5.

Ianto felt the rumble beneath him as he walked along the Quay with coffee and pastries for the team the next morning. He juggled his packages and pulled out his mobile to call Jack at the same moment it rang.

"Where are you?" Jack asked without preamble, sounding tense.

"About to enter the tourist office," Ianto replied, tucking the phone under his chin to dig out his keys.

"Did you feel that?"

"Sure did. Another Riftquake?"

He stepped inside quickly and shut the door, making sure the closed sign was in the window. If they were dealing with more Riftquakes, the last thing he wanted were tourists at his door.

"Yep, and a big one. Tosh says something came through."

Ianto didn't even bother with the office, but went directly to the lift and hurried downstairs, still on the phone with Jack. He sounded distracted, and Ianto could hear typing in the background. "Call Gwen and Owen, we need them here ten minutes ago. I'm going to call the mayor and let her know what's going on."

He hung up as Ianto stepped out of the lift into the main part of the Hub. Tosh had beat him into work and was sitting at her computer, typing furiously as Jack spoke to the mayor on his mobile behind her.

Ianto set the pastries and coffee down by the sofa and called Gwen first, then Owen before he tossed his coat on the chair and began to pull up various programs on his computer, searching for local news reports on damage and injuries. He returned a text from his contact in the police and sent a high priority email to UNIT to keep them informed. Turning to ask Tosh a question, he found Jack standing right behind him and couldn't help but start in surprise, his chair rolling back. A look of hurt flashed across Jack's face at his response.

"Sorry," he murmured. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Ianto sighed, hearing more in Jack's words than he was saying. "You didn't scare me, Jack. You startled me."

"How are you?" Jack asked. He tucked his hands into his pockets as if trying to stop himself from reaching out. Ianto found he missed it.

"I'm fine," he said. And he was, even if is heart was beating slightly faster than usual, and not for the normal reasons when Jack was around.

"You've been saying that for three days and then waking up with nightmares," Jack pointed out. "Did you, uh, have a good night?"

Ianto had gone down to his local, as he'd planned. He'd enjoyed the bustle of the crowd around him, losing himself in the normalcy of a night at the pub watching whatever match had been on the telly. He'd had a few pints, played pool with the local blokes (and lost so bad they'd asked what had him off his game), and gone home to bed.

And he'd slept through the night without a single nightmare.

He nodded reluctantly, debating what to tell Jack. He didn't want the other man to think that he'd slept better because he hadn't been with Jack…except that had been exactly the case. It was as if not being around Jack, even for one night, had allowed Ianto's doubts and fears to dissipate enough that his subconscious didn't twist them in his dreams. Ianto hoped one night was enough, as he didn't want to end things permanently with Jack in order to get a good night's sleep.

And he had missed Jack. Yes, he'd needed the time to himself and had enjoyed his night out, completely unplugged from Torchwood, but at times he'd really wanted to call Jack and invite him out to the pub. They'd stopped in for a pint once or twice, but not for long, and never to play pool. Ianto wondered what it would be like, spending time with Jack in such a casual setting, like normal people did after work. They'd been out on dates, even casual ones, but it was always just them, still in their little bubble—a dark movie theater, a small table in the corner of the restaurant. Ianto knew the folks at the pub and couldn't help but wonder if Jack would fit in.

He suspected Jack would fit in perfectly fine. Yet if he were honest with himself, as much as Ianto thought about taking Jack to the pub, he also liked keeping something to himself. Why shouldn't he? They didn't have that kind of relationship, after all, not really—not the kind where he brought Jack home to meet his family and friends, anyway. And it wasn't as if Ianto knew everything about Jack, why should he offer everything of himself?

"I watched the match at my local," he finally replied, sensing Jack was waiting for more than a nod. "Played pool, lost rather spectacularly."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were good at pool."

Ianto shrugged. "I usually do pretty well. Off my game, I suppose."

