By Fire (Eternity-verse 17)

[amythest_n_ice]

A bit of a baptism by fire for Terrell when the TARDIS hits a problem in the vortex.

 

http://amythest-n-ice.livejournal.com/7895.html

Link to Prt 16 Eyes across a room

http://amythest-n-ice.livejournal.com/10156.html
Link to Prt 18 The Rift

 

By Fire

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Ianto and Terrell woke to being almost flung out of bed by the violent jolting of the TARDIS.

 

“What’s happening?” Terrell yelled as they were almost thrown again.

 

“No idea. Get dressed, we have to check that the children are all right and the door to the nursery is closed.” Ianto suited his actions to his words, getting some trousers and a T-shirt on as fast as he could on the bucking deck. Terrell quickly followed his example and they both dived barefoot out into the corridor.

 

The nursery door was sealed when Ianto tried it, and he hoped that meant the children were safe and secure inside.

 

“Will they be all right in there, if we can’t get in?” Terrell asked in alarm.

 

“The nursery is the best shielded part of the TARDIS, if the kids are in there, they’ll barely be aware of any shaking, and with luck, it won’t have woken them up at all. We have to get to the console room.”

 

He led on down the corridor in the direction of the console room, slamming into walls from side to side of the corridor. Inside the console room was chaos, sparks were flying from all the panels, and from the cables looped around the support struts. Jack and the Doctor were moving around the console like men possessed, yelling to make themselves heard over the groaning of metal and the shrieking from the panels.

 

There was a sudden blinding shower of sparks, and the central console went dark, and the shaking got even harder, slamming Ianto and Terrell into the wall near the door, and both Jack and the Doctor into the railing around the console.

 

Jack looked at the dead console, then at the Doctor, who was shaking his head. Jack anchored them both to the console and kissed the Doctor, running his fingers through the untidy hair of the man he loved, then he pulled away.

 

“What’s going on?” Terrell yelled at Ianto as they clung to a strut.

 

“I think Jack is going to try to fly the TARDIS himself, judging by unhappy the Doctor looks,” Ianto called close to his lover’s ear.

 

“How?” Terrell asked.

 

Ianto didn’t answer, he was watching as Jack braced himself on his knees, using the railing for balance, and took a deep breath, plunging himself into a link with the distressed TARDIS.

 

Opening his mind to the vortex, he realized they had been caught in a tangle in the vortex, a place where time was so messed up there was no clear way through. He took a firm grip on navigation, and the ride smoothed out considerably as he guided them through the mess, lighting fast reflexes carrying them around the loops and swirls without banging into the knots and eddies.

 

Now that the TARDIS was no longer shaking, Ianto and Terrell crossed the room to the central area, crouching beside the Doctor where he knelt next to Jack.

 

“Doctor, were the children in the nursery before all this kicked off?” Ianto asked.

 

“Yes. Why?”

 

“Because the door was sealed, and we couldn’t get in to see if they were in there.”

 

“That’s fine, it should stay sealed until the danger is past.”

 

“What is the danger, what is happening?” Terrell asked in awe as he stared at Jack’s feral eyes.

 

“I’m not sure, there was a problem in the vortex, we were getting thrown around, and there was no way out at all.”

 

“So how is he getting us out?” Ianto asked in alarm.

 

“He can actually see the vortex from inside the link. Whatever was happening wasn’t showing on the sensors, at least not that we could see before they blew.

 

Inside the link, the colors of the vortex swirling around him, Jack was unaware of the others standing around him, all he knew was the complex path through the knot, and the presence of the TARDIS, ready to support him if he faltered.

 

*This is so beautiful* He told her.

 

He felt her agreement, and her concern that he was going too deep, that he was getting lost in the link to her.

 

*I cannot get lost. I feel his mind calling to mine. He will not allow me to fall* He reassured her. She still felt concern, but accepted that he was unique. The original navigators had been bound only to their TARDISes, not to the time lords who were masters to them.

 

Jack felt the last of the knot fall behind them and cast about for a suitable planet to land on so that they could get repairs underway. He found one less than a light year away, temperate, peaceful, and uninhabited, so the children would be safe outside, and set the course, initiating materialization.

 

The Doctor caught Jack as he slumped to the side.

 

“Landed,” He slurred.

 

The Doctor cradled Jack’s head on his shoulder, and kissed his forehead, stroking the dark hair.

 

“You did good love, I’m so proud of you. Rest now,” He whispered. Jack blinked a couple of times his eyes fading to their normal blue, then he passed out in the Doctor’s arms.

 

“Ianto, will you go to the nursery and check on the children? If they’re awake, get them up, if they’re not, leave them to sleep. Terrell, would you mind scouting outside and seeing what the immediate area is like?”

“No problem,” they both replied and headed out to get shoes on, and do as he had asked.

 

The Doctor stood up with Jack limp in his arms and carried him out of the console room. He considered medical for one second, then dismissed it, Jack wasn’t injured, and he hated waking up in medical. He took him to their bedroom, and set him gently on the bed, pulling his shoes off and tucking the covers around him. Once he was sure Jack was sleeping peacefully, he headed back to start on the repairs.

 

They spent a peaceful week on the deserted little world, Ianto and Terrell keeping the children entertained with picnics and exploring for Bobby, sharing carrying Kalen in the little carrier, while Jack and the Doctor worked long hours repairing the massive damage to the console, and the TARDIS ran what self repair routines she could.

 

When they finally launched back into the vortex, Terrell had a much better understanding of how their lives could careen from boredom to adrenaline fuelled madness in the blink of an eye, and he decided he wouldn’t change it for anything.

**********