Part 6

Part 6

Jack stared around for a few seconds, allowing the tiny voice to filter through into his mind. Slowly, he turned around and saw the shivering figure of his partner lying on the field, blood staining his flashing armour as his eyes clouded over.

"Jack…" Even as he spoke now, his voice was fading; it was barely audible now. "I…I'm…" His eyes suddenly fluttered shut before he could finish the sentence.

And that was all it took. Jack snapped back into action and ran to the other man's side, pressing his palms against the wound, which was perilously close to his heart. He cursed furiously as he realised that the bleeding wouldn't stop, and Ianto's breathing was growing shallower by the second. If something wasn't done quickly, he would die.

Fortunately, someone else seemed to realise this too, as Hector knelt down beside him, his dark eyes suddenly careworn. Even in Achilles' armour, he looked almost unrecognisable from the strong hero he had been moments before. He looked at Ianto as one might look at their child and caressed his hair softly before he turned to Jack.

"Take him," he whispered softly, "take him back…care for him and protect him…do for him what I could not do…what I was not strong enough to do."

Jack nodded and picked the younger man up, holding him carefully. "Stand guard over…the body," he choked to Menelaus, barely able to say Patroclus' name; what right did he have to do that? "Just…protect him and keep him safe. Antilochus, with me – we have to take Ianto back to the camp and…tell Achilles what happened." His voice sounded strange, toneless even, as he pulled himself to his feet, still cradling Ianto gently in his arms. "I will be the one to tell him; it's my fault this happened."

But Menelaus was frowning. "What was that?" he asked. "You…you were dead."

Jack shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

"Doesn't matter? Of course it matters!" A young Trojan soldier from the back ranks shouted out. "If you come to our side, you could win us the war!"

Jack stared in shock, but before he could move, Hector sprang to his feet. In one fluid motion, he grabbed the young man by the shoulders and glared at him, eyes burning. But before he could speak, Ianto's eyes fluttered open again.

"Don't," he whispered. "Hector…don't…you're a better man than that."

Hector stared at him for a split second, before he lowered his gaze and shoved the man away from him, sparing him only a contemptuous look. "Go back," he said stiffly, "go back and never speak of such things again at a time like this."

To Jack and Antilochus, he said, "Go…go with all speed and get him treated."

Jack nodded. "Thank you," he whispered, before quickly kissing him on the forehead. "You are a good man, Hector." He bowed slightly and then cleared his throat. "Antilochus – come; we should go, now."

Nestor was waiting at the ships when they arrived. His eyes widened when he saw Ianto still bleeding in Jack's arms. "What – how – I thought –"

"Never mind that now," snapped Jack. He raced down the line of ships. "Antilochus; go to Achilles and tell him what happened. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Jack –"

"Go!" Jack didn't have the time or energy to argue; Ianto didn't have much time and, with a cursory glance at Nestor's son, he sprinted down the length of the beach, until he reached the hut he was looking for.

"Machaon!" he barked.

The healer came out barely a moment later, looking bemused, but his eyes widened when he took in Ianto's state. "I thought he was –"

"Not now!" shouted Jack, and then caught himself as Ianto moaned slightly. "I'll explain later; for now, just…do what you can for him. I'll come back soon." His words were quiet, but they left no room for argument.

Machaon simply nodded and gently lifted Ianto into his arms. A cold hand seemed to close around his heart as he saw the broken state of the young man. It wasn't just the wound that was affecting him; there was something else, something much deeper.

Jack sighed. "I must see Achilles," he said. "I have some news for him…" He started to leave, but then suddenly turned back. "Thank you, Machaon."

The gentle son of Asclepius merely smiled. "It's what I'm here for."

"Jack," Ianto moaned suddenly, his eyes flickering open again.

"It's okay," said Jack gently, "I won't be long."

"I'm…Jack…I…"

"Shh." Jack came back and stroked Ianto's head. "I'll be back in a moment. I just have to find Achilles and tell him what happened." Seeing the panicked look on his partner's face, he smiled slightly. "Just relax…you're going to be fine; we're all going to be fine. We couldn't save Patroclus, but I promise you, we will save someone…somehow."

Swallowing his tears, Jack walked back onto the beach, readying himself for what he was sure was going to be one of the hardest things he had done in a long time.

He walked slowly towards the Myrmidon ships, where he was greeted by one of the most soul-destroying sights he had seen in a long time. Achilles had collapsed on the beach, his hair a mess and tears soaking his clothes as he rocked himself back and forth, his face an open mask of pain. Beside him was Antilochus, clinging to him and rocking himself as well as he clutched the other warrior's hands tightly, almost as if he was afraid for him.

Jack felt his own tears fall as he approached them. "Achilles," he whispered, startled by the raw pain in his own voice.

Thetis' son glanced up and immediately his eyes flashed. Without warning, he pushed Antilochus off him and, ignoring the screams of the surrounding slave girls, launched himself at Jack. The other man didn't even fight him; he knew that he deserved everything that he was getting from him.

