Title: Requiem
Author: Seether79
Characters: Jack/Ianto, Team
Rating: PG-13??
Spoilers: General spoilers for both seasons,
Summary: "I have this dream" Ianto begun as he looked up at the woman sitting in front of him. "I'm not sure what it is… memories from a life forgotten; or just me going crazy."
Beta: lj user"the9thdoctor" at lj user"plotbunniesinc"
Author's Notes: No longer canon, since Exit Wounds aired.
Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood (There would be a lot more boy action if I did)
Chapter 7: Blackout
"Nothing's happening." Ianto told Jack after a few minutes of waiting for the little blue pill to kick in. He looked at Jack, the man just shrugged at him. "Are you sure I'm only meant to take one?"
"Owen only gave me one." Jack answered as he watched Ianto closely.
Ianto blinked a few times and sat back on the couch with disappointment. He looked over at Jack who was looking at him with a concerned face, "What?"
"Your nose." Jack said quietly.
Ianto touched his finger to his nose and felt a liquid substance on his skin, he was surprised when he looked and saw blood. "Damn." He went to the kitchen quickly and grabbed a tissue, placing it to his nose.
"I'm going to call Owen and get him over here. He's a Doctor and I don't think that should be happening." Jack told Ianto as he took his phone out of his pocket and started to dial.
"And the one who made the pill?" Ianto wanted confirmation.
"Yeah." Jack answered. Owen wasn't answering and he was beginning to get annoyed.
"Good, tell him to make one that works." Ianto said sounding annoyed. He was holding his head back trying to stop the blood from flowing so quickly.
"Owen. Finally! Get your ass over to Ianto's right away." Jack said into his phone before flipping it shut.
"You're a charmer." Ianto said with a raised eye brow.
"I try." Jack said with a fake smile.
"Oh God!" Ianto yelled out. A sharp pain hit his head like a train; he fell to floor and clutched his temples willing for it to stop.
"Ianto!" Jack said as he kneeled beside his former lover and placed his hands on his back. "Ianto!"
"I think… my… head is… going to explode" Ianto managed to get out. His hands and knuckles were turning white from clutching and his face was screwed up with agony.
"Ianto, I'm here, it's going to be okay. Owen will be here soon and he'll know what to do, otherwise I'll kill him. Permanently this time." Jack muttered the last part so Ianto couldn't hear him.
"Jack…" Ianto whispered before everything turned black.
"I'm telling you, Jack, there's nothing wrong with him." Ianto heard Owen tell Jack. His eyes felt heavy as he tried to open them, wanting to see what was going on.
"Aside from the fact he's unconscious!" Jack yelled. Ianto could tell from his voice that he was pissed off.
"Well, yeah." Owen answered.
"Who?" Ianto asked as he opened his eyes. He saw Jack and Owen standing in the door way of the room he was in.
"Ianto," Jack said happily as he rushed over. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah just a little…" He began, but stopped when he felt his mind start to work again. "You retconned me."
"You have your memory." Jack said as moved himself back a little.
"Yes, yes I do." Ianto said in a soft but angry tone.
"Right then, I'm just going to go… away," Owen said nervously but before he left he turned to Ianto, "It's good to have you back… Tea boy."
"That Owen… isn't he a laugh?" Jack joked trying to ease the tension that had filled the room.
"How could you Jack… I can't believe you would do that to me, steal my memories, my life!" Ianto said in disbelief. He was talking in a quiet tone but Jack could tell he was pissed off as all hell.
"John and Grey were on the warpath, Ianto; I couldn't let anything happen to you because of me." Jack explained. "They would have killed you just to hurt me."
"And what about me, Jack? Did you even care how I felt? Not just about you and Torchwood but my family, Jack. My father died - you know that my memories of him were the most special thing I had and you took them, you took everything." Ianto said as he got off the bed and started to pace the room.
"A small amount wouldn't have worked, I had to take it all… I'm sorry." Jack said unsure of what else to say.
"Sorry doesn't change things, Jack. It doesn't make the last year of my life disappear, I was so lost and I needed answers and all the time you had them; you let me be a walking ghost."
"I asked you to leave and you wouldn't; I did what I thought was best, maybe it was wrong but you have to know I did it because I care." Jack said looking at Ianto with a desperate gaze.
"Your care is toxic, Jack… I need you to leave because I am so angry with you right now I might kill you; and you would come back and then I'd have to kill you again. So please leave. We'll talk about this tomorrow." Ianto said with a heated tone as he pointed to the door.
"Tomorrow?" Jack repeated, a little confused.
"Yes, tomorrow. When I show up for work. I'm not leaving Torchwood, Jack; I don't care what you say. Now go."
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow." Jack said with an empty voice. He didn't know anything he could say or do that would fix this and for now he knew that he should just do what Ianto asked of him.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
"I'm so happy you're back." Gwen said with a huge smile as she wrapped her arms around Ianto.
"Me too." Ianto smiled at her, returning the embrace. He had arrived to see happy faces from everyone but Jack, who was hiding in his office, according to Owen.
