Hidden Identity- Chapter 9
Title: Hidden Identity- Chapter 9/13 + Epilogue
Author: Iantojjackh
Rating: PG
Summary: Jack and Ianto have returned to Earth and brought the 456 with them. It's just another day in the adventures of Jack and Ianto and what happens when someone finds out Ianto is alive?
Characters: Jack Harkness, Alonso Frame, Gwen Cooper, Rhys Williams, Rhiannon Davies, Ianto Jones, Tenth Doctor, Twelfth Doctor,
Spoilers: CoE compliant fix-it and The End of Time (DW)
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me. I just borrowed them for a short spell. I wish I owned them so there wouldn't be the need to write fix-its like this.
Word Count: ~26k
Beta: timelordshines
Notes: this originally started off as a prompt from jo02 from the torchwood-fest member created fest way back earlier this year. After several starts and stops, I finally finished this. Also written for longliveianto big bang Round 2. Happy Holidays to all!
Chapter 9
"Hello?" Ianto said, the words coming out more as a question than a statement. He shared a panicked look with Jack as his arm slid around Jack's waist.
"What's going on?" Rhiannon finally found her voice. "What do you mean ‘hello’? Is that really you, Ianto?" He reached out for her brother, but Ianto flinched away and he held Jack in the way to stop her getting too close. The confused woman did not know if what she was seeing was real or not, but what kind of hallucination involves seeing your brother in a compromising position with the man he was involved with when he died?
Ianto thought quickly but carefully on how he was going to handle this. They had got wrapped up in a moment and now had to find a way out. Deep down he knew there was only one way. "Do you have some on you?" He whispered to Jack.
"It's at the hotel. Are you sure you want to do this?" Jack knew his husband well enough that he was talking about having to Retcon his sister after telling Rhiannon the truth. Perhaps this would help relieve some of the guilt they were hiding, even if for only a short time. Jack stole a quick glance over at Rhiannon who was clearly irritated and waiting for an answer. It was an angry stare Jack knew well. "She's got that same look you get when you get mad at me."
"Oi, I asked you a question," Rhiannon did not wait for an answer and pushed Jack away. "Why do you look like my brother and why are you with him? Ianto’s dead because of him." The Welshwoman's fury was directed at Jack, seizing the moment to give Jack what he deserved, what she did not have the chance to do earlier.
Ianto put himself between his husband and his sister. "Because it's really me. Jack is not responsible for getting me killed, I went willingly with him into the MI5 building. We had to stop the 456 but everything went wrong."
Rhiannon shook get head, refusing to believe what she was seeing. "Is this a sick game of yours?" An accusatory finger was pointed at Jack. "Ianto is dead. So I want to know what this is in front of me." She grabbed Ianto's face, looking to see if it was some realistic mask he wore.
"Nobody is playing any games. It's a long story, but I'm not dead anymore. Can you get your hands off me, Monkey Breath, so I can explain?"
"What did you call me?" hearing her childhood nickname, Rhiannon let go of the face she had been manhandling.
"You called your sister Monkey Breath?" Jack started to laugh but was met with angry faces from the Jones' siblings. "Um. I'm just going to wait in the car." Jack made a quick exit, giving the pair some time alone.
"How is this possible? Gwen saw your body." A sudden flash of anger coursed through Rhiannon's body. "Wait! Does Gwen know? She just called me because she was angry at Jack." There would be words exchanged if Gwen knew and did not say anything.
Ianto shook his head. "Gwen has no idea who I really am. She sees me like this," he reached up and activated the chip. "To her my name is Alonso and I'm just some random person Jack picked up in a bar. She doesn't like Alonso very much." Ianto then deactivated the chip and returned to his natural form.
Rhiannon watched in awe as Ianto changed in appearance and voice and then changed back. "Bloody hell!" The dam holding back the tears broke and Rhiannon began to sob and threw her arms around Ianto and refused to let go. "Must you always be cavalier about things. It's not as if you stepped out to the shops." It infuriated the Welshwoman that Ianto was so blasé about apparently coming back from the dead. "Do you have any idea how much everyone missed you?"
Ianto knew he was not taking this seriously enough. "I know. If that was not the case I would still be dead." His gaze shifted toward Jack who looked like he was not listening in on the conversation, but it was obvious he was. "Gwen's been giving Jack a lot of flak about me and he said you yelled at him too."
