Authors Note. The Reality Jack has jumped into in this chapter was created by Aviv_b for her excellent story 'Ianto's Journey' reproduced here with kind permission.
All unique and specific elements related to Ianto's Journey are copy righted to Aviv_ b.
Ianto's Journey can be found on Livejournal, and Fanfiction dot net.
Winner 'Children of Time Award' Best Romance 2010
Twenty Eight
Jack came to and found he was lying down. He was not sure where he was, and he no longer cared. He was adrift, his link to Ianto gone. He couldn't think straight, it was like he was not in his body, it was a horrible sensation, and felt like part of him was dead. He brought his hand up and looked at the watch case he still held and read the inscription and broke down as the terrible lassitude he felt took him again.
Second, or hours later he was not sure he saw a man sitting across from him. He was sitting quietly and found his presence comforting in a way he could not explain. The man saw he was awake and moved across to him.
"Hello Jack, I'm Aaron Hamilton. You don't know who I am but I've been asked to see if I can help in any way," he told him gently. "We've worked out you're from an alternate reality; is that correct?" he sensed that Jack appeared to have heard but couldn't respond.
"I realised it might be hard for you to talk right now, so just squeeze my hand," he offered as he took Jack's free hand and felt Jack squeeze it back.
"So one squeeze for no, two for yes," he suggested and repeated his question and was rewarded with a double squeeze.
"In your reality you are very close to someone named Ianto Jones?" he asked. Jack squeezed his reply.
"And you and he share a bond, an emphatic link?" he asked gently as Jack replied.
"Thank you Jack, it's possible right now you can't feel that link with Ianto because you have jumped realities?" he checked out and Jack nodded this time.
"If that's the case you will be feeling like you have lost a part of your soul." Jack looked at him as someone who finally understood his plight.
"I think I may be able to help. I am Ianto's partner and we share an empathic bond and there is something we can try. We may have a way to assist you in reconnecting the bond you share with your Ianto. He's here but he has a few issues. One of them is he has lost his voice, and he can only speak via a speech synthesizer so there will be a delay while he types in a response." Jack looked up at him as he tried to follow.
"We have no idea if this will work, so we can't guarantee it will help but would you be willing to see if we can try?" Jack nodded as Aaron stood. He beckoned and Ianto entered. He felt himself crumple as he saw him and Ianto looked at Aaron who nodded. Ianto sat down by the bed and gave him a hug. Jack broke down unable to contain his grief but after a while he seemed to recover. As he did Aaron now sat on the bed and took Jack's other hand. He removed the watch case and placed it carefully on the night stand.
Taking Ianto's free hand they now closed their eyes. In what seemed an age both Aaron and Ianto felt it, a tiny fragile strand of deep purple with golden flecks. They both sensed the problem was that although the bond was strong it was stretched to its utter limits. Using their combined abilities they gently reinforced its energy and its connection to Jack A few moments more passed and they felt its effect and pulled back as Jack let go of their hands.
Opening their eyes they saw Jack was smiling faintly, looking relived. "Thank you," he said as he felt himself become whole for the first time since he had jumped from the other reality.
"I think something to eat and drink might be in order," Ianto typed in to his Blackberry as Jack nodded and Aaron left, returning a while later carrying a tray with a jug of juice, glass, mug of coffee and several sandwiches on a plate along with a large slice of chocolate cake.
Pulling himself to sitting Jack realised how weak he was.
"How long?" he asked as he realised he was connected to a drip and by the feel of it his output was also being measured.
"Five days," Aaron replied as Jack looked at him shocked.
"Five days!" Jack burst out.
"Five days," Ianto repeated using his Blackberry
"Everyone's been very worried about you," Aaron told him as Jack returned a sceptical look.
"I had a sheet of paper with an equation on it. I need to get it to Tosh," he told them as he poured a glass of juice and gulped it down, suddenly realising how thirsty he was and poured another glass. His thirst quenched he now attacked the sandwiches.
"She has it and has been working on it since she received it," Ianto informed him as he watched Jack power through the contents of the tray.
"In fact you might be surprised at the progress that's been made," Aaron advised as he now sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the watch fragments that were now on the nightstand. He placed them in his pocket as Jack looked concerned.
"I'll get this back to you in good time before you leave," he said winking.
