Chapter ten – Ninety seconds
Everything went differently, Ianto made sure of that. He wasn't going to let those barbarians scar his friends for a life.
Because that was what happened the first time, even if they didn't realize it. Before the trip to the countrycide, they were more...idealistic, naive. Even Owen. They came back with relatively minor injuries, but the mental scars were deep. They lost their faith at that place; they lost their faith in the humans.
Ianto knew that they all joined Torchwood to save the from the dangerous aliens. Aliens, not humans. They never thought that one time they'd have to go up against their own kind. At least not Owen and Tosh. Gwen was a copper before, so the brutality shocked her more than the committing race. He suspected that Jack wasn't that affected thanks to his experiences through the time. And Ianto himself didn't fall into a depressive state either. After seeing Lumic inflict the Cybermen on his homeworld, he couldn't be shaken by anything.
At least, this was what he thought. But after reliving the whole incident, he wasn't so sure about himself. All the time he spent at the Brecon Becons, he was thinking about the cannibals. He knew what will happen, he knew that he'd be able to prevent the things they did to his team-mates, but he couldn't stop himself from feeling the terror he felt the first time, and it made him think. He was supposed to be the hunter this time, not the prey. But he certainly didn't feel like he was in control. Maybe he wasn't so indifferent as he thought.
The fact that Bad Wolf,...no, Rose sent him back to this time meant that he was wrong, and he needed to deal with the events differently. Yes, it was the reason, he decided. And it was a bonus that he was able to help the team.
But as he thought more about it, he became insecure about the latter part. Maybe saving them was a mistake. Well, not saving them, but the way he did it. Teaboys and general support people aren't supposed to be trained in weapons. And they certainly shouldn't be able to fight off a room full of cannibals and freeing other people with a sprained shoulder.
Ianto winced. It really wasn't a good idea, it made the others wonder, well, not Gwen. She was occupied with her own shock. But -he knew- as soon as they arrived back, Tosh tried to access his personal file; Owen kept making comments about fighting the dirty dishes, but he sounded more amused than snide; and Jack kept shooting these calculating looks his way. Ianto knew that the older man didn't know about him yet, but couldn't shake off the feeling that he did.
He was currently hiding in the tourist office, not wanting to face the others and answering the questions he was sure they had. As he was sitting behind his desk with papers scattered around him, he realized he had to clear it up. He laughed inwardly; it was so good to be the old, slightly messy Ianto Jones for a year; he didn't want to be the tidy teaboy again. But he didn't really have a choice. He sighed and started to organize the mess.
After five minutes a shadow suddenly blocked the light from his desk. He quickly put on his polite face and looked up to see a woman flipping through a guidebook.
"Good morning. Can I he...," he trailed off as the newcomer turned around. He laughed aloud as he stood up, and wondered how could he miss the trademark peroxide-blonde hair. He walked up to her and said, "Hello Rose."
She smiled back and put the book back on the shelf, "Hello, Ianto. How are you? How was the trip?" she asked back with a mischevious glint in her eyes.
"You should know. You were the one who arranged it," he answered.
"I didn't arrange anything. I just gave you a chance, you made the decisions."
"Then let me thank you the chance. I was able to save them. I'm very grateful for that."
"You think that was what the chance was about?" she asked back, suddenly looking serious.
"I was thinking about it in the past fifteen minutes. I came up with a theory. Saving them was one part of it, me dealing differently with the effects the other," he replied, ignoring the voice in his head that taunted him with the word 'denial'. But unfortunately, Rose somehow managed to hear it.
"Are you sure there isn't another reason? One that is more about you?"
"Yes," 'Liar!'screamed the voice, 'You know the reason'.
"Really? I warn you, I learnt to read you in the past six months," she grinned as Ianto.
"Maybe you're right. But this doesn't change the fact that I don't want to deal with that now. It still hurts," he said, admitting that he knew what she was talking about.
"You can't avoid the topic forever. He is here."
"I know that he is here. But that doesn't change the fact that he betrayed me. I still get confused about the paradoxes, but I know that I was right the first time. He used me to get to you."
"But he won't this time."
"You don't know that."
"I do. The paradox is over, Ianto. We came back for a reason Ianto. Give him a chance."
Ianto didn't agree, instead he asked, "What reason?"
"I needed him here, near the rift, waiting for the Doctor," she admitted with a guilty expression on her face "I left him little reminders, you were the last. I'm so sorry, I didn't want to use you, but I had to," she said with tears and honest regret in her eyes.
"So you turned back time as an apology?" he tried to lift the mood with a joke.
