A/N: I'm so sorry! I'm just a horrible human being… but please review! Thank you for all your love and support! This is a slightly shorter chapter than the last, but I promise, it's not that short compared to how much I normally write!

Chapter 22: The Woman's Walk with Death

Blackness. Everything was so black and empty and hollow. Iris wasn't sure she felt this the last time she had died. So what changed? There was no beginning and there was no end. And at some point, she realized that she didn't know who she was and what she was. Where she was could also have been a question.

But nothing was definite here. It didn't really feel like much when she heard the man. It was the same thing over and over again until she recalled it,

"Zagreus."

That one name, repeated and beckoning her to reach out to it. It was almost hypnotic. If she claimed that one name, she could be free from this never-ending darkness. But as she began reaching out to it, something in her told herself that it wasn't time yet. It was too soon. She eventually tried to struggle against the temptation, desperately trying to search for something anything but that. But it was difficult, as there was nothing but that name when a voice reached out, yelling,

"Iris!"

The voice echoed, and the name struck her senses like lightning.

Once the rover arrived at the Hub, the team worked to rush Iris over to the Autopsy room quickly and gently. Once she was on the operating table, Owen and Martha rushed to resuscitate Iris' cold body.

Ianto held Jack back as the 51st century man struggled against him to rush over to Iris.

"Iris… no… not again…"

Ianto hugged Jack tighter as he said, "She's strong. She'll come back to us. I know it."

Tosh could not bear watching the resuscitation process and Gwen hugged her. Gwen muttered under her breath,

"Come on Iris…"

Ianto's heart felt like breaking in two when suddenly, Jack bolted from him, saying, "I have to grab something."

Ianto turned around as he yelled out, confused, "Jack? Where are you going?"

Jack yelled back, "Keep doing what you are doing!"

With that, Jack disappeared from the Hub and Ianto could only turn back around as he asked urgently,

"Is there any luck?"

Martha looked up as if she remembered something,

"Wait! I think I might know a way…"

Owen grunted as he said, "Are you sure that this will work?"

Martha shook her head as she stuttered out in panic, "Yes! No… I don't know, but this should do more than anything else. Without this, I'm not sure if we can bring her back."

Fearing that he might really lose Iris this time, Ianto nodded to the UNIT medical officer as he said, "Do it. We need anything. We can't lose her again."

Martha nodded back as she finished typing in the number into her phone and waited. Not too long after, the other line answered the call as the man said,

"Martha? This might not be the best time right now…"

Martha noticed the severe worry that she heard from the Doctor's voice as she quickly answered,

"Doctor, Iris got shot and I think you need to get here."

Silence was on the other side and he said, "Give me the coordinates and I'll be there."

Martha quickly told him where to land and she told Ianto to head up to the tour center. When Ianto went there, he saw a man run in with a red-haired woman as he said very quickly,

"Hello! I'm the Doctor, just talked to Martha. Where is Iris?"

Ianto grimly led the two people over to the Hub, where Donna gasped as she saw the bloodied clothes Iris wore as her pale body was undergoing CPR by Owen.

"Oh my God… what happened?"

Ianto saw the Doctor run over to Iris as he answered her, "We were on a case when Iris got hurt by the criminal by trying to protect Owen, our medic."

Donna looked horrified at seeing her friend so pale and unmoving. Ianto noticed how unsettled she was and asked her, "Tea?"

Donna nodded as Ianto sent a worried glance over to Iris before heading down to make some tea for the team, no longer able to witness Iris' still body. He needed to get away from there. He wanted to deny everything that had happened. Donna turned back from seeing Ianto act this way and saw how the Doctor grabbed Iris' hand with both of his as Owen stopped CPR, watching the Time Lord warily. This was the first time the time traveler was in Torchwood three and he wasn't sure what to think of the man.

But he heard the Doctor mutter as the Time Lord put his index fingers to Iris' head like the times that he had formed mental links,

"Iris…"

For a few seconds, there seemed to be nothing when suddenly, Iris' body jolted in shock and the woman in question gasped in a great amount of air before falling back to the table, breathing unevenly as they heard her sadly breathed out two words the Doctor recognized,

"No more…"

Out of the darkness, Iris felt something. She finally recognized it as a small breeze. Then slowly, she took in a breath as she finally felt the need for it, feeling a crisp but refreshing sensation of cold air flow through her nose to her lungs. That was when the darkness disappeared as her eyes opened. But instead of a dark landscape like she had expected, she gasped at the sight in front of her eyes:

Red grass.

.

.

.

And the massive structure in the distance.

It was Gallifrey. There was no mistaking the landscape. The snow beneath her bare feet felt cold, and she looked down to find herself wearing a white dress, flowing down as her hair moved according to the breeze, fully down. The view in front of her took her breath away and she slowly started walking over to the structure in front of her, not sure what to expect as she got closer and closer to it.

And the closer she got, she felt something grow within her. It felt like a hole had been left in her heart and soul. Something she couldn't remember. But as she turned around to look back, she saw it, the red footsteps.

Iris frowned and finally felt it, the blood dripping from her hands and then the vision changed in front of her when she turned around to face forward again. The peaceful landscape of Gallifrey changed to that of a red sky with buildings on fire, screams echoing everywhere.