"I used to play," Jack offered. "Been a while, though. Maybe you could show me some moves sometime."

It was a peace offering if there ever was one, even if it wasn't necessary. Ianto bit back the impulse to reject Jack's offer and cling greedily to his life outside of work and Jack. There was a place near the Hub they could play, after all, and it would probably be fun. He thought he remembered Tosh saying something about it once, maybe they could go as a team.

Yet from the look on Jack's face it was obvious he wasn't thinking of including the others, and Ianto couldn't help but feel pleased about that. Jack wanted to be with him. He made that clear in so many small ways. Why did Ianto have such doubts? Why was he so scared of being with Jack that in his dreams Jack killed him over and over?

He wasn't scared. End of story. It was what it was and he'd enjoy it while he could, and that included a date to play pool with Jack. He smiled at Jack. "Sounds good. How about next weekend sometime?"

"Are you asking me on a date?" Jack asked, moving closer until he was standing between Ianto's legs. He was grinning, but it was the genuinely happy smile Ianto liked so much, not the over bright plastic grin he used to throw people off. Or murder them in their dreams.

Ianto leaned back, enjoying the banter. "Interested?"

"In you beating the pants off me at pool?" Jack murmured quietly so the others couldn't hear them. "Oh yeah."

"Pants are usually required at the pub," Ianto replied, eyeing him up and down. "But I'm sure we can find time to take them off later."

"Oh, you know I can always—" Jack started, but was interrupted by the cog door opening. Owen stomped through, saw Jack practically sitting in Ianto's lap, and threw up his hands.

"That is not how I want to start my day," he groaned, then headed toward his station. "Tosh, what's happening? I don't want to interrupt whatever's going on over there."

"Nothing's going on, Owen!" Jack called, winking down at Ianto. "You interrupted us."

"Thank god for small favors," muttered the doctor.

Tosh was obviously trying not to laugh when her computer beeped at her. "I think I've pinpointed whatever came through, Jack," she said, glancing up. "It's in the Wetland Reserve. Organic."

"Right around the corner!" Jack grinned. "Let's go see what we've got. Owen, Ianto, grab your wellies and gear up." Owen groaned again.

They were still getting ready when Gwen came hurrying in in. Jack told her to keep an eye on the news feeds for any stories about the Riftquake and to stay in contact with the police if necessary. Unlike the other quakes, which had only affected the Hub, if at all, Ianto had felt the latest one outside near the tourist office. They weren't sure far out it had extended or if anyone on the Plass had noticed, but it was possible they'd need to do some damage control if there was any sort of widespread panic or concern, or if the authorities came investigating above them.

Ianto was walking past one of the work tables when he noticed the cube Tosh had been working on. Apparently she had taken it out of the containment box to study again, and it was almost completely lit up.

"Tosh!" he called, pointing to it. "Should it be doing that?"

She hurried over with her scanner and frowned. "I have no idea, and I'm still not picking up anything dangerous. Did you find anything yesterday in the archives?"

He nodded. "I found the report from when it was catalogued. Apparently the retrieval team found two of them in 1963, though one of them was destroyed by the passage through the Rift. They studied the other one a bit, but came up with about as much as we have."

"So, a dead end, basically," she sighed.

"Well, there was something about an alien incursion in the Hub, though it wasn't clear how they were related. Jack was there, he said he'd go over it with us later."

"And it will make for a fascinating lunch conversation" said Jack, coming up behind him. "All ten minutes of it. Lock it up again for now and monitor the Rift, Tosh. We'll keep working on it once we've resolved everything else."

They hurried out to the SUV, Owen climbing into the back seat and leaving Ianto in the front with Jack. Something was nagging at the back of his mind about the cube.

"I picked up the cube after the first Riftquake," he said as Jack pulled out of the garage. "Tosh and I thought perhaps something about the Rift itself triggered it to activate."

