Torchwood Files: The Year That Never Was
Chapter 52: On the Valiant, Month 10
A/N: The Year is drawing to a close, so Jack's getting to the end of his ability to cope, especially with what the Master has thrown at him so far. Warnings for sex, violence, death, implied non-con.
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"— I pissed on his body," the guard Daniel hissed, his breath hot on Jack's ear. Jack twitched involuntarily. "Ianto Jones, savior of humanity, and I watched him die," Daniel continued. They were alone in the boiler room, no other guards present. Saxon hadn't been by to torture Jack in days, and he was getting suspicious about his absence.
Tears burned at the edges of Jack's eyes, but he forcibly kept them from falling. It's just more of their psychological bullshit, Jack thought. They're just trying to break me. Where's Tosh and the others? Why haven't they been talking to me today? Why didn't they talk to me yesterday to let me know things were ok? Shit, were they just hallucinations after all?
"Not saying anything?" Daniel taunted. "He must not have been all that important to you, after all."
Jack squeezed his eyes shut and grimaced, desperate not to react beyond that. It's just them lying to me, he told himself. I can't believe them. How many times have they tried to convince me he's dead? How many times have I fallen for it? It's not real!
"There's not much left of the body," Daniel added, walking away to stand in front of Jack. "But if you play nice, I'll see if the Master will let you see it. To say goodbye."
"How would I know it's him?" Jack demanded before he could stop himself. If he's really gone, what do I have left to lose? I've got to find out for sure. I've got to get to Flat Holm.
Daniel laughed harshly. "They saved the head."
Jack growled, low in his throat. Suddenly, Tosh's voice crackled in his ear.
"Don't listen to him, Jack!" she ordered. "Ianto's fine!"
Daniel circled Jack, looking him up and down, a sneer on his face. Jack blinked a few times, trying to clear his head.
Is that really Tosh, or am I just making that up to be able to keep going? What's Daniel's angle? Why is he looking like me like that? Shit, I know that look. He wants sex. He's been staring at me for months. Hmm, maybe…
"What do I need to do to see the body?" Jack asked, raising his head.
Daniel's smile was ugly. "It would have to be something special."
Jack pretended to consider his options, a plan forming in his head. "What did you have in mind?" He lowered his voice slightly, adding a small tendril of seduction. He watched as Daniel's nostrils flared at the sudden increase in pheromones in the air. "There are all sorts of things I'd be willing to do…" Jack continued, trailing off as he lowered his eyes to Daniel's crotch. Daniel licked his lips.
"Jack! Don't do it!" Tosh shouted in his ear. He shook his head, ignoring her. "Ianto's fine, you don't have to do this! He'll be on the comms soon!"
That's what you said yesterday, Tosh, Jack thought angrily. Then his caravan was attacked and I didn't hear from you. There were no heat signals. I know I heard that. And now Daniel's coming here with news of his death… who am I supposed to believe? The enemy I know or the friend who might not be real?
"I know you've seen me," Jack added, watching Daniel carefully. "Two months ago, when they gave me that drug to keep me hard for a week, when they made getting off a painful, horrible thing? You barely left the room the entire time. How many of them got to touch me while you just watched, huh? How jealous did it make you?"
Daniel swallowed, and Jack realized that he was fighting off an erection. He smiled lazily, allowing his body to show the signs of a desire he didn't feel, glad for once that the Master only allowed him clothing for special occasions. No, not the Master, Jack chided himself. He's Saxon. Always Saxon. This is for Ianto, Jack added. I'm just doing this to —
"Blood pressure's dropping," Robert reported in his ear. "What's going on?"
"Respiration's dropping, too," Anna added.
"Jack? Jack, what's going on?" Tosh demanded. Jack ignored her.
Daniel's eyes were locked on Jack's erection.
"Come on, want a taste?" Jack purred. "Want me to suck yours?" He paused a beat, raking his eyes up and down Daniel's body in a blatantly sexual way. "You ever shagged a man before, Daniel?" he asked. "You want to give it a try? I bet you're good. I bet you're a natural."
"Jack!" Tosh exclaimed.
"You've seen them rape me," Jack murmured. "I know you have. I bet you've jerked off, thinking it was you doing it. Am I right? I'll let you do it. It'll be our little secret. You can claim it's rape if you need to for your reputation, but we'll know the truth, won't we?"
Daniel swallowed convulsively. Jack smiled in his head at the expression on his face. Almost have him. He's hard, he's wanting. Just need him to come closer…
"What'll it be, Daniel?" Jack wondered, lowering his voice even more. "I know you're not a bad guy, I know you don't really want to hurt me, right? Take my offer. Take my body…"
"It's like his body's shutting down," Robert commented. "I've never seen anything like it."
"It looks almost like a meditative state," Anna muttered.
