Nocnitsa'
Nocnitsa is a demonic daemon who lives in the shadows. While you sleep it sits on your chest and draws energy from you as it feeds on the darkness that inhabits your soul.
With supreme effort Jack forced opened his eyes and saw it was dark. He was not sure how long it had been since he had been put into bed but he reasoned it must have been some hours. He felt himself sinking back into sleep when he heard a knock on the door. It opened and he saw Owen standing there with a stethoscope around his neck and carrying a doctor's bag.
"You're awake," he said stating the obvious.
"When..?" Jack started to say.
"About two hours ago," Owen replied anticipating the question. "I gave you a once over and left you to sleep," he added moving over the bed to check Jack's vitals. Turning so he lay on his back Jack noted with some relief that despite the effort he now had some voluntary movement.
"Doctor Singh picked us up and filled me in. Us being me and Tosh," he added. Jack heard movement and turned his head to see Ianto hovering just inside the door looking extremely anxious, moving from one foot to the other.
"There's a young man who needs to see ya," Owen indicated. Jack nodded and Owen waved him forward.
Owen moved aside and Ianto threw himself on the bed, wrapping his arms around Jack and hugged him as hard as he could then burst into tears.
"It's okay, I'm okay," Jack soothed as he kissed the top of his head. Ianto lay next to Jack, his heard buried in Jack's armpit.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to give you a scare," Jack told him taking his hand and kissing it.
"I was very scared," Ianto told him after taking a deep breath. "I didn't know what to do…"
Owen interrupted, "Ianto you did brilliant. You managed to get Jack help. Doctor Singh and Mac, Tosh and me; we're all here because you called the right person."
"Yes I am very proud of you," Jack told him. Ianto brightened a little and his sobs eased.
"And they wouldn't let me come and see you and I kept telling them you would be lonely and I could kiss you better," Ianto said. "So I left Myfanwy to keep you company."
Jack now realised he knew what the lump next to him was. "She did a great job," Jack commented.
"Have you eaten?" he asked Ianto as he kissed his hand again.
"Yes; Moira brought a huge pizza. It was delicious," Ianto told him, brightening, "and Maureen from the café brought a big chocolate cake that was yummy too."
"Do you need anything right now? Are you in any pain?" Owen asked.
"No pain but I need a pee," Jack said. Ianto took Myfanwy and placed her safely aside and then pulled back the covers.
"I'll do that," Owen offered. Ianto glanced at him as Owen moved forward.
"I help with hose control," Ianto stated clearly as he went across and opened their bathroom door. Owen stood back, amused at his statement. He returned and found Owen was helping Jack to sit up. Moving him aside Ianto lent forward. Jack hooked his arms around Ianto's neck and with Owen pushing from behind they got him to his feet. His knees buckled and he almost fell back onto the bed but Ianto put his arms around his chest, preventing his fall.
Standing, his arms around Owen and Ianto's shoulders, they made their way across the room. Reaching it Ianto made it very clear that Owen was to come no further. The door closed and Ianto proceeded to undress him enough so he could use the toilet. They both agreed it would be better if he didn't sit otherwise he might not make it up again.
Ianto held Jack from behind to steady him, and Jack took a much needed piss. Still very wobbly his knees gave out for a second time but found Ianto had a good hold on him and he remained standing.
Opening the door they found Owen waiting and he took his place by Jack's side. Reaching the edge of the bed Jack flopped down. Ianto picked up his legs and swung him around. Jack shuffled back down and let out a huge sigh of relief as he got comfortable. A few swift moves and Ianto had covered him up and straighten the pillow under his head. Taking a quick look around as if to check everything he took Myfanwy and tucked her into bed next to him.
"Do you need anything else?" Owen offered and Jack shook his head.
"Only Ianto," he added. He smiled and saw Ianto was standing looking anxious again and realised Ianto needed direction.
"Ianto you get ready for bed and we can go to sleep," Jack told him. Ianto now kissed Jack on his cheek, went over to the dresser, pulled out some pyjamas, and then headed for the shower.
"Any clues to what's wrong?" Jack asked as he heard the shower turn on.
"Tell me what happened?"
"Well I was in the garden. I felt dizzy, and then I went into this cold sweat, pain in left arm, then chest. After that I don't recall anything until I came around on the kitchen floor."
"How bad was the pain on a scale from one to ten?"
"The pain in my arm was not so bad; more achy than anything. But a few moments later I felt like I had been punched in the chest," he grimaced in recollection.
"Without being able to confirm it sounds like you had a heart attack, a massive one. It killed you," Owen said.
Jack looked at him in shock. "What!" he burst out.
"You revived on the floor. Ianto can now do the most brilliant imitation of your back-to-life gasp."
"Oh god no," he struggled to say as he grappled with the implications.
