TITLE: To Separate The Lies From Truth

PART THREE OF SERIES: The Five Elements (AU Verse)

CHAPTER SUMMARY: Out of Time – my twist!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Torchwood or Doctor Who which is unlucky because Jack and Ianto deserve so much more!

WORDS: 4200

NOTES: Hiya next chapter is here! Sorry if it feels a tad jumpy at the start, this chapter seemed to take forever to write.


Chapter 24: Out of Time (2007)

18th December 2007

It didn't take long for Ianto to find a suitable airfield with a spare hanger to store the Sky Gypsy, but it was still already nearing dusk by the time he got back to the Hub and joined Tosh to help her with creating the new identifications while Gwen and Jack took the three misplaced passengers to a hostel for the time being.

While it felt wrong, the three were scared and grieving their lost loved ones, it was unavoidable not to think of all the others at Flat Holm that hadn't been so lucky. When the plane had first come through the rift, Jack had found the negative spike in the corresponding timeframe, but it had seemed that the rift had simply brought the plane and passengers forward in time, rather than dumping them on another planet before bringing them back.

With Owen still out on medical leave, the team's workload was once again increased and it felt like hours before, he sent the last documents to the printer and eventually looked up from his computer. Tosh had left about a half hour previously, but focused on his work he missed Jack returning, only later recognising the tell-tale sign of Jack's closeness tickling at the back of his head.

Now that their bond meant they could sense each other anyway when close, sometimes it meant he forgot about the white ever-present spark of Jack's presence, which was what had drawn him from his captive cell the day of their very first meeting, but though he could sense Jack was near, the Hub was same level of emptiness, the latter's office and bunker deserters, and confused he reached out mentally.

"Jack?"

"Level 2." The answer came quickly but was brief, as Ianto made his way down to the lower levels unsure what the latter was up to. He could never tell with Jack.

"There you are." Ianto commented, entering a room he'd never entered before. It was meant to be empty, but instead of a black room, red lamps had been set up in each corner of the room, and a multitude of photos were strung up on some string crudely stretched across the room. "What's all this?"

"John had an old camera with some family photos. I said I'd see what I could do, but I didn't want to trust a professional shop when we can't see what each one is of." Jack explained, from where he was leaning against the far wall, waiting. "This was the equipment we used before cameras went digital in the 1970's."

"Oh." Ianto exclaimed, astonished by how much technology had changed in less than half a century as he looked around the room full of trays and chemicals. "How did it go at the hostel, then?"

"Not bad, they're settling in better than I thought. Gwen and Emma seem to be getting on okay, and I think Diane mentioned she'd been talking to Tosh about aerodynamics or something technical like that." Jack joked, then turned solemn. "I think John's taking it the hardest. He is the oldest of all of them."

"Well it probably won't help them much, but I've finished setting up their new identifications, with background stories that should incorporate the skills they already have, and Tosh said to say she's finished setting up the bank accounts with their first lot of allowance."

"Thank you. You're right, it won't help their grief, but at least it will keep the authorities off their backs." Jack answered. "I was thinking maybe you could take them to supermarket tomorrow, so they can practice with the new currency."

"Make sense." Ianto replied. "I'll take them sometime when it's quieter."

"They'd just come off of rationing in '53, so I think you'll all have fun either way." Jack winked, but Ianto simply rolled his eyes in return. Their ideas of fun sometimes were completely different, and suddenly Ianto was regretting – though only slightly – agreeing so quickly.

~ * o ~ * o ~ T ~ o * ~ o * ~

23rd December 2007

The rest of the week had its ups and downs as they tried to help the three lost souls adapt to modern life. According to Ianto the shopping trip had gone as well as could be expected, the three excited by the large quantity of food, but also shaken by the culture shock of it all. Emma had made friends at the hostel and John had even spent time remising with him about the FA cup final, but he had the feeling it couldn't have last and he'd been right.

"Tosh?"

Jack looked surprised to see the woman at her workstation when he and Ianto climbed out of the bunker on the Sunday morning and glancing at his watch he was shocked to see it was almost 8. He hadn't even realised they'd slept in.

