Chapter Five:

Ianto was fast asleep at Jack's side when the Doctor returned. Feeling more confident than he had in days, the Doctor strode into Torchwood Three's hub with coffee and doughnuts abound. "What's gotten you in such a good mood?" Martha asked.

Martha and Gwen had arrived an hour before to find Ianto and Jack fast asleep. They decided that it was best not to wake them they left them like that so, monitoring them from up in the hub. Owen had arrived ten minutes before the Doctor and had agreed with Martha's course of action. They all dug into the food and coffee. The Doctor smiled as he looked at Martha. "I did a little research, didn't want to make any mistakes."

"And?" Martha asked softly, not wanting to inform the others just in case.

The Doctor smiled as he wrapped an arm around her. "They have twin boys and a girl."

"Really?"

The Doctor nodded. "How is he?"

"As far as we can tell, his condition hasn't changed much. He's got a rapid pulse and it's weakening. There's fluid in his lungs—he's in the final stages. It's only a matter of hours at this point." Owen offered from his station.

"Well then, what can we do to make this as painless as possible?"

Owen shrugged. "I've been measuring brain activity for the past hour he's already slipped into a coma. If he feels anything it won't be much."

The Doctor nodded. "All right then, Ianto may I have a word with you privately?"

The younger man nodded as he followed the Doctor to the Conference room. Ianto was aware that all eyes were on him. They closed the doors and Ianto took a seat, waiting for the Doctor to speak. "What do you know about time travel Ianto?"

Ianto shrugged. "Not much."

"All right then, allow me to give you a brief lesson. Time is not—in any way—a straight line; you'll do well to remember that for the rest of your life. A lot of things brought us to this point in time. It never stands still; it's constantly repeating itself throughout history. By meeting Rose nearly four years ago, I changed her history and mine. There was a reason we met when we did, at that exact moment. Even still, when we met Jack; we were never meant to meet him until Rose came into my life. It caught me off guard. We saved him, and changed his life. Then he died—if I hadn't left him I would have changed the outcome of all of your lives, yourself included. In fact it's entirely plausible that had I stayed and kept him, he'd either be dead forever or you never would have lost Lisa. But I left him behind. If it wasn't for Canary Warf—which is, in part, my fault—you wouldn't have met Jack. And by meeting Jack you changed the outcome of your life."

"Sir?" Ianto wasn't quite following.

"I don't normally tell people how their lives are going to turn out. It messes with history Ianto and it's dangerous. But I left yesterday because I had to make sure of some things, you see when Jack became immortal it changed his entire existence. It will change yours if I do this for you."

"What did you go check?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I just did some cross referencing Time Lord style."

"And?"

"Well for one, Jack's going to be just fine. And two, you will be also. It's going to be one hell of a journey, Ianto but I guarantee you—it's going to be fantastic!"

Ianto was completely lost now, but the Doctor's grin was contagious so Ianto smiled all the same.

"Ianto, you need to get down here. Jack's woken up and…well he's screaming for you." Owen's voice filled Ianto's Bluetooth.

"We're on our way Owen." Ianto replied as he stood up and hurried out of the room, unaware that the Doctor was right on his heels.

The room was a disaster; Jack was screaming and crying as he all but arched off the bed in pain. In between his screams of pain and fear he was yelling for Ianto reaching out for someone that wasn't there. It was as if he was having a fit or nightmare of some sort. Tosh and Gwen were standing against the far wall, watching with tears trailing down their cheeks as Owen and Martha tried to stop him. Though it was impossible to try and stop him without hurting him further, but if they didn't stop him he'd only hurt himself further.

Ianto stepped into the room and closed his eyes, bracing himself for what was to come, they'd hit the moment. "Jack!" he yelled at the top of his voice, not used to using any harsh tones against the Captain. He strode over to the bed in a matter of steps, reaching out he gripped Jack's hands as gently as possible while bringing them to his face. "I'm right here Jack. Focus on my voice."

