Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or Torchwood. If I did, then this would be canon, and RTD's whoniverse would be fanfiction.

Thanks to the most awesome beta in the world – Eilonwyn.

The trio hurried along the silent, empty corridors. It was eerie to Jack; he was far too used to walking along these corridors amongst the general hustle and bustle of Torchwood life. The silence unnerved him: it left him wondering if they were the only survivors.

And then, as they rushed through a set of double doors, the silence was broken. For a moment Jack froze his first thought that there were more Daleks or Cybermen. But there were no 'Exterminate's or 'Delete's. Instead shrieks of pain and yells for help could be heard, sounding like they were coming from the floor below them.

Quickly exchanging glances, the trio broke into a run, Jack slightly ahead as he knew where he was going: down N2 staircase, along the corridor, turn the corner, past the plastic sheeting that indicated building work, through the set of double doors...

He stopped short at the sight before him, Rose and the Doctor just about managing not to knock into him.

"What is it, Jack?" the Doctor asked. "Jack?"

Jack stepped out of the doorway, and towards a young man who was kneeling on the floor, staring up at him through frightened eyes. But it wasn't the man that had shocked Jack; it was the fact that he had his arms around what looked like a partially converted Cyberman.

No, Cyberwoman.

He heard the Doctor and Rose's exclamations behind him, but he ignored them and stepped closer to the young man.

"Who are you?" he asked calmly, managing to disguise the fear inside him. If there was one partially converted Cyberman, how many more could there be? How many people had been left on those conversion units when they'd opened the Void, left to die? How many had been almost converted?

"Jones. Ianto Jones." the man replied hoarsely. At the Captain's blank look he added; "Junior researcher."

Jack took another step forward and knelt on one knee to look at the woman in his arms.

"And who is she?" he asked, pointing at her.

"Lisa Hallett. She works in research too."

Rose and the Doctor had joined them by this point, both kneeling down beside the two men.

"She your girlfriend?" Rose asked gently. Ianto nodded silently, blinking tears out of his eyes.

"I hid down in the archives when they came. I was so scared... I heard the screaming and the noise... and then it stopped, it just stopped. I had to find Lisa... and..." He looked up at Jack desperately. "Please help her, sir. She's not a Cyberman, not yet. They hadn't finished the process."

As Rose gently wrapped an arm around Ianto, Jack diverted his attention to the woman lying half on the floor, half on Ianto's lap. He frowned slightly, glancing at the Doctor.

"I thought you said they converted us by taking out the brain and putting it in a metal suit," he whispered.

"They do, normally. They must have been desperate. I'd imagine it takes less time to do this then to remove the brain so that it's still stable and then transfer it."

"Any ideas then?"

"Not a clue. I've barely seen this type of Cyberman as it is, let alone this type of conversion."

Jack opened his mouth to speak, but he was forestalled by a sudden gasp. Looking down, he saw that Lisa had woken up. Her eyes were wide open, her breathing short and laboured.

"Ian...Ianto?" she murmured, her eyes darting around wildly.

Ianto shifted himself slightly, his hand coming to rest on Lisa's cheek. "I'm here."

"Who are these people...? They..." She paused as her eyes focused in on Jack, and her eyes widened.

"It's the Captain... does that means it's over, Yan? Did we win?"

Ianto gazed down at her, tears filling his eyes.

"Yeah. We won."

Lisa smiled slightly, but didn't manage to hold the expression for long as her expression became pained once more.

"It hurts, Yan." She swallowed painfully. "Am I dying?"

Ianto's eyes closed momentarily. "I don't know, Lisa. I..." He looked up frantically at the Captain, trying not to scare his girlfriend, but Lisa didn't miss the absolutely terrified and upset expression on Ianto's face.

"Ianto?" she asked again, her tone firmer.

A tear was trickling down Ianto's cheek. Jack glanced sideways at the Doctor and Rose, who were staring at each other as though having a silent conversation.

Finally, the Doctor spoke. "You won't die if we can help it. I promise you, Lisa, we will do our best. If there is a way to save you, then you will be saved."

Her eyes moved over to focus on him.

"Who...who are you?" she whispered, struggling to speak.

"I'm the Doctor," he replied, his eyes scanning her Cybernetic body. Her eyes widened in fear.

Jack knew what she was thinking: the Doctor was a known enemy of Torchwood. Everyone who worked here knew exactly who he was – at least, from Torchwood's point of view. The bad stuff. The Doctor depicted in the worst possible light. And to have that man leaning over you when you could be dying, when you had no means of escape, would be terrifying.

