Sorry, I couldn't put this up for some reason. Thank you to everyone who reviewed :)
"Who was he?" Jack asked Ianto casually. Ianto was staring at his lap, gripping his pen, and avoiding everyone's questions.
"Ianto," Jack pleaded quietly. "It's important."
Finally, Ianto lifted his head, and Jack saw the strange desperation in his eyes. "Fine," he replied. "Get the others in here; I'm only doing this once."
Jack nodded and hurried to comply. Ianto stayed sitting down, waiting for the others. He heard them all come in, creeping silently as if they were at a funeral. Eventually, he heard Jack speak, still in that gentle tone he'd heard him use so many times before. To victims, in shock, who knew something about the aliens they had been attacked by. Of course, it was never for their own good. Torchwood always had something to gain.
"Ianto…"
"He was my friend. James Jarrett," Ianto added, as if it hadn't been obvious. "He worked at Torchwood 1 with me. He wasn't important, at all, he was… so, so junior, just another member of staff. But he was my… friend." There was a pause. Ianto closed his eyes as he continued, "he was murdered. We never found out why." Gwen moved to comfort him swiftly, hugging him as he stared down at the table.
"Was he killed by aliens?" Jack asked.
Ianto shrugged. "There was an alien serial killer around that time. But we never… we never knew."
Everyone else had remained silent. Owen looked uncertain, scrutinising Ianto with not just pity but something indefinable. Like he knew there was something wrong, here, just not what.
"Can I see him?" Ianto asked quietly, looking up at Jack. Tosh, who had been sure he was crying, was surprised to see his eyes were clear and determined.
"Of course you can," Gwen answered. She looked up at the others. "He can, can't he?"
"Sure," Jack answered, finally. "Come on. Let's go."
"He looks just like he did when he was murdered," Ianto said softly. "Same age."
Jack nodded, gravely. "Ianto, did they find a body?" Ianto was silent, staring down at the sleeping man. "They did, didn't they?" Jack asked, although he already knew the answer.
"Yeah," Ianto agreed. "Yeah, they found a body."
"You know what it means, right?" Jack said, softly. Ianto didn't respond, instead trailing his fingers along the man's hair. He knew. His friend was going to have to go back in time, to die.
Again.
"Do we have- to send him back?" he asked, his eyes finally filling with tears. "If he doesn't go back, do we have to- do we have to-?"
Jack touched his shoulder in sympathy, and that was all the answer Ianto needed. "Leave me," he said. "With him, alone. Please."
Jack looked as if he was about to argue, but then nodded. "Sure." Ianto waited until he had left the room, then became patting the man down, checking his pockets, becoming more and more desperate.
"I can't do it again," he told the sleeping man. "I won't." The breath hitched in his throat, as he continued searching the man until it was clear that whatever he was looking for wasn't there.
Ianto took one look at the man on the bed, and turned to leave.
He's here. I can sense his presence, near me. Touching me. He has no right.
And he's speaking. He has no right to be sad. Not after what he did.
My anger, my need to understand, propels me through the darkness, the cold. The light blinds me, but I open my eyes anyway. Because how could he have done that?
I look around, and the movement makes him turn his head. When he catches sight of me, he looks terrified. And guilty as hell.
"You… how could you..." James Jarrett hissed angrily, and Ianto span around and stared, until the figure collapsed again.
When Jack came back to find him, Ianto was sitting huddled by the wall, his expression emotionless. Jack frowned. "Ianto?"
Ianto looked up, surprised. "Sorry. Seeing him again…"
"I understand," Jack said. "He woke?"
"He spoke," Ianto confirmed. "He said…" he hesitated. "Nothing that I could meake out, though. Just nonsense." ...You... "I don't think he recognised me." ...How could you...
Jack smiled down at Ianto and leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. "Come on," he murmured.
Ianto nodded. He didn't turn to look back at the man.