"Late night?" Tosh asked innocently. Jack noticed Ianto slipping away quietly towards the kitchenette presumably after coffee. "I heard something had kicked off again last night."

"John and Emma – or rather Deborah - argued over her drinking with Jade and Alesha at the hostel." Jack sighed. "Gwen took her home to hers. She's young; still has her whole life ahead of her, so I think she'll be okay. What about Diane? I heard that she was wondering if she could get work in aviation."

"Diane a free spirit. It's her dream to fly." Tosh returned. "It's a shame Owen's still out till after Christmas; I think they'd get on well together. Two contrasting but similar personalities."

"Toshiko Sato, trying to play matchmaker! To Owen of all people"

Tosh blushed. "You know nothing going to come between us."

"I wouldn't write him off so quickly." Jack returned. "But actually, maybe it was a good thing Owen's out. If what I've understood from Diane so far, is she's not one to stay in one place for long. They might have started something that couldn't have ended well."

"How's it going with John, then?" Tosh asked, flustering to get off the current conversation, and Jack let her.

"He worries me." Jack admitted. "Sometimes I think he's starting to move on, then other times it's like he's not even trying."

To be honest, Jack wasn't really sure. Out of all of them at the Hub, Jack understood what it was like to start again, in a different time without anything, but then again, he'd been trained for it. There never had been any knowing if or when he could get stranded on a mission during his time at the agency. Even though, he knew John could take care of himself, could very easily fit into today's society….but if only he tried.

"It's just…." Tosh started, but she pursed her lips slightly as if she didn't really want to continue. "John's son. I think I've found him."

~ * o ~ * o ~ T ~ o * ~ o * ~

24th December 2007

"You want to tell me what happened?" Ianto rolled out from under Jack after he'd recaught his breath. Not that he could go far on the narrow bed in Jack's bunker. "Not that I'm complaining, but it kind of seemed as if there's something you just want to forget."

Jack settled back into mattress, still slightly breathless himself, but Ianto felt the bleak emotions start to return to his lovers mind, replacing the blissful satisfaction from only moments before.

"John's witnessing the end of his world, the end of his line." Jack whispered sombrely. "We can't help, not really. There's no puzzle to solve, no enemy to fight. It just is."

"His son?" Ianto guessed. Tosh had mentioned something of finding John son the day before, and had figured the visit hadn't gone well, but he didn't know the details.

"It was horrible. Seeing his son like that…he just broke. But then today, it was like nothing had happened. He was the complete opposite, asking about drivers licences and jobs." Jack sighed. "Hopefully getting some work in retail will help him where we can't."

"Retail?" Ianto pushed himself up onto his elbows on the narrow bunk.

"Yeah, he said he was going to look earlier, and again tomorrow morning if he doesn't find anything."

"He told me he was going to look for something in construction."

"Maybe he's changed his mind?" Jack replied, clearly not thinking anything of it. "Working retail might have reminded him too much of his old shop."

"Maybe." Ianto returned, though he wasn't convinced. His mind played back his brief conversation with John a few hours before. Why had he told Jack something, then changed his mind in only a few minutes.

He'd hadn't focused on sensing John during it, not seeing any reason to look past his shields, but now he wished he had. Maybe it could have helped understood what he was thinking. He'd taken a bus timetable though, that had to mean something. Though why he'd had to ask where they were he didn't know; they were just on the top in plain sight and he'd looked as if he had been about to leave when he'd first walked through the beaded curtain but….

A thought came to him from nowhere, and Ianto jumped out of bed pulling on his abandoned clothes as fast as possible, ignoring the confused protests from his lover as he fled up the ladder and in the direction of the office.

Bursting through the secret door, he spotted the familiar hook abandoned. He'd half expected it, but had hoped otherwise as he scrabbled through the shelf under the counter and the floor, hoping they'd just fallen. Coming up empty his sighed and stood, picking up the landline, he rang the number of emergency phones that they'd given all three of them. It went straight to voicemail.

"Ianto?" Jack's concerned thoughts finally registered in his mind. "Where'd you go?"

"My car keys are missing." Ianto returned solemnly. "John was behind the counter earlier on…and I can't get hold of him."

