Chapter 4 Degradation
Jack sipped at his coffee, then began to talk again. This time, he picked up from after returning to Torchwood with Toshiko from 1941. Jack emphasised the fact that he was overwhelmed by the real Captain Jack Harkness, not only because he was extremely handsome, but because he was also very brave. Jack explained that while the two men were obviously attracted to each other, his feelings were caught between the fact that the man had only one night to live, before dying a horrible death; and the fact that he lived in an era where coming out of the closet was dangerous because of the prejudices that existed. Jack shared with Ianto how torn with guilt he felt after spontaneously giving the real Captain a genuine kiss, in front of his men, before leaving with Toshiko back home through the Rift.
Ianto felt genuine relief that Jack was at last, honest with him about what had happened between him and the real Captain Jack Harkness. Ianto felt that one honest admission, in this particular event, deserved another.
"Jack", Ianto spoke kindly. "I understand how you felt. I saw the newspaper clipping of the real Captain Jack Harkness. He was very handsome … beautiful, in fact. If I had been in your place, I might have fallen in love with him."
Jack quirked his eyebrow. While he appreciated Ianto's understanding of his feelings, he couldn't help the stab of jealousy that shot through him at Ianto's admission. Which he knew was hypocritical, considering the fact that he could just as easily have fallen in love with the Captain as well! Jack squared his shoulders and began again.
He spoke about the incident with Abaddon and how he had been crushed with anguish at the way his team had turned against him. He admitted to Ianto that he had chosen Gwen to accompany him to meet Abaddon as he felt that of all his team, only she had the strength to let him do what was necessary, even though she hated it. He also admitted to Ianto how disappointed he was that it was Gwen waiting with him when he revived and not Ianto, as he normally did when he died. He stated firmly that his reaction to Ianto when he kissed him in front of the team, was to show Ianto that he forgave him his betrayal … and how much the young man meant to him.
Ianto gritted his teeth when Jack described his disappointment. He was tempted to tell Jack that Gwen had prevented him, Toshiko and Owen, from spending time sitting with Jack in the morgue. Gwen had insisted that only she should be with Jack and had ignored the rest of the team's protests, arguing that Jack had chosen her to accompany him, therefore it should be her that stayed with him. She had even ignored her own boyfriend for the days that Jack was out of it. Even though he had been killed and then resurrected. She never even rang him during that time. But now … it was water under the bridge. It wasn't important anymore.
Jack drew a deep breath, then began to explain what happened when his team went out for coffee and he heard the TARDIS out on the Plass. He told Ianto that after waiting over 100 years, he could hardly believe his eyes when he saw the Doctor's hand in the jar, begin to bubble and glow. The Doctor was here. He had rushed to grab a carry bag, his coat and the Doctor's hand because he knew the Doctor might not stay long. Jack guessed he had stopped for a fill-up for the TARDIS at the Rift, so he had run to catch up with the Time Lord and ended up having to leap at the blue Police box before he disappeared. He described his terrible journey through the Vortex and how he fell off it, dead, when the TARDIS reached it's ultimate destination … the end of the Universe.
Jack's face wore a very hurt expression as he explained to Ianto how the Doctor had described him as wrong, then proceeded to give a clinical appraisal of Jack's peculiar condition … a fixed point in time and space … he shouldn't even exist. The Doctor explained how Rose had taken the Vortex into herself to save her Doctor, then had projected that power to destroy the Daleks … and resurrect Jack. The Doctor told Jack that Rose couldn't control the power and ended up bringing him back for ever … and there was absolutely nothing the Time Lord could do to change Jack's condition.
Tears stood in his eyes as he said that the Doctor had run away from him when they were on the Satellite station and when he had landed at Cardiff for a pit stop, because the Time Lord couldn't bear to be with him. He had tried to get away from Jack twice and could barely stand to be in his presence.
Ianto felt Jack's terrible pain at the Doctor's harsh rejection, emanating out from the Immortal. To have waited so long for the Doctor, only to be treated as if he were something terrible to be avoided, was unforgivable. Ianto felt his anger rise at the cruel way the Time Lord had treated him. As far as he was concerned, no-one deserved to be treated that badly.
Jack explained to Ianto how the brilliant Professor on that planet, had actually been a Time Lord 'hiding' in a human body and became the Master, who then escaped using the TARDIS to go to Earth where he proceeded to masquerade as Harold Saxon. Then he became the Prime Minister of Britain. He explained how the Doctor had fixed the co-ordinates on the TARDIS making it impossible for the Master to travel anywhere but between Earth and the end of the Universe.
