Notes: After a 3-month hiatus, I am back. Read more in the notes at the end of this chapter.
Chapter Spoilers: 2.05 (Adam – slight/references) and Doctor Who 1.09, 1.10 (The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances - major spoilers with minimal changes)
This chapter is unbeta'd, any mistakes are my own. I do not own Torchwood or Doctor Who, all rights to BBC and RTD and the like.
Jack woke with a very nasty twinge in his back. It took him a while to gather his senses, but when he did, he realized he was on the Hub's couch, with this greatcoat wrapped around him like a blanket. He thought back on the day before.
I was supposed to be with Ianto, but there was a ministry of Drahvin. Owen took Tosh home after an accident, and then Gwen and I stayed here to work on reports. Jack noted that his memories got a little hazy at this point, but kept working through what he knew. There was a partly-gaseous incursion. Jack didn't think that sounded right, but red flagged this thought as something to talk with Toshiko about. That being seduced me, using Gwen, he finally remembered.
Jack scurried to the nearest trash bin and emptied his stomach. The mere thought of doing anything with Gwen made him feel nauseous, though he assumed there was also a touch of morning sickness. She's pregnant and engaged! Besides, I love Ianto! After he and his stomach calmed, he remembered more of the previous evening. The gas made her do it. We were both under the influence. And Ianto already knows. He's already forgiven me.
While Jack felt relieved at being forgiven, he wanted to make absolutely sure. 'Cause while Jack remembered that Ianto had persuaded him to spend the night at the Hub, and that it had nothing to do with Ianto being angry with him, Jack knew his Welshman would be hurting inside.
Jack logged into the nearest computer terminal - Tosh's - scanning to see if he was truly alone. He found two heat signatures in one of the lower cells turned spare bedroom for emergencies or overnight rift watches for his team. He opened the CCTV and found Tosh and Owen stirring awake. He headed straight to them to find out what they remembered.
Both Tosh and Owen's stories lined up with what Jack remembered. Not perfectly, but enough to not have them harboring any suspicions on the events from the previous night. After Jack told them about wanting to check on Ianto, both Tosh and Owen agreed to watch the Rift for the time being, but he and Ianto were to return by lunchtime, especially since two members were now off field duty. Before Jack left, while Tosh headed for the locker rooms for a shower and change, Owen reminded Jack once again that he needed to tell Ianto about their baby.
Jack safely hurried over to Ianto's so they could spend at much time together before having to return to the Hub. Also, Jack still wanted to make absolutely certain that Ianto wasn't holding any animosity towards him or Gwen, though mostly him, for the events that occurred in the Hub the night prior. On top of that, Jack needed to drop the bombshell of the two of them becoming fathers in a little over six months.
Jack knocked loudly, as usual, once he arrived outside Ianto's door, and waited impatiently for his Welshman to answer. As soon as Ianto opened the door, Jack attached himself to Ianto, wrapping his lover in his arms tightly, begging, "Please forgive, Ianto. I love you so much."
He felt Ianto's breath across the crook of his as the younger man laughed and rolled his eyes. "Jack, can you let me go just for a second so I can shut my door?" he asked kindheartedly.
Jack obliged and loosened his hold on the man, refusing to completely let him go. Ianto just rolled his eyes and laughed again at his lover's antics, though he understood that with all that was done to Jack's memories in the span of twenty-four hours, the man was bound to be out of character for a while.
After closing and locking the door, he turned around in Jack's arms. He took in the genuine worry in Jack's eyes and knew reassuring the immortal that despite all that occurred the night before, at least according to Jack and the team's memories, that he was truly forgiven. "Come on, you. Living room, now," Ianto ordered lightly, with a smile, placing a chaste kiss on Jack's lips before leading him into the living room and onto the sofa.
"Ianto, I'm s-" Jack began apologizing again, but stopped abruptly as Ianto pulled him close and kissed him to silence yet another apology.
