Disclaimer:RTD and BBC (and all that it entails) owns them and all rights, if I owned them I would have fic writers doing the scripts, regardless of what RTD thinks (hmmm assassin!Ianto, Empath!Ianto, or vampire!Ianto or even all three as cannon, that'd be fun)
Resetting Reset
"We have to tell them Jack!"
"I know, but…"
Ianto sighed as the argument was getting old. Since the first week, a month and a half ago, Ianto had been trying to get Jack to tell the team about the change to his own mortality, but Jack had been resisting from the word go. Ianto understood, sort of. Jack had lived with being unable to stay dead for nearly a century and a half. He lived with people reacting badly when they found out; they wanted to experiment on him, be afraid of him, or just plain rejecting him.
On the other hand, however, the team needed to know. Ianto had lived on that side of the equation for nearly 9 months from when he was hired to when Owen shot Jack. For him, from the moment Jack had earned his loyalty and even his devotion, even divided as it was, he worried about his leader and lover, even was willing to protect him, give his life for Jack's. Jack had earned that devotion, that respect, and that loyalty from not just him but from Tosh and Owen as well. He did it just by being himself and he didn't realize just how much they would give for him, because no one had before.
"Jack," Ianto sighed, sitting next to his lover on the couch, "they need to be told, what if we're in a situation and they put themselves in danger for me. Nevermind the fact if they find out the way we did with you, they'll be hurt."
"I know! I know," Jack dropped his head to his hands, "I just don't want you to have to go through what I did."
"I know, I really do understand; but they won't react any differently than we did to you, if nothing else if we can tell them instead of demonstrating, they'll probably react better."
"You're right, I know, I just…" Jack shook his head, "You know everything. We'll tell them, but I have a UNIT guest coming tomorrow, how about we tell them after she leaves."
Ianto felt his eyebrow twitch, "And when were you going to tell me UNIT was coming?"
Jack had the grace to look embarrassed, "It's not an official visit, she's an old friend; we…we went to the end of the world together." Jack had shared a bit of his time with the Doctor and his Companion when he left, so Ianto knew who and what he was talking about.
"She joined UNIT?"
"I don't understand it either, when I left she was still with the Doctor," Jack shrugged. "Anyways, she'll be here sometime tomorrow, I'm afraid she wasn't more specific with the details."
"I'll keep an eye out for her, Martha Jones, right?"
Jack nodded, "Voice of a Nightingale."
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Later the next night, Ianto was preparing for bed with Jack at his side.
"So what do you think of Nightingale?" Jack asked, it was easy to tell he wanted his lover to like his friend, fellow Companion.
Ianto smiled, "I haven't had much of a chance to interact with her, since Owen wanted to show off and Gwen wanted to gossip; but from what I've seen I think I'll like her once we have the chance." Ianto smiled as Jack visibly relaxed and smiled.
"Oh what were they gossiping about?"
"Gwen's favorite subject…you. I believe the first time they were talking about your promiscuity and later I heard her ask if Martha had seen you revive from the dead." Ianto frowned, that was something he didn't like or appreciate about Gwen, her obsession with Jack and her fascination with his ability to revive from the dead. She seems to find Jack's ability to come back interesting and romantic. Ianto's heart just broke when he thought about it before, but now while he knew what was ahead wasn't going to be easy he took comfort that he'd never have to leave Jack like everyone else and Jack would do the same for him. Gwen just didn't seem to grasp the consequences of Jack not being able to die.
"Really?" Jack didn't look happy about that.
"Yes, but Martha looked uncomfortable and left." Jack sighed with relief that his friend and fellow companion had not been gossiping about that particular issue, his sex life he didn't care but his ability to come back that was different.
Jack smiled, "Maybe we should have dinner after we wrap up this case?"
"I'd love that," Ianto smiled back before kissing Jack goodnight.
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Martha was in the Pharm, waiting for the all clear to break into the office. Jack had retreated to his office for a few minutes, when Ianto brought him his coffee.
"Coffee, sir."
"Haven't we had several conversations about calling me sir."
"Yes, maybe because it turns you on is why I do it?" Ianto smiled back, "She'll be all right."
"I know she's faced far worse, but she's a fellow companion."
"Speaking of the Doctor's companions, I have a new report for you. It would seem Victoria(1) has become a grandmother."
"Waterfield?"
"Correct, sir."
"I'll have to remember to send her a card."
Jack smiled, for some time now he'd been locating and keeping in contact with what companions he could; after coming back from his last trip with the Doctor he'd had found more. Jack told Ianto that he had got more info while on the trip from the TARDIS.
Jack wanted to try and meet all of the ones he could,get their stories, and keep them alive as long as he could, being the Doctor's companion was an exclusive club and he felt they needed to stick together.
"By the way what's this I hear you want a UNIT cap?"
Jack smiled, "Someone's been sharing my secrets."
"More than one Martha asked me if we were together and how it was," Ianto smiled.
"Ohhhhhh….what did you say?"
"Just that we dabble and your innovative almost avant-garde," Ianto responded with a twinkle in his eye.
Suddenly the com came to life and Tosh's voice rang through, "Jack we'll be ready soon."