"Partly. I also sent you back to give you a chance to be yourself. You already saw their reaction. You don't need to lie anymore. You don't have to pretend about everything and lie to Jack. So because here wasn't enough time for me to apologize for all the pain I caused..." she trailed off.
"So you decided to make it up to me the only way you could. With sending me back to start fresh," he summed up. He couldn't be anything than happy. The more he was thinking about it, the more possibilities could he see. Possibilities of a different, happier future. Maybe with Jack. But suddenly an other thought entered his mind. Jack was an immortal. They didn't have a future.
"Not anymore," spoke up Rose. He didn't notice that he said it aloud.
"What? How?"
"I left you with little gifts. You, Jack, Donna, Owen and the Doctor. Jack's was the end of his immortality. His role in the universe has changed. He doesn't have to live forever anymore."
"What was his role? Do you remember?"
"He was to be the Face of Boe. An immortal being; he was to make sure that the paradox happened. But the paradox is gone, so is Boe. He is mortal now, you saw his scars. He knows it too."
"Hold on. He was one of the reasons of the paradox?"
"Yes, I'll tell you later. Now we're here to talk about you. You have to decide. You can't keep running forever."
Ianto was thinking about his possibilities. One, he could go on if nothing happened, sprouting off some lies about Torchwood One's requirements for the support staff. Two, he could postpone the revealation for now, then bring it up again when he felt he was ready. But there was a chance that the others wouldn't be so understanding. Or three, he could let them know now. He fingered the pendrive he always kept in his pocket, with all the files and records about his indentity, including the 'movie' about this world's Ianto Jones' death. He could just plug it into his computer and let Tosh access the files. He could go out for a walk, and come back later, after they calmed down. Much more later.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when Rose squeezed his hand. He looked at her, and knew she was right. In that light, he made his decision, inserted the little device, then turned to the girl next to him.
"Fancy a walk? You could tell me what happened on the Valiant. It's a blur, I can barely remember," and without waiting for an answer, he took her hand and pulled her out of the office.
Ten minutes later they were sitting in a pub, drinking and talking. Ianto wasn't a fan of getting drunk before twelve, but this time he made an exepcion. He really didn't want to face the team while sober. He thought that the scotch he was nursing'd make the confrontation less painful. Rose caught on that
"Getting drunk won't solve anything," she remarked.
"You know I liked you better while you were crazy and talked in riddles," he snappeed back, then realized what he did, "Sorry. I'm nervous," he muttered, and noticed that he was slurring his words slightly, "And a little drunk."
"Four drinks in eight minutes do that to you," she smiled, then switched to an other topic, "You wanted me to tell what happened. Do you still want to know?"
"Yes, but I'd like to know what happened to the others. Will they remember what happened?"
"They won't be able. It'll be our little secret," she giggled, like in the old times.
"Why not?"
"Think about it. What's the only difference between you and the others, not counting the biological ones?"
"I'm from a different universe," he said aloud, then realization dawned on him, "I'm from a different world, that means a different vortex, so the time didn't affect me."
"Yes, with one minor correction. The reverse of the time didn't affect you," she corrected, then continued, "But you wanted me to tell you about the others." Ianto sensed, that she wanted to avoid the topic of the reverse, so he let her.
"Yes. What little gift did you leave them with?"
"To Owen it was Diane. He won't fall in love with her this time. He won't turn self-destructive, won't be weevil-food. Maybe he will find someone else one day."
"So there will be no teasing-material," he mused aloud, then waved his hand, "Go on, what about Donna? Let me guess, his fiance won't try to feed her to the Racnoss."
"No. He won't be her fiance. She won't fall in love. She'll get a very good job offer before she meets him. She will move away from London," she said with a strange glint in her eyes. Ianto noticed it, and snorted in understanding.
"You've got to be kidding!" when she shook her head, he exclaimed, "Donna will move here? And get together with Owen?"
"She's just coming here, I'm not making decisions about her love-life," Ianto still looked skeptical, so she added, "I know, I know. I doomed the world. But it was always supposed to happen this way. Bad Wolf just changed it for a while," she said, wiping the tears of mirth out of her eyes.
"So now that you told me all about our little team, could you share what happened on the Valiant? I didn't want to pressure you, but I need to know. To undestand," he pleaded.
Rose sighed and started her tale
She was standing over the crouching figure of the Time Lord when she heard the sound. It was barely a whisper, but she heard it clear.
"Rose?"
She turned her head slowly, meeting the eyes of her beloved alien. She smiled at him, and begged for understanding and forgiveness. The Doctor looked like he was torn between being angry, confused, desperate and incredibly happy. He moved towards her, then suddenly stopped. He recognised the look in her eyes, and his eyes shifted to her hands.
