Bloodline

Ianto knew something was wrong the moment that he entered the Hub. It wasn't Tosh's gentle smile, she gave him that every morning; it was more the fact that Gwen also favoured him with a smile and an "Ianto! How are you sweetheart" when usually all he got was a terse grunt and that was only after he had delivered the second cup of coffee. He really began to worry when Owen's voice floated up from the medical bay

'Oi ! Teaboy, get yourself down here now it's time for your annual medical!'

If Owen was concerned abut him then something was really wrong. Ianto found himself doing what he always did when he was confused or worried – he looked around for Jack. As his eyes drifted up to Jack's office he suddenly realised what it was the team…his friends… were trying to protect him from. He could clearly see the two men through the glass and he felt his stomach lurch,

'Oh' he said flatly, 'The Doctor is here'

Tosh gave him a gentle smile and Gwen pulled him into a sympathetic hug. God thought Ianto to himself how pathetic and needy do they think I am? He disentangled himself from Gwen's embrace and straightened imperceptibly,

'Right then, better get the kettle on' he said, 'the Doctor's not much of a one for coffee.'

At that moment the door to Jack's office opened and the Doctor emerged alone; he was talking to Jack over his shoulder,

'I'm truly sorry Jack,' he was saying,' but you have no option, you have to do this'

He turned away without waiting for a response and carefully closed the door behind him. As he moved through the Hub towards the door he came up to Ianto and silently placed a hand on his shoulder as in sympathy before leaving without a word. Through the window Jack could be seen seated at his desk with his head in his hands

Ianto looked at Tosh and Gwen, he noticed Owen had emerged from the autopsy bay also. They were all staring at him,

'What?'

'Go on then' said Owen, 'you're the only one who can talk to him when he's like this without getting shot'

Gwen nodded emphatically

'He's right Ianto' said Tosh quietly

Carrying a propitiatory mug of coffee Ianto sidled into Jack's office. Jack was still sitting with his shoulders slumped and his head in his hands, a picture of misery. Ianto moved to Jack's side and softly placed the mug in front of him. Jack grasped Ianto's wrist then gently turned his hand, staring at it as if he had never noticed it before. Ianto cleared his throat nervously as Jack placed a long and tender kiss into his palm, bringing the hand up to his cheek.

'Jack?' Ianto was starting to get seriously worried

'Get out' said Jack, his eyes closed

Ianto stared at him.

'You brought me my coffee, I have work to do, get out'

Ianto moved to stand in front of Jack's desk, 'Has the Doctor gone then?' he asked. Jack merely nodded as he bent to read a report, 'What did he want?' Ianto persisted

Jack looked up but his gaze did not meet Ianto's face, 'that's need to know only' he snarked, 'you are the teaboy, you don't need to know'

Ianto took a step backwards, the hurt on his face plainly visible, 'Jack' he expostulated quietly.

'Oh I'm sorry' said Jack in the same cutting manner, 'were you assuming that because I shag you occasionally you are entitled to access to confidential Torchwood business?'

Ianto stiffened, 'Apologies, Sir' he said 'I won't intrude further' and he turned and left the office. He thought he heard a stifled sob as he pulled the door to but convinced himself he was wrong.

It had been a long day. Jack had not emerged from his office at all but the atmosphere in the Hub had been edgy and uncomfortable. Ianto had taken Jack some lunch but had merely placed the tray on the edge of the desk and left without a word and without an acknowledgement. At 5 o'clock Jack's voice came abruptly over the comms,

'Everyone go home'

Owen, Tosh and Gwen hastily gathered their things and headed out of the hub, leaving Ianto standing by the water tower. Owen glanced over at Ianto, as he left 'for gods sake sort this out 'he said,' don't want another day like this one. Then he was gone.

Ianto walked slowly up to Jack's office, he knocked on the door and went in without waiting for a response.

'It's customary to wait to be told to come in' said Jack without looking up.

'Wasn't sure you'd say it' replied Ianto

Jack gave a heavy sigh, 'what do you want Ianto? I told you to go home, why are you still here?' he asked wearily.

