sam_storyteller (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sam_storyteller) wrote2005-07-17 09:20 am
sam_storyteller) wrote2005-07-17 09:20 am
Entry tags:
The Doctor And Mr. Jones; Torchwood/Who, R, 5/5
Title: The Doctor And Mr. Jones (Torchwood/Who crossover)
Rating: R for some Jack/Ianto naughtiness, but not much.
Summary: The Doctor thought he was alone in the universe -- but Torchwood is about to prove him wrong.
Characters/Pairing: Jack/Ianto; otherwise, gen.
Spoilers: Through 2008 Christmas Special (Dr. Who), 2.03 "To The Last Man" (Torchwood).
Chapter Four
Daleks are intelligent, in some sense; they are self-aware in a way, and can plan for a future, act on orders, make simple decisions. What they are not is clever.
An old tactic from the Time Wars would not have worked on Daleks of the day, who were used to the way Time Lords did battle. This new generation, however, had never faced down more than one Time Lord at a time, and did not know.
Daleks will always fix on either the closest or most threatening target first. In a two-TARDIS situation, they split evenly. Those on one side targeted the signature of the Doctor's TARDIS, callsign Small Blue Box. Those on the other side targeted the signature of the second TARDIS, designated by military forces in the area variously as "Ye fucking Gods", "What the hell is that", and TORCHWOOD-3.
In the last second before the Daleks opened fire, the pair of TARDIS space-ships winked out of time for just a moment, and reappeared on the opposite sides of the massive sea of Daleks in the air. The Daleks obediently turned, following their targets, and opened fire directly into each other.
The Doctor's TARDIS, piloted by a Time Lord of great experience and skill, dodged the stray fire that managed not to hit another Dalek.
As bits and pieces of Dalek began to fall out of the sky and the battle thinned, the fighters closing below to wipe out the survivors saw a bolt of red light land just below the nose of the other TARDIS, tipping it up and sending it spinning towards the Earth.
Jack's comm clicked on.
"This is Ianto Jones," said a very faint voice. "Beware of falling debris. Ground forces, get everyone inside and under strong reinforcement. Torchwood, stand down and take cover."
"Ianto?" Jack called. "Are you all right?"
"No, sir, thank you," Ianto replied. "I think the ship's about done for."
"The ship is falling!" a voice called. "Mr. Jones, can you eject?"
"Wouldn't know how," Ianto's voice. "I think I can control the crash. Transmitting coordinates now."
"IANTO," Jack shouted.
"Better get moving, sir. Might survive the crash," Ianto said cheerfully.
"Doctor?"
"I'm still dancing with some Daleks," the Doctor said. "Mr. Jones?"
"Stand fast, Doctor," Ianto called.
"Copy, Mr. Jones," the Doctor replied, but there was nobody in Torchwood Three to hear him. Jack, Owen, Tosh, and Gwen were running for the surface, Tosh consulting the coordinates she'd scribbled on her hand.
"He's coming down near the airport," she said, as they piled into Gwen's car. Gwen tossed Jack the keys and the car screamed onto the road.
"Ianto, still there?" Jack asked. "We're coming for you."
"Slowing descent. Much appreciated," Ianto said. "Impact in four."
"Keep talking," Jack said.
"And say what?" Ianto asked, sounding amused. "Doctor, how's the fight?"
"Blown out of the sky," a different voice answered.
"Who said that?" the Doctor demanded.
"Wing Commander Peterson out of RAF Cottesmore," came the apologetic answer.
"Well, what he said," the Doctor sighed.
"Impact in three," Ianto said. "Well done, Doctor."
"Mr. Jones, Torchwood two and five are standing down," said a female voice.
"Jack, could you take me off comm?" Ianto asked.
"Working on it," Jack said. Gwen gave him a nod. "Thank you, Torchwood, servicemen, officers. Stand down. Mind the debris." Another nod. "Okay, Ianto. Everything's taken care of."
"Good. I'm setting the TARDIS to return to Torchwood if it can after the impact. No need to make a mess in the countryside."
