In an effort to repay Ortega for the weekend at the cabin, Ianto agrees to speak to her clinical trial patient before the treatment. The patient is a major who sustained a severe back injury while fighting a hostile group of aliens on another colony. While the vertebrae and the discs of his spinal column had been repaired, the nerves are still damaged, leaving him in a wheelchair.
Seeing him, Ianto realizes that he'd always feared death while working at Torchwood, but he never really considered the possibility of being permanently maimed, although when considering some of the scrapes he had, the risk was always very high.
"Hello," Ianto says.
"You gonna fix me?" the soldier growls.
"No. That would be Dr. Ortega."
"Where the hell is she so I can get this over with?"
"There are some things, I'd like to go over with you."
"Is there a problem? Because my case was reviewed and got all necessary approvals."
"This is about her," Ianto says. He takes a deep breath. "Don't be offended if she doesn't make eye contact. She doesn't do that when she's barely met someone. Please do not initiate any physical contact as it makes her nervous. It's best not to raise your voice for the same --"
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I am trying to make things run smoothly between the two of you. I think you'll find that she is unique," Ianto explains. He spends some time going over the doctor's laundry list of quirks while trying to make the impression that Ortega is devoted to her work and will do whatever it takes to make him better. He's not even sure that the soldier is taking him seriously.
"You do realize that I'm the patient here?" the soldier says.
"Just trying to give you the benefit of my experience," Ianto says as he pushes the call button.
Ortega enters the procedure room. She glances at Ianto for reassurance. He gives her a okay sign, which she doesn't quite understand. So he smiles at her. She doesn't even look at the soldier and goes straight to her equipment. She bobs her head nervously as she sets up her station. She mutters to herself under her breath, punctuating sentences with moans and whimpers.
"You weren't kidding me, were you?" the soldier says to Ianto after the orderlies have placed him on the table.
"No, I wasn't, but you are in good hands."
Ortega removes two vials from her the refrigerator. She is about to scan the labels when she looks at Ianto. Her mouth twitches. She sets the vials aside and pulls out a third, which she scans and prepares for use.
When she's done, she hands Ianto the unused vials. "Would you have these destroyed, please?"
The first label reads, "Maj. Raul Molina -- stem cells (altered - NH)." And the second one, "Gene Therapy Virus 456NH."
"Are you sure?" Ianto asks.
"Very sure," she replies with a brittle smile. Her eyes glisten with tears. "You may go."
~~o0o~~
After destroying the cells, Ianto sees Bayil for more physiotherapy, followed by a massage and a shower, and during the whole session, he keeps glancing up at the clock and thinking about Ortega and the Major.
When Bayil invites him out the lunch, Ianto replies, "I'd just like to check up on Dr. Ortega and make sure she has everything sorted."
Bayil shrugs as he completes a report.
Mona Cavendish storms out of Ortega's lab seconds before Ianto reaches the door. He's tossed to the side the sheer force of her presence, but manages to recover his footing and nods politely. She pauses, but she doesn't say a word to him. She merely narrows her eyes before continuing down the hall to the lift.
Inside the lab, Ortega is unnerved. She sits in her chair, hugging her knees to her chest. She stares at the floor tiles as if they are made out of hot coals and her chair is her only refuge.
"I've upset her," she says in a voice that's barely audible.
"Did something happen with the Major?"
"He'll walk. After a couple more visits and some physiotherapy."
"And he'll be pain free?"
"Yes."
Ianto frowns and asks, "Then, what is the matter?"
She gazes at him with her mouth open, wanting to speak, but unable to do so. She sets her feet on the floor and takes a deep breath. "Nothing at all. After lunch, I'd like to go over the inventory if you would help me with that, thank you."
"Yes. If you'd like, I could pick something up for you," he offers. "Say some hanal keh?"
She removes a lunch box from her medical refrigerator, and her lips curl into something like a smile. Then, she takes the petty cash card from her desk and hands it to him. "But you may go out if you please."
She holds his arm for a moment. If Ianto didn't know any better, he'd say that her gaze is somewhat maternal.
~~o0o~~
Ianto spends the rest of the day straightening the lab with Ortega. They go over every medication and every chemical on the shelves and in the refrigerator. They are halfway through the glassware when Ianto notices the time. Jack will be there soon.
