Title: Against Nature
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 3
Prompt: 36, Nature
Author's Note: Spoilers for the Torchwood episode Countrycide.
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 looked around him with a slight frown on his face, feeling uneasy about being outside and feeling so exposed. He'd never been one for enjoying the beauties of nature -- well, not since that horrifying time he'd spent in the country with the Torchwood team.

He tried to push that memory out of his thoughts; he'd promised the Doctor that he wouldn't keep coming back to that, and he meant to keep his promise. But it wasn't easy to completely put the terror of those hours completely away from him.

The memories didn't seem to be dimming, either. Even though he could stay out in the country with the Doctor by his side, he was still nervous and jumpy about it, even in the daylight. And after darkness fell, he was tense and wary, unable to relax in any way.

There was no reason for him to be like that, Ianto told himself with a sigh. Before those terrifying hours that he and Tosh had been held prisoner in those cannibals' house, he'd actually enjoyed the country. He'd liked to go camping, to sit out under the stars and feel at peace with the world.

He hated to think that such inner peace and tranquility had been taken away from him -- for no other reason than, as those monsters had said, "because they could." The thought of those words, and the evil on the faces of the people who had spoken them, still gave him chills.

A shiver went down his spine at the remembrance; he had to remind himself that those people were safely behind bars now, paying for their crimes against society and humanity. But that didn't negate the horror of what they had done, at least not for him.

Still, he couldn't let them destroy something that he'd once loved. He used to feel that communing with nature was a way of letting the toxins of the city, of the evil that he saw around him every day in his job, seep out of him. He couldn't let that feeling be tainted.

Ianto's hands clenched into fists at the thought; he looked around him, trying to see the countryside they were in with new eyes. He couldn't let one bad experience ruin something that he'd once loved. If he did that, those monsters would have scored a victory over him.

He wasn't going to let that happen. Sighing softly, he got to his feet, smoothing out the blanket that he'd been sitting on. Where was the Doctor? He'd said that he was getting them something to eat, but he seemed to be taking a very long time to do that.

As he turned to go into the Tardis, a movement from the small stand of trees that the blue box was near caught his eye; Ianto raised a hand to his forehead to shade his eyes, frowning. He could swear that he'd caught a glimpse of the green t-shirt that the Doctor had been wearing ....

His head whirled; for a moment, his sight went dim. Then it was crystal-clear, everything around him moving in slow motion, with almost startling clarity. This was like his nightmares coming to life, the fear rising in him just as it had when he'd been in that basement with Tosh.

A man stepped from behind the trees, a man who hardly looked human. His hair was unkempt, his eyes wild, his face streaked with dirt. There was a gun in his hand -- a gun pointed directly at the temple of the man he held captive, using that thin body as a shield against any danger.

One dirty hand was pressed over the Doctor's mouth, obviously trying to keep the Time Lord quiet. The gun trembled in the other hand, the muzzle of the shining silver weapon pressed against the Doctor's temple, one finger poised on the trigger.

Ianto's mind raced even as he backed away a few steps and raised his hands. He didn't want this man to think that he had any kind of weapon -- and, truth be told, he didn't. He wasn't carrying a gun; he had no way of defending himself or the captive Time Lord.

Why hadn't he heard some sound when this man had taken the Doctor prisoner? Had he managed to knock the Time Lord unconscious for a short length of time? That must have been the case; the Doctor had been out long enough for this man to tie his hands behind his back.

What did he want? Ianto tried to marshal his swirling thoughts; standing here not saying anything was probably only going to make this man nervous, and possibly make him get trigger-happy. All it would take was one second for his finger to tighten -- and he could lose the love of his life.

"There's no need to rush into anything here," Ianto said, keeping his voice quiet. He kept his eyes on the man holding the Doctor, initiating eye contact. If he could only make this madman let the Doctor go, the two of them could bolt into the Tardis and get out of here -- he hoped.

"He aint natural," the man whispered, pressing the gun harder against the Doctor's temple. The Time Lord squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, opening them again and staring at Ianto. The young man could almost sense what his lover was thinking.

