Chapter 11

Fear and hope had a firm hold of Jack's heart as he looked his crew over and when he noticed that Ianto was not among them his heart plummeted. Even though he didn't know if Ianto's absence was a good thing or a bad thing, he was preparing himself for the worst. For the moment, Ianto was safe from John's greedy hands but doing its best to squash that hope was Jack's growing fear that his beautiful Ianto was still aboard the TARDIS, trapped with no one to help him.

Rhys walked in front of Jack's crew, brandishing his sword in one hand and holding his gun in the other. "If any of you as much as thinks the word 'parley', I'll have your guts for garters," Rhys vowed, cocking the hammer on his pistol for effect.

Before anyone could say anything, the Myfanwy was rocked by a massive explosion and the TARDIS blew up. The force of the blast lifted her out of the water and then, amid a mixed chorus of cheers of triumph and wails of loss, the mightiest ship in UNIT's fleet began to sink below the waves. Jack felt his heart and soul go down with her; his Ianto was still on there and as more and more of the ship disappeared below the water, Jack knew that his beloved young Welshman was lost to him forever. He was completely numb; nothing mattered to him anymore.

Tosh had been struggling desperately to free herself; she finally managed to slip under her ropes and had been rushing forward at the moment the TARDIS blew up. "Ianto!" she screamed. Enraged by his callous actions, she attacked John, hitting, kicking and even trying to bite him. "You've got to stop it! Stop it!" She could not, would not, believe that her best friend was gone.

Unmoved by Tosh's tears and amused by her rage John smiled down at her, his eyes glued to her heaving bosom. "Welcome back, Miss. You took advantage of our hospitality last time. It holds fair now that you return the favour." Grinning like a feral animal, John shoved her towards his crew where they begin pawing at her, hooting and hollering over their good fortune.

Through the grace of the Universe and a small miracle, Ianto managed to escape the TARDIS and her icy grave, and he was slowly climbing up the Myfanwy's side. Reaching the top, he peered cautiously over the railing and his heart leapt with joy when he saw that Jack was safe. Originally, his plan was to sneak up on Hart and hold him at knifepoint, but upon seeing Toshiko at the mercy of the lust-crazed pirates, he knew what he had to do.

"Hart!" Ianto roared as he leaped on deck with fire burning in his eyes.

"Ianto," Tosh breathed out thankfully and for a brief moment, as their eyes met, she forgot that she was in danger.

Seeing Ianto standing there, one hand on his hip and a pistol in his other, his wet clothes moulded to his body, and fire blazing in his beautiful blue eyes, Jack suddenly had a reason for living again. 'My god, Ianto, you're absolutely bloody beautiful! I have never wanted you as much as I do right now!'

"She goes free," Ianto demanded as he pointed the pistol he'd snatched from one of the crew at John.

'No, no, no! Ianto, don't do anything stupid! I already thought I lost you once, I can't do it a second time.' Jack knew exactly what his beautiful, foolish boy was planning and he desperately wanted to stop Ianto and whisk him far, far away from there.

Knowing the effect it would have on the younger man, John openly leered at Ianto, raking his eyes up and down the Welshman's soaking wet body, enjoying the way the dripping clothes clung to his form. When he heard Jack's low threatening growl, his amusement only grew. 'So, he's Jack's boy, is he? He must be a wonderful lay from the way Jack's growling like a beast.' A devious plan began forming in his mind 'I have no doubt he would look lovely spread out beneath me.' John decided right then and there he would have Jack's newest toy in his bed. "What's in your head, Eye-Candy?"

Ianto tried not to let John see just how the man's hungry gaze was getting to him. It was nothing like Jack's, which was sweet and endearing; it actually made him feel wanted and warm. John's, on the other hand, made him feel dirty and in dire need of a bath. "She goes free!" Ianto repeated and he looked knowingly at his weapon.

"You've only got one shot, and we can't die," John reminded him with a wide smirk, suddenly wondering, ' why does this boy look so familiar to me?'

Jack met Ianto's eyes, silently pleading with him, 'Don't do anything stupid!'

