianto told Jack with an air of long-suffering patience. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."
"And when in Pompeii, don't show up on Volcano Day," Donna replied, glaring at the Doctor.
"You know, I can turn this thing right back around--"
"Japan!" Jack called out, clapping his hands together to stem off yet another verbal sparring match between the Doctor and his new Companion. "Meiji period."
"I have a question, Doctor," Ianto added, giving him a small smile. "What happens if I speak Japanese while we're here? Does the TARDIS translate it?"
"You speak Japanese?" Jack tugged his elbow a little to get Ianto's attention, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes, Jack. Fluently. Tosh helped me with pronunciations and the like."
"We already tried that, it just makes it sound like you're speaking Welsh," Donna said, waving a hand of impatience.
"Actually, it reverts the language you speak at them back into your native tongue," the Doctor corrected. "In Pompeii it sounded like English, but since the proper English language we're speaking right this moment didn't exist for them yet, it sounded Celtic, which translated into Welsh in those days."
"I don't technically have a native tongue," Ianto replied, looking at the Doctor. "I learned both Welsh and English growing up. What if I speak Welsh to them? Or another language, like French or Spanish or German?"
The Doctor crossed his arms, thinking. "Don't know. I imagine the TARDIS would just translate it normally." He paused. "Do you speak all those languages?"
"Well, then." Ianto tugged at his jacket a final time to get out all of the non-existant wrinkles before stepping out into the street. The Time Lord and his other two Companions watched as Ianto stopped a man passing in the street and asked him a question.
"I like him!" Donna declared, looking up at the Doctor. "Can we keep him?"
"Hands off, missy, I saw him first," Jack replied, heading off to catch up with his lover.
"You're kidding me!" Donna cried, putting an arm around Ianto's waist. "So the guy really did speak Welsh?!"
Ianto nodded, his hand over his eyes, trying not to break into hysterical laugher.
The Doctor looked over at Jack. "Only you, I swear."
"I didn't do anything!" the Captain protested.
"He's with you, so you get the blame."
Two days and a near civil war later, the four travelers stumbled into the TARDIS. The Doctor and Jack set about starting the engines up as Donna flopped onto the jump seat behind them, complaining once again about how much her feet hurt in these shoes, and what the hell possessed women to wear such things for God's sake!?
Ianto leaned against the railing, grabbing on for dear life when the TARDIS lurched into life, the whooshing noise growing louder then tapering off, the world slowly calming down under Ianto's feet.
"Where are we now?" Ianto asked as Donna threw one of her shoes at him. It was only fair, it was Ianto's fault, after all; he'd insisted she wear them.
"Haven't really picked anywhere specific yet," the Doctor replied, ducking behind the console for a moment and coming back up, wearing his black-rimmed glasses and unfolding -- a map? "We're just idling for the moment. Might just do a random jump, see where we turn up."
Jack came over to Ianto, sweeping him up in a big hug, lifting him off the floor and spinning him a few times, making Ianto laugh. "Well, what did you think? Running about, saving the world, trying not to get killed, seeing amazing things day after day?"
"Just like work, sir," Ianto deadpanned. "Should I go make some coffee?"
Jack laughed and kissed him deeply, his tongue leisurely sweeping into Ianto's mouth for a taste before he pulled back. "I need to contact the team, see what they've been getting themselves into."
"And change into something else, hopefully," the Doctor piped up. "You may not be dripping blood anymore, but your clothes smell awful."
"Yes Dad," Jack replied, giving Ianto one last kiss. He winked at him, leaning in to murmur in his ear, "Maybe you'll come find me later in the bath?"
"I'll see what I can do," Ianto replied, trying very hard not to blush under the oh-so-inconspicuous gazes of Donna and the Doctor. Jack touched his cheek before leaving Ianto alone with the others.
The Doctor gave Ianto a sly grin, chuckling as the Welshman developed a full-on blush. "You haven't been with him very long if you can still do that," he teased.
"Well, I'm jealous," Donna replied. "He sweeps in and flirts with me, then he drags his -- seriously, husband? -- along."
"Husband?!" three human voices cried out in surprise as the TARDIS lurched into motion.
