Jack sat hunched, elbows on his desk, fingers woven through his once-again tousled hair. He glared at the files spread before him. There were only two options and he hated them both, passionately. Still, they were plans that could work. Plans that would save the Earth and all mankind. And that was, after all, his job. Today his job was also something he hated, passionately. Straightening in his chair, Jack stretched his back, feeling the pinch of muscles sat too long in one position, muscles held too tense, muscles that wanted a back-rub from a particular Welshman.

He picked-up his empty mug and the dish that had contained Ianto's chocolates and headed to the door. With a sigh, Jack had to return to the desk to retrieve the folder that held the plan for Earth's salvation. But salvation at what cost?

******

"We can't do that." Ianto stared at Jack, half expecting the grin, the laugh, the real plan.

"Not a whole lot of options here." Jack glanced at each of his team in turn.

"Then choose another one." Even Ianto was surprised by the adamant tone of his own voice. "A better one. There's no telling where it would end up. Who it could land on."

"That's the risk we'd have to take."

"It's not our risk to take. We don't have the right!" Ianto was resisting an urge to stand up. "Jack." He consciously lowered his voice in both volume and tone. "All the times we complain about what comes through the Rift… the stuff that kills innocent people… We can't be responsible for doing the same to someone else, somewhere else… We just can't." Ianto's voice had fallen to barely a whisper. Whisper or not, his words carried an immeasurable weight in the silence of the conference room.

"I'm with Ianto, Jack. We can't kill someone else, maybe even a whole alien world." Gwen had a tear in her eyes that slowly rolled down to disappear on her cheek.

"There's really no way to predict where, or when, the gas would land." Tosh keyed her PDA. "It could all show up right back here anyway, or in the Middle Ages…"

"Care to make it unanimous?" Jack pinned Owen with a stare.

"As long as you're calling for a vote. Never thought I'd say this, but I'm with Tea-boy. What else have you got?"

"Fine." Jack frowned as he realized it actually was unanimous. He himself had never liked the plan either. He'd had to give them the chance to decide for themselves, because the only alternative was going to be harder, if not impossible. And even if everything went exactly to plan, there were going to be casualties. "I'll need half an hour to finalize Plan B."

"You've never argued with me in front of the team before."

"I'm sorry, Jack. It's just-"

"I like it. Very forceful." The grin. "Kinda… sexy."

Ianto smiled and blushed, unable to maintain the eye contact. When he looked again at Jack, the smile faded. "Jack, what is it?"

"We have to talk." Jack turned away before Ianto could see the tears welling-up in his eyes. "Follow me." Jack led Ianto down into the archives, making random turns as he went, buying time to steady himself.

Ianto knew the archives better than any other in the history of Torchwood, present company included. He knew full well that Jack was just buying time and Ianto had already worked-out what the necessary conversation must be. "Jack," barely more than a sigh, Ianto's voice was huskier than usual. "Think this is the room you're looking for."

"Ianto," Jack began, trying hard to look calm, he turned. He took a deep breath, attempting one last time to steady himself. He took another breath, and another.

"The mission." Ianto prompted.

"The mission…" Jack choked slightly.

"Its, uh… one-way." Ianto smiled faintly. "Isn't it?"

"Ianto. I-" The tears flowed unabated down Jack's cheeks now.

"It's what we do… isn't it?" the edges of Ianto's thin smile flickered upwards a little higher. "Save the world, die young…"

Jack's heart beat so loud and hard in his chest he thought it would burst. He hoped it would burst, if it would end the agony he now felt. "Ianto…"

"I know Jack. It's okay. Really. I think I've had it figured out for a while now. You need Tosh to build a machine to convert the atmosphere back to normal. Owen'll need to help her with that, the chemical and medical side and all. Gwen, well she's just been engaged and all. Second-in-Command and all. That leaves me. It's fine. Not every day a Tea-boy gets to save the world."

Jack wanted for all the world to tell Ianto he wasn't a Tea-boy. That he was Jack's world. That Ianto wasn't the choice that was left, but that he was the only one… the one that Jack could most trust to do the right thing, no matter the personal cost. He wanted to tell Ianto how in all his century and a half of life, he had never met anyone so incredibly wonderful. Instead, all he could do was cry.

Ianto took Jack's face in his hands and wiped away the tears. It was no use; they were soon replaced by more. He moved his head down and under Jack's until he caught his eye. Ianto smiled. That ever faithful, ever loving smile. That smile that, tortured as he felt, Jack couldn't help but return in kind. "Now, c'mon Jack. How 'bout a cup of coffee?"

Jack threw his arms around Ianto in an embrace as full of regret and sadness as it was of love and passion. He held the young man's head against his own and willed the Rift to open and swallow them both, transport them anywhere as long as they were together.

