Chapter Twenty

Here's chapter twenty, guys! I'm really delighted that this story has now got over 150 reviews – I jumped up and down laughing crazily when the 150th came through. Keep them coming, guys!

This chapter is dedicated to janto-gal, for her wonderful review on the last chapter – thanks so much, girl!

Disclaimer: I had a dream about Torchwood last night. Does that count?

I didn't think so.

Ianto groaned sleepily as Jack lifted the covers of the bed and slipped in next to him, pressing his cold feet against Ianto's legs.

"Your feet are bloody freezing, Jack," he complained, wriggling away from him.

Jack chuckled and wrapped an arm around him. "Going to warm me up, then?"

"I'm too tired," Ianto replied, snuggling into Jack's chest. "Lemme go to sleep."

Jack dropped a kiss onto his hair and smiled in satisfaction as he watched the Welshman close his eyes again.

The curtain was slightly open, allowing a pale beam of moonlight to hit the foot of the bed. Jack gazed up at the moon and imagined the Doctor out there, in his TARDIS, exploring whole new worlds. Jack knew full well that he could be by the Timelord's side, spending the rest of eternity with another who wouldn't die in what, to Jack, seemed like a bat of an eyelid.

Jack felt a slight pang of yearning, but then he looked down at the young man in his arms and remembered what he had come home for. Ianto may not be able to stay with him forever, but he could damn well make the most of every moment they were given.

"Stop it," Ianto muttered groggily, eyes still tightly closed.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were sleeping?"

Ianto yawned and opened his eyes to look up at him. "You're thinking too loud."

Jack laughed softly and held Ianto closer. "OK. I'll stop thinking so loud, then."

"Mmm." Ianto shut his eyes again and, this time, slid back into the warm realms of sleep.

Jack kissed his hair and sighed. The day when Ianto had to leave him would rip him to the core, he knew that. But it didn't stop him, despite the knowledge of the guaranteed pain in store.

Because loving Ianto was worth it.

-T-

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS with slight trepidation, Donna close on his heels.

The cabin was dim, most of the curtains closed. Sat at the table was a thin-faced man with abnormally pale skin, and a small Japanese lady that the Doctor vaguely recognised from somewhere.

Jack was seated on the floor, cradling a dead man's head in his lap. He looked up as the Doctor took another step forward. There were tear-stains on his cheeks, and his eyes were red and puffy from long bouts of weeping.

"He's dead, Doctor," he choked, the raw agony evident in his eyes.

The Doctor stood there, looking down at the broken man. "I'm so sorry," he finally said solemnly.

Jack's blue eyes flashed with pained anger "Don't say that!" he said angrily. "That's what you say when there's nothing you can do!"

The Doctor was rather lost for words. "I... he's dead, Jack. There isn't anything I can do."

Jack shook his head desperately. "You must be able to do something. The TARDIS brought me back, didn't it?"

"Jack..." the Doctor sighed, running a hand through his hair."Even if I knew what to do, would you want to condemn Ianto to the same life you're living? Would he really want that?"

Jack didn't look away, his eyes burning into the Doctor. "No. But we know what went wrong last time – we just need to make sure that we put a full stop on the end. It's got to work."

The Doctor shook his head slowly. "Look, Jack, you're grieving. You're not thinking straight. I can't do that, bring Ianto back without knowing exactly what I'm doing. I can't take the risk – the rest of the universe would be at stake."

Jack dearly wanted to say 'Screw the universe', but he knew better than that. He just couldn't let go of his lover, not yet. He blinked furiously, fighting back the tears that threatened to overwhelm him yet again. "Doctor. I gave my life for you without question on the Game Station." He knew that this was a low blow, but he carried on regardless. "You knew that Rose had brought me back, but you left me behind, surrounded by the dust of the Daleks. You left me there, among all the dead bodies, alone on a satellite, and you never came back."

The Doctor winced. "Look, it wasn't that simple—"

"I waited over a hundred years for you, Doctor. Then, when you finally arrived, you tried to run away again. I sacrificed myself so many times for you, Doctor. I let myself be tortured." Jack's voice was rising as he finally gave vent to all the pent-up emotions that had been building inside him for so long. "I had to watch everybody I loved be killed in front of my eyes and I couldn't do anything. I think, after all that, you really owe me something!"

The Doctor couldn't meet the captain's eyes. He knew Jack was right. Yet he didn't know what to do.

Suddenly a stinging slap threw him off-balance. He put a hand to his burning cheek and stared in astonishment at Donna, who was glaring at him in fury. "What was that for?" he asked, shocked.

Donna crossed her arms. "What do you think it was for? Despite all that this man's done for you, you still won't give him the one thing he's begging you for, despite the fact that you could do it!"

Owen spoke up. "Look here, Doctor. I've heard lots about you, and it seems to me that you do a hell of a lot of running away from responsibility. But this time I won't bloody well let you. If you won't help us, then we'll do it ourselves."

The Doctor frowned at him. "You're Owen, right?"

"So what if I am?"

"You're the medic, right?"

"And?"

"Well, do you think that it would be right for me to bring somebody back from the dead?" The Doctor enquired.

Owen flinched. "Happened before, hasn't it?" he muttered quietly.

The Japanese lady squeezed his hand reassuringly. Jack was strangely still. The Doctor felt as if he was missing some important part of the puzzle.

"What d'you mean?" Donna asked warily.

Owen gave a humourless laugh. "Well, there's me, for starters. I'm dead."

The Doctor swung around and glared at Jack. "You idiot!" he hissed. "You can't just have a dead person wandering around, you know. How do you know what might happen?"

Jack looked up at the Doctor with dull eyes and the Doctor felt all his anger drain away. "I'm sorry, Jack. You've just lost somebody you love, this isn't the time."

Jack just stared at him for a long moment, before getting to his feet, gently laying Ianto's head on the floor, and walking into the TARDIS.

The Doctor stood, frozen in shock, as the doors slammed shut behind him and the engine started to grind.

Another long chapter! I hope you guys like – I doubt that anybody will guess what Jack's going to do, but cookies to you if you can!

AN: If you click the Visit My Website on my profile, you'll find a website that I've created for all my random stuff. I've put up a re-done version of Splash on it, along with some original fiction, games and videos. Have a look if you're interested, and let me know what you think! I'll be putting up more stuff over time.

Reviews are love, people. Really.