Hi everyone, it's been a long time. I tell you what this motherhood gig keeps you busy. I have two now, how crazy is that! Anyway this little gem has been sitting on my computer for a while and I found it while I was going through my files. I thought I'd post up a little bit and see if there's any interest out there. I know Torchwood is a bit in the past now and this pairing isn't an overly popular one, butI enjoyed writing it so I hope you enjoy reading it. Let me know what you think and if you'd like to see more :)

I do not owen Torchwood or any of it's fabulous characters, I'm just playing with them and promise to put them back when I'm done :)

Metal Casts and Memory Loss

Prologue

Ianto trudged along the deserted street toward the pub. It was cold out and most people were in doors keeping warm but Ianto barely noticed; he was too distraught. Jack didn't want him. After everything they'd been through and all the time they'd been together Jack had just thrown him away.

Well, that wasn't entirely true.

Jack had been just as upset about the whole thing as Ianto and he had a legitimate reason for why he was ending things between them. It wasn't that he didn't care about Ianto, he definitely did, he just couldn't love him the way he thought Ianto deserved and he felt it was cruel to continue their relationship when he couldn't be what Ianto needed.

Ianto had told Jack it didn't matter, that he didn't honestly expect his life to last long enough to allow him the chance to find true love anyway, but Jack had been adamant and things had ended. Ianto had told the other man that he understood and it was okay, but of course it wasn't. Ianto was hurt and upset, without Jack what reason did he have to go on living? After Lisa's death Jack was all he had and now he had nothing. What a pathetic mess his life had become.

He reached the pub and stomped inside making his way immediately towards the bar. "I'll have the strongest thing you've got," he told the bar man as he sat down and the guy disappeared to get his drink. Ianto stripped off his outer jacket and dropped it on the seat beside him as the bar man returned with his drink. He thanked the man and downed it before asking for another before said man could disappear to serve someone else. The man gave him an understanding look and immediately poured two more before heading further down to serve someone else.

"Good man," Ianto praised, picking up one of the drinks and downing it as he had the first. He thought about doing the same with the third but decided against it, nursing it between his hands instead. His thoughts flew to Jack but he immediately pushed them aside in favour of trying to figure out what he was going to do now. If he and Jack were nothing anymore he really had no reason to stay at Torchwood. When Jack had disappeared with the doctor a few months ago he'd had the same thought, but that time something had changed his mind. For a moment his mind wandered back to that fateful night, but just like before he snapped it back to the present. Why cause himself more pain than he was already feeling.

Ianto sighed, it hadn't meant anything anyway so dwelling on it was pointless. Still, at the time it had been so nice to feel wanted, even if he'd always known it wouldn't last.

"Ianto?"

He cringed at the sound of that voice and almost didn't respond. ""What, Owen?" he grumbled.

"What are you doing here, waiting for Jack?" The Doctor asked in his normal condescending tone.

Ianto sighed; he really wasn't in the mood for this. "Go away, Owen," he growled, taking another sip of his drink.

Ianto heard the stool beside his scrape on the floor and the next time Owen spoke his voice was a lot closer. "What's wrong, Ianto?" he asked, in a voice that sounded so much like it had that first night after Jack's departure that it made Ianto want to cry.

He pushed the stool back and stood up, throwing some cash down on the bar as he went. "Leave me alone, Owen," he snapped, grabbing his Jacket and heading for the door.

"Ianto!" Owen called after him but he kept going, he wasn't going to let himself get sucked in like he had last time. He managed to get out on to the street before Owen caught up to him.

"Ianto, wait, what happened?" the Doctor asked grabbing his arm.

Ianto reefed his arm out of the Londoner's hold. "Fuck off, Owen!" he snapped angrily, "It's not like you give a fuck anyway!" He threw his coat on and headed down the road toward his apartment.

"Ianto, stop!" Owen called and Ianto heard him jogging to catch up with him. "What did he do?" Owen asked, leaping in front of Ianto and blocking his path.

