Title: Fires That Burn 1/2
Characters/Pairing: Jack, Ianto, Toshiko, Gwen, Owen
Word Count(this part): 3937
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood. If I did, nobody would have to write these type of fics. The BBC and He Who Does Not Know How To Treat His Characters claims it as theirs. I'm just borrowing them to keep dreams alive.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Torchwood S1, especially "Countrycide". Then it goes slightly AU from there.
Warnings: Some cursing (thank you Owen), m/m relationship.
Summary: They thought Ianto's biggest secret was his girlfriend the Cyberman. The team is about to discover there's more to Ianto.
A/N: I'm going to assume you all know "Countrycide" by heart. So I'm just going to jump in where things take a different turn. I should also add that for this fic, I bought into the idea that Jack and Ianto had become lovers during Ianto's suspension after "Cyberwoman".
Written for Long Live Ianto Halloween challenge in 2010.
Beta by the talented and amazing Milady Dragon

Part 1

Evan Sherman and his nephew, Huw, herded Tosh, Gwen and Owen into the big house. There were other people in the room. Dividing the large space from the kitchen was a big plastic, blood splattered sheet, much like what you would find in a butcher shop.

By the time they were shoved past the plastic and into the kitchen, the three Torchwood members realised that the Villagers were responsible for the murders for something called The Harvest.

Evan pushed Toshiko and Owen to their knees. Gwen went over to Kieran and started to fuss over him. Toshiko looked around anxiously, seeking out something.

"Where is Ianto?" she asked. "What have you done with him?"

Evan went over to a tarp that covered a lump that could have been a body. "The meat should be ready to bleed now," he announced. He pulled the tarp away. Suddenly he had a surprised look on his face. "What the hell?" he asked, staring down.

"What is it?" Helen, his wife, called out.

"That's not the meat I was expecting." He grabbed a large meat cleaver and held it tightly. "Cover me," he said to Huw.

Everyone turned to watch, while the three members of Torchwood looked at each other in concern, before craning their necks. Each one thought of a way to use the distraction as a means to escape.

Gwen, who was in position to get a better view, opened her eyes wide with part surprise, part fear. "What have you done with Ianto?" she demanded.

Fear shone in Toshiko's dark eyes for a moment as she looked over at Gwen. Something was wrong. Very wrong. From the look on Gwen's face, she had a sinking feeling something had happened to the young Welshman. "If they hurt him," she said.

"They did already," Owen pointed out the obvious. "Let's just hope it's nothing permanent."

With some difficulty, Dale pulled up the bulky body from the floor. He had to hand Huw the cleaver to get a better hold. The head was still covered with a burlap bag, but the body was not what anyone expecting.

"Holy fuck," Owen swore."That can't be Ianto."

"Bloody hell," Gwen gasped, managing to take advantage of everyone's attention on Dale and move the young boy she had encountered earlier over to Tosh and Owen.

"But that's his clothes," Toshiko pointed out.

Whatever it was that Dale held wore shreds of Ianto's clothes. Seams were ripped open, and both the jacket and shirt were open, the shirt having lost some of its buttons. What showed through was what concerned all, Villagers and Torchwood alike.

The arms were thick and muscular, the muscular chest and abs broad and swelled out and rippled. The skin tone was gold, a lighter tone on the chest and darker on the arms.

A muffled groan came from inside the burlap bag.

"Is...is that?" Gwen asked, her eyes even wider with disbelief. She had slipped behind Owen and started to untie his hands.

"I think it is," Owen replied. Nodding toward what appeared to be a creature in Ianto's clothes, he added, "And I get the feeling these sick fucks had nothing to do with this."

"Or maybe they did," Toshiko said cryptically, her eyes on the scene before them.

Gwen finished untying Owen's bonds and moved onto Toshiko, still keeping an eye at the proceedings.

"What are you?" Dale asked and reached for the bag covering the head.

When he pulled it off, they could see it was Ianto, and yet it wasn't.

Almond shaped blazing blue eyes set on Dale. Ianto's mouth was changing shape too. His jaws opened and he let out a snarl. His eyes went to a far wall and a sinister smile twisted his mouth. "This stops now," Ianto intoned.

And then all hell broke loose. The building started to rumble and shake and everyone looked around. The wall Ianto was staring at gave way as a tractor crashed through it. The tractor's driver, Captain Jack Harkness, started firing at the Villagers, aiming to disarm and injure only whenever possible. Toshiko, Owen and Gwen ducked to avoid the crossfire, Gwen pulling Kiernan down with her.

