Chapter Forty-Nine

Wow. Just... wow. 600 reviews. That's just... scary. I hope that you all like this chapter, too! You're all just awesome, and hugs and cookies to all of you! XD

3 chapters in 3 days... you can see where I got the "3" thing in this chapter from... ;-)

Disclaimer: I... no. No, I don't own Torchwood. Not yet, anyway... *evil laugh*

Ianto simply stared at the door through which his blue-eyed doppelganger had dragged Jack. What the hell's going on? he thought numbly, still reeling in shock. Half an hour I was waiting for Jack, at home with a bottle of champagne and lasagne. How can this be happening now?

He took a deep breath, fighting down his emotion, and laid a trembling hand on the cold metal handle. He had to do this. For Jack. God, Jack... why? No, this wasn't his Jack... this was something the other Ianto had done. It had to be. Jack would never hurt him like that.

Then why do I feel so uncertain?

The cold air of the stairwell hit him hard, as if he had just opened the fridge on a hot day. Ianto shivered involuntarily, remembering his and Jack's holiday in Barcelona. They had resorted to sticking their heads in the fridge in a desperate attempt to keep cool.

That had been their first holiday together; since then they had been all over the world: Egypt, Norway, Germany, Ireland (the landlady hadn't warned them about the thin walls; Ianto didn't think he would ever be able to set foot there again), and more countries than he could count on both hands.

His footsteps echoed emptily as he started down the steps. He froze; had Jack and the other Ianto heard him?

He could hear them talking, further down. It was odd to hear his own voice when he wasn't even speaking; how did the blue-eyed Ianto imitate that so perfectly? What else could he do, what else did he know?

What else did he have planned? Please, please don't hurt Jack...

"...not real, Jack," his doppelganger was saying earnestly. "You need to remember that. This is all something the aliens dreamed up to try and stop us."

"He seems real." A pause. "No, he is real."

Ianto felt a warm, golden something pool in his stomach, like he had just eaten a spoonful of honey. Jack... come on, fight it! I know you can do it, I know you're strong enough. Please, Jack...

"How is that possible, Jack?" Ianto asked. "This is all fake. He can't be real in a fake world."

"We're real. We're in this world."

The other Ianto sighed. "I'm not the Doctor. I don't know." He sighed. "I just want to get through this," his voice sounded subdued, tired.

"Then—"

"Goddamit, Jack!" the blue-eyed Ianto exploded. "I don't know! I don't have the answers – I don't think we even know the questions!" He laughed hollowly. "How can I convince you that this isn't where we belong?"

"Make me feel certain," Jack said. "Make me feel alive."

Ianto's stomach lurched as he realised what Jack was begging the other man for. Please don't, Jack... please... don't do this to me. You promised.

Ianto touched the gold band around his left hand's third finger and tried to think of something other than the fact that his partner was asking another man for something he usually asked Ianto for. For something that should only be Ianto's to give.

A rustle and a gasp; Ianto clenched his fists as he heard the unmistakeable sound of them kissing. It isn't really Jack, he reminded himself, he isn't in his right mind.

Ianto wanted to stop listening, to make it all go away. But he could still hear them kissing. What did I do to deserve this?

"Which felt more real?" his doppelganger demanded fiercely, his accent ragged and breathless. "My kiss or his kiss?"

Ianto held his breath. He couldn't believe that they couldn't hear his heart thumping erratically in his chest. For one of the first times in his life, Ianto prayed to a God that he didn't believe in. Make this all go away, God. Please – I'll do anything. Just make it not real.

"I... I don't know," Jack said finally, quietly.

Silence from the other Ianto. "Thanks," he then said, sounding hurt. "Really good for my ego."

Jack chuckled. "Oh, don't underestimate your kissing ability," he said. "Just... he is you."

"He's got green eyes," Ianto said. "And I bet there are numerous other differences. Aliens hardly ever get it right."

"You said it," Jack said. "He doesn't like coffee, either."

"Travesty!" blue-eyed Ianto gasped in mock-horror. "Not liking coffee?"

Jack laughed. Ianto felt as if his heart was being clutched in a cold iron gauntlet and gradually being squeezed tighter and tighter... that laugh was the one that Jack reserved for him, the one that only he got to hear when he'd done something funny or 'cute'.

And now this impersonator had it. Had Jack.

Ianto bit his lip, fighting to keep back tears that were threatening to blind him. Just think of good stuff, he reminded himself. Like when the two of you went for a walk on the beach at sunset, and Jack told you the stories of the stars in the dark skies above. And then he made up the ones he didn't know, featuring the two of you saving the world numerous times.

"There's nothing to worry about," Ianto's doppelganger said firmly. "Anyway, enough moping – we need to get a move on and get back."

Ianto nearly fell down the stairs in his desperation to follow them. I can't lose him. I gave up everything for him – I can't let him do this.

-T-

Three weeks. Three days. Three hours.

That's how long it's been since Ianto Jones and Jack Harkness went missing. Well, maybe she was making up the hours part – they had no way of knowing how long it had been exactly.

It felt like far longer; three months – three years, even. It felt like forever, in Gwen's opinion. It felt wrong. Everything was wrong; the Doctor was here, Jack and Ianto were gone, the case hadn't been solved... everything was just wrong.

But oh, how good it felt to be in Rhys' arms again. Like she was safe, and everything else would magically go away.

Like home.

"I got your message," he said. "Are you alright?"

She forced a smile, nodding; her throat had a lump in it too big for her to speak.

He kissed her on the forehead, holding her close. Gwen tucked her head under his chin and snuggled against him unashamedly, simply glad that he was there.

"You said a week," he chided. "I've been worried sick about you, out—" He cut himself off when he saw her face. "We'll find them, love. However long it takes, we'll find them."

She nodded. She had to believe that. If she didn't... if she didn't, she'd be like a boat without a sail, drifting loose on an open sea. "Yeah."

"In the meantime, however, I've cooked my special - Bolognese a la Rhys – for your homecoming," he said. His eyes were crinkled up, his face beaming. She almost felt guilty for being sad whilst he was so happy. "You need some TLC, I think."

"Yeah," she agreed again. "That sounds lovely." She bit her lip and looked away, at Tosh and Owen sitting side-by-side on a bench. "But I really have to help—"

"No."

"What?" Gwen jerked back, staring at him in surprise.

"I said no," Rhys repeated, gently grasping her chin and tipping her head to look at him. "You're exhausted and emotional – you need to come home with me and just unwind."

"But I—"

"Discussion's over," he said gently, letting her go with a brisk kiss on the lips.

Gwen looked over at her friends, the only two remaining members of her team, and smiled as she saw Owen carefully take Toshiko's hand. "You're right," she said, hooking her arm through her husband's. "Let's go home."

Darn, this was far shorter than I intended... the chapter just wanted to end there. :-/ But you've all assured me that you're fine with fluctuating chapter lengths, so I hope you don't mind...

When Splash is finished, would anybody be interested in a sequel about green-eyed Ianto and Jack's "life" in this other world? The plot-bunnies are just rather fond of green-eyed Ianto. :-P