Title: Never Did Run Smooth – Chapter 21 (of 22)
Rating: R
Words: Each chapter ~1000 words
Characters: Jack/Ianto
Genre: AU, angst, H/C
Spoilers: TW S1 & S2 (some references to Jack’s time with the Doctor)
Disclaimer: All the wishing in the world won’t make Torchwood mine.
Summary: AU which explores what could have happened if Jack had refused to hire Ianto even after capturing Myfanwy. Years later, while conducting an inspection of UNIT, Jack spots a prisoner being transferred who catches his eye…
Beta: My dearest friend,quaintheart.
A/N: This story is complete and beta’d. I will be posting regularly. Feel free to friend me.
Previous chapters at my Master List

Chapter 21

Jack’s feet felt like lead as he walked to Ianto’s cell. He needed to do this before the Brigadier got wind of it and hid Ianto away. The information contained in Ianto’s head was quite valuable to UNIT scientists. 

Jack was suddenly so tired of being the man who would always do what needed to be done, no matter what it cost him. He cursed the universe for doing this to him again; giving hope and then snatching it away.

Jack suddenly sensed a presence by his arm. Baker.

“Jack? Jack, what’s going on?” Jack couldn’t bear to look at him, talk to him. If he spoke now, he was sure to fall to pieces. He needed to stay strong so he kept on walking, ignoring the other man.

“Jack! Captain Harkness, what happened? Why was Ianto brought back to his cell?” There were tremors in his voice and he sounded desperately concerned. Baker reached out to grab Jack’s arm in an attempted to force him to turn around. Jack snarled, ripping his arm out of Bakers grasp.

“Leave now Baker. I don’t think you want to be a part of this.” The new angle of Jack’s body brought his gun into view. Baker gasped and took a step back.

“Jack, no! Don’t do this. What Ianto did… It wasn’t his fault. He thought he could save her!”

Jack spun and bore down on the other man who stood bravely in the face of his rage.

“YOU KNEW!?” Jack gripped Baker by the front of his shirt and pulled him close until their noses almost touched.

“Of course I knew, almost everyone who was stationed here at the time knew.” Baker tried to sound confident, but Jack could see a bead of sweat forming on his forehead.

“Why didn’t you tell me!?” Jack roared.

“The punishment for divulging information that sensitive is death, or worse still, incarceration. I was also afraid what you would do if you found out. Ianto didn’t just infiltrate UNIT, he was allowed to believe he’d been successful. The scientists were desperate to get their hands on a live Cyberman specimen. Ianto walked in on them as they tried to transfer her to their labs. The monster had already killed three men, but the others were still determined to capture her alive. When Ianto realized what they were planning; when he realized what she had become, he sealed them in and rewired the defense systems to flood the area with flames, burning them all where they stood, destroying the equipment and his girlfriend. Ianto stopped them from getting their hands on the most dangerous technology this world has ever known. Afterwards he tried to kill himself, but they restrained him and locked him away. The others thought it was grief that made him do it, but I think he was trying to destroy the information still in his mind.” Jack’s gripped had loosened as Baker spoke and he watched horrified as the soldier continued. “They tortured him endlessly, bringing him to the brink of death only to heal him enough to resume their work. Ianto never spoke another word… at least not until you came… please Jack. I can see you care about him. He’s suffered enough.  Don’t… just don’t.”

Jack’s head fell forward against Baker’s shoulder and he shuddered with grief. “It’s not that simple Baker, Ianto can’t be left alive. Someday they’ll find a way to extract the information from him. Sure, they’ll tell themselves it’s for the planet’s best interest… Know your enemy and all that, but I can’t allow that to happen. There’s too much on the line. Ianto must die.”

Baker rested his hand on the top of Jack’s head and whispered softly, “There must be another way.” Jack looked up at him, eyes soulless and dead. He placed his hand on Baker’s cheek for a second before shaking his head slowly and turning to continue on to Ianto’s cell.

“It’s… It’s not worth the risk.” Jack walked on, aware that Baker continued to follow him.

Arriving at the cell door, Jack wordlessly held out his hand for the keys, which the guards handed over after a moment’s hesitation. Jack slid the key into the lock as behind him Baker encouraged the guards to leave. With one last look at Baker, Jack slipped into Ianto’s cell, closing the door behind him.

He steeled himself against the sight of Ianto huddled in the corner of the tiny room. From the middle of the cell, Jack could easily have stretched out his arms and touched any of the four walls. Ianto was kneeling on the floor, his knees tucked into a corner and his head resting against the wall as though he was trying to meld with the cold stone; hide away from the grief and the guilt and the fear amongst the unfeeling neutrality of brick and mortar.

Jack stood there silently, unable to bear the sight but unwilling to look away. The way Ianto held his arms told Jack that he was in pain. He wanted to wrap Ianto close to his body and whisper words of comfort in his ear. The grey track pants and Jack’s gifted shirt were already blackened by the filth of the room. Jack found himself unable to move. The air was stifling in its silence.

“Please Jack. Please do it quickly.” Jack found himself unable to draw breath. Spots danced before his eyes; his chest too tight to draw in any air.

“I’m sorry Jack. Please believe that… and don’t feel bad. This is what you need to do, what I’ve always known you’d do since the moment you caught me from falling.”

Ianto wasn’t begging for his life, he’d never had any expectation of salvation. Even with Lisa; Ianto had been a fool, but he’d done it out of love… he’d done something incredibly dangerous out of love…

Ianto hadn’t tried to escape death; when he’d kissed Jack, he’d done it fully expecting and willing to die. There’d been no manipulation, no secret agenda. Jack gasped and raised his fingers to his lips. He’d kissed Jack because he wanted to. Jack’s gun fell from his numb fingers, clattering harmlessly to the floor. He flew to Ianto’s side, engulfing him in his arms as Ianto squeaked in surprise and pain.

Jack no longer had the strength to hold back or resist. With his face buried in Ianto’s neck he fought back tears; his entire body shaking as Ianto disentangled his uninjured arm to gently stroke his back.

“Oh god, Ianto… I almost… I almost… oh god! I’m so sorry.”

“Jack!” Ianto sounded panicked. “You have to do it. You know the information they want out of me. If I weren’t such a coward…” He ignored Jack’s mumbles of, never, against his neck. “Jack! Listen to me! It’s not worth the risk!”

That snapped Jack out of his grief and he pulled back, gripping Ianto’s face between his hands. “You are worth the risk Ianto Jones! Do you hear me… you are worth everything!”

Chapter 22