Around her, people ran away from the citadel, holding onto family and friends as much as they could. Daleks were in the sky and the ground as people fell one by one around her. Some of the solid figures ran straight through her as if she really wasn't there, causing Iris to shiver in horror and sadness all at once. The closer she got to the citadel, she realized that the bloodier her hands got and Iris wanted nothing more than to wash them away. But she couldn't stop the blood from flowing down her hands, making her want to find what was exactly causing this.

But she kept on walking towards it, feeling someone call to her from within. That was when she saw her. The woman in a red, Gallifreyan dress, with the same bloody hands, as she tossed the massive gun away from her hands and picked up a sword from its scabbard. The sword gleamed with something that tugged Iris closer, the one thing that she knew wasn't an ordinary sword.

That was when the woman turned around and Iris cried out in horror. She knew who the person was, and Iris wanted to deny everything about the person's existence here at Gallifrey. But before she could do anything about it, the woman started slaughtering not only the Daleks, but also Time Lords with that very sword.

Iris took a few steps back at what she was witnessing, not wanting to believe what was happening. Tears streamed down her face as the sheer amount of blood that was being spilled by the very sword she recognized.

Iris couldn't help but watch in despair until the woman stood in front of two children, as she smirked evilly as she seemed to be muttering something to cause the children to scream in recognition and horror as the sword went up. Iris ran over, knowing that she was only a specter in this landscape, and screamed,

"Please, no more!"

The sword never came down and Iris opened the eyes she had closed to find the woman staring at her. Iris shivered as she whispered out again,

"No more… please… this isn't why we are here."

The woman smiled sadly, but that quickly turned into an evil one as the lady shook her head as she said, "Deny this with all your heart sweetheart, but it won't change a thing."

And with that, Iris pinched her eyes closed as the woman slashed the sword down when everything turned white and Iris' eyes opened to find several pairs of eyes on her before she fell back limply on some hard surface and breathed out weakly,

"No more…"

The Doctor felt lost as he couldn't feel anything through their bond for a while when Iris had woken up momentarily before falling unconscious. But because she had come back, Martha and Owen had been able to stabilize her condition. The Doctor had sat down, waiting for Iris to wake up, but he was still concerned at Iris' last two words: no more.

The voice and the flash of the Time War in her mind while she was unconscious also made him frustrated. What was Iris' role in all of this? Why was that in her mind? Did she know about him during that time? The man that he wanted to erase from even himself? As he was thinking about it, Jack ran in with something in his hands as he panted out, "I heard she came back… is she alright?!"

Ianto walked up to Jack as he nodded and said, "Yes, she did. She came back to us Jack. But what was it that you needed to get?"

Jack looked at Ianto as he wordlessly opened the box and showed his team what he had brought. It was a metal gauntlet. The one that looked exactly like the one Suzie had used. The Doctor saw what it was and asked,

"Jack? What is that?"

Jack looked at the ground, guilt underlying his facial features before saying, "I thought that this could potentially bring Iris back if she had really died on us."

Gwen angrily shoved him as she shook her head in frustration and disappointment while saying,

"You can't use it. Not after what Suzie had done to Iris."

The Doctor looked at that in surprise from Gwen's angry tone but as he was about to ask what exactly had happened then, Jack angrily responded to Gwen,

"I know…but I didn't want to lose her again. She should have told me… she should have…"

Owen came up from the autopsy room and interrupted Jack, guilt in his voice as he said,

"Stop that right there Jack. We know why she didn't tell us. Rather, she smiled on and solved the case with us and if anyone here is to blame, it's me. I should have been more wary of Copley. But what's done is done. Iris is stable now and we should get rid of that blasted glove before it can harm anyone."

Jack nodded and set the gauntlet down, letting the Doctor study it in newfound fascination. Jack then approached Iris' sleeping body as he asked,

"Owen, how is she?"

Owen responded back quietly, "Stable heartbeat. Good, strong pulse. She just needs to wake up after a good rest."

Martha recognized a look in Owen's eyes as she said, "Owen, you can't lead the investigation."

Owen jumped at that and tried to act innocent as he asked, "Why not?"

Martha looked at him and said, "because you feel guilty about Iris' situation and that's not going to help you do that investigation with an objective viewpoint."

While the two medics argued with each other, Donna went up to the Doctor's side, still holding her warm cup of tea as she whispered out, "Is Iris going to be alright?"

The Doctor nodded, taking his glasses off as he choked out, "She should be fine for now. But I'm not sure if we should leave just yet. How are you Donna?"

Donna looked grim as she said, "I didn't realize how dangerous Iris' job was. But now I see it. How is she able to do this and travel with you?"

The Doctor smiled a little as he said, "She's special, just like you are Donna Noble."

Donna shook her head as she denied it whilst saying, "Nah, I'm just a plain old temp from Chiswick. Nothin' special about me."

Gwen heard that and came up to the red-head and said, "That's not true you know. Iris explained to me that she only befriends special people. And at first, I never understood why she said that to me, but she always said back to me, 'Gwen, you're going to save the world more than once, what doesn't make you special?' And I wish that I had been a better friend to her at the beginning. But I understand now. Iris, she has a talent of reading people, and you, Ms. Noble, are someone special. I mean, you travel the stars with this Doctor here and go on wicked adventures that Iris tells me about. And that's something I wouldn't have dreamt of."

