Just a Mistake

by Galadriel1010

Jack has made a mistake, a huge mistake it seems, which has had the biggest possible impact on his relationship with Ianto. It will be a long struggle back together.

64. Chapter 64

25.02.2009

Somewhere in the distance, the melodic chimes of a carriage clock were the first to disturb the peaceful shuffling of papers and the soft rattle of keyboards. The sweet, cheerful ringing was joined by the deep bongs of a grandfather clock right outside the office door, and eventually the bingley-beep of a meeting alert popping up on Ianto's phone and computer at the same moment, reminding him of a meeting he didn't need to attend that was due to start in half an hour but probably wouldn't. He leaned back in his chair, one hand rubbing at the back of his neck, and couldn't fight back a jaw-cracking yawn. As the sleepy quiet descended on the office once more, he dragged himself out of his seat and plodded to the coffee machine.

The soft creak of Ally's chair was the next thing to disturb the torpor, and it was followed by the thud of her elbow hitting the desk and a quiet yawn. He set a mug of coffee down by her elbow and smiled at her vague wave of thanks, but before he could return to his own desk she called him back with a murmur of his name. "This is a bit weird," she muttered, finally alert enough to lift her head and push her hair out of her eyes. "UNIT have picked up on a bunch of road traffic accidents early this morning. Fatal ones."

Ianto frowned, popping his hip on the desk next to her. "What's special about them? Did they all crash into the same thing?"

"No, but it looks like they all crashed at the same time." She leaned in closer and ran a finger down the screen. "All reported within half an hour of each other. And… maybe you were right. They all drove into bodies of water. Twelve of them, in four different countries. And no survivors, which is also weird. Have none of them watched a movie?"

"One assumes they didn't have a chance." When she glanced up at him, he shrugged and took another sip of his coffee whilst he thought. "Twelve people don't just accidentally drive into water at the same time. I'd pull up the files on the Sea Devils and mermaids, just in case. Maybe the Fish People, but I doubt it's them. If we need to, I'll contact their ambassador."

She reached for her keyboard and nodded. "I'll keep an eye out for any other reports coming in. Do we assume that UNIT have it under control?"

"Oh, for now." He smirked. "I do like to have the file to hand before they ask for it, though. I'll get Jacqui to have another look into the archives, see if there's any other reports match it."

"UNIT haven't pulled the conference," she commented. "They must not think there's much to it." Her computer beeped again and she raised one eyebrow. "Which probably means there's a lot to it."

"Cynic. But you're probably right. This isn't a random accident, mark my words."

"Consider them marked." Ally smiled over her monitor at him. "I'll let you know if any more reports come in."

He drained his coffee as he stood up and tried to smother a sigh. "I know you will. I don't think we've heard the last of it."

The phone rang an hour later, and he pinched the bridge of his nose tight before he reached for it. Another three reports had come in in the intervening time, starting to build a picture that he didn't like at all. When Martha's name flashed up on his phone, it felt like the final straw. "Ianto Jones speaking," he answered. "How can I help you, Martha?"

"Ianto, hi. I need to file a data request with you. Are you free for a conference call?"

"I've probably already got what you need," he admitted. "I assume this is about the fifteen deaths?"

There was a pause. "It's up to fifty two now." Martha sighed and he heard the beeping of a car horn. "The report is just being finalised. We're expecting more, but they might not be identified today. It'll be sent to you as soon as it's been signed off. I need everything you have on the Sea Devils…"

"Sea Devils, Fish People and Mermaids coming your way as soon as I get that report. I've investigated some of the other options, but none of them have been widespread enough and operated in both salt and fresh water." He pulled the initial reports up on his computer and rested his chin on his free hand. "I don't think this is anything to do with the water, to be honest. I think it's the cars we need to be looking at."

"I agree. We want to rule out the more obvious options, but we're also investigating a link with ATMOS. All the cars had it fitted, and witnesses in a few occasions have said that the drivers were trying to control the car as they went towards the water." She hesitated to let that settle in and another car went past her. "We're going to carry out a raid on their UK site today, and I've called for backup."

"Who? Is Jack with you?"

"Nope. I've called The Doctor."

He closed his eyes. "Oh shit."

"Ianto!"

"I stand by it. Alright, get that report across to me and I'll get my team researching it. Call me if he causes trouble, alright?" Ally caught his eye and he mouthed 'The Doctor will see us' across the room at her, despairing at the look of excitement that lit up her face. "And be careful! You know what it's like when he's around."

"Yeah, you don't need to remind me," she laughed. "It'll be fine."

