It was the fourth time in under an hour that the Rift alarm had sounded.  Everyone jumped, cursed it, and went back to whatever project they were currently working on.

“Anything?” Jack called from his office.

“False alarm,” Toshiko wearily replied as she went through the motions of checking the incoming data: the latest alert brought the total to over sixty in the last day-and-a-half.

“It has to be a fault,” Owen said for the umpteenth time, “the whole system is knackered.”

“Any time you want to start an overhaul…” Jack began, grinning when he heard the muttered ‘bollocks’ from Owen’s direction.  Despite not being keen on the idea of tinkering with a system that had been working perfectly two days ago, Jack went to the safe and started dragging out the necessary schematics, as tired as everyone else of the constant, unfounded alerts.

He glanced up and out of his office as Ianto entered the Hub, unintentionally ignoring Jack and inevitably making a bee-line for Gwen.  Jack affectionately shook his head at them, Ianto constantly fussing and Gwen lapping up the attention: anyone would think she was the only woman to ever get pregnant.  Not for the first time Jack considered giving Ianto a concern like that a little closer to home, but aside from the never again promises he’d made himself a long time ago, two hormonally charged colleagues were entirely not what the remaining three needed.  Besides, Gwen would be furious with him: he would look so much cuter.

Ianto finally noticed Jack’s attention and made his way over.

“Anything I can get you, Sir?”

“You can take a look through these with me, see if—”

They cringed as the alarm shrieked yet again, and everyone grit their teeth for the short time it took for the alert to be cancelled.

“Nothing,” Toshiko sighed.

“How about we get out of here anyway?” Jack suggested, and everyone perked up.  “Sorry, Mrs Williams, not you.  We agreed.”

“You can’t leave Gwen here alone,” Ianto protested.

“Because…?”

“Because…  What if something happened?”

Jack rolled his eyes.

“Are you broody, or what?”

“I am not broody,” Ianto contradicted, “just…concerned.  This isn’t exactly the ideal workplace for…”

Once again the conversation was cut short by the alarm, but this time, as that noise was dismissed, another took its place: the distinctive wheezing of an ancient time machine.

As the Doctor’s TARDIS materialised on the far side of the Hub, guns were drawn and, despite Jack’s reassurances, the tension level shot through the ceiling.  He hurried across to the blue Police box, rapping on the door before turning back to placate his team.

“It’s okay, everything’s okay, this is just the Doc—”  A tall, gangly man with scruffy, sandy hair and the cheekiest face emerged as the TARDIS’ door swung open.  “Doctor?”

“Jack!”

The stranger came to Jack and engulfed him in a hug; Jack laughed and hugged back before retreating two paces to examine the new appearance.

“What happened this time?”

“Y’know what it’s like: the one time you neglect to reverse the polarity and…” the Doctor graphically mimed the regeneration process, then grinned like a lunatic.  “Ginger!”

“Well, only just.”

“Don’t you dare…”

“Kinda…strawberry blondy…”

“Jack.”

“Ginger.”  The Doctor looked extraordinarily pleased, and hugged him again.  “So, what are you doing here?” Jack asked.

“Jack, old fella, I need your help.”

“Mine personally or Torchwood’s?”

“Bit of both maybe; mainly you.  The Universe is teetering on the very precipice of needing to be rescued and you immediately popped into my mind.  Must be all those allusions to your spectacular weaponry.  Hello!”  The Doctor had finally noticed the three people gawping at him from across the Hub.  “Gwen Cooper.  Toshiko Sato.  Owen Harper,” the Doctor announced as he pointed to each in turn.  “See?  I paid attention,” he told Jack before peering around the remainder of the area.  “Where’s the one you abandoned a Time Lord for?”

Jack looked too.

“He was here a minute ago.”

No Ianto in sight.  Heading off in search of his absent partner, Jack called over his shoulder that he’d be back soon, leaving his astonished colleagues to become better acquainted with the infamous Doctor.

He found Ianto exactly where he’d expected, in the kitchen making tea and coffee, and wearing the bravest face he could muster.