Donna smiled at that and chuckled as she said, "You think Iris is going to be fine?"

Gwen nodded as she smiled comfortingly, "If I know Iris, she will. She's strong. And I know that she can pull this through."

Donna nodded and tugged at the Doctor as she saw how the team wanted some privacy and couldn't do that with the two of them there, so she said,

"Doctor, I think we should go now."

The Doctor understood what she said, and though he really didn't want to leave her without him to help her out, he nodded. Calming his two hearts, which have been beating rapidly even up to this moment, the Doctor cleared his throat to make sure his voice sounded strong, and said to the captain,

"Jack, look after her, alright?"

Jack hugged the Doctor tightly as he said, "Thank you so much."

The Doctor just smiled and said, "I have a duty to take care of her."

Jack shook his head, still hugging the Doctor and said, "Even if that's the case, I'm still grateful."

The Doctor nodded and then left the team with Donna. Martha stood by Jack and said,

"I'm glad it went well, but I'll stay longer to check Iris' condition until she gets better."

Jack thanked her and went to sit by Iris' bedside. Soon enough, everyone had gone home but Ianto and Jack. Ianto came up to Jack, handing him his coffee before sitting next to him as he said,

"She probably feels happy about what she did you know…no single bit of regret despite making us feel so scared for her."

Jack chuckled as he said, "Probably… she's going to give me grey hair so soon."

Ianto laughed at that and looked down at her as he said, trying to hold back his tears,

"It's still not fair that she sacrifices herself like this. She deserves to be happy and safe."

Jack fell silent at that, silently debating whether he really should tell Ianto about the conversation he had shared with Iris before. If he told Ianto, there would be no coming back to a normal friendship with the man, he knew that. But for Iris' happiness, he thought that this was right for him to say. He had a feeling that if he left this with Iris, the woman would keep silent out of respect for Ianto rather than herself. Jack set his coffee down onto a flat surface next to him before whispering,

"She loves you, you know."

Ianto froze at that and looked at the man next to him, not sure what he just had heard as he asked,

"What?"

Jack looked up and said, "Before this case, we talked. Iris said that she loved both you and me. That she wasn't sure what she wanted. But I think I know what she is feeling. And it's that she loves you in the regards that you are a kind, warm and safe person to be with, while me? I'm something entirely else. Even I know that."

Ianto looked flabbergasted before saying, "But she's with you."

Jack shook his head as he said, "But that doesn't mean I see you as an enemy for her affections Ianto. Rather, it's quite the opposite. Strangely enough, I want you too."

Ianto tensed at that and choked out, "I don't quite understand."

Jack hesitated before saying, "I love you too. Whatever she feels with you, I also feel it."

Ianto stood up suddenly, not sure how to understand this as he excused himself awkwardly before leaving the Hub. He needed time. This wasn't something he was prepared to hear from his boss. Not quite yet.

Jack sighed as he saw Ianto's retreating figure before turning back to Iris as he whispered,

"Iris, please wake up…"

And as the night continued, Martha came back to find only Jack by Iris' side. She approached and said,

"Jack, you need some sleep."

Jack shook his head, but the UNIT doctor forced him to take a nap at least. Jack eventually caved to her orders and did that. While Martha was waiting by Iris' side, Iris finally opened her eyes and moved a little.

"Wha-? Martha? What are you doing here?"

Martha immediately stood up and walked closer to Iris' bedside, double-checking her vitals to make sure that she was alright as she said,

"Oh my goodness. You're alright. How are you feeling?"

Iris sat up as she said, "Not too bad. I think, other than the wound, I feel alright."

Martha smiled and scolded her for being so reckless, causing Iris to laugh a little. But then, Iris saw the little bit of a guarded curiousity in Martha's eyes and Iris said,

"What are you curious about?"

Martha chuckled as she realized that she couldn't hide anything from Iris. She hesitated before asking as if she was embarrassed, "What was it like, death?"

Iris grimaced, a dark look overcoming her eyes as she said, "I don't think I should say."

Martha frowned as she asked, "Why not?"

Iris just shook her head responding with, "It's hard to describe. There aren't the words for it. For me, it was just never-ending darkness and emptiness around me. But that's not quite the entirety of it either. The last time, it wasn't exactly like this time around."

Martha wanted to ask her what she meant about last time, but didn't have the courage to do it. She just nodded and was about to help her out when Iris, who had struggled off the bed during Martha's ruminations, collapsed, her eyes open, but unfocused. Suddenly, she gripped Martha's arm tightly as she wheezed out,

"Martha! I- I need help. The voice… oh God, he's here!"

Martha held Iris' shivering and terrified form tightly to hers as she yelled out, "Jack! Help! I need help now!"

Jack, who had been taking a nap, bolted down the stairs as he asked in a panicked voice,

"What's happening? What's she doing out of her bed?"

Martha quickly answered with, "She woke up and said she felt better when she was saying something to me before she collapsed."

Martha then asked Iris, "Iris? Can you hear me? Calm down. You're safe."

Iris then seemed to gain focus to where she was before answering the unasked question,

"I was in the darkness again. There was something…. Someone there."

