szm
in
tw_flashfic
It Didn't Start Like This - By szm
I posted a story for the alternate lives challenge, since then it as been expanded a bit (o.k a lot), I'm re-posting it here. I hope I'm not breaking any of the rules, if I am I apologise let me know and I'll delete this post.
Title: It Didn't Start like This
Author: szm
Rating: G
Paring: Jack/Ianto
Spoilers: Boomtown
Betaed by the amazing jadesfire2808. Special thanks to feenixandashes
It was an argument about everything and nothing.
She never thought things through. He never did anything without a three page itinerary. She never descaled her kettle. He picked her up on never descaling her kettle. She was nosey. He never told her anything.
And on and on.
In the end Ianto walked out of Lisa’s flat. “I love you, you stupid Welsh idiot!” she shouted after him.
“I don’t think it’s enough,” he shouted back.
The next day Ianto stared at his computer screen, thinking about the events of the night before. He’d said some things that maybe he shouldn’t have said. He loved Lisa, so much sometimes he thought his chest might burst from the pressure, so they argued, everyone argued, they loved each other and that was the important thing. Ianto would just have to work harder. He took on final look at his monitor inwardly wincing at the tiny amount of work he’d managed to get done that morning. Nothing urgent was flashing so he closed down the desktop and went to find Lisa.
Maybe they could go camping, Lisa liked that.
**
Meanwhile, five universes down from that one…
He took on final look at his monitor inwardly wincing at the tiny amount of work he’d managed to get done that morning, there was an e-mail notification flashing in the top corner, Ianto being unable to leave something undone clicked on it.
To: IaJonesResearchDept@Torchwood.co.uk
From: SCostelloCardiff@Torchwood.co.uk
Subject: Question for You.
Hello Ianto,
I don’t know if you remember but we talked a few months back, you helped me research that alien glove we found. Thank you again for all your help.
I’ve encrypted this message so hopefully only you can read it, I’m not supposed to approach you like this it’s against Torchwood policy but what the hell.
I need a second in command here in Cardiff, I’m not going to lie it’s mostly an administrative post but technically you’d only answer to me. London has said I can have someone but I don’t want whatever reject they chose to send me. The last one was nearly weevil food and had to be retconed to within an inch of his life.
You impressed me with your work on the glove so I’m going to ask for you. If you want the job ask your supervisor about it. Between us we should be able to manage it!
It’s a rise in pay for you, nothing extravagant though. I’ve attached details.
Hopefully see you soon,
Suzie.
Ianto hit the reply button, maybe this was what he and Lisa needed; just some space.
**
After a month in Cardiff Ianto was pretty much doing 95% of the paperwork and all the archiving. Suzie didn't even know the combination to the secure vault, which was a good thing because that alien glove turned out to be more than a little bit addictive. Apart from that minor blip, he liked working here. It wasn't London, but surprisingly, that was fine. Suzie made a great boss, Tosh was nice although Ianto didn't know her that well. Owen was prickly at first, and still seemed to resent that Ianto wasn't a field agent, but he was at least smart enough not to mess too much with the man who signed his expense claims.
Ianto spread the printouts across the conference room table. The numbers wouldn't add up, no matter what he did. It was really starting to bother him.
“The others went home ages ago. Are you done?” asked Suzie from the doorway.
“Nearly, ma’am. I just want to check this against…”
“Oh no,” interrupted Suzie. “Obsession is a dangerous thing, I should know. I’m kicking you out, Jones.”
Ianto looked at the table covered in paper and the two empty coffee mugs.
Suzie sighed. “Okay I’ll help you tidy up first.”
They tidied up and locked down the hub. Walking to their cars Suzie asked, “What’s so fascinating about the Blaidd Drwg nuclear plant anyway.”
“It’s mad,” replied Ianto. “Who builds a nuclear plant in a major population centre? Plus all the accidents. And the maths doesn’t work.”
“I don’t want to question your maths skills,” said Suzie with a smile as she stopped by her car. “But maybe you’re just wrong, I mean, someone in London must have checked this out.”
Ianto snorted. “As a Welshman who worked in London, I have a slightly jaded view on how much anyone would care.”
Suzie chuckled. “Look, take the day off tomorrow, go and see the Lord Mayor, if you can’t find anything you drop it. Okay?”
“Margaret Blaine’s not going to speak to me,” frowned Ianto.
“Not you, but she’ll talk to Torchwood.” Suzie held out her hand. “Deal?”
Ianto shook it. “Deal, ma’am.”
Suzie rolled her eyes as Ianto walked towards his own car. “If only it was that easy to get you to call me Suzie. Night Jones.”
“Goodnight, ma’am,” Ianto called back.
**
When Ianto got home the light on the anwserphone was blinking showing two new messages. He dropped his keys into the bowl next to the machine; he listened as he hung up his coat and scarf.
The scratchy machine voice said, “Message received at 1934 hours.”
“Ianto. It’s Lisa. Look if you manage to get away from work before midnight call me back, I need to talk to you. Please, Yan, it’s important. Love you.”
Ianto glanced at his watch as he undid it. Just after one, he noted as he placed it in he bowl with the keys. Too late now.
“Message received at 0052 hours,” continued the machine.
“Dammit, Ianto, why do you never make anything easy!” Lisa sounded as if she’d been crying. “I don’t want to do this any more Ianto, I can’t. It’s too hard, with me here and you there. You’re at work all the time and we never talk. I’m breaking up with your machine because I can’t get hold of you. Ianto… I’m so sorry, I do love you. Maybe you were right, maybe that’s not enough. I… Ianto, just… call me tomorrow. Please.”
Ianto stood staring at the machine frozen to the spot. It wasn’t unexpected just… It wasn’t that long since she called, less than ten minutes, he could call her back now.
And say what? Nothing she'd said was wrong, he couldn’t argue with any of it. He'd always thought he couldn’t live without Lisa, but here he was managing just fine. He’d ring her tomorrow, in the afternoon, after he’d seen the Mayor.
**
Ianto’s Torchwood credentials were indeed enough to get him a fairly speedy meeting with Miss Blaine. He sat opposite her at her desk, drinking tea. She listened to his concerns and smiled and looked shocked in all the right places. But something about her just didn’t ring true, something was… off. He felt like underneath it all she was laughing at him. It was an uncomfortable sensation to say the least. It reminded Ianto of being a small child, knowing that the older boys are going to beat you up, no matter how much they may be smiling now.
Margaret raised her hands to her forehead just as there was a knock at her office door.
“Enter!” she barked sharply, clearly annoyed.
The young assistant from the desk outside poked his head round the door. He gave Ianto a nervous smile, which Ianto returned. The young man turned his attention to Margaret. “There’s a gentleman here to see you,” he said nervously, clearing his throat.
“Well. I’m afraid he’ll have to wait, I’m in a meeting with Mr. Jones.” She gave Ianto a sickly sweet, patronizing smile, and leaned forward to pick up her teacup.
“He say’s to tell you he’s the Doctor ma’am.”
Margaret’s face froze in an expression of absolute horror. Her teacup fell from her fingers smashing on the floor. She rushed over to the window and started to climb out. Ianto and the assistant looked at each other incredulously.
“I’ll just…” said the assistant, motioning to the door. He disappeared to talk to the person on the other side. A few moments later a tall man in a leather jacket came bounding into the office over to the window. He looked out then turned to Ianto.
“Hello!” he said brightly, manic grin plastered across his features. Before disappearing out of the window.
Ianto did the only thing he could think of. He followed.
Ianto flashed his Torchwood I.D at the assistant and followed the Doctor out of the window. Roof top chases had not really been part of his life up till now, he felt more than a little bit silly. They chased Margaret over the rooftops, she climbed down the fire escape, the Doctor and Ianto close behind. Ianto pushed himself forwards, trying to keep up with the Doctor, but before they reached the top of the ladder. Margaret turned to run down the alley, Ianto’s heart jumped into his throat, they were going to lose her! But then a blonde-haired girl came running up, Margaret snarled and turned to run in the opposite direction. She turned again when she spotted a dark-haired man running at her. She took off in a third direction, Ianto half expected to see another figure, but there was no-one there.
“Who’s on exit 4?” shouted the Doctor, reaching the bottom of the fire escape.
“That’s Mickey,” called the blonde girl.
“Here I am!” a black man called, running from another direction.
“Mickey the idiot!” said the Doctor, clearly sounding exasperated.
“Be fair,” said the blonde, “she’s hardly going to outrun us is she?”
Just as the words hit the air, Margaret pressed something together in her hands and disappeared in a flash of light.
“What was that!” exclaimed Ianto.
The dark haired man turned to face Ianto and smiled. Ianto fought the urge to blush. “It’s a teleport,” said the man. He held out a hand, which Ianto shook out of habit. The other man held on to it. “Captain Jack Harkness. And you are?”
The blond giggled and the Doctor rolled his eyes. “Let’s catch the homicidal alien before we start flirting, shall we?”
He pulled a small metal tube out of his pocket and pressed a switch on the side. There was a strange humming noise, and the top of the tube glowed blue. Margaret suddenly appeared running towards them; she saw them, frowned, and turned to run the other way, teleporting again. The Doctor pressed the tube again with a grin, again Margaret reappeared, a little closer this time. Ianto watched this happen again and again.
Finally Margaret stopped, out of breath, murderous glare focussed on the Doctor.
The Doctor grinned at her. “I could do this all day.”
Ianto realised that the man - Jack? - still had hold of his hand. “Could I have that back please?” he asked, nodding at their joined hands.
Jack stepped forward and used his grip on Ianto to pull him in. “You’re free to let go at anytime,” he said with a smile that contained far too many teeth and did strange things to Ianto’s insides.
“Jack…” said the Doctor, warning clear in his tone.
“What?” asked Jack as Ianto used the distraction to pull his hand free and take a step back. “You said I could flirt after we caught the homicidal alien.”
