Title: Rescue Mission
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 8, substituted for Table 5
Prompt: 16, Quest -- substituted for 41, Mutiny
Author's Note: Continuation of Power Play.
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 stood in the center of the Hub, looking around him nervously. He had no idea just when the Tardis would materialize, but he was sure that she would. The fear that he'd felt emanating through his tenuous bond with her had assured him that she would do anything to help the Doctor, and if that included taking him to the man he loved, then she was prepared to do so.

Jack joined him a few moments later, his features pinched and strained with worry. "There'll be three of us, Ianto," he said quietly, waving a hand towards one of the doors leading out of the central part of the Hub. "I think the Doctor may need someone who can take care of him on a more thorough basis than the two of us can."

"He isn't human," Ianto responded, frowning. "He doesn't need a doctor, he needs the Tardis." And he needs me, he wanted to shout, but prudently kept his mouth clamped shut on those words. He wasn't medically trained; there wasn't much he could do to heal the Doctor's wounds physically. That would have to be left to someone more capable.

But he was bonded to the Time Lord, and emotional healing was something they'd given each other before. He knew that he was capable of helping the Doctor in that way, if nothing else, and he was determined to make up for his part in this. He was the one who had driven the Time Lord away -- it was his responsibility to heal him in any way he could.

He looked up when Owen entered the room, carrying the bag that Ianto knew contained his medical instruments. He scowled, shaking his head. "He's not human," he reiterated, resisting the urge to stamp his foot and point at Owen like a child, ordering him out of the room. "He isn't going to need a doctor."

"Yes, he will," Jack insisted, a frown growing on his own features. "It doesn't matter that he isn't human, Ianto. Owen isn't going to need to mess around with his insides -- hopefully. But he'll be able to patch the Doctor up a lot better than the two of us could. He might not be human, but his physiology is similar."

"He's like a human, in a lot of ways," Owen snapped, scowling fiercely at Ianto. "I'm not going to poke around inside him. I wouldn't know what I was doing with that. But there's close to a 100% chance that he'll be bleeding, and I do know how to deal with that. If I'm needed, I'm not going to say no to helping someone."

"When did you become such a humanitarian?" Ianto growled, feeling frustrated, but knowing that there was nothing he could do about the decision that had been made. Owen would be going with them, whatever he tried to do to stop him. "I don't recall you ever having any warm feelings towards the Doctor."

"Because Jack told me what's happening," Owen shot back, his gaze holding Ianto's. "I might not be his best friend, but no one deserves what he's going through." His voice softened, and he averted his face when he spoke again. "And I know what it's like to lose the love of your life. I wouldn't want to see that happen to you. I know how you feel about him."

Ianto could only nod, realizing that he'd misjudged Owen and his motivations. He hadn't been expecting the young doctor to want to help them, but he was grateful that Owen would be with them -- as Jack had said, he was more qualified to help the Doctor physically than either of them were, and Ianto had the sinking feeling that the Time Lord would need that help.

His head jerked around when he heard the familiar sound of the Tardis materializing, his mouth falling open as it always did when he saw the blue police box shimmering out of nothingness. It shouldn't mesmerize him as much as it did, as many times as he'd seen it happen now -- but somehow, the sight of the Tardis taking shape never failed to amaze him.

"Come on." Jack tugged at his arm, leading him towards the Tardis. The door swung open as they approached, as though the ship was urging them onwards. Jack pulled Ianto inside, turning and waiting for Owen to join them. The Torchwood doctor hesitated, then shrugged and went inside, jumping when the door swung shut behind him.

"I don't know how to make her go where she needs to be," Ianto said, moving to the control console and looking down at it helplessly. "How do I make her take us to him when I don't even know where he is?" He looked over at Jack questioningly, feeling more helpless than ever, and not knowing where to start with the task they'd been given.

"The pendant, Ianto," Jack said softly, gesturing to the glowing opaline necklace resting against Ianto's chest. "You're connected to him through that. Just do whatever you did that let you feel him before, and hopefully, she'll be able to pick up on where he is. Her bond with him should be strong enough to do that."

