tw_bigbang Wait For Me There (part two)
1939
When Ianto woke he was surrounded by dark and cold. The air vaguely smelled of sewage, he could feel a cold liquid oozing its way through his clothes and his head hurt like hell. He tried to open his eyes but when he did -or at least when he thought he did - he couldn’t see anything. He felt around but quickly stopped as his hands came into contact with more wetness that squished between his fingers. He felt ill and he hurt all over. What the hell had happened?
The last thing he could remember was being in his bed. Jack was there. He was warm and comfortable and safe. How did he get to wherever the he was now?
Ianto could hear footsteps coming close. They splashed and spluttered in the same substance he was lying in. He wanted to call out to them but he had no idea if they were friend or foe.
A light cut across his vision as a door opened and someone carrying an electric torch came inside. Ianto finally saw where he was…
He was lying in a pile of mud inside an old warehouse.
Forgetting the man coming closer, he pushed himself to his feet and began to sloosh some of the loose mud off him. “This was a good suit! Bloody Torchwood!”
“Torchwood?” the man said, coming up closer. Ianto noted he had a gun. Ianto did not.
Clearing his throat, Ianto said, “Yes. I’m Torchwood. Where am I?”
The man looked at Ianto with a critical eye. “I’ve never seen you. Are you from London?”
Ianto looked at the man and his heart shuddered because he knew that face. Ianto swallowed hard and said, “No, I’m with…Torchwood 4. Our location is classified.”
The other man looked at him with interest, not suspicion, “Really? That’s brilliant. We never see anyone from the other locations.” He smiled and Ianto couldn’t help but return it. The man held out a hand and said, “Greg Bishop, Torchwood Cardiff.”
Ianto felt his stomach fall to his feet. It was him, the one he’d seen in Tretarri. They’d been trying to stop the Dark from taking over. It was such an emotional case. Greg Bishop had been made of light and he’d vanished shortly after Ianto had seen him but it was Bilis Manger’s words to Jack that had always haunted Ianto and pushed him to read the man’s file. ”If it makes you feel any better, you chose the right man to love. He was, in every way, a good man.” He’d always thought it was foolish to be jealous of a man who died in 1941 but staring at Greg brought the pain back. His Jack had once loved this man before Greg was taken from him. This man’s death would shape the way Jack felt about love and though Ianto felt bad for Greg Bishop, knowing his future, he was also pained in knowing that Jack did love this man. It hurt even more when he realized that he couldn’t say for sure if Jack even loved him.
With his suspicions confirmed, Ianto took the offered hand and said, “Ianto Jones.”
“Welsh, nice. Local plod does good and all. What are you doing out here, though? I picked up a signal that I didn’t recognize and found you here, lying in the mud.” Greg was smiling but Ianto could hear his subtle interrogation.
“That’s a good question. I don’t know. I was -“ he broke off. He couldn’t well say he was last lying in bed with Captain Harkness and woke up in the mud. That would raise too many other questions. No; instead, he chose to lie. “I was sent here to check your archives. I’m sure Doctor Brennan was expecting me,” he said, remembering the name of the head of Torchwood when Mr. Bishop worked here. Ianto loved reading the old files and knew the names - and faces if there were pictures - of all the former Torchwood Cardiff employees.
Greg’s nose crinkled as he thought and Ianto couldn’t help but find it endearing. “She never mentioned it but that’s not all that surprising. She doesn’t tell us much of anything.” He studied Ianto for a moment before turning toward the door. “She’s not in now. I’m manning the Hub with Llinos. I have an extra suit in the Hub. You can clean up and I’ll set you up in one of the extra rooms. You can talk to Doctor Brennan in the morning.”
Ianto followed Bishop, wishing he knew what year it was and how the hell he’d managed to fall into the past. Based on his headache, he didn’t fall by natural causes. Something sent him here and he was so very determined to find a way home.
They left the warehouse and walked across the mud flats by Tiger Bay. Things were different but Ianto mostly recognized the area from photos he had seen. This was the Oval Basin well before the Millennium Centre and the Water Tower would be built, though the Pierhead Building was there and Ianto was comforted by its familiarity. He and Greg walked up to Warehouse B and Greg knocked, waited a few seconds and knocked again. The door opened to reveal a lovely red haired woman.
“Look what I found, Llinos. A Welshman from Four,” he said as he closed the door behind Ianto.
The woman called Llinos smiled at Ianto. “Looks like a dirty Welshman,” she said with her own thick Welsh accent. She eyed him up and down for a moment before offering her hand to him. “Llinos King.”
“Ianto Jones,” he replied, taking her hand. She was beautiful and Ianto had to wonder if everyone that worked for Torchwood had to pass an unspoken looks test.
Llinos must have been thinking the same as she said, “Just what we need; another pretty one for Jack to paw at.”
“Jack?” Ianto asked, innocently. He prayed it was a different Jack or that if it was his he wasn’t there. Ianto knew Jack spent a lot of time away from Cardiff during this time period.