Margaret got her breath back enough to say “This is persecution! Why can’t you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?”
The Doctor gave her a withering look. “You tried to kill me and destroy this entire planet.”
Margaret pulled a face “Apart from that.”
“Who are you?” asked Ianto not really sure who he was asking.
“Who the hell are you?” asked Mickey in return.
“Lets do the introductions inside shall we, it’s chilly out here,” said the Doctor.
**
They went into the main building up to the room where the plans for the nuclear power station were laid out.
“Right!” said the Doctor with a grin. “I am the Doctor, this is Rose, that’s Mickey, otherwise know as Mickey the idiot…”
“Watch it, Big Ears,” muttered Mickey under his breath.
“And of course Jack, who’s already introduced himself,” continued the Doctor. “Make him buy you a drink first.”
Jack swung an arm across Ianto’s shoulders. “So you would be? Cute suit by the way.”
Ianto slipped out from under Jack’s arm, suppressing a smirk. “Ianto Jones, Torchwood.”
“Torchwood?” asked Rose. “What’s that?”
Ianto noticed that everyone turned to look at the Doctor, even Margaret and she already had a fair idea of what Torchwood was, or she thought she did.
“Absolutely no idea,” announced the Doctor happily. “Ianto?”
“Torchwood was founded by Queen Victoria to protect the British Empire against alien threats, in particular a time travelling alien called the Doctor,” Ianto explained with a blank expression. The room went quiet. The Doctor fixed Ianto with a hard stare with left him feeling like a silly child.
“You’ve met Queen Victoria?” asked Rose.
“Not yet, " replied the Doctor not taking his eyes off Ianto. “Are you arresting me then?”
Ianto held the gaze for as long as he could before shrugging. “It’s my day off.”
Jack chuckled next to Ianto’s ear, a warm, thick sound. The Doctor suddenly broke into a grin, the rapid switch from intensity to mirth making Ianto’s head spin.
“You spent your day off stalking me?” asked Margaret incredulous. “That’s harassment!”
“I made an appointment,” said Ianto calmly. “Who are you?”
“Margaret Blaine, Lord Mayor of Cardiff,” she replied with a twisted smile.
“No,” replied the Doctor with a shake of his head. “You are a Slitheen wearing a dead woman’s skin.”
“You all right?” Rose asked. Ianto guessed that his revulsion must have shown on his face. He shook it off.
“I didn’t vote for her,” he said, giving Rose a weak smile.
“So,” continued the Doctor, “you’re on Earth, you’re trapped. Your family gets killed, but you teleport out, just in the nick of time. You have no means of escape, what do you do? You build a Nuclear Power Station. But what for?”
“It’s rigged to go into meltdown,” added Ianto. “That’s the only way the numbers make sense.”
“And it’s right on top of the rift.” The Doctor bent over looking more closely at the model.
“If it exploded on top of the rift, then...” Jack mimed an explosion with his hands, “BOOM! Bye-bye planet.”
“Didn’t anyone notice?” asked Rose.
“Ianto did,” said the Doctor, smiling up at the younger man. Ianto blushed, and inwardly cursed himself for it.
“But I mean isn’t there someone in London checking this sort of stuff?” Rose asked again.
Margaret snorted. “We’re in Cardiff. London doesn’t care. The South Wales coast could fall into the sea and they wouldn’t notice.” Ianto found himself nodding. “Oh! I sound like a Welshman. God help me, I’ve gone native.” She rolled her eyes at the room in general.
“But why would she do that?” asked Mickey. “A great big explosion, she’d only end up killing herself.”
“She has a name,” said Margaret with a sneer.
Mickey glared at her. “She isn’t even a she, she’s a thing.”
The Doctor twisted round to grin at Margaret. “Oh but she’s clever!” In a flurry of movement he pulled a section of the model out and flipped it over. “Fantastic,” he exclaimed a look of admiration passing over his face.
Jack’s eyes lit up and he moved from Ianto’s side. “Is that a tribophysical waveform macro kinetic extrapolator?” he said in all seriousness.
“Couldn’t have put it better myself,” shrugged the Doctor.
“Genius!” exclaimed Jack taking it off the Doctor. He turned to Margaret. “You didn’t build this.”
Margaret smiled modestly. “I have my hobbies. A little tinkering.”
Ianto saw the Doctor move over to the project posters displayed on the far wall. He seemed to be frowning at them. Ianto walked over, listening with half an ear to Jack’s explanation of the extrapolator and why Margaret couldn’t have built it. He shivered slightly at Margaret’s analogy of destroying the earth being like ‘stepping on an ant hill’.
“It says ‘Blaidd Drwg,’” explained Ianto. “It means Bad Wolf.”
“Bad Wolf?” said Rose carefully. “Doctor, I’ve heard that before. I’ve heard that lots of times.”
“Everywhere we go,” said the Doctor thoughtfully. “Two words, following us: Bad Wolf.”
“How can they be following us?” asked Rose, beginning to look worried.
The Doctor turned away from Rose slightly, but Ianto could still make out his expression. Something like worry, but stronger, not exactly fear… wariness perhaps? Then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone.
He turned back to Rose and laughed. “No, just a coincidence. Like hearing a word on the radio, then hearing it all day. Never mind, things to do. Margaret, we’re gonna take you home.”
Jack’s head shot up and he frowned. “Hold on, isn’t that the easy option? Like letting her go?” Ianto met his eyes and there was something hard there, at odds with the charming man Ianto had seen until that moment.
Rose was bouncing around trying to say the name of the planet they’d be going to. Like the hardest part of traveling to another planet was getting the pronunciation right. Which Ianto supposed it was, for them. He started to feel slightly uncomfortable; they were obviously just going to go, no consequences, no one to answer to. Just the ability to drop into anyone's life, completely re-arrange it, and go.
“They have the death penalty,” said Margaret, and the room fell silent. “The Family Slitheen was tried in its absence many years ago and found guilty with no chance of appeal. According to the statutes of government, the moment I return, I’m to be executed. What do you make of that, Doctor? Take me home and you take me to my death.”
The Doctor gave her a hard stare. “Not my problem.”
For the first time Ianto found himself understanding why Torchwood was founded.
The Doctor and Jack positioned themselves either side of Margaret, Rose and Mickey following behind, Rose carrying the extrapolator. Ianto watched as they started to leave the room.
Jack looked at the Doctor, who shrugged, then called to Ianto. “Are you coming or what?”
Ianto followed the odd group, feeling like the kid who always got picked last for the sports team who’d suddenly been picked first. They made their way across Cardiff, murky twilight settling over the city, but still they gathered a few strange looks from the few passers-by. Margaret eyed up two police officers in florescent jackets who walked by. A tall blonde man who was laughing at something the shorter, dark-haired woman had said. The Doctor gripped Margaret’s arm and whispered something to her that made her go pale. Ianto wondered how that worked. If she was just an alien wearing someone else’s skin, how did it respond like that? The female police officer gave them a suspicious look, but Jack flashed a smile in her direction and she bowed her head and hurried on.
Soon they reached the plaza. Ianto began to feel a little uncomfortable, but there was no way the Doctor could know that Torchwood Three was underneath them. As they approached the water tower Ianto could make out the shape of some kind of box at the foot of the tower. As they got closer, the details became clearer.
“This is the TARDIS,” announced the Doctor proudly.
“But you can’t park it here,” said Ianto.
“Why not?” asked Rose.
“Because, well, doesn’t anyone notice?” he asked in return. Torchwood certainly should have, he thought to himself, you’re on our roof!
“That’s what I said!” chimed in Mickey.
“Look,” explained the Doctor with an air of long suffering patience. “It’s been here for two days and no-one’s towed it away yet. Now, less of your yakkin’ and let's get inside.”
“We’re not all going to fit in there!” exclaimed Margaret indignantly.
“Oh, you’d be surprised,” replied the Doctor with a grin.
“Besides,” said Jack, “I don’t mind squashing up to Ianto.”
**
The inside of the TARDIS was impressive to say the least. Ianto had heard about it being bigger on the inside, and had seen artists' impressions of what it might look like but reality was far better.
Margaret ran her hand over the console. “This ship is impossible! It’s superb,” she said with awe. “How’d you get the outside around the inside?”
“Like I’d give you the secret, yeah,” scoffed the Doctor, eyes on Jack as the other man started to wire the extrapolator to the console on the other side of the desk.
“I almost feel better about being defeated. I never stood a chance. This is the technology of the gods.” There was something greedy in Margaret’s expression. If this had been Torchwood, Ianto would have locked her away somewhere safe. She certainly wouldn’t be wandering around such a key area.
“Don’t worship me, I’d make a very bad God. You wouldn’t get a day off, for starters,” quipped the Doctor before turning to Jack “How we doing, big fella?”
Jack was now lying under the console on his back. “This extrapolator’s top of the range.” He peered through his arms at Margaret’s legs. “Where did you get it?”
“I don’t know, some airlock sale,” shrugged Margaret.
“Must have been a great big heist,” corrected Jack. “It’s stacked with power.”
“But we can use it for fuel?” asked the Doctor.
Jack shook his head and crawled out from under the console. “It’s not compatible, but it should knock off about 12 hours. We’ll be ready to go by morning.”
“Then we’re stuck here over night,” said the Doctor with a sigh.
Margaret gave the room a smug grin. “I’m in no hurry.”
“We got a prisoner. The Police box is really a police box,” said Rose, smiling at the situation.
Margaret picked up some kind of sphere and ran it from hand to hand. “You’re not just police though,” she said thoughtfully. “Since you’re taking me to my death that makes you my executioners, each and every one of you.”
Ianto wanted to tell her that wasn't the way it worked but before he could Mickey said, “You deserve it,” with a sneer.
