This chapter is dedicated in memory of Elisabeth Sladen. You and your beloved character Sarah Jane Smith will be greatly missed. Rest in Peace.

"Punishment"

…TW…TW…TW…

Despite knowing he shouldn't, Owen tried to shake Ianto into responsiveness "Ianto, what's wrong? Snap out of it. Shit." He dug in his bag for a penlight and shone it into Ianto's unblinking eyes. The pupils reacted, that was something at least and he was breathing. But what was wrong with him?

Was he catatonic or was he suddenly overcome with Locked-in syndrome? Owen needed to do a full examination and he couldn't do that down here. He needed to at least get Ianto to the lab—a clean hospital would be better though. He tapped his ear—his Bluetooth wasn't in it, he'd left it at his desk.

Owen took a breath "All right, Ianto, sit tight a mo' yeah? I'm gonna go up top and get help to bring you to the med. bay. And in case this is some kind of act" he picked up his bag and Ianto's jacket "I'm taking these with me." He left the cell and closed the door, just in case.

When he got up to the Hub, he first checked the CCTV of Ianto's cell, he still hadn't moved. Owen turned on the medical scanner.

"How is he?" Tosh asked softly.

"At the very least he's gone into shock. Hopefully, the scanner will tell me something but I'd like to give him a full exam myself and I can't do that down there." He looked around "Where're Jack and Gwen?"

"Gone to find Tanizaki's body; I'm looking up information on him."

Owen sighed "You all were watching what was going on down there?"

"Jack and Gwen left as soon as Ianto said where the body was. I stopped watching; it looked personal."

"It was. Thanks Tosh." Owen checked his watch "Can't be taking that long. Maybe they're having sex."

Tosh made sort of an ick sound.

Owen looked at her "You don't like that idea? Gwen's gagga for him, a five year old could tell. That and Ianto says she thinks loudly."

A small smile touched her lips then she said, "I don't think Jack and Gwen would work as a couple, I just can't see it. I think Jack and Ianto would be great together though."

"Keep dreaming Tosh, no way is that gonna happen now. Maybe Jack can forgive him for this cyber thing but not the revealing Jack's biggest secrets thing."

"Personally I don't see why Jack's so upset about that. I don't care where he's from or that he's immortal. Actually, I'm not surprised."

"Same here but why didn't he tell us?"

Tosh shrugged, "I'm sure he had his reasons. Maybe he thought we'd experiment on him."

Owen sighed "Even if I wanted to, which I don't, I'd know there was no way to keep that bastard still. What bugs me is that Gwen knew he couldn't die. Why the hell did he tell the newbie?"

"I didn't have a choice," Jack and Gwen came up from the tunnels; a body bag slung over Jack's shoulder, "Suzie shot me right in front of her."

Owen stood up, "And why not let us know? Don't you trust us as well?"

"Maybe I was waiting for the right moment," his voice was clipped and he took the body down to the lab.

Owen bit back a sigh and sat back down. His computer beeped, Ianto's scan was complete, "Oh God." Ianto's heat rate and breathing had slowed dangerously, he was dehydrated and anaemic. He hadn't been taking care of himself, obviously since his last physical. He also had a high fever.

"Owen," Jack came over to him, "go ahead and do the autopsy when it's convenient but I want the metal incinerated. I put the body in cold storage."

"Jack, I think you should call the X-Men."

"What for?"

Owen pointed at the screen, "'Cos he's not moved in ten minutes and according to the scan, he's neither in shock, catatonic, nor does he have Locked-in syndrome. He's not even blinking, Jack. I need to get him to hospital, the lab at the very least."

Jack sighed, "Look, he's telepathic right? Sometimes when a telepath suffers some trauma they retreat into themselves. I'm sure that's all this is; he'll come out of it on his own. Or he could be faking it."

Owen pointed at the screen again, "You can't fake those results, Jack. How can you even suggest that?"

Jack breathed deeply, "All right, if he doesn't come out of it by morning then I'll call Professor Xavier." His tone indicated there was to be no argument.

"Fine," Owen stood coming to a decision, "can I at least get a few things from his flat to make him more comfortable? Might help bring him back to reality."

Jack was silent for a moment then nodded, 'That's a good idea. Go ahead." He went up towards his office "His key should be in the shop," he called over his shoulder.

"Can I help?" Gwen asked.

"No, faster if I do it myself. Tosh, keep an eye on Ianto, let me know if there's any change."

…

Owen had barely noticed the state of Ianto's flat the previous week when they were both hung over. Now that he was fully sober he saw that it was hardly more than a matchbox, at least compared to Owen's penthouse. However, it was a very clean matchbox. One glance told Owen that Ianto was most certainly anal retentive and possibly OCD. Owen liked things to be sanitary but this was ridiculous. Deciding not give Ianto anymore stress once he got home, Owen made sure to wipe his feet on the mat and leave his shoes by the door.

