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Ianto looked up as the cogwheel door alarm sounded and the team emerged through the opening entrance. The tension radiating from the group was palpable.
Jack was the first through the door briskly heading off towards his office, his face drawn and the usual spark in his eyes gone. Ianto was going to say something but the Captain’s whole demeanour told the Welshman not to. Gwen appeared next her angry, disgusted stare fixed totally on the Captain’s retreating back. Ianto thought she was going to storm after their leader, but instead she went to her workstation, flung herself angrily into her chair and threw her gun onto the desk in front of her. Ianto winced at the treatment of the weapon and was thankful for safety catches. Owen and Tosh followed a little behind Gwen. The doctor’s mood was dark and he made straight for the autopsy bay, where the sound of equipment being noisily moved in anger resonated around the Hub. Tosh’s expression was more one of sadness and regret than of anger, and as she moved to her workstation Ianto sensed a weariness about her that he’d not seen before.
Ianto knew they had encountered the Fairies, but the disruption to the communications system caused by the ancient beings meant that the Welshman was in the dark about what had actually happened, although from the atmosphere, the looks and his own research into the creatures he could guess what had taken place. However much he wanted to know the truth Ianto decided not to ask outright. After all he was still on difficult ground with the others after the Lisa incident, and considering the tension in the air he thought it wiser to just get on with his job, so the Welshman headed up to the kitchen.
“ There had better not be one there for him.” The tone in Gwen’s voice as she accepted her coffee from Ianto was angry and bitter. “ He doesn’t deserve anything after what he’s done.”
Ianto didn’t say anything, he didn’t have to. He knew Gwen would carry on and tell him what had happened without any prompting on his part.
“ He just handed her over ! Gave those, those creatures an innocent child, just like that. Didn’t fight, didn’t do anything, he just let her go damn it. How could he do that ?”
“ Because he had no choice.” Ianto stated calmly, looking directly at Gwen. He knew both Tosh and Owen, who had relocated from the autopsy bay and joined the girls at their workstations, had turned to stare at him and were giving him equally disapproving looks.
“ Of course he had a choice !” Gwen said incredulously, her anger now directed at Ianto as well as the Captain.
“ No, he didn’t...” The young Welshman’s voice remained calm and steady. He normally wouldn’t talk out like this, and considering recent events he probably shouldn’t do so now, but he couldn’t stand by and not intervene on the Captain’s behalf. Jack could have retconed him back to infancy, executed him, or worse, handed him over to UNIT after what he had done, but he hadn’t and during his suspension the Captain had been there for him whether the Welshman had wanted it at the time or not. Ianto knew he was only still here, not just in Torchwood but still in the land of the living, thanks to Harkness, so if he could do even the slightest thing for the Captain, including trying to get the others to see sense, then he would.
“...What would you have had him do Gwen?” Ianto continued.
“ Stop her from going with them of course !” The former PC was fuming.
“ And just how would you do that ?”
“ She was a child ! Just hold her back, keep her away from them !” Gwen made it sound easy.
“ And what do you think they would have done ? You would have been stopping their Chosen One from joining them....”
“ She was a child !” Gwen angrily interrupted.
“ A child who wanted to go with them, a child who chose to go with them...You saw how they could manipulate the weather to their will, and that is mere child’s play to them. They are ancient, mystical beings with powers beyond our comprehension. There was no way of stopping her from joining them. The alternative to what happened today would have seen the Fairies inflict mass death and destruction until they had their Chosen One. Don’t you understand Gwen, she was always theirs, and she was always going to join them, one way or another.” There was a moments silence before Ianto continued, “ You may not like it, but Jack did what he had to do to keep the World safe. Don’t condemn him for it.” With that Ianto turned and headed towards Jack’s office to deliver his coffee.
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Ianto knocked, entered Jack’s office and placed the blue and white striped mug on the desk, before turning to face where the Captain was standing, arms folded across his chest staring blankly at where the team were congregated in the Hub below.
“ They hate me, and they have every reason to... You were right you know...I am the biggest monster of them all.”
Ianto moved a few steps nearer to the Captain before he spoke.
“ No Sir, I was wrong. You are not a monster at all, you are merely a man having to do an inhuman job and make decisions no one should have to make. You do what you do because you have to, because the alternative doesn’t bare thinking about. None of the decisions you take, or the choices you have to make are easy. The rest of us would shy away from, and be unable to make the decisions you face having to deal with everyday. You make the hard choices and do what’s necessary, regardless of personal feelings and cost. It doesn’t make you a monster; it makes you a leader, our Leader.”
“ The others see a man who gave away a child.” Jack remained unmoving, still staring down into the Hub.
“ You didn’t give her away, Sir. She chose to go.”
“ And that’s supposed to make me feel better ?”
“ No Sir, but it is the truth. And you know that the Fairies would have taken their Chosen One, one way or another regardless of the cost to this World. The others will come around and realise that there was no other option.”
“ You seem so sure.” Jack however wasn’t.
“ They are angry, confused, hurting, saddened and lashing out right now. In a few hours, in a few days, they will realise you had no choice and did all you could, then something else will happen, push all this further into their memories, and you won’t be the ‘bad man’ anymore.” As Ianto had been speaking Jack had turned to face the Welshman. Looking at the young man he saw nothing but honesty, and he wondered how Ianto could be here trying to ease his guilt and pain at what had happened that day after everything that Jack had put him through such a short time ago.
“ How can you be so certain ?” Jack’s eyes focused on Ianto’s, holding their gaze as the archivist answered hesitantly at first.
“ ...Because...because that’s where I was a few weeks ago...angry, hurting, confused, lashing out... but I realised, with help, that a hard decision had had to be made and that, however much it hurt, it had been the right decision.” Ianto took a steadying breath before finishing, “ They will realise the same too Sir.”
Ianto broke the gaze and turned to leave the office, a heartfelt “ Thank you” from the Captain reaching his ears as he walked out through the door.