9.

Three days later, Jack had once again had the experience of being on the receiving end of torture. He'd managed not to die – the torture being more of a mental kind –, he'd managed not to tell the Gejho anything about Earth's weaponry systems and he'd mostly managed to keep his team out of danger. They'd done the 'coming to the rescue' bit and, of course, the 'killing the Gejho' part. They saved the day, half of Swansea from enslavement and, in the long run, Earth. When Gwen had freed Jack from the chains that had kept him restrained since he'd been found while trying to infiltrate the ship, her eyes had widened. "Jack … it's been three days … Ianto ..."

Now, the door to the Torchwood garage slammed open and Jack crashed through first, his coat flapping. Owen was behind him, his backpack slung over his shoulders. "That's why we don't keep human prisoners!" he yelled. "The Weevils can live without food or water for weeks, but humans can't."

Jack heard Gwen call after them, "Would you shut up already?" Then she and Tosh took the corridor leading to the main Hub to collect some things Owen had told them he would need to help Ianto.

Jack opened the vault doors and ran to Ianto's cell. He opened the cell door and entered, stopping in shock when he saw Ianto lying curled up on the bed, motionless.

"Out of the way," Owen snapped and pushed Jack aside to get to Ianto. "Help me."

Jack shook off his shock to help Owen stretch Ianto out. While Owen examined Ianto, Jack opened the cuffs and distractedly rubbed Ianto's wrists, trying to assess the deep scratches that hadn't been there days ago.

Owen said, "He's running a fever, has got all the signs of severe dehydration but we already suspected that."

Gwen and Tosh joined them, out of breath and with a few IV bags and water bottles in their hands. Gwen asked, "Are those the right ones?"

Owen glanced at the bags. "Yes." He started to set up an IV. Gwen and Tosh put the bags and bottles onto the night stand, then hovered anxiously.

Jack gently turned Ianto's wrist around, finding bloody scrape marks on the underside as well. "He must've tried to escape when he realized we weren't coming back," he said. He looked at Gwen and Tosh. "He didn't know I was captured or that we were busy. He must have thought ..." He couldn't finish the sentence. Tosh paled and pressed shaking fingers against her lips.

Owen touched Jack's arm and nodded at Ianto. Jack looked down to find Ianto's eyes barely open, watching them. Owen addressed Tosh. "Get him water."

Gwen handed Tosh one of the small bottles. "Here."

"Alright," Owen said and snatched the water away, handing it to Jack. "Now get out of here. Unload the SUV."

"Wait a minute," Gwen protested.

Jack shook his head. "He's right. Go. Leave us alone." He gave them a pleading look. "Someone has to create a cover story for what happened in Swansea."

Tosh nodded in understanding and turned away. Gwen gave Owen a glare and then followed her.

Owen checked the drip and then looked at Jack. "Sit down. I have to tend to his hands, you should try and feed him the water." Jack nodded and sat down next to Ianto. Owen helped him to get Ianto to sit up and lean against Jack's chest. "Alright, mate," Owen said softly and put a hand on Ianto's forehead, "drink a bit for me." He turned to Ianto's wrists.

When Jack raised the bottle to Ianto's lips, he turned his head away. "No," he muttered.

"Come on," Jack said gently and pulled Ianto closer, "you need some water."

"No," Ianto answered and strained against Jack's hold. "Let me ..." He tried to push away.

Jack was surprised at his strength. "Owen," he warned, setting the bottle aside to hold on to Ianto with both hands.

"Yes, that's normal. Don't bother. It was worth a try. Just see to it that he doesn't tear out the IV."

Ianto was breathing heavily and sagged back against Jack. "I don't understand," he whispered and Jack leaned closer to understand him properly. Ianto stared at him with solemn, blue eyes. "Shooting me seemed more your style."

xxx

When Jack returned to the cell hours later – showered and the experience of being tortured once more stuffed into a box buried deeply in his subconscious – Owen was just checking Ianto's vitals. Gwen was standing in the door, biting her thumb nail and frowning in concern. Jack asked her, "Is he still asleep?"

