Saved by the Dashing Hero

Jack's Perspective

Disclaimer: There is absolutely no owning on my part.

Summary: While in pursuit of a time-hopping alien, Jack and Ianto come across a younger version of Ianto. Something bad happens and Jack must comfort Ianto. Ianto/Jack. Forty-eight in the "Immortal Janto" series.

This idea came from a suggestion by thunderincrimson. Like "Quizzical Meetings," it's a chance for Jack and Ianto to meet and interact with a younger Ianto.

Don't forget to check out Jorkins' website, dedicated to Ianto Jones. The link is posted in my profile.

Okay, that's enough of my talking. Onwards and forwards to the story!

Their feet slapped against the wet pavement as they raced through the streets of Newport, Wales. Jack kept his hands firmly on his Webley, eyes on the retreating back of the alien that they were chasing.

The alien in question was a purple and humanoid, though it looked a lot like a hammerhead shark. Worse, he had a laser blaster and was happily shooting at people as he went.

The Doctor had been tracing the alien as he gleefully hopped backwards in time. Said alien had gotten his hands on a faulty Vortex Manipulator and had found his way to Earth, eventually landing in Wales, heading towards Cardiff. Using the residual energy of the Rift, he had started hopping back in time, causing panic and mayhem as he went. Jack only prayed that no one got hurt as a result.

It was by a small stroke of luck (and foresight by Donna and Ianto) that they had avoided running into Torchwood as they started backwards in time, through the first decade of the twenty-first century and the very end of the last decade of the twentieth century. A quick, curt contact via a letter from the Doctor had prevented past-Jack and Torchwood from getting involved. Jack did not want Alex getting his hand on any technology that the Doctor deemed too dangerous to be handled by Torchwood – even Torchwood Three.

Ianto was trailing him by a step as they rounded a corner. As they did, the alien came into their sights and Jack felt his stomach clench.

He would recognize Ianto anywhere and anywhen – even in 1999, at the age of sixteen. The young Welshman was wide-eyed at the sight of something that he didn't see every day. From behind him, Jack heard his Ianto gasp in surprise.

Everything happened in slow motion.

Jack saw the purple alien raise his blaster, aimed directly at the younger Ianto. A scream caught in Jack's throat as a bright streak of light shot from the weapon. Young Ianto gave a surprised yell as he turned enough to miss the full force of the weapon, though it caught him in the ribs, causing him to tumble to the ground, his bags of groceries spilling out around him, the brown paper bags ripping. A shout of pain shot through the air.

Instinctively, Jack was at his side, catching him as he fell, cradling the younger man, sinking to the ground carefully, so that the young Ianto was resting in his lap.

Under normal circumstances, he would have loved this. However, the blood seeping from the young Ianto's side was not comforting.

He looked up to his Ianto and saw the stormy look in his eyes – the look he knew too well. Wordlessly, he tossed his husband his Webley. Ianto caught it deftly. The older Ianto tore off after the alien, hell-bent on bringing him down.

Meanwhile, Jack held the young Ianto.

Familiar blue eyes stared up at him. Jack never liked seeing Ianto in pain and this was horrible.

"Who – are you?" the young Welshman asked, wincing.

A thousand thoughts fluttered across Jack's mind – friend, colleague, boss, lover, husband, father of his daughter, immortal, dashingly handsome and heroic. Okay, the last one was solely reserved for Ianto's older self and would have made said older self roll his eyes at Jack.

Jack gave young Ianto a smile, not the full-blown charming and flirtatious one, but the comforting and caring one. "Someone who's worried about you." Ianto winced again and Jack looked at his side, carefully moving his hand. There was blood, but they were lucky that the wound wasn't that deep or very serious. Still, it required medical attention, though the Doctor and the TARDIS could have him patched up in no time at all. He managed to press a button on his Vortex Manipulator, covertly from the eyes of the young Ianto, and send a pre-recorded SOS message back to the TARDIS. Hopefully, help would arrive in a matter of minutes "Until help gets here, keep pressure on that wound of yours." Tears unexpectedly pricked at the edges of his eyes. "Can't lose you yet."

He was glad to see Ianto comply.

A part of Jack saw the painful irony of holding a wounded Ianto in his lap. Ten years from now, in this Ianto's personal timeline, they would be in London and Jack would be holding Ianto again – only Ianto would die then and leave Jack alone for years, until he returned to his life in one quiet moment.

Sadness washed over Jack and he banished that thought from his mind.

"What was that thing?"

A shiver went up Jack's spine. Ianto's Welsh vowels were always more pronounced when he was in pain and the younger Ianto's accent was so strong. Something inside of Jack twitched and he had to squash his urges in favor of talking to Ianto for two reasons – one, he didn't want to scar the young man, and two, talking would keep him alert and awake.

Plus Jack couldn't lie to Ianto, not after all these years and not even to a younger Ianto.

"It was an alien from the future."

"What?"

Jack smiled. "I won't go into the semantics of the how and the why, but that's an alien – a purple alien with a busted Vortex Manipulator and a child-like obsession with causing mayhem."

"Oh." There was a pause and Jack could see Ianto trying to fight the urge to roll his eyes. "I take it that your friend's going after the alien then." Jack nodded in affirmative. "Is he any good at catching aliens."