"But activate to do what?" asked Jack. "It makes sense, I suppose, but why the pretty lights? What's it doing?"

Ianto was silent, trying to puzzle it out. He had found the cube after the first Riftquake on Monday morning. He'd assumed the fall from the shelf had knocked something loose inside, causing it to light up. Tosh hadn't been able to pick up any readings from it, however, good or bad. They really had no idea if it was dangerous or not, but now it had changed again with another, larger Riftquake. Ianto couldn't help but think that something about the cube was definitely dangerous, and that it was connected to the Rift.

It was a short drive to the Wetland Reserves. As they left the car, Gwen called in on the comms to tell them that the Riftquake hadn't been felt much beyond the Hub and a small area of the Plass. It was starting to pop up on the news reports, but shouldn't be a problem. Tosh told them they were getting close to whatever had come through the Rift.

Fortunately, the park was mostly empty, and they quickly found what they were looking floating next to the boardwalk zigzagging through the marsh. It was a squid-like creature, the size of a very large dog with twice as many tentacles as an earth-bound squid. The three eyes also gave it away as alien, but those eyes were unseeing, as it was obviously dead. It was various shades of deep blue and green, and Ianto suspected it was a beautiful creature on its own world, alive and under water. It was retrievals like this that he hated. The creature had been innocently ripped form its own time and place and left for dead on an alien world. It hardly seemed fair.

He grabbed a portable stretcher, some wading boots, and several pairs of plastic gloves from the SUV. He and Jack slipped on the gloves and boots and lowered themselves into the knee deep brackish water, the mud squelching beneath his feet. It was deeper than it looked, and they both stumbled a few times, getting mud and water all over their pants. The creature weighed far more than expected, and it was difficult getting it onto the boardwalk. Unfortunately, one of the sharp tentacles caught Ianto across the back of his hand as he lifted it, ripping the glove and drawing a thin line of blood. He stumbled in surprise, barely catching himself from falling into the dirty water and splashing his suit even more. It wasn't more than a scratch, but it began to burn immediately; within seconds it was red and inflamed. He hurried to finish, then lifted himself back onto the boardwalk, his hand on fire, his legs cold and wet.

"Jack!" Owen called as he examined it. Jack had put his coat back on and was walking around taking readings with his wrist strap, making sure no other creatures had fallen into the water nearby, and turned as the doctor called him. "We need to get back to the Hub, the squid thing nicked teaboy here and I'm thinking it's poisonous."

Ianto winced; his hand was swelling, hot and painful. Jack hurried over, laying a concerned hand on Ianto's arm. Ianto offered him a tight smile.

"Don't worry, I'll still beat you at pool," he managed. Jack nodded but did not smile, and helped Owen carry the alien to the SUV as Ianto walked behind them, carrying everything else they'd brought out with them, his feet still squelching in the waders. He climbed into the back seat hoping to change back into his loafers and dry off, which was when he noticed his arm was numb and he was out of breath. Something was very wrong.

"Owen?" he called out the door, but before he could say more, he felt a wave of dizziness and toppled over onto the seat. Owen was there immediately.

"He's going into anaphylactic shock," he swore. "Jack, get us back to the Hub!" He climbed into the back seat with Ianto while Jack started the SUV and peeled away, racing through the streets back to the Hub. Ianto could vaguely hear Jack on the comms telling Tosh and Gwen what had happened and to clear the lights for the SUV.

Owen was rummaging through his bag, still swearing under his breath, until he came up with a large plastic tube that he placed against Ianto's leg. "Epinephrine shot," he said. Ianto felt a sharp prick in his thigh and heard Owen counting under his breath. "Should keep you going until we get to the Hub."

Ianto felt the effects immediately as his breathing eased. Although maybe that had to do with the oxygen mask Owen placed on his face as well, he wasn't sure. He let his head fall back and closed his eyes, wondering what else could possibly go wrong with his life. From going to Hell to nightmares to allergic reactions to aliens, it was really not going well.

