Disclaimer: RTD and BBC (and all that it entails) owns them and all rights, if I owned them I would have fic writers doing the scripts, regardless of what RTD thinks (hmmm assassin!Ianto, Empath!Ianto, or vampire!Ianto or even all three as cannon, that'd be fun)

Of Beginnings and Middles

I cannot help myself as I look up. Of course, there is nothing to see except the far up roof of the Hub; but I can't help it as Tosh monitors the Rift, making sure it remains stable after it was used to tow the Earth back to its proper place in the Universe while Owen and Rhys start cleaning up the falling equipment.

I might not be able to see anything but I know up above is a turning point, a beginning. Somewhere above me Jack and the other Companions are in the TARDIS with the Doctor and his new human counterpart. Amongst them the TARDIS has set in motion an action that shapes my life.

All stories have beginnings; mine just starts in the middle.

A time has come, she can feel it. A time when she can bring new life, a new TARDIS.

The time has come at a very busy time, with all of her one's dear companions coming to aid him and the Universe. Even her Jack, who her one has hurt so much.

Her Jack.

This soon-to-be little one might be able to change his sadness...no, it already has. But her Jack deserves more. Something more than what she herself is, something more human.

It is possible; all she needs is here already. She will start with the half-human copy of her one. He would provide the basics for the human part while the echoes of Gallifreyan DNA will allow the genetic material to bind to her little one, making it...no, him...half-human and half- TARDIS.

However, the human parts of the DNA need to be supplemented. She needn't fear; there is plenty with her one's companions. Plenty of genes that were not in use, and all that was needed was enough to make her little one's human characteristics unique to himself.

Just a touch from them was all she needed to get the genetic information she needed and then all that was left was to wait. Wait for this little one to come into the world.

Somewhere up above me those are Mother's thoughts and actions and after a time she will deposit me with the parents who raised me.

Her one was visiting the year 1900 on Earth, just outside of Cardiff, where oh-so-long-ago her one watched a servant save the world. There was a Hoix that her one, with the help of a friendly tailor, stopped from further destroying the village. The tailor would never know that the "demon" he fought was actually an alien.

The time had come. Her little one was ready-now to just find a home for him.

She looked to the tailor who had assisted her one. He had a wife, who was giving birth this evening, but the baby would not even take a first breath, his life already gone before entering the world. Yes, this man and his wife would do well.

Elis Jones slumped before the fire; his beloved Enid lay, despondent, across the room. Their son had started to come before they could even summon the midwife and then never took a breath. He was their first child, and they had lost him before they could even hold him.

Why? Why would God punish them so? Had they not served him well?

But no, he knew God would not punish them, but why would He take their son?

He was so lost in his despair that he almost did not hear the knock on their door, but it did draw his attention in the end and he rose to answer it, wondering who could be visiting at this hour.

He opened the door to find…no one. He started to step outside to see if anyone was around when his toe just barely touched something solid and soft.

He looked down and saw a baby.

"Enid! Come quickly!"

"Elis, tell whoever it is to go away," she responded quietly.

Elis gently and reverently picked up the baby and carried the bundle to his wife.

"Elis, what?"

"God has answered our prayers, Enid. He has gifted us with a child," he said, placing the tiny baby in his wife's arms.

She held it close, gazing at it lovingly, before she turned back to her husband, her brow furrowing into lines of concern.

"Elis, surely someone will miss him; we should try to find them."

"No, Enid, he is a gift from God. He has gifted us with a child."

"But what will the others in the village say? Keeping a child when our own…."

"We are the only ones who know that the child did not survive. No one will think this little one is not our son. God has truly gifted us."

Enid looked at her husband before looking back at the child sleeping in her arms.

God had taken her child, but it seems He had given her one as well. It was true, no one would know the secret; wherever the child had come from, it was not born to a woman in the village as she was the only woman with child that was supposed to give birth anytime soon.

She smiled at her husband before smiling down at the baby.

"Our son, our Ianto."

Later that night a glow surrounded the cradle in the Jones home.

She gazed down at her little one, her Ianto, in the cradle.

"Grow well, and when you dream, we shall meet and I will help your half that is of me grow. Just as your human parents shall help your human half grow."

With that, the glow faded as baby Ianto slept on.

Mam and Tad were everything a child at that time could ask for, but I always knew I was different; for as long as I can remember I have dreamed of Mother. She would teach me what no human could even begin to understand.

There were times when my human mind could not comprehend, but I always knew, even if I didn't understand yet.

I grew and my parents later had a daughter, Rhiannon.

Nine-year-old Ianto Jones opened his eyes to a space that was full of light and darkness at the same time.

"Hello, sweet one."

Ianto turned around to see a glowing woman and smiled. "Mother."

