Jack blinked, the words registering but not really sinking in. He had been an immortal being for so long that the idea that he – granted, a version of him – died sounded strange. And what made things even stranger was that he had died during the 456 attack.
Wait… If his version was there when it all happened, then was it possible…?
"What about any other victims? Is there a Ianto Jones?"
Adrian pursed his lips and typed the keyword on the computer. "No, there's no Ianto Jones mentioned in the casualty list."
Jack's heart missed a beat. "Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure," Adrian replied, showing Jack the monitor to prove his point. "If there was a Ianto Jones there, he didn't die."
"There had to be. The Doctor wouldn't have sent me here otherwise."
Corben frowned. "Couldn't this Doctor have made a mistake about which alternate universe you should have ended up?"
"No, he never makes mistakes like that," Jack replied with conviction. "If he sent me here, it means that I'll find Ianto."
"Fair enough, but couldn't he have just… zapped you to Ianto's doorstep? Sounds like he could do that," Corben insisted.
Jack shrugged. "He'd probably say something about not messing any more with the universe than he already had by sending me here," he said thoughtfully. "It doesn't matter now. What matters is that I am here, and I intend to see this to the end."
"But where will you start looking?" Adrian reasoned in a calm tone. "The country is filled with people named Jones, provided he's even in this country."
"Try a number. Cardiff 567908," Jack said. "It was his."
"In your world," Corben commented.
"It's better than nothing."
Corben nodded and reached for the phone, dialing the number. Jack could hear the familiar sound of the number calling even from the place he was sitting and he couldn't help but wait with bated breath for the reply, any kind of reply.
"Hello?" a man's voice sounded.
Jack opened his mouth to speak, but Adrian signaled at him to stay calm.
"Hello, awfully sorry to disturb you; I was hoping I could speak with a Mr. Ianto Jones. Is he available?"
"No, there's no Ianto Jones. You must have gotten the wrong number."
"Ah, my bad. I apologise."
"No problem."
And with that, the conversation ended and Corben hung up, directing his sightless gaze in Jack's direction. "No luck."
"Yeah, I gathered," Jack said quietly, feeling quite deflated.
"Perhaps the mobile number will work?" Adrian suggested.
Jack decided that it was worth a try, so he recited the number to Corben. The young blind man dialed the new number, and then waited patiently once again.
"Yes?" a young woman's voice asked.
"Oh, awfully sorry. I don't suppose this number belongs to a Ianto Jones, does it?"
"No, sorry."
"Right. Wrong number. Sorry," Corben said, and hung up with a shake of his head.
Jack sighed softly. "We tried, at least."
"So those were the only two things that you knew about Ianto?" Adrian asked with a frown. "You didn't live together?"
"No," Jack said wistfully. That is, until another thought crossed his mind and he looked up at the blond man. "Can you give me the laptop for a moment?"
Adrian complied, and Jack typed the address and Ianto's full name in the hopes of finding results. Unfortunately, though, he came up with nothing. All he could do was sigh in defeat.
"I didn't like the sound of that sigh," Corben noted.
"I was hoping I'd be able to locate Ianto using his home address," Jack explained. "At least, what could have been his home address."
"No luck then?" Adrian asked.
Jack shook his head. "The particular address now belongs to a Robertson, whoever he is."
"So that's it? We're all out of clues?" the blond man asked with a frown.
"Surely there must be something else," Corben seconded. "A security number, his place of work, his family…"
Jack instantly lit up at that. "There was a sister."
"Good," Corben said. "What is her name?"
That was the part where Jack drew a blank. Adriel cocked his hand, regarding him in a confused manner.
"You don't remember?"
Jack let out a sigh of resignation. "No, I don't." Yes, he was a bastard for not remembering it, but he couldn't help it; it hadn't really mattered to him. What had been important to him was Ianto.
Still, to his relief, neither of them proceeded to judge him for that kind of screw-up, even though Jack partly expected it. Corben simply pursed his lips and said, "That's back to square one then."
"Or maybe not," Adrian said, taking back his laptop. "What about her address?"
"Her…?" Just when Jack was about that he couldn't remember the woman's name, let alone her address, the number appeared in his mind crystal-clear. Of course. He had to remember it so he could send Gwen there to save the children.
Adrian smiled, seeing through Jack's look of realization. "Come on then, hand me the number."
Jack did, and the young man swiftly typed it on the laptop. The former time-agent waited with bated breath, trying not to get his hopes up and yet a part of him wishing that…
"Found a name," Adrian said in that moment, cutting into Jack's train of thought. "Does Rhiannon Davies ring any bells?"
Oh, it did. Lots of bells, in fact. "That's her," Jack declared. "Do you have her phone number?"
"As a matter of fact, I do," Adrian said. "Corben, dial Cardiff 108978."
