Title: Help Me Remember (1/1)

Author: Emma

Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, The Doctor (last incarnation)

Rating: Pure angsty fluff and smut

Disclaimer: Oh, please. If I owned them, would I let some of those idiots write the scripts? And if I were making any money off them, would I be where they could find me?

Summary: The Doctor finally learns his lesson…

Author’s Note: This story takes place in the Homecomingverse. This is a gift for teachwriteslash

Happy Birthday, Teach!


    “What the hell were you thinking, Doc? You could have gotten yourself killed!”

    Ianto stared at Jack in half-shock, half-amusement. Over the millennia he had seen Jack deliriously happy, hopelessly drunk, regrettably mischievous, annoyingly sulky, and coldly furious. He had never seen him in a full-flown panic attack.

    It was impressive.

    I t didn’t help that the Doctor had been giving Jack flippant answers ever since they had rescued him from the Kronon mercury mines. Ianto was beginning to think the Time Lord was trying to pick a fight.

    “Everyone dies, Jack. Even me, eventually.”

    Oh, shit, Doc… “Jack…”

    Before Ianto could say another word, Jack had backed the Doctor against the wall, holding him by the neck.

    “Not today, and not for a long time yet, Doc. You are mine and I’m not ready to let you go.”

    “That’s not rational, Jack.”

    “And?” The Captain’s frosty tone left no doubt as to his opinion of the Doctor’s argument.

    “Ianto, would you talk some sense into him?”

    Ianto came to stand next to his partner. He could sense the anger and fear practically exploding out of him. Whether by accident or design, the Doctor had tripped Jack’s biggest emotional landmine. They would have to thread carefully.

    “Cariad, let him go. We’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise.”

    Jack released the Doctor and backed off, but the feral snarl did not leave his face. Ianto took Jack’s hands in his and brought them to his lips, kissing each knuckle. He felt Jack shudder and relax under the caress. The big hands flexed and turned to grip his.

    “Thank you,” his partner whispered.

    “It was Toshi’s birthday,” blurted the Doctor.

    They turned to face him again. Ianto was shocked to see tears pouring down the Time Lord’s face. The Doctor was sobbing soundlessly, arms wrapped around his own waist, as if trying to hold in his grief.

    “The day I left… it was Toshi’s birthday. I realized it had been almost a thousand years since I had held her. And then I thought of Rose, and Sarah Jane, and Ace, and Romana, and Donna, and River, and Martha, and I couldn’t stand it anymore, and I ran. That’s why I run, Jack. I am always outrunning memories.”

    Jack used his thumbs to wipe the tears from the Doctor’s cheeks. “Do you think we don’t understand? Ianto and I have each other but sometimes the grief is overwhelming. I am eighteen thousand years old, Doc. I have lost so many people that their faces are a blur.”

    “How do you stand it?”

    "I live. I hang on to Ianto and to the people around me, and I live. The only secret is to never forget that you loved and that you were loved. And that you are loved here, now, in the present.”

    “Help me,” the Time Lord whispered. “Help me remember.”

    Jack pulled him into a tight embrace. The Doctor’s arms slid around Jack’s waist, and he buried his face in the curve of Jack’s neck. The Captain caressed his cheek, then tilted his face upwards. The kiss was a sweet pressure of lips, free of sexual intent. It was recognition, acceptance, comfort, and promise, an acknowledgment of all that had passed between them over the centuries.

    *Cariad, invite him in*

    *He’s always refused us before*

    *He’s never been in this much pain before*

    Ianto knew the instant the Doctor discovered Jack’s lowered barriers. The Time Lord’s mind shied away from the invitation, but his body refused to comply. Almost unconsciously he deepened the kiss, threading his fingers through Jack’s hair and attacking his mouth. Jack responded eagerly but let the Doctor do all the work; Jack had learned patience over the millennia.

    “Too many clothes,” the Time Lord muttered in frustration. “Wrong room!”

    Jack felt a sudden rush of heat then found himself plunging down, bare-ass naked, holding an equally bare Doctor in his arms. They landed in a nest of soft quilts and pillows faintly scented with sandalwood and lemon. The Doctor’s look of utter befuddlement made Jack grin.

    “Don’t worry, Doc. It’s just the patented Ianto Jones mode of transportation.”

    “Why, that… Ianto! Get your pert little arse in here!”

    Ianto materialized next to them, stretched out on his side, pale skin gleaming in the candlelight. “Yes, Doctor?”

