Fractured, Part 1
Title: Fractured
Author: tonjavmoore
Artist: cjharknessgirl
Genre: Crossover with Dr. Who
Pairing(s): Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 20291
Warnings: None
Summary: Season 2, sometime before Reset. While the rest of the team are hunting Weevils, Ianto Jones disappears from the Hub. When the CCTV shows that the Doctor is responsible, what will Jack do?
Fractured
The eleventh incarnation of the being known universally as the Doctor paced in the control room of the TARDIS, on each round checking one of the screens that sat precariously on the centre console. His Companions watched patiently for a while, but finally decided to get whatever it was out in the open. “What is the matter with you?” Amy asked.
The Doctor jumped and spun about as though he could not tell where the voice had come from. “Oh, there you are. I didn’t see you.”
“We’ve been standing here quite a while,” she pointed out. “Watching you create a trench walking around and around. I can’t think the TARDIS appreciates that.” She was surprised that the TARDIS didn’t respond with even so much as a flashing light at her little sally.
The Doctor shook his head. “It’s not the time.” He went back to the screen and studied it again. “Have you ever had to do something for the greater good, even though it goes against all your beliefs and will cost you dearly?”
She considered it. “No, I haven’t. It’s rather an abstract concept. I’ve known soldiers to sacrifice their lives for their buddies, but I don’t think that’s quite what you mean, is it?”
“Not exactly, but similar. Yes, similar.” He sighed. “What I have to do is force things on someone I barely know and lose the regard of two of my friends. I don’t have that many friends; it will be very hard to lose them. They’ll come back, but not for a long time.”
“What is it? And why do you have to do it?” Rory asked.
He gestured at the screen. They moved closer to study it. There was a globe at the middle of the screen with lines radiating out from it. Most of the lines were broken and dull with many branches growing off of them like spidery tumours. There was only one line that was straight and clean. “That’s a simplified version, of course,” the Doctor said, quietly. “But it’s quite clear. That circle in the centercentre is a period in time. The broken ones are the result of my failure to act when it was necessary. They’re branching and they’ll intertwine, removing the timeline that should be. That’s this one. My former self missed opportunities to set things in motion naturally. When I was him, I was something of a social idiot.” Another sigh. “So, now I’ve got to fix it. I’ve put it off as long as I can, but we are approaching the point of no return, to put it melodramatically. I have to do it now, or give us over to that.”
The Doctor’s sadness and resignation was a sharp contrast to the wonder and enthusiasm that he usually bubbled over with. Amy put a hand on his arm to comfort him and stroked the control board at the same time, hoping the TARDIS would help. Surprising but not so surprising really, the TARDIS reflected the emotions of the Doctor. She was full of loss, of pain, and acknowledgement of how hurtful it was to be embarking on this path. “Ah, well,” the Doctor said. “The TARDIS has made the special perception filter. Best do it now, before I lose the nerve. It will be repugnant, but I will need your help. Especially yours, Rory. Can I count on you?”
Amy was so proud when he said, “Always, Doctor. Always.”
They had been forced to split up; Owen and Tosh were chasing the Weevil who was running toward the warehouse while Jack and Gwen went after the two heading into the park. Jack managed to wing one of them in the shoulder, bringing it to a sudden halt. Gwen veered off to stun and bag it, while Jack continued to run in the direction of the other one. “Ianto,” he panted into the comm. “Where’d it go?”
“Below you, sir,” came the prompt reply. “There appears to be a culvert ahead.”
Jack would have smiled had he not been breathing so hard. That devil on the other end knew what that “sir” did to his libido and what’s more, knew exactly what would happen when Jack got back to the Hub. Well, how it would start at any rate. Jack was so distracted by considering his options that he almost fell into the culvert.
He hopped down and saw the Weevil vanishing around a curve in the wall. Jack moved faster now that he was out of the breeze and caught up with it before it could get much farther. He shot this one in the leg, bringing it down. Bullets never stopped a Weevil for long, so he took no extra time. One shot from the taser to stun it, a bag draped over the head and it was ready to transport. “Ianto, did you figure out where they popped out of?”
“A drain a half kilometre to the northeast of you. I can see the broken grate on the CCTV.”
“We’ll need to get that fixed before we go back to the Hub. Something about it is luring them out here. Tosh, where are you?”
She was a bit breathless but answered promptly. “We have it bagged now. Gave us a bit of a run.”
“Get it into the SUV and then come to the park. I’m not going to lug a snoring Weevil any further than I…”
A strange noise, like the distant whirring of propeller blades, came over the comm. “What’s that?” Gwen asked first, echoed by Jack, Owen and Tosh a scant moment later.
That left Ianto and Jack’s blood became cold as he didn’t hear anything. “Ianto?” he barked.
The sound grew louder and Jack recognized it as the sound of the Doctor’s TARDIS. He heard Ianto say, “What are you…?” followed by a sound Jack would never forget - the high-pitched whine of a sonic screwdriver. A cry, a thud, and the unmistakable sound of something being dragged across the metal flooring. When the whirring started again, Jack broke out of his paralysis. “Doctor!” he shrieked. “What are you doing?”
Only silence answered him.
Gwen had never known Jack to drive so recklessly. The tagged Weevils were in the back of the SUV; Jack had barely allowed time to load them. When he screeched to a halt in the car park, Gwen was glad to have escaped with her life. Jack was out of the car running before she could take a breath.
All three of them followed as quickly as they could. Jack was calling for Ianto as he dashed around checking the places where Ianto would normally be. Tosh, ever sensible, went to her console and pulled up the CCTV. “Come here, Jack,” she called to him.
Jack came, out of breath. Gwen had never seen such panic in his eyes. Something was horribly wrong, and Jack knew something about it. She turned to watch Tosh’s screen.
