"Black"

A/N Written for one of my 100 prompts – first of a two parter (see next chapter!) Set during end of episode 13 of Torchwood, whilst Jack is having yet another dance with death. Hope you like, please review, even if it's just one word, they really make me smile. And if you can review my other story "Back in five minutes", I'd really appreciate it too, as that was "my baby" looks fondly at it and pats it gently and approximately no one apart from my friends who I forced to review actually did review it! Thanks again!

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"Bring it on!" He bellowed, ignoring the pain that shot through his body at every movement of his. Abadon turned, seeing him, and Jack felt his soul almost being wrenched out of him. He sunk to his knees in pain, crying out as he felt himself being torn apart. Abadon loomed over him, roaring and shaking its own fierce head in torture. Jack spread his arms out, baring himself to the monster before him, and felt something being drawn out of him. He didn't know what it was; but a blinding white light burst from him and surged towards Abadon. It surrounded him, making the bringer of death glow white, consuming him, eventually shining out from within him. With a groan Abadon fell to his knees, reached one massive, boulder-like claw out for the man at his knees one last time, and collapsed, a white light filling the sky, and then all of a sudden, he vanished, disappearing into the wind. Only Jack was left, who collapsed, exhausted back on his heels, and, his eyes closed in a dark sleep, fell into blackness.

Only Gwen was left, to run to him as he fell, sobs clogging up her throat, to fall to her knees at his side, to take him into her arms and rock him like a baby, tears falling down the swell of her cheeks. When she could speak, she could only utter his name, over and over again, a tremulous call to bring him back from wherever it was he had gone. "Jack… Jack….Jack!"

The team soon turned up, and with their help she got his body back into the SUV and they drove back to the Hub, silence reverberating around the car apart from the sobs that Gwen and Tosh were emitting as they sat next to him in the back, his body laid out across the seats. Ianto, sat in the passengers seat, was crying too, though his tears were silent, streaking his face red and blotchy. Owen did not cry; he was replaying over and over again in his mind the moment a bullet was shot into Jack's head by his hand.

They carried him into the autopsy room, a solemn procession lead by Ianto and Owen, carrying their boss and friend awkwardly between them. Ianto changed him out of his clothes into the obligatory white t-shirt and shorts, since he was the only one who was able to do it; the girls were still in floods of tears, and Owen had disappeared the moment Jack had been set down on the cold metal table. Owen returned to run some tests, shaking his head each time. They took some time, and the rest of the team migrated to the main Hub whilst Owen was busy. Gwen ran home, her heart pulsing violently, to find Rhys still alive, but strangely, as she held him, she didn't feel safe and happy as she should have done. What did she care for that Rhys was alive? Jack was… Jack was….. She couldn't bring herself to think it, and left abruptly to go back to him.

Whilst Gwen was gone, Ianto and Tosh had gone back down to the autopsy room to discover Owen with a white bag, and once they saw it, they knew it was over; Jack was gone. They slipped him into it, and then, they pushed the trolley to the morgue.

It was ice cold in there, and it was not just because of the temperature. Shivering, Ianto inserted the code to open up an empty vault, and they were able to open a door and pull out yet another cold slice of metal to lay Jack's body on. Once he was transferred over, they stopped, not knowing what to do next. They stood by his body, waiting. Gwen returned, and Owen explained to her the results. "Are you sure?"

"Gwen, he's ice cold."

They watched his body, each willing him to come out of the blackness.

"I wanna' sit with him." It didn't surprise the team to hear that, but still Owen protested. No good. They left, to leave Gwen alone with him, each retreating to some private corner in the Hub to feel their grief in their own way.

Days passed. Gwen still remained at his side, and there was nothing they could do to remove her. The missed calls folder on her phone was full; Rhys had no idea of her whereabouts until Tosh rang him to explain that a close member of her work had died, and that she wouldn't leave him. Perhaps she hadn't put it the best way possible, because when Rhys heard the word "he", and later found out from Tosh it was the Jack Harkness who had interrupted Gwen and he's meal once, he put the phone down, furious, knowing that he had been replaced by another man.

Oblivious, Jack still lay there, in darkness. His mind was cold; his life was gone; and the team's hope was a tiny pinprick of a star in a huge galaxy. He couldn't come back. He was gone. He was dark. He was deadly black.

A/N One press of a button, a couple of taps at the keyboard, and you will make my day. :-)