"Stop being compulsive, kiss-arse," Owen said.
"Yes, big brother," Ianto replied. "Impact in two. I'm taking communications down. I don't think you'll want to hear the crash from the inside."
"Ianto, don't -- " Jack said, but the click was final and terrible. He wasn't sure Gwen's car was capable of breaking the sound barrier but he was going to give it his best.
They were close enough by the time the ship came down to see it fall; a great cloud of earth flew up and the shockwave rocked the car up onto two wheels for a second. Jack pulled the wheel around and got it rolling on all four again, bouncing across the uneven Welsh countryside.
Even as they approached, the ship shimmered and seemed to shrink; it disappeared entirely as a speck on the horizon coalesced into a furiously spinning blue police public call box.
Jack stopped the car and dropped to the wet turf, running towards a dark figure that was miraculously staggering towards them, clutching his stomach.
Owen ran ahead of Jack, carrying his medical kit; he reached Ianto and shoved him to the ground, beginning to staunch the blood (oh god the blood so much blood so much human-looking blood) with a wad of gauze. Jack slid down next to him.
"Hey, hero," he said.
"Jack," Ianto grunted, tilting his head back. "Doctor says we won?"
"Ask him yourself," Jack said, as the Doctor arrived.
"His stomach's in the wrong place," Owen said. "I'm not sure how to fix it."
"Don't," Ianto said, groping for Jack's hand. He grimaced. "It's all right."
"Yes, let's just leave you to die," Owen spat, still working. The Doctor shoved him firmly but gently away.
"He's not going to die," he said.
Owen threw his gauze down. "Nobody ever does!"
The Doctor took Ianto's other hand, gripping it tightly.
"Know what to do this time?" he asked. Ianto shook his head. "All right. I'll stay with you. It hurts. Just concentrate. Your body knows how."
"What?" Gwen asked.
"This is neat!" the Doctor said. "Pay attention, class."
Ianto screamed as his skin began to glow. His hand tightened on Jack's hard enough to hurt. Then, hard enough to break bones.
"Ah ah ah!" the Doctor said. "Stop fighting it, you'll hurt your puppy."
"Puppy?" Jack asked. "Excuse me?"
"Oooz a fuzzy puppy?" the Doctor said. Ianto laughed hysterically. The laughter turned into a howl of pain as he glowed brighter than Jack could look at. He turned away but held on; he could feel bones shifting under Ianto's skin. He looked at the Doctor, whose face was illuminated with the light.
Then, faster than he could blink, it was over. The light winked out, and all he could hear was Ianto's breathing, deep but even. He looked down.
Ianto was still flat on his back, but instead of an arched back with his head tilted against the ground he was lying peacefully, looking up at the sky. And it was his face -- Ianto's face, his real face -- doing the looking.
"Well, it's not the face I'd have gone for, but nil desperandum. At least it's familiar," the Doctor said. Ianto blinked and smiled, blissfully.
"It's mine," he said, as they helped pull him to his feet. "Is the energy...thing..."
The Doctor shook his head. "Not if I do this. Stop him if he tries to punch me," he said to Owen.
"Stop who if -- HEY WOAH," Owen said, as the Doctor pulled Ianto forward and kissed him firmly on the mouth. Jack surged up and Owen shoved him away, into Gwen's restraining arms.
The Doctor released Ianto's head and Ianto jerked backwards, which was gratifying to Jack, who found that he wanted to punch both of them for various reasons.
"Heeewwoow!" The Doctor shook his head. "Buzzy. And...swallow..."
He gulped, shook himself again, and spat.
"That ought to take care of it," he said. "Fun! I haven't done that in centuries. Oouw, come on, Jack. He's practically a relation! It meant nothing."
"You..." Jack pointed at him. "You."
Jack darted forward, pulling Gwen with him, and the Doctor tried to jerk back. He wasn't fast enough, and Jack tackled him to the ground in a bearhug, pounding on his shoulders.