He idly wondered if he'd dream about murderous squid now instead of Jack.

"Ianto?" called a voice from far away. There was a hand on his face. "Oi, tea-boy, stay with me. Don't you fall asleep, I'm not lugging your heavy arse into the Hub. You're walking in on your own."

"I'm tired," Ianto groaned, pushing Owen's hand away.

"You cut your hand," said Owen. "You're fine."

"You said I was in shock," Ianto said. He felt the car come to a stop, heard the doors open, and then Jack was there, reaching into the car to pick him up. Oh no, that would never do. Ianto pushed him away and sat up on his own.

"And I gave you a shot for it," said Owen. "So if don't want Jack to carry you in like a baby, I suggest you walk and let him help you so you don't crack your head open too."

"I'm not a baby," Ianto replied, his voice oddly slurred. He stepped out of the car and stumbled, only avoiding the pavement thanks to Jack. "I can walk."

"Lean on me," said Jack, wrapping Ianto's arm around his shoulder as they walked toward the Hub. "You'll be all right."

"Of course I will," said Ianto. "I'm not getting killed by a giant alien squid, not today."

Jack eyed him strangely, but they hurried inside in silence, until Ianto suddenly remembered something.

"The dead alien squid!" he exclaimed, trying to turn around. "We can't leave it in the SUV."

"We'll get it later," said Jack. "Owen can have some fun cutting it up."

"Mm, sushi," Ianto murmured, and Jack laughed, although Ianto thought Jack also sounded strangely nervous. Gwen and Tosh hurried up to them, but Jack waved them away.

"Apparently not for you," said Owen as they descended into the medical bay. "You allergic to shellfish and leave it off your record, by any chance?"

Ianto gave him a confused look. "Not that I know of, no. Why?"

"Because that was a classic allergic reaction to shellfish."

"Or to a poisonous alien," Ianto pointed out. Jack helped him sit down, which felt much better than walking. He even tried to lay down, but Owen stopped him by running a scanner over him, then bustling about.

"I'm giving you another dose to be safe. I'll run some tests later to make sure, but I'd suggest you stay away from shellfish next time your boyfriend takes you out to dinner."

"I don't really like seafood," Ianto muttered as he felt another shot, this time in his upper arm. It vaguely occurred to him that Owen was probably referring to Jack. Ianto thought about saying something, only he was too tired. The doctor picked up his hand and began to clean the scratch.

"I can do that," said Jack, moving forward to take Ianto's hand. He jerked his head toward the stairs. "Why don't you get the body? Have the girls help you."

Owen shrugged. "Fine. No hanky-panky, though. I'll be right back."

Ianto frowned, wondering why Owen was leaving. He had a crap bedside manner, but he didn't usually leave people in distress. Jack wasn't a doctor, what if Ianto needed more medicine? Or stitches? Would Jack try and flirt him better?

Jack was cleaning his hand, though, and it already felt better. Ianto relaxed, thinking maybe it wasn't so bad to let Jack help him. Maybe they could even play doctor later, when Ianto could think straight…

He sensed Jack step away and his eyes opened in surprise. He hadn't even realized he'd closed them. Jack rinsed out the cloth he'd been using to clean Ianto's hand; when he turned around he wasn't holding a bandage or cream, but another needle. A big one.

"What's that for?" Ianto asked. Jack smiled…the overly big smile from his dreams, the fake one. No, it couldn't be happening. Not again. He must be imagining it. Maybe he was hallucinating. Did anaphylaxis cause hallucinations? He couldn't remember. He scrambled off the table, trying to get away from Jack, but the waders tripped him up and his knees buckled beneath him.

"Stay away from me," Ianto shouted. "Owen! Tosh!"

Jack sneered down at him, blue eyes flashing violet. "They went out to get the body, remember? Leaving me here with you. All alone."