"Yup! Those Vidara necklaces you're wearing, they're a legal wedding contract. Congratulations, Jack, I promise we'll pick you up a toaster when we land."
"Got one of those, sir," Ianto replied, grabbing at Jack. "We could use a kettle."
"And what's with that 'can't die' bit?" Donna continued, pausing only for a breath. "I mean, honestly, he shouldn't be walking about."
Jack had taken a knife in the gut pushing Donna out of the way of a tavern brawl gone bad and slowly bled to death in one of the tavern's private rooms. The Doctor and Donna had settled the fight while Ianto held Jack and kissed him as he slowly died. Donna and the Doctor had come in as Ianto was washing the blood from Jack's hands and stomach, and Donna turned into the Doctor's shoulder and cried.
When Jack came back to life thirty seconds later, gasping and grabbing at Ianto's arm for dear life, Donna had let out a fantastic scream that entertained Jack to no end.
"He told me once, after he'd come back from traveling with you," he said, looking at the Doctor, "that a friend had used the TARDIS to bring him back from the dead, but that she'd messed up and hadn't put a stop point on his life, so he can't die properly."
"Rose," the Doctor replied. His eyes took on a far-away look, and Donna reached over to tug Ianto's sleeve.
"She got lost," Donna said, as if it explained everything.
And it did. "Canary Wharf." Ianto flashed a small, understanding smile at the Doctor's sharp look in his direction. "You weren't the only one who lost someone at Torchwood One."
The Doctor's intense gaze made Ianto want to squirm, but he held himself stock-still. If he could sit calmly through a board meeting with one of Jack's feet in his lap, he could handle this.
Donna looked from one to the other and back again, waiting for an explanation but not getting any.
"I almost forgot, Jack said you were there. Anyway, Rose opened up the ship," the Doctor tapped the console with his foot, "and looked into the Heart of the TARDIS. Absorbed the Time Vortex. Jack was dead, so she used Time itself to bring him back. And Time never stops."
"And now neither does Jack."
"Doctor, I just realized. Where's Jack?"
The Doctor, newly regenerated with energy still thrumming through him, paused, his hand on a dial. "Rose, I'm sorry."
"Oh, oh God, Doctor, he didn't--" she gasped, sudden tears coming up. She covered her face with both hands, starting to sob.
He moved to wrap his new arms around Rose, cradling her in his arms. "No, no, Rose, he's fine. He had something else he had to do, something very important so he had to stay behind. He said he'd miss you."
"Can we go see him?" she asked, tears still pouring down her face. "Please?"
No. Never. "We'll see." He smiled and touched her chin.
Tea. The man liked tea. Honestly, for an alien he was so totally British. It was sort of endearing, though.
He'd made coffee -- and tea -- for the four of them after dinner, while Jack and the Doctor tried to outdo themselves on who'd seen more fabulous things in their lives, while Donna and Ianto laughed and only half-believed them. It reminded him a bit of home, of sitting around the conference table eating take-away, lots of laughter and joking and 'Oh, come off it, that didn't happen!' being called out.
The TARDIS was amazing on the inside, and it also reminded him of the Hub, all hidden compartments and twists and turns and amazing secrets hidden behind wardrobe doors (Doctor. this is not a CS Lewis novel). The kitchen had been mind-blowing, with everything he'd ever want and need locked inside the kitchen cupboards, and the bedroom he and Jack had claimed -- Jack had insisted it was his old room when he'd traveled, but Ianto wasn't quite sure how Jack could tell -- had changed from the plain single bed and tiny chest of drawers he'd seen at first into a huge four post bed, a full dresser and a wardrobe up against the walls.
The TARDIS was alive, Jack had explained once Ianto had sat on the bed and adjusted to the unexpected change. "She likes to make her passengers happy. She knew what we wanted, and gave it to us."
"She." It wasn't a question, just a statement, as if Ianto wanted to make sure he was using the correct pronoun.
Jack laughed and patted the wall. "Knowing she's alive, can you call her 'it'?"
Ianto shook his head, smiling back. "How can I thank her?"