"You were genius!" Jack crowed. The Doctor began to laugh. Gwen fell off Jack and Tosh sagged to the ground; Owen dropped down as well, flinging the bloody bandages aside. Only Ianto remained standing, while Jack rolled onto the grass and continued to laugh.
He looked up at Ianto, the Ianto they'd had, staring out across the landscape. Always set a little apart from the others, hanging back where they leapt in, retiring to a corner when he wasn't needed. The wind blew around his body, ruffling his hair, whipping the corners of the torn and bloody shirt he wore.
Then Ianto looked skyward, where flakes of metal were beginning to drift down. He smiled faintly, a smile the Doctor sometimes used.
Life with a Time Lord. Never boring.
***
The Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets, rocked on his feet, walked around the TARDIS, and touched the door.
"Well, it's classy," he said. "Can you open it?"
"There's a trick," Ianto replied, pulling on the small metal handle at the same time as he kicked the corner of the door. It swung open and the Doctor stepped inside, disappearing as the door shut behind him. Gwen peered through the glass, but all that stared back at her was a public telephone.
"Why'd you pick a telephone box?" the Doctor asked from inside, his voice muffled.
"Unobtrusive," Ianto replied. The door opened and the Doctor emerged.
"Not in the middle of an office," he said.
"It is in this office," Ianto answered.
"Yes, I take your point."
"Besides, I always liked red phoneboxes," Ianto said. "What do you think?"
"Well, it's got some serious damage, but it's still ticking right along. It needs plenty of repairs, though."
"I have time," Ianto said, looking down at his shoes. The Doctor tipped his chin up.
"You do, and you don't," he said.
"Gwen," Jack said, tugging her away. "I think there's something we should look at over here."
"You don't have to..." Ianto started, but Jack had already firmly led Gwen and the others to the far side of the hub.
"If you stay here I can't leave a TARDIS with Torchwood," the Doctor continued. "Too much temptation, even for you. Can you even stay here? Knowing as much as you know? You're very human, but you aren't one of them, either. That's the pain of it."
Ianto shrugged. He was aware that he looked like a child doing it, but he felt like one too.
"You could come with me," the Doctor said. "See the wonders of the universe. Learn who you are, where you came from. Learn to understand time."
"Like Jack did?" Ianto asked.
"Jack could never understand what we can. That's not an insult -- no, it's not. Look in your hearts and tell me it's not true. He's a human -- smarter than most, but he just hasn't the capacity. You know that. You know that now you'll always be faster, smarter than they are."
"I could be human again."
"Could you, I wonder."
"You could make me human again."
"And you'd get what, fifty more years out of life?"
"You can't have it both ways, Doctor," Ianto said bitterly. "If I'm faster, smarter or whatnot, then I'm not human. If I think like a human, then I am one."
"You're the only other there is," the Doctor said, sounding almost desperate. "And you want me to just...leave you here?"
Ianto studied his shoes again.
"Am I?" he asked finally. "During the war they sent children to the countryside to keep them safe. What if the Time Lords did the same? Packed children into TARDISes and sent them all over space and time. Are you going to go round finding them and collecting them up? Sorry, but I don't see you doing that, Doctor. You're not the type."
"You are, though."
"Yes, and maybe..." Ianto touched the edge of the phone box. It was warm under his hand. "Maybe when I fix my ship and when I want to know more, I'll go looking. Maybe there was a list somewhere. Some method to finding them. I don't even know my own name. Maybe I can find that. But it's not your place to take my TARDIS from me or tell me where I go or don't go. And I want to stay here."
The Doctor looked away. "With Captain Jack."
"Yes. And my friends. This isn't just your adopted planet. It's mine too. More mine than yours, really."
He glanced up at the Doctor without lifting his head.
The Doctor was smiling.
"Mr. Jones, you would have been something to see on Gallifrey," he said. "I think we would have been good friends."
"We still can be, Doctor. We have a lot in common."
They both looked at Jack, who flushed and turned away from watching them.
"When you do make it -- up there," the Doctor said, rolling his eyes upwards. "Give us a ring, will you?"