She was still pointing the gun at the Master, preparing to pull the trigger.
"Rose," he whispered again, but this time there was a serious note to his tone. He was going to try to stop her. She knew she couldn't let that happen, "Put down the weapon. Please."
"I can't. This has to be done. There is no other way."
"Rose, please," he begged, and it broke her heart. She knew she had to kill the Master in order to save the man she loved. And she knew that he was going to hate her.
"Doctor, who is she?" a new voice joined the conversation. Rose looked at her, for the first time since her enter. Martha was staring at the Doctor with a mix of adoration and accusation. Rose sighed inwardly, her time-travelling alien had a new fan. When she turned her attention back to the black woman, she noticed that Martha was now staring at her, but it was more like a death-glare. The woman clearly viewed her as a competition, and already hated her.
"She is Rose," he replied in a soft voice, which didn't go unnoticed by the Master.
"Oooh, so you're the imfamously famous Rose, the owner of my best mate's little, bleeding always sorry hearts," he mocked, then turned to Martha, "That's bad news for you, isn't it? Her return means that you can shift off," he exclaimed with fake cheerfulness.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she denied.
"Oh, you do. And you hate her for it. So, why don't you act, and shoot the little slut? Then maybe her star-crossed lover too? I'd take you with me to travel through time and space," he coaxed her. T
he Master wasn't stupid. He knew that there were several guns in the room, but having one trained on their precious little Rose, he'd control all of them. Martha was the best candidate for the job; the blind could see the hate in her eyes, directed at the blonde. She was overruled by her jealousy, she was easy to control. He couldn't hide his smirk when the doctor-in-training pointed her weapon on her rival."Stop it, Master. And don't listen to him Martha. He's just playing with your head," ordered the Doctor with barely concealed rage. He could see Martha's indecision too, and it hurt and angered him that for months he was travelling with someone who could think about killing an innoccent because of jealousy.
Suddenly Martha's hand jerked. The last thing the Master saw before the bullet pierced his chest was the Doctor lunging towards the woman.
„She fooled then shot him?"asked Ianto
„No. I did"answered Rose „Martha was shooting at me. The Doctor disarmed her, but he was too late"
„What?"
The Master was lying on the floor with the Doctor holding him. He registered that his friend-turned-enemy was trying to get him to regenerate. He denied it, having a much better plan, and that meant much mor fun. He looked over the Doctor's shoulder and saw something the others didn't. It was hard to notice as she was still standing.
"I won, Doctor. You'll be the last, and you'll be alone. Forever. Because you were too slow," he was watching with sick pleasure as the realization dawned on the other Time Lord.
The Doctor jumped upand rushed to Rose's side. Without his sonic screwdriver he could do nothing but watch as the red spot appeared ang grew on Rose's chest.
"Nonononono," he muttered as he was trying to stop the bloodflow. He remembered that the Master had a screwdriver of his own. 'Maybe that could help' he thought. He jumped up to retrieve it, but was met with a familiar and very much hated white wall.
"Let me guess. You played the whole suprise time-trip with him too," remarked Ianto.
"Guilty," she admitted, "But I was shot and didn't have the time to warn him."
"And you didn't see the shooting before it happened?" asked the man.
Rose smiled guiltily, "I did. But it was still the best scenario. All the other possibilities included at least one of you dead."
"Then I have to thank you. But we're getting off-topic. How did he react? You shot the Master after all," his slur was still there, but it wasn't that noticable.
"To say he wasn't happy is an understatement. I was so afraid, I thought he was going to leave me behind," she said with tears in her eyes. It was painful to remember.
"You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to," said Ianto softly. He was sobering up rather quickly. When she didn't answer, he assumed, "He didn't really leave you, did he?"
The Doctor was staring at the wall in the Ghost Room with wide eyes. He couldn't believe he was there. He was thinking about the reasons that made him end up there. Were the past years just hallucinations? A hand being placed on his shoulder snapped him out of his musings. He whirled around and found himself facing Rose. He managed to say a soft "Hello," before he grabbed and pulled her into an embrace. He only pulled away to cup her face with his hands and kiss her. When she pulled back a little, he panicked. 'How could I have been so stupid? Were not like that' he thought. He looked back at the girl in front of him, but instead of the expected shock he saw a sad smile. "It wasn't a hallucination," was the only thing she said, but it was enough for the Doctor. He thought back to the past year, and there was only one thing that kept him from yelling at the woman he loved. Well, make that two reasons. One, he loved her, and didn't want to do something rash. The second was worry. "You were shot," he said as he moved to check her over. There were no bullets or blood or scars. "It didn't happen yet, you know that. We're here to fight a war," she answered softly. She didn't want to hurry him, this time they had enough time. She let him avoid the topic. Rose knew that he'd bring it up sooner or later. "How did you get back?" "Bad Wolf. And the fact that one can't live in an alternate universe if he or she doesn't have a counterpart in it." "The Equilibrum theory is wrong. My people disproved it a long time ago." She let out a little laugh, "Then it was just the Bad Wolf."
