Time Intertwined

Chapter 4a

Tosh finished the cocktail, large as it was, she thought she would take all night, but Owen took pity on her and removed all the fruit and decorations off it to show that it was something she could manage. Tosh's heart skipped a beat when Owen hand accidently touched hers as he struggled with the pineapple wedge that was stuck and refusing to move. Owen felt a spark as their hands touched, he looked up at Tosh and smiled and looked into her eyes, she returned the look and sighed.

"What's taking him?" Jack whined "He should have been back already" 30 minutes had passed and Rhys was walking in the pub door.

"He must have forgotten where he put it," Gwen stated as she spotted her husband-to-be coming through the door, wave and head for them.

"Ianto? Forget? I doubt it" Jack knew of Ianto's eidetic memory, he would never forget anything; Jack was getting more than a little worried. He pushed the blue tooth device and got no answer. "Mmmm, I'm going to see what's keeping him" Jack left quickly not bothering to take his coat, before the others had a chance to say anything.

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Marcus saw that there were some controls on the, what did the young man call it rift something, and looked to see if there was anything that he could understand, surely there would a 'year' indicator or a dial to turn back time or something, he thought.

Ianto groaned as he slipped in and out of consciousness. Marcus bent down to Ianto, "Tell me how to work it, tell me, tell me now!" he yelled.

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Jack jogged over to the tourist office as he knew that is Ianto's preferred way of entry. As he approached he noticed the door was ajar, that wasn't like Ianto, he thought a little panicky, as he picked up speed. Jack entered the tourist office, his hand automatically reaching for his gun. The hidden doorway was opened and there was no sign of Ianto, definitely not like Ianto at all. Jack hit the blue tooth device at his ear "Owen get over here now! Something is not right" Jack said quickly and raced down into the Hub.

Marcus was leaning over Ianto as he screamed at him to tell him how to work the rift manipulator as Jack raced inside.

"Move away from him" Jack rushed over to Ianto, pushing Marcus out of the way, his only thoughts were for Ianto seeing the ever widening pool of blood spreading out underneath him. Leaning over Ianto and pulling him to his side, he hardly noticed Marcus. Marcus startled, yelled "I didn't mean to hurt him, I just need to get back"

Jack wasn't listening to Marcus, he was trying to get Ianto to respond, Ianto's unconscious state had him worried, worried that he had lost Ianto far too soon because of Torchwood. How many had to die, and why Ianto, why him, the man who could make him smile when Torchwood decisions were hard to make, the man who didn't hold Jack up on a pedestal but treated him like he was special in different ways, the man that Jack wanted to spend as much time with, to grow old with, to watch Ianto grow old, he wanted so much to watch Ianto grow old.

Marcus picked up his knife that was he dropped, watching Jack lovingly caress Ianto, Marcus understood this but he couldn't let Jack's sorrow affect his own, if he could just go back 35 years, save his daughter then he wouldn't have to come here and hurt this young man, bleeding out on the floor of this place. "Tell me how to work it, I need to get back, I've got to save her" Marcus yelled anxiously, poking the knife at Jack's back. Jack stood up quickly wanting to exact his revenge on the man who done this to Ianto, not noticing that Marcus had the knife close to his back. As Jackn spun around and lauching himself at Marcus the knife that was held firmly by Marcus plunged the full length, into Jack's body and into his heart between his ribs. With a shocked look on his face Jack slumped to the floor near Ianto, his arm falling protectively over Ianto as Owen, Gwen and Tosh entered the Hub, guns drawn.

"Stand down….NOW!" Owen yelled.

Marcus looked around to see the other team members standing there with their guns drawn and approaching him quickly. Marcus dropped the knife and slumped to the ground on his knees, "I just want to go back, it was never meant to happen like this"

Owen seeing the pool of blood under Ianto with Jack slumped over Ianto raced over to them. Owen pushed Jack off Ianto, not giving Jack a second thought, he knew what ever had befallen Jack, he would recover from; as for Ianto, he doesn't have that advantage. Owen could see almost immediately what was causing the pool of blood, he quickly tore Ianto's shirt, knowing that Ianto would bemoan the loss of a good shirt, although with the knife hole in it even Ianto would have to agree that it wouldn't be a good shirt anymore, Owen silently prayed that Ianto would wake soon and complain about the torn shirt. Owen could see that the wound was deep and knew that he would have to stop the bleeding now. Owen called out to Tosh to get the alien device that they uncovered in a bombed out building only 3 weeks ago, he had done some experiments with the device on minor cuts, it appeared to fuse the flesh together but the wound. Owen hoped this new alien device would help his friend, but the wound that Ianto had was more than a cut, and he suspected that Ianto's lung was pieced as well, as Ianto had blood dribbling from his mouth but he had to give it a try. As he contemplated whether to use Ianto as a guinea pig, Jack revived with a gasp.

While Owen was seeing to Ianto, Gwen and Tosh rushed over to Marcus and pushed him down to the floor, face down. Gwen screamed "What have you done? Who are you?"

Tosh held her gun at Marcus, in a way that meant business, so Marcus didn't question whether the little Japanese woman would shoot him so he stayed down. Tosh heard Owen ask for the alien device that they suspected would rapidly heal wounds, it had worked on minor wounds but the wound that Ianto had seemed much more than a minor cut from the amount of blood pooling beneath him. "Are you sure Owen?" Tosh asked tentatively.

"The wound is too deep, and he's losing too much blood, I don't have time to stitch him up he will bleed out before I can seal the lung" Owen desperately voiced his concern.

