Just Imagine...

CyberSam

Ianto stayed off to the side, watching as Jack, Owen, Tosh, and Gwen played their ragtag game of basketball. There was a lot of shouting and pushing, and currently no sign of Sam.
That is, until she roughly pushed past Ianto, saying "leave it to the pro, wide eyes" as she leaped for the ball.
There was a streak of gold and brown as she stole it from Jack, leaping onto Tosh's desk, then to the stairs, up to the railing where Owen was standing, and into the rafters where Myfanwy usually perched. She dropped the ball and it went right through the net before she jumped from her spot and landed on her feet next to Owen, leaning casually on the railing as he glared at her.
"Hey Jacksie," she said, "how's it hangin'?"
"Sam," Jack murmured with a hint of a laugh, "pretty sure that's cheating."
"So?" Sam responded, "I don't see a ref, do you? Unless you count Myfanwy, that is." She chuckled.
"How did you become such a bloody nightmare?" Gwen demanded, evidently frustrated that Sam had pretty much ruined the game.
"Eh, years of practice." Sam mused, waving her hand dismissively.
"You're a show off is what you are." Owen said, irritated.
"Guilty as charged," Sam murmured, jumping from the upper levels to the stairs and from there to the floor, landing right next to Ianto, "least we know where Jack gets it from." She added, laughing.
"I am seriously regretting doing that DNA test." Owen sighed.
Sam gave Ianto a rough pat on the shoulder as the others left for their evening at the pub.
"Close your mouth before a fly lands in it, boy." She said quietly, and Ianto couldn't tell if her smirk was teasing or mocking.
Once out in the frigid Cardiff wind, Sam stopped for a moment, turning back to face the water tower.
They were leaving Ianto there? By himself? They hadn't even asked if he wanted to come. That didn't seem fair.
"Sam!" Jack called from a few feet ahead, "what's the matter? You coming?"
Sam shook herself.
"Yeah, wait up!" She exclaimed, rushing after the others.
Ianto would be fine. It wasn't like he was a social butterfly anyway.