"I know, but still... I'll talk to you later."

He hung up and rested his head on his folded arms, not moving from there until Ally came to stand behind him and set a fresh mug of coffee down just out of his reach. "That bad?"

"Yes." Ianto lifted his head and reached for the coffee. "Thank you. Of all the times to have a reduced staff. We could really do with Martin and Tiffany back for this. UNIT are sending across a report as soon as possible. The death toll has risen, and they're looking at ATMOS for it."

"ATMOS? But that's just a catalytic convertor thing, isn't it? And a really good Sat Nav. All the London buses and black cabs have it." She sat down on the edge of the desk and looked out of the window. "God. I hope they're wrong."

He smiled ruefully. "Me too. But I bet they're not. It was always too good to be true. No technology is that good, right?"

"No, definitely not." Ally pulled her phone out and started flicking through it. "You've just got two meetings this afternoon, and the Prime Minister is in the House all day. What do you want us to do?"

"Cancel my meetings and tell Gordon to stay in the House and prepare to bunker down. I need a conference call scheduled with Jack and whoever from UNIT if free to speak to us." He drummed his fingers on the desk and nearly knocked the coffee over when he reached for it. "Issue a code green and hope we don't have to escalate."

"That's going to be the title of your autobiography. Issue code green and hope we don't escalate." She tapped away at the keyboard and smiled. "Maybe the subtitle. The title might be "Oh fuck, we've gone mauve.""

He chuckled obediently as he reached for the phone and dialled through to Jacqui. "Jacqui, drop everything and come through. We're going green."

"Oh shit." She relayed that to Peter and grumbled under her breath. "We're on our way. Couldn't you have walked through about that one?"

"I could, but this was quicker." He clamped the phone between his ear and shoulder and reached for his keyboard to start throwing the reports up onto the screen. "And don't drive home."

She walked into the office two minutes later with Peter in tow and dropped a file on Ianto's desk. "Alright, what?"

He turned on the spot and threw a file down onto his desk for dramatic effect. "Have a seat," he invited them, gesturing to the chairs set up in front of his desk. "This might take a while."

Jacqui rolled her eyes but did as she was told, settling into one of the oxblood leather wingback armchairs that he'd requisitioned during a cabinet reshuffle, and Peter perched on the edge of his next to her whilst Ally busied herself making even more coffee. Whilst she did that, Ianto accepted the latest set of reports from Peter and flicked through them. "Did you find anything?" He asked, even as he checked and saw that they hadn't. "Any precedent?"

"Nothing." Peter gestured at the files with narrowed eyes. "It would be completely out of character for any of them. And it's ground we've already covered in the filing project."

"I know. It pays to be certain, though," he pointed out, tapping the folder against the palm of his hand as he turned back to look at the reports on the screen behind his desk. "The death toll from this morning's incident has risen to 52 already. UNIT investigations are ongoing to identify any further fatalities or near misses. It has to be said, though, the fact that no one has come forwards with a near miss yet probably means there aren't any. This was meticulous."

"You could sound a bit less impressed," Ally said. "Even just a little would help."

He ignored her. "UNIT have called on the Doctor for help. I believe it's Martha's call, but as he has a tendency to find trouble, I've issued a code green for safety's sake."

Ally tapped a button on her tablet and the screen changed. "The latest report from UNIT is that the cars' ATMOS systems may be to blame. Witnesses have described seeing the victims trying to regain control of the vehicles as they drove towards the water."

"God. Can you imagine it?"

"I'm trying not to," he admitted. A chill ran up his spine at the thought of it, no matter how hard he tried to ignore it. "Let's just... do what we can to make sure there's no more, alright? Go with your gut. Look into ATMOS, any historical precedents even if they seem tenuous, anything you can find. I have a conference call with Liberty Towers, Jack and Colonel Mace in fifteen minutes." The alert had just popped up on his phone, and he skimmed over it quickly. "I won't have anything to report by then, but we'll have a starting point."

They all nodded their agreement and got to their feet, leaving Ianto to glare at his monitor and wish he'd never got out of bed. There were a million things to do, but he would have to ditch all of them soon enough. "Ally, we're going to the House as soon as this conference call is over. Whatever happens, we have to be on security detail."

"Of course." She pulled her suit jacket back on and strapped her gun into its concealed holster. "I'll ring ahead and issue the warnings, see that security is stepped up immediately."

