teachfic | Mourning is Not Forgetting (1/6)

Chapter 1 – Wild Card (Bad News)

It was their first calm period in so long that even Ianto had lost track of when things were last normal – or at least normal for Torchwood. He thought they’d caught a few hours peace somewhere between the havoc wrought by Jack’s brother and Hart, going to Switzerland, travelling to New Delhi, Jack and Gwen falling into comas, and alien crack-heads trying to steal ten percent of the Earth’s children, but he couldn’t be sure. He knew he’d gotten a couple of days away from the Rift when he’d tracked down Captain Hart and suggested – if holding a knife to his groin could be called suggesting – that the other man find another planet to go for a walkabout.

Not surprisingly, Hart had been both aroused and scared, but he had agreed to leave Earth, after suggesting strongly that Ianto found a way to make sure Jack’s brother never woke up. “He’s dangerous,” the ex-Time Agent had said. “He’s like a wounded animal that will attack anything and everything. He needs to be put down.”

“I can’t do that,” Ianto had told him pointedly, and he couldn’t, especially knowing how much it would devastate Jack. More importantly, he knew it was the one thing Jack would never forgive him for, and Ianto would not risk the time he had with his lover for anything or anyone.

However, he could make sure someone else took care of the situation. It had been a simple matter to use Retcon to plant a suggestion with one of the new potential recruits to reprogram the cryogenic chamber so that if anyone ever tried to revive its occupant, the system would fail. He comforted himself with the fact that it was a mercy killing. The damaged young man Ianto had met was not Jack’s brother and never would be again. In addition, it could never be traced back to him. Jack was good with the Hubs systems, but Ianto was better. He needed to be to hide Lisa, and he’d learnt even more from Tosh. Besides, the recruit had proved wholly unsuitable and been returned to UNIT without her memories.

Even with the day-to-day chaos of Torchwood, they’d found time to move Jack’s meagre belongings into Ianto’s flat, but even that had turned into a fiasco bordering on a farce. Gwen, who had just announced her not completely unexpected pregnancy, had volunteered her husband to help with the move. When Rhys had injured his back helping relocate Ianto’s sofa to what Jack said was ‘better lighting’, the men found themselves with two houseguests – one who couldn’t get off the sofa and the other who kept running to the loo to throw up. It was enough to have them longing for Jack’s tiny room under the Hub.

They’d barely evicted Gwen and Rhys and settled into a routine of living together when the world’s children had started talking in unison and thrown everyone into a panic. The initial government reaction to the return of the 456 had put the remnants of Torchwood – including the ever-loyal Rhys – on the run after the failed attempt to destroy the Hub. They had abandoned the base after detecting a bomb in Jack’s stomach.

Ianto had never been more thankful for the long hours he’d spent learning how to deploy, refine, and manipulate Tosh’s time lock. Without stopping to think or listen to Jack begging him to just leave, Ianto engaged the time lock, effectively trapping Jack and the bomb. After ordering the pregnant Gwen to safety, Ianto placed a call to the newlywed Martha. Jack swore her husband, Mickey, knew more about weapons than any of them. He was right. Mickey helped him diffuse the bomb with a series of inter-temporal transmission signals before Martha walked him through sedating the Captain and using the laser scalpel to remove the bomb with minimal injury to Jack.

Once Ianto had awakened Jack and been yelled at then snogged senseless for risking his own life, the two men had collected Gwen and Rhys and gone to ground in a secure location.

Summoned by a terrified Sarah Jane Smith, the Doctor had thrown his considerable influence behind Jack and Torchwood, forcing the hands of both UNIT and Her Majesty. With the Queen’s blessing, Martha, along with her new husband, had led the UNIT force that had arrested John Frobisher, removed Prime Minister Green from power, and brought Torchwood back into the open in time for them to stop the creatures. Someday, Ianto vowed to find out exactly how that had happened – the husband not the coup. He’d seen the coup in person from Jack’s side, determined to avenge the victims of Thames House who’d died as he watched with Gwen, both of them forbidden by their Captain to set foot within a mile of the building where the aliens were.

While her Captain and his lover were overthrowing the government – albeit in a good cause – Gwen had her own mission. Working with some of Martha’s team as backup and accompanied by Rhys, she had freed Jack’s daughter and grandson – Alice and Steven Carter– and detained Agent Johnson and her men. The soldiers were facing court-martial for attempted murder and conduct unbecoming. Johnson had met with an unfortunate accident shortly after being incarcerated. Two weeks spent posing as a UNIT guard had been worth it for Ianto to get the satisfaction of breaking the neck of the woman who had put a bomb in Jack’s stomach that would have blown him, his team, the Hub, and most of the Plass to pieces. The moment of recognition in her eyes at the last second of her life had been worth the added risk.

While Jack and Ianto had dealt with the aliens in London, Gwen and Rhys had returned to Cardiff with Alice and Steven to keep them safe. Taking the capable, if scared, woman and her son with them, they had collected Andy and fulfilled their promise to Ianto to protect his sister Rhiannon and her family.

While it had all worked out in the end – and even resulted in improved relationships between Ianto and his sister and Jack and his daughter – the Captain continued to have nightmares about those five days. He woke from terrible dreams in which he made the wrong choices and Ianto, Gwen and her baby, or his own family paid the price.

