AN
The time frame for this Torchwood story occurs after Torchwood Series 2, Episode 1 (Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang) and before Series 2, Episode 6 (Reset).
Each section begins with a title in bold uppercase letters.
Chapter is rated T.
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Someone to Watch Over You
Jack stomped into his office, slammed the door shut, shoved everything off his desk in anger and punched his fist into a wall cracking the surface and busting a knuckle. He stopped and leaned his head against the wall. This wasn't helping anyone. Jack needed to see Annie, but first he changed out of his blood-splattered clothes.
Owen had moved Annie to the same bed Thomas had occupied last night. Jack came in quietly and sat in the chair by her bed. She still looked pale and fragile. "She's doing well considering everything she's gone through today. Her vital signs are stable," Owen said as he approached. "Best thing for her now is sleep. What did you do to your hand Jack?" he asked looking at Jack's hand.
"It's nothing; lost an argument with a wall," Jack replied flexing his hand. The knuckle was already healing. Looking up he saw the dark circles under Owen's eyes. "How many nights have we kept you from going home to sleep in your own bed?" Jack asked.
Rubbing his tired eyes, Owen replied, "I honestly have lost count Jack, we both know it comes with the territory. Tell you what; I'll go catch a couple hours' of sleep if you will keep an eye on Annie for me, alright?"
Jack said, "No problem Owen; anyone else in the Hub right now?"
"Tosh is still here, but Gwen left after your argument. Ianto's probably still in the archives somewhere. I'll see you in a couple of hours," Owen said.
"Thanks for taking care of Annie," Jack said. Owen nodded his head and yawned before he headed off to get some sleep.
Jack held Annie's hand stroking the back of it with his thumb. "I'm so sorry I failed you," he whispered to Annie.
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Point Of View (POV)
Annie followed the Weevils as they went into a building. Carefully looking through the doorway she saw Gwen catch up with the Weevil chasing the homeless man. The Weevil grabbed the man and bit into his shoulder. The man screamed in pain and fear just as Gwen fired her gun. The dead Weevil and the man fell to the ground. The other Weevils approached Gwen and Annie shouted her name to warn her. Spinning around Gwen saw she was surrounded. The six Weevils appeared to be working themselves up to attack Gwen and the man. Annie crept into the room hoping Jack and Ianto would arrive soon. She stopped when she heard growling behind her. Slowly turning she came face to face with another Weevil. As it attacked she struck it with an energy bolt without thinking, sending it backwards through the door. Turning around to Gwen she saw two of the Weevils attack. Annie took both of them out with an energy bolt flinging their bodies against a far wall. Annie threw another energy bolt flinging the four remaining Weevils in the same direction as the other two. The impact of their bodies against the wall was a sickening thud.
She heard a snapping sound behind her, whirled around and threw a smaller energy bolt before seeing her target – Ianto. Both Gwen and Jack screamed "No," and Ianto only had enough time to see the energy bolt before Jack pushed Ianto out of the way. Annie watched in horror as the energy bolt caught Jack square in the chest and flung him against a pillar, his lifeless body crumpling to the ground.
Jack. Jack was dead. 'I killed Jack! I'm a monster,' she thought to herself. Looking over at Ianto on the ground, she sent her thoughts into his mind. 'You promised to stop me, Ianto. I killed Jack. Make me stop,' she pleaded. When Ianto hesitated Annie touched his mind again. 'It's OK Ianto; I trust you. Please.' She saw it took all his will power to keep his promise. 'I'm sorry,' Ianto thought back to her and then he fired. Annie felt the bullet slam into her shoulder knocking her down. She could feel her energy field fade away. The last thing she felt was a hand gently cup her face and Ianto say, "I'm sorry Annie. It's going to be alright."
Jack woke with a start; he had fallen asleep. When he checked Annie all the monitors were registering normal vitals signs. Both their defenses were down and Jack had accidentally tapped into Annie's dream, no, her nightmare. Looking at her face Jack saw no signs of distress other than a frown. The meds Owen had given Annie were keeping the worst of the trauma away from her for now. He activated his ear comm and said, "Tosh, you still here?"
