Earning redemption on your own terms
Against all odds, he is being given a second chance. Well, closer to fourth with Ianto, and he'd lost count with Jack. But this time he really means it. He's really trying. And he wants to do something for them, something to show how much he means it. A peace offering. A present.
2268 was bloody boring, John had found. Humans were going through some sort of scientific breakthrough phase, which meant everything was calculated, cold, white, harsh. He'd only managed to get laid once since arriving, and then had almost ended up arrested for lewd behavior. Seems at this point in time reproduction was done in labs and sex was viewed as unnecessary excess. It always cycled, though...he knew in another 20 years everyone would be throwing color everywhere and rutting like animals again. But this time, dull as it was, served his purpose.
Infiltrating the base and stealing the body had been surprisingly easy. Good thing they were anal and kept everyone and everything forever. Also a good thing the staff was currently made up of idiots who bought his false name and didn't even check for an id match to that name. Just let him in on it's legend alone (bloody Jack Harkness). His next step was to find a Resuscitation Center with a tech who could be persuaded, with stolen money and a gun when necessary, to do the work.
Now, John leans against the wall, taking a swig from a flask he pulls from inside his jacket, his other hand resting on the hilt of one of his holstered guns. Insurance. The medical technician working on the patient in the bed pauses every so often to glance at him apprehensively. Finally, the patient stirs and the medical technician steps back, checking readings on a nearby monitor. "She's in REM sleep, responses all normal."
John re-pockets the flask and steps closer, peering at the woman on the bed. "And she's fine now, yeah? Completely healthy?"
The tech nods. "She can expect normal life expectancy to her hundreds, assuming natural causes the next time. All damage has been repaired and reversed. Had to complete recreate her in some..."
John smiles, and cuts him off. "So you're done, then? She's good to go?"
The tech frowns. "Well, no, we should monitor for at least a week before..." he doesn't get to finish before the hilt of a gun has hit him in the head, rendering him unconscious on the floor. John casually steps over the man and begins unhooking all the machines around the patient. He speaks out loud as he works. "Sorry, can't hang around, much as we'd love to. Small window of opportunity, rift spike and all that. One of those few times I can take her through with me. All this effort would be wasted if I went back empty-handed..."
He picks up the sedated woman in both arms and carries her out, following the direction sensors on his Vortex Manipulator to an empty spot near where a water tower once stood. He adjusts the settings on his wrist as a ripple of light forms in front of them. The woman in his arms begins to stir groggily. "Wake up, sleepyhead," he grins as her eyes begin blinking, just as he activates the Vortex Manipulator and steps into the energy field.
A moment later, they are in 2010, in Cardiff, just a short walk from the Plass in a quiet alley. A smile that's remarkably soft covers John's face. “Welcome home, Toshiko.”