"Owen, I don't want to talk to you, just go away, I'm not your fucking problem!" Ianto hissed the words he'd heard barely two months ago before pushing past the other man and continuing on his way home, Owen's footsteps echoing behind him.

"Ianto!"

Ianto walked three blocks and the doctor was still behind him, trying to get him to stop, he heard Owen jog to catch up again and was trying to decide whether to turn around and deck him or run away when a loud noise coming from an alley up ahead made him pause. Owen caught up to him and started to say something but Ianto motioned for him to be quiet. Another bang sounded from the alley and Ianto crept closer, glad he still had his gun hidden in his pants. He crouched down and pulled it out of the holster strapped to his ankle. Maybe he was being paranoid, but he did work for Torchwood after all, and somehow he had a bad feeling about this. He heard Owen cock his gun and the Londoner was right behind him, leaning in closer to the alley like Ianto was to see what he could hear.

For a few moments everything was silent and they crept closer, guns at the ready. Then Ianto heard it, a long soft growl. He felt Owen grab his shoulder softly and he knew the Londoner had heard it too.

"We should call it in," Owen whispered in his ear.

Ianto nodded, that hadn't sounded like a weevil or even a dog. He and Owen were backing as quietly as they could away from the alley when suddenly, something grabbed Ianto and reefed him forward into the alley.

XX

Jack paced from one end of the conference room to the other growing more and more impatient with each passing moment. He'd been trying to get in touch with Ianto and Owen for the past few minutes and neither of them were answering. For Owen that wasn't so strange, but for Ianto … yes they'd split up only a few hours ago, but Ianto wasn't the kind of person to ignore his phone calls because of a bad mood; he knew Torchwood came first.

With an angry growl he snatched his phone up from the conference table where he's tossed it after the last time he'd tried Ianto and hit the Welshman's speed dial again. He hit the button for speaker and tossed the phone back down on the table so he wasn't tempted to throw it if Ianto didn't answer again. After a few rings there was a click to indicate Ianto had answered and just as Jack was about to demand where he was the Welshman's voice came through the phone loud and clear.

"HELP!"

Jack froze for less than a moment before ordering Tosh to trace the call. She rushed to comply just as they heard the Welshman's voice come through the phone again.

"OWEN! OWEN YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP! YOU HAVE TO GET AWAY! OWEN WAKE UP! OWEN!" A sickening snap came through the phone followed immediately by Ianto's pain-filled scream.

"Tosh!" Jack called out to his computer genius.

"I've got the coordinates, sending them through to the SUV now," Tosh called, leaping out of her chair and heading for the door.

Jack snatched up the phone and followed her. "IANTO, CAN YOU HEAR ME? IANTO!" He called into the small black phone. Gun shots echoed through the speaker just moments before the line went dead. "IANTO, IANTO!" Jack called again. When he got no reply he threw the phone in his pocket and leapt into the SUV allowing the GPS to lead him to wherever his missing personnel were.

They flew through the streets, screaming to a stop beside an alleyway where the GPS said Ianto and Owen should be. As they approached a circle of light from an overhanging streetlamp illuminated two figures, one was lying on his back barely moving, the other was kneeling over him, seemingly tending to the fallen man. As they got closer they could easily tell that the man on the ground was Ianto while the other was Owen.

"Owen, Ianto!" Jack called as he approached only to stop short when Owen turned around and pointed a gun at his head.

"Who the hell are you?" the doctor demanded, holding the gun aloft with one hand while the other remained on Ianto.

"What?" Jack demanded.

"I said who the hell are you?" Owen repeated.

"Owen this is no time for games!" Jack growled angrily. He couldn't see Ianto properly from where he was and he was worried sick about the young man.

"And I'm not playing any. I am not letting you near him until you tell me who you are!" Owen snarled.

XX

Just a little teaser, what do we think? Should I continue posting?

thanks for reading

Kayla