A/N: Sorry if it's unnecessarily oppressive and distinctly lacking subtlety.
A deep breath. Ianto needed a deep breath to calm himself, to get himself in a place where he could assess the situation. So he tried to breathe deeply, the initial intake feeling good against his lungs, but his throat constricted again and he couldn't get enough air. It felt like someone was strangling his throat with cold hands, but there was no one there. Well, there was someone there, but he was dead and likely to remain so for at least a few more minutes if not longer, and Ianto couldn't get enough air. He looked wildly around, expecting the not-men to come back any moment, and he wasn't sure what he would do when they came.
He was leaning back against the brick wall of a small, littered alley, a large, rusty rubbish bin the only place to cram himself and Jack's body behind to hide. The stench of restaurant slop permeated the air, making breathing hard enough without the ensuing panic attack. The alley was a dead-end, and dark, and the not-men would be out there past the alley entrance looking for their comrades, the ones who had cornered Jack and Ianto and shot Jack full of laser holes while Ianto hid behind the bin shooting his own gun. He got lucky and felled the two creatures just after one of their lasers laced his own shoulder, Jack's sacrificial jump into their firing lines to give Ianto time to assess working almost as Jack had hoped.
Now Ianto leaned back against the wall, ignoring the searing pain in his shoulder and desperately tapping his comms again, and again getting no answer from his other teammates. He didn't understand why they didn't respond; Jack and Ianto had gone out on reconnaissance when the call came in, with Owen and Gwen as backup in the SUV and Tosh back at the Hub coordinating the search for whatever the energy spike had been. It had been, as it turns out, hideous-looking humanoids, five of them. Short creatures with sallow yellow skin, no hair, and voices that sounded like fingernails on chalkboards or forks dragged across plates. Jack had tried to offer the two that had backed them into the alley asylum, but the language barrier got in the way and they'd obviously misread Jack's intent, answering his offer with laser fire through his chest. Ianto had shot then, seeing no other solution, and he had felled them, but they were not dead. They could still be returned to their ship and their companions.
Suddenly his comms crackled to life again and Tosh's deliciously welcome voice rang through, "Ianto! Gwen and Owen are trying to get to you. Stay where you are, okay?" He nodded, but then added a breathy "Okay," when he remembered that she couldn't see him. Just then, he saw three other aliens round the corner into the alley, obviously being chased. He waited a beat and then Gwen and Owen appeared, Owen carrying a much larger rifle than Ianto's paltry pistol, and Gwen carrying two of her own Torchwood issue handguns.
They were all moving fast, but the aliens stopped abruptly as they almost tripped over their companions, one of which was chattering painfully in their home language. As Gwen and Owen leveled their guns on the aliens, Ianto stepped out from behind the bin holding his own pistol and Jack's Webley that he'd pulled from Jack's still unmoving hand. The aliens were certainly outnumbered in terms of guns, but Ianto's arm shook from his shoulder wound and somehow he thought that lasers trumped pistols any day. Ah well, put on a show at least, and show no fear. That's how it had to be played.
But language barriers were tough. Ianto suddenly had a vision of this alleyway turning into a true bloodbath if this situation continued down its current path. Either the Torchwood team would be drilled full of laser holes or the aliens would be filled with bullets. He may not have been thinking clearly, but he shouted at the aliens to get their attention. "Hey! Look, we don't want to hurt you." And he lowered both of his guns and put them on the ground in front of him as the aliens looked toward his voice. Gwen and Owen stared in shock, and the alien who was not looking after his companions raised his laser gun and leveled it at Ianto. Ianto took a step forward, hands still raised, and he tried to push the panic out of his own voice and he said, more quietly, "We don't want to hurt you. We just want you to go home." The alien didn't shoot, and Ianto took that as a good sign.
At that moment, though, Jack's resurrection breath shattered the sudden silence of the alleyway and the aliens looked at him with fear in their eyes and raised their guns again. Gwen and Owen took a step closer to the aliens, guns still raised, and Jack looked frantically around the alleyway as Ianto felt the situation slipping from his fingers, if it had ever been in his hand at all. "Wait!" He said forcefully, but not loud. He wasn't sure what he was going to say, but calm had to win out if they couldn't talk to each other.
Gwen suddenly helped him out. She put down her guns as well, and said, "He's right. We just want you to go home."
Jack had obviously figured out what was going on and he sat up slowly, his arms raised. He stood, pulled his coat sleeve back, and pointed at his wrist strap. "Transmat. Do you have one?" he said, pointing upwards at the black sky above the alley.
Ianto had felt his shirt getting soggy with blood from his own wound the whole time he'd been standing there, and he could also feel his breath getting more ragged as it became clear that blood loss was affecting his body. It was as Jack pointed upwards that black spots danced around his vision and his knees decided to give out. Nobody moved to help him as he crumpled to the ground in a heap. He could hear Jack's calm voice again and he tried to hold onto it, knowing Owen would help him as soon as he could.