“Ianto?  You disappeared on me.  The Doctor’s here and…”

“I was aware.”

Jack hurried to Ianto and forcefully held his hands.

“Leave this for now, come and meet him.”

“In a moment.”  Ianto stared down at their joined hands, watching where Jack’s thumb habitually stroked over the gold ring on Ianto’s third finger.  The ring was fractionally too large, it came off too easily when Ianto’s hands were cold or wet.  Maybe that should’ve told him something.  “How long this time?” he asked, trying not to sound as shell-shocked as he felt.

Jack shrugged.

“I have no idea.”

Ianto reminded himself to keep breathing and nodded.

“I’ll wait.  This time I’ll wait.”

“You’ll—  No.  No, you won’t wait.”

The assiduously constructed façade seemed in real danger of collapse.  Ianto finally found the courage to look into Jack’s eyes, seeing the man’s exhilaration at the thought of leaving and trying not to blame him for wanting to cut his mundane Earthly ties.

“You don’t want me to wait for you.”

“No,” Jack laughed, squeezing Ianto’s hands, “I want you to pack.  Whatever you think you’ll need.”

Ianto stared at Jack for a prolonged and very unreal moment.

“Pack?  Then…  You can’t mean…?”

“Yes.  We’re going to save the Universe, and then I’ll show you its wonders.”

“That’s…that’s…  Jack…  Let’s be sensible: I’m not like you, I don’t have the bravado for this.  The last thing I want to be is a hindrance, or a liability.”

“You won’t be, I promise.  One of us doesn’t doubt you for a moment.  And, frankly?  If you’re not prepared to come along, I’m not prepared to leave.  The Universe can go to hell.”

“You mean that?”

“I made a promise.”

“Yes.  Yes, you did.”

“Remember how you felt when you saw that glimpse of the future?  You were excited then, but what I have planned for you now is going to blow your mind.”  A rapid hug and a kiss and Jack was dragging Ianto back to the Hub.  “C’mon, I want you to meet the Doctor.  Time you learned to hate him in person.”

Ianto gestured back to the refreshments he’d been preparing.

“Shouldn’t I…?”

“No.  Ianto…you’re not the tea boy.”

The moment Ianto re-entered the Hub he shuddered as the most furious tingle he’d felt in months swept over his body.  Jack was by his side, so it didn’t make sense.  Or, rather, it didn’t make sense until Ianto’s gaze was automatically drawn to the TARDIS, the creature that had filled Jack with life.  For a moment Ianto couldn’t decide whether he wanted to embrace the time machine, or turn and flee.  But it did make him wonder, once again, if he had reaped more from his psychic training than knowing when Owen fancied a slice of cheese on toast.

Jack presented Ianto to the Doctor and made a formal introduction before being drawn away by Owen and Toshiko to discuss what they’d already been told; the Doctor took Ianto’s offered hand and gave it a hearty shake.  Then he paused, aware of…whatever it was he was aware of.  A few seconds and the grin was back.

“Well, that makes perfect sense.”

“What makes…”

“Good to meet you, Ianto Jones, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Yes, you too.”

“That was a different me, of course.”

“Really?”

“Possibly two.”  Once again the Doctor mimed the regeneration process.  “And…ginger!”

“Congratulations?” Ianto offered, quite bewildered but already appreciating why Jack was drawn to this character.  “Are you aware that Jack has asked me to come along?”

“I wouldn’t have wanted him without you.  Last time he was…”

“Not telling tales, I hope,” Jack said pointedly as he arrived back at Ianto’s side and ushered him away.  “Okay, this is what we know so far,” Jack explained, “a distant race, new weapons, new plagues, and…”

“You really took that letting me die horribly business to heart, didn’t you.”

“Maybe this is just the chance you need to prove to yourself that you’re as courageous as I think you are.”  Ianto gave Jack an old-fashioned look.  “I’m serious,” Jack protested.

“That’s what I’m worried about.”

