Chapter 8

Captain John Hart knew that the moment he disappeared, the Shadow Proclamation would have been alerted to his exit from the Earth. They were monitoring the Hub and he had been lucky that he had sneaked in before they had started. He also knew that they would take action of some kind. His only hope was that they would still respect the 24 hours they had given Jack before taking action. He hoped Jack would hold them to it because he had 22 hours to do what he had to do before returning to Earth.

But just on the off-chance that they decided to track him and possibly, follow him, John took Ianto on a wild ride, hopping from planet to planet and in and out of time to cover his tracks. When he thought he had laid enough 'red herrings' across his path, John tuned into his final destination. The planet V'dale Sipora.

Ianto stumbled and fell in a daze as the white light vanished and his face lay on the purple earth beneath him. His head was still swimming from the roller-coaster ride that John had taken him on. When his vision cleared and the nausea in his stomach began to settle, he turned and stared straight up into the orange glow of a cloudless sky that showed a backdrop of three small moons in the foreground and a huge red sun behind them. Then he turned to look at Captain John Hart, his 'rescuer' and his expression turned to horror as he realised what the man had done.

Captain John looked rather sheepishly at Ianto, then spoke hesitantly to the young Welshman, "Yeah, sorry about that Eye Candy. Believe me, it was the only way, the only way to break the connection that Prince Varnia had started with you. Your barriers were down. Please Ianto, let me explain."

Ianto just nodded his head, his mind reeling in disbelief at what was going on inside of him. In his mind, in his heart and … Oh fuck! in his body! You're inside me. In my mind. In my heart. Flowing through my body. You've 'bonded' with me! You've bloody well bonded with me, John Hart, and now … and now … and now I'm in love with you, Jack and also the bloody Prince! What have you done to me? What have you done?

"Ok, stop right there Eye Candy! It's probably better if we talk to each other. Our 'mind link' will only strengthen the bond between us, so you might want to ease up on it."

Ianto immediately slammed up his barriers and with blazing eyes that burned with fury … and desire … waited for John to explain. He tensed his whole body that was just screaming at him to grab John in his arms and kiss him senseless. And then … and then he wanted to throw John on this … purple ground … and _. Ianto shuddered as he quickly cut off that line of thought.

"Oooh, I see", smirked John, "Well, we could … no, sorry, of course not! Hey, you're not the only one feeling these urges, you know! Bonding is a two-way street and I have to restrain myself too!"

"Just get on with it, John", Ianto growled at him, not realising that his sexy tone was quite a turn-on for the older man.

Steeling himself to not act upon his urges, John spoke forcefully, "I've just explained to you, Ianto, that bonding with you was the only way I could break Prince Varnia's connection to you. He had already started it with you prior to my appearing when I did. You must have been aware of that, Ianto. When did it first happen?"

Ianto's face blanched as he recalled those strange 'encounters' with the Prince. Then he spoke, slowly and hesitantly as he tried to remember the details.

"I think … I think the first time, was when we met in the Boardroom. I brought up coffee and biscuits for everyone and when I was about to sit down, he spoke to me. Even before I looked at him, his voice filled me with a strange sensation. I mean it really did fill me with an intense feeling that I've never felt before. And then … well, I looked straight up into his eyes. And … and I felt so drawn to him … really drawn to this incredible, vision of perfection … this godlike creature who stared intensely back at me." A soft smile curled his lips in a delectable fashion as he became lost for words.

John frowned as he saw the look of adoration upon Ianto's face, felt the tendril of love Ianto retained for the Prince break through his mind.

"Ok, I get the picture. Now explain the other times because you just said 'the first time'. You see, my bonding should have broken completely the Prince's connection to you. But I can see in your face and hear in your voice that there's a residue of his bond still in you. That kind of worries me, Ianto." And you mooning over the bloody Prince doesn't do much for the jealousy that's just sprung up inside of me. Crap! Perhaps I should kiss him again. Maybe let him … oh crap, no! Not that train of thought!

Ianto looked back at John and smirked. He had caught John's thoughts and for some strange reason, it made him feel … good … special … desired. A naughty part of his mind was highly amused that not just one, but three, different men all wanted him. Wow! That could really go to his head!

Shaking himself out of his revelry, Ianto spoke again, "The second time was in the Boardroom. I remember that well because it was in the Boardroom when we had that special meeting; just Jack, the Doctor, the Prince and myself. It happened while Prince Varnia was telling us about his life. I wouldn't look at him because I was afraid. Afraid that I would fall for him. But … he asked me to. I wasn't going to but the bloody Doctor made me! And … and the minute I looked at him, I just felt myself falling. Falling into him. The most incredible, unbelievable sensations filled me, John. And I felt so damn guilty! I was sitting right next to Jack, our hands entwined under the table … but all I could think of was the beautiful man in front of me. At one point I just wanted to reach out my hand to Prince Varnia. But I didn't. I think … I think he may have sensed that."

