24.

"The problem is that James' body is dead," Tosh said and Jack massaged his forehead. Ianto entered his office and served Jack a mug of coffee. "The soul viewer doesn't recognize the body as a place to transfer his soul to."

"Find a solution," Jack said.

"I'm working on it. I'll see if I can re-program it. I've already worked with technology of this kind so I should be able to make it work," Tosh answered.

Jack nodded and she left his office.

"Can you believe it?" Jack asked Ianto. "All these years, all this effort, just for science."

"Humanity always goes too far for science," Ianto answered.

"Yes," Jack said with a sigh. "That'll never change."

XXX

It took until late at night, but finally Tosh said that she had re-programmed the soul viewer. Gwen was ordered to get James Lees's body from cold storage while Owen and Jack got James.

Gwen looked down at James' face sadly. "He was a handsome guy," she told Tosh, who was focused on her laptop. The soul viewer was attached to it with several cables. "Why doesn't Jack care about what James said?" Gwen asked and her words echoed through the huge morgue of the Hub. "Why is he ignoring it?"

"You mean what he said about Michael?" Tosh asked and Gwen nodded. "I think he's just thinking rationally," Tosh said.

Ianto added, "Michael was born seventy years ago. He's lived a whole life."

Gwen looked up at him.

"Maybe fifty or thirty years ago, Jack would have hesitated. But now … it's too late." Ianto sighed. "And he could be dead by now. I think Jack just feels better not knowing."

"You can't kill me!" James said and he sounded desperate. Jack and Owen dragged him into the room where all former Torchwood agents were resting.

"We won't," Jack said. "You did that yourself."

They stopped next to James' body and Jack and Owen held onto James arms, even though his hands were bound.

James laughed. "Impossible. You can't transfer a soul into a dead body. It won't work."

"Maybe you just couldn't do it," Jack said, "but I've got Toshiko."

Gwen noticed that Tosh blushed and smiled.

"It's more about it being a technology that did originate on Earth and the fact that you didn't know what programming was in the 30s," Tosh said. James stared at her, then at his body and then he tried to run.

Owen cursed when James slid out of his grasp, but Jack had him. "Now, Tosh," he said. She took the soul viewer and pointed it at Matthew's body. She pushed the button and kept it pushed until the device was pointed at James. Then she let go. Gwen didn't know what she'd expected but it had been something a bit more spectacular. Instead, Matthew just slumped and James' body didn't move.

"Done," Tosh said.

"That's it?" Gwen asked.

Owen helped Jack to lower Matthew to the floor.

"Yes," Tosh said.

Gwen looked down at James. "What happens to him now?"

"He's dead," Jack said. "He's in the darkness." The way he said it convinced Gwen that it wasn't a good place to be. No heaven, no paradise … as if Jack could hear her, he added, "Forever."

XXX

"Jack?" Owen asked and Jack thought that his voice was coming from far away, filtered by mist – muffled and without a body it belonged to. He blinked and then he heard the beeping of the heart monitor and Matthew's EEG, saw the bare walls of the med bay and felt Matthew's warm hand in his. Owen was standing in front of him, one hand on Jack's shoulder. "Jack, do you understand me?"

Jack nodded slowly. "We didn't make it in time."

"Matthew's brain can't compensate. The cryo chamber and the strain of another consciousness suppressing his … it was too much. His brain was overwhelmed and now it's burnt out." Owen's hand squeezed his shoulder gently. "We had no way of knowing this would happen, Jack. Maybe if we had discovered James after Matthew woke up, but … I can't do anything for him. I could keep him alive with machines but it would just be his body and I don't think he would want that."

Jack rubbed a hand down his face and tried to focus. "How long?"

"Not long."

"Then give him to me."

"What?" Owen asked.

"He won't die in this room," Jack said with determination. "Not with all of you watching." He bit his lip to suppress a sob and forced back tears. "I'm taking him where he belongs. I'm taking him home."