“You’re always out with the team nowadays.  This isn’t so different.”  Ianto paused, apparently assessing Jack’s sanity; Jack hurried on.  “Now, I know this has been a shock, but just tell me whether or not you want to go.”

Ianto’s inner core of sensibleness may have been insisting that he refuse to be rushed and take time to make a considered decision, but the adventurous streak awakened by his adventure in Port Talbot refused to be contained a moment longer.

“Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Can’t wait,” Ianto admitted and Jack could see that was true, Ianto’s eyes were shining with anticipation and he hadn’t even noticed that he was clutching Jack’s hand tight enough to impede the blood supply.  “Shall I go now?  Pack?”

“We’ll go in the TARDIS, collect whatever we need along the way.”

“The TARDIS,” Ianto repeated, torn between being awed, and trembling with excitement.  “A time machine.  I’m going in a time machine.”

“Jack,” the Doctor’s voice interrupted their conversation.  They looked around to where he’d been in conversation with their colleagues.  “I’m going to have a little tinker around, create a beacon: someone can activate it in half an hour and that’s what we’ll head back to when we’re done.”

“That’s a great idea.”  He grinned at Gwen.  “Can’t afford to lose another nine months.”

Owen cleared his throat.

“So, these plagues?  Surely you’ll need a doctor.”

“You offering?” the Doctor asked, peering at Owen as if he’d just crawled out from under a rock.

“Yes, I am.”

“Good, are you?”

“Brilliant,” Owen replied with an arrogance that very nearly matched the Doctor’s own.

The Doctor was seriously considering the proposition; Jack’s immediate thought was of Owen ruining the whole adventure for Ianto and he drew breath to protest.  But Ianto spoke first.

“It makes perfect sense.”

“Well, if you’re happy,” the Doctor grinned, turning away to share his time between bombarding Owen with detailed information and creating the aforementioned beacon.

“Are you sure about this?” Jack asked Ianto quietly.

“Plague, Jack.  It really does make sense.  People’s lives might depend upon it.”

“Yes, but…”

“Know what I think?  This will either kill him or be the making of him.  Whichever, it has to be an improvement.”

“He has the potential to drive you crazy.”

“Then you’d better be sure you were right to dismiss my arguments about moving to London.”

Ianto left Jack thinking about that and went to say a temporary goodbye to Toshiko and Gwen.

“Do take lots of pictures, won’t you,” Toshiko told him.

“Why don’t you come along?  The Doctor doesn’t seem opposed to company.”

“Shelley,” Toshiko replied simply; it was all she needed to say, Ianto understood perfectly.

“Wish I could come with you,” Gwen said with a sigh.

“Not a chance!” Ianto managed to cram a year’s worth of disapproval into one scowl.

“Jack’s right: you’re broody.”

“I am not…”

“Broody, broody, broody.”

“I’m not!”

Gwen giggled and hugged him.  In the time it took for Ianto to be assured he was being teased on the whole broody front, Owen gathered together all manner of medical equipment and pronounced himself ready to go; Jack collected his coat, which was all he seemed to think he’d need.

As they walked into the TARDIS and the newcomers were confronted by the sheer scale and magnificence of the interior, the Doctor and Jack exchanged a glance, wondering who’d be the one to state the obvious.

“’kin hell.  It’s a lot bigger on the inside,” Owen said, gawping as he wandered in circles, and trying to look at everything at once before launching into a rush of questions.

Ianto, on the other hand, was perfectly silent.  Ianto…was in love.  The tingle had changed to a muted pulse that drew him, body and soul, and Ianto was undoubtedly in love.  He took a slow stroll to the console, his first tentative touches becoming a prolonged stroke as he experienced the sense of life the TARDIS exuded.  Time machine.  This was a time machine, and it was as magical as a time machine should surely be.  Ianto was poised to be breathless with wonder at this amazing being but something disturbed him, something wasn’t quite right.  He lifted his hand and rubbed fingers and thumb together before turning, disapprovingly, to the Doctor.

“I don’t suppose you happen to have a duster?”

Attrition 37       Attrition Index       Attrition Notes

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