“You’re very quick to say so,” snapped Margaret. “And you’re very quick to soak your hands in my blood. Which makes you better than me how, exactly?” She settled onto the bench, regaining her composure and smiling like a shark. “Long night ahead. Let’s see who can look me in the eye”
Mickey turned away first, for all his anger, followed by Rose, then the Doctor. Jack didn’t even try to look.
Ianto held her gaze.
“My,” she said grinning, “you’re a cold-hearted one.”
Ianto smirked slightly. “If you wanted to request asylum, I’m sure Torchwood would be more than happy to grant your request. Say the word.”
The grin dropped. “I’m not scared of your little club,” she spat out defiantly.
“I never said you were, I’m merely giving you another option. Isn’t that what you wanted?” he said innocently.
“You’re more dangerous than me.”
“I never put a whole planet at risk for personal gain.”
Jack cleared his throat, effectively breaking the tension. He looked extremely uncomfortable; Ianto wondered if he’d overdone the heartless bastard routine. He didn’t want Jack to think… actually he didn’t know what he wanted Jack to think. It took him a few moments to realise the others were staring at him as well; he shrugged and stepped back, removing himself from the conversation.
Mickey stormed out of the TARDIS; Rose gave the Doctor an apologetic look and followed.
“Two down,” said Margaret with glee.
**
The Doctor stood at the console watching the screen, Ianto shifted slightly so he could see, the Doctor was watching Rose and Mickey outside, a strange, almost lost expression on his face.
Jack leaned over the Doctor’s shoulder. “So what’s on?” he asked. The strange expression vanished to be replaced by a blank mask.
“Nothing,” shrugged the Doctor, “just…”
Jack smiled supportively and squeezed the Doctor’s shoulder. Ianto wondered what the story was with Rose and the Doctor. Obviously there was more too it than met the eye. But then Ianto had no room to talk. He’d felt the vibrations of the phone in his pocket ringing three times, but he hadn’t answered it, even though he knew it was Lisa.
“Can I help?” he asked them, feeling useless just hanging round.
“Yeah,” said Jack flashing a brilliant smile. “Could you pass me that tool from over there, the big one, looks a bit like a hammer, green.”
Ianto found it and passed it to Jack. Jack brushed his fingers over Ianto’s as he took it, winking at Ianto as he did so. Ianto blushed and inwardly groaned, he’d blushed more times over the last three hours than he had over the last three years.
“Jack, stop mauling the poor lad, or he won’t play with you again,” said the Doctor.
Ianto shrugged. “I’m fine Sir.”
“It’s Doctor. Not Sir. An extra syllable, but I’m worth it,”
Jack just grinned, disappearing under the console with the green ‘hammer’
“So, Ianto Jones from Torchwood. What do you know about the mysterious Doctor, hmmm? I’m sure you’ll be writing a fascinating report tomorrow,” said Margaret with a sly smirk.
“All my reports are fascinating,” replied Ianto deadpan.
“I bet they are!” said Jack from under the console, managing to leer with his feet.
“The monthly expense claims are a laugh a minute,” continued Ianto. “The justification for £400 spent on strippers was a highlight.”
There was a choking noise from under the console. “So where do I apply for this job?” asked Jack between splutters.
“I don’t believe you’d meet the entrance requirements,” replied Ianto.
“Aww,” said Jack an audible pout in his voice.
“I’m glad you’re finding time to flirt before you cart me off to my death!” shouted Margaret indignantly. She calmed herself down. “But then it’s probably not normally like this is it Doctor? The waiting. I bet you’re always the first to leave.” She turned to Ianto. “Is that right Torchwood man? He always just runs away?” Ianto glanced at the Doctor, who had his eyes fixed on Margaret, dark clouds across his face. Margaret turned back to him. “Never mind the consequences, off you go. You butchered my family and then ran for the stars. Am I right? But not this time. At last you have consequences.” She smiled, making Ianto’s skin crawl. “How does it feel?”
“I didn’t butcher them,” replied the Doctor. Ianto noticed that was the only part he disagreed with.
“Don’t answer back, that’s what she wants,” warned Jack sliding out from under the console and standing up.
“I didn’t,” said the Doctor lightly. However Ianto got the impression that it was important to the Doctor that they believed him. He turned back to Margaret. “What about you? You had an emergency teleport; you didn’t zap them to safety did you?”
Margaret frowned, something like honest regret on her borrowed face. “It only carries one. I had to fly with out coordinates I ended up in a skip on the Isles of Dogs.”
The Doctor chuckled.
“It wasn’t funny,” snapped Margaret.
“Sorry,” said the Doctor, he looked over at Jack and chuckled again. “It is a bit funny.” He amended. Margaret glared at them, before joining in.
“Do I get a last request?” she asked innocently and Ianto heard warning bells go off in his head again.
“Depends what it is,” said the Doctor blithely.
Margaret smiled “I grew quite fond of my little human life. All those rituals. The brushing of the teeth and the complicated way they cook things. There’s a little restaurant just round the bay. It became quite a favourite of mine.”
“Is that what you want? A last meal?” asked the Doctor
“She’ll escape,” interrupted Ianto. “There’s hundreds of people out there. She’s too dangerous.” Ianto felt the urge to lock her away again. He was sure Torchwood could find room among the Weevils
Margaret gave Ianto a deadly glare. “Except I can never escape the Doctor. So where’s the danger?” she hissed. She spoke to the Doctor again, “I wonder if you could do it. To sit with a creature you’re about to kill and take supper. How strong is your stomach?”
“Strong enough,” replied the Doctor. “But Ianto is right, it’s too much of a risk. If you slip away just for one second, you could kill someone.”
“Except I’ve got these,” said Jack holding up two silver bracelets. “You both wear one. If she moves more than ten feet away…. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. She gets zapped by 10,000 volts.”
Margaret flinched away from Jack who grinned at her. A far more unpleasant grin than had been sent in Ianto’s direction that evening.
The Doctor beamed. “Margaret! Would you like to come out to dinner? My treat.”
Margaret smiled her sickly sweet smile. “Dinner in bondage… works for me.”
The Doctor clapped his hands. “Right then, kids don’t wait up. Jack try not to break Ianto and keep an eye on him alright, not sure about him yet.”
“Will do,” replied Jack seriously.
“Jack,” said Ianto.
“Yes?”
“That’s not your eye, that’s your hand.”
Jack leaned back and looked at his hand where it rested on Ianto’s arse. “So it is,” he agreed, not moving it.
“Doctor?” asked Ianto. “Am I allowed to break Jack?”
**
Jack was under the console again, Ianto hovering nearby. Suddenly Jack swore loudly.
“Ianto?” called Jack. “Could you come under here and hold something for me please.”
Ianto froze for a moment, trying to stifle behind his hand something that sounded suspiciously like a giggle.
Jack slid out from under the console and frowned up at Ianto. “Mr Jones you have a filthy mind. Normally I would approve, but I really do need some help under here.”
Ianto replied with a muffled ‘sorry’ and crawled into the small space. After a fair amount of jostling, they ended up lying shoulder to shoulder, on their backs, looking up at the extrapolator. Jack asked Ianto to hold some wring in place then he waved a silver tube with a glowing blue tip over them. It looked like the same device the Doctor had used to catch Margaret earlier. Jack shifted slightly to get a better look at what he was doing. Ianto turned his head to look at Jack. Their faces were very close now, but Jack was concentrating on what he was doing. Ianto took the opportunity to study Jack’s face. Blue eyes, and pink lips, and really why did Jack have such pink lips?
“You know if you keep staring at me like that, this isn’t going to get finished,” said Jack, and Ianto could hear the smirk. Ianto’s head snapped back round so that he was looking straight up again, Jack chuckling in his ear. He found himself studying Jack's hands instead.
Time passed. Ianto couldn’t say whether he lay there for minutes or hours, feeling the warmth from the TARDIS console; from Jack; Jack’s breath against his ear. Too soon and not soon enough Jack flicked the tube off and cupped Ianto’s hands with his own, carefully removing them from the workings.
“There we go,” he said gently. “All done.”
Ianto found himself on his side looking at Jack. Millimetres between them, Jack still holding Ianto’s hands, thumb gently stroking the back of his left hand. Ianto’s gaze was drawn back to Jack’s lips.
Then his phone rang. This ringer was switched off but Jack was close enough to feel the vibrations. He grinned and fumbled around to find Ianto’s pocket, accidentally on purpose missing a few times. Ianto held his breath as Jack dug the phone out and handed it over. Ianto glanced at the phone to confirm what he already knew. It was Lisa. Ianto bit his bottom lip and, feeling Jack watching him, he hung up without answering.
Ianto tried to breathe but his chest felt tight, he scrambled out from under the console. An elbow connected with Jacks side, and he banged his head with a sickening crack but he managed to get free. He stood a few feet away concentrating on his feet and trying to calm down.
“Ianto…” said Jack carefully approaching from Ianto’s side. “Are you okay?”
Ianto took a deep breath, calmer now and feeling silly. “I shouldn’t be here,” he said. “That was my girlfriend on the phone. Ex-girlfriend. I should be talking to her.” He rubbed his eyes. “I should be reporting my sighting of the Doctor.” Ianto chuckled without humour. “I’m committing treason right now.”
“So why aren’t you calling your girlfriend back, or turning us in?” asked Jack gently.
Ianto looked at Jack. “Because I don’t want to,” he replied as much to himself as Jack.
Jack smiled and took a cautious step forward. “Can I look at your head?” he asked.
Ianto nodded mutely. He felt Jack’s fingers running across his scalp, soothing the hurt away.
“No damage,” said Jack, dropping his hand but not stepping back. “Would you like a coffee?”
**
The TARDIS’ kitchen was amazingly unimpressive. It was just a normal kitchen, cooker, fridge, cupboards, and a small table with three chairs. It wouldn’t have looked out of place in a normal family home. Jack motioned Ianto to sit down and busied himself at he counter. Shortly after, he placed a mug of dark steaming liquid in front of Ianto. The mug said ‘world’s greatest lover’. Ianto raised an eyebrow and Jack chuckled.