“I call him His Harkness. I’m not sure what Greg calls him,” she said, casting a smile at Greg that spoke more than her words. “Lucky for us, he’s not in right now. Doing something for London, again.”
Ianto felt relieved. He was not ready to meet a Jack that wasn’t his Jack. Especially if it was a Jack that flirted with everyone in the room and didn’t even know who he was. They came down an elevator and into the brightly lit Hub. It was…different. Not really, but it was. Things were cleaner, the walls brighter, yet it had a grime about it that could only come from being an underground location. He glanced upward, noting that the fountain was obviously missing and so was his beloved Myfanwy. The walkways were present but not the glass that encased Jack’s office; there was an office set up in the space. The invisible lift had yet to be built and there was a distinct lack of computers. It was odd for Ianto and he felt like finding a hole and crawling into it for a bit until the shock wore off.
“Hey, mate. You all right? You look kind of pale,” Greg said, putting his hands on Ianto’s shoulders as Ianto felt the world around him swim out of focus and he stumbled on his own feet. Greg caught him as he felt his whole body go weak.
Ianto tried to regain his balance and began to apologize. “Sorry. I - ouch!” he cried as Llinos had poked him in the head.
“Nasty cut there. Something happen to him?” she asked Greg.
Greg shrugged. “Found him in the mud over in Warehouse F. I was following an odd signal.” Greg seemed to remember the oddness of that and turned to look at Ianto. “What happened to you?”
“I - I don’t remember,” Ianto said, carefully touching the cut on his head. He saw the looks on their faces. They were beginning to question his arrival and he needed to think fast. He absently touched his pockets, grimacing at the mud. He couldn’t show them his Torchwood ID as it was too technologically advanced for this time period. His fingers then brushed something small and he lifted it up to his eyes. It was long and thin like a biro but the ends were smooth. A light seemed to glow from within it. He had no idea from where it had come but he quickly used it to his advantage.
“This. I remember now. This is a new…experimental…form of…” think, Jones, think “…transport.” He glanced at the pair before him and sighed in relief as they both seemed utterly engrossed in the device. Llinos reached out to touch it but Ianto pulled it back to him. “The side-effect is temporary memory loss and disorientation. It’s dangerous, though and I’m only the second to use it.”
“That must have been where the signal came from. Can you use it to return?” Greg asked, staring aptly at the device.
Ianto shook his head. He really wasn’t sure but he needn’t tell them that. “I need to wait until I hear from Four.” He slipped the device back into his pocket.
“Well, don’t tell Tilda about that. She’ll claim it regardless of who owns it,” Llinos said. “Do you have paperwork? From Four?”
Ianto’s eyes grew large with fear. “No. They didn’t say I needed anything more than what they already sent.” He hoped that Doctor Brennan would buy all this. He needed to stay here. If he was to ever get home, he needed to stay right where he was.
Greg smiled. “Don’t worry. We’ll sort you out. Just because Tilda is suspicious of everyone doesn’t mean we are. You scanned human so no worries there. Besides, us Welsh need to stick together.” He clapped Ianto on the shoulder and then looked at his muddy hand. “Let’s get you cleaned up, first.”
Ianto stared at the pair. No matter how many files he’d read, he couldn’t deny that they never spoke of the true nature of the individual’s personality. He had been under the impression that most of Torchwood had consisted of military minded, alien hating tyrants, so he was taken aback by the sheer hospitality and concern that Greg exuded and by the camaraderie of Llinos. He swallowed and nodded, unable to form words as he felt overwhelmed. Greg took his hand and led him off toward the showers. Ianto knew the way but he couldn’t let them know that. He almost hated lying to them.
“Here, this should fit you. We look close in size,” Greg said, offering him a suit he’d pulled from a locker. Ianto smiled gratefully and waited till Greg finished telling him where everything was before disappearing inside one of the stalls. He stripped his suit off, noting how they didn’t question the style. It wasn’t too different from the suit he had been lent. Looking down at the suit he figured it was due to the copious amounts of mud caked to it. What did he do? Swim in the mud?
He made a point of placing the device inside the pocket of the new suit with all of his credentials. He didn’t have his wallet with him, as he’d left it in his wool coat in the Tourist Office in the future. He did have his Torchwood ID and the small metal tube-like case in which he kept Retcon, but he couldn’t chance them finding them. He was also going to need money. He couldn’t think of what he could sell. He didn’t have anything on him. He’d have to see if Greg and Llinos would help him yet again.
He showered and dressed quickly, grateful that his shoes were easily cleaned. He headed back to the main area to see Llinos and Greg, heads together as they sat hovering over a typewriter. Greg looked up as Ianto entered and he offered him a toothy smile. Jack must adore him, Ianto thought, sadly.
