Title: Never A Blip In Time
By: Baconaise-Light
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG-13
A/N: Ever since I have watched Children On Earth I have had this idea for a one-shot running round my head. However, it is only now that I can accept that my dear Ianto is dead (Sob) and actually write it. Set 2,000 years in the future- quite angsty but also strangely sad. The quotes are taken from Ianto's death, and also from one of the Torchwood Radio four programmes. I own neither of them.
Summary: In two thousand years...you won't remember." "Yes I will. I promise" Jack keeps his promise.

***

"I'm not really much of a talker"

"I know."

"That's just me."

"Yeah. But…you never will just be a blip in time, Ianto Jones. Not for me."

"Hey, we had fun yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Don't forget me."

"Never could."

"In two thousand years…you won't remember."

"Yes I will. I promise"

Zero handed a mug of coffee to his female co-worker and glanced at the clock for what seemed like the millionth time that morning.

"It's almost gone 10 hundred hours- shouldn't Jack be in by now?"

A loud chuckle made him turn and look up towards the resident medic who was leaning back in his chair slightly, with an almost sad smile on his face.

"You can always tell when they're new," Dr. Chase Arnold remarked to their female companion. "They don't know anything about anyone…"

His comment was met with a stern glare.

"Leave him alone Archie, how's he supposed to know ey?" Fin Loros (their resident computer geek) warned him, shaking her head. She span round in her seat and smiled at Zero.

"Zero, what date is it today?"

Zero glanced at the digital calendar on the wall. "Erm...9th July 4009?"

"Well, mark this date in your diary sweetheart. Every single year, on this date, for as long as I've known him, Captain Jack Harkness has not turned up for work. Probably never will…"

"But why?"

Archie shrugged his shoulders. "Up until a few years ago we had no idea. It was just taken for granted that Jack would not come in on this date, no questions asked. He wouldn't talk about it with anyone, and we wouldn't ask him," he explained. "However, once Fin joined, being the ever caring person that she is, she refused to just accept it and move on."

"Sooo, she had me check the archives for previous Torchwood members and histories," Ollie Gates piped in on cue, entering the room with files in his hand. "And I, being the genius that I am, found this!" he flung a file down on the desk in front of Zero.

Zero leaned forwards and peered at the name on the front of the file.

"Ianto Jones?" he asked bewildered.

Ollie nodded. "Ianto Jones; born 19th August 1983 in Cardiff- father died, only surviving family was his sister Rhiannon and a niece and nephew; worked for Torchwood One until its destruction at the battle of Canary Wharf- he joined Torchwood Three where he worked alongside Jack until his death on the 9th July 2009 while fighting against the 456."

"But that's 2,000 years ago exactly..."

Fin nodded. "Precisely," she explained, smiling. "Captain Jack Harkness takes this exact date off every year. It can't be a coincidence."

"That's not all we found though," Archie continued. "After a little more digging we began to find deleted video footage and old photos from around that time."

Ollie opened the file and flipped to the back. "Look at this," he instructed Zero, pointing at a very worn photo paper-clipped to the back page.

Zero took the photo and peered at it closely. The photo showed a younger looking Jack, less grey hairs and a few less wrinkles. He looked a lot happier then, his eyes seemed to sparkle with something that Zero had never seen in his boss' eyes before. He had his arm around a slightly younger looking man, dressed in a black suit and tie with a red shirt. The man's head rested on Jack's shoulder.

"Now turn the photo over," Fin whispered quietly to him. Zero did as he was instructed.

'Me and Ianto on Cardiff peer after first date- 25th August 2008' Zero read aloud from the messy handwriting on the back. "This is Ianto Jones?"

"Yea," Ollie explained. "The young man matches the photo in his other files."

"Jack always claims he can't love because of what he has to leave behind," Fin went on, almost to herself. "But he obviously has loved in the past. Loved and lost."

"Poor Jack," muttered Zero. "Ianto was only 25 when he died…"

"We all die young Zero," Archie shook his head and turned back to his computer screen. "In this job we never make it past 40."

Zero turned back to his C.O.M and tried to get on with his work, but his mind kept drifting back to Ianto Jones. What had his life been like back then? Did Jack really love him?

"Hey," Fin swivelled round in her seat again and fixed her eyes on Zero's. "Don't mention this to Jack. He doesn't know we know about Ianto."

"No problem," Zero reassured her, smiling. "Hey Finn?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think Jack really loved Ianto?"

Fin half smiled. "I don't know. Jack seems to keep his past locked away- he doesn't like sharing," she shrugged. "He was certainly someone very important to him if he takes a whole day off work for him."

Zero chuckled and turned back to his paperwork, pushing Jack and the young man out of his mind for another day.

Captain Jack Harkness sat down heavily on the bench at the end of Cardiff Pier, a bag of chips resting on his knee.

"Hello Yan," he whispered, and smiled as he felt the cool breeze rush round his ears and tickle the back of his neck as though he was answering back.

Jack knew that Ianto Jones was not much of a talker. He'd known that for a long time. So he simply sat there and did the talking for the both of them.

He was okay with that…

***