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Chapter four - In which there are angsting Doctors and evil cats

Most days were filled with pain. Or, well, the part of the day when he was lucid, the rest was a bit hazy. Ianto woke up, not knowing how much time had passed, still not able to move. It was like constant growing pains in his entire body, especially his cats gave him injections and used instruments he had no idea what they did. Scanning him, he suspected. But for what?

He was scared. He missed Jack. God he missed Jack. Just the stupid comfort of looking at him while he was sleeping, or lay with his head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat under the pretence of sleep.

He'd hallucinated a few times about seeing Jack, like the first time he woke up god knows how long ago. Several times after that he'd thought he'd heard his voice. His head was constantly spinning though, so it wasn't unlikely he'd made it all up in his head in an attempt to flee reality.

Today was a good day. As good as any day can be when you're locked up in a hospital slash research facility by cats. What separated this day from previous days were two things. One: His head wasn't fuzzy, probably having to do with him being awake for several hours without any new injections. Two: They were undoing the restraints.

Ianto had no illusions about running, he was nothing of not practical. His goal went no further than being able to move. He'd often felt nauseous with panic from just lying there.

Say he'd try to run, if he was even able to make his abused body work, he had no idea where he was, most likely not on earth, and no idea where to run to. If he failed and they caught him, he risked being restrained again, something he would try to avoid at all costs. But if he didn't run, then the cats would continue whatever they were doing to him. Whatever shall I choose? The rock or the hard place? Decisions decisions.

He wondered if he'd lost weight, he couldn't remember being fed a single time. Probably used some alien tech to keep me from starving. He deliberately ignored the possibility of retcon or something like it, his brain refusing to deal with it at the moment. Anyways, being fed while lying on his back unable to move was more torture than anything else, so in a weird Stockholm syndrome kind of way he was grateful.

"Don't move," one of the cats ordered. Ianto didn't answer. In fact, he hadn't really spoken, as far as he was aware, since he'd woken up here. Granted, he hadn't been addressed either. "Let's sit him up."

-'-'-

They'd sat him up, his entire body aching, head pounding. Ianto couldn't stop moving, shaking his feet, rolling his shoulders just because he could. The cats watched him, taking notes, which was just bloody creepy.

After a few minutes they'd led him to a shower, to Ianto's great relief, a few steps away from 'his' door. It was a large room, walls and floors covered in green tiles. He undressed when ordered to, keeping his head down. He hadn't felt as bad as he thought he would, having been restrained for an unspecified amount of time and all. Alien tech, he reminded himself. Hands shaking, he turned the taps and closed his eyes. He had never enjoyed a shower more in his life. His body had felt disgusting. He hadn't smelled, but his skin had felt covered in grease. He scrubbed furiously, wanting to get rid of the feeling. He felt... wrong, somehow. Moving felt weird. He dismissed it, focusing on lathering his hair for now.

Being with Jack for so long had made him a lot less self-conscious about his body. It didn't mean he liked having one of the cats watching him, it just meant he could ignore her while insulting her repeatedly in his head. He stood under the spray until they turned the water ice cold, making him jump back sucking in a harsh breath, shivering madly.

"Nothing wrong with his sense of touch," the cat – because he absolutely refused to think of them as nurses, no matter what they dressed like – reported to her fellow cats. She threw a a towel in a ghastly green colour at him.

"Excellent," another cat answered from outside, undoubtedly taking notes of that as well.

"Clothes," the voyeur cat said, pointing to a new set of white scrubs. Ianto once again said nothing, just begun dressing.

He had a small moment of panic when he was led back into the hallway, the thought of being restrained once again making him lightheaded with dread. Even though he was led into a different room, he promptly sat down on the floor, back against the wall, glaring up at the two nurses who'd followed him. Ianto was good at passive agressin, in fact he was great at it. He'd poured small amounts of salt in Owen's coffee for years. They blinked owlishly at him, exchanging a look. An apprentice and her master, Ianto guessed by their age difference.

"The bed is more comfortable," the younger one said slowly, as if talking to a small child. Ianto said nothing, just looked at them.

"You will not be restrained again, that is no longer necessary," the other nurse assured him. "The most volatile part of the process is now complete." Ianto wanted to ask 'what process?' because knowledge is power, and in all honesty it bothered him something fierce when he didn't know everything. He decided to keep quiet, mostly because it seemed to bother them.

The nurses exchanged another look.

"He shouldn't have lost his power of speech," the younger one said, sounding uncertain.

"He's just sulking," the other one said offhandedly, though she also sounded a bit doubtful. At that moment Jack walked into the room and Ianto could do nothing but stare, mouth open.

"Oh," he said softly, breaking his vow of silence.

-'-'-

The Doctor had been in a weird mood since their three guests had arrived. He knew the metacrisis Doctor was him. Sort of him, with bits of Donna attached. Which was weird, yet cool. Cool-ish. Not bow tie-cool, but pretty damn cool.

Still. Pretty darn weird.

The Doctor knew he'd left him with Rose, his gift to her. Someone who could love her as an equal, not someone who would watch her grow old and die while remaining young. Someone who could only offer her a life on the run and one thousand secrets.