"Yes Jack, I'm here," Tosh replied. "Is there something you need?"
"Yeah would you come down and watch Annie for a little while?"
"I'll be right there Jack." When Tosh arrived she asked, "Is Annie alright?"
Brushing his fingers lightly over Annie's cheek Jack said, "For now she is; we'll just have to take it day by day." He was lost in thought for a moment and then he asked, "Do you know where Ianto is?"
Tosh's expression became masked and she crossed her arms. "Why? Do you plan on finishing what you started earlier?"
Jack shook his head. "No. I need to talk to Ianto to apologize for, for not giving him a chance to explain."
Tosh relaxed after hearing Jack's response. "You'll find Ianto somewhere in the Alpha section of the Archives," she began, "and you better do right by him or you'll answer to me," punching Jack in the arm for emphasis.
Jack threw his hands up in mock surrender. He gave Tosh a quick kiss on the lips and said, "Thanks Tosh," before hurrying off to find Ianto.
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The Archives
Jack searched for Ianto in the Alpha section of the Archives for over half an hour. Finally just after midnight he found him curled up in a ball on the floor. Jack called out softly, "Ianto?" When Ianto didn't answer Jack kneeled beside him. "Ianto, wake up," he said and touched his shoulder. Ianto opened his eyes. When he saw Jack he scrambled away from him on his hands and feet until his back was against the wall.
"It's OK, it's OK," Jack said. He saw the damage he'd done to Ianto's face and cringed inside. "I'm not going to move from here, I just want to talk to you."
Out of his right eye Ianto could see Jack wasn't angry. "I'm sorry Jack, I didn't want to shoot Annie, but she begged me. How is she?"
"Owen says she'll fully recover from the gunshot wound. He's not sure about how she'll handle things emotionally when she wakes up," Jack answered. "But I'm here to apologize to you; I didn't give you a chance to explain what happened.
Tonight while I was sitting with Annie I accidentally tapped into her dream and I saw how everything happened. She did beg you to stop her and I saw how hard it was for you. Annie had absolute trust in you and I didn't. I failed both of you and I'm sorry," Jack said.
Silence filled the room. Finally Ianto replied, "I forgive you Jack. Do you forgive me for shooting Annie?"
"Yes I do."
Ianto sighed and nodded his head. "Good; maybe someday I'll forgive myself. I know it was the right thing to do, but it broke my heart to do it."
Jack stood up and walked over to Ianto. Putting out his hands he said, "Let's get you off this cold floor." Once Ianto stood up they hugged comforting each other for a moment. Holding hands they walked back upstairs.
"I know you deliberately shot Annie in the shoulder, but Owen is never going to believe it," Jack said.
Ianto raised an eyebrow. "Sod Owen," he replied.
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Waking Up
When Owen came in later to check on Annie and saw Ianto's face, he'd insisted on checking his injuries. "You have one hell of a right jab Jack," Owen said as he scanned Ianto's eye and face using the Bekaran device. "Fortunately the damage is limited to severe bruising, a broken blood vessel in the eye and a bone bruise. It'll take a few days before Ianto looks once again like the Teaboy you lust after," Owen quipped. He went over to a cupboard pulled some small packets out and tossed them to Ianto. "Just use Paracetamol for the pain. I'm going to check on Annie."
Jack followed Owen and watched as he checked Annie's vital signs and checked her IV. "She's heavily sedated Owen," Jack stated.
"Yes she is Jack; what's it to you?" Owen replied. His tone of voice remained neutral.
"We can't help her by just medicating her," Jack commented.
Owen looked at Jack and sighed. "I know that Jack; I just wanted her to have one night of rest before all the emotional shit hits the fan."
Jack nodded. "You're right she needs all the rest she can get before she wakes up and discovers her nightmare is real."
Owen went back to bed and Jack watched over Annie. Tosh had already gone home to get whatever sleep she could manage. Ianto brought him coffee. "Do you want to sit with Annie for a while?" Jack asked. Ianto shook his head. "No. If she wakes up and the first thing she sees is me she might be scared. I'll talk to her later," Ianto replied and left the room.
