25
"Well, that is going to be a bitch to get him out" Ianto sighed as he inspected the large belly of the creature, the man sized lump bore a striking resemblance to Jack.
"Tell me something I don't know" Owen huffed angrily, as he applied a tourniquet to Tosh's arm.
"A blue whale's fart bubbles are large enough to encase a horse" Ianto said distractedly as he angled his sword and started to cut.
Ianto swore softly as the innards spilled out onto the dock, dead fish, body parts from someone that were clearly almost digested and a pristine Captain Jack. Well, pristine apart from the glop and grimace of death.
Owen froze, his hands on Tosh and his eyes locked with hers, then he slowly turned his head to stare at the Highlander who was calmly wiping globs of …. Erg ….
"What?"
"Well? Is that something you knew, or not" Ianto was still looking at Jack, frowning as he noticed the Webley missing and with a soft curse and wrinkled nose he reached back into the opening.
"Big enough for a horse it fit in?" Owen huffed, "How the fuck do you measure something like that!"
"I would imagine … without a naked flame?" Ianto dry-panned and Owen started to snigger.
"Maybe that's how ancient mariners hunted" Owen giggled, "Torches on the boat that blew the fish out of the water."
"Just drift about looking for a water spout, "There she blows" they yell and then BOOM" Owen giggled.
Ianto snorted softly and smiled as he poured a bottle of water over Jack's face and hair, knowing his horror at waking up gooey would be lessened with clean hair.
He crouched to check Tosh and patted her shoulder as he watched Owen stitch the wound before releasing the tourniquet.
"In a previous life, I was eaten by a shark once" Ianto finally offered and Owen perked up.
"I was swimming out off a reef, just on dusk but there hadn't been any reports of sharks and it was the wrong time of year" Ianto shrugged as he levered Jack into a sitting position, leaning against the beast's corpse so he could dry his hair.
Tosh was holding the bandage as Owen tore a strip of tape and they both looked expectably at Ianto who rolled his eyes and sat on the beast's hip to talk.
"So, like I said, just on dusk and the music from the party was drifting back, picture the opening scenes from Jaws, yeah?" he grinned, "And yes, I had just had some lovely sloppy sex with a drunken woman who was sleeping in the back of the VW van I was knocking about in that year."
Owen snorted and wriggled into a more comfortable position next to Tosh, the coms crackling as Gwen turned them up back at the hub.
"So the first touch was like a feather against the skin and I thought it might be seaweed or something" Ianto's voice was dropping to become ominous, "Then another stroke against my thigh, then a soft bump against my hip."
"Hip" Owen said randomly.
"Then it started to burn, my hip" Ianto clarified, "I looked down thinking a bloody sucker fish or something had come along, fearing a jellyfish sting at the most."
Owen grinned, "But it wasn't!"
"No, it wasn't. I had lost a chunk the size of my fist" Ianto said with wide eyes and Owen's mouth fell open, "Blood was pouring out and I was struck dumb. Like, what the fuck, ya know?"
"Then I saw the fin, cutting through the water" Ianto's hand shot up and Owen jumped, his hand closing over Tosh's.
"It was black against the night sky, the water folding back effortlessly as it circled back and came right for me. I was treading water still trying to tell myself it was real, when its nose appeared, followed by its open mouth."
Ianto stopped talking and looked over their heads, then focused again, "So I was bleeding out and knew I might not make it to shore so I tried to hug its snout so each time it struck it was forcing me to shore. I knew it was killing me but the fear of it eating me, possibly tearing me apart so I lost my head, spurred me on."
"But it did eat some of you" Owen sighed, his face contorting with concern.
"I lost most of my left hand, my right leg from the knee down and it took me most of the night to regenerate" Ianto agreed. "My arms were burger meat."
"Regenerate" Owen repeated.
"Not like Jack but … well … maybe something similar" Ianto frowned as he tried to find a way to explain, "it grew back but I was awake, aware and I can tell you, it hurts like lemon juice in a cut but … bigger."
Owen leaned back and saw Jack blinking, "You don't do the big explosive gasping anymore."
Jack focused on him and frowned, then looked up at Ianto.
"I'm not scared anymore" he said simply, "I'm not afraid of waking up alone in a strange place. I know … I know Ianto will be there and as long as I hear his voice calling me back I know you are all OK and there is nothing to fear."
"Hard to think there is anything an immortal is afraid of" Owen said with surprise.
"Of losing" Ianto answered for Jack, "Not our own selves, but everyone else. The greatest fear is to be alone."
Jack nodded silently as he leaned against Ianto's leg and a hand started to stroke his damp hair.
Jack had to agree that losing someone else was his greatest and only fear now.
But as long as he came back to his deep voice …
He knew not all would be lost.