Jack knelt in front of her as he asked, "What?" while Martha also asked, "What did you see? Who was it?"

Iris let tears slip down as she shook her head and said, "I don't know… It, he… or whatever that was there was waiting for me."

Then she started crying silently, leaning towards Jack, needing him as close to her as possible. The man hugged her tightly, not wanting to let her go as he reassured her, "Come on, it's going to be alright."

But Iris knew what was going on. Death was coming. Though they didn't use the gauntlet, she felt the how the proximity of the gauntlet to her was somehow causing him to rise. And she felt a bone-chilling coldness settle over her as fear enveloped her entire being. This shouldn't be happening. They hadn't used the gauntlet on her. She could feel her heart beating rapidly, the blood flowing through her veins. She was clearly alive.

When Iris finally calmed down, Iris said, to Jack,

"Jack, the gauntlet you brought, you have to get rid of it from here."

Jack looked confused as he asked, "Is this an episode?"

Iris cringed but nodded all the same. Jack frowned at that, concern overcoming his face as he said,

"But we didn't use it."

Iris shook her head again as she said, "But I can feel him getting closer. It's so cold Jack."

Jack noticed how Iris was warm but demanded that she felt cold. He instantly grew worried and decided to call the team over first thing in the morning. He helped her to her bed and said to her,

"Just finish resting. You're still not fully healed from this entire ordeal."

Iris didn't argue, the pain from her abdomen feeling close to a burning sensation. Because she didn't have magical healing abilities like she wished she had at times, the wound she received from the gunshot earlier still hurt like hell. Once it was morning, Jack called the team over and Iris was carried to the conference room with Jack's help. Ianto had distanced himself a little bit as he wasn't sure what to think about the conversation he had earlier the last night.

Martha said with a concerned look towards the team, "An energy I can't identify was released by Iris yesterday after she had collapsed. But it's growing, all the time. Her body currently is 40% of this mysterious energy."

Iris grimaced as she said, "I don't feel different. Also, this shouldn't be happening since you didn't use that gauntlet on me."

But that was a lie. Iris shivered as she remembered the vision she had of the woman in Gallifrey. She had never seen that sword before, but something felt familiar about it. As if she had seen it beforehand. What the woman had said to her, she trembled, and she didn't want to think about it. No, she wanted to forget about it entirely, as if that had never happened.

Jack rubbed her back to comfort her as he sternly said, "We still need to find out about where this energy's coming from."

Tosh looked at the readings Martha had put up and said, "Presumably it's the same place as the glove, which, judging from its atomic makeup, isn't anywhere local."

Gwen sighed tiredly as she added on, "Iris said she went somewhere when she collapsed. Could the energy and the glove come from the same dark place?"

Jack asked back, "What are we talking about? Another dimension? Parallel universe?"

Iris huffed as she said, "Hello? I'm still here. Please don't talk as if I'm not actually here. And if that gauntlet really did come from another universe, is there a possibility that it came from mine?"

Jack thought about this before saying, "Iris, I'm sorry. Also, we're not sure about that. But you did say that there was something in the darkness coming for you."

Iris glared at him as she said, "I felt it. I feel it. I didn't see it."

Jack asked again, "Where you think you went?"

Iris shrugged her shoulders as she said confusedly, "I don't know."

With that, Ianto helped Iris back to her bed by the Autopsy room while Martha turned around asked Jack,

"So what now?"

Jack asked Tosh, "Tosh, could you check our internal system readings for any dimensional anomalies in the last twelve hours?"

Tosh nodded and immediately went to work while Owen approached her as she asked him,

"Is she going to be alright?"

Owen smiled back at her to comfort her as he said, "She's strong. She won't stop running."

Tosh swallowed thickly as tears threatened her eyes as she admitted, "For a moment there, I was so scared that it was going to be you. But when Iris fell, I got scared. That it was me that caused it."

Owen shook his head as he asked, "Why would you think that?"

Tosh hung her head low as she stopped typing things in when she admitted, "Because I was glad that it was her instead of you, even if it was a millisecond."

Owen hugged her as he said, "But I'm here. And Iris is not going to die. Never. We're going to help her live through this. Like always."

Tosh smiled as she leaned in before clearing her throat and cheerfully said, "Well then, better get back to work!"

Owen smiled back and patted her on the back before heading back down to watch over Iris. That was when he heard something distant, a man's bone-chilling voice. It felt distant, but he heard it,

"Abatha duroc minus mill kabal."

Owen stopped when he saw Iris stiffen upon seeing him. As both people heard and Iris whispered out,

"Melkurian abatha duroc minus mill kabal."

That was when silence fell over Iris' mind and Owen felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from him. In the meantime, Martha got a signal that the detector she had been studying had registered something new. Martha ran over to the two as she asked,

"What just happened, Owen?"

Jack rushed over with her as he asked, "Is Iris alright?"

Iris shrugged as she responded with, "Nothing really happened."

Owen glowered at her as he said, "That's bullshit. You said something, and I heard it. It was almost as if a man was controlling you to say those words. I don't understand the language, but I definitely know that that wasn't you."

"And if I heard it when the gauntlet was never used on me…"

Owens' eyes widened as if he realized something and in horror, he slowly turned around to face her as he asked, "It was me, wasn't it?"