Nobody saw as Ianto backed up and managing to break his ties, spread his arms wide. Nobody saw him transform, his neck elongating. A long snout grew from his face and the wide mouth opened to expose big sharp teeth. Spiny ridges grew from the back of Ianto's reformed head, down along the long, sinuous muscled neck. Crests appeared on the top and sides, the ones on the sides appearing to be webbed.

His clothes continued to fall in shreds as his arms and legs changed and his torso grew in size. A tail formed and grew. As the last of his ruined clothes was shred from his transforming body, wings grew from his gold scaled back.

Once the transformation was completed, silence fell upon the ruined house.

Jack stood with the other three members of his team, gun still drawn, while injured Villagers tried to crawl into the walls in fear, all eyes on the majestic dragon that filled up the back half of the kitchen.

Almond shaped eyes that were now swirling with the deepest blue, like a clear dark night, looked at the Torchwood team. "Run," he said. His eyes met Jack's.

Jack gasped. "I-Ianto?" he asked.

The dragon nodded. "Run."

Jack grabbed both Toshiko and Gwen, and giving Owen a nudge, started to run from the building. Owen grabbed onto the kid who had been hovering close to Gwen as they fled.

They stopped when they heard a mighty roar, but then Jack pushed them onward for a bit more. Once he felt they were safe, he brought them to a stop. As one they turned to see smoke come from the building, flames flickering in shattered windows and the side where the tractor was.

Their mouths opened as they heard a crash and watched as the dragon flew up from the house, crashing through the roof and taking flight. The flight was not as graceful as they had expected. The dragon flew low, just barely missing the roof of the building and made its way in their direction.

Gwen and Owen made to run again, but Jack held them in place. "It's okay," he assured them. "Ianto is just coming to join us. Then we can leave."

The team stared at Jack in disbelief, but Jack's eyes were on the dragon in flight. It was making a lazy circle around an area not far from the house and Jack smiled. "He located the SUV," he informed the team. "Come on. We'll meet him there."

"How do you know?" Gwen asked. "And how are we sure Ianto won't make barbeque of us next?" She refused to move from her spot.

Toshiko studied Jack's face. "You're talking," she said.

Jack merely nodded his head, his eyes still on the dragon, which seemed still clumsy and yet still gorgeous and majestic. Even in the dark of the night, the wide span of wings glistened. Then Jack let out a gasp of fear as the dragon started to fall from the sky.

Before anyone could stop him, he broke out in a run, yelling out, "IANTO!"

OoOoOoO

When Jack had first seen the dragon, for only a second he thought it something alien. It was just for a second, before he knew without a doubt that the glorious creature before them in the building was Ianto. It was confirmed, when to his surprise he felt a nudge at his mental shields. He opened them slightly and felt Ianto there.

After Ianto had ordered them to run, he felt Ianto in his mind again. 'I can't stop it, Jack. I'm trying but..I can't help but think they made me what I am now.'

Jack sent back reassurance to Ianto. 'Don't worry. We'll cover it.'

Not very long later as he stood with the rest of his team and the boy they had rescued, he watched Ianto as he took flight. He tried not to laugh aloud when his mind was filled with Welsh curses as Ianto hated his clumsiness. 'It takes time,' he assured Ianto. 'This is only your first change, and not under the best circumstances, I'm afraid.'

'You think?' came the response and then Ianto snorted in his mind.

He knew Ianto wanted nothing more than to feel solid ground beneath his feet – well, his claws, Jack reminded himself – once more, Jack knew two things kept Ianto in flight still. One was instinct. It was what his kind did when they first changed. They took to the sky for as long as they were able. The second was Ianto was using his position from above to scout out the SUV. When Jack saw Ianto start to make something of a circle over the same area, he knew before he heard in his mind, 'Jack, I found the SUV.'

'We'll meet you there,' Jack replied, and then informed the team where they were going.

'Jack? What happened to me?' Ianto was becoming agitated. 'What if I'm stuck like this? What will become of me?'

Jack's mind flashed back to glimpses he had of Ianto back in the building. He was too centered on bringing down the ones who had taken his team captive and hurt them to fully process what was happening. Now he took the time. 'It's okay, Ianto. I know what you are, and you can go back to human form.' He managed to keep his next thought from Ianto, that it might take a little time until Ianto figured it out.

'I wasn't keeping anything from you. I didn't know...' Confusion and dismay started to cloud Ianto's mind, and Jack felt it.

'I know, Ianto,' he assured the other.

Then he watched as Ianto fell from the sky, as if he lost the ability of flight. "IANTO!" he cried out and left the others behind to follow as he raced toward where he saw Ianto fall.

He ran until he approached a clearing and noticed the SUV. He scanned the area, while hearing the others approach until he saw the sprawled form of Ianto Jones, laying still on the ground. He also noticed Ianto was now nude.