"The callbox goes both ways. If you get lonely," he said cautiously.
The Doctor's smile faded. "Yeah. Maybe."
Ianto shook his head. "It was certainly interesting meeting you, Doctor."
"Likewise, Mr. Jones."
Ianto offered his hand, and the Doctor took it; as they shook a single image passed from one to the other. The stars glittering above Gallifrey, their constellations bright and vivid.
And back, another message; thank you.
"I'll let myself out. I'm not one for long goodbyes," the Doctor said, ducking through the doorway.
Ianto passed through Torchwood, back to where the others were pretending to make conversation.
"I'm staying," he said.
Gwen hugged him and Owen punched him affectionately (in the kidney, affection notwithstanding) and Tosh rubbed his arm. He looked over Gwen's head at Jack, who was smiling hesitantly.
"Did you mean it about the heart?" Jack asked.
***
At eight forty-two pm, Jack sent the team home.
Ianto said he would leave as soon as he'd finished securing the TARDIS; instead, from eight forty-five until nine-fifteen he tidied the meeting room and collated Owen's medical reports, then washed the windows on the TARDIS with glass cleaner. It seemed to appreciate it.
He put Myfanwy's dinner out and made a shopping list: new shirt, two new ties, loaf of bread, tea, and oranges. Perhaps he wouldn't tempt fate by going shopping tomorrow, but someone would need to do it eventually.
At nine twenty-two he was startled to hear music. At first he wondered if it was some side-effect of everything that had happened, but then he realised it was coming from loudspeakers Owen had mounted on the upper-level railings ages ago. He stepped into the center of the hub, looking up. Fred Astaire?
Jack stepped out from behind Tosh's darkened computer station, the consoles bluelighting his skin briefly.
"Hi," he said.
"Jack," Ianto replied. Jack kept moving forward, until they were standing -- oh, very close.
"I have it on good authority," Jack said, "that Time Lords love to dance."
"Wouldn't know," Ianto answered. Jack held up his hand, invitingly. Ianto took it. There didn't seem to be anything else to do, really.
No, that wasn't true. He took Jack's hand because he wanted to.
At nine twenty-three, as they were moving just slightly to the music, Jack pulled him closer and kissed him.
"You seem to be enjoying it," Jack said.
Ianto consciously tilted his head, so that the clock on the wall was not in his line of sight. Jack didn't notice, or if he did, didn't care; his hands were sliding up Ianto's arms, pulling his tie off, popping the buttons on the fresh shirt he'd put on (it belonged to Jack anyway). Palms flat on his chest, Jack felt for the double-heartbeat. He couldn't be doing anything else, even if he was kissing him as he did it.
Ianto pulled back a little, smiling.
"I only get one?" Jack asked.
"Yes," Ianto said. "The left one."
"Who gets the right one?"
"I'm afraid the right one belongs to Wales, sir."
Jack laughed so hard he fell down.
END
Musical Credits:
June Tabor and Maddy Prior, "What Will We Do"
Unknown (?), "The Old Churchyard"
Chris Smither, "Leave The Light On"
Pete Morton, "In Another Life" and "The Two Brothers"
Coope Boyes, "Unison In Harmony"
Martin Carthy, "The Funeral Song"
Dorothy Elliot, "Some Old Salty"
Phil Ochs, "I Ain't Marchin"
Chumbawamba, "Smith & Taylor"
June Tabor, "A Place Called England"
David Jones, "We Have Fed Our Sea"
Finest Kind, "Going To The West"
Devil's Interval, "The Well Below The Valley"
Irish Descendants, "The Mary Ellen Carter"
Traditional, "The Wren Song" (Welsh Variant)
Waterson-Carthy, "Goodbye, Fare Ye Well"
The Furie Brothers, "If I Don't Say I Love You"
Fred Astaire, "Just The Way you Look Tonight"
Rating: R for some Jack/Ianto naughtiness, but not much.
Summary: The Doctor thought he was alone in the universe -- but Torchwood is about to prove him wrong.
Characters/Pairing: Jack/Ianto; otherwise, gen.