Ianto didn't know what to say so he fell back upon 'Was there anything you wanted before I go, Sir'

Jack looked up, 'It's been a stressful day' he grinned, 'I could do with something to relieve my tension'

Ianto felt that something was…off but he wasn't sure what. He gave Jack an uncertain smile. Jack jumped to his feet and moved swiftly towards him Before Ianto even had time to think Jack had grasped him by the back of his neck and forcefully bent him over the desk. He thrust three of his fingers into Ianto's mouth growling 'make them wet'. Jack removed his hand from Ianto's neck and expertly unfastened Ianto's trousers pushing them and his boxers down in one swift movement. Pulling his fingers from Ianto's mouth he inserted them into his ass and scissored them vigorously making him yelp, then unfastened his flies, released his own hard cock and pushed into him with little other preparation. Ianto let out a yell of discomfort but there was no response from Jack other than frenzied grunting and a deep groan as he came hot and hard inside Ianto. Then he was gone, zipping up his trousers and moving away from Ianto who remained stunned and prone on the desk.

'Thanks,' said Jack airily, 'just what I needed. Go clean yourself up Ianto and I'll see you tomorrow'

Ianto slowly stood up, he could feel Jack's come sliding down the back of his thighs along with a warm trickle of blood. Silently he pulled up his pants and his trousers and turned to look at the man he loved,

'Jack, what the fuck was that?'

Jack looked confused 'what? You asked me if I wanted anything, I wanted a shag'

'It's been a while since I was just shag' said Ianto quietly

Jack laughed, 'yeah, keep telling yourself that Ianto'

Ianto started to tremble, 'Jack...'

Jack had re-seated himself and turned back to paperwork, 'Go home Ianto'

Moving slowly, partly because of the pain in his ass and partly because tears were blurring his vision, Ianto turned and left the office.

Ianto stood alone in the information office, waiting for the others to leave so that he could go and look for Jack and hating himself for the desperate need that was curling in his stomach. It had been five weeks since the Doctor's visit and his relationship with Jack had continued to deteriorate. Jack barely spoke to him, hardly looked at him but made a point of ordering him to stay behind on various lame excuses when everyone else had gone home for the night. Jack would then shag Ianto with varying degrees of aggression or indifference before casually dismissing him for the day. Ianto would limp home and huddle under the shower watching the water turn a delicate pink from the bites or trauma that Jack had inflicted on him. He hated himself because he missed Jack so much that he was willing to allow the abuse just to be close to him for a few minutes each day. He also hated the sympathetic looks he was getting from the rest of team, he knew that they couldn't understand how Ianto could put up with such treatment. He'd even overheard Tosh saying to Gwen, " I thought Ianto had more self-respect than this". But, very occasionally Jack would confuse Ianto by pulling him into a desperate hug, or kissing him with such sweetness and longing that it took his breath away. These actions would give Ianto a small sliver of hope that he had been forgiven whatever it was that had made Jack so angry with him in the first place; however these interludes became increasingly infrequent. Ianto wasn't sure how much longer he could continue. Today, two throwaway comments over lunch and the memory of two recent unhappy situations finally made it clear to Ianto just how little Jack thought of him and forced him to make a decision for his own self preservation.

'Jack! You are such a messy eater!

Gwen was laughing as Jack pathetically dabbed at the strawberry jam that had squirted over his shirt as he had tried to stuff an entire doughnut into his mouth.

'No worries' Jack was talking with his mouth full, 'Ianto will deal with it, he's…'

Gwen jumps in, 'Skilled with stains of all kinds?"

Jack shakes his head, 'a good little wife'

'Looks like the rift is going to be quiet this weekend, Jack – what are you going to do? 'asked Tosh

'The usual – watch movies, eat pizza… exercise my pet

Tosh frowns, 'What pet?'