A whimper escaped Jack's bruised and bloodied lips. "Make him stop." He sobbed.

"Who?"

"Master, please!"

The Doctor's eyes widened in horror as Martha and Ianto both looked at him. He stepped over to the bed and gently held Jack's face in his hands. "Jack, the Master is gone, he's never going to hurt you again. I promise."

"Why does it hurt?" He sobbed.

The Doctor bit his lip at that familiar phrase, leaning over he pressed his lips to Jack's. "I think you need a Doctor." Leaning down he opened his mouth, giving Jack a kiss, closing his eyes he dipped into Jack's mind. "Jack, don't be scared. You're dying. Let go."

"Where are we?"Jack turned towards him surprised.

"In your mind. Jack, it's time."

"Will I be okay?"

"I promise you're going to be safe. Let go Jack. It's time to let go."

"It hurts so bad."

The Doctor smiled as he gripped the younger man's face. "You are better off as a hero. Now let go Jack, release your burden, you'll never be alone again."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

When the Doctor slowly sat up the heart monitor went flat, Jack's head lulled to the side.

"What have you done?" Sobbed Ianto as he sat beside his lover.

"Don't touch him!" ordered the Doctor. "It's time for him to go."

"Will he…" Gwen whimpered from the corner before she covered her mouth. Tosh turned towards the other woman and pulled her into a hug. Owen, who'd been watching with his heart in his throat reached out and pulled Martha towards him slightly, as if seeking her warmth and strength.

The Doctor smiled sadly as he reached out and pressed on hand to Ianto's chest. He pressed his palm flat against the young man's heart, then with his opposite hand he touched Jack's hand. "That's up to him. But from what I've seen, Jack has a lot to live for."

Owen took a slow breath. "Let's unhook him Martha. Ladies why don't you go upstairs." Tosh nodded slowly as she led Gwen out the door, her own face damp with tears. Owen turned towards Ianto and sighed. "Don't s'pose you're going anywhere?"

"I don't want him to be alone when he wakes up."

The Doctor smiled as he looked at Ianto. "He's never going to be alone again, at least not for a very long time. I'm going to go back to the TARDIS for a while, come get me when he wakes."

"Will he wake?" Martha asked this time.

Glancing at Ianto again, the Doctor smiled. "I would if I was him."

o0o

No matter what, Ianto would never get used to the idea that Jack could die and come back to life. After the Abbadon incident he'd been dead for nearly a week. How long would he be gone this time? He sat quietly next to the bed; it had been twelve hours already. They'd removed all the bandages, him and Martha. Taking great care to not disturb him. Ianto let out a forced laugh at the thought of disturbing a man who was already dead. He sat beside the bed a wash cloth in hand gently cleaning Jack's body. The sores were still all over Jack's body, he'd grown cold in the past twelve hours. He hadn't eaten, hadn't slept, just like Gwen when she'd taken care of Jack after Abbadon. Ianto felt lost without his presence there.

And he wasn't there, sure his body was here physically, but Jack was gone. No matter how temporarily, he wasn't in the room. Ianto realized Jack had a distinctive presence to him. He wasn't sure how other people would describe it, but he felt it in his heart and in his mind every time Jack stepped into a room. When Jack was in the room Ianto felt safe, as if a sort of blanket had fallen over his shoulders or there was an invisible arm wrapped around his waist. Jack radiated compassion most of the time especially for his team. Compassion and protectiveness. Ianto had always known as long as Jack was there they were generally safe. Then there was their relationship. Though awkward at times, Jack made Ianto feel loved in a way he'd never felt before. He'd given him meaning again, something to look forward to every morning and think about each night.

Ianto looked down at the pale face of his Captain. "Please come back." He whimpered as he gripped the bruised hand in his, whimpering as he pressed it to his cheek. He curled up beside the body, as if Jack were still with him and gently began to run his hand through the silky hair, leaving it there.

TBC