Title: 5 times Ianto Jones watched Jack Harkness come back to life and one time he thought he'd lost him forever
By: Librarian In Leather
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG-13
Series: 1) Expectations and a common goal, 2) Bonding over popcorn
Warning: WiP
Summary: Ianto and Jack are getting to know each other better but someone seems set on trying to kill Yvonne and they keep getting Jack by mistake.

***

The first time Ianto Jones saw Jack Harkness die they weren't even on duty.

Ianto and Jack were sitting in a pub in the east end of London, the Captain had finally persuaded him to come out for a drink; after numerous offers and refusals Ianto had finally given in, telling Jack it was to get him to stop bugging him when he was trying to work. Ianto was only part way through his first beer when a proximity alert sounded on Jack's wrist computer.

'I didn't know you had weevils in London.'

'We don't, sir.'

Jack looked worried, 'Then why the hell am I getting a weevil alert?'

'I don't know, sir; they're not supposed to appear this far away from the rift.'

'So you don't have weevil recovery teams?'

Ianto shook his head.

'Right,' Jack downed his drink, 'Come on then,' he said getting up and dropping money on the table. Ianto followed suit and hurried to catch up.

'But I'm not a field agent, I don't carry a weapon.'

'Doesn't matter, I'll deal with it,' Jack broke into a sprint, the tails of his military great coat flying out behind him and Ianto thanked God he was in good shape for a desk jockey.

'Down here,' Jack veered off into an alley, drawing his gun, Ianto close on his heels.

Ianto spotted it first; it was crouched down behind some boxes where Jack hadn't been looking because weevils didn't do that. As far as they knew weevils were just basic-type predators, the fight or flight response was programmed into them to a greater extent than humans, so why did this one appear to be hiding?

When it realised it had been spotted it jumped to its feet and...

Ianto watched in amazement as the creature appeared to melt; flowing and reforming before their eyes. It ended up humanoid, with skin so pale it was almost completely white and in stark contrast to its black hair and eyes.

'Shape shifter,' Jack hissed.

The shape shifter sneered and spoke in very accented English, 'Very clever, human.'

Jack tilted his head to one side and continued as though the creature hadn't spoken, 'Tilgaren, if I'm not mistaken, though with less arms than I'm used to.'

The creature hissed, 'No! You cannot know that, this is a closed planet, how can you know that?'

Jack just grinned but it was more predatory than amused. 'If you know this is a closed planet, then what are you doing here?'

The Tilgaren didn't answer, just stared at him, narrowing its eyes and, from what Ianto could see, giving a slight sniff.

'Answer me!' Jack raised his voice.

It was another few moments before the Tilgaren reacted, but when it did, it wasn't to answer the question. Suddenly it drew a blaster from somewhere and spat the words 'Time Agent' before firing straight at Jack.

The Captain barely had time to swear before he collapsed where he stood and the Tilgaren turned and ran, scaling the wall at the end of the alley. Before it reached the top, however, three gun shots rang out and it fell back.

Ianto, who had run from the shadows and grabbed Jack's gun, stood trembling for a moment.

It felt like an age, but could only have been a few minutes, before he finally plucked up his courage and crouched next to Jack.

The Captain's eyes were wide and staring and when Ianto checked for a pulse, there was none.

He was dead. Ianto cradled the gun to his chest and started rocking backwards and forwards, tears leaking from his closed lids. It took him a while to realise the choked voice he could hear, repeating 'no, no, no' like a mantra, was his own.

Ianto didn't know how long he'd been crouched there when he heard a gasping inrush of breath.

His eyes snapped open but it was a moment before he could see through the tears still trapped in his eyes.

While he was still blinking Jack said, in a rough voice, 'I didn't know you cared.'

Ianto stared at him, 'You were dead.' He meant it as a slightly accusing statement rather than a question but Jack answered it anyway.

'Yup.'

'And now you're not.' Again, statement, not question.

'Yup.' Again, Jack answered anyway.

Ianto cocked his head to one side and frowned for a moment, 'Well, that certainly explains a lot.'

Jack gave him an exasperated look, 'I'm never gonna be able to shock you, am I?'

Ianto grinned, his relief that Jack was alive peeking through his usual stoicism, 'Not if I can help it.'

'What happened to the shape shifter?' Jack asked, levering himself too his feet.

Ianto looked uncomfortable, 'I shot it.'

Jack looked around him, spotted the body at the end of the alley and headed towards it, 'With my gun?'

'Yes, sir.' Ianto handed it back.

'I thought you said you couldn't use a gun?'

'I said I didn't carry one, not the same thing, sir.'

'Obviously,' Jack had reached the end of the alley and was now staring down at the dead body of the Tilgaren, with two holes in its chest and the top of its head blown off, though he seemed to be more concerned by the strange mark that appeared on its arm...one of its arms...one of its many...

'Didn't it have less arms than that before?' Ianto commented calmly.

'This is its true form.'

'Ah.'

***

The second time Ianto saw Jack Harkness die, he was assassinated.

As usual, Jack walked into Torchwood One like he owned the place and headed straight for the director's office. Ianto didn't even make a token effort to tell Jack that she wasn't here yet; the Captain already knew.

"Shall I inform security that you're in the building, sir?"

"Thanks, Yan."

Ianto watched long enough to see Jack pick the lock. He took about ten seconds and Ianto made a note to tell the director that her new anti-Jack lock had failed again, before reaching for the phone. He was punching in the extension number for security when he was flung away from his desk. The shockwave that did it blasted past him leaving devastation and trialling flames in its wake.

