Jack's whole body just stopped for a second as Ianto's confused words hit him. He shot a brief alarmed look at the nurse.
"I'm Jack," he said, eyes boring into Ianto's anxiously. "We work together."
"We do?" A haze of panic was starting to descend on Ianto, over and above the disorientation. "I… I don't remember. Why don't I remember? What's… where…?"
The nurse stepped forward, her voice calm and soothing. "A little amnesia is quite common after being out for a while. Please don't worry too much about it. Most people regain their memories within the first twenty minutes or so. Just stay calm and don't try to force it too hard."
Ianto calmed down a little, and the nurse looked over at Jack. "Just talk to him, like you normally would. It will help. I'll be at the nurses' station if you need me." She gave them a friendly nod and left the room.
Unsure as to quite how far back Ianto's memories had disappeared, Jack carefully skirted around any mentions of Torchwood, the Battle of Canary Wharf, Lisa's condition or how they had met.
Instead, he told light-hearted little stories about Tosh, Owen and Suzie; told Ianto how they all adored his coffee – how he kept them all running at 'the office'.
Jack had almost never been as relieved as he was when the fog started to lift. Recognition started to dawn in Ianto's eyes, and he was clearly sorting through all the memories that were flooding back, working out if they were real or not, when he asked, bemusedly, "Did I really use a pterodactyl to get a job?"
Fifteen minutes later, when Tosh and Owen arrived, he was fairly coherent, and had regained most of his memory.
He still didn't remember the incident with the creatures that had landed him in the hospital, but Jack really wouldn't be all that upset if he never remembered that.
Once he had regained some semblance of coherency, one of Ianto's first thoughts had been for Lisa. When he learned that he'd been out for nearly a week, he was even more worried. All that Jack could do was assure him they were taking good care of her in his absence.
He wasn't entirely mollified, but resigned himself to the reality that there was nothing he could do but trust the team to make sure she was okay until he was recovered.
The discovery that said recovery would likely involve at least another few weeks in the hospital had him even more displeased. He'd sustained very serious injuries, he'd been told both by the hospital doctors and by Owen, and they wanted to keep a close eye on him until he was properly out of the woods.
He tried to bargain that he could go home and Owen could check in on him, but Owen was having none of it.
"I know you're worried about Lisa and want to get out and back to her," the doctor told him firmly, "but you're staying put until the consultant is completely happy releasing you, okay?"
Ianto frowned, and Jack noticed a flash of pain sweep momentarily across his face at Owen's words.
He didn't say anything about it, though, until later that day, when they were alone. Ianto was grumbling once more about being all-but-forced to stay in the hospital for any extended period.
"You really don't like hospitals, do you?"
Ianto raised an eyebrow in what Jack recognised as a 'duh' look.
"Okay, so there aren't many people who actually like hospitals, but you really don't like them, I can see it in your eyes." Jack sighed softly. "Plus, most people tend not to argue quite so much about staying in one when they really need to, like you do now."
"I just... I don't have very good associations with hospitals," Ianto mumbled after a few silent minutes of contemplation. "Not since my dad…"
Jack wracked his brain to remember if Ianto's file had mentioned anything about his father, anything about his family at all. He could remember reports on Ianto's scholastic achievements, his criminal record, employment history… but he didn't recall anything about his personal history at all. The only personal note in the file at all had been about Lisa.
And that, for Torchwood One, was very odd.