Once she'd left too, he busied himself with reading through the report in more detail. It wasn't pleasant reading, and by the time the conference call system fired up he was feeling decidedly queasy. He leaned back on the desk with his hands braced either side of him and watched the loading icon spin. Even 'borrowed' technology couldn't get a decent signal into Downing Street on a day like this. A crackle cut through the 'I'm busy doing something honest' buzz the system was giving off, and the four screens leapt into view all at once. Jack and Gwen were in his office in Cardiff, Esme Lightwood had her back to the New York skyline at Liberty Towers, and Colonel Mace was in one of the anonymous UNIT vans, looking as tired and strained as only a man who has been dealing with the Doctor can. Ianto tried not to smirk and straightened up. "Good afternoon, or morning to you Esme."

"Is it?" she asked, glaring at him over the top of a very large mug of coffee. "Fifty two deaths, and no explanation for them. Do you have any leads at all, or do I have to fob the president off again?"

Mace cleared his throat. "We appear to have something. At the advice of Martha Jones, we called on The Doctor for help. He's a long standing employee of UNIT, of course, but until recently hard to get hold of. He is on site now, and we are preparing for a raid on the UK premises of ATMOS. All the cars affected had the system installed, and one of the victims here in the UK sent me a message last night detailing her investigations into the company. Less than an hour later, she was dead."

"That's suspicious timing," Jack mused. "But why kill the others at the same time?"

"A show of power, probably." Esme pushed her glasses back up her nose again. "If they knew that UNIT were going to be made aware of their activities, what better way to stop you acting than by showing what they're capable of."

He puffed his chest up. "Well, if they think that will deter us, they don't know UNIT."

"Yes, indeed." She cleared her throat. "If you don't mind me saying so, that's a very American attitude to have."

"Thank you."

"It wasn't a compliment." Someone laughed, and Ianto had to fight back another smirk. "Would it not be more sensible to send in undercover operators, or perhaps use digital surveillance? There are plants all over the world; surely UNIT have the resources to monitor multiple sites. If your attention is believed to be on the site in the UK, they may be more lax at perhaps their Indian operations, or in China."

Jack leaned back in his chair and went out of focus for a second. "She has a good point. If they do know that the information has been sent to you, which is a safe bet, they'll expect you to target the nearest factory."

"Will they? Or will they assume that we are not so stupid?" Mace looked quite pleased with himself. "It is, you see, a double bluff."

"I see." Folding his arms, Ianto slumped against the desk again. "It sounds like you have everything under control."

"I agree. There really was no need to issue a Code Green. I dare say we'll have the situation resolved within 48 hours."

"Then it stays for 48 hours," he insisted calmly. "And the government lockdown stays in place until the situation is fully resolved and the Doctor is off the planet. I am taking no risks."

Gwen leaned down over Jack's shoulder to grin at him. "I do like it when you go all bossy on us, Ianto. It suits you, I think. Don't you, Jack?"

He ignored her and reached for a file whilst she walked off with a laugh. "Do you need any backup from us, Colonel? Without Tosh here, our technical capabilities are somewhat limited, but we do still have the most extensive archives in the country."

"That won't be necessary, Captain. UNIT have this under control. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a briefing to attend." His corner of the screen blinked off and Ianto finally allowed himself to roll his eyes.

"Well. This is going to go so well." Esme leaned back in her chair, took her glasses off and pulled her hair loose. "What actions do you think we should take, Ianto?"

He rubbed at the back of his neck. "Prepare lockdown procedures for individuals on your security list. I'm less worried about the politicians than people like Bill Gates – make sure that anyone we might need to get back on track is sent to ground. And prepare to issue evacuation orders, get additional staff into hospitals, that sort of thing. I don't like the fact that they have control of the cars. We may need to get people off the streets very quickly."

"I agree. I'll issue instructions to gridlock the major cities and highways, at the very least. Then if they do decide to attack using the cars, they should be restricted in the damage they can cause." She tapped at her keyboard and a file dropped onto the screen. "Our updated Code Green pack is with you now. If you need it..."

"Thank you. I'll send ours across as soon as I've finalised the details. The houses have gone into a session on pay in the NHS, which should keep them occupied for long enough for us to make a call. I've told Bercow to allow them to speak for as long as they like, and Phil Davies will probably filibuster until long after this is resolved," he said, mostly to himself as he pulled the file up on his phone and skimmed through it. "This looks good. I hope it won't be necessary."

"Agreed." Esme sighed once more and stood up. "Right. Let's get on with it, shall we? Good luck."

"And to you." Her screen blinked off too, and that left him and Jack, who had been very quiet. "Go on then," he said. "Spit it out."