Now, what would make Ianto more comfortable? He saw the photos on the mantle and decided to leave them. Pictures of dead lovers might just make things worse. There had to be a picture of his brother around somewhere. According to Ianto they were quite close so where would he keep a picture? Owen made his way to the bedroom—the very cramped bedroom. It was full of organised clutter. How the hell did Ianto live like this? He barely had to, Owen told himself; he probably rarely left the Hub.

The second thing Owen noticed was that Ianto didn't have a bed, he had a futon—a very uncomfortable looking futon. How could anyone sleep on that? Owen saw a Bible on the bedside table, maybe that'd help. He set it on the futon; he'd make a pile of stuff.

If only Owen could find the number to the X-men, surely Ianto's brother would know what would make him comfortable. But what if Jack was watching his phone? Then Owen noticed the laptop, it was under a stack of Batman comics. Batman? It figured. He slipped the computer out from the pile. It was black engraved with an X inside a circle. Bingo. Maybe this was something all X-men had. Owen opened it and turned it on. Great there was a password. What the hell would Ianto's password be? Lisa? No. Will? No. Coffee? No; surprising that.

Owen sighed in frustration and saw a button with the X-men symbol on it. Couldn't hurt, could it? Owen pressed it. The screen changed and a man's face appeared, he was wearing red sunglasses—Cyclops according to Ianto's description.

"End—who are you? Why are you using Endgame's private line?"

Owen didn't have time for this, "I work with him all right. My name is Dr Owen Harper and Ianto has suffered a mental and physical blow. I need to talk to Professor Xavier right now."

"What happened?" he sounded concerned.

"Just get the Professor. It's an emergency and get Ianto's brother too. Now!"

"All right, I'll patch you through."

About a minute later a bald man appeared on screen, he had kind blue eyes and he looked remarkably like Patrick Stewart. "I'm Charles Xavier," he said "how can I help you Dr Harper?"

"Ianto's in trouble, he's not moved in nearly an hour. Jack said that when a telepath suffers something traumatic this can happen, that they retreat into themselves."

Xavier nodded, "Yes that's true."

"But he's not even blinking. The scans show brain activity but his breathing and heart rate have lowered and he's got a fever. I think his body's shutting down, Professor…"

The sound of running footfalls interrupted him and then another man's face appeared on screen "What is it? What's happened?" his eyes were red and black and he spoke with some kind of US southern accent.

"You're Ianto's brother, right?" Owen asked him.

"Yes, what's happened? Is he okay?"

"He's unresponsive. Professor, I think he needs you 'cos I'm at a loss."

"What do you mean unresponsive?" Remy asked, "What happened?"

"Look I don't have a lot of time. I just came to Ianto's flat to find some things to make him comfortable and hopefully a way of contacting you lot."

"Why couldn't you just call?"

Owen bit his lip, what the hell? "Jack wanted to wait till morning but I don't think Ianto will last that long."

The Professor nodded, "I understand. I'll call Jack and tell him I'm on my way." He went off screen.

Remy stayed on though, "What happened?" he asked again.

Owen sighed; he didn't want to tell him. It should be up to Ianto on whether or not to tell his family the details. "Look I have to get back to him so just tell me what would help bring him back to reality."

"Not until you tell me what happened to make him like this."

Might as well tell him some of the truth, "Lisa's dead."

Remy's eyes widened, "Mon Dieu, why didn't you say so in the first place? All right, his Bible,"

"Yeah, got that. What else?"

"His X-men coat and maybe uniform. They might be in his closet. Hanging on the door."

Owen checked and sure enough there was a black leather coat hanging inside the door. Hanging with the coat was a reddish black one piece, it looked like either long johns or a leisure suit but Owen was sure it was neither. He placed the ensemble on the futon with the Bible, "What else?"

Remy took a breath, "Ianto labels everything, there should be a jewellery box somewhere, it's oak and looks like it belongs in an old gentlemen's club."

Owen scanned the room and saw it on top of the chest of drawers "See it."

"Okay, inside there should be a necklace, sort of metallic, it should be in a bag labelled 'From Will, Valentine's 1999'."

Owen opened the box and found the necklace, "Got it. Anything else?"

"Our dad's UNIT cap, if it's not on display, it'll be in a box and there should be a red dragon my daughter made him for his 18th birthday."

The stuffed dragon was sitting on the futon, "'Kay, got the dragon" then Owen saw the UNIT cap hanging on a hat rack in the far corner of the room. He had to climb over stuff to get to it. Also hanging on the hat rack Owen noticed was a blue graduation cap, with a 2001 fob hanging with the tassel.

"Owen," Remy said, "you did the right thing, calling us. We'll be there soon, about two hours."

"Two hours?"

"Oui, our jet's fast. Look after my brother," he ended the connection.