'Ugh,' came from Ianto in Jack's mind. 'I tried not to fall on the SUV.'

'Are you okay?' Jack asked as he rushed over.

'A little stunned, but otherwise, I think I'm unharmed.'

Hearing the others almost reaching them, being assured that Ianto was okay, he decided to save the Welshman's dignity. He started to take his coat off as he ran to Ianto's side. When he dropped to his knees, Ianto was sitting up.

"Here," Jack said with a small smile, wrapping his coat around Ianto. "Put this on. We don't want the ladies to see your bits." He grinned slightly as he helped Ianto get his arms into the sleeves.

Ianto snorted. "I hardly have 'bits', I can assure you."

Jack chuckled. "Oh, I know that." He winked at the still slightly stunned man before him. If Ianto was making jokes, then he would be fine.

"Oi! Too late," Owen's voice called out. "We already got to see more of the teaboy than we care to."

"Speak for yourself, Owen," Toshiko snapped, and then her eyes went wide. "Well, he does have a nice body."

Gwen giggled nervously, pointedly looking away from Ianto. It was enough for the two men to know she had seen skin too.

Ianto allowed Jack to pull him to his feet. As he buttoned up the coat, he turned to Owen and raised an eyebrow. "As my physician, we both know you had seen more."

Jack chuckled as Ianto belted the coat up, and then slipped an arm around Ianto's waist. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

"I'm a little sore. Still confused, but otherwise, feeling better than I thought I would be feeling after going through that," Ianto replied.

"I'll be the judge of that," Owen gruffly said.

Jack looked back toward where they were able to see flames flicker. "I was hoping to get some answers but I can't say they didn't have it coming to them."

"I took the liberty of calling emergency services," Gwen informed the team.

"Good," Jack said.

Owen started to laugh. "Bloody hell, Ianto. After we almost become their Sunday roast, you went and roasted those sick bastards."

Ianto looked slightly ill. "I didn't mean to. I... I just couldn't stop myself." Jack held onto him tighter, to make sure he didn't suddenly do a dive to the ground.

"What happened, Ianto?" Gwen asked. "You changed. Into a dragon." She looked at him with a touch of fear.

Jack grinned. "He did at that. And I can assure everyone that you don't have to be afraid of Ianto. Unless you piss him off. Then I'm afraid you stand worse than just having to drink decaf." He winked at the Welshman he still had a hold on.

Ianto looked at Jack. "You seem to know more about this than I expected. Which is not fair, because it should be me."

"It's alright. Look, we have clean up to do around here first. We'll need a cover story."

"I can do that, if I may," Ianto said.

"Good."

"Those sick fucks were cannibals," Owen exclaimed. "All those missing people turned into sides of beef for some Harvest."

Jack nodded. "I want you all to give statements. Be as truthful as you dare."

"Considering it was all human and nothing alien," Gwen said, her eyes flickering toward Ianto, "except for the very end, I don't see why we can't be truthful."

"Agreed," Jack said. "Everyone get your statements in." Jack turned Ianto so they were facing each other, holding the younger man at arm's length. "Did they beat you?" he asked. When Ianto nodded, Jack frowned. "Hm, seems you have to distort your statement slightly. "I don't see any evidence of injury on you."

Ianto shook his head. "I think when I changed back, I healed."

"Right. Then they were just about to have their go on you when I arrived and then everything went to shit. Can you do that in a cover story?"

"Of course," Ianto assured Jack.

Jack guided Ianto toward the SUV, glancing back at the others. "I hear the emergency vehicles. Let's go and get this over."

OoOoOoO

When the team was done with dealing with the local police and fire services, Jack loaded them into the SUV. Much to their surprise, Jack had made some inquiries from the locals and made a couple of phone calls. They found themselves in a lovely hotel that was housed in a well-kept Georgian style building, located just outside of the Brecon Beacons.

For once Jack did all the sorting of the rooms, giving Ianto his key first and allowing the Welshman who was still only wearing Jack's greatcoat to flee to the safety of a private room. Once the others were on their way up to their rooms, Jack managed to secure the promise of food from the hotel staff, even if it meant someone running to a local chip shop because it was well past dinner time at their restaurant, and flashing a big tip for the favour at that time of night. He added that vegetarian would be fine and no meat. Jack had no idea how the others would react to meat so soon after their ordeal. After hearing the statements and getting the team to fill him in more during the drive, his own stomach revolted at the thought of meat, considering how close his team had come to being someone's Sunday meal. He clenched down the anger that came with that thought and took several large gulps of air to calm down. Those people responsible were gone now, never to hurt anyone else. He thanked the portly woman he spoke to, gracing her with a wink that caused her to giggle and blush and then went up to his room.

