Same Ianto, Different Jack

Chapter Fourteen

by Gracefultree

A/N: Thank you all for being so patient with me! (Between NaNoWriMo and my other Works in Progress, I've been rather busy.) Here's the next installment that you've all been waiting and asking for. I have the next chapter written, so if I get a good response to this one, you might convince me to post it early.

Have a lovely day!

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Between the paracetamol, toast and a few of Ianto's better kisses, New Jack was back to his normal, flirty self in next to no time. Ianto sat with him as they went over the mission reports for the last few days, and Ianto asked about Myfanwy, since they hadn't seen each other since Ianto realized she wasn't in the Hub. New Jack paused, lost in thought for a moment.

"I know pterodactyls," New Jack said. "Beautiful creatures, but loud! Couldn't get a word in edgewise."

"You've talked to pterodactyls?" Ianto asked, skeptical. This was exactly the kind of thing His Jack would say to wind him up.

"Sure. This thing can be a translator, too, and I just downloaded the appropriate files before I left the Agency, and I was good to go," New Jack answered, tapping his vortex manipulator.

"Does it still work as a translator?"

"Not in a long while. It was one of the things that burned out when I got here. I'm close to fixing it, though. I just need a particular part…" New Jack described the bit of tech he was looking for that he could cannibalize for the translator. Ianto's eyes widened.

"We have one of those! It's in the Archives, Alien Housewares Section."

"We have an Alien Housewares section?" New Jack asked, clearly puzzled. "Maybe you had one in your universe, but we don't have one here. No one's dane anything about the Archives in twenty years. I'm not sure if you've been down there, but it's a bit of a mess…"

"I wonder if Jack knew," Ianto asked himself softly, not having heard New Jack. "He probably did. Bastard. He's been talking to her this whole time! No wonder she likes him so much when he never does anything for her."

"Um, Ianto? Can you stay in this universe for a little longer?" New Jack asked, waving his hand in front of Ianto's face to get his attention. "If you find me this tech, I can fix this and send out a message on one of our sub wave networks to see if she's still around and will answer. It'll have been a while since she's heard her own language, so she'll probably come to us if we ask nicely."

"You'd do that?" Ianto asked.

"Of course. I know how hard it is being out of one's time. I'll find her a place to live, and everything, though I can't promise a mate."

Ianto stood and leaned over to grab New Jack's head in both hands and kiss him passionately. "Thank you," he whispered between frantic kisses. "Thank you."

"Don't go thanking me yet," New Jack protested, laughing a little and kissing him back. "We don't know if she's alive."

"But that you'd do that…" Ianto kissed New Jack again before letting him go and walking to the door. "I'll have it for you by lunchtime," he promised, disappearing down to the Archives.

New Jack sat at his desk for several minutes, staring into space, touching his lips where they still tingled from Ianto's kisses.

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True to his word, Ianto returned to the main Hub a few minutes past noon with the required tech in his hands. He strode over to New Jack, who was chatting with New Tosh, and handed it over. They both gave him puzzled looks.

"What?" he asked. "Do I have dust bunnies in my hair?" He patted his hair to check, but found none.

"How is it that you're so clean when you've spent the entire morning crawling around down there?" New Jack blurted. "Your suit's perfect, your shoes are shiny, and you haven't even rolled up your sleeves!"

"Practice," Ianto replied with one of his cryptic smiles that usually sent His Jack for a cold shower if there wasn't time for a shag. By the sightly indrawn breath, he could tell New Jack was beginning to feel the same way.

New Owen wandered over. "No Gwen yet, boss?"

"No," New Jack answered, the moment broken. "Why do you need to see her, anyway? I'm the one who's —"

"Gotta do one last check up before the big day," New Owen interrupted. "Can't have anything getting in the way of your nuptials."

Ianto gave New Jack a look intended to ask, Why the fuck haven't you told them yet? New Jack shrugged, affecting to look abashed when all he accomplished was looking like he had a secret. New Gwen chose that moment to arrive. She eyed everyone with disdain except New Jack, who she smiled at with her usual gap-toothed smile.