Jack shrugged. "I just feel so impotent. Without Tosh here, and with UNIT shutting us out again, there's not a lot we can do."

"You can bunker down, then if this does all go wrong at least we'll have you to lead the recovery efforts." He shrugged one shoulder. "It might amount to nothing, but if it doesn't we need to be prepared. That means having you and the team ready to move into action."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to have the team ready to provide research support and head to the House with Ally. Code Green means I need to be with the Prime Minister." He looked up and caught sight of Jack's glower. "Don't. You know this is my job."

"You were supposed to be safer there."

"We aren't having this argument again," he sighed. "And definitely not right now. I love you, but that doesn't come above the safety of the world."

Jack crossed his arms again. "What if I want it to?"

He shook his head. "Are you going to do this every time?" Jack didn't respond, so Ianto rubbed at his eyes. "I have to go. Bunker down and make sure the rest of the team are safe. We'll talk later."

"Fine. Be careful."

"I always am." He managed a weak smile. "I do love you. But you knew what this would mean from the start. You can't go all protective every time something happens."

A sullen silence descended over them for a moment, until Jack sighed and nodded. "I'll talk to you later. Sir."

Ianto winced as the screen went dark and pushed away from the desk before he could start thinking about it.

# # #

Ianto flashed his badge at the BBC and ITV directors. "Ianto Jones, Torchwood," he introduced himself. "I'm going to have to ask you to postpone any live broadcasts you have scheduled until further notice."

"We're supposed to go live at the top of the hour," the BBC exec groaned. "We've got the Politics show expecting us for a discussion on the vote."

"Then now would be a good time to have technical issues," Ianto suggested. "I could cause some for you if you like..."

Her counterpart looked more curious. "Why are Torchwood involved? Do we need to warn the newsroom?"

A denial sprang to his lips automatically, but he paused for a moment and nodded. "If you cut your live broadcasts, you two get the scoop."

"Deal." He held his hand out to Ianto. "I'm Damon."

"Nice to meet you," he lied. "And you?"

"Victoria." She too shook his hand and her shoulders slumped in defeat. "I'll put a call in, tell them that we can't go live and to run the VT."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you." Behind him, Ally was remonstrating with Sky's representatives, and a gathering crowd of the press pool were watching with interest. "Honestly, I'm about 30 seconds from causing a power cut anyway."

"So long as it's not the Daleks again, I don't mind," the ITV correspondent interjected. "Or the Cybermen. I was in Canary Wharf when those ghosts attacked." He looked Ianto up and down. "So were you."

"Yes. A lot of people were, and they still don't believe us."

"No. Well, if we get to tell the truth about it one day..."

Ianto shrugged. "Above my paygrade, mate. I just shoot things and pass messages on."

"Yeah, and my aunt's the pope." He drained the last of his coffee and nodded towards Ally. "Looks like your friend has sorted her little problem. God, Hetherow is a wanker. Be glad you only have to deal with him occasionally."

She jogged over to them with the look in her eyes that had Ianto wanting to put anything lethal far out of her reach, but she smiled politely enough at them and only reached into her pocket for a pack of bright blue chewing gum. "All broadcasts frozen until further notice," she confirmed at his look. "With any luck it will be completely unnecessary and we can resume in about an hour."

"More likely two, but we have the experts on site." He made a polite escape and headed off towards the security rooms with Ally keeping pace beside him. "The situation at the Tower of London is escalating. I've sent Peter and Jacs round there to lend support. They're quite short on staff because of the conference, but they're still refusing to pull it."

"I dare say it wouldn't help anyway. I mean, how are they supposed to get back to somewhere they can cope?" She pulled her tablet out and flicked through the reports. "The hundred biggest cities in the world are gridlocked and warnings have been issued to keep people from travelling if possible. Schools are on alert to keep kids in if they can, and as many armies as are speaking to us are on standby to begin evacuation if they need to. Coastguards and navy at the ready, too, and we have military backing if it comes to a fight."

"Nothing from UNIT?"

"Nothing concrete. Just that investigations are ongoing. The Doctor agrees with them that ATMOS isn't from Earth, which was news to me." She gave him one of her looks and turned back to the tablet pointedly. "He's gone to meet Rattigan. I've checked and he's not on our list of resident aliens, so if it isn't local he's had help with it. He is quite brilliant."

Ianto nodded, leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes with his fingers laced together behind his head. "He's on my radar. Bit of a prick, though."

"Mmm. No comment on that one. Interesting thing, Donna Noble has been sighted in London. She's gone to visit her family. Do you want to send someone to pick her up for a chat?"