She had found Ianto sitting at his console, watching the scans on his screens. His lips were moving, so he must have been talking to one of them. A minute or so into it, Gwen saw papers stirring as though a wind were blowing through.
Ianto glanced over his shoulder, frowned and stood up. A moment later, something began to materialize in the open space near the cog door. At first Gwen couldn’t make out what it was. Finally when it solidified she realized it was a very old-fashioned police box, the kind that used to sit on the streets in the 1960’s and 1970’s. “What is that doing here?” she asked.
Jack didn’t answer. His eyes were riveted to the screen. The door of the box slid back and a man emerged. He was tall and thin, with a shock of unruly brown hair. He was dressed in an ill-fitting brown suit with a pin-stripe and a pair of red trainers. He was carrying a metal tube in his hand. He pointed it at Ianto and a bright blue light showed at the tip. Ianto collapsed onto the floor and the man ran to him, grabbed him under the shoulders and dragged him to the box. Once they were inside, the door snapped shut and the box disappeared the way it had arrived, fading away in waves. The entire sequence had taken less than a minute.
Questions burst out like a flood from Gwen, Tosh, and Owen. “What the hell was that? Who was that man? Why did he attack Ianto? What was that police box? Where is Ianto now? Do you know him?” They all came out at once and Gwen didn’t know which of them had asked which question.
Jack made a cutting gesture with his hand. “Cue it back up, Tosh, please,” he said. “Now play it slowly and pause when I tell you.”
They watched again. When the box had fully materialized, Jack said, “Stop.” He pointed at the screen. “That is the TARDIS,” he said with a catch in his voice. “She can travel through space and time.”
“She?” Owen asked.
“She’s sentient - aware and intelligent. She is definitely female. Go on.”
The footage continued until the man stepped out of the box and Jack told Tosh to stop. He took a deep breath. “That is the Doctor, his tenth version,” Jack said.
Gwen could hear the tremor in Jack’s voice now. “The Doctor?” she echoed. “The one you left with?”
“Yes,” he replied, almost in a whisper. He turned away as though he couldn’t bear to look at the screen.
Tosh stood up and touched his arm. “Do you have any idea why he would want to abduct Ianto?”
“No!” The anguish sounded genuine. “No,” he said again, “unless… unless he…I have to make a phone call.” He marched up to his office and slammed the door.
They saw him take out his phone and call a number. Gwen and the others stood watching him and then shared puzzled glances. “Does anyone have any idea what’s going on?” Owen said.
“No,” Gwen and Tosh chorused.
Tosh added, “I hope Ianto’s all right. Wherever he is.”
Martha Jones stared at the caller ID on the phone before she lifted it to her ear. “Jack?”
“Martha, call the Doctor! Tell him to bring Ianto back here right now!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down.” Jack’s shouting was nearly unintelligible, but there was no mistaking the panic in his voice. Martha moved back around her desk and sat. “Take a couple of deep breaths and say that again.”
When he spoke this time, the panic was even stronger, but the voice was tightly controlled. “I need you to call the Doctor.” He described what they had seen on the CCTV, concluding with, “I don’t know what he thinks he’s doing, but I want Ianto back here right now.”
“Jack, this doesn’t make any sense,” she protested, even as her finger pressed the button to summon her orderly. She wasn’t used to having one yet, but she was glad she did now. “What could the Doctor possibly want with Ianto? And why wouldn’t he just come and ask him? Ask you?”
“I don’t know. The only thing I can think of… no, it’s crazy. I can’t believe it. Will you call him?”
“Yes, of course, I will. Just a minute.” She spoke to the orderly. “Tell Colonel Mace I need to see him. There’s a situation in Cardiff with Torchwood and the Doctor. I need to get there as quickly as I can.” He nodded and went back out. “I’ll call, but you know he doesn’t always answer the phone.”
“Just try, please. I can’t… I’ve got to get him back. I don’t have to tell you…”
“No, you don’t,” she soothed. “I know what he means to you. I’ll call you back in a few minutes. And, I’m coming there as soon as I can. Try not to worry.” She knew that was useless, but she had to make the attempt. “We’ll get it sorted.”
“Thank you, Martha.” She heard a note in his voice that sounded almost like a sob. “I’ll be waiting.”
Rory took the man’s pulse again. Ianto Jones, the Doctor had said his name was. The TARDIS was supplying continuous readouts of his vitals on the screen above the exam table, but Rory preferred to rely on his own senses. He heard the door open behind him, but did not look up. He was counting respirations. He felt Amy’s hand on his shoulder. “How’s it going?” she asked.
“He’s stable. Signs are right for someone in a deep sleep.” Rory shook his head. “Did Himself tell you anything else?”
He kept an eye on her as she walked around the table and peered down at Ianto’s face. “Well, he did and he didn’t. You know how he is. He told me his ‘former self’, whatever that means, had been too blinded by prejudice to understand the implications of non-action. Clear as mud. Then he said that until the TARDIS pounded it into his head, he had no idea how important this man was to all of time. When I asked why, he said because of who he is and what he feels and how he does things. You see what I mean? He’s talking but he’s not explaining.” She touched the unconscious man’s cheek. “He’s really nice-looking though.” Her grin was impish as she met Rory’s eyes. “If you like that ‘tall, dark, and handsome’ type, anyway.”
Rory matched her grin. “And you don’t?”
“Not exactly my taste. You’ve met the guy I married, remember?”
Before the conversation could take a more intimate turn, the Doctor came in, rubbing his hands. “Stage One is all set. Rory, you are Mr. Jones’ attending physician and you, Amy, are the family member with the medical permission, or whatever they call it there at the time. It’ll all be on the psychic paper.”