Ianto's eyes filled with tears at the memory of his 'betrayal' to Jack. His voice was shaky as he continued, "The next time was when I was making coffee in the kitchen. We were taking a break. Owen and the Prince were with me. The Prince offered to help me and I refused. I was thinking to myself that he shouldn't even be offering to help me because he was a Prince and then he spoke to me. Said he wanted to spend time with me. But he said something else … something that made me realise he must have read my thoughts. I was so angry. I felt so violated. I confronted him about it. He … well … he sort of admitted something like that had happened. But he blamed me! That made me even madder! Owen stepped in to break it up. And of course, the last time, was just before you interrupted the Prince and I. I could feel it, John. Feel his love flow into me. Feel myself flow into him."

Ianto quirked an eyebrow at John, "You know … I hated you when you interfered. It was like you were stopping something that I wanted. But only after I let him in. A part of me still wants him, John. Not as strong as my desire for Jack. Or even my desire for you. But it's still there."

John sighed, "It's not really your fault, Ianto. It's just that you're so obviously untrained to control your empathic powers. And you will need to be trained to control them sometime in the future. They're just so strong, Ianto! But you couldn't keep your barriers up, obviously, so that's how the Prince was able to sneak in."

"John. Why did you do it? Why did you bond with me? We knew Jack was contacting you for help, so I was expecting you to do something like this. You know, ride in on your dashing white light and rescue me. But, why the bonding?"

John sighed deeply, "Ianto. I hadn't expected you to give yourself to the Prince. I hadn't expected a bonding with him to take place. It was the only way I could get you to come with me. Because I really believe you would have resisted my efforts to take you if I hadn't bonded with you. It wasn't just to break Prince Varnia's connection with you. It was to force you to come with me without resistance. Your barriers were all down. You must have deliberately thrown them down to let the Prince in. Do you understand what I'm saying, Ianto?"

"Yes", whispered Ianto, "I do understand … now. But I'm bonded with you now. As well as Jack and the Prince. What's going to happen to me?"

"Hey, don't worry so much. I'm going to sort it all out. The bond between the two of us can be broken. Not by me, I can't do that. But I have friends who are able to do it. You're going to meet them soon. They're the friends I told you about, the friends you're going to stay with."

A small smile graced Ianto's lips as he nodded. He was relieved. But also … disappointed. He shook his head as he felt regret at John's assurance that their bond would be broken.

"And Ianto", said John in a serious voice, "You had better explain to me later why you did what you did. I know it has something to do with the Doctor when he took you inside the Tardis. Because you certainly didn't feel that way before you went with the Doctor, did you?"

It all came crashing in on Ianto at that moment and he turned fearful eyes upon John, "Oh god, John! I've got to go back. You've got to take me back to the Hub. I have to go with Prince Varnia. His life depends upon it, John! The safety of the whole Universe depends on my going with him. That's what the Doctor showed me. That's why you have to take me back!"

"Whoa there, Ianto. Just back up a bit! Your emotions are flying off the scale! Look, I'll take you to my friends and you can explain it to me there. I'm definitely not returning you unless you can give me a valid, rational reason why you would leave Jack, your home, your friends and your planet … when I know deep in your heart, that's the last thing you want to do! Deal?"

Ianto sighed softly and inclined his head, unaware that John had been sending out gentle waves of 'calm' to him to help his emotions come back into check. He breathed in more deeply and felt the wisdom in John's words.

"And" continued John, "I am definitely going to do something about your empathy. You need control, Ianto. You need much more control than you have at the moment."

Ianto looked wistfully at John, "Can you help me, John? Can you train me?"

"No, I can't train you, Ianto. I don't have those skills. I can, however, teach you a few basics, but you will still need proper training at some stage. My friends can help you with more advanced techniques, but we don't have much time at the moment for the kind of training you need. We'll do what we can. You worked for Torchwood London, Ianto. How come you weren't trained there?"

Ianto looked sheepish. "I … I was afraid they might think I was a freak so I deliberately failed the tests they gave me. Well … the advanced tests. They gave all of Torchwood staff these kinds of psychic tests. I had to pass the basic tests or I might not have been allowed to stay. And I wanted to work for them. I always knew I could do more, but I was afraid to try. And Jack doesn't know either."

"Well, I think Jack knows now! Ianto, I do have a plan. Bit of a long shot, I'll admit. But I think it might work. I have to go off -planet fairly soon. I'm going to take you to stay with some friends of mine while I make a brief trip. Then I'll come back for you. You just need to trust me. I'll explain more to you after we've met up with my friends."