"No, leave her be. The Doctor is with Martha – if we want to talk to them, we can. I might go and visit Wilf, though."

All at once, all of their devices started beeping frantically, lights flashing and vibration motors going haywire. Ianto grabbed his phone first and stared at it. "What the fuck?"

"Code Red Sontaran," Ally announced, as if he wasn't staring at exactly the same thing as her. "There hasn't been a Sontaran sighting for years. Why would they come back now?"

"Because they're Sontarans and it's what they do." He launched himself out of his seat to start pacing. "I'll instigate lockdown. Get the congestion cleared. We need people out of the city as fast as possible, reduce the number of targets. They'll hunt people for sport, and gridlock will be too easy for them."

"On it. I'll get the message passed down. What about the Prime Minister?"

"Bunker. Time to put all our protocols into action." He reached for the door handle just as his phone started ringing. "Claim this room as our base of operations. Don't let anyone argue with you."

# # #

An aide ushered Gordon into the office where he towered over Ianto, glowering down at him. "What the hell is going on?" He demanded. "I thought the situation was under control?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "It was, just... Not by us."

"This isn't funny."

"Not remotely, sir." He beckoned him around to the computer and pulled the chair out for him. "UNIT have declared a Code Red Sontaran. It seems like the Sontarans were preparing an ambush at the ATMOS site. Either they expected them to raid that site specifically, or they would have been ready at any factory. I suspect the former."

Gordon zoomed in on the report, glasses forgotten around his neck. "What's a Sontaran? Can they be negotiated with?"

He sighed and shook his head. "Think of the British army at their worst, and then imagine a native tribe trying to negotiate with them. Anyone they consider inferior to them they kill for sport. The best you'll get out of them is a glorious death in battle. If this is an invasion, the Doctor may be our only hope, god help us."

"And is it an invasion?"

"That's top of a long list of things we don't know," Ianto admitted. He rubbed at the back of his neck as he started pacing back and forth in the small office. "We don't know what they want, how many there are, how they intend to achieve their aims... Every ATMOS device on the planet has just started releasing toxic fumes, and we don't even know whether it's all the emissions they've accumulated since installation or something else, and if it is something else what it is and why."

All the colour had drained from Gordon's face as Ianto spoke, and he stared at the reports still flowing in on the screen. "What do we do?" he asked. "Is there anything we can do?"

"We have contingency plans," Ally assured him, stepping in from the corner she'd been hovering in. "For the moment we've given instructions for everyone to remain or get inside, or evacuate to one of the parks if that's not possible. New York is already evacuating people out to sea, but in London that isn't a possibility right now. We ordered gridlock earlier, which has reduced the number of cars in the city centre but has concentrated the effects." She tapped at her tablet twice and handed it to him. "At the moment the gases are rising quite quickly. We estimate that it'll take one hour after the emissions stop before the gas has completely cleared street level and it's possible to start getting people out on the tube and the trams and boats."

"Because even the buses have that infernal device fitted." He passed the tablet back to her, rested his elbows on the desk and steepled his fingers. "Right. We need to get them removed as soon as the situation is clear. For now, keep people where they are, and then we evacuate children and the elderly first, then anyone with medical conditions, and then everyone else gradually in order of highest risk first. I will not be accused of showing preference to the rich. Do we need to order people to lower levels of skyscrapers?"

"For some of the older residential blocks, I think so. In the City they should withstand it, but the social housing towers are vulnerable."

"Get on that, then." He eyed Ianto. "Not that you need telling that."

Ianto's phone rang before he could respond, and he held a finger up in apology. "It's Jack. He might have an update." He answered it and tapped the speakerphone button. "Jack, you're on speakerphone," he said. "Have you heard anything new?"

"UNIT's forces have been wiped out in the initial attack. They weren't prepared for Sontarans and their weapons were useless." His voice was strained, vowels picking up Gwen's angry Welsh lilt. "You need to bunker down and ride this out, let them handle it."

"Not a chance," he gritted out. "We need to keep on top of this."

Ally touched his arm. "The Sontarans have used protective fields to jam UNIT's weapons before. I'll see to it that the security staff here switch to rad-steel or plastic coated, just in case."

"Good thinking, Ally." He looked up across the desk at Gordon. "We're preparing to coordinate the evacuation of London. You need to prepare to evacuate Cardiff, just in case. It's more pedestrianised than London so it might not be necessary, but be ready just in case."

"We're monitoring the situation," Jack confirmed, "as per Code Green."

