Who: Martha and Ianto Jones What: The day after Ianto's first disappearance When: Severely backdated to match up with the thread where Ianto disappears because of rift activity Where: Morning, the hub
Jack brought Ianto back the next day. He'd done well in calming him down and promising him they'd figure this out, but Ianto was still freaked out. He walked through the Hub in clean clothes, his hair still damp from the shower he took at the hotel. Ianto felt slightly lost and worried. It felt like every time he was here, he vanished. Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned against his desk, wondering if he should just go home for the day. But Jack had told him to stick close. He didn't want to be alone, but if he disappeared again, he didn't want to take anyone with him either.
Martha's day had begun badly. With a call from Jack that Ianto had disappeared. Something that sent her into a panicked state, because despite attempts there was no tracking him. He'd just vanished. But his miraculous reappearance had quelled some nerves, but not all of them. And knowing that Ianto was back at the hub (having been told), Martha couldn't just stay at home.
No. She'd arrived at the hub and stayed there. And seeing Ianto she didn't wait, but rushed up to him and hugged him - like last time. There was no question that this would lead to more tests. But as she held onto him she didn't care. Pulling back she kissed him, no hesitation and sighed, saying the only words she could thing to assure him. "We'll figure this out."
Ianto looked up just in time to have an arm full of Martha. He held her back tightly, inhaling deeply. There was something about the way she and Jack smelled that calmed him down. It was something he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to explain without getting some rather odd looks. He kissed her back, nodding his head before he kissed her again, holding her hands tightly in his own.
"I was only gone for a few minutes," he whispered, "and when I came back it was the next morning. Martha if it happens again..." Who knew what could happen.
He didn't have to finish that sentence. She could practically read his mind. If it happened again there was no telling what could happen. He could appear somewhere else, he could disappear altogether. And she didn't think that her and Jack could take much more of this. The first disappearance had hit everyone hard. But now that he was back, and with everything that had happened? No. Just no. Part of her made a mental note to talk to Jack, see what he thought, if they should keep this from Tosh and Gwen, at least for the moment... until they knew something more.
She squeezed his hands and shook her head. "We'll find out what this is before it can happen again, Ianto," she tried to sound reassuring enough. "There won't be a next time. We won't let it." She took a breath and tried to calm herself down; it had been a very emotional and panicked evening. She leaned her head against his shoulder. They would get to the bottom of this.
"You can’t know that. Neither of you can. It could happen right now, in ten minutes, in a month. We don't even know why it's happening." Jack had been so nervous before that he wouldn't be the right Ianto. Maybe he wasn't? No, he was. They were sure of that. Ianto pulled his hands away and rubbed his face, taking in a shaky breath. He felt like he wanted to apologize again, but he didn't know what it was for.
"I ended up at the Beacons this time. Chased through the woods by the cannibals. They got this girl that ran into me and chased me and I ended up running into an alley wall in London... I didn't sleep last night. I just watched Jack, clung to him...”
"Then we'll figure it out and stop it," she knew that both she and Jack were rather desperate to keep this from happening again. And Ianto? She'd traveled once not of her own volition but nothing like this. Disappearing and losing time like this... Martha put a hand on his shoulder and indicated the couch. If nothing else they should sit down. He looked tired, despite the shower, and if he hadn't slept...
Ianto had said that it had only been a few minutes for him. For them it had been hours. "Do you remember anything about when it happened?" Any details could be important. Anything he remembered. Flash of light, as cliché as it was. "Any physical sensations out of the norm?" The more data the better... the faster they could attempt to figure it out.
He moved to the couch easily, sitting down beside her on it and rested his head on her shoulder. His hand was still locked in hers and he stared across the Hub. He didn't want to think like this, but he thought he was back and now he was vanishing again? What did happen last night?
"It was just a normal night. Jack and I were cleaning up some alien slim, came back to the Hub. Got a little flirty and I leaned in for a kiss and I was gone. In the woods at night running for my life, and then I was back. I wasn't gone five minutes, ten at most. I was fine, nothing was weird or different." Ianto sighed, leaning forward to rest his head on his knees.
It was almost identical to the story he'd told them when he'd reappeared. There one moment, gone the next. Except last time it had been much longer before he'd reappeared. Nothing new that could give them a hint as to why this was happening. Under other circumstances she might smile picturing the two of them flirting the way they did, but nothing about this counted as normal.