"As I was saying," New Owen started. "Gwen, I'll need —"

"Actually, Gwen, why don't you join me in my office," New Jack said, interrupting New Owen before he could finish and order New Gwen to the autopsy bay.

"Oh, but it looks important…" she protested, pointing at New Owen.

"I'll just take a blood sample," New Owen said, producing a needle and syringe from his pocket. "Then you can go have your chat." New Jack sighed, but allowed it, while his eyes found Ianto's, his expression suddenly nervous. Ianto gave him an encouraging smile.

"What was that about?" New Tosh demanded of Ianto once New Jack and New Gwen were sequestered in his office and New Owen was down in the autopsy bay analyzing the blood.

"It's his business," Ianto answered, gathering the empty coffee mugs. "He'll tell you when he's ready." She followed him up to the kitchenette.

"Ianto, tell me!"

Ianto washed out each mug and started the coffee again before turning back to her. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw New Gwen standing, New Jack rushing to his feet as well. The sounds of them shouting at each other could be heard through the glass windows, though, the same as usual, the actual argument was a mystery. New Tosh followed his gaze, gasping as New Gwen slapped New Jack across the face.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed, already moving to help one or the other of them. Ianto grabbed her arm and held her back.

"Let them do this, Tosh," he growled. "Jack will be fine. She can't hurt him. And look, he's not fighting back. He's just letting her do it." She continued to struggle against his grip. In the office, New Gwen hit New Jack again. The man flinched, but didn't lift his hands to defend himself. "Please, Tosh. Let him have his dignity —"

"Owen!" she shouted, waving frantically at the office when she got New Owen's attention.

Before he could do anything but look, New Gwen stormed out of the office, tears streaming down her face.

"I hate you, Jack Harkness!" she shouted. "How could you do this to me? On the eve of our wedding! You're a bastard! A fucking bastard!"

"Gwen, please, listen to me," New Jack argued, following her into the main Hub, though he didn't try to touch her or stop her from gathering her pocketbook. "Things haven't been good between us for a long time!"

"No, things haven't been good for you," she sneered. "I've seen you watching the others. I've seen you lusting after them. You're a slut. A whore! You're wrong and you shouldn't even exist! You're a monster, that's what you are!"

New Jack seemed to crumble at her words. His expression darkened, and Ianto thought he could see one of his Doctor-induced depressions coming on. "Gwen, I'm just trying to keep us from making a really bad decision. I don't want to hurt you —"

"Well, you have! Are you happy now?" she demanded.

"No!" New Jack shouted. "Of course I'm not happy! But we're not working, Gwen. When's the last time we had sex in our bed, huh? Do you even remember? Two months ago! When's the last time we had a real conversation? Longer ago than that!"

New Tosh stopped struggling against Ianto's hold. "He's leaving her?" she whispered. "He's actually doing it?"

"Yeah," Ianto said, letting go of her now that the fight was out in the open. "He decided last night."

"I don't know what I ever saw in you," New Gwen was saying. "How many people have you slept with while we were together? Huh? How many?"

"Four," New Jack spat. "What about you? How many people have you slept with?" he demanded. "Because if it's any more than zero, we have a really big problem on our hands."

"Oh, like you can talk," she scoffed. "You've just admitted to four people!"

"You want to know who they were? You want to get into it? One: That guy from the club before we talked about being exclusive, so he really doesn't count. Two: Someone when I was trapped in 1941 and didn't think I'd be able to get back. Three: —"

"I knew it!" New Gwen shrieked. "I knew it! You lying son of a bitch!"

"Three: John Hart, so I could get him out of the city!" Jack shouted over her. "And Four: Ianto!" he declared, pointing at Ianto and New Tosh. "Because the pheromones were off the charts. Remember that, Gwen? Pheromones?"

"You piece of shit!"

"How many?" New Jack snarled at the top of his lungs, advancing on her, every muscle of his body tight with anger.