This part was really bothering Rory’s medical ethics. “Doctor, why can’t we wake him up and ask for his permission? He may want it. You don’t know.”
Sighing, the Doctor said, “We can’t take that chance. He can’t remember any of this. If he does, there will be implications that will send us down the wrong path again.” He shook his head. There was a catch in his voice as he continued. “I hate this. I hate doing it this way. It’s abominable. And it’s entirely my own fault. There’s nothing that will ever excuse my actions. You two are blameless. You’re helping me and I’m very grateful, but you bear no guilt for being a part of this. That is mine to carry.” In one of his mercurial switches, he changed voice and expression. “Right. So let’s get on, shall we? Rory, keep an eye on him. If the TARDIS so much as jiggles that table, let me know straight away.”
Jack had sent Gwen to the train station to collect Martha. He was none too sure that he trusted himself driving right now. He felt as though part of his heart had been ripped out and it wasn’t growing back. He and Ianto had only just managed to begin building a real relationship. He had discovered just how much he needed Ianto during that wretched year. Ianto who had never been dazzled by the hero, nor put off by the iron fist that came with leadership. And now the Doctor…
He saw the Invisible Lift lowering and went out to meet Martha. She jumped off the stone and ran straight into his arms, holding him tightly. “I’m sorry, Jack. So sorry.”
“Anything?”
“I’ve called every hour. He’s not answering and not returning my calls.”
Jack closed his eyes against the fresh wave of panic washing over him. He looked up at Gwen who was apparently about to burst from curiosity and said, “Go to Ianto’s flat and help Owen install those surveillance cameras. Tosh is giving him directions from here. Once you’ve finished, come back and we’ll have a meeting where I’ll explain as much as I can. I need to talk to Martha before… before we meet.”
Gwen nodded. “All right. But Jack, we need to know what’s going on! Where is Ianto?”
“Go on, Gwen. Come back when you’re done.”
With a sigh she turned and left, stopping to speak to Tosh. Jack didn’t try to overhear. He led Martha up to his office and she sat in a chair. He moved behind the desk and sat. He didn’t have to speak; she started with, “Jack, you don’t look good.”
He gave her a grimace. “And here I thought you came all this way to see the jaw line.” It was a pretty weak attempt and she didn’t react. “Thank you for coming,” he tried instead.
“End of the world survivor’s club, remember?” She leaned forward and put her clasped hands on the desk. “Jack, you know the Doctor isn’t going to harm Ianto. I don’t understand why he abducted him in that way, but the Doctor doesn’t hurt people. I mean, not intentionally. So what’s got you so tied up inside?”
Jack smiled bitterly. “He’s hurting me plenty, but that doesn’t matter. To him I’m an impossible thing he can’t stand to be around.”
She shook her head. “Stop that. You know that’s not true.”
“Oh, yes, it is. I can pretend, but it’s no good lying to myself. It won’t help Ianto.”
Her dark eyes pierced him. “Jack, stop stalling and tell me what’s wrong.”
He sighed. Giving voice to his fears would make them more real. Yet, Martha was the only other person in the world he could share this with. He had to swallow before he could make his voice work. “Do you remember what the Doctor said when we were on our way back? That we couldn’t tell anyone about that year?”
“Yes.” Martha’s eyes widened. “Jack, you…”
“I told Ianto,” he said simply. He blinked to stop the sudden rush of tears. “I told him everything. About the Master and the Toclafane and the Paradox Machine - all of it. I hurt him, Martha. I hurt him so badly I was afraid he would just turn away. After everything, I just couldn’t… All I wanted was to hold him and reassure myself that he really was alive, but it all came rushing out. I wanted him to understand so he would let me…”
Martha was out of the chair and around the desk almost before he had seen her move. She gripped one of his shoulders and used the other to raise his chin so that she could look at him. He couldn’t look away. “Now, you listen to me, Jack Harkness. Stop torturing yourself. If you needed to tell him that badly, then you did exactly the right thing. Even the Doctor would understand that.”
Jack was unconvinced. “Maybe,” he said, “but there was a problem I didn’t think about at the time.”
“What problem?”
He sighed again. “Martha, Ianto has an eidetic memory. After I told him, he could remember bits and pieces of the year. Not clearly. He said they were like memories of nightmares, but definitely memories.” He freed himself to go over and look out at the Hub. “What if that’s why the Doctor took him away? What if that’s somehow a danger to the future? The Doctor wouldn’t kill him, but he could and would remove him from the timeline and take him somewhere he wouldn’t be a problem.” He turned back to his friend, not bothering to wipe away the tears that were falling. “That’s what I’m afraid of. I’m afraid I’ll never see Ianto again.”
“That was fast,” Amy said when they were once again back on the TARDIS. She was relieving Rory of his monitoring so that he could get some rest. They had changed Ianto out of his suit at the hospital and he was wearing what could have passed for hospital scrubs had they not been made out of a fabric she had never seen before. “So what did they do?”
The Doctor was sitting - sitting still! - in a chair on the other side of the bed. Amy could see he was upset, but that didn’t stop her from trying to get him to talk. He had become so withdrawn since he had brought Ianto on board. She tried again. “What exactly did they do, Doctor?”
He shook himself. “Something to ensure the future.”
“That’s a little vague.”
The Doctor sighed. “Amy Pond, I know you want to know everything, but I’ve had this discussion with your spouse. He’ll tell you or not. I don’t want to repeat myself. This is difficult enough as it is.”
She knew she could worm it out of Rory, so she changed direction. “Why are we doing it then? None of that ‘saving the future’ stuff, please. I want to know why so I can help. I know you probably can’t tell me all of it, but at least give me something. I’ll help you bear it, whatever it is.”
