Title: Dance With The Devil
Author: bookwrm89
Rating: R
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, OC's (Gwen, Tosh & Owen mentioned)
Spoilers/Warnings: anything from S1 & S2 is fair game; Character death!!! R (for violence)
A/N - This is not a happy fic. The idea came while I was listening to the song "Dance With The Devil" by Breaking Benjamin, and it wouldn't leave me alone.
Comments and feedback are greatly appreciated! This is un-beta'd, but I tried to correct any mistakes I found - please feel free to point out any I missed.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or the words to the song used in this fic. This is purely for entertainment purposes and no money is being made (however, if you like my work and want to offer me a job, I wouldn't say no!)
Summary: A mission goes badly wrong and Ianto makes Jack promise him something.

***

Here I stand
Helpless and left for dead

 It was supposed to be a simple retrieval mission.  Instead, it had turned into a search through the darkened streets of Cardiff.  Turning a corner and finding yourself in the wrong place at the right time.  And now Ianto Jones was lying on the pavement in a pool of his own blood, waiting for death to cut his life short.  
__________________________________________

Trembling, crawling across my skin
Feeling your cold, dead eyes
Stealing the life of mine

The signal they'd been following was dispersed over an area of several city blocks, so they'd decided to split up to search a larger area faster.  Gwen was directing the search from the Hub, trying to narrow down the area, while Jack and Ianto were conducting the actual search.

Ianto was several blocks away from Jack when he turned a corner and saw a man attacking a woman in an alley.  One of the man's hands held a knife to the woman's throat, keeping her silent and still, while the other hand tore at her clothes.  

Ianto took one look and saw red.  He strode into the alley, pulling his gun from it's holster.  He pressed the barrel of the gun to the back of the man's head, almost growling in his anger.  He nodded his head at the woman, and told her to leave.  She struggled to right her clothes, tears pouring down her face as she hurried off into the night.

"Ianto, I found it.  Meet me back at the SUV."  Jack's voice in his comm unit distracted him momentarily.  He reached up to activate his comm and reply, but in that split second, the man twisted and plunged his knife directly into Ianto, once in the chest, once in the stomach.

"Jack!"  Ianto gasped as he pulled the trigger, shooting the man through the heart.  He staggered back, dropping his gun and falling to the pavement.

"Ianto?"  Jack's worried voice sounded in his ear.  "Ianto, what just happened?  Are you ok?  Where are you?"

"Alley...stabbed..." Ianto could feel himself getting weaker, his shirt soaked in blood.  "Hurry, Jack.  Please."
_______________________________________________

I believe in you, I can show you that
I can see right through all your empty lies
I won't stay long, in this world so wrong

"Oh my god, Ianto!"  Jack's panicked voice cut through the fog of pain shrouding Ianto's mind.  "Gwen, emergency services to our location, NOW!  Ianto's down."

"Jack...hurts,"  Ianto gasped, coughing painfully.

Jack fell to his knees next to his lover, placing his hands over the wound in Ianto's chest, trying to staunch the bloodflow.  He knew better than to pull the knife out the young man's stomach.  Ianto had lost too much blood as it was, taking the knife out would just cause the blood to flow faster.  Jack had extensive personal experience with stab wounds and knew that the likelihood of Ianto surviving this wasn't very good.  The amount of blood and location of the wound on his chest indicated that Ianto's heart had been knicked.

"Shhh, I know it hurts, Gorgeous.  Don't worry, the medics will be here soon and you'll be just fine,"  Jack soothed, hoping by some miracle that he was right.  He forced ghost of a grin to his face, "We'll get you all patched up and we'll be playing naked hide and seek in no time."

Ianto just gave him the look that told him Ianto knew he was lying.

Seeing the body of the would-be rapist on the ground a few feet away, Jack looked back at Ianto and asked, "What happened, Ianto?"

"He saved me,"  a female voice replied.  "That man was attacking me and your friend held a gun to his head and told me to leave.  I heard the gunshot and came back.  Is there anything I can do to help?"

Jack kept his eyes on Ianto as the young man struggled to breathe.  "Wait at the end of the alley and guide the medics here as soon as they get here."  

"So cold, Jack,"  Ianto whispered.

Immediately, Jack shrugged out of his greatcoat, laying it over Ianto, being careful not to jar the knife still sticking obscenely out of his belly.  They could hear sirens in the distance, coming closer.

"Just hold on, Ianto.  They're almost here."  Jack urged, tears streaming down his face.

"Don't think I can, Jack,"  Ianto whispered.
__________________________________________

Say goodbye
As we dance with the devil tonight
Don't you dare look him in the eye
As we dance with the devil tonight

"Please don't leave me, Ianto,"  Jack begged.  "I couldn't bear to lose you."

Ianto looked up at his captain with love shining through the pain in his eyes.  "Promise me something, Jack."

"Anything, Love," Jack vowed, brokenly.

"When I'm gone, don't let the darkness take you, Jack," Ianto whispered.  "I know you'll mourn, but don't let this break you."

Jack shook his head, trying to deny that Ianto was dying.  Ianto reached up to cup his cheek, wiping the tears away with his thumb.

"This world needs you to be strong, to defend her.  Promise me that you'll keep going, just like you did after Tosh and Owen."  Ianto coughed weakly, his breath growing shallower.  "Continue being my brave, beautiful captain, Jack.  The man I fell in love with."

"Ianto, I..."

"Promise me, Jack,"  Ianto's voice pleaded.

Jack nodded slowly, "I promise, my love."

"Thank you,"  Ianto whispered.  "I'll wait for you, Jack.  In the darkness.  I'll wait for you as long as it takes."

Jack leaned down, capturing Ianto's lips in a gentle kiss.  Murmuring against his lover's lips, "I love you, Ianto."

He felt Ianto's warm breath against his cheek, the soft sound of "Goodbye" lingering in his ear.  Felt the rythym of the heart beneath his hands stutter, then stop, his own heart breaking into a million pieces.  

Jack gently closed the beautiful, blue eyes and pressed a soft kiss to his lover's forehead.

"Goodbye, my Ianto.  Goodbye."


fin

***