"From what Tosh tells us this would be your third jump?" Ianto punched into his device.
"Yes, it's been one hell of a journey," Jack replied. "And I can't thank you enough for helping me, I can't explain but I feel alive."
"An emphatic bond is rare, normally it's shared between two empaths. Ianto and I both sensed what you share is something ever rarer." He took a breath. "It would appear your Ianto has some empathic abilities and you have virtually none so it's not empathic like the one Ianto and I share. The bond you share is a soul bond. It means that your souls are linked. It's important," he stopped and struggled to find the words to describe the feeling. "The only phrase I can use to describe is 'universal imperative'. I wish I could explain it better but there are no words to describe what I felt." Ianto nodded as Aaron spoke.
"It's preordained like the universe putting something to rights. I agree with Aaron it's very hard to put into words, but I got the sense that this bond is a gift…" Ianto trailed off.
"Wow," Jack said not sure if he believed everything he was being told. "I can't imagine what I have done…"
"I got the feeling this was more for services to be rendered, 'destiny, heart of time, to counter the oncoming storm', whatever that means," Aaron added shaking his head.
"Sounds like biblical prophecy. There'll be an old man with a long white beard in robes appearing soon with two large stone tablets," Ianto said smiling.
Ianto interrupted as he saw Owen outside the door looking impatient. 'Owen would like to see if you are all right. Can I call him in?" he asked as Jack nodded.
Seeing Jack give his okay he went to the door and beckoned him to come in.
"How you feeling?" Owen asked checking his vitals as he felt his pulse.
"A little better," Jack admitted as he saw Aaron put his arm around Ianto's waist.
"God you gave us a fright, I was worried we were never going to get you back," he admitted as Jack looked at Aaron and Ianto.
"It was touch and go," Ianto admitted as Aaron nodded. Jack raised an eyebrow as Owen now detached the drip.
"First you were catatonic then you started to have fits so I had to sedate you. We called Jack and told him what had happened. He was less than pleased I can tell you. He asked Ianto to come down and see if he could help. The logic was if you are bonded to Ianto Jones in your reality maybe he might have a chance to reach you. He tried for a whole day but nothing worked. Jack then had an idea that maybe you are as lacking in psychic ability as he is so he sent down an experimental compound Torchwood developed some time ago to boost empathic ability. They had no idea if it would work but it was worth a go."
"Aaron by this time offered to come down and see if both us working together might be able to reach you," Ianto added.
"So with a combination of the compound and the pair of them working in shifts you came back into yourself enough for us talk to you," Owen told him.
"Why did you need me conscious if you could reach in and reconnect the bond?" Jack asked taking a drink of coffee.
Aaron looked at him. "We tried but we discovered there was some fundamental element missing and that was your co-operation."
"The compound seemed to need to accumulate at a certain level before it started working which it did early this morning and we managed to gently nudge you back," Ianto said.
Jack looked at them, and told them he was genuinely touched by how hard everyone had worked to help him.
"It was the least we could do," Owen added then turned to Aaron and Ianto. "Now I have something that I need to remove and I don't think Jack will appreciate either of you being here when I do." The pair nodded and went to leave. As they did Ianto pulled out a wrist watch from his pocket which looked identical to the wrist watch Penny had broken.
"Jack sent this down, he said he had this one spare," he said placing around Jack's wrist and doing up the strap.
"Thank you," Jack said stunned as he looked at it. He could see it was nigh identical to the one he had worn including the scratches on the clock face.
Owen smiled putting on pair of latex gloves. "Now let's get this removed and you can go and have a shower," pulling the covers back Jack laid back willing his body not to react to Owen's gentle touch.
"In every reality I've been to, Ianto is with Jack. What happened?" Jack asked trying to divert the conversation from the proceedings below his waist.
"They sort of were but when Jack went off with the Doctor he was gone nearly two and a half years. How long do you wait for someone who left without a word? In that time Ianto met Aaron," Owen explained.
"I sensed he was very happy," Jack checked as he ignored the gentle pulling as Owen removed the catheter.
"Ianto and Aaron were made for each other. Civil partners, they are an empathically linked pair bond, deeply in love. Ianto's been through hell and back and Aaron is the best thing that ever happened to him."
"How come he can't speak?" Jack asked as Owen began to dispose of the catheter.
