Pre Children of Earth.
Prologue
It had been a long day. My life had did a complete one eighty and now I sat in a chair with a gun pointed dead between my eyes. It seemed so surreal, I had sat in this office only days before being offered a job, and now it seemed this would be the last chair I ever sat in.
I turned to look at the door to the office, I had tried to block out the sound of his screams, but it broke my heart to see him like this, I couldn't just ignore him. He was still pounding on the glass screaming for Jack to let him in; to let me go.
"Who are you, and think carefully cause you only get one shot at this."
"My name is Kent Skies." I finally pried my eyes away from Ianto and turned to Jack.
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It had been raining in Cardiff for four days straight now, Ianto raced from the entrance of the hub down the street towards his flat, a newspaper atop his head to try a block out at least some of the water. He made it through into the main lobby and threw the paper in the rubbish bin, well trying to shake some of the water that had not had a chance to soak in yet off.
"Good evening Mr. Jones." Came the voice of the security guard for the building. "I hope you didn't mind, but your sister arrived only moments before you, and I just sent her up to wait by your door."
"Thanks Rupert." Ianto smiled at the older man.
"Your welcome sir." Racing up the stairs Ianto made it to his floor, but once he saw the figure standing by his door he knew something wasn't right. His sister was not a size four and she did not have a head of thick curly black hair. Quickly moving back into the stairwell he pulled out his gun and took off his jacket draping it over his shooting hand and reentered the hallway slowly making his way down the hall.
"Ianto, you can put your gun away." Came a soft voice. The woman in front of Ianto's door turned to face him. "Kent?"
"The one and only." She smiled up at him. Ianto sheathed his fire arm and approached the young looking woman. "Since when do you carry a gun?"
"I...I am working for Torchwood again Kent, but its different this time."
"How could it ever be different, don't you remember the things they did to me!" She tried to keep her voice down but Ianto could tell she was furious. "All those tests, the way they used me."
"Kent, It's different here, Jack, Jack saves them, he sends them back, and the technology we find, we hideaway so nothing like what happened to you will happen to anyone else. Come in I'll make you a tea." Ianto unlocked his door, and held it open allowing Kent to enter the flat before himself.
"I wish I could believe you Ianto," Kent turned to watch him enter the flat and shut the door.
"So why are you here Kent? I haven't seen you in years, what happened, where were you?" Ianto laid his keys on the table and removed his soaking jacket hanging it on the coat hook leaving a small puddle on the floor underneath it.
"I...I had to make sure you were okay." She whispered quietly looking to the ground and wringing her hands together. "I guess now that I know that I should go." With her head still down she headed towards the door, Ianto stepped in front of her however before she could reach the doorknob.
"Did you see something?" Ianto placed his hands on her shoulders feeling her clench underneath his touch. "Did you see something?" He spoke fiercely this time shaking her roughly. Kent snapped her head up to look at Ianto it was then he could see the tear streaks in her makeup.
"You were dead Ianto, you were dead..." she broke down then her knees giving way, Ianto grabbed her before she slammed into the ground, and slowed the processes, slowly lowering himself with her. They hit the ground, and the only sounds that could be heard were the cries from Kent.
"Shh...Shh...It's okay, I'm okay."
"No you're not," Kent pulled away to look Ianto in the eyes. "If you're not dead now, it just means it hasn't happened yet. Ianto, I'm never wrong, and you know that better than anyone." Ianto just grabbed her head and pulled it to his chest, placing his head atop hers.
"Well you better just make sure it doesn't happen then, and you should know better than anyone that we can change the future."
"Ianto I've missed you so much." Kent fell asleep a few moments after she had spoken. Ianto carefully lifted her into his arms and walked down the small hall to his bedroom. Kicking the door open with his feet he entered his bedroom and laid Kent above the covers to the bed. Throwing a small throw over her, just enough to keep her warm until she awoke again. Ianto looked at her his hands still lingering at the edges of the throw. He moved one hand to her cheek and gently caressed it as he brought his head down to her and kissed her on the forehead, closing his eyes, Ianto seemed to revel in the moment, before he seemed to collect his composure and left the room.
Ianto sat in the living room a picture of Kent staring back at him. It was her personal file from Torchwood One. 'Kent Skies, Project Classified, Authorization Level Black. Project Closed, Kent Skies Born 1986 Died 2004 TERMINATED' Ianto ran his hands over his face this was the only data he could access, but he knew the fact Torchwood One deemed her to be terminated meant that somehow she escaped death, somehow she got away. Torchwood must have wanted for him to see this, never even been able to find her in the archives before.
Falling asleep on the couch Ianto awoke to the sound of breaking glass. Jolting upright, and looking towards the source of the noise, his eyes landed upon Kent who sat on the floor clutching her hand. Ianto quickly got up and began towards her when he noticed the shards of one of his drinking glasses on the floor, and a trail of red spots towards where Kent sat.
"Always the klutz you were." Laughed Ianto as he grabbed a tea towel from the counter and crotched next to Kent. "Let's take a look then." Kent reluctantly handed her had to Ianto where he inspected it carefully for any shards.
"Looks clean, shall we get you to the sink to wash up?" Kent only nodded her head, looking at a loss for words, when suddenly she stopped midway, Ianto immediately knew what was happening, her hands became ice cold, and he caught her falling form before it could hit the ground. Looking up at her face he found her eyes had rolled backwards leaving only white. No matter how many times he had seen it, it always gave him an uneasy feeling when this happened.
