Chapter 20
Ianto was woken by a firm shaking to his shoulder.
Opening his eyes he stared up into the worried face of his twin sister.
"What are you doing in my apartment?" Ianto asked around a yawn.
Taffy rolled her eyes at him in amusement. "You're still not a morning person I see. You're at my place in the spare room."
"Oh right," Ianto replied remembering his unexpected turn up to hide out and think at his sister's late last night.
"Get up, you need to see this," Taffy said grabbing his arm and with a strength that surprised him yanked him out of bed.
Ianto stumbled after her grateful that he'd worn pyjama pants to bed for once.
Venn was sitting in the lounge room watching the news, cups of tea held firmly in his hands.
Ianto watched in shock as report after report of strange occurrences around the world played out in front of them.
"Shit! I have to get to work," Ianto swore dashing up the stairs to get changed.
Taffy looked worriedly after her brother and Venn took her hand squeezing it gently in comfort.
Jack was waiting in the tourist office when Ianto arrived, having seen him on the CCTV making his way to the front entrance.
"Where were you last night? I was worried sick even Dexter and Venn didn't know where you were,"
Venn answer the door with a grin, similar to their last meeting.
"Jack, what a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?" the cheerful Irishman asked
"Ianto wouldn't be here by any chance would he?" Jack asked,
"No we haven't seen him since Xmas, Why is there a problem?" Venn asked turning serious.
"Ah… I'm not sure, look I'll talk to you later if you see him tell me I'm looking for him," Jack replied heading down the steps and back towards the road.
"No problem, Cya Jack," Venn said and closed the door taking one last look at the dejected form walking away from him.
Sighing Venn closed the door and headed into the kitchen for a beer.
Ianto entered a few seconds later, freshly showered, as he grabbed his own drink from the fridge.
"Who was at the door?" Ianto asked
"Salesman," Venn shrugged
"It's a bit late for them isn't it." Ianto asked surprised
"Hence me telling him where to shove it,"
Jack knocked on a hotel room door only you have it opened with a glare a few minutes later.
"Jack, it's late what are you doing here?" Dexter asked not moving to let the man in but simply standing in the doorway to talk to him.
"Sorry did I wake you?" Jack asked
"No I was working," Dexter said opening the door more so Jack could look in at the laptop and papers set out across the table.
"Oh right. Have you seen Ianto?" Jack asked raking his fingers through his hair
Dexter sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. "What have you done?"
"Nothing," Jack replied quickly, too quickly.
"You have to learnt o fix your own cock ups," Dexter said and promptly shut the door in Jack's face.
"But…"
"I haven't seen him," Dexter called through the door and that was all Jack got, even when he knocked again he was simply ignored.
"Venn?" Ianto asked surprised
"Ah, he lied to me then, you were there." Jack replied reading Ianto reaction
"I was just getting out of the shower, when someone knocked at the door," Ianto confirmed.
"Can we talk?" Jack sighed
"I'm sorry, is it just me or is the world ending a little more important at the moment?" Ianto replied Jack flinching slightly
"Ianto about what happened…" Jack began only to be interrupted as Gwen burst through the tourist door.
Jack glanced between the pair quickly before putting his captain mask back on and Ianto had to bite back a growl at the interruption.
"Come on Jack now is not the time to be pestering Ianto with your flirting," Gwen said grabbing his wrist and pulling him towards the entrance to the hub, hitting the button on her way.
"Oh I don't know Gwen when…" Jack's annoyingly bright reply faded as they got to the elevator and the doors closed.
Ianto sighed in annoyance.
Mybe he shouldn't have left the way he had last night but he just needed to think a few things through and he couldn't do that with Jack distracting and trying to talk to him.
Walking into the small office at the back he gathered up his things putting them back where they belonged as he slipped his earpiece on and activated it Tosh came over the line.
"Morning Ianto. Can you do me a favour and help me with some research?"
"Sure thing Tosh, I'm on my way down now,"
Ianto sat in Jack's quarters feeding, He'd been feeling a little run down after spending most of the morning Weevil hunting on his own when he wasn't helping the team with their tasks.
Right now they didn't need him and there were no weevils sighting so he could have a small break. Jack and Gwen were out questioning Bilis, Tosh was trying to modify her program to help them somehow and Owen was probably out getting pissed since Jack fired him a few hours ago.
Staring into the blood in his glass he was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even realise he had company until Jack's hand rested on his.
Eyes snapping up he saw Jack crouched down in front of him, concern filling his eyes, hand resting on Ianto where they gripped the glass.
"Are you ok?" Jack asked
"I saw Lisa, a vision I guess, shook me up a little." Ianto admitted
Jack's eye widened in shock, "What did she say or do?"
"It doesn't matter," Ianto replied pulling his hands from Jack's and looking off to the side where there was a photo of the two of them together on Jack's bed side table.
"I need to know why Jack." He said turning back to the older man.
"What?" Jack asked not quite picking up on Ianto's topic change.
"I need to know why not even a month after you ask me to be your mate you go off and kiss another man." Ianto replied locking eyes with Jack so he could read the emotions and truth or lies behind whatever Jack was about to say to him.
"His name was Captain Jack Harkness. The real one, I took his name after his plane went down in the war killing him, it was easy enough to slip into his life and make it my own for the sake of the mission I was on. The name kind of stuck after that and it became who I really was. I never met the man until then." Jack sighed taking a seat next to Ianto on the edge on his bed.