Iris looked up at him and saw the realization behind his eyes and looked away from him as she said,

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"It was supposed to be me. I was supposed to die back there with Copley. And you saved me. Whatever was supposed to happen to me, it's echoing back."

Iris shook her head, as if trying to deny it as she exclaimed, "No! Time can be changed. Just this once, I deserve this. To save people I care about."

Owen yelled back as he said, "Are you insane?! What did you do that for? Do you know what even happened to you?! You died on us Iris! Whatever was supposed to happen to me is taking over you now!"

"Then let it! I chose this. I knew what was going to happen and I accepted the consequences."

Iris shook as angry tears spilled from her eyes, admitting that she indeed, had known what was to play out. Owen, now angry at the fact that Iris was suffering in place of him, stomped away as he was upset at the revelation that she had died for him. Taken whatever evil thing that was supposed to happen to him.

When he was finally alone, Owen cried in frustration, not sure what to feel as he worried about Iris' future. Jack and Martha remained silent as they took this information in before Jack walked up to her and said,

"Give him time."

Iris sighed and nodded as she said, "I know that Owen's just worried about me. But Jack, I knew what was going to happen. I didn't realize just what it would do to me since I changed time in such a big way. It wasn't Owen's time to quite disappear from Earth, and I just made sure that he wasn't going to lose himself until that time."

Iris looked haunted at that moment, causing Martha to hug her friend and say, "Don't worry about that Iris. Everything will be fine."

And as Martha pulled away, Iris looked up to Jack and said, "We need Tosh to translate whatever I said to Owen. He said he heard me say something and I think I know what it is, but I don't really know if I said anything or not. I don't remember doing it. Tosh is going to have to look through the CCTV recordings."

Jack and Martha shared a glance and nodded as they went back up. Tosh took the clip and then put the universal translator onto the computer and started playing the video. However, instead of a literal translation, only symbols popped up on her screen and Tosh muttered in surprise,

"It's never done that before."

Suddenly, the computer said, "I shall walk the Earth and my hunger will know no bounds."

Gwen tensed as she looked hesitantly at Jack and muttered, "I've got a really bad feeling about this."

Jack's mind repeated the message over and over again as he said out loud, "You don't know the half of it."

Iris then, with Ianto's help came up to the Hub as she said, "Apparently whatever was supposed to happen to Owen hasn't all come over to me. We checked something with Owen and turns out, he's still the King of the Weevils."

Owen looked worried about that fact and he said, "So I'm King of the Weevils, maybe even Weevil Messiah. But whichever way you look at it, it ain't good."

Gwen lifted her hands at the air in frustration as they were getting even more confused as she said, "No it isn't"

With that, she pulled out paperwork that she had read up on and said,

"I think it's happened before. I found it in an article about Black Death, and what you're looking at there are the first images of the Grim Reaper. I shall walk the Earth and my hunger will know no bounds. In legend, the person who said those words was Death himself."

Martha shook her head as she said, "But there's no such thing."

Iris quickly said, "Actually, there is. I can feel him. I'm not sure why, but I know he's waiting. If we don't do anything soon, I think I might turn into him, or he takes over my body or whatever. I'm not sure how this really works. But we don't have time."

Gwen continued as Iris signaled her to keep sharing what she had found, "Right, that wood carving dates back to the 15th century, to a small parish called Saint James. When they heard about the plague, they built a wall around the town. Unfortunately, that didn't prevent a little girl from dying. So the legend goes, the priest performs a miracle, brings her back to life, but she doesn't come back alone. She brought Death with her, and he walked amongst them."

Iris grimaced at that and said,

"Well, Jack, was the glove from St. Mary's?"

Jack tensed as he nodded and said, "Yup. I did."

Owen asked worriedly, "What happened to the town when Death walked amongst them?"

Gwen read it in a silent voice, "People died. Twelve people. Death needed 13 souls before it had a permanent hold on the Earth."

Jack asked her again, "How did they stop it at twelve?"

Gwen answered, still not sure about the answer as she said, "It just says faith."

Everyone groaned at that while Martha cut in with,

"Iris is affected and potentially changing from this. Who knows what that energy is? What if it's making her a host, a gateway?"

Iris mumbled a sarcastic, "thanks" which was ignored by everyone else as Owen said,

"I've been thinking that if there's something in that darkness. What if it's trying to get here through Iris?"

Iris stood straighter at that while the monitor on her wrist started to go off again as she read and grimaced before saying, "Er… Martha? It's at 80% now…"

Martha looked at her, completely lost as Owen said, "We don't have time. We need to know what we can do to limit casualties."

Jack then looked at her and asked, "Iris, is it possible to tell us a few things?"

Iris shook her head as she answered him with trepidation, "I don't think so… It's just… I think I changed too many things and now time is trying to compensate for it."

Owen tensed at that and said, "But it's going to be alright in the end?"

Iris shook her head, looking apologetic as she clearly wasn't sure if there was any way to make this end the way it did in the episode she had watched. Already, it had diverged what could be considered too much, and she wasn't sure if it was causing the world to fall apart already.

The team was trying to figure something out when Iris, who was sitting down, felt her heartrate increase and Martha looked at the reacting detector as she looked worriedly over at the younger woman as she said,

"Iris is at 95%."

