Well I bet you never thought you'd see this fic again! I'm really sorry it's taken me this long to update, but I promise I'll try to be more frequent now that I'm back to it. My other fic, Tear-filled Trails of Blood, took over completely, as did real life.

Sorry it's short!

Enjoy!

Chapter 7

Ianto opened the door and scowled at Tosh as she tried to smile at him. Bart came skidding down the hall and crashed into his foot. Ianto barely noticed as he stared at Tosh, who shifted uncomfortably.

"Can I come in?"

"I told you I didn't want to see anyone."

"I know, but Ianto we're worried about you. Please? I've got your favourite cake."

Ianto's eyes narrowed to slits. "You think cake will make this all better?"

"Uh… Well, no, of course not. I just thought it might help you feel better."

"You have no idea how I feel."

Tosh lifted her head and said, with that quiet dignity that always seemed to help her win arguments, "How can I know, if you won't talk to me?"

Ianto glared at her, letting a few moments pass. Then he muttered, "Well played." and stepped aside, letting her in. Tosh gave a small smile of triumph and strode into the house and headed straight for the kitchen.

"I got to the bakery just as they pulled out a fresh one. It's still warm." If it hadn't been Tosh, and hence making it very wrong, it would have sounded like she was trying to seduce him. Ianto sighed and followed her. Bart scampered ahead of him and Señor lopped out of the sitting room, probably able to smell the strawberry tart. The smell was already beginning to permeate through the house. Ianto's stomach gave a clench of delight and Ianto decided to indulge it. It was his favourite after all.

Tosh smiled at him again, holding out a large slice from a large tart.

"You bought the whole thing?"

"Yup! I thought you ought to have as much as you wanted. It's been a while since you indulged."

Christ but she was making this easy. Ianto felt some of his annoyance melt away as he took the plate and fork and began to eat with his unbound hand at the counter. Tosh helped herself to a smaller slice and gave Bart and Señor half a strawberry each.

"So, how's your arm?"

"Drugged, so I'm not sure. They said I'm gonna need to have physio after it heals enough to get full use of it."

"Do you want to talk about how it was damaged?"

"Nope. I've no interest in talking about it, ever."

"But Ianto we have to catch them."

"Tosh, I said no. I can't… just no." Ianto turned away from her, dropping his fork and walking out of the room. Bart and Senor followed him, then Tosh, who suddenly had a thought.

"You knew them, didn't you."

Ianto paused, then continued over to his movie collection and started going through them slowly.

"You did! You knew them. Oh my God, Ianto, are you protecting the ones who did this to you?" Tosh grabbed his uninjured shoulder and pulled him to look at her. Ianto glared at her. That stubborn look on his face told Tosh everything she needed to know. "You are. You're protecting them. Ianto… how can you-"

"If I don't protect them who will!" snapped Ianto, before snarling to himself and straightening up. "Drop it Tosh!"

"You can't seriously expect me, expect us, to stop looking for these people. After what they did to you? No! They have to pay."

"All it'll be is a vicious cycle of vengeance."

"Cycle of… they tortured you for vengeance? What for?"

"Why don't you go ask Jack? It's all down to him. Him and fucking Torchwood."

"So Torchwood did something to them? Or Jack did? Both?"

Ianto glared at her, then put his back to her. After a moments consideration, Bart did the same, nose pointed to the floor. Ianto made a mental note to give him some banana later. Tosh was silent, then murmured,

"We want to help Ianto."

"Then help by forgetting it. And tell Jack that if he sends anyone else or comes over himself, he'll be getting my official resignation the second my hands are both working.

"You're only letting them win, Ianto."

"Everyone's already lost Tosh." Ianto wrapped his arm around his middle. He heard Tosh go into the kitchen, gather her things and come back in. After hesitating a moment, she came up behind him and a tentative hand touched the small of his back, right over a stitched wound. An intimate touch. Ianto hid a shiver.

"We're not giving up on you, Ianto."

Ianto tilted his head, eyes skimming his movies, but not seeing them as he debated what to say. Finally he said,

"Do what you like Tosh. I don't care."

Tosh's hand left him like she'd been burned. Then, with her voice choked with tears, she said,

"You may not care and you may not want them to be punished, but for this, for hurting you so much that you've stopped trusting us-" Trusting me. "-I swear we will find them and make them pay."

Ianto closed his eyes. "Just go Tosh. Please."

Tosh let out a soft noise, then left. She missed the five tears that spilled down his cheeks. One for each of them.

~*~

When Andy returned to Ianto's house, he found the other Welshman had changed into his own comfy clothes. Considering how hard that must have been alone, with his arm that bad, Andy was impressed. But he said nothing about it, guessing Ianto would feel, perhaps justifiably, patronised. Andy was getting the fact that Ianto was very reluctant to form any kind of dependence on anyone. This made Andy unsure as he held out a plastic bag.

"Thought you might need some essentials. Milk, tea, bread… cheese."

For some reason, Ianto's dour expression twitched with what seemed to be amusement at the word cheese. Was he someone who found cheese funny? Andy had met his kind before. They always had a brilliant sense of humour, just the right side of weird.

