AN: Chapter Two! Aren't you lucky? Love it? Hate it? Let us know! Please. Also, apologies for the length, I know it's not as long as the previous chapter but... Splitting it is difficult. Oh. And we had a realisation. To make things make more sense later on you might want to go and re-read Chapter 1. This is set about three years after certain events in "For Better or Worse".
Current mood: Terrified. House sitting and afraid I'm going to be murdered any second.
Chapter 2: Scaring Jack
Breakfast was finished, so Jack paid and they started out for the Plass and the Hub. Ianto had been strangely quiet most of the walk and the Captain had noticed. "Yan? Are you feeling alright?"
Ianto looked at Jack. "I'm okay." She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Are you okay?" She was thinking back to that morning, then a thought hit her. They'd not used protection.
"Yeah I'm great." Jack glanced at her side-long. "Are you sure you're alright? You've gone a bit pale. You're not sick are you?"
She shook her head. "No. Was just thinking about this morning. We didn't use..." She gestured as if he knew what the word would be. "And now that I'm a woman..." She let the sentence hang.
Jack went a bit pale himself. "I... I don't think you need to worry about that... I hope." He added under his breath. "And... even if something did... happen... then... I... you'll be a man again soon enough, so... It wouldn't have any affect... would it?"
Ianto heard the 'I hope' and felt her heart go a little cold. At some point she had hoped to be a father, at least when she was male again. Of course, being two guys she wasn't sure how it would work, but she'd wanted to at least discuss this with Jack, but after that comment... She sighed, surprised about how upset she was. "Maybe. Better ask Owen I guess."
Jack knew he'd made a misstep but couldn't figure out what it was. "I... yes... Owen would know." He reached out a hand, hoping to take Ianto's.
Ianto sighed and moved her hand away. "We better be getting back then." For some strange reason she was fighting back tears.
Jack stopped. "Yan..." He paused. How did he ask? "I... Yan, I'm sorry..." The fact that she'd actually pulled away from his touch had wounded him deeply.
Ianto bit her lip and turned to Jack, a tear escaping. Her head felt a little light headed too. "Jack... don't. Please?" She said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Suddenly she pitched forwards, collapsing to the concrete.
Jack reacted quickly enough and managed to catch the young woman before she hit the ground. "God Yan." Scared for his lover, he scooped the woman up in his arms and carried her into the Tourist Office. Luckily, they'd been almost there. Jack was glad she was lighter as a woman, it made carrying her easier. He hit the button to open the false wall and headed downstairs. Upon passing through the cog wheel door he started yelling for Owen.
Ianto was out cold. Owen came running over. Gwen had already told him that Ianto was now a woman. "Get her down in the med bay. What happened?"
"We were walking here and she just collapsed." Jack was panicking. Jack Harkness was actually panicking. He carried the young woman to where he was instructed and set her down gently on the table.
Owen nodded and drew some blood before checking her over and running a scan. Suddenly he swore and ran for a cupboard, rummaging through until he found what he was after, then drew some into a syringe and injected Ianto with it.
Jack tensed up. "What is it? What's wrong!" He almost shouted at the medic.
Injection done, Owen did a few more things and set up a drip. "His... her hormones were dangerously out of balance. What I just gave... Ianto was something to stabilise them, but he… she will need to take hormone pills to keep it steady until we can turn him… her... back."
"R-right... good..." Jack breathed a sigh of relief. It was something that could be managed.
Once Owen had done all he can he sighed. "You can stay with him/her, just call if something happens okay? She'll sleep for a while."
Jack nodded and picked up Ianto's hand, holding it between both of his. "My poor Ianto."
Ianto slept for a couple of hours before she woke with a small groan. She realised she was in the med bay again and that Jack was with her. "What happened?" She asked.
"You passed out. Owen said it was due to a... hormonal imbalance." Jack cupped her cheek tenderly. "Never scare me like that again."
She nuzzled into his hand. "I'll try not to." She felt a little ill and dizzy, and swallowed a couple of times.
Jack stroked her cheekbone softly with his thumb. "Good." He noticed her pale. "Yan?"
"I'm going to be sick." She moaned, swallowing thickly.
The Captain hurriedly grabbed a waste bin and helped the young woman sit up, shoving the bin under Ianto's chin.
Ianto sat up awkwardly and grabbed the bin, throwing up into it, tears running down her face from the force of her retching. When she stopped, she was white as a sheet, shaking and covered in a cold sweat.
Jack rubbed her back soothingly, holding her hair back as she hurled. "Easy Yan... shhh..." He ran a critical eye over her. "Do you feel up to moving? He asked her softly. She'd probably feel better with a warm shower.
She shook her head. She felt weak and shaky. "S-sorry." She gasped. Owen came over at the sound of voices and grimaced a little, but took the bucket. "That's the hormone medication. It's trying to rebalance your levels, so you'll feel ill for a while." Ianto groaned and lent against Jack.
Jack ran his fingers through her hair. "We'll get through this Yan, I promise."