His Mother didn't always appear as the 20-something blond woman she was at the moment; she used the image of whichever one of the Doctor's companions struck her fancy that occasion. Sometimes she even mixed their features.

"Thinking of Rose Tyler recently?" he asked her.

"My one has been missing her lately," she said, smiling, as she held her arms open to him.

He entered her warm hug with a contented sigh; her hugs were just as warm and loving as his Mam's.

"Are you getting along better with the children at your school and your sister, sweet one?"

"They don't understand me or anything."

"You are beyond them, you will see more and know more than they can ever hope for."

"Mother?"

"Yes, sweet one?"

"There have been rumors going around school about aliens and Torchwood and a handsome man calling himself Jack Harkenss." He paused before continuing, "Is he your Jack? The one the Doctor thinks is impossible?"

His mother smiled sadly. "Yes, that would be my Jack."

"Does that mean I'll get to meet him soon?" he asked anxiously. He had heard of the man for so long, he was looking forward to meeting him; his mother seemed to think they could be important to each other.

"No, sweet one. You still have some growing to do; you will know when the time is right to find him. Now, it's time to learn."

With that they were enveloped in the light of the vortex.

I learned much in the short years of my childhood, and I'm still learning. My human half is fully grown and developed, but my TARDIS half is still a child, and Mother still visits me often in my dreams; but most of what I have to still learn will come with growth and time.

Two years after the Great War I knew it was time to find Mother's Jack.

It was time to find Jack Harkness. He couldn't say how he knew; it was like so many other things he just knew.

So, after working in his father's shop since he got out of school he told his parents he was moving out to make his own way. They were less than thrilled, he knew—they had dreamed of him taking over the shop-but he had always known there was more for him out there than being a shopkeeper.

So he packed up and moved to Cardiff and started trying to figure out how to find the man known as Jack Harkness.

He looked for days, guided by instinct and investigation, until he found him.

Jack was striding across the docks, his great coat flying behind him, and Ianto had a sudden image of Jack as Mother first knew him, the conman with a heart; who in the end just wanted to know what happened to cause him to forget. The man who, in many ways, captured his Mother's heart.

"Captain Harkness? Captain Jack Harkness?"

Jack spun around, eyes full of suspicion. "Do I know you?"

"No, I'm Jones, Ianto Jones, but we have a mutual acquaintance."

Jack was, if anything, more suspicious after Ianto's revelation.

"Well, Jones-Ianto-Jones, who is this acquaintance?

Scenarios flashed before his eyes: Jack taking it well, not so well and every other possibility. Not that he knew which would be best, knowledge that would come with time.

'Trust yourself' his Mother's voice resounded in his head. Whatever he said, he had to say it quickly, because Jack had started walking away.

"Bad Wolf."

Jack spun around, startled.

"What did you say?"

"Bad Wolf. The words that followed the Doctor's ninth regeneration and his companion Rose Tyler."

"How do you know this?"

"I know everything."

Ianto could see Jack's expression immediately begin to cloud over with suspicion again; he only had one chance to win Jack's trust.

"My Mother told me some of the details; the rest I just know."

"Your mother? What would a woman from Wales know about the Doctor or anything of what you've said so far?"

"My Mam is a woman from Wales, but my Mother is not. My Mother is not even human."

Jack stepped close into Ianto's personal space. "Explain NOW."

"Perhaps we could sit somewhere, have some coffee? It's a long story."

Fifteen minutes later they were sitting at a secluded park table. Ianto pulled out a thermos and cups and poured Jack a cup of coffee.

Jack took a drink, then looked at him, surprised. "This is the best coffee I've ever had."

"Considering everywhere you've been, I'll take that as a compliment; I understand coffee from the Kula planet in the 51st century is consider by some to be the best."

With that, Jack's eyes regained their suspicion. "You said you had a story to tell."

"Mother is the acquaintance I spoke of."

Jack paled, obviously thinking the worst.

"You never slept with her, so no need to fear I'm your son," Ianto continued, thinking this might be for the best considering the attraction he had felt since he saw the man. It made him wonder if that is what Mother thought by "good for each other"

As Jack relaxed, he continued, "I don't imagine there is any better way to say it than to do so plainly. My Mother is the TARDIS."

"But that would make you…"

"Half-TARDIS. The other half is human, I can't really go into her method too much yet, timelines. But the short of it is she combined human and partial human DNA with a normal baby TARDIS to make me. When I was a fully formed infant she left me with a suitable family to raise my human half and she visits me in my dreams to teach me about my TARDIS half, and to just talk. She's spoken fondly of you; I've been looking forward to meeting you as long as I remember."

"She spoke of me?" Jack seemed surprised, and it flashed for Ianto that Jack felt abandoned.

