Fic: The Fix - Torchwood *Major Spoilers* for Children of Earth Part 3/?
Title: The Fix
Author: BlaiddJD
Disclaimer: I own nothing, Torchwood belongs to the Beeb and RTD
Rating: PG-13 for swearings and naughties.
Summary: Jack tries to fix things. He tries everything to have what he had... he succeeds in finding Ianto again but what if the man you loved loved someone else?
Part Three
He woke up in the same room only this time it was empty and he was cuffed to the bed with soft medical restraints, with a sigh he sank back on the bed. Jack had to get out of there otherwise he'd be stuck on the bad end of Torchwood and that was something he certainly didn't want.
Sucking in a sharp breathe he braced himself for what he was about to do, he twisted so his shoulder popped out and he was able to lean down wrapping his mouth around the restraints to undo them, it hadn't been the first time he'd been stuck bound somewhere... usually it had been for fun. After he got one undone he reached down to loosen the other one then he got out of bed.
Jack had to cover his scream with a pillow when he popped his shoulder back into his socket then he went in search of some clothes. Ten minutes later he was wandering down the hall dressed in scrubs, if anyone noticed his bare feet then they didn't say anything.
“Computer, computer” he said to himself quietly, if he found a computer then he'd be able to find Steven and Alice and Ianto. He turned a corner and ran smack bang into Rose Tyler
“Jack!” she gasped surprised to see him then shook her head “I was on my way to see you. I guess you better come up to my office, there's a lot I need to tell you”
She walked off, leading the way, and he paused debating whether to go with her or not. He reasoned that she was a big shot here and must have been the cause behind his restraints, how could he trust her? On the other hand she was offering answers and it would be rude not to take them; he did have a lot of questions, in the end he followed her through the corridors to her office.
The penthouse office of the Torchwood Tower was still being straightened out since his arrival, made of the poster board walls on the booths needed to be replaced so apart from several maintenance people and a few hard working agents it was pretty much empty
“Where is everyone?” he inquired as she opened the door for him
“I sent them home, after the excitement it would take some time to clear everything up. You certainly did know how to make an entrance”
“Heh, that's me” he replied with a trademark smirk, she moved behind her desk and gestured for him to sit down in the chair facing her
“There's a lot I have to tell you” began Rose as she once more kicked off her shoes under the desk “You know when I first came here there wasn't a Rose Tyler, my parents were here but I wasn't. I did some checking and you weren't here either”
“So there wasn't a Jack in this reality?” he asked rhetorically trying to figure out where she was going with this
“You were for a while. You were here in 1945 but you disappeared, there were a few witness statements saying there was a bomb and you took it away. Since I didn't exist in this line the Doctor never met me and he never ended up meeting you. You must have took that bomb away and let it detonate in space”
“So what does that mean? What about my daughter and grandson? Alice and Steven Carter?”
“They don't exist because you here. They never were born” she explained, his shoulders slumped and he nodded
“What about Ianto?”
“I... we haven't been able to find him” she was going to tell him one thing but changed her mind, it was clear that she was lying to him “We found you a place to stay and we've given you an allowance so you can buy some clothes... after that we'll try and figure out what you're going to do next”
“I worked for Torchwood in our reality, would I be able to work here?”
“I don't think that's such a good idea” she told him then leaned over her phone and pressed a button “Tyler can you escort Captain Harkness down to the VIP Guest Car please”
“What the hell happened to you, Rose...” he mumbled “When did you become...”
“Don't. Jack. Just don't! I know what I've become, I have to live with it”
“Seems like that's what we have to do” he commented as Tyler came in, Jack rose to his feet and followed the young but competent man out of the room.
The car was big, shiny, expensive looking and there was a driver waiting for him dressed smartly and wearing a cap
“Good afternoon, sir. Where are we going?” he inquired warmly, the man was in his fifties and seemed genuinely pleased to be driving him around. Before Jack could speak up Tyler butted in relaying the instructions Rose had given him
“He's under Miss Tyler's instructions, he's to go shopping to buy new clothes; here is his the card with his allowance on it then he's to be taken to this address” he handed the driver a credit card and a piece of paper with the address of his new home.
“Very good” he replied as he shoved the card and paper into his pocket, Tyler left for the elevator and the driver held open the door. Jack sighed but got in, he'd have to go with the flow for the time being... well it wasn't like he was given much choice.