She nodded. "Tosh's looking at the CCTV footage in case we missed something."

Jack put his hands on his hips. "Good."

A few seconds of silence passed by, then Gwen cleared her throat. "What will happen now?"

"Now we wait for him to get better."

"It won't be that easy. He almost died of thirst because we didn't think ahead to what would happen if we had to leave for longer than a day."

"That was a mistake. I'm going to fix it." Jack saw Ianto's head move and then his eyes opened slowly. Owen noticed it as well and began to ask him questions. Jack focussed on Gwen. "Leave me alone with him."

"Jack, you're not exactly the most trustworthy person to him."

"I'll fix this," Jack answered. She still seemed undecided. Jack sighed. "I know you want to help him and you can as soon as I'm done. Trust me." She nodded and turned to leave. Jack saw Owen looking at him questioningly. "Are you done?" he asked.

"For now," Owen answered.

"Then leave us alone. I'll call you if I need you." The last bit was a message: Stay close. Owen seemed to get it, since he raised his eyebrows, nodded, gathered up his things and left. While Ianto looked at Jack in silence, the door slid shut and Owen's steps faded, then stopped suddenly. Ianto didn't seem to notice.

Finally, Jack sighed and pulled a framed photograph from his back pocket. He sat own on the edge of the bed. "Here," he said and handed Ianto the picture. "Kind of an apology."

Ianto looked at the picture of himself and Lisa, now properly printed out and framed. "Thanks."

"Did Owen explain what happened?" Jack asked.

"I know why you didn't come back," Ianto answered. He shook his head and looked at the IV bag hanging above him. "I don't remember much of the last few days, though. Everything's a blur."

"Owen says that's to be expected."

Ianto nodded slowly. "No handcuffs," he said softly.

"No handcuffs," Jack answered. "The door won't be locked again. You're free to go up into the main Hub where's a kitchen niche with food and drinks and the shower. Certain doors will be locked to keep you down here in the Hub, though. As long as you don't try to open those, everything's okay as far as I'm concerned."

"That's a lot of freedom," Ianto muttered.

"Well, we almost killed you. Has to be good for something."

"I guess you expect me to do something in return for those favours?"

Jack closed his eyes. "No. Those things are for free." He made an effort to smile. "And as far as the archive's concerned, my offer still stands. Even though I want you to organize our files only for the time being. We could set you up in a different room, away from the main archives."

Ianto closed his eyes. "I can't blame you."

"We're not your enemies, Ianto. Look at Gwen and Tosh, at how much of an effort they're making to ensure you're okay. Gwen's given me hell a few times since you've been here."

Ianto smiled carefully. "I guess she's good at that."

"Oh, yes!" Jack said with a grin. "The best." Ianto looked at the picture. Jack cleared his throat. "Listen, take some time and think again about working for me. I'd like to make a fresh start." Ianto didn't answer. Jack could see that it wasn't out of stubbornness; Ianto seemed conflicted, his guilt fighting against his instinct to live. Jack took Ianto's hand and leaned forward, ignoring the startled look he got for the sudden intimacy. "It's not something you want to experience any time soon." He didn't have to tell Ianto what he meant. He could see in his eyes that he knew. "Lisa won't wait for you there." He stared at Ianto beseechingly. Ianto stared right back, then he shifted uncomfortably and Jack realized just how close he was to him. "Sorry," he muttered and leaned back a little.

"It's alright," Ianto answered softly.

"Are you going to tell me where you were running to a few days ago?"

Ianto bit his lip. "It's hard to explain."

"Try."

"Not because it's complicated. Just … hard." He avoided Jack's eyes. "Do you remember Debbie Turner?"

"Debbie Turner," Jack repeated, hoping to jog his memory by saying her name out loud, but aside from a small spark of recognition, he got nothing. Ianto looked at him earnestly. "You should remember her," he said.

"What about her?" Jack asked.

Ianto bit his lip again. "I killed her."