Chapter Text
Ianto awoke with a start as he hit the floor of Jacks bunker. Usually Jack slept like a limpet and very rarely let go unless he absolutely had to. Ianto gathered his senses and switched on the bedside lamp, clambering to his feet. He wanted to be annoyed at the rude awakening but Jack was clearly in the grip of a nightmare.
“Jack?” The welshman asked softly, trying to wake him gently. Shocking him awake never ended well as it left him in a half conscious panic where in the battle between fight or flight, fight almost always won out. Ianto caressed Jacks cheek causing the man to gasp awake.
The captains eyes darted around the room. “Where… What…”
“It’s ok. It was just a nightmare.”
“I’m.... What?... Nightmare… Yea.” He slowly began to calm down, sitting forward as Ianto rubbed his back comfortingly. His thoughts were still a jumble of feelings and flashes of memories he didn’t recognise.
Ianto could easily tell this wasn’t a normal nightmare. He could feel a slight tremor in his lover, something that only happened during particularly bad nights after one of the team had been hurt. That or when they’d run into a scent trigger in the day. Mustard was one of the worst so it was mostly banned from the hub. Out in the open air it wasn’t a problem but in an enclosed space it would lead to Jack sitting up all night with a thousand yard stare.
“You’re alive… Aren’t you?” A weak, almost pleading, whimper drifted from Jacks lips.
“Of course I am. I’m right here.”
“I thought you…” He rubbed at his wrists as if he expected something to be there. “Who is that guy?”
“What guy?”
“The past week I’ve been having nightmares… But they’re not like they usually are. They’re not memories I recognise. There’s a man there I don’t recognise but it’s like my mind’s screaming that I know him. I know him and I’m scared.”
“Maybe it was something from the memories the time agency took.”
“No. No, this is recent. This is on Earth. The Doctor was there with a companion in the first few... and then… Then it’s dark…”
“What happened just now then?”
He turned to face Ianto, as if checking he was really there. “You were brought in by that man and his soldiers. They… They killed you… I… I begged them not to hurt you…” His voice cracked, tears making his blue eyes look even brighter. “Even when they left your body… I begged… They just left you there.”
“I’m right here.” He pulled the man into a tight embrace and wrapped the blanket around the both of them. “Do you remember what this monsters name is?” It was easier to approach this like a normal nightmare. At least, normal for most people. This was just an abstract creature the mans mind had created after missing his chance to see the doctor. It had to be.
“Saxon…. But… The Doctor called him the Master.”
Owen blearily opened one eye to check the time. Four AM. Why was the room so light? He rolled over and realised exactly why as he was blinded by the harsh light from Toshikos laptop screen.
“Tosh, it’s four in the morning. Can’t it wait until morning?” He mumbled, covering his eyes with his arm.
She looked down. “Sorry, did I wake you?”
“A bit, but what’s so important?”
“Ianto sent me a message. He said it could wait until the morning but when I started thinking about it I couldn’t sleep.”
“Ok, ok. I’m awake.” He sat up and scooted back to rest his back against the headboard. “What was the message?”
“Jack’s been having nightmares but apparently these are strange. They aren’t memories as far as he can tell. They seem to be sequential and they all involve the same person. This person goes by two names and I’m sure I’ve heard one before but I can’t find a trace.”
“Right. What’s the name then?”
“Saxon.”
Owens half asleep mind tried to recall where he’d heard that name before. “Other than the band, all I can think of is the defence secretary.”
“What?”
“I’m sure that’s his name, isn’t it?”
“I….” She began typing again. “I’m sure I’ve heard that too, but there’s no record of any upper government official going by that name. There isn’t even anyone with a similar last name.”
“It’s four in the morning, we’re probably just tired.”
“Wait… Ianto said his other name was the Master…. Like the Doctor… Another time lord?”
“What would a time traveller want with a government job in the twenty-first century? And who the hell calls themself the Master? Outside of the bedroom anyway.”
Tosh chuckled softly. “Stop it.”
“It’s true.”
“Anyway, I wonder if it would be worth trying to send a message to the Doctor.”
“How?”
“When the TARDIS was here it sent off multiple different signals, most of which the system recorded. I can try and use them as a kind of address.”
“That’s great if he flies by but he shoots off all over time and space. The chances of him actually getting it are small.”
“Not exactly. Are you doubting my skills?”
“I wouldn’t dare. You’d turn off the spam filter for my email.”
“Well then, it looks like I have something to do when I get into work.”
“Great. As nice as you look lit up by your screen can we go back to sleep now?”
She closed the lid of the laptop and cuddled down under the duvet as Owen wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him.
Gwen was more than a little unnerved by the feeling around the hub in the morning. Jack was quiet, which on its own was strange. Ianto had spent a lot of time checking on their captain between coffee runs and Tosh had been engrossed in whatever project she was working on. Gwen wandered over to the med bay where Owen was finishing up with the body they’d received that morning. It looked like a humanoid fish.
“What killed it then?” She asked.