Streets passed, reflected in the windows and he couldn't help but stare out and think of all the things he'd done to get here. There was no Alice, no Steven... was there a Ianto? Did Rose know? Was she just avoiding the hurt he'd feel if he found out Ianto Jones didn't exist here either? He couldn't bear it if he'd come all this way, travelling through the cold and the dark of the void to find another world without them in it!
“Is everything alright, sir?” he looked up, meeting the driver's eyes in the rear view mirror, he was surprised to find that he was crying
“I... oh...” he shook his head feeling like he was being torn in two “I lost my family”
“I'm sorry” the driver told him, genuine sympathy reflected in his eyes “What happened? If you don't mind me asking?”
“My... my boyfriend died from gas poisoning... and I killed my grandson in front of my daughter's eyes” he whispered, he was shamed to speak it aloud. The driver fell silent unsure of what to say to that “I know I'm a monster and I know what I did was wrong... 3 people or the world... only a inhumane monster could could make that choice! I sacrificed the three people I loved more than anything so humanity would be saved”
“That doesn't make you a monster... it makes you a hero” the driver explained as they reached the large department store “From the sounds of it, you did something incredible... I wouldn't have been able to do that”
“I wish I hadn't” he confessed “What's your name?”
“Ben, what's yours, sir?” he asked before getting out, coming round to open the car door for him. They'd parked up and Ben was going to take him round the shop
“Jack. Jack Harkness” he answered, Ben clapped him on the shoulder then shut the car door
“Come on, let's get you some clothes” he finally spoke then the two of them headed into the building.
*
The apartment was nicely decorated and modern, there was a large kitchen with black marble counter tops and silver appliances, the living room was just as big as the kitchen with a faux white marble fireplace two black leather couches and a large flat screen TV. The bedroom was decorated with red and cream and the bathroom looked like it was designed for ten people, at least.
He and Ben dropped the packages of clothes down on the coffee table and one of the leather couches. The driver clapped him on the shoulder then looked at his watch
“I have to be getting back to the Tower to pick up Miss Rose and Mr Smith, will you be okay?”
“I'll manage” he replied, Ben handed him a card
“If you need to talk then... you'll always be welcome. I'll talk to the wife and we'll invite you round for dinner, if you'd like that? I'm sure Miss Rose has got the kitchen fully stocked”
“That's all... thank you” Jack stated, he was grateful Ben's help but now he wanted him to go away so he could be alone.
Ben nodded then left shutting the door behind him and finally Jack was alone, as soon as the door shut with an audible click he could feel everything rushing against him. All the things he'd done wrong and all the hurt and the pain, all he wanted to do was break down screaming and crying in the corner but instead he swallowed sharply trying to fend off the tears that were filling his eyes and began to unpack his clothes.
He was still wearing the green scrubs he'd stolen from the medical floor in the Torchwood Tower, he sorted everything in to piles; t-shirts, then pants then underwear... he stopped when he came to the last parcel. It was a floor length coat... he didn't know why the hell he'd bought it, no that wasn't true he knew why he'd bought it. He bought it because Ianto said he liked it, somehow though he couldn't bring himself to wear it.
Jack put everything away in the draws in his bedroom then sat down on the bed unsure of what to do next, he was scared to sleep. He knew that no dreams would come, they hadn't since he'd travelled through the void; only darkness reached him and now it seemed fitting. He could still feeling the creatures who lived in the nothing and the emptiness reaching for him, he could feel time stop and start rushing past him and it was enough to drive him mad.
With a jolt he jumped up and began to pace the light hardwood floor rubbing his hands, he needed to know if Ianto was here. If not then... then he would travel through the void into the next reality, he had a lot of time to kill and it wasn't like it would kill him. Maybe in that one Alice and Steven would be alive? He sighed and shook his head, he needed something to fill his time
“Walk, I could go for a walk” he mumbled to himself, he moved to the door then stopped and looked down at what he was wearing. He turned round and got changed before heading out into the living room.
Ben had left the credit card along with the number for it on the table with his contact card and as soon as he spotted it, he picked it up and shoved it in his pocket, grabbed the keys and left.
*
The area was nice, very green and leafy... the perfect little suburban community if you wanted to get married, have kids, raise a family... that sort of thing. There was a park across the road from his building but it was void of kids; he thought back to what Rose had told him. They'd given the 456 the children in this time line... this was a world of mourning and somehow it seemed fitting that he was in it.