“Can you?” His green eyes pierced her. “Even when you learn that I’m a coward and that my cowardice betrayed a good man over and over? That I’ve hurt him beyond measure? That I’ve stolen the one person who understands him away and he’s suffering alone? Can you help me bear that?”
Amy was startled into silence. Finally she said, “I don’t believe you’re a coward.”
“Oh, but I am.” The Doctor stood and began prowling the room. That shouldn’t have made Amy feel better, but it did. A motionless Doctor was an anomaly. He continued, his voice harsh. “Something happened to him. Something that the TARDIS and I were responsible for. It was irreversible and condemned him to a hell of my making. Instead of talking to him, I ran. I ran fast and far, hoping that I’d never have to face the consequences of it.”
“What sort of hell?”
“The hell of eternal life. He can’t die, Amy. He has to live on while everyone leaves him. I condemned him to a hell of everlasting isolation from his fellow humans. And instead of telling him and helping him, I abandoned him on a satellite full of dust and bodies. For no other reason than my fear. I compounded it by lying to people who cared about him and wanted to make sure he was all right. I was so arrogant. And that was only the first in a long series of betrayals.”
At first, the shock of the confession kept Amy motionless. When she could move again, she crossed to the Doctor and touched his arm. She had no platitudes to offer to relieve his suffering. “Well, that’s pretty bad,” she said. “But you’re sorry now, aren’t you? You’re going to make it up to him?”
“I have to. I thought I could get out of it by running away again. That’s how much of a coward I am. Only when the TARDIS showed me the fractures in the timelines did I dredge up enough courage to own up to my mistakes.” He regarded her solemnly. “What we’re doing is born from desperation before the TARDIS and I start to break apart from the strain. I’m going to commit the ultimate sin for a Time Lord - I have to go back and change my own timeline. The events in my life will still happen. I will still end up in this place standing here with you. What will alter is how I remember and perceive those events. I’ll need my Companions to help me anchor to the time here and now.” He tried to give her one of his quirky grins, but it was a lame attempt. “Think you’re up to it, Amy Pond?”
“Well, I’ll have to be, won’t I?” She went back to check Ianto’s pulse. The Doctor went toward the door. “Doctor?” she said, stopping him.
“Yes?”
“I still have faith in you. You’ll fix it. I know you will.”
Toshiko kept half an eye on her laptop as they sat around the boardroom table. It was still scanning the Torchwood One files for something to track to let them know if there was any sign that the Doctor’s ship was on Earth. She physically jumped when Jack said her name. “Tosh? Do you have anything for us?”
“I’m still looking,” she said. “I found a few things. There’s a group called LINDA that posts rumours about the Doctor’s appearance on a blog. They haven’t posted anything in the last week. I’ve tried correlating the dates with Rift activity, but so far it still seems random. There was a very small reaction when the ship - what did you call it?”
“The TARDIS,” Jack replied. His voice sounded so weary. Tosh knew that he was worried about Ianto and missed him terribly.
So did she. Sometimes she thought Ianto was really the only friend she had. She could talk to him about anything, unlike the others on the team. “Right, the TARDIS. There was a little blip when the TARDIS was here in the Hub, but there’s nothing to distinguish it from any other blip that size. We get six or seven of those a day. I’m looking in the Canary Wharf files, but so far no luck.”
Jack’s friend Martha put her hand over his. Tosh liked her. She was relieved that someone was taking care of Jack so that Owen and Gwen were free to help her look. If - no, when - she corrected herself. When they found Ianto, Owen would be in charge of his care. He had spent time with both Martha and Jack, quizzing them about the effects of travelling in the TARDIS. Tosh knew he was researching that as well as scanning the news feeds for any trace of activity they might find suspect.
“Gwen, what about you?”
Gwen cleared her throat. “The Heddlu are looking, Jack. They all have pictures of Ianto, the Doctor, and the TARDIS. Kathy Swanson is directing the investigation and she likes and respects Ianto.”
Owen gave a humourless chuckle. “That’s an understatement. She’s not exactly secretive about how she feels…”
“Please, Owen.” Tosh stopped him before he could further upset Jack. “Martha, do you mind answering a couple of questions?”
“Of course not, Tosh. Ask away.”
“When you were travelling with the Doctor, was there anything unusual about the TARDIS when it was stationary. I mean, did it glow or anything like that? Even for a brief period?”
“Not that I ever saw.” She shook her head. “It sort of blended into the background wherever we were. I mean, it still looked like a police box, but it looked like it belonged there. Does that make sense?”
“Why do you want to know?” Jack asked. “Do you have an idea?”
“I don’t know whether I do or not. It just occurred to me.” Tosh gave him a smile which she hoped would encourage him, but not too much. “I just thought… does the TARDIS have a perception filter?”
“Yes.” Jack leaned forward. “What are you thinking?”
“Well…” With so many eyes on her, Tosh was nervous. It was only a half-formed idea. “When I first came, I wondered about the Invisible Lift. It just seemed so odd that other people would steer themselves around it with that big hole right there, while we just walk right over to it. Even when the hole isn’t there, most people don’t step on that stone. So something is going on all the time. When you told us it was a perception filter, I thought maybe I could find the boundaries by scanning for the energy that it must be giving off.” She shrugged. “I never did and I forgot about it until now.”
For the first time in the thirty hours since Ianto had disappeared, a gleam showed in the Captain’s eyes. “Martha, do you still have that key?”
She grinned. “I take it with me everywhere.”
“Tosh, take a look at Martha’s TARDIS key. I don’t know if mine has a perception filter, but we know hers does. Get on it.”
She pulled the laptop around and put the search into the background. “Right away, Jack.”
