Ianto Lives

By Tenshi-Chan

Part 7

The Doctor was hungry. He'd already grabbed the first container of Chinese food and was currently eating the cold chicken and broccoli while looking for something else. He had slept soundly in Martha and Mickey's spare room, had a quick shower, and now needed a quick cup of tea and some food. That thought brought memories of Jackie asking if he wanted soup and a little ham sandwich, so he steered clear of those two particular items. He wasn't even aware of what he was doing until he heard Mickey's voice behind him.

"Do you have your fingers in my jam jar?"

The Doctor paused and swallowed before putting said jar down. "Ahhh ... not anymore. Sorry."

Mickey snorted with an amused smile on his face. "Rose told me about that incident with Chloe Webber, and that you went on about the different types of food. If you want, I can get you a cake with those edible ball bearings you like so much from the bakery down the street."

The Doctor took the teaspoon Mickey handed him and smiled as Mickey also handed him a package of unsalted crackers. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" He sat down and proceeded to slather a cracker with the jam.

"So what's the deal with Ianto?" Mickey grabbed a cracker of his own and nibbled on it. "Why him? Of all the people you could have saved, why him in particular?"

The Doctor frowned in thought. "You might as well as yourself 'Why Martha?' Of all the people in this world, you and Martha met and got married. Who can say where the heart will turn." He nibbled on a cracker and frowned. "I said it before and I'll probably say it again. I sincerely hope that this is the real thing for Jack. Considering he's been pretty much abstinent for a year, his time, I think it is."

"No way I'm going to believe the king of all flirts went without anything for a month, let alone a year." With a breath that could have been a whistle, Mickey shook his head. "I just can't wrap my mind around it. I mean ... my contact with Ianto in the other universe was brief, at best. I don't know the guy from this world, but if he's anything like the other he's a good bloke. Add the fact that Jack likes him makes him okay in my book."

"More than likes. Jack's hardly left Ianto's side since this whole thing started. Hopefully this will calm him down a bit." He thought a moment. "Looking forward to seeing how he starts acting now that he has someone."

"Hopefully he'll stop hitting on Martha ... and on me." Mickey visibly shuddered. "I'm not into that."

The Doctor chuckled. "I wouldn't hold my breath on that. It's been ... three days now?" He thought a moment. "There's about four more days before Ianto starts recovering from this." He shook his head. "NOT looking forward to one of those days."

Mickey paused. "Why? What's so bad about recovering?"

The Doctor gave Mickey a quick smile before eating one last jam-covered cracker. "You'll find out soon enough." He looked up as the front door opened and hopped to his feet. "Ah! Martha! Welcome back."

Martha pulled her keys out of her coat and put them in the bowl on the table by the door. "Has Jack been out to eat today? I have something of his and want to give Ianto some good news."

The Doctor was curious. "Oooo! What have you got that survived the blast? Some fire-proof, blast-proof box, I suppose!"

In response, Martha reached in her purse. "No, and that's the oddest thing. According to Gwen, this should have been blown to smithereens like a lot of the hub did, but it's intact."

The Doctor stood on his toes to see what Martha had and then felt everything in him freeze when she pulled out a very particular piece of coral. "What?" He walked over and carefully took it. He caressed the coral, which looked fragile and lacy, but he knew it to be strong. It was big enough that it must have taken up most of Martha's purse, if not all. "What?" He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and used the scan setting on it. "Is it? Can't be! No! But it is! Oh that was sneaky! How in the fabric of time and space did Jack get a hold of you, my little beauty?"

Mickey looked at it. "What is it?"

The Doctor showed Mickey the coral. "Tell me, you two, where have you seen coral like this before?" Before either could speak, he answered his own question. "In the TARDIS, of course. Somehow, Jack got his hands on a piece of my TARDIS." He scanned it again. "This little gal is about 50 years old now. Just a baby by TARDIS standards, of course. It must have been TINY when Jack got it."

"When I got what?" Jack wandered out, his hair damp from a recent shower. "Ianto kicked me out of the room and told me not to come back until I've showered, eaten and been sociable with our hosts. He's going to ask you about it later, Martha, so is there anything I can just throw together?"

The Doctor brandished the piece of coral. "Hang on a minute. Where did you get this? You know what it is, don't you? You had my hand in a jar, but you neglected to mention this?"

Jack blinked and sighed. "Honestly I didn't know the two were connected. The hand I got from the ruins of Torchwood 1 when we went to salvage what we could." He reached out and caressed one of the stony tendrils. "This little beauty fell through the rift a while ago ... I found her before Ianto was doing the archives. They were using the poor thing as a paperweight, if you'll believe it. I asked if I could have her. The guy in charge said it was fine. Apparantly nothing was cataloged properly in those days and they thought she was just an ordinary piece of coral." He shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "I didn't have time to pack properly. I just ran, grabbing the hand as I headed for the lift." He sighed. "You can have her if you want."

The Doctor pursed his lips and shook his head. "Nah! No good to me. Apparantly ... she thinks you're her mum. Well ... her dad, at any rate. Being around the rift and that computer of yours was very beneficial to her. She's grown quite nicely. A healthy size for a 50 year old TARDIS. She's actually showing about 200 years of growth."

Mickey looked at the large piece of coral. "So that's a TARDIS?" He touched it and smiled a little. "I didn't know they started that tiny."

The Doctor chuckled. "Well ... anyone not from Gallifrey naturally assumes that a TARDIS is built. Understandable misconception considering that we are always referring to them as ships. And she is. It's what the TARDISes were bred for."

Martha took off her coat and hung it up. "How is Ianto, Jack?"

