Title:All that Glitters

Fandom/Pairing: Torchwood (Jack, Ianto/Lisa)

Rating:PG13

Prompt: False Gold from 500 prompts

Summary:Jack's thoughts on Lisa, on Ianto, and on Tolkien.

Disclaimer:I don't own Torchwood or any of Tolkien's works.

All that Glitters

Jack poured himself some whiskey from the bottle he had found in Ianto's cabinet. He downed the liquid and then set the glass down on the counter. He was still trembling with rage and fear as he leaned heavily on the counter. His mind reeled from what had happened tonight. But right now he felt more suffocation and guilt in his chest as he glared at the photo on the wall across from him. It was of Ianto and Lisa –of course- and they were smiling down at Jack like they were the happiest people in the world.

Jack was old enough to know that even the happiest couples were not always happy, but the fact was they usually remained couples because they gained something beyond brief pleasure from their relationship. So whatever Ianto and Lisa had had, it was enough to convince Ianto that it was worth any sacrifice. Jack could not deny that Lisa had been a bright, beautiful woman, he could see it in her smile and eyes. And there was a contentment in Ianto's face that told him something about their relationship too.

But that relationship had ended the moment Lisa had been put in the conversion unit. Ianto had just refused to see it.

Jack could understand. Of course he could. But it did not excuse his actions after the conversion… not really anyway.

Jack approached the photo and stared hard at Lisa. It was almost hard to believe that this woman in the photo had the same face as the monster that had invade his base and tried to kill them all. It was a beautiful face… hell, Jack would have definitely gone for her himself, if he had met her before she was with Ianto. Actually, he probably would have tried anyway, hoping to get both of them in bed at once. A flash of chocolate coloured skin pressed against vanilla white, with his caramel coloured hands running over both of them ran through his mind and he had to shake it away. Inappropriate.

Walking away from the photo, Jack made his way into the bedroom. Ianto was curled up on the bed, unconscious on Jack's orders through Owen's drugs. In here there was another photo. This one was of Ianto, Lisa and a whole cluster of others. There were a few small yellow candles around it, making it look like a shrine. Maybe because it was, Jack realised. All the people in that photo except for Ianto were victims of the Cybermen. Jack stared at the photo and began to grasp the sheer amount of people Ianto had lost in one day. Seeing Lisa's face still peering out of the metal her head had been encased must have been like seeing the rarest treasure to Ianto that day. But it had not been real. Her face had become a mask for the cruel machinery that had been forced inside her brain. Ianto had been clinging to a false hope.

Jack ran his fingers over the dresser and his fingers touched a book. He paused and used his index finger to push the book into the yellow light of the streetlamps. The name fell into view and he smiled at it. The Lord of the Rings.

And it occurred to him that maybe one of the poems in that book seemed rather appropriate for this situation.

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

The poem was about how the ranger Strider, was in fact the heir to a very powerful country, and was much more than he looked. Of course the first line had often been misquoted to warn people against trusting shiny or attractive objects, because it would inevitably be less than it appeared.

But it occurred to Jack that Ianto was also far more than he had appeared, being able to trick them all. And, Jack had to concede, Lisa when she had been alive was probably far more than what Jack had seen of her Cyber-corpse. And he also conceded that he could not blame Ianto for hoping to save her, to bring her back.

"The process was never completed."

If something is not finished, it can be undone, surely.

Sadly, not when it came to the Cybermen.

Ianto whimpered in his sleep, but did not wake. Jack knew that Torchwood One would have already executed the young man. But something stayed his hand.

Again, a quote from the book came to mind.

"Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends."

Jack had killed plenty of people in his life, but usually tried to keep it to battlefields. He did not like taking lives, it made him feel all the more aware of his own immortality, like he was a Stone Angel of lore, stealing the life energy of these people to survive. Standing here in Ianto's bedroom while the man slept, his gun at his hip, Jack felt like a ghoul, or perhaps more appropriately for his thoughts, like a wraith.

He sighed. He wasn't going to kill Ianto. He did not have it in him. Not anymore. Maybe an hour ago, but not now. He decided Ianto would be punished by having to remember what he had done, and he would have to make up for it. In many ways it was crueller anyway. And perhaps Ianto could be redeemed for his actions. Jack could teach him to see the world for what it was, and not what he wanted it to be. He would show the lead, instead of the glittering gold.

Jack left the house, with a final quote running through his head.

"The Road goes ever on and on down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, and I must follow, if I can, pursuing it with eager feet, until it joins some larger way where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say."

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Night's Darkness