Jack hastened to reassure her, and Ianto, who was also staring at the Doctor tensely.

"It's okay. He's not the man Torchwood have painted him to be. I knew him before I joined Torchwood – heck, before Torchwood was even founded, in his timeline. He's a good man."

The Doctor smiled gratefully at Jack, and Rose just grinned before adding her bit.

"I was there when Queen Victoria met him. He saved her life...she was just too blinded by fear to realise that some aliens are good."

Ianto nodded slowly and Lisa relaxed – at least, as much as she could.

The Doctor, having examined Lisa as much as possible by just looking, pulled his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and started buzzing it over her torso.

"The metal on your body hasn't been fully grafted..." the Doctor mused. "It would take a lot of surgery, but I know a few good planets I could take you to where they could perform the operations needed. You might still be scarred...but I'm guessing that's a price you'd be willing to pay." He grinned at her reassuringly as he moved up to scan her head. He blinked. And scanned again. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again abruptly.

"Doctor, what is it?" Rose asked immediately.

"Doc?" Jack placed a hand on his shoulder, and the Time Lord looked up at him before looking over at Rose.

Ianto, who had been focused on Lisa, looked up at them in the sudden silence. He frowned at the expression on the Doctor's face.

"What is it? What's wrong with her?"

The Doctor looked up at Ianto slowly. "The technology's infected her brain," he said softly.

Lisa's eyes moved to focus on him again. "What's wrong with it?" she asked, wide-eyed.

"The Cybermen usually use an emotional inhibitor to allow them to programme the Cybermen, and to stop them going insane. The programming information is usually implanted separately – not in the brain." He paused, looking between Lisa and Ianto. "But yours is different. The programming and the emotional inhibitor are the same thing. A tiny chip, in your brain."

"But...I'm still me!" Lisa protested weakly. Ianto sat silently, cradling Lisa to him, his eyes fixed on the Doctor.

"The process hasn't been completed on you...but the chip isn't like human technology. It's slowly infecting your brain. The longer you're disconnected from one of the conversion units, the longer the chip has to wait for the process to complete, the more it will spread. And when it gets over fifty percent..."

"She'll become Cyber-kind," Jack finished. Rose looked horrified, and the tears in Ianto's eyes were falling freely.

Lisa's dark eyes closed momentarily. "You mean I'll start killing people.".

The Doctor nodded slowly, his dark brown eyes showing his true age for once. "The physical conversion has been completed enough for you to be able to... electrocute."

"But there's gotta be somethin' we can do!" Rose burst out. "Can't we get the chip removed, or something?"

This time it was Jack who replied. "If that kind of technology has infected her brain, then it will keep growing from the infected part – like a tumour. But as the brain would be perfectly healthy – it's inoperable. It would be too dangerous – if you missed even one cell..."

They were all silent, consequences filling their minds.

Finally Lisa swallowed resolutely. "Then you'll have to kill me."

"No! Lisa!" Ianto cried, horrified.

"I don't want to hurt anyone, Yan. And I don't want to have to live my life knowing that one day I'll turn into an emotionless killing machine."

"We'll find a way. There has to be a way!" Tears fell thick and fast down Ianto's face as he held on to her.

"It hurts so much, Yan. I couldn't live with pain like this."

Ianto only clung onto her tighter, and looked up at the other three, distraught.

The Doctor had his eyes closed with Rose's hand clasped tightly in his. But Jack had a practiced, emotionless look on his face.

Because he knew that if Lisa were to die today...then he would have to be the one to kill her.

It was possible that Lisa sensed this, because she focused in on him. "You'd do it, wouldn't you Captain? Because it would save lives." She paused, struggling for breath. "I heard some of the senior researchers talking about you. Everyone knew you weren't like Director Hartman; you tried to protect people. You didn't kill unless you had to...please. You have to."

Jack swallowed uneasily, feeling the Doctor's eyes on him.

"Lisa, don't give up. Please don't!" Ianto murmured, unable to believe that there was no way for Lisa to be saved.

The Doctor placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do."

Ianto stared at him numbly.

Rose crawled over to where Jack was crouching, still staring at Lisa. "Would you be able to, Jack? Could you really kill her?" she asked tearfully, not quite knowing what answer she wanted to hear.

Jack looked at her darkly. "I've got plenty of blood on my hands already. What's a little more, especially when it's... when it's her choice.

Rose looked slightly horrified, but there was an understanding in her that most people wouldn't have. She put her arms around him in a strong hug. Jack automatically hugged her back as his eyes caught the Doctor's.