"We'll be right down."
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They had invaded the Pharm, destroyed the lab and the computer files, everything; they were about to load into the SUV when Professor Copley came back pointing a gun at them.
Ianto was standing a few paces behind Owen who was in front trying to reason with the man he had once admired. Ianto saw it a split second before Copley fired and started running towards Owen. He heard the gunfire as he knocked into Owen, pushing him down, and then pain exploded in his chest.
'Damn really should have told them' he thought.
He heard a second shot and he knew that meant Copley was dead. Then Owen was on him opening his shirt with Martha and Jack coming a split second later.
Jack took his hand as he gasped for air and in pain. "Hold on Ianto, please don't do this."
"I…to-ld…you," he gasped out.
Jack was crying, and he knew that then that part of the reason Jack didn't want to tell the others was he afraid it was a one off.
Ianto smiled weakly, "I…cho-se."
Jack nodded and gripped his hand as they loaded him into the SUV and sped to the HUB (2).
He could feel the darkness closing in, about the only thing he was aware of was Jack's hand in his; he vaguely knew he was being loaded into Autopsy, but he knew there was nothing Martha or Owen could do.
"Ja-ck." He gasped, he waited for Jack to squeeze his hand before continuing, "W-e…sho-uld…ha-ve…t-ol-d…th-em…It-'s…ti-me." He felt Jack squeeze his hand again and he knew Jack understood
And then darkness.
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Martha and Owen were rushing to save Ianto, but he understood what Ianto had told him.
"Stop." He said through tears.
"Jack we can still…"
"No he doesn't want that." He was crying. "And he's gone now anyways." God he prayed that he really would come back, he was finally happy. He didn't feel empty anymore. He didn't want to lose that, and damn it was selfish, but he didn't want to lose Ianto.
Martha and Owen had rushed to check Ianto, and with sad faces confirmed that there was nothing to be done. He distantly heard Gwen and Tosh above him start to sob, but all he could do was stare at Ianto.
"Jack I'm so…" Martha started.
"We were going to tell the team after all of this. He wanted to do it sooner, but I was scared."
"Tell us what Jack?" Tosh asked.
Before he could answer Ianto gasped back to life.
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Pain and screams.
That was going to take some getting used to, but at least Jack's fears didn't hold true.
He looked around to see everyone looking at him. He looked back at Jack, "THISis why I wanted to tell them sooner," he half glared at Jack, but Jack just looked so relieved he couldn't be too mad.
"I want to know what the BLOODY hell is going on NOW!" trust Owen to get to the point with his usual flare.
"Would you mind if I changed out of my bloody clothes beforewe start explaining?" It was going to be a long night.
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"I can't believe that she did all that for you, it's amazing," Martha was being a true blue Companion. She wasn't fazed by the fact his life was now linked to Jack's; no she was amazed at who had done it.
Dinner in his apartment, which reminded him he wanted to talk to Jack about moving in, had just begun and of course the excitement of the night before was the first topic.
"Me either, it was and still is unbelievable, I hope I see her soon so I can tell her thank you."
"Jack I wanted to ask, how do you move on? I mean he left you before and you've moved on, it's just…Bugger I'm not asking this right." Ianto wasn't really sure what she was asking either but Jack seemed to.
Jack leaned back in his chair and took on a serious expression.
"Ya know I've talked to quite a few of his former companions. Companions either die while with him, leave him, or he leaves them. Life after the Doctor is a very different to life before the Doctor, and accepting that life without the Doctor can be the hardest part, especially if weweren't ready to leave. Sometimes I think he leaves us so we don't leave him, or maybe it's because he doesn't know how to stay, because sometimes even if he doesn't physically leave he does emotionally. Especially now, after the Time War. It's hard to say, because he trusts us with everything and nothing at the same time. That his companions were special to him I have no doubt, but I'm not sure he knows how to deal with caring for beings with such short lives compared to his, so he runs. But in the end however our time with him ends and it's the same, he takes ordinary people and makes them extraordinary, makes us better."
"So how do we do it, life after? We take what we've learned from him, who we've becomebecause of him and try to apply it to where and when we are. We carry on, find purpose, find love," Jack smiled at Ianto, "and we live on always knowing that there's a Doctor shaped space inside us and sometimes we can fill that space with what he's given us."
Jack smile, "And we can help each other."
Ianto smiled, even if he had never been a Companion he understood what Jack said. He sometimes hated the Doctor for how he treated Jack, but he was also grateful, because the Doctor had help make the man that Jack was.
"Thank you," was Martha's response.
"The Doctor and the TARDIS are things that change your life, even mine and I wasn't a Companion. We should just be glad that it did I'd hate to imagine what Jack would have done if Bad Wolf hadn't intervined."
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1. This would be Victoria Waterfield companion of the Second Doctor, according to her Doctor Who wiki, she was alive as of 2008 and became a grandmother, the year is suspected but for this purpose it works well for me.
2. I'm not a doctor, but the way I'm figuring it the way the bullet hit Ianto, upper left chest, was fatal but took longer than the original shot that killed Owen, I'm figuring he mostly bleed out somewhat slowly.