For his part, Antilochus just sat and watched helplessly, weeping copiously as he watched Jack fall to the ground. He had, of course, seen what had happened on the battlefield, but that did not mean he wanted to see it again. He wanted to help Jack up, but found that he couldn't even move, not even to stretch out his fingers.

When Jack eventually gasped back again, Achilles was staring out across the sea. "You told him?" he said cautiously to Antilochus.

"He already knew. I don't know how, but he already did – or at least he suspected it." Antilochus bit his lip. "I told him most of it, anyway. You arrived just as I was about to break the news that…Hector took his armour. But I just…I don't know how I can tell him that…" he admitted, looking ashamed.

Jack rested a hand on his back. "I'll tell him. You've done your part, Antilochus. Go to your father; let him know that you're safe."

He was so busy looking at Nestor's son and rubbing his shoulders that he barely noticed the shadow falling over him until they were almost in complete darkness. When he looked up, Achilles was looking at him with an expression of complete bewilderment.

Antilochus shook his head and, with a last sigh, he got up, pausing only to lay a comforting caress on Achilles' cheek. The Myrmidon leader looked surprised, but he said nothing. Jack strongly suspected that he was too shocked to react.

"Okay," he said, "first up, all I can say is that I can die, but I can't stay dead." He looked straight up with a sigh. "Achilles, I am so sorry. I was just angry and I know that –"

"You thought you'd lost the one person who understood you. I understand that. Had I been the one there, I would probably have done the same."

"But I couldn't kill him," whispered Jack. "I slit his throat, but he still lived…Hector –"

Achilles turned to look at him. "Hector?" he said sharply. "Hector killed him…he killed him…" he suddenly looked hard at Jack. "He took the armour, didn't he?"

Jack bit his lip. "I'm sorry. But Hector did what he had to do."

"He killed him." Achilles' eyes hardened. "He killed Patroclus…I'll kill him…and he's taken his armour…I'll take him and when I'm finished…you won't even know him."

Jack stared at him. "You can't; you wouldn't – Achilles, that's inhumane…" but even as he said it, he knew that it was no good; Achilles' eyes were turning wild and his body was beginning to shake uncontrollably.

"I will avenge you, Patroclus," he vowed, his voice resonating like Zeus' thunderbolt as he stood up, tears pouring from his eyes once again. "I will kill Hector and avenge what was done to you." He walked towards the water. "You shall not have died in vain; by all the gods I swear it."

"Achilles, don't," pleaded Jack desperately, "you can't want to –"

"Didn't you do that for Ianto?" he retorted as he walked towards the water.

Jack sighed. It was true; he had done exactly that. Shaking his head, he walked away from the scene before him. The last thing he heard was Achilles' wild scream.

When he reached and entered the hut he was looking for, the first thing Jack saw was that Ianto was awake and looking at Machaon irritably. For his part, the healer also looked a bit annoyed. Jack repressed a smile as he thought of Owen.

Machaon turned round and smiled at him. "He will recover," he said, "but it will take time." He turned back to Ianto, who was staring at Jack with his eyes wide.

Jack nodded. "Thank you," he whispered, his gaze fixed on his partner's.

Machaon nodded. "It is my job," he said as he started to leave. As an afterthought, however, he turned back to Ianto and said, "You're not to move."

"I couldn't go anywhere!" replied Ianto, his eyes still on Jack. Machaon smiled slightly and left without another word.

"How are you?" asked Jack as he came to sit beside him.

"Well, I'm not bleeding all over the place which is something. I'm a little stiff, but that'll fade soon," replied Ianto with a wry smile. "But that's not why you're here, is it?"

Jack closed his eyes for a second. "No," he admitted finally, "it isn't. I mean, I wanted to make sure you were all right, but that's not the only reason I'm here."

He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he tried to think about how best to explain this. "I messed up, Ianto," he admitted. "I started to think that, maybe you were right about changing things. I know I said we shouldn't mess with history, but…something happened that changed my mind."

He turned away slightly. "I started to see…us, but…in them. I can't quite explain it, but…well, I guess I just realised how devastated I'd be if I lost you."

"You saw us in Achilles and Patroclus."

"Yeah, I did. I wanted to help, but it just made things worse. When you were hit out there, I just got so angry and…I couldn't see straight. I didn't even realise what I'd done until I saw him lying on the ground."

"You killed him." It wasn't a question.

Jack closed his eyes again. "I cut his throat…Hector had to deliver the final blow, so he didn't suffer too much. I'm so sorry."

Ianto stared at him for a long moment as he pressed his hands to his cheeks.

"The adrenaline out there," he whispered, "it was like nothing I've felt before. I forgot who I was for a while, Jack and that scared me. When I saw you take down Sarpedon, I lost it; I could barely see straight and I just ran for you. I didn't even know you'd switched and I thought it was Patroclus I was fighting." He looked at his partner in anguish. "It was me, Jack; I was the one who stabbed you in the back – and it wasn't for the first time."

