Chapter 9: Choice

While Jack was getting taken away, Luna and Rory checked in with Torchwood. Tosh answered Luna and Rory's call with extreme worry flooding her voice. "What happened? Are you alright? What about Jack and Ianto?"

"We're okay, surprisingly." Rory said realizing that Luna was shaking too much to properly speak, "We got Mr. Harkness and we melted the thing with salt. Actually, Luna melted the thing by pouring the whole bag over it."

"Listen to me very carefully," Owen said, "I've been analyzing some past files and we need an antidote to wake up Jack and Ianto."

"What do you mean?" Luna asked, "Dad woke up for five seconds."

"That was just the connection between them severing. You need to cure him of the residue left behind. Without it, they're both going to die."

"So what do we do?"

"You need a sample of its blood, or in your case, it's bodily fluids. You don't need a lot."

"That's not a problem, we're covered in the stuff. What's next?" Rory snagged a test tube and a popsicle stick from a nearby cart and began to scrape the goo from his and Luna's clothing.

Owen took a breath, "Here's the tricky thing. You need a familial DNA sample mixed into the creature's blood."

"Okay," Luna said, "I've got that-"

"Blood." Owen said, "It needs to be your blood. And there needs to be a lot of it."

"How much?"

"To save both Jack and Ianto...two pints each….so four…"

"That doesn't sound like a lot though." Luna pointed out.

"Doesn't matter," Rory answered softly, "It's enough that it either kills you or makes you pass out."

"I'm doing it," She argued, "They're my parents and besides, don't worry about me. We're in the best hospital in New York. I'll be okay. Is that all Uncle?"

"Yeah. That's all. You need to administer it through their IV bags, can you do that?"

"Yeah. So it's a bit of the creature's blood and two pints of mine mixed together, no problem. Thanks." Luna hung up the phone and turned to Rory. "So," She said, "Let's do this."

They snuck into an empty hospital room with Rory carrying two IV bags already partially filled with the creature substance, and one fresh needle. Luna rolled up her sleeve, "I really hope you know what you're doing. Don't kill me."

Rory forced a smile, "I really hope so too." He took her arm and pushed the needle into a vein and watched the blood flow into the bag. When one was almost full, he switched out the bags. Rory held Luna's hand and watched her eyes flutter as she became drowsy from blood loss. The second bag filled, he pulled the needle from her arm and stashed the blood bags in his coat. Gently lifting her up, Rory made his way out calling for help saying that she fainted.

Captain Jack Harkness awoke to the steady beeping of a heart monitor. It was a sound he'd woken up to many times before, but it never got any less irritating. "Of all the sounds to wake up to," He mused, "Why does it have to be that one?" He was however curious about how he ended up in the hospital. The last thing he remembered was hunting Weevels with Ianto and a promise of sex. He fully opened his eyes to examine his surroundings. It was a standard hospital but there wasn't much else that he could see because of a blue curtain separating him from the other patients in the room. Judging from the steady individualized beeping, he deduced that there were two other people in the room with him. Soft whispers floated from his right; he couldn't decipher who it was, a male and a female. Married? His curtain was pushed aside and a male with red curly-ish hair poked his head through. Jack couldn't help but have a nagging that he's seen this person before. The person's eyes widened and he shoved the whole curtain aside calling out, "He's awake!" With the curtain finally pulled to one side, Jack could finally see the persons to this right.

"Dad!" You're alright!" His daughter exclaimed sitting up from her bed. She had an IV with blood flowing into her body while the boy remained at her side. Ianto, lay asleep on the other side of her, hooked up to oxygen, an IV, and a heart monitor.

"What happened!?" He demanded, panic blossoming in his chest, "Who's he!?"

"You got captured by this alien thing almost a year ago and father couldn't find you so we moved to America and then he did find you but your life force was being eaten by this alien thing called a Hollowcall and then father got hurt but he's okay now and then Rory and I went through father's stuff and found this place called Torchwood and then we went to find you and we did find you and we killed the alien and we got you to the hospital but then we needed an antidote that Uncle Owen said might kill me but I did it anyway and then now you and father are okay." Luna gasped out in one entirely long and stringy sentence.

"You died!?"

"No, Rory saved me. I almost did though. Rory told me that I passed out, but I don't remember that part."

"Thank you so much for taking care of us," Ianto said shaking hands with Paul and Estelle.

Estelle smiled, "It was a pleasure. We're going to miss having you around." The plane for Cardiff was leaving in an hour, they were going home. With Jack found, there was no need to stay in America any longer. Edwin and Daniel had come to accept the fact that Luna was never going to reciprocate their romantic gestures. Paul, Estelle, Daniel, and Edwin went to the car giving Rory and Luna privacy to say their good-bye.

"I'm going to miss you." Rory said.

"Me too," Luna responded softly, "You should come to Cardiff sometime."

Rory nodded, "I will, promise." He leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

Jack cleared his throat stepping forward. He put his hand out revealing two tiny white round pills. "This," he explained, "is Retcon. It's selective amnesia. You'll forget all of Torchwood and anything associated with it."

"I'm not sure if I understand," Luna said.

"I'm not forcing you actually swallow the pills. I'm telling you to take one and choose." Luna opened her mouth to say something. "On your own." Jack gave a stern look to Luna and Rory. Avoiding eye contact with each other they took the tiny white pill and clasped it in their hands.