A/N: Soooo, this fic idea bounced on my while I was supposed to be typing something else entirely. (chuckles) But, before getting to the actual business…

DISCLAIMER: Nope, I own absolutely nothing of the series and no money is made out of this typing storm of mine. I'm just having a bit of fun. Plus, Ianto would've been alive at the end of the series if I did own something…

WARNINGS: Language, because… Well, Owen. Injuries. Adult themes. General weirdness.

Awkay, before I end up changing my mind… Let's go! I really hope that you'll enjoy the ride.

Calm in the Eye of the Storm

The moment Jack heard Gwen's voice through his ear comm he knew that it was bad. Really, really bad. Because she was holding back tears. "Jack, it's Ianto…!"

He was moving before the last syllable of the name fell, unceremoniously dumping the duty of starting to clean up the mess of their Weevil hunt on Tosh. She may have yelled something at him. All of his attention was elsewhere.

Perhaps he'd managed to build some sort of a inner Ianto-tracker. Because although he'd never bothered to wait around long enough to find out where, exactly, the younger man was he was there in a flash. It was a small, filthy street corner that no normal person would've felt any desire to glance at twice. At first Jack frowned and squinted, spotting two figures hunched on the ground. Upon approaching he found his heart speeding up considerably. His breath hitched.

A small correction to his first situation report. Make it three figures. One of them lay on the ground, unmoving. Owen was muttering curses and who knows what else under his breath while working determinedly on the prone, all too still body. Jack couldn't help but focus on the fact that the doctor's hands were slick with blood. That was when he noticed the nauseating, gaping hole on Ianto's side. Everything inside him went ice cold.

No…! No, no, no, no…!

"It was fast, Jack", Gwen sputtered, wild panic shining in her moist eyes. Her shaking hand clasped the unconscious man's with a visible amount of force. "It… It was just too fast. He never got the chance to see it coming."

Yet the alleyway was quiet, aside Owen's muttering that seemed to be picking up volume. There were no hysterical screams or other sounds of havoc from the area nearby it, either. Which meant that the Weevil wasn't on a rampage anymore.

"The Teaboy had it covered before going down", Owen explained through his teeth. The doctor's jawline was considerably more tense than usual and the attention of those piercing eyes was solely on his patient. "The idiot is a perfectionist, after all. Bloody hell…!"

A not so small eternity passed by before the flow of blood from Ianto's wound seemed to slow down. Owen slammed a temporary cover on it with a half angry, half panicked motion. "Let's go. We've gotta get him to the Hub so I can stitch him back together."

Jack nodded sharply. It was finally time to do something. This, he could manage. "Gwen, stay here and help Tosh get the situation under control. I'll carry him."

Owen snorted but had enough mercy to not say anything. Ignoring the doctor, as well as Gwen's worried and scared eyes, Jack made his way to Ianto. Scooping the unresponsive man to his arms was much easier than it should've been.

Lightweight, Jack mused in what would've been a playful manner under different circumstances. He tried to remember the last time he'd seen Ianto finish up a proper meal and couldn't. He'd have to start paying more attention to the Welshman who shared his bed even when the man wasn't bleeding out in his arms. He firmly told himself that he'd get the chance to.

One day, possibly in a bitterly near future, he'd end up losing Ianto but he refused to believe that it'd be tonight.

Suddenly Jack was very grateful for the pouring rain because he didn't feel like explaining the moisture on his cheeks to his team and Owen would never let him live it down.

Ianto stirred, only barely but still, on their way to the Hub. The man frowned and wrinkled his nose in a manner that would've been absolutely adorable on any other day. A low, quiet moan broke through slightly parted lips.

"Shh…", Jack soothed, running his free hand through Ianto's damp locks. He wasn't sure which one of them was shaking more. "You're safe and you'll be alright. Just stay awake for a bit, okay?"

Apparently Ianto wasn't in the mood for following instructions. Instead the Welsman became completely limp against him once more. "Stubborn bastard", Owen muttered from behind the wheel, adding just a little bit speed. Jack couldn't help but agree while his heart stuttered with a baffling amount of near terror. He couldn't look away from Ianto's unconscious face.

A stubborn bastard indeed.

Two hours, fifteen minutes and thirty-eight seconds later, all of which Jack spent pacing right outside Owen's lair because the doctor refused to let him enter in his current state of mind, the door finally opened. The Londoner walked out with a dazed, confused and relieved look on his pale face, shaking his head. "That guy has a mighty hole on his side and a just as impressive concussion, and he fucking nearly bled out on me. Don't ask me how but he's conscious and unless he ends up being whacked around again tonight he should be alright. He's asking for you." Owen yawned and stretched. "I'm going to go home and crash for a few hours. Not all of us can manage without sleep. I've treated his wound and given him as much pain meds as I dared to with his concussion. If he as much as sneezes funnily call me immediately, understood?"

Jack nodded firmly. His eyes traveled hungrily towards the door separating him from Ianto. "I will." Ianto wouldn't even twitch without him noticing, not tonight.

