Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales

Sunday, April 25, 2021

After two days of Weevil incidents, including a group of idiots that decided to hunt one through a construction zone, John Hart needed sleep and a vacation. He'd already written up the planned Weevil relocation. The island housing Rift victims could be easily modified. The Torchwood that recruited him originally built a comparable habitat. The creatures were happier, required minimal care and didn't have access to humans. With a Weevil in quarantine recovering from being shot, they needed to start the project immediately.

John slid a tablet with details across the conference table. "Weevils are empathetic and linked communally. When those arseholes shot one, it traumatized the community."

Jack stared at the small computer or John's hand as the door slid open. Ianto entered wearing Michael in a Snuggli and carrying a tray holding breakfast plates. The kitchen remodel meant they didn't eat as much takeaway during long Torchwood situations.

"Thanks." John accepted a plate.

Jack suddenly stood and reached for Ianto. The plate hit the table with a clack, making John's sensitive ears hurt. The passionate kiss was an annoying reminder that Ken was still in rehab. John promised to wait. After two months, he was losing his resolve.

"Get a room I'm not in." John focused on eating his breakfast.

"He's jealous."

Ianto sounded uneasy, backing away."Not in front of Michael."

Jack returned to his seat at the head of the table without another word. John looked between Jack and Ianto, wondering what he missed. As the PTSD symptoms fading, their relationship changed, but Jack wasn't disrespectful. John hoped Jack wasn't reverting to old habits.

"Why did you do that?"

"What?"

John stared for a moment. "You upset Ianto."

Jack shrugged and reached for his breakfast plate.

"What's wrong with you?" John gestured with his hand.

Jack grabbed it. "I'm in a good mood." He twined their fingers together. "We haven't gone to Ni'Athal in years."

"Ni'Athal? You're nostalgic over a sleazy resort?" John then remembered Jack didn't have access to his early memories.

"We had fun."

John nodded. It took a moment to remember details. The last time they visited the colony, they'd still been partners at the Time Agency and lovers. They'd spent more than a week with a very open-minded, androgynous humanoid. Most of it in bed.

"Do you know where we are?"

Jack thought for a moment, and confusion took over. "No."

"We're going to the infirmary."

When Jack looked ready to argue, John teleported them both. An alarm sounded. Owen glared until he realized Jack didn't recognize him. John pinned Jack against a medical cot long enough to find a stun pellet and press it to his hand.

Bree Nelson sat on a medical cot across from Jack. One of the numerous complications of working for Torchwood was the insistence on secrets. After her experience with Ianto, she could understand the reasoning behind some of it. Assessing a patient after a serious memory lapse required details.

"I need actual information, Jack." She couldn't help but wonder what he was hiding. Nothing could compare to finding out Ianto came back from the dead. At least she didn't think so.

He sighed. "You wouldn't believe me."

"Nigeria has specialists." Refuge people had a lot more experience than she did with the complicated and seemingly impossible.

"They wouldn't believe him either." Ianto stood next to Jack with a hand on his shoulder.

Bree held out her hands. "I know you were a Time Agent before you worked for Torchwood and you're one or two hundred years old." All of which she learned from Anwen.

"I'm not sure how old I am." Jack set a hand on Ianto's. "Over two thousand is solid."

Bree stared at him.

"I'm immortal. I can't die." Jack paused. "My brother buried me at one point."

That took a moment to process. "That's why you accept the memory issues as normal?"

"Yeah."

"Do you physically age?" Bree once again wondered at the rabbit hole she tumbled down when she accepted Jack's job offer.

Jack nodded. "Slowly."

Bree then remembered something. "I overheard you talking to Gwen about accessing your memories."

"We use dream-sharing talismans."

Definitely Wonderland, she thought. "Is it a permanent effect?"

"Yes. Reliving the memory in a dream allows me to remember while awake."

Bree nodded. "I can only guess that it has side-effects. If what you're experiencing is similar to recovering from trauma-induced retrograde amnesia than the process is complicated by the amount of missing memory, your age, and what you've done to recover memories. It can be traumatic and overwhelming. Seemingly incidental activities can trigger powerful recollections. It's unpredictable."

"Why did I regress?"

Bree shook her head slightly. "Neither psychiatry nor neurology covers immortal time travelers."

Ianto hesitated. "Could it be dementia?"

"I don't know. Owen needs to complete a full physical exam." Bree stood. "Keep a symptoms journal. Until you have a better idea of what's happening, you can't work. Don't drive or operate machinery." She paused. "It would be best if you weren't left alone."

Jack Harkness waited as Bree left giving him and Ianto privacy. Regaining his memory was beneficial. There always seemed to be one more to add to the dream-sharing list. Although therapeutic, Rhys objected the last time it came up. The question was how long the process would take.

"I'm sorry about earlier."

Ianto moved around the cot. "I should have known something was wrong." He shifted his hand on Jack's shoulder.

Jack set a and on Ianto's back lightly and looked up to meet his eyes. "Is Michael all right?"

"Yeah. Anwen is sitting with the boys in the playpen in my office." Ianto smiled weakly. "Gwen and John are there discussing custom weapon designs."

Under different circumstances, Jack would have questioned leaving an infant with an eleven, almost twelve, year-old. For whatever reason, Michael didn't like Gwen. With Dmitri gone and Ken undergoing in-patient treatment that left John. Michael disliked Owen more than Gwen.

"You need to go." Jack stood.

"I'm not leaving you alone." Ianto hugged him.

"I have work to do." Jack paused. "You have the medical band and the GPS from when I was exposed to CN."

Ianto paused. "That'll help, but it's not a solution. You're not high. Taking your belt isn't going to keep you from leaving. We had to modify the hub's locks and remove the door knob from the alchemy lab."

Jack remembered coming to his senses with a make-shift lock-pick and bottle of Anwen's glitter. "Everyone was obsessed with knobs."

Ianto groaned. "This isn't a joke."

"Yeah, it is. I was high on mushrooms," and flirting with imaginary aliens.

"You hallucinated for days." Ianto looked up at Jack. "This could be a CN side-effect. You and John are the only known survivors without natural Rift abilities. He's done so many drugs; he might not notice."

Jack kissed Ianto lightly. "I regenerate. It's not CN."

"It's been fifteen years since we dealt with Gray from this universe. Why are you regaining your memory now?"

"I don't know."

"That's the problem. We don't know. Until we do, you need to be careful, Jack."