Title: Without You

Authors: Takada Saiko and Gabrielle Day

Disclaimer: We don't own this, sadly, because if we owned Captain Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones we might just be two of the happiest young women alive.

Setting: Between seasons 2 and 3

Notes: So, Gabrielle Day and I are not slash writers. We tend to toe that bromance line to an extreme and that's what we do well, but there's just something about Janto. We'll blame it on how freakin' cute they are. Also, I just thought it was interesting, after rewatching parts of the Cyberwoman episode, that Ianto tells Jack that someday he'll have a chance to save him and that he'll watch him suffer and die. I think you'll see the irony in that statement after reading. Thanks much! =D

Without You

They didn't know who he was or what he really wanted, but the fact that they were two members down made it worse than usual. Tosh and Owen's deaths had hit them hard, but the remaining members of Torchwood realized this with a renewed pain every time that something came up in which their services were in need.

Gwen had said just that day that Tosh would have figured it all out by that point, but then caught herself and simply sat at the computer, mucking through what she could of what they thought their enemy had against them. All they knew was that he was male, humanoid, and possessed a type of bullet that rendered Jack's healing capabilities useless. They wouldn't have believed it if one of those bullets hadn't been lodged in their captain's shoulder and the arm still, days later, rested in the sling.

Jack was a terrible patient. Being babied had only appeased him for the first twenty-four hours, after that he'd become downright surly. He continuously made it worse by trying to move it or by poking at it, convinced it would suddenly heal itself as usual.

"This is ridiculous." he growled.

Gwen rolled her eyes and continued to focus on the files in front of her. Ianto came in with a bottle of aspirin. "Here. You should take a couple of these."

"I don't need them. It'll get better soon."

Ianto sighed. "Jack."

"I don't need the damn pills!" Jack's voice echoed throughout the Hub, bouncing off the walls. He turned to look at Ianto who stood, blue eyes slightly wider and startled at the aggression behind his boss' voice.

"All right then," he said with a bit of a huff.

Jack's expression softened slightly at the hurt that the other was trying to keep from his features. "Ianto, I..."

"No, I understand," the Welshman said hurriedly, gathering a few things that had been strung around the office. "Would you at least like some coffee?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that'd be great," the injured man murmured and settled back into his seat, laying his head back and listening to Ianto's shoes tap against the floor.

"He's only trying to help," Gwen said from behind.

"I don't need any. I'm fine. I just want to catch this sorry bastard and be done with it."

"Well, you won't do it by biting everyone's heads off 'round here."

Jack sighed, eyes closed and he massaged the bridge of his nose. "You're right. Of course you're right." He stood suddenly, as if an idea had struck him. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" Jack shot her a lopsided grin.

"Just to check on something. Really, I don't need you both being needy," he said playfully and was gone.

The minutes ticked by and Gwen sighed. She was getting nowhere with the intel. There was far too much to sift through and figure out what was genuine and what was just flotsam in the ether. She didn't look up until Ianto came back in, tray of coffee cups in hand. He set it down on an empty patch of desk and glanced around, frowning. "Where's Jack, then?"

Gwen pressed the palms of her hands against her eyes. "What? You didn't see him? He went to check on something."

Ianto stiffened as if doused by cold water. "When? What was he checking on?"

Gwen shrugged. "He didn't say, Ianto. I...oh." Realization struck her. "How long?" Ianto demanded.

Gwen checked the clock. "Ten minutes. Maybe fifteen."

Ianto flew up the stairs as if he were being shot at. "Please stay here incase he comes back," he called over his shoulder, grabbing his coat from the place on the rack where it usually hung next to a certain long blue jacket.

If Gwen replied, he didn't hear it. The car was gone, which was a blessing and a curse all in one with the cold winter night catching him as he ran out the door. The blessing of the missing car was held in his hand in the form of a tracker, leading him only a few blocks away. He ran at top speed, ignoring the strange looks he received.

Jack had never been one to sit back and let others do the work around him. Why should he? Not only was he their leader, but he was all but invincible, which made medical-leave pointless on most of the time. Ianto had only seen Jack sick on one occasion, and while it had been a doozy, he was sure that the leader of Torchwood Three rarely caught as much as a cold.

He rounded the corner, zeroing in on the vehicle's location. An alleyway. It couldn't be anything out in the open, oh, no, that would never appeal to Jack's sense of the dramatic and heroic. Ianto cursed under his breath and pushed himself faster.

He could see Jack, see the hooded figure holding a gun. He assumed it was a gun, the moonlight glinting off the cold metal that this time was as fatal for Jack as it was for the rest of them. Ianto couldn't actually imagine a world without Jack, because God help him he had a hard time remembering what his life had been without Jack. All he knew was that he never wanted to find out.

If asked about it later, Ianto wouldn't have remembered the space between where he saw Jack and the hooded figure facing off. All he saw was the back of the figure's head and Jack's blue eyes dart past his adversary to him. In his haste the Welshman had left his gun at the Hub, but somehow that just didn't matter. The figure turned just in time for Ianto to all out tackle him, sending both men off their feet. He heard Jack yell his name and the sound of the gun going off. All he could think about was if the bullet had somehow found its way to Jack.

"Ianto!" Jack screamed. He ran, snatching his gun from the ground where he'd been forced to drop it before Ianto appeared on the scene. He fired two shots, four, until the gun was empty and the figure moved no more. Jack collapsed to his knees next to Ianto's prone form, fingers curling against his neck. "Ianto? Ianto talk to me." He eased the Welshman onto his back, and cursed under his breath at the sight of the bloodstained dress shirt.

