Author: SmartKIN (plasmagun89)
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Crossover with Doctor Who (no spoilers there)
Spoiler: Children of the Earth Day 4
Summary: A fix-it for Day 4. Because it needs to be fixed.
Disclaimer: nothing mine.
A/N: I completely adore science fiction, because only here you can pull off something like this (well, not counting fairy tales and fantasy).
Ah yes, it isn't beta read and I'm no native speaker. It probably contains a ton of gruesome mistakes but I kinda had no time to find someone willing. If you would like to do so, please tell me :D
Let there be light
This wasn't supposed to happen, was not supposed to happen. Not ever.
Jack just couldn't belive it, as he stared at Iantos too white face while holding Gwen's silently shaking body. Of all the people who could have died due to this farce, Jack had never imagined it to be Ianto. Good, sweet, loyal Ianto. Who learned to hold a gun barely a year ago, who made the best coffee ever, who was gentle and loving and caring.
"I love you."
The words were still ringing in his ears. Of course Ianto had chosen his last minutes to say those damn three words. And he hadn't given a reply. Had never given a reply. Not once in his overly long life. He couldn't. Because saying so made it more real and he wouldn't be able to deny it anymore.
But he had promised not to forget.
And Jack mostly kept his promises. He would make sure to keep this one.
He reached forth and closed the orange bag again, hiding Iantos face within. Jack felt something akin to detachment as he helped Gwen to her feet and slowly guided her outside.
--
The 29th century was marvellous. Earth was brimming with life, human and extraterrestrial mixed together and noone could imagine a world without funny coloured species running around the streets. The technology was way beyond anything ever existing before due to the help of many cultures from far, far away. And the Earth itself had already began to expand its empire to more than one planet.
There was no need for Torchwood anymore, since everyone basically lived side by side with aliens of all shapes. But after the Hub had been rebuilt one person in particular didn't want to give everything up for good. Earth still needed defense from hostile aliens, didn't it?
Jack was mostly the same. If you overlooked the gray hair around the temples and one or two additional crinkles. Hell, he even had had to give up his 2nd World War military coat and wear more.. modern clothes. Yet he had kept his coat in order to remember. It currently decorated the wall of his office and not just once had someone of his new team teased him about nostalgia. Only it ment so much more than that.
"Can I take off your coat, sir?"
Jack was lost in thoughts again. It happended too often for his liking.
"Harkness!"
That defenitely brought him back to reality. He started out of his chair and looked down to the main floor.
"What is it?"
The computer geek of these days was tapping away at the outworldish lookig keyboard and finally looked up, a bit lost.
"There appeard a blue.. box right on the plaz."
Jack raised an eyebrow.
"A blue box."
"Yeah."
His heart started to drum against his ribcage and he jogged down the stairs. The Doctor had finally arrived, after all those hundreds of years and Jack didn't even know which version of him. Not that it mattered.
"I'll be away for some time, be back in a few days!"
"But.. Harkness!"
Jack jumped on the invisible lift and activated it, not paying attention to his team members. He just knew that this was the time. The cold device in his pocked was suddenly heavier than before.
This was it.
--
When Jack reached the TARDIS, he was kinda out of breath. The Doctor seemed to have no hurry as he was still here and Jack wasted no more time. He pushed the door open and hurried inside.
"Doctor," he shouted finding himself face to face with a stranger.
"Jack!"
The Docter had the decency to seem suprised. Jack himself was a bit startled. The Doctor looked so young. A boyish face, black, thick hair but skinny like the last time he'd seen him.
The Doctor smiled.
"You are.. well, older."
"And still looking good!" Jack's standart response, accompanied by that dazzling smile, which was all teeth and sparkling eyes and just looked gorgeous to most lifeforms.
"What are you doing here," the new Doctor asked.
And Jack became serious again.
"I need your help."
"Really?"
Jack nodded. Ianto had told him everything so Jack knew what he had to do.
"You have to bring me back to the year 2009."
Now the Doctor was suspicious. Jack could tell.
"Why?"
"I have to change something. Something important."
"What," the Doctor exclaimed and suddenly the head of Torchwood knew that he could do it. He was fimilar with the other man even though he wore a different makeup. After all, he had fought at his side.
"I need to go back to revive Ianto Jones from Torchwood three," he clarified. He didn't think, adding that Ianto was his lover – had been his lover back then – would help matters much. On the contrary, it would probably make things worse.
"No way. You know how it goes!"
"This," Jack said forcefully, feeling his hands clenching to fists and shaking with surpressed emotions. "Is different!"