Jack laughs, 'Ianto, of course'

They have been not-arguing for four days now. Jack sends instructions to Ianto via other members of the team. Ianto has been working exclusively down in the archives. Something has to give. This morning Jack had burst into Ianto's bedroom at 2.30 and before he knew it, Ianto had a leg over Jack's shoulder and Jack is was deep inside him pounding hard and stripping Ianto's cock at a furious rate. Ianto doesn't last long and comes yelling Jack's name, Jack is not far behind, Ianto feels him spurting inside him as he cries 'John'

A couple of weeks ago, they were in a bar, it was one of the rare occasions recently that Jack was being nice to Ianto; someone was trying to pick up Jack. Ianto was trying to feel amused even though he was a bit upset that it was not obvious to the tipsy blond guy that he and Jack were…together, even though, if he's honest, they aren't together as much as they used to be. Ianto's mobile rang; it was his sister. He turned away to take the call, when he turned back Jack and the blond man were heading off to the toilets together

'Has anyone seen Ianto?' Jack is standing on the walkway outside his office surveying his team. Head shakes all round.

'There's been no coffee yet today' grumbles Owen, 'but I just assumed you'd shagged the Teaboy out'

Jack looks at Tosh, 'Is he even in the Hub?' he asks. Tosh starts tapping keyboards and reviewing the CCTV feed

'Can't see him anywhere, no' she finally says

'Have you tried his mobile?' Gwen interjects brightly then quails under Jack's scornful glare

'Oh what a brilliant idea, Gwen' you could bottle that sarcasm and use it to destroy worlds, 'It never occurred to me to try and communicate with Ianto using a personal communications device! '

Gwen blushed and looked away.

Jack sweeps out of the Hub ' I'm going to his flat' he throws over his shoulder as he leaves, 'but I want you all to keep looking. Tosh check all the CCTV footage of the Cardiff area, Gwen you help her. Owen double check the lower levels just case'

Gwen, Owen and Tosh stared at each other.

'Think Ianto's in for another bollocking or just a serious shagging?' hazarded Owen

'Neither' said Tosh, 'I think Jack is really worried about him.'

Jack takes the stairs up to Ianto's flat three at a time, he tells himself the tightness in his chest is just the exercise but he knows the taste of fear, Ianto has been suicidal before, after Lisa, the Brecons, has Jack pushed too hard this time? He hammers on Ianto's front door but doesn't even pretend to wait for a response, his key is in the lock and the door is open and Jack is inside, yelling Ianto's name. His voice echoes around the space in a new and unusual way and then Jack sees…the flat is completely empty. All Ianto's furniture is gone, no pictures on the walls, only one thing remains – Ianto's stop watch. It sits in the middle of the floor weighting down an envelope that has Jack's name on it.

Hands shaking, Jack rips the envelope open. Ianto's security pass falls out as Jack pulls out the letter inside;

My darling, beautiful Jack,

I'm sorry but I can't do this any more. Gods, I love you so much and I thought I could pretend that you loved me a little bit, or at least that I could be happy with just being a small part of your life but it's become clear to me that I'm not really any part of your life am I? I'm the cleaner, the teaboy, the bed warmer, the part-time shag, the one that will do until something better comes along. You know the really sad thing? I'd be OK with just being all those things if I thought that made you happy but it doesn't does it Jack?

So I'm leaving. I know you will think that will make you sad but I also know you will be OK very, very soon.

I'll love you forever – I wish that I could have been enough for you.

bob amser eich un chi, fy anwylyd

Ianto

Jack sat in the middle of Ianto's empty flat and howled with inconsolable grief.

It has been four weeks and no one has found Ianto. Gwen is worried about the number of people she had to retcon in the last few days. All of Ianto's family, everyone who lived in his building, even some friends that no-one at Torchwood knew about had been tracked down by Tosh and, well the only word for it was, interrogated by Jack. Tosh is almost crying with exhaustion as Jack constantly makes her scan CCTV footage of anywhere Ianto has ever mentioned visiting or knowing of just looking for a clue to Ianto's whereabouts and Owen…Owen is getting very very, worried about the Captain. Jack is totally on autopilot. Owen is convinced that Jack hasn't slept since Ianto's disappearance. He deals with everything that the rift throws at him during the day but Owen knows that Jack spends his nights driving around Cardiff or cruising bars and restaurant just looking for a sign of Ianto. Owen fears what will happen on the day Jack realises that Ianto is gone for good.