Owen got back to the Hub fifteen minutes later. Tosh and Gwen were quiet at their workstations, Jack stood above at the railings looking down at him and glaring. Owen sighed, guess Xavier called him.

"Owen," Jack's voice was unnervingly calm, "a word."

Owen set down Ianto's things, "It's not like you ordered me not to call them."

Jack came down the stairs, arms crossed, "It was implied."

"No, it bloody was not. Ianto could be dying Jack, his family needed to know. I didn't tell them what really happened, I didn't tell them about the fucking collar—which I think is making him worse. All I told them was that Lisa was dead."

"You still went behind my back."

"Yeah I did and I'm glad I did. Ianto needs help I can't give him and I think you bloody well know that. I'm a doctor first Jack, I follow you second. Deal with it."

Jack's shoulders relaxed and he uncrossed his arms. He opened his mouth but Owen wasn't done.

"And I don't see why you're so fucking upset. Yeah, Ianto brought a cyberman here but he wanted to save the woman he loved. Even you can't blame him for that. Okay, so he knew your fucking secrets and didn't tell you. That's what really has you pissed. I'm sure he had his reasons for not telling you and if you ever want to find out why then he has to survive. To start we're going to move him to the lab and you're going to help. Since you gave me authority over all things medical that's an order!"

Jack took a breath, "You know, you're awfully cute when you're authoritative."

Owen clenched his fist and resisted the urge to punch, he had no doubt Jack would get plenty of punishment from Ianto's brother.

Tosh stood up, "And Jack, we don't care where you're from and if you're immortal, you're still our leader. Right?" she looked at Owen and Gwen.

Gwen nodded, "Of course. I told you they'd handle it well."

"Why I didn't tell the X-men about the collar, giving you the chance to take it off him before they get here. Now move!" he shoved Jack towards the vaults.

…GGGGGGGGGGGGG…..

Remy

All Owen would tell me was that Lisa was dead, all he needed to say really. Ianto didn't handle death well and to lose Lisa just over three years after Will, no wonder he was unresponsive. Still I had to wonder what exactly had happened, it must have been bad if Owen felt the Professor was the only one who could help.

Speaking of, I looked around after I ended the connection with Owen, it seemed like Xavier had left the room to call Harkness. Was there a reason he felt I shouldn't be in the same room? I left his office and found him in the hall on his cell phone.

"Jack, Owen was right to call me. I don't care. I'm on my way whether you like it or not. I'm bringing Dr McCoy and Ianto's brother. Yes, Gambit. Two hours," he hung up.

I didn't ask him what that was about though I wanted to.

He looked up at me, "Get Cyclops; prepare the Blackbird."

…

Cyclops and Storm flew us to Cardiff, Storm provided the cover. Rogue came along to carry us all to the ground—there wasn't time to land the jet. Jamie insisted on coming too, because he felt if Jack should be unreasonable he'd be able to talk to him. But why would Jack be unreasonable? I mean, sure he wanted to wait till morning to call Xavier but admittedly I might have done the same thing—if I didn't know my brother so well that is.

…

It was barely sunrise when we got there. Cyclops hovered the Blackbird over where Xavier told him—Roald Dahl Plass. I looked down and saw Harkness waiting in front of a fountain. Rogue took me and Jamie down last.

"Give Ianto my love," Rogue said, "and tell him if he ever scares me like this again I'm going to hog tie him and throw him in the mud."

I managed a chuckle, "The mud will put him off; I think he'd like the hog tying," I gave her a light kiss on the cheek, "Merci, chere."

"I'll see you boys later," she flew back into the Blackbird and it took off.

"Of course you know Jamie," the Professor was saying, "and you've met Remy."

"What happened?" I asked—well, demanded before Harkness could say anything.

As I've said I'm a touch empathic myself—how I know who to flirt with and who to avoid—but I was getting nothing from Harkness emotion wise. Physically he looked exhausted; his voice matched his appearance when he spoke, "If you'll all follow me."

"Has there been any change in Ianto since Dr Harper called?" Hank asked.

"No," he led us across the Plass. I was going to ask him again when Xavier's voice entered my head.

Remy, we'll find out soon enough. Be patient.

Harkness took us to a tourist office then through a secret tunnel, into an elevator, through a door out of The Jetsons and finally a gate. I found the Torchwood base unimpressive; the pterodactyl didn't even phase me, having seen them in the savage lands. Pesky critters if you ask me, like bats, giant bats.

"Owen!" Harkness called.

Owen appeared from up some steps and Harkness made introductions. I hardly noticed the two pretty ladies; that's how worried I was for my brother.

"Right," Owen said, "come with me," he looked at Xavier, "er…how close do you have to be to Ianto?"

"If he is as bad as you say I must be touching him."

"Right well, there are stairs."

"Not to worry," Hank took hold of the wheel chair.

