A/N: Mkay, so I have been super busy lately, and I would have posted this last night but I got sucked into reading "We've named Her Hyperion" by my friend nicolietheface. She's awesome, her stories are brill. Check'em out. Um...well, this is the third instalment of the "Violet Flower" story. Also, the fourth instalment is in the works right now. To all of you who have reviewed I give you my love and thanks, to those of you who haven't I see you! So please do review :3
"Da, c'mon! I'm old enough!" Ianthe wailed.
"No, too dangerous." I had been praying that she would stay four forever. She was so innocent and so much like Ianto.
"You said when I turned 18 I could go with you!" She complained. I did say that, but I thought she would have forgotten by now.
"Ianthe, no means no. You can stay here at the hub but you are not coming with us."
Shrieking in protest she stormed out of my office. "Uncle Owen!" She shouted as she bound down the stairs towards the med bay. "Ah, there's my favorite niece." He said, scooping her into a hug. The cold personality Owen had; had disappeared after Ianthe had first called him 'Uncle'. Then Toshiko had become pregnant, and now Owen was a dad.
"Uncle, Da won't let me come with." Pouting she glanced over at me. "Ianthe dear, you know I have to follow the captain's orders. I don't think he'd much like me joining your side on the matter." I nodded at him in a silent thank you. After realizing she wasn't going to find any help from Owen she turned to Gwen and Tosh, Tosh just glanced down at some papers she happened to have in her hands and ran in the other direction. Gwen on the other hand looked as if she were about to help in the matter, giving Ianthe the opportunity to glance at me as If to say 'Hah, I won.' But Gwen could tell I was not pleased as she turned to look at me, the disapproving glare I sent her was enough for her to keep her thoughts to herself.
After realizing that it was useless Ianthe turned to look at me. If looks could kill, "This isn't fair! You let father go with you!" She shouted, after the words were out of her mouth I could tell she instantly regretted using Ianto as ammunition in this case.
"Your father was different." I said. Ianto was the only person I let come with me when the team was split up and we all had our tasks.
"I can handle it, you know I can! Father would have let me, from everything you've told me, he would have let me." She said.
"Then I guess you weren't listening, your father would have been against you even knowing Torchwood existed. That's where I guess I should have agreed with him." She shot daggers at me, hurt by my statement. I hated to see her like this, but I was not about to let my only daughter go out and possibly get killed while on a mission with us.
A snicker came from the corner of the hub. "Give the girlie a chance. What eye candy doesn't know won't kill him." I had almost forgotten giving John a position here. There was an opening for the keeper of the archives. It wasn't until this very moment that I had seriously regretted hiring him.
"John, not your place, and don't refer to my husband as 'eye candy' or I'll inform the Doctor of how you just might have had something to do with the Hyla incident." A few years back John was gallivanting about and had stumbled upon a Hyla, a magical being of sorts, and they had gone off together to run around in other time periods for a while, wreaking havoc all the while.
"Jaaaack~! You know that wasn't my fault, he was gorgeous." John complained.
"Save it, now you," turning to face Ianthe, "This is our last discussion about this. You are not going with us. I've already lost your father; I'm not losing you too." I said, more emotions being displayed than I had intended.
After a long moment, Tosh glanced at Owen hesitantly, seeing him give her a slight nod she spoke up. "Jack, if Ianthe wants to come with us…I could look after her, she could help me with the gadgets. She doesn't have to be put in harm's way." Ianthe smirked up at me. We both knew this was reasonable; nevertheless I still disliked my own team agreeing with my daughter over me. I guess it couldn't be helped. Thinking back on several fronts I realized that instead of Ianthe being more like Ianto, although she still had those wonderful characteristics, she was as stubborn as me when she was fighting for something she was deadest on doing.
"Fine, just this once. But if anything and I mean anything goes wrong, you aren't coming with us again." Satisfied she practically skipped back up the stairs to her own little office, "I'll go get my coat." She remarked pleasantly.
Of course, after that mission it wasn't "Just this once" she come with us on all of our cases, even the particularly bloody ones. This carried on for about three years. As I woke up one morning I felt something in the pit of my stomach that made me realize something was not right, today was not right.
"Jack! Jack we've got something on the scanners looks like the rift has opened again. Picking up two alien life forms." Tosh called up to my office. I turned to look at Ianthe; she gave me a wide grin. It was her 21st birthday. I asked her what she wanted, and I now regretted that deeply. She said she wanted to go on a mission with me just the two of us.
"Da," she said, noticing the look on my face. "Don't go backing out now, you promised."