"Twelve," she whispered, backing away, her hands raised to ward him off. "But I didn't love any of them. I just love you," she added defiantly.

"Twelve? You fucked twelve men while you made me miserable demanding fidelity?" New Jack asked, completely flabbergasted. "How on Earth do you think a marriage between us would even work? At least I tried! I tried to do what you wanted. But you didn't even give me a second thought, did you? You were content to drag me around like a puppy, telling everyone you'd snagged Harkness, that he was being faithful, while you were out fucking everyone and their brother?"

"It's not like that," she said, starting to cry. "You were so distant…"

"Me being distant has nothing to do with you spreading your legs for someone else!" New Jack roared.

"It has everything to do with it!" she shouted back. "I'm a woman, Jack. I need emotional intimacy. I need to talk about feelings. How am I supposed to do that when you won't even look at me half the time we're alone?"

"Fucking twelve men isn't emotional intimacy!"

"Why won't you trust me? You never told me anything about your time away. You never told me about being a Time Agent. You never told me about this mysterious Doctor of yours."

New Jack paused, trying to calm himself down by taking deep breaths. Ianto could see his lips moving as he counted to himself. "There are some things you don't need to know," New Jack stated, his eyes hard. Ianto translated this as 'there are things too painful for me to talk about.' He knew that, just from the little His Jack shared, and His Jack's nightmares, but it was even more painful for New Jack, without a supportive partner or someone who would listen without judging him or even without speaking when silence was called for. Gwen, and New Gwen, it seemed, wasn't able to let things lie, and keeping quiet had never been one of her better skills.

"Where were you, Jack? Where did you go? What happened?"

Ianto started edging down the stairs closer to New Jack, sensing how fragile the captain's control was becoming.

"Because you never told me anything," New Gwen continued. "You just showed up acting like nothing ever happened. And the way I see it, you probably spent the time fucking everyone you could and just don't want to tell me. So four is really four hundred!"

"I will tell you this one more time, Gwen, and I expect you to learn it this time," New Jack said softly. Ianto recognized the 'I'm about to lose it even more than I already have and you better back down or watch out' voice. "Where I went and what I did and who I did it with are none of your business and never will be. The more you ask me about it, the more I think you don't care about me at all."

"But I love you! I want to help you! Something bad must have happened, and —"

"Get the fuck out of my Hub!" Jack screamed, his control snapping. "All of you! Get out! Now!"

No one moved. New Gwen widened her eyes even more than they already were, attempting to placate New Jack with her 'innocence'. Ianto slipped off the staircase behind New Jack, though he didn't approach him yet. He disappeared into the walls the way he used to do when he was hiding the Cyberman from His Jack, knowing that New Jack would need support as soon as the others left and that he was the only one who could give it.

"I said, get out!" New Jack shouted again.

"Ok, we're going," New Tosh said, grabbing her pocketbook. "We're going," she said again, trying to soothe him. "Owen, come on." She held out her hand to him and they left together. New Gwen crossed her arms over her chest and glared at New Jack.

"Well?" she asked. "Now what?"

"Now you get out," New Jack told her.

"But I thought that was just for them…" She gestured vaguely towards the cog wheel door, clearly having forgotten Ianto, as New Jack seemed to have as well.

"Gwen, you have just admitted to sleeping with twelve men while we've been together when you were demanding that I not sleep with anyone else. I can't look at you anymore. Take the weekend off. Get out of here. Go on whatever honeymoon you planned for us, or don't. I don't care. You and me? We're done. I'll have my stuff removed from the flat by the time you get back."

"But, Jack —"

"I'll let you know on Monday if I think we can still work together," he added, turning his back on her.

"Jack!"

New Jack walked away, down into the tunnels. New Gwen stared after him for a few minutes before grabbing her stuff from where she'd dropped it on the floor and stormed off, the pause required as the cog wheel door opened ruining her dramatic exit. Ianto took a few deep breaths to center himself. He calmly went into New Jack's office and gathered the scotch and a glass before following New Jack. He had a feeling the man was in the shooting range.