New Horizons 21/21 + Epilogue

[missthingsplace]

Title: New Horizons
Author: missthingsplace
Parings/characters: Jack (Jack/Ianto Rhys/Gwen) OC's: Dafydd, Angela, Christopher, Charlie
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or any of the characters ... unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while.
Summary: After losing Ianto and Gwen in the same attack Jack accepts a request by the queen in Washington DC
Spoilers: None
Warnings: Angst, slash ... the usual.
Rating: NC17 for series. This chapter PG

Previous Chapters: http://missthingsplace.livejournal.com/211867.html#cutid1

A/N This was meant to be two seperate chapters but the second one ended up too short so i combined them to make an extra long one! Just the epilogue to go now.

A/N 2 This is for everyone who needs a little happiness in their lives at the moment, i promise, just read it and see ...

Jack knew something was different, wrong before he even opened his eyes. The last thing he remembered was his foot slipping on the carpet at the top of the stairs and being unable to stop himself as he tumbled head first down them.

And yelling, he remembered yelling out loud as if Rhiannon would be able to help in some way even though he knew it was too late. His senses were telling him his environment had changed but he was too scared to open his eyes and confront it, even the bed beneath him felt wrong but strangely familiar.

Eyes still closed Jack moved his hand slowly across the smooth cotton sheet below it, hesitating and taking a deep breath before lifting it to rest on his belly only to confirm what he was thinking when it can in contact with nothing but his flat stomach.

Emotions flooded Jack's brain, horror, shock and complete devastation as he allowed himself to understand what had happened. He had lost the baby, his own carelessness had robbed him of Ianto's daughter, the one thing he had left of the man he loved.

Rolling onto his side in the foetal position Jack hugged his arms around his legs as his loud sobs shuddered through his body, in all the years of his long life he had only ever felt so alone once before, when he'd lost Ianto and now he had lost the second most precious thing to him and he had no one to blame but himself.

Buried under the duvet sobbing Jack never heard the pounding of footsteps as someone ran up the stairs, the door being pushed open and nor did he register the weight of someone sitting on the bed next to him, just a vague feeling of a hand on his arm through the duvet which he ignored.

“Jack, Jack, what is it, what's wrong?”

Jack's muffled sobs were the only answer, his only thought being about how could they possibly ask the one question they must already know the answer too and then the duvet was pulled from over his head, the bright light from the room flooding into his eyes even though his closed eyelids as someone pulled him into a tight hug.

“Shhh, it's okay, I'm here.” The voice soothed. “It's okay.”

Jack hiccuped through his sobs as a very distinct scent filled his nostrils, the sound of the voice in his ears causing Jack to lift his head and finally open his eyes to see where he was and who was with him and he gasped in shock and confusion.

“Ianto?”

“Jack, what is it, talk to me?” Ianto asked him.

“No, you're not here, this is just a dream, a nightmare.” Jack insisted.

“Of course I'm here, where else would I be?” Ianto asked softly, brushing tears from Jack's cheeks with his fingers.

“You're dead, you and Gwen are dead.” Jack replied, sobbing into the arms of the man of his imagination. “You're just my brain trying to take away the trauma of losing our baby.”

“Jack, I'm not dead, I'm really here.” Ianto replied, his voice hitching as the anguish Jack was so obviously feeling caused his own emotions to overflow. “I promise you, this is not a dream.”

“It has to be, I took that job in Washington DC because I lost you, it's been seven months since you died, I can't have dreamed months in a few hours.” Jack tried to rationalize.

“It's not just a few hours Jack, you've been asleep for almost two days, don't you remember what happened?” Ianto asked.

Jack shook his head against Ianto's chest.

“Okay, well the limited information we had in the data banks said the side effects could also cause temporary memory loss.” Ianto told him.

“Limited information on what?” Jack replied, lifting his head once more still sobbing if a little softer now.

“We were out on a mission, something came through the rift.” Ianto began. “It seemed harmless enough, blue and fluffy and the size of a melon but it suddenly turned on us, you as usual put yourself in the line of danger and before we could shoot it, it bit you.”

“Bit me?” Jack frowned.

“Yep, we managed to shoot it before it escaped, you collapsed to the ground in a dead faint.” Ianto replied. “Once we got you and it back to the hub we managed to find a limited account of the creature.”

“What was it?” Jack asked.

“Origin or species unknown but it's attacked before, it seems it secretes a very effective sleeping venom in it's bite.” Ianto told him. “According to the files the two or three humans it's attacked have been out of it for between ten and fourteen days, with your bodies healing abilities you managed to get it out of your system in just under forty eight hours.”