"Good." Owen put on his coat and began to leave. Until all of a sudden the doctor's steps paused. "Oh, and Jack? No funny business." Instantly it was clear that the man wasn't talking just about adult-activities. Satisfied to discover that his advice, or perhaps rather a threat, hit home Owen left with hurried steps.

Jack honestly didn't know what to make of those words. Trying to chase away the stab they caused he shook his head, then took a breath and entered. What he discovered froze him by the doorway for a moment.

Ianto was definitely conscious although the man's eyes seemed hazy from pain, concussion and medication. The Welshman was pale while sitting there. All of a sudden the man seemed horribly young. Much too young for everything he'd been through.

Ianto lookd up at the sound of his movements. Despite the amount of physical discomfort he had to be in the man's eyes lit up. "Hey. Do you think you could take me home?"

Jack shook his head. Because in a flash his mind was set. "Nope", he announced as he made his way to the younger man. His hand was stunningly tender while it brushed Ianto's hair, his fingers lingering longer than necessary. "You're in no condition to spend the night alone. You'll stay with me." He nearly lost Ianto just hours ago. There was no way he'd let the Welshman out of his sight anytime soon.

Ianto gave him a wry little smile. One that brought a bizarre, fluttering sensation to the pit of the immortal's stomach. "I don't think that I'm up to what you have in mind", the Welshman attempted to joke.

Jack felt a brush of hurt. "Hey, I'm a versital guy! I'm capable of more than that." He held out his hand demandingly. A part of him wondered if he was offering a tad bit more than just a place to crash for the night. "Now, off the bed with you."

Ianto chuckled although it clearly hurt and shook his head. Which, ultimately, seemed to hurt more. The archivist did, however, accept his hand and even let him help the man stand. It might've been partially because the Welshman wouldn't have been able to support his own weight. Or maybe they both needed the closeness, the reassurance, as desperately. "Just keep your hands in line until I'm able to respond accordingly or I'll have Owen drug you, too."

Jack rolled his eyes. A small chuckle rumbled in his chest, pleasantly chasing away some of the tension of the day. "I'm sure that he'd enjoy it", he predicted darkly. On the spur of the moment he planted an almost tender kiss to the top of Ianto's banged up head. He held other closer than would've been necessary. And allowed the words to fall. "Today, when I saw you on the street… For a moment I thought…"

Ianto swallowed loudly, pointedly not looking at him. Did the younger man press just a little closer to his side? "Yeah, well… Me, too." The Welshman frowned and it probably didn't have anything to do with the headache. "It would've been… quite anti-climatic, actually. I'd rather have expected it be the end of the world, an alien invasion or a hail of bullets."

Jack's eyes darkened. He tightened his hold on Ianto, as though the gesture alone would've been able to keep the other rooted to his side eternally. "Sounds like Torchwood." It came out more bitterly than he'd anticipated.

All of a sudden Ianto's hand grabbed his firmly. Those blue eyes had lost all their haze, leaving behind nothing but determination and something that Jack just couldn't name. Something familiar and terrifyingly foreign at the same time. There was a Mona Lisa smile on the younger man's face. "I wouldn't change that for the world", Ianto declared. And there wasn't a soul that would've been able to question the confidence and sincerity behind those words.

Jack didn't know how to answer that. He didn't have the words. He didn't have even the slightest clue what he was doing.

But he did know that he didn't want Ianto go after the dawn would break. He also knew that he'd messed up royally, several times over, but this time he was in a nearly desperate need for a chance to do things right. And so he did the only thing he could.

He leaned and captured Ianto into a searing, hungry kiss. Determined to shed all of those things that he couldn't vocalize into that heated collision of lips. Ianto seemed to understand and let him in with a oddly touching lack of hesitation.

And as they kissed there in the middle of the satisfyingly quiet Hub it was suddenly incredibly calm in the eye of the storm.

The following morning Tosh, who'd had barely any sleep the night before, showed up for work worryingly early. As soon as she came in she headed towards Jack's office, planning on asking about Ianto. She frowned upon discovering that the captain wasn't there. Following her instincts she moved towards where she knew Jack spent his nights. The sight that met her brought a smile to her face.

Jack lay on his bed, for once in his endless life fast asleep. And miraculously enough fully clothed although he had company. Nestled very comfortably into the captain's fiercely protective arms was Ianto. The younger man still seemed pale and would definitely be in a lot of pain upon waking up. But as it was they were both smiling in their sleep, content in each other's embrace. Very much safe and alive.

Deciding to let the two have their privacy after such a night of horrors Tosh withdrew as quietly as she could, deciding that perhaps it was a good idea to keep Owen away from them for a few more hours.

End.

A/N: Because let's face it, those two need some fluff. (smirks and wipes eyes) Soooo… Was that any good, at all…? Please, do feel free to drop a note and let me know.

In any case, thank you so much for reading! Who knows, maybe we'll meet again…?

Take care!