Three's a crowd
Timeline: Set one year after Children of the Earth. Spoilers for everything.
Summary: It's one year earth time after Ianto Jones and Jack's grandson Steven died trying to stop the 456 and Jack has returned earth to re-establish Torchwood. Life is never dull with Jack around. He has brought with him two life restoring orbs and a wife. Can Jack resurrect his lover Ianto and not loose his new wife?
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or any of its characters. However, if Jack and Ianto were real, I would be tempted to steal them.
Chapter 1 - Steven
When the doorbell rang Alice Carter almost didn't open the door. She wasn't expecting anyone. In fact no one visited anymore. Not since her son Steven had died one year ago. Alice had successfully managed to alienate her few friends and she had no family. The only people who would be at her door would be trying to sell her something. Yet for some reason, perhaps a latent instinct to reconnect to the world, Alice answered the door.
A woman stood on Alice's front porch. Alice looked her up and down. She looked a good few years younger than Alice's thirty five years, although she held herself with a confidence that belied her age. She was dressed smartly, with dark Indian cottons flowing gracefully over her plump yet curvaceous frame. Dark curly hair flowed about her round face, framing fine pale skin and big blue eyes. She was bitting her rosebud lips.
After completing her silent examination Alice raised her eyes to meet the girl's. "What do you want?" she asked sharply.
"Hi, I'm Natasha. Are you Alice Carter?" she asked. Alice identified her accent as Australian.
"Yes." Alice nodded.
"I'm here about Steven." she said.
Alice felt something sink inside her. She didn't know who this woman was or what she wanted but Alice did not want to have this conversation. A smile tugged at her lips that didn't reach her eyes. Alice always smiled when she was nervous. In a small voice she said, "Steven is dead."
"I know." said the Australian woman, "I'm hoping there is something we can do about that."
.........
Alice led the woman into her living room, offered her a seat on her couch and perched on the edge of a lounge chair. With Jack Harkness and Lucia Moretti as parents she had learnt at an early age to keep an open mind. "I think you better explain." she said.
"I should start by introducing myself properly, and please don't be annoyed. My full name is Natasha Harkness. I'm Jack Harkness's wife." Natasha said.
Alice was off her chair, red flashing across her vision. There was one name she wouldn't abide and that was Jack Harkness. "Out." she said pointing at the door.
Natasha didn't move from the couch. "Please Alice. I'm not here for Jack. I'm here because of Steven. I'm here because of you. I can't begin to understand how you must feel about Jack and I know you want nothing to do with him, but I'm not here because of him." Natasha large sympathetic eyes pleaded with Alice.
Alice felt a little of her fury leave her. She could see that the girl was genuine. She didn't know her father had a wife. Did that make this girl her step mother? The thought was absurd. She was still of two minds whether to hear her out. She had avoided all things to do with Jack Harkness since the day he had killed her Steven. The day he had sacrificed Steven to save the children of the earth.
Alice's anger had never left her. Her crockery was testament to that. Logically she knew that the life of one boy mattered little against the loss of ten percent of the earth's children. But logic meant nothing to a mother. She would have sacrificed every child on the earth to save her boy. She knew Jack had made the logical decision but she still hated him. He was Steven's grandfather. He shouldn't have been able to even comprehend the logical solution. On that day one year ago Alice had lost her only remaining family. She had lost her son and her father.
Seeing her indecision Natasha continued. "We met this alien. It was from a race called the Grek. It was the same species as the 456. It told us that the 456 were a group of its people that had been corrupted. I guess you would call the 456 the criminal element but they were really just drug addicts. The Grek said that Jack had made two sacrifices that saved the Grek from this scourge of their society. The Grek don't have any compassion for failure. They were happy that their society's dregs were dead. They wanted to repay Jack. The alien gave us two orbs. It told us how to use them. They're a second chance. We think they'll give Steven a second chance at life." Natasha finished with a rush.
For a moment Alice felt a light shine into the black pit of her despair. Was it possible? Then she thought about Jack's involvement. She wouldn't trust him again, ever. "Leave." she said, her voice as dead as Steven.
Natasha kept her seat. Her kind face looked up at Alice's, still standing by her chair. "Please Alice. Isn't it worth a try? Even if it doesn't work? Isn't it worth a go? You might get him back. You might get Steven back. Tonight you could be cooking his dinner, tucking him into bed. I'm not a mother but surely you would do anything for that chance?" Natasha reached into her bag and pulled out a small white globe. "The Grek said that we just need to place this near his remains. Surely it's worth a try. What is the worst that could happen?"
Alice knew it could get a lot worse. The innocence on the girl's face reminded her of Jack. For all he had seen, all the years he had lived, he still had that innocence about him. Innocence that forgot, or wouldn't think about, all the terrible possibilities. A hope that things could work out. Perhaps that was a state of mind that was required for immortality. Something that stopped him crawling into a ball and never moving again.
However, the girl was right on one point. A mother would do anything to bring her child back. She turned around, walked to the mantelpiece and picked up a small urn of ashes. A child sized urn.
.........
Natasha stepped out of Alice's house, crossed the road and climbed into the passenger side of a black SUV. A tall handsome man in a World War Two great coat sat in the driver's seat.
"Did it work?" he asked anxiously in a rich American tone.
"Yes Jack, it worked. Steven is alive and he's fine." she grinned at him.
A tension that Jack had held ever since Natasha had first met him seemed to leave his body. A light bulb grin lit up his face. "Good on you Tash." He leant forward, threw his arms around her and kissed her full on the mouth. She responded with passion.
"I wish I could see him." he said.
"I don't think that's a good idea. Not yet anyhow." Natasha said stroking the side of his face.
"He's alive that's all that matters." Jack said, although a small frown tugged at the side of his mouth. Natasha kissed it away. He ran his hand through her hair, down her arm and entwined his fingers in hers. "We can bring Ianto back now." His face glowed.
"Yes, we can bring Ianto back." she said.
Jack didn't notice the flash of pain that crossed Natasha's face.
.........
I know you're wondering how Jack can have a new wife with Ianto only dead for a one year but all will be explained. I know I'm a sap for trying to fix Children of the Earth. Please review.