She honestly thought that the theory was right. But if what the Doctor was saying was true, than it was her that set that up, too. But the only thing she didn't understand was Mickey and her Mum's place. Why did they change. As soon as the thought entered her mind, her memories came back to her. She saw herself on the gamestation, and realized that it was her gift to her beloved ones. They didn't become their parallel selves, they just forgot her. They forgot about her, so they didn't suffer after her departure.
„It was the Bad Wolf all along," she echoed. After a little pause came the question she was waiting for, "Why?"
"It had to be done. He wasn't meant to exist," she said, running a hand through his hair. Despite the seriousness of their conversation he didn't let go of her waist. Yet. "How could you possibly know that?" he asked. But she didn't need to answer, "Bad Wolf?" she nodded, "Tell me everything!" "It's long and complicated." "Well, despite everything that happened lately, I still notice when an unknown force stops Time from moving. So I'm aware of the fact that we have all the time in the Universe," he said, a little harsher than he wanted to. "Everything happened because of the War." "What do the Cybermen have to do with the Master?" he interrupted. "Not this war." Again, she didn't need explain that. He realized what war she was talking about. "The Time War," he whispered. "He wasn't meant to be resurrected. Your people created a paradox. They figured they'd deal with it after the war." "But Gallifrey was destroyed..." "...erased from existence," she corrected quietly, "Leaving a paradox behind, one with no beginning and no end..." "...and it could be stopped only by another paradox, one with a beginning and an end..." "...one that was much more bigger than the one the Master's life caused..." "... like the Bad Wolf," he finished. He rested his head on her shoulder and asked, "What happens now?" There was another question, one he didn't voice 'Can you stay with me?'
"It's up to you. Time will continue soon. We can go, stop the invasion and make it back together. Or we can go, stop the invasion and I can let go of the lever, waiting for Pete to save me." The Doctor's head shot up, „What?" he asked with wide eyes, „You want to go back?" 'You want to leave me?' "Do you want me to leave?" she avoided answering. She wanted to hear it from him. "How can you say –and think- that?" he was genuinely shocked. But then he caught on, and muttered, barely audible "Of course I don't want you to." To his suprise Rose pulled away from him with teary eyes. "As you wish," was all she said. The Doctor rethought his sentence and realized his mistake, "No, you missunderstood. No. I was wrong. No, it came out the wrong way. Or you just heard it the wrong way. Or I don't know," he rambled, "I want you to stay. With me. Forever. Or until you get bored of me. I love you," he continued, but stopped after the last part, and looked at her. He didn't want the confession to come out this way. But she didn't seem to be bothered with it. In fact, before he could open his mouth to reshape his last sentence, she jumped into his arms, laughing, then she kissed him. After a while, Rose pulled away again, "I was meant to say that I'll stay, but we have to send our metallic friends into Hell," she said then giggled, "You were so cute when you were rambling." "Right. After we're finished, we're going back to the Tardis –she missed you, by the way- and you'll pay for scaring me," he threatened, then turned to grab one of the clamps on the wall. „I can't wait. Oh, and Doctor," when he turned back, she grabbed his tie, pulled him close and kissed him, „I love you too."
"So you got your happy ending," commented Ianto.
"You can say that. It was rough in the first weeks. While we were in the room it didn't sink in that I killed the Master. Six weeks ago it did. We were screaming at each other so loud, that the Tardis locked us out until we calmed down," she laughed at the memory.
"Must've been a sight," he chuckled, then changed the topic, "What happened to Martha? And what about the others on the Valiant?"
"Martha is back to her ordinary life, just like the others," she replied, "The Doctor was quite pissed at her."
"You can't blame him. She tried to kill you."
"I know. But the Master controlled her," she argued.
"He was shot, so he must've been weak too. And that means that she must've wanted to hurt you, if it was that easy to control her."
"The Doctor said the same thing."
"Great minds think alike," Ianto stated smugly.
"Wow. You've just became the member of the My-Ego-Is-Larger-Than-Russia club."
"Who are the other members?"
"My alien and Jack, of course," she answered his question, then continued, "And speaking of Jack, I want you to be a godfather," she grinned.