"Good. That's all we can do. If the Doctor calls..."

"I'll let you know. I've heard nothing from Martha for a while, so I'm sure they have it under control."

Ianto snorted, despite his best efforts. "They usually do. I'll be in touch if I hear anything. We'll talk to you soon." He hung up and ignored their pointed looks. "I need to get in touch with the Tower of London and see if they've heard anything, and I need to get Martin to look deeper into Rattigan. I'd call him, but I think it's a bit late for that."

"We need to prepare a press release and evacuation instructions," Ally pointed out. "We'll get on that whilst you get onto UNIT."

He gave them a curt nod and shoved his phone back in his pocket. "I'll go and sort security first, and then I want to take a look outside."

The police in the lobby had moved back to the entrance to the chamber, and the hall was full of people milling around. A baby was crying somewhere, and an elderly lady was being treated with oxygen on one of the uncomfortable but historic wooden benches at the edges of the room. Ianto grabbed a security guard and didn't need to even open his mouth. "We had to get them inside," the security guard told him. "It's horrific out there, like something out of an apocalyptic movie or something. Visibility is shit, and you can't be out there for more than a few minutes without your lungs burning."

"Absolutely, you did the right thing." He looked around at the crowd of people again. "Have we got any medical professionals, or just first aiders?"

"A neurosurgeon and a paediatric nurse." He shrugged. "It's better than nothing."

"It's a lot better than nothing." Ianto drummed his fingers against his leg. "The Prime Minister is in the Peel room. I need two more security guards on the door, and only members of UNIT or Torchwood are allowed in. I'm going to have a look at the situation outside."

"Good luck, sir. Rather you than me."

If anything was going to make him feel worse about the situation, it was someone saying that. He smiled anyway and pulled his phone out of his pocket, turning it between his fingers as he made for the door. The police stepped aside to let him through, and he opened the door just wide enough to be able to slip out into the secure zone, within the usual police cordon.

The streets were deserted, but loud with the blaring of car horns from vehicles that had been abandoned where they stopped. A police car in the middle of the throng had its siren blaring unattended, adding to the cacophony that assaulted him. Above the noise, though, was the smell. The metallic, toxic tang he hadn't even noticed was missing since the introduction of ATMOS was back in full force, compounded by something vaguely agricultural and caustic. The first breath he took burned in his lungs, and by the third he was retching. His eyes watered, making it even harder to see through the grey pall that blanketed the city. Far above him the sky, which had been a beautiful clear blue that didn't even threaten an early spring shower, was clouded over with the noxious fumes. He covered his mouth with a handkerchief, which did little to help, and stumbled down the steps towards the nearest car.

Its doors were flung wide open, shopping abandoned in the back seat and a ballet pump style shoe tangled up in the pedals. The engine had stopped, like they all had, and its momentum had carried it into the rear of the car in front, so the bonnet stuck up, crazed and crumpled. He reached in through the driver's door for the lever to open it and stepped back as far as he could when it finally sprang free. There was no rush of fumes, though. The ATMOS device blinked up at him, job done.

His phone rang again, and he only answered it once he'd checked it wasn't Jack. "Kate. Have you heard anything new?" His voice was raspy and dry already, and every word hurt.

"London is completely blanketed in the stuff," she told him. "The concentration in the atmosphere is rising all the time. Over Beijing it's hit 60% and people have started dying in the streets. The Valiant has been sent to provide backup at the factory, and NATO are preparing to launch nuclear weapons. Jodrell Bank has identified a signal coming from about 5000 miles above the planet's surface which triggered the ATMOS systems. It matches previous Sontaran signals, too."

"I'm in the middle of London right now. It's fucking awful." He coughed again and his stomach turned. "God, don't come out in it."

She chuckled. "I didn't need telling that, Ianto. Get yourself back indoors."

He did as he was told, for a change, and leaned back on the door to cough hard. When he'd finally got his breath back, he checked to see if he was still connected to Kate. "Sorry," he muttered as he raised it to his ear again. "Yeah, it's not good out there."

"I know. But since you're an idiot, you can be our first test patient. There's 10% something we can't identify in the gas. We need to observe patients to see the effects, and as you just took a massive lungful, you'll do." Her tone was crisp and brooked no argument. "You're to report to the hospital as soon as the all clear is given."

"Kate..." He couldn't get any further than that before he was choking again. "Fine," he breathed once it was over. "I'm going back out in that case."