XXX

Owen felt incredibly tired. It was almost three am. The boardroom was smelling of pizza. They'd been hungry, but each of them had only eaten one or two slices. The silence was suffocating. They were all sitting in front of paperwork that needed to be done, but nobody was filling it out.

Finally, Gwen cleared her throat. "Are we really going to sit here and wait for Matthew to die?"

Owen rubbed his forehead and looked at Ianto who hadn't even eaten one whole slice and who was paler than ever. "No. Ianto will fill out the paperwork and I'll have to confirm the death, but you girls can leave."

Gwen shook her head. "No, it's alright. It's just … so cold."

Owen's palm slapped the table. "We did what we could, Gwen! I did what I could! Do you think I don't care?"

"Stop it," Tosh said softly. "Please."

And the silence returned.

XXX

Jack's hand stroked up and down Matthew's back, his eyes focussed on the ceiling.

"Michael's asleep?" Matthew asked softly.

Jack nodded. "Michael's asleep," he whispered. When Matthew had regained consciousness, Jack had thought that Owen might have been wrong and that Matthew might be okay, but then he'd realized that most of Matthew's memories were gone and that he couldn't remember the last few days.

"I have a headache."

"It'll stop," Jack said softly and put a hand on Michael's head. "Close your eyes. Get some sleep."

"Will you be here when I wake up?"

Jack pulled him closer, put both arms around Matthew and kissed his hair. "I'll always be here," he promised. "I love you."

XXX

One hour after Matthew's last breath, Jack left the room and went to the main Hub.

Gwen got up from the couch when he entered. "Jack," she said. He stopped long enough to nod at Owen, then he headed for his office. He heard Gwen following him and closed the door. She seemed to get the message and didn't keep following him. Jack took his Webley from his desk and climbed down into his bedroom.

He closed the hatch.

He didn't want the others to hear the shot.

XXX

"We should have stayed," Gwen said when she left the tourist office with Owen. The night air was icy, but Owen didn't mind that after the suffocating atmosphere in the Hub.

He shook his head. "Why?"

"To help Jack. He just lost someone he loves."

"And he made it clear that he wants to be alone," Owen answered.

"Do you think he'll be okay?"

"I don't know," Owen said. "Frankly, I've never seen him like that before." From the corner of his eye, he saw Gwen wiping her eyes and asked, "Are you crying?"

"In case you didn't notice – I liked Matthew."

Owen shoved his hands in his jeans pocket. "Yes," he said. "Me too." Again, he mentally checked everything he'd done. Maybe there had been a possibility of helping Matthew, maybe he'd been too blind.

"Shitty job!" Gwen said and there were tears in her voice. "What we did … it didn't change a thing. Into the past and back to the future and getting James out of Matthew … and he died."

Owen didn't answer and there was only the sound of their steps on Roald Dahl Plass and the distant noise of the traffic that was rolling through Cardiff before sunrise.

"He wanted to live here," Gwen said, "because he and Jack would have had a real chance here. What are we doing?" She stopped and Owen did, too. Tears were running down her face and she looked up as if that would stop the flow. Katie had done the same, it had never worked. She sobbed. "Lisa and Jasmine and the cannibals and Matthew. And my old colleagues aren't talking to me because I'm 'better than them' now. And I can't talk to Rhys. All I've got is you and I don't even know you!"

Owen sighed deeply and pulled her into his arms. "You're exhausted," he said. Her hands held onto his jacket and he stroked her back. "You're shivering. You need sleep. I'll drive you home." He wanted to pull away and take her to his car, but found himself kissed instead. Surprised, he answered the kiss and allowed her tongue to join his. Then he remembered the CCTV all around the Plass. "No, wait," he muttered and pushed her away. "Not here."

She pressed the back of her hand against her lips and shook her head. "What am I doing?" she asked and even though Owen knew that she didn't ask him, he answered, "Being human. There's a lot of shit going down in our job and we can't talk about it. You're angry and sad, but you don't want Rhys to know about it. You're just looking for … an outlet for those feelings." He knew that problem. He'd had the same with Suzie. An outlet and it had been fantastic. He smiled at her. "You only can do that with someone who knows."