"Jack, please, stop this!" Tosh begged.
Daniel took a step towards Jack. "Slut," Daniel growled. "Whore."
"I love a man who talks dirty," Jack said with a theatrical moan, twitching his hips as best he could while still being chained up. "Come on, big man, what'll it be?"
"I'll be watching you," Daniel warned, moving even closer.
"Oh, I certainly hope so," Jack murmured.
"You try anything, and you're dead," Daniel said, indicating the automatic rifle over his shoulder.
"You get me what I want, I'll give you what you want," Jack countered. "Over and over again," he continued in a silky voice.
"James, get Ianto on the comms," Tosh demanded, her voice turned away from the microphone and harder for Jack to hear.
"We can't risk it!" James protested.
"I said get him on the comms!" she shouted. "We can't let Jack do this!"
"Toshiko, Captain Harkness clearly has a plan of some kind," Harriet interjected. "If he's willing to do it, we should let him."
"But he wouldn't do it if he thought Ianto was alive! We've got to convince him Ianto's fine. The only way to do that is to get Ianto on the comms so Jack can hear his voice!"
Jack tuned out the voices in his head as Daniel took a final step closer. He could feel Daniel's breath on his face. He closed his eyes, forcing his face into one of anticipation and desire, internally dreading what he was about to do. He allowed more pheromones into the air now that Daniel was so close. "Trust me," he whispered, hoping Tosh understood he was talking to her instead of the man in front of him. Daniel ran a hand down Jack's bare chest.
"You'll be my bitch, Harkness," Daniel mused, circling him again. He stroked down Jack's back and over his ass. "You'll do everything I say, won't you?"
"Yes," Jack answered in his bedroom voice, the voice he saved for Ianto. In his ear, Tosh was crying.
Daniel, back in front of Jack, looked him over again. "How do I know I can trust you?" he demanded suddenly.
"My word on Ianto's name," Jack replied, releasing even more pheromones. Daniel grunted, swaying slightly. Almost have him, Jack thought again. Come on, Dan, smell those pheromones. I smell wonderful, don't I? You've never met anyone who smells as good as me. Think about it. If I smell this good, how do I taste? How does my mouth feel around your cock? How would it feel to fuck me? Come on, Dan, you want me. You know you do. One more breath of me.
With an impatient snarl, Daniel lunged forward and grabbed one of Jack's wrists. "You better be worth it, Harkness," Daniel growled in his ear as he unlocked the first manacle. Jack feigned exhaustion and wrapped his free arm around Daniel's neck, holding himself up as his feet touched the ground for the first time in weeks. He avoided touching the weapon on Daniel's shoulder, knowing that would tip his hand and the game would be over. Instead, he kissed Daniel's neck.
"You know I am," he murmured softly against Daniel's skin. Daniel sighed in pleasure, pausing. Jack smiled as he continued kissing his neck, moving up towards his ear. "Want me to suck you off?" he asked as he kissed Daniel's ear, flicking his tongue along its edge to emphasize his point. "I think you'll just love it…" he purred.
Daniel groaned, thrusting his hips, grinding his erection against Jack. "Yess," Daniel hissed. He freed Jack's other hand. "On your knees!" he ordered.
Jack sank to his knees and immediately began undoing Daniel's belt and fly. He pulled Daniel's trousers and underwear down around his ankles and stroked his erection, allowing his own to fade now that Daniel wasn't paying attention to anything but his own cock. I never thought I'd be so glad I could control my pheromones and body as I am now, Jack thought, licking along Daniel's erection. And if my instructors at the Time Agency ever saw this acting job, they'd give me extra points for sure! Goodbye: Rear of the Year, 5094. Hello: Best Use of Sex to Escape Torture, 2008!
Jack chanced a look up at Daniel's face. He had a very small smile on his face. He watched Jack with hooded eyes. Jack lowered his eyes and took Daniel in his mouth, groaning at the disgusting taste. Daniel took the sound as enjoyment and sighed again. A hand landed on Jack's head. He glanced up quickly. Daniel's eyes were closed and his mouth slightly open. Hmm, it seems he's enjoying himself, Jack concluded. Let's hope he doesn't come quickly… I really don't want to taste any more of him than I have to… Goddess, I was spoiled with Ianto.
As Daniel curled his fingers in Jack's hair painfully tightly, Jack resettled his feet onto his toes in preparation. With the hand that wasn't holding Daniel's erection, he felt around the ground for the handgun Daniel kept in the waistband of his trousers. He found it. Gripping the gun tightly, he made sure the safety was off. Daniel gasped at Jack's ministrations.
"We've got adrenaline flooding Jack's system," Anna reported in his ear. "He's coming out of the meditative state. All his muscles are tensing!"
"Jack, please," Tosh sobbed.
