20

The night of the new moon, Ianto stood outside the palace once more.

He'd been in this situation too many times to keep track—on the outside of everything, looking in and wanting to make things happen. So often, he had felt that his life was out of his control, that the only option he ever had was to run away. But Janet had been right. That option had never worked all that well.

Until now.

he'd run straight into the most misfit and yet magnificent band of people he'd ever met. He looked at the people surrounding him, and for once, he felt whole.

Toshiko was the closest friend he'd ever known and Ianto was amazed at her loyalty. Doc was cranky and crotchety, but he had his best interests at heart. And, even Janet had surprised him with his good, but lazy, intentions. Not to mention, he had a little brother to spoil now.

Ianto had every intention of sticking around long enough to teach him the proper way to stab. Or, at least, how to tie his shoes. Yeah, that was probably more appropriate. No one, though, meant more to him than Jackson. As he looked at his strong profile, he thought back to the day in the antique shop when he'd nearly sliced him open with his dagger. Now that he'd had this time to get to know him, he was glad he hadn't killed him.

Jack was honourable, strong, and whether he realized it or not, good-hearted. Of course, it didn't hurt that he was attractive, but it was his character that made him the man he loved. Whoah!

Ianto repeated that to himself.

He loved him.

Jack would probably say he wasn't worthy of his love, but Ianto knew the truth. He was more worthy than all of them put together.

"Are you ready?" Jack gave him a tight smile as he caught him watching him.

Ianto smiled back and nodded his head. "I'm ready to try."

"To try?"

Ianto nodded again. It would have to be enough for now.

As satisfied as he probably could be with that answer, Jack took a deep breath and pointed toward the palace.

They approached from the backside of the outer wall, toward the kitchen. The grounds were quiet, except for a few stragglers here and there. Jack, Toshiko, and Ianto were once again dressed as monks. It helped them move around mostly unnoticed. As they stepped to the closed door, Ianto knocked lightly. "Hadden, are you there?"

The door cracked open slightly before it was swung wide, and a little body threw himself at Ianto's legs. Ianto pulled Hadden from the voluminous, brown fabric of the robe and after another quick hug, they went inside the kitchen.

"I'm so glad to see you, Ianto. Tonight is the night that we will bring Mother back."

Ianto's chest tightened at his hope. He still didn't know how to tell him that he didn't have a way to do that. He didn't have any idea where their mother had gone. How would he know which point in time to visit in order to change things?

"First, I have some big jobs for you, Hadden."

He clapped his hands together a few times as he asked, "What is it? I can't wait."

"The first job is going to be to help me get the spell book. Do you think you know where it might be?"

"I know exactly where it is. Mother showed me where people keep important things."

"Great. I need you to think really hard. Picture the room where the book is kept and hold Jackson's hand while you do it."

Jack had told Ianto that he was going to try something he'd never attempted before. He was going to slide using transference. He was hoping that Hadden could transfer the image to Jack, and Jack could slide them there together.

Ianto's hopes were high when they disappeared together, but they flagged somewhat when they didn't return immediately. It was the most unsure part of the plan, and yet, it was the most important part. They couldn't complete the spell without the book. Ianto was horrible at memorization, but he wished he'd practiced more before the book had been taken from them.

Ianto just hoped Hadden and Jackson could come through for them. In the next instant, Hadden appeared again with Jack holding his hand. "We did it, Ianto!"

He handed him the spell book, and Ianto nearly clapped himself when he saw that it was the right one.

He hugged his brother to his abdomen and thanked them both. "Now, Hadden, your second job is going to be taking these two cats for a walk."

His nose scrunched up as if he thought it was not as important as Ianto made it out to be. Ianto continued quickly, "I need you to walk them to Captain Narcus's office. They have a job to do once they're there, and you can help them with the buttons they need to push."

His face lit up once more. He was on board. "I love pushing buttons."

Jack chuckled, and Ianto smiled at the unusual sound.

Jack rubbed Hadden's hair and said, "I just bet you do love pushing buttons."

Hadden smiled up at him, nodding vigorously. The two cats and Hadden headed in one direction, while Jack, Ianto, and Toshiko went in another. This time, they took the stairs to avoid the elevator and to give the cats time to work their part of the plan. However, the idea of climbing fourteen flights of stairs seemed a whole lot easier on paper. Out of breath, they nearly collapsed outside of the hallway that led onto the fourteenth floor. Yet when the lights flickered like as before, they sprang into action.

Toshiko shifted into her mouse form and took off down the hallway, running past the two guards standing outside of Ianto's bedroom. The guards watched Toshiko run past three times before they looked at each other and decided to give chase.

As soon as Toshiko jumped onto a table near the elevator and then onto the arrow to go down in the elevator, she took off down the hallway again, running right between the two guards. Once the elevator chimed, she shot toward it, slowing just a little to let the guards catch up.

When the guards were on the elevator, she ran around them three times before the doors began to close. She leaped out of the elevator, too small for the door sensors to notice.

The elevator doors slammed shut, and Toshiko shifted back into her human form. "They'll probably be up in a few minutes, so you two need to get inside the room now. I'll keep them busy."

Ianto stepped into his room slowly and Jack followed.

Ianto's childhood bedroom hadn't changed at all. The Red and gold colours that he'd fought so hard to use to brighten up the drab sadness of being alone still covered the walls, bed canopy, and window curtains. Even some of his stuffed animals that the baker's husband had secretly given him were propped on the bed.

Unlike when he was younger though, there was a picture of him on the table next to the bed. It was the one from his father's study, and se was surprised to see it there.

"How did your father ever believe you could be a killer?"

"Hey, now! Don't judge. I might have been more effeminate than most assassins. I still got the job done."

Jack smiled at him. "I just like seeing a glimpse of the boy who became the man you are."

Ianto rolled his eyes and motioned toward the closet. "This time, I want to hide and wait for the assassin to roll in."

"I think that's a great idea."

Ianto opened the door and stepped inside, unsure once again that he was doing the right thing. Then, he understood something. He didn't have to do this alone. "Come with me."

"What? Are you sure?"

"I can't do this without you. Come with me."

"I'm not prepared. What could I possibly use to ground me?"

"What focuses you on the present?"

He stared at Ianto for a moment before walking to the table beside the bed and picking up the framed picture of him. He pulled the picture from the frame, lifted his shirt and carefully placed the picture into a leather pouch he had slung across his chest. Ianto noticed there were a couple more knives and throwing stars sheathed in the strap there, too. "Got it."

"My picture?"

He nodded and didn't hesitate as he stepped inside the small space with him. "I'd travel to the ends of all the dimensions and back again if you asked me to, but only if you asked me to. You're my focus here and always."

Hearing his words, Ianto could hardly contain the warm feeling that filled his chest. He was sure that his pleasure showed on his face. Once the door was closed, he flicked on the flashlight he'd pulled from his backpack, opened to the page in the spell book, and began to chant the words.

Once again, the small closet began to blur as time passed quickly, taking them back just a few months. It didn't take as long as the last time he'd tried to make things right.

They stopped and heard movement on the other side of the closet door. Someone was muttering as they paced the room. Ianto could only make out a few words, but he recognized the voice. It was his father saying, "Thought I'd lost them all."

He wasn't sure what he was talking about, but he waited as patiently as he could to try to catch the assassin before he or she could complete the task of killing the King.

Finally his father seemed to settle into bed and was snoring softly before too long. Ianto began to get nervous that the assassin wouldn't make any noise until the deed was done.

He reached for the doorknob, only intending to crack the door slightly, but Jack stilled his hand as a soft click sounded, like the door to the room being unlocked.