Martha's free hand moved to rub circles on his back. She could feel how tense he was. The situation was stressful. And they needed answers. She needed to get him down to medical. Run a battery of new tests. She knew this, but right now Martha didn't really want to move. Ianto was confused, scared, so were they. "So another past event..." she hadn't been there during that particular incident, but she'd been told all about it. The disappearance patterned the same as last time. She leaned forward, trying to catch his eye. "Except disappearing into a point in your own personal timeline, again," she said thinking aloud. Time. Wasn't that not supposed to be possible? She squeezed his hand and sighed. "I think this puts to bed your argument for not being a time traveler." It was the wrong moment, but sometimes the wrong moment was when you needed it the most. She tried to catch his eye. They needed to figure out what this was!
"And I didn't even need a blue box." Ianto looked up at Martha, before he shook his head. "If this is anything what time travel is like, then I want no part of it. I really *don't," Ianto whispered, standing up again. He couldn't just be sitting there worrying about this. He wanted some normal back in his life. "I need some coffee," he said moving up towards the kitchen and started to putter around to find some.
Putting the beans in the grinder, he started the machine up and brew a pot for all of them. He filled three cups and brought one down for Martha, walking to Jack's office to put one in there for when he got back. He said something about an errand he needed to run.
Coming back out, he sipped at the coffee, so grateful for it. He needed to wake up a little more if he was going to get through the day. Martha was going to have to run tests. Turning back out of Jack's office, he wasn't in there anymore. The cup in his hand was gone and he was standing under the bridge outside. Looking at his watch, it was only a minute that had passed. Running back inside, he flew down the stairs back into the Hub, seeing the broken coffee cup outside of Jack's office. "MARTHA!?"
Running footsteps were heard from further inside. Martha practically tackled Ianto, having gone to check on him after hearing the shattering of the mug. But he hadn't been there. He wasn't in the hub. The last ten minutes she'd spent running scans of the hub and the surrounding areas but nothing had turned up! This wasn't funny and she'd been about to call Jack when she heard the door opening and her name being called.
She looked him over; he seemed okay, shaken but then so was she. This proved to her that there really was no time for waiting. None at all. Suddenly he'd popped back up. Like magic or a cloak. "I'm here," she said the words, her hand touching his cheek. He was solid to the touch. "CCTV caught you outside."
"I didn't even go anywhere," he said, shaking his head. "I was in the office and then I was outside. I didn't even know what I was walking into till I saw the mug. I was gone a minute. How long has it been?" he asked his questions coming like rapid fire. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to freak you out," Ianto said, clearly freaking out himself.
It was only after that that Martha was calm enough and willing enough to take a tiny step back from the third of their triangle that was there with her. She rested her head against his shoulder momentarily before nodding and looking up at him - Ianto several heads taller than her - looking into his eyes. She was using that to make sure. And she could tell it was him. Their him. Her and Jack's. This had made her more jumpy than she would have otherwise admitted. The idea of losing him, well somehow along the way when they'd become a threesome, she'd become extremely attached to both of them. Losing either Ianto or Jack, the idea just hurt. It was not acceptable. She would not stand for this happening again. Ianto was here. He belonged here. He was not leaving them again. Even if it meant running every test and then creating some to figure out what was wrong.
She pulled herself closer to him, giving him a kiss, closing her eyes. "It's alright," she calmed herself down; there was a need to think about this logically right now. But first she needed to calm both of them down. "I'm going to stay with you," she said seriously. "You're not leaving my sight." She meant it to be comforting. She grabbed his hand.
Ianto could only nod, squeezing her hand back and kissed her, just to feel grounded again. "Martha, what's going on?" Ianto whispered, resting his head against hers. It was a ways down since she was so much shorter. He just wished he could shake this off. At least he didn't end up in the ocean again. He'd forgotten to tell her about that.
"I freaked Jack out. I can't keep doing this to him, to you... everyone. He's lost so many people I don't want to be one of them. Not yet, not now."
She whet her lower lip, not sure what to say. She didn't have the answers. She wished to god she did - and Martha, after all she'd seen, was not religious. Her arms wrapped around him, now not letting go, trying to give what comfort she could. When she'd arrived she'd temporarily wondered how she fit into the puzzle - socially - she'd now found her place with her boys. This was what she did. "I don't know," her voice was just as quiet as his. She swallowed, trying to stay calm and push down these emotions.
"We're not going to lose you." her voice was stronger now. She believed it. She had to. "We're going to figure out what's going on and stop it." She knew that she had to be sure of herself for all of their sakes, even if she wasn't feeling so sure. "Because you're not allowed to go anywhere. Me and Jack, we need you here, with us."