“But it was all so real.” Jack replied. “We were ambushed by aliens and they shot all three of us before we had time to react, I came back to find you and Gwen dead.”

“Very much alive here.” Ianto smiled, lifting Jack's hand and placing it over his heart. “Feel.”

“And Gwen?” Jack asked, feeling the comforting beat of Ianto's heart beneath his hand.

“Gwen too, now what was it you were saying about a baby?” Ianto asked.

“In the dream, I was pregnant with your child, I had no idea how after dying but it seemed like some kinda miracle, some part of you was still in me and it made me so happy.” Jack said, giving Ianto a small smile as his tears began to dry up. “At the end of my dream I fell down a flight of stairs and when I woke and the baby wasn't there anymore I thought I'd killed our baby.”

“No wonder you were in such a state, oh Jack, I'm so sorry.” Ianto said, bending down and brushing his lips over Jack's.

“I liked it, I liked being pregnant with your baby.” Jack admitted.

“You know how much I want just that too.” Ianto replied. “Jack, I think there's something I should tell you.”

“Ianto ...” Jack began but he didn't get any further, his wrist strap that was currently on the bedside table beside him letting them know that something was coming through the rift and judging by the noise it was making there was more than one of whatever it was.

“Stay there Jack, Gwen and I can handle this.” Ianto told him.

“I'm fine Ianto.” Jack insisted, climbing out the bed and rummaging around for underwear in a drawer. “Call Gwen and get her to meet us at the hub.”

When there was no answer from Ianto Jack looked up  to find him watching him intently with an odd look on his face.

“What is it, what's wrong?” Jack asked.

Ianto closed the distance between them in a few strides, pulling Jack into his arms and kissing him desperately as if he had been asleep for two years rather than two days. Jack melted into the kiss, for him it still felt like he hadn't seen Ianto for seven months, letting him take control until they parted breathlessly.

“We need to talk about something later, just remember I love you before you get mad at me, promise?” Ianto asked.

“I promise.” Jack replied, sure that he knew exactly what Ianto was going to confess. “Now call Gwen.”

“Yes sir!” Ianto chuckled, leaving Jack to dress.

Fifteen minutes later they were all at the hub, Gwen wasn't sure what she had done to be on the receiving end of the tight hug Jack had given her but she wasn't going to question it. One look into Jack's red rimmed eyes had told her he had be upset about something, she would ask Ianto later she decided.

From what they could tell at least half a dozen life forms had come through the rift near an abandoned warehouse on the other side of Cardiff, not far from Splott. Checking their weapons Jack couldn't help having a feeling of deja vu, something was niggling at the back of his mind and he couldn't remember what it was.

“Damn it!” Jack exclaimed as he tried to force the memory to the front of his mind.

“What?” Gwen asked, noting the frustration in his voice.

“There's something about this that seems so familiar but it won't come to me, like I've lived through this every day before.” Jack replied.

“Deja vu.” Ianto stated.

“Oh I get that all the the time.” Gwen replied. “Only the other day ...”

“I don't have the time for one of your stories now.” Jack snapped, annoyed with himself. “Sorry Gwen.”

“It's okay?” Gwen replied, but looking at Ianto questionably.

“Later.” Ianto mouthed silently to her before turning his attention back to Jack. “Do you want to take extra precautions just in case?”

“Yeah, I guess, but I don't know in what way.” Jack frowned.

“Right, I suggest extra round for our usual weapons plus something a little more heavy duty just in case they're required.” Ianto replied. “I'll be back.”

As Ianto headed for the armoury Gwen watched Jack, he looked deep in thought as he racked his brains trying to force the memory forth. She wondered if the bite Jack had received had had more side effects that they had anticipated, he looked like he wasn't quite with them.

She was just about to ask him when Ianto reappeared toting three machine guns, all loaded with rounds of enough ammunition to kill a heard of stampeding elephants.

“That should just about stop anything.” Gwen chuckled, taking the one offered to her and testing it's weight.

“I get the feeling we're going to need them.” Jack replied. “Okay, lets go.”

Pulling up outside the abandoned warehouse a short time later the feeling Jack had been having grew stronger but the details still remained just outside his grasp as they ran towards the door of the building, machine guns in hands.

Pushing open the door a crack Jack peered into the gloom, all he could see from his angle was a few piles of what looked like packing crates, he guessed they were empty but couldn't see any signs of life, alien or other wise.

“Looks clear but we should check it out.” Jack told the other two, preparing to enter the building. “I wish I could remember ...”

Jack pushed the door open wider and began to advance into the large storage space, he had barely moved a few feet when the beginning of his dream came flooding back to him.

“No wait.” Jack hissed to Gwen and Ianto as they almost walked into him as Jack stopped abruptly. “It's a trap.”