Corben nodded, standing up. He moved slowly, almost casually, around the room. But to Jack it was obvious that the young man was careful not to bump on anything.
"Hello? Am I speaking to Ms Rhiannon Davies?" the blind man asked. "Right. I'm sorry to ring you like this; I'm aware it's rather late. My name is Corben Moore and I'm actually trying to get in touch with your brother. Yes, Ianto Jones is your brother, I trust?" He laughed softly, charmingly. "No, he's not in any trouble as far as I know. It's about a school reunion, actually."
There was another pause, a longer one this time, and it had Jack wondering what the woman was telling Corben.
"Ah, I see. Thank you very much anyway. Bye-bye." With that, Corben hung up, placing the phone back on its base. Jack looked up, swallowing hard as he saw that the young man's expression was grave.
"What is it?" he asked, praying it wasn't as bad as his mind now believed, conjuring up all kinds of dark, even gruesome scenarios.
"The good news is that she has a brother by the name of Ianto," Corben replied, taking his seat back next to Adrian. "The bad news is that she hasn't heard from him in the last five years."
Well… not the worst thing he had come up with, but definitely not the best case scenario either, Jack decided. "What happened?"
"The moment he turned eighteen, he simply packed his bags and left," Corben said. "He's gone to London."
Of course. Jack should have expected that, really. The Ianto from his own universe had left home at that age as well, hoping to find a better life in London. If this Ianto was anything like that one, then it made sense he would something like that.
"Can I use your laptop again?" he asked. Another idea formed in his mind and, though it was probably far-fetched, he had to see if it would actually work. It was with that kind of resolution that he typed a single word on the keyboard.
Torchwood.
There was nothing. Granted, he didn't expect it to run an official website. Nevertheless, there should have been something, whether it was a conspiracy theory website, or a site about aliens, or even somebody mentioning the name in passing in his blog. But the only thing that came up as Torchwood was the firewood kind. So they were doing a better job at covering up its existence or… it actually didn't exist.
"Adrian, Corben… While you two were stationed in Cardiff, did you ever have anyone approach you and mention Torchwood?"
The couple frowned in thought. "No," Adrian finally said. "Then again, I don't suppose aliens would be interested in human drugs."
"You'd be surprised," Jack said wryly. "So no one mentioned the name to you? Not even a friend?"
Corben and Adrian nodded. "You're the first one," the blind man added.
Jack decided that concluded matters. Unless he found evidence to the contrary, he'd have to assume that Torchwood didn't exist in this world. And, by definition, if it didn't exist, it meant that Ianto never had to work there. Jack was, once again, stuck.
"I'll have to go to London," he declared softly.
Adrian looked up, a motion that was mimicked by Corben. "You sure about this?" the blond man asked gently. "You don't even know from where to start."
"It doesn't matter; I have to try and find him," Jack said. "I can go to London, find all the Iantoes that are there and look them all up."
"That may take a long time," Adrian pointed out.
"If it means finding him, then so be it."
"That would have been commendable, if you didn't have to worry about means of transportation, a place to stay, possibly getting a mobile phone or a laptop to simplify things. And those things cost, first and foremost, money," Corben said. "You can't survive in London otherwise."
"Yes, yes, I know," Jack sighed. "But it won't be the first time that I'll have to go through that either."
Adrian pursed his lips for a few moments, clearly in thought, and then faced his partner with a strange smile on his lips.
"Corben, you need to have your eyes checked one of these days, don't you?"
Corben cocked his head, only to smile at the next moment. "In a month from now, but I could have the tests done earlier."
Jack looked at the two men in confusion, until realization finally caught up with him. He shook his head.
"You've already done more than enough," he said "I can't possibly ask for more."
"Maybe you can't, but we want to," Corben replied with a smile. "Adrian can take a few days off from work in order to escort me to London for my medical tests and, in the meantime, we can try and locate your Ianto Jones."
Jack scarcely believed his ears. Was it possible that he had acquired two invaluable friends in this unknown world that had been unraveled before him? Was it possible that… he wasn't as alone as he had believed?
"You would do that for me?" he asked, something inside him feeling utterly touched.
Both men nodded, smiling, and what was left for Jack to do was say one thing only.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome," Adrian replied with a broad grin and he stood up. "Come on, the guest room is that way. I bet you're tired."
Jack smiled and stood up as well. He was hardly tired, truth be told, but he supposed he could lay down for a few hours. He had quite the arduous task ahead, after all, and he had to be ready.
He saw Corben making a beckoning motion, and Jack followed the younger man upstairs. Corben moved as cautiously as always, holding onto the rail as he stepped steadily and firmly, making sure that he didn't lose his balance; and then, once he had reached the top of the stairs, he pointed to his right.
"In here."
