Title: The Simple Things
Fandom: Torchwood
Chapter: 1/?
Rating: T
Summary: Ianto gets a second chance at life after dying in Jack's arms but what will he choose to change?
Author's note: This is written by the brilliant BrookeSCW, I couldn't have put it down on paper without you! Thanks for all the help! Hope you all enjoy!

The terrified screams of innocent people spread through Thames Building. The sound of their feet running towards the nearest exits echoed throughout the halls, along with people screaming for help, screaming out last minute prays to whoever would listen, whatever would listen. But all of these were inaudible to Jack, all he could hear were the fate cries of Ianto who had collapsed on his lap.

'It's all my fault.' Jack said faintly.

'No, it's not' replied Ianto

'Don't speak, save your breath'

Ianto's sobs become slightly louder 'I love you'

Jack shakes his head half in defiance of what was coming, 'Don't'. Ianto was losing the internal battle, that was going inside his body, and

closed his eyes, just to rest for a second. Jack, desperate to keep Ianto for as long as he could, called out to him,

'Ianto. Ianto? Ianto, stay with me. Ianto, stay with me please—stay with me, stay with me, please!'

Ianto opened his eyes slightly, seeing Jack cry broke Ianto's heart, he had to be strong he thought to himself.

'Hey. It was—good, yeah?'

'Yeah' Jack said softly with silent tears streaming down his face.

Ianto's face was etched in pain, 'Don't forget me.'

Jack smiles slightly 'Never could'

'In a thousand years time, you won't remember me'

'I will, I promise I will.' After hearing all he needed to hear, Ianto took

one final breath and sunk into the darkness. Panic gripped Jack,

'Ianto. Ianto? Don't go. Don't leave me, please. Please, don't—'

The voice of the 456 cut through the atmosphere, 'You will die. And tomorrow, your people will deliver the children.'

With tears running down his face and sobs racking through his body, he gripped Ianto's body and placed a small, delicate kiss on his dead lover's lips and then sunk into the darkness himself.

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Ianto woke up surrounded by darkness, he called out, 'Hello! Is anyone there?' no reply came, so he tried again 'Is anyone there?' Again no reply came, but he could feel something in the darkness, something that was just out of reach, always just out of reach. He could feel the darkness creeping up to him and then disappearing again.

Ianto curled up into a ball, much like he did when he was small, hiding from his dad when he was drunk, hiding in the dark, damp cupboard, for hours on end. Then there was a bright light cutting its way through the darkness, and a piercing sound joining it. Ianto recognised that sound, he had heard it before, such a long time ago, back when Tosh and Owen were still around, when Jack disappeared. Suddenly he wasn't surrounded by darkness, he was in a strange room with pillars of coral and a huge control panel in the centre of it. A tall man stood in front of him, he had brown spiky hair, he was wearing glasses, a brown pinstriped suit and Converse. He was peering down at Ianto.

'You are Ianto Jones right?' Ianto still in shock nodded dumbly

'Ah good, didn't want to bring the wrong guy back from the dead, do I?' the odd man chuckled at some private joke. Ianto found his voice again 'Excuse me, I don't mean to be disrespectful, but who the hell are you?'

'Oh yes how rude of me, Ianto Jones, I am the Doctor'

The realisation hit Ianto 'Oh my God, it's you …. you're the Doctor, the one that called Jack wrong. I remember, the last time I saw you was when the earth had been moved'

'Ahh yes, sad times'

'What am I doing here?'

'I will tell you in a minute, firstly let's get out of here before the dead start asking for a lift'

'On a minute, where are we?'

'The Void, once you are dead you go to the Void'

'Oh right' Ianto said pretending he knew what was going on.

'You don't get it do you?' Ianto didn't say anything.

'Well, the void goes against the rules of time, it is a law in itself. For some strange reason, a reason which not even brightest Timelords could work out, when someone dies their 'soul' goes to the void and for a very short amount of time that 'soul' can get 'saved', as they say in religious tribe on the planet Fuoo, nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.'