“We’re going to set you up with a local bank account. With all the international tensions going on at the moment, it’s probably best. Besides, since Four is so hush-hush we figured you couldn’t tell us specifics. You didn’t come with a suitcase and I doubt we’ll be able to save your old suit.” Ianto was speechless. Greg seemed to read his mind.
“Thank you,” he said, finding his voice.
Greg stood and smiled again. “Not really a problem. Besides, anything that will keep you under Tilda’s notice will make your life so much easier until you have to return.”
“You lot mustn’t like her very much,” Ianto said and watched with interest as Greg and Llinos shared a look.
“Tilda is…hard to work for. Nothing pleases her and she hates all things alien above and beyond ration,” Llinos volunteered.
“How do you cope? I mean, we all get along well at Four. We’re a tight team and we actually enjoy one another’s company.” That wasn’t totally true. He could take or leave Owen on a good day but Ianto knew all too well how it felt to work for someone hard. Yvonne Hartman made things very difficult but Torchwood London was so large that he found himself actually in her presence but twice. However, to work with a small team of people with a tyrannical boss seemed unbearable.
Greg shrugged. “We just do. It’s part and parcel of working for Torchwood, yeah. You lot must be very lucky at Four.” He nudged Llinos with his hip. “May put in for a transfer.”
She looked up at him and said, “You’d do that only if Jack agreed to visit.”
Ianto felt his stomach drop yet again at the mention of Jack.
“Woah, mate,” Greg said, rushing to his side. “We forgot to mend that wound. You’re all pale again.” He took Ianto’s arm and led him down to the med bay.
~*~
“Knock, knock,” Gwen said from the doorway. In her hands she held two coffees in travel mugs and a bag. “Thought you could use some food and drink.”
Jack smiled up at her and stretched. Glancing at the clock, he realized he’d been reading for two hours.
Gwen handed him a coffee which he took with two hands and breathed it in. “Not Ianto’s,” Gwen said, regretfully.
“No, but right now I could use the caffeine,” he said with a smile.
Gwen opened the bag and handed him a wrapped parcel. “Bacon butties. I ran home and Rhys made them for you. He’s gutted. He likes Ianto.”
Jack raised a questioning eyebrow. “I didn’t know they were close.”
Gwen sat down on the chair opposite him and shrugged. “After that mess at the warehouse and the space whale, Rhys offered Ianto a few lorries to help him clean up. They went out for beers a couple times. They even follow the same team, which is a relief for me, I’ll tell you; someone else to hear about scores and players.” She smiled and took a sip of her coffee.
Jack only sat in silence. He had no idea that Rhys and Ianto had become friends. To Jack, the two seemed poles apart.
“I really don’t know him, Gwen,” he said, finally finding his voice.
Gwen offered him a sad smile and leaned forward to take his hand. “None of us really do, Jack. He’s so private. He has a different personality for each of us and maybe that is the real Ianto. Maybe, he’s just naturally a chameleon.” She shrugged again. “He tells me nothing. Last time I asked him about himself I stepped in it and upset him so I just don’t anymore.”
Jack put the butties aside and picked up his coffee. He took a sip and though it wasn’t Ianto’s, Rhys did make good coffee. He swallowed and asked, “What did you say to him?”
Gwen had the decency to blush. “It was stupid, Jack. I shouldn’t have said anything at all.”
This made Jack even more curious. “Tell me.”
With a sigh, Gwen said, “Fine. We were talking about music and it turns out he likes ABBA and every guy I ever knew that listened to ABBA was gay and he told me about certain songs he liked and I joked and said it sounded like a well worn reply. He said it was the reply he had when he had the same conversation with his mother when he was fourteen. Basically, his mother knew his sexual preferences even then. I told him he was lucky for being bi because he had the best of both worlds and that was when I’d really screwed up.”
“How so?” Jack asked. He’d known none of this. He never even knew Ianto liked ABBA. If he had, he could have told him stories of his time with the band. Or not. He just didn’t know how to handle Ianto.
She steeled herself and said, “He told me it wasn’t the best of both worlds. He said he couldn’t trust himself let alone others’ motives. In a world that likes tidy labels he was neither one nor the other and he seemed genuinely put off by this. I’m sorry, Jack. This isn’t helping you.”
Jack was staring at the top of his coffee cup. “No,” he said, absently. “It does. He feels lost and confused and I never do anything to alleviate his misgivings.”
Gwen stood up and placed her coffee on Jack’s desk. She crossed over to Jack and knelt down beside his chair. She took his hand and forced him to look at her. “Jack, you love him.”
Jack looked down at her and blinked. “I love all of you,” he said, automatically.
She smiled at him. “I know, Jack. But you know what I mean. It’s all right. He obviously loves you.”
Jack shook his head. “I can’t, Gwen. It hurts too much.”