Ianto met Jack back downstairs who'd now dressed himself and was tapping frantically at his computer in his office. Ianto saw as he brought up the Torchwood locator program and searched for the tracker node that was in his car. Each member of the team had had them installed the very first week they joined in case of emergencies like this.

Jack stared at the red dot on the screen for a long second as if trying to remember where he recognised the address from, then his eyes widened. "He's gone home."

~ * o ~ * o ~ T ~ o * ~ o * ~

Arriving at the house, the front door was still boarded and untouched, and with an unsettled feeling in his gut, Ianto followed Jack as he continued to track his car to the garage around back. The barn style door rattled uselessly however as they tried to pull it opened.

"Bolted." Jack yanked at the handle once more, then squinted through the narrow crack between the two doors. "Can you get a flame through that gap?"

Ianto swapped places with Jack, his torch light quickly shining on what Jack had spotted - the metal of the bolt drawn across the two doors, slightly above the handle.

"It'd take too long." He shook his head as he spoke, another plan slowly forming. He hadn't practiced much since the revelation that the building collapse nearly a year previous now had been down to his Earth powers rather than air, apprehensive about the amount of damage he could cause if he lost control, but he understood the theory and hoped his power would recognise his urgency. "Let me try something."

Not waiting a response, he closed his eyes, drawing out his power he kept so closely contained and focusing it on the bolt he imagined inside. It was only as few seconds, but it felt an age and he could even sense Jack's impatient confusion beside him, but eventually a large crack sounded on the inside, followed by the clatter of something metal falling to the fall.

He spotted Jack's look of amazement, but they both shoved it to the side, as they slid the doors sideways to open. Exhaust fumes billowed out almost immediately, sending them both into a coughing fit.

"John!" There was no response other than the rumble of an engine, and Jack charged forward before Ianto could grab him. "Ianto, stay there!"

"Jack, no!" Ianto exclaimed, watching the figure of his lover disappear into the grey cloud. Whether or not Jack survived this, he was going to kill him only for his complete and utter disregard for his own life.

He closed his eyes once more, drawing his power out of himself, and with it, the air was pulled out from the garage. He held his own breath tightly as the contaminated air passed him, yet his eyes still watered and stung painfully. They would probably be red-rimmed tomorrow, but the view in front slowly cleared in front of him.

Jack was struggling to pull an innate figure - John he realised – out of his car and Ianto met him at the rear, half-carrying, half-dragging them both outside, Jack's weight in his arms getting heavier with each step. The moment they reached the SUV, Jack collapsed against the vehicle and slid to the ground, coughing.

Ianto knew in his heart they were too late – for the garage to have filled up with that much exhaust would have taken hours, but with a shred of scattered hope, he reached for John's pulse. There was nothing – his skin cold, and looking back upward he shook his head dejectedly at Jack.

"We couldn't save him." Jack rasped, his voice dry and scratchy.

"Don't talk, just breath." Ianto answer, moving away from John, to crouch in front of him. His skin looked as if it's colour had been drained away, other than his lips that held a hint of blue from lack of oxygen. "You okay?"

Jack clearly heard him, but he shook his head slowly, the movement making even Ianto wince himself. "Can't fo-cus."

Ianto could feel the headache and strain on Jack's chest as he spoke, the words barely audible between the short gasps for breath, but Ianto blocked it out, understanding what Jack meant. If he wasn't strong enough to use their bond, there was no benefit using it himself, the echo of pain would only hinder him.

"Okay, but still, don't talk." Ianto returned. He rooted through Jack's pockets for the keys, and opened the passenger side door. He gently lifted Jack up onto the seat before moving to store John's body in the boot. It only did to reinforce the solemn reason of why they were there and what they'd failed to achieve.

Ianto drove back to the Hub fast but steady, the only sound in the car each strangled breath from Jack. The latter was awake if the strangled coughs were any sign, but his eyes were closed, his head leaning against the car door, and for a horrible moment Ianto feared Jack was worse than he'd thought, as they pulled into the garage.

