A/N: So… Here's the extra-long update you lovely, (but mourning) reviewers wanted : ) Please excuse me if any of it is slightly confusing (though I hope it isn't) as I was slightly dizzy for no apparent reason when I was writing this. Please ask me anything about the story that you wish, and although I know approximately where this is all going (minus the obvious bringing Ianto back), if you feel you want to make a suggestion please feel free to do so. I'm practically re-writing parts of ep.5 here : )
Healthy Obsession : That's exactly how I've been feeling. I haven't been able to get to sleep or sleep properly since Thursday. And every morning, I end up waking up early (6:30/7) and missing Ianto. And yeah, I couldn't believe Jack's lack of response to Ianto's death! Sure, he was upset and everything, I could see that -- but beyond that? He could've at least tried to save him… Fought to save him. It was a bit hard with Owen and Tosh, because Owen had been shot and then disintergrated and Tosh was seriously wounded but an airborne virus killed Ianto -- I mean, hey, Jack can fix that, right? And there had to be something even remotely similar to the Resurrection gloves that Jack could find! I really hope he finds something, wherever he went at the end of episode five… Anyway, I'm rambling again, I'm just still a 'little' (that's an understatement) upset. So…
Let's save Ianto!!!
Jack would've carried Ianto out in his arms if he needed to. It turned out, however, that a stretcher was provided for Ianto, his unmoving body wrapped tightly in a body bag and then 'stored' in a 'portable' Deep Freeze unit; most commonly used as a temporary morgue.
Jack watched silently, Gwen by his side, fighting back her own tears. Gently, Jack put an arm around her shoulders, and she leant into him.
"After I'm gone," he began, "you've got to run, find Rhys. Don't look back. Find a car; get to Ianto's sister's - Rhiannon. Find his niece and nephew. Save them."
Gwen nodded into Jack. "What shall I tell them about Ianto?"
"Don't." Jack shot back, a little too quickly and with far more force than he'd intended.
Gwen drew back a little and locked her eyes on Jack's.
"I'm going to save him," Jack breathed, returning her gaze. "I promised him I'd never forget him, and I never will. Because I will save him and make sure I never, ever forget him."
The soldiers finished loading Ianto's frozen body on board their transportation, and Jack sighed. "It's time for me to go. Now they'll want to keep you custody so as soon as you get a chance run. If you need to, grab a mobile and phone me -- but only if it's absolutely necessary. Understand?"
"Yes." Gwen pulled away from Jack and turned to face him. "Good luck," she smiled; and Jack returned it, but neither smile reached their eyes. "I'll see you around." Gwen drew Jack into a fierce hug, and just as she let go she whispered; "tell Ianto we're keeping his family safe."
And with a final glance back at Jack, she quietly began to slip away.
"Hey, you lot!" Jack yelled, drawing the soldiers' attention away from the retreating form of Gwen. "Are we ready to go yet? Only, the world's gonna end soon, and I'd rather not be here when that happens."
"We're ready," one soldier replied. "We'll drive you out of London and then you can go wherever you wish."
Another soldier, presumably the driver, held open the passenger door for Jack, but he shook his head in refusal.
"I'll sit in the back with Ianto."
The soldier frowned. "Sir, that's not advisable. The back is air-tight, you'd suffocate in minutes."
"I'll be fine, trust me on that. I just want to sit with him."
The soldier spared a glance at his superior, who nodded shortly, and the soldier turned back to Jack.
"Very well, sir. I'll notify you when we're there."
"You do that," Jack muttered, climbing into the back and positioning himself next to Ianto's DF unit. Gwen was no-where to be seen.
Within a moment or so, the specialised transportation 'van' had shuddered into life, and Jack could feel it moving; disorientated and breathless as he was at the time.
"Ianto…" He breathed, resting a hand on the unit. "I can't wait a thousand years to prove that I won't forget you. I'm here, right here, right now." Jack rested his forehead on the cool surface of the unit and took a deep breath…
He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there before his vision began to dim and he became light-headed. "I'm so sorry, Ianto… It's all my fault… I'll save you, I promise…"
He could feel the pressure building in his lungs, his need for oxygen overwhelming his senses; but something inside him relished it. This was Jack's penitence. His torture for letting Ianto die.