Jack sighed and gave her a half-smile. "You ever get a cramp in your calf?" When Martha nodded. "Imagine that all over your body with no end in sight and add that to how he was feeling yesterday. That's how he's feeling today." He ran his hand through his hair. "He's being really brave about it, but I hate seeing him in pain." He looked to the Doctor. "Please tell me that it won't get any worse."

The Doctor Sighed sadly. "I wish I could. Sorry."

Jack sighed. "It isn't your fault ... and in no way am I blaming you for what's happening."

"Is he up to hearing some good news?" Martha was beaming. "Gwen said that the pterodactyl survived."

Jack's eyes lit up and he smiled broadly. "Hearing that Myfanwy is alive might just be the thing to cheer him up today. From the way things are, he'll get little cheer the next couple of days."

Martha reached out and rubbed Jack's arm in a comforting gesture. "It won't last much longer, though. He'll be better in no time. I'll pop in and see him, then. Eat a proper meal, Jack. Not just jam and crackers. That goes for all of you."

The Doctor gave Martha a smart salute. "Yes, Doctor Smith, Ma'am!" The Doctor smiled as she rolled her eyes and walked away.

Martha peeked in and smiled sadly. Ianto looked so young at the moment, curled in a ball as if he were trying to escape the pain that was plaguing him. "Hey, there. Jack said you were hurting. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Ianto glanced over and managed a smile. "Thank you, but no." He groaned as he rolled onto his back. "I accepted this minor consequence of my decision. I knew what I was getting into. Listen ... I have a favor to ask you."

Martha sat down. "I'll do anything within reason, Ianto."

Ianto gave her another weak smile. "Be there to listen as he rants and raves. Be a shoulder for him to cry on. He's going to take the next couple of days pretty hard. He blames himself for what I'm going through even though it was my choice. Reassure him when he won't listen to me."

Martha was relieved. "You never even had to ask. Now! I have some great news for you!" She noticed Ianto's interest and tilted her head. "Can't you read my mind?"

Ianto shook his head. "Jack taught me how to block it, which is a relief even though I like hearing him sing in my head."

Martha chuckled. "That's something I'd like to hear, myself. Anyway ... I was talking to Gwen, didn't tell her about you and Jack even though I really wanted to, and she let me know that the pterodactyl ... I think Jack said its name is Myfanwy?" When Ianto nodded eagerly, she continued. "Turns out she survived."

Ianto looked immensely relieved. "Thank God. I was hoping the door opened in time to get her out. I feel sorry for Janet and the other creatures in captivity, not to mention ..." Ianto's face suddenly filled with grief. "Did any of the cryo chambers survive the blast?"

Martha frowned a little in confusion until she remembered. "I honestly don't know. The only person I can think of in there that would concern you would be Gray. After what he did ..."

Ianto shook his head with a sad smile. "No matter what he did, he was still Jack's brother."

Martha sighed. "I'll ask tomorrow." With that, she stood up. "If Jack hadn't told me how much pain you were in, I'd never know it. Hang in there."

Ianto let out a soft throaty chuckle. "I gave myself no other choice."

Jack looked up as Martha walked into the kitchen. "You done with your visit?"

Martha sat down and smiled at him. "Yeah. I'm supposed to look after you. An order from a Jones to a Jones-Smith." She reached out and touched his wrist. "He's worried about how the next couple of days are going to effect you."

Jack sighed and smiled at her. "I'm not gonna lie. It's going to be tough on me seeing him suffer, but I want to help in any way I can ... even if it's just being there."

Martha nodded. "Sometimes having someone you love close by helps more than anything else."

Jack stood up. "I really appreciate everything you're doing for us, Martha. Thank you." When Martha nodded in acceptance of his thanks, he returned to the TARDIS. He entered the Med Bay and got out of his clothes.

"Wish I could appreciate the view better."

Jack smiled and crawled into bed next to Ianto. The TARDIS had kindly made the Medical bed large enough to accommodate the couple comfortably. He glanced at the timer that they had both requested. "Not too much longer now. Just about 4,320 minutes to go."

Ianto winced as he curled close to Jack. He gazed up at him hopefully. "Tell me more about your younger years on the Boeshane Peninsula?"

Jack smiled and nodded. To help Ianto take his mind off of his pain, Jack had been telling the younger man stories about himself. "I think I've told you about all I remember from my childhood. It was so long ago now that the memories I have are becoming jumbled." He ran his fingers through Ianto's hair in what he hoped was a soothing motion. "I can tell you about my earlier days as a time agent." When Ianto hummed in acceptance, Jack proceeded to tell him as much as he could remember from those early days. He had forgotten a great deal of it either due to time or because some things are just best forgotten. He made sure to leave nothing that he remembered out. If he wanted to be with Ianto for as long as possible, he couldn't have secrets. He told him of his training and of being known as the "Face of Boe" because of where he came from.

"It's actually a misnomer. People were always confusing the Boeshane Peninsula with the planet of the same name. The face of Boe is actually a delegate from the planet Boeshane. The Boe-kind are so similar in appearance that you wouldn't be able to tell when one delegate replaced another. As a result, many believe that the actual Face of Boe is thousands of years old. It doesn't help that all the knowledge from one gets passed down to the next via telepathic communication." He chuckled. "In hindsight I think it might have had something to do with the fact that I had to act like I knew better than my teachers." He smiled at Ianto when the Welshman made a humming sound. "Get some sleep, Ianto. You get little enough as it is without keeping yourself awake to hear me talk."

"Hmmm ... keep telling me, in my mind, while I sleep. I like how your voice feels in my head." Ianto took a deep breath and let it out in a contented sigh. "It's soothing like a nice warm blanket wrapping around me after I've been out in the biting cold." That said, Ianto closed his eyes and his breathing slowly evened out.

Jack nuzzled Ianto's hair and did as his lover requested, pleased that Ianto was getting more sleep than they both anticipated.

To be Continued ...