He told him that the Doctor fixed his Vortex Manipulator and how all three of them hopped their way back to Earth through time and space. Jack grimaced as he told Ianto it was the worst journey he had ever taken.
He explained how the Doctor contacted the Master, trying to get him to come with him but of course, he had refused. Jack also said he had tried to contact Torchwood, but there was no reply from any of them.
Jack told Ianto how the Doctor made perception keys using parts of the TARDIS for each of them so they could follow the Master up to the Valiant. This was especially important for Martha as her parents and sister had been taken captive.
He explained to Ianto how they arrived on the Valiant, found the TARDIS had been turned into a Paradox machine and were just in time to witness the murder of the President of the United States, by the Toclafane. Then everything went to hell. He told Ianto how he and Martha, Martha's parents and sister, all watched as the Master used his laser screwdriver to rapidly age the Doctor, rendering him useless.
Jack managed to slip his Vortex Manipulator to Martha so she could escape the Valiant as he explained to Ianto, he had a bad feeling of what the Master would do to them. Martha spoke quietly with the Doctor as he explained something to her that no-one else could hear, then she used Jack's Vortex Manipulator to leave the Valiant.
Jack was shaking and all he would say about the time the Master and his henchmen tortured and killed him on a daily basis, for a whole year, was that after awhile, Jack formed a bond with Martha's family who tried to help him when they could … even if it was just to offer him a smile, a word or a soft hand on his shoulder.
Jack's voice went very quiet when he shared that all he could think of was getting back to Torchwood … back to his team … back to Ianto. Jack revealed that he realised during that horrible year, exactly how he felt about Ianto and he swore to himself he would do things differently when he returned. He shared how the thought of coming back to Ianto had helped him cope with his daily torture and deaths.
Jack's voice was breathless as he told Ianto the agony he felt when the Master dragged his team before him, executing Gwen, Toshiko and Owen, then torturing Ianto before killing him. Jack explained quietly that the only reason Ianto had been targeted for such cruel treatment, was because the Master was a Time Lord and had broken through Jack's psychic barriers and discovered, whom he loved with all his heart … Ianto Jones.
Tears ran down Jack's face as he talked of how watching Ianto being tortured and then killed, was the worst suffering he endured during that year. Guilt overwhelmed him when he saw on a daily basis, the culmination of his foolish actions in following the Doctor … the neutralising of the Doctor by the Master; the destruction of many countries of Earth by the Toclafane; the world defeated and brought to its knees by the Master's cruel tyranny; the death of his team; and watching Ianto suffer and die … because of him. And the deep horror Jack had felt when the Master gleefully informed him that his henchmen had thrown the bodies of his team off the Valiant.
Ianto couldn't stop the tears pouring down his face as shock and horror filled him at the extent of Jack's suffering. His tears also fell because of everything the world had been through because of the Master. Deep within himself, Ianto acknowledged the truth. Jack's actions in following his Doctor, had precipitated the horrific consequences unleashed upon Earth. He could understand the burden of guilt that Jack felt.
Ianto knew he could never have borne such a huge burden of guilt. It would have driven him insane or driven him to suicide. His heart cried out comfort him, but Ianto sat immobile, his thoughts and emotions in a turmoil at everything Jack was sharing with him. Even Jack's declaration of love for him was lost in the swirling tide inside him. Ianto was adrift … without an anchor.
After a few moments, Jack calmed and pulled himself together. He explained how Martha had spent that year walking the Earth, telling everyone about the Doctor, then let herself be taken captive by the Master. And how during the dreadful countdown that marked the Universal invasion by the Toclafane, Martha, while on her hands in knees before the Master awaiting death … had laughed.
Jack's eyes lit up as he shared what happened when everyone on Earth, and everyone on the Valiant, except the Master, began to call on the Doctor. The psychic energy, amplified by the Archangel Network, reverberated back into the Valiant and empowered the Doctor, who quickly overcame the Master.
Jack's voice was energised as he shared his own part in the downfall of the Master … destroying the Paradox machine, which effectively, rewound time back one year. He remembered the hope that filled his heart when he realised that because the Master had spitefully thrown his team's bodies off the Valiant, they were no longer at the eye of the storm … they were on Earth and became part of the rewind of time.
He explained how after everything was returned to normal, the Doctor told them that everyone on the Valiant would remember everything that had happened. The Time Lord insisted that Martha and her family and Jack spend time on the TARDIS to recover. It ended up taking three months before the Doctor deemed them capable of returning back to their normal lives.
Jack looked full into Ianto's brilliant blue eyes, heartened a little by the softening of the Welshman's gaze towards him. He couldn't keep the haunted tone from his voice, or the glimmer of guilt in his eyes as he spoke again.