Jack frowned. They had reached the topic that he had hoped wouldn't come up today. He knew that they would have to discuss it, but had hoped to wait. Nevertheless, now that it had come up, there didn't seem to be any sense in putting off the inevitable.

"Ianto," he said cautiously, "while I will say that it's in the past, I have to ask you something. I have to know whether you meant what you said to me on that night. I just thought you knew me well enough to know that you weren't on the rebound from Gwen. I've told you things that I would never tell anyone else and I thought that told you something about us; I thought you understood."

"I do, Jack, I really do. I was angry and upset and I didn't mean what I said. You have confided in me and that says so much." He reached out to take Jack's hand. "If I could take it back, I would. I just wanted to hurt you; I know it was stupid, but I was really angry and I guess I just thought you were being a bit unreasonable about all this. But that wasn't right; we tried to change things and it didn't make any difference. Patroclus still died and…" He sighed, feeling tears pricking his eyes. "I'm sorry."

Jack looked at him, his demeanour softening. "I won't deny that you were being a bit unreasonable, Ianto," he said, frowning. "But in a way, you were right; we should have at least tried. I tried to talk Achilles out of going to fight Hector, but he just asked me if I'd done the same for you. I didn't answer him, because…I knew he was right. When Patroclus stabbed you, I got so angry, I was almost blind and I just ran at him. Hector did him a favour; he put him out of his misery so he wouldn't suffer longer than he had to."

"I'm sorry," mumbled Ianto for the second time.

"Hey," said Jack, wiping away a few tears which had fallen over his companion's face, "don't. We were both being unreasonable that night. If anything, what I did was worse. I should have just told you straight out that I had to Retcon Odysseus."

"Then why didn't you?"

"I don't know. Maybe it was because there was a tiny little part of me that thought you were right all along." He shrugged slightly. "I suppose what's done is done, and we'll have to make the best of it – together."

Ianto stared at him. "Do you mean that? Even after everything –"

Jack laughed and pulled him into a hug. "Of course I do, you daft sod," he said. "We're in this together, until the end." He planted a soft kiss on the top of his head and cradled him as if he were a new born baby. A few moments later, he realised that Ianto had fallen asleep in his arms. Smiling, he rested his chin on his shoulder and stroked his hair.

"I've missed this," he whispered.

"Well, just be gentle with him." Machaon was standing at the door, looking amused. "He'll be all right, but he needs a little time."

Jack chuckled slightly. "I will be," he assured him. "And – Machaon…thank you."

The healer smiled. "Just…don't lose him again," were his final words before he left.

"Oh, I have no intention of losing him again," muttered Jack.

"Glad to hear it," Ianto replied sleepily from under his armpit. "Now can you just shut up and let me go to sleep? I've not had a good night's sleep in –"

"Shh," interrupted Jack as he clambered onto the makeshift bed beside him and drew him closer. "It's okay now; I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

He didn't know how long they had slept for; all he knew was that, when he opened his eyes again, the sun was shining brightly and Antilochus was standing beside the bed, deep in conversation with Ianto, who looked extremely worried.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Are we going back into battle?"

"Achilles has renounced his anger towards Agamemnon," answered Antilochus. "He's returned to the fray again, to fight for us."

Jack frowned. "But…isn't that a good thing?"

"He's faced off against Aeneas," explained Antilochus, "and he's gone on a bloodthirsty rampage against the Trojans. I fear that Patroclus' death has left him unhinged."

Moments later, Machaon appeared in the doorway, his face flushed with having run so fast. "It's happening!" he cried. "Achilles is going to confront Hector!"

Antilochus gasped and they raced away, leaving Jack and Ianto staring at each other.

"He's confronting Hector already?" gasped Jack. "But…I thought…it's too soon."

"It must be later than we thought," answered Ianto weakly. "What do we do?"

Jack stared at him. "We're going to stop him," he said simply. "I won't stand back and watch him destroy himself. Can you walk?"

Zeus' thick brows furrowed as he watched the two men race after the healer and the son of Nestor. Moments earlier, he had been smiling as the two were reconciled, but now…

"Can they stop them?" asked Apollo. Zeus said nothing; instead, he turned to look at him with such sadness in his eyes that Apollo almost wondered if it was really him.

He couldn't believe it; one minute, they had been so happy at the reconciliation that they had almost thrown a party. Now, it was more like a funeral.

Artemis was watching with Athena, both of them looking thoughtful. "What can they do?" she asked. "What can two men do against such bloodshed?"

"More than you might think," answered Athena. "The older one has a gift…he will never die. He is more like Achilles than he had initially believed."

"Pity it took him so long to realise it," growled Ares.

The goddesses were extremely vocal in their agreement, before Artemis said, "Well, that's the problem with thinking with your crotch."

They laughed. It was forced laughter though, and didn't even begin to dispel the tension.

"They won't stop it," said Apollo, his voice unusually quiet; it sounded as if he was begging for someone to contradict him, but he knew it would be a lie.

Athena said nothing, but she came over and rested a hand on his shoulder. "What will happen will happen," she said, "and we'll face it when it does."