“Not guilty,” he said. “That cup’s been here longer than me." He lifted his mug to his lips. This bore the legend ‘glamour puss’.
Ianto lifted his own mug and took a sip.
Then he stood up, took Jack's coffee from him and tipped both down the sink.
“Hey!” exclaimed Jack.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but that is possibly the worst cup of coffee I have ever tasted,” explained Ianto.
“If that’s not being rude, I’d hate to see you when you’re trying,” pouted Jack. “If you think you can do better…” He gestured to the kettle.
A few moments later, Ianto presented Jack with a fresh mug. Jack took a sip and sighed. Ianto smirked.
“That is good coffee,” Jack admitted.
“No,” replied Ianto, “that’s instant coffee. And when was the last time anyone descaled the kettle?”
Jack laughed.
Suddenly the lights in the kitchen flickered.
“What was that?” asked Ianto.
“Just a power fluctuation,” replied Jack. “It just means the extrapolator's working. Don’t worry.” He flashed Ianto a large, reassuring grin. Just as Ianto smiled back, there was an almighty cracking sound, like thunder but much louder. Everything began to shake, and the jar of instant fell to the floor and smashed, spreading coffee granules everywhere.
The two of them raced to the main console room. The shaking was worse here and the noise was deafening. Ianto ducked as sparks shot out of a light fitting on the wall.
“We need to disconnect it,” shouted Jack over the noise. He stumbled over to the extrapolator, reaching out to steady himself on the console. There was a hissing sound and Jack snatched his hand away.
“Are you all right?” asked Ianto making his own way over.
“Burnt my hand.” Jack winced, cradling his hand to his chest.
“Tell me what to do,” said Ianto with determination.
Jack looked at him for a moment and Ianto fought the urge to hide. “Okay,” said Jack finally, passing the silver tube over to Ianto. “Setting 336. You need to disconnect the wires we connected.”
Ianto crawled under the console. He disconnected the wires but the shaking just got worse. “Now what?” he shouted up to Jack.
“That should've worked!” Jack shouted back, sounding a little panicked.
Ianto pulled himself out from under the console, just as the Doctor and Margaret burst though the door. The Doctor looked at the tube in Ianto’s hand.
“What the hell are you doing?” he shouted.
“It just went crazy.” Jack replied. “We disconnected the extrapolator, but it didn’t help.”
“It’s the Rift. Time and Space are ripping apart,” said the Doctor, striding past Ianto to the main console. Sparks from the console hit the Doctors coat and fizzled out. He ignored them, “The whole city’s going to disappear. Ianto, go and help Jack. We need to shut the engines down.” The three men desperately worked at the console, Jack directing Ianto, telling him what to do.
“It’s the extrapolator,” shouted Jack over the rising din. “It’s still feeding off the engine. It’s using the TARDIS. I can’t stop it.”
“Never mind Cardiff,” said the Doctor. “It’s gonna rip open the planet!”
“Torchwood’s got to have noticed this,” said Ianto desperately. “Maybe they can do something…”
Just then Rose rushed in. “What is it? What’s happening?” she asked eyes wide. Ianto saw Margaret moving behind her but before he could call out Margaret grabbed her.
“Oh, just little me,” said Margaret sweetly. The Doctor moved towards them, but Margaret pulled off the arm of her skin suit revealing a large, green scaly forearm. She wrapped her hand round Rose’s throat, sharp claws biting into Rose’s skin. Jack went to move towards them, but the Doctor held out an arm, gesturing Jack to stop.
“One wrong move and she snaps like a promise,” snarled Margaret.
The Doctor glared at the alien. “I might have known.”
“I’ve had you bleating all night, poor baby. Now shut it," she said, her face twisted in cross between rage and disgust. She turned to Ianto. “You! Torchwood. Put the extrapolator at my feet.” Ianto did as she asked, while she glared at the Doctor and Jack. Ianto looked up at Rose; she was obviously scared but she gave him a small smile. “Thank you,” continued Margaret, “Just as I planned.”
“I thought you needed to blow up the nuclear power station,” croaked Rose.
“She’s using the TARDIS instead,” said Ianto blankly.
“Very good, Torchwood. Now, unless you want her to die right now instead of in a few minutes, step back.” Ianto said nothing and took a step back. Margaret went on, “Anyone capable of catching me would have to have considerable technology of their own. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to Plan B. To lock onto the nearest alien power source and open the rift. And what a power source it found! I’m on schedule. Thanks to you,” she nodded at the Doctor and smiled horribly.
Jack moved to Ianto’s side. Ianto could feel him practically vibrating with the tension. “The Rift’s gonna convulse. You’ll destroy the whole planet,” said Jack, though gritted teeth.
“And you with it,” replied Margaret, her smile never faltering. She held Rose at arm's length, claws still at her throat. Stepping onto the extrapolator, she turned to Jack. “While I ride this board over the crest of the inferno, all the way to freedom. Stand back boys. Surf’s up.” Margaret grinned manically
A blinding white light illuminated Margaret as a section of the TARDIS console opened up. Ianto glanced at the Doctor; he seemed impossibly calm.
“Of course, opening the Rift means you’ll pull this ship apart.” The Doctor smiled at Margaret.
“So sue me,” she spat back, missing the sudden change in the Doctor's demeanor.
“It’s not just any old power source. It’s the TARDIS. My TARDIS. The best ship in the universe,” said the Doctor with no small amount of pride.
“It will make wonderful scrap,” she replied but the nasty edge to her voice was gone.
“What’s that light?” asked Rose.
“The heart of the TARDIS,” explained the Doctor. “This ship’s alive, and you’ve opened its soul.”
“It’s so bright,” said Margaret, staring into the light at something only she could see.
“Look inside Blon Fel Fotch. Look at the light,” encouraged the Doctor in an almost sing-song voice. Margaret's grip loosened and Rose struggled free, running over to where Jack and Ianto stood.
“Thank you,” whispered Margaret, an actual smile gracing her face.
The light intensified, engulfing the whole TARDIS. When it died down again, Margaret was gone. Nothing but the skin suit was left, crumpled on the floor.
“Don’t look. Stay there. Close your eyes,” said the Doctor manipulating a lever which caused the console to close up over the now muted light. Now Jack, Ianto, come on, shut it all down. Shut down.” Jack used his good hand to pull Ianto over to the console, telling Ianto how to do what the Doctor asked. “Rose,” continued the Doctor, “that panel over there, turn all the switches to the right.” The console snapped and sparked, but soon the noises died down and the shaking stopped. “Nicely done.” The Doctor grinned. “Thank you all.”
“What happened to Margaret?” asked Rose
“Must have got burned up,” replied Jack. “Carried out her own death sentence.”
The Doctor stood over the skin suit. “No, I don’t think she’s dead,” he said thoughtfully. “She looked into the heart of the TARDIS. Even I don’t know how strong that is, and the ship’s telepathic, like I told you, Rose. Gets inside your head, translates alien languages. Maybe the raw energy can translate all sorts of thoughts.” Ianto followed Jack over to the Doctor, and the four of them crouched over the discarded skin suit. “Here she is,” announced the Doctor triumphantly.
“She’s an egg,” said Rose flatly.
The Doctor grinned. “Regressed to her childhood.”
“The TARDIS… sent her back down her own timeline?” asked Ianto
“She’s an egg?” asked Jack, disbelieving
“She can start again,” said the Doctor happily. “Live her life from scratch. If we take her home, give her to a different family, tell them to bring her up properly, she might be all right.”
“Or she might be worse,” said Jack
“That’s her choice,” replied the Doctor.
“She’s an egg,” Rose stated again.
“She’s an egg,” confirmed the Doctor.
Ianto looked round. “Where’s Mickey?” he asked.
“Oh my god,” said Rose darting out of the TARDIS.
Jack looked at Ianto and then the Doctor. “Doc…” he started.
“Come on then,” interrupted the Doctor. “Let’s see what state the old girl's in.”
He moved over to the console, turning dials and checking readings.
“I should go, then,” said Ianto moving over to the door.
“Ianto,” called Jack, bounding over. “Um… thanks… for the coffee.”
“You're welcome,” replied Ianto, holding out a hand for Jack to shake. “Hope your hand’s okay.”
Jack grinned. “Yeah, it’s fine I’ve had worse.” He took hold of Ianto’s hand and pulled him into a hug.
“Oh for pity’s sake!” shouted the Doctor. “He can stay.”
Jack beamed and kissed Ianto. Somehow it was both expected and completely out of the blue. Ianto kissed him back before his brain caught up with his ears. He pulled away. “I can’t come with you,” he said sadly. “Thank you for the offer, Doctor, but I have a job and a life. I can’t just disappear.”
Jack cupped Ianto’s cheek with his undamaged hand. “What do you want to do?” he asked.
“Stay,” Ianto replied without hesitation. “But…”
Rose came back though the TARDIS door, accidentally knocking Ianto.
“Oh, sorry!” she said.
“I’m fine,” smiled Ianto. He noticed there were tears in her eyes.
“We’re all powered up, we can leave.” The Doctor said to Rose. “Opening up the Rift filled us up with energy. We can go, if that’s all right?”
“Yeah, fine,” said Rose distractedly.
The Doctor glanced at Jack who shrugged. “How’s Mickey?” asked the Doctor
“He’s ok. He’s gone.”
The Doctor glanced at Jack again, clearly unsure of what to do. “Do you want to go and find him? We’ll wait.”
“No need,” Rose almost whispered. “He deserves better.”
“Off we go then. Always moving on…” announced the Doctor. “Last chance, all ashore who’s going ashore.” He looked at Ianto. Ianto didn’t make any attempt to move. The Doctor nodded and pulled a large lever in the centre of the console.