She looked slightly confused. “To love hurts? Hell yes, it does. Do you think I don’t die every day worrying about Rhys? About the life he would love for us and the one I can’t give him? It hurts so much, Jack. I know I’ll probably die and leave him a widow and that hurts me even more but I still love that fool. What is the point of it all if we don’t allow ourselves the tiniest bit of happiness? When I go home, even if it’s for an hour, I get his love and his arms around me and all the horrors we see, all the wounds and the darkness disappears for that short time and it gives me strength to keep going.”
“I know all this, Gwen,” Jack said, his voice soft but strong. “I’ve lived so long and I’ve loved so many but in the end they leave and I keep going.”
“So, it’s easier for you to be a selfish bastard to protect your own heart? What about him? Don’t you think he deserves to be happy in the short time he’ll be here?” she asked and Jack could hear the venom rising.
Jack blinked.
“Jack, none of us will live long. Does it hurt you to be close to us?” she asked.
He nodded, closing his eyes.
“Is there any way to stop the pain? The heartbreak?”
“No,” he said in a whisper.
“Then why are you fighting this? Does it make you happy to be with us while we’re here?”
This made his lips quiver into a smile. “Unimaginably happy.”
“Then snap out of it, Jack. Let yourself love him and enjoy him while you can,” she chided.
“What if he doesn’t feel the same when he returns? I was horrible.”
Gwen stood up and shook her head, pulling Jack close for a hug. “You’re an idiot. Don’t you think he knows that isn’t who you are now? And if he comes back and wants to go, you give him space. That stupid saying, how does it go? If you love something, let it go.”
Jack hugged her around the waist. “When did you get so wise, Ms. Cooper?”
“Someone has to take up the slack while Ianto’s away,” she joked. “No, though. I did my share of stupid and I could have lost Rhys because of it. I’m not proud of what I’ve done but it helped me learn that there are more important things in life than just myself.”
They were silent for a moment. Jack clung to Gwen as she carded her fingers through his hair.
“The Hell, Cooper! The bloody bed isn’t even cold,” Owen spat from the doorway.
Gwen pulled from Jack and turned on Owen. “Fuck you, Owen! I was helping Jack.”
“She was,” Jack said. “She brought me food and was telling me off for my own self loathing.”
“Not what it looked like from over here,” Owen said, eyeing the pair uneasily.
Gwen looked at Jack and jabbed a thumb toward Owen. “One of those stupid things I did,” she said.
At that, Jack suddenly barked out laughing. He wasn’t laughing at what Gwen had said or at the look on Owen’s face. Instead, he was laughing at the hilarity of the moment and the fact that he could almost hear Ianto’s quips towards everyone in the room.
The pair turned to look at him. “Jack, are you all right?” Gwen asked.
“No,” he said, laughing harder. “I believe I’m going insane but that’s all right because none of you are any better. Gwen, you’re right. He deserves better than I was giving him. Owen, shut up. She was helping me and just because you assume the worst of both of us doesn’t mean you’re right. I’m surprised Tosh isn’t up here standing silently in the corner and not getting involved. God, we’re pathetic! All of us!”
He pushed away from his desk and walked over to the pair. “Gwen, go home. Kiss Rhys and thank him for the food and coffee and I don’t want to see you till tomorrow afternoon. Owen, take Tosh out to eat. You both need to go home as well but I know you won’t. Tosh is too invested in the device and you think I’m going to crack at any second.”
Owen’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You are cracking, Harkness.”
“Ah, true. Maybe I am,” he said, shrugging. “Anyway -“ he began and broke off. His eyes had grown huge and his face pale.
“Jack?” Owen said, watching as Jack froze in place.
“Oh God,” Jack whispered.
“Oh God, what?” Gwen asked.
“I remember him,” he replied before his body crumpled to the ground and began to thrash.
~*~
Ianto had been very busy all afternoon and this was the first time he’d had a moment to himself. He was sitting in one of the communal rooms set in the lower levels of the Hub. Funny, these rooms weren’t used in his time, and Ianto felt it a shame. The idea of having a room to unwind in appealed to him and he thought he might just reopen a few when he got home. If he got home.
It had been three days since he’d arrived in 1939 and he felt that he was adjusting well. His initial meeting with Doctor Brennan had been tense as she scrutinized him but he was polite and used his open, honest face with her and soon she was assigning him areas of the Archive to investigate. He knew that she was still wary of him and didn’t fully trust him but the paperwork that Greg and Llinos had forged for him was impeccable. Torchwood: we tame aliens and fake documents.
Nah, not very catchy.
He was happy to be in the Archives. It was interesting, seeing how they were truly meant to look and how close he was in bringing it back toward that direction. He couldn’t help but goggle at some of the finds down there but, if questioned, he would just explain it as device envy. He had to wonder if Jack had known what they had down here because in his present they were no longer there. Or perhaps, after Jack had taken over Torchwood, he’d removed some of them. There were a few things Ianto recognized and gave a wide berth to.