"Just love her," Jack replied, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him in for a kiss. "Thank her in your own way. The Doctor touches her, so did Rose. She seems to appreciate it when we do."
Ianto was alone in the console room, gently running his hand along the spaces between the buttons and levers, his other hand holding a mug of coffee. He walked around a few times before moving to sit on the grating where the Doctor had been reading his map earlier, situating himself so his back was pressed up against the console.
"Thank you," he said softly, feeling a little like an idiot. The Doctor or Jack or Donna was going to walk in any moment now and think he'd gone mad, talking to himself.
As he sat there sipping his coffee, he felt the console grow warmer against his back, a sensation of happiness and contentment flowing over him, wrapping about him like a security blanket.
The TARDIS was alive, and she was happy he was there.
Ianto smiled and tipped his head back to rest against the console as well. "Thank you," he repeated, a little louder this time. "Thank you for giving me this, this something special to share with Jack."
The sensation was pulsing now, a deep rhythm resonating with his own heartbeat. She loved him.
She loved him, as she had loved all the Doctor's Others, with an instant adoration, marking their brief lifespans into her Heart and holding it close.
So much pain in such a tiny time. If she could make them happy, she'd do anything. Like with the Bad Wolf, who had wanted to be with their Doctor, who had wanted Jack Harkness as a fact, as something constant that would never leave. So had she, and she gave the Bad Wolf the power to do that.
This one too, was sad, his sorrow borne deep down. She brushed against his mind and saw the loss of another, the fear of losing Jack, the fear of leaving Jack.
She wanted to make him happy.
She knew how to do it.
The Doctor and Jack had been reminiscing about Martha Jones, savior of the universe. Jack had told him how she'd saved his team, helped saved aliens from the fate of a human who saw thing as things, saved the world from Death personified and helped one of his team through subsequent zombification (just two words on that one: Only. Torchwood).
Oh Martha Jones. A credit to her species, giving hope to the human race.
Jack didn't notice, but he'd been playing with his necklace the entire time they'd been sitting in the library, sharing a glass of alien liquor Jack himself had picked up back when Rose had been with them. The Doctor was happy for him -- the light of the old Jack was back in his eyes every time the immortal looked at Ianto.
It made his hearts ache. He still missed Rose, missed her so much, wanted to go through the Void, but he couldn't bring himself to damn the consequences.
Jack paused halfway through his sentence, glass raised to his lips. His eyes widened and he set the glass aside.
"What is it?" The Doctor set his glass aside as well, watching Jack's unfocused gaze. "Jack!"
Jack looked up at him, eyes still unfocused. The blue depths had a hint of gold in them, the whisper of a song playing behind his voice as he said one word.
"Ianto."
The Doctor was running out of the room before Jack finished the second syllable.
ETA: Chapter six part two here
dwtwprompts prompt: Enthralled
Date Written: 4/25/08
Rating: PG-13/T to be safe
Word Count: 2,582
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Characters/Pairings: Torchwood Team, Donna, Doctor, Jack/Ianto, TARDIS (That's right, people) mentions Doctor/Rose, Ianto/Lisa, and Martha
Spoilers: Torchwood seasons 1 & 2, Doctor Who Seasons 01-04
Warnings: None, really.
Author's Notes: Here we go, into AU LAND! Part one of two. MUAHAHAHA! See, I'd been nice before!
1/9: Salt and Pepper
2/9: That's the Thing About Gloves, Sir
3/9: Leading Back To Rome
4/9: It's So Nice To See That Insanity Translates
5/9: Cariad, Dwi'n Unig
"Okay, so Doctor, where are we?" Donna Noble asked as she stepped out of the TARDIS. Her skirts were bothersome, and she instinctively lifted them so they wouldn't brush against the ground. The petticoats were itchy, and she wanted to scratch in all sorts of inappropriate ways, but it could have been worse. Ianto had insisted on the petticoats when she'd turned down the hoop skirt, and he'd downright sulked when she'd turned down the corset.
The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS as well, coming up to her left shoulder and looking around. "Tokyo, Japan. Meiji Era."
"Earth then?" Donna was slightly disappointed. They'd done Earth loads of times now, she'd wanted to go somewhere with at least some green men running about this time.