"I just want to stay. I want to stay, Martha and I keep getting pulled away and I don't know why. It's that bloody Rift!" Ianto stepped away from her, moving to his desk to turn his computers on. He was quiet for a while, trying to calm down before he stepped back. "It..."
Ianto sat down, looking at the screen, checking the spikes and the times matched up with him disappearing. "It is this fucking Rift," he said, covering his mouth. It was never this active, but it seemed like every time it peeked, matched with when he vanished, but that didn't explain what brought him back. Maybe when the Rift spike calmed? This thing was so unpredictable though. Who knew when it would freak out again, or what was even making it do so.
She watched him, waiting, making sure nothing happened. But his words confused her for a moment. The Rift? Martha turned on her heel, following until she was standing behind him, peering around his arm because she couldn't look over his shoulder.
"The rift...?" It had brought people through, caused Ianto to go missing and now... Was it possible? She turned the thought over in her head. It had been oddly active recently, but they hadn't thought anything of it. "Can you run an analysis on the data?" If he was right....
Ianto typed a few things in, letting the computer do the work as he leaned back shaking his head. All the data was there. Every time the Rift spiked, matched with when Ianto disappeared or showed up. But what caused it? Nothing seemed to be coming through or trying to go through. Nothing was picked up, except... something, but he couldn't make out what it was and no one had looked into it.
All he could do was shake his head, stepping away from the computer. "You need to low jack me. There's no telling when this thing might spike again, if I show up on Mars or something..."
The data was clear. And it was rather horrifying. Informative but horrifying. It was however better than having no information as they'd had just moments ago. But it still wasn't enough!
Martha thought, trying to remember what they could use. She didn't like the idea of putting a tracking device under his skin. But she could do that in the Med bay... "We can do that," she said seriously. "But we need to do some scans too," the more she thought about it the more she was thinking about the TARDIS and the background radiation. What if the Rift had left Ianto with some background radiation that was reacting with the spikes...
"Whatever you have to do, but we need to do it soon, please," Ianto said, making his way down to the bay. "What do you need me to do? Stand where? Anything, seriously," he said starting to take his tie off. Who knew when that thing would act up again? Putting the tie aside, he turned back to watch Martha follow him...
But she didn't. "Martha?" he called, walking back up the stairs, the Hub was... gone. Alarms were blaring; he was in a hole in the ground. What the hell had happened?! He turned back the med bay, but it was gone, in the same condition as the rest of the Hub. He was standing in what was left of the Plass. "Oh Christ no... This isn't happening..." Ianto looked around, waiting for someone to show up, for himself to be pulled back, but nothing was happening. Nothing but this little red dot that was moving across his chest. Sniper. "Shit!" he hissed, running. Ianto heard gunfire but he kept running, trying to remember when this happened, if this happened at all. He didn't recall any of this, not even from a nightmare.
This was taking too long. He'd been there one moment and gone the next. And instead of freaking this time, Martha had run to the computer and done another scan. The rift had spiked again. And if their theory was right it meant that Ianto could be anywhere... or ... maybe not anywhere, but any time? They'd seen the rift do this with other people, things... that group that she'd heard had come in from the 1940s...
There were some cold hard facts. Ianto was gone. Where he was? There was no way to tell.... But what she could do was prepare that tracking device for when he returned. The first thing she'd have to do was tag him. She calmed herself down, or tried to. Panicking wasn't going to fix this. Ianto would come back. He had to!
Ianto had spent the night on the run, a few bullets sweeping past him and cut his cheek and brushed his arm. He was a mess and panicked and people whispered Torchwood's name, but as criminals of some kind. What kind of messed up reality was this? The future? Christ he hoped not. Stepping out from the alley he was in, he dared to pick up a paper at the news stand, reading about kids that were stopping, chanting. It was weird and he didn't know what it had to do with anything. It seemed alien.
"Ianto Jones, freeze!" came a voice behind him. Ianto turned in time to feel himself being zapped. No, Tazed! He hit the ground yelling, his body tensed, but it let up and when he opened his eyes, there were people staring at him. Ianto sprang up to his feet, scared, confused. Where was he NOW!? He took off at a run, trying to catch his bearings, but taking a few corners, he knew he was still in Cardiff. He saw the kids playing, no one looked as panicked as before and upon arriving back at the Plaz, it was in one piece. Ianto collapsed near the water tower, sitting down on the stone that no one could see. The rift alarm went off, waking Martha up. Her neck was stiff; she rolled her shoulder trying to loosen it up. But the alarm meant the rift, and the rift meant that Ianto could be back! Jumping up from the couch she rushed to the monitor, looking at the CCTV feed.
