For those who've been saying Jack's more open, I'm confirming that. I wanted to write a fic where Jack was more of a "normal" guy socially/emotionally. ---ish.
BTW, vacationing tomorrow. Will be on hiatus for at least two weeks.
Please don't leave!
Jack grumbled as he walked down the stairs to the main floor. "No, no no," he murmured. "That's impossible. She can't be- not like that. It's…"
"What?" Tosh asked, looking up from her screen.
"Owen!" Jack called. "Find anything?"
"No cause of death found," Owen reported, coming up from his autopsy bay. "Ran it through all the scans, did the autopsy, but… I just ran it through Tosh's residual energy scan."
"And?"
"Massive levels, but our scanners didn't even pick it up."
"It's like someone's using the rift to cover it up," Gwen said.
"Or they cover it up until they're out of harm's way," Ianto amended.
Jack simply ran his hand through his head. He reached into his pocket for his mobile and called the first number on his speed dial. The line on the other end rang four times before going dead. "Damn it!" Jack cursed, shoving the phone back into his pocket. "Every time!"
"Who did you call?" Toshiko asked.
"The Doctor."
"Why?" The team all had their suspicions. None of them made Jack look like a promise-keeper.
"That girl," Jack began. "Ianto just ran her photograph through the cross-reference face recognition program."
"And?" Gwen prompted.
"I've seen her before. Older, in the past. Well, past for my timeline."
"So you've seen her future self," Owen concluded. "That's not much of a big deal considering your time traveling ways." The medic took a sip from his leftover coffee.
"Yeah," Jack agreed. "But I saw her in the year 200, 000."
"You're sure?" Tosh asked with her eyebrows raised.
"Positive. I'd never forget that face."
"So why would one of sisters turn up dead the next morning?" Gwen inquired.
"I have no idea."
"Massive rift activity on the body?" Owen added.
"No clue."
"So basically…" Owen trailed off. "We have a cold case."
"Setting aside what can't be explained," Jack started. "What do we know?"
"Weevils with no rift activity," Ianto said.
"OK. What else?"
"Body," Owen chipped in.
"A girl from the 201st century," Gwen said.
"Which we don't even know if it really is her," Jack said, "But if it is…"
"Then she could be pulling things out of the rift. Using the energy for all these events," Tosh reasoned.
"Who is this Maria girl to you anyway?" Owen asked, crossing his arms.
"I knew her as the Controller, on the GameStation, with the Doctor. Back when I was mortal. She was basically this computer. Hooked up when she was five years old. Back then, we didn't know what was going on. We thought Rose was dead and the Doctor was ready to blow a hole in the satellite. The control center, Floor 500, that's where the Controller was.
"Usually, she controls the game hence the title, but she was being controlled by something else. They could hear us apparently, the Daleks. We got everything almost worked out and just needed to find exactly was out there. She starts spewing out this code and I'm at the controls typing for my life when she just disappears."
"How?" Gwen asked.
"Transmat. They took her. The Daleks took her."
"What happened to her?"
"Exterminated," Jack said. "Most likely."
"They just killed her?" Tosh deadpanned.
"Yeah." Jack glanced at his vortex manipulator which luckily doubled as a watch. "It's one already. Go out and get some lunch." No one moved. "Go on," he coaxed and retreated to his office, leaving his grey coat barely hanging
Jack's team was too shaken up the captain's story to even enjoy a nice time out for lunch. Gwen went home to Rhys and had a home lunch with him while Owen hit another bar which left Tosh alone since Ianto mysteriously "disappeared."
Ianto quietly made his way into the captain's office. Jack looked up and looked back down. "Jack…" the man said softly. He sat down on the immortal man's desk. Jack looked up again, this time his gaze lingering for a bit longer.
Jack made the first move as Ianto felt his throat constrict and cold lips crash into his. Ianto backed up against the glass wall as his boss, who was now also his lover, stood up. Both broke away to breathe before resuming the frenzy of kisses.
"What if they come back?" Ianto voiced his worry.
"Don't think about that," Jack urged as he pressed Ianto against the wall again.
They continued to kiss, breaking away only to take in air. Ianto could feel Jack getting less and less confident before the captain finally broke away and slumped against the desk. "I'm sorry…" he mumbled.
Ianto carefully sat down next to Jack. "Captain Jack Harkness apologizing for no reason?" he gasped sarcastically. "Never thought I would live to see the day. What are you apologizing for this time?"
Jack didn't reply and simply held Ianto to his chest. "All those people," Jack whispered into the Welshman's brown hair. "I could have saved them."
Ianto wrapped his arms around Jack's waist and breathed. This wasn't the first time that the man had been in this conversation. Ever since they came back from there, Jack had gone through periods of depression and low self-esteem. "You did Jack."
"But I could have saved them before!" Jack cried. "Before hell on earth! I had the power. Why didn't I?"
"They're alive now," Ianto pointed out.
"And all the others before! I could have helped them. Like the Controller…" Jack clutched Ianto even tighter. "I don't want to lose you," he whispered fearfully.
Ianto's heart skipped a beat. Was this the same Jack Harkness that had rejected him when he first asked for a job at Torchwood Three? Was this the same Jack Harkness that had killed his girlfriend? Was this the same Jack Harkness that had immediately felt the Welshman's pain and tried to console him? Was this the same man that survived an imaginary year of torture, scowling at this daily executioner?
No. It wasn't.
This was the man that Ianto Jones had fallen in love with, even after Lisa's death.
Ianto had opened up the very bottom of Jack's heart. Something no one had ever seen before. This captain clutching him wasn't the brave man with the cheeky smile. It was the human captain that was just like any other person in the world. Scared, wearing mask and playing life's game.
The archivist didn't protest when Jack fell asleep in his arms. Thirty minutes later, the team came back quietly. Tosh stopped first and motioned to the sleeping couple, deciding they should all turn back. The Japanese woman, along with Gwen, aided the drunken Owen Harper back through the cog door. The medic wobbled around and protested with slurred speech. He must have drunk a lot in order to feel that bad.
Oh look. Our favorite captain boy has depression, well sort of.
And just an FYI, no sex scenes between Jack and Ianto. As much as I love that pairing, I can't seem to do those without grimacing or cracking up. Sorry!