'Please, sweet one, tell him what I cannot when you see him, ease what pain you can.'

Ianto reached over to grab Jack's hand, only belatedly realizing it was a good thing they were in such a secluded spot; if anyone saw them they might jump to conclusions and there would trouble. Another flash of might be's came to him, one in particular was clear to him at this time. Him and Jack in bed having a bloody good time.

"Mother has been fond of you from the moment she met you; she wanted me to tell you what happened."

Jack's eyes warmed, and he knew Jack believed him now. Partly because he believed what he'd said so far, at least to a point, but he also most likely was giving off a similar feel that his Mother did.

He completely understood why his Mother loved Jack; it was hard not to. Jack was a special thing in the Universe and the Doctor was a fool to not understand it right away. Yes, he was something that wasn't normal for the Universe and felt strange to his senses, and if he hadn't gradually approached the man the feeling would be very jarring.

But Jack, with all of his might-bes and have-dones and spark, was special; and Ianto realized that he could very well be at the beginning of falling in love.

"Let me tell you about the Bad Wolf, and what happened that day."

So he began his tale, as another tale was beginning between them.

The day we met was a beginning; we would meet up frequently and talk, and within a year we were sleeping together. I knew within that time that Jack had captured my heart, in the same way, but different, as how he captured Mother's. I never deluded myself that Jack definitely felt the same. For my Jack, love is a different thing to what most people of that and this era acknowledge. I had no doubt he had affection for me, but the years alone made him wary of love and growing up in the 51st century meant he had some different notions about love and sex. Love was a magnanimous relationship between two or more people, and sex was separate from it.

We took a break every few years, until finally we came to a point that we had to define what we are.

Twenty-five years later Jack was returning from the Second World War; it was one of their longest breaks to date. Soon after the war broke out he had left to do what he could, taking some time out from Torchwood.

Jack strolled into his flat like he belonged, kissing him. "I'm home."

Ianto sighed into the kiss before stepping away.

"We need to talk, Jack."

"What about?"

"Several things, but I guess I'll start with the girl you were seeing during the war."

Jack looked sad. "She thinks I'm dead."

"Do you wish she didn't? Do you wish she was here instead?"

"I loved her; is that what you want to hear?" he said roughly, voice raising with frustration. "That I wish I had more time with her? I thought when we were apart there was no commitment."

"There's no commitment now! You could walk out and say you need a break any minute."

"What, you want to keep me until you're ready to leave me to travel the stars? Or die? Die just like everyone else."

"Damn it, Jack, don't you understand? How old do I look to you? I stopped aging when I was 22," he shouted.

"You're part TARDIS, I figured you just stopped naturally," said Jack, confused.

"No, I was supposed to age until mid-life for a human or stop aging when I bonded with my partner."

"Oh, so you met someone. Well then, I guess I'll be…"

Ianto grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and threw him on the couch as he tried to leave.

"You IDIOT. Twenty-two is when I stopped aging and I was with you. I could only bond with someone that I love and am compatible with. I'd only leave if you were going with me."

Jack stared at him in disbelief.

"But that leaves the question, do you want to stay with me?" Ianto said quietly.

"You love me?"

"I believe I implied that, yes, I love you."

Jack seemed to deflate, for a moment unable to speak.

"Everyone leaves one way or another," he said after a long moment. "I thought you'd leave, too. I've loved several people in my life but none of them have made me feel like you do. When we're not together, I feel like I'm biding my time to be with you again, even if I really care for the other person. I just haven't been able to stand the thought…"

Ianto sighed as he sat down next to him. "I guess this conversation is long overdue."

He leaned into Jack, before continuing, "Have me forever? I'm bonded to you; I couldn't leave you forever even if I wanted to. As long as you live, I'll be here."

Jack leaned back into him and smiled. "Forever."

Ianto tilted to give him a loving kiss.

So they started another beginning.

"Oi, teaboy, going to stare at the ceiling all day or help clean up?" Owen yelled at me.

I look up to see that the three of them had paused what they were doing and were staring at me with mild concern.

"As second in command it is my prerogative to supervise, and that's what I'm doing," I said with a reassuring smile before picking up the fallen chair next to me that I had been about to pick up before getting distracted.

The computer going off drew Tosh's attention back to her monitor. "Communication from Jack: he says that all is well and he should be home shortly and Ianto, he says to tell you he would like to hear the specifics of the beginning now…?"

Tosh trailed off, obviously confused by Jack's seemingly cryptic message to me. I should have known he would figure out that this is when it all started.

"Tell him 'will do, but he already knows most of it.'"

I looked up again. Somewhere my life has just barely begun and here I am in the middle of it, well over a hundred years into it at least, and a lot more adventures to come.