Series: Journey
Dancing in the Moonlight
McRaider
Summary: A trip through time helps Jack and Ianto overcome some of the obstacles they've been faced with lately.
Author's note: This is part two of Stand By Me. Picks up right where it left off, so please read that one first otherwise you'll be lost. It's also the fourth part in the Journey Series; Feels Like Home and Beautiful Disaster are the first two parts, you don't have to read them but it would probably help in the long run.
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from Doctor Who or Torchwood (I wish…)
Thanks to my lovely betas for all their help and time! As well as to my reviewers for all their kind words!
Chapter One:
Bending down, Ianto gently gripped Jack's legs, and together they moved Jack into the Tardis. Lying him gently on the floor for the time being, The Doctor quickly set the coordinates and looked up at Ianto. "Welcome to the Tardis Ianto, first stop, 51st Century, Boeshane Peninsula."
"Wait? Wasn't that where Jack was born?"
The Doctor smiled. "Yes, don't worry, I know what I'm doing—if I time this correctly I'll hit it two years before he's born, no worries. His parents wouldn't have arrived yet. Come on then, course is set, it'll take us a little time to get there, help me get him back to his old room."
Ianto nodded, and together they helped carry Jack into the halls of the Tardis, Ianto stopped when he noticed the door next to Jack's, the room was a very light and beautiful pastel pink. "Who lived there?"
The Doctor smiled sadly. "An old friend. Jack used to love having her next door, gave him comfort he said. Come on then." They stepped into Jack's old room; it was sparse, similar to the one back at the hub.
"Doctor—thank you for your help."
"Haven't done anything yet—I always come when my former companions need me. Especially Jack."
"Why?"
The Doctor smiled sadly as he gently traced on of Jack's cheek bones. "Because I owe him so much for what I've done." Leaning over he pressed a kiss to Jack's forehead. "Come on then, he'll know where to find us. Why don't we go to the kitchen and get some food, I have the feeling this is a tea sort of story."
"I don't drink tea—"
"Oi! It fixes the synapses! It's the perfect fix for anything—clumsy regenerations included."
Ianto, unsure what to say just followed the somewhat spastic Time Lord into the kitchen. Ten minutes later, the two men were seated at a countertop across from one another drinking mugs of tea. "What happened, Ianto?" The Doctor questioned as he studied the man seated across from him.
"Lots of things, some of which Jack should probably tell you. Let's just say Torchwood had a temporary take over, in which I was—possessed by a rather brutal entity, Jack was hurt in the process. Doctor—entities are after him."
The Doctor nodded. "I'm aware—I've ran into a few, trust me Ianto, I'm doing everything I can on a daily basis to keep Jack safe. No one will hurt him while I'm around."
"I hurt him." Whispered Ianto.
"What happened?"
Ianto rubbed his sand-dry eyes briefly before continuing. "The creature didn't want to kill Jack; it wanted to destroy him. So it attacked the one thing Jack loves more than anything."
"You?"
"That and sex."
"Oh—he was raped?"
"Yes."
The Doctor felt his hearts pound deep within his chest. "Ianto, you need to know something—if you want to help him get better, then you need to know he was raped during those eight months we were gone. We were gone for a year—the year that never was. He was raped by an old enemy of mine, on a fairly regular basis."
"Yes, but this time it was by me. Someone he loves and trusts!"
"So he called me?"
"No—he didn't want to, I asked him to call you? Doctor, I've been seeing things."
The Doctor raised both eyebrows in confusion. "What sorts of things and when did it start?"
"It started before the transformation, but I've been seeing more, and it's not just the two times. I dream things."
"What things?"
"The future among some things—I've seen our children, all five of them. Mikey, Rose, Gareth, Johnny and Aeryn."
"Ianto—"
"I've seen my eldest die! I've seen my daughter sing, my sons—"
"Ianto!" The Doctor interrupted. "Listen to me, the first thing you need to know, about what you're seeing is its just one possibility. There are hundreds of possibilities in our lives Ianto. You're only seeing one side, one possibility. Thing is, there's more, so many more."
"I'm not sure I'll ever get used to time not being a straight line."
"Oi! You want to hear about that just ask Jack! He's been back and forth in time more than me! That man reappears in my own time line more times than I can count." Suddenly the Doctor's eyes grew wide, he rushed out of the room.
