"Ianto Jones? Are you getting friendly with your boss?"
"We'll see how this conversation goes." Jack raised an eyebrow against Ianto's comment.
Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher
But I flew too high
"Well, isn't that a switch from Mr. Sexual Harassment pamphlet?"
Ianto leaned forward, taking his feet off the desk. He moved in close to Jack. "I think we've gone way beyond the pamphlet, sir."
Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think I still was a mad man
I hear the voices when I'm dreaming
I can hear them say
Jack leaned into Ianto and returned the whisper. "How far beyond?"
"A magician never reveals his secrets."
"But you're no magician." A devilish grin passed Jack's face as he thought about those pair of handcuffs and that one time...Ianto shook his head, guessing at why Jack's eyes were beginning to glaze over.
Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
"Focus sir. Gwen could come back any moment."
"She always did seem to like catching us, didn't she?"
"Five times. Each time she watched for approximately 4.3 seconds more." Ianto looked down at his step watch, doing a quick bit of calculation.
Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man, well
It surely means that I don't know
Jack leaned over the desk to look at the bronze, circular figure in Ianto's hand. "Where were you hiding that thing when she came in?"
Ianto smiled wickedly. "A magician does not reveal his secrets, Jack. Must you make me repeat myself?"
"I've done so on several occasions." Jack leaned back in his captain's chair and picked up a pen that he began twirling through his fingers.
"Oh no. Put the pen down. I'm not falling for that again."
On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune
But I hear the voices say
"What did you call me?"
"Sir, I'd like to hear the story of what you were talking about."
"Which time?" Jack obliged Ianto and placed the pen back in his little silver cup on the desk. He folded his hands together.
"Right before Gwen left. You once hinted at it. The Doctor I believe. He called you..."
Jack sighed and closed his eyes. "Unnatural. He called me unnatural. And that hurt. Not quite as much as being left behind..."
Ianto snorted quietly. "Sorry, sir. Couldn't help that."
Jack smiled. "You do know what it feels like to be left behind."
"You forgot?"
"No. I just didn't want to be reminded." Jack shifted in his chair with slight discomfort.
Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
"Carry on then..."
"Oh yes! The Doctor...are you sure you want to hear this?"
"Jack. You discovered a half-converted ex-girlfriend of mine and a pterodactyl that I lured just for the purpose of coming to Torchwood. If we have any secrets from each other then they're the ones I've been retconned from remembering. Besides, I hear enough tidbits during your fitful sleep..."
"You watch me sleep?"
Ianto blushed as he looked down. "I can't help myself sometimes."
Jack smiled and moved swiftly across the desk. His hands reached for Ianto's head, pulling it back up and giving each eye contact with the other. "That's one of the reasons I love you."
"Then let me in." Ianto begged as Jack turned toward the blinds, looking over his domain and straightening himself a little.
"The Doctor is like no one you've ever met. For that matter, neither is anyone who travels with him. And the Doctor only chooses the best. Why he chose me is beyond my comprehension. It probably had something to do with Rose."
"Rose?"
"They were pulled to London at the height of the Blitz. I was running a con on an old Chula war ambulance. Thing was that I was stupid enough to open the ambulance. Nearly got the entire Earth killed. They rescued me though. Helped me to become the dashing hero you see before you."
"I've always said you were very dashing."
Jack moved back to his own chair and settled. His feet joined Ianto's feet, both claiming areas of the desk. Ianto smiled, glad to finally hear some of the story.
"Rose was terrific. As jaded and sarcastic as I was and as cold and detached as the Doctor was, she could bring out the best in either of us. She was a flower and helped others to bloom. Rose just lived her namesake. She remained bright and confident in any adversity. Almost like Gwen, but just with something more to it."
Carry on, you will always remember
Carry on, nothing equals the splendor
The center lights around your vanity
But surely heaven waits for you
Ianto nodded, urging Jack to continue.
"They were the perfect match for each other. She was able to help him reclaim his very soul and he gave her purpose and strength. They must have been in love. He even tried to save her during the war with the Daleks. But she just wouldn't go. And even I paid a price for it."
"She's the reason you're immortal."
Jack smiled. "You're sometimes scary when you're that sharp, Ianto. But yes, she is the reason. At the heart of our spaceship, the Tardis, is the Time Vortex. Even Time Lords only glance at it once. It gives them the whole of time to run through their minds, helps them regenerate, and does something to them that I can only akin to evolution. It made the Doctor the man he was when they met."
"And what about you?"
"I got left behind. You see, a human isn't supposed to absorb the Vortex and she did. She did it to save him and she would have died. I understand now, after all those years of hate and mistrust, the hows and the whys of what happened on the Game station. She willed me back to life, making me a fixed point in time. But at least I'll see her again before I die."
"But you can't die."
"Even the power of the Time Vortex and her will can't keep me running forever, Ianto. Not forever."
Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry (don't you cry no more)
"So what song is she on the playlist?"
"You looked at my mp3 player?" Ianto turned his head down and Jack continued. "I gave them a matching playlist, Ianto. And it seemed so appropriate when I heard it. It fits them both so well. Carry on, my wayward son..."
Jack began to sing and Ianto closed his eyes, imagining them both standing in the room and laughing about old times and adventures he'd never even see.