"I still can't believe you were getting your memory back on your own." Tosh said.
Ianto smiled at her, he hadn't realized it at the time but he knew now that he had really been missing his friendship with Tosh while he was 'away' - That was what he was calling it now, his time away. He had called his boss and quit the job that Ianto Smith had at a small magazine publishers as an assistant. He had also talked to Jenny; he planned on staying friends with the wonderfully vibrant woman who had become his rock. He wouldn't miss the life Ianto Smith, but Ianto Smith had missed this life and he was very glad to be back; even if it meant dealing with his unresolved issues with Jack. "It's complicated but let's just say that I didn't want anyone taking my memories."
"Same here. Hence the little miracle pill that I have decided to name the Harper solution." Owen smiled proudly. Tosh smiled at him while Ianto and Gwen looked at him like he was nuts. "What?"
"I don't think it has a ring to it," Gwen commented. "And don't you think it's a bit egotistical to put your own name on it?"
"No." Owen answered simply.
"I've missed you, Owen." Ianto smiled. "Thanks for the note by the way."
"Jack told you." Owen sighed.
"No. Actually, I recognize the handwriting, I didn't then, but I do now. Thanks." Ianto told him.
"You're just lucky I didn't write Tea Boy." Owen said with a smirk, but his eyes told Ianto 'you're welcome'.
"So… are you going to talk to Jack?" Tosh asked. Tosh had been the only other person (except Jack) who had been in the Hub when Ianto had arrived that morning. They had caught up and Ianto had told her how he wasn't exactly happy with the Captain at the moment.
"I guess I should." Ianto sighed, "Has to happen sometime."
"For what it's worth, he really did believe that he was doing what was best for you." Tosh told him.
Gwen scoffed, "Jack always does what he thinks is best, but he never thinks about what anyone else wants in the process."
"I'll be back." Ianto said as he headed up to the office. He knocked on the door and then walked in. Jack was sitting in his chair reading a book. He looked up and smiled a little at Ianto, who didn't return the gesture.
"Settling in okay?" Jack asked him as he placed the book face down on his desk.
"It's good to see everyone again, I'm pretty sure I missed them like crazy even if I didn't know it." Ianto replied as he walked to the spare chair and took a seat.
"Any side effects to the pill?" Jack asked him, a little concern showing in his voice.
"The Harper solution is side effect free so far." Ianto replied.
"What?" Jack asked confused.
"Nothing." Ianto answered as he looked around the office, avoiding Jack's eyes. The office he had once considered the safest place on earth hadn't changed but his feeling toward it and its owner had; Ianto still loved Jack – a part of him always would, but the desire to be with him had faded into anger and distrust.
"I know you're angry Ianto," Jack started but was cut off.
"I'm not angry anymore, Jack, I feel betrayed and distrustful of you. I know you only did what you did because you care about me but it took me a long time to feel like I was in control of my life again and you took that away from me. You might have liked the idea of me having a new life but it wasn't good, Jack. All I could think about were things I couldn't remember. Over a year of wondering makes someone feel incredibly powerless, it was hell for me." Ianto told him.
"I really am sorry; I don't know what else to say." Jack said sounding hopeless.
"There isn't anything else to say Jack. I want to work here again and I want us to get along. To be friends, I guess… But nothing more." Ianto told him, still avoiding his gaze; he couldn't look Jack in the eyes because if he did he knew he would break.
"Friends…"
"Well, it's better than nothing." Ianto replied.
"If that's what you want." Jack told him. He knew that he'd hurt Ianto and that this wasn't going to go well but hadn't realized it would hurt so much knowing Ianto was there but not his, not anymore.
"It is, sir." Ianto replied as he got up and walked out of the office.
With the one word, 'sir' Jack knew that Ianto was lost to him.
"Jack." Gwen said as she walked into his office. She stopped when she saw the look on her boss's face. Little lost boy was the best thing Gwen could think of to describe it; Jack looked like a little lost boy, sitting in his chair staring at the wall like it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen. "Are you alright, Jack?"
"Yeah." Jack replied as he turned to look at her.
"Are you sure?" Gwen asked him.
"No, not really," Jack laughed. "But I have to be, we still have a world to save."
"Do you… want to talk about it?" Gwen asked him. She and Jack used to have a close relationship and other than Ianto, Jack usually told his problems to Gwen. They had lost that over time but Gwen wondered if Jack had had anyone else to talk to since Ianto had been taken out of the equation.
"Nothing to talk about, Gwen, this isn't the first time I've lost someone." Jack answered her.
"I'd say it's the first time you've lost them like this." Gwen said.
"Yes, but aliens don't stop just because I ruined my relationship." Jack told her.
"I'm sorry, Jack." Gwen said sincerely.
"Me too… time to move on. What did you want?" Jack asked her.
"We have rift activity." She told him.
"Okay then, let's get to work." Jack replied as he grabbed his coat.
TBC
A/N: Thanks to my lovely beta, thank for reading and comments are love :))