Currently, he was invested in writing in the journal he’d purchased yesterday. He wanted to keep track of everything that happened to him in the past and then he would try to find a way of getting it to Jack in the future. He had an idea of how to do that. The walls of his room were exposed brickwork and Ianto toyed with the idea of hiding the book behind one. He had thought of doing that originally so he could hide it when he wasn’t working on it. He knew Doctor Brennan didn’t trust him and he wouldn’t put it past her to go searching through his belongings, as meager as they were, while he was away from the Hub.
“What are you writing?” a cheery voice piped in from behind his shoulder.
Ianto discreetly closed the cover and turned a smiling face toward the man behind him. “Nosy, Greg?”
Greg grinned brighter. “Always.” He took a seat beside Ianto. “Is it secrets you’re taking notes on to take back to Four?” he asked in a covert and dramatic whisper.
Ianto only rolled his eyes and smirked. “Yes. I’m drawing up plans for a hostile takeover.”
“It would have to be hostile with Tilda. She wouldn’t give this up easy,” Greg said, his smile wilting slightly.
Ianto tucked the journal into his jacket pocket and reached for his coffee. “What’s wrong, Greg?” he asked. In the few days he’d been here, he and Greg were practically inseparable. Ianto was quickly seeing that not much took the smile off the other man’s face.
The smile slipped back onto his face. “Oh not much. I was just thinking that if Tilda wasn’t so hard then maybe Jack would come by more often.”
Ianto felt the familiar sting of jealousy that struck whenever Greg mentioned Jack. “That’s a shame. I’m sure I’d like to meet him,” he said with as much innocence as he could muster.
Greg’s smile grew bigger. “He’d like you.” An odd flash crossed Greg’s face as he realized what he had just said. Ianto noted it and filed it away. “But he’s a flirt,” Greg said and though he no longer looked odd, he suddenly looked scared. “I mean, Jack’s very friendly.”
Ianto smiled softly. “It’s all right, Greg. I’m very friendly myself.”
Greg’s eyes narrowed as he read the words Ianto wasn’t saying and seemed to come to the conclusion that it was all right. “Good. ‘Cos I hate secrets. Bad enough, working for this place.”
Ianto schooled his expression but felt his stomach fall to his shoes. He swallowed and said, “I hate them as well. I feel like I live in a tapestry woven with lies.”
“Such is the way of Torchwood,” Greg said, pushing away from the table and standing. He smoothed his hands over his suit. “I’m on duty tonight with Llinos again. Sometimes we play cards. You’re more than welcome to join us.”
Ianto stood up and said, “I’d really like that.”
Later that evening, the three sat around one of the desks playing Rummy and cracking dirty jokes, Ianto watching the ones he told to make sure they weren’t too out of place. Llinos was winning. Apparently, she was a bit of a shark. Ianto was just trying to enjoy himself. If he was stuck here he knew he would have to carve a life out for himself.
The lift that led to the warehouse door on the ground level began to rise. Ianto looked at it in concern but the others didn’t seem sussed by it. He turned his attention back to the game. It was probably just Rhydian or Tilda coming in, though neither were due back until morning.
“Hey kids, you miss me?” a voice said and Ianto felt his world shatter. He’d been dreading this moment and here it was. He turned his head slowly to see the man standing by the lift.
He was just as Ianto expected him to look. Jack stood there, shiny like a new penny, his hair slightly different; he wore a dark navy suit and there was no RAF great coat. That, at least, helped Ianto.
“Ooooh, a new friend,” Jack said when he spied Ianto. He crossed the Hub and came up to the three. Greg was on his feet, smiling like a fool. Llinos looked indifferent and was shuffling the cards, the game obviously over now that His Harkness had arrived. Ianto only tried to control the turmoil of emotions that rolled through him. Jack threw a smile at Greg. It was the smile Jack usually threw at Ianto. His heart broke a bit more.
He held his hand out and said, “Captain Jack Harkness.”
Ianto took Jack’s oh-so-familiar hand. “Ian -“ he cleared his thick voice and tried again. “Ianto Jones.”
Time seemed to freeze for a moment, though to Ianto it felt like an eternity. Touching Jack’s skin sent electric tingles through his body. He knew it wasn’t his Jack but he still wanted to throw himself into the other man’s arms and weep. Jack, on the other hand, seemed to be memorizing Ianto’s face. There was a taste at the back of Ianto’s throat and he heard Llinos say something but he couldn’t make out the words; all he could see was Jack’s eyes and he wanted to just lean in and kiss him.
Jack blinked and let go of Ianto and turned to Llinos. “It’s the pheromones. Does it every time,” he said but his voice lacked the cockiness of earlier. He turned to Greg, purposely not looking at Ianto. At least, that was what Ianto thought. “So, do you wanna go somewhere?” Jack asked, his voice regained the full-on ooze of Jack on the pull.
Greg looked over at Llinos and Ianto, unsure. Jack cast another look at Ianto and paused. This time, Llinos leaned over and with the intention of being obvious, ran her hand over Ianto’s thigh. “We’ll be fine. You boys go have some fun,” she said, her voice a practical purr.
