Chapter Eleven:

Enough Death


Jack found Ianto sitting at his station monitoring rift activity. Probably anything to keep from watching the security feeds… Jack laid a hand on the younger man's back, "How's it look out there?"

"Quite. Liz had pretty well wrapped up and wasn't doing anything she needed help with," Ianto almost seemed to be apologizing for not being where he'd said he'd be.

Jack just nodded; he slid both arms around Ianto's waist and drew the younger man against him – Ianto didn't protest but he seemed momentarily startled by the intimacy of the gesture. They both knew this was something Jack never would have done before…but two thousand years (and the last few days) had given him a lot of time to think about a lot of things and this was one of those things...all those years it had been about surviving, getting through, getting back…making it right… forgiving… being forgiven he was only half conscious of the way he pulled Ianto closer just then… he pressed his cheek against the younger man's back, fighting off the wave of sorrow that threatened to crash in on him in this brief moment of quiet… he couldn't shake the wave of guilt over sparing himself a moment to hurt when Ianto must be worried sick… "It's going to be all right," he said quietly. Ianto seemed to have relaxed into him even before he spoke, though; he put his arms over Jack's, holding onto him like he had when they'd lain down together earlier.… he puts so much faith in me… Jack wondered if he really deserved it… he shifted and propped his up on Ianto's shoulder, "She's going to let us run a few tests – blood work – whatever Liz comes up with," he added quickly but it didn't look like Ianto had assumed anything else… anything worse.

"Then what?"

Jack didn't answer the question, instead: "I told her about the Torchwood incident – the alien DNA."

"How did that go?"

"I think it's sinking in."

"I don't imagine it's the easiest thing to hear."

"She has the right to know the truth."

Ianto swiveled around in his chair so he was facing Jack, but he managed to do it without letting go, "So – what happens after Liz runs her tests?" he asked again.

"I suppose if she really were a threat we could freeze her – but – she's right. She could have killed you. Twice. She didn't. That counts for something in my book." And we've all lost so much all ready…

"Thank you, Jack," Ianto leaned up, his intentions clear.

Jack met the kiss half way, cupping Ianto's face and bringing him further in, giving him everything he could and desperately wishing for just a little less craziness in their lives… but when this is over, I'll find some way to prove to you how much you mean to me Ianto Jones… "I ah – I don't think Wendy exactly trusts me right now, not after everything I threw at her – " he began, just a little uncertainly – but Ianto had to understand –

"That and apparently you smell bad," Ianto flashed one of those sly little smiles of his.

"Yeah, what is up with that?" Jack grinned back, happy to have the old Ianto back with him again.

"Well whatever it is, apparently you can cross werewolves off your dance card," Ianto continued.

Jack considered for a moment – he wasn't entirely certain that was a bad thing… or… hmmm….

"You're not seriously going there, are you?"

"Just thinking about the proportions – you know what they say about the size of a man's feet – or is that his hands – ?" Jack grinned. "I mean – if she's an example of the average female of the species, just think about the males – "

"You are a truly sick man, Jack Harkness – truly­ sick."

"Yeah but you love it – "

Ianto flushed a gentle shade of pink – he opened mouth and then shut it again.

Jack cleared his throat, feeling a rush of warmth overtake his own cheeks for just a moment, "Anyway – I don't think she trusts me right now, so why don't you take Wendy some clothes because as much as I don't mind the idea of an extremely attractive lycanthrope running around the hub naked, Liz might object – "

"I can imagine."

Jack grinned… Ianto it seemed wouldn't object… he filed that thought away for future reference… "And why don't you see what you can scrounge something out of the fridge for her – it's been a long night for all of us – I'll see if Liz can be ready for her in half an hour or so. The sooner we get this done – the sooner we can – move onto the next crisis, I suppose," he finished with half a smile and was rewarded by a soft chuckle out of Ianto… and it is so good to hear you laugh, right now… before letting Ianto go, Jack leaned in and kissed him again. He knew they'd have to get back to business as usual soon enough, but for the moment it felt good to just – be, just enjoy the moment without worrying about what the staff would think… but even that thought brought a stab of pain to his insides… Owen…Toshiko… as if Ianto felt it too, he tightened his grip around Jack's neck and kissed him just a little harder…

………………………..….

"Wendy – ?" Ianto announced himself quietly at the cell door. "I've brought you something to eat – and some clothes – they ah – Gwen brought your stuff in from my flat."

"Ah. So what's the drill – on my knees – hands behind my head – or is it up against the wall – ?" her tone was cool, making him wonder just how badly Jack had lain into her. He'd seen Jack in an interrogation before – there was a reason he'd done anything he could think of to take his mind off what was happening down here, anything to keep himself from watching. He knew it was necessary – knew that Jack wasn't really a cruel person – but he also knew that Jack would say and do whatever he had to, to get the answers he felt he needed. "Well?" She asked when Ianto failed to answer right away.