That day comes sooner than Owen anticipated. It was late in the Hub and Tosh and Gwen had gone home and Owen was finishing up in the autopsy bay when he heard the gun shot. Drawing his own weapon he sprinted up to the Hub, the door to Jack's office was open and through the gap Owen could see Jack's body slumped on the floor; moving cautiously, he entered the room to see Jack's own gun curled loosely in his dead hand. Heaving a heavy sigh Own settled himself down next to Jack's body to wait for the inevitable resurrection.

When Jack returned with a tortured gasp it was to find Owen sitting comfortably next to him cradling a glass of Jack's good single malt. 'Want to tell me how many times you've done that since Ianto disappeared?' he asked conversationally. Jack looked up at him, mutely. 'C'mon Jack' said Owen, 'I'm not stupid. You pushed him away; in fact I'd go so far as to say that was quite the most brutal dumping I've ever witnessed. If you wanted rid of him so badly why is it destroying you so much now he's gone?'

Jack sat up slowly and took the glass that Owen held out to him, 'I had no choice' he said sadly, 'Gods Owen, I've never loved anyone like I love him but I can't be in his life, I can't have him anywhere near me. I had to drive him away to the extent there is no danger he will ever forgive me, ' he caught his breath in a sob, 'I couldn't just break up with him I had to make sure that I destroyed any love he ever had for me forever but… I miss him so much'

Owen frowned, 'I still don't understand why'

Jack sighed, 'The Doctor asked me to'

Then

It was quiet in the Hub and Jack was working in his office. He calculated he had about half an hour before Ianto arrived; he was hoping that if he had cleared some of the outstanding paperwork that Ianto had been nagging him about then he may be able to wheedle some kind of reward from his receptionist before the rest of the team turned up, he could feel his cock twitching just at the thought of it. His attention was diverted by the familiar sound of the Tardis dematerialising in the Hub. All thoughts of Ianto fled as Jack jumped to his feet and sprinted from his office, grinning broadly.

'Doctor!'

The tall thin form of the Doctor appeared in the Tardis doorway. He looked at Jack and gave a sad smile,

'Jack,' he said sombrely, 'we need to talk'

Jack felt the smile die on his face and wordlessly he turned and led the Doctor up the stairway to his office.

The Doctor perched himself on the corner of Jack's desk,

'Sit down Jack'

Jack frowned as he sat on the small sofa,

'What's going on Doc?'

The Doctor sighed and rubbed his face,

'Time is unravelling; the human race is facing extinction. This is not supposed to happen and the only person who can stop it is you. But Jack this is going to mean a sacrifice that I'm afraid to ask of you. '

Now

Jack kept his gaze on the floor between his knees,

'The Doctor told me that in 2172 there is a galactic plague. Homo sapiens are particularly susceptible and for a brief time it looks as though the entire species will be wiped out. '

Owen frowned,

'Well, since you were born in the 51st century I assume that didn't happen'

'History, as I learnt it reports that a brilliant biochemist named Jackson Hanes developed a cure, saved the world, hell, saved the galaxy.'

Owen shrugged, 'I don't understand, how this translates into a sacrifice for you?'

Jack closed his eyes and swallowed heavily,

'In the original timeline, Jackson Hanes is Ianto's great-great-great-great-great grandson. The bloodline begins with Meredith Jones, Ianto's daughter. The Doctor told me that my...relationship with Ianto has changed the timeline. Because of Ianto's l-love…' Jack stumbled slightly over the word, ' for me, Meredith is never born and now the human race faces galactic extinction, to correct this I had to remove myself from Ianto's life in such a manner as to ensure that any bond between us is irrevocably severed. It's the only way to make sure that Ianto moves on to what the Doctor termed "a proper life", the life he should have had with Lisa, the life he still has a chance for with me...gone. The Doctor told me that I had no choice and I know he was right but Gods I love him so much and this is more than I can... '

Jack's voice tailed away. Owen looked at him, a small tear was sliding down the Captains cheek and Owen, the cynical doctor who didn't do what he called "the touchy-feely shit", found it the most natural thing in the world to pull Jack into his arms and hold him tightly whilst the older man sobbed as his heart shattered.