Jack grinned and slung an arm across Ianto’s shoulders. “Next stop, Raxacoricofallapatorius. Now you don’t often get to say that.”
Title: It Didn't Start like This
Author: szm
Rating: G
Paring: Jack/Ianto
Spoilers: Boomtown
Betaed by the amazing jadesfire2808. Special thanks to feenixandashes
It was an argument about everything and nothing.
She never thought things through. He never did anything without a three page itinerary. She never descaled her kettle. He picked her up on never descaling her kettle. She was nosey. He never told her anything.
And on and on.
In the end Ianto walked out of Lisa’s flat. “I love you, you stupid Welsh idiot!” she shouted after him.
“I don’t think it’s enough,” he shouted back.
The next day Ianto stared at his computer screen, thinking about the events of the night before. He’d said some things that maybe he shouldn’t have said. He loved Lisa, so much sometimes he thought his chest might burst from the pressure, so they argued, everyone argued, they loved each other and that was the important thing. Ianto would just have to work harder. He took on final look at his monitor inwardly wincing at the tiny amount of work he’d managed to get done that morning. Nothing urgent was flashing so he closed down the desktop and went to find Lisa.
Maybe they could go camping, Lisa liked that.
**
Meanwhile, five universes down from that one…
He took on final look at his monitor inwardly wincing at the tiny amount of work he’d managed to get done that morning, there was an e-mail notification flashing in the top corner, Ianto being unable to leave something undone clicked on it.
To: IaJonesResearchDept@Torchwood.co.uk
From: SCostelloCardiff@Torchwood.co.uk
Subject: Question for You.
Hello Ianto,
I don’t know if you remember but we talked a few months back, you helped me research that alien glove we found. Thank you again for all your help.
I’ve encrypted this message so hopefully only you can read it, I’m not supposed to approach you like this it’s against Torchwood policy but what the hell.
I need a second in command here in Cardiff, I’m not going to lie it’s mostly an administrative post but technically you’d only answer to me. London has said I can have someone but I don’t want whatever reject they chose to send me. The last one was nearly weevil food and had to be retconed to within an inch of his life.
You impressed me with your work on the glove so I’m going to ask for you. If you want the job ask your supervisor about it. Between us we should be able to manage it!
It’s a rise in pay for you, nothing extravagant though. I’ve attached details.
Hopefully see you soon,
Suzie.
Ianto hit the reply button, maybe this was what he and Lisa needed; just some space.
**
After a month in Cardiff Ianto was pretty much doing 95% of the paperwork and all the archiving. Suzie didn't even know the combination to the secure vault, which was a good thing because that alien glove turned out to be more than a little bit addictive. Apart from that minor blip, he liked working here. It wasn't London, but surprisingly, that was fine. Suzie made a great boss, Tosh was nice although Ianto didn't know her that well. Owen was prickly at first, and still seemed to resent that Ianto wasn't a field agent, but he was at least smart enough not to mess too much with the man who signed his expense claims.
Ianto spread the printouts across the conference room table. The numbers wouldn't add up, no matter what he did. It was really starting to bother him.
“The others went home ages ago. Are you done?” asked Suzie from the doorway.
“Nearly, ma’am. I just want to check this against…”
“Oh no,” interrupted Suzie. “Obsession is a dangerous thing, I should know. I’m kicking you out, Jones.”
Ianto looked at the table covered in paper and the two empty coffee mugs.
Suzie sighed. “Okay I’ll help you tidy up first.”
They tidied up and locked down the hub. Walking to their cars Suzie asked, “What’s so fascinating about the Blaidd Drwg nuclear plant anyway.”
“It’s mad,” replied Ianto. “Who builds a nuclear plant in a major population centre? Plus all the accidents. And the maths doesn’t work.”
“I don’t want to question your maths skills,” said Suzie with a smile as she stopped by her car. “But maybe you’re just wrong, I mean, someone in London must have checked this out.”
Ianto snorted. “As a Welshman who worked in London, I have a slightly jaded view on how much anyone would care.”
Suzie chuckled. “Look, take the day off tomorrow, go and see the Lord Mayor, if you can’t find anything you drop it. Okay?”
“Margaret Blaine’s not going to speak to me,” frowned Ianto.
“Not you, but she’ll talk to Torchwood.” Suzie held out her hand. “Deal?”
Ianto shook it. “Deal, ma’am.”
Suzie rolled her eyes as Ianto walked towards his own car. “If only it was that easy to get you to call me Suzie. Night Jones.”
“Goodnight, ma’am,” Ianto called back.
**
When Ianto got home the light on the anwserphone was blinking showing two new messages. He dropped his keys into the bowl next to the machine; he listened as he hung up his coat and scarf.
The scratchy machine voice said, “Message received at 1934 hours.”
“Ianto. It’s Lisa. Look if you manage to get away from work before midnight call me back, I need to talk to you. Please, Yan, it’s important. Love you.”
Ianto glanced at his watch as he undid it. Just after one, he noted as he placed it in he bowl with the keys. Too late now.
“Message received at 0052 hours,” continued the machine.
“Dammit, Ianto, why do you never make anything easy!” Lisa sounded as if she’d been crying. “I don’t want to do this any more Ianto, I can’t. It’s too hard, with me here and you there. You’re at work all the time and we never talk. I’m breaking up with your machine because I can’t get hold of you. Ianto… I’m so sorry, I do love you. Maybe you were right, maybe that’s not enough. I… Ianto, just… call me tomorrow. Please.”
Ianto stood staring at the machine frozen to the spot. It wasn’t unexpected just… It wasn’t that long since she called, less than ten minutes, he could call her back now.
And say what? Nothing she'd said was wrong, he couldn’t argue with any of it. He'd always thought he couldn’t live without Lisa, but here he was managing just fine. He’d ring her tomorrow, in the afternoon, after he’d seen the Mayor.
**
Ianto’s Torchwood credentials were indeed enough to get him a fairly speedy meeting with Miss Blaine. He sat opposite her at her desk, drinking tea. She listened to his concerns and smiled and looked shocked in all the right places. But something about her just didn’t ring true, something was… off. He felt like underneath it all she was laughing at him. It was an uncomfortable sensation to say the least. It reminded Ianto of being a small child, knowing that the older boys are going to beat you up, no matter how much they may be smiling now.
Margaret raised her hands to her forehead just as there was a knock at her office door.
“Enter!” she barked sharply, clearly annoyed.
The young assistant from the desk outside poked his head round the door. He gave Ianto a nervous smile, which Ianto returned. The young man turned his attention to Margaret. “There’s a gentleman here to see you,” he said nervously, clearing his throat.
“Well. I’m afraid he’ll have to wait, I’m in a meeting with Mr. Jones.” She gave Ianto a sickly sweet, patronizing smile, and leaned forward to pick up her teacup.
“He say’s to tell you he’s the Doctor ma’am.”
Margaret’s face froze in an expression of absolute horror. Her teacup fell from her fingers smashing on the floor. She rushed over to the window and started to climb out. Ianto and the assistant looked at each other incredulously.
“I’ll just…” said the assistant, motioning to the door. He disappeared to talk to the person on the other side. A few moments later a tall man in a leather jacket came bounding into the office over to the window. He looked out then turned to Ianto.
“Hello!” he said brightly, manic grin plastered across his features. Before disappearing out of the window.
Ianto did the only thing he could think of. He followed.
Ianto flashed his Torchwood I.D at the assistant and followed the Doctor out of the window. Roof top chases had not really been part of his life up till now, he felt more than a little bit silly. They chased Margaret over the rooftops, she climbed down the fire escape, the Doctor and Ianto close behind. Ianto pushed himself forwards, trying to keep up with the Doctor, but before they reached the top of the ladder. Margaret turned to run down the alley, Ianto’s heart jumped into his throat, they were going to lose her! But then a blonde-haired girl came running up, Margaret snarled and turned to run in the opposite direction. She turned again when she spotted a dark-haired man running at her. She took off in a third direction, Ianto half expected to see another figure, but there was no-one there.
“Who’s on exit 4?” shouted the Doctor, reaching the bottom of the fire escape.
“That’s Mickey,” called the blonde girl.
“Here I am!” a black man called, running from another direction.
“Mickey the idiot!” said the Doctor, clearly sounding exasperated.
“Be fair,” said the blonde, “she’s hardly going to outrun us is she?”
Just as the words hit the air, Margaret pressed something together in her hands and disappeared in a flash of light.
“What was that!” exclaimed Ianto.
The dark haired man turned to face Ianto and smiled. Ianto fought the urge to blush. “It’s a teleport,” said the man. He held out a hand, which Ianto shook out of habit. The other man held on to it. “Captain Jack Harkness. And you are?”
The blond giggled and the Doctor rolled his eyes. “Let’s catch the homicidal alien before we start flirting, shall we?”
He pulled a small metal tube out of his pocket and pressed a switch on the side. There was a strange humming noise, and the top of the tube glowed blue. Margaret suddenly appeared running towards them; she saw them, frowned, and turned to run the other way, teleporting again. The Doctor pressed the tube again with a grin, again Margaret reappeared, a little closer this time. Ianto watched this happen again and again.
Finally Margaret stopped, out of breath, murderous glare focussed on the Doctor.
The Doctor grinned at her. “I could do this all day.”
Ianto realised that the man - Jack? - still had hold of his hand. “Could I have that back please?” he asked, nodding at their joined hands.
Jack stepped forward and used his grip on Ianto to pull him in. “You’re free to let go at anytime,” he said with a smile that contained far too many teeth and did strange things to Ianto’s insides.
“Jack…” said the Doctor, warning clear in his tone.
“What?” asked Jack as Ianto used the distraction to pull his hand free and take a step back. “You said I could flirt after we caught the homicidal alien.”
Margaret got her breath back enough to say “This is persecution! Why can’t you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?”
