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vocab_drabblesTitle: Tying up Loose Ends
Fandom: Torchwood, Doctor Who
Author: Cat Moon
Rating: G
Words: 800
Characters: Ianto, Bad Wolf (Janto referenced)
Summary: Ianto meets Bad Wolf.
Notes: The latest installment of my "101 Resurrections of Ianto Jones" series. This probably steamrolls over canon with head-canon, but that's what fanfic is for.
When Ianto Jones opened his eyes, he lay flat on his back, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. After a moment of contemplation, he got to his feet and brushed the dirt off his suit, taking stock of his surroundings. It looked like a barn.
Which was odd, to say the least, since the last thing he remembered was dying.
"Did you enjoy your nap then?"
Ianto spun around at the unexpected voice, sure he'd been alone a moment ago. A blond woman sat on a box, watching him. There was something familiar about her.
"Do I know you?"
"Who's afraid of the big bad wolf, not you, I hope?" She rose and circled him as if taking stock.
"Where am I? What happened? The last I remember…"
"Was it a noble death? Do you think you've expiated for your sins now? Was your sacrifice enough to make up for what you've done in the past? Men!" She threw up her hands in exasperation.
"I'd thought Bad Wolf was more of a genderless being."
"Don't change the subject!
"So I am dead, then." It was an odd afterlife, but after Torchwood, weird was normal.
She peered into his face intently. "Well, you're not dead. But then you're not alive, either. A bit like Schrodinger's cat, you are."
"Then I guess the question is, have I used up all my nine lives?"
She laughed. "You really are clever! I can see what Jack sees in you."
At the mention of his lover's name, a pang of loss went through Ianto. He'd known his time would be short but had hoped for more than they'd had, especially when they were just starting to become a proper couple.
If only he'd been able to accept it without panicking.
"Cheer up, Jones." She tilted his chin up with an index finger. "All is not lost."
"What does that mean?" He squashed down the tiny flicker of hope, knowing he couldn't afford it.
"How do you know about Bad Wolf," she asked instead of answering.
"I know a lot of things," he admitted. "Like you look an awful lot like Rose Tyler. So, is Rose Bad Wolf, or are you using her image? Which would be odd since I don't know her; I only know of her. You'd think you would use someone I'm close to."
"You ask lots of questions for a dead guy," she quipped. "The answer to that is a bit complicated, I'm afraid. I am her, and I'm not her. She is me, but she is not me."
"Like Schrodinger's cat."
"Now you're getting it!"
"Are you ever going to tell me what I'm here?"
"I was just waiting for you to ask the right question." She circled him as she spoke. "People like the Doctor, and Jack, they need someone special looking out for them, someone who understands them."
"I'm nothing special," Ianto felt compelled to admit.
"Oh, Ianto Jones, you have no idea how special you are."
"To Jack?" he asked, feeling the familiar tug of war between skepticism and certainty.
"Perhaps to Time itself," Rose answered mysteriously, her eyes twinkling in amusement. "Now, I can keep an eye on the Doctor, pop in and help out now and then, with him none the wiser. But Jack… I can't help him."
"Why not?" Ianto asked, noting the regret in her tone.
"It's because of us that he can't die. We didn't mean to do it, but now that he's a Fixed point, we can't undo it. He hasn't accepted it yet; he suffers so much."
"Yes, he does," Ianto agreed quietly.
"Jack needs a companion by his side, too. Someone who knows him."
"I think I've only just scratched the surface," Ianto admitted.
"That's why you need more time," Rose told him. "And I happen to be the one who can give it to you."
"More time with Jack?" he sought clarification as hope rose again.
"And perhaps more time to fulfill your destiny."
"And what would that be?"
She wagged a finger in his face. "What and spoil the surprise?!"
"Give me a clue as to what you're offering. How long is more time? Fifty years?" That was still just a drop in the bucket to Jack. "A thousand? Or are you offering me what you gave him?" Ianto wasn't sure how he felt about that prospect, but he wanted to know what he was getting into.
"What do you want?" she countered. "Really, truly, deep inside, what is your heart's desire?"
Ianto opened his mouth, then closed it again. That was a huge question he wasn't sure he could answer off the cuff.
"No need to say anything." She raised her hands, placing them lightly on his face. "Just feel, and trust."