Spoilers: Through 2008 Christmas Special (Dr. Who), 2.03 "To The Last Man" (Torchwood).
Chapter Four
And one to the other, you'll hear them all say
Goodbye fare ye well, Goodbye fare ye well,
Here comes our young Jacky with eighteen months pay
Hurrah, me boys, we're homeward bound
Goodbye fare ye well, Goodbye fare ye well,
Here comes our young Jacky with eighteen months pay
Hurrah, me boys, we're homeward bound
Daleks are intelligent, in some sense; they are self-aware in a way, and can plan for a future, act on orders, make simple decisions. What they are not is clever.
An old tactic from the Time Wars would not have worked on Daleks of the day, who were used to the way Time Lords did battle. This new generation, however, had never faced down more than one Time Lord at a time, and did not know.
Daleks will always fix on either the closest or most threatening target first. In a two-TARDIS situation, they split evenly. Those on one side targeted the signature of the Doctor's TARDIS, callsign Small Blue Box. Those on the other side targeted the signature of the second TARDIS, designated by military forces in the area variously as "Ye fucking Gods", "What the hell is that", and TORCHWOOD-3.
In the last second before the Daleks opened fire, the pair of TARDIS space-ships winked out of time for just a moment, and reappeared on the opposite sides of the massive sea of Daleks in the air. The Daleks obediently turned, following their targets, and opened fire directly into each other.
The Doctor's TARDIS, piloted by a Time Lord of great experience and skill, dodged the stray fire that managed not to hit another Dalek.
As bits and pieces of Dalek began to fall out of the sky and the battle thinned, the fighters closing below to wipe out the survivors saw a bolt of red light land just below the nose of the other TARDIS, tipping it up and sending it spinning towards the Earth.
Jack's comm clicked on.
"This is Ianto Jones," said a very faint voice. "Beware of falling debris. Ground forces, get everyone inside and under strong reinforcement. Torchwood, stand down and take cover."
"Ianto?" Jack called. "Are you all right?"
"No, sir, thank you," Ianto replied. "I think the ship's about done for."
"The ship is falling!" a voice called. "Mr. Jones, can you eject?"
"Wouldn't know how," Ianto's voice. "I think I can control the crash. Transmitting coordinates now."
"IANTO," Jack shouted.
"Better get moving, sir. Might survive the crash," Ianto said cheerfully.
"Doctor?"
"I'm still dancing with some Daleks," the Doctor said. "Mr. Jones?"
"Stand fast, Doctor," Ianto called.
"Copy, Mr. Jones," the Doctor replied, but there was nobody in Torchwood Three to hear him. Jack, Owen, Tosh, and Gwen were running for the surface, Tosh consulting the coordinates she'd scribbled on her hand.
"He's coming down near the airport," she said, as they piled into Gwen's car. Gwen tossed Jack the keys and the car screamed onto the road.
"Ianto, still there?" Jack asked. "We're coming for you."
"Slowing descent. Much appreciated," Ianto said. "Impact in four."
"Keep talking," Jack said.
"And say what?" Ianto asked, sounding amused. "Doctor, how's the fight?"
"Blown out of the sky," a different voice answered.
"Who said that?" the Doctor demanded.
"Wing Commander Peterson out of RAF Cottesmore," came the apologetic answer.
"Well, what he said," the Doctor sighed.
"Impact in three," Ianto said. "Well done, Doctor."
"Mr. Jones, Torchwood two and five are standing down," said a female voice.
"Jack, could you take me off comm?" Ianto asked.
"Working on it," Jack said. Gwen gave him a nod. "Thank you, Torchwood, servicemen, officers. Stand down. Mind the debris." Another nod. "Okay, Ianto. Everything's taken care of."
"Good. I'm setting the TARDIS to return to Torchwood if it can after the impact. No need to make a mess in the countryside."
"Stop being compulsive, kiss-arse," Owen said.
"Yes, big brother," Ianto replied. "Impact in two. I'm taking communications down. I don't think you'll want to hear the crash from the inside."
