Title: Eye of the Hurricane
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 8, substituted for Table 5, 50episodes
Prompt: 13, Storm -- substituted for 46, Picnic
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.

***

The Doctor sighed as he headed towards the Tardis, wishing that he and Ianto could simply walk into the ship, leave Earth, and forget all about the problems that had been snapping at their heels. It felt as though a storm was about to break, one that he was completely unprepared for.

They still didn't have the slightest idea of the reasons behind these nightmarish dreams that were being forced into Ianto's mind, or the memories that were attacking him in his subconscious. The only thing that they were sure of was that it was the Master's doing.

If only he had some idea of what they were heading for, then he might be able to come up with some sort of way to stop the confrontation before it boiled over, the Doctor thought, glancing around him at the interior of the Hub. But he was in the dark.

He hadn't even felt safe enough to leave the Tardis outside of the Hub; he'd wanted the ship here, where he could get to her if he absolutely had to. Not to leave the scene of a battle, of course; but there could be a situation where the Tardis was needed, and he wanted her here.

Entering the safety of the ship, he closed the door behind him and headed up the three steps to the console, feeling the hairs rise on the back of his neck. A frown settled onto his features; why would he have that sort of feeling here, within the confines of the Tardis?

Bending over the console, he gazed down at the array of buttons and small viewscreens, not seeing any trouble there that should warrant concern. But the prickly feeling continued, not just on the back of his neck, but spreading over his entire body.

What could possibly be making him feel this way? He hadn't even noticed it outside of the ship; but here, in the control room of the Tardis, where he should feel completely safe, the menacing sensation was stronger than ever, almost making him want to flee.

That was ridiculous. He had no reason to run from his own ship. The Doctor straightened up to his full height, turning slowly to look around the control room. No, there didn't appear to be anything hiding here that should give him such a feeling of dread. It all looked safe enough.

Until a loud crack of what sounded like thunder seemed to split the air.

The booming echo was following by a flash of lightning, coming at him out of nowhere. The Time Lord leaped out of the way, his eyes wide with shock, the breath snatched from his lungs. That had been far too close for comfort -- within the confines of his own ship.

Another bolt of lightning streaked down at him; it appeared to be coming through the upper part of the Tardis, though he couldn't figure out just where it originated. All he knew was that he had to avoid it at any cost -- and keep it from destroying the Tardis.

He was half-hidden under the console, but he wouldn't be safe there for long. He didn't doubt that whatever sort of entity was controlling those potentially deadly lightning bolts was aiming directly at him -- and that they had the ability to find him no matter where he tried to hide.

The Doctor watched helplessly as another bolt sizzled down, striking part of the console. Was it just his imagination, or was there a sort of golden glow around the console, just as people had told him in the past that there was around him when he'd regenerated?

No! An irrational fear shot through him, the fear that somehow the Master had tracked him down and was trying to force a regeneration, possibly more than one, to cycle him rapidly to the end of his life and put him out of the way entirely.

The only thing he could do was to get out of the ship as quickly as he could -- and hope that the lightning wasn't aiming specifically for him. If it wasn't, then it would more than likely stay in the ship -- and if it was, he had no idea what he'd do then.

There was no way for Jack and the others to stop it, at least none that he knew of. And he was alone in the room that the Tardis was in, as far as he knew; no one had come here with him. Which was probably a good thing, in the long run.

He wouldn't put any of the people he'd come to for help in jeopardy. If this strange phenomenon was after him, then he would put himself in the path of danger, without exposing any of them to it, if he could manage that -- and just hope that he came through this alive.

How long would it take him to get out of the Tardis? Seconds, really -- he could jump down the steps quickly, be at the door and out within a matter of .... what? Time was of the essence; he couldn't afford to hesitate for even one instant.

Moving as quickly as he could, the Doctor dashed for the steps, bounding down them in one leap and throwing the door of the Tardis open. On the threshold of the ship, he stopped, a gasp frozen in his throat, his eyes widening in shock at what he was seeing.

The Rift. It was .... here. In the Hub. Unleashed.

At the same moment that realization struck him, he was literally struck behind by a bolt of lightning -- directly in the back. The Doctor reeled in the doorway of the Tardis for a just a moment before he stumbled forward -- towards the churning power of the Rift.

"No!" He heard Ianto's voice in the back of his mind, just before he felt the glowing sensation that signaled a regeneration start to sweep over his body. He could feel Ianto's hand close around his wrist, pulling him back from the Rift, back to comparative safety.

He was regenerating -- he could feel the sensation growing, see the beginnings of the glow that he'd been told covered his body when he was in the midst of turning into someone else. No! he thought frantically, squeezing his eyes closed. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen ....

He would become someone else, someone that Ianto might not be able to love. He hadn't had time to say goodbye, time to be with Ianto one last time. This was the end of their life together, the end of everything he'd planned, the end of the life he'd wanted to live.

Another sizzle of what felt like electricity flashed through his body; it took him a moment to realize that he'd been caught by the edge of one of the bolts of lightning snapping through the Rift. Ianto had pulled him away from the edge, but it had managed to target him anyway.

The Doctor's legs collapsed under him; he pitched forward, managing to catch himself before he hit the ground too hard. Rolling over onto his back, he opened his eyes, looking up at the chaos all around him. He couldn't move a muscle; his body felt heavy, almost paralyzed.

But .... that glowing feeling was gone. It had completely disappeared. The Time Lord raised his hands in front of his face, looking closely at them, noting that they were shaking in trepidation. They looked the same. They didn't appear to belong to a different body.

In fact, his body seemed completely intact. He could still feel the residual aftereffects of the lightning, but the feeling of regeneration had completely vanished, and he didn't seem to have changed. Was it possible that he hadn't, that the second strike had stopped it from happening?

What had happened? The regeneration had started; he could feel it coursing through his body, and even now, it felt as though he was a new man. But as far as he could tell, he looked the same; he hadn't changed outwardly at all.

No one was looking at him in horror, aghast at seeing a different body in his place; no, they were all staring at the Rift, the swirling colors, the lightning flashes that seemed to almost reach out into the Hub, as though they were searching for someone to attack.

And Ianto was standing far too close to the Rift. The Doctor noticed that fact as he sat up; only a step or two backwards and Ianto could fall into that swirling vortex -- with no one close enough to prevent it from happening or to pull him out from the eye of that hurricane in time.

"Ianto! Be careful!" The Doctor got to his feet, slowly, wishing that he could move faster, wanting to go to his young lover and wrap Ianto in his arms, pull him away from the dangerous precipice that he was standing far too near and make sure that he was safe and protected.

Ianto turned his head when he heard the Doctor's voice -- just as he took a step backward.

"Ianto!" the Time Lord screamed, moving more quickly than he'd thought he had the strength to do. He managed to catch his lover's hand just as Ianto stepped backward a second time, one foot dangling over the empty vortex where the Rift seethed and howled.

Ianto reached for him, his fingers closing around the Doctor's wrist. The Time Lord wrapped his own long fingers around Ianto's wrist, his other hand clinging to his lover's, their fingers entwined. All he had to do was get enough leverage to pull Ianto out of the raging storm of the Rift ....

There was another flash of lightning, one that made him squeeze his eyes shut against the intensity of the light. But he didn't let go of Ianto; he couldn't. He simply kept holding on to his lover as tightly as he could, praying that someone would move forward to help him within the next few seconds.

***

Next story in series - Miracle.