Lost Trust Chapter 10: End Of Days, a torchwood fanfic

AN: Thank you for your reviews. Seems like I'm going to lose quite a few of you when I reach the end of season two – understandably so. I will be writing a few chapters between season two and the events that we are all still denying, so I'm hoping you'll stick with me for those. I will give fair warning for the start of Children Of Earth. As much as I hated Children Of Earth, and as much as I know its going to upset me to re-watch it, and write about it, it's a necessary evil. I might even be persuaded to write two endings… one real and one not so. Let me know what you think.

Now, on with the show. Here comes my take on "End Of Days". Please keep reviewing x

Warning: Several uses of swear words in this chapter, but only where dialogue from the show is used. Sorry x

"Coffee?" Ianto asked through a yawn as he sat up in Jack's quarters, wedged slightly on the shelf he called a bunk. How Jack alone fit on Ianto would never know, but when the two of them were there, on the rare occasions they were asleep, it was a miracle they managed to rest at all. Ianto had stayed the night, the first night he'd slept over at the Hub since he and Jack had been sleeping together. They day before had been long and difficult and Jack hadn't wanted to be alone, and if he were honest neither had Ianto. He'd needed some reassurance after what Owen had said to him. Reassurance that he was needed by Jack, if only for physical reasons.

Jack smiled up at his young lover. "Please." He said as Ianto crawled over him and out of the bed with a grace that Jack knew nobody else would be able to achieve. The Welshman pulled on his boxers and climbed up the ladder to the office. It was just before 6am so he would be safe to wander around the Hub dressed as he was without fear of any of the team bursting in and catching him. As he padded across to the coffee machine he flicked on one of the screens and put the TV on, the news streaming out. As the images on the screen began to sink in, he knew that today was going to be worse than yesterday.

"Jack!" He called. Minutes later his Captain came bounding out of his office similarly dressed to Ianto.

"What?" He asked before looking at the screen that Ianto was pointing at, before cursing.

"There goes the coffee." Ianto muttered as he made his way back to Jack's quarters to get dressed.

Jack and Gwen walked purposefully out of the cell area, leaving Ianto eye to eye with his latest Weevil catch. He was having another day from hell, and he couldn't escape the nagging sensation that it was going to get worse. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a figure and as he turned to see who was there, he jumped.

"Hello Ianto." Lisa said simply.

Ianto's eyes widened in his head as he came face to face with Lisa. She looked normal, beautiful, as she had done before the conversion. She was just Lisa… just his beautiful Lisa.

"What do you want?" He asked shakily as she strode towards him. "Why are you here?" He added, desperately trying to stay calm, desperately trying to remember that she was dead, that this wasn't real. "This isn't happening." He breathed.

She took his hand and told him he needed to open the Rift in order to save the lives of thousands of people. He closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, she was gone. He looked all around, but there was just him and the Weevils. He composed himself for a few moments before returning to the Hub.

"God I need a bloody coffee." He muttered as he walked.

Owen was yelling at Jack again when Ianto re-entered the Hub. He joined the others near the entrance to the Medical Bay as Jack spoke.

"You want to know a secret?" He asked. "There is no solution. I can't fix this. Because this was never meant to happen." His voice was increasingly angry as he continued. "The first thing you learnt when you joined Torchwood was don't mess with the Rift. But you disobeyed those orders, and now everything that is happening is down to you." Jack spat.

"I only disobeyed instructions to get you back." Owen countered.

"And now people are dying." Jack said.

"What so I shouldn't have bothered?" Owen shouted. Jack didn't answer he just stared back at Owen as he continued his tirade. "Who the fuck are you anyway? Jack Harkness. You don't even exist. We've looked. If you're not even a real person why should I follow your orders?" Owen asked.

"Get out." Jack snarled.

"What?" Owen asked.

"Get out." Jack repeated anger raging in his voice. "I'm relieving you of your duty." Jack added.

Ianto watched on open mouthed as Tosh fought in vain for Owen.

"You're done here." Jack seethed, his finger millimetres from Owen's face, before pushing past and walking towards his office.

"What so that's it? The whole world is going to shit and you're going to fire me?" Owen asked.

Gwen tried to calm them down to no avail.

"If I don't have your complete trust, you don't belong here." Jack growled. "That goes for the rest of you. Anyone who agrees with Owen, leave now."