    “Don’t you use those sweet Welsh tones on me, young man. I am not fooled…”

    Whatever lecture the Time Lord was going to deliver was forgotten as his lovers’ hands caressed him. Jack rearranged him so their bodies were perfectly aligned, with the Doctor’s legs on the outside of Jack’s hips. Their erections were trapped between their stomachs, rubbing against each other at the slightest movement. Jack’s hands moved over his back in long, lazy strokes as he kissed him, his tongue in the Doctor’s mouth matching their rhythm.

    The feeling of Ianto’s fingers on his sac made the Doctor howl into Jack’s mouth. The younger Time Lord’s touch seemed to leave a trail of fire as it moved across the delicate skin then over the perineum to find the Doctor’s puckered hole. The first gentle penetration made him howl again, and he squirmed, only to find the movement just pressed his sensitized erection harder against Jack’s. It was too much, too soon.

    “Wait. Please.”

    His lovers’ hands fell away. Taking a deep breath, he pushed up to his hands and knees and backed off. He studied the two men looking back at him with nearly identical sexy smirks.

    “Jack, sit back against the headboard.” He waited until the Captain complied, then took Ianto’s hand and pulled him into a sloppy kiss. “On your stomach. I want your mouth on Jack. I want you to lick and bite and suck at him until he’s screaming.”

    “And you, Doctor?” Ianto’s blown pupils revealed his excitement even as he fought to keep his voice even. “What will you be doing?”

    “I’m going to be inside you, Ianto Jones.” He heard Jack moan and turned to see the Captain pumping himself lazily. “Aren’t you a pretty picture. He’s gorgeous, isn’t he, Ianto?” He smiled at Ianto’s whispered yes. “I think he will look ever better with your mouth doing that instead of his hand. Go on. On your stomach.”

    He watched as Ianto got into position and eagerly took Jack into his mouth. Jack’s sobbing gasps made the Doctor’s erection twitch in sympathy and need. Kneeling between Ianto’s legs, he grabbed a pillow and positioned it under Ianto’s hips. A quick exploration revealed that Ianto had made himself ready for him. Sighing, he sank to the hilt in the younger Time Lord, feeling Ianto’s inner muscles grip and hold him.

    “So…hot. God, Jack, he’s wonderful. You’re both wonderful.”

    He began to move in and out slowly, his hands holding Ianto’s hips in place. He could see Jack’s hands caressing Ianto’s head and shoulders as he rocked into Ianto’s mouth in shallow strokes. He matched the Captain’s rhythm and was rewarded by the shivers of pleasure that rippled across Ianto’s body.

    And he clearly heard Ianto’s delighted mind-scream.

    This time he didn’t draw back. He reached for them, accepting their invitation. He could sense the strength of their link, the utter joy and acceptance at its core, and felt like an idiot for refusing them so many times before.

    *No regrets, Doctor. You’re here now*

    He lowered his barriers completely, letting his lovers’ emotions cascade into his mind. The feeling drove him nearly mad. Every sensory input was suddenly tripled. He could feel their physical reactions in his own body. Ianto’s nails flicking over Jack’s nipples set his own on fire; the painful tightening in Jack’s ball sac made his draw up; Jack’s salty-sweet taste in Ianto’s mouth made his salivate; the fiery burn of his own erection stroking in and out of Ianto’s channel sent pleasure shooting up his own spine.

    It was overwhelming and yet he reveled in it, sending his own reactions unashamedly back to them, and feeling their joyous response. Immersed in their passionate exchange, he lost track of time. Hours or minutes, it didn’t matter. Finally, at the moment his lungs burned and every muscle in his body shook with exhaustion, he felt Jack erupt into Ianto’s mouth, and he felt Jack’s seed flood his own mouth, and he felt Ianto tighten around him and his own back arched as he tried to take in more and more and he screamed as he exploded into Ianto and felt his own body buckle under the rush of heat as Ianto came into the pillow.

    He lowered himself to lie along Ianto’s back, slightly to one side to avoid resting all his weight on the younger man. He moaned in pleasure when he felt Jack’s hand stroking his hair and shoulders gently.

    “Like that.”

    “Like what, Doc?”

    He couldn’t even work up a little upset at Jack’s amusement. “You’re always touching. Everything and everyone.” He disengaged from Ianto and smiled when he felt the sleepy protest in his mind. “Slide down, Jack. I want to have a Jack sandwich for a while.”

    “And afterwards, Doc?”

    “Did you ever find the TARDIS’s pool? There’s a lot you can do in a pool.”

    “Oh, yeah.”

    The Doctor draped his arm over jack’s hips to find Ianto on the other side, linking the three of them, cuddling against Jack’s front and feeling Ianto do the same against Jack’s back. He leaned in to press a gentle kiss on Jack’s lips.

    *Thank you*

    *Just remember how much you are loved in the here and now, Doc. And if you ever forget it again, we’ll be here to remind you. I promise*