Janto One-Shots

9. Meat (Parallel)

(Yeah, so if you don't know already, I've been kinda depressed lately and it's getting to the end of the school year so my publishing has slowed. I'll be on less often cause I need to finish this year well, but after I'll be on a lot, so heads up. Anyway, here you go :) )

It was like Jack had a personal attachment on/off switch. Usually, it's on. Except on missions, especially on missions. He's learned the hard way that emotional attachment during missions always ended in disaster, and since he can't die...

So seeing Ianto (his Ianto) with his hands bound behind his back and a gun pressed to his chest, Jack bit back a growl and did as was instructed. He kept his eyes on Ianto's captor (but disaster would strike if he looked at Ianto's face...looked in Ianto's eyes).

Look at the creature, look at the bastards holding Ianto, look at Gwen, Rhys, or Tosh, Jack kept telling himself. Don't look at Ianto. So in trying to talk down Dale, Jack could only hope that the man would either see reason, or some other Ianto-saving alternative would present itself. But eventually, it didn't look good...for Gwen. Dale called her on her lie, and was prepared to shoot her. And without a weapon, and Dale using Ianto as a human shield, Jack could only watch, helplessness coursing through his veins.

"Dale, stop. You can still walk away from this," Gwen said.

"No," was Dale's reply. "You lied to me."

And as Dale raised his gun, a still-bound Rhys shouted and got in front of Gwen, preparing to take a bullet for her. But that bullet never came. Jack watched as a suddenly free Ianto took the opportunity to push Dale's arm so that the bullet fired harmlessly into the air. Jack scrambled for his gun while Gwen shoved Rhys behind some boxes and worked on the ropes binding his wrists. But in the ensuing gun battle between Ianto and Dale, the creature became free, effectively trapping Jack. And as good a shot as he is, Jack couldn't risk hitting Ianto. And so the fight continued. A punch to the kidney, a head shot or two (Jack wasn't inventorying the hits Ianto took, that would mean the switch got flipped to on).

Then there he was, Ianto on the floor, on his side with Dale over him with a gun. And immediately, Jack's hold on Tosh got instinctively tighter (he'd just pulled her away from a snapped rope). Jack swore he screamed at the same time Dale yelled. After one squeeze of the trigger, Jack knew the gun fired. And there was no way Dale missed.

"Ianto!" Tosh screamed, struggling to break free of Jack's hold.

"Ianto," Jack breathed, holding on to Tosh for fear of what she'd do.

The second squeeze of the trigger yielded nothing more, so Dale threw the weapon aside and ran. Jack held his breath, willing Ianto to move. He could've smiled at what came next.

A string of Welsh was heard, and it was definitely from Ianto. The injured Welshman slowly stood up, and after a second of looking around, assessed the situation. Jack watched as Ianto looked around for a moment, and tapped his earpiece.

"Owen, Ianto's been shot. The creature's coming loose. We need that sedative now!"

Seemingly ignoring his gunshot wound (how he did it Jack didn't know), Ianto looked at his Captain, as if looking for instructions.

"How are you?" Jack shouted over the noise.

"I'll be fine!" Ianto shouted back.

"Can you go after them?" Jack has to swallow bile after asking that. Sending the injured to go after armed men. Jack wasn't sure if the switch is on or off or stuck in the middle.

Wordlessly, Ianto took off. And for a brief moment, Jack looked at the floor where Ianto had been lying. The crimson pool could've been bigger, could've been more worrisome. At the time, Jack could only concentrate on Tosh, Gwen, Rhys and himself. He had to believe that Ianto would be alright.

In the end, the reverberating sound of the creature's dying wails echoes in Jack's ears to his soul. He knew he wasn't the only one mourning, out of the corner of his eye he saw both Tosh and Owen. Once the creature died, Jack steadied himself to turn around and cast a gaze over his team.

He first saw Owen, his back to the dead creature, seemingly eyeing Rhys and Gwen, presumably for injuries. A shaken Tosh stood near Owen, watching the same thing. Then Jack looked around the room, and found that Ianto hadn't returned. His hand immediately went up to his ear.

"Ianto, come in," Jack said, waiting for a response. After a few seconds of nothing, Jack tried again.

"Here," came the distant sound of Ianto's voice, and Jack exhaled slowly.

"Where are you?"

"Got them, Jack. Stunned them both," Ianto said, as if he hadn't heard Jack's question.

"Something's wrong," Jack told Owen, who was listening in on Jack's side of the conversation.

"I knew that much before, but he wouldn't let me near him then. Said I had to get out here and deal with this. Bloody teaboy."

"Ianto, where are you?" Jack repeated. "Owen and I are on our way, we just need to know where you are."

"Office. 'M sorry, Jack," Ianto finally answered.

Owen didn't even need to ask, the look on Jack's face said it all. So when Jack said, "Office," Owen led the race. They made their way through the stinking hallways to the office. Pushing the door open, they saw one unconscious man, and then Dale.

"Owen, Jack," Ianto croaked from where he was sitting, not too far from Dale.

"What am I going to do with you?" Owen asked as he knelt by Ianto's pale and shaking body.

"I'd appreciate a patch-up," Ianto answered, then swallowed. "Wouldn't mind some water, either."

"That was rhetorical," Owen muttered, then looked at Jack. "It's a through and through in the shoulder. He's lost a lot of blood. I need to get him back to the Hub and now!"

Jack helped a severely weakened Ianto out of the building and into the truck. On the way, he managed a quick call to Gwen, who led Rhys and Tosh out. Jack sat in the back, cradling Ianto's head in his lap while Owen tended to him. Gwen drove with Rhys and Tosh with her in the front. In the back, the air was thick with blood, sweat, worry and fear. The only thing that kept Jack together was his Ianto-focused task- keep Ianto awake. But as Owen managed to stem the bleeding, Ianto was losing the fight to stay conscious. And no amount of cajoling from Jack, or requests for random pieces of information, or promises of favors was making Ianto's fight easier.

"Jack," Ianto breathed, a bloody hand on Jack's. "I'll be back soon, I promise."

And before Jack could open his mouth to reply, Ianto's eyes closed and his head lolled to the side in unconsciousness.

"Ianto!" Jack yelled, tapping Ianto's pale cheek, "Wake up! Wake up, damn it!"

"Gwen, faster would be better!" Owen called to the front.

His answer was the truck's engine roaring, and Tosh's voice in his ear, "We're pushing it already. How's Ianto?"

"Out cold," Owen quickly answered, as he was busy monitoring Ianto's vitals and the wound.

After an excruciatingly long ride back to the Hub, Jack and Rhys helped Owen get an unconscious Ianto in while Tosh led the way and Gwen trailed behind. And Gwen was the only one to get a look at the back of the truck, and the amount of blood made her nauseous.