Last chapter in this story
He came to and found himself staring at a ceiling he recognised...it was the med-unit in the hub...wait a second...the Hub?
He tried to sit up but pain shot through him and he tried in vain to stifle a gasp.
"Oh no, lay still," a voice said...Martha.
"Martha...what?"
He looked round. "It worked?"
Martha smiled at him as she adjusted his IV. "It worked."
But he heard a tinge of sadness in her voice.
"Is Jack okay?"
"He's fine."
"And the Doctor?"
"Like I said, it worked."
Jack looked out across the bay, looking at a sea he thought he would never see again. The sound of seagulls and people going about their business sounded like heaven.
He turned and watched the people go by; they had no clue as to what had gone on. His gaze shifted from the people to what lay beneath their feet.
For three days he'd tried and failed to get into the TARDIS...what was going on inside was something humans were not privy to...her pilot was in mourning.
He sighed and walked back to the small tourist shop that fronted Torchwood and as he did the memories came flooding back.
He'd snapped back into consciousness and found he wasn't lying on rubble strewn concrete, but on icy ground. He got to his knees, the cold bite of the snow burning his skin.
He looked round and realised the grass poking out of the snow was no longer red...it was green.
Then he heard it...the weeping.
He looked round and his heart lurched...the machine had worked but not for the one person who wanted the most.
Silently he watched as the Time Lord crumbled and without speaking he helped the Doctor take the bodies of his daughter and his lover back to Torchwood and into the TARDIS and then he'd been shut out.
He walked back into the Hub and Gwen looked up as he entered. "Ianto's awake."
Jack nodded and went down to the med-unit.
"Give us a minute," he said to Martha.
"You okay?" he asked after she'd shut the door.
Ianto nodded. "A little fuzzy on what happened. It worked, didn't it?"
Yeah, it worked. For humanity at least."
"They didn't come back?"
Jack shook his head.
"How's the Doctor taking it?"
"I don't know. The TARDIS has locked me out."
"At least he hasn't left...that's good, right?"
"I guess, but I need to get inside, to see if he's okay."
Ianto shook his head. "When he's ready or the TARDIS decides it's the right time."
Jack finally smiled. "Are you sure you're not Dr. Phil in disguise?"
Ianto smiled back. "Give him time."
Jack sighed. "I guess."
The Hub finally grew quiet as Gwen left and Jack took Martha out for dinner, leaving only Ianto and of course the TARDIS below.
He was dozing when a noise made him very awake.
The Doctor stood at the door, silhouetted by the light from the stairs.
"You were right, Ianto Jones. You have to live with what happens."
The Doctor stepped into the room and sat on the bed. "I thought I could bring them back, cheat death...but I couldn't."
Ianto hesitated before replying, choosing his words carefully.
"No-one should have that sort of power, the power over death...the power of a god."
He held his breath, expecting an angry retort but none came.
The Doctor stood. "You can tell Jack the door is open, there are things to be done."
With that he was gone.
"You can't go in there alone," Gwen said.
"How do you know he's sane?" Martha said.
"Ianto said he sounded like his old self," Jack replied.
"Yeah and Ianto wasn't half out of it on pain killers and half asleep, "Martha countered.
"I trust him, "Jack retorted as they descended the stairs to the store areas and into the room that contained the TARDIS.
"I'm going in and I'm going alone," Jack said and pushed the TARDIS door and it opened.
He stepped inside and before Martha and Gwen could follow the door slammed shut, the TARDIS making it clear; only one was invited.
Jack heard the door slam and the lock click.
"Like that is it?"
A rumble came in answer. "Where is he, beautiful?"
Lights brightened and a corridor appeared with a single door at the end.
He approached and hesitated at it, his hand hovering over the handle.
Another rumble of encouragement as he hesitated again and a strong mental nudge almost seemed to say. "He needs you."
With nerves he never thought he would have, he opened the door, expecting to find...he didn't know what to expect.
He did expect to find two bodies in stasis, but the first thing he saw were two empty pods and then the Doctor, who was staring at them.
He must have heard him coming in because he said.
"The time line is reasserting, they faded away...the Master is still dead and Ashena...Ashena never existed."
"But how?"" Jack said and stood next to the Doctor. "What about Seska and Jakaar?"
"They went through the rift, it didn't affect them. They're out there somewhere and so is..."
"White Coat," Jack finished the sentence for him.
The Doctor changed the subject abruptly. "How are Rhys and Martha's family?"
"They have no idea, neither does the rest of the world."
"Good, as it should be," the Doctor said and turned to Jack. "Make sure it stays that way, these things are never one hundred percent and someone will remember."
Jack started...was he saying goodbye?
"Like I told Mr Jones...things to do...sons to find...a man to kill," the Doctor said as he walked out of the door.
"Whoa, whoa!" Jack said and followed, the door fading behind him and the wall returning.
"You're not going after them alone," Jack said as the Doctor busied himself at the console.
The Doctor didn't look up, but said. "I am and I will. You know where the door is."
"Oh no, not this time, you need back up."
"As I said, you know where the door is...bye Jack."
A rumble filled the air and the Doctor looked up at the ceiling. "Don't you start, I don't need anyone!" he yelled.
Another rumble and this time the central column began to move and the Doctor looked at the small screen.
"What are you doing? You can't...please...you can't!"
He went to touch a certain control and electric blue lightning hit him and he flew backwards and hit the floor and lay still.
"Doctor!" Jack shouted, just as the TARDIS lurched suddenly and he fell and hit the railing hard and as he blacked out he saw the rotor move...they were in flight.
He came to expecting the TARDIS to still be in flight, but the rotor was still; they had landed somewhere or somewhen.
He sat up and looked round and saw the Doctor, he was still out cold.
He crawled over and examined him; he was bleeding from a cut on his forehead and a sizeable lump showed where he'd connected with a part of the TARDIS.
He was too busy with the Doctor to hear soft footsteps, but he did feel something connect with his head and he fell on his face.
He woke one more and this time he felt like Big Ben was inside his head...what?"
Then he remembered and shot up and turned quickly.
The first thing he saw was a pair of women's shoes. He looked up and saw the owner of the shoes.
He could only stare in shock as Donna Noble raised the saucepan she'd hit him with and yelled.
"Who the hell are you and what have you done to the Doctor!?"
TBC in Crystal of Shadows.