Ianto, unsure what the Time Lord was doing, followed close behind. He stood in the doorway between the hallway and the control room, watching as the Doctor pushed several buttons, threw a switch or two—at one point he even grabbed a small mallet and began pounding a couple things. Ianto grimaced, fairly sure that wasn't a good idea to beat the machine that was supposed to take them back and forth in time. "Doctor—it would appear I've missed something."
The Doctor let out a maniac laugh. "Course you have! I'm going to make Jack's day! An' quiet possible, in the process relive some of my own memories and make you quite happy."
"Where are we going?"
"Planet called Alepoidian—ridiculous name, best dancing in fifteen galaxies!"
The Doctor grinned wildly as he continued pounding on the controls. Ianto, not paying attention to anything but the Doctor, jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking over, he saw Jack had changed into a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. His hair was in an array of angles and he looked knackered, but he was alive.
"You came." Whispered Jack.
The Doctor, glancing up at last grinned again as he moved over to Jack. "I came. And! I'm taking you to Alepoidian!?"
"What's on Alepoidian?" Jack questioned stepping into the control room and taking a seat on the leather seat across from the controls. He reached out, ever so lightly and pressed a hand to the system. "Hey there girl." He whispered, stroking it gently.
The Doctor listened for a moment and smirked. "She's missed you."
He nodded. "I've missed her too."
"Right then, go shower Captain Jack Harkness, because tonight you and Ianto are going to relax and enjoy one another's company."
Jack looked from the Doctor to Ianto, before finally nodding. "All right then!" with another stroke to the Tardis, he hurried out of the control room.
"You're just going to help him avoid this problem?" Ianto questioned, hands on his hips in disapproval.
The Doctor glanced up from the controls. "Absolutely not! I'm trying to help him; Jack needs to feel safe—always has. He trusts you and he trusts me. Ianto—Jack is scared, he's scared of so many things—spiders for instance—I remember this one time he and Rose—"
"Doctor!?" Ianto interrupted, positive this man had ADD.
"What? Oh, sorry. You want him to stay right?"
"Yes but—"
"He needs to feel safe again, so he needs to remember why he fell for you in the first place."
"And if it doesn't work?"
"It will Mr. Jones, but don't push him. You've got all the time in your hands. Go change your jumper then."
Ten minutes later, both Jack and Ianto stood in the control room. The Tardis came to a rather jarring halt, and then the Doctor walked over to the door, opening it he poked his head out then pulled himself back inside. "Right then, there you have it 81st Century Alepoidian! Go out and enjoy yourselves. However, please be back within forty-eight hours of this time. I don't want to have to come get you."
"Why? What happens in forty-eight hours?"
"The sun expands." The Doctor stated bluntly.
"What!?"
"Only kidding! Now go! Here's some money, plenty on there, no trouble. And don't cause any trouble!" He waved them out the door.
Ianto stepped out, but Jack stopped, looking at his former lover. "You aren't coming?"
Smirking the Doctor shook his head. "You don't need me. Come back if you have any trouble. I'll be here."
"But I—"
Sighing, the Doctor leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Jack's lips, silencing him. "Go Jack, you can trust him, you know that. You've got to work this out on your own."
"I—"
He nodded and smiled. "I know Jack, I've always known. Now go!"
Smiling, Jack stepped into the cool night air of the beautiful planet, noting the three different moons in the sky. Ianto stood by his side. "Where will we stay?" Asked Ianto.
"There's a hotel of sorts nearby—they'll put us up. I know the owner."
"Old lover?" joked Ianto.
"No, old war buddy."
"Jack I—" Ianto began, realizing what he'd just said.
Jack turned on him, frustration all over this face. "Look, these are going to be two of the hardest days we're ever going to face—probably not the last either. Now, either we can act like adults, enjoy one another's company, get to know each other and maybe even forgive ourselves. Or we can go back to being part time shags. But what happened, happened. We can't change it! We can only grow and learn from it. We're in the here and now; this is all we've got."
For a moment, both men just stared at each other, struggling to find the words. Finally, Ianto reached out and tentatively took Jack's hand in his. "I love you."
o0o
They got a rather large hotel room, as it happened Jack did know the owner, and the man had been quite pleased to see his old friend. Thus, they were now staying in the largest room, with a tub akin to a Jacuzzi, a king sized bed and what appeared to be a sort of plasma TV. Stepping into the room, Ianto smirked and sat down on the extra soft bed, looking around the room. "So what's so special about this planet?"