The Doctor gave her a withering look. “You tried to kill me and destroy this entire planet.”
Margaret pulled a face “Apart from that.”
“Who are you?” asked Ianto not really sure who he was asking.
“Who the hell are you?” asked Mickey in return.
“Lets do the introductions inside shall we, it’s chilly out here,” said the Doctor.
**
They went into the main building up to the room where the plans for the nuclear power station were laid out.
“Right!” said the Doctor with a grin. “I am the Doctor, this is Rose, that’s Mickey, otherwise know as Mickey the idiot…”
“Watch it, Big Ears,” muttered Mickey under his breath.
“And of course Jack, who’s already introduced himself,” continued the Doctor. “Make him buy you a drink first.”
Jack swung an arm across Ianto’s shoulders. “So you would be? Cute suit by the way.”
Ianto slipped out from under Jack’s arm, suppressing a smirk. “Ianto Jones, Torchwood.”
“Torchwood?” asked Rose. “What’s that?”
Ianto noticed that everyone turned to look at the Doctor, even Margaret and she already had a fair idea of what Torchwood was, or she thought she did.
“Absolutely no idea,” announced the Doctor happily. “Ianto?”
“Torchwood was founded by Queen Victoria to protect the British Empire against alien threats, in particular a time travelling alien called the Doctor,” Ianto explained with a blank expression. The room went quiet. The Doctor fixed Ianto with a hard stare with left him feeling like a silly child.
“You’ve met Queen Victoria?” asked Rose.
“Not yet, " replied the Doctor not taking his eyes off Ianto. “Are you arresting me then?”
Ianto held the gaze for as long as he could before shrugging. “It’s my day off.”
Jack chuckled next to Ianto’s ear, a warm, thick sound. The Doctor suddenly broke into a grin, the rapid switch from intensity to mirth making Ianto’s head spin.
“You spent your day off stalking me?” asked Margaret incredulous. “That’s harassment!”
“I made an appointment,” said Ianto calmly. “Who are you?”
“Margaret Blaine, Lord Mayor of Cardiff,” she replied with a twisted smile.
“No,” replied the Doctor with a shake of his head. “You are a Slitheen wearing a dead woman’s skin.”
“You all right?” Rose asked. Ianto guessed that his revulsion must have shown on his face. He shook it off.
“I didn’t vote for her,” he said, giving Rose a weak smile.
“So,” continued the Doctor, “you’re on Earth, you’re trapped. Your family gets killed, but you teleport out, just in the nick of time. You have no means of escape, what do you do? You build a Nuclear Power Station. But what for?”
“It’s rigged to go into meltdown,” added Ianto. “That’s the only way the numbers make sense.”
“And it’s right on top of the rift.” The Doctor bent over looking more closely at the model.
“If it exploded on top of the rift, then...” Jack mimed an explosion with his hands, “BOOM! Bye-bye planet.”
“Didn’t anyone notice?” asked Rose.
“Ianto did,” said the Doctor, smiling up at the younger man. Ianto blushed, and inwardly cursed himself for it.
“But I mean isn’t there someone in London checking this sort of stuff?” Rose asked again.
Margaret snorted. “We’re in Cardiff. London doesn’t care. The South Wales coast could fall into the sea and they wouldn’t notice.” Ianto found himself nodding. “Oh! I sound like a Welshman. God help me, I’ve gone native.” She rolled her eyes at the room in general.
“But why would she do that?” asked Mickey. “A great big explosion, she’d only end up killing herself.”
“She has a name,” said Margaret with a sneer.
Mickey glared at her. “She isn’t even a she, she’s a thing.”
The Doctor twisted round to grin at Margaret. “Oh but she’s clever!” In a flurry of movement he pulled a section of the model out and flipped it over. “Fantastic,” he exclaimed a look of admiration passing over his face.
Jack’s eyes lit up and he moved from Ianto’s side. “Is that a tribophysical waveform macro kinetic extrapolator?” he said in all seriousness.
“Couldn’t have put it better myself,” shrugged the Doctor.
“Genius!” exclaimed Jack taking it off the Doctor. He turned to Margaret. “You didn’t build this.”
Margaret smiled modestly. “I have my hobbies. A little tinkering.”
Ianto saw the Doctor move over to the project posters displayed on the far wall. He seemed to be frowning at them. Ianto walked over, listening with half an ear to Jack’s explanation of the extrapolator and why Margaret couldn’t have built it. He shivered slightly at Margaret’s analogy of destroying the earth being like ‘stepping on an ant hill’.
“It says ‘Blaidd Drwg,’” explained Ianto. “It means Bad Wolf.”
“Bad Wolf?” said Rose carefully. “Doctor, I’ve heard that before. I’ve heard that lots of times.”
“Everywhere we go,” said the Doctor thoughtfully. “Two words, following us: Bad Wolf.”
“How can they be following us?” asked Rose, beginning to look worried.
The Doctor turned away from Rose slightly, but Ianto could still make out his expression. Something like worry, but stronger, not exactly fear… wariness perhaps? Then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone.
He turned back to Rose and laughed. “No, just a coincidence. Like hearing a word on the radio, then hearing it all day. Never mind, things to do. Margaret, we’re gonna take you home.”
Jack’s head shot up and he frowned. “Hold on, isn’t that the easy option? Like letting her go?” Ianto met his eyes and there was something hard there, at odds with the charming man Ianto had seen until that moment.
Rose was bouncing around trying to say the name of the planet they’d be going to. Like the hardest part of traveling to another planet was getting the pronunciation right. Which Ianto supposed it was, for them. He started to feel slightly uncomfortable; they were obviously just going to go, no consequences, no one to answer to. Just the ability to drop into anyone's life, completely re-arrange it, and go.
“They have the death penalty,” said Margaret, and the room fell silent. “The Family Slitheen was tried in its absence many years ago and found guilty with no chance of appeal. According to the statutes of government, the moment I return, I’m to be executed. What do you make of that, Doctor? Take me home and you take me to my death.”
The Doctor gave her a hard stare. “Not my problem.”
For the first time Ianto found himself understanding why Torchwood was founded.
The Doctor and Jack positioned themselves either side of Margaret, Rose and Mickey following behind, Rose carrying the extrapolator. Ianto watched as they started to leave the room.
Jack looked at the Doctor, who shrugged, then called to Ianto. “Are you coming or what?”
Ianto followed the odd group, feeling like the kid who always got picked last for the sports team who’d suddenly been picked first. They made their way across Cardiff, murky twilight settling over the city, but still they gathered a few strange looks from the few passers-by. Margaret eyed up two police officers in florescent jackets who walked by. A tall blonde man who was laughing at something the shorter, dark-haired woman had said. The Doctor gripped Margaret’s arm and whispered something to her that made her go pale. Ianto wondered how that worked. If she was just an alien wearing someone else’s skin, how did it respond like that? The female police officer gave them a suspicious look, but Jack flashed a smile in her direction and she bowed her head and hurried on.
Soon they reached the plaza. Ianto began to feel a little uncomfortable, but there was no way the Doctor could know that Torchwood Three was underneath them. As they approached the water tower Ianto could make out the shape of some kind of box at the foot of the tower. As they got closer, the details became clearer.
“This is the TARDIS,” announced the Doctor proudly.
“But you can’t park it here,” said Ianto.
“Why not?” asked Rose.
“Because, well, doesn’t anyone notice?” he asked in return. Torchwood certainly should have, he thought to himself, you’re on our roof!
“That’s what I said!” chimed in Mickey.
“Look,” explained the Doctor with an air of long suffering patience. “It’s been here for two days and no-one’s towed it away yet. Now, less of your yakkin’ and let's get inside.”
“We’re not all going to fit in there!” exclaimed Margaret indignantly.
“Oh, you’d be surprised,” replied the Doctor with a grin.
“Besides,” said Jack, “I don’t mind squashing up to Ianto.”
**
The inside of the TARDIS was impressive to say the least. Ianto had heard about it being bigger on the inside, and had seen artists' impressions of what it might look like but reality was far better.
Margaret ran her hand over the console. “This ship is impossible! It’s superb,” she said with awe. “How’d you get the outside around the inside?”
“Like I’d give you the secret, yeah,” scoffed the Doctor, eyes on Jack as the other man started to wire the extrapolator to the console on the other side of the desk.
“I almost feel better about being defeated. I never stood a chance. This is the technology of the gods.” There was something greedy in Margaret’s expression. If this had been Torchwood, Ianto would have locked her away somewhere safe. She certainly wouldn’t be wandering around such a key area.
“Don’t worship me, I’d make a very bad God. You wouldn’t get a day off, for starters,” quipped the Doctor before turning to Jack “How we doing, big fella?”
Jack was now lying under the console on his back. “This extrapolator’s top of the range.” He peered through his arms at Margaret’s legs. “Where did you get it?”
“I don’t know, some airlock sale,” shrugged Margaret.
“Must have been a great big heist,” corrected Jack. “It’s stacked with power.”
“But we can use it for fuel?” asked the Doctor.
Jack shook his head and crawled out from under the console. “It’s not compatible, but it should knock off about 12 hours. We’ll be ready to go by morning.”
“Then we’re stuck here over night,” said the Doctor with a sigh.
Margaret gave the room a smug grin. “I’m in no hurry.”
“We got a prisoner. The Police box is really a police box,” said Rose, smiling at the situation.
Margaret picked up some kind of sphere and ran it from hand to hand. “You’re not just police though,” she said thoughtfully. “Since you’re taking me to my death that makes you my executioners, each and every one of you.”
Ianto wanted to tell her that wasn't the way it worked but before he could Mickey said, “You deserve it,” with a sneer.
“You’re very quick to say so,” snapped Margaret. “And you’re very quick to soak your hands in my blood. Which makes you better than me how, exactly?” She settled onto the bench, regaining her composure and smiling like a shark. “Long night ahead. Let’s see who can look me in the eye”
Mickey turned away first, for all his anger, followed by Rose, then the Doctor. Jack didn’t even try to look.
