Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or its characters

Chapter 3

"If he was in the past could he have frozen himself?" Gwen asked. "He would have made his way to Torchwood surely?"

"Depends where and when he is. He might not even be on Earth" Ianto replied.

"Surely it's worth checking though? Just in case?"

Ianto sighed and went to his work station and pulled up all the records he could find. "Everything looks in order. Last person to be frozen alive, not including our attempt with Beth, was Tommy." He sat back and sighed. The tiny spark of hope he'd had just then vanished.

"Owen have you sorted through those readings yet?!" Tosh called.

Owen came up holding up Tosh's PDA. "Ask and you shall receive oh wise one!"

They all stared at Owen before Tosh and Gwen burst into laughter. Ianto chuckled but couldn't bring himself to fully join in. He was too worried about Jack, and he still had a banging headache.

25th July 1985

Jack was grateful he landed on his feet this time. He took deep breaths as the pain receded. He looked up and had to shield his eyes. The sun was blazing and he could feel himself sweating in his great coat. He looked around and noticed he was on the same estate as before, Ianto's estate. He looked around, trying to figure out when he was. He saw he was close to the park. Someone got up and left a newspaper on the bench. He ran over and picked it up. 25th July 1985. He sat down just staring at the date. Why this date? Why was he back on Ianto's estate? He worked out Ianto must be nearly 2. He looked around but couldn't see anyone that young in the park.

He wandered round the estate trying to figure out what to do when he heard laughter. He walked round the corner and saw a girl about 6 playing with a little boy on the front lawn. He sucked in a breath as he saw his eyes. He was watching Ianto. He smiled as his sister kept making him laugh. She kept building towers with wooden blocks and he kept pushing them over.

"Ianto!" she cried, laughing.

"Rhi Rhi!" he cried clapping his hands, laughing.

Jack watched as the two children rebuilt the tower, feeling his heart melt. Seeing Ianto so young and innocent. He suddenly felt sad at the thought of what was coming for this lovely and innocent little boy. The heartbreak that would happen. Feeling tears forming he turned away from the scene. He walked away as he heard Ianto screeching with laughter.

He went back to the park and sat on a bench, head in hands. This was the second jump and again he was in Ianto's timeline. It couldn't be a coincidence. But what would happen now? Would he be going through Ianto's timeline until he caught up with him, or would he keep jumping until the end of Ianto's life? That thought overwhelmed him and he had to take slow deep breaths. He couldn't think about that. He refused to think about it. He had to be careful and avoid Ianto if he was indeed stuck in his timeline. Any interaction could change everything. He gasped and doubled over as pain shot through him. It was happening again. This pain was unlike anything he had ever experienced.

"Please let me land back to where this started" he begged as he disappeared in a flash.

15 March 1990

Jack gasped and heaved as he landed on wet grass. He leaned against a tree and took deep breaths, trying not to vomit. As his heart rate slowed and the nausea passed he looked around. He was in the same park but it had changed. Some of the play equipment had been removed or replaced. The slide looked new. The roundabout had been repainted to a bright red and the swing set a bright yellow. He watched a man was pushing a young boy on the swings. He had a funny feeling so he walked closer until he could hear them.

"You're pushing too hard Dad! I want to get off!" the boy cried.

"Ianto stop whining! You're not going that high!" the man said.

"Please slow down!" Ianto cried.

"Alright alright!" the man said crossly.

But before the man could do anything Ianto flew off the swing. Jack watched in horror, as the young Ianto sailed through the air and landed with a sickening thud on the grass several hundred metres away. Ianto clutched his leg screaming. All Jack wanted to do was run to him but he had to stay back. Ianto's father ran over to him and Jack watched as he examined Ianto's leg. Ianto screamed louder as his dad touched it. His dad looked round wildly and spotted Jack.

"You there! I need your help! Please my son is hurt!" he called.

Jack looked around but there was no one else there. He couldn't get involved. Any interaction could change everything. Ianto's father called again. He had no choice. All he could do was get this over as quick and with as little interaction as possible. He rushed over.

"I need to run to my mate's house and call an ambulance. He is only a few streets away. Please can you stay with him? Just for 5 minutes?" the man asked.

Jack nodded and knelt down next to the sobbing boy. He glanced over his Ianto's leg and could see that it was badly broken. He looked into those brilliant blue eyes he knew so well, at this moment full of tears.

"Hi. My name is Jack" he said, touching Ianto's shoulder.

Ianto sniffed. "N-nice to m-meet you Jack. I'm Ianto."

"I don't know what else I can do" Tosh said angrily, mostly at herself. "I was hoping these readings would give me some sort of indication of where or when he could be but nothing!"

"If we knew where and when he is we could try and get him back. Is it worth looking around outside, see if he has left a message like you did when you were stuck in 1941?" Gwen asked her.

"Might be worth it. I'll keep trying with these readings whilst you lot look" Tosh replied, wanting some space to think.

"Come on then" Owen said grabbing his coat. "Let's go play Hunt the Clues" He stopped as he saw Ianto clutching his head. "Ianto mate what's going on?"

Ianto groaned and clutched his head with both hands. "My memories"

Owen ran over to him as he fell on his knees. "Steady Ianto. What's happening?"

Ianto lifted his head. "I broke my leg when I was 7. But Jack is there! He wasn't before but he is now!" His eyes suddenly rolled back and Owen caught him as he collapsed sideways. He could hear Ianto murmuring "Nice to meet you Jack."