"Thanks." Ianto took the bag.

"No problem. Save you the trouble of getting it for a few days." Andy didn't comment on Ianto's obvious exhaustion. He looked worse than when Andy had left. Bloody Torchwood. What had they done now? Ianto weighed the bag in his hand, then gestured with his head to enter. Andy obeyed and closed the door behind him. Bart skidded over the wooden floors to check him out. Satisfied, he scrambled after Ianto, who'd gone into the kitchen with the bag and began to unpack the items.

"How've you been?"

"Well it's been six hours since you left and I've been fine. I had a fight with Tosh, and all but threw her out of my house. Tart?"

"Now I'm sure there's no need to call her that!"

Ianto raised his eyebrows at him, and a twinkle flashed through his eyes.

"I meant do you want some strawberry tart?" He pointed at the object in question. Andy flushed.

"Oh… uh… yeah, please."

"Help yourself." Ianto gave him a knife, plate, and fork. Andy took a small slice and tucked in while Ianto started making tea.

"So… why'd you fight with your friend?"

"Easier than trying to explain why I don't want them going after the people who… She wouldn't listen or understand. Or care."

"Seems to me they care a great deal about you."

"I'm not talking about-" Ianto thinned his lips, and said, "Never mind. I don't want to talk about it."

"Ok." Andy finished his tart and accepted the tea given. Once he'd drunk half of it, watching a preoccupied Ianto sip from his mug, eyes fixed on the floor. "You know… it's ok to be scared."

"I know. Don't patronise me. I've seen more than you ever will." Ianto was matter-of-fact about this. Andy raised his eyebrows.

"Oh?"

"Remember what happened in London, at Canary Warf?"

"Yeah."

"I was in the thick of that. Lost my girlfriend and most of my friends that day."

There was nothing Andy could say to that. The look in Ianto's eyes him he knew that.

"Believe me Andy. I know all about being scared."

As Ianto poured more tea, Andy found himself acknowledging that part of the reason he was spending so much time with Ianto was because he was becoming more an more fascinated by the quiet man. So young, yet incredibly strong. Andy wanted to know more.

~*~

"What's he doing?" asked a large man, eyes fixed on a slim woman with blond hair.

"He's still refusing to speak. Won't even tell the P.C about it."

The man growled, "Would have thought he'd have cracked by now."

"Closest he came was with Sato. He almost broke, but reigned it in."

"Bloody bastard. Bad enough he's a traitor, but now he won't give us the satisfaction of spilling to Harkness."

"So what'll we do?"

"We'll just have to take another tactic. Maybe Jones will be more inclined when we target someone he loves. Too bad his girl is dead."

"We could target Sato."

"We could. But we won't. Yet. I've a better idea…"

~*~

Ianto couldn't move. He wanted to, God how he wanted to, but he couldn't.

Crack!

He bit his lip to stay quiet, even though his back was on fire. He wanted to scream, to cry, but he wouldn't give them the satisfaction. What they were doing, why they were doing it… it was wrong, it was sick and Ianto couldn't fight them because of it.

Suddenly a great weight pressed down on him, crushing him to the ground. Ianto gasped as the pressure forced the air from his body, choking, crying-

Ianto's eyes snapped open and he gasped for breath, eyes flicking around his bedroom. Light from his en-suit streamed into his room through the half open door. He hadn't needed to do that since the cannibals.

Señor sat up, watching him with crooked ears. He almost looked worried. Bart, draped over Ianto's hip, tiny black tail sticking in the air, looked up, then settled back down to sleep.

"It's ok Señor." Ianto petted the large rabbit. "It's just my mind being it's usual twisted self." That was certainly the case. Ianto didn't need a dream interpreter to understand the second part of his dream. The first part had been memories, but the crushing part was his brain's idea of a joke. Caught between a rock and a hard place. Great, his subconscious liked puns. As if his week couldn't get any worse.

Señor ducked his head and rubbed it under Ianto's chin. Ianto smiled and put his arm around the big rabbit, hugging him, and felt better. Logically the rabbit would be completely useless in protecting him. but Ianto told his logic to fuck off.

Yawning, Ianto shifted a little on the bed to get comfy. And Bart promptly slipped, head first, from Ianto's hip. It was the indignant expression on his face that made Ianto laugh. Scooping the little rabbit up, Ianto lay on his back, careful of his shoulder, and set Bart on his chest. Bart gave his face a wipe with his paws, the stretched out over his chest. Señor rested his front paws and head on Ianto's stomach, relaxing again.

Resting his hand on Señor's back, Ianto was just glad Andy had gone and hand't seen him wake from another nightmare. It'd been hard enough to get him to leave for the night. As he'd remind the P.C. his house was being monitored at all times. He'd be fine. Really, Ianto had just wanted to be left alone.

~*~

Meanwhile, Jack watched Ianto wake from his nightmare and comfort himself with his pets. Seeing Ianto act more his age with his rabbits gave Jack hope that they could get through this.

He'd need to suffer through more though, before he would be able to look to repairing the relationship between him and Ianto.

Yay for the suspense… right?

Night's Darkness