"Ianto, don't -- " Jack said, but the click was final and terrible. He wasn't sure Gwen's car was capable of breaking the sound barrier but he was going to give it his best.
They were close enough by the time the ship came down to see it fall; a great cloud of earth flew up and the shockwave rocked the car up onto two wheels for a second. Jack pulled the wheel around and got it rolling on all four again, bouncing across the uneven Welsh countryside.
Even as they approached, the ship shimmered and seemed to shrink; it disappeared entirely as a speck on the horizon coalesced into a furiously spinning blue police public call box.
Jack stopped the car and dropped to the wet turf, running towards a dark figure that was miraculously staggering towards them, clutching his stomach.
Owen ran ahead of Jack, carrying his medical kit; he reached Ianto and shoved him to the ground, beginning to staunch the blood (oh god the blood so much blood so much human-looking blood) with a wad of gauze. Jack slid down next to him.
"Hey, hero," he said.
"Jack," Ianto grunted, tilting his head back. "Doctor says we won?"
"Ask him yourself," Jack said, as the Doctor arrived.
"His stomach's in the wrong place," Owen said. "I'm not sure how to fix it."
"Don't," Ianto said, groping for Jack's hand. He grimaced. "It's all right."
"Yes, let's just leave you to die," Owen spat, still working. The Doctor shoved him firmly but gently away.
"He's not going to die," he said.
Owen threw his gauze down. "Nobody ever does!"
The Doctor took Ianto's other hand, gripping it tightly.
"Know what to do this time?" he asked. Ianto shook his head. "All right. I'll stay with you. It hurts. Just concentrate. Your body knows how."
"What?" Gwen asked.
"This is neat!" the Doctor said. "Pay attention, class."
Ianto screamed as his skin began to glow. His hand tightened on Jack's hard enough to hurt. Then, hard enough to break bones.
"Ah ah ah!" the Doctor said. "Stop fighting it, you'll hurt your puppy."
"Puppy?" Jack asked. "Excuse me?"
"Oooz a fuzzy puppy?" the Doctor said. Ianto laughed hysterically. The laughter turned into a howl of pain as he glowed brighter than Jack could look at. He turned away but held on; he could feel bones shifting under Ianto's skin. He looked at the Doctor, whose face was illuminated with the light.
Then, faster than he could blink, it was over. The light winked out, and all he could hear was Ianto's breathing, deep but even. He looked down.
Ianto was still flat on his back, but instead of an arched back with his head tilted against the ground he was lying peacefully, looking up at the sky. And it was his face -- Ianto's face, his real face -- doing the looking.
"Well, it's not the face I'd have gone for, but nil desperandum. At least it's familiar," the Doctor said. Ianto blinked and smiled, blissfully.
"It's mine," he said, as they helped pull him to his feet. "Is the energy...thing..."
The Doctor shook his head. "Not if I do this. Stop him if he tries to punch me," he said to Owen.
"Stop who if -- HEY WOAH," Owen said, as the Doctor pulled Ianto forward and kissed him firmly on the mouth. Jack surged up and Owen shoved him away, into Gwen's restraining arms.
The Doctor released Ianto's head and Ianto jerked backwards, which was gratifying to Jack, who found that he wanted to punch both of them for various reasons.
"Heeewwoow!" The Doctor shook his head. "Buzzy. And...swallow..."
He gulped, shook himself again, and spat.
"That ought to take care of it," he said. "Fun! I haven't done that in centuries. Oouw, come on, Jack. He's practically a relation! It meant nothing."
"You..." Jack pointed at him. "You."
Jack darted forward, pulling Gwen with him, and the Doctor tried to jerk back. He wasn't fast enough, and Jack tackled him to the ground in a bearhug, pounding on his shoulders.
"You were genius!" Jack crowed. The Doctor began to laugh. Gwen fell off Jack and Tosh sagged to the ground; Owen dropped down as well, flinging the bloody bandages aside. Only Ianto remained standing, while Jack rolled onto the grass and continued to laugh.