Ianto didn't know what to say or where to look. He couldn't side with Owen over Jack. He would not walk away from Torchwood; he couldn't leave again, after last time. He needed to be here, in this place, with Jack. But he needed Jack to tell them all what they were going to do. They needed to fix this, to repair the Rift damage, to send everyone back that shouldn't be here. Jack needed to lead them, and as much as Ianto hated to think it, they needed Owen on their side. He kept back from the argument, avoiding eye contact with Jack as he seethed in his office doorway. As much as he knew that Jack was hurting, he didn't have the nerve to try and sort this mess out. He felt tears fill his eyes as Owen walked out through the cog door.

Gwen flounced dramatically down to her computer as Toshiko turned silently around to face her own monitor. Jack looked over at Ianto hoping for reassurance that he'd done the right thing. His eyes bore into Ianto's begging for a small smile or a gentle nod that meant he was with him on this. He was met with a tearful stare, and he flinched as he felt the wall building up between him and his lover.

"Ianto… can you get me a coffee?" He asked, his voice catching in his throat.

"No." Ianto said simply as he turned and half walked, half ran down to the Archives.

Jack took a deep breath before turning and going into his office, slamming the door loudly.

Jack looked over at Ianto again as Gwen's chilling words rang out around the Medical Bay.

"We all end up alone."

The Welshman was leant against the wall, head bowed, face white, eyes once again threatening to spill fresh tears down his face. Jack wanted to hold him, tell him he wasn't alone, that he wouldn't be alone. And he wanted to be held, to be reassured that he wouldn't be alone either. He instead had to face the barrage of tears and punches that Gwen delivered as her world crumbled, Rhys lying dead on the table in front of him as he clung to her.

Owen pulled her out of his hold. "How many more people have to suffer?" He asked. Jack hadn't heard him come back in, but was quietly relieved to see him.

"I'm opening the Rift." Owen ran back up the steps of the Medical Bay.

Ianto moved from his place at the wall and jogged after him.

"Make sure you stop him." Jack ordered.

Ianto stopped in his tracks and turned round to face his Captain. "No." He said softly.

Jack looked up in surprise, and was helpless as he watched, one by one, as his team followed Ianto out of the bay and after Owen.

When Jack emerged from the bay the team were tapping frantically at keys, the emergency siren blaring around the Hub and nobody was listening to him. He was running out of options.

"I said move." He pointed his gun at Gwen.

"What the hell are you doing?" Toshiko asked.

"Final warning." Jack's voice was hard again, angry.

"Toshiko… the poor girl who'll screw any passing alien that'll give her a pendant. Owen… so strong he gets in a cage with a Weevil, desperate to be mauled. Ianto… hiding his cyber girlfriend in the basement – your three comrades here pumped bullets into her remember?" Jack took the only approach he could think of. Divide and conquer. He hated using Lisa against Ianto, and he tried to avoid the look of anger and sadness that swept his lovers face as the words punched home. Jack had lost the support of his team, and no doubt any future he may have found with Ianto – he had nothing else to lose.

Ianto stared at Jack as he lay slumped on the floor following Gwen's heavy punch, Owen pointing his own gun at him as he barked at him.
"Wanna be in charge Owen? You've gotta have significantly bigger balls." Jack spat.

Owen snapped, and fired the gun straight into Jack's forehead.

Ianto stumbled across to the body of his Captain, flat on his back, eyes wide open, blood splatters on his face. He crouched on the ground near his head.

"What have you done?" He said, looking up at Owen. Ianto's world began to spin. Jack lay dead on the floor in front of him. Everything was going mad. He was too shocked to react.

Jack lay on the cold slab in the Torchwood morgue. It had been hours since his battle with Abaddon and his subsequent death, and he still hadn't come back. Whilst the team were still reeling from the shock of watching their Captain revive after Owen's bullet to the head, they circled around his corpse hoping for a repeat performance.

"You're certain?" Gwen questioned.

"He's ice cold. No vital signs." Owen spoke.

"He survived when you shot him." Gwen pointed out. "When I first joined he said he couldn't die."

"He was wrong." Owen whispered.

"I want to sit with him." She whispered, stroking his hair fondly, just as she had hours before with Rhys.