"No – nothing like that. Just stand back a little is all," Ianto tried to force his tone to neutrality. He balanced the tray with one hand and tripped the lock with the other – "You holding up ok?" He asked as he stepped in – she seemed not to have moved from the corner she'd been huddled in when he left her.

"Weren't you watching the show?"

"No."

"So what – only the boss gets video privileges – he is the boss, right?"

"Yes. And no, I could have watched. I didn't want to."

"Guess you knew what it would look like."

"He does what he has to do – but he doesn't lie, not about anything."

She regarded him coolly.

"We can talk about that later – are you hungry? It's not much – but it was either this or left over curry – " he said of the sandwich he'd made for her. She hated curry. "It's sad really – all this and the best we can whip up on short notice is sandwiches, TV dinners or left take-away," he added.

"You always were rubbish in the kitchen, anyway," she gave him a sad sort of smile –

"It's going to be all right, Wendy, I promise," Ianto told her; he looked around for a place to set down the tray – maybe I should spend some more time down here… it wasn't dirty so much as dusty… maybe a dehumidifier to improve air qualit… with all the alien technology, nobody ever thinks about the little things… but maybe humidity was good for the weevils – they lived in the sewers after all –

Wendy stood up slowly – "I'm sorry, Ianto."

"Don't be."

"No – I mean I am truly, deeply sorry and I hope – I hope that some day you'll be able to forgive me – "

"For what?" he noticed the tears then – but before he could react, she'd knocked the tray out of his arms and grabbed hold of him; her grip was iron – "Wendy – please – " don't do anything stupid – he tried to push back and realized that she'd started to change – which should have been impossible it was supposed to be triggered by moonlight, not some sort of voluntary thing and he couldn't help the moment of panic when her whole face contorted and he realized that impossible or not, it was a conscious effort on her part…

She spun him around and hooked one arm around his throat in a classic choke hold and shoved him out the cell door –

"Don't do this – please – don't do this – " Ianto begged her. "Wen – they'll kill you!"

"I know," her voice was barely human in his ear.

"It's not too late – you can stop this right? If you can start it you can stop it – please don't do this – " fear of her was replaced by fear for her. "Please – "

But it was too late – above the alarm sounded, telling him that Jack had triggered full lock-down – not taking any chances…

Around his neck her muscles contorted and expanded – the hand on his arm grew huge – he found himself watching in macabre fascination even as the claws dug through his suit and into his skin – he choked – and she eased up on his neck just enough so he could breathe. "Please – it you don't have to this – you'll die for nothing – is that what you really want?"

But she could no longer answer, at least not with anything he could understand – just the same he knew the answer – she would rather die than live like this – that's what she'd said and Jack must have really in into her – really scared her.

"It's not too late to work this out – I know you don't want to hurt me, I know you – you brought me in out of the rain – you fed me sandwiches and tea – you're my best friend – " he couldn't control the tears – didn't try. Not today – not again – not another one – he didn't want to lose somebody else –

Her answer, however, was an ear-piercing howl that sent the weevils into the shadows of their cells, snarling in fear –

So forlorn…

"Wendy – please – "

But by then, Jack was down the stairs carrying a very big riffle and looking like he wasn't in the mood to ask questions first or even at. Liz was right behind him, but Ianto doubted she'd be able to talk him down, not with that look in his eye – cold – hard. Focused.

"Jack – don't!" Ianto screamed over the snarling of frightened weevils – "Please – please don't – !"

Jack either didn't hear or wasn't listening (or at any rate, he wasn't looking at anything but Wendy), "Let him go," his tone was as cold as the look on his face. "Let him go and there's still a way for you to walk out of here alive." He cocked the riffle, "If not – I'm a very good shot and you're a really big target." He leveled the muzzle of the gun at her skull.

"JACK – NO!"

"You have one chance to walk out of here," Jack's voice remained steady, as unwavering as his gaze, "But it's only good for about ten more seconds – then I will shoot."

"Please – Jack – listen to me – it's what she wants – !"

"Nine – eight – "

"Jack – please – !" he could hardly see any more for the tears – "I was wrong – it's not like Lisa all over again – not unless you shoot – please I'm begging you to listen to me – she's just scared – she's not like Lisa – she knows what she's doing – !" but he couldn't speak for the sobs – Lisa – he'd pushed her so far out of his memory for so long – buried her twice – "I can't lose someone else, not today – " his voice was barely audible – "Please, not today – " Wendy let him go – he fell, unable to move – unable to hold himself up – "Please Jack – not today – Tosh – Owen – no more – I can't take any more – Lisa – " he had to fight the urge to curl in on himself, on the pain – he hadn't hurt this bad in so long – but when he wiped the moisture form his cheeks and found Jack's face in the darkness Jack was looking at him – listening – for just a split second he had a chance – "She's not a monster, Jack – you talked to her – you know that. Please – both of you – " he shifted his gaze up to her – she'd taken half a step back – she was watching him – watching Jack – frozen almost – "Please don't do this, Wen. You could have killed me – you didn't – and he's right – he's got perfect aim – but he didn't shoot – he gave you a chance. You don't know who we are or what we do – please – give us a chance – give me a chance – " please don't let this be Lisa all over again…