Whatever this metal thing that Ianto had been hiding in the basement was, it was strong. It? She? Sam wasn't sure. All she knew was when the metal woman named Lisa threw Ianto into the pool below the water tower, it activated an instinct inside of Sam and she leaped to her feet.
"HEY! ROBOGIRL!" She shouted, "LEAVE THE COFFEE BOY ALONE!"
Without thinking, she charged, crashing into the strange mutilated woman and knocking her to the ground. She ended up in the water too, spotting Jack running to pull Ianto out.
And then Lisa was over her, and Sam shrunk away in fear before gritting her teeth and springing back off the ground.
"You must be deleted." Lisa hissed.
"Try me, bitch," Sam snarled in response, "I dunno what you are, but you gotta go."
Lisa made a move towards Sam and she threw herself into a backwards somersault, landing on her feet a few yards away.
"Too slow." She taunted, sticking her tongue out. Before Lisa could charge her again, Sam climbed onto Tosh's desk, and, like she did before, made her way to the rafters through a series of powerful leaps.
It was a lot like jumping through the trees in the jungle, really. Sam had practiced getting up there over and over when she was alone in the hub.
She could see Jack, Owen, Ianto, and Gwen rushing around below her, and Tosh was nowhere to be seen. Sam prayed she was alright, but she had to focus on something else now.
Creeping along a sturdy metal pipe, Sam positioned herself above Lisa and sprang. She flew through the air, gaining speed, swinging her right arm back to strike.
Stinging pain coursed through Sam's knuckles as she punched Lisa in the face with as much force as possible, but the hit was worth the agony. Lisa stumbled, momentarily stunned, as Sam landed with two feet and her left hand on the ground. She followed Jack and the others to the invisible lift, Ianto struggling and screaming as they went up.
Once in the dim lights of Cardiff at night, Sam could see that there was blood on her hand, and it still hurt so badly she couldn't unclench it from a fist.
"Ow, ow, ow..." she hissed to herself, fighting tears of pain. Then she whirled at a sudden commotion behind her and saw Ianto punch Jack square in the jaw.
"YOU COULD'VE SAVED HER!" He shouted, tears and snot running down his face as Gwen pulled him back.
"Ianto, I don't get it," Sam spoke up, "she tried to kill you, and almost succeeded! Why are you still fighting for her?"
"You wouldn't understand," Ianto snarled, "you're heartless. Just like him!" He pointed at Jack, "YOU'RE BOTH THE SAME! MONSTERS!"
Sam took a step back, stung. Was that really what Ianto thought of her? She'd been trying to protect him back there, that was all! Why was Ianto upset with her for that?
"It worked! We did it!" Tosh shouted, grinning as she brushed past Sam, who was still too shocked to speak.
When Ianto ran back to the hub by himself, Sam didn't try to stop him, even though he ran right past her and it would've been easy for her to just grab him.
She still couldn't find the words to say even when Jack held Ianto at gunpoint and demanded he go in and end Lisa's life, but she saw the glance Ianto shot in her direction, like he was saying 'you're the only one who could stop him, and yet you're doing nothing. You're cruel, Sam Ryder.'
And was he wrong?
Sam didn't pull the trigger when they all assembled to shoot Lisa. She couldn't. Ianto's words still rang in her head and made her freeze up.
Heartless. Monster.
After Owen bandaged her hand, Sam stormed up to Jack's office, barging in and interrupting his and Gwen's conversation.
"You listen here, Jack," she hissed, "and you listen good, don't say nothin' to me till I'm done; I will NOT stay in a workplace where our leader, my son, threatens to kill his employees. I don't care what he did, what you said to Ianto back there was WAY over the line! I hope you realize that!"
"This is just because he said you were like me!" Jack snapped.
"I SAID NO TALKING TILL I'M DONE!" Sam roared back, "and that's not why I'm mad; I'm mad because you did a terrible thing to an innocent person! I can't even look at you! And you can FORGET about being welcome in my home if you're gonna act like that whenever something goes wrong. That's not what family does. We stick together. Or we're supposed to. But I guess everything has to fall apart eventually, doesn't it? I can't believe I ever came here with you, because I never wanted to and I'm REALLY regretting it right now."
She didn't even wait for a response, just turned on her heel and stormed back out, sniffing and wiping away a tear as she did so.
Yes, maybe she'd been too harsh. Yes, maybe this wasn't all on Jack. Yes, maybe she was still hurt by what Ianto said. But none of that mattered. Everything was falling apart like she'd said, so why stick around? She'd go home and tell Jay they could go back to Saint Lucia and-
Sam stopped as she spotted Ianto slipping back through the entrance to the basement. Against her better judgement, she followed him, trying to keep her footfalls quiet.
Ianto just stood there by the wreckage of the strange machine Lisa had been hooked up to, completely silent.
"Do you really think I'm heartless?" Sam blurted before she could stop herself. Ianto turned to face her with a scowl.
"What's it to you?" He growled.
"Listen," Sam tried, "back there, when I... I was just trying to-"
"It doesn't matter what you were trying to do," Ianto cut her off, "nothing matters. Lisa's gone and it's all my fault."
"Your fault?" Sam echoed, confused.
"Just leave me alone, Sam." Ianto sighed, slumping down on the floor with his back to her. "I want to be alone." He added, voice hitching.
Sam stayed where she was for a moment, then quietly walked over to him, sitting down only a few feet away from him with her knees pulled into her chest. She reached out to touch his shoulder, then thought better of it.
"I'm sorry." She croaked after a long silence.
"What?" Ianto asked with a wet sniff.
"I'm sorry," Sam repeated, "for... everything."
Ianto didn't say anything, so she went on.
"I've been mean to you. I know I have. And I know 'sorry' won't fix it, it won't fix anything, but please know that I wanna be better. I'm trying to be better. I'm... not exactly good at becoming friends with people. I try to push them away because... well, what are the chances they'll actually like me for me? Not high, I'll tell ya that. So, I pretend to be unlikeable. I act annoying and rude and uncaring. But the truth is..." she started to tear up, "I have a big heart. I'm soft. I like meeting new people and cuddling on the couch with my family after a hard day and making the people I love smile. I'm scared of helium balloons and bees and violin players and having my blood taken, and I only just got confident using the stove! A-and I can't cry on cue! The only thing that works is thinking about my daughters playing with kittens! They're tears of pure joy but no one can tell the difference! I'm nothing like the person who bullies you every day and I just wish I could take it all back, say some magic words and make all of this go away. But I can't. I just keep making stupid decisions."
Ianto still didn't say anything and Sam sighed.
"I don't blame you for hating me. It's what I deserve."
When Ianto finally did speak, his voice was quiet and raspy from crying.
"I don't hate you."
Sam looked at him, surprised.
"You... you don't?"
Ianto shook his head, looking back at her.
"Sometimes I want to be you." He admitted.
Sam laughed tearfully.
"Believe me, you don't," she said, "but... maybe we can try to be friends? I promise I'll never ever say anything mean to you again and if I do you have my permission to punch me right in the mouth."
"I've had enough violence," Ianto whimpered, "can I hug you instead?"
"Uhh..." Sam murmured uncertainly, "s-sure. Of course."
Ianto moved closer to her and she put her arms around him, gently at first but then giving him a little reassuring squeeze.
"Your hair's soft." Ianto observed.
"Thanks," Sam replied, "I use a special shampoo."