Jack and Life
Set during KKBB… sort of
Lying alone, back contorted at the most grotesque angle, Jack takes a long time to recover. When John has finally made his way to the ground floor, Jack still lies, heart stopped, frozen in place, suspended in time. John approaches the dead man he once loved. He ignores the shape his once beautiful body lies in. Focuses solely on the man's face. But even the dead, unseeing eyes are no longer beautiful. When he is alive his eyes dance, they are alight with a contagious fire. John noticed that this time when they first met, the man was looking tired, the light less bright, his character less flamboyant.
John notices how his eyes seem so much more fathom-less, as if they have seen so much more. And not just the glory planets where you can get pleasure in any way shape or form; no. He has seen so much more, experienced the darker side of the universe. John wonders how long it has been for Jack. He looks older, yes, but he must just be ageing well, because even John hasn't experienced so much. Jack is so much more sombre than before, and John could feel it as they were standing on top of this small world.
When Jack finally feels the life come back to him, a searing pain infuses his entire being and he knows he's been dead for longer than he should. It's not normal, even for him, but he knows he must learn to get used to this new trait of his, until he has the time to recover properly from the year that never was, Jack is destined to wake up cold, all his systems slower to recover and the pain not yet dissipated when the first breath is dragged painfully into his lungs. It is so painful, if he could, he'd rather give up that first gasp of air, but he knows that it is essential for life. His life.
Slowly Jack makes his way back to Torchwood. He manages to hail a cab, when he can barely walk any further, and the respite, no matter how short, is much appreciated by his body. The taxi driver's quip about his looking like the dead falls on deaf ears, as Jack slips briefly into a sort of recovery 'sleep'. He jerks awake however when the black cab pulls to a halt on the Plass. Jack is forced to accept the cab driver's assistance to the door of the tourist information centre when he can barely stand on his own two feet without staggering into the nearest solid object. The driver, too grateful Jack has not died on his shift, foregoes the fare.
Jack stumbles into the office, and leaning heavily on the wooden desk tries to recover himself. Urgent matters at hand means he has no time yet for himself. Bravely forging on, he raises himself to his full height and stalks silently into the hub.
John's face had been a picture when Jack had stepped out from behind the water tower; 'A fortune in the Vegas Galaxy' he says- surely he knows this is no con? Even Jack is not that good at planning last minute. He tries to appear cavalier about it, and thinks he succeeds. The only man who could notice how much pain Jack is in would be Ianto, and Jack isn't even sure he could do it after so long away. It's in the slight hesitation in his movement, the subtle creasing of a brow, or his jaw clenching. Each movement subtle enough for the enemy to never see a man down. His swagger is designed from years of practise, to look as fluid as possible, despite the pain, with little effort from Jack.
It is only many hours later and they are reliving time, that Jack's body can take no more. He blacks out with a scream of utter agony, while sitting in the passenger side of the red car. He's just taken a flying dive and role when the bomb exploded and there's no way his body could survive that. He held it together long enough to get rid of John, despite being light-headed, but that's ok, too many hyper-vodka's will do the same thing, and when you're in the middle of a con, you've gotta still think straight. He even manages to get out of shot of his team. Minus Ianto of course. He was hoping his battered body could have held it together long enough for the young man to drop him off on the Plass.
A quick descent into the hub and Jack could have collapsed anywhere until the next morning. It's not to be, and when he does start with an ear-piercing scream Ianto manages to get the car safely to the edge of the road before roaring round the side of the car to pull Jack's lifeless body out of the vehicle and lie him on the pavement. As soon as Jack's body is flat on the pavement, it convulses for thirty seconds, and Jack moans in not-quite-wakefulness.
Ianto, not knowing what else to do, and not daring to leave the man alone while he searches for a mobile to call Owen, just kneels beside him and supports Jack's head, gently stroking hair away from his sweat covered brow. Gradually the wreathing and the moans stop, and Ianto searches Jack's pockets for a mobile. He thanks the Lord when he finds one and fumbles for Owen's number. He fails twice to connect to the right speed dial, before dialling the manually number from memory instead.
Owen has just dropped off the girls at Toshiko's flat for a quiet night in, when he gets the distress call from Ianto. His voice is clear, but Owen can hear that it is fraught with tension. He tries to calm both their nerves, while driving like a fiend towards Ianto's last known location. All his attempts fail when Jack quietly expires in Ianto's arms.
Owen is worried when fifteen minutes later, he arrives and Jack had still not gasped back to life. He tries not to let it show, instead getting Jack into the back of the SUV and entrusting Ianto to drive. They are almost at the hub safely when Ianto swerves violently into a tight U-turn and makes instead towards his own flat another ten minutes away. Before Owen's furious questions, Ianto makes him realise they would not be alone in the hub right now. His flat is probably the safest place for them and where Ianto has a state of the art first aid kit.
If Owen had thought to ask, he may have been curious at the medical equipment, specifically tailored to fit an eventuality such as this, but he is too busy trying to get Jack's heart to restart. It has been too long now and both Ianto and Owen are starting to fear the worst, despite how much Ianto will deny it.
Owen turns away from Jack a further five minutes later, when still he is not breathing, despite 100% oxygen. He leaves Ianto and Jack alone for 'a moment' under the pretence of getting water for the patient.
Ianto knows Owen has despaired, but still refuses to believe Jack is gone. "After I just got you back," He whispers.
Ianto is kissing Jack tenderly, tears falling onto the older man's face, when finally there is a response. It's barely there, but Ianto is sure Jack's chest gave a stuttering heave. He feels it again as just as he pulls away, Ianto is sure Jack exhales slightly onto his face. He stars, willing it to be true, until Jack's chest slowly creates a rhythm and he is breathing again. There is no gasp of life, and there is barely a breath there, but Jack is alive!
Ianto is too shocked to do anything and simply stares in silent reverence. Eventually the ribs Owen broke during chest compressions mend and only then does Jack start to cough. The coughs are violent and rack Jack's entire body. He tips his head to the side, incapable of shifting his whole body over. Ianto and Owen gently role him over, and place him in the recovery position. Owen checking him over as much as he can, and silently thanking whatever thing has brought Jack back once more. Ianto for once has not intention of complaining about blood stains on the carpet, too grateful is he that Jack is alive again.
A long while later, after Jack has insisted Owen leave him alone, Jack makes a feeble attempt at an explanation. Ianto could tell Jack had something to say, but he was reluctant to speak while Owen was there. The explanation is in no way helpful, just that Jack needs time to recover, hopefully with a few less deaths in the near future, and after that he'll be back to his normal resurrection times. Ianto wants more, but is forced to accept what he has, when Jack finally slips into a peaceful sleep.
Hey all, this was a slightly random muse, for which I have no explanation, except that I was reading a bit of angst and this came up. It was so annoying that I couldn't even concentrate on the end of the story. Hope someone likes it. I'm sure I'll come back to it & think 'What the hell?' shortly, but anyway!