Chapter Three

Decision

Hello again! Nice to see you, I'm glad you could make it. Thanks to everyone who's reading this story.

Disclaimer: Owning nothing.

Ianto's computer beeped wildly in time with regular vertical lines flashing onto his graph, identical to the first one. The Doctor skidded to halt in front of it, glasses already in place.

"There's millions!" he said, voice climbing in pitch. "Whatever they are, millions and millions are coming through! What the-"

"Jack!" Gwen had run up beside them. "I think you ought to see this."

They followed her back to her own station, where a nation-wide BBC broadcast was playing. Harold Saxon, the Prime Minister himself, a slack-jawed, glassy-eyed man who always spoke in a monotone, was saying dully, "Ladies and gentle men of the United Kingdom, do not fear these new arrivals." There was an inserted clip of a floating black sphere about a foot in diameter, sporting a complicated pattern of complicated straight lines all across its surface.

"They are the Toclafane, and have assured us that they wish only to serve us. Yes, they are what we would call aliens. Their home planet was destroyed, and they now seek shelter, and masters to serve. Please welcome them with open hearts so that our two races may live in peace and harmony." The broadcast ended, and the screen filled with static.

"They're everywhere!" said Tosh, typing away at the next computer, on which was visible and map, and several news broadcasts, all showing the same black spheres. "America, France, China, Africa. All over the planet."

"I don't believe this!" said Martha in horror.

"The public will never go for it," Owen agreed, for he had arrived halfway through the broadcast. "Saxon's bonkers if he thinks people will just accept alien invaders."

"But they're not invaders," piped up Ianto. "Saxon said they only wanted to serve us." As one, Torchwood plus the Doctor and Martha gave him a uniform pitying look.

"Ever seen The Twilight Zone?" Owen muttered under his breath.

"We should check upstairs." To unanimous vocal consent, everyone trooped back through the rolling door, up the stairs, and out into the courtyard above, at which point an unbelievable sight met their eyes. The black spheres, the Toclafane, were flying about every which way. They floated alongside pedestrians, bearing purses and shopping bags. They bobbed behind cars. They even saw one holding the leash of a dog, with no owner in sight.

"What the…" said Jack.

"No way," said Owen.

The Doctor gaped at the scene before them, squinted down at his watch, then back up at the courtyard. "This can't be right. This never happened. I mean literally never happened. I've seen all of time and space, but I've never seen this." Without warning, he ran off across the courtyard to where the blue police box was still parked, with Martha hot on his heels. He flung open the door and raced inside, reaching the console just as Torchwood caught up and jostled through the narrow doors.

"It's…" Tosh muttered, staring around in awe.

"Bigger on the inside," Jack finished for her. "What's up, Doc?"

"I just…need to check something." The Doctor flipped a lever and the room was immediately filled with an earsplitting shriek. Quickly he pushed the lever back down, and the shrieking ceased.

"What the bloody hell was that!" demanded Owen, lowering his hands from his ears. Ianto was staring around, as though in a daze, and blinking rapidly. He didn't seem to have noticed the noise.

"Doctor?" said Martha.

The Doctor ran a gentle hand over the TARDIS' control panel. "I'm sorry, girl. I really don't know what to do. I'm sorry."

"What is it?" asked Jack.

"There's a paradox," the Doctor explained. "She's holding a paradox in place, which is impairing all her other functions."

"Can't you fix it?" asked Martha.

The Doctor shook his head and blew a stream of air out his lips. "Not without another Time Lord. Looks like we're stuck here. I'm sorry."

"Doctor," said Martha, widening her eyes meaningfully. Comprehension dawned on his face, and he looked between Ianto and the computer screen, mouth hanging open like a fish out of water.

Finally, he closed it and said, "Perhaps we'd better go back to the Hub."

"Doctor!" cried Jack, chasing after him, for the Doctor was walking briskly away again. "Doctor, that's your apology face, what's going on?"

The Doctor said nothing the entire way back to the Hub. When they were all back downstairs, the Doctor said solemnly, "Ianto, we need to speak with you. Alone."

Bewildered, Ianto followed the Doctor and Martha into Jack's office. The Doctor shut the door and turned to face him. "Ianto, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

The bulk of it was explained in five minutes, with occasional interjections from Martha. Ianto listened mutely, the furrow in his brow growing deeper and deeper. With every word the Doctor said, the situation seemed to grow worse. Martha's stomach twisted with horrible guilt. Ianto wore the same face that John Smith had worn. It wasn't fear. It was acceptance. Already, he understood that he was the one who needed to step aside, he was the one who needed to die. He was not the victim here.