Around 6:00 AM Annie started waking up. It took some time because of the heavy medication Owen had given to her. Finally she opened her eyes and became aware of her surroundings.
"Hey, Annie," Jack quietly said. When Annie focused on Jack's face her eyes widen and she pulled away from Jack. "I killed you," she said.
"It's OK Annie; remember I can't die," Jack replied. Shaking her head, Annie said, "It doesn't change the fact I killed you and I watched you die. And I killed all those Weevils; it was so easy. I'm a monster, I'm wrong!" Annie shouted and broke into heart-wrenching sobs. Jack tried to hold and comfort her but she kept pushing him away. Owen ran in followed by Ianto.
"Annie it's Owen, try to calm down," he said.
"I can't do this; go away. Leave me alone!" Jack and Owen tried talking to her, but she just withdrew further and panicked even more.
"Annie, stop it," Ianto said firmly. Owen and Jack looked at him and back at Annie. She was trying to calm down; her eyes focused on Ianto. "Go to her Ianto," Owen said quietly.
Ianto walked over to the bed. Annie reached out and grasped his hand. Ianto pulled her into a hug and started stroking her hair and quietly talking to her.
Owen placed a hand on Jack's shoulder and said, "Let's leave; she'll calm down faster if we leave her and Ianto alone."
They walked up to the main floor and stopped at Tosh's work station. Owen turned on a monitor and with a few keyboard strokes brought the CCTV in the autopsy room online. They watched as Ianto continued to hold Annie and talk to her. Owen glanced over at Jack and saw misery itself. He had tears cascading down and a hurt expression on his face. Jack caught Owen looking at him and said, "Annie took one look at me and totally freaked out. She's always known I can't die, but she's never seen it happen until today. Now she doesn't want anything to do with me."
"Ianto and I heard it all Jack," Owen said. "What we heard was Annie freaking out and feeling guilty over killing you, not about you coming back to life. She knows she killed those Weevils and lost all control and she's scared shitless." Jack didn't look totally convinced. "Trust me Jack; if anyone knows how guilty one can feel after killing you, it's me. So suck it up and be the pain in the arse boss I know so well."
Jack wiped the tears off his face and sighed. "So," he said changing the subject, "Annie responded to Ianto because"
"Because he stopped her like he promised," Owen finished the sentence. "Right now Ianto is her anchor whether he wants the job or not."
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Life Goes On
Ianto was surprised Annie had responded to him rather than Jack or Owen, but hoped it meant she'd forgiven him. Slowly her crying subsided and she relaxed her grip around his waist. Ianto pulled away just enough to see Annie's tear-stained face.
"Do you feel a little better?" he asked. Annie nodded her head and accepted the handkerchief Ianto handed her. "Ianto I'm so sorry," Annie began, but Ianto stopped her by placing his finger gently against her lips. "Shush; we can talk later. Right now Owen needs to check your wound. I'll go make you a nice cup of tea alright?" Ianto said. "Yes," was all Annie said.
Ianto waited with Annie until Owen arrived to take over before going to the coffee nook. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes for a moment to calm down. "You OK?" Jack asked.
"I'm fine sir."
"No, you're not fine, I'm not fine, and Annie's not fine," Jack said leaning against the doorway.
"Right; I'll alert the media sir," Ianto said raising his un-bruised right eyebrow. Jack smiled a little at Ianto. "Am I being a gloomy Gus? Sorry."
"Things will look better after some tea and coffee," Ianto assured him.
After Owen checked her wound and put on a new bandage Annie went to her room. It wasn't easy with her shoulder bandaged up but she managed to freshen up and change out of her pajamas. She emerged from the bathroom wearing fresh clothes, her hair combed and her face washed, but she looked pale and weak. Tosh was waiting for Annie in the hallway. "Owen thought you might need this," Tosh said as she handed Annie her cane. Annie thanked her and took her cane back. "Come on, let's get you some tea."