Jack gave Ianto a quizzical look then smiled at Llinos. “Good on you. Just don’t break him.” Then he and Greg were gone, the lift disappearing above the ceiling.
“That was His Harkness,” Ianto whispered, looking down at his hands.
He heard the click of the gun just behind his head. “Now, tell me who you really are,” Llinos said, her voice low and deadly.
Ianto sighed and slowly lifted his hands up in surrender. He turned to face her. “Was I that obvious?”
“Not to Greg but he’s blinded by Jack. But the way Jack looked at you,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ve never seen him look like that. It was like someone had walked over his grave.”
“You may not believe me,” he said.
She raised an elegant eyebrow. “I work for Torchwood. Try me.”
“Could you lower the gun? I won’t try anything,” he said, resignedly.
“I’ll be the judge of that,” she said, nudging his shoulder with the gun.
“Fine,” he said and lowered his hands enough to rub his face. “I’m Torchwood Agent Ianto Jones. I was born in 1983. I don’t know what happened. All I can tell you is that I woke up here. I remember being at work and being at home but nothing after that until Greg found me.” Ianto seemed to crumple into himself. He looked up at Llinos, his eyes watery with unshed tears. “I just want to go home.”
The gun in Llinos’ hand must have grown heavier since she slowly lowered it. “Do you have any proof?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
Ianto slowly moved his hands toward his jacket pocket. He pulled out his ID and handed it over to her. She took it and looked at the odd plastic card.
“I never wanted to lie to any of you,” he pleaded.
She shook her head and handed him back the card. “You have no choice. You’re Torchwood. It’s what we do.” She put her gun back inside the desk and seemed to relax. “You know Jack, don’t you?” she asked and smiled at the shocked look on Ianto’s face. “Yeah, we all know he can’t stay dead. It’s just that you seemed almost pained when he arrived and -“
“No. I don’t know this Jack. I know the Jack in my time,” he said. He suddenly found his hands and the ID badge very interesting.
“I know you can’t tell me much because it will only hurt the timelines but tell me this . . . you are lovers, yeah?” she asked, tilting her head to see his face.
Ianto sighed. “I love him,” he whispered.
Llinos sighed. “Then we do have a problem. I’ll protect you from Tilda, Ianto, and I won’t tell Greg but you have to stay away from Jack.”
“I know. It will only hurt him in the future. I know that as soon as our team discovered me missing they would have started to find a way of getting me home. I know it could take a while, though. I’m helpless here and seeing him is killing me.” He tucked the ID back into his pocket.
Llinos crossed her arms over her chest and stretched her legs out before her, still crossed at the ankles. Ianto had to admire her shapely legs encased within the silk stockings. He had to admit, the time did lend an air of class that was definitely missing in the future. Llinos noticed him staring and smiled.
“Well, you aren’t completely lost to the fairer sex the way Greg is,” she said, smirking.
Ianto gave her a sad smile. “I do appreciate beauty. I was engaged once but I lost her. Death by Torchwood.”
Llinos nodded sagely. She reached forward and touched Ianto’s cheek and he instinctually leaned into the touch. “You’ve known too much pain, Ianto.”
Ianto reached up to take her hand and placed a kiss on the palm of it. He then lowered both hands and smiled at her. “What doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger, yeah?”
~*~
Jack woke with a gasp. He was in the med bay and Owen was staring down at him. “Shhh, Jack. You’re fine. You didn’t die, only had a fit and then passed out. The memory must have been small.” He walked out of Jack’s vision and Jack could hear him hitting keys on the keyboard.
“It was odd,” Jack said, his voice thick like gravel. He tried to sit up but the room spun and he fell back onto the pillow.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t try that yet. Why don’t you just lie there and tell me about it?” Owen asked, returning to him with a bottle of water and a straw. Jack took a few sips of water and felt his throat loosen. He closed his eyes and rubbed his hands over his face. “So, you were saying?”
Jack blinked and said, “Yeah. It was odd because…it felt like I’d already known him. I know I’d never met Ianto Jones before a few years ago. In the past, that was new and yet so familiar. When I shook his hand, it was magnetic.”
Owen raised an eyebrow before saying, “Perhaps you two are soul-mates.”
It was Jack’s turn to look at Owen oddly. “I never would have believed that I’d ever hear something like that come out of your mouth.”
Owen scowled. “That’s because you didn’t know me before Katie died. I was actually quite the romantic. Unfortunately, that Owen Harper died when she did.”
Jack smiled sadly. “Too bad.” He locked eyes with the other man until Owen seemed to squirm.
Owen shot to his feet. “Yeah, well, that was a long time ago. Katie was my soul-mate. Maybe Ianto is yours and you will always find him, over and over again.”
“Will you ever find Katie again?” Jack asked.