She stared at him. "I'm with Rhys."

"Yeah," Owen said, "I know. But Rhys doesn't get this."

Gwen stared at the ground, her shoulders pulled up.

Owen shook his head. "I think you should get yourself home." He put a hand on her arm. "See you later."

"Yeah," she said.

Owen turned away and headed for his car. On his way, he pulled a syringe out of his jacket and checked the label. If the oral ingestion of Retcon didn't work, they could rely on the injection. Jack didn't like to fall back on it, because it was a bit risky and it erased a good few weeks worth of memories. Owen hadn't told Jack about his talk with Ben and since Jack really wouldn't care at the moment, he'd decided to handle this situation himself.

Owen put the syringe away, got into his car and called Ben. "I talked to the Captain," he said. "He says your suggestion's acceptable. Can I come over?"

XXX

"Are you sure?" Tosh asked, eyeing Ianto with worry. "You look beat."

He nodded. "I'm sure. I've slept on that couch before. I'll be fine. Really." He glanced at Jack's office and Tosh heard him sigh. "I don't want to leave him alone."

Tosh nodded her understanding. "I'll leave and get myself home. It's back to work at noon."

Ianto nodded.

Tosh hesitated for a moment, then she hugged him. "See you later." Her lips brushed his cheek.

"Yes, later," he answered.

Tosh smiled, then she turned and left the Hub.

XXX

Ianto opened the hatch, waiting for a moment to give Jack the opportunity to send him away. The dimmed lights in the Hub only illuminated the top steps of the ladder, so he switched on Jack's desk lamp and now he could see Jack lying on his bed, his eyes closed. Ianto descended the ladder softly and managed to reach the floor without making a sound. Now, he saw the gun in Jack's hand and he swallowed, but he couldn't see any blood.

He crept towards Jack's bed and wasn't surprised to see his eyes opening. Jack's fingers tightened around the weapon and he put it on the night stand. "I had reasons not to do it," he said. "Even knowing that I would wake up again." He smiled bitterly. "I had reasons not to shoot."

Ianto sat on the edge of the bed.

Jack closed his eyes and continued, "Four of them. You." He sighed deeply. "Did you ever think about it? After Lisa?"

"No," Ianto answered.

"Hm," Jack said. "That proves that you're a stronger man than I am, Ianto Jones."

"I'd say that's a matter of interpretation."

Jack turned his head away and closed his eyes. "I thought everyone had left."

"They did," Ianto answered. "I'll be on the couch."

"You're here too often," Jack said.

Ianto didn't know an answer to that.

"I'm going to depend on you soon," Jack said with a thin smile, then tears entered his eyes. "Is he ..."

"Owen and I froze him," Ianto said. "There's a form with the number of his drawer on your desk." Ianto pulled a key from his trouser pocket and put it on the night stand. "The key to your room."

Jack nodded his thanks. Then he moved towards the wall. "Stay," he said. "Sleep down here." Ianto hesitated for a moment and Jack whispered, "Please."

Ianto laid down slowly and let Jack rest his head on his shoulder, one arm around his hips. He stared at the ceiling and breathed calmly, trying to ignore Jack's breathing getting erratic when the tears came. He didn't say anything, since he couldn't find words that didn't sound like a lie or irrelevant.

He wished there was more he could do.

END

04/11

Sequel: Echoes (WIP)

There's a haunted mansion calling for Torchwood's attention. The echoes are starting manifest themselves into our time, which can only mean that the Rift is slowly splitting. Or has the activity nothing to do with the Rift, but with the mansion itself? After all, it is Torchwood House.

The team takes a trip to Scotland where Jack and Ianto finally find the opportunity to start to repair the damage done to their relationship, while Tosh tries to find herself after what happened with Mary.