"We can finish tomorrow," Ianto suggests.
"I can finish on my own," she says.
~~o0o~~
Jack presses Ianto against the wall, grinding his hips into the other man's. His lips caress Ianto's neck as he runs his fingers through Ianto's hair.
Ianto fumbles with the touch pad to open the door to his room, all the while saying: "Jack. Oh, fuck, Jack. One moment, please. Oh, God, please. The faster the we get in the faster you can… JACK!"
Suddenly, Ianto hears footsteps. Jack slowly releases Ianto, and they both look down the hallway where Ortega stands in front of the entrance of the procedure room, clutching her PDA. They had time to go out for dinner and a movie, but she's still working.
She waves at the men before ducking into back into her work area, and Jack pulls Ianto into the room before he has time to check his watch.
~~o0o~~
The next morning, Jack wakes Ianto up by pelting the young man with articles of clothing.
"Wake up," Jack shouts as he jumps on the bed and bounces around.
Normally, Ianto would be more than perturbed, but the day is a red-letter day. One more session with Ortega, and he will be pain free. No more libido-sapping, sprit-sucking drugs. No more fear about taking the first step of the day. Being able to run again is just within his reach.
"One more week of physiotherapy," Jack says. He pauses. "And then what?"
"We still have those holiday plans," Ianto suggests.
"We do," Jack replies, his eyes twinkling.
"We could have a month just for ourselves -- no Torchwood, no Mona Cavendish, no this place. Then, home."
"Wherever that is," Jack says.
"Anywhere you are," Ianto replies.
~~o0o~~
If Ianto could bounce in Ortega's lab, he would. He can't help feeling absolutely giddy. So when he sees another doctor in her place, he's visibly taken aback. He stands in the doorway, frozen in place.
"Hello, Mr. Jones," she says -- all smiles and confidence. "I'm Doctor Kellogg."
"What happened to Dr. Ortega?"
"I'm afraid she's ill this morning," she explains. "Hop on up on the table. I'm sure you know the drill."
"It's just that this is my last treatment."
"Yes, I know. Congratulations."
"I thought that she'd be here."
Tossing back a strand of silky blonde hair, she says, "Well, I'm sure she's sorry she can't make it either, but I assure you I know what I'm doing. I've done this procedure plenty of times."
"I thought that she was developing a new technique."
She furrows her brow in confusion. "Re-growing nerve cells? I'll have you know that I've grown entire muscles, Mr. Jones."
"Right."
"Oh, but you're worried about the recovery period. Yeah, I'm not too sure about the particulars of that laser of hers. This time, it'll take considerably longer than what you're used to. You'll have to stay off that leg for a day or so."
"I see. When will Dr. Ortega return, do you think?"
"Not sure. I don't even know what she has," she says. She cocks her head and smiles. "You're not a very trusting man, Mr. Jones."
"No, I'm not."
"You're not going to wait for her to return, are you?"
Ianto's calf flares up again. He's lived with this pain for just about two months in Earth time. He wants to be rid of it once and for all. He really does. It's just strange to want to see Ortega's nervous tics over Dr. Kellogg's supermodel smile, but he feels that he owes Xochitl the honor of performing the last procedure since they've gotten so far together.
And there's something that doesn't feel right at all.
"I'd think I'd like to speak to Dr. Ortega first," Ianto says.
~~o0o~~
However, when he makes the call, Xochitl doesn't answer. He leaves several messages, but she doesn't return them.
Perhaps she really is ill. Supposedly there's some sort of flu that's spreading among the general population. However, nobody else on his floor is sick, and she looked fine last night.
There's also the possibility that Ortega is deliberately missing work. She did have what looked like a bad meeting with Mona, and she doesn't deal with confrontation very well. Honestly, what was Mona expecting from the doctor? Yes, the hearts still aren't ready, but Ortega had only been back for one day. Plus, she had to treat the Major in the morning.
Suddenly, Ianto has a thought. It occurs to him that Ortega was going to inject the Major with the altered stem cells -- stem cells that originally belonged to Nacon H.