And there he was! He was back. Sitting on the block. She didn't have the controls. Jack had it. She couldn't move it. Instead she grabbed the syringe and ran up the stairs as fast as she could. This needed to be done and it needed to be done now. She was certain he'd understand. Getting there in record time. He'd been gone for a day...
Ianto has his head resting on his knees, trying to figure out what to do next. He could go downstairs and hope everyone knew who he was, or maybe Jack had a new team. Maybe Jack wasn't even here anymore. This could be the distant future and he'd been dead for decades. He couldn't keep jumping like this. He was starting to feel the wear of it on his body.
Ianto heard so many feet on the pavement that he didn't even notice the ones that were on their way to him in fast motion.
Martha pushed through a crowd of tourists causing them to curse at her in what she thought might have been Portuguese, but she didn't really care right now. She was closing in before she called his name. "IANTO!" Stopping only when she was right in front of him. The look on her face showed the wear of a very sleepless night - she'd only managed to nod off for about an hour or so.
She stopped in front of him, grabbing for his arm, checking his pulse and vitals before anything else. There was no question. She was taking the baselines first.
On instinct, Ianto pulled back in a small panic, before he saw it was Martha and then he just gave in, sitting there, staring off as she checked him over. It wasn't that he didn't care anymore, he was just exhausted. They knew what it was now and it didn't look like something they could just turn off. They couldn't control the Rift and whatever was happening didn't seem to be letting up on it's own, just getting worse.
His face was still bleeding, his arm, and the burn marks on his shirt from the tazer... Ianto shook his head before he curled up into himself, not sure he could even explain where he went this time. But of all the places he'd been, this was where he'd felt the most alone. Martha, everyone was missing and Jack was rumored to be dead. Permanently.
He looked terrible. It was enough to make her heart break all over again. Where had he been? What had been happening?! Whatever the answer it wasn't good and Ianto's reaction to her showed that it had been worse than she thought. She knelt down in front of him, trying to catch his eye.
"Ianto," her voice was gentle. "Ianto look at me..." she just prayed that he'd do it. Wherever he'd been, she wasn't about to ask. She forced herself to stay calm. It wouldn't do him any good if she let herself go right now. She waited for him. She just wanted to see his eyes.
Ianto shook his head at first, knowing that he'd finally broke. Jack would want him to be strong and to just get up right now and work with them to figure this out, but he didn't know how. If it was someone messing with them, then that would just be a matter of finding them and kicking their ass.
But this was harder because there was no telling when it would strike. Ianto looked up, his face streaked in tears, eyes scared and confused. He didn't hold her gaze long before his head was back on his knees resting.
Martha grabbed his hand. There were several things that needed to be done, and one of them needed to be done right now. Before anything else. Anything at all. "Ianto," she pulled out the syringe. "There's a tracking chip in here, the one we talked about." She'd answer any questions he had after this. "I need to inject you with it. It goes below the skin we can remove it later without any problems." She wasn't about to do it until he gave his consent. Then she needed to get him down to the medical bay and take care of his injuries. And then scan him for rift energy...
After that... She didn't know. Staying at the hub? She didn't live that far. Jack wasn't back from wherever he'd gone yet. Yes... maybe that would be the right answer.... But that would come later. One thing was certain, for as long as it was possible she was not letting him out of her sight.
"Just do it..." Ianto sobbed. He didn't know what difference it would make. GOD! He couldn't get like this right now. He'd be no good to anyone if he gave in. He had to keep fighting. He opened his hand for her, looking away, taking in where he was. He was home, he was safe for a few minutes and the Hub was safely below them. Ianto's body still shook from the effects of the tazer, but he was thankful he must have been zapped back before it really got him.
Martha gently stuck the needle into him, pushing the device into the skin of his hand. Once that was done she moved to sit next to him. She gently wrapped an arm around him, careful to avoid any area of burn or injury or possible injury. "You're home," she whispered it into his ear. "I've got you. You're safe..." the comfort wasn't entirely accurate, until they figured out what was going on he wasn't safe. But damn it they'd fix this!