Ianto used the kiss to project all his feelings of love and adoration onto his lover, and that nothing between them has changed. Once out of his shock, and after he received Ianto's message loud and clear, Jack returned the kiss with hunger and confidence.
Before they could get too hot and heavy, however, Ianto pulled back slightly, resting his forehead against Jack's while they let their breathing relax. "I love you, Jack. You have nothing to be sorry about," Ianto orally reassured. He knew the exact moment Jack knew he was "forgiven," but felt it necessary for the man to hear it, too.
"I love you, too, Ianto, so much." They kissed again, but softly and quickly. Jack pulled back further, though stayed in Ianto's arms. It's time to tell him, Harkness, he encouraged himself. "I have something I need to tell you, Ianto."
Ianto already knew what Jack needed to say and offered a small smile of encouragement. "You know you can tell me anything, Jack."
Jack returned the small smile, but wasn't able to hide the smidgen of doubt and worry still present that Ianto would end their relationship and bolt at his news. "You know how I've joked in the past about being pregnant; how I was never going to do it again and such?"
At Ianto's nod he continued, "Well, it looks like I am going to do it again. And I want to, truly want to, because... because it's yours. Ours."
Jack looked away shyly, very uncertain of Ianto's reaction and not wanting to see it if it were to be negative. He felt Ianto place his fingers under his chin and turn his head back towards him. Jack closed his eyes and took a quick, deep breath before opening his eyes to look at Ianto.
He was elated to see nothing but love and adoration still shining from the wonderful, blue eyes before him. A small smile began forming on Ianto's lips, which Jack couldn't help but return. Ianto leaned into to kiss the man with even more passion than before.
When they finally broke apart, Ianto put Jack's nerves at ease once and for all. "I love you, Jack Harkness, and I will love our child just as much."
The happiest of tears built up and fell from Jack's eyes. He pulled his Welshman into a fierce sideways hug, having still being seated on the sofa, and laughed with pure joy, which Ianto joined in.
After a few minutes and both having regained some composure, Ianto broke the silence that settled. "Now how about I make you and the baby some breakfast, and while I do that, you can tell me some stories like you were going to last night? And then afterwards we'll shower and head back to the Hub?"
"I'd love that," Jack readily agreed. After having emptied his stomach earlier, and the nerves having finally settled, he was beginning to get a bit hungry. They headed into the kitchen and Ianto set straight to making Jack his favorite breakfast; three pancakes with scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast.
"What would you like me to tell you this morning?" Jack asked.
Ianto thought back to what Jack had already told him, and knew just where to start. "How about you tell me more about your first adventure with Rose and the Doctor? I know you told me the basics already, but not much details." He answered, smiling encouragingly.
"Sure thing," Jack agreed. Any time he could remember Rose and the Doctor together made him happy, though not as happy as memories with the man before him.
"As I mentioned before, I was on the run from the Time Agency while also trying to con them into giving me back my two years of missing memories. I attempted this by using my knowledge of major events to set up various schemes. This time I used a Chula ambulance and had it display a mauve alert to attract any Agents. As you know, mauve is the universally recognized color for danger, so the plan was to sell the ambulance as a warhsip to whoever followed it. But where I had the ambulance land, was the exact location where a bomb was to impact. So once I got half the payment upfront, the bomb would impact, the ambulance would be destroyed, and I would be off on another con.
"While I waited for whoever followed, I was seeing a man named Algy. He was one of only three men I had repeat relations with before you. And considering the laws back then... But anyway, eventually I spotted Rose hanging by the rope of a loose barrage balloon. I remember telling Algy she had a nice bottom and that I needed to go meet this girl.
"I caught her using one of those beams you see in those sci-fi movies. We had a round of 'hellos' before she finally fainted from the adrenaline rush and the beam. I used my psychic paper on her, but she saw right through it. So we flirted a bit before I got down to business, 'cause she clearly knew more about time travel than she wanted me to believe."