"Go home," Jack said forcefully, pointing up again. One of the aliens looked at Ianto and back to his comrades, and chattered at his standing companions. One of them nodded and Ianto watched as they tapped commands into their own obvious communication devices and suddenly the alley filled with a bright white light.
When it dissipated, the aliens were gone and Ianto closed his eyes, breathing shallowly because of the pain that was coursing through his arm and shoulder with each breath. He couldn't move his head, so he saw Jack pass through his sight line and out again as he stepped over Ianto to roll him onto his back. He heard himself shout in pain as he rolled, and he clenched his teeth, dragging his breath over them and sharply into his lungs that simply wouldn't fill. When he opened his eyes again Owen was there, a syringe in his teeth as he tore Ianto's shirt down from his shoulder and then jammed the syringe in below the wound. Ianto drew another sharp breath and heard Owen muttering, "Step back, Jack. He'll be okay." But Ianto didn't feel okay, and he was suddenly cold where his shirt was gone and he opened his eyes, desperately looking for Jack as the drug Owen just gave him made the pain dull only a little and brought the alley into sharp relief.
"Jack?" He said, unable to get any air into his voice and feeling vaguely nauseous, his stomach swimming as the light from the nearby streetlamps wavered behind Owen, who was still working on Ianto's shoulder.
"Gwen, go get the blanket from the back of the SUV," he heard Owen say, and then, "Jack, here. Press on his shoulder. I need to get my full kit from the car."
That didn't sound good to Ianto. He was trying to draw stronger breaths, but each one felt harder to pull in, and needles kept getting pulled in as well, despite the pain med Owen had tried. He gritted his teeth again and tried to stay calm, looking for Jack.
"Shhh. Ianto," Jack's voice murmured, as he took over from Owen's spot and pressed his hands onto Ianto's shoulder, sending daggers through his shoulder and all the way down his arm until even his fingers felt like they might soon be ripped off of his hand. That didn't help, and Ianto squirmed, trying to get away from the pain from Jack's hands. "No, stay still. I know it hurts, but let me do this to stop the bleeding," Jack said, his voice filling with concern and a tinge of fear that Ianto rarely heard. But it hurt, and Jack's other hand on his face felt good but not good enough, so he fought again, rationality departing with a whoosh. "Owen!" he heard Jack call as Ianto tried desperately to roll away from Jack's painful hand, and his voice sounded like it was coming through a thick curtain and Ianto could only feel fire, and then blackness overtook him, pulling him away from Jack.
Jack watched as Ianto struggled, obviously not comprehending anything Jack was asking him to do, and he felt fear seep through his arm that was trying unsuccessfully to stop the bleeding from the laser wound as he watched Ianto pass out from the pain and blood loss. Laser wounds were tricky, Jack knew from experience, and he knew that closing the wound was the hardest part, and staving off infection followed on its heels. Owen skidded down to the ground next to Jack just after Ianto passed out, and Gwen was there with the blanket, which Jack proceeded to wrap unceremoniously around as much of Ianto as he could without disturbing Owen's work.
He waited, Gwen's hand on his own shoulder, holding his breath while Owen used what looked like a cauterizing tool, on Ianto's shoulder, and he cringed as he saw steam emerging from the wound. "Owen. . . " he said, his question lacing the name.
"Gotta seal it, Jack. He'll lose too much blood before I can get him back to the Hub otherwise." He paused, and then turned slightly, "Can you carry him? We can get the stretcher, but…"
"I'll get him," Jack said quickly. He leaned in and scooped Ianto up into his arms, staggering a bit at first, but feeling Gwen's hand helping him up. He felt Ianto's head loll onto his chest, and tried to swallow his own nausea as blood covered his own shirt and the smell of seared flesh rose up to meet him. He moved quickly to the SUV, where Gwen had the door open and he slid into the back seat, cradling Ianto and wrapping his arms tightly around him to avoid too much jostling and, if he were honest with himself, to feel his young lover's chest move for his own assurance. Gwen drove while Owen held Ianto's wrist, trying to monitor his pulse and swearing under his breath. It felt like an hour back to the base, but Jack knew it wasn't more than ten minutes, Gwen doing her best to run the traffic with their blue lights flashing. The car screeched to a halt in the car park and Owen had Jack's door open in a flash, as Jack scooted out from the backseat and leaned into a quick clipped pace to get Ianto downstairs. Two minutes later he was laying Ianto carefully on the med bay table and Owen was already stripping the makeshift bandage off of Ianto's shoulder.
He worked for a few minutes, and as Jack, Tosh, and Gwen stood by nervously, he finally said, "Okay. I think I've got it. Blood pressure is stable, can't find any evidence of more blood loss, and the wound's as clean as it's going to get." He sighed heavily. "The kid's an idiot."
"Owen!" Tosh exclaimed, "I was listening and he's the one who diffused the situation!"