"Okay" agreed Ianto thoughtfully, "By the way John, where are we?"

Reaching for Ianto and holding him by the waist, John looked up at him and said, "Oh sorry, Ianto, welcome to V'dale Sipora. Pretty planet, don't you think? Mild climate, friendly natives. And we're 350 years in the future. Well … Earth's future. Just a short trip to the Xandia Complex. Where my friends are. Hold on tight!"

Flicking his fingers adeptly across his Vortex Manipulator, Ianto closed his eyes as the white light descended on them andhr breathed in the heady chocolaty-spice pheromones of Captain John Hart.

A stunned silence followed the disappearance of Captain John Hart and Ianto Jones from the Hub.

"Jack!" yelled the Doctor, the first person to react, "What the hell just happened here? Who was that man? What did he do to Ianto?"

Jack was still reeling from what he saw his former lover do to Ianto. John! How could you? You've bonded with Ianto! MY Ianto! You've forced him to fall in love with you! How the FUCK does that help him? How does it help me? What have you done, John? What have you done?

Prince Varnia's broken voice answered the Time Lord, "He … he bonded with him. Exactly the same way that I was bonding with him. He broke my connection with him and filled Ianto with his love. That man has stolen my Intended! Stolen my Beloved. After Ianto freely gave himself to me. He has stolen him … heart, mind and body!"

"Is this true?" demanded Gwen in an outraged voice, "Has bloody John Hart forced Ianto to fall in love with him, Jack?"

Toshiko groaned and Owen rolled his eyes at Gwen's thoughtless comment, which effectively revealed the name of the man who took Ianto; to everyone present and to those who were linked with them through the CCTV feed.

Jack turned and glared at her and through gritted teeth answered, "Yes Gwen, it's true. And now that everyone knows the identity of Ianto's kidnapper, including the Shadow Proclamation, we're just going to have live with the consequences of your revelation! Aren't we, Gwen?"

Horror filled Gwen's gaze as her eyes widened in realisation of what she had let slip. What the bloody hell have I done? Oh god, I've endangered John and Ianto! The bloody Shadow Proclamation are going to go searching for them … with their bloody advanced technology. Shit!

The Prince was mortified at what had happened and when he heard Gwen and Jack's interaction, venom filled his voice as he shouted at the Immortal, "You know this man? You know who kidnapped Ianto? That means … that means you set it all up! You planned for Ianto to be kidnapped so he couldn't come with me! But Ianto chose me … of his own free will! And you arranged for him to be abducted! To be bonded with someone else when he chose to be bonded with me! What kind of sick, perverted person are you? I thought you loved him?"

Jack growled and spat back at the Prince, "Yes, I know the man who took Ianto! But no, I didn't know he was going to bond with Ianto. I never wanted that to happen! That was never planned! Not by me! And yes, Prince Varnia, I do love Ianto … far more than you could ever understand!"

The Doctor quickly intervened as he recognised the fact that the two men in front of him were about ready to go for each other's throats. He spoke forcefully, "Stop your posturing! Both of you! It's not going to help us solve this situation."

Owen and Tosh had already restrained Jack and Gwen was moving to restrain the Prince when the Doctor's voice rang out.

Both Jack and the Prince glared angrily at the Doctor, who dismissed them with a disdainful sweep of his hand. He walked up to Jack, stared him down, then said coldly, "We need to talk. All of us. Now. In the Tardis. I have to contact the Shadow Proclamation and I can only do that in the Tardis. And you, Jack Harkness, you're going to explain everything!"

Jack's lips curled into a sneer as he continued to glare at the Time Lord who had betrayed him, "And you, Doctor, you are going to explain to us what you told Ianto when you took him into the Tardis. You're going to tell us why he changed his mind because even before he was taken by John, I know he was acting under duress. That was very obvious."

Tosh laid a gentle hand on Gwen's shoulder to comfort her. She knew how distraught the young Welsh woman was at her inadvertant slip. But she also knew that they were all distraught, all prone to doing the wrong thing, saying the wrong thing in this extremely stressful situation. She was glad John had taken Ianto. And she was certain that John was clever enough to evade detection from the Shadow Proclamation.

The Time Lord curtly nodded his head and they all followed him towards the Tardis. Owen turned to Tosh and Gwen and muttered, "Could this damn situation get any worse?"

Just then, a soft golden light suffused the Hub. Everyone halted and turned to stare at the light. Vague figures moved within that light. Then the light receded and they all watched in horrified silence as a group of fifteen aliens stepped forward and halted; three in the forefront were humanoid dressed in identical robes marked with a strange insignia, the remainder were huge aliens, heavily armoured and pointing large particle guns at them.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and groaned, "The Shadow Proclamation."