Ianto held her gaze.
“My,” she said grinning, “you’re a cold-hearted one.”
Ianto smirked slightly. “If you wanted to request asylum, I’m sure Torchwood would be more than happy to grant your request. Say the word.”
The grin dropped. “I’m not scared of your little club,” she spat out defiantly.
“I never said you were, I’m merely giving you another option. Isn’t that what you wanted?” he said innocently.
“You’re more dangerous than me.”
“I never put a whole planet at risk for personal gain.”
Jack cleared his throat, effectively breaking the tension. He looked extremely uncomfortable; Ianto wondered if he’d overdone the heartless bastard routine. He didn’t want Jack to think… actually he didn’t know what he wanted Jack to think. It took him a few moments to realise the others were staring at him as well; he shrugged and stepped back, removing himself from the conversation.
Mickey stormed out of the TARDIS; Rose gave the Doctor an apologetic look and followed.
“Two down,” said Margaret with glee.
**
The Doctor stood at the console watching the screen, Ianto shifted slightly so he could see, the Doctor was watching Rose and Mickey outside, a strange, almost lost expression on his face.
Jack leaned over the Doctor’s shoulder. “So what’s on?” he asked. The strange expression vanished to be replaced by a blank mask.
“Nothing,” shrugged the Doctor, “just…”
Jack smiled supportively and squeezed the Doctor’s shoulder. Ianto wondered what the story was with Rose and the Doctor. Obviously there was more too it than met the eye. But then Ianto had no room to talk. He’d felt the vibrations of the phone in his pocket ringing three times, but he hadn’t answered it, even though he knew it was Lisa.
“Can I help?” he asked them, feeling useless just hanging round.
“Yeah,” said Jack flashing a brilliant smile. “Could you pass me that tool from over there, the big one, looks a bit like a hammer, green.”
Ianto found it and passed it to Jack. Jack brushed his fingers over Ianto’s as he took it, winking at Ianto as he did so. Ianto blushed and inwardly groaned, he’d blushed more times over the last three hours than he had over the last three years.
“Jack, stop mauling the poor lad, or he won’t play with you again,” said the Doctor.
Ianto shrugged. “I’m fine Sir.”
“It’s Doctor. Not Sir. An extra syllable, but I’m worth it,”
Jack just grinned, disappearing under the console with the green ‘hammer’
“So, Ianto Jones from Torchwood. What do you know about the mysterious Doctor, hmmm? I’m sure you’ll be writing a fascinating report tomorrow,” said Margaret with a sly smirk.
“All my reports are fascinating,” replied Ianto deadpan.
“I bet they are!” said Jack from under the console, managing to leer with his feet.
“The monthly expense claims are a laugh a minute,” continued Ianto. “The justification for £400 spent on strippers was a highlight.”
There was a choking noise from under the console. “So where do I apply for this job?” asked Jack between splutters.
“I don’t believe you’d meet the entrance requirements,” replied Ianto.
“Aww,” said Jack an audible pout in his voice.
“I’m glad you’re finding time to flirt before you cart me off to my death!” shouted Margaret indignantly. She calmed herself down. “But then it’s probably not normally like this is it Doctor? The waiting. I bet you’re always the first to leave.” She turned to Ianto. “Is that right Torchwood man? He always just runs away?” Ianto glanced at the Doctor, who had his eyes fixed on Margaret, dark clouds across his face. Margaret turned back to him. “Never mind the consequences, off you go. You butchered my family and then ran for the stars. Am I right? But not this time. At last you have consequences.” She smiled, making Ianto’s skin crawl. “How does it feel?”
“I didn’t butcher them,” replied the Doctor. Ianto noticed that was the only part he disagreed with.
“Don’t answer back, that’s what she wants,” warned Jack sliding out from under the console and standing up.
“I didn’t,” said the Doctor lightly. However Ianto got the impression that it was important to the Doctor that they believed him. He turned back to Margaret. “What about you? You had an emergency teleport; you didn’t zap them to safety did you?”
Margaret frowned, something like honest regret on her borrowed face. “It only carries one. I had to fly with out coordinates I ended up in a skip on the Isles of Dogs.”
The Doctor chuckled.
“It wasn’t funny,” snapped Margaret.
“Sorry,” said the Doctor, he looked over at Jack and chuckled again. “It is a bit funny.” He amended. Margaret glared at them, before joining in.
“Do I get a last request?” she asked innocently and Ianto heard warning bells go off in his head again.
“Depends what it is,” said the Doctor blithely.
Margaret smiled “I grew quite fond of my little human life. All those rituals. The brushing of the teeth and the complicated way they cook things. There’s a little restaurant just round the bay. It became quite a favourite of mine.”
“Is that what you want? A last meal?” asked the Doctor
“She’ll escape,” interrupted Ianto. “There’s hundreds of people out there. She’s too dangerous.” Ianto felt the urge to lock her away again. He was sure Torchwood could find room among the Weevils
Margaret gave Ianto a deadly glare. “Except I can never escape the Doctor. So where’s the danger?” she hissed. She spoke to the Doctor again, “I wonder if you could do it. To sit with a creature you’re about to kill and take supper. How strong is your stomach?”
“Strong enough,” replied the Doctor. “But Ianto is right, it’s too much of a risk. If you slip away just for one second, you could kill someone.”
“Except I’ve got these,” said Jack holding up two silver bracelets. “You both wear one. If she moves more than ten feet away…. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. She gets zapped by 10,000 volts.”
Margaret flinched away from Jack who grinned at her. A far more unpleasant grin than had been sent in Ianto’s direction that evening.
The Doctor beamed. “Margaret! Would you like to come out to dinner? My treat.”
Margaret smiled her sickly sweet smile. “Dinner in bondage… works for me.”
The Doctor clapped his hands. “Right then, kids don’t wait up. Jack try not to break Ianto and keep an eye on him alright, not sure about him yet.”
“Will do,” replied Jack seriously.
“Jack,” said Ianto.
“Yes?”
“That’s not your eye, that’s your hand.”
Jack leaned back and looked at his hand where it rested on Ianto’s arse. “So it is,” he agreed, not moving it.
“Doctor?” asked Ianto. “Am I allowed to break Jack?”
**
Jack was under the console again, Ianto hovering nearby. Suddenly Jack swore loudly.
“Ianto?” called Jack. “Could you come under here and hold something for me please.”
Ianto froze for a moment, trying to stifle behind his hand something that sounded suspiciously like a giggle.
Jack slid out from under the console and frowned up at Ianto. “Mr Jones you have a filthy mind. Normally I would approve, but I really do need some help under here.”
Ianto replied with a muffled ‘sorry’ and crawled into the small space. After a fair amount of jostling, they ended up lying shoulder to shoulder, on their backs, looking up at the extrapolator. Jack asked Ianto to hold some wring in place then he waved a silver tube with a glowing blue tip over them. It looked like the same device the Doctor had used to catch Margaret earlier. Jack shifted slightly to get a better look at what he was doing. Ianto turned his head to look at Jack. Their faces were very close now, but Jack was concentrating on what he was doing. Ianto took the opportunity to study Jack’s face. Blue eyes, and pink lips, and really why did Jack have such pink lips?
“You know if you keep staring at me like that, this isn’t going to get finished,” said Jack, and Ianto could hear the smirk. Ianto’s head snapped back round so that he was looking straight up again, Jack chuckling in his ear. He found himself studying Jack's hands instead.
Time passed. Ianto couldn’t say whether he lay there for minutes or hours, feeling the warmth from the TARDIS console; from Jack; Jack’s breath against his ear. Too soon and not soon enough Jack flicked the tube off and cupped Ianto’s hands with his own, carefully removing them from the workings.
“There we go,” he said gently. “All done.”
Ianto found himself on his side looking at Jack. Millimetres between them, Jack still holding Ianto’s hands, thumb gently stroking the back of his left hand. Ianto’s gaze was drawn back to Jack’s lips.
Then his phone rang. This ringer was switched off but Jack was close enough to feel the vibrations. He grinned and fumbled around to find Ianto’s pocket, accidentally on purpose missing a few times. Ianto held his breath as Jack dug the phone out and handed it over. Ianto glanced at the phone to confirm what he already knew. It was Lisa. Ianto bit his bottom lip and, feeling Jack watching him, he hung up without answering.
Ianto tried to breathe but his chest felt tight, he scrambled out from under the console. An elbow connected with Jacks side, and he banged his head with a sickening crack but he managed to get free. He stood a few feet away concentrating on his feet and trying to calm down.
“Ianto…” said Jack carefully approaching from Ianto’s side. “Are you okay?”
Ianto took a deep breath, calmer now and feeling silly. “I shouldn’t be here,” he said. “That was my girlfriend on the phone. Ex-girlfriend. I should be talking to her.” He rubbed his eyes. “I should be reporting my sighting of the Doctor.” Ianto chuckled without humour. “I’m committing treason right now.”
“So why aren’t you calling your girlfriend back, or turning us in?” asked Jack gently.
Ianto looked at Jack. “Because I don’t want to,” he replied as much to himself as Jack.
Jack smiled and took a cautious step forward. “Can I look at your head?” he asked.
Ianto nodded mutely. He felt Jack’s fingers running across his scalp, soothing the hurt away.
“No damage,” said Jack, dropping his hand but not stepping back. “Would you like a coffee?”
**
The TARDIS’ kitchen was amazingly unimpressive. It was just a normal kitchen, cooker, fridge, cupboards, and a small table with three chairs. It wouldn’t have looked out of place in a normal family home. Jack motioned Ianto to sit down and busied himself at he counter. Shortly after, he placed a mug of dark steaming liquid in front of Ianto. The mug said ‘world’s greatest lover’. Ianto raised an eyebrow and Jack chuckled.