That name is starting to bother him. Why would Ortega destroy those donor cells when she'd been using them on him all this time? Why would she use donor cells at all when she could harvest the Major's own nasal stem cells? Perhaps, he's reading too much in the whole donor business, but he looks up Nacon H in the Caput-sihil directory anyway. No hits. He tries the city-wide directory. There's a Harrison Nacon, as well as a Henry, a Hidalgo, a Hilda, a Horatio, and a Hoshi. All of them are human and from military families of respectable rank. He considers calling them to ask if they've donated tissue, but practically everyone in the city has made a deposit in a blood and tissue bank.
Ianto goes back into the lab to access her notes, but doesn't have any luck. Most of what he's able to access is written in a different language, and everything else is password protected.
If he could just talk to her… Then again, it's unlikely that he'd be able to do anything for her since he's in no position of power, and the stuff that she does is largely over his head. However, he can listen, and that's something. Furthermore, as selfish as it sounds in his head, his leg is killing him. He'd like to get the issue resolved soon.
Ianto grabs the petty cash card from Ortega's desk for cab fare. He gets into the lift and pushes the ground floor button. However, the further he descends, the worse he feels. Halfway down to the lobby, the chip that's been imbedded under his skin sends a shooting pain down his spine, and he's collapsed on the floor, unable to move. A man in a lab coat who is riding with Ianto stops the lift and takes him back to his floor.
A tech and Cameron meet him with a wheelchair. Once in the room, the nurse tries to give Ianto a shot, but he yells, "No sedatives."
The tech asks, "Are you sure, buddy?"
"I need to speak with Dr. Ortega," Ianto tells them. "I'm fine. The pain is going away."
"This is protocol," Cameron says.
"For fucking animals," Ianto says. "I'm a human being."
"Hey. The guard just told me there's a problem…" Bayil says as he enters the room. He appraises the situation and drops his bag on the floor. "Why don't I handle this?"
"He won't take the sedative," Cameron says.
"Then, don't give it to him," Bayil insists.
"The subject is showing elevated blood pressure --"
"Probably because he's pissed at you for wanting to jab him with that thing. And by the way, his name is Ianto," Bayil reminds her. "What kind of a fucking nurse calls a man 'the subject?' Now get out of here."
Ianto doesn't quite catch the rest of the conversation as they've switched to a different language, and his translator is experiencing a few glitches after the interference with the medical chip. However, the argument ends favorably with Cameron storming out of the room and leaving Bayil with Ianto.
The young man holds the translator in the palm of his hand. Bayil takes it and attaches it to a cable connected to Ianto's laptop. After pressing a few buttons, he disconnects the translator and places it back into Ianto's ear. "I'm speaking in my native tongue. Do you understand me?"
"Yes," Ianto replies. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Bayil closes the translation application on the laptop. He chuckles and shakes his head.
"What?" Ianto asks.
"The translator program changed everything into English."
"Which is my native language. So what's the problem?"
"It translated the names, too," Bayil says. The physiotherapist shows Ianto the screen. Where it once read Nacon, it now reads Captain.
Ianto knew that somebody in the building was studying Jack's tissue, but the building was so large, he never thought that that person was Ortega. He never thought that she could grow multiple hearts from a flap of skin. Then again, where did stem cells come from?
~~o0o~~
Jack enters Ianto's room with an expectant smile on his face. Ianto shakes his head. He explains everything to Jack.
The older man leans on the table, trying to process everything when the phone rings. It's Ortega. Finally. She's sent Ianto a message the reads: "I'd like to speak to you. Please come to my home."
Seconds later, he receives another message: "Don't worry about the chip. It's safe."
~~o0o~~
When the door to Ortega's flat opens, for a split second, Ianto's eyes grow wide. Jack does a double-take. Kika cocks her head and lets out a confused sigh.
"Fancy meeting you here," Jack says.
"Likewise," she replies as she lets them in. "Xochitl called me saying that she was in trouble."
"How is she?" Ianto asks.
"She's kind of a mess right now, and I can't get her to tell me any of the specifics."
Ianto takes Jack's coat and hangs it up on a hook near the door. "But she's not ill?"
"No," Kika says.
"She sent me note asking me to come over," Ianto says.
