Title: At the Bottom of Everything
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 4, 50episodes
Prompt: 16, Determined
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own Ianto Jones or the Tenth Doctor. Please do not sue.

***

Ianto lay in bed, wide awake, staring wide-eyed up at the ceiling. The Doctor wasn't in bed beside him; it was obvious that the Time Lord was still having trouble sleeping, and rather than wake Ianto, he'd simply gotten out of bed and gone elsewhere.

His lover was more than likely in the control room, Ianto thought with a sigh, pacing and worrying. That had been the Doctor's default action ever since those disturbing dreams had started, and even more so since he'd had the suspicion that those dreams came from the Master.

They hadn't made their way to Torchwood yet, though Ianto knew that the day was rapidly approaching when they would. The Doctor wasn't going to be able to handle this on his own; they were going to need all the help they could get to confront the Master.

Ianto didn't like asking his former teammates for help any more than the Doctor did, but there were times when doing something yourself and having a good chance of winning the battle wasn't possible. The more people they had on their side in this, the better.

And besides, if the Master's past habits were any indication, he was pushing them toward some kind of confrontation. More likely than not, he would use Earth as their battlefield -- and Ianto was sure that he would try to tip the scales in his favor.

Since when had the Master not done that? He never played fair; he would try to hold Earth, or some other planet and its people, hostage to force the Doctor into bending to his will. Even if the Doctor tried to hold out, that might be impossible if lives were at stake.

The Doctor would never risk Earth or its inhabitants, not in any way. He'd spent most of his life trying to protect Ianto's home planet from scourges like the Daleks, the Cybermen, and the Master, and the Time Lord wasn't going to stop doing that now.

But now that Ianto was in the midst of his conflicts with the Master, the Doctor might try to hold back. He might hesitate to do what he knew had to be done -- and that worried Ianto. A moment's hesitation could very well mean victory for the Master.

Ianto didn't want the situation to escalate to the point where the Doctor felt that he had to back down to protect his lover -- but neither would he back down from keeping the Doctor safe. If he had to be in the middle of this, then he would gladly place himself at risk.

Of course, that wouldn't make the Doctor happy -- the Time Lord would rather fight this battle alone, and keep Ianto well back in the shadows where he would be moderately safe. But the young man was sure that the Master wouldn't allow his lover to do that.

No, he would do all that he could to place the Doctor's lover squarely in the middle of their battles. He'd long since learned that the best way to defeat the Doctor, or at least to wield power over him, was to threaten those who he cared the most about.

He'd been in the middle of these battles between the Doctor and the Master before. And though it wasn't a position that Ianto relished, he would stand by the Doctor's side and defend his lover in any way that he could, even if it meant facing his worst fears.

Heaving a sigh, Ianto sat up in bed and threw back the covers. It was useless to lie here with all of these thoughts running through his head and hope that he could go back to sleep. Sleep was impossible. He might as well get up, get dressed, and find the Doctor.

Besides, he wanted to talk with the Time Lord. He wanted to find out just what his lover thought about what seemed to be going on, and to share it all with him. He had the definite feeling that the Doctor had held back some of his more serious thoughts about the matter.

Ianto appreciated the fact that his lover wanted to protect him, but the time for that sort of protection was long past. He wasn't staying behind on Earth any more, staying out of the Doctor's battles. He was here, alongside his lover, right in the thick of it all.

He was determined to get to the bottom of everything, to know what the Doctor felt, and what his plans were to fight the menace that the Master presented. He wasn't going to be left on the sidelines simply because his lover was afraid for his safety.

He pulled on a pair of pajama bottoms and reached for his discarded t-shirt, pulling it on over his head and padding out of the bedroom and down the corridor on silent, bare feet. The Tardis walls almost seemed to glow, lighting his way to the control room.

Just as he'd thought, the Doctor was there, pacing around the console with his eyes on the floor. He was apparently watching his feet as he walked, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other as he circled the console again and again.

Ianto leaned against the door frame, watching his lover pace with a worried frown on his features. Seeing the Time Lord like this could only cause him concern; they should both be in bed, sleeping, wrapped safely in each other's arms.

Instead, they were sleepless, here in the control room, worrying about something that might not even come to pass. But even as the thought crossed his mind, Ianto knew that he was wrong. The thing that they dreaded most would happen. It was inevitable.

There would be a confrontation with the Master. And hopefully, the two of them would be able to defeat him, and obliterate whatever plan he was currently hatching. But Ianto wasn't at all sure that they could manage to do it alone.

That was why they needed to go to Earth, to Torchwood. They needed the assistance of Jack and the team; Ianto was sure of it. When it came to tangling with the Master, it was always good to have people who could be trusted watching your back.

Of course, first they had to find out just what it was that the Master could be planning. And at this stage of the game, they were no closer to that than they had been when the Doctor had discovered that it was the Master who was causing his terrible dreams.

The Doctor looked up as he made another circuit of the console, his dark eyes widening when he saw Ianto leaning against the entrance to the control room. The Time Lord didn't say a word; he merely held out his arms, knowing that Ianto would come to him.

The young man smiled as he made his way across the control room to wrap his arms around his lover's waist; how could he not have gone to the man he loved? There was such a look of expectancy on the Doctor's face, anticipation mixed with joy.

And he was the one who had put that joyful expression there, Ianto told himself. He wanted to preserve that expression; he wanted to ensure that the Doctor would always possess that happiness that lit up the Time Lord's face when he looked at Ianto.

"What are you doing up, love?" the Doctor asked, a slight frown marring his brow. "You should be in bed. I didn't mean to wake you by getting up. I just .... couldn't sleep." He shrugged, sighing softly. "As usual, these days. I suppose you expected it."

Ianto nodded, raising a hand to brush a recalcitrant lock of hair back from the Doctor's face. "Yes, I do expect that these days. But I don't like it. And you know that I can't sleep unless you're there in bed right beside me, sweetheart."

"Then maybe we should both go back to bed and try to sleep," the Doctor said, raising a hand to caress the strong line of Ianto's jaw. "And even if we can't sleep, there are certainly other things that we can spend our time doing."

The young man almost wanted to tell the Doctor that he thought they should discuss what they were going to do to combat the Master, but he caught himself before the words were out. This wasn't the time to bring that up -- not when the Doctor seemed to want to go back to bed.

There would be time enough for him to get to the bottom of everything. They would have to make plans, to discuss all the eventualities. But for now, he could spend time with his lover, and hopefully push back the future that seemed to loom so disturbingly close.

So Ianto merely laughed softly at the Doctor's words, though he agreed wholeheartedly with them. "I couldn't agree more," he said softly, slipping an arm around the Time Lord's slim waist and leading his lover out of the control room, back down the corridor to return to their bed.

***