'Sorry, Jack, but this is the only way to save you, Tosh, and the others. I only wish we'd had more time together.' Ianto sent Jack a small smile, one so sweet and so filled with love that it brought tears to the older man's eyes. Ianto glanced at Tosh one last time before he jumped up on the ship's railing and pointed the gun at his temple. "You can't die. I can," and he quirked one eyebrow in an erotic gesture that sent a wave of lust sweeping through Jack, despite the precariousness of the situation.

Jack felt his groin tighten and he wanted to grab hold of his Welshman and never left him go. 'Ianto, please don't do anything stupid!' he silently begged. 'I need you, we have a future together!'

A brief second later, when Jack realised that Ianto had the gun pointed at himself rather than the pirates, and when he saw the way the muzzle was pressed into Ianto's flesh, all thoughts lustful thoughts vanished from his mind. At that moment Jack felt his heart skip a few beats he struggled against the urge to rush over to Ianto and knock the gun from his hand. 'Maybe I can throw us overboard...' he mused. "Like that," he muttered under his breath.

His curiosity piqued even more by the familiarity of Ianto's quirked eyebrow, John took a step towards Ianto. "Who are you?" he asked, dredging the recesses of his memory, trying to place Ianto in some sort of perspective.

Hearing those dangerous words spurred Jack into action and he moved towards John. "No one, he's no one. A distant cousin of my aunt's nephew twice removed. Lovely singing voice, though, eunuch." Jack knew he couldn't claim Ianto as his own family. John was no fool; he'd seen the look of absolute pain in Jack's eyes when he'd thought Ianto was dead and the flare of blinding joy when he'd learned he was alive.

Ianto knew what Jack was trying to do and he adored him for it, but he knew that there was only one way. "My name is Ianto Jones. My father was Doctor John Smith. His blood runs in my veins."

Jack closed his eyes in defeat, knowing that there was nothing he could say to John and nothing he could possibly offer his former first mate would spare Ianto from his horrible fate. 'Oh god, Ianto, I am so very sorry about all of this.'

Andy took a step closer to the railing and peered intently at Ianto's face. 'He speaks the truth,' Andy decided; he could clearly see the Doctor in Ianto. Earlier, when Ianto had first appeared, for a brief moment, he'd actually thought the Doctor's ghost had come back to seek revenge on them. "He's the spitting image of ol' Doctor come back to haunt us," Andy nodded wisely.

Ianto cocked the gun, his hand as steady as a rock even though his heart was trying to pound its way out of his chest. "On my word, do as I say or I'll pull this trigger and be lost to Davy Jones' locker forever," he threatened.

John saw the truth and determination in Ianto's eyes and he knew without a doubt that the boy would do it. "Name your terms, Mr Jones," he finally agreed. He would give the boy anything he wanted; there was no way he was going to risk the only child of the Doctor.

"Toshiko goes free," Ianto stated for a third time.

John rolls his eyes. "Yes, we know that one. Anything else?" His brain was racing along; he couldn't help but wonder, 'what's Eye-Candy's connection to the lovely Toshiko? It's not lust of love, not with the way the boy was looking at Jack.' John narrowed his eyes and looked back and forth between the two in speculation.

Glancing over John's shoulder, Ianto could see Jack pointing to his crew. "And the crew, the crew are not to be harmed."

John quickly decided that he could live with that. "Agreed."

Ianto lowered and uncocked his gun and within seconds, Adam and Rex were pulling him off the railing. They slammed him onto the deck and began tying him up. Tosh suddenly found herself being shoved and pulled forward towards the plank.

"Go on, Poppet, go! Walk the plank!" Rhys ordered, pushing Tosh again.

"Hart, you lying bastard! You swore she'd go free!" Back on his feet again, Ianto surged forward, fighting desperately against both the bonds and Adam and Rex's hold.

John whirled on his heel and glared at Ianto; 'Dear God, I will so enjoy removing the fight from this boy!' Oh yes, he had big plans for his delicious piece of Eye-Candy. "Don't dare impugn me honour, boy. I agreed she'd go free, but it was you who failed to specify when or where." At that point, he had Ianto gagged and he decided that he rather enjoyed the sight of Ianto bound and gagged. 'Yes, I think I'll have him like that very soon.'