"I feel like shit," Ianto whispered, leaning against her more. "More tired then the last times." His body ached, he could still smell the rubble burning, could still see the kids freezing up in the street. And then the news of Jack's death, running all night, just to be dropped here again. He didn't know if his body was taking this well. Ianto pushed himself up to stand, running his hand through his hair. Martha would want to look him over and he needed to not sit on the ground anymore.
Her eyes moved with him as he stood. She was paying attention to the way he was standing. What side was he favoring if any. Where his injuries sat. It was important. She then pushed herself up and offered him her arm if he needed it - or wanted it. "We can fix that," she said softly. "How long has it been since you've eaten?" If he needed food she could fix that too. The chip was in place now. But she was going to make him come with her to the kitchen once they were done in medical. He'd been gone 24 hours. Which was too long. She started to walk them towards the Tourism Office. They needed to fix this. And fast!
He wasn't steady on his feet at all and he leaned on her a little. He really did feel worse this time around but the experience hadn't been the best. This beat a building falling on him. He could still feel his body twitching. "I don't know." He didn't even know how long he'd been gone this time. He hadn't eaten that he remembered since the hotel room with Jack. But how long had that been. Ianto kept one hand on the wall and one around Martha as they made their way down into the Hub.
Her dominate arm was wrapped around his midsection, helping him walk. She never wavered as they made it inside. Martha mustered all of her self control and her strength to keep herself from falling apart. She would not do that. He needed her now.
"Then we should get some food in you," the answer seemed obvious, but either way he was not leaving her sight. She knew what was in the refrigerator, and had an idea of how to prepare things one handed, because if worse came to worse she'd just hold his hand to make certain he was there.
The hub was quiet. Almost too quiet. She needed to get him down to the med bay, treat his wounds and do some scans. Getting down the stairs and then up the stairs was challenging. "We're going to need to do some scans before anything else," she said gently. "And patch you up." She knew they all hated this part but it came with the job. They had a hypothesis. Now they needed to get the proof. She squeezed his hand as if to say that she had him. Just a bit more encouragement.
"I'm not hungry," he said moving where she took him. "Where's Jack?" Probably out trying to figure out what was causing the Rift to bounce him around, or looking for him... worried about him. He moved away from her and started off for the medical bay. He wanted to get this over with, hopefully stay in one time zone for a few minutes.
He took his vest and shirt off as he made his way down the stairs, wavering a little, but he made it down in one piece. He took a seat on the table rubbing his chest where the tazer had locked on for a moment. He was aggravated and tired and he didn't mean to take this out on Martha because he knew she was trying to help. "I'm sorry," Ianto said, looking up at her.
Martha didn't turn her back to him as she prepared. She grabbed the things she needed, being certain to keep an eye on him as he walked a bit ahead. The question had a very simple answer. "Out," which meant out investigating as there were several key pieces of equipment missing from the first floor. "He should be back soon." This wasn't easy on any of them. She knew how terrified and tired Ianto was. The sooner they stopped this the better. People acted out when they were in this state. She understood that, so she didn't say anything, but waved off the apology. "Not needed," and it wasn't.
She pressed a few buttons on her computer console and pulled up the protocol she needed before moving in to treat the burns on his chest. She winced slightly. They looked bad. From a tazer or some such instrument. She’d seen them before - she used a tazer instead of a gun. She gently applied antiseptic to the wounds, wrapping what needed covering before grabbing the scanner and beginning the procedure. "Don't worry," she said gently. "Now that we know, we can fix the problem."
Ianto let her do as she wished. It stung, it hurt a little and he wasn't in the mood for it, but he was happy not to be bouncing around for ten minutes. With the chip in him... well at least if he woke up in a shallow grave they'd be able to dig him up, wouldn't they? Ianto sat in silence, closing his eyes. He could have fallen asleep sitting up, but he didn't drift off. He woke himself up and looked across the room to the glass case where there were bottles and medical supplies. He noticed the hair around his ears had gone salt and pepper, not nearly as dark as his hair usually was. Christ he was barely 24. Maybe the stress of jumping around? He hadn't been gone that long. "Should dye my hair. Jack will think he's shagging a grampa if my hair keeps turning," Ianto said, trying to make light, but it didn't sound that way. He sat there, wondering what kind of scans she needed to take.
Martha tried to smile, but the normal tone of the conversation couldn't have been anything farther from the truth. "Oh I dunno," she said with a small smile, working, moving around him, her eyes moving from the scanner once to survey the offending hair. "I sort of like it, makes you look cool, distinguished, shows that you are a man of experience." She looked back down to the beeping instrument in her hands and pushed a button, waiting for the computer behind her to