"Incoming transmission!" James shouted.
Jack surged to his feet, pushing Daniel to the ground. He aimed his gun and fired, hitting Daniel square in the forehead. "That's for Ianto!" Jack growled. He fired again, placing the second bullet next to the first. "And that's for making me do what I just did," he snarled, spitting on the body.
"Tosh? Tosh, what's going on? I heard gunfire! Is everyone safe?" Ianto's voice sounded in Jack's ear, smooth and beloved, yet far away, as if his signal was being relayed from another source. Wasn't he supposed to be with Tosh and the others? Jack wondered.
"Ianto?" Jack whispered.
"Jack? Jack! Talk to me, ashe'ha. What's going on?" Ianto asked hurriedly. It was undeniably Ianto. No one else would call him that. No one else on the planet even knew that word.
"Ianto!" Tears started streaming down Jack's face. "Talk to me, gorgeous, keep talking," he begged. "Let me hear your voice again."
"Jack, I'm coming for you. Don't worry, ok? I'll be there soon. It's all planned out," Ianto said. "We'll rebuild. We'll fix this. We'll fight him!"
"Don't need your help," Jack hissed. He began pulling the clothing from Daniel's body so he could dress. "I just killed Daniel. Did you know how fucked-up he was? Ha!" Jack started giggling as steam escaped a pipe overhead, wetting his hair. He inhaled a lungful and coughed briefly. "He was so intent on getting a blow job he forgot about his handgun. Now I'm wearing his clothes. You ever worn the clothes of a man you killed, Ianto? It's not the best. Not the first time I've done it, though, come to think of it. And I'm covered with his blood, but that's ok. I'll go hide in the barracks, get clean clothes." Jack strapped Daniel's military vest around his chest and began examining the pockets. "Oh, look here. If they capture me again, Ianto, and you have to come get me, give me something to bite on, you understand? Something hard."
"I will, Jack. Now if you're dressed, you really need to leave that room, ok? They'll have been watching you on the cameras."
"I don't doubt it," Jack said, getting his laughter under control. "Now, is everyone here? Give me a roll call, people!"
"Toshiko, James, Anna, Robert and myself are here, Captain," Harriet said. "And Mr. Jones, of course."
"Excellent. Tosh, you have a map of the ship?"
"Yes," she said. He heard her wiping her face. "Where do you want to go?"
"I need to get to the TARDIS," Jack answered. "It's somewhere on this ship," he added. "Where?"
"I've got it, Jack," Tosh said. "Fifty meters to your right, there's a hatch in the floor. That'll get you into the sewer system. You'll be safer down there."
"No," Jack protested. "No sewers. Too many Weevils down there."
"There aren't any Weevils on the ship," Ianto said. Jack started laughing again.
"Yes, there are!" Jack shouted. "I'm seeing them right now." He shook his head to clear it. "Two of them. Ugly bastards." He raised the rifle and shot at them. The bullets ricocheted off the metal walls. "Where'd they go?" he demanded. "They were just here!"
"Jack, calm down," Ianto said. "Just listen to me for a minute, ok? You've been under a lot of stress. We know that. But you need to be careful."
Jack's entire body shook suddenly. "Something's wrong with me!" he declared. "They've done something! I can't stop shaking. What's going on?"
"I'm detecting a strange substance in his blood," Robert reported. "It's nothing we've seen before."
"Steam just blew in my face," Jack said between gasps of laughter. "Could they have drugged that?"
"I don't know, maybe," Robert said.
"Ianto, you still there?" Jack asked.
"I'm here, Jack," Ianto answered.
"When I was younger, I used to have sex with a lot of people."
"There's a time and a place," Ianto hissed. "This is not it!"
"No, I really did," Jack said, continuing as if Ianto hadn't spoken. "And when I say a lot of people, I mean a real lot ofpeople. Aliens, too. I loved it. I loved the variety, the choices. Everyone's a little bit different, and it's fantastic."
"Jack!" Ianto exclaimed.
"Whatever this drug is, it's lowering his inhibitions," Robert muttered.
"You think?" Tosh demanded sarcastically. "Jack, try to stay on task. You missed the sewers. Go back."
"Oh, I like it from the back," Jack said, laughing loudly as he moved along the corridors randomly. "But you know why I bring it up? The sex, I mean? It's a small thing, insignificant, really. I used to think that. You know I did. Everyone knows I did. It didn't matter who I blew, who I shagged. Hell, I'd fuck just about anyone! But you know what, Ianto? It's all changed. It changed because of you. You! See, it's not just sex anymore. With you, it's about love."
"That's great, Jack, just keep moving, yeah?" Ianto said. "And, we can have this conversation privately, right? I'd really prefer that."