"Are you…" He paused, part of him not even believing he was about to ask this question. "Is this going to kill you or…"

"No," Jack insisted weakly, clutching at Ianto to keep himself upright as they made their way through to the Hub. "Wasn't long enough. I just need time…" He stopped coughing violently. When the fit finally finished he squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head from side to side as though trying to clear something, but it only seemed to make him look paler and more nauseous. "… and maybe oxygen."

Using his actions as a response, Ianto directed them both towards the medical bay, his arm supporting Jack's lax weight, as he settled him on the edge of the table as he scanned the organised space. For once in a blue moon, it was tidy without Owen around to undo his sorting.

As soon as he let go, Jack slumped sideways onto the table, probably relishing the cold metal against his forehead, a momentary relief against the tense headache that Ianto could somewhat feel himself even through his shields. Dragging the portable oxygen cylinder from one of the cupboards, he pulled Jack back into a sitting position before pressing the plastic mask over his nose and mouth, turning the dial at the top to release the flow.

Jack took some strained and weak deep breaths, as his hands slowly lifted to hold the mask himself and once he was certain he had the right grip, Ianto let him own hands drop.

They sat in silence for a while, Ianto watching intently as Jack's breathing slowly settled into a more steady rhythm, the colour returning to his skin.

"Better?" Ianto asked eventually.

Jack nodded in return, dropping his gaze. "I'll buy you a new car." He murmured quietly between firm but shaky breaths.

"Don't worry about that now." Ianto assured. The fumes had acrid smell, strong and persistent, worse than petrol at a service station. Just from the stench clinging to Jack's greatcoat, he knew that he'd never be able to get the smell from his car, even without checking, but at that moment, his treasured Audi was the last thing on his mind as Jack's weight slumped even further onto him, exhausted. "We should get you lying down. Can you make your ladder?"

Jack nodded again into his shoulder, before regretfully abandoning the support of the table, to carefully slide to his feet. He stumbled slightly as he straightened but managed to catch himself before Ianto could even attempt to move.

He definitely looked better than earlier, but the journey to his bunker seemed to sap all his revitalised energy, and Ianto took too undressing his lover himself, as Jack immediately crashed out onto his bunk. His worried flared again, but a quick touch of his mind against Jack's assured he was only sleeping. The clothes could be binned, Jack certainly had enough of them, but the coat and boots would need washing somehow. He would have to do some research.

With everything in hand, he made to leave, then paused, eyes lingering on Jack's VM. The leather would have only trapped the smell and with only a moment hesitation, he reached over to carefully unbuckle the strap from his wrist, before climbing the ladder and leaving Jack to sleep.

~ * o ~ * o ~ T ~ o * ~ o * ~

25th December 2007

When he finally next awoke, Jack found himself alone in his bunker. He couldn't tell whether it was morning or still night, but thankfully his lungs no longer felt as if they were on fire with each breath. A reached for his VM on his wrist only to find it missing and he sat up in alarm, eyes scanning fervently. His bunker might have been empty, but he could sense Ianto's presence in the Hub, and his nerves settled slightly.

"Jack? You awake?" Ianto's voice drifted down from the office above, but he didn't have to answer, as Ianto saw for himself as he made his way down the ladder. "Merry Christmas."

Oh…it was Christmas. Somehow after the night before, he wasn't surprised not to find himself in the festive mood. "How long have I been out?"

"A while, but not as long as I expected." Ianto returned. "It's just gone 11am."

"Where's my VM?" He probably shouldn't be so attached to a half-broken piece of futuristic technology, but he swore his wrist felt bare and light without it.

"Here." Ianto reached into his suit pocket to withdraw his trusted wristband. "Sorry, I was trying to get the smell out. It's not the best, but better than before."

"Thank you." Jack buckled that strap back in place. He for one couldn't smell anything, but wondered if it was just because his senses were still dulled from yesterday. At the reminder, his mind wandered back to John. He wondered if there could have been anything they could have done differently, if they could have saved him had arrived earlier, but he knew in his heart that John wouldn't have wanted to be saved.

He'd been lost, but unlike the other two he just hadn't adjusted; didn't want to start over. Frankly, Jack could relate. He'd felt the same many times before, only for him there was no choice of just slipping into the darkness.

"Deborah and Diane?"