He looked up at Ianto, the Ianto they'd had, staring out across the landscape. Always set a little apart from the others, hanging back where they leapt in, retiring to a corner when he wasn't needed. The wind blew around his body, ruffling his hair, whipping the corners of the torn and bloody shirt he wore.
Then Ianto looked skyward, where flakes of metal were beginning to drift down. He smiled faintly, a smile the Doctor sometimes used.
Life with a Time Lord. Never boring.
***
Sometimes I forget to tell you
I can't promise that I won't
If I forget to say I love you
It don't mean I don't
I can't promise that I won't
If I forget to say I love you
It don't mean I don't
The Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets, rocked on his feet, walked around the TARDIS, and touched the door.
"Well, it's classy," he said. "Can you open it?"
"There's a trick," Ianto replied, pulling on the small metal handle at the same time as he kicked the corner of the door. It swung open and the Doctor stepped inside, disappearing as the door shut behind him. Gwen peered through the glass, but all that stared back at her was a public telephone.
"Why'd you pick a telephone box?" the Doctor asked from inside, his voice muffled.
"Unobtrusive," Ianto replied. The door opened and the Doctor emerged.
"Not in the middle of an office," he said.
"It is in this office," Ianto answered.
"Yes, I take your point."
"Besides, I always liked red phoneboxes," Ianto said. "What do you think?"
"Well, it's got some serious damage, but it's still ticking right along. It needs plenty of repairs, though."
"I have time," Ianto said, looking down at his shoes. The Doctor tipped his chin up.
"You do, and you don't," he said.
"Gwen," Jack said, tugging her away. "I think there's something we should look at over here."
"You don't have to..." Ianto started, but Jack had already firmly led Gwen and the others to the far side of the hub.
"If you stay here I can't leave a TARDIS with Torchwood," the Doctor continued. "Too much temptation, even for you. Can you even stay here? Knowing as much as you know? You're very human, but you aren't one of them, either. That's the pain of it."
Ianto shrugged. He was aware that he looked like a child doing it, but he felt like one too.
"You could come with me," the Doctor said. "See the wonders of the universe. Learn who you are, where you came from. Learn to understand time."
"Like Jack did?" Ianto asked.
"Jack could never understand what we can. That's not an insult -- no, it's not. Look in your hearts and tell me it's not true. He's a human -- smarter than most, but he just hasn't the capacity. You know that. You know that now you'll always be faster, smarter than they are."
"I could be human again."
"Could you, I wonder."
"You could make me human again."
"And you'd get what, fifty more years out of life?"
"You can't have it both ways, Doctor," Ianto said bitterly. "If I'm faster, smarter or whatnot, then I'm not human. If I think like a human, then I am one."
"You're the only other there is," the Doctor said, sounding almost desperate. "And you want me to just...leave you here?"
Ianto studied his shoes again.
"Am I?" he asked finally. "During the war they sent children to the countryside to keep them safe. What if the Time Lords did the same? Packed children into TARDISes and sent them all over space and time. Are you going to go round finding them and collecting them up? Sorry, but I don't see you doing that, Doctor. You're not the type."
"You are, though."
"Yes, and maybe..." Ianto touched the edge of the phone box. It was warm under his hand. "Maybe when I fix my ship and when I want to know more, I'll go looking. Maybe there was a list somewhere. Some method to finding them. I don't even know my own name. Maybe I can find that. But it's not your place to take my TARDIS from me or tell me where I go or don't go. And I want to stay here."
The Doctor looked away. "With Captain Jack."
"Yes. And my friends. This isn't just your adopted planet. It's mine too. More mine than yours, really."
He glanced up at the Doctor without lifting his head.
The Doctor was smiling.
"Mr. Jones, you would have been something to see on Gallifrey," he said. "I think we would have been good friends."
"We still can be, Doctor. We have a lot in common."
They both looked at Jack, who flushed and turned away from watching them.
"When you do make it -- up there," the Doctor said, rolling his eyes upwards. "Give us a ring, will you?"