Despite being suburban it was still London and still extremely busy, people were coming out of work and bars were opening. It seemed like a lot of people who came out of the offices automatically went straight to the bars in search of alcohol; he could understand it. They'd lost their children and they were still moving forward... the poor fools needed all the help they could get, even if it came from a bottle...
Jack would have probably joined the sorry masses if the bars served strong alien liquid, stuff that could knock you sideways with one shot but they didn't so he steered clear of them. He walked all the way back toward the Torchwood Tower at Canary Wharf, no matter where he was... which reality... Torchwood was still home to him. It was always be his home and he felt comfortable there more than any other place.
It was dark now and the street lights had come on illuminating his path toward the building, he went in and saw a well manned security station with several uniformed men armed with standard issue stun guns
“Evening, help you?” asked one guard, he had large hands and a bustling beard
“Yeah I'm here to see Ianto Jones. Would you be able to tell me which floor he's on?” he asked, it couldn't hurt to try, if Ianto was in this reality then he'd work here like he did in the other one. The guard typed something in
“Seventh floor, booth three” said the guard handing him a visitor's pass. Jack nodded his thanks then headed to the elevator; Ianto was here! He was alive! The doors pinged open on the seventh floor to an empty office suite, there were rows and rows of booths and it didn't take him long to find the seventh one. It was laid out all nice and tidy... very like Ianto, he thought to himself; there was a small filing cabinet and several photos of him and Lisa around the desk, there was a small soft cuddly toy sat next to the screen that surprised him.
Jack sat down in the computer chair and leaned back; he thought about what Rose had told him about not being able to find the welsh man... a simple search would have found him especially since he worked for Torchwood. Then why hadn't she told him? What reason did she have for lying to him? He leaned forward and made a note of the booth's telephone number then decided to go home, Ianto had gone home already and there was no point sticking around... he could always come back tomorrow.
He walked slowly as he went back to the lift and pressed the button, he'd have to get some money out and get a cab home... he didn't have a car. Jack shook his head at his menial thoughts, is this what life's going to be like from now on, he wondered. He needed a gun, needed a job, needed Torchwood. The elevator doors opened, he moved to step inside and stopped staring at the person standing opposite him waiting for him to move aside so he could get out.
Ianto had forgotten the little toy he'd got as a surprise so he'd come back to work to pick it up, he didn't think it would take long but Laurence the security guard had told him that he'd had a visitor. Presumably this man staring at him, almost crying, was his visitor... he'd never seen this man in front of him before in his life.
“Ianto...” the man whispered then stepped sharply forward invading his space, the elevator doors shut behind him and before he knew it the man was kissing him. Ianto was surprised at first, shocked that some strange man was kissing him and then he registered that smell that made him a little dizzy.
When he finally came to his senses he realised that he was kissing the man back, what the hell was he doing? He had no clue what was going on but it felt good, he tasted good and if felt right. He spun the man so his back was against the wall of the elevator and continued to make out with him
“Who the hell are you?” he demanded when he broke for air, he felt weak and aroused
“It's me. Jack...” Jack told him like that was meant to be significant. He didn't know anyone called Jack and he didn't know this man! “I can't believe I found you...”
“I have no clue who you are” he continued, coming to his senses again to move back against the opposite wall
“I can explain everything” explained Jack holding out his hand ready to invade Ianto's space again “I'm just glad I found you and we can be together now”
As soon as he finished speaking Ianto panicked pushing Jack's hand away with his left, he shook his head then pressed a button to open the door and darted out into the hall Jack hurried after him but the other man knew the layout better than he did and he ended up loosing him “Fuck” he mouthed then went down in the elevator.
*
Ianto opened the door then quickly shut it behind him and locked it like it would keep that man out and away from him; he was terrified of what had happened and worse, how he felt when it happened.
“Ianto?” came the soothing silky voice from the living room. Oh God, what have I done? He thought to himself then moved towards that voice
“I...” his voice broke and he shook his head as he stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame “It was a long day at work, I'm not feeling too good. I'm just going to bed... are you okay?”
“I'm fine, cariad... are you okay? You look a bit pale”
“Nothing some sleep will cure” he answered then leaned down kissing her cheek then headed upstairs.
He passed Taren's room on the way to his and guilt of the whole thing back at the Tower just made him feel even worse, he shook his head with a heavy-hearted sigh and went to bed.
TBC...