With a painful gasp jack harkness was back to life.... again. He'd lost count of how many times he'd died and been brought back. All he remembered was that for the few moments after death it was as if nothing existed before that moment, he did not know who he was when he was or where he was.... which scared him.
This time, he woke up looking into the cold unseeing eyes of a corpse.... but not any corpse, the corpse of a child he himself had given up for slaughter many decades ago. With that Jack remembered where he was, the floor of the tank of the 456, with a device which was glowing fiercely blue. Remembering not to breathe, because he would breathe in the virus and die again, he ran to the air lock protecting the outside from the poisonous gas and virus.
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On the outside Gwen, Rhys and the Doctor had nothing to do but to wait.... and neither of them were very patient people. After two hours a blip on the life scanner told Gwen their waiting was over.
"He's alive!" she shrieked, running to the door of the airlock.
Not so heroically, Jack thrust the device into Gwen and dropped to his knees taking in deep breath after deep breaths. After a few moments he felt full of wonderful oxygen and was composed enough to stand on his own two feet. "I forgot what a killer O2 deprivation is," he explained still sounding slightly breathless, like a chain smoker who has recently decided to quit suddenly.
The doctor took the bronze gadget from the concerned welsh woman who, with the help from her husband, managed to manoeuvre Jack Harkness in the direction of the TARDIS as his legs were still not working to his liking.
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Jack was sat very close Ianto's bedside with a cup of tea (sweet and milky) to Gwen's insistence. Meanwhile The Doctor was effortlessly removing the antivirus from the bronze device and placing it in an unusually large syringe.
Gwen and Rhys, feeling helpless, simply watched in fascination as the time lord proceeded to inject the deceased body with the serum. The three standers by proceeded to watch as the doctor took a thin blue wire device from the medical shelf and attached it to Ianto's chest. With the flick of a switch Ianto illuminated, not unlike the people at CERN, Gwen recalled.
"This, is creating a current through Ianto's blood stream, not unlike that of an electrical circuit. There is a positive and a negative driving around the blood cells which in turn are carrying the antivirus. This should eradicate the virus from the blood. If I didn't do this, being dead and all, Ianto would have no pulse to drive the antivirus." The group were very thankful for the explanation as they all felt lost and helpless. They busied themselves making cups of tea or water (never coffee) and making Ianto as comfortable as possible while waiting for the antivirus to take hold and see what the next step was to be.
Eventually, the doctor lead them all to a row of screens to the side of the room.
"This," Began the time lord, "Is Ianto's blood before the administration of the antivirus." Rhys recognised the red blood cells and white blood cells that he had learned in school, as well as platelets but he could not recall their name. There were also several green, misshapen blobs he was left to assume were the virus' cells looking impure in the blood. "As you can see," the Doctor continued, "the virus is quite obviously there.
"On the second screen you will notice that as well as the virus, there is the antivirus – this blue matter surrounding the virus' cells. This sample was taken immediately after the antivirus was injected. " The group nodded in understanding. "It is this final screen I want to draw your attention to, look at it," he instructed, "What's different about this blood?"
"Um... it looks like pure blood to me," suggested jack who had Ianto's hand protectively in his.
"Exactly, it is just pure blood; taken from a Mr Ianto Jones 5 minutes ago."
"You mean," started jack hopefully, "The virus is out of him."
"Yes, that was what I was getting at," confirmed the doctor.
"Well... why isn't he waking up?" Asked jack forlornly, not sure he wanted the answer.
"I cured the virus, I can't cure death," answered the doctor casually as he stood up to go to the console room. Gwen looked horrified at the bluntness of the Doctor's exit. Little did she know he just felt as though he could no longer be in the same room as the heroic captain he felt he let down...again.
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Several hours had passed and The Doctor had dared not re-enter the side medical room. Instead he chose to hide in the console room, and upon hearing Gwen and Rhys stir he left for his sleeping quarters.
Feeling tired and dejected, Gwen and Rhys decided mutually it was time to leave their captain alone to grieve, they both felt that bringing back Ianto was a lost cause, especially since the Doctor seemed to think it too.
That just left Jack sat in silence beside Ianto's too still body. I can't cure death, I can't cure death, I can't cure death, was all he could hear as he looked down at the helpless man before him.... The doctor can't cure death, he thought, but I can!
With that, Jack stood up (too quickly and got a head rush.) But feeling determined he shook off the disorientation and stood before his lover. He had no idea if it would work, after all, the few times he'd brought someone back this was before had only been moments after their death, defiantly not days.... still, this time he was more determined than ever, so as far as he was concerned it had to work. Leaning over Ianto's face and looking into his closed eyes, imagining the blue, life filled eyes he longed to see, Jack closed the distance between their mouths, literally pouring his life and soul into the kiss. After the need for breath became too great Jack stood back to see if it worked.
But Ianto didn't move.
Eep! Are they running out of ways to save Ianto? review to find out ;)