"He's the reason you're here, isn't he?"
"Yes." Ianto almost looked embarrassed to admit it. "Everyone's being so hard on him and I wanted to tell you all to stop it, but I couldn't."
"It's because the way he treated you that we were mad at him. He came back like nothing happened. Happy and not a care in the world. Like he didn't miss you at all and now I see why. There isn't any reason to be mad at him is there?"
"None at all. I’m only alive because he couldn’t deal with losing me. He fell apart so completely when I died that it set in motion a series of incredible events that led to me being brought back.”
"And for clarity sake, you're the one he's married to, right?" Rhiannon just wanted to make sure.
Ianto nodded and held up his hand, showing his ring. "For a month now."
"Are you happy?" Rhiannon did not need an answer to that, the permanent glow on Ianto's face said everything that needed to be said.
"Never been happier," Ianto grinned and rocked on his heels. "We shouldn't be having this conversation here. There is so much I need to tell you but not here. I can't really be seen in public without the disguise. You should come back with Jack and me to our hotel where we can talk about this in private."
Rhiannon crinkled her faced in confusion, wondering what the disguise was all about, why he couldn’t just announce he was back, tell everyone there had been a mistake and he’d never died? "What about my car?" She had to admit happy really suited her brother, a far cry from the nervous wreck he was the last time she had seen Ianto.
"I'll drive you back when we are done." Ianto said in a tone that left no room for argument.
"Wouldn't it be easier if we just drove in my car and Jack could meet us at the hotel?"
Ianto shook his head, trying to think of a good excuse on the fly. "We can't risk it. You shouldn't be seen alone with me. If Jack is with us it will at least make sense. If anyone says anything you have to pretend to be mad at Jack." Ianto was rather pleased with the excuse he came up with.
"Whatever is best." Rhiannon got into the back seat, a little worried. It felt to her like Jack was taking charge and keeping her brother on a very short leash. What she didn’t realise was that Ianto was the one in complete control of this situation.
Rhiannon's assessment of the circumstances changed as she watched the couple in the front seat acting the way newlyweds should: the stolen longing glances at red lights, the way they laced their fingers together between gear shifts and the way they bickered over what radio station to put on. Clearly they were two people who were deeply in love with each other. It brought tears to her eyes to see her brother finally being able to be happy and relaxed.
It was mesmerising to watch them interact and Rhiannon paid more attention to them than to where they were going until Ianto suddenly yelled, "Shit. What are you doing?" She watched in horror as the car went up and over the island that split the street in two and toward the entrance to the car park.
"It saves us from going around the one way system to get in," Jack shrugged.
"You are never driving again. That's it." Ianto shook his head, glaring sternly at Jack.
"But I didn't hit anyone." Jack did not see what the big deal was.
"Not the point," Ianto sighed shaking his head as Jack punched in the code to the car park.
"Spoilsport." Jack stuck out his tongue and Ianto beat his husband at his own game leaning over and flicking Jack's tongue with his own before teasing it with his teeth.
Rhiannon cleared her throat as loudly as she could to get both men's attention. "Did you forget you weren't alone?" This all still felt like a bizarre dream that Rhiannon would wake up from any moment and find that Ianto was still dead.
"Um, sorry." Ianto's faced matched the same shade of deep scarlet as Jack's.
"We are still getting used to this whole being married thing and that I never have to say goodbye to Ianto ever again." Jack said with a gleeful grin.
"You don't need to suck up her." Ianto teasingly pointed out. "I think knowing I'm alive because of you is enough."
Rhiannon noted that this was not the first time that her brother had said he was alive because of Jack, so she had to ask "What do you mean you're alive because of him?"
Jack opened the car door for his sister-in-law and put on his best smile, "It's a long story."
"So we'd better start at the beginning." Ianto picked up where Jack left off and nodded toward the lift. "Upstairs preferably."
Jack nodded in agreement. "Since it might take a while. We've got a sofa and chairs."
No one could argue with Jack's logic and the three headed up to Jack and Ianto's room. The couple could not help but to hold hands on the ride and steal several smouldering glances.
The looks made Rhiannon a little uncomfortable but she could not argue that Ianto was happy and had to ignore it.