Ianto's face was covered in confusion. The Doctor just smiled and then turned to the strange console in the in the centre of the room.

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'Right, we are safe from the 'Death creatures', again another phrase from the religious tribe on Fuoo' the Doctor smiled.

Ianto just smiled nodded, 'So where are we?'

'Well we are hovering above Earth the year 2001, a day before you were recruited by Torchwood One'

'Why? I mean why are you doing this?'

'Well, you are one in a million Ianto'

'What do you mean? I am nothing special.'

'Oh Ianto, you are special, very special indeed. You are the only guy, only person in this universe who can make Jack smile, and I mean properly. I remember in the year that never was, when ever Jack and I got to talk, I would ask him about Torchwood, and about the team, he spoke of everyone fondly, but when he talked about you there was a special glint in his eyes. Also when he left after putting the world back its rightful place, I asked him if he wanted to travel with me, he said no, well he actually said 'I can't, I can't leave Ianto'. So Ianto Jones that is why you are special. Plus I owe Jack so much, and this is one way a can repay him.'

'Okay, I get that, but what exactly are you doing for Jack?'

'I am giving him you, I am giving him you for longer a lot longer.' Ianto was confused, but not wanting to look like a total idiot by saying so.

'Okay, I am following so far, but how?'

'You know it is the simple little moments in life that make up a life, not the big ones, so if you change those tiny moments they have a massive effect on your life as a whole. So by changing a few small details, your life could become completely different.'

'What changes are you thinking of making to my life? What not make me join Torchwood in the first place? And never meeting Jack? How the hell does that work?'

'No Ianto calm down. A few changes like never meeting Lisa, and going to the Gym instead.'

Ianto's face was covered in confusion, 'Remember the night you met Lisa, it was at a nightclub, that next day you were recruited into Torchwood one, but because you were hung over you didn't do too well in the physical, so missed out on the top field agent job and got put in as a junior archivist.'

'What no Lisa? I am not sure about this, I did love her you know.'

The Doctor sighed 'Ianto I know you loved her, but I have a question who do you love more? Jack or Lisa.'

Ianto sat in silence for a few moments, 'I know it sounds mean, I mean I risked my life for Lisa, but by trying to save Lisa I almost ruined my relationship with Jack, he means so much more to me. Is that wrong?'

'It isn't wrong to love someone more than someone else, no matter what the circumstances are.'

'Okay, what do we do?'

'We put you in place of you at a key moment and once the key decision is made, the other you will fade out of existence, so remember when your friend Gareth asks you if you want to go out that night to say no, and go to the gym. Now, you won't remember any of this, it will just be something in the back of your mind, that tiny voice that will tell you to do the opposite decision of what you are going to do, but just remember always do what it says.'

'Oh okay, I get you. So let's get going.'

'Hold your horses Ianto, you need to change, unless you were born in a suit?' said the Doctor as he handed Ianto some more reasonable clothes. Ianto smiled and took the clothes, he looked around the room looking for somewhere more private to get changed. 'Go down there and second left, you can get changed there.' Ianto smiled and went down the corridor.

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Ianto was standing on the edge of Cardiff University campus, and he turned to the Doctor to say thanks and goodbye 'Ianto, remember no to nightclub.'

'I remember Doctor' Ianto smiled and turned to go.

'Oh and Ianto just remembered, for this to work, you need to kiss Jack at the first moment that it feels right, if you know what I mean.' Ianto smiled, and waved the Doctor goodbye and turn to meet Gareth. He thought about what his Mam used to tell him when he was a child, and smiled at how true it was, 'Mae bob amser yn y pethau yn y pethau syml sy'n newid ein bywydau. A'r pethau hyn byth yn digwydd pan fyddwch yn chwilio am iddynt ddigwydd bywyd yn datgelu atebion ar fywyd cyflymder yn dymuno gweneud hynny. Ydych yn teimlo fel rhedeg, ond mae bywyd yn ar am dro. Dyma sut mae pethau Duw.'