He watched the light go out in Ianto's eyes when he realised that he'd failed Toshiko and he quickly pretended to take pity on the boy. "Though it does seem a shame to lose something so fine, don't it lads?" John turned to his men.

"Aye!" they agreed noisily.

John turned to Tosh. "So I'll be having that dress back before you go." John held out his hand, grinning from ear to ear. When Tosh didn't move fast enough, he waggled his fingers at her. "Come on, let's have it, now."

While John was busy with Ianto, Jack was trying to sweet talk his way to freedom. The uppermost thought in his mind was getting close enough to gut John like a fish. 'How bloody dare he leer at my Welshman!' Jack raged. 'Nobody thinks naughty thoughts about my Ianto but me!'

"I've always liked you," he tells the pirate standing closest to him; he wasn't sure which one the man was, but all he got was a sneering glare. 'Am I losing my touch?' he found himself wondering in bewilderment and then he shook his head.'No, don't be silly, I'm Captain Jack Harkness!'

Not caring a single whit that she would be standing in front of a horde of horny pirates wearing nothing but her nightgown, Tosh quickly pulled the dress off over her head. "It goes with your black heart," she said cuttingly and threw the dress at him.

Catching it in midair, John pressed the dress to his face and breathed in Tosh's scent. "Ooh, it's still warm!" he laughed throwing it towards his eager crew.

"Off you go! Come on!" A pirate, angry that he couldn't get his hands on her dress and fed up by the delay, used the tip of his sword to poke Tosh in the small of her back. With no other choice, Tosh bravely raised her chin and slowly walked towards the edge.

Also angry, but because he wasn't going to have a go at dirtying Tosh's virtue, Adam moved forward with a vicious growl. "Too long!" He shook the plank as hard as he could and Tosh, who was standing at the very edge, fell overboard. There was a loud cheer from Jack's crew as she plunged into the water.

Ianto had never felt more helpless in his life as he was force to watch Jack being to be dragged up to the plank next.

"I'd really rather hoped we were past all this!" Jack pursed his lips into such a pretty pout as he reached John that the pirate captain was tempted to kiss him one last time, just for old times' sake.

Instead, John took great pleasure in saying, "Jack, Jack, Jack. Did ya not notice? That be the same little island that we made you Governor of on our last voyage." John was happy to remind Jack of their last parting as he pointed to a distant island, looming closely on the horizon.

Jack closed his eyes and shuddered, remembering that moment of his past all too well. "Aye, I did notice," he reluctantly agreed. To Jack, this final act just proved to him that John really was a cold-hearted, unfeeling bastard.

"Perhaps you'll be able to conjure up another miraculous escape, but I doubt it." John unsheathed his sword and brandished it at Jack's throat. "Off you go," he ordered with a flourish of his blade.

"Last time, you left me a pistol with one shot," Jack reminded John.

John smiled; he could see no point in denying Jack the same treatment this time. "By the powers, you're right!" he cheerfully agreed. "Where be Jack's pistol? Bring it forward." The pirate who'd hoped to keep the pistol as a war trophy, grudgingly stepped forward and John took it from him, weighing it appraisingly in his hand.

"Seeing as there's two of us," Jack jerked his thumb over the railing to where Tosh was splashing about in the water; 'a gentleman would give us a pair of pistols." Jack knew it was a long shot but he had to try.

John shook his head; even though he found Jack's attempt at trickery quite amusing, he was no man's fool. "It'll be one pistol as before and you can be the gentleman, shoot the lady and starve to death yourself." With a smirk, John tossed the pistol into the sea.

Jack managed to catch Ianto's eye and he filled their last look with everything he'd wanted to say in the privacy of their bed chamber and more. 'I'll cross through heaven and hell if it means saving you,' Jack promised silently.

Ianto didn't want Jack to see him cry; he didn't want that to be the last memory of him that Jack had and so he bit the inside of his mouth until it bled. As he nodded his understanding of Jack's message, Jack smiled briefly before jumping off the plank and dropping silently into the sea. Kicking furiously, Jack swam down through the crystal clear water, searching the ocean's floor until he found his pistol resting at the bottom. Grabbing it, he rapidly rose back to the surface and began treading water next to Tosh, and with a heavy heart, he watched the Black Myfanwy sail away.

The two great loves of his life had been taken from him.