"Please sit," Ianto directed his sister to the sofa.
"Do begin." Rhiannon did not waste anytime wanting to get to the truth.
Jack and Ianto exchanged looked, wordlessly asking which of them was going to tell the story.
Jack nodded, telling Ianto, it was his place to tell since it was his sister. "So, this is it. It started a long time ago, long before I met Jack. Jack met a man during the London Blitz."
Rhiannon stopped Ianto there, clearly Jack did not look like he had been around in the 1940s. She had assumed there was at most a fifteen year difference between the men. "That's not possible."
"It is." Jack cut it.
"Just let me finish. I'll explain it in all good time." Ianto said evenly, shooting a hard glare at the woman for interrupting him. "This man is an alien. He looks human but is in fact a Time Lord called the Doctor and with the help of his sentient space ship can travel through time and space with the ship accessing the power of the time vortex. They travel through space and time, helping people. Jack gave his life so the Doctor and his companion could escape from a dangerous situation some time in the distant future on a satellite orbiting Earth. Something happened to Jack there and some of the time vortex was transferred into him and now he cant die."
"Can't stay dead. I've died many times, but I always come back." Jack added, squeezing Ianto's hand to give him strength. A strength they both needed, knowing they would eventually have to Retcon Rhiannon, but part of it felt freeing to off load this secret life they've been living.
Ianto took a deep breath before continuing. "And because of that Jack is a fixed point in time. Time just kind of happens around him but has little or no effect on him. He never ages."
Rhiannon sat there listening in amazement and disbelief. "How old are you?" She directed the question to Jack. So much for a fifteen year difference.
"About two thousand years old, give or take a few decades."
Rhiannon's jaw dropped, finding the whole situation incredulous. There was no way anyone could live that long and not look a day older than forty. "Did you know about this when you got involved with Jack?"
"I had my suspicions. There were rumours about Jack I heard when I worked in London. And, well, early on our relationship was less than altruistic, but when things turned real between us, I knew what Jack was. You don't need to worry about what we were to start. It only matters what we are to each other now and what we will be in the future." Ianto felt like he had to clarify some things before Rhi jumped to her own conclusions about his marriage.
Rhiannon still was lost and did not understand what was going on. Her head was starting to pound as the insane tale was weaved before her.
"Do you want something to drink? Water? Tea? Coffee?" Ianto asked, finding an opening to slip her the Retcon.
"Water is fine. Thank you." She answered, still not satisfied with the answers she had received. "You told me a nice story albeit a crazy one, but I don't see what it has to do with Ianto not being dead anymore."
Ianto disappeared into the bathroom to get a glass and the retcon, his hands starting to shake slightly. When he re-entered the main room he continued the story as he stood at the desk in the room, pouring the waters.
"I died. I was really dead. The alien’s virus killed me and everyone in Thames House, including Jack. The words that the 456 made us say today were said by Jack after they released the virus. He tried to bargain with them not to kill me and then when he begged me not to die." Ianto started to lose control of his emotions and his voice cracked. "I'm sorry it's still a little hard to talk about that day." A few tears slipped unchecked from his eyes and he took a deep shuddering breath. It was then he realised, he could not go through with his. How could he really Retcon his own sister?
"Hey, it's okay," Jack whispered as he came up behind his husband and slid his arms around him. "You can do this." He said encouragingly and quiet enough so Rhiannon could not hear. "I have faith in you." Jack closed his hand around Ianto's closed one that clutched the white pill in it. "I love you." Jack placed a tender kiss at the back of Ianto’s neck, hoping his words offered enough encouragement and support to do what needed to be done despite the obvious pain the decision was causing.
"Thank you." Ianto's panic was tempered by the support he knew me had from Jack no matter what his choice was. He dropped the pill into the glass of water and watched as it dissolved before handing the Retcon-laced water over.
"I'll pick up where you left off." Jack said reassuringly. It was his side of the story and it would be best if it came from him.
"After what happened at Thames House I began to fall apart. I was broken and I had lost the love of my life and my grandson and because of that I fell into a deep depression. I had never told Ianto how I really felt about him. After killing myself twenty times I realised that pain would never go away." Jack flinched hearing the gasp from Ianto. He had never shared that bit of news with his partner, knowing Ianto would be disappointed with him but now seemed like an appropriate time. Jack waited for the admonishment, but instead Ianto offered comfort by way of a tight hug and a kiss.