He wiped at his face and felt the slightly greasy, gritty texture of the gas clinging to his skin. The smell had permeated his clothes, too, and felt like it had soaked deep into his skin. The crowd of frightened tourists huddled in the hall were keeping as far away from him as they could; there was a frisson of alarm when he pulled the door open again and peered out. "If I'm not back in five minutes," he instructed the nearest police officer. "Send someone out for me."

The noise was like a wall again when he stepped out, with another siren and a building's alarm added to the mix since he'd last looked out. The air, though, felt clearer, and when he took a deep breath it burned enough to make him retch, but not as much as before. Still, this time he emptied his stomach over the steps, and he stumbled down them to get away from the additional layer of awful added to the general smell. The longer he stood there, though, the more sure he was that it wasn't as bad as before. He could still taste the something else, that 10% they hadn't been able to identify, but the rest was fading. Rising, he realised, when he looked up at the tower of Big Ben and could see clearly to higher up, but less clearly above that.

He rang Kate back quickly and started to weave between the cars, checking on every one he passed. "It's easing," he told her when she answered. "It's breathable at street level, as predicted. The cars around here, at least, have stopped kicking the stuff out and it's risen to at least the second floor."

"Good. We'll initiate evacuation procedures through the underground tunnels and have the hospitals ready to receive patients." Her heels clicked against stone in the background and echoed off the walls around her. "We've been looking through the archives left by Commander Strax. There's not a lot there, but we've sent the troops in with rad-steel."

Ianto nodded to himself and looked up. "Let's hope it's only a small force. If they try with larger forces we'll be overwhelmed, especially in this..."

Fire blazed across the sky above him and he stumbled back against a car as a prickling wave, like an electric shock rather than heat, caressed his skin. "Holy shitting... Jesus Christ."

"Ianto?"

"The sky just... burned." He pulled himself back upright and leaned heavily against the car. "It's... gone. I think? It doesn't taste as bad." Over the phone, he heard her footsteps as she ran through the corridors. "Something just happened. Something big."

"Get back inside," she instructed him. "I'll get onto Mace and find out what the hell is going on."

He turned on his heel and stumbled back towards the Houses of Parliament. "We'll get on the press release and order the end of the evacuation."

She sighed. "Ianto, just get inside and sit down."

"Yes sir." He hung up, but the phone started ringing immediately, and he answered it with a sigh. "Jack..."

"Ianto, are you alright? The sky just..."

He pushed the door open harder than he needed to. "I know, I saw. The air is clearer, at least."

"Yeah, we're running the atmospheric scans right now. You sound awful."

Ianto beckoned one of the police officers over and covered the microphone with his thumb. "We're going to be lifting the lockdown order soon, but no one is to leave before we've done that. If anyone needs medical attention, hold them and treat them here until an ambulance can collect them. We'll make this a priority for getting people to treatment."

"Sir."

He made for the office and uncovered the microphone. "I'm alright," he lied. His skin prickled as soon as he said it though. "Well, I'm not fine. I was outside for a bit too long. UNIT want me in for observation as a guinea pig, but I wasn't out there for nearly as long as most people."

"So much for being careful."

Ianto ignored him. "What's the situation in Cardiff?"

"Mostly confusion. It didn't get to dangerous levels here. The Welsh assembly never agreed on whether they were going to provide funding for it to be fitted, so most people still don't have it." He chuckled. "Thank god for bureaucracy."

"You're welcome."

Gordon stood up as he entered. "Ianto, what on earth happened? You look dreadful."

"UNIT have just given the all clear," Ally told him, hurrying over and pushing him into a chair. "Did you go outside?"

"Not for long." He pushed her away and went back to his phone, flicking it to speakerphone again. "UNIT have given the all clear, Jack. You're back on speakerphone."

"I just saw it. Concentration levels are at 10%. Reports are that it burned fast and cold. You said you saw it?"

He looked over at Ally with a precautionary grimace. "Yeah, I'd gone outside to have a look at the cars. They'd already stopped producing the gas and it had risen up to the second floor, at least. And then it just... burned off."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It was cool. Not cold, but not hot enough to damage anything." He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. "We need to get the press release out, lift the lockdown and evacuation orders, and get anyone affected to hospitals to be treated." A cough racked through his chest and he grimaced. "Me included."

# # #

He sighed and held out his arm for blood to be taken again. "I'm going to have none left by the time you vampires are done with me," he grumbled, earning himself a bright laugh. "Surely there can't be anything more to learn from me?"

"You inhaled dangerous levels of Sontaran cloning fluid, Mr Jones. No one knows what that does to the human body, but we're all very excited to find out." She slid the needle out of his arm and disposed of it. "You're doing great work for science."

