Same Ianto, Different Jack

Chapter 17

by Gracefultree

A/N: Wow! Ten reviews and a PM just from one chapter! Thank you so much for all the support and encouragement and love.

I'm rather pleased with how this chapter turned out, and I hope you are, too. Enjoy!

.

.

.

Captain John Hart, or, Jim Hurt, as he decided to call himself when he reappeared at Torchwood, was just as perverse, inappropriate, and sadistic as he'd been in Ianto's universe. He was not, however, at all indifferent to New Jack. Ianto would go so far as to say the man loved New Jack, and it seemed like New Jack still had feelings for him, though perhaps not as strong as love. More than His Jack had for John, though.

Ianto realized, with a small bit of shock, that he wasn't jealous or even upset that they had current feelings for each other. New Jack wasn't His Jack, as he continuously reminded himself, and New Jack's relationship with Jim, and with Ianto, was a very different thing. New Jack wanted Ianto as his partner, not Jim, which he made clear to Ianto as soon after Jim arrived as they could get away for a private moment. And a quick grope.

Ianto was quietly amazed at how quickly New Jack reacted and adjusted to John's new identity as Jim. New Jack explained later that changing one's name frequently was a habit that most Time Agents developed to tell each other where in their timelines they were, or which mission they were on, since they might be out of sequence from each other. John/Jim had been Moses when they were trapped in the time loop for five years, and he'd been Hill at the Time Agency when they were in training. He'd also been Nate, Sam, and Carton, at various points that New Jack was aware of. New Jack never told Ianto any of his previous names.

The one major advantage of being new to this universe was that when Jim appeared in Cardiff a few months after Ianto arrived, he didn't know Ianto existed (and lived at the Hub and was still there when he tried to take it over.) He wasn't at all prepared for the stun gun Ianto shoved into his back after he killed New Jack rather excessively with a pair of machine guns after setting off a number of explosions around the city to distract the team and get New Jack alone. Nor was he prepared for New Jack and Ianto to figure out that he was being controlled by someone else. (That his vortex manipulator was bonded to his arm with a bomb attached to it was a pretty big clue, Ianto pointed out sarcastically. Jim leered at Ianto and complained to New Jack that the little piece of eye candy was smarter than he looked, to which New Jack simply laughed.)

That it was New Jack's long-lost brother Gray that no one knew about controlling Jim and bent on revenge for New Jack 'deliberately letting go of his hand so he could be sacrificed to the aliens to be tortured so that New Jack could escape' threw the entire team for a loop, though Ianto managed to keep himself apart from the drama, having heard about Gray and New Jack's guilt about losing him from New Jack during one of New Jack's drunken binges that characterized their first few dates. Not that Ianto blamed New Jack for the binges. He'd just lost his fiancé, as well as an important team member in New Gwen, and he wasn't quite used to Ianto and dating someone who actually cared about him in a way he could accept. Ianto had gone through quite a bit of alcohol, himself, when he lost Lisa, and then again when His Jack left for his adventures with the Doctor, so he couldn't exactly throw stones.

Jim confessed to everything as soon as he was alone with New Jack, which earned him his life, and the help he gave in capturing Gray alive earned him his freedom, as long as he promised to stay away from Earth for the next fifty years. After a celebratory shag, of course. Ianto even joined in, once he took an actual look at the man, and not the jealousy-driven anger and mistrust he'd experienced with John and His Jack, newly back from his adventures and asking Ianto out so clumsily after rejecting (being rejected by?) His Gwen. All in all, Jim wasn't that bad in bed, though Ianto wouldn't write home about it. (He did, however, spare an entry in his diary for it.) New Jack was thrilled, of course, and the real-life confirmation that Ianto wouldn't hold him to monogamy freed something in his heart that had been missing for quite a while.

