Author's Notes: Well, apparently it was angst time. Again. Also, the next chapter will be in over a week before I'll be out of town with my parents, but I'll write all the chapters there to make up for it. I have one more fic I want to write and post tomorrow and it'll be the last one, so I won't have the time.

As always, I'd love to hear what you think of this and any feedback is appreciated.

Colour: Blue

Prompts: 'blue eyes crying in the rain' and 'forget-me-nots'

It had started drizzling at first and neither the Doctor nor Ianto had thought anything of it – and now, looking at it from his current point of view, Ianto wished that they had.

They'd got a call – hours ago – into the TARDIS from some old friend of the Doctor's who needed help. It had all turned out to be pretty much harmless or, well, as harmless as a Hoix could be, but the house was in the middle of nowhere, which they hadn't taken into account when parking the TARDIS.

Ianto had to admit that it was a beautiful place. Earth, the twenty-first century, too, which they hadn't visited in a while, the United States and specifically some area that had nothing but farms in it, so when the rain suddenly intensified to downright pouring, the only shelter they had was a sunshade near another house, this time accompanied by a cattle shed. It was deserted, though, so Ianto supposed that the shepherd was outside.

It wasn't all that bad – they'd been much worse situations before – and yet Ianto had a feeling that they'd have to be around for quite some time.

o.O.o

The silence that had reigned upon them in the last several minutes was starting to get unnerving, especially if the Doctor took Ianto's pensive look into account. His companion tended to overthink everything and, if he was left on his own for too long, overthinking didn't bring anything good.

"It's just a storm," he said, mostly just for the sake of speaking. "It'll pass and we'll be able to get back to the TARDIS."

There wasn't really a reaction but, after a minute or two, Ianto murmured, "It's all so blue."

"Sorry?" The Doctor was genuinely confused, but not really surprised by the change of topic.

"Everything," Ianto continued. He was still staring in the distance, but there was something about his voice that made the Doctor look at him properly. "The sky, those flowers, even the rain. Everything is blue. Back at home, it was red. I just miss is sometimes." Suddenly, he looked up. "Do you remember it?"

"Ianto–"

"The mountains, the suns, and the grass – everything was red. Even my mum's hair." Ianto smiled fondly at something only he could see "She said that was what drew her attention to dad first – his eyes were the only blue thing in her world."

The Doctor's breath caught in his throat. The picture Ianto was painting was too real, too close to home – both literally and figuratively – and he wasn't sure if he wanted him to stop talking or keep going forever. He had never wanted something that caused him so much pain with such intensity.

"What was your mother's name?" He asked softly. Ianto threw him a surprised glance. He had apparently thought that the Doctor wouldn't want to talk about it but in truth, it was rather refreshing to have someone like that with him. Someone who knew, not just from stories and legends, but because he had been there; because he had seen it all when he was growing up.

"Zenis," Ianto said at last. "Why?"

"Was her father, by any chance, the Shaman?"

Ianto nodded. "Did you know him?" The melancholy had left his eyes and now they were the usual bright blue, even bluer now when reflecting the forget-me-nots in the field in front of them.

"I did," he said at last. "I've met your mother when she was still a child; that's when she met Goldred. That's your father, isn't it?" Another nod. "They were still kids back then, never left each other alone."

Ianto looked almost in pain and the Doctor sent him an inquisitive look, only to have his companion whisper, "Tell me more."

"Your father wanted to work in the Archives of the Citadel, but your mother wanted to travel. She loved travelling. Her family had a TARDIS and sometimes, her father would take her with him when he went exploring the farthest ends of the Universe."

"What happened?" Ianto put in. His expression was unreadable and yet the Doctor was unsure whether it was a good idea to keep going. The way Ianto's eyes were gleaming worried him. "By the time I was born, she was working in the Matrix."

"She got hurt," the Doctor said quietly. "It was really bad; she was attacked during one of their travels. On the edges of the Universe there are foreign, wild species that even Time Lords couldn't control. It was a planet I've never visited – mainly because of that, mind you, what happened was enough to keep me away from it – but whatever monsters lived there hurt her enough for her to regenerate and the Shaman never forgave himself for it. She was only eighteen by the time, and she had regenerated and, the way he saw it, it was his fault. Nothing she said or did could change his mind.

"It didn't really affect Zenis, though. She just kept going, as if nothing had happened. She started working in the Matrix in the end and that's when, I suppose, she got married to your father. Everyone was waiting for it to happen, really. I haven't seen her since."

"And..." Ianto looked like he was struggling with the words. "What about my dad? What was he like when he was young?"

"Oh, he was amazing. Always tried to catch up with Zenis, even when she had her maddest ideas, I've always liked that kid. He thought that once he started working for the Archives, he could think of an entirely new system for it to work – and I can't say I didn't agree with his ideas. When Zenis stopped travelling with her father, she started helping Goldred with his projects, you should have seen them. I'm not really surprised that you happen to be their offspring, mind you; you've got their best qualities and, let me tell you, they had a lot of those. One of the brightest examples in the Academy when they eventually started there–" The Doctor let his voice die as he suddenly turned to the unusually quiet Ianto.

The younger Time Lord was looking down and, even though his face was wet with the rain they had had to deal with before hiding here, the Doctor could see a lonely tear making its way down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry," he whispered and inched closer to his companion, rubbing his back soothingly with one hand. Ianto didn't acknowledge the gesture, but didn't flinch back either, which was definitely a progress. "I didn't want to upset you."

Ianto looked up and smiled, the expression honest despite the anguish in his eyes. It was almost fascinating to see two completely different emotions peacefully separating him, and the Doctor found that he couldn't look away. "You didn't. I needed to hear it. It just gets a bit too much sometimes and..." He looked down, apparently unable to hold the Doctor's gaze any longer. "It's just us now, so... thank you for being here for me."

"Likewise," the Doctor said quietly and this time draped his arm over Ianto's shoulders as they both stared at the field before them, peace finally settling down.