Ianto closed his eyes and wished.
Fandom: Torchwood, Doctor Who
Author: Cat Moon
Rating: G
Words: 800
Characters: Ianto, Bad Wolf (Janto referenced)
Summary: Ianto meets Bad Wolf.
Notes: The latest installment of my "101 Resurrections of Ianto Jones" series. This probably steamrolls over canon with head-canon, but that's what fanfic is for.
When Ianto Jones opened his eyes, he lay flat on his back, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. After a moment of contemplation, he got to his feet and brushed the dirt off his suit, taking stock of his surroundings. It looked like a barn.
Which was odd, to say the least, since the last thing he remembered was dying.
"Did you enjoy your nap then?"
Ianto spun around at the unexpected voice, sure he'd been alone a moment ago. A blond woman sat on a box, watching him. There was something familiar about her.
"Do I know you?"
"Who's afraid of the big bad wolf, not you, I hope?" She rose and circled him as if taking stock.
"Where am I? What happened? The last I remember…"
"Was it a noble death? Do you think you've expiated for your sins now? Was your sacrifice enough to make up for what you've done in the past? Men!" She threw up her hands in exasperation.
"I'd thought Bad Wolf was more of a genderless being."
"Don't change the subject!
"So I am dead, then." It was an odd afterlife, but after Torchwood, weird was normal.
She peered into his face intently. "Well, you're not dead. But then you're not alive, either. A bit like Schrodinger's cat, you are."
"Then I guess the question is, have I used up all my nine lives?"
She laughed. "You really are clever! I can see what Jack sees in you."
At the mention of his lover's name, a pang of loss went through Ianto. He'd known his time would be short but had hoped for more than they'd had, especially when they were just starting to become a proper couple.
If only he'd been able to accept it without panicking.
"Cheer up, Jones." She tilted his chin up with an index finger. "All is not lost."
"What does that mean?" He squashed down the tiny flicker of hope, knowing he couldn't afford it.
"How do you know about Bad Wolf," she asked instead of answering.
"I know a lot of things," he admitted. "Like you look an awful lot like Rose Tyler. So, is Rose Bad Wolf, or are you using her image? Which would be odd since I don't know her; I only know of her. You'd think you would use someone I'm close to."
"You ask lots of questions for a dead guy," she quipped. "The answer to that is a bit complicated, I'm afraid. I am her, and I'm not her. She is me, but she is not me."
"Like Schrodinger's cat."
"Now you're getting it!"
"Are you ever going to tell me what I'm here?"
"I was just waiting for you to ask the right question." She circled him as she spoke. "People like the Doctor, and Jack, they need someone special looking out for them, someone who understands them."
"I'm nothing special," Ianto felt compelled to admit.
"Oh, Ianto Jones, you have no idea how special you are."
"To Jack?" he asked, feeling the familiar tug of war between skepticism and certainty.
"Perhaps to Time itself," Rose answered mysteriously, her eyes twinkling in amusement. "Now, I can keep an eye on the Doctor, pop in and help out now and then, with him none the wiser. But Jack… I can't help him."
"Why not?" Ianto asked, noting the regret in her tone.
"It's because of us that he can't die. We didn't mean to do it, but now that he's a Fixed point, we can't undo it. He hasn't accepted it yet; he suffers so much."
"Yes, he does," Ianto agreed quietly.
"Jack needs a companion by his side, too. Someone who knows him."
"I think I've only just scratched the surface," Ianto admitted.
"That's why you need more time," Rose told him. "And I happen to be the one who can give it to you."
"More time with Jack?" he sought clarification as hope rose again.
"And perhaps more time to fulfill your destiny."
"And what would that be?"
She wagged a finger in his face. "What and spoil the surprise?!"
"Give me a clue as to what you're offering. How long is more time? Fifty years?" That was still just a drop in the bucket to Jack. "A thousand? Or are you offering me what you gave him?" Ianto wasn't sure how he felt about that prospect, but he wanted to know what he was getting into.
"What do you want?" she countered. "Really, truly, deep inside, what is your heart's desire?"
Ianto opened his mouth, then closed it again. That was a huge question he wasn't sure he could answer off the cuff.
"No need to say anything." She raised her hands, placing them lightly on his face. "Just feel, and trust."
Ianto closed his eyes and wished.