"Different how?"
"I remember it happening."
--
The hall was nearly dark, the only light comming from the empty corridor outside. Jack had encountered no one on his way and walking through the streets he'd known the crisis was over. One way or the other. He remebered exactly how it had happended. But that wasn't important anymore.
His eyes travelled over the orange bags, one after the other until he caught sight of the empty one, his empty one and knew where Ianto must be.
The bodies were lying quietly in this hall, untouched or maybe forgotten by almost everyone since the chaos had begun to range over the world. He was glad for it, now.
Jack moved through the rows and knelt down beside Ianto. His fingers didn't shake as he slowly pulled the zipper over the welshman's face which was as well like he remembered it, too white, too still.
He stared at Ianto for a moment, who was still so young and who would recieve another chance.
His hand found the buldge in his jacket and refrained a blink from taking the device. Jack was fimilar with this technology but had never used it before. He had found all the information he needed in the archives and it was perfect for this job.
It looked so unspectacular, resambling a metall cube. No one would guess what power it held within. Basically it gave life by taking it from someone else. And life was the one thing Jack had more than enough.
Jack took the cube, held it with both hands and activated it with no further delay. He didn't have an infinite amount of time. The other Jack would come back shortly and than he should be long gone, back in his own time.
He was only for a moment able to admire the special effects as the cube opended up and revealed a core of marvellous colours, than everything was darkness.
--
He woke to someone running his fingers through his hair. His face momentarily crunched up and than he blinked, slowly, deliberately and tried to make out were he was. Dying sucked. Big time.
"Jack?"
He knew that voice. And as soon as his slughish brain figured it out, his memories kicked in and he sat up abruptly to look into Ianto's young, sweet face that showed no sign of suprise.
"Ianto," he managed, not too breathless but still. The other had to sense his unease and thundering heart.
"You are too old."
And clever Ianto seemed to have figured it out already. Jack smiled.
"The gray hair gave it away?"
The Welsh's mouth turned up at one corner.
"The clothes."
Jack frowned.
"Oh.. 28th century fashion, still outdated in my time, though."
Now Ianto really smiled and it was like the sun comming out. Jack had thought he'd never see that smile again. But here he was, in the past, chating with his long dead lover. That was life for you.
"Of course it is," Ianto answered. "But why are you here, why am I.. not dead?"
Jack didn't know if Ianto would be happy with the answere. Even though Gwen was the one with the strictest set of morals Ianto pretty much had an idea for himself of what was right and what was wrong.
"I brought you back."
Ianto looked at the cube, which had closed again. He didn't say a word and just appeared to be thinking it over in his head.
"Why?"
Isn't that obvious? He thought but didn't say so. Denial was still a wonderful tactic in his opinion.
"Because I remember it happening."
Ianto seemed to understand though. Which was good. Really good. But he'd been here for far too long already. He cupped Ianto's face with both hands and placed a chaste kiss on those parted lips.
"I have to go. Your Jack will be here shortly!"
Jack stood up, smiled down on the young man and went for the door.
"The cube!?"
Jack turned and looked at the device in Ianto's hands.
"Put it in the archive. I left intructions."
"What archive? What intructions? Where?"
Ianto looked gorgeous when he didn't know all the facts. He should have startled him more often.
"The archive Torchwood is going to rebuilt together with the Hub. The instructions I sent to you per email."
"Email? From the future?"
"Not quite," Jack said. Never tell all of your secretes. He looked Ianto over once more and left without another word.
--
The horror was finally over and suddenly there was too much time to think. Jack was on his way back to Thames House to retrieve Ianto's body. He didn't want to leave him there to be burried by someone else. There had to be a funeral this time. With Ianto's family, Gwen and Rhys. Ianto had been brave and had died during this.. war and everyone knew of the aliens anyway. No need to hide him in a morgue that didn't exist.
He pushed open the doors which had been sealed off a day ago and marched through the empty hallways. He was on autopilote or something than he didn't remember taking the stairs and moving along the corridor to where Ianto was stashed away with so many other bodies.
The doors to the hall were open when he arrived but he didn't think of it and just went through the doorway, completely unprepared for what was laying within.
He stopped.
And stared.
And remembered to breath.
Jacks body was again acting on its own like before, wraping his arms around Ianto, whispering his name over and over again. He kissed every inch of skin he could find and finally settled for Ianto's mouth opening up under him and welcoming him home.
He didn't know why and how but it didn't matter since some wonderful being decided there hadn't been enough Ianto already. Life was good.