With a gasping breath Jack sat up, remembering what occurred before he died, and reached around for Ianto. Relief washed over him when he saw Owen was there, but that relief faded away when he heard the conversation between Tosh and Owen. "Just do it Owen, do something!" Jack pleaded.

"Help me get him down to the autopsy bay" Owen barked.

Jack gently lifted his lover up in his arms and carefully walked down to the autopsy bay. Owen set the scanner to better see the extent of the injury as Tosh grabbed the alien device that she had on her table as she was the last to use it, to attempt to found out its power source.

Gwen had Marcus handcuffed and sitting up on the floor. "My friend had better survive this. Or you will have hell to pay" she said gruffly to Marcus.

"Don't care anymore, what's the point, I didn't help her, didn't save her" Marcus said sadly shaking his head, his eyes downcast. "I just wanted to go back, I would have made things right"

Owen saw from the scanner that it was as he suspected, Ianto's lung was pieced. And so Owen with some reluctance lifted the alien device, looked up at Jack, who nodded his head, held the device to Ianto's right side and pressed the green button. After an anxious minute the flesh seemed to bubble and then start to reformulate. After another minute Ianto took a deep breath. Owen who was holding his own breath took a breath himself.

"He'll be fine Jack, just fine" Owen said with relief.

Then Ianto's eyes fluttered open, his brilliant blue eyes made contact with Jack's own blue eyes and he frowned " I'm sorry I di…" Jack shushed him with a gentle kiss.

"Nothing to be sorry about" Jack reassured Ianto caressing his face, holding his gaze with watery eyes, "stay here, I'll be back". Jack gave Owen a look that said 'stay here with him, I'm going to deal with that scum bag above'.

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Jack grabbed Marcus who gave no resistance and demanded to know what was his purpose, why did he want to hurt Ianto and how did he get in.

Marcus explained everything to Jack, what happened 35 years ago, the murder of his daughter 2 weeks ago and the hope to return back to 1975 to help the girl and therefore prevent the murder of his own daughter. He didn't know Ianto and that he had been watching them after learning about Torchwood through some internet interest groups and that he took Ianto by surprise when he returned from the pub.

Gwen, Tosh and Jack listened very intently, it was very important that they understood why someone not known to them or Ianto would want to hurt Ianto. Jack nodded and shook his head throughout and when Marcus finished telling them his story, Jack said "Marcus the rift doesn't do what you want, I'm sorry, we don't have that control, we only pick up the pieces that the rift spits out. I'm sorry but you'll won't be able to return to 1975, what's done is done, you won't be able to get your daughter back" although Jack was angry with him when he climbed the stairs from the autopsy bay and was determined to make him pay for almost killing Ianto, he could understand the urge to return to an earlier time to fix an event, but Jack knew only too well, that events such as these can't be changed as much as you may want them to.

Marcus started to sob, he would have placed his hands over his eyes but they were still handcuffed behind him so he could only hang his head and cry in his lap.

Gwen, Tosh and Jack walked away to give him a moment. Tosh went to get him a glass of water. Gwen whispered to Jack "What do we do with him? Hand him over to police or retcon him?"

Tosh returned with a glass of water as Jack said "Nothing, we do nothing, we will return him home, the grief will be enough punishment, putting him in prison won't help, retcon him? How far back do we retcon him, 35 years? We may as well put him in a mental ward."

A/N: this is where I ended it last time with a little epilogue, so from here on is the new addition to this fic.

Chapter 4b

That night Ianto and Jack lay side by side enjoying the fact that they were still here, living, thanks to the new alien tech that Owen worked out how to use and Jack's immortality, "I know that one day you will die and I will be left alone without you, but today was too soon, today was so close"

"It's fine, I'm fine" Ianto soothed Jack, as he could see that Jack was quite spooked by today's events.

"No it's not fine, what if Owen didn't have that device that was able to heal the hole in your lung?" Jack said almost overcome with emotion.

"Hey, hey, its okay" Ianto caressed Jack's cheek, "then Owen would have come up with some other way of saving me, he's the best, that's why you hired him, you only hire the best" Ianto said with a wink, trying to defused the tension and worry evident in Jack.

"Yeah, you're right, you're always right" Jack said admirably, and in the spur of the moment forgetting that he had planned to do this in romantic Italy, he blurted out, "Marry me"

"Huh, what?"

"Oh god, this is not how I planned it" Jack said shaking his head, reaching over to his coat that was hanging over the nearby chair and grabbing the ring in his pocket, "Ianto Jones, would you do me the honour of marrying me?" Jack said.

"Um,… oh,….yes, yes, ….yes Jack" Ianto said gleefully.

Wrapping their arms around each other and they crushed their lips together pouring their love in the kiss. Hands started to roam, moans were emitted and the last of their clothes were shed.

Several hours later as they laid there catching their breath Ianto asked, "We're still going to Italy aren't we?"

"Of course" Jack said laughing.

"It can be our honeymoon" Ianto said, Jack laughed seeing that Ianto was really happy that he asked him to marry him.

Jack snuggled closer to Ianto, drifting off to sleep, then he remembered something earlier. "So Owen and Tosh?" Jack asked quizzically, "You knew, didn't you? Why didn't you tell me, why am I the last to know" Jack jokily asked.

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On the other side of town Marcus after returning home in defeat and sorrow, at not being able to return to that faithful time that decided his daughter's demise, answered the door to a stranger, "Yes?"

"Marcus Andrews, I have an offer for you" the stranger said.

"What? Offer? Who are you?" Marcus asked confused.

"A friend who can help you fix the time shift for when your daughter was murdered" the brown haired man in the strange coat said, and then added self- assuredly, "interested?"

A/ N: The last part of this chapter is the beginning of the added-on part of this story. Please review.