Rhiannon slowly sipped on her water as he listened to Jack speak. She finally saw how wrong she had been about him. When he did not show up for Ianto's funeral, she had assumed that Jack was a callous bastard, not thinking he was the most devastated one of them all.
"Rationally I knew I had to get on with things, but I had changed. Rationality is lost with a broken heart. Nothing mattered to me anymore. I was a hollow empty husk of a person starting down a very dark and dangerous path. Then I left Earth, not able to stay here anymore. It was too painful. Some mornings when I first wake up, for a second I expect to find the past year was all a dream and I'm still that empty shell." Jack paused, realising how hard it was to recount those seven months of darkness.
"I was apparently on a course to cause havoc and destruction across the galaxy, resulting in the loss of countless lives. From what the Doctor told Ianto once he realised what was going to happen, he went to save the galaxy as he had so many times before and he found his me at the centre of it all. It was never supposed to happen, time had got thrown off track. He traced through time to see what caused me to turn onto the destructive path and what options there were to prevent it and he came up with only one solution."
"And that solution was me. My death was the trigger. I was taken from the temporary morgue at Thames House by the Doctor and with the help of his ship he used the time vortex to bring me back to life, but the only way to do it was to make me like Jack."
Rhiannon yawned, suddenly feeling very drowsy. However she fought it still wanting more answers. "You mean like him as in you'll never die?"
"Exactly. Both of us will literally live until the end of time. But the Doctor couldn't just prevent my death because it had to happen no matter what. The 456 was a major part of Earth's history and Jack using his grandson to defeat them was part of that. He would never have done that if I was by his side. We probably would not have come up with a plan in time before the children were taken. So I had to stay dead to Jack until he left Earth."
Rhiannon was losing the battle to stay awake, she wondered where the sudden fatigue came from. "Why can't you just tell everyone they made a mistake and you didn't die?"
"It's part the Doctor's rules. I think it might have to due to with the 456’s role in history and that I figured heavily into it all." Ianto explained it the best he could. The Time Lord had never given him a concrete reason why, but he assumed it had to do with not disturbing the time line too much.
"Who's to stop me from telling everyone it was a mistake?" Rhiannon countered. She did not like the idea that she would have to keep this secret.
"I could ask you nicely, but I know it won't work." Ianto said grimly. "Once you fall asleep, you won't remember this conversation or seeing me. You just know Jack isn't the monster you believed him to be."
"What do you mean? I don't want to forget this." The pregnant woman started to cry, slowly succumbing to the effects of the Retcon.
"I gave you a pill that will make you forget. The last thing you'll remember is driving to Gwen's house and you won't blame Jack for what you think happened to me." Ianto choked on his words feeling like the worst brother ever for making Rhiannon forget he was alive.
"You drugged me? You bloody bastard. You're just like dad." Rhiannon felt betrayed and hurled the worst insult she thought possible.
"I'm sorry. I had to." Ianto turned away from his sister in her last moments of consciousness. Comparing him to their dad was like a knife to the gut, but in a way he knew it was deserved.
Jack comforted Ianto, rubbing his back as he watched Rhiannon struggle to stay awake finally losing consciousness two minutes later.
"She's asleep," Jack whispered, kissing away the hint of a tear in the corner of Ianto's eye.
Ianto quickly pushed all of his emotion as far down as he could and began to give Jack the orders of what they were going to do.
They carried Rhiannon to the back lift, that went right into the car park to avoid any of the hotel staff and worried looks. They quickly drove back to Gwen's house and put Rhiannon back in her car and before closing the door, Ianto kissed his sister’s cheek and offered one last apology.
Jack set off the car alarm for good measure so Rhiannon would be found soon and they disappeared around the block so they could wait and put the next part of their plan in motion, having Gwen visited by a ghost.
To be continued... Chapter 10
End a/n: The island Jack drove over was inspired by actual events. When timelordshines and I were in Cardiff four months ago. While we did not drive over it like Jack (though it might have been fun). Going around in circle for a while was a great way to break the ice and kick off what was an incredible few days that followed. So, yup, Jack and Ianto are staying in the same hotel we stayed in, which is really near the arena.
Previous Chapters
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8