Owen then shuffled as he yelled, "No there has to be something better than this."

Iris huffed in pain as she leaned on Ianto as she stood up and looked straight at Jack as she said,

"Jack, take me down to the holding cells. It's not safe for me to be here."

Jack shook his head as he said, "No, there's no way you're going down there."

Iris glared at him as she argued, "Jack, I'm currently a danger to the world and it's Torchwood's responsibility to limit the casualties as much as possible from those threats. We know that Death is going to come here through me and we need to hold it down as much as possible. We don't know how to stop it, but we can slow it down to figure something out!"

"Iris, please.." Jack pleaded, sadness coming over his eyes.

He recognized the protocol she was recalling to him. He didn't need it taught to him. He had seen it placed on several of his coworkers. But Iris was different. She didn't deserve that. She deserved so more than this. He knew that she currently harbored a great threat, but all he wanted was for her to be safe.

But that was when they all heard metal clinking on a hard surface. Owen gulped as he whispered,

"Someone doesn't want you to be held in prison, Iris…"

Suddenly, the gauntlet leaped up at Martha, who was closest to the gauntlet. Jack realized the gravity of the situation and yelled out, "Lockdown!"

With that, Tosh put on the proper procedures for the Autopsy room to be on lockdown from her desk while Jack ran over to Martha as he tried pulling the gauntlet off of Martha as it had latched onto her face and didn't let go. When he finally succeeded to pull it off, Gwen ran over to help Martha out while Ianto ran in with a hockey stick in his hands.

The gauntlet was nowhere to be seen and Owen stood by Iris, protecting her from whatever the gauntlet had planned. That was when Jack hushed everyone as he said,

"Iris, don't move. Everyone slowly spread out. Shush."

Gwen whispered out, wary of every single noise, "Where did it go?"

Martha muttered, "I think it went under the cabinet."

Jack approached over to the two women as he asked, "Are you alright?"

Martha's hoarse voice responded back with, "Yeah, I think so."

Jack nodded and hugged her as he said, "Good."

But the relief was short-lived as Gwen spotted the gauntlet and whispered, "It's there."

Martha, not able to curb her curiosity, had leaned over the railing that had kept her out of the gauntlet's reach. But before Iris could yell out a warning to the medic, she had leaned over just enough, for the gauntlet once again launched onto her face. Martha's scream pierced the autopsy room and then Gwen and Jack both had to work on pulling the glove off of her face. But once they succeeded pulling it off of her, Owen gasped as he muttered,

"What the hell…"

Iris saw the wrinkled hand Martha lifted and Iris trembled as the strain of the situation started getting to her. She had expected this once she realized that the events from what should have happened with Owen's death were playing out. However, it still shocked her to the core to see her friend, instantly become so old. Almost as if it was a reminder to what had happened to the Doctor on the Valiant right in front of her. Owen noticed, and he panicked while he quickly pulled out the gun from his holster and shot at the gauntlet, risking the connection between it and Iris to get cut off and potentially harming her again.

The gauntlet exploded once it got shot and then everyone started to regain their breath when Gwen gasped as she exclaimed,

"Oh, my God. Martha?"

Everyone looked back at the UNIT medical officer and froze as they noticed that she had aged to be an elderly woman.

Gwen looked back at Iris, who was barely standing with Owen's help as she asked,

"Iris? What happened to Martha?"

Iris said grimly, "It's the glove. It did this to her. Owen, help her! I'm in no condition to do it. Stabilize her so that Ianto can transport her to the hospital and stay by her side."

But the device that kept her energy levels in check beeped to alert them that she had reached 100%, causing the whole team to freeze.

Iris finally felt it, a surge of energy and hollowness with the cold seeping into her. She wrapped her arms around herself as she backed away from Owen as she whispered in fear, "Please, no…"

But it was too late for anyone to react as her eyes turned entirely black as Owen heard a low, growling voice say through Iris,

"I will walk the Earth and my hunger will know no bounds"

With that, smoke came out of Iris' eyes and mouth. The team cowered away from Iris' body as the smoke began to solidify into something they did not recognize before it flew away. Owen quickly grabbed Iris' limp body. Her vitals returned to normal and he set her body gently to the ground.

He saw the question in Jack's eyes as he answered him, saying, "She's fine. She's regaining her consciousness. You should go ahead. We will catch up to you."

Jack nodded before leaving the Hub with Gwen, carrying Martha out as Tosh had contacted the hospital for an ambulance already. Owen lifted Iris up with Ianto, who followed them out. During their car ride to the hospital, Iris woke up and grimly checked for her tools, which Ianto had brought.

Iris looked up at the Welsh man and asked, "Did I?"

Ianto nodded and Iris looked back down, guilt building up within her. Ianto noticed and hugged her as he said, "Everything will be alright."

Iris shook her head, as she shakily said, "But the lives that are lost tonight, I can never make up for their lives. They are innocent. They deserve more than me causing their deaths."

Ianto grabbed her shoulders as he said to her sternly, "This isn't your fault. Everyone dies at some point, and yes, maybe their lives are cut short, but it is our goal to protect as many people as possible. No single life is light in our job. But this attitude won't help us do that."