"Ianto has no idea you actually died. He thinks you were so tired you fell asleep walking." He saw Jack go limp with relief.
"How long?" Jack croaked out.
"At least an hour. As you know the bigger the hit the longer it takes you to revive. So when I say massive I mean monumental."
They both heard the shower stop and looked in the direction of the bathroom door.
"Jack, right now I want you to rest. We can deal with anything more complicated tomorrow. Is there anything I should know?"
"I'm so goddam tired Owen, so I'm not going to argue about resting. As for Ianto, don't let him find the maple syrup, he has no self-control and if he finds it he will drink the lot. Other than that just allow him to do his routine," he said as Ianto now appeared wearing pyjamas and white tee shirt.
"We'll talk more tomorrow. I'm settling down on the sofa and Tosh is in the spare room," he told him.
"I helped Tosh make up the bed in the spare room and found a pillow and sleeping bag for Owen and we had loads of dinner and I locked up like you showed me. Tosh helped," Ianto told Jack.
"I'll talk to you tomorrow," Owen repeated as he now left.
Turning off the main light Ianto snuggled into bed, placed his arms around Jack, then burst into tears again. Several moments passed as the events of the day overwhelmed him. Jack just held him knowing he needed this release. He knew once he had calmed he would start to tell him what had happened so he prepared himself as best he could.
"I'm so scared. I didn't know what to do, you were all grey, I rang this lady and she kept saying words I didn't understand. The phone kept making funny noises. I couldn't wake you up. I tried get you into bed but you was so heavy," he took a breath. "When I was sitting on the floor my bum got all cold and you was so cold your lips were blue. I went to see if Mr Morgan was in the field on his tractor, and the nasty lady kept telling me I had to bring you tomorrow. I couldn't find the right words, you were so heavy I couldn't think about how I could bring you tomorrow, then I called Mac and he asked me all these question and he brought Doctor Singh."
"You did so well Ianto. Calling Mac was the right thing to do."
"He came running up the path. I have never seen him run. The ambulance came and its lights were all flashing. Then Doctor Singh had big words on the telephone. After she slammed the phone down and just glared out the door for a bit. Then the ambulance people and Mac got you into bed." He took a breath and continued.
"He wouldn't let me come up I told him we never sleep apart and I could kiss you all better. And if you was asleep you would really need me. So I brought up Myfanwy. I checked you over just like Doctor Singh told Mac. I checked you because she said if you got worse she was going to call the big helicopter and it would take you away and Doctor Harper be damned." He slowed as Jack pulled him closer. "I tried to be brave but I did get extra scared when I heard the helicopter and I thought it had come for you. Later Tosh told me it was her and Owen coming. So then I was happy when they came because you wouldn't be taken away."
"Ianto you were very brave. I think you handled this brilliantly." He felt Ianto go still.
"I was very scared you might leave like the man in grey in the magic blue box and I might lose you and if you got taken away in the big helicopter I might never find you," he whispered.
Jack lifted his chin. "Even if I had gone in the rescue helicopter, Mac, Doctor Singh, Morag, Mr Morgan, would all know where I was and they would have taken you and followed." Ianto looked unsure. "And I promise I will never disappear like the man in grey. I will be here as long as you need me," Jack said his heart aching as a wave of fatigue hit him.
"I will always need you," Ianto told him as Jack yawned. "You are very tired. You need lots and lots of rest. I think Ianto has talked too much and made you extra tired."
"Never," Jack added as he felt Ianto become more relaxed. "You talk all you need when you need to."
"I will, but I sometimes I worry I talk too much. Once I start I just can't seem to stop, it all comes tumbling out in one go," Ianto replied.
"Ianto, I never want you to be silent again, ever," Jack reiterated. "I love it when you talk. This is our home; you can talk as much as you like. I hope you never stop talking, you just had a lot to get out." Jack held him closer.
"I did it was a very big scary day," Ianto responded quietly.
"I agree; a very long scary day and we both need a good sleep," Jack instructed as Ianto moved close.
"I am very tried," Ianto agreed, as he felt Jack begin to snore gently and he too closed his eyes.
Owen laid on the sofa, his hands behind his head as he went over the events of the day. By all accounts Jack had had a heart attack, one massive enough to kill him. He pondered the puzzle; from his examination any heart problem had resolved itself.
After picking them up Veronica had handed over Jack's medical files. He would have another look at them tomorrow but he was sure he would find nothing physical...or was there? In the past when Jack had been killed he revived and reset. Jack had told him it was like pressing the factory setting on an appliance, returning to its original configuration. He had seen it with his own eyes. Yet today Jack had revived so weak he could hardly move, which was an improvement from what Veronica had observed; she had found Jack so debilitated he couldn't lift a finger. Veronica had told him with some amusement how he had argued about all the fuss and there was nothing the matter and she had challenged him to get up and prove them all wrong.