Author: tonjavmoore
Artist: cjharknessgirl
Genre: Crossover with Dr. Who
Pairing(s): Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 20291
Warnings: None
Summary: Season 2, sometime before Reset. While the rest of the team are hunting Weevils, Ianto Jones disappears from the Hub. When the CCTV shows that the Doctor is responsible, what will Jack do?
Fractured
The eleventh incarnation of the being known universally as the Doctor paced in the control room of the TARDIS, on each round checking one of the screens that sat precariously on the centre console. His Companions watched patiently for a while, but finally decided to get whatever it was out in the open. “What is the matter with you?” Amy asked.
The Doctor jumped and spun about as though he could not tell where the voice had come from. “Oh, there you are. I didn’t see you.”
“We’ve been standing here quite a while,” she pointed out. “Watching you create a trench walking around and around. I can’t think the TARDIS appreciates that.” She was surprised that the TARDIS didn’t respond with even so much as a flashing light at her little sally.
The Doctor shook his head. “It’s not the time.” He went back to the screen and studied it again. “Have you ever had to do something for the greater good, even though it goes against all your beliefs and will cost you dearly?”
She considered it. “No, I haven’t. It’s rather an abstract concept. I’ve known soldiers to sacrifice their lives for their buddies, but I don’t think that’s quite what you mean, is it?”
“Not exactly, but similar. Yes, similar.” He sighed. “What I have to do is force things on someone I barely know and lose the regard of two of my friends. I don’t have that many friends; it will be very hard to lose them. They’ll come back, but not for a long time.”
“What is it? And why do you have to do it?” Rory asked.
He gestured at the screen. They moved closer to study it. There was a globe at the middle of the screen with lines radiating out from it. Most of the lines were broken and dull with many branches growing off of them like spidery tumours. There was only one line that was straight and clean. “That’s a simplified version, of course,” the Doctor said, quietly. “But it’s quite clear. That circle in the centercentre is a period in time. The broken ones are the result of my failure to act when it was necessary. They’re branching and they’ll intertwine, removing the timeline that should be. That’s this one. My former self missed opportunities to set things in motion naturally. When I was him, I was something of a social idiot.” Another sigh. “So, now I’ve got to fix it. I’ve put it off as long as I can, but we are approaching the point of no return, to put it melodramatically. I have to do it now, or give us over to that.”
The Doctor’s sadness and resignation was a sharp contrast to the wonder and enthusiasm that he usually bubbled over with. Amy put a hand on his arm to comfort him and stroked the control board at the same time, hoping the TARDIS would help. Surprising but not so surprising really, the TARDIS reflected the emotions of the Doctor. She was full of loss, of pain, and acknowledgement of how hurtful it was to be embarking on this path. “Ah, well,” the Doctor said. “The TARDIS has made the special perception filter. Best do it now, before I lose the nerve. It will be repugnant, but I will need your help. Especially yours, Rory. Can I count on you?”
Amy was so proud when he said, “Always, Doctor. Always.”
They had been forced to split up; Owen and Tosh were chasing the Weevil who was running toward the warehouse while Jack and Gwen went after the two heading into the park. Jack managed to wing one of them in the shoulder, bringing it to a sudden halt. Gwen veered off to stun and bag it, while Jack continued to run in the direction of the other one. “Ianto,” he panted into the comm. “Where’d it go?”
“Below you, sir,” came the prompt reply. “There appears to be a culvert ahead.”
Jack would have smiled had he not been breathing so hard. That devil on the other end knew what that “sir” did to his libido and what’s more, knew exactly what would happen when Jack got back to the Hub. Well, how it would start at any rate. Jack was so distracted by considering his options that he almost fell into the culvert.
He hopped down and saw the Weevil vanishing around a curve in the wall. Jack moved faster now that he was out of the breeze and caught up with it before it could get much farther. He shot this one in the leg, bringing it down. Bullets never stopped a Weevil for long, so he took no extra time. One shot from the taser to stun it, a bag draped over the head and it was ready to transport. “Ianto, did you figure out where they popped out of?”
“A drain a half kilometre to the northeast of you. I can see the broken grate on the CCTV.”
“We’ll need to get that fixed before we go back to the Hub. Something about it is luring them out here. Tosh, where are you?”
She was a bit breathless but answered promptly. “We have it bagged now. Gave us a bit of a run.”
“Get it into the SUV and then come to the park. I’m not going to lug a snoring Weevil any further than I…”
A strange noise, like the distant whirring of propeller blades, came over the comm. “What’s that?” Gwen asked first, echoed by Jack, Owen and Tosh a scant moment later.
That left Ianto and Jack’s blood became cold as he didn’t hear anything. “Ianto?” he barked.
The sound grew louder and Jack recognized it as the sound of the Doctor’s TARDIS. He heard Ianto say, “What are you…?” followed by a sound Jack would never forget - the high-pitched whine of a sonic screwdriver. A cry, a thud, and the unmistakable sound of something being dragged across the metal flooring. When the whirring started again, Jack broke out of his paralysis. “Doctor!” he shrieked. “What are you doing?”
Only silence answered him.
Gwen had never known Jack to drive so recklessly. The tagged Weevils were in the back of the SUV; Jack had barely allowed time to load them. When he screeched to a halt in the car park, Gwen was glad to have escaped with her life. Jack was out of the car running before she could take a breath.
All three of them followed as quickly as they could. Jack was calling for Ianto as he dashed around checking the places where Ianto would normally be. Tosh, ever sensible, went to her console and pulled up the CCTV. “Come here, Jack,” she called to him.
Jack came, out of breath. Gwen had never seen such panic in his eyes. Something was horribly wrong, and Jack knew something about it. She turned to watch Tosh’s screen.