They went up to the board room. Ianto had prepared tea and coffee and a breakfast of croissants, biscuits, butter, jams and some fruit. The big plasma screen was on and showed the sun rising over the bay.
Ianto poured tea for Annie and coffee for Tosh. Annie sat down and looked at the scene on the screen. 'Life goes on doesn't it?' Annie thought to herself. "What a lovely sight," she said.
"Ianto thought it might cheer you up a bit," Tosh said.
"It does; thank you Ianto," Annie replied.
"You're welcome. You should try to eat a little something as well," Ianto said as he pushed the food tray a little closer to Annie. Annie selected some biscuits and fruit. He watched Annie eat them slowly. He could tell she was eating because she knew she should, but she was unable to enjoy the food.
"I look like something the cat dragged in, pissed on and buried in its litter box," Annie said without looking at Ianto. Tosh almost strangled on her croissant and looked at Annie.
"Sorry, didn't realize I was staring," Ianto said.
"It's OK," Annie turned and looked at Ianto giving him a brief smile which didn't reach her eyes. "You know us writers; we can never resist being dramatic."
Tosh stood up with her coffee in her hand. "If you'll excuse me, I have some reports to write and I think you two have something to work out, so I'll leave you to it," and left Ianto and Annie alone.
Ianto poured Annie another cup of tea and himself a cup of coffee. They sat side by side in silence for a couple of minutes. Finally, Annie reached over and covered Ianto's hand with her own. Without looking at Ianto she quietly said, "I never thought I'd be thanking someone for shooting me, but thank you Ianto. I know it ripped your heart apart to keep your promise to me, but it was the only way to stop me."
"I'm so sorry I hurt you," Ianto said. He felt Annie's hand on his chin as she turned his face so she could look him in the eyes. "Do not go down that road Ianto Jones. You saved me and that's what matters. Stop beating yourself up over it; besides, it looks like someone already did that for you. Was it Jack?"
Ianto nodded. "It was a misunderstanding; he came back to life only to discover I had shot you and it overwhelmed him. He hit me before I had a chance to explain. Now he knows what happened and he's already apologized to me. We're OK," he said.
Annie hugged him and they clung to each other until theirs tears stopped.
"Oi, take it easy on my patient Teaboy," Owen said as he came into the board room. Annie and Ianto separated and Ianto started cleaning up. Owen poured himself a coffee, grabbed a croissant and plopped himself down by Annie. "Did you eat something?" Owen asked as he chewed his croissant.
"She had some fruit and biscuits with her tea," Ianto replied.
"Thank you Nurse Ianto," Owen said, but there was no venom in his words. Looking at Annie he said, "You've got some color back in your face which is a good sign." He polished off his croissant and took another gulp of his coffee. "Annie I heavily sedated you last night so you could get some rest. Do you recall any dreams from last night?"
"Not a dream, a nightmare. I kept seeing yesterday's incident over and over again all night," Annie replied.
"Well I wish I could say that you'll be right as rain in a couple of days, but we all know that's not the case," Owen said. "The nightmares may recur for sometime; you might have anxiety attacks, depression or insomnia." He took out two prescription bottles and handed them to Annie. "The first one is a prescription to use for anxiety attacks so keep it with you at all times. The other one is a mild sedative to use before bedtime."
Looking at the prescription bottles Annie said, "I really hate taking pills Owen."
"I know sweetheart, but it is temporary; humor your favorite doctor, alright?" Owen said. Annie nodded and put the prescriptions in her pocket.
"Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to dash home, shower and change and come back shortly. Ianto, stay with Annie; she shouldn't be alone right now."
"No problem," Ianto said.
"Right; I'll see you later," Owen replied as he left.
"Ianto, do you know where Jack is?" Annie asked.
Ianto stopped clearing up the breakfast and pointed to the plasma screen. "He's right there," he replied.
Annie looked back at the screen and saw Jack standing at the railing by the bay.
Standing up she said, "I need to talk to Jack."
Ianto nodded. "I'll walk you out there. Let's get your coat because it's cold outside."
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AN Reviews please!