November 2007

"You have to rest Gran, you too Francine" JJ said eyeing the two women in concern both looked pale and exhausted. They way the pair were both shaking proved they weren't well, JJ cursed the fact Alex Rose wasn't here she would know instantly what was wrong.

"You know we can't" Francine sniffled. "The Master won't let us"

"Mum, me and Dad and Donna can take over your duties, you're ill" Tish said forcing Francine to sit down on one of the grubby cots in the servant headquarters while Donna was doing the same to Jackie.

"Come on Jackie, you need to sleep just for a little while" Donna said helping the woman lie down.

"But the Master will punish you all" Jackie said shivering.

"Don't care as long as you two get better. Come on ladies our girls and boys need you two" Clive said draping a blanket over Francine and then one over Jackie.

"My daughter is dead, the boy I considered as a son is trapped in another world and my granddaughter could be anywhere" Jackie said bitterly.

"Leo could be dead, Martha is attempting to save us and Tish is stuck here, what good is it Clive?" Francine muttered.

"Listen here you two" Donna snapped. "You can't give up like this, that's what that mother fucker wants. Right now my Granddad and mother could be dead, the man I love and yes JJ I still love him is chained in the cells down below, my goddaughter is missing, my godson is stuck here and my best friend just died but do I give up hope? Do I give into our so called Lord and Master? No I don't! And do you know why? Because I have faith, I have faith in the Doctor and Martha Jones"

Neither Jackie nor Francine answered they both fell asleep snoring softly. JJ sighed. "I wish Alex Rose was here" he whispered. "She'll know what to do?"

"What's wrong with them?" Tish whispered.

"Not overly sure but from the symptoms I can guess it's a flu virus but I'm not sure. This is why I need Alex she's an expert in all human and some alien diseases" JJ replied.

Tish nodded understandingly. "Martha would be a big help here as well" she said rubbing the goose bumps on her arms.

"We're just going to have to cope" Donna said not unkindly. "Soon it'll all be over, like a bad dream"

The others merely smiled wistfully.

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW

Donna entered Jack's cell slowly carrying a tray with Jack's food and a bowl of water with a rag to her surprise Jack didn't lift his head up and give her a saucy comment with a flirty wink while complaining about the quality of this hotel and how he'll never come here again. It was one of the things that make her laugh, something she can rarely do these days. She slowly put the tray down, trying her hardest not to bend down completely and get wolf whistled by the guards; she immediately jumped up to her full height and reached out to touch Jack.

"Jack?" she said quietly shaking him. "Honey wake up, its dinner time" to her shock he lifted his head to reveal eyes shining with tears beneath the grime, she let out a small gasp. "What's wrong sweetheart? What happened?" she asked.

"That fucking psychotic bastard killed one of them" Jack growled as a tear fell down his cheek. "He harmed a member of my team, one of my friends"

"Jesus" Donna breathed using her thumb to wipe Jack's tear away. "Oh sweetheart I'm so sorry, which one...?"

She was dreading the answer; she adored all four of them. Ianto was perfect for Alex Rose with his calmness while Gwen was perfect for JJ with her enthusiasm. Tosh was a sweetie with a gigantic brain, she often worked fantastically with the twins and then there was Owen, Owen who was a bit too much like her but after a couple arguments the pair had hitted off, Owen was a little brother to her.

Another tear rolled down Jack's cheek. "She's going to kill herself when she finds out. I know she will she loves him too much..."

"No, no not him!" Donna said shaking. "Oh fuck no!"

"It's all my fault, I should have been there, I should have never left them for the Doctor if I didn't the Master wouldn't be here and they're all be safe everyone single one of them including Rose" Jack snarled.

Donna grabbed hold of his face firmly with both hands. "This is not your fault" she said sternly. "You weren't to know. You just needed to resolve your own issues with the Doctor, this is the Master's fault, not yours not the Doctor's, not anyone else's just his. You got that Immortal-Boy?"

The corners of Jack's lips quirked upwards as he nodded, Donna smiled weakly. "Good" she muttered before pulling Jack's face down so she could kiss him, on the lips. Before the kiss could get passionate there was a loud cough.

"Oi! Ginger if you're going to give the freak a snog you should give us some loving too" one of the guards shouted with a smirk in his voice.

Donna pulled away and held a middle finger up at him causing him to snicker as she started to work on feeding Jack.

"Bastards" Jack muttered before accepting a spoon full of gruel.

"Hear, hear" Donna muttered back.

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW

She staggered along the cold corridor, her legs unstable for the lack of use and the only thing holding her up was the guards who were being rough as they pulled her down the corridor. The first time she had ever been free from that room and she couldn't even walk by herself. They led her back into the conference room, last time she was there everything came out and she got on hell of a beating.

The doors slid open and the guards pushed her through. "Get in there slag" one of the guards snapped as she fell onto the floor, she got back onto her knees and turned round to give him a glare. The guard merely glared back before stalking out of the room with his partner, Alex Rose turned round to scan the room there was a small tent with a wheelchair sitting out in front of it, her father was in there, did the Master want some sort of confrontation?

Her eyes flittered away from the tent towards...oh god, god no, it can't be...she began to crawl across the floor towards the man that was lying on the floor, his clothes were ragged and dirty and his hair was an inch or two longer and there was bruises and cuts decorating his beautiful face, she shakily reached out and shook his shoulder.

"Wake up" she whispered, shaking him harder. "Ianto wake up, please wake up come on honey I need you to wake up" she scrambled closer grabbing hold of his clothes and she searched for his pulse, she couldn't find anything but that was ok, she was getting hysterical, she wasn't focusing, he was alive, she knows he is.

But his skin felt so cold and his hasn't been breathing since she found him.

She began to pound his chest before pressing her lips against his breathing into him, she kept repeating the simple sequence trying to get him to wake up, tears were blurring her vision and she fell down onto Ianto's chest sobbing.

"Please, Ianto please" she choked out before letting out a scream as she carried on crying.

She felt someone wrap their arms around her waist, someone gently but firmly dragging her across the room, her feet slid against the cold floor as she was pulled along, she felt someone lay her on a bundle of blankets and stroke her hair briefly before a wrinkled finger slid down her cheek.

She didn't need to look to know who it was, she wasn't going to push him away either. She carried on crying and let him comfort her; after all he understood perfectly how she felt right now.

It could have been minutes or hours before she stopped. "His hand, his hand fitted perfectly in mine" she croaked. "Have you ever met someone like that?"

"Yes" he said hoarsely, she opened her eyes and stared up at him. The answer he gave her was not the one she expected. "She was your mother"