If this man shot him in the head -- there would be no regeneration, no coming back. His brain would be irreparably damaged -- and he would die. The ultimate, final death. There would be no bringing him back, not in any way. He would be gone forever.

Ianto wasn't about to let that happen. But at the moment, he had no idea of how to stop what seemed as though it might be inevitabl -- unless he could somehow manage to talk this man into letting the Doctor go, and then leap for the gun.

"He don't belong here," the man said, his hand visibly tightening over the Doctor's mouth. The Time Lord winced, his dark eyes closing again, his body seeming to slump against his captor's. "Neither do you, if you're with him."

Ianto swallowed hard, nodding slowly as he listened to the man's words. "You're right. We don't belong here. If you let him go, we'll leave. I promise you that. We'll leave and we won't come back. You'll never see either of us again."

"He's against nature," the man continued, as though he hadn't heard a word that Ianto had said. "I don't know exactly what it is -- but I can feel it. He ain't right. He ain't meant for this world. You're not like him, but you're part of him. You don't belong here either."

"Just let him go and we'll leave," Ianto repeated, at a loss for anything else to say. He couldn't keep his focus away from the man's finger on the trigger of that gun. One slip -- and the Doctor would be dead. Which meant that his own life would be over.

"Keep him away from here," the man hissed, releasing his grip on the Doctor's mouth and pushing him forward. The Time Lord stumbled towards Ianto with a gasp, nearly falling into the young man's arms as Ianto's fingers pulled loose the cords around his thin wrists.

He could feel the Doctor trembling slightly, but the Time Lord seemed to recover within seconds. "Come on, Ianto, let's get out of here," he murmured, turning without another glance at the wild-eyed man and heading for the Tardis. Ianto nodded at the man, not wanting to turn his back quite yet.

"We won't come back," he said softly as he bent to pick up the blanket that he'd spread so carefully on the ground only moments before. "I promise. We'll stay away from you. But you should know that he's a good man. He means no one any harm."

"He ain't a man." The words came out in a hiss as the man brandished the gun in the air. Ianto backed away slowly, his mouth suddenly dry. He wouldn't be safe until he was in the Tardis; he had to back into the ship, slam the door behind him, and tell the Doctor to go.

"I don't know what he is. But he ain't natural! He's against nature! He don't belong here!" The man was shouting, his face starting to contort with some emotion that Ianto couldn't name as the young man stepped into the ship, closing the door and locking it.

Within seconds, Ianto felt the displacement of time and space which meant that the Tardis was back in the time stream, and had shimmered out of sight in the place they'd been in. He made his way to the console, leaning against it and heaving a heavy sigh of relief.

The Doctor was leaning against the console too, bracing himself against it. He looked up at Ianto with a wan smile, shaking his head. "That was a much narrower escape than I'd like to have. I didn't expect that at all, did you?"

Ianto shook his head, a thought occurring to him. "Doctor -- how did he know that you aren't human?" he asked, the words coming out before he could stop them. "Had you ever seen him before? Did he have any concrete way of knowing who you are?"

The Doctor shook his head, a puzzled frown appearing between his brows. "No, I've never seen him before -- at least, not as far as I can recall," he mused. "I have no idea how he seemed to know that I'm not 'natural,' in his words. But it seems that he was lying in wait for us."

"He must have grabbed you when I wasn't looking," Ianto said, dropping the blanket to the floor and stepping over to the Doctor, wrapping his arms around his lover's waist. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I should be doing a much better job of watching your back."

The Doctor shook his head again, raising a hand to stroke Ianto's hair. "You have nothing to apologise for, love. Neither of us were expecting that. Maybe we should both try to be more on the alert the next time we're on Earth. I don't want something like that happening again."

"Neither do I," Ianto murmured, a momentary image of the Master crossing his mind. He couldn't say exactly why, but he had the feeling that the Doctor's nemesis had something to do with this -- and that they would be seeing more of him sooner than they wanted to.

***