"Godfather? To who? And what does that do with Jack?" he asked, then realization dawned on him, "Congratulation. And me being the godfather means that Jack will be the godmother?"
She grinned again, "I knew I liked you for a reason Ianto Jones."
"I can say the same, Rose Tyler."
Then she stood up and put on her coat with Ianto's help. "I have to go."
"They're coming, aren't they?" he asked and she nodded, "Is there any chance that I could run away with you in your time machine?"
"No. You have to face them," she pressed a piece of paper in his hand, "Here. Call me if you need anything."
She kissed him goodbye then walked away. Ianto ordered another drink and moved to a table with five seats. Two minutes later he was joined by the rest of the Torchwood team.
After a long and uncomfortable silence the four glanced at each other. Owen spoke up first, and Ianto braced himself against the verbal assault.
"So, does that mean that we'll have to make our own coffee?" he asked, and Ianto's head shot up. He really didn't expect this.
"Or do the reports without your help?" added Gwen.
"Or does that mean that we'll have one more person to tackle the angry weevils?" continued Tosh.
Ianto looked at Jack. He was yet to say something. After gulping down Ianto's untouched drink, he spoke up, "So, do you know any good secretaries who could replace you?" his eyes were laughing.
Ianto thought back to his conversation with Rose and answered, "Donna Noble. You'll like her."
"Okay. Now let's move to the next topic," Ianto was sure it'll be about his past. But he was wrong, because instead of starting a serious conversation, Jack stood up and bellowed to the waiter, „Hey! Could you get us five beers?"
When Jack sat back and grinned, Ianto felt better than he ever did during his time in this world. He didn't have to be a genius to know what it meant. He was truly happy and in peace.
He had his defending-Earth-from-aliens-on-a-daily-basis friend with him, he felt the ex-immortal love of his life squeezing his hand, and he had a crazy, time-travelling blonde as his personal shrink.
He knew it was a mad world. But it was his home.
Rose was standing in the control room when she heard the Doctor coming up behind her. He reached out and started to massage her shoulders.
"We don't have to do this right now, you know. If you feel you're not up to it, we can come back later," he said, watching her gazing at the burning supernova.
"Yes, we have to. I want to say goodbye."
"Okay," he moved, pushed buttons and pulled levers. A couple of minutes later he straightened out and said „It's done. All we have to do is wait" She nodded, but didn't say anything. Another ten minutes later he spoke up again, "It's time."
She nodded again, and suddenly she found herself standing on a beach, facing her mother.
"Hey Mum," was all she could say.
The next three minutes were extremely painful, altough she knew what was to come. But it was the last time she saw her mother, she was sure of it. The gap didn't come out in Norway like the last time. They were in Cardiff, without a Bad Wolf message popping up anywhere. Jackie told her about her new marriage and the baby. Rose almost corrected her, that it was babies. She told her mother about not being able to see her again ever, and about her own pregnancy. Jackie took the news as they expected, she ordered the Doctor to show his face, then threathened him with all the torture she could imagine if he hurt her daughter.
"I love you sweetheart," she said, "And I'm proud to have a daughter like you. Take care."
"I love you too Mommy," said Rose before the image of her mother faded away.
Three months later she was sitting on a couch, watching the Doctor struggle with a cot.
"I'm telling you, this manual is wrong," he huffed.
"Or you just don't want to admit that you have no idea what are you doing," she laughed.
"Oi. You're supposed to side with me."
"I always do. But this time I'm siding with the little one's safety. So let's call Jack and Ianto. I'm sure either of them can read a manual and put a cot together."
The Doctor mock-glared at her, then dropped next to her on the couch, his head resting in her lap. He leaned close to her swollen belly, and whispered to their unborn son, like he always did. But this time he wasn't telling gallifreyan tales.
"I can't wait for you to be born. I need another man on this ship, she's always overpowering me, the controlling woman."
"Hey!" she protested.
"But you know what?" he continued, "I wouldn't have it any other way. I love her," and with that, he pulled himself up, and kissed her soundly..
Moments later he was back talking to the baby, this time about the suns of Gallifrey.
While she was watching him, she had some time to think. If someone told her eight years earlier that she'd be here one day, she'd have laughed. But now, here she was. With his time travelling alien love, their unborn child in a time machine. With an ex-immortal as a best friend, and his lover from an alternate universe as an almost brother. Not to mention the extended life-span she had, thanks to the Tardis.
She chuckled lightly as the Doctor started another tale, this time about his own childhood on Gallifrey.
Yes, the world was a mad place. But she absolutely loved it.