Jack swallowed back cold hard lump in his throat and silently willed the ice in his veins to go back to being blood – when he'd seen her go for Ianto on the CCTV feed everything had gone black – cold – numb… the only part of him that wasn't shaking were the arms holding the riffle level at her head. But she wasn't moving. She was just standing there like – like maybe she was considering her next move, too –

"Jack – " Liz laid a hand on his shoulder. "There's been enough slaughter for one week – for one lifetime – even yours – "

"Jack please," Ianto repeated his plea, "It doesn't have to end like this. She's not some hostile alien – remember what you said before – how we see enough death – ? I know how long ago that was for you – but – but we see enough death. Remember?"

"You're right." He eased the hammer slowly back on the riffle. "We see enough death. We've all seen enough death," he added in Wendy's direction, willing himself to see her as the scared woman she'd been twenty minutes ago. "I know you can understand me – I know that you are an intelligent sentient being and – and the first move's on me," he raised the muzzle towards the ceiling and let the silver shells fall to the floor. "What d'you say – nobody gets shot – nobody gets mauled – let's just – just talk this through," he handed the riffle over to Liz – took his side arm slowly out of the holster and handed that over too. "I'm unarmed – " he raised his hands slightly in what he hoped was really the universal sign for peace and took a few slow, careful steps towards the werewolf – Wendy – towards Ianto – the former eyed him wearily but wasn't making a move to attack – and the latter looked so scared – Jack knelt down and gathered him into his arms, cradling the younger man protectively even though he knew there was nothing he could do if Ianto was wrong about her – but right now, you're safe… he pulled Ianto closer, held him as tight as he could – felt Ianto's arms on his, hanging on just as tight. He felt each sob coming from the younger man. He pressed his lips to Ianto's forehead without taking his eyes off the seven foot tower of muscles, claws and fangs in front of them. For her part, she seemed just as leery of him as he was of her. She took another step back – glanced up at Liz – then back down again –

"She's not a monster, Jack."

"I can see that. Truth is she's one of the most amazing things I've ever seen," he pulled both them both up off the floor, gently pushing Ianto behind him – in his current state, Ianto didn't argue (and Jack was vaguely aware of Ianto's hands on one his shoulder, on his waist – not letting go – not running away.) "Wendy – we can talk this through. I promised Ianto we'd find a way out of this and I want to keep that promise more than anything else in the world right now – but you've gotta to work with me here – meet me half way. I don't know what more I can do to prove to you that we're not the bad guys."

"Wendy – listen to him – I know you don't trust him, but you're wrong – whatever it is you think it is – "

"You know what it is," Jack cut him off. "I'm – wrong. You're not the first person to ever say that to me – something happened – and I can't die and I guess something about that sets your senses reeling – and you're right – there is death here – or there was." Owen… Owen and everything else that'd ever happened here, "But look – next to you – those are weevils – they're not part of some sport and the only time we take them up to the lab is to try and understand them because if we could understand them maybe – maybe we could figure out what happens to make them start attacking people. Maybe we could find a way to communicate – maybe even find a way to get them back to where they belong. But for now they're stuck – and we're stuck keeping them locked up because we can't have them running around hurting people but killing isn't what we do here – not unless there isn't any other choice. And I know that is a lot to take in even for something – someone – as remarkable as you – but there's more out there than you know." He held out his hand, "If you'll trust me – I'll tell you all about it."

"Please, Wen – he's the most decent – honest – wonderful man I know."

"We want to understand you," Jack said, "But you have to help us do that."

He watched as she shifted back down – and forced himself not to hang onto Ianto when he rushed to her – held her – one bite… but if she could change shape consciously than maybe there really were things about them they didn't know… Jack took a careful step forward, aware of the way she was still watching him, even as she held Ianto tightly, apologizing to him – Jack rested a hand on the younger man's back. Ianto turned to him – slid into his arms – let Jack hold him.

"This is Liz," Ianto was saying, as Liz came closer, the weapons left behind on the stairs.

"I remember you from last nigh," Wendy's voice was strained.

"Let's get you some clothes – something to eat – try this over again," Liz said calmly. "All right?"

"All right," Wendy agreed, still eyeing Jack wearily – distrustful.

Just then Jack's com clicked – Gwen –

"What the Hell is going on – you're in lockdown – "

"We're ok now – give me a second – " he found the right switch on the controller around his wrist (without letting go of the younger man who was still hanging onto him as well.) "There – we ah – we've had a little excitement – but it's over now."

"Thank you, Jack," Ianto whispered as soon as he cut the com.

"I made you a promise. And you're right – we've seen enough death." He guided Ianto up the stairs just behind Liz and Wendy, trying very hard to convince himself that he'd done the right thing… but she could have killed him. She didn't. That had to mean something.