Owen stopped. His back was to Jack as he had been fussing with tubes and papers on his desk. He sighed and said, “No, Jack. Not in this life.”
A soft sound caught the attention of both men. Jack looked up at the top of the stairs. “Hi, Tosh.”
Owen looked up and didn’t smile. “Got those reports for me, Tosh?”
She nodded as she made her way down the stairs to the two men. She silently handed the pages to Owen without looking at him and went over to see Jack. She smiled at him, though Jack noted the sadness still heavy in her eyes. “How are you feeling, Jack?”
Jack reached out, took her hand and gave it a kiss. “Much better now that you’re here.”
“Do you really remember Ianto?” she asked.
Jack smiled, softly. “He was there. I shook his hand as I was introduced to him. I remember him looking healthy and safe. He was sad and looking at the memory I can tell he was fighting with himself. He must be hurting so badly.”
Tosh leaned over and kissed Jack’s forehead. “We’ll get him back. I’m still running scans and I should have a report to you in an hour. We should know how to go about fixing this by then.”
Owen cleared his throat and got their attention. “Um, Tosh. Did you get to eat?”
Tosh, slightly confused, said, “Not yet. I wanted to finish those reports for you.”
Owen blinked in surprise. “Jack will be good as long as there aren’t any more memory flashes for a bit. Do you want to run with me to get some food?”
“Oh… yeah. Sure. We could grab something quick and eat here,” she said and turned to Jack. “Would you like something?”
Jack thought of food and shuddered as his stomach rolled, “No, thank you. I’d like more coffee, though.” he said, sitting up slowly.
Tosh nodded with a smile and turned to Owen. “I’ll just go and grab my purse.”
Owen watched her disappear and turned to see Jack with a grin that made Owen want to punch it off his face. “She’s not Katie,” he ground out.
“I didn’t say she was,” Jack replied with an air of innocence. “She’s definitely Toshiko.”
Owen pulled off his lab coat and grabbed his jacket. “This means nothing, Harkness.”
“Nothing at all,” Jack said, slipping off the gurney and following Owen up the stairs. He was going to go read more of Ianto’s journal.
~*~
Ianto sat hunched at his desk, writing in his journal. It had been a few weeks since he had met past-Jack. Llinos had not asked any more questions of him. Earlier in the week, she seemed to act a bit odd and even took a few days off. Ianto was worried for her health but didn’t have a chance to look into it as Tilda was on a rampage. London had requested a piece of tech and Tilda had sent Ianto down to find it. When he returned and said it couldn’t be located, she blew a gasket, blamed him and now he was banned from the Archives until she had proof that he wasn’t trying to sabotage Torchwood Cardiff to make her look bad to London. No matter what Ianto said, Tilda refused to believe him. For a moment, he was afraid she was going to put him in one of the cells or worse, shoot him. If Greg hadn’t stood between them and tried to talk sense into the woman, she probably would have shot Ianto dead. She had a look of madness in her eyes that Ianto knew would haunt his nightmares for many years. He knew this woman’s fate. He knew she would turn her back on Torchwood for her own means and betray them all. She would partly be the cause of Greg’s own death and Ianto had to force himself to act as though he knew nothing. He just prayed that by some miracle he was gone before that all came to pass.
“Jones!” Tilda yelled across the Hub and Ianto looked up. She still looked manic. As Ianto crossed to her office, he noted that Greg, Llinos and Rhydian were all conspicuously missing from view. Fuck Ianto thought. This was it. She was definitely going to kill him and there was nothing he could do to stop her.
He stood before her desk and said, “Yes, ma’am.”
Tilda looked at him with narrowed suspicious eyes. “You are a lucky man, Mr. Jones.”
Ianto didn’t even move a muscle. “How so, ma’am?”
“You have friends in high places. Apparently, London had the Felian device all along. If they hadn’t have called you would have been locked away in a cell till you rotted. I don’t trust you, Mr. Jones. You show up unannounced -“ she said.
“But Four said they’d - “ he interjected.
“I don’t lose paperwork. Either they didn’t send it or you aren’t who you say. There is no way I can contact Four. However, London has verified the paperwork you came with so until I have a bit more proof that you are a spy I am obligated to allow you to stay. If I see even the slightest suspicious activity, you are a dead man.” She was leaning forward at her desk with her hands clenched before her and Ianto could see that her knuckles were clenched white. “However, I refuse to allow you access to my archives. I do not trust you, Mr. Jones.”
“Yes, ma’am. You mentioned that,” he said before he could stop himself.
She practically growled. “Are you trying to be smart with me? No one is smart with me, Mr. Jones.”
“No, ma’am. I wouldn’t dream of being smart with you, ma’am. It would be a waste of my talents,” he said. He knew he should be playing it cool but this woman was insane. That, and she was pushing on his last nerve.
“Jones, like I said, you have friends in high places-“ she started but Ianto interrupted again.
“Which friends, ma’am? As far as I know, no one but my team knows that I’m here.”