Ianto held her, knowing in a few minutes she would awaken, and then it would begin. He sat there preparing himself, and within a few moments Kent gasped for breath, and her body shook, shook as though she was possessed by a beast. After about a minute her body went limp in his arms eyes closed. It brought back so many memories, so many things he had wished to forget. "Ianto?"
"I'm here love." He slowly stroked her hair as her eyes fought to show from behind her lids. "I'm here."
"Ianto, I miss you." She closed her eyes and snuggled her head into him. "I'm not going anywhere."
"What did you see?" Kent closed her eyes and sighed, "I saw your death, you, you get shot." Her hands snaked up around Ianto's neck; slowly she forced his head down towards hers their lips meeting in a brief chaise kiss, once Ianto had realized what was happening he deepened it. They pulled apart and Ianto kept his face close to hers, "Why does Torchwood think your dead?"
"I became a risk, they used me to the point that they were scared of what I could do. They hunted me down, they shot me, but someone saved me Ianto, I was told I wasn't meant to die yet, that they were saving me so that I might be able to rewrite the future, the man said 'Somewhere I messed up, Torchwood was never meant to find you, to use you.' He told me later I was suppose to get old and gray. Ianto me old and gray..."
"I know, I know you always told me to shoot you before it happened, before you started losing your memory, before you started saying 'in my day.'" Ianto did his best impression of a senior, while squinting his eyes and clenching his jaw. Kent laughed at Ianto, her face fell, and it had been so long since she laughed.
"Come on let's get you cleaned up and back to bed" Ianto helped Kent up and she muttered a quiet thanks, he helped her clean her hand carefully while she sat on the edge of his tub, and himself sitting on top of the toilet seat. Once that was done Ianto escorted Kent back to bed, he helped lay her down and then proceeded to tuck her in, and she fell asleep instantly. He just lay with her, remembering all she has been through.
When she awoke the next morning it was to the smell of coffee and waffles. Slowly pulling herself up, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and headed out towards the kitchen, when she arrived she found Ianto placing a plate of waffles down at an empty seat. "Well come on now, eat." Kent didn't need to be told twice she was starving, she hadn't actually had a home cooked anything in a while, it had just been what she could find in the rubbish bins or what someone would give her off the street.
Before Kent knew it the waffles were gone and Ianto was smirking at her from over his coffee. "Could I use your shower it's, been a while since I've had a proper one." Ianto just nodded his head. "There are fresh towels under the sink."
"Thank you Ianto, for everything, I'll be out of your hair today, I promise, you won't have to deal with me anymore." Ianto sighed and placed his drink on the table as Kent stood from her seat to head towards the washroom. Before Kent could disappear behind the hallway wall, Ianto spoke her name.
"You, you don't need to leave, I, I like having something from my past here with me, reminding me what I'm doing now helps people, saves people. Kent I need you here with me, I've missed you."
"I missed you to Ianto." Then she disappeared off to the washroom to shower. Ianto stayed sitting in his chair in the kitchen, he ran his hands over his face, while scrunching it up in an attempt to think. Ten minutes had passed an Ianto hadn't moved he just sat there thinking, thinking of Kent, how he had always been so blind. He loved Lisa, he truly did but he missed what Kent was always trying to tell him, to Ianto Kent was always just part of the job, he always missed the way she looked at him, and he was so blind to his own feeling it took until now to see what he had been missing.
There was a loud crash from the washroom, Ianto shot up from his seat and rushed down the hallways pushing open the door to the room, he found Kent laying over the side of the tub, her body convulsing, the shower curtain wrapped around her body, hiding anything she might have not wanted Ianto to see.
Two long strides got him to the shower, he quickly turned off the water lifted the dripping wet Kent out of the tub quickly laying her on the floor, just as Ianto had set her down her body stopped moving, and a few seconds later she gasped for air. Knowing the worst was over Ianto checked her over, she had a large gash above her right eye, it went diagonally from her hairline down to almost reach her brow, and it was still bleeding. Reaching for a washcloth next to the sink Ianto pressed it on the cut to try and stop the bleeding.
Kent's eyes opened and she stared up at Ianto, about to speak when Ianto's cell began to blare from the kitchen, Ianto made no move to go get it. "You're going to want to answer that, trust me, I'll be fine." Kent reached up to grab the washcloth, and Ianto stood and ran from the room to get his phone. Kent stood up unwrapping herself from the shower curtain, then she left to find Ianto.
He had just hung up his cell phone when he saw Kent emerged from around the corner, Ianto immediately turned red and turned around to stare at the wall. "It was Jack, something came through the rift, and I need to go."
"Don't let it touch you Ianto, whatever you do, it's how it kills, it will suck your life force."
"You saw it in your vision I take it?" Ianto questioned still not looking away from the wall. "Yah, you would never had believed a month ago I had this all under control, I could have my vision, and be perfectly fine, no seizures, just poof there it is."
"Go get your clothes on, your coming with me." Ianto
"I am not going anywhere near Torchwood…" Ianto spun around "You are coming with me, I am keeping you safe, I am not losing anyone else now get dressed!" He yelled, in all of the years Kent had known him, she had never heard him yell, and it frightened her. She turned and walked back to the washroom and got dressed in her clothes from the day before. She studied herself in the mirror, hair wet, a just healing cut upon her face. She then left and went back to the kitchen to find Ianto ready to go, holding her jacket.