"It happened during the fall of Torchwood One during the battle of Canary Wharf. He was seriously injured when part of the building collapsed. One of the consequences was he lost his ability to speak. Now how about a shower?" he asked Jack who smiled and Owen assisted him to stand.
"So who does Jack have? Is he on his own?'' Jack asked shakily as he realised how weak he was.
"He has a personal assistant called Alonso, dropped off courtesy of the Doctor, he seems to be close to each other," Owen replied as he helped him move towards the shower.
"Personal assistant?" Jack repeated.
"Apparently the role comes with extra benefits," Owen laughed as Jack got the reference and shook his head.
twtwtwtwtwtwtwtwtw
Owen watched as Ianto moved around the Hub. He was pretty sure Ianto was about to make his move. Ianto might think he was being clever but they could all see he was growing more desperate with every passing hour. And for a man who prided himself on his appearance he looked a wreck. He seemed to be surviving on a diet of coffee and nervous energy. God knows when he had slept last.
All the evidence suggested Ianto was close to collapse so he had decided to force the issue and had set up a fictitious Rift alert to seemingly empty the Hub. If Ianto thought he was alone then he would feel free to act. A movement caught Owen's attention and he saw Ianto was adjusting the Rift Manipulator.
Ianto stalked his way around the Hub. He needed Jack, that was all that mattered. He didn't care if it was here or somewhere else as long as they were together. His being felt like he was being pulled in every direction, his head was swimming with images and thoughts. Finally the desperate feeling in his chest was one he couldn't fight any longer. He twisted the series of dials so now the Rift settings matched those use during Tosh's failed bubble experiment.
A small Rift alert had meant the others had left to deal with an incursion, leaving him alone, so if he acted quickly he could jump before they got back. He twisted the final dial and smiled grimly. Moving to Tosh's desk he picked up the backpack he had prepared and put it on then picked up his laptop and began to type.
He cursed as he came across the attempts to disable the controls of the Rift Manipulator. So they were not as stupid as they looked but he had prepared for this contingency. After his conversation with Owen he was expecting such a move. His fingers flew over the keyboard as he worked to over-ride the controls. Tapping in the final instruction he moved closer to the Rift Manipulator
"Put the laptop down, Ianto," he heard a voice say. He glanced up and saw Owen holding a gun on him.
"You can't stop me!" Ianto told him holding his finger over the enter button as he glared, wild-eyed.
"Tosh has disabled the controls," Owen told him as Gwen now joined Owen.
"I overrode the controls," Ianto laughed derisively.
"Don't do it Ianto, Jack needs you to stay here, we need you," she argued as she kept his attention pointed their way.
"I am not going to argue with a woman with a double digit IQ," Ianto snorted.
"I'm warning you Ianto put the computer down," Owen said, tightening his grip around the gun.
"Or what you're going to pull the trigger?" Ianto said with narrowed eyes. "I'm betting I can press enter faster than can shoot me."
"You know, for a smart man you are incredibly stupid," Owen said as Ianto's eyes flew open.
"Don't ever call be stupid," Ianto snarled.
"The worst thing you can do is follow Jack," Owen argued.
"You don't understand. I am dying inside," Ianto shouted not taking his gaze from the gun in Owen's hand. "He's jumped twice he is never coming back and I've nothing to lose," Ianto told him as he took a step towards the Rift Manipulator and his finger twitched over the enter key.
"You have everything to lose," Owen said as he aimed, fired, and the laptop exploded out of Ianto's hands, disintegrating with a crash as he jumped back in surprise.
"So predicable Owen, as an ex-scout I would have expected something more inventive," Ianto snorted as he pulled a small device out of his pocket and held it up, angling his thumb in line with the metallic button on the top. "I'm going," he tried to say as what felt like a bolt of lightning hit the small of his back and every muscle in his body locked and he fell forwards with a crash.
"NO, you are not," Tosh said looking at his prone form as she pulled back the stun gun and took the device out of his hand, stepping on it.
As she heard the component crunch underfoot Owen moved forward. Taking a syringe from his back pocket he pulled off the needle cover with his teeth then went down on one knee and in a single move stabbed it into Ianto's arse and depressed the plunger.
"Sorted," Tosh added as Gwen now joined them.
"Sorted," she agreed.
"Sorted," Owen said, standing as he joined in the chorus