"By sitting in a hospital bed eating biscuits and drinking tea. Speaking of which, where on earth did you get actual Danish cookies, and when can I have coffee?"

"I was trying to buy buttons and got biscuits instead," she fired back. "You can have coffee when the doctor has signed you off. Not to worry," she added, "that was doctor in all lowercase. The Doctor has agreed to go back to the Tower of London to help fill in some gaps in the archive and give Colonel Mace a right dressing down."

He sighed. Now she was done with him, he let exhaustion roll over him again and sank back into the pillows. "He's good at that," he said around a yawn that made his chest constrict and sent him into another coughing fit. "Oh god, I'm sorry," he muttered when it was done and he felt even more drained than he did before. "Is everyone like this?"

"Pretty much, Mr Jones. Anyone who just got a blast of the gases will be alright with oxygen, but a lot of people got a hefty dose of the amniotic cloning fluid, and that stuff is pretty nasty if you're not a Sontaran clone."

"You're not wrong." He smiled up at her. "One star, would not recommend. Tasted foul, too."

"You know, I thought flirting with other people was my role in this relationship."

Ianto tried to sit up too quickly and had to fall back with a pathetic groan until yet another coughing fit subsided. By the time it was over and he could breathe again, Jack was beside him, holding his hand tight and rubbing at his back. The nurse brought him an oxygen mask with an expression that brooked no argument, even if he'd wanted to give one, and he took a deep breath from it almost desperately. It took effect quickly, soothing his burning lungs, but the nausea didn't abate this time.

"Easy," Jack warned him before he could move again. "You're really not well this time."

He smirked as well as he could. "I'm a human guinea pig for UNIT to explore. I think they want me dead so they can dissect me."

"Rumbled. That oxygen is 90% carbon monoxide." She grabbed at his wrist to take his pulse and pursed her lips as she shook her head. "Alright. You can stay for a while, but no getting him excited, no arguments, and you have to leave him to sleep on the hour at the latest. Understood?"

"Clear as day, ma'am." Jack saluted her with his free hand and grinned. "Thank you for looking after him."

"That, captain, was a pleasure." She cleared up the last of her equipment and made for the door. "I'll be back to check."

Ianto grinned at her retreating back and shook his head. "Her bedside manner is much better than yours."

"Yeah, but would she put up with your idiocy as well as I do?" He sat down on the edge of Ianto's bed and cradled his hand in both of his own. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap," he admitted. "Like I've been slammed in the chest by a Weevil or a freight train. I just can't stop coughing, and it's making it so much worse."

Jack shook his head. "What were you even doing out there? What was so important that you had to go out into the middle of London when the cars were all kicking out toxic fumes?"

He shrugged. "I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time?" His eyes were still stinging and gritty so he let them fall closed, squeezed Jack's hand and sighed again. "I wanted to see what was going on more clearly, see if I could work out what had happened. I forgot how bad polluted air is, you know? Mind you, it never had clone juice in it before."

"Clone juice," Jack chuckled. "Only you." His voice trembled and he scooted closer. "Ianto, you don't have to prove anything to us, you know? Everyone who knows you knows you earned this job by being the best at it. You don't have to keep throwing yourself into danger."

"Says you."

"I'll survive it. You won't. One day, you won't come home." He stroked his thumbs over the back of Ianto's hands, and he forced his eyes to open. "I'm not asking you not to risk your life. I'm just asking you... not to take risks you'd shout at me for taking."

That stung at him, and he nodded slowly. "I would have been so angry, wouldn't I?"

"Beyond furious. Apocalyptic."

He chuckled. "Apoplectic, Jack. Not apocalyptic. But you're right. That was a dumb thing to do."

"So long as we're both clear on that. We need to have a talk about what this means. A proper talk, not a sniping match." He looked down at their hands again. "I know you can't be safe all the time. I know this job is dangerous, even though my gut instinct is that you should be safe here. I know it doesn't work like that. But I still want you to be safe from stupid risks and I feel like..." Before he could go any further he cut himself off and squeezed Ianto's hands. "Later," he promised. "You're ill and exhausted, and I should meet with the doctors and step in for my boss since he's convalescing."

"Thank you." He smiled up at him. "Be nice to them, okay?"

"I'm making no promises." Jack brushed Ianto's hair back off his forehead and bent to kiss it. "Now do as the nurse told you to and go to sleep."

He didn't need telling twice, and was probably asleep before Jack was out of the room.