Oh Ianto, he thought, smiling to himself. There were very few times that Jack knew that he could surprise Ianto and this was one of them – even if the Ianto in question was a much younger version of the one that Jack had with him at all times.

"I would say so," Jack replied. "He's been doing it for a while."

"That's good." Young Ianto winced a bit – some combination of pain and something else, something that made Jack worry.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concern clenching his voice.

Eyes flicked around and Ianto replied, in a weak voice, "Oh dear, Mam wanted those groceries for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow. She's not going to be happy about that."

"I think she'll forgive you."

Ordinarily, Jack would have thought that Ianto's concern was endearing and adorable – ordinarily. But Ianto was starting to get faint on Jack, starting to succumb to unconsciousness. He tightened his hold on the young man.

"Hey, hey, you listen to me, Jones, Ianto Jones," Jack said, aware that he called Ianto by his name (and Ianto was aware of that fact too, since his eyes snapped open in surprise). "You have to stay awake right now. I know you'd rather pass out, but you have to stay awake for me."

"And why is that?"

Jack leaned forward and stroked Ianto's hair gently, admiring the curls. "Because I like those beautiful eyes of yours."

"How do you know my name?"

Ah, there was the out-of-the-blue comment that he could trust from Ianto.

And, luckily for everyone involved, footsteps approached them. Jack looked up to see the older Ianto approaching, Jack's Webley in hand and a less hell-driven expression on his face. He didn't need to ask where the alien's body was. More than likely, the Torchwood of the time had already been alerted.

Still, the look on Ianto's face was a mix of surprise and anticipation – and something else that Jack couldn't quite read.

Fortunately, Jack was given further reason not to answer the young Ianto's question because the familiar klaxons of the TARDIS rang through the air, cutting off further conversations. Moments later, the Doctor and Donna burst from the TARDIS, looks of concern on their faces. Jack shifted his arms and scooped the younger Ianto up, cradling him gently, carrying him into the TARDIS, the older Ianto trailing behind him, careful not to touch his past self, as not to cause a temporal paradox or other negative temporal effect.

Jack was in full worry mode as the TARDIS reached out to heal young Ianto, golden energy surrounding the young Welshman, who he laid out, with great care, on the couch.

When the light subsided, Jack breathed a sigh of relief. Ianto looked well and whole, though he saw the long scar on his side, crossing over his ribs.

Tentatively, Jack walked over and knelt down by the couch. He felt his husband behind him, looking over his shoulder. Years of being together had given him a second sense of where his beloved Welshman was at all times.

He saw the way the young Ianto looked over his shoulder at his older self, realization setting in as twin sets of eyes met one another.

"You're – you're," young Ianto sputtered.

"I'm you," Ianto confirmed, nodding, "or the you who is from a far distant future and if you don't believe me, then this should convince you."

With that, he unbuttoned his waistcoat and lifted his shirt high enough to reveal the long, a delicate scar along his ribs, one that was the twin of the fresh one on the ribs of the young Ianto. Jack looked between the two, appreciating the fact that, until now, he had only known of the scar from all the times that he had explored Ianto's body. It was a pity that Ianto never explained where he got said scar – it made sense now, though.

"I don't understand how you're here then, if you're from the future."

Jack smiled and patted young Ianto on the hand, barely suppressing the urge to weave their fingers together. "You will, one day, Yan." The disapproving snort from the young Ianto was so worth the pet name. "It was hairy there for a minute, but you'll be fine."

"Where am I?" the young Ianto asked.

Older Ianto was chuckling. "No questions, Ianto, or else Rhi and Gavin will find out that you're stashing the porn in the third floorboard from the closet in your room."

Porn? Jack was intrigued.

Young Ianto gulped. "How did you know about that?"

"I know everything."

Younger Ianto yawned and Jack saw his eyes drooping shut. Looking back to the Doctor, he saw the nod of approval from the Time Lord. Comfort filled Jack. This was a good sleep then, one that the TARDIS was inducing, if only to complete her healing and to put something of a memory block on the younger version of Ianto.

They only had a matter of moments now before young Ianto was asleep.

Cupping the young man's cheek, Jack tilted Ianto's face to him and gently pressed a kiss against his forehead. Blue eyes were wide when he then placed a butterfly-soft kiss on Ianto's lips. A blush crept across the younger Ianto's cheeks as his eyes fluttered shut and he fell asleep.

"Sleep well, love," Jack whispered, leaning back from the couch. He felt his Ianto's arm wrap around his waist.

"Thank you," Ianto whispered.

He turned and looked at Ianto.

"What happened?"

For a moment, Ianto considered his younger self before he explained. "When I was sixteen years old, I ended up in the hospital as being attacked on the way home from the store. I never really remembered what happened, except that I felt safe and warm and loved. I was out for thirty-six hour."

There was more that Ianto wasn't telling him, but Jack knew better than to push that issue at the moment.

As they moved away from the couch, he reached for Ianto and pulled up his shirt to reveal the scar again. He brushed his fingers against it and watched as Ianto shivered at the touch.

"Have I mentioned that I love that scar?"

Ianto's laugh was encouraging.

Okay, that's the end of this side of the story. I'm going to do the story from the perspective of the younger Ianto – because it would be so much fun!

Anyway, you know what to do. Reviews are love and I love reviews!

Remember to check out Jorkins' website!