Chapter 21

Apart from half hearted attempts by the moon to break through the thickening clouds reflecting muted light onto the remains of the once proud pillars that stood across from where he sat, there was virtually no light, especially as the trees cast dense shadows all around. So Ianto couldn't see the moment that Jack's eyes blinked. However, he could feel the sudden surge of life as Jack gasped for air and shuddered in his lap.

"It's OK – I've got you," Ianto spoke softly, hoping to calm Jack and prevent him from panicking.

Jack blinked rapidly, frantically rubbing his eyes, not understanding why he was unable to see.

"Ianto? Where are you?" Unable to clear his vision, Jack then flung his arms around grabbing for Ianto, who responded quickly, holding onto him carefully. "I can't see you!"

"I'm here. Don't panic. It's dark now...you've been out of it for a while."

"Damn – how long?" Jack blinked as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

"Hang on, let me check." Ianto pulled his phone from his pocket to see what the time was, before setting it to one side, on top of a tree root that had been sticking in his thigh. "Just over three and half hours."

"What the hell happened?"

"You had a fit – a really bad one. You were convulsing and … I'm sorry … I couldn't do anything … I … you were shaking … and then… "

Jack could tell from the hoarseness in Ianto's voice that he'd been more than a little upset by his dying. But he couldn't recall exactly what had happened.

"Shit – what the hell's going on?" Jack shook his head before scrambling to his knees so he could give Ianto a hug and a kiss. He could only imagine what had been going through his mind as he'd been sitting there waiting for him to revive.

"You tell me. You scared the shit out of me, Jack." Ianto's voice was trembling with a combination of anger and fear. "My guess is that it's got something to do with your dizzy spells and the conversation we had after I'd retconned myself. Am I close?"

"I think you're right." Jack nodded his head. It was obvious there was no way he was going to convince Ianto that it was nothing to worry about any longer. "Damn. Something we're doing is changing timelines."

Jack recalled having discussed with Ianto how changes to the timeline could be affecting his past and Ianto's future, and that the alterations were manifesting themselves as disturbances in the vortex that flowed through every cell of his body. However, he also remembered that Ianto had retconned that conversation from his mind – ironically to prevent the very changes that were happening regardless. The trouble was that he was unaware of what had actually been changed, as the altered timelines were apparently overwriting his past in such a way that he couldn't distinguish any discrepancies. Jack sighed as he lay back down on the ground and turned to look at Ianto, he'd been very quiet, lost in his own thoughts.

"Do you think it's because you told me about your daughter and grandson?" Ianto's voice was a mere whisper, almost as if he was afraid to put those thoughts into words.

"I can't see any reason why that would make a difference." Jack shook his head, dismissing the notion instantly. He'd never regretted telling Ianto about Alice and Steven. Although his daughter had been furious when she'd first discovered that Ianto was much younger than she was, Steven had grown to adore him and that had been enough to win him over in Alice's eyes. Ianto had been like a big brother to Steven, taking him to rugby matches, supervising his eighteenth birthday party and even his stag night when that eventually came around. Jack had been so proud of his partner – he'd taken Jack's grandson under his wing and had been a far better role model for the boy than either his biological father or grandfather would have been. He suspected that Ianto's influence had stopped him from becoming a prissy, spoilt brat and he'd never stopped being grateful for that. He could barely remember a time when Ianto hadn't known about his grandson and daughter.

"Must've been something else then." Ianto shrugged before lying down next to Jack and taking his hand.

It didn't take long for Jack to take up the unspoken invitation and roll over on top of Ianto, crushing the leaves of the fragrant laurel bushes. Feeling the weight of Jack, alive and moving against him, dispelled the anxiety Ianto had been experiencing earlier. He'd no idea how many times this Jack had died and there was always the fear that he'd eventually use up all of the lives he'd been granted.

Jack smiled, remembering just how Ianto liked him to prove he was fully recovered and, even though he could barely see a thing in the dark, he sought out Ianto's mouth and captured his lips in a deep kiss. Feeling Ianto's hands roam over his body, sliding under his shirt seeking bare flesh, Jack didn't waste time and quickly started to divest the younger man of his clothes – hands scrabbling for buttons and zips. Ianto reciprocated, tucking his hands down the back of the loose chinos, grasping Jack's arse so he could thrust their hips together.

Breaking their kiss momentarily, to take a breath, Ianto heard the unmistakable sounds of footsteps on gravel coming closer and quickly took his hands out of Jack's pants and grabbed hold of his arms stopping him from removing the shirt that he'd just managed to unbutton.

"Shhh…"

"Polizia! So che siete lì dentro - venite fuori subito!" A gruff voice called out from a few feet away. "Lentamente e con le mani alzate!"

"Shit… it's the police… what are we going to do?" hissed Ianto, panicking at the thought of being caught in a compromising situation by the Italian police.

Jack grabbed hold of Ianto's hand and held it against his arm as he flipped open his wrist strap and hurriedly pressed a few buttons on his Vortex Manipulator.

"Polizia! Venite fuori subito!" the policeman demanded once more, waving his Beretta semi automatic pistol at the moving branches.

A bright flare of light illuminated the undergrowth for an instant, temporarily blinding the policeman. He'd heard enough tales of the area being haunted to convince him that he didn't want to stick around any longer. Making the sign of the cross hastily, he muttered a quick prayer and then made as dignified an exit as possible.

Once he'd got back to his powerful, black BMW motorcycle, emblazoned with the Carabinieri insignia, the officer felt foolish for having run away from a rustling shrub and decided that no one need ever know what he saw. He reported in that there was no sign of anyone being attacked or mugged and that he suspected it had all been a hoax.

A/N I forgot to add these in on the first posting, so here they are ...

Translations:

"Polizia! So che siete lì dentro - venite fuori subito! Lentamente e con le mani alzate!"

"Police! I know you're in there, come out now! Slowly and hands up!"