She had found Ianto sitting at his console, watching the scans on his screens. His lips were moving, so he must have been talking to one of them. A minute or so into it, Gwen saw papers stirring as though a wind were blowing through.
Ianto glanced over his shoulder, frowned and stood up. A moment later, something began to materialize in the open space near the cog door. At first Gwen couldn’t make out what it was. Finally when it solidified she realized it was a very old-fashioned police box, the kind that used to sit on the streets in the 1960’s and 1970’s. “What is that doing here?” she asked.
Jack didn’t answer. His eyes were riveted to the screen. The door of the box slid back and a man emerged. He was tall and thin, with a shock of unruly brown hair. He was dressed in an ill-fitting brown suit with a pin-stripe and a pair of red trainers. He was carrying a metal tube in his hand. He pointed it at Ianto and a bright blue light showed at the tip. Ianto collapsed onto the floor and the man ran to him, grabbed him under the shoulders and dragged him to the box. Once they were inside, the door snapped shut and the box disappeared the way it had arrived, fading away in waves. The entire sequence had taken less than a minute.
Questions burst out like a flood from Gwen, Tosh, and Owen. “What the hell was that? Who was that man? Why did he attack Ianto? What was that police box? Where is Ianto now? Do you know him?” They all came out at once and Gwen didn’t know which of them had asked which question.
Jack made a cutting gesture with his hand. “Cue it back up, Tosh, please,” he said. “Now play it slowly and pause when I tell you.”
They watched again. When the box had fully materialized, Jack said, “Stop.” He pointed at the screen. “That is the TARDIS,” he said with a catch in his voice. “She can travel through space and time.”
“She?” Owen asked.
“She’s sentient - aware and intelligent. She is definitely female. Go on.”
The footage continued until the man stepped out of the box and Jack told Tosh to stop. He took a deep breath. “That is the Doctor, his tenth version,” Jack said.
Gwen could hear the tremor in Jack’s voice now. “The Doctor?” she echoed. “The one you left with?”
“Yes,” he replied, almost in a whisper. He turned away as though he couldn’t bear to look at the screen.
Tosh stood up and touched his arm. “Do you have any idea why he would want to abduct Ianto?”
“No!” The anguish sounded genuine. “No,” he said again, “unless… unless he…I have to make a phone call.” He marched up to his office and slammed the door.
They saw him take out his phone and call a number. Gwen and the others stood watching him and then shared puzzled glances. “Does anyone have any idea what’s going on?” Owen said.
“No,” Gwen and Tosh chorused.
Tosh added, “I hope Ianto’s all right. Wherever he is.”
Martha Jones stared at the caller ID on the phone before she lifted it to her ear. “Jack?”
“Martha, call the Doctor! Tell him to bring Ianto back here right now!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down.” Jack’s shouting was nearly unintelligible, but there was no mistaking the panic in his voice. Martha moved back around her desk and sat. “Take a couple of deep breaths and say that again.”
When he spoke this time, the panic was even stronger, but the voice was tightly controlled. “I need you to call the Doctor.” He described what they had seen on the CCTV, concluding with, “I don’t know what he thinks he’s doing, but I want Ianto back here right now.”
“Jack, this doesn’t make any sense,” she protested, even as her finger pressed the button to summon her orderly. She wasn’t used to having one yet, but she was glad she did now. “What could the Doctor possibly want with Ianto? And why wouldn’t he just come and ask him? Ask you?”
“I don’t know. The only thing I can think of… no, it’s crazy. I can’t believe it. Will you call him?”
“Yes, of course, I will. Just a minute.” She spoke to the orderly. “Tell Colonel Mace I need to see him. There’s a situation in Cardiff with Torchwood and the Doctor. I need to get there as quickly as I can.” He nodded and went back out. “I’ll call, but you know he doesn’t always answer the phone.”
“Just try, please. I can’t… I’ve got to get him back. I don’t have to tell you…”
“No, you don’t,” she soothed. “I know what he means to you. I’ll call you back in a few minutes. And, I’m coming there as soon as I can. Try not to worry.” She knew that was useless, but she had to make the attempt. “We’ll get it sorted.”
“Thank you, Martha.” She heard a note in his voice that sounded almost like a sob. “I’ll be waiting.”
Rory took the man’s pulse again. Ianto Jones, the Doctor had said his name was. The TARDIS was supplying continuous readouts of his vitals on the screen above the exam table, but Rory preferred to rely on his own senses. He heard the door open behind him, but did not look up. He was counting respirations. He felt Amy’s hand on his shoulder. “How’s it going?” she asked.
“He’s stable. Signs are right for someone in a deep sleep.” Rory shook his head. “Did Himself tell you anything else?”
He kept an eye on her as she walked around the table and peered down at Ianto’s face. “Well, he did and he didn’t. You know how he is. He told me his ‘former self’, whatever that means, had been too blinded by prejudice to understand the implications of non-action. Clear as mud. Then he said that until the TARDIS pounded it into his head, he had no idea how important this man was to all of time. When I asked why, he said because of who he is and what he feels and how he does things. You see what I mean? He’s talking but he’s not explaining.” She touched the unconscious man’s cheek. “He’s really nice-looking though.” Her grin was impish as she met Rory’s eyes. “If you like that ‘tall, dark, and handsome’ type, anyway.”
Rory matched her grin. “And you don’t?”
“Not exactly my taste. You’ve met the guy I married, remember?”
Before the conversation could take a more intimate turn, the Doctor came in, rubbing his hands. “Stage One is all set. Rory, you are Mr. Jones’ attending physician and you, Amy, are the family member with the medical permission, or whatever they call it there at the time. It’ll all be on the psychic paper.”