Owen took us to a set of stairs that led down into a pit. It was obviously their medical area. Ianto was lying on a slab, hooked up to monitors and what I assumed was life support. He was naked save for a sheet covering his lower half and a pillow was under his head. Someone had even put his dragon in the crook of his arm. I leapt over the railing and went to him. His eyes were wide open and unblinking. I held his hand.

"I'm here, petit frère, it's gonna be okay. Whatever happened, it's gonna be okay."

Owen came down the steps and Hank carried Xavier, wheel chair and all. He set him down by Ianto's head.

"You'd best fill us in Dr Harper," Hank said, "how long has he been like this?"

Owen took a breath, "Since around nine last night."

"What exactly happened?" I asked him.

Owen groaned, "Look, I think its Ianto's choice to tell you the details but essentially…"

"He hid his cyber girlfriend in my basement and it tried to kill us all," Harkness stood above at the railing.

"Jack!" Owen exclaimed, "I thought…"

"No, I'm the boss and they should know what Ianto's done because I'm handing him over to them."

I was positive he was leaving some details out as he told the story but that didn't matter. I was upset to learn that Ianto had been working for Torchwood London for two years up until it was destroyed. I'd only recently found out he worked for Torchwood in Cardiff. Why the hell did he keep that from me? I felt my eyes blaze as Harkness finished, "You put him in a cell for trying to save his girlfriend?"

"He was unstable, I saw his power."

"If he was so unstable then why didn't he blow his way out before he got like this?" I held up Ianto's hand, it was cold. "Professor, hurry up."

The Professor put his fingers over Ianto's temples and bent down over his head, "Ianto" he said.

I looked back up at Harkness, "Well?"

The anger on his face had melted and was replaced with…fear? He took something out of his pocket and tossed it to the floor, "Last one I have, I swear."

"You son of a bitch!" I let go of Ianto's hand and advanced towards Harkness, "how dare you put one of those on a telepath! No wonder he got this bad."

Harkness stepped back from me as I stepped closer, "Well it clearly wasn't just the collar because he didn't get any better after I took it off."

I slugged him across the jaw, with a bit of charge put into it. It sent him to the floor. He sat up and looked at Jamie for help as he pushed his jaw back into place. But Jamie only moved to restrain the white woman who had tried to run to Jack. The pretty Asian woman stood still, clearly unsure what to do.

Harkness got to his feet, "I had no other choice."

"Oh?" I took out my staff and charged it up, "Have you thought of trying to understand him?" I swung at him but he managed to sidestep me…for the moment. "He didn't want to lose her too. Don't you know anything about love? Or are you just a cold hearted son of a bitch?" I hit him this time and used the staff to flip him to the floor. I think I heard bones snap but I really didn't care at that point. I knew he couldn't die.

The white woman broke free of Jamie and ran to Harkness, "Jack!" she looked up at me, "You killed him."

"Did I?" I blinked, "Pity."

Jamie sighed, "You're lucky he's immortal," he went over to the woman, "it's okay Gwen, he'll be fine."

"Beside the point."

"Mon Dieu," I scoffed, "Am I the only one who doesn't like him?" I went back down to Owen's pit.

…XXXXXXXXXXXXX….

When Charles entered Ianto's mind he first saw the young man's most recent memories and emotions. Owen was definitely right to call him. When Charles got past the memories he found himself standing on a railroad track in desolate wasteland. He would have to seek Ianto out, he was in here somewhere. Charles could just barely hear him calling for help. He also heard a train in the distance. That was not good.

Charles hurried along the tracks and eventually came to a high bridge over turbulent water. There was a car stuck on the bridge, Ianto was trapped inside it.

"Ianto!" Charles called as he ran to the car.

"Professor!" Ianto pounded on the windows, it looked like he was trapped in the backseat "Professor, I can't get out! The doors won't open and the keys are missing."

Charles came to the car and tried to open a door, it wouldn't budge. "Don't worry Ianto, I'll get you out. You just have to work with me."

"I don't know if I can. I can't get to the wheel otherwise I'd be able to hotwire it."

The train was getting closer, "Ianto, we don't have much time." Charles glanced at the space before the car's front window—Ianto was able to see and hear everything that was going on outside his body.

"Did that make you feel better?" Hank was asking Remy.

"No, but he still deserved it."

"What's going on, Professor? I'm under the impression that Remy just beat up Jack."

"It seems that way," Charles tried another door. It gave a little, "Ianto, push on this door. Once I'm inside we can get you to the front seat because you're going to have to drive."

"I can't."

"Ianto, do you want to die?"

Ianto sniffed and shook his head, "No."

"Then work with me," Charles pulled on the door again and Ianto pushed on it. Just as the train rounded a mountainside that suddenly appeared they got the door open and Charles climbed inside. He took in his surroundings, "Ianto, there is absolutely nothing keeping you back here. What are you afraid of?"

"Everyone will hate me."