"Until you and Tosh fell through time?" Ianto supplied
"He wasn't like I expected, he was cute and a really nice guy, he cared so much about his men, the same way I care about you guys. And I felt so guilty because I knew that tomorrow he was going to die, I knew and I couldn't do a thing about it, I watch his girlfriend adore him and his men look up to him and I had to just let him die." Jack sighed rubbing his face in his hands.
Ianto didn't say anything this time he just sat silently waiting for Jack to continue.
"You mean so much to me, I never wanted to hurt you, I swear, I was actually coming up to the tourist office to tell you about him but you'd already found the photo."
"Why Jack?" Ianto asked simply putting his glass of blood on the bedside table.
"I was scared and upset and guilty and the three just clashed so badly, I needed to be able to help someone and to be able to feel something positive, other than the false bravo I was putting on for Tosh's sake." Jack paused again and Ianto reached out taking his hand knowing the other man needed some sort of support right now.
"I didn't think we'd be getting back. At least not anytime soon, with all the rift snatches we've seen at Flat Holm I thought we were one of the lucky ones just being sent through time. Didn't occur to me someone might have caused it, nor did it occur to me that Owen would be stupid enough to open the rift,"
"I did try to stop him you know," Ianto muttered
"I know. But either way I thought I'd have to live through it all again, go through the war again, before I could get back to you. I was scared for Tosh, I know what happened to the Japanese who were in London during the war, I swore to protect her but I wasn't sure I'd be able to. I didn't know what was going on back here with you Owen and Gwen, or how I would tell you about Tosh once I finally caught up to you all again. Then there was Captain Jack so lost and confused while trying to be brave for his men, just like me sometimes. I needed to help someone so I didn't feel quite so useless, get my mind onto something better." Jack swallowed hard pausing for a moment.
"I tried to help by talking to him, he subtly shifted it to flirting and I went along for a while but he freaked when he almost got caught holding my hand and I backed right off. Then he pulled me up onto the dance floor completely out of the blue, in front of everyone. The rift was torn open and we were heading for the exit. I looked back at him and he looked so heart broken, I walked back to him and kissed him, just once, a goodbye and apology all rolled into one." Jack sighed and Ianto shifted pulling Jack into a hug.
He hadn't realised how much the experience had emotional effected and drained Jack, he couldn't even imagine being in that sort of a position or how he would react.
"I'm sorry," Jack whispered into his neck as he hugged him tightly
"I forgive you. But I still need time," Ianto whispered pressing a kiss to Jack's forehead.
"I understand, I…" Jack was interrupted as Ianto's PDA beeped from its place on the bedside table.
Frowning Ianto extracted himself from Jack's arms and reached for the PDA, quickly activating it and reading the alert.
"Gwen needs us to go and pick up Rhys… apparently she's stun gunned him," Ianto explained in surprise
"God that girl is more trouble than a Weevil sometimes." Jack groaned and flopped back onto the bed.
Jack locked eyes with Ianto, they were still on unsure ground with each other but after their talk it was a hell of a lot better than they had been.
Ianto broke the eye contact turning to go up the stairs after Owen.
"Make sure you stop him," Jack stated
Ianto stopped on the stairs not looking at Jack just staring slightly in front of him.
Why? Lisa was right, whether she was real or not, people are dying. Rhys, plague victims and people being killed by soldiers and other strays falling through the rift. The people who built Torchwood knew what they were doing. They created protocol one for a reason, it would say in the archives if it was too dangerous to use. But you won't use it. Why won't you use it? Are you scared of hurting us? Are you really putting us before the whole planet? We have to do this… and if you can't to do it, I will.
Ianto turned back to face Jack looking him dead in the eyes.
"No." he replied firmly ignoring the shock and hurt he could see in Jack's eyes he turned and went after Owen.
"What have you done?" he demands of Gwen and Owen.
Dropping to his knees by Jack's head he stares into the sightless eyes looking up at him, the bullet hole in the centre of his forehead hard to ignore.
What have I done?
"How do we stop it? Tell me what to do Jack," Gwen said standing in front of them.
Jack looked at Ianto, when he met Ianto's eyes he gave him a flicker of a smile and squeezed his shoulder gently before turning to look at Owen, Tosh and landed back on Gwen.
"Just you. Get me to an open space," he said to Gwen stepped away from Owen and shifting his wait to Gwen's support as they huddle towards the SUV.
"What are we supposed to do?" Owen bellowed after them
"See if you can help any of the people!" Jack called over his shoulder.
Tosh and Owen dashed of in the direction of the closest street while Ianto watched the pair make their way the last few meters to the SUV.
"Jack!" he called out as Gwen opened the door and began to help him into the seat.
Jack stopped straightening and turning so he could see Ianto.
"I have to go Ianto." Jack said, Gwen looking between the two men in confusion.
"Yes." Ianto called out knowing that after everything that had happened he needed Jack to know.
"What?" Jack said confused, to quiet for Ianto to hear but he could read his lips.
"Yes!" Ianto repeat, hoping Jack would understand.
Jack was silent for a moment before breaking into a huge grin as he finally understood.
Even with everything that had happened lately and not knowing what would happen next his heart was bright and full.
He had his answer.