“Not guilty,” he said. “That cup’s been here longer than me." He lifted his mug to his lips. This bore the legend ‘glamour puss’.
Ianto lifted his own mug and took a sip.
Then he stood up, took Jack's coffee from him and tipped both down the sink.
“Hey!” exclaimed Jack.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but that is possibly the worst cup of coffee I have ever tasted,” explained Ianto.
“If that’s not being rude, I’d hate to see you when you’re trying,” pouted Jack. “If you think you can do better…” He gestured to the kettle.
A few moments later, Ianto presented Jack with a fresh mug. Jack took a sip and sighed. Ianto smirked.
“That is good coffee,” Jack admitted.
“No,” replied Ianto, “that’s instant coffee. And when was the last time anyone descaled the kettle?”
Jack laughed.
Suddenly the lights in the kitchen flickered.
“What was that?” asked Ianto.
“Just a power fluctuation,” replied Jack. “It just means the extrapolator's working. Don’t worry.” He flashed Ianto a large, reassuring grin. Just as Ianto smiled back, there was an almighty cracking sound, like thunder but much louder. Everything began to shake, and the jar of instant fell to the floor and smashed, spreading coffee granules everywhere.
The two of them raced to the main console room. The shaking was worse here and the noise was deafening. Ianto ducked as sparks shot out of a light fitting on the wall.
“We need to disconnect it,” shouted Jack over the noise. He stumbled over to the extrapolator, reaching out to steady himself on the console. There was a hissing sound and Jack snatched his hand away.
“Are you all right?” asked Ianto making his own way over.
“Burnt my hand.” Jack winced, cradling his hand to his chest.
“Tell me what to do,” said Ianto with determination.
Jack looked at him for a moment and Ianto fought the urge to hide. “Okay,” said Jack finally, passing the silver tube over to Ianto. “Setting 336. You need to disconnect the wires we connected.”
Ianto crawled under the console. He disconnected the wires but the shaking just got worse. “Now what?” he shouted up to Jack.
“That should've worked!” Jack shouted back, sounding a little panicked.
Ianto pulled himself out from under the console, just as the Doctor and Margaret burst though the door. The Doctor looked at the tube in Ianto’s hand.
“What the hell are you doing?” he shouted.
“It just went crazy.” Jack replied. “We disconnected the extrapolator, but it didn’t help.”
“It’s the Rift. Time and Space are ripping apart,” said the Doctor, striding past Ianto to the main console. Sparks from the console hit the Doctors coat and fizzled out. He ignored them, “The whole city’s going to disappear. Ianto, go and help Jack. We need to shut the engines down.” The three men desperately worked at the console, Jack directing Ianto, telling him what to do.
“It’s the extrapolator,” shouted Jack over the rising din. “It’s still feeding off the engine. It’s using the TARDIS. I can’t stop it.”
“Never mind Cardiff,” said the Doctor. “It’s gonna rip open the planet!”
“Torchwood’s got to have noticed this,” said Ianto desperately. “Maybe they can do something…”
Just then Rose rushed in. “What is it? What’s happening?” she asked eyes wide. Ianto saw Margaret moving behind her but before he could call out Margaret grabbed her.
“Oh, just little me,” said Margaret sweetly. The Doctor moved towards them, but Margaret pulled off the arm of her skin suit revealing a large, green scaly forearm. She wrapped her hand round Rose’s throat, sharp claws biting into Rose’s skin. Jack went to move towards them, but the Doctor held out an arm, gesturing Jack to stop.
“One wrong move and she snaps like a promise,” snarled Margaret.
The Doctor glared at the alien. “I might have known.”
“I’ve had you bleating all night, poor baby. Now shut it," she said, her face twisted in cross between rage and disgust. She turned to Ianto. “You! Torchwood. Put the extrapolator at my feet.” Ianto did as she asked, while she glared at the Doctor and Jack. Ianto looked up at Rose; she was obviously scared but she gave him a small smile. “Thank you,” continued Margaret, “Just as I planned.”
“I thought you needed to blow up the nuclear power station,” croaked Rose.
“She’s using the TARDIS instead,” said Ianto blankly.
“Very good, Torchwood. Now, unless you want her to die right now instead of in a few minutes, step back.” Ianto said nothing and took a step back. Margaret went on, “Anyone capable of catching me would have to have considerable technology of their own. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to Plan B. To lock onto the nearest alien power source and open the rift. And what a power source it found! I’m on schedule. Thanks to you,” she nodded at the Doctor and smiled horribly.
Jack moved to Ianto’s side. Ianto could feel him practically vibrating with the tension. “The Rift’s gonna convulse. You’ll destroy the whole planet,” said Jack, though gritted teeth.
“And you with it,” replied Margaret, her smile never faltering. She held Rose at arm's length, claws still at her throat. Stepping onto the extrapolator, she turned to Jack. “While I ride this board over the crest of the inferno, all the way to freedom. Stand back boys. Surf’s up.” Margaret grinned manically
A blinding white light illuminated Margaret as a section of the TARDIS console opened up. Ianto glanced at the Doctor; he seemed impossibly calm.
“Of course, opening the Rift means you’ll pull this ship apart.” The Doctor smiled at Margaret.
“So sue me,” she spat back, missing the sudden change in the Doctor's demeanor.
“It’s not just any old power source. It’s the TARDIS. My TARDIS. The best ship in the universe,” said the Doctor with no small amount of pride.
“It will make wonderful scrap,” she replied but the nasty edge to her voice was gone.
“What’s that light?” asked Rose.
“The heart of the TARDIS,” explained the Doctor. “This ship’s alive, and you’ve opened its soul.”
“It’s so bright,” said Margaret, staring into the light at something only she could see.
“Look inside Blon Fel Fotch. Look at the light,” encouraged the Doctor in an almost sing-song voice. Margaret's grip loosened and Rose struggled free, running over to where Jack and Ianto stood.
“Thank you,” whispered Margaret, an actual smile gracing her face.
The light intensified, engulfing the whole TARDIS. When it died down again, Margaret was gone. Nothing but the skin suit was left, crumpled on the floor.
“Don’t look. Stay there. Close your eyes,” said the Doctor manipulating a lever which caused the console to close up over the now muted light. Now Jack, Ianto, come on, shut it all down. Shut down.” Jack used his good hand to pull Ianto over to the console, telling Ianto how to do what the Doctor asked. “Rose,” continued the Doctor, “that panel over there, turn all the switches to the right.” The console snapped and sparked, but soon the noises died down and the shaking stopped. “Nicely done.” The Doctor grinned. “Thank you all.”
“What happened to Margaret?” asked Rose
“Must have got burned up,” replied Jack. “Carried out her own death sentence.”
The Doctor stood over the skin suit. “No, I don’t think she’s dead,” he said thoughtfully. “She looked into the heart of the TARDIS. Even I don’t know how strong that is, and the ship’s telepathic, like I told you, Rose. Gets inside your head, translates alien languages. Maybe the raw energy can translate all sorts of thoughts.” Ianto followed Jack over to the Doctor, and the four of them crouched over the discarded skin suit. “Here she is,” announced the Doctor triumphantly.
“She’s an egg,” said Rose flatly.
The Doctor grinned. “Regressed to her childhood.”
“The TARDIS… sent her back down her own timeline?” asked Ianto
“She’s an egg?” asked Jack, disbelieving
“She can start again,” said the Doctor happily. “Live her life from scratch. If we take her home, give her to a different family, tell them to bring her up properly, she might be all right.”
“Or she might be worse,” said Jack
“That’s her choice,” replied the Doctor.
“She’s an egg,” Rose stated again.
“She’s an egg,” confirmed the Doctor.
Ianto looked round. “Where’s Mickey?” he asked.
“Oh my god,” said Rose darting out of the TARDIS.
Jack looked at Ianto and then the Doctor. “Doc…” he started.
“Come on then,” interrupted the Doctor. “Let’s see what state the old girl's in.”
He moved over to the console, turning dials and checking readings.
“I should go, then,” said Ianto moving over to the door.
“Ianto,” called Jack, bounding over. “Um… thanks… for the coffee.”
“You're welcome,” replied Ianto, holding out a hand for Jack to shake. “Hope your hand’s okay.”
Jack grinned. “Yeah, it’s fine I’ve had worse.” He took hold of Ianto’s hand and pulled him into a hug.
“Oh for pity’s sake!” shouted the Doctor. “He can stay.”
Jack beamed and kissed Ianto. Somehow it was both expected and completely out of the blue. Ianto kissed him back before his brain caught up with his ears. He pulled away. “I can’t come with you,” he said sadly. “Thank you for the offer, Doctor, but I have a job and a life. I can’t just disappear.”
Jack cupped Ianto’s cheek with his undamaged hand. “What do you want to do?” he asked.
“Stay,” Ianto replied without hesitation. “But…”
Rose came back though the TARDIS door, accidentally knocking Ianto.
“Oh, sorry!” she said.
“I’m fine,” smiled Ianto. He noticed there were tears in her eyes.
“We’re all powered up, we can leave.” The Doctor said to Rose. “Opening up the Rift filled us up with energy. We can go, if that’s all right?”
“Yeah, fine,” said Rose distractedly.
The Doctor glanced at Jack who shrugged. “How’s Mickey?” asked the Doctor
“He’s ok. He’s gone.”
The Doctor glanced at Jack again, clearly unsure of what to do. “Do you want to go and find him? We’ll wait.”
“No need,” Rose almost whispered. “He deserves better.”
“Off we go then. Always moving on…” announced the Doctor. “Last chance, all ashore who’s going ashore.” He looked at Ianto. Ianto didn’t make any attempt to move. The Doctor nodded and pulled a large lever in the centre of the console.
Jack grinned and slung an arm across Ianto’s shoulders. “Next stop, Raxacoricofallapatorius. Now you don’t often get to say that.”