"No, nobody will hate you. What you did you did out of love and nobody can fault you for that."

"But two people are dead because of me."

"And you will have to live with that for the rest of your life. And Ianto, that is the best thing you can do for them, live and carry on. Be the man I know you are; do not let their deaths be in vain. Now, start this car or you won't be the only one becoming a vegetable because I am not leaving you."

Ianto sniffed again, nodded and climbed over to the driver's seat. "I don't know if I ever had keys." He opened a panel in the steering column and began to fiddle with the wiring.

"Make it quick, Ianto," the train was speeding towards them.

"I'm hurrying as fast as I can. You don't rush artistry."

"What?"

"Nothing," the car revved to life and Ianto stepped on the gas. He drove off the bridge and off the tracks, barely avoiding the train. The car came to a stop.

Charles climbed over to the front passenger seat, "Now, we find the road."

"Right."

"Though tell me, why would hotwiring a car be considered artistry?"

"Er…oh look," he pointed to the "sky", "they seem to be excited about something. I think my breathing's returning to normal."

"Ianto."

"Look can we just forget I said that?"

"No."

"Remy taught me, he's the one that called it artistry."

Charles sighed heavily, "Just find the road, Ianto."

After they found the road, Charles took his leave of Ianto's mind.

He sat back in his chair, on the table Ianto's eyes had closed and his heart rate was returning to normal. He was asleep.

"He's sleeping now," Charles told the others in the pit, "let him he's exhausted. It should be about an hour before he wakes."

Owen breathed a sigh of relief and then he asked, "Will there be any side effects? His organs almost completely shut down."

"He will likely be very weak for several days and might not be able to walk out of here but he's young and I am confidant he'll make a full recovery."

"Dr Harper," Hank said, "let's see if we can get an IV into him now that his blood's flowing properly again."

"Yeah, I'm sick of sponging water into his mouth and please Dr McCoy, it's Owen."

"Then you must call me Hank."

"Remy," Charles said, "as long as Hank is busy will you help me up the stairs? You can come back when we're done speaking."

Remy gulped but nodded, "Sure."

With much less ease than Hank Remy managed to push Charles up the stairs. Jack was sitting in a chair pale and rubbing his temples.

"What happened up here?" Charles asked. It hadn't been necessary; Ms Cooper's thoughts were extremely loud. Charles sighed, "Ms Cooper, there is no need to shout."

She blinked, "What? I didn't say anything."

"Apparently," Ms Sato said, "you think loudly. Owen told me that's what Ianto says."

"I do?"

Charles nodded, "Quite." He looked up at Remy, "A word in private please, Remy."

Remy understood, "But he's not dead anymore."

"That is not the point, Remy."

Jack stood, "Charles, it's okay. If I were him, I would have killed me. I deserved it."

Part of Charles agreed but killing was never the answer, "Perhaps but even so, I would still like a word. You too Jack. Do you have an office?"

Jack pointed up another set of stairs.

Charles sighed, "Any place we can talk that's wheel chair accessible?"

TW…TW…TW…TW…

Jack took Charles and Remy down to the archives, at least the part of them that didn't have stairs.

He had been furious with Ianto but he understood why he did what he did. At least when it came to the cyberwoman. Jack knew what it was like to lose a loved one, more than once so he knew where Ianto was coming from in that regard. Ianto couldn't bear the thought of losing his girlfriend after he'd lost his boyfriend in the way that he did.

Jack could even forgive Ianto for this. Owen's words earlier that night and what Remy had said to him made Jack realise he might have done the same thing if the shoe were on the other foot.

But what Jack couldn't understand is just how Ianto knew his secrets if he claimed he couldn't read his thoughts? Okay, the immortality thing was easy to figure out, Jamie had a big mouth—he just loved to talk about his 'Uncle Jack'—and Ianto was clever, he could easily figure out that Jamie's godfather and Charles' friend were one in the same. But how the hell had he known the rest?

"Jack, are you paying attention?" Charles' voice brought Jack back to reality.

"Huh? Yeah, sure."

Charles took a breath, "While I feel your actions regarding Ianto were unnecessary they are understandable."

"What?" Remy exclaimed, "You're not taking his side are you?"

"I am not taking anyone's side, Remy," he hadn't taken his eyes off Jack, "the collar was unnecessary Jack, when I first entered Ianto's mind I saw his most recent memories. At the time you placed the collar on him he was too emotionally drained to use his kinetic powers even if he wanted to but you weren't to know that. Still, there is a reason Jack when we spoke last week that I told you never to use one of those deplorable devices on a telepath. When you ask me for advice on mutants I expect you to listen."

Jack leaned against a filing cabinet, "I know and I'm sorry. I was so furious with him. You have to understand my position here. There are only half a dozen Torchwood operatives left still working, including Ianto. He put the entire planet at risk and if that were to get out to the Crown, UNIT would surely find out as well and they'd just love a reason to shut us down. I had to do something."