"Sweetie are you sure you -" But I was cut off by her forming protest.
"No 'are you sure' Da, I know I'm ready I can handle it. Now stop your dilly dallying and let's go! I checked my self and it shouldn't be too bad, the life forms are weevil." A sigh of relief swept through me, weevils, although dangerous, nothing we couldn't handle. It had been an interesting day to give Ianthe her training.
As we drove towards the spot that tosh had programed into the car, there was a sort of ominous feel about it, I couldn't quite place the feeling but I knew it wasn't right. Not right at all.
"Jack, there are more than before, I read the scanner wrong their everywhere. At least 10 if not more. We're on our way now."
I could have used that warning about ten minutes ago. We were surrounded. It seemed like they were only after me though, like I was there target of sorts. I turned to Ianthe, seeing the look of sheer terror on her face. I cursed myself for letting her come with me.
The next few moments seemed to last a lifetime. All I saw was a flash in the corner of my eye;
a weevil had broken the circle around us and was inches away from Ianthe. I didn't even think really, just grabbed her and pulled her back. The weevil's claws meeting my chest. There was so much blood all in one moment. I dropped to the floor as I saw Owen and Tosh get out of the car that had pulled up just minutes later. My vision was fading and I felt the blood soaking my shirt and my body getting colder and colder. I felt Ianthe gripping my hand tightly.
Her tears dripping onto my face as she cried; Owen tried to hold towels to the wound but I shook my head as the blood stained his hands red within seconds. Gwen had her hand covering her mouth as she slumped against the van. Owen was holding onto Tosh, her head buried in his shoulder as she was racked by sobs. This left Ianthe, by my side tears staining her cheeks. I squeezed her hand and tried to give her a reassuring smile, but I'm afraid it was more of a grimace as I felt a pain shoot up my spine. My lungs burned as I struggled to take in air, nevertheless, "Ianthe, be strong for me ok," I choked out. I felt horrible for leaving her all alone, but I knew that the Doctor would be here soon.
When Ianthe was younger I had asked the Doctor to make her a companion if something were to ever happen to me. I suspect that he had already glanced into my future and knew my fate before this day. He promised though, and as that thought was roaming through my mind, a whirring noise filled the air. I didn't have much time left now. As the TARDIS landed and the Doctor got out, he pulled Ianthe into a hug; she tucked her head under his chin and cried. All the while whispering 'you can't go, you can't leave me' which made my heart shatter little by little.
The Doctor leaned down close to my ear, "It is time old friend. Time for you to be with him again." He whispered. He must have known this was going to happen. I nodded, something tugged at the back of my mind, feeling my conscious slipping I knew I had to say it. "I guess you won't have to worry about me being the face of Boe anymore." He chuckled; he let Ianthe go as he saw the light in my eyes begin to fade.
"Dad, Da can you 'ere me?" She whispered, sobs choking her words. I nodded and stroked her cheek to wipe away the tears. She grasped my hand again and held it there. "Da, I want to scream and beg you to stay right now…but I just-I just can't even begin to say that, because I know that you've lived far beyond your time Da, and I know it would be selfish of me…I know you want to see father again. So please, just, just please have a safe trip and give father my love, and I'm sorry I'm so sorry for this Da, I love you." With that she kissed me on my forehead.
My sweet Ianthe; she really was like her father.
As I felt the darkness and my body growing cold I whispered my last I love you to her, told the Doctor to look after her, and bid the team a sorrowful goodbye.
I was scared as I felt my conscious leaving my body. Then, there was nothing. Just like Suzie had said. But she was wrong about one thing, because it wasn't nothing. It was more like a tunnel than a dark void, and there was a shaft of light outlining the silhouette of a man. I walked towards him, my heart thumping against my rib cage. As I got closer he turned to face me, and as recognition hit, it took me every ounce of my willpower not to break down and cry right then and there. For the person that stood before me was Ianto. My Ianto, sweet wonderful Ianto.
"You idiot." He chuckled as he pulled me close. His rich voice washing over me in a steady stream of 'I love you'. I could only hold on as he ran his hands through my hair, words not even registering. Hearing his laughter made my heart race, I joined him. We held eachother and laughed, just laughed.
"I didn't think you were ever going to join me." He said as he looked me up and down, as if deciding if I was really there with him. "Well here I am." I said, kissing him for the first time in a little over 21 years. I wrapped Ianto up into a tight embrace, and started placing light kisses along his jawline.
Nothing had felt so good to me in a long, long time.