She'd been rather disappointed to find out that Martians did exist, but they were not green at all. Apparently they were a sort of reddish color, making it easier for them to blend into the Martian terrain. Life so wasn't fair sometimes.
"It's Ianto's first time out, I thought we'd break him in gently," the Doctor replied.
Donna laughed. "Oh yeah, like that'll happen."
"Hey!"
"Now children, do I have to spank both of you?"
Jack Harkness stepped out of the TARDIS, holding the hand of Ianto Jones. Ianto looked about, his eyes wide with childlike amazement. Donna wondered if she'd ever looked like that.
The three men were wearing suits; the Doctor in his favorite brown and his trainers (which Ianto noted with distaste. the man was a Time Lord, he should know better than to go around flashing fashions that weren't going to be invented for years yet), Ianto and Jack in matching navy blue that they'd pulled out of the TARDIS' wardrobe room. Ianto fiddled with his tie in a nervous gesture before smoothing his hands down his jacket sides.
"You lot get normal clothing, why do I have to wear this?"
"Because it's the style for Western women in the Meiji Era," Ianto replied. "It's Japan's industrial age, before World War I."
"It's not fair. We're with the Doctor, Jones, we're going to be running and doing all sorts of things that I'm not going to be able to do properly in this!"
The Doctor pulled an injured look, and Jack laughed. "She's got a point!"
"It's the experience of the thing," Ianto told Jack with an air of long-suffering patience. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."
"And when in Pompeii, don't show up on Volcano Day," Donna replied, glaring at the Doctor.
"You know, I can turn this thing right back around--"
"Japan!" Jack called out, clapping his hands together to stem off yet another verbal sparring match between the Doctor and his new Companion. "Meiji period."
"I have a question, Doctor," Ianto added, giving him a small smile. "What happens if I speak Japanese while we're here? Does the TARDIS translate it?"
"You speak Japanese?" Jack tugged his elbow a little to get Ianto's attention, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes, Jack. Fluently. Tosh helped me with pronunciations and the like."
"We already tried that, it just makes it sound like you're speaking Welsh," Donna said, waving a hand of impatience.
"Actually, it reverts the language you speak at them back into your native tongue," the Doctor corrected. "In Pompeii it sounded like English, but since the proper English language we're speaking right this moment didn't exist for them yet, it sounded Celtic, which translated into Welsh in those days."
"I don't technically have a native tongue," Ianto replied, looking at the Doctor. "I learned both Welsh and English growing up. What if I speak Welsh to them? Or another language, like French or Spanish or German?"
The Doctor crossed his arms, thinking. "Don't know. I imagine the TARDIS would just translate it normally." He paused. "Do you speak all those languages?"
"Well, then." Ianto tugged at his jacket a final time to get out all of the non-existant wrinkles before stepping out into the street. The Time Lord and his other two Companions watched as Ianto stopped a man passing in the street and asked him a question.
"I like him!" Donna declared, looking up at the Doctor. "Can we keep him?"
"Hands off, missy, I saw him first," Jack replied, heading off to catch up with his lover.
"You're kidding me!" Donna cried, putting an arm around Ianto's waist. "So the guy really did speak Welsh?!"
Ianto nodded, his hand over his eyes, trying not to break into hysterical laugher.
The Doctor looked over at Jack. "Only you, I swear."
"I didn't do anything!" the Captain protested.
"He's with you, so you get the blame."
Two days and a near civil war later, the four travelers stumbled into the TARDIS. The Doctor and Jack set about starting the engines up as Donna flopped onto the jump seat behind them, complaining once again about how much her feet hurt in these shoes, and what the hell possessed women to wear such things for God's sake!?
Ianto leaned against the railing, grabbing on for dear life when the TARDIS lurched into life, the whooshing noise growing louder then tapering off, the world slowly calming down under Ianto's feet.
"Where are we now?" Ianto asked as Donna threw one of her shoes at him. It was only fair, it was Ianto's fault, after all; he'd insisted she wear them.
"Haven't really picked anywhere specific yet," the Doctor replied, ducking behind the console for a moment and coming back up, wearing his black-rimmed glasses and unfolding -- a map? "We're just idling for the moment. Might just do a random jump, see where we turn up."