Ianto groaned softly. His eyes blinked open and he stiffened, reaching a panicked hand to his boss' face. "Jack?" he gasped out, chest heaving with effort. "Are you all right? Did he hit you?"

Jack stared back at him, somewhat confused. "Ianto..."

The shorter man began to shift, as if to get up, but seized up suddenly, pain ripping through his body and he let out a startled cry. Jack clung to him. "Don't move Ianto. Just lie still."

Ianto grabbed the collar of his jacket. "Jack, tell me he didn't hit you."

Jack cradled him with his good arm and briefly touched his face. "No. No, he didn't hit me. Now quit struggling. You...You took the shot, Ianto, and you've got to be still." Jack fumbled for a phone. "We'll get you back and patched up in no time. Coffee'll still be warm." Jack said, forcing a smile.

Ianto let his hand fall to Jack's chest. "You're not hit. That's good. That's good."

Jack wanted to throttle him. "What were you thinking?"

"I thought he'd kill you," Ianto murmured. "I thought..." His voice drifted off and he grew stiller in the taller man's arms.

"Ianto?"

The injured man stirred, blinking up. "Thought he'd kill you," he said as if he'd never drifted off. "Thought... Thought I couldn't see the world... without you. Would never want to." He looked up and his hand moved sluggishly to the other's face, fingertips brushing across his cheek. "Jack? Why're you crying?"

Jack kissed his fingers and shook his head. "I'm not."

Ianto gave him a look mixed of exasperation and fondness before letting his eyes slide close. Jack shook him a little. "Hey, stay awake. Ianto? Okay, you win. I'm crying." Jack whispered, pressing their foreheads together. "I'm not worth it, Ianto. You must have known...you shouldn't have tried..." Jack took a deep breath. "Not for me, Ianto. Not for me."

Ianto forced himself to stay awake and opened his eyes, looking at Jack as he curled a hand around the back of his neck. "Only for you, Jack." he rasped.

Jack chewed on his bottom lip. The SUV was just up the way. He really should dispose of the body, check the gun, etc... But none of that mattered. He had to get Ianto back to the Hub. "Hey, I need your help, all right?"

"'Course."

"I need you to stand up. It's going to hurt, but we have to get back. We have to get you patched up."

Ianto gave a drowsy nod. "Anythin' you say, Jack."

The taller man nodded, readying himself to take on most of the other's weight. He shifted and eased Ianto up with him, trying to ignore the gasps of pain from the Welshman and the ache of his own injured shoulder. It wasn't far to the end of the alleyway. "Just stay with me," he pleaded quietly, urging the injured man along.

They made it to the end of the alley before Ianto's remaining energy left him and he collapsed with a soft, "Long as you want me, Jack."

Jack fell with him, feeling sick at the sight and smell of the coppery blood Ianto was losing much too quickly. Headlights appeared at the end of the road. Jack waved an arm, almost desperate for Gwen to see them. He heard a short honk of acknowledgement and he bent to curl around Ianto. He kissed the dark hair, closing his eyes. "Almost there. We're almost there. I'll always want you, Ianto. Always." He breathed against the still man in his arms.

One thing that Torchwood missed desperately was a doctor. Granted, they'd made due with the skills they had developed, and Jack had developed quite a few over his lengthy existence. Digging a bullet out of Ianto Jones was something that he never, ever wanted to relive, he decided as he sat across from the medical bay that had once belonged to Owen Harper. He missed the sorry son of a bitch, he had to admit. It was so much easier when Jack could take a step back and let the doctor do his thing. Now he sat, eyes flickering over to the very still man lying on the operating table, machines reading out his vitals. Even though he'd been wearing gloves to extract the bullet, Ianto's blood still stained his own shirt and slacks.

Gwen's boots tapping against the metal of the stairs urged him away from his thoughts on it and he glanced over to her. "How's he doing?" she asked, motioning to Ianto and handing Jack a cup of coffee.

"He's stable. There's no sign of the compound affecting him, but we'll wait until morning to say the all clear." Jack murmured, accepting the cup and drinking deeply.

"It would have killed you, wouldn't it?" Gwen asked.

Jack hesitated before giving a brief nod. "Yeah. Yeah it would have been my last stand."

"You shouldn't have gone alone."

"Thank you, mother, for rubbing that in." Jack said harshly.

Gwen fell silent and stared at Ianto's still form. "He loves you, you know."

Jack handed his now empty mug back to her. "That would be a very dangerous thing." he said, moving almost unconsciously toward the bed.

"Yeah. It is." Gwen said softly, taking the cup and leaving.

Jack picked up Ianto's hand, cradling it in his own. He was used to people falling head over heels for him, fifty-first century pheromones and all, but he wasn't used to his heart-strings being tugged back. Ianto had said that he didn't want to see a world without Jack in it, but if Jack were honest, he wasn't sure he wanted to see a world without Ianto in it. He wasn't sure he could.

A soft groan from the bed caught his attention and blue eyes stared sleepily back at him. "'allo," Ianto greeted, his Welsh accent thicker than usual.

"Hey there," Jack answered. "How do you feel?"

"Hurts," the other breathed, shifting slightly and regretting it as soon as he had. A smile slowly crept to his face. "You're here." Confusion flickered through Jack's eyes. "When I woke up, you're still here. You didn't leave."

Without permission, Jack's lips tugged upward ever so slightly. "Yeah, I guess I am."

A/N: Anyone else find the statement Ianto made as interesting as I did after this? We really didn't even remember it when we were writing, so it all works out. Being that this is our first Torchwood fic, please please please let us know how we did. We're always very grateful for each and every review we get.