"So," Remy said, "you put that damn piece of machinery on my baby brother so you can keep your job? Is that what you're saying?"

Jack winced, "I didn't mean it like that…I think."

"That's what it sounded like. Look, the Professor and Jamie explained about this Rift thing. Why does Torchwood have to watch it? Can't UNIT take care of it?"

If Remy was Ianto's brother that meant he was a UNIT brat too. Wait a minute, how were they different nationalities? Oh well, he'd find out later, "Like Torchwood London UNIT wouldn't give anything that comes through the Rift a chance."

"They would if the Doctor told them to."

Jack blinked, "How do you know that?"

"I've met him, so has Ianto, Jamie and Logan. In Nawlins."

This was new information, Jamie hadn't told him that. "Who was with him?"

"Pretty thing by name of Rose Tyler."

The pieces were falling into place but why would the Doctor or Rose be talking about Jack? He'd have to ask Ianto. But why didn't Ianto tell Jack he knew the Doctor? Then again, Jack thought, it wasn't something friends of the Doctor talked about.

Charles looked into Jack's eyes, "What else is there Jack? Something else made you angry, I think I've known you long enough to know when you're hiding something."

Jack sighed again, "He never told me he was a mutant, never told me he knew you. He knew about my immortality which I grant him is easy to figure out but he didn't tell me he knew. And," he took a breath, what the hell, "he knew some other things about me that no one else did and he revealed those secrets to my team. Looking back, I was asking for it. I just don't know how he knew that stuff. You saw it didn't you? When you were in his head?" The thing that really upset Jack was that he was starting to fall for Ianto, there was just something about him that made Jack feel like no one else had. And for this to happen…but he couldn't tell Charles and Remy that. Remy would likely hit him again.

Charles nodded, "But you will have to talk to him about it." He looked up at Remy, "As for you, Remy, killing Jack was not necessary."

Remy looked around the room they were in, "Ianto works down here doesn't he?"

Jack arched an eyebrow "You can tell that?"

"Oui, it has his signature organising style."

"Remy," Charles said.

Remy grumbled, "I don't see the problem, I knew he couldn't die."

"That is beside the point. We none of us know what keeps Jack alive, any death could be his last."

"Hasn't happened yet," Jack muttered, "but really Charles, it's okay. I'm glad he did it, it knocked some sense into me."

Charles sighed, "Still, Remy, what you did…"

"I'm sorry, all right. Fine, I shouldn't have killed him, that was sinking to an assassin's level but you can't deny if Wolverine were here he would have skewered him."

"He's right, Charles," Jack said, "If Logan were here, I'd be shish kebob o' Jack."

Charles shook his head, "I give up. Remy, you may return to Ianto now."

…EEEEEEEEEEEEE….

Ianto

I didn't want to open my eyes because every inch of my body ached. I suppose that was a good thing, it meant I wasn't paralyzed. But still. I did open my eyes though, I could sense Remy fretting and just about everyone else. Remy was standing by me, holding my hand.

"Hey," he said, "how are you feeling?"

"Like I've been hit by a train," I groaned. I tried to sit up but I ached too much and Remy gently pushed me back down on the pillow.

"Easy."

Owen and Hank came into view.

"Ianto, on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the worst how would you rate your pain?" Owen asked.

I took a breath, "10.5."

Hank put something into my IV drip, "This should help."

"Thank you."

"Remy," Hank said, "we're going to examine Ianto now."

Remy sighed, "all right, I'll get out of your way," he kissed my cheek, "Rogue sends her love and she says if you ever scare her like that again she's going to throw you in mud."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Remy let go of my hand and went up the stairs. He stood at the top though.

"Ianto," Owen said, "You're gonna have to sit up for this. Are the drugs working yet?"

They were and it was very nice. "Yeah, this slab doesn't move does it?"

Owen shook his head, "Sorry, I keep telling Jack we should be fully equipped down here."

Hank helped me to a sitting position, my head still throbbed but I didn't care—must be an effect of the drug. Oh, had they given me morphine? That would be nice.

Working together my two favourite doctors examined me rather quickly. I was dehydrated but the IV was quickly remedying that. I was also anaemic and they both scolded me for not taking care of myself. I had a concussion (quel surprise) and my ribs were bruised. I would also be very weak for several days.

"I have a question," I told them, "I've had several concussions over the years; do you think I'll ever have an aneurism because of that?"

They looked at each other and Hank scratched his chin, "I don't think so Ianto, you do heal quite well and there haven't been any adverse effects so far."

"Sure there has," Remy said from above, "they've made him say stupid things all the time. You've heard him, Beast."

I rolled my eyes and flipped him off.

"Watch your language boy."

Owen cleared his throat, "Anyway Ianto, Jack'll want to talk to you when you're feeling up to it."