Jack came over to Ianto, sweeping him up in a big hug, lifting him off the floor and spinning him a few times, making Ianto laugh. "Well, what did you think? Running about, saving the world, trying not to get killed, seeing amazing things day after day?"
"Just like work, sir," Ianto deadpanned. "Should I go make some coffee?"
Jack laughed and kissed him deeply, his tongue leisurely sweeping into Ianto's mouth for a taste before he pulled back. "I need to contact the team, see what they've been getting themselves into."
"And change into something else, hopefully," the Doctor piped up. "You may not be dripping blood anymore, but your clothes smell awful."
"Yes Dad," Jack replied, giving Ianto one last kiss. He winked at him, leaning in to murmur in his ear, "Maybe you'll come find me later in the bath?"
"I'll see what I can do," Ianto replied, trying very hard not to blush under the oh-so-inconspicuous gazes of Donna and the Doctor. Jack touched his cheek before leaving Ianto alone with the others.
The Doctor gave Ianto a sly grin, chuckling as the Welshman developed a full-on blush. "You haven't been with him very long if you can still do that," he teased.
"Well, I'm jealous," Donna replied. "He sweeps in and flirts with me, then he drags his -- seriously, husband? -- along."
"Husband?!" three human voices cried out in surprise as the TARDIS lurched into motion.
"Yup! Those Vidara necklaces you're wearing, they're a legal wedding contract. Congratulations, Jack, I promise we'll pick you up a toaster when we land."
"Got one of those, sir," Ianto replied, grabbing at Jack. "We could use a kettle."
"And what's with that 'can't die' bit?" Donna continued, pausing only for a breath. "I mean, honestly, he shouldn't be walking about."
Jack had taken a knife in the gut pushing Donna out of the way of a tavern brawl gone bad and slowly bled to death in one of the tavern's private rooms. The Doctor and Donna had settled the fight while Ianto held Jack and kissed him as he slowly died. Donna and the Doctor had come in as Ianto was washing the blood from Jack's hands and stomach, and Donna turned into the Doctor's shoulder and cried.
When Jack came back to life thirty seconds later, gasping and grabbing at Ianto's arm for dear life, Donna had let out a fantastic scream that entertained Jack to no end.
"He told me once, after he'd come back from traveling with you," he said, looking at the Doctor, "that a friend had used the TARDIS to bring him back from the dead, but that she'd messed up and hadn't put a stop point on his life, so he can't die properly."
"Rose," the Doctor replied. His eyes took on a far-away look, and Donna reached over to tug Ianto's sleeve.
"She got lost," Donna said, as if it explained everything.
And it did. "Canary Wharf." Ianto flashed a small, understanding smile at the Doctor's sharp look in his direction. "You weren't the only one who lost someone at Torchwood One."
The Doctor's intense gaze made Ianto want to squirm, but he held himself stock-still. If he could sit calmly through a board meeting with one of Jack's feet in his lap, he could handle this.
Donna looked from one to the other and back again, waiting for an explanation but not getting any.
"I almost forgot, Jack said you were there. Anyway, Rose opened up the ship," the Doctor tapped the console with his foot, "and looked into the Heart of the TARDIS. Absorbed the Time Vortex. Jack was dead, so she used Time itself to bring him back. And Time never stops."
"And now neither does Jack."
"Doctor, I just realized. Where's Jack?"
The Doctor, newly regenerated with energy still thrumming through him, paused, his hand on a dial. "Rose, I'm sorry."
"Oh, oh God, Doctor, he didn't--" she gasped, sudden tears coming up. She covered her face with both hands, starting to sob.
He moved to wrap his new arms around Rose, cradling her in his arms. "No, no, Rose, he's fine. He had something else he had to do, something very important so he had to stay behind. He said he'd miss you."
"Can we go see him?" she asked, tears still pouring down her face. "Please?"
No. Never. "We'll see." He smiled and touched her chin.
Tea. The man liked tea. Honestly, for an alien he was so totally British. It was sort of endearing, though.