Blindly, Jack leant over the unit and found approximately where Ianto's head would be beneath. He touched the metal, so unfeeling and not at all like Ianto's skin used to be -- soft and warm and familiar.
"Ianto, I…" Jack struggled with his breath, every word making his lungs scream. "Ianto… I… l-love you…" He gasped out the words, registering the silence that followed; before everything went black.
~*~
"Sir? Sir, we're here. Sir?"
For a moment Jack dared believe that the voice belonged to Ianto, that it'd all been a nightmare; but when he opened his eyes and drew in a staggering breath he realised that it wasn't, and the cold metal beneath his upper body coldly reminded him of why he needed air in the first place.
Getting to his feet, Jack nodded curtly to the soldier and clambered out of the back of his transport. He waited until the soldiers had gone to get his bearings and then scooted into the driver's seat. Focusing his eyes on the road ahead, he thought about where he had to go, and finally, he remembered just the place.
~*~
He got there in the space of a half hour; well aware that time was against him. He pulled the transport to a stop by a large warehouse, not dissimilar from the one Ianto had Torchwood One gear stored in -- except this one was more… dangerous.
Jack had intended never to return to this place again. It was the warehouse where he and Ianto had first captured Myfanwy, the pteradon. And inside he'd filled it with remnants of the past -- and Jack tried to forget the past. He'd tried to forget everything that was too far behind him. But today was the day when he'd have to remember, because today was the day when he was going to bring Ianto back.
Jack leapt out of the front and locked the door, unlocking the back in the process. He climbed in beside the unit housing Ianto and keyed in the deactivation code. There was a hissing sound, and Jack sat beside it and waited. A few minutes later, and it was safe to remove Ianto without damaging his organs.
The body bag crackled loudly as he put his arms beneath it, and Jack frowned. Following the sudden and strong urge inside him, he unzipped the bag and gazed down at Ianto's pale form. Biting back fresh tears, he reached beneath Ianto's body and lifted him up, out of the bag and the unit; hugging him carefully to himself as if he were the most precious thing in the world as he slowly left the transport and kicked the door shut behind him, where it locked automatically after a few seconds.
Jack made his way towards a door where a security camera glared down upon him. Holding his head up to it, Jack saw the brief flash as it recognised his facial pattern and unlocked the door for him. He stepped through the door and waited until it shut behind him before addressing the dark warehouse.
"Harkness, Captain Jack. Authorisation Torchwood Three. Password…" He glanced down at Ianto's motionless body and continued, a little quieter this time; "Ianto."
With a small click and a brief pause the room lit up. It was an impressive array of technology that lay before him, and Jack grimaced as memories flooded back of the dangers it held. Bypassing an ordinary-looking sofa that had once tried to eat someone, Jack lay Ianto gently down on his back in a reclining chair that was hooked up to some complex looking machinery.
Kissing Ianto tenderly on the forehead, Jack reached up for some of the wires and pulled them towards Ianto.
"I don't know if this will work," Jack admitted, undoing the top buttons on Ianto's waistcoat and removing his tie. "It never has before, but then it's never had me."
Jack pushed the wire ends gently onto Ianto's chest, where they seemed to mould themselves into his skin.
"The whole concept was thought up by a guy I once knew. Brilliant brain, nice hair -- you would've hated him." Jack smiled lightly over at Ianto, but his eyes were humourless.
"A bit power-crazed. Wanted limitless power. He thought, 'if I invent a new type of energy, I can take over this world's resources!' Evil genius, that sort of stuff. A bit obsessed with Frankenstein, I think. Anyway!" Jack moved away and over to the computer unit, seemingly foreign to the rest of the contraption, which appeared alien in its origin.
"He thought -- 'I'll use people as energy!' I know, he was a bit psycho, as I said; but in some terms his mind was way beyond his time. And," Jack motioned towards the technology around him; "he created a principally marvellous idea -- a device that using the Rift as a booster can zap energy out of one thing to create a different sort of energy in another. Of course, he used it to murder people and then transfer their energy into a resource for other things -- but, with a little adaptation, it can be used to transfer life energy from one person to another. Effectively bringing someone back to life." Jack paused, his fingers stopping their hurried tapping on the keyboard.