Ianto nodded, wrapping his fingers around the pendant and focusing on the Doctor. Almost immediately, he doubled over in pain, nearly screaming with the intensity of what he felt. He let the piece of jewelry go, his eyes widening and a gasp coming from his throat as his legs crumpled under him and he collapsed to his knees.

"Ianto!" Jack was by his side in an instant, Owen following right after. They both looked worried, both of them wrapping an arm around him to support him as best they could. "Ianto, what's happened? What did you feel?" Jack's voice was low and urgent, his eyes holding Ianto's gaze, his fingers digging into the young man's shoulder.

"I ...." He shook his head, tears filling his eyes so that he had to duck his head to avoid the other two men seeing them. He couldn't let them see his tears, couldn't let them dig at any weakness in him. He had to be strong for the Doctor; he had to keep his emotions in check, keep them in the background until the man he loved was safe.

Jack tipped his face up, studying his features intently, their gazes meeting and locking with each other. "I know it's hard to face that he's being hurt, Ianto," Jack said softly, his thumb caressing the soft skin of Ianto's cheek as he spoke. "But you have to deal with it for us to be able to find him. We've got to know where he is to be able to get him out of there."

Ianto gulped, nodding slowly and trying to force words out. "I don't know what's happening to him, Jack. All I know is that he's in pain -- more pain than he was in when the Master was raping him. That bastard's done something to him, something that's hurting him more than he's ever hurt before. That's all I can feel. Just .... just this overwhelming pain."

"You have to open yourself to it again," Jack whispered, his arm sliding around Ianto's waist as if to give him support. "Only until the Tardis can lock in on him, Ianto. We'll find him, I promise. We'll find him, and we'll take him home. We're not going to leave him there, and we're not going to let him keep hurting. I promise you that."

He closed his eyes, not wanting to admit that Jack was right. He couldn't take it, couldn't cope with feeling the pain his beloved was being subjected to. Just the thought of the Doctor being hurt was enough to make him want to scream and hide his face -- but he couldn't. He had to guide the Tardis to the man he loved, no matter how much the Doctor's suffering tore him apart.

His hand closed over the pendant again; almost instantly, the overwhelming pain swept over him again, and he had to clutch Jack's shoulder to keep from falling to the floor. He was dizzy, nearly nauseous -- if this was what the Doctor was feeling, and he was only getting a small part of it, he couldn't imagine what the Time Lord must be going through.

Jack and Owen helped him to his feet, and Ianto stumbled to the control console of the Tardis, placing his other hand palm down, flat on her controls. "Find him," he whispered, trying to establish the contact with the ship that he'd felt when he'd called her to the Hub. "Please. We have to help him. Please find him. I'm begging you."

The Tardis seemed to sense his urgency; Ianto could feel the ship gathering power, starting on the journey that would take them .... where? Where was the Doctor? Why was he in so much pain? He hardly realized that he was still gripping the pendant, his fingers curled so tightly around it that his knuckles were white.

"He's being torn apart," he whispered, the color draining from his face. "Every time he moves .... it's like he's being ripped apart from the inside out." He swayed against the console, almost falling again before Owen stepped forward and caught him, leading him to the couch that was placed against one wall of the ship.

Owen gently pried Ianto's fingers from around the pendant, speaking softly to him as though he was trying to soothe the young man. "We're locked in on him now, Ianto. We'll find him and get him out of there. You've done all you can do -- we've got to leave it up to the Tardis to find him now. We'll worry about the rest when we get there."

He was surprised that it was Owen offering him this comfort; he'd expected Jack to do this, but Jack was apparently off in some other area of the Tardis. He knew the ship from his time with the Doctor, so it made sense for him to be off exploring a bit -- but still, Ianto wished he was there. Having the immortal around gave him at least a bit of moral support.

"Why do you care so much?" he asked, looking down at his hands clenched in his lap and not meeting Owen's eyes. He couldn't bear the compassion in them, the look that told him there was always the possibility that the Doctor wouldn't survive this, that they were going to be too late to save him from whatever had taken him captive.

"Because I think he's fascinating," Owen replied, shrugging and looking away. "And like I said before, because I know what it's like to have the person you love snatched away from you before it's their time to go. You're a friend, Ianto, even though sometimes I might not act like I see you in that light. I don't want to see you hurt the way I did."