I sighed, of course, I was probably going to be fired, by this point I was confident death or retcon were out of the equation, not with the Professor here, "Might as well get it over with. Any chance I can get dressed first? And maybe something to eat?"

The only clean clothes I had was my X-men uniform which was fine by me, it was comfortable. I tried to eat but I couldn't keep anything down and all I was able to drink was water. My doctors were for some reason against the idea of me having coffee for at least a few days. The jerks.

They moved me to a chair but kept the IV in me and made me stay in the medical bay, which was good because I had no desire to go up to Jack's office.

Owen and Hank left the medical bay and not long after Jack came down. He leaned against the wall facing me.

"You betrayed my trust," he stated simply.

"I know," I said. While I was trapped inside myself I realised that I didn't really hate him, he'd only acted in the way he felt best at the time. I had betrayed him in so many ways, he had every right to be angry with me. Besides he couldn't be so bad if Rose and the Doctor liked him. I took a breath, "I'm not sorry for trying to save her but I am sorry for the way I went about it. I should have asked for help."

Jack nodded, "That's what I wanted to hear about that particular topic."

I finally looked up at him, "I realise now that the woman I loved died at Canary Wharf, and that the cyberman was just using her memories to get to me."

Jack nodded again, "And I can forgive you for that. You're not the only one who lost someone at Canary Wharf."

Instinctively I knew he must be talking about Rose, her name after all had been on the list of the dead. "Rose Tyler," I said.

"Rose Tyler," Jack sighed, "That brings me to my main concerns. How the hell did you know all that about me? I grant you guessing about the immortality but I don't think Rose and the Doctor would talk about me. Remy said you met them."

I nodded, "In 1999, it's a long story. And you're right, the Doctor didn't bring you up at all and Rose wouldn't have if I hadn't mentioned time agents."

Jack's brows furrowed, "How did you know about time agents?"

I mulled it over, might as well tell him. "I'll show you," I called Remy telepathically Remy, do you have a picture of Mama on you?

Oui, pourquoi?

Bring it to me, please. I'll tell you about it later.

Moments later Remy came down the stairs and handed me the photo of Mama holding Remy when he was just born. "Thanks, Remy. Go back up please."

He grumbled, "This better be good," but he complied with my request anyway.

I held out the picture to Jack, "I'll start at the beginning. That's my and Remy's mother. Perhaps you know her?"

Jack took the picture and his eyes widened, "This is Gwendolyn Le Beau, daughter of the CEO of the Time Agency. I thought your brother's eyes looked familiar. And the way he smelled when we first met, I just wasn't sure." He got close to me and sniffed, "You normally wear cologne don't you?"

"Didn't want you getting wise before I felt like telling you. I'm sorry sir, I should have from the start."

"How did this happen?" he asked.

I took a deep breath and told him about Tad having to fake his own death to avoid being retconned by Torchwood—Jack managed to look contrite—and how I met Remy. I told him everything from the letters to meeting Rose and the Doctor and finding out Tad was alive and a captain in UNIT. I even told him how suspicious I was when Tad got sick for real. I was sick of lying. And I didn't want Jack to hate me, it occurred to me that I couldn't stand it if Jack hated me. I also told him how we'd met at that clothing shop.

"Ah," he smiled, "so that was you." Then he sighed and looked at the picture again, "it's always the boss's kids who are the rule breakers. Have you ever noticed that?"

I shrugged.

"So, you told Rose about your mother and she told you about me?"

"Well not by name at first. Here's how the conversation went:

'At least you survived. It was really brave of you though. And you're really strong. I didn't think a boy your age…'

I looked at her 'I'm older than you though. I can see it in your head. I'm sorry, I'm having a hard time controlling my telepathy right now.'

'That's all right' she smiled 'but yeah, I guess you are. Bit weird. Only right now, I'm older.'

'You're a time traveller.'

'You don't seem weirded out by that.'

I shrugged 'Remy and I, our mam was a time agent. She's from the future.'

'No way? I knew a time agent once. The Doctor and I met him in 1941.'

'Really? So then I don't have to explain time agents to you. That's good, I'm too tired.'"

"So then how did you figure out it was me?" Jack asked.

I took another deep breath, "I saw Rose before the battle. I flirted with her a bit and she said 'Just like Jack you are.'"

Jack grinned with a laugh.

"I know right now it doesn't seem like it. Anyway I asked her who Jack was and she said your name and that they'd lost you somewhere. I said that there was a Captain Jack Harkness commanding Torchwood 3." I took a breath, it was time to give him Rose's message, "and she told me that if I ever found out you were her Jack to give you her love if she didn't see you before."

Jack smiled and his eyes glistened, "Thank you."

"I'm sorry sir, I should have told you earlier."

"It's okay, let's stop worrying about should haves. Did you talk about anything else?"