"Oh, don't be such a prude!" Jack admonished. "I'm saying really good things here. It took me a year of being with you to realize it, but it's all true. I love you, Ianto Jones. And I'm only ever going to have sex with you for the rest of your life. You hear me? Only you!" Jack shouted at the top of his voice. "Everything else — what I just did — involuntary. You hear me? Are you listening, Ianto?"
"I'm — I'm listening," Ianto choked out between tears. "I love you, too, Jack. And I hope you're ready for eternity, because—"
"Guards are coming," James warned, breaking into the conversation. "At the next T-junction, they'll be on your left."
"Shit! Matthew's with them!" Anna exclaimed.
"Guards?" Jack asked, suddenly focused again. "How many?"
"Drugs are leaving Jack's system," Anna reported. "Another adrenaline spike! How's he doing this? His metabolism must be off the charts."
"Five, but don't hurt Matthew," James said, talking over her. "He's our inside man."
"How am I supposed to know which one is Matthew?" Jack demanded angrily.
"Got it," Ianto said. "I'll link with him."
"No, it's too dangerous," Tosh protested. "You're not prepared. You're not rated high enough. It'll burn you out!"
Jack rounded the corner and faced the guards. "Everybody down or I shoot!" he yelled, hefting the automatic rifle.
"Jack," Ianto whispered into his ear. At the same time, the man on the far left of the group held up his hands in surrender, saying Jack's name. The other four raised their guns. Jack fired. Four bodies dropped to the ground. Jack advanced on the lone soldier, his gun aimed directly at him. "Jack, don't kill him," Ianto said, the man echoing Ianto's words.
"Who are you?" Jack snarled.
"His name is Matthew," Ianto said through the man's lips and in Jack's ear. "He's Level 5 Psi. He's allowing me control. Please, Jack, don't make his trust in us misplaced."
"How do I know it's you, Ianto? How do I really know it's you?"
"The first night of my suspension—" Ianto/Matthew paused, thinking. "You brought me fish and chips. You brought enough for both of us, but we didn't eat it. I threw it all away because I was so angry at myself for how I treated you that night."
"I found it two days later," Jack breathed. "When I was cleaning up dinner."
"I wouldn't acknowledge your apology that day," Ianto whispered. "It was too soon."
"I went back to the Hub and cried for hours."
"I cried myself to sleep for two weeks straight."
"I loved you even then," Jack said, his breath catching in his throat. "It destroyed me to see you hurting so much." He took a ragged breath and met Matthew's eyes. They were blue, like Ianto's. They were Ianto's eyes. Without thinking, he stepped forward and touched Matthew's cheek. "Let me talk to Matthew."
"We don't have time for this," Tosh hissed.
"I need to know he's given consent," Jack growled, spinning on his heel and shooting the three guards coming up behind them. He locked his eyes on Matthew's face again.
Matthew blinked a few times and shook his head. He met Jack's gaze. His eyes were brown. "Captain," he said in greeting. "Matthew Jones, at your service," he added, saluting.
"You're all Jones, now," Jack offered.
"For him and Martha," Matthew finished.
"You agree to this?"
"I volunteered."
Jack nodded. "Good. Thank you."
"From Ianto," Matthew said, stepping forward to press his lips against Jack's. As a first kiss, it's not bad, Jack thought absently as he returned the kiss, feeling instinctively that it wouldn't be against his earlier pledge to Ianto if he and Matthew had been linked psychically.
"That's from you," Jack corrected softly as he pulled away. Matthew blushed.
"Guards coming! Both directions," James reported.
"Back to back!" Jack ordered. Matthew hastened to comply. "Ianto?" Jack whispered, low enough that Matthew wouldn't hear.
"Jack?"
"Tell him I'm sorry." Jack turned and smashed the butt of his gun against Matthew's head, knocking him out with a precisely-placed strike that wouldn't do any lasting damage. He slipped away from the two groups of men on the floor. He turned down a hallway and ran up some stairs. "Update," he snapped.
"Guards converging on you from all sides," James said. "They're in the corridors two floors above you and one below you."
"How many?"
"Five with each group."
"I'm going to try not to kill them," Jack muttered. "I haven't killed anyone but Daniel yet, just taken them out of commission. Which way to the TARDIS?"
"Left —"
There was a series of clicks in Jack's ear. "Oh Jackie-boy! We've got your little island," Saxon said, suddenly on their wavelength. "Kill as many of them as possible," Saxon ordered. "But we want the pregnant Asian woman alive." He laughed in his slightly hysterical way. "And the illusive Mr. Jones, of course. Boys, don't knock out our freak. I want him to hear every little bit of this."
Jack's blood ran cold as the sounds of screams and gunfire filled his head. He barely noticed when a cadre of guards grabbed him, took his weapons, and shackled his arms behind him, he was crying so hard.