Ianto nodded, not wanting to speak; he had the definite feeling that if he did, he would open his mouth and nothing would come out but a scream, the culmination of all his feelings of desolation and loneliness since the Doctor had left. He had to stop focusing on those feelings. He had to be stronger than that. He couldn't break down now.

"He ...." He swallowed, moistening his lips with his tongue before he could speak. "You'll help him if you can, won't you?" he managed to get out, his worried gaze finally seeking Owen's. He couldn't shake off the inner fear that Owen was only along for the ride, interested in somehow cutting the Doctor up and examining his alien physiology.

"That's why I'm here," Owen said softly, placing one hand over Ianto's and giving his fingers a gentle squeeze. "I'm not going to hurt him, Ianto. I'm fascinated by the part of him that's aline, I'll admit that -- but he's also part human, and he's been decent to me. I won't do anything to harm him, I promise you."

"I know you won't," the younger man whispered, wishing that he could tell Owen he was sorry for having misjudged his motives. But somehow, he couldn't make the words come out, even though a part of him wanted to say them. Hopefully, Owen would take what he did say at face value, and realize that he was grateful for his presence.

"We'll find him," Owen said softly. "We'll find him, and you'll take him home, and you two will talk over whatever's happened to put you on the outs with each other. Jack's right, you know -- the two of you belong together more than anyone ever has. If you can't make a go of it, then no one can. You'll work things out."

"I hope you're right," Ianto murmured, his voice catching in his throat. "I .... I can't even begin to think of a life without him, Owen. I've become a different person since I found him. I-I don't want to go back to being who I was before. I can't bear to think of losing him, never being able to hold him again or tell him that I was wrong and that I love him."

Owen nodded, looking a little embarrassed at Ianto's confession. "You'll be able to do that, I don't doubt it." He fell silent, not looking at Ianto, fidgeting on the couch. Ianto leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes and wishing that he could somehow fall into sleep. He'd barely slept since the Doctor left, and he wasn't at his most alert when he was this tired.

He must have slept, or at least dozed; he was jerked awake by Jack's hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently. "Ianto. The Tardis has stopped, so I think we're where we need to be. You need to make contact with the Doctor again -- it's the only way we're going to get a clear idea of which direction he's in."

Ianto breathed in deeply, closing his hand over the pendant again before he realized what he was doing. The same wave of nausea swept over him, almost choking him; the pain was worse this time, seeming to radiate out from the depths of his body. He caught his breath, unable to speak for a moment -- if this was what the Doctor was going through, they had to find him. Quickly.

He let go of the opaline crystal, his hand shaking when he raised it to his face. "I think I can lead us to him -- I hope so, anyway. He's hurting so badly that not much is coming through but pain." He raised his face to Jack's, his eyes tortured, wide and pleading. "Jack, we have to find him. I don't think he can bear much more of this."

Jack nodded, taking a deep breath and looking towards the door of the Tardis. "Then let's go. The sooner we get to him, the sooner we'll all get out of here and be safe at home." He gave Ianto an encouraging smile; the young man returned it, his own smile feeling more like a grimace than a look of confidence.

Owen got up, heading for the doorway and looking back at the two of them. "Well, then, come on. If we're going to do this, then let's charge in like the rescuing heroes we are." He gestured to Ianto, holding out a hand towards him. "You need to be in the lead here, Ianto. Otherwise, we won't be able to find him, and we'll just stumble around in the dark."

"Right." Jack's tone was clipped and businesslike, his face set in the determined lines that they were both used to seeing when he was sending the Torchwood team out on a mission. Was this just another mission to him? Ianto thought, feeling uneasy. No. It couldn't be. The Doctor meant more to Jack than that; he had to. This was something Jack took very, very personally.

Ianto took a deep breath, standing up and taking a few steps forward. Jack put a hand under his elbow, helping to steady his wobbly legs, and he looked over at the immortal with a gesture of thanks. This was it, then. It all came down to this. The Doctor was here, and they were going to find him. They were going to rescue him, take him home and forget this had ever happened.

Ianto wasn't sure that he could forget, not after what he'd felt through that pendant. He only hoped that the same wasn't true for the Doctor.

***

Next story in series - Far From Over.