This part was really bothering Rory’s medical ethics. “Doctor, why can’t we wake him up and ask for his permission? He may want it. You don’t know.”
Sighing, the Doctor said, “We can’t take that chance. He can’t remember any of this. If he does, there will be implications that will send us down the wrong path again.” He shook his head. There was a catch in his voice as he continued. “I hate this. I hate doing it this way. It’s abominable. And it’s entirely my own fault. There’s nothing that will ever excuse my actions. You two are blameless. You’re helping me and I’m very grateful, but you bear no guilt for being a part of this. That is mine to carry.” In one of his mercurial switches, he changed voice and expression. “Right. So let’s get on, shall we? Rory, keep an eye on him. If the TARDIS so much as jiggles that table, let me know straight away.”
Jack had sent Gwen to the train station to collect Martha. He was none too sure that he trusted himself driving right now. He felt as though part of his heart had been ripped out and it wasn’t growing back. He and Ianto had only just managed to begin building a real relationship. He had discovered just how much he needed Ianto during that wretched year. Ianto who had never been dazzled by the hero, nor put off by the iron fist that came with leadership. And now the Doctor…
He saw the Invisible Lift lowering and went out to meet Martha. She jumped off the stone and ran straight into his arms, holding him tightly. “I’m sorry, Jack. So sorry.”
“Anything?”
“I’ve called every hour. He’s not answering and not returning my calls.”
Jack closed his eyes against the fresh wave of panic washing over him. He looked up at Gwen who was apparently about to burst from curiosity and said, “Go to Ianto’s flat and help Owen install those surveillance cameras. Tosh is giving him directions from here. Once you’ve finished, come back and we’ll have a meeting where I’ll explain as much as I can. I need to talk to Martha before… before we meet.”
Gwen nodded. “All right. But Jack, we need to know what’s going on! Where is Ianto?”
“Go on, Gwen. Come back when you’re done.”
With a sigh she turned and left, stopping to speak to Tosh. Jack didn’t try to overhear. He led Martha up to his office and she sat in a chair. He moved behind the desk and sat. He didn’t have to speak; she started with, “Jack, you don’t look good.”
He gave her a grimace. “And here I thought you came all this way to see the jaw line.” It was a pretty weak attempt and she didn’t react. “Thank you for coming,” he tried instead.
“End of the world survivor’s club, remember?” She leaned forward and put her clasped hands on the desk. “Jack, you know the Doctor isn’t going to harm Ianto. I don’t understand why he abducted him in that way, but the Doctor doesn’t hurt people. I mean, not intentionally. So what’s got you so tied up inside?”
Jack smiled bitterly. “He’s hurting me plenty, but that doesn’t matter. To him I’m an impossible thing he can’t stand to be around.”
She shook her head. “Stop that. You know that’s not true.”
“Oh, yes, it is. I can pretend, but it’s no good lying to myself. It won’t help Ianto.”
Her dark eyes pierced him. “Jack, stop stalling and tell me what’s wrong.”
He sighed. Giving voice to his fears would make them more real. Yet, Martha was the only other person in the world he could share this with. He had to swallow before he could make his voice work. “Do you remember what the Doctor said when we were on our way back? That we couldn’t tell anyone about that year?”
“Yes.” Martha’s eyes widened. “Jack, you…”
“I told Ianto,” he said simply. He blinked to stop the sudden rush of tears. “I told him everything. About the Master and the Toclafane and the Paradox Machine - all of it. I hurt him, Martha. I hurt him so badly I was afraid he would just turn away. After everything, I just couldn’t… All I wanted was to hold him and reassure myself that he really was alive, but it all came rushing out. I wanted him to understand so he would let me…”
Martha was out of the chair and around the desk almost before he had seen her move. She gripped one of his shoulders and used the other to raise his chin so that she could look at him. He couldn’t look away. “Now, you listen to me, Jack Harkness. Stop torturing yourself. If you needed to tell him that badly, then you did exactly the right thing. Even the Doctor would understand that.”
Jack was unconvinced. “Maybe,” he said, “but there was a problem I didn’t think about at the time.”
“What problem?”
He sighed again. “Martha, Ianto has an eidetic memory. After I told him, he could remember bits and pieces of the year. Not clearly. He said they were like memories of nightmares, but definitely memories.” He freed himself to go over and look out at the Hub. “What if that’s why the Doctor took him away? What if that’s somehow a danger to the future? The Doctor wouldn’t kill him, but he could and would remove him from the timeline and take him somewhere he wouldn’t be a problem.” He turned back to his friend, not bothering to wipe away the tears that were falling. “That’s what I’m afraid of. I’m afraid I’ll never see Ianto again.”
“That was fast,” Amy said when they were once again back on the TARDIS. She was relieving Rory of his monitoring so that he could get some rest. They had changed Ianto out of his suit at the hospital and he was wearing what could have passed for hospital scrubs had they not been made out of a fabric she had never seen before. “So what did they do?”
The Doctor was sitting - sitting still! - in a chair on the other side of the bed. Amy could see he was upset, but that didn’t stop her from trying to get him to talk. He had become so withdrawn since he had brought Ianto on board. She tried again. “What exactly did they do, Doctor?”
He shook himself. “Something to ensure the future.”
“That’s a little vague.”
The Doctor sighed. “Amy Pond, I know you want to know everything, but I’ve had this discussion with your spouse. He’ll tell you or not. I don’t want to repeat myself. This is difficult enough as it is.”
She knew she could worm it out of Rory, so she changed direction. “Why are we doing it then? None of that ‘saving the future’ stuff, please. I want to know why so I can help. I know you probably can’t tell me all of it, but at least give me something. I’ll help you bear it, whatever it is.”