They'd kissed and the Doctor had walked away. He hated goodbyes. And maybe that hadn't been fair, but-

In all honesty, it was one of the toughest decisions of his life. But he'd made it and he'd moved on, and now there was River. Wonderful, quirky River who constantly challenged him and claimed to be a better flier. He'd never stopped loving Rose, he'd never stopped loving any of his companions but Rose was... Rose. Just like Amelia Pond had been the first face this version of him had seen, Rose had been the one to save his past regeneration from himself. Experiences like that left a mark, made it harder to let go.

He sighed, trying to shake himself out of his funky mood.

The metacrisis Doctor had been walking around the TARDIS, one hand lovingly against a wall at all times. The Doctor couldn't imagine a life without his sexy ship. Then again, he couldn't imagine being human and ageing either. The metacrisis Doctor walked up to stand next to him by the console, curiously studying it, pulling out his screwdriver. Both him and Rose had been fascinated with the new design of the TARDIS.

The Doctor had been fascinated with his past regenerations hair. It stuck up in all directions. How could he never have realized that? Not that his current hairstyle was anything but spiffy. Still. He pulled his fingers through his hair.

"Is she happy?" the Doctor asked suddenly, looking over, needing to know.

"Yes." The metacrisis Doctor frowned. "Most of the time," he amended. "She worries about you, like she said. She doesn't want you to get lonely."

"Sweet Rose." The Doctor smiled wistfully. "Such heart." He pulled a lever while the metacrisis Doctor pushed a button, sonicing a flickering screen. The TARDIS lurched a bit, then finally set its course towards London and Martha.

"Do you regret it? Leaving her I mean," the metacrisis Doctor asked, watching him curiously.

I had the biggest puppy eyes.

"Would you?" the Doctor countered.

"If I literally were you? Yes. Some days."

"Yeah." The Doctor nodded. "And if not?"

"I think you know the answer to that."

He did, and it made him smile briefly. "But she's happy?" he repeated.

"She is. I am too," he smiled gently. "Very much so," he added, smile breaking into a wide grin.

-'-'-

"What do you think they're talking about?" Amy asked curiously, looking at the two Doctors.

"Who knows?" Rose said with a shrug. It was a bit odd, Amy thought, hanging out with the Doctor and the Doctor. Still, nothing she hadn't done before. "Hey, watch this," Rose suddenly grinned. "Hey Doctor!" she called. Both men turned towards her, chorusing "Yes?" They looked at each other, then at the grinning Rose. "Lighten up!" she demanded. The Doctor stuck his tongue out. The clone Doctor just grinned, rolling his eyes fondly before blowing her a kiss. It was eerie. They were very different, yet Amy could tell they were the same person. Still. Weird. She decided to go check on Rory. Owen had demanded bed rest for him, backed up by 'Alonso'. It was weird, she mused as she made her way to their bedroom. All of the previous companions of the Doctor seemed to know each other. Rose spoke fondly of Martha and seemed to know Jack well. The Torchwood team had also already met the Doctor, and if not Rose then this Martha person. It made her feel uncomfortably left out.

-'-'-

Jack restlessly paced back and forth in the room he'd claimed for himself. His old room had been gone when he'd searched for it. He'd decided against asking the Doctor about it, pretty sure he wouldn't like the answer. Then again, it could be the TARDIS sulking.

Jarrohn, sitting on the bed, watched him pace, not saying anything. All though it had been his suggestion, Jack really didn't want to waste time by picking up Martha, but they had to wait for the coordinates to settle so they might as well. It was a rather tricky journey and the TARDIS had to calculate everything down to the smallest decimals, lest they'd end up in a star or something. The Doctor and Jack had discussed bringing Martha along briefly, concluding Ianto might need direct medical attention and Jack refused to bring Owen into situations where he could be wounded, seeing as it was permanent these days. Alonso, and Jack had had to laugh at that, could probably solve anything thrown at him, but he'd said he wouldn't be able to leave the TARDIS.

Speak of the devil.

"Hello." Alonso knocked carefully, peering in at them trough the open door.

"Hey doc," Jarrohn said, leaning back on his hands.

"Doctor Tyler," Jack smiled. "Do come in. Make yourself comfortable," he leered, making Alonso roll his eyes. "I must say I've missed that scrawny a-"

"Oi! Watch it earth boy!" Alonso's eyes widened and he slapped a hand over his mouth. "I should really be used to this by know," he muttered, making a face as Jack cackled. "I just thought you'd like to know we've arrived at Martha's."

They followed Alonso back to the main room, Jack's heart aching at the familiarity.

"Doctor?" they heard Martha's questioning voice through the door.

"No!" Jack called before neither of the Doctors could answer. "I've highjacked the TARDIS and I'm here to take you away from that ugly husband of yours!"

"Bloody wonderful," another voice muttered. "Oi! Don't you go getting any ideas captain cheesecake!"