New Owen started declining mid-summer, the energy that was keeping him a zombie slowly dissipating. Because it was a gradual enough process, the team as a whole, and even New Owen, were able to say goodbye and mourn their friend and colleague. New Tosh especially needed that time, and when she sought out New Jack for comfort the night after New Owen died for the second time, neither New Jack nor Ianto could see it in their hearts to refuse her. Ianto left them alone, spending the night thinking about His Jack and wondering how he was coping. Was he still looking for Ianto, or had he moved on? Had His Owen died the same way, or was he still existing, trying to do as much as his limited body could do for His Jack and the people of Cardiff?

New Jack, with Ianto's help and support, blossomed into the man Ianto always thought His Jack had the potential to be. Strong, confident, resourceful, determined, and above all, compassionate. Ianto found himself falling in love with New Jack as he suspected he might from the very beginning, though he never said the words out loud. New Jack loved him back, and the choice to be only with Ianto for the duration of Ianto's stay wasn't a choice he made consciously, though he did make it, and they both knew it, with the notable exceptions of New Tosh and Jim Hurt.

Even after six months, little things about the new universe still challenged Ianto. Brand names of certain foods or stores were slightly off from what Ianto was used to. Some of the roads around Cardiff were different. Weevils smelled slightly sour, in addition to smelling like the sewers they often inhabited. Myfanwy never appeared, though New Jack sent out the invitation frequently. Ianto wept for her every so often, New Jack finding him curled up on the gantry that in Ianto's universe housed her aerie.

Ianto avoided leaving the Hub as much as possible, since he didn't want to run into friends who thought he was dead. He also avoided his sister, since they'd never really gotten along after their father died, and he didn't want to start over with New Rhiannon when she would think he was back from the dead. He missed the sun, though, and started going to the roof of the Millennium Center when he could, just to feel the warmth on his face. Sometimes New Jack joined him, but just as often, he didn't.

It was close to nine months before Ianto felt truly comfortable, though there was always a small part of him focused on His Jack and getting back to him. There were times, late at night, after New Jack fell asleep in the bed in his bunker that had become 'theirs,' that Ianto would hold him and talk to His Jack, as if by whispering in New Jack's ear, he could somehow tell His Jack how he felt and how much he missed him. If New Jack were ever awake to hear these confessions, he never mentioned them, for which Ianto was intensely grateful.

.

.

.

"Twelve months," Ianto murmured, resting his head on New Jack's chest.

"What?" New Jack asked, his voice low and sleepy the way it tended to be after a vigorous shag like they'd just enjoyed.

"I've been here twelve months today," Ianto explained. "An entire year." He kissed the part of New Jack's chest under his cheek. "In a week we'll have been together a year."

"You remember things like that?"

"Always have."

New Jack yawned. "We haven't talked about you leaving in a while," he mused. "You're still going to do it when the opportunity comes?"

"I have to. I've gotten used to being here, to this world, to you, but it's not where I really belong. There are moments when I feel so lost, so out of touch. Out of my time, as you'd say, but it's not about time, it's about everything."

"And you miss him."

"And I miss him," Ianto agreed.

"Your bag's packed?"

"It's in the cell. I go through it every week or so, replace the rations if they've gone off, update the software on the laptop. Tosh and I have a routine for it."

"I'm going to miss you, you know," New Jack admitted. Ianto raised his head to find New Jack staring at the ceiling instead of looking at him. "But I knew you'd leave, I know you're going to…"

Ianto sighed. "It might never happen," he whispered. "I might die here, first."

"No, I think it will," New Jack declared. "I'm not sure when, but I have a feeling you won't be here for much longer. The Rift brought you here to heal me, to help me be who I need to be for the future. It knows you'll need to get back to him. I've come to believe that this year."

"I'm losing my confidence in it happening," Ianto said, absently rubbing his fingers along New Jack's collarbone.

"I have a present for you," New Jack said suddenly. "I was going to wait until next week, but I want to give it to you tonight."