"Okay." Kika takes a few steps towards the bedroom. She stops and turns around. "Wait. You're not here on company business, are you?"
"No, we came to ask her a few questions," Ianto tell her.
Kika crosses her arms in front of her chest and juts out her chin. "What are you going to say to her?"
"That's between us," Ianto says.
"Since when are you her protector?" Jack asks.
"Hey, I used to look out for her when we were kids," Kika says, her voice getting louder.
Jack chuckles and shakes his head. "And have you been there for her lately?"
"How do I know that Mona Cavendish didn't send you here to talk Xochitl into something that she doesn't want to do?"
"Because he doesn't like Ms. Cavendish very much either," Ortega replies. "You're being very loud."
"Sorry," Kika mutters.
Ortega's eyes and nose are red. Her hair is a mess. She looks up at her creation. "You came."
"Yes, I did," Ianto says. "How are you?"
"Don't know," she says as she sits down on her sofa. "I did something I wasn't supposed to do. I don't know if I did the right thing."
Ianto sits next to Ortega. Kika is about to pull him away but Jack stops her. She gives Jack the sort of look that could kill.
Ianto takes a deep breath and asks, "Does it have anything to do with Major Molina's stem cells?"
"Sort of," Ortega replies. "I was supposed to give him the altered stems."
"Is there anything I should know about them? Is there anything that makes those stem cells special?"
"Nothing."
"If they don't do anything, then why are they so important?"
Ortega shudders and whimpers for a bit. She looks around the room, helplessly, but she straightens up her spine and holds her head up like a good student giving a report.
"The stems belong to Captain Harkness, altered so that the Major's body wouldn't reject them," she says. "When the Captain and I first met, I took his foreskin and tissue from his nose. That was part of the deal. He gets you, and I got some of his tissue for research purposes. As soon as I saw Captain Harkness's foreskin re-grow after I removed it, I saw the potential," Ortega replies.
"Wait. Jack re-grew his foreskin after you circumcised him? How is that even possible?" Kika asks.
Ianto waves her off. "Let's allow Dr. Ortega to finish telling her story."
The doctor's entire face lights up as she speaks. "If I could harness his body's ability to repair itself and transfer that ability to other people, our soldiers would be able to heal faster and live longer and better protect us and all humans everywhere."
"Was I your first patient using these stem cells?" Ianto asks.
"Yes. I created you as one hundred percent human. I sort of told you a fib. I did use an NH, but not the Captain," Ortega says. "It was after I realized some of your nerves were damaged that I decided you were an ideal candidate for my research. At first, I tried gene therapy."
Ianto looks Kika and Jack, hoping that he's not the only slow one in the room. He is. "Could you explain gene therapy?"
"I took a virus and removed the genes that make people sick. I replaced them with the Captain's genes -- the ones I thought were integral in his body's ability to repair itself into your body. Sixty genes total. I injected you with the altered virus."
"Virus 456NH?" Ianto asks, remembering the other vial Ortega had him destroy.
"Yes. Since then, I tried just about everything to turn the genes on -- different proteins, medications, zinc fingers, radio waves, radiation --"
Jack raises an eyebrow. "Radiation?"
"A small dose, very harmless," Ortega admits. "Anyway, while I was waiting for the genes to work, I tried using the Captain's stems. I even thought that the laser was the answer, but as it turns out the laser works on anyone's stems, not just the Captain's."
"And you did all this without Ianto's consent?" Kika asks.
"He's mine until he's completely healed," Ortega whispers. "That's what Ms. Cavendish promised me."
"Xochitl, no person belongs to anyone else," Kika says.
"But I made him," Ortega cries.
"You made him?"
"I grew him in the lab," the doctor explains. "But I would never do anything to hurt Ianto. When he gets hurt, he'll still heal just like anyone else. The only thing I did was to try to make Ianto better. Parents have their children genetically engineered all the time."
"Let's get back to the Major, shall we?" Ianto says. He lowers his voice, hoping to calm Ortega. "You were going to continue your research with the Major, had you not destroyed the cells and the virus."
"You'll be leaving soon, and I'll need a new patient," Ortega replies.
"And you got the Major's consent, I hope." Kika says.