"Why are you doing this?" Ianto demanded, though his voice sounded weak and scared. Jack reached down and hauled him up, his hand squeezing painfully over the muscle where Owen had given Ianto a second injection. He gasped in pain. Jack leaned closer.

"Because I can," Jack said.

"This isn't real," Ianto said, trying to talk himself into believing it. "It's another dream. It's just me and my messed up mind dreaming again."

"No," said Jack, sounding quite rational and very real. "It's not. This is a needle and there is enough epinephrine in here to kill you."

"No, it's supposed to help me," said Ianto, struggling to get away. "I'm allergic to alien squids." Jack pulled him closer, tighter, the needle at his throat.

"Too much will work your heart so hard it will burst," Jack whispered in his ear. "So when you think about it, I am about to literally break your heart."

"No!" Ianto cried, but he couldn't jerk away before Jack plunged the needle into his chest, laughing the entire time. Ianto felt the drug burst into his body, sending his heart rate soaring, and he scrambled away as Jack let him go. The drug worked fast. He was so dizzy he could barely move, and panic was making it harder and harder to breathe. He stumbled over to the steps, collapsing at the bottom, unable to do more than claw at the next step.

A fist closed around his heart, but even as he felt the darkness surround him, he heard Jack, calling his name. . .

"Ianto! Ianto!"

Ianto surged forward, gasping for breath and flailing wildly. His heart was racing, but at least it was still beating. He felt two strong hands grasp his wrists and opened his eyes to find Jack holding him, his eyes wide and terrified. Ianto struggled, but couldn't get free of Jack's iron grasp. He swore and used both feet to push Jack away him, kicking him hard in the stomach and sending the other man tumbling across the room. He heard Owen swear behind him and felt another needle, this one at his neck.

"No," he said, trying to swat at Owen. But whatever the doctor had given him was quick, and he felt the panic subside almost immediately into a blissful fog of peace. Small hands helped guide him to the table, and he heard Owen murmur, "Thanks, Tosh."

"What happened?" asked Gwen. Ianto let his head loll to the side and saw her helping Jack, who was looking at Ianto with a look of both fear and concern.

"I don't know. Owen?"

Ianto rolled his head back toward the doctor and tried to concentrate on what they were saying. "He went catatonic while I was cleaning his hand," the doctor said. "Then he started yelling and flailing."

Ianto tried to sit up, but was pushed back down. "No," he said. "That's not right…it was Jack…Jack was cleaning my hand…"

Owen shook his head. "Sorry, mate, that was all me."

"No, you left," Ianto insisted. "To get the body. Jack cleaned my hand. Then he stabbed a needle into my chest. He was trying to kill me."

From the corner of his eye he saw Jack's head fall in defeat. Above him, Tosh was frowning. She ran a gentle hand across his forehead, and he leaned into the comforting touch.

"Ianto, Jack didn't do anything. He'd never hurt you."

"He sent you all away, so he could kill me," Ianto insisted, though he was starting to wonder if it had been another dream. Only he wasn't asleep, he hadn't even dozed off. It was the middle of the morning and he was in the medical bay.

"Gwen and I got the body, and Owen was here with Jack the entire time. He only grabbed you at the end to try and calm you," said Tosh.

Ianto sighed and looked over at Jack again, who looked so sad he felt bad for saying anything. Then he remembered the expression on Jack's face as he'd plunged the needle into Ianto's chest, and he turned away. "I'm sorry," he murmured to no one in particular.

No one spoke, no one moved, and for a moment Ianto felt as if he were in another bad dream as the team stood in stunned silence around him. He closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them it would all be over.


Author's Note:

Happy Halloween! Hope you are all sufficiently turned around now. ;)

Also, I once again must admit I am not an expert in anything, particularly medicine, Cardiff Bay, and the use of the term wellies/boots/waders in Wales. Although I did look up and ask a few people about them, so many thanks to Angstosaur and Summerstar. All mistakes are my own.