“Harkness,” she hissed and Ianto thought she was saying that Jack was his friend but quickly realized that the man was standing behind him when Jack’s hand came to rest on the small of his back.
“That would be me. London called and said I was needed to stay here for a bit. I’m not happy about it but they said you were being a bitch to a guy from Four. London said he’s very important,” he said, his eyes flashing to Ianto. “Please tell me it’s you.”
Ianto felt his world fall through the floor and he wished that Jack would remove his hand from his back. It felt like it was burning through his suit jacket and he just knew if he looked there would be a red hand-print on his back.
Tilda was fuming. “Fine, Harkness. He’s yours. Train him up for field work and I don’t want to see him or you around here.”
Jack smiled brightly and Ianto died a bit inside.
So much for keeping away from Jack.
The hand on his back directed him away from Tilda and down to the main Hub area. Greg and Llinos appeared from around the corner and Ianto swallowed hard. The look in Greg’s eyes was heartbreaking but then Jack flashed him his smile and all seemed to be forgiven. Ianto understood. He knew that look all too well. Ianto looked at Llinos and she gave him a smile that he couldn’t quite understand. She seemed confident in something that he couldn’t put his finger on.
“Are you staying, Jack?” Greg asked, glancing at the arm attached to the hand touching Ianto’s back.
Jack slowly dropped the hand and moved into Greg’s personal space. “Looks like I’ll be babysitting the new boy until Tilda can back off. London thinks our man is special and doesn’t want to find him floating in the Channel with a bullet hole in the head.”
Ianto blanched. He had no idea that Tilda would really go that far. He knew she was crazy, just not that crazy.
“Are you all right, Ianto?” Llinos asked, coming up beside him and wrapping her arm around his waist. It was comforting but not as much as Jack’s touch. He nodded mutely. “Come with me, I’ll get you something to drink.” Greg and Jack didn’t seem to notice them as they passed by and headed down to the med bay. Ianto took a seat as soon as they entered. Llinos got a glass of water and handed it to him. “I’m sorry,” she said.
Ianto held the glass in his hands, staring at it as if all the answers would suddenly appear on the surface of the water. “What have you to be sorry for?” he asked, his voice thick and gravelly.
Llinos came to sit beside him. “Drink your water,” she said. Ianto slowly lifted it to his lips, praying there was Retcon in it. “I’m sorry because the only way to keep you safe from Tilda was to throw you at Jack.”
Ianto turned his head to look at the redhead. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“Don’t play stupid, Ianto. You’re a smart man, figure it out,” she said, standing up and smoothing down her trousers. She glanced up the stairs to make sure no one was listening.
Ianto watched her with a mix of terror and admiration. This woman was amazing. He took in her beauty and her poise as she leaned against the wall with elegant ease. She caught him looking and raised an eyebrow in his direction. “Forget it, Jones. I don’t do second best.” She turned her face to the top of the stairs. There was sadness in her expression and Ianto realized that he was looking at yet another of Jack’s casualties.
Ianto nodded. He stood and placed his now-empty glass on the counter and walked closer to her, whispering so only she could hear. “Thank you. I know you wouldn’t have pushed me toward Jack if you had a choice. If I could do-“
Llinos turned to look at him and grabbed his collar, pulling him into a deep kiss. Ianto stood wide eyed as Llinos kissed him but, as her hand touched the small hairs on the back of his neck, he found himself kissing her back. It had been so many months since he had had contact of any form that he just melted into her arms.
They parted for air. Llinos leaned her forehead against his and whispered, “Jack was looking for you. I wanted him to think you were mine.”
“You could have convinced me,” he breathed.
Llinos smiled. “Stay safe, Jones. Your Jack needs you.” She patted his chest with one hand and moved away from his arms reach. “I see why he likes you.” Her scarlet lips were smeared and Ianto had a feeling he was wearing half of her lipstick.
“I can’t see why he left you,” Ianto said before he could stop himself.
Llinos took a step closer and touched the tip of Ianto’s nose. “I’m going to miss you when you’re gone,” she said with a smile.
“Assuming I leave,” Ianto replied.
Llinos nodded. “He’ll find you. I’d move heaven and hell to find you and I’m not Jack Harkness.”
Ianto wanted to smile, to cry, to kiss her again. He was filled with a turmoil of emotions that he couldn’t place in their neat little categories the way he normally could. Instead, he gave her a nod and turned to the stairs and headed out to find Jack. He was standing near the lift, apparently waiting for him. Ianto approached and Jack’s face split into a huge smile. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Ianto. Ianto looked at it oddly.
“Llinos is some girl,” Jack said and Ianto realized that he really must have been wearing half of her lipstick. He wiped it away, a blush colouring his cheeks the way that the lipstick had coloured his mouth.
“I love that blush,” Jack said as Ianto tried to hand him his handkerchief, “Keep it. C’mon. Let’s get out of here.”