"Yeah, and nearly got himself killed in the process," Owen replied, and then after a pause he added, "Not that I'm not grateful. I wasn't looking forward to the cleanup involved in getting rid of those guys messily."
Jack just nodded and moved to the table next to Ianto's pale, still form. "He doesn't look good, Owen," he said quietly.
"No," Owen replied, "I'm going to keep an eye on him tonight. Make sure his pressure stays stable and that we can nip the infection in the bud if it shows up."
"It's likely to, isn't it?" Gwen asked softly.
Owen nodded, "Yeah, but I hit him with a pretty forceful round of antibiotics already, and if we stay on top of it he should pull through."
Jack sent Tosh and Gwen home reluctantly, promising to call if anything changed with Ianto, and they departed with worry filled gazes as Owen bustled around the med table, adding an oxygen line for his young colleague and checking the blood pressure machine. Jack found a chair upstairs and pulled it down next to the table, settling in heavily, lifting Ianto's hand in his and just watching.
Hours later, Owen checked Ianto's temperature and found it had risen, as expected. He gave him another dose of drugs, gave Jack a cool cloth and some ice water, and started an IV for fluids. He brought Jack a glass of ice water to drink himself, and offered to go get some food. Jack declined, but sent Owen out to get something for himself, and Owen promised not to be more than fifteen minutes. After Owen left, Jack leaned over Ianto and laid the cool cloth on his forehead. He was startled when Ianto's eyes fluttered open, unfocused though they were.
"Hey," Jack whispered, "I'm glad you're up." It wasn't until he spoke that he felt the fear come back, realizing how much of it he'd been holding tightly in for the last few hours. He was almost overwhelmed and had to swallow an unexpected lump in his throat as Ianto tried to focus his gaze on Jack's face.
"Jack? Are they gone?" Ianto whispered, voice raspy and weak.
"Yeah, we're back at the Hub and they're back in space where they belong. Seems a mix up on destination to me. You talked them into leaving quietly. That was good," Jack said, trying to be uplifting but failing miserably. He could see the fever in Ianto's eyes, and he watched as Ianto tried to process what Jack was telling him.
"Are we safe? The others?" Ianto implored, desperation seeping through his words.
"Ianto, we're safe. The aliens are gone and no one but you was hurt. It's okay. You need to rest, though. You're hurt."
"Tired," Ianto whispered, closing his eyes again.
"Sleep," Jack said, brushing his hand over Ianto's warm forehead and cheek.
Ianto lay still for a few minutes and Jack thought he was asleep, but then his eyes fluttered open again and focused a little more quickly on Jack's face. "Jack?" he asked, sounding dazed.
"Yeah?" Jack replied, leaning over again and running his hand through Ianto's short hair.
"Are they gone?" Ianto repeated, and Jack saw the glazed eyes try and focus, but fail this time.
"Yeah, kid. They're gone. You sent them home and they went. We're all safe," Jack said softly, knowing they were probably in for a long night now that the fever had really set in.
"Jack," Ianto said again after being quiet for a few minutes, "I couldn't talk to them. They couldn't talk to us."
"No. That causes problems most of the time," Jack responded, knowing that trying to quiet Ianto down was probably fruitless. Hopefully Owen would be back quickly like he said and be able to give him something to help him get back to sleep. For now Jack resolved to humor his best friend and keep him calm.
"Jack," Ianto said again after lying still for another minute, "We have to talk to them. We have to convince them to leave. They shouldn't be here."
"No, they're gone, Ianto. They're gone and you're safe and Tosh and Gwen and Owen are safe, too. We can't talk to them because they're gone," he said softly. He dunked the wet cloth in the ice water, rung it out, and rubbed it across Ianto's forehead again, gently.
After a moment, Ianto looked at Jack again. "Jack. We can't talk to them. How will they know to leave?"
Jack sighed, and looked up as Owen bounded down the steps and came up next to Jack, "They're already gone, Ianto. Come on, try to lie quietly. Owen's back and he'll help you get some rest," Jack said, looking sharply at Owen. "He's delirious. We've had this conversation three times since you've been gone. Can you give him a sedative?" Owen nodded and filled a syringe, then plunged it into the IV. Ianto's eyes fluttered closed and his breathing evened out.
The fever lasted the night but broke in the morning, not long after Tosh and Gwen returned early, too anxious to stay away until normal check-in time. Ianto slept all morning, and when he woke in the afternoon Owen let them move him to the couch for a bit more comfort, setting up a portable IV and sternly laying down ground rules for Jack. It was unnecessary, though, as Ianto fell right back asleep after they moved him and didn't wake up again until the next day, sore and cranky but obviously safe.
As he and Jack lay in Jack's bed that night after convincing Owen that it would help him get better sleep than the sofa, Ianto asked Jack a question.
"How many wars have been started because we just couldn't talk to each other, Jack?" He said sadly.
"Too many, Ianto," Jack replied, his voice heavy with knowledge and sadness, "Too many."