"Deborah's taken a fashion job in London; Gwen saw her off at the bus stop yesterday evening and Diane..." Ianto sighed. "Diane's with Tosh. She tried to steal the plane for the airfield this morning. Tosh was meant to be covering today, but seeing we're here instead, I told her to keep an eye on Diane. I think she said something about trying to fast track Diane's pilot's licence for her."

Jack nodded. Seeing it was Christmas, fast-tracking would still take a day at least, but it was better than her vanishing with her plane, especially not after they'd lost John.

Despite all their wishes, the rift didn't take a day off, and considering the luck – or unluck – that seemed to coincide with Christmas in the last decade, the Hub couldn't be left unmanned for a whole day, even if the predictor was quiet. While it was usually him that manned, this year Tosh had offered to cover because he and Ianto were meant to be at… A sudden memory stuck Jack, and he jumped up suddenly.

"Wait, 11!? But we were meant to be at your sisters at 10!" Rhiannon had invited her brother for Christmas as usual, but what Jack had been surprised to find out that know Rhiannon knew about their relationship, that same invitation now subsequently pertained to him, with no exceptions.

"I called Rhiannon earlier, told her you were sick." Ianto explained calmly. "It wasn't a total lie, and I didn't say you had anything bad, just that you were worried about passing it to the kids."

Jack frowned. Just because he was asleep, it shouldn't mean Ianto had to miss out. "You could have gone without me. You shouldn't miss out on Christmas with your family because of me."

"I wasn't leaving you alone when you hadn't even awoken yet." Ianto protested. "Even if you're 'fine', I somewhat still need to chastise you about what motivated you to run into a poison gas cloud with no protection."

"There was no time. I didn't matter to me, I'm…"

"Jack, if the next word out of your mouth is either 'expendable´ or something similar, I'm going to get a lot angrier at you that I already am."

"You're not angry, you're frustrated and worried. There's a difference." It was true, the frustration he sensed from Ianto was the same as whenever he nearly or actually died.

"Not by much." Ianto countered. "Even so, we can visit my family another day. There's always Boxing day or New year."

"Tomorrow." Jack answered quickly, seeing Ianto quirk his eyebrow at the speed of his response he continued. "I can't do New Year."

"Jack, I know New Year is a difficult…"

"No, I mean…" Jack interrupted, realising what Ianto thought. "I got a call yesterday. Alice has invited me around that day."

Jack sensed Ianto's surprise and concern, and he actually felt relieved he could share this part of himself now. "I thought...I mean she was pretty adamant about not seeing you when we left the hospital. What changed her mind?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm not going to turn down the chance. Even if it does end in an inevitable argument."

Jack fell silence for a moment. Alice hadn't said anything on the phone other than the invitation, but as Ianto said, considering how their last conversation ended he wasn't going to question her reasons.

"Anyway, are you going to stand at the foot of the ladder all day or are you going to sit?" Jack eventually spoke, hoping to change the subject as he reached down into his bedside table drawer and pulled out a wrapped box. "The festival spirit may have dimmed from yesterday, but it's still technically Christmas."

"Thank you." Ianto took the pro-offered gift from Jack with a smile, but it also turned into a frown a second later. "Oh. Um…your present's still at the house."

"No worries, there's no rush." Jack grinned. "Anyway, open it. I think this could be a gift for both of us."

Slowly unwrapping the old-fashioned paper, and lifting the lid of the box, he found nestled on a protective cushion, and antique stopwatch, the numbers etched with roman numerals. It was just his style to go with his suits, and for a second he was confused by Jack's earlier comment, but looking up to see his lover's lewd grin, he suddenly understood what he'd meant.

"Well… I guess there is lots of things you can do with a stopwatch."

Notes: Do you know how much of an internal debate I had on whether to save John or not! On one hand, saving John would be great, but then I wouldn't have gotten to write the Jack whump . So instead, I saved Diane – and yep totally swapped Combat and Out of Time around just so Owen could be out on medical leave ahaha.

Next up: At last, it's finally here – the (currently) three-part finale. Apologies that it's still not completely finished, so up to you whether I post in 3 days or wait a few days more until I'm closer to finishing so I can keep with my usual daily updates with arching storyline. Please review!