I wonder what happened to Ianto? :S

Chapter 11

You're the colour of the sky
Reflected in each store-front window pane
You're the whispering and the sighing
Of my tires in the rain

Ianto was sent hurtling through the darkness, hitting himself headfirst into a wall of pain in his stomach like he hadn't felt since the bullet tore through his insides. His eyes shot open and he gritted his teeth, tears flooding from his eyes, his legs and arms instinctively curling to shelter the source.

"God!" He groaned, jaws clenched, eyes wide and his head craning back. He was vaguely aware of several gasps and exclamations, but he concentrated on the hand he was instinctively gripping onto.

"Ianto?" It was Tosh and she sounded scared to death.

"Does anyone please have some painkillers?" He snarled, screwing his eyes up and trying to take deep breaths. Jack was chuckling next to him and he made a mental note to hurt him for it. Owen scrambled to inject something into his IV and after a few moments, a wave of warmth spread through him and he sighed in relief.

"Owen, his heart's still racing." Gwen said, her voice petrified. Ianto opened his eyes, still taking deep, calming breaths as he realised he could still feel the faint tug of ropes in his head, heart and stomach.

"You need to use the defibrillator. At three sixty." Ianto said through gritted teeth, fully aware of how much that was going to hurt. He glared at Owen, but he could feel the eyes of the team on him as well. Owen opened his mouth to object, but Ianto cut in. "Trust me, you don't have time. If you don't, I'm gone again. Permanently."

Owen shot a look to Jack, who'd gone incredibly still next to Ianto, still clutching the young man's hand. They had a silent conversation and eventually, Jack moved away from the bed and gestured for the two women to keep back as well. Owen let out a low whistle before pulling over the nearest crash cart, pulling Ianto's gown up and handing Jack the pads to place on his chest.

Ianto closed his eyes, gritted his teeth and held his face with his hands for a moment, listening as Owen got Tosh to squeeze the conductive gel onto the paddles and charge them up, the ascending buzz cutting through him. He heard a deep intake of breath, a whimper from Gwen and he clenched his fists, placing them at his sides and trying to ignore the steadily increasing tug on him.

"Owen, now!" He snarled, his face contorted in a grimace as the buzz continued to climb.

"Whatever you say… just remember it was your idea." He muttered, placing the paddles over the pads and as soon as the buzzing reached a constant, he put the paddles down and discharged them, electricity searing through Ianto painfully, making him cry out as his heart stopped momentarily and settled back into it's normal rhythm after only a second or two of silence.

He felt someone grab his hand again and another two people crowd his other side, patting his arm and smoothing his hair back.

"Jack, it hurts…" He murmured, suddenly exhausted, his entire body aching. Jack muttered something and Owen gave him another shot. He felt Jack's lips on his forehead, a couple of tears falling onto him from Jack's cheeks. Ianto just sighed and let his mind drift off into a true, visionless dream, fuelled by the morphine lacing his system.

*

The Doctor sighed heavily and sat down on the newly vacated seat, propping his feet up on the console in front of him, to which the TARDIS hummed disapprovingly. He grinned and stretched his hands behind his head as he tried to decide what to do next.

"What do you think I should do?" He asked absently, watching the lights pulse up and down the column, a sight that was as good as a lullaby to a baby. The lights flowed downwards and thrummed into the console, lighting up a particular area. The Doctor leaned forwards and found that there was a letter addressed to him lying on the lit up panel.

He picked it up and flicked the folded paper open to read the words.

Doctor.

I want to thank you for every thing you've done for me over the past few days. To be brutally honest, I didn't know what to expect from the man who'd occupied Jack's mind and heart for such a long time, but now I see why he likes you so much.

The TARDIS is amazing machine, she helped a lot too – so thank her for me as well. Whilst I slept, I relived my memories at first, but after the injections, I was back behind my eyes, I could hear Jack. He was in so much pain and I was only sleeping. I don't want to think about what my death might do to him.

That's why I made a plan – with the TARDIS's help. She'll track my life line and once I'm dead, or left Jack's life line behind, she's going to tell you. When she does, she's going to make sure you go to him. I know you two have had problems in the past, but you're the only person who will be able to help him.

Once I'm gone – probably sooner than later, given Torchwood employees' life expectancies – you need to make him remember me. You need to take him away so he doesn't hurt when he thinks about me. You need to make sure he remembers all the good things and doesn't dwell on the bad. You need to keep him going.

It's a lot to ask, but I need to know that Jack won't just stop once I'm gone. The world would be a much darker place without him and it's already dark enough.

Thank you again and in advance,

Ianto.

The Doctor looked up at the TARDIS and sighed in mock disapproval, shaking his head at the pulsating lights again and jumping up to pat the bottom of the huge column, eliciting a happy hum from her. He knew right then that there was a certainty in his life. For now, he had a destination and a task.

He wondered whether it was this man, Ianto Jones, who kept Jack going until he was just a big old head in a jar.

*

It had taken almost half an hour for Owen to drag Jack away from Ianto's sleeping form. The captain hadn't moved from the beside since he'd arrived and everyone knew that Jack wouldn't leave without someone forcing him to.

So that's just what they did.

Jack drove back to the Hub at a reasonably slow pace, a smile on his lips. It was still raining, but Jack had a new appreciation for the weather now. He got the feeling that whenever it rained, no matter where or when he was, he'd think of Ianto.