Owen didn’t look up from his work. “Brain haemorrhage. This species bones are thin so when something or someone hit him in the head his skull didn’t do a thing to save him. That said, he didn’t die right away. He was walking around with a chunk of his skull caved in for more than twelve hours before he ended up collapsing.”
“That’s a long time to be just walking around with a broken skull.”
“Not if you’re high as a kite the whole time.” He gestured to a small table with three resealable bags of a very recognisable white powder.
“That’s a lot.”
“He had probably been carrying more. Those are just the ones I found hidden under one of his gills. Feel free to dig through his clothes.”
She glanced at the fabric that had been bagged up. “In a bit.” She lowered her voice and walked around to get to the bottom of the steps. “Do you know what’s going on?”
“With what?”
“Jack’s not himself, Ianto’s checking on him all the time and Tosh is so lost in her work she hasn’t even touched her coffee.”
“Oh, right.” He pushed the amphibious being into a draw and closed it before pulling off his gloves and throw them into one of the bins for bio waste. “Jack’s been having nightmares that are a bit out of the ordinary. He’s just exhausted. That’s got the tea boy worried and Tosh is set on sending a message to the Doctor about it. I’m staying out of the way unless I’m needed and so should you.”
“Nightmares? That’s not the kind of thing I could see taking him down.”
“They’re being recalled like memories. I think it’s a possible PTSD reaction, after missing his chance to see the Doctor, but with Jack we can’t rule out other things.”
“What kind of nightmares?”
“Doctor patient confidentiality.”
“That bad?”
“I’m only going to repeat myself so…”
“Ok, ok.” She conceded. “I suppose I’ll help you with this fish man thing then.”
“Great, you can help me get the fish smell out of this room.”
Tosh smiled to herself as she sent out the message. If her calculations were correct, and she was sure they were, she wouldn’t have to wait long to see if it got to its rightful destination. Jack had mentioned that the Doctor had trouble landing the TARDIS at an exact date or time so she’d made a point to give him everything he’d need to get it right just this once. She locked her workstation and made her way outside. The air was cool and it was a nice change. The strange noise that the TARDIS made announced its arrival. If Tosh hadn’t know about the perception filter she might have been surprised when two figures stepped out of seemingly nowhere. This Doctor didn’t look as she remembered so she guessed this was a different regeneration. He spotted her and considered her for a moment before recognition sparked in his eyes.
“Dr Sato?” He asked, a vaguely confused smile on his face.
“It’s just Toshiko, or Tosh. You look different, Doctor.”
“Well, you know, new place, new face. You haven’t seen a man in a blue air force coat around here have you?”
“You mean Jack. I can take you to see him.”
“What would UNIT want with Jack? What did he do?”
She tried to hide her disgust at the idea that any of them were from UNIT. “He hasn’t done anything bad. And I’m not actually from UNIT. Um… Sorry,” she glanced over to the Doctors companion, “we haven’t been introduced.”
“Right. This is Martha Jones.”
“Hi. Nice to meet you.” Martha smiled and offered her hand to shake, which Tosh gratefully took. “Don’t mind him. He forgets I’m even here sometimes.”
The Doctor huffed. “That happened one time.”
“One time too many. So, you know Captain Harkness?”
“Yes. I work for him actually. If I must be completely honest I was the one who sent that message.” Tosh said, hoping it wouldn’t chase the one person that could help her boss away.
He looked shocked. “Wait, you sent all of the navigation data?”
“Yes. I thought it might be helpful.”
“How did you calculate all that?”
“I’ll explain everything inside. Please, follow me and try not to judge anything you see until you hear the whole story.”
“Is he here?” The time lord looked gravely serious.
“He?”
“The Master.”
“No, no. But we need to know who he is. I’ll explain everything, I promise.”
Ianto slumped down in his chair at the desk in the tourist information office. He was tired and worrying about Jack had just made it worse. He needed a nap. That or a short coma. The sound of footsteps just outside the door made him sit up straight and put his business face on. Feeling drowsy had to wait. It was a little early for his usual visitors so he had to be prepared to see someone new. He relaxed a little as he saw Tosh.
“Oh, I didn’t realise you’d gone out I-”
“Is Jack still downstairs?” She asked, holding the door for two new figures.
He wasn’t sure how to answer and simply looked between them.
“Sorry, this is the Doctor and his travelling companion Martha. This is Ianto Jones. He makes sure we don’t all fall apart.”
“How did you manage to contact the Doctor?”
“Long story. I’ll tell you in a bit but I really need to know if Jack’s in.”
“He is.” The welshman leaned down to press the button for the hidden door in the wall. “Welcome then I suppose.”
The Doctor smirked thinking the hidden door was kind of quaint.
“So are you guys some sort of secret organisation?” Asked Martha, peeking around and into the hallway beyond.
Ianto nodded. “Didn’t Tosh tell you?”
“I think it was a bit of a rush. We have no idea what’s going on.”
“Well then, welcome to Torchwood three.”
The Doctor practically spun around to face him. “What?! Torchwood? What have you done with Jack?!”
“Done with?... He runs this place.”