Title: The Perfect Drug
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: R
Table: 1, 10_hurt_comfort
Prompt: 4, Drugged
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own Ianto Jones or the Tenth Doctor. Please do not sue.

***

Ianto looked down at the man lying on the bed beside him, biting his lip and closing his eyes for a moment as he drew a deep breath. The Doctor was still pale and unresponsive, his eyes closed, his breathing shallow and almost labored.

He had no idea what had been done to the Time Lord in the time that Ianto had been away from him. He'd been given some sort of drug -- the Doctor has been lucid enough to tell him that when Ianto first found him -- but beyond that, Ianto had no clue what had happened.

The Doctor had managed to gasp out a few words -- "The Tardis. Get me to the Tardis" -- and Ianto had obeyed those words as though they were a command and his life depended on them. For all he knew, the Doctor's life could hang in the balance.

If it did, he had no idea of what to do. If only the Time Lord would regain consciousness, tell him what to do, what had happened to him, what kind of drug he'd been given. But as it was, Ianto was on his own, with no inkling of how to go about helping his love.

He clenched his fists, squeezing his eyes tightly shut for a few moments before opening them again. Falling apart wasn't going to help the Doctor. He had to stay calm and focused, do what he could for the Time Lord, and hope that it was the right thing.

That was all he could do. If he was lucky, the effects of the drug would wear off before too long, and they could be away from here and to a safe place where the Doctor could recover.

Of course, first he had to help the Doctor to recover enough so that he could direct him on just how to get them away from here. And he didn't have the foggiest notion of how to do so. All he could do was wait for the Time Lord to regain consciousness and hope that he'd be able to tell him what to do.

Ianto looked down at the Doctor, his worry etched on his features. The Time Lord was starting to move around, tossing and turning fretfully, as though he was in pain; but he didn't seem to be in a state where Ianto would be able to reach him with words.

He was pulling at his clothes, as though he wanted to remove them; and Ianto could tell that he was beginning to sweat profusely. Was this a good sign? The young man had no way of knowing, but he did know that if the Doctor wanted his clothes off, then they would be off.

Ianto began to unbutton the Doctor's shirt with one hand, loosening the Time Lord's tie with the other. It only took a few seconds to remove his shirt and toss it aside, then his trousers, until the Doctor was naked on top of the covers of their bed.

The Time Lord was muttering something, but try as he could, Ianto couldn't make out the words. He couldn't even tell if they were in his own language, but he wished that he knew what his lover was saying; it made him feel even more helpless that he couldn't understand.

If only he would come to himself, for just a few moments. Ianto stroked the Doctor's damp, tawny hair back from his forehead, his blue-grey gave never leaving the Time Lord's face as he waited.

As though his silent prayers were being answered, the Doctor's eyelids fluttered, his eyes opening and his gaze fixing on Ianto's face. For a few moments, he seemed unfocused, as though he wasn't quite aware of what he was seeing, then his eyes cleared and Ianto breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ianto," the Time Lord whispered through cracked, dry lips. "I've .... been drugged .... but you .... probably know that. It'll .... wear off. It just .... takes some time." He closed his eyes again, swallowing as if he was trying to moisten his throat.

The young man reached for the glass of water he'd kept by the bed in case the Doctor needed it, thanking whatever deity he could think of that he'd decided to keep it there. He held the glass to the Time Lord's lips, his eyes never leaving the other man's pale face.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked, his voice soft, hoping that he wasn't putting too much pressure on the Time Lord by asking him for help. In his condition, he couldn't help himself, much less help Ianto get them out of there.

"I've .... dealt with this .... before." The Doctor sounded a little stronger now, his gaze slightly more focused. "You can't .... do anything, Ianto. The drug has to .... run its course. Just .... wait, and stay here with me .... until it does."

Ianto nodded, feeling helpless and frustrated. He hated watching the Doctor go through this, but he trusted the Time Lord's assessment of the situation. He couldn't help. He could only wait.

"This drug .... goes in phases," the Doctor told him, laying back against the pillows and looking up at Ianto. "The next one is .... a kind of paranoia. I'll .... probably scream and cry and .... I don't know what else. But .... bear with me, Ianto. It won't go on for too long. At least ...." The Doctor took a deep breath, closing his eyes, a shudder going through his thin body. ".... I hope not."

Ianto nodded, wanting to burst out with words negating what the Doctor had said, telling the Time Lord that he'd protect him from whatever was going to happen. But he couldn't do that. All he could do was be there for the Doctor until this storm passed.