He'd made coffee -- and tea -- for the four of them after dinner, while Jack and the Doctor tried to outdo themselves on who'd seen more fabulous things in their lives, while Donna and Ianto laughed and only half-believed them. It reminded him a bit of home, of sitting around the conference table eating take-away, lots of laughter and joking and 'Oh, come off it, that didn't happen!' being called out.
The TARDIS was amazing on the inside, and it also reminded him of the Hub, all hidden compartments and twists and turns and amazing secrets hidden behind wardrobe doors (Doctor. this is not a CS Lewis novel). The kitchen had been mind-blowing, with everything he'd ever want and need locked inside the kitchen cupboards, and the bedroom he and Jack had claimed -- Jack had insisted it was his old room when he'd traveled, but Ianto wasn't quite sure how Jack could tell -- had changed from the plain single bed and tiny chest of drawers he'd seen at first into a huge four post bed, a full dresser and a wardrobe up against the walls.
The TARDIS was alive, Jack had explained once Ianto had sat on the bed and adjusted to the unexpected change. "She likes to make her passengers happy. She knew what we wanted, and gave it to us."
"She." It wasn't a question, just a statement, as if Ianto wanted to make sure he was using the correct pronoun.
Jack laughed and patted the wall. "Knowing she's alive, can you call her 'it'?"
Ianto shook his head, smiling back. "How can I thank her?"
"Just love her," Jack replied, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him in for a kiss. "Thank her in your own way. The Doctor touches her, so did Rose. She seems to appreciate it when we do."
Ianto was alone in the console room, gently running his hand along the spaces between the buttons and levers, his other hand holding a mug of coffee. He walked around a few times before moving to sit on the grating where the Doctor had been reading his map earlier, situating himself so his back was pressed up against the console.
"Thank you," he said softly, feeling a little like an idiot. The Doctor or Jack or Donna was going to walk in any moment now and think he'd gone mad, talking to himself.
As he sat there sipping his coffee, he felt the console grow warmer against his back, a sensation of happiness and contentment flowing over him, wrapping about him like a security blanket.
The TARDIS was alive, and she was happy he was there.
Ianto smiled and tipped his head back to rest against the console as well. "Thank you," he repeated, a little louder this time. "Thank you for giving me this, this something special to share with Jack."
The sensation was pulsing now, a deep rhythm resonating with his own heartbeat. She loved him.
She loved him, as she had loved all the Doctor's Others, with an instant adoration, marking their brief lifespans into her Heart and holding it close.
So much pain in such a tiny time. If she could make them happy, she'd do anything. Like with the Bad Wolf, who had wanted to be with their Doctor, who had wanted Jack Harkness as a fact, as something constant that would never leave. So had she, and she gave the Bad Wolf the power to do that.
This one too, was sad, his sorrow borne deep down. She brushed against his mind and saw the loss of another, the fear of losing Jack, the fear of leaving Jack.
She wanted to make him happy.
She knew how to do it.
The Doctor and Jack had been reminiscing about Martha Jones, savior of the universe. Jack had told him how she'd saved his team, helped saved aliens from the fate of a human who saw thing as things, saved the world from Death personified and helped one of his team through subsequent zombification (just two words on that one: Only. Torchwood).
Oh Martha Jones. A credit to her species, giving hope to the human race.
Jack didn't notice, but he'd been playing with his necklace the entire time they'd been sitting in the library, sharing a glass of alien liquor Jack himself had picked up back when Rose had been with them. The Doctor was happy for him -- the light of the old Jack was back in his eyes every time the immortal looked at Ianto.
It made his hearts ache. He still missed Rose, missed her so much, wanted to go through the Void, but he couldn't bring himself to damn the consequences.
Jack paused halfway through his sentence, glass raised to his lips. His eyes widened and he set the glass aside.
"What is it?" The Doctor set his glass aside as well, watching Jack's unfocused gaze. "Jack!"
Jack looked up at him, eyes still unfocused. The blue depths had a hint of gold in them, the whisper of a song playing behind his voice as he said one word.
"Ianto."
The Doctor was running out of the room before Jack finished the second syllable.
ETA: Chapter six part two here