Iris took in deep breaths before nodding and said determinedly, "You're right. I- I have to be strong. I need to be strong for them."

Ianto wanted to argue that she was already strong when they arrived at the hospital. Once they arrived, Iris let go of Ianto, who asked,

"Iris? What are you doing?"

Iris looked past him as she said, "I know what it wants Ianto. I can stop it."

Owen shook his head as he said, "I was supposed to be here, in your shoes. You're not going without me."

Iris raised her hand to stop him as she retaliated with, "You stay with Tosh. And then-"

But they were cut off as Gwen's voice came through the intercom, stating,

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Torchwood. If you can move as quickly and as safely as possible to your nearest exit. Thank you."

Ianto and Iris bolted up the staircase as quickly as they could. Iris read the sign and then grabbed Ianto before bolting through a set of doors as she said, "He's going to be here. The seventh floor. I can feel him around here."

Ianto felt trepidation settle within him as he followed Iris into the area and said,

"Iris, we should wait for the others."

Iris slowed down, but didn't stop as she said,

"No more. I don't want no more people to die because of what I do."

Ianto couldn't say anything to do that as he followed her when they all heard a voice say,

"Melkurian abatha duroc minus mill kabal."

That was when they saw the smoke solidify into a figure and approach a child within the children's ward. Iris bolted and burst through the door, ignoring the pain in her abdomen as she reached the child and yelled out,

"Grab my hand. Come on!"

With that, the kid grabbed onto her tightly as they bolted out of the ward. Ianto helped carry the child while running when they finally reached reception to meet up with Owen and Tosh.

Ianto lowered the child and said, "I think we lost it."

But the doors in front of them locked and Owen cursed before saying, "Maybe not mate."

Tosh pressed hurriedly onto her device as she mumbled, "If I can access the correct frequency."

Iris went on her knees to be eye level with the child and asked, "What's your name?"

The kid looked at her, terror filling his eyes as he answered back, "Jamie Burton."

Iris smiled and warmed the kid up with her leather jacket and said, "All right, Jamie. I'm Iris, these are my coworkers, Ianto, Owen and Toshiko. We're going to get you out of here. What are you in here for?"

Jamie's trembling voice answered, "Leukemia."

Tosh stopped her panicked typing and said, "Jamie, you're going to be fine. I'll have this door open in just a second."

Owen joined Iris as he said, "Jamie, they got you in for a round of chemo, have they?"

Jamie answered back with, "Had that. It didn't work."

Owen frowned as he asked, "So why are you here?"

Jamie looked at all of them before answering with a whisper, not liking the answer himself as he said,

"They're trying to make me have it again. It didn't work though. The cancer just comes back, just makes my hair fall out. I'm gonna die. I might as well do it with eyebrows."

Iris shook her head as she answered, ignoring the conversation Ianto had with Jack through their comms, "Jamie, I know you're scared. Of course, you are. The last round of chemotherapy did not work, and you can't bear the thought of going through all that pain again, and I understand. But let me tell you that not everyone dies because of Leukemia. The ones with the best chance of making it are those that believe they can beat Death. And sometimes, just sometimes, you can. So, Jamie, fight. Don't lose and watch over me Jamie Burton."

Jamie frowned as he grabbed Iris' hands tighter with his smaller ones as he asked, "Watch what?"

Owen frowned too, not understanding when Iris stood up, gently pushing Jamie over to Owen as she said,

"Watch me beat Death."

As Tosh managed to open the door, Tosh yelled "Come on!"

Owen, Ianto and Jamie were leaving when Iris said, "Go. Owen, take Jamie and protect him."

Owen shook his head as he yelled back to her, "Are you insane? We can't leave you to face that thing alone."

Iris smiled back at him sadly as she said, "I know what I have to do."

Owen wanted to stop her but before he could do that, she closed the door between them, making sure to lock it from her end and heard the multiple banging from the glass behind her. She slowly walked towards the stairs when she saw him. Death. He walked down the stairs and she yelled out Owen's words from the show,

"How long can you last here with only 12 victims? There's nothing here for you! Iris Kim's soul may be here, but it has also been gone for such a long amount of time, I realize that now. There's nobody here but us two dead beings."

The smoky skeleton that had formed ran straight towards her and she heard the voices of her team scream out her name in desperation as Death reached out to her with its hand. Iris grabbed it and didn't let go. Death looked up at her in shock as Iris' form trembled with anger.

"I realized what I had denied about myself for so long. No more. That ends tonight. And you? You don't stand a chance next to me now."

Iris gripped Death's hand tighter with one hand while grabbing it's other with her own spare hand. She leaned in closer as they struggled and fought. Nobody noticed the flash of whitish-gold light that flashed across her eyes as she growled out,

"What else have you got? What else can you do to me? Who has seen it all. The great Time War. The end of it? The beginning? The wave of time itself?"

But the team behind the glass saw Jack run and Gwen run over as they stopped at the top of the staircase on the other side. Jack was out of breath, but desperation filled his eyes as he slammed against the door, wishing to open it. But Iris had already prevented any of them from entering.

Jack yelled out with panic in his eyes, "Iris! Iris!"

Gwen called out to her too, but Iris ignored them as she continued to struggle, feeling Death's own fear of her. Iris smiled sadly and said,

"I know who I will be now. I understand that. And there may never be a way for me to avoid that fate. And I accept it."

