Dear Readers, I think this will be the last chapter. Thank you for sticking with this story, even though I have been beyond awful with updating. I appreciate all of your reviews and favourites. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. Thanks, bye!
Jack opened his eyes and blinked a few times to get focus. He saw a single lightbulb hanging from a grotty ceiling. He groaned, feeling pain in the back of his skull. Everything came back to him and he sat forward with a jolt. Opposite him were his three friends, bound and gagged. He tried to move his own wrists and feet, confirming the fact that he, too, were tied up.
"What's going on?" he asked, urgently. A low chuckle met his ears and Jack the manager appeared from behind him.
"Alright there, Mr Harkness?" he questioned, a mocking smile firmly in place on his face.
Jack frowned. "How do you know my name?"
"Oh, don't you remember me? I suppose I have had a haircut since that day…"
"What day? When?" Jack asked.
Jack the manager walked over to where Gwen was sitting and casually ran his hand across her jaw.
"I changed my name as well." He said, lazily. "Got this job, set a few suspicious-looking scenarios and after that it was all too easy…"
Jack's eyes narrowed as Gwen flinched. "So what is your name?"
"Just call me Smith."
"Ok…Smith." Jack repeated. "What was all too easy?"
Smith laughed at that. "Dear me, you really have no idea how predictable you are, do you Harkness? I know you work with aliens, so I knew you'd come to investigate as soon as things started getting a bit weird 'round here. Did you think I wouldn't recognise you? With the blonde hair and that pitiful attempt at a Swedish accent?"
"Well then why?" Jack pressed, trying to buy time to figure out a plan. "Why lure me here? What do you want?"
The smile faded from Smith's face. "Revenge." He turned and pulled out a gun.
"DON'T" Jack yelled. But Smith had already pulled the trigger. BANG. A scream filled the air. He had shot Tosh in the leg. She was now sobbing, her breath coming raggedly as she tried to withstand the agony.
"It's not nice seeing someone you care about get hurt, is it?" Smith said, turning back to face Jack. "Well, that's step one."
"What did I do to you?" Jack croaked. Smith shot him the filthiest look imaginable.
"What did you do to me? WHAT DID YOU DO!" he yelled. "YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME. EVERYTHING! And now you've forgotten her! Like she were just an animal that needed to be put down because it was ill! She was my WIFE!" Smith took a deep breath to steady himself. "But never mind that. Mariana will be avenged."
Mariana. Jack thought. "Darren?" he enquired. "Darren Smith?"
"He finally remembers." Darren said bitterly.
"I am…so sorry." Jack began. "But Mariana, she was infected…she was hurting people…"
"STOP!" Darren cried. "She was ILL! She needed help and you slaughtered her!"
"I didn't kill Mariana." Jack said evenly. "Mariana Smith was long gone by the time we got there."
Darren was now crying, grabbing at his hair in a frenzy. "You still took her from me! My sweet Mari. She used to love marigolds, you know. Always got her a bunch on her birthday. I can't do that anymore." He looked to Jack. "Now you will know what it is like to watch someone you love die. Step two." He raised his gun and pointed it to Ianto.
"You broke up with him earlier today, Jack. But I can tell by the sheer horror in your face that you love him. Even if you haven't admitted it yet." He chuckled darkly. "That's quite poetic, really."
He cocked his gun.
"NO!" Jack screamed. "DON'T! It's me who killed your wife! Me who wrecked your life! Kill me! Kill me instead!"
"Why this is touching." Darren said "I was taking a stab in the dark when I said you were in love with him, but you actually are. How sw-" he paused as he heard footsteps outside of the door. Fear entered his eyes as he aimed his gun straight at the door. It swung open to reveal Owen.
"Sorry I'm late." He said.
BANG. The gun fired for a second time, straight in to Owen's chest.
"Sorry, mate." He said "Can't die." And he fired. Darren fell to the ground, the wound in his chest pooling blood onto the floor around him. Owen kicked the gun away from him and then went to untie the gang. As soon as Jack was free, he walked straight over to Darren. "I'm sorry." He whispered, sincerely. Darren just looked at him as he choked once more, before falling still.
Jack sighed and went over to his friends. It was one of the necessities of the job he'd become accustomed to over the years, but that didn't make it any easier.
"Jack can I have a word?" Ianto asked later that evening, while they waited in a hospital corridor for Tosh to come out of surgery.
"Sure." He said, knowing what was coming.
Ianto bit his lip. "So…he said…he said you were in love with me. You didn't deny it."
"No." Jack confirmed.
"So is it true?"
Jack sighed. "It's irrelevant, Ianto."
"Well, I don't know, I think it's pretty relevant."
"You could have died there tonight!" Jack said loudly "And then I would be alone. Again."
Ianto looked on sympathetically. "But that's exactly why we should be spending as much time together as possible!"
"You don't understand how hard it is for me, Ianto. To watch everyone I love die! I'm being selfish, I know but…"
"Then be selfless." Ianto countered, simply and he kissed him. He pulled away softly "You can't tell me you don't want to be with me Jack." He breathed "Surely a lifetime of denying yourself love is worse than experiencing it, then losing it."
Jack closed his eyes. Ianto had it in the bag. Jack pulled him in for another kiss to let him know that and he felt Ianto smile, almost smugly.
Yes, this was better. For now.
Well…that's it. Finito. I don't know if the ending's as strong as it could have been, but as I keep reiterating, I ran out of steam a bit. Sorry. But all is well for now, at least. As some of you may have noticed, I have started writing another fanfic that is Harry Potter-based. I understand if that's not your kind of thing, but if it is I'd be grateful if you checked it out.
Darren saw through poor Jack's Swedish accent. He'll have to work on that a bit, I guess :P
Thanks again for reading. Your reviews have made many-a-day for me and so I give you all individual cyber-hugs. To all of you:
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