A/N: So, I know that there are going to be a few historical inaccuracies, but I don't know all that much about Western US in the 1920s. So my apologies for that, but otherwise, I hope you enjoy (:

What Once Was Lost

Chapter 3

It took a long time for Jack to visit Ianto's grave. It wasn't until he had met up with the Doctor for the fourth time in his life that he had accepted that Ianto was never coming back. Even then, he had embarked on more than one adventure with the Doctor, and had pretended he was okay for more than one year before asking the man to take him to the final resting site of his lover.

Jack stood before Ianto's grave, his head bent under the weight of what he had lost, and his hands buried in the pockets of his greatcoat. He heard the Doctor step up behind him, but he made no move to acknowledge him.

"Tell me about him."

Jack hesitated for a moment, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "He was brave… And clever, and funny, not to mention absolutely stunning. And he saved me. From myself… my ego, I don't know what. He was always there to call me out when I did something wrong, whenever I forgot what it meant to be human. And he was great in bed." He added, with a little grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"You love him, don't you?"

Jack's grin faded.

~MMH~

Ianto grinned as Jack laughed heartily at some memory. The two sat at the bar in a small diner, Ianto dressed in brand new blue jeans, boots, and a white t-shirt. Where Jack had gotten a hold of early 1900s American money, Ianto was unsure, but he was glad to be rid of that wretched hospital gown. Jack was in the middle of telling Ianto a story about some alien with whom he had flirted, resulting in an extremely awkward situation between the himself and the alien's girlfriend. Of course, it had ended in a threesome.

"But it could have gone either way! I could have lost my life that day!"

"You need to be more careful about the people you flirt with, sir." Ianto said, with a small smile.

"You need to stop calling me sir. I think we're a bit past that, Ianto," Jack took Ianto's hand under the bar.

"Careful, we are in public, sir." Ianto said, pulling away from Jack's grip.

Jack sat back with a small sigh, crossing his arms over his chest. Ianto looked down at the bar top, tracing a flaw in its surface with the tip of his finger. So much had happened in the last few hours. He only wished the memories before waking up in that white washed room were less hazy. And the Doctor looked different now. The more he thought about it the more he realized that the Doctor he had seen when the Earth had been stolen was not the same Doctor who Jack had been traveling with over the past few years.

"What are you thinking about?" Jack's voice pulled Ianto from his thoughts.

"That Doctor of yours. I've seen him before, yeah? When the Daleks took the Earth. But now he looks different."

Jack nodded. "He does that sometimes. He's like me in that he doesn't really die. Except instead of just waking up he changes. Every cell in his body is changed, and his face is completely new."

"Regeneration," said Ianto, quietly.

"You know about it?"

"I know everything," He responded matter-of-factly, smirking a little at Jack's quirked eyebrow. "Plus, when you disappeared with him the first time I- Well I did some research."

"That's so you." Jack's smile lit up the dirty room brighter than any sun could. It was the kind of smile to which Ianto couldn't help but respond with a grin of his own.

"Can I get you gentlemen anything to eat or drink?" Ianto tore his gaze from Jack to look at the big man behind the counter. His Texan accent was so thick, Ianto was unsure what he had said for a moment.

"Uh.. Just chips please."

The man stared at him blankly for a moment until Jack interjected, "He means fries.

"Ahh, Not from around here, are ye'?"

Ianto's smile was tight when he shook his head no. The man wandered away to help some other customers.

"You never explained who you were running from," Ianto said quietly to Jack.

"We were visiting and old quote friend of the Doctor's. I was curious about the colour of the walls, so I asked. I guess they're touchy about them, I wouldn't have known. It was a race I had never seen before. They got pissed and started chasing us with guns. It was stupid, really."

"Was the whole place like that? With the odd walls? Where I woke up everything was white-washed… It was like a hospital only blander."

Jack's eyebrows knitted together. "White? No, everything on that ship was the same colour. Or… Colours I should say."

"Your fries," A large hand placed a plate of chips in front of Ianto.

Ianto thanked him, before turning to the chips. They were no longer appetizing, so he just picked at them for a moment, feeling a bit queasy. He looked up to the man.

"Could you show me the way to the toilet?" He asked.

"There's a restroom in the back, I'll take you."

Ianto followed the man's massive back through the kitchen of the diner. The smells of cooking found, and sounds of clanking dishes bombarded Ianto's senses making him feel even more nauseated. They left the kitchen, entering a hallway in the back that ended with a screen door that opened to the alley behind the shop.

"This is it," Said the man, motioning to a door to their left.

Ianto nodded, pushing the door open. He was turning to thank the man when a large fist connected with the side of his head. His mouth fell open, the man's blurry face grinned down at him, as he crumpled to the floor before falling unconscious.

A/N: So I know a cliff-hanger is a bad place to do this, but the new semester at school starts tomorrow, and I recently had an idea for a book that I've been focusing on so these won't be updated as quickly as they have been. Sorry!

I love reviews (: