Cursed

The next five hours were a test of Jack’s endurance as he watched Ianto suffer the effects of the dragon’s blood potion.  First, he had to drink the foul concoction, which smelled of blood and brimstone and – oddly – patchouli.  And then the effects began, almost at once.  Ianto’s face flushed in a startling shade of deep red, and he broke into a sweat.  His pulse and respiration quickened, and a massive nosebleed left him weak and shaky.

Within the hour he was suffering from a terrible headache.  He quickly became dehydrated, and his voice rasped with a sore throat.  The Healers cast spells to counter the dehydration and brought in ice packs for the headache, but they could do little else for the symptoms for fear of diminishing the effectiveness of the potion. 

Ianto was just going to have to ride it out.

Jack rubbed Ianto’s temples and tried to keep him cool, but his lover’s body was being invaded by the essence of a wild creature that contained fire at its core.  There was little comfort to be had as the potion did its work.

Despite his pain and weakness, Ianto was restless, unable to get comfortable.  He screamed and raged as the yang energies presented themselves to be integrated.  Jack was grateful that most of the rage and venom came out in Welsh, and little of it seemed to be pointed in any particular direction. 

The fever had him sweating profusely, and he had pulled off his socks and vest, leaving him in his boxer briefs.  By the time the rage and restlessness subsided, more than four hours had passed, and Ianto lay in a sweaty heap on the bed, whimpering in pain.  The fever that had taken hold had rendered him incoherent, but one thing that they could understand was that the migraine had blinded him.

Susan, Bill, and Freesia had been casting spells every ten minutes, monitoring the potion’s progress.  It was assimilating well, but it was an arduous undertaking.   After a bit more than five hours, they found that the integration process was complete.  Susan assured Jack that the effects they were seeing were normal.  And, more importantly, temporary. 

“We can repair any damage caused, but he is enduring it remarkably well,” she noted.

“He is in agony!” Jack felt it might be his turn to rage.

“I know,” Susan said quickly, realizing her error.  “I know, and I am sorry.  If there were any other way, we would have tried it.”  She reached out and squeezed Jack’s shoulder.  “I know it’s difficult to watch, but he will feel so much better, once his system has settled.”

The headache seemed to be subsiding, though they could get nothing intelligible from Ianto, who was now sitting on the floor in the corner of the room.  About a half hour before, when the migraine seemed to have been at its worst, he had stumbled from the bed and into the corner, so he could sit upright.  He couldn’t bear to be touched, so no one approached him, though Jack sat as close as he could without adding to his lover’s distress. 

Ianto was sat there, keeping as still as he could, even breathing as softly as he could manage in order to move as little as possible.  Every bit of light and sound and touch and movement made his head feel like it was going to come apart.  He had managed to convey that much, so they had dimmed the lighting and were being as quiet as they could.

Other than the occasional whimper of pain, it seemed as though he had turned to stone.  Jack watched him like a hawk, practically willing his lover to endure.  Then he had a terrible thought.

“If he’s like me, now, and he dies, will all of this go away when he resets?” he asked.

“No,” Bill shook his head.  “That’s one of the reasons we expect the reaction to be two-fold.  This first part has been the physical integration.  It seems to be complete, though it may take some time for the headache to abate.”

“If the physical integration is complete, can’t you do something for him?” Jack asked, desperate for Ianto to find some relief.

“I’m afraid not,” Bill sighed.  He shared Jack’s weariness at the suffering they had all been forced to bear witness to, since finding Ianto.  “The second part of the process is the energetic integration with his magic.  We don’t want to interfere with that, because it will affect his reset point.  Once everything has integrated with his magic...”

“And vortex,” Susan added, and Bill nodded.

“His reset point will include the dragon’s blood, but it must be allowed to integrate with his magic and vortex, for that to happen.”

“And what will be involved with that?” Jack asked, unable to keep the anger out of his voice.  “We get to watch while he’s dismembered?”

“Thankfully, no,” Bill replied, keeping his tone even and not giving Jack any reason to escalate.  “We’re expecting a high fever for the next thirty-six to forty-eight hours, but once the fever breaks, we’ll know the process is done.”

“He’s been through so much,” Jack whispered, tears welling in his eyes.  “And the cures have been brutal and relentless.  He’s so strong, but even he has his limits.  Which I think we already found the other day, with that darkness.  And now we’re just pushing him past even that.”

“But he wouldn’t have healed, Jack,” Susan soothed, handing him a calming potion.  When he tried to refuse, she chided, “You need to take care of yourself, so you can take care of him.  You haven’t had a break during all of this, either.”

“He needs me,” Jack said, drinking the potion for no other reason than that.

“He has certainly benefitted from your help,” Susan nodded.  “Jack, I don’t think you realize just how many times we almost lost him, only for him to hear your voice encouraging him and then somehow find the strength to keep going.”

Jack looked at her, surprised.  His eyes shifted to Bill, who was nodding his agreement.  “You’ve kept him grounded, and I think he was able to ride out those moments when he was ready to give up, because of you.  You’ve been as instrumental to his healing as any of the rest of us.”

Jack felt proud and humbled by their words.  He turned back to Ianto and drew in a deep breath.  “Ianto, Love?” he called out.  “Can I put my hand on your shin?  You can tap your left forefinger twice if you don’t want me to.”  He watched the aforementioned digit for a full minute before reaching out.  “Okay.  I’m going to put my hand on you, now.”

When he did so, he watched Ianto for any indication of discomfort, but his lover continued to hold himself stock-still.  In the next moment, Freesia rolled a trolley into the room.  Jack frowned.  He hadn’t even seen her leave.

“I think we can help his headache,” Freesia said.

“Let’s hear it,” Susan said, turning from where she had been reading more runes showing Ianto’s condition.

“I say we conjure a comfortable chair that will support him.  Then we put his feet in this container of ice water.  My gran used to do that all the time for migraines, when she was too ill to mix a potion.  I’ve also done ice poultices, and I’ve brought some essential oil blends that might help.”

“What do you say?” Jack asked Ianto, giving his leg a gentle squeeze.  “You game to try?”

Ianto gave the tiniest nod, frowning at the movement.

“Okay,” Freesia said, pulling out her wand.  She conjured a chair that was squashy and comfortable, with a back high enough to support Ianto’s head but with a seat that would allow him to sit squarely enough that they could put his feet into the basin of ice water.

Bill gave Ianto a warning, and then waved his own wand, lifting Ianto into the chair.  Even with the magical assistance, Ianto cried out as he shifted slightly in the chair before falling still again, his labored breathing showing the pain the movement had caused.

“This may hurt at first, but try to breathe through it, and it will ease,” Freesia warned as she set the basin in front of Ianto’s feet.  Jack and Susan each lifted one of Ianto’s legs as Freesia slid the basin into position.  Ianto cried out again as they placed his feet into the ice water in the basin.

“Breathe, Love,” Jack said, worried as Ianto couldn’t seem to calm.  In a desperate movement, he leaned up and kissed his lover, breathing vortex into him.  Ianto slumped back, whimpering as his fingers dug into the arms of the chair.  After a few minutes, he seemed to relax slightly, and his breathing evened out.

Freesia waved her wand and read the runes, nodding as she put her wand away and reached for a small phial on the table.  She turned to Jack.  “This is a blend of oils,” she explained as she took his hands and poured about ten drops into each hand.  Jack rubbed his hands together as she showed him where to put the oil.

“The back of his neck, right up to his occiput,” she instructed, reaching out and placing her hands on Jack’s neck and head by way of demonstration.  “And along the sutures of his skull,” she added, moving her hands again.  “A bit along his brow and at his temples, but not until after you’ve done the rest, so the fumes don’t sting his eyes.”

Jack frowned, but then he smelled the blend.  It was very pleasant, but the most prevalent scent was mint, which he knew could sting.  He nodded his understanding and then began to place his hands on Ianto, spreading the oil as instructed.  Ianto whimpered at first, but then the touch seemed to begin to soothe him.  Jack continued to lightly massage Ianto’s temples and sutures until his own skin absorbed the last of the oil.

“Here,” Freesia handed Jack a length of cloth that had been filled with ice.  It was a neck roll, and he placed it gently before taking a flat bit of material about twelve inches square, also filled with crushed ice.  This he draped over Ianto’s head after Freesia placed a sleep mask over Ianto’s eyes.

“Ianto?” she called out quietly, taking his hand.  “Keep sitting quietly.  The ice and oils should help.  If you’re able, let us know when the headache eases, alright?”  She smiled when he squeezed her hand to let her know he’d heard her.

Jack was staring at his own hands now, wide-eyed.  “They’re getting cold,” he said.

“Ah,” Freesia smiled.  “You can go scrub the excess oil off, but any that’s been absorbed will make your hands cold, for a bit.”

Jack scrubbed his hands as instructed, but it did little to help.  He made sure his cold hands wouldn’t bother Ianto, and Bill conjured a chair for him to sit in, facing Ianto and holding his hand as the wizard sat very still, waiting for the home remedies to ease some of his pain.

Within a half-hour, he gave a great sigh and seemed to relax from his rigid pose, melting into the chair.  His head even lolled slightly to the side.  At first, Jack was worried he had fainted, but then he saw that some of the lines of pain that had been etched into his young lover’s face had eased.

Susan and Freesia took Ianto’s feet out of the basin, and Jack found a towel and a thick pair of socks.  He carefully dried Ianto’s feet, gently rubbing them for a few minutes to warm them back up a bit before carefully putting the socks on him.  He grabbed a blanket from the bed to drape over Ianto’s lap before wrapping it around his legs and feet. 

Freesia waved her wand, and the bottom half of the chair converted to a recliner.  Jack raised the footrest, and Ianto leaned slightly so he was lying comfortably.  Jack returned to his chair and took Ianto’s hand once more, watching over him as the headache eased and the fever set in.

***