“How can you know that?” Gwen asked.

“The dream.” Jack replied, making no sense at all to her. “If we go in there we're going to be ambushed and we'll all get shot, we'll all die.”

“Dream, what dream?” Gwen pushed impatiently.

“I'll explain later, we need to find a way to get the advantage.” Jack replied, backing out the door along with them and closing it again. “They must know we're here by now.”

“Lure them out here somehow?” Ianto suggested.

“Yeah, but how, all the time they're in there they know they have one over on us.” Jack replied.

“Secret weapon.” Ianto grinned, pulling something from his pocket.

“Tear gas!” Gwen exclaimed. “Bloody brilliant.”

“I know.” Ianto grinned, cocking an eyebrow at her.

“Do it.” Jack told him.

Ianto moved to the door, pulled the pin and pushed the door open just enough to get his arm through and tossed the canister into the building and closed it again. The three of them moved out of sight, Jack and Gwen around the corner of the building and Ianto behind the SUV as they heard the screams of the aliens inside.

Within a minute of the gas entering the building the aliens exited through the door, their own machine guns hanging uselessly in their human like hands as they stumbled out in pain. Ianto raised his own gun and took aim.

“Wait.” Jack ordered, even though he now remembered how dangerous they were he wouldn't kill in cold blood.

One of the aliens stopped dead at the sound of Jack's voice, lifting his head, trying to focus through blurred vision he raised his weapon closely followed by the rest of the gang and a rain of shots rang out.

“Shit!” Ianto shouted, returning fire and hitting the exposed aliens as Jack and Gwen opened fire too.

All six aliens fell to the ground, dead. Jack, Ianto and Gwen advanced on them slowly, checking the bodies before allowing themselves to relax.

“Fuck that was close.” Gwen exclaimed.

“Closer than you'll ever know.” Jack replied, pulling them both into his arms and holding them tightly.

Sometime later, the aliens bodies dealt with Jack and Ianto headed back to their flat. Jack could now remember everything from when the alien bit him and the whole of his dream, feeling a little guilty about Charlie, the man with whom nothing had actually happened.

“Have you got a cousin called Dafydd?” Jack asked Ianto as he made them coffee.

“Yep, I haven't heard from him in years, he moved to the USA with his parents when he was a kid.” Ianto replied. “Why?”

“He was in my dream, strange as I've never even met him.” Jack told him.

“Jack.” Ianto said, taking a deep breath. “There's something I've been meaning to tell you.”

“I know, and I'm not mad, I promise, like I said earlier.” Jack smiled.

“How can you not be mad when you don't even know what it is?” Ianto asked confused.

Jack took Ianto's hand in his own and placed it on his belly, knowing what the very slight swell of his belly was, wondering how he had missed it earlier but positive it was because he was expecting to find a huge baby bump.

“There's something else that bit did to me other than put me to sleep, it seems it gave me precognition.” Jack replied. “I saw what would happen at the warehouse if we had gone in with just out usual weaponry, that you would be taken from me.”

“But ...” Ianto began.

“Let me finish.” Jack told him. “I know everything Ianto, about what you convinced the Doctor to give you, that you were giving it to me without telling me.”

“You read my diary, in your dreams?” Ianto asked, flabbergasted.

“Yeah and if everything in the dream was true, which I believe even more so now, I think I'm having a baby, your baby.” Jack smiled.

“You're really not angry with me?” Ianto asked. “I should never have done it, I ...”

Jack silenced him with a kiss.

“In the dream when I found out what you did I was so upset with you, but I came to realise it was the one thing in the world I wanted more than anything and when I woke and it, the baby was gone I felt like I wanted the world to end.” Jack replied. “So no, you shouldn't have gone about it the way you did, but I'm too happy and excited to care.”

“We should go back to the hub, do a scan.” Ianto replied excitedly.

“Later, first we need to celebrate.” Jack grinned, taking Ianto's hand and dragging him the short distance to the bedroom and tumbling onto the the bed with him in a tangle of limbs. “It still seems like months to me, and boy did I miss you.”

“Forty eight hours was too long.” Ianto replied, letting Jack plunder his mouth in a desperate kiss.

“Oh and your sister might have some news of her own in a few months.” Jack said, pulling back.

“Really? She's going to get pregnant?” Ianto asked.

“Yeah.” Jack chuckled.

“Can I tell her?” Ianto asked.

“Another of your secrets I now know, that she knows all about me.” Jack tried to frown but found he couldn't as Ianto looked guilty. “It's okay, but don't tell her, let it be a surprise.”

“Agreed.” Ianto said as they let the words give way to their actions and expressed their love for each other in the way they did best.

TBC