"Aaaw, Mickey mouse," Jack said as he threw the door open. "I know you've missed me," he grinned, pulling him into a hug, planting a sloppy kiss on his head. The Doctor had for some reason parked the TARDIS in, what Jack assumed was, Martha's and Mickey's living room.

Mickey's half choked response went along the lines of "uugh, I'm scarred for life. Sodding bastard, lemme go."

"Hello Martha," the Doctor said, drawing the first 'a' out, hopping out of the TARDIS. "Wonderful to see you." He kissed the air on each side of her face, making her blink.

"You've regenerated," she said, looking curiously at him.

"Ah, yes," the Doctor looked at himself, as if just remembering.

"Mickey." Rose smiled brightly at him, coming up to stand in the doorway.

"Rose?" He stared. "Oh my god." He pulled her into a hug. Jack noticed Rose was careful not to leave the TARDIS, walking Mickey backwards instead.

"Temporal paradox, we're just visiting quickly," she explained as Mickey stepped back. Jarrohn stuck his head out, shooting a beaming smile at Mickey, blowing him a kiss before re-entering the TARDIS.

"Wonderful, there's two of 'em," Mickey sulked, making Martha laugh.

"Hello. I'm Amy. Hi." Amy waved a bit uncomfortably.

"You're that model," Mickey said. "Wha'? Bought the perfume for you, didn't I?" he defended himself when Martha gave him a raised eyebrow.

"Another ginger, Doctor?" Martha said slyly. "And you're still not, I see," she smirked.

"He's obviously compensating," Amy drawled, eyes sparkling.

"Before you ask, Doctor," Mickey said. "She's not going anywhere." He laid an arm protectively around his wife who gently elbowed him in the ribs.

"Now Mickey-" the Doctor began.

"She's preggers," he interrupted, Rose lighting up in a smile. "So like I said, she's not going off gallivanting on some adventure with you."

"Oooh. Well, yes- I see-" the Doctor stuttered. "Bummer. No wait." He paused for a few seconds, obviously thinking. "You're preggo, congratulations!" he exclaimed, snapping his fingers in an 'ah-hah!'-gesture just as a shout of joy was heard from inside the TARDIS.

"I'm sorry I can't help," Martha said regrettably, trying to look past them. "How many people are stuffed into that blue box of yours?"

"Quite a few," the Doctor admitted cheerfully, weighing on his heels.

"Martha!" Alonso exclaimed, standing just inside the doors, making Martha's eyes widen. "Miss Martha Jones. Or mrs Martha Smith now?" he thought out loud. "Martha Smith, it just doesn't have the same ring to it," he frowned. "Anyway! Moving on. You're having a baby! That's just brilliant," he beamed. Jack snorted.

"Oh, right. Metacr- Two of you." Martha gave Alonso a hug, then asked "what's going on?"

"Ianto's been abducted, so we're on our way to get him back," Jack simply explained. It did sound simple put that way. They were going to get him back, Jack wasn't ready to lose him yet. Not ever, to be honest.

"Oh." Martha looked alarmed. "I'm sorry Jack, are you okay-?"

"Don't," he said gently, kissing her forehead. "We'll come see you and the baby you'll name after me when this is all over," he promised. Martha smiled fondly at him while Mickey flipped him off. It was good to see them.

"Don't be a stranger," Martha demanded, turning back to the Doctor. "You have a phone, use it."

"I can babysit!" the Doctor said excitedly. "Oooh! I know this great planet-"

"No," Mickey said firmly.

"It's literally made out of jam-"

"No. Nu-huh. You can visit, but you're not taking him or her with you in that box of yours." Mickey crossed his arms over his chest.

"Mickeeey," the Doctor pouted as a loud chime came from the TARDIS. "Oh, the coordinates have been set. We'll be traveling a bit to the side of time, to a place that is timeless-ish. It's a bit tricky. Took her awhile." He patted a blue wall lovingly. Jack had to restrain himself from dragging the Doctor into the TARDIS, a sense of urgency making his skin crawl.

"Guess this is good bye," Rose said. "Oh, mum sends her love," she quickly added.

"Give her mine," Mickey said. "Tell 'er I miss 'er."

"Will do."

"Good to see you again Rose," he could hear Martha say as he stepped back into the TARDIS.

"Congratulations." Jack could hear the grin in Rose's voice. "I can't believe we're both-" she interrupted herself. "I can't believe we're both in the same room," she covered badly, and with a last wave she disappeared back into the TARDIS, cheeks flushing, sweeping past Jack.

"Rose!" Alonso called after her, quickly following. "Rose!"

"Oh the drama," the Doctor said, rubbing his hands together in glee after closing the door. "Off we go, then."

-'-'-

Jack was young. Maybe even Ianto's age. Wow.

"Agent Peetha Smythe, you've seen our subject before," the older cat said. Jack (Peetha?) studied him curiously.

"Nice to see you awake and aware," he said with a pleasant smile. "I must say I've been tempted to try waking you sleeping beauty-style," he added, smile turning into a mischievous grin. The grin was so familiar it made Ianto's chest ache even more.

"You've got your orders," the older cat told 'Peetha' shortly.

"Yes ma'am," Peetha said, saluting.