I shook my head, "I showed her where they might have taken the Doctor. I wished her good luck and I kissed her."

Jack looked at me, "You kissed Rose Tyler?"

I let myself smile, "On the lips. With tongue. I had a bit of a crush on her when we first met."

Jack grinned, "Lucky." Then his smile fell, "Do you know what happened to her?"

"No. I ran into the Doctor after the battle and he just said she was gone. I should have stayed with her."

Jack sighed, "Like I said enough with the should haves. Though I wish you did tell me you knew all that stuff."

"So do I."

"Well you know what they say about hindsight."

"Yeah. So…" I swallowed, "is there anything else sir?"

"Yes, let's get back to your other lies," he used his captain's voice.

"Yes sir."

"You lied to me about being a mutant, about knowing the X-men, those are things you should have told me to use one last should have."

"I know."

"Like I said I understand why you hid the cyberman but I'm still going to have to punish you."

"Am I fired?"

Jack took a breath, "Not necessarily."

"Huh?"

"Ianto, I could use someone like you on my team; you're brave and clever. But we both need to learn to trust each other again and to do that we need time apart. Officially and for the moment you're suspended indefinitely until such time I see that you're fit to return. I can't just excuse what you did."

My brows furrowed. Suspension? That was it? "I understand sir."

"I'm not finished yet. You will spend your suspension with the X-Men and I order you to get proper counselling. Not just for recent events but I think the Battle of Canary Wharf affected you more than you let on. You are after all one of only twenty-seven survivors."

I nodded, surely this couldn't be it?

"Unofficially," Jack continued, "you are receiving proper mourning leave as well as the time to decide whether or not you actually want to return to work at Torchwood."

That was actually a good question. Did I want to?

"I will periodically check up on you during this time and we will talk more about your options. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir but aren't I getting off easy? Torchwood Lon…"

"You know I couldn't care less about Torchwood London. By the way according to the Torchwood chain of command you would be CEO of London."

I blinked, "I what?"

"Of the twenty-seven survivors you had the highest ranking, the rest were other junior researchers under you, file clerks and two cleaning ladies."

"Seriously?" this was new information. I had no idea who else had survived, my main concern had been Lisa.

"Seriously but they're not gonna be rebuilding Torchwood 1 anytime soon, it's not in the Crown's budget. Now, I'll let you rest some more before you leave."

…

Since it was daylight when I woke up we had to wait till nightfall for the Blackbird to come get us. I had to be carried out of the Hub, it wasn't so bad because Hank carried me and that's always enjoyable. About an hour before the Blackbird arrived, Owen had taken Remy to my flat to get some more of my things—if my flat was a mess the next time I saw it, there'd be hell to pay.

The entire Torchwood team waited with us up on the Plass as dark storm clouds gathered in the sky.

"Remember to take it easy for awhile," Owen was saying to me, "and do what Hank says."

I smiled, "What if he tells me to hop on one foot while singing the Star Spangled Banner?"

Hank rolled his eyes, "I wouldn't…"

"I think he's starting to feel better," Remy said as the jet appeared overhead.

Owen sighed, "Just don't do anything stupid."

"I love you too, Owen."

Owen grumbled and shook my hand.

Rogue landed next to us and she was introduced to Torchwood. I think Jack was about to flirt with her but Remy glared at him and he wisely didn't. You don't mess with Remy's girl. Unless you're me.

"I'll take you up first Ianto," Rogue said as she took me from Hank, "I hear you can't walk today."

"Oh I can," I put my arms around her, "it's just I'm not very good at it right now. Every time I try my legs give way and my head swirls about. You can give me my sponge bath."

Rogue sighed but she smiled, "I guess you're feeling better."

"You better watch it, boy," Remy ruffled my hair, "or when you're better I'll take you out to the woodshed."

"We have a woodshed?" I said my goodbyes to Torchwood—Tosh kissed my cheek with a 'feel better, Ianto' and then Rogue took me up to the jet and set me in a chair. "I have a new found respect for the Professor," I said.

Rogue kissed her gloved hand and then touched my cheek, "That's probably a good thing." She then went to get the others. Once we were all in we headed for home.

….

Okay, if Prof. X seemed different than you're used to it's because a) I don't have access to the cartoons and b) I only have the first movie on tape and my VCR's not working. But I think he was himself. BTW, you are all aware he can walk when he's in someone's mind, right? I think I have some readers who've never seen or even read the X-Men.

And before you yell at me for Remy killing Jack put yourselves in his shoes. Besides, Jack needed more than just Owen yelling at him to put sense into him. He needed a throw down from Ianto's big brother.

And wasn't Owen just awesome in this?

Next chapter will be rated M due to some graphic scenes, and no I'm sorry they're not pleasant ones. Ianto has a nightmare; I'll leave it at that. Also there's going to be not so much fun in the Appalachians.

Please review.

TTFN