After several moments of clear effort it was obvious Jack was not capable of lifting an arm let alone getting himself off the floor. And what gave a healthy man a heart attack in the first place? Jack had none of the typical antecedents: he was a non-smoker, not a heavy drinker, his diet was okay, plenty of exercise...or was there some alien pathogen raging though Jack's body? He felt chilled. What sort of germ could handle the kind of energy to survive one of Jack regenerations? It didn't bear thinking about.
He pulled the sleeping bag up around his chin, turned over and stretched out. This had been one long day. He had taken Veronica's call and Tosh had immediately thrown 'Operation Harkness' into high gear. Owen had handed over control to Gwen for the duration and then he and Tosh had made their way to the airport. They had completed several practice runs and they had arrived as expected in under an hour considering the afternoon traffic. Waiting at Cardiff airport was a small commercial plane fired up and ready to go. Hired for just this eventuality it had been on standby for several weeks. It had cost a small fortune but Owen didn't care, he had fiddled the budget with Tosh's help and no one would be the wiser.
After reaching Aberdeen they had re-fuelled then taken a short hop to the nearest air strip closest to the Island. They completed the final leg from the mainland to the Island by helicopter.
Veronica had picked them up, and had arrived here at 'Rose Cottage' along with two locals with dinner. Ianto was only just holding himself together and kept asking to see Jack. They had gone up together and found him deeply asleep. A noise caught his attention; a desperate cry but it was gone so quick he put it down to creaks in a strange house.
He went back to his thoughts. Jack had been sleeping so soundly in fact he only just stirred as Owen had examined him and checked his blood pressure. The only problem he had was not with Jack but with Ianto. When he tried to get him to leave he refused, saying Jack needed him and how important it was he stay. Jack would be lonely and that he had to stay and kiss him better. After a whispered argument Ianto had finally agreed to let Jack sleep a little longer on his own but was clearly unhappy at not being able to remain.
God knew what Ianto thought he could do. He did wish a kiss would make this better. A hug and a kiss would be bloody nice, if only it was that simple. Tomorrow he would set up some blood tests just to eliminate anything … he stopped as he heard another cry. He let out a deep breath; it was most likely a fox. Were there foxes here? Bloody hell; it sounded horrible. Must be some strange fox sounding like that. Did the Island have some kind of variation…he heard it again and he sat up; no, this was inside the house. It was a scream followed by a shout and it was coming from upstairs.
He stood up and stepped out of the sleeping bag, grabbed his doctor's bag and raced up the stairs two at a time. At the top of the stairs he was joined by Tosh when another cry rang out and together they opened the door to Jack and Ianto's room and turned on the light.
Jack was in the throes of a nightmare and screaming out a series of pleas as Ianto attempted to calm him down. He was waving his arms around as if he was fending off blows followed by what looked like a pleading motion.
"Master, not Ianto; take me." Ianto now managed to gain hold of his wrists, restraining him.
"I'm here I'm here I'm safe," Ianto told him. Jack threw his arms around Ianto, holding him close.
Owen, not sure if he should intervene, decided to observe as Ianto appeared to know what he was doing. He watched as Ianto put his arms around him in a protective embrace and began to speak to him gently; telling him he was safe from the bad man, that he was here and the bad man couldn't hurt him anymore and kissed his face. It was a mantra and after what seemed an age Jack's agitation faded and he held onto Ianto like he was never going to let him go.
"Ianto please forgive me, forgive me, please forgive me," Jack begged as Ianto kissed him and rocked him telling him he loved him and that he was forgiven.
Owen glanced over to Tosh who was wiping a tear from her face. Ianto looked up at them.
"Jack gets terrible bad dreams," he said holding Jack close, as his agitation faded.
"Does this happen every night?" Owen asked quietly.
Ianto nodded.
"Bloody hell," Owen said under his breath. Tosh looked at him her hand over her mouth.
"He gets bad dreams and I hold him and kiss him better," Ianto said as Owen now realised why Ianto was so insistent he be with Jack. Ianto had found a way to help Jack through the trauma of his nightmares. It worked as Jack now fell back into a deeper sleep.
Turning to leave he saw Ianto straighten out the bedding and settle back down as Jack held on to him in a way that was so familiar. Returning downstairs he got back into his sleeping bag going over what he had just observed. Just as he settled it came to him where he had seen the same embrace. It was the one Jack had comforted Ianto with at the institute three years before. Jack had told him the staff had termed it 'the position'. Now reversed it was Jack with his face buried in Ianto's shoulder their arms locked around each other. He took a breath. Well one thing for sure next time Ianto tried to tell him something important and that he could help Jack he was bloody well going to listen.