And with a grim expression, the Doctor nodded at him.

Sighing heavily, Jack gently pushed Rose away, reached down to pull his gun out of its holster, and stood up. At the sudden movement, Ianto looked up at him.

"No. No," he cried, his arms tightening around Lisa.

With a great effort, Lisa moved her arm, clasping one of Ianto's hands in hers.

"Please, Yan, I don't want to hurt anyone... I love you. Please let me go." Her eyes were filling with tears again. The Doctor leant closer to Ianto.

"Be strong," he whispered, standing up, his hand not leaving Ianto's shoulder, even as Rose stepped over and wrapped her arms around the Time Lord.

Ianto took a deep, shaky breath. "I love you too, Lisa. I always will."

Lisa smiled softly. "Find someone, Yan," she whispered, letting go of his hand.

Ianto got to his feet numbly, desperately blinking tears back. He took one look at the gun clutched in Jack's hand, and walked over to the wall, closing his eyes as he leant back on it.

The Doctor and Rose took a step back.

Jack raised the gun, aiming it at Lisa's head.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, and pulled the trigger.

The shot echoed around the silent room.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

For a few moments nobody spoke; the only sound in the room was Ianto sobbing quietly. But eventually everyone shook themselves awake.

"We should get out of here. UNIT will be inside the building any minute," Jack said quietly, re-holstering his gun. He looked over to Ianto. "You'd probably better come with us. Unless you have a burning desire to be interrogated by UNIT...?"

Ianto shook his head silently, and Jack looked to the Doctor for confirmation that Ianto was allowed on board the TARDIS.

The Doctor gave a forced smile. "We'd best be off, then."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

The journey down to the TARDIS took longer than expected, partly because Ianto was following them in a dazed state, and partly because Jack kept stopping to check his wrist-strap to see if UNIT had made it into the building yet. By the time they had reached the bay where the TARDIS was being kept, both Rose and the Doctor were on edge.

Eventually they rounded a corner and the TARDIS was in sight. That's when they heard the yells of approaching soldiers.

The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and they raced ahead, Jack pausing to grab Ianto's arm before following. The Doctor pulled out his key as they reached the door and unlocked it, pushing Rose in and holding the door open for Jack and Ianto. The door swung shut just as the first UNIT soldiers came into sight.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Ianto had stopped inside the doorway, staring around at the interior of the TARDIS. "It's beautiful," he said softly, taking a hesitant step forward.

"Isn't she just." Jack grinned, glad to be back inside the one place he really belonged now.

"Best ship in the universe," Rose said as she watched the Doctor rush around the console, pressing buttons, pulling levers, turning gizmos. He stopped after a minute, and the ships's movement stopped too as they reached the safety of the Vortex.

"So, Mr Jones, do you have any family to stay with?" the Doctor asked, perching on the edge of the console.

Ianto shook his head. "Mam died when I was young, and Dad died before I moved to London. Then Rhi and her family were killed by some alien thing in Cardiff last year."

Jack blinked. An alien thing in Cardiff? Probably because of the Rift – and that meant that Yvonne had been the one to cause those deaths. Because if she'd bothered to remake Torchwood Three after Alex had gone mad and shot everyone, then there would have been someone to stop the aliens.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor murmured. He sighed, looking at Ianto. "I would offer for you to come with us, but I don't think our lifestyle will help you much. You don't have any family you could stay with?"

Ianto shook his head again.

"I would say my Mum, but she's..." Rose trailed off, tears coming to her eyes as the enormity of losing her Mum hit her. The Doctor squeezed her hand gently.

"I suppose you're not just going to let me go back to my flat?" Ianto asked.

Jack shook his head. "You'd have UNIT onto you immediately. And I somehow doubt you'd want to go back. You'd be haunted by memories," he said gently, and Ianto nodded, sighing.

"I've got it!" Rose exclaimed suddenly. "What about Sarah Jane?"

A/N – So this is where this story changes from the normal Doomsday fix-its. Apart from the obvious presence of Jack of course. This story will probably only have one or two chapters left, but I am planning on doing series three and probably 4 in one or two separate stories. So keep a look out for the Stuff of Legend series. ;)

And to all you Torchwood fans, Ianto will feature in the series, as quite an important character. And SJA fans won't be disappointed either...

Also, nothing else will be posted for the next two weeks as I will be on holiday without an internet connection. However, I will do my best to do some writing, so I should have something to post when I get back.