"It's powerful. And like most things powerful, unpredictable. I don't know what will happen to me, or what repercussions it'll have on you." Jack glanced back at Ianto, his eyes glassy and full of emotion. "The reason this is here, hidden away, is that last time it was used it went wrong. Everyone within a certain mile radius had their life drained away, and what resulted was the person they were trying to bring back's body overloading, and becoming irreparable. It couldn't cope. Lots of people died that day, and for nothing."
Jack walked back over to Ianto and took his hand in his own. "Maybe it'll be different with me. We're in a more secluded area here, but… I don't know. What I also don't know is whether that virus the 456 released is dead inside you -- permanently. I don't know that, if I manage to bring you back, you'll just die again." A single, wet tear fell from Jack's cheeks and ran down Ianto's dead hand.
"But I have to try. For you."
Placing Ianto's hand beside him again, Jack turned his back to him and removed his coat and shirt, throwing them aside and taking hold of multiple wires. He attached two to his chest, another two to his arms and finally one to his spinal cord via the back of his neck. He felt a tingle run through him and positioned himself by a sturdy frame with manacles hanging from the top and attached to the bottom. Ignoring these, Jack reached a hand over to the computer and typed in a command, turning back to face Ianto as he grabbed hold of the frame with one hand and hovered a finger above 'enter' with the other.
"You see? I haven't forgotten you."
And he pressed enter.
~*~
The pain that shot through Jack's body was enough to make him lose control of himself and scream through the agony that encompassed him. Every single inch of him felt as if it were melting into the room, he felt paralysed and he could feel metal around his arms and legs as the technology continued draining his life-force out of him. One or twice, he felt himself grow faint, and then there was a moment of relief before he felt as if he were being dragged over broken glass -- and then he drowned in a fresh wave of pain.
His vision was blurred, blinded as he couldn't force his eyes to remain open and instead felt them squeeze close against the torturous energy that was being drawn from him. Everything around him was numb, soundless. All he could hear was himself yelling, all he could feel was the machine's power, and all he could think of was Ianto.
And just as the darkness forced itself on him for a third -- or at least Jack believed it was the third -- time, he felt the pain's absence and as his grip on the frame faltered and the metal released its merciless hold at last -- he could almost feel two shaking, familiar arms catch him as he fell into nothing.
~*~
He was dragged back to life screaming.
He was sure he was dreaming.
His breath shuddered through his very being as he drew in long, dragged-out breaths.
Where was he? Everything was unfamiliar, and yet he could recognise it as alien. Where was he?
Was he still screaming? He wasn't sure.
There was a noise. It sounded familiar, and it wracked through his heart. The noise was wrong -- he could stop it.
He faintly became aware of arms around him, but it couldn't be real… No matter how many times he died, he would never be used to it, and now he was hallucinating.
He looked down at his chest, and watched as his skin seemed to push two wires that were protruding from him out of his body. He became aware of lying flat on his back, and sat up sharply, ignoring the dizziness that hit his mind. Wait -- he was alive?
His eyes were still closed, he could feel that. He was squeezing them shut, but there was no more pain. Slowly, he reached a hand up and found a face that was not his.
The noise was still there. Screaming. That's what it was. Screaming. A single word forced itself into his mind as he turned to face the noise -- Jack.
He ran a shaking, uncertain finger over the right cheek of the face. There -- a scar.
Without breathing, he leapt out of the chair and caught Jack as the screaming faded and he fell.
Without breathing, Jack opened his eyes and looked up at the face gazing worriedly down at him, and whispered the name of the person he'd so desperately tried to save.
"Ianto."
Yes, yes, I know. Jack brings Ianto back and then it stops. I feel mean ending (this chapter) here and honestly if I was reading and not writing this I'd be clawing at the screen but I'm going to write more! I hope this sounded Torchwood-realistic, because (basically) I wouldn't care how they brought Ianto back so long as they did. Oh, and for those who may want a link to the Ianto petition, there's one in my profile. IANTO FOREVER!