Ortega nods. "I had to. He's a legal citizen who signed up for the trial… although I did retain the right to reject him at any time, which I did, because I should be studying the Captain. But that's not part of his contract with Ms. Cavendish."
"But you tried to clone Jack's heart, instead," Ianto says. "Then, you sliced them open, thinking they might heal themselves."
"Yes," Ortega admits. She grabs a pillow and clutches it to her chest. "It was a lame way to replicate the Captain without replicating the entire Captain."
Mona's plan begins to click into place in Ianto's head. "If Jack takes the position Mona offered him, that will put him into danger zones where he'd get injured…"
"If I could implant a medical chip, then I'd be able to study the mechanism that repairs the Captain's body," Ortega says.
"You know that Jack can heal quickly, but do you know about Jack's other unique ability?" Ianto asks.
"I've read about it in reports."
"Can you imagine if you gave that ability to someone else?"
"Don't you want to stay with the Captain?" the doctor asks. Her voice is desperate as if she's trying to justify her behavior to herself.
Ianto leans back into the sofa, unsure of how to answer that question. He's thought about it… more times than he'd like to admit.
"And you," Ortega says to Jack. "Aren't you happier with Ianto by your side?"
"But I wouldn't want him to suffer like I have," Jack replies.
"So you won't take the job?" Ortega asks.
Jack makes a strained effort to keep his emotions under control. "I think you've given me a good reason not to."
A look of utter disbelief crosses Kika's face. "You really don't have a problem with experimenting on Ianto or on Jack, do you?" When Ortega doesn't answer, she asks, "Then, why are you telling us all this?"
"Because I can't experiment on Jack, not legally anyway." Ortega says. "And I won't do anything that will breach his contract with Mona."
"Does Mona want to experiment on Jack without his consent?" Ianto asks.
Ortega nods. "But I won't. Rules are rules."
Kika scoffs. "Mona's always used shady legal tactics and manipulation, but if she crosses that line, what else is that woman capable of? We have to go public."
Ianto shakes his head. "If we did, we'd have to expose Jack's… abilities, and I'm not prepared to do that."
"And I don't think that going around yelling that Ianto is a clone is going to help the matter either," Jack says.
"So what do we do?" Kika asks.
Jack turns to the doctor. "First thing, you have to fix Ianto as promised. And you have to take the chip out."
"Then, we destroy all of Jack's tissue samples in that lab -- the foreskin, the stem lines, the hearts all of it," Ianto says to Jack. "Maybe those genes will never work for anyone else, but just to be on the safe side."
"That's just putting a bandage on a bigger problem" Kika points out. "What about Mona?"
"If you want her out of Caput-sihil, you'll have to dig up something else on her," Jack says.
Kika laughs bitterly. "Me?"
Ianto clears his throat. "What Jack means is, can you think of anything, Miss Ramos?"
"Well, I've been trying to dig up info about the smoke monster," Kika suggests.
Ianto frowns. "Why?"
"Think about it. The low-tech is a low-rent district. If you're gonna wipe out people's bank accounts or steal their identities, why not hit the Ah-miatzil?"
"I live in the Ah-miatzil," Ortega says.
"Because you can afford it," Kika replies.
Ianto nods, "The only people who go into the low-tech are the working class and people who are not very fond of Ms. Cavendish."
"I had friends in that bar. They were planning a demonstration, and they lost all their info in that heist. Days after the monster was captured, they were arrested on trumped up charges, and now, their organizations are being investigated as centers of insurgency."
"Do you have any proof that Cavendish has something to do with this?" Jack asks.
"Nothing concrete," Kika admits. "I tried to contact Torchwood, thinking I could get some sort of reading on the creature. You know, to get an idea of its origins. But they won't talk to me."
Ianto looks at Jack, who looks away.
"Can you get in?" Kika asks.
"We're not even from this planet," Jack says. "I'm just a basic training instructor, and he's a lab assistant."
"Really?"
"Yes," Jack insists. "And it's late. We are keeping the good doctor up past her bedtime. She has a busy day, fixing Ianto tomorrow, and we should get going."
"We haven't really decided what we're doing here," Kika says.
"We'll call you," Jack says as he walks out the door.