Ianto phased out. He stopped listening. Nobody was taking any notice of him anyway. He could have screamed, and still he would have received no acknowledgement of his existence. 'Why does Gwen get to sit with him?' He thought. 'Why don't I get to hold his hand? Why don't I get to mourn?' The bitterness rose in him, but ever the professional, ever used to forcing his feelings back down and hiding them away, he stood there, silently watching over his Captain as he lay stony white and cold before him. He knew he was crying, but other than that, he remained emotionless, quiet, in the background, alone.

Ianto aimlessly tidied Jack's desk. Piling papers together, normal things he'd do if it were a normal day, or at least a normal Torchwood day, but it wasn't. Today was the day that Captain Jack Harkness had died. Twice. Ianto had no idea what had been going on. Since when was Jack, his Captain, his lover immortal? Why had he never told him? Ianto walked over to the coat stand that was in the corner of the office. Pulling Jack's long grey military coat off the hook he pulled it to him, holding to his face and breathing in the scent of the man he loved, the man who he had lost. He could feel the world crashing around his ears. Whilst outside everything was back to normal, as it should be, time restored, in the Hub, Ianto had lost the person he loved again. Losing Lisa had been, at the time, the worst thing to ever happen in his life. Today eclipsed that. Ianto knew he had fallen in love with Jack months ago. He'd never told him, never said the words, never even admitted it to the confines of his diary, but deep down, Ianto knew he was in love with Jack. And now he had lost him. Now there was no point to anything.

Replacing the coat on the hook, Ianto walked out of the office, tears spilling down his face.

"Ianto?" Tosh said softly.

Ianto didn't reply. He walked through the Hub, to the cog door and out. He needed to get out. He needed to get away from Torchwood, from the Hub, and from the memories. He needed to escape, if only for a few days.

Four days later Ianto was back in the Hub. Nobody spoke of his fast exit or his absence for the past few days. Nobody questioned anything that had happened since Jack's death, they'd each dealt with it in their own way. He was crouched on the floor by Toshiko's desk, helping get the computers back online, fixing the damage that had been caused by the Rift opening. He noticed Toshiko stop what she was doing above him and move away from the desk. She broke into a run. Looking up he could hardly believe his eyes. Captain Jack Harkness strolling back into the Hub, being almost floored by Toshiko flying into a hug. Ianto walked over uncertainly, his hand outstretched to shake hands with Jack. He didn't know how else to react. Jack brought a hand to his shoulder and pulled him into an embrace. Ianto clung to him, burying his head into his neck and breathing in his scent. His Captain was back. He held on for as long as he could before Jack pulled back slightly before kissing him gently on the lips. Ianto melted into the kiss, not caring that the whole team were watching and were probably as surprised as he was by the display. Jack released him from the kiss and winked at him before moving past him, his eyes locked with Owen. He walked steadily over as Owen walked uncertainly towards him.

"I'm…" Owen started.

"I forgive you." Jack said sincerely.

Owen nodded as he began to sob, and Jack pulled him into his hold, comforting the Medic.

"It's okay." He murmured kissing the top of Owen's head.

Owen pulled out of his hold and nodded again.

"Coffee?" Ianto's spoke, cutting into the uncomfortable silence that threatened to take over the Hub.

"Machines still out." Toshiko pointed out.

"I'm sure even I could put up with take out after this. Anyone coming?" Ianto asked.

Owen and Toshiko nodded as he made his way towards the exit. As he walked past Jack he stopped.

"Its good to have you back." He said softly.

Jack smiled. "I'm sorry about before… I…" He started.

"I forgive you." Ianto delicately placed one hand on Jack's face as he kissed him again before heading out of the Hub, leaving Jack and Gwen alone.

When Ianto walked back into the Hub with Owen and Toshiko he was struck immediately by the mess on the floor.

"I thought we tidied up in here." Owen commented. "What's the matter?" He asked.

"He was just here. Something's taken him. Jack's gone." Gwen spoke confused.

Ianto walked further into the room. "What do you mean he's gone?" He asked.

"I don't know what happened… there was… I heard this noise… a sort of whirring noise… and when I came out of his office… he'd gone." She explained as best she could.

"Did he say anything?" Ianto asked placing the coffee's he'd been carrying on the nearby desk.

"Something about the right kind of Doctor… nothing to indicate he was about to do a runner. Something… or someone… must have taken him." She said.

Ianto ran his fingers through his hair. What were they going to do now?