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The Watch II
Excerpt;
“You are so much like your mother,” the Doctor told Ianto. Ianto froze and shot the timelord a poisonous look so much more vehement than anything Jack had previously witnessed from the receptionist-cum-agent, it shocked him but the Doctor just returned the look with one of his own; filled with sorrow, pride, pity, grief, and pain. Only the Doctor could send so much in one glance and yet leave onlookers so bemused at what he was thinking.
“Well believe me, I’m thankful that I am not like my father,” Ianto spat at the Doctor and turned his back on the man, missing the flash of hurt that passed over the timelord’s face before a mask of acceptance and seriousness replaced all human emotion.
Previously; (if new please go to chapter one - The Watch I)
Katrina found her husband’s FOB watch and lay back next to Simon.
“What are you doing?” Simon asked.
“Looking at the time,” she told him and shone her bedside torch at the FOB watch as her fingers fiddled for the clasp.
“No!” Simon yelled, suddenly overwhelmed with a desperate desire not to open the watch, as if what it contained within would be the death of him and the end of everything he held dear. He had no idea how right he was as Katrina’s fingers tugged at the watch and upon opening it everything went white.
And now for Chapter Two;
When Ianto Jones had been ten years old he had come home from his Cardiff middle school and excitedly told his mother that he wanted to be a doctor when he grew up.
She slapped him roughly across the face.
That was the first and last time that Katrina hit her son. He had never seen his mother look so appalled, so frightened and hurt. He hadn’t understood it at the time and wouldn’t for another eleven years when he found himself staring at a screen with the words Level Three Clearance stamped across the familiar face of his father; Torchwood One’s number one enemy. The Doctor.
At the time he hadn’t understood what it meant. He had been so confused. He had spent the last three years working his way up the ranks only to find out that his father was an alien. He guessed it explained why his dad hadn’t stuck around, travelling time and space did sound more fun than staying home with a mortal wife and raising a human child after all. He supposed. Personally for Ianto he couldn’t imagine anything better than marrying Lisa and having a child with her - living a normal life, surrounded by love and life and humanity.
Then the Daleks came.
Blood. Pain. Screams of the man who had taught him how to shoot, of the nineteen year old who worked in reprographics, of the woman who had sat next to him that first day and patted him on the shoulder when he had answered a question wrong. Ianto later heard that his father - no, The Doctor - had been there that day. Saving the world in his own way while the rest of them drowned in metal and tears. Lisa… Lisa was changed. But she was still enough of herself for Ianto to cling to hope. A futile hope but hope still. It had motivated him to stay alive because as far as he was concerned there was still a chance he could save their future - preserve their love.
So he came to Torchwood Three. A long forgotten hovel compared to the splendour and professionalism of his previous employment. Which was one of the reasons he had chosen it for his maintenance of Lisa.
But soon the charms and mystery of Captain Jack Harkness won Ianto over and even as guilt of his deceit, and shame at his growing feelings for Jack in conflict of his love for Lisa, and respect for Jack who kept them all alive and together; it was still the sense of jealousy and anger at the jar which kept another version of his father’s hand. Even Jack was tied to The Doctor and part of Ianto believed it was his anger at his father that made him able to hide Lisa from Jack and defy him when it all came tumbling down around them.
Betrayal.
Ianto had betrayed Jack, and Earth. Part in love and part in his own ‘fuck you’ to a father who never cared. At the time Ianto hadn’t been sure he was going to survive - the cold metal of the gun gleaming against the sickly white of his skin. But the look of the hope of redemption as Jack stepped away and clicked the safety on gave Ianto a reason to live. A chance that he could rebuild his life, and earn his way into Jack’s heart the way Jack had into Ianto’s.
And then he was gone. Just when Ianto was at the point where he knew for sure he loved Jack - maybe even more than he had loved Lisa. Jack left and Ianto knew - he just knew! - that The Doctor was involved somehow.
So he survived, almost in spite of Jack. He continued to do the job - keeping Cardiff safe from alien threats and making coffee for Tosh, Gwen, and Owen. He visited his mother once a week reflecting that she too had survived when The Doctor had taken the man she loved from her. Ianto survived and just when he was learning how to laugh again Jack returned.
With a more than familiar face at his side.
“Hello kids! I’m back!” Jack announced, a smile that could charm a dead man spread across his battle weary face.
The man at his side coughed slightly and arched his eyebrow. Jack gave him a ‘I’m getting there’ look and turned back to the three team members who’s lives they had just saved.
“And this is The Doctor! Ianto, can you make us some of your famous coffee?” Jack finished, leaving Gwen, Tosh and even Owen to gape at the new comer who gave them a charming smile before looking at Ianto, at which point his face dropped.
“Hello, Danny.” The Doctor greeted his son.
… xxxx
Chapter Three >>> This way!