Jack paused in his story as Ianto finished up the breakfast and displayed it nicely on a plate in front of him. He leaned over the counter and grabbed Ianto's neck, pulling him in for a kiss. "Thank you," he said as he pulled away to sit back in his chair and eat his breakfast. Ianto sat across from him with his much smaller portion and ate, listening attentively to Jack continue his tale while eating with gusto, as per usual.
"After a while, we finally met up with the Doctor. He knew I was an Agent right away. He hated me right off the back because of it, though I think he was also just jealous that I had caught Rose's attention, which diverted some of it away from him and onto me.
"The Doctor was also unimpressed that the Chula ambulance I used to lure them to me happened to injure a small child. That wasn't supposed to happen so we went to investigate Albion Hospital since the ambulance was laid just down from it, and it was where the child was taken.
"To make this rather long story short, it turned out that the ambulance, which I thought to be empty, wasn't. It had nanogenes in them. Do you know about nanogenes?" He asked, to make sure Ianto was still listening, and to make him feel included.
"Yep. They heal wounds based on a being's DNA and genetic makeup, and in extreme cases can completely rewrite DNA."
Jack smiled. "My genius," he said affectionately before continuing his tale. "This was an extreme case. When the ambulance landed, it opened and the nanogenes escaped. Since the ambulance landed on the child, whose name was Jamie, and he was almost dead, the nanogenes went to work to heal him.
"And they did. But when the nanogenes encountered other humans, it thought they were all injured because the only source for humans they had was Jamie. Jamie was wearing a gas mask, had a cut on his hand, and just wanted to know where his mummy was. People started getting infected by Jamie and if left alone, all human DNA was going to be rewritten. 'Human DNA is being rewritten by an idiot' is what the Doctor said at the time.
"It hurt, but I couldn't blame him. If I hadn't been concerned only for myself, I would have noticed everything that was happening and could have found a way to fix it. So I tried to make it up to the Doctor when he did eventually fix everyone. The Doctor had lured Jamie, and everyone that became effected and in turn became the boy's puppets, near the crash site so he could fix them. He did, but with everyone so close, it was dangerous for the bomb to still impact. The Chula ship started its own countdown to explosion, which would handle that part of history well enough.
"So I used my stolen Chula ship and its bean to trap the bomb in stasis to transport into the galaxy, far away from Earth so not to harm anyone. I knew I was supposed to die. But Rose, my sweet Rose, persuaded the Doctor to save me. And the rest is history, and stories for another time." Jack ended his story and awaited Ianto's reaction.
Ianto just smiled brightly and laughed. "Only you could cause a disaster, help end it, and then sacrifice yourself, or at least attempt to. And that you were going to do the latter while you were still mortal just makes me love you even more." He leaned over the counter and left a chaste kiss on Jack's lips.
"You're amazing, you know that?" Jack stated simply as Ianto pulled away and began cleaning up their plates.
"Not as amazing as you," Ianto countered. "And yes, I'm being sappy, because it's true."
Jack just smiled and went to follow Ianto, wrapping his arms around the younger man's waste as he washed the dishes.
He placed a kiss on the back of Ianto's neck, earning him a moan in delight.
"Not now, Jack. The sooner I get these washed, the more time we'll have for that in the shower before we have to head back in the Hub," Ianto pointed out.
Jack wasn't one to argue. He kept his arms around Ianto's waste as he finished cleaning, and then awkwardly waddled behind the man while in the same embrace as they headed into the bathroom for their shower.
Notes: As I mentioned, I'm back. I'm going to try my hardest to update this at least every two weeks. However, I am having troubles with the computer that has all of my writing on it. Not to mention I own and run my own Etsy shop (crochetpowerplay) which I need to make and send out orders for, while designing new items. Along with every day life, let's just say I get busy. But I do have the rest of this story outlined, it's just getting pieces written/reviewed and/or getting them transfered from one computer to another.