Martha – who had resigned from UNIT immediately after learning her superiors had turned a blind eye to the ‘blank page’ for Jack and his team and joined Torchwood along with Mickey - kept promising Ianto it would get better with patience and reassurance. She’d also vowed that if it didn’t, she’d have a certain Time Lord flying to the rescue to take Jack somewhere that would help. She’d mentioned the Ood; Ianto was going to do more research on that.

For now, it was enough that they were getting to sleep in their own bed. When the Rift had shown the first lull in over a year – since the incident with the Daleks moving the planet – Jack had called in a couple of favours from Colonel Mace in London, whom the Doctor insisted that they could trust and had proven very effective in cleaning house in the organization. With UNIT on standby, Jack had installed Andy as temporary police liaison. He dispatched Gwen and Rhys to Paris for what would likely be their last childfree vacation for the next decade, and sent Martha and Mickey back to Greece to complete their aborted honeymoon. Then, he took Ianto home to their flat for a bit of normalcy.

Three days into their mini-holiday, Ianto was dozing comfortably next to his sleeping partner after a nice dinner, a film, and a leisurely round of sex when he heard the Captain’s mobile start to chirp the tone that indicated a personal call. Forcing himself awake, he silently promised that if it was Gwen she was on decaf until her demon spawn was in Uni and that if it was the Doctor a certain species was going to become extinct sooner rather than later. He grabbed for the phone before it could wake the Captain, and answered in a hoarse whisper, “Captain Jack Harkness’ phone.”

“Is Captain Harkness available?” an unfamiliar voice, female voice demanded. “This is DI Kathy Swanson.”

“Detective Swanson, this is Ianto Jones,” Ianto replied seething. “No, Captain Harkness is not available. How did you get this number? It’s private and very confidential. Unless the world is about to end in the next sixty seconds, I suggest you cancel this call and forget you ever knew it. I’d prefer not to have to wipe it from your memory – along with anything else that might amuse me.”

“Mr. Jones,” Swanson sighed, sounding almost relieved. “Thank goodness. I’m calling in regards to Alice Carter. This number was listed as a family contact. I need to speak with Captain Harkness as soon as possible. It’s an emergency.”

Ianto felt his stomach drop. “I’ll get him,” he replied immediately, turning to gently shake his partner. “Jack,” he muttered urgently. “Wake up. It’s Kathy Swanson. It’s about Alice.”

Instantly awake, Jack grabbed for the mobile. “Kathy. Jack Harkness. What’s happened to my daughter?”

“Your …” Swanson stammered over the line, and then seemed to collect herself. “Sorry, hardly my business. Captain, Mrs. Carter was leaving a private party this evening at a restaurant in Cardiff when she was crossing the road and was struck by an oncoming vehicle. I happened to be outside the restaurant and offered assistance until emergency services arrived. She’s been taken to the A&E at St. David’s. Your name and number were listed in her effects as her emergency contact. When I heard your name, I asked to make the call.”

“And the person who hit her?” Jack asked, his professional persona engaging as he demanded information first.

“In custody,” the DI assured him. “He’s been booked on suspicion of driving whilst under the influence.” She paused, taking a breath. “Jack,” she said quietly. “You should get there quick as you can. I’m no doctor, but ...”

“Thanks, Kathy,” Jack replied tonelessly, understanding what the DI was saying. He was rising from the bed even as he cancelled the call. “I need to get to St. David’s,” he told Ianto as he began to look for his clothes. “Something’s happened to Alice. She’s been in an accident. She was struck by a car. Drunk driver they think. I’ll call you as soon as ...”

“Shut up,” Ianto told him sternly, already dressing. “No arguing. I’ll drive you and wait with you until we know how she is. Where was she? Was Steven with her?”

Knowing it was pointless to contradict Ianto when he looked and sounded like that, and also just thankful his partner wanted to be with him to support him, Jack shook his head. “I talked to her yesterday,” he replied as he pulled on his trousers. “She was going to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Steven had a sleepover. She was nervous because it was the first time he’s been away overnight since they ... since it happened. I offered to check the people out, but she just laughed at me. She sounded happy and ...” He didn’t realise he had stopped moving until he felt Ianto manoeuvring him into his clothing. He looked up gratefully. “Thank you,” he whispered, grasping for Ianto’s hand and squeezing it.

“It’s all going to be okay, Jack,” Ianto assured him, even though he knew he shouldn’t be making that promise. He reached up to cup his partner’s cheek. “We’ll get to Alice, see how she is, and then figure out where Steven is. He’ll be fine for the night. Tomorrow, we’ll make arrangements until Alice recovers. Rhi’s great with kids and would do just about anything for you since you found Johnny that job; I’m sure she’ll help.”

“I can’t ask her ...” Jack began, sounding a little bewildered and lost. Something was wrong with his baby girl. He just wanted to kiss her and make it better like he had when she was small, but his gut told him it wasn’t going to be that simple this time.

“You’re not asking,” Ianto corrected as he steered Jack towards the door of their bedroom. “You’re family; that’s what family is for.”

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