Ianto hauled himself to his feet and had to clutch at his desk to stop himself falling again as he got a good look at the other side of the room. The director's office was ablaze and the glass frontage had shattered , Ianto could see Jack lying on his back, eyes wide, with a large shard protruding from his chest.

The heat was immense and Ianto could feel himself beginning to pass out, but he dropped to his knees and dragged himself over to Jack. He didn't know how his immortality worked but he was damned if the captain was going die on his watch. He grasped the glass shard determinedly and pulled it out of Jack just before he collapsed into unconsciousness.

***

When Ianto woke up in the Torchwood medical bay, Jack was sitting next to his bed.

"You had me worried for a while there, Yan." Jack's eyes held concern and his hand came up to brush the side of Ianto's face. Then he grinned. "At least that handsome face of yours didn't get messed up."

"Yours did," Ianto blurted out. Staring up into Jack's perfectly healed features, he remembered the image of one side of Jack's face covered in burns and the other cut up by glass.

"One of the perks of being immortal." Jack smiled, softly, down at him but the grin returned as realisation dawned on his face. "Ianto Jones, did you just call me handsome?"

"Um..."

"Well, well, maybe I'll get a follow up to the first time we met, after all." Ianto blushed, remembering all too vividly pressing Jack up against Yvonne's desk and whispering in his ear. "Y' know, Yan?" Jack continued laughingly. "I think this is the most reaction I've gotten out of you since then."

"It's the drugs," Ianto replied, straight-faced.

Jack laughed. "Then maybe I should dope you up more often."

Ianto gave him a look making it obvious that he was not amused and Jack laughed again as he stood up. "I've got to go figure out who's trying to kill Yvonne, it's a long list to search through." He bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to Ianto's lips. "I'll be back later, try to get some sleep."

Ianto, watching the captain leave the room, could have sworn Jack's voice was slightly choked as he spoke that last sentence.

The drugs must have been affecting his faculties more than he'd thought.

***

The third time Ianto saw Jack die, it was an accident.

Jack had persuaded Yvonne that he had a lead on who had tried to assassinate her much as she was loathe to allow him out in the field in her city she had had to agree to let him follow it up. Of course, that didn't mean she had to give him any decent back up.

Ianto stood off to one side, gun drawn, as Jack picked the lock. To his other side stood Adeola, she hadn't wanted to come, but Ianto had persuaded her. Addy was the only other desk agent who could shoot worth damn.

"Come on," Jack slid through the now open door into the supposedly abandoned warehouse. It took them about 30 seconds to confirm that it really was abandoned and then Jack ordered them to split up and search.

"What are we looking for?" Addy called after Jack as he went upstairs to the office.

"Anything suspicious, especially anything bomb related."

"Riiiight."

After 20 minutes fruitless search for Ianto among the goods in the warehouse, Jack came back out of the office.

"Hey, Yan," Jack called, leaning on the railing around the office platform, "You found anything y--" He was cut off by a large crack and Ianto managed to run out from behind some boxes in time to see jack fail to right himself and fall from the platform after the broken rail.

Ianto ran to him, but when he saw the angle of Jack's neck he knew he couldn't let Addy see him. He heard running footsteps approaching and, under the pretence of checking his pulse, he shifted Jack's head to a more natural angle, wincing as he heard the vertebrae grinding.

"Oh, my God! Is he–" Ianto stood up and took Adeola by the shoulders, forcing her to meet his eyes.

"He's unconscious. His pulse is steady but he's passed out. I need you to go back to Yvonne and tell her what's happened."

"But–" She tried to peer around him at Jack.

"I'll stay with him, he'll be fine. I don't think anything's broken, he's just hit his head."

Adeola smiled through tears of relief. "Nothing important then?"

Ianto smiled back, pleased he'd been convincing enough for her to be making jokes. "Nope, he'll wake up in a bit and feel really stupid. Now go," he turned her towards the door, "go back and report to the director."

"Okay." She looked back in Jack's direction once more. "Okay."

Once she'd left Ianto sighed in relief and began to tidy up, looking over at jack every so often. After half an hour, he'd finished and was starting to get concerned.

It was another half an hour before Jack woke up to Ianto's worried face, which brightened as Jack opened his eyes.

"I can't take you anywhere, can I?" Ianto scolded.

"Hey," Jack worked the cricks out of his neck as he sat up, "I just died, a little sympathy wouldn't go amiss."

"Hmmph, it was your own fault."

"It was an accident!"

"How many times a week do you die, sir? I would have thought you'd have learned not to have accidents like that by now." Ianto stood up and turned away from Jack.

Jack stared at his back and decided to change the subject. "Er, what happened to Adeola?"

Ianto turned back to face him, his expression completely blank once more. "I convinced her you were only unconscious and sent her back to report to the director. I told Director Hartman when she phoned, that I would clear up and look after you. I promised to call the medi-van if you didn't wake up in two hours."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "How long was I out?"

"One hour and seven minutes," Ianto replied tersely.

Jack whistled. "Sorry, Yan, I'm not usually out that long for simple things."

"Your neck was broken."

"Ah, yeah, that would do it."

"Did you find anything?"

Jack frowned. "What?"

"About the bomb."

"Oh, yeah, kind of. They definitely put it together here, but I still don't know who they are."

"So it was a pretty pointless trip than?"

"I suppose so, of course," Jack slung an arm around Ianto's shoulders, "I never object to spending time with you."

If looks could kill, Jack would have died for the second time in as many hours.

***