Ianto had hidden himself in plain sight, taking a job at a small coffee shop on the quay and a flat not more than a five minute walk away, both carefully chosen to minimise his exposure to CCTV. If the shop had the advantage that it was on one of the two main routes that the Torchwood team took when on their way to an incident which meant he stood the chance of getting a least a glimpse of Jack once or twice a week then that was a bonus and not at all the reason he had applied for the job there, absolutely not.

It was the end of the day, the shop was closed and Ianto was there alone tidying up, collecting the last stray coffee cups and wiping down the tables when the weevil crashed through the window, hurling him across the room to smack his head on the counter. Ianto lay stunned, vaguely aware that the weevil was stalking towards him. He curled himself into a tight ball, hands scrabbling for anything that could be used as a weapon when he heard a familiar voice snarl,

'Hey! Pick on someone in your own league!

The weevil turned briefly towards Jack but then appeared to decide that the semi-conscious man on the floor was a better target than the tall armed man in the doorway. As the weevil launched itself across the room, Jack's Webley coughed twice and the body fell across Ianto, pinning him to the floor. Jack moved forward, he couldn't see much of the young guy who was cowering by the counter but what he could see looked cute. Hmm, this was the first time he'd noticed a cute guy in a long time. Maybe he's starting to feel a bit better 'yeah keep telling yourself that Harkness' He pasted on his best Jack Harkness smile and strode forward,

'Hey buddy' he said, 'you OK?' He kicked the dead weevil to one side and gently turned the groggy young man over, then froze. Ianto looked up and found himself pulled into a passionate kiss that spoke of love and need and regret and pain, so much pain. Muzzily he realised his face was wet but when he reached up to rub his eyes he found that the tears were Jack's.

'Ianto!' Jack was saying his name over and over and touching his face as if he was afraid that Ianto would disappear. Over Jack's shoulder Ianto saw Owen appear in the doorway,

'Oh crap! Jack! Put him down, you know you can't do this!'

To Ianto's confusion, Jack was openly sobbing, 'I can't Owen. I can't lose him again, I won't. I don't care…'

Owen sighed heavily and moved to pull Jack away. Jack fought him, refusing to release Ianto until Owen snapped 'Chill, Jack! I just want to check that he is OK' Jack relaxed and Owen passed him a bottle of water, 'Here drink this and calm down whilst I check him over ' he ordered as he leant over Ianto and lowered his voice,

'You did a good job of hiding teaboy, well done. Don't worry about Jack, come tomorrow he'll have forgotten about this little...reunion'

Ianto's eyes widened 'retcon?' he breathed

Owen gave a small nod, 'He really loves you mate but, trust me there is a good reason for all of this'

Ianto grabbed hold of Owens tee-shirt, 'Is he OK?' he whispered urgently

'No, not at all really' said Owen, glancing over to where Jack was swaying sleepily against the wall, 'I'd better get him back to the Hub. Take care of yourself Ianto, it was, it was good to see you mate'

Then they were gone.

It was now two months since Ianto had been driven away from Torchwood and Jack and things were going from bad to worse. Jack was become completely disengaged from the team, barely speaking except to give orders. He spoke occasionally to Owen; in fact they had become almost close. Jack had developed a persistent abdominal pain which Owen was convinced was psychosomatic so he spent more time in the medical bay than usual.

Owen had called into the coffee shop where Ianto worked a week after the weevil incident to reassure Ianto that Jack had no recollection of finding him. Ianto had asked how Jack was doing and Owen couldn't bring himself to lie to him. Ianto had cried.

Owen entered the Hub in a foul mood which was not alleviated by finding the Doctor there. He was standing over Jack, who was slumped listlessly on the sofa, and he was yelling at him,

'You must have been seeing him!' the Doctor was shouting, 'Nothing has changed!'