"So," he said In a trembling voice when the Doctor had finished, holding the watch in his hand, "What you're saying is…I'm not real."

"Of course you're real," said Martha. She squeezed his shoulder and he looked up at her. "You're a person. You feel, you love. Don't you?" He nodded. "Then you're a real person."

"Nevertheless," said the Doctor, gently as he could, "most of you is a made up character, created by the Time Lord whose body you're in. Ianto, if there was any other way…" he trailed off. "A paradox has taken hold. I need the help of another Time Lord."

There was a quiet knock at the door. Jack was standing outside, looking extremely worried. The Doctor opened the door and let him in. He turned to Ianto. "I'll let you two talk."

"What's going on?" they heard Jack ask as the Doctor closed the door.

oOo

The moment the Doctor and Martha returned to the main floor of the Hub, they were bombarded with questions by Tosh, Owen, and Gwen.

"What's happening?"

"What's wrong with Ianto?"

"Sorry, but, who the hell are you?" That last from Owen.

"I'm the Doctor," said the Doctor. "We've been introduced. And as for Ianto…" the Doctor took a deep breath, "He's a Time Lord." Which brought on another flurry of outraged questions.

"Doctor!" said Martha sharply. "What he means is-" three pairs of eyes fixated on her "-there's this ancient race called the Time Lords. The Doctor's the last of them, as far as we knew. But Time Lords have this trick where they turn themselves human, and keep their true selves inside a special fob watch. And Ianto has one of those watches."

"So, Ianto Jones," said Gwen, "is a Time Lord."

"Yes," the Doctor said simply.

oOo

"I won't let you do this!"

"Jack," said Ianto evenly, his round face devoid of emotion, "I'm a grown-up, I can make my own decisions."

"So you're gonna decide to kill yourself, great," said Jack sarcastically. "Never pegged you for the suicidal type."

"Stop," said Ianto. His voice was soft, and he wouldn't meet Jack's eyes. "I'm doing this. You don't need to make it any harder." He held the watch flat in his palm and pressed his thumb to the clasp.

"No!" Jack grabbed his hand. His callused skin was warm against Ianto's, and Ianto felt his heartbeat quicken.

"Jack, the Doctor needs my help."

"The Doctor's been in way worse fixes than this, and we don't even know what the Toclafane want. They could be harmless, maybe they're really just here to serve." Jack's voice cracked, and the desperation began to bleed through. Desperation because he'd lost so many people he couldn't help, in situations over which he'd had not control. He wasn't letting Ianto die on his watch.

Ianto raised his eyebrows, but kept his gaze fixed on the floor. "Do you really believe that?"

"The Doctor's been fine on his own for hundreds of years!" shouted Jack. "Why should he need you now?"

"I don't know." Ianto extracted his hand from Jack's. "But I guess we'll find out, won't we. Come on, Jack." A single tear dripped down his cheek. "You were always going to watch me die someday. Why not do it for my planet?"

"Please, let's just talk about this," Jack begged, grabbing Ianto's hand once more, this time in both of his own. He held them firm, but his hands were trembling.

"I'm not real," said Ianto. "And I've had long enough. This Time Lord deserves his body back." He gave a watery smile, raised his eyes to Jack. "He'll be smarter than me, I suppose."

Jack returned the smile. "No such person." He reached behind Ianto's head and pulled him into a long, slow kiss. They stood that way for several seconds, holding each other, until finally, Ianto pulled away.

"I love you," he said.

"I know."

Ianto clicked the button and the watch flipped open. Out came a flood of bright glowing light which swirled all around Ianto, blinding Jack. He flung his arm up over his face and squeezed his eyes shut. For what seemed like an eternity, the office was filled with the fiery light, accompanied by what sounded like maniacal laughter. The light dimmed at last, and Ianto was still standing there, exactly the same. He looked down at himself, blinking rapidly.

"Ianto?" said Jack, taking a tentative step forward.

Ianto met his yes, confused and afraid. And then, faster than Jack could follow, his hand whipped down to his holster, and he fired three shots into Jack's forehead.

Sorry if I totally fudged up the Janto scene. I'm rubbish at writing romance. All reviews appersheated. Eat your waiters and don't forget to tip your vegetables.

Okay, I'm only going to say this once. This is not an apology, and you won't catch me apologizing for the road down which I will send them all. I have been told multiple times that I am evil. That's kind of the point of this story. You will no doubt hate me at some point, and flames are fine if you want to get your anger out. All I ask is that you keep reading, because pain makes absolution all the sweeter.