"I have to…" Ianto says, motioning towards the door.
"Whatever happens, I'm going to have to give up my research, aren't I?" Ortega asks. She turns to Ianto. "I was supposed to make you exceptional. Ms. Cavendish told me so."
"Not a word of this to her," Ianto tells her. "For me."
She nods and slink out into her room.
Kika follows Ianto into the hallway and enters the lift with the men.
"I won't have my city enter the moral and ethical dark ages," she says. "Then again, what am I saying? We're already there. It's bad enough that we live under a eugenic hierarchy. And then you have this guy made. I mean, was it a custom job? Do they have a catalog where you could pick and choose his features?"
"Mona was going to go ahead with the process regardless of what I said or did," Jack says. "I did, however, obtain his memory imprint."
"The memory imprint was modified for human use with the best intentions," Kika says. "You know, for Alzheimer's patients, people with brain tumors. Sometimes, neurological procedures failed, and memories got wiped. It was a reset of sorts. But it's like anything else. If it gets in the wrong hands…"
"Just say it," Jack says. "Tell Ianto what you really think about him."
"All right. You are not supposed to be here," she tells Ianto.
"Am I supposed to kill myself, then?" the young man asks.
She bites her lip and looks away. "You can at least help me set things right, Jack. Who knows what sort of Pandora's box you've opened when you commissioned your little clone?"
"And getting rid of Mona Cavendish will fix everything?" Jack asks.
Kika shrugs out of frustration. "It's a start."
The lift doors open, and Kika goes her own way.
Once outside, Ianto takes in a lung-full of air and exhales slowly. "The trees look different."
How many of those trees had to be genetically engineered so that they could coexist on the same street?
~~o0o~~
The men go back to Jack's flat because, despite the bed and its lumpy mattress, it feels somewhat safer there. At least the walls aren't listening.
"What do you really think you'd accomplish by going back to Torchwood?" Jack asks. "You're a thousand-year corpse. Your password has been purged from the system by now, wouldn't you say?"
"I could say I fell through the rift," Ianto replies as he takes off his trousers and tosses them in the laundry cleaner.
"They'll probably try to send you back."
"Or you could go."
Jack hands Ianto a robe. "The prodigal son returns."
"Then again, maybe you've already returned. Suppose I go to the Torchwood offices and see you there. Hmm… Suppose you don't remember me."
"If I am still with Torchwood, I'm certain that future me will sort things out."
"What future me…" Ianto's voice trails off as he thinks of the gift that Ortega tried to give him. He thinks about entering Torchwood and seeing a future version of himself there.
They sit at the table, and Jack holds Ianto's hand.
"You know, it's weird knowing that I have your genes in me," Ianto admits. "Suppose that through some miraculous event, the genes turn on, and I keep living… God, it's like having a bomb inside of me, waiting to go off."
Jack winces. "Can you use another analogy, please?"
"Okay, it's like when Lisa found out that she had the gene for breast cancer. She couldn't sleep for a week and kept checking herself for lumps."
"So not dying is like cancer?"
"Okay, worse…" Ianto replies. "Or… I don't know."
"We don't even know what those genes will do. Maybe you'll just heal quickly, but still remain mortal. If they turn on, that is."
"I suppose I shouldn't really worry about it. The genes have left your body. They are no longer a part of you. They are no longer taking orders from whatever it is that keeps you alive."
"Right," Jack says as he stands up. He leans over and kisses his lover on the top of the head.
"You could have just gotten a vaccine and given it to me in that London hotel room."
Jack smirks. "That would have defeated the purpose of kidnapping you and getting you out of Torchwood."
"And I suppose vaccinating me would have made too much sense."
"Yep."
"Yep."
"Ianto?"
"What?"
"Don't get swept up in Kika's plans or Ortega's mad ideas, " Jack says. "There's far too much hearsay and too many theories and not enough evidence. Even if they do kill me, do you really believe that would help Ortega figure all of this out?"
"Are you willing to risk it?"
"I already have," Jack replies. "And just seeing you there in my robe, sitting at my table, makes it all worth it."
A/N: Sorry for the delay. I'm blaming the Yankees for distracting me from fic. And this chapter was a bitch to write.