To Heal All Wounds
Summary: When Jack dies horrifically, Ianto’s there to hold his hand and make it all better. Written for thehc_bingo (wow! I did it!!!!) prompt bloodloss.
Author's note: Huge thanks to thundernight_86 for reading it through and stating that it was, in fact good enough for the prompt:P
Pairing: Janto
Warning: None
Rating: PG
Ianto found Jack laying semi conscious in the gutter down the back of a grotty alley, blood seeping from the agonisingly deep gashes trailing along his abdomen.
“Jack?” murmured Ianto, his eyes darting round for the cause of such injuries as he hesitantly stepped closer, his instinctive need to reassure his dying lover overriding all other thoughts as he knelt down beside the Immortal, trying to ignore the pools of blood surrounding them.
“Ianto...” breathed Jack in relief as he tilted his head to face the younger man, wincing as the minute movement sent jolts of pain through his injured body.
“Hey, I was wondering where you’d gotten to,” murmured Ianto softly as he gently stroked his hair back of his clammy forehead, unwilling to move him to a more comfortable position for fear he’d hurt him further.
“Weevil...” muttered Jack as his eyelids started to flicker and his breathing slowed.
“Someone should put bells on them; they’d be easier to find,” said Ianto lightly as he continued to stroke the Immortal’s hair; hoping to give some comfort in an otherwise bleak situation.
Jack tried to nod but ended up sobbing in agony as the pain became excruciating.
“Hey, shh...’s all okay, I’m here, I’m here,” murmured Ianto soothingly as he sought Jack’s hand out and squeezed it reassuringly, his gaze never leaving Jack’s
“Ianto...” mumbled Jack incoherently, his grip loosening.
“Shh...go to sleep; I’ll be here when you wake up,” whispered Ianto, carefully leaning over to kiss him chastely on the lips, feeling his ragged breath ghost against his cheek until it eventually stopped.
Closing his eyes, Ianto mentally steeled himself for the wait; he honestly didn’t mind waiting for Jack to return, he’d done it so many times now that it didn’t bother him it was just the fact that when Jack...left, the body was no longer Jack, it was just a corpse and every time Ianto had to force himself to believe Jack would come back because he knew that if he didn’t, he’d freak and then he’d be no use to anyone. Yet despite this, he always stayed no matter how long it took because he had a duty to Jack to prove that he wouldn’t abandon him, that he didn’t think him ‘wrong’ or a ‘freak’ and that, most importantly, he cared. He cared when no one else would.
Carefully, Ianto moved Jack so his head was cradled against his chest so he wouldn’t panic when he woke. Glancing down, Ianto was relieved to see that the once gaping wound was no more. Almost out of habit, Ianto took out his stopwatch, murmuring ‘one Mississippi, two Mississippi...’ in Jack’s ear; partially to pass the time but more importantly to give Jack something to ground himself in when he came back.
Ianto had reached 798 Mississippi by the time Jack came back sobbing and gasping as he clung to the younger man.
“Shhh...’s okay, it’s all okay,” murmured Ianto soothingly in Jack’s ear as he gently carded his fingers through the damp hair at Jack’s nape until he calmed and rested against him, his face buried in Ianto’s shoulder.
“You stayed, you stayed,” he mumbled incoherently as he clung closer, needing to feel the reassuring heat of his lover.
“Of course I stayed, Cariad. Now why don’t we go back to mine, hmm? We can have a nice, hot shower and then go to bed, okay?” murmured Ianto softly. Jack nodded and Ianto carefully helped him to stand, supporting the majority of his weight.
“You okay?” he asked as Jack leaned further into Ianto’s arms, resting his forehead in the crook of his neck.
“Dizzy.”
“Okay, take as long as you need,” murmured Ianto, trailing his hand lightly up and down his back. Death by blood loss was one of the worst ways to go; it was slow, agonising and often lonely and took Jack hours to recover properly from.
“Thank you,” mumbled Jack, kissing Ianto’s neck softly.
“Hey, I promised never to leave you and that’s what I’ll do; no need to thank me,” murmured Ianto, his hand cradling Jack’s head to his shoulder.
Slowly Jack withdrew from the younger man’s hold to look him in the eye; his finger lightly tracing his jaw, “I’m glad,” he murmured softly.
“So am I....now about this shower...”
By the time they got home, Jack was exhausted; his face ashen as he tried not to react to the cramps in his abdomen.
“Hurts?” murmured Ianto softly as he carefully removed Jack’s coat.
“Just a bit,” said Jack quietly, giving him a small smile,
“You’ll feel better when you’ve had a shower,” promised Ianto, leading him into the bathroom and turning the shower on.
Jack just hummed non commitally as Ianto gently unbuttoned what remained of his shirt to reveal the tattered and stained t-shirt underneath.
“You’re going to run out of clothes at this rate,” muttered Ianto as he gently lifted it over Jack’s head before chucking it in the corner.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“It is for me; I’d be forever pleading your case to Cardiff’s finest,” said Ianto drily, removing what was left of Jack’s clothes before stripping himself and moving them both under the shower where he stood behind Jack ; letting him rest his head back against his shoulder.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” murmured Jack quietly.
“It’s fine,” said Ianto as he gently ran the sponge over Jack’s chest before carefully moving it lower over newly healed skin.
“I know it’s hard for you...”
“It’s harder for you so let’s leave it at that,” said Ianto firmly as he turned Jack round to clean his back.
“I don’t deserve you,” murmured Jack as he nuzzled Ianto’s neck, letting the tension be washed away with the water.
No, you deserve better, thought Ianto ash e washed off the remaining blood and turned the shower off before reaching for a towel for both of them.
“How d’you feel now?” asked Ianto as they both moved to the bedroom.
Jack shrugged as he sat on the edge of the bed; his insides still felt like they were doing somersaults but overall, he felt calm and secure, a sensation that was becoming more and more consistent theses days.
“Let’s go to bed, hmm?” murmured Ianto as he sat behind him; his hand gently coaxing him to lay against him so his head was resting above his heart as he knew Jack would be more inclined to sleep well if he could feel the pulse of another human being.
“Mmm,” hummed Jack, his fingers trailing subconscious patterns across Ianto’s fair skin until he drifted off into a deep sleep.
“Me too,” murmured Ianto, kissing the top of Jack’s head as he trailed his own messages of love down Jack’s spine; the subconscious was a wonderful thing.