And with that, Death vanished, not having been able to get his 13th death within the arranged amount of time. The doors unlocked, and everyone ran towards her, not hearing Iris say under her breath,

"But if I can do anything about it, I'm taking the long way round."

Back at the Hub, Iris was in Jack's arms, as he did not let her go since he had hugged her from the hospital. He was angry at her for throwing herself into danger once again, but he didn't say anything. He didn't want to fight with her. He was just glad that she was here with him and that was all that mattered for him.

Iris peeked out of Jack's arms at Martha Jones, her friend, who had returned to normal after Death was defeated. As Martha came up from the autopsy room, Iris looked guilty as she said,

"I'm sorry that you got hurt. I should have realized that that was going to happen and hurt you."

Martha shook her head and smiled warmly as she placed a red UNIT cap onto Iris' head and said back to her, "It's not your fault Iris, don't blame yourself over this. You got hurt severely and saved the world. That's not something that's easily done. Especially for someone who rose from the dead multiple times."

Iris grimaced, but still smiled at her as she said, "Well, I hope to see you around someday Doctor Jones."

Jack chuckled as he said to her, "I would salute you again, but I have my hands full with keeping one woman from running right into danger all over again. But hey, stay safe out there."

Martha nodded and said her goodbyes to everyone.

Once she left, Ianto drove Iris to her place while Tosh came up to Jack and asked,

"Did she really beat Death?"

Jack shook his head and answered sadly with, "You can never really beat Death, never escape it. It's always in the shadows, waiting for all of us."

Tosh looked sad as she asked, "So what do we do now?"

Owen came up and hugged her as he said, "We move on. We continue to do what we do best, protect the world."

Jack smiled at the new development between his teammates and decided to call it a day when Gwen came over to him too and asked,

"Iris, why does she continue to throw herself into danger like this?"

Jack sighed and said, "It's probably with the fact that she feels guilt about knowing things from beforehand. Whatever she knows about us, she cares about us like family. And to know that we might die or get severely injured? That's probably not something she wishes to witness because it would weigh heavily on her heart."

Gwen nodded and admitted, "I don't think I ever want the knowledge she has. To see our futures and pasts? That's not a light responsibility."

Jack nodded as he said, "No, it isn't"

With that, he patted her shoulder comfortingly as he said, "You should go to your place. Everyone needs a good rest."

Gwen smiled and hugged him before heading out. Once everyone else was gone, Jack drove over to Iris' place.

Meanwhile, Iris had arrived at her place and had changed into some comfortable clothes as Ianto cooked her dinner. They wordlessly prepared for the meal when Iris spoke up first,

"I'm assuming Jack already told you about us, didn't he?"

Ianto hesitated before answering, "Yes… he did. I… I'm not sure what to say to that."

Iris smiled bitterly as she said, "Don't worry, I feel the same way. It's just that, I know that there's something I feel for you Ianto, and you're not the only one who needs to sort things out."

Ianto stopped plating the food when he looked up at her and said,

"I love you Iris… I really do…"

Iris turned around in surprise at that admission and froze, not sure what the best plan of action would be. Iris saw Ianto come over to her and say,

"I thought that this wouldn't work. You, me, Jack… but when I saw you fighting Death, I decided something."

Iris held her breath at the closeness of his body and she whispered out, "What?"

Ianto looked intensely into her eyes and said, "That I don't want to regret not loving you to the fullest. Never. I understand that with our line of work, that it would be impossible to dream of a long and fulfilling life, but even if it's short, I want that life to be with you."

With that, Ianto cupped her face with both of his hands and gently placed his lips on hers. Iris tensed at first before closing her eyes and kissed him back, feeling the warmth and comfort that Ianto provided for her. The consolation that he would always stay by her side.

The kiss was slow and gentle. It was such a soft and gently kiss that she felt relief flow through her from Ianto's confession. Without that, she would have probably been more anxious and unsure of herself.

Eventually, Ianto pulled away and smiled as he said, "And if that involves a three-way relationship, so be it. I mean, I have to admit, there's something about Jack…"

Iris smirked and leaned in closer as she pecked him on the lips as she whispered out huskily,

"Dangerous?"

Ianto chuckled and nodded before kissing her again. Iris leaned in closer, moving her fingers through Ianto's hair as he wrapped one arm across her waist and pulled her even closer. Iris gasped and let his tongue in as the kiss got deeper and deeper each time.

Iris pulled away for air before muttering "wow…" and smiled at him awkwardly when they both heard the door open as Jack came in. Jack noticed the flustered looks on both individuals and their swollen lips before smirking and teased them with,

"You make out and leave me alone? Now what kind of party is this?"

Iris laughed as she ran over to him and hugged him as she said, "I cannot be happier than any moment right now."

Jack raised an eyebrow, but he understood what she had meant. Iris rolled her eyes at that and just said,

"Let's eat before the food gets cold. We can talk about this later."

Jack looked up at Ianto, who blushed as he looked away awkwardly. Jack found that adorable and wasn't sure if his guess was correct, but he hoped it was. Because there was something in Ianto that provided that grounded sense of warmth and comfort that he also needed just as much as Iris did.