Ianto got into a sitting position, watching as New Jack sat up and reached into his nightstand for a small wrapped box that hadn't been there that morning when Ianto restocked the lube. The box, wrapped in silver paper with a delicate red bow, was about the size of a coffee mug. He accepted it from New Jack, giving it a tiny shake.

"Thank you. I — I didn't realize we were doing gifts." He smiled hesitantly.

"You're welcome. I don't expect anything back, Ianto. This is for you, to thank you for all you've done for me this last year. I've needed you in my life, and I know you've done just about everything possible to help me. I hope this will help you, in return."

Ianto's hands shook slightly as he tore off the paper, overcome by emotions. He wasn't sure what he expected when he opened the box, but the leather wriststrap that looked suspiciously like New Jack's stunned him. He flipped it open. A vortex manipulator. New Jack had given him a vortex manipulator! His eyes immediately tracked to New Jack's wrist, but the man still wore his own.

"Where did you —?"

"Jim found it," New Jack explained. "He came by last week for a little while when you were helping Tosh with that coding." New Jack took it from Ianto's hands and carefully put it on Ianto's left wrist. "It won't travel in time, but it has teleport functions. Best of all, it'll help you find him. I've set it to scan for other Time Agency technology, so whenever you're on the same planet as an Agent or someone with one of these, it'll tell you. Plus, it'll protect you when you travel in the Rift to get home."

Ianto clutched New Jack's hand tightly as the tears fell from his lashes. He couldn't stop them. He didn't want to stop them. He grabbed New Jack into a very tight hug. "Thank you! Thank you!" he chanted, over and over. "Thank you so much!"

New Jack laughed at his happiness and kissed him. "I want you to find him, Ianto. No matter how much I'm going to miss you, and I will, a lot, I knew you'd leave. I worked that into how I thought about you. I know I'm just borrowing you. He had you torn from him without warning, and he needs you in a way I don't anymore. He deserves to know you're safe, to know you love him. Starting tomorrow, I'll teach you how to use it," he added, tapping the leather.

"You and Jim planned this, didn't you?" Ianto asked.

"I asked him to look out for an extra. He happened to find one."

"And you want me to have it?"

"I've never said it out loud, but I love you," New Jack said, his voice serious. "I love you enough to let you go when it's time. I'm better. I'm so much better than when you came here. I'm happier. I'm myself again. I might not have a relationship with the Doctor, but I don't blame myself anymore for what happened. I don't hate him as much, because you've reminded me that I'll have centuries, maybe even millennia to live and potentially interact with him again and I'll need to be able to let the anger go. I'm a better man because of you."

New Jack paused and stroked Ianto's cheek tenderly. "You've helped me find myself again," he said in a softer voice. "And my counterpart in your universe will need your support, too. So I want you to have as much going for you as possible. Wearing this will make your trip through the Rift that much safer."

"I love you, too," Ianto whispered, the tears still falling. "It's crazy to say it out loud when I still love him just as much and I've never even told him, but… I'm glad I got to meet you, and love you. And you've helped me, too. You've helped me hold on to the hope that I'll get home, and you've helped me see the important things in life. You've taught me that it's really possible to love two people at once, even if they're the same person from two different realities. You never asked me to stop loving him."

"Of course not! That wouldn't be fair to either of you, or to me. I'm just glad I could help you."

"That's what love is, helping each other," Ianto mused. "Putting the other person first. Doing everything to make them happy."

"And I am happy," New Jack said. "I'm so very happy with you."

Ianto smiled, wiping away his tears. "I am, too, as much as I can be, not being home."

They kissed then, passion and emotion and love flowing between them at a higher intensity than usual. New Jack, so receptive to Ianto's needs, made love to him slowly and gently, giving him everything he could possibly give in one night, promising more of the same as long as Ianto stayed with him. They fell asleep in each other's arms, content and exhausted, curled together so tightly that nothing but a Rift alert could separate them.