Jack looked up at him, 'I haven't, I haven't! I swear! I don't even know where he is!' he cried desperately,

Owen cleared his throat, 'it's true' he said, 'This man is falling apart, he is being destroyed because of the sacrifice you have forced him to make'

The Doctor spun round, 'and you are?' he enquired icily

'DOCTOR Owen Harper, Jack is my patient and I don't appreciate you coming in here and treating him like this'

'That's enough, Owen' snapped Jack

'No it fucking isn't!' yelled Owen, he turned to face the Doctor, 'You forced apart two people who love each other, who fit together and complete each other in a way that is so rare you see it once in a lifetime if you are lucky and because you, you made a mistake and this didn't fix your problem you have come back to take it out on Jack and Jack's hurting, he's hurting so much, so it's not...it's not…it's not fair!' he felt that was a bit of a lame finish to his rant but it was the best he could come up with

To his surprise the Doctor gave him a big grin, 'oh you are brilliant! Isn't he brilliant Jack?' he said, then he frowned 'but there must be a reason that this isn't fixed. There is still no Meredith, without Jack in his life Ianto should meet Meredith's mother at some point'

'Do we know who she was?' asked Owen, trying to calm himself

The Doctor shook his head, 'no, he said, 'existing records of the time simply register the baby as Meredith H. Jones but given the timeline they should meet soon'

Owen turned to Jack who was looking pale and rubbing his stomach. Owen frowned,

'More pain?'

'Just a dull ache' replied Jack

Attempting to lighten the tension in the room, Owen laughed, 'you sure you are not ovulating, Jack?' then he looked at Jack and the Doctor who had both gone very, very still, 'what? What did I say?'

Jack and the Doctor looked at each other,

'No?'

' Oh, oh no'

'I swore I was never doing that again!' Jack has a grin on his face that is lighting up the whole of Cardiff, hell, the whole of South Wales 'A daughter! Our daughter! Meredith H. Meredith Harkness-Jones!'

The Doctor slapped his own forehead, 'a Mobius paradox' he cried, 'by trying to remedy it, I cause the problem'

Jack nodded, Owen looked totally confused, 'A what? A Mobius paradox?'

The Doctor turns to him enthusiastically, 'You know what a Mobius strip is? Yes? A surface with only one side and only one boundary component?'

Owen nods, Jack takes up the conversation

'A Mobius paradox is a situation where the solution causes the problem. The Doctor assumed that the timeline problem was caused because Ianto never had a daughter because he was with me but…"

The Doctor jumps in '…taking Ianto away from Jack meant he never had a daughter!'

Owen's head was starting to ache. The Doctor looked at him sympathetically, 'It's all a bit wibbly-wobbly timey wimey' he explained kindly. " The important thing now is that I know how fix this! We need to find Ianto - fast'

Jack looks stricken, 'We can't find him' he won't make eye contact with the Doctor, ' I have been trying but…I don't know where he is'

The Doctor looks at Owen, 'Bet someone brilliant on your team does though, am I right Doctor Harper?'

For the first time for a while Owen smiles, 'No problem'

Ianto had locked the shop up and was slowly making his way home, head down, shoulders hunched against the persistent drizzle. He usually enjoyed the walk home after work because that was the only time of the day he allowed himself to think about Jack without feeling guilty that he still loved him. He would replay his memories of the time when he thought that Jack might almost love him back; by the time he got back to his flat he would be hard and ready for a sad and unhappy wank before eating a lonely meal and trying to fill the evening with rubbish television and not thinking about Jack. Immersed in his memories, he was badly startled when the Torchwood SUV screamed to a halt at the curb ahead of him; it was almost as if he had conjured it into being with the force of his longing. The passenger door flew open and then Jack was there, looking at Ianto and the love that Ianto saw in his face almost stopped his heart.

'Jack? Jack!' Then, he couldn't stop himself, he was moving toward Jack and Jack was running toward him and they met with the force of colliding galaxies and Jack was kissing him and touching him and mumbling 'I'm sorry' and 'I love you' and 'please never leave me again' against his lips and Ianto was holding on to him as if he would never let go.

Watching the two men, both Owen and the Doctor found it ridiculously easy to believe that together they would start the bloodline that would save a Galaxy