He was about to speak again, when the Doctor's eyes widened and the Time Lord clutched at his arm. "Don't let them take me, Ianto," he pleaded, his breath catching in his throat, his voice starting to tremble. "I know they're coming."

"Who's coming?" Ianto felt mystified for a moment; what in the world was the Doctor talking about? Then he remembered the words that had been uttered only a few moments ago -- the drug worked in phases. And this one was paranoia manifesting itself.

"Shhh, love, no one's coming for you." He slid an arm around the Doctor's waist, trying to soothe him, somewhat disconcerted when the Doctor pressed against him and tried to cower against Ianto, those small, delicate hands clutching his shirt.

"Yes, they are .... They know about Gallifrey. They know I destroyed it, Ianto. They're going to take me away." The Time Lord's eyes were wide with fear, the pupils dilated; his breath was coming in shuddering gasps. "Don't let them take me!"

Ianto gathered the Doctor into his arms, whispering what he hoped were soothing words, stroking the other man's hair. He could only hope that this phase would pass fairly quickly.

He didn't know how long he sat there holding the Doctor, feeling the other man's thin body quivering in his arms, murmuring over and over that he was safe, that he wasn't alone. The words didn't seem to relax the Doctor; his body stayed tense, trembling, his breathing ragged.

After what felt like a very long time to Ianto, he could feel the Doctor's body relaxing in his arms, the trembling and whimpering abating into gasping breaths. He cautiously loosened his hold on the Time Lord, wondering if the ordeal was at an end.

Apparently, it was. The Doctor leaned back slightly, looking up at him with a clear, candid gaze. Ianto let out a breath, one that he'd hardly realized he was holding. The Time Lord looked completely lucid and in control of his faculties again, thank goodness.

"Are you all right, sweetheart?" he asked, his voice soft and a little hesitant. He wasn't sure what else to say, and he didn't want to startle the Doctor if he hadn't quite come out of it yet.

But the other man nodded, heaving a sigh and closing his eyes, resting his head against Ianto's chest. "Yes, I think so. I'm .... still a little shaky, so I hope you can bear with that. But I'll be able to get us back to Cardiff."

Ianto nodded, raising a hand to cup the Doctor's cheek. "Is there anything I can do to help, love? I don't want you trying to do too much, not after what you've just been through. Just tell me what to do, and I will."

The Time Lord smiled, shaking his head at first, then looking thoughtful. "Well .... you could carry me into the control room so I can get the Tardis to take us back to where we belong," he said softly, smiling a little. "The sooner we're back on Earth, the better."

Ianto couldn't have agreed more; he nearly scooped up the Doctor in his arms and prepared to carry him into the main room of the Tardis until he realized one thing: The Time Lord was naked. It might be better to give him something to wrap up in first ....

A little shamefacedly, he reached for the bathrobe that the Doctor kept on a chair near their bed and handed it to the other man. The Time Lord pulled it on, a smirk playing around the corners of his lips. Ianto could guess what he was thinking, and he couldn't keep back a smile himself.

"It's a little obvious that I'm anxious to get home, isn't it?" he inquired, slipping an arm around the Doctor's waist as the other man got to his feet and headed for the doorway.

"Only a little," the Doctor teased, holding up one hand with two fingers barely touching. Ianto laughed, pulling the Time Lord close against him as they made their way to the control room of the Tardis. He was just relieved that it was over and that they were on their way home.

The Doctor bent over the console, pressing a few buttons, and Ianto felt the strange displacement that always signalled the Tardis making a leap through space and time. He was used to it now; it no longer felt so odd and .... alien.

But so little felt alien to him any more, he told himself -- even the man beside him wasn't alien to him. This was the man he loved, the man he would walk through fire for. The man he would give his life for, and anything else he possessed.

The love of his life. Ianto smiled inwardly as he held that thought to him, even as he pulled the Doctor closer against his side physically.

Hopefully, they wouldn't have to deal with anything like this again. But they still had to confront the question of who had done this, and why. Though Ianto was sure that he knew -- and that it wouldn't be the last time something like this was thrown at them. They'd have to be a lot more careful in the future, more wary to look over their shoulders.

But at least this time they'd managed to come out of the situation unharmed, though the Doctor did still look weak and a little disoriented. When they got home, Ianto intended to put the Time Lord to bed and let him relax for quite a while.

Though he knew that soon, very soon, they'd be out amongst the stars again, where they belonged. And even with all the attendant dangers, he knew neither of them would have it any other way.

***