Jack shrugged as he opened the curtains and enjoyed the view of the city streets buzzing with activity down below. "Every year they have a celebration, two days long—Winter Solstice. It begins tomorrow morning starting with a huge street market, great time, lots of traders and buyers from all over the galaxy come here. Then all the guests on the planet are invited to a large dinner, it seems hard to fathom, but over a million people will come just to eat the food. After wards they have a large ball—held outside, by the moon light. It's their most important holiday; it celebrates all the riches they've received in the year and is their way of worshiping the gods and hoping for more luck next year."
"So we're attending this ball?"
Jack smiled. "Only if you want to. I haven't been to one since I was a little boy. My mother and father were invited when Grey and I were just little kids—I was probably only seven, so Grey was two or three. But I remember the dance very clearly. All those different people and species. It was beautiful Ianto, you'd love it."
"What about tonight?"
"Well, we can watch TV—or talk."
"In other words, lets get it all out now and then enjoy the time we have tomorrow?"
Jack chuckled. "I didn't mean exactly that, but yes. Sure."
"I don't want to force you into talking about it."
Jack sat down on the bed beside his lover and smiled. Without touching him, Jack just sat there for a moment. "I think you're forgetting something about this entire situation."
"What's that?" Ianto inquired.
"You were raped too."
"What?"
"Ianto, you had your mind invaded by some evil creature, that's as much a violation as what the creature did to me. Mine was physical, but yours was mental and equally as damaging as mine. We're both in pain here."
"I could see everything he did—when he—when I…"
"He—yes a part of me is going to see you when I think of that memory and a part of me is terrified of that. But it wasn't you, and I will be okay with that."
"When he hurt you, I just remember screaming and crying—begging him not to do it. Jack, I know you'd never want something like that and I was so scared for you."
"Did you see what I saw, every time he touched me?"
"No—"
"Ianto, you need to know some things about me. Then you can decide if you really want to be with someone like me—"
"Don't you dare call yourself a freak Jack Harkness, you are anything but."
"Thank you. Those eight months I was away—well for me it was a year. A horrible year, where I was imprisoned on a ship hovering over planet earth; and for an entire year I was shackled in the equivalent of a boiler room, tied up just like that boor beached whale Owen put to sleep. For an entire year I suffered and was tortured at the hands of a madman. I was beaten, and killed so many times that I eventually started to lose count. He would call me the freak, come in every day trying to decide what new way he could kill me. And if that didn't satisfy him, he'd find ways to make me live as long as possible without actually killing me, to find ways of keeping me in the most amount of pain possible. Hell half way through the year he brought in you guys and tortured you to get to me. I didn't cry until I watched you killed, right there in front of me."
"He did the same thing to you, that the creature did?"
"Yes, at least half a dozen times. Maybe I should have gotten used to it—"
Ianto reached out and gripped his lover's hand. "Jack, you should never have to get used to something that horrific. You were abused, beaten, and tortured over and over again. Why would you ever have to get used something like that?"
"It's just—I've gotten so used to having to be strong for everyone else, sometimes I forget that it's okay to just grieve."
"Has that changed?"
Jack shrugged, moving up; he sprawled out on his side. Ianto smiled and decided to join him. Once situated they were both on their sides, staring into one another's eyes. "Yeah, a little. Like sometimes, when I'm lying in bed with you, or making love—I forget that I'm immortal and that you could die before me. I forget the rest of the world. Or when I'm alone, I'll wake up from a nightmare and cry because I'm so afraid of being alone. I hate feeling like that—"
"Like you're not in control. It's normal Jack, trust me. Jack, you realize you don't have to always be in control anymore. At least not in this relationship. I'm here, and I'm not some weak person who needs protected. Let me take care of you sometimes."
"You take care of me everyday."
Ianto chuckled. "Let me take care of your emotional burdens too."
Jack laughed at how crazy that sounded, but when he met Ianto's eyes again, he couldn't resist the slight nod. "I've wanted to die before."
"Do you now?"
"No."
"I love you, and I'm so sorry that this happened to you, to us. I want to fix it."
"I'm scared." Jack murmured looking at his lover.
Ianto nodded. "Me too, everyday, but together we can be brave and strong. Tell me what I can do to fix this."
Jack looked at him, suddenly unsure. "Make love to me." It sounded so cliché, but Jack had to get past it. He didn't want to think of being raped, torn and brutalized every time he slid inside Ianto. He wanted to think of the love and passion that was there, that was behind their every thrust.
TBC