She nodded tiredly. Owen looked at Jack. "Why don't you go take her to the showers, though she'll need help. Then she can sleep in your bolt hole."
Jack rolled his eyes at the term. Somehow the nickname had caught on and now nobody called it anything else. "Come on Yan." Jack's voice was cheerful as he carefully scooped the young woman up. "We'll get you a shower and then you can go back to sleep. Sound good?"
She nodded tiredly and leant against Jack as he scooped her up. Why did this always happen to her? Though a nice warm shower did sound good, as did some more sleep.
He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head as he headed in the direction of the showers. Cradling the young woman close to his chest, Jack carefully navigated the stairs down and finally reached the locker room. He gently set Ianto down on a bench as he quickly undressed the both of them before helping her upright and leading her into the closest shower. Jack set the temperature to warm and held her close, supporting her under the spray.
Ianto leant against Jack as he held her. She hated feeling like this, weak and pathetic. However the spray felt nice as was being in Jack's arms.
After a time, Jack switched the water off and somehow managed to get them both dry and dressed. "Come on Yan. Sleep."
Ianto nodded, but didn't need carrying this time as she felt better and steadier. She still held onto Jack as they walked back to the bolt hole though.
Jack still wrapped an arm about her waist, keeping her steady. "Here we are... can you manage the ladder?"
She nodded. "Should be able to." She waited for him to go first then followed him down.
Jack waited at the bottom, prepared to catch her if she slipped. "Nearly there..."
She got down okay, and turned to him smiling, feeling absurdly pleased with herself for it. She walked over and sank down on the bed. "You staying or working?" She asked softly. She still felt ill and wanted a cuddle.
The Captain took one look at her. "Staying." Arms snaked around her waist and pulled her back to lean against his broad chest.
She smiled and leaned back against him, sighing happily. "Hmm. I could get used to this." She tipped her head back and kissed his chin. She wondered if he had asked Owen about pregnancy.
Fingers wandered lightly over her stomach, just brushing over her clothes. "I thought you were?" He replied, in a joking tone.
She chuckled. "I meant in public." She shifted so she could see Jack's face better. "I know I'm not most romantic person out in public. I'm sorry."
Jack kissed her cheek softly. "I... It doesn't bother me." He stated blandly. It was an obvious lie.
She gave him a look. She wasn't fooled.
Jack looked at back at her with wide, innocent eyes. "What?"
She pulled out of his embrace and turned to look at him properly. "I know it does Jack." She said softly and apologetically.
The immortal man shrugged, dropping his gaze. "It's fine."
She scowled at him. "Jack, cut the crap. I'm not in the mood."
His head jerked up and he stared at her. That was so... typically Ianto. "It's..." He stopped, not even sure what he was going to say. "Oh I don't know."
She sighed, wiping tears from her eyes. Damn hormones. "Well I know it does bother you. And it's going to change."
Jack dropped a sweet kiss to the top of her head. "You don't have to." His voice was thick with barely supressed emotion.
She heard the emotion in his voice and it brought the tears back. "I will." She kissed him. She was still upset about Jack not wanting kids.
There was something else bothering her, Jack could tell. "Yan?" He questioned softly. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"That comment about kids." She sniffled.
"What comment about kids?" Jack couldn't remember anybody mentioning children before.
"W-we were wondering if I could get pregnant and you said "h-hope not"." She sobbed.
"Oh Yan..." Jack pulled her close, rocking her gently. "It wasn't like that... What if you got pregnant and then turned back into a man? Even if, the baby stayed with you, 21st century men aren't built to carry children. It could kill you." In Jack's eyes and voice was pure fear.
She cuddles close. "We never discussed children. This might be the only chance to have them."
"Not if it kills you." Jack was adamant. "If you... if we want children we can always adopt."
She looked up at him with a tear stained face. "We could. I just always imagined having a child of my own."
He pressed a kiss to each of her eyelids. "Oh Yan."
She sighed. "I always wanted children and guess I just gave up the idea when we started dating."
Jack's expression was tinged with a horrible, pained guilt. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
Ianto sighed and shook her head. "It's not your fault."
Jack's arms tightened around her. "Isn't it?" He asked, voice hoarse.
She shook her head. "Jack, I love you. If I didn't I wouldn't have agreed to marry you. As much as I want kids, if we can't, then we'll work something out." Plus he didn't want to put Jack through losing another child like he had Alice.
The immortal sighed and pressed his cheek to top of her head. "How did I get so lucky?" He wondered aloud, not really addressing the question to any particular person.
She smiled and cuddled close. "I'm the lucky one." She said softly, and started to doze off, tired from her emotions going all over the place.
Jack rubbed her back soothingly and lay them down, curling around her. "Get some sleep my beautiful Welshman... woman?" He grinned and kissed her cheek. "Sleep."
She snickered sleepily and cuddled closer. As she was smaller, she could curl a little closer, and fit under his chin before falling asleep.
Jack held her tightly and even managed to slip into a light doze himself.