Jack entered and looked around the room that was revealed before him. It wasn't overly large, but it was definitely cosy and neat. There was a large bed on the centre of it, and across said bed was a dresser and a wardrobe. The moonlight shone brightly through the single window at the eastern wall, but vanished as soon as Corben fumbled the light on.
"There we go. Adrian can give you one of his pyjamas; you feel about the same size as he is. And, if you grab the towels from the wardrobe and put them on the chair, I think we can consider you all set."
"Thank you," Jack said, smiling gently. It was true that he preferred to sleep on the nude, but he figured he couldn't do that in a house where he was a mere guest. "So I guess this is goodnight."
"Yeah, I guess," Corben said, smiling back. He placed his hands behind his back, shifting his weight on his legs. "Well, um… talk to you later."
And with that final word, Corben walked out, leaving Jack alone with his thoughts. All that was left for Jack to do was change and then lay down, waiting for tomorrow in a mixture of impatience and nervousness.
Adrian had just removed his shirt and changed to his pyjama trousers when he heard the familiar footsteps of his partner. Smiling, he turned around, just in time to see the very man himself coming in with Suzie.
"Everything taken care of?" he asked, walking up to his blind lover.
Corben nodded, a hand stretching out to clasp Adrian's. "Did you phone Stuart?"
"No, it's too late for that. I'll call him first thing tomorrow, though."
"You think he'll be able to give you a leave at such short notice?"
"He managed last time," Adrian said with a shrug.
"Fair enough," Corben said, and then addressed the lab. "Suzie, go lie down."
The dog complied, making a beeline for the small red mattress that was situated in the corner of the room.
"Time to call it a night, I take it?"
"Mhmm…" Corben murmured, and he all but snuggled against his lover. "You can turn off the light."
Adrian nodded and, still hugging the man close, he guided him to their bed. This had become their basic routine in the last six months. For, despite what everyone in their vicinity believed, including their colleagues, Corben wasn't 100% blind. He could discern shapes in a sea of misty blur, giving him hope that maybe one day he'd be able to see again. It also made him hate the blackness of the night all the more, and he'd only sleep when he could feel his lover's arms around him, reminding him that he wasn't alone in the dark. It was with that arrangement in mind that Adrian turned off the light on the nightstand, still holding Corben close.
"You okay?"
Adrian felt the familiar weight-shift and then settle a bit more comfortably before he heard Corben answer, "Perfect."
He felt himself chuckling. "Good." As his eyes adjusted to the semi-light, he found Corben's face and cupped it, sealing their lips into a tender kiss. "Goodnight, love."
"Goodnight." After a few moments of silence though, Corben spoke again, more softly this time.
"Adrian… Do you think we're doing the right thing?"
"About what?" Adrian asked just as softly. Though the question had surprised him, he had already closed his eyes, and he intended to keep them closed if he could help it.
"About Jack." A gentle finger started drawing patterns on his chest. "I know that what he said holds water to some extent, but it still sounds way too incredible, doesn't it?"
Adrian contemplated matters, his hand rising and falling gently as he absentmindedly combed Corben's hair. "It does."
"And yet here we are, helping him and probably fueling his craziness in the process."
"I'll be lying if I said I didn't think about it," Adrian said. And it was true, he had. Who was to say that Jack wasn't just some misled poor devil that had personal and what not events mixed up to a great jumble that had resulted in a world of his own, a world that only he saw and interacted with? "But… Whether he's making up stuff or not, this Ianto Jones is important to him. If we find him, we either find someone who was once his lover, or someone who can help him at the very least."
There was a small breath of air against his chin, creating goosebumps in its wake; a sigh. "I suppose you're right. But a part of me doesn't want to be disappointed if it is a madman's creation."
"I know," Adrian said, kissing the top of his head. "I don't think we're wrong, though. He always seems so sad when he thinks no one's looking at him."
"He sounds sad, too," Corben noted. His grip on Adrian tightened, just a bit, and his weight shifted again.
"What…?"
In the next moment, Adrian felt Corben's lips on his own, passionate and firm, making him gasp softly. In the last six months, all Corben's actions and mannerisms had been subdued, lacking the confidence they once had before the incident. This was the first time that Adrian actually caught a glimpse of his lover's former self… and he couldn't help but think that he had missed it.
The lips parted once more, and Adrian could feel, hear his breathing quick and short in his ears.
"What was that about?" he managed to whisper.
A hand caressed his face. "Just glad I have you here with me."
The quick breathing was replaced with a soft fluttering in his heart, a warm and fuzzy feeling settling in him. "I love you too. Now go to sleep."
Corben nodded and settled once more in Adrian's arms, a sigh signifying that he surrendered himself to Morpheus' call. It wasn't long before Adrian followed, answering the same call. His wonder and excitement about the strange adventure they had stumbled across would have to wait for tomorrow...
TBC...