"The callbox goes both ways. If you get lonely," he said cautiously.
The Doctor's smile faded. "Yeah. Maybe."
Ianto shook his head. "It was certainly interesting meeting you, Doctor."
"Likewise, Mr. Jones."
Ianto offered his hand, and the Doctor took it; as they shook a single image passed from one to the other. The stars glittering above Gallifrey, their constellations bright and vivid.
And back, another message; thank you.
"I'll let myself out. I'm not one for long goodbyes," the Doctor said, ducking through the doorway.
Ianto passed through Torchwood, back to where the others were pretending to make conversation.
"I'm staying," he said.
Gwen hugged him and Owen punched him affectionately (in the kidney, affection notwithstanding) and Tosh rubbed his arm. He looked over Gwen's head at Jack, who was smiling hesitantly.
"Did you mean it about the heart?" Jack asked.
***
Oh but you're lovely, with your smile so warm
And your lips so soft
There is nothing for me
But to love you
Just the way you look tonight
And your lips so soft
There is nothing for me
But to love you
Just the way you look tonight
At eight forty-two pm, Jack sent the team home.
Ianto said he would leave as soon as he'd finished securing the TARDIS; instead, from eight forty-five until nine-fifteen he tidied the meeting room and collated Owen's medical reports, then washed the windows on the TARDIS with glass cleaner. It seemed to appreciate it.
He put Myfanwy's dinner out and made a shopping list: new shirt, two new ties, loaf of bread, tea, and oranges. Perhaps he wouldn't tempt fate by going shopping tomorrow, but someone would need to do it eventually.
At nine twenty-two he was startled to hear music. At first he wondered if it was some side-effect of everything that had happened, but then he realised it was coming from loudspeakers Owen had mounted on the upper-level railings ages ago. He stepped into the center of the hub, looking up. Fred Astaire?
Jack stepped out from behind Tosh's darkened computer station, the consoles bluelighting his skin briefly.
"Hi," he said.
"Jack," Ianto replied. Jack kept moving forward, until they were standing -- oh, very close.
"I have it on good authority," Jack said, "that Time Lords love to dance."
"Wouldn't know," Ianto answered. Jack held up his hand, invitingly. Ianto took it. There didn't seem to be anything else to do, really.
No, that wasn't true. He took Jack's hand because he wanted to.
At nine twenty-three, as they were moving just slightly to the music, Jack pulled him closer and kissed him.
"You seem to be enjoying it," Jack said.
Ianto consciously tilted his head, so that the clock on the wall was not in his line of sight. Jack didn't notice, or if he did, didn't care; his hands were sliding up Ianto's arms, pulling his tie off, popping the buttons on the fresh shirt he'd put on (it belonged to Jack anyway). Palms flat on his chest, Jack felt for the double-heartbeat. He couldn't be doing anything else, even if he was kissing him as he did it.
Ianto pulled back a little, smiling.
"I only get one?" Jack asked.
"Yes," Ianto said. "The left one."
"Who gets the right one?"
"I'm afraid the right one belongs to Wales, sir."
Jack laughed so hard he fell down.
END
Musical Credits:
June Tabor and Maddy Prior, "What Will We Do"
Unknown (?), "The Old Churchyard"
Chris Smither, "Leave The Light On"
Pete Morton, "In Another Life" and "The Two Brothers"
Coope Boyes, "Unison In Harmony"
Martin Carthy, "The Funeral Song"
Dorothy Elliot, "Some Old Salty"
Phil Ochs, "I Ain't Marchin"
Chumbawamba, "Smith & Taylor"
June Tabor, "A Place Called England"
David Jones, "We Have Fed Our Sea"
Finest Kind, "Going To The West"
Devil's Interval, "The Well Below The Valley"
Irish Descendants, "The Mary Ellen Carter"
Traditional, "The Wren Song" (Welsh Variant)
Waterson-Carthy, "Goodbye, Fare Ye Well"
The Furie Brothers, "If I Don't Say I Love You"
Fred Astaire, "Just The Way you Look Tonight"
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