“Can you?” His green eyes pierced her. “Even when you learn that I’m a coward and that my cowardice betrayed a good man over and over? That I’ve hurt him beyond measure? That I’ve stolen the one person who understands him away and he’s suffering alone? Can you help me bear that?”
Amy was startled into silence. Finally she said, “I don’t believe you’re a coward.”
“Oh, but I am.” The Doctor stood and began prowling the room. That shouldn’t have made Amy feel better, but it did. A motionless Doctor was an anomaly. He continued, his voice harsh. “Something happened to him. Something that the TARDIS and I were responsible for. It was irreversible and condemned him to a hell of my making. Instead of talking to him, I ran. I ran fast and far, hoping that I’d never have to face the consequences of it.”
“What sort of hell?”
“The hell of eternal life. He can’t die, Amy. He has to live on while everyone leaves him. I condemned him to a hell of everlasting isolation from his fellow humans. And instead of telling him and helping him, I abandoned him on a satellite full of dust and bodies. For no other reason than my fear. I compounded it by lying to people who cared about him and wanted to make sure he was all right. I was so arrogant. And that was only the first in a long series of betrayals.”
At first, the shock of the confession kept Amy motionless. When she could move again, she crossed to the Doctor and touched his arm. She had no platitudes to offer to relieve his suffering. “Well, that’s pretty bad,” she said. “But you’re sorry now, aren’t you? You’re going to make it up to him?”
“I have to. I thought I could get out of it by running away again. That’s how much of a coward I am. Only when the TARDIS showed me the fractures in the timelines did I dredge up enough courage to own up to my mistakes.” He regarded her solemnly. “What we’re doing is born from desperation before the TARDIS and I start to break apart from the strain. I’m going to commit the ultimate sin for a Time Lord - I have to go back and change my own timeline. The events in my life will still happen. I will still end up in this place standing here with you. What will alter is how I remember and perceive those events. I’ll need my Companions to help me anchor to the time here and now.” He tried to give her one of his quirky grins, but it was a lame attempt. “Think you’re up to it, Amy Pond?”
“Well, I’ll have to be, won’t I?” She went back to check Ianto’s pulse. The Doctor went toward the door. “Doctor?” she said, stopping him.
“Yes?”
“I still have faith in you. You’ll fix it. I know you will.”
Toshiko kept half an eye on her laptop as they sat around the boardroom table. It was still scanning the Torchwood One files for something to track to let them know if there was any sign that the Doctor’s ship was on Earth. She physically jumped when Jack said her name. “Tosh? Do you have anything for us?”
“I’m still looking,” she said. “I found a few things. There’s a group called LINDA that posts rumours about the Doctor’s appearance on a blog. They haven’t posted anything in the last week. I’ve tried correlating the dates with Rift activity, but so far it still seems random. There was a very small reaction when the ship - what did you call it?”
“The TARDIS,” Jack replied. His voice sounded so weary. Tosh knew that he was worried about Ianto and missed him terribly.
So did she. Sometimes she thought Ianto was really the only friend she had. She could talk to him about anything, unlike the others on the team. “Right, the TARDIS. There was a little blip when the TARDIS was here in the Hub, but there’s nothing to distinguish it from any other blip that size. We get six or seven of those a day. I’m looking in the Canary Wharf files, but so far no luck.”
Jack’s friend Martha put her hand over his. Tosh liked her. She was relieved that someone was taking care of Jack so that Owen and Gwen were free to help her look. If - no, when - she corrected herself. When they found Ianto, Owen would be in charge of his care. He had spent time with both Martha and Jack, quizzing them about the effects of travelling in the TARDIS. Tosh knew he was researching that as well as scanning the news feeds for any trace of activity they might find suspect.
“Gwen, what about you?”
Gwen cleared her throat. “The Heddlu are looking, Jack. They all have pictures of Ianto, the Doctor, and the TARDIS. Kathy Swanson is directing the investigation and she likes and respects Ianto.”
Owen gave a humourless chuckle. “That’s an understatement. She’s not exactly secretive about how she feels…”
“Please, Owen.” Tosh stopped him before he could further upset Jack. “Martha, do you mind answering a couple of questions?”
“Of course not, Tosh. Ask away.”
“When you were travelling with the Doctor, was there anything unusual about the TARDIS when it was stationary. I mean, did it glow or anything like that? Even for a brief period?”
“Not that I ever saw.” She shook her head. “It sort of blended into the background wherever we were. I mean, it still looked like a police box, but it looked like it belonged there. Does that make sense?”
“Why do you want to know?” Jack asked. “Do you have an idea?”
“I don’t know whether I do or not. It just occurred to me.” Tosh gave him a smile which she hoped would encourage him, but not too much. “I just thought… does the TARDIS have a perception filter?”
“Yes.” Jack leaned forward. “What are you thinking?”
“Well…” With so many eyes on her, Tosh was nervous. It was only a half-formed idea. “When I first came, I wondered about the Invisible Lift. It just seemed so odd that other people would steer themselves around it with that big hole right there, while we just walk right over to it. Even when the hole isn’t there, most people don’t step on that stone. So something is going on all the time. When you told us it was a perception filter, I thought maybe I could find the boundaries by scanning for the energy that it must be giving off.” She shrugged. “I never did and I forgot about it until now.”
For the first time in the thirty hours since Ianto had disappeared, a gleam showed in the Captain’s eyes. “Martha, do you still have that key?”
She grinned. “I take it with me everywhere.”
“Tosh, take a look at Martha’s TARDIS key. I don’t know if mine has a perception filter, but we know hers does. Get on it.”
She pulled the laptop around and put the search into the background. “Right away, Jack.”