Title: The Doctor In Action
By: Jessie Blackwood
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG
Warnings: AU, ongoing series
Disclaimer: Don’t own Torchwood or the characters, they are the BBCs domain. I just own the plotline. Any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. Would you want to resemble any of this lot anyway?
Series: 1) Calling Dr Jones, 2) The Doctor Is In
Summary: AU where everyone is alive, (including Suzie), and Ianto is a doctor.“Ianto! Get in here, we need you!” the shout was loud and urgent, by-passing the need for the communicator in his ear. He left the SUV at a run, hauling a rigid red box and a green grab-bag with medical gear in them. “On my way, what's the situation?”
“Owen’s down, Suzie’s taken a cut to her arm, not serious, Tosh is OK.” His voice sounded strained. “Situation under control.”
“How are you?” he was met with silence “Jack? Talk to me!”
“Ianto?” it was Tosh.
“Tosh, I’m on my way, two minutes tops. What’s wrong…?”
“Jack's dead…”
TW
Owen groaned and blinked, returning reluctantly to consciousness.
“Ooooh, tell me I had a good night to blame this on…”
Ianto grinned “Sorry mate, no can do. How do you feel?”
“Like there’s an American Marching Band in my head, annoying teenage girls with Kazoos…”
“Well, just lie still. You’re at the Hub, everyone’s safe. Crisis over.”
“Tosh?” there was genuine alarm in his voice.
“I said, everyone is safe. She’s fine Owen. Now be calm. Take it easy. You’ve had a bad knock to the head, concussion at the very least. I’ve stitched a wound in your shoulder and your left knee took a hammering. You are not going anywhere.”
“Yes Boss.” He frowned “How’s Jack?”
TW
Ianto looked down at the prone body in the bed and sighed. Usually Jack came back quickly, but not this time. He was still stubbornly dead after four hours. Tosh was sitting vigil in the room. Ianto performed a few checks and then turned to her. “All we can do is wait.” He said.
“I didn’t know…” she said and looked up at him, eyes wide and teary.
“He didn’t tell you?”
“NO! Why Ianto, you knew, even you?”
“What, that he could come back?” Ianto tried to smile “I that found out by accident and he retconned me.” He explained quietly “But it doesn’t work on me” and he proceeded to tell her what had happened at the hospital.
“You’re immune to retcon?” she breathed.
“Yeah…” her eyes were wide and lost and he suddenly found himself wanting to take her in his arms, to comfort her. “Hug?” he suggested and moments later found her slim warm body in his arms.
A great gasping breath heralded Jack's return to wakefulness a full two hours later. His death had been a hard one, ripped to shreds by a large unforgiving alien with multiple limbs and a serious attitude problem. It was pissed about landing on a strange planet with no escape and took it out on the people who might have been able to help, but it was panicking and beyond reason. It turned from diplomatic mission to take-down which proved to be ugly and damaging to both sides.
Ianto was standing near Jack’s head, waiting, hands holding his shoulders down, stopping him from toppling to the floor as his body bucked and resisted the return to life. He also had an oxygen mask over Jack's mouth and nose, making it easier to take that first desperate breath. Jack grabbed him and held on, his long fingers digging painfully into Ianto’s forearms.
“Its OK, relax, everybody is safe. You’re back in the Hub, everything is taken care of, you can rest easy.” The litany reached Jack's ears and he slumped, releasing Ianto’s arms and lying back. “Just breathe” Ianto instructed as Jack coughed.
“Thank you.” He said tiredly and closed his eyes. “How long…?”
“Six hours. Owen has a concussion, he’s resting on the couch. I stitched Suzie’s arm and she and Tosh have gone home to rest although they’re on standby in case of emergency.”
“Good.” Jack gestured that he wanted to sit and Ianto helped him up slowly and carefully.
“There, how do you feel now?”
He took the mask off and sat there quietly for a moment. “This helped, thank you.” He handed the mask back and Ianto turned off the taps on the gas bottle. “I thought it might make it easier for you. Tosh knows about you returning though. She was a little cut up you’d never told them.”
“Yeah, well, never seemed to be the right time. ‘Oh, by the way, I can’t stay dead’. Like, how do you tell people that?” Ianto smiled and said nothing. Jack regarded him seriously. “You must have done good out there, otherwise we wouldn’t be here.”
“I cleaned up and brought you home, hardly rocket science.” Ianto said dismissively.
“Don’t do yourself down. What happened to the alien?”
“In cryo until I can deal with it. I thought it best in case it has any miraculous regenerative properties. Didn’t fancy being taken over while I was dealing with you lot.”
Jack smiled “Good call.” He said and jumped down, swayed and allowed Ianto to steady him with a supportive arm.
“Take it easy, Sir, don’t want you falling over again.”
“I’m fine, you worry too much.”
“Well if I don’t, who will?”
Jack merely grinned his trademark Harkness grin and walked out of the room.
TW
As it happened, the alien stayed dead and Jack walked in on Ianto the following morning carrying out the post mortem examination with customary precision.
“You ever done this kind of thing before?” Jack asked “You know, at Torchwood 1?”
“Nope, never got close. I was a junior in research, so I only ever got to see samples, not whole bodies. This is amazing…”
“You found anything?” Jack smiled at Ianto’s obvious appreciation of the opportunities his new job was affording.
“Blue blood, weird DNA strands, totally incompatible with human DNA, no idea what race, there’s no corresponding data from previous encounters. It’s a new one.”
“Looks like a Raxakaflite to me, but I could be mistaken.”
“A what?” Ianto looked up suspiciously, wondering if Jack was teasing but the man’s expression was serious.
“Raxakaflite, it’s a warlike race from across the other side of the universe. This guy was pissed, believe me. He did not want to listen to anyone or anything. Those guys live to fight, they determine who rules by force of arms and you don’t get to breed unless you can beat off the opposition. Then you have to subdue your mate as well. Those girls don’t appreciate losers!” Jack paused thoughtfully. “If that’s what this is. As I said, I’m not sure so don’t quote me.”
“OK, possible Raxa…”
“…kaflite.” Jack finished. “from the planet Raxakafla.”
“Raxakaflite. Thank you. Well, whatever he was, assuming it was a ‘he’, he wouldn’t have been able to survive in our atmosphere. No way are the lungs – and I’m assuming they’re lungs, they have the appropriate cellular structure – no way are they large enough to support his size. Bone density is lighter too.”
“So he wouldn’t have had a pleasant stay anyway?”
“Not according to my findings, no. Anyway, Jack, did you just call to see how I was getting on or was there something else on your mind?”
Jack grinned at him. “Oh, this boy is good.” He chuckled and fixed Ianto with a look “Came to ask you to dinner again actually. If you’d like to...after last time went so well." Ianto looked at him, thoughtfully. “well, are you interested?”
Ianto paused, just to prolong the moment. Jack looked cool and calm on the surface but Ianto could see the anticipation underneath and it was killing him. He smiled. “That would be nice, so yes, I accept. You choose this time though.” He watched Jack try and fail not to let the excitement show as he bounded out of the medical bay reminding Ianto of nothing so much as Tigger from the Winnie the Pooh stories – boundless energy, heart in the right place, not always right but enthusiastic to the point of being a pain in the arse. And Ianto was also pretty sure that, like Tigger, there was only one of him. He hoped so anyway. He figured the world probably couldn’t cope with more than one.
Next story in series- Blood Is Thicker Than Water.
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