As he passed the others' rooms, he could hear showers going, so he was surprised when he entered his room to find Ianto sitting on the edge of a very comfortable looking easy chair, still in the greatcoat. The young man looked dazed and it took a moment for him to register that he was no longer alone.

Jack noticed the duffles that Ianto had packed for them before leaving on the king-sized four poster bed. The bed was made with a dark burgundy plush spread that matched the swanks which went around the upper frame of the bed. The room was posh, richly appointed with wallcoverings in brocaded burgundy and gold. There was a twin to the arm chair that Ianto sat on, and a loveseat, all upholstered to match the room. In a corner was a mahogany table and chairs, the wood matching the bed frames and the wardrobe. He nodded his head in approval before his attention went back to Ianto.

"I hope you don't find it presumptuous of me to get us one room," he said quietly.

Ianto shrugged. "It's fine." He finally looked up at Jack, but not quite meeting his eyes. "To be honest, I don't think I want to be alone tonight."

"I thought as much," Jack said, crossing the room to stand before Ianto. "I had food ordered, but I have no idea when it will be arriving. I know everyone is probably not hungry, but it's been a long day and we all need to eat. I specifically requested no meat."

Ianto made a face. "The way I'm feeling right now, I don't think I can look at meat again."

"It might pass with time, but no one can hardly fault you for feeling that way now. Even I'm put off at the thought." Jack studied Ianto when all he got was a shrug of the shoulders, and then the Welshman's attention went elsewhere as he grew quiet.

Jack went over to the door where the en suite was and whistled. "Wow! All I wanted was just a place that was nice, and not so reminiscent of where we had just come from." He had already explained as he pulled up the hotel's driveway that he felt it was better for them to stop at the first place that seemed safe away from the area they were in. The hotel was nestled right at the very edge of the national forest, in its own secluded grounds, but close to a very charming town. If this was a holiday, it would be the perfect place for a few days, Jack mused. He wanted them to have a chance to regroup, get cleaned and into a change of clothes, eat and attempt to relax for the night before continuing the drive back to Cardiff.

"Why don't you take a shower?" Jack suggested gently. "Or a nice soak. There's a jacuzzi in here." He grinned despite himself. If it was a different situation, he would have already been pulling Ianto into the en suite for an enjoyable joint soak in the tub.

Without a word, Ianto stood up and walked over to Jack, starting to undo the buttons of the coat.

Jack stopped Ianto before him, helping him with the coat. With the coat open, Jack grasped Ianto on the shoulders. "Hey," he said softly. "I know you're scared, and I suspect for you it's more than just what those bastards did."

"I...I killed them," Ianto said, his voice breaking. "All of them."

"I guess it wouldn't help if I said they deserved it?" Jack asked. "Look, Ianto, I know you weren't keeping another secret from me. I can see you're confused and scared, and if I can't say I blame you. But I think I have some answers, and where to go to get more answers once we're back at the Hub. For now, go and take a shower, and then we'll talk. I told the others we'll go to Owen's room when the food arrives, but I think we should do a little talking first."

Ianto allowed Jack to remove the coat. "Will you talk while I soak?" he asked.

"Would you like me to join you?"

Ianto nodded. "I don't want to be alone."

Jack moved his head so he lightly kissed Ianto's lips. "Of course. I understand." He handed Ianto his coat and went over to the jacuzzi and started to run it. "Tonight, let me take care of you," he asked, looking back at Ianto.

Ianto looked away.

"Ianto?" Jack asked, going back to the other man who stood barely inside the en suite.

"Sorry. It's just..." he gazed up at Jack, expressive blue eyes meeting Jack's. "How could you? I mean knowing... that I'm not... that I'm different."

Jack smiled and pulled Ianto close, wrapping his arms around the Welshman's waist and holding him. "Remember when I answered to Gwen's stupid game? What did I say?"

Ianto pulled his head away and chuckled a little. "You asked it if included non-human lifeforms." He raised an eyebrow.

"And...?" Jack met Ianto's gaze. "You know me, Ianto. Don't act as if you do. So tell me, do you really believe that just because you might not be entirely human will stop me? Do you listen to the stories I tell?"

Ianto turned and glanced at the tub. "Oh shit."

Jack looked behind him and rushed over to turn off the water. With a smile, he indicated the tub with a his hand. "For you, sir."

Ianto went over to the tub, handing Jack his coat. "For you too. Don't take too long."

Jack made to rush from the room to hang his coat up, fully intending to shed his clothes before returning. He paused when he heard Ianto call out, "Jack?"

Jack stood at the threshold and glanced back.

"The others, they really believe that you make up all those stories."

"And you?"

Ianto shook his head. "I know better."

"I'll be back soon."

"You better."