*****

"So, while Tosh and I are throwing together… some miracle device, what, exactly, will the rest of you lot be doing?" Owen grinned.

"We'll be up on the Sontaran ship. Stopping them from doing… well, anything else." Gwen took over and for once Jack didn't mind.

"Is that all?" Owen smirked.

"Yeah, pretty much." Gwen laughed.

"I'm still not sure how long it'll take to build an atmospheric converter. I don't even know if I have the necessary parts." Tosh frowned as she tapped the keys of her PDA, calling up the Torchwood supplies inventory.

"Find the parts. Have it ready." Jack was out of his seat and out of the conference room without hesitation. Ianto followed him after a quick flash of a small smile.

"So what's that all about?" Owen nodded at the door through which they'd just exited. "Lover's tiff?"

"Do they both still think that we don't know about them?" Tosh smiled, but didn't look up from the PDA.

"Boys. Completely clueless. Think they're so subtle and all that." Gwen couldn't help but chuckle.

*****

Ianto found Jack in his office, door and blinds closed. He didn't bother to knock. "Jack."

"I'm not leaving you." Jack moved to the coat rack.

"Me? Or the coat?" Ianto moved to help him into the blue greatcoat.

"Ianto."

"Jack."

Jack couldn't help but smile. "I'll be there too. I wanted you to know that. You won't be alone. Up there." The smile faded as he looked into the dazzling stormy blue of the young Welshman's eyes and felt the tears welling-up once again in his own. "It's just…"

"It's just that in the end, you won't die. But what happens to you? Floating around in space? Do you have your towel? Wave down a passing spaceship?" Ianto picked absentmindedly at a loose thread on the shoulder of Jack's coat. "You'll be okay… won't you?"

"Ianto."

"Jack."

"Ianto, I won't be okay, not if I don't have you…"

Gwen took that completely inopportune moment to arrive, "Tiff all over then? All made-up? I think it's time we got moving, boys."

*****

During the drive, the silence in the SUV had been broken only by the sound of Gwen's call to Rhys, asking if he was okay and reminding him to stay inside. Ianto and Jack's only reaction being an identical rolling of the eyes. The Port Talbot Atmos plant was as unattractive as when Ianto had first seen it that morning. The only difference now, was the presence of hundreds of black-armoured aliens who swarmed like ants in a disturbed hill.

"Looks a bit more active than it did this morning." Ianto peered through the window. "Now might be a good time for the details of your plan… if you've a… got any."

"Ever seen Star Wars?" Jack did a quick estimate of the Sontaran troop numbers and didn't like the total.

"That's one of Rhys' favourites."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" They emerged from the SUV and ducked behind a stack of Atmos crates as a pair of Sontarans came into view. Jack pulled his Webley from its holster. "When Han and Luke need to get into the detention area, to free Princess Leia…"

"But Jack…" Ianto eyed the two aliens that were marching ever closer. "Aren't we a little tall for Sontarans?"

*****

"These things really stretch. For a minute I was worried that we'd move from Star Wars to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom… When he puts on the uniform, and it doesn't-"

"Jack! Shouldn't we get moving?" Gwen hissed.

"Well, I was just saying…"

"Raiders." Ianto's voice had a metallic echo from within the helmet.

"What?"

"Raiders of the Lost Ark… That scene… it was a Nazi uniform. Temple of Doom was in India."

"Is now really the time?" Gwen glanced past the stack of crates. It didn't seem that anyone had noticed their presence, yet.

"You know, you're right. It was the first one." Jack turned, "Does this Sontaran suit make my butt look big?"

"Jack!" Gwen hissed.

"No bigger than usual." Ianto replied.

"Oh! And your butt's just asking for a smack." Jack took a step towards Ianto. A step that looked a bit more menacing than intended, wrapped as he was in black alien leather.

"So are we going to save the world? Or… do this… all day?" Gwen asked with exaggerated exasperation.

"Know which one I'd prefer." Ianto glanced at Jack, "So, you want to get that third uniform? Or shall I?"

As Jack strode from behind the crates with a rather embellished Sontaran swagger he called back, "I'll get it. Next round's yours."

"Are you two ever going to grow-up? I swear, you two're worse than a couple of kids," Gwen tutted.

"No. Think this is about it for me. Growing-up." Ianto watched as Sontaran Jack disappeared round a corner. "And it's about as far as you go today. Tell everyone… well… never mind…"

Gwen dropped to the ground with a startled sound, something not unlike to coo of a dove. Ianto replaced the stun-gun in its holster and carried her to the back of the SUV. "I'm sorry Gwen. Have a good life."

By the time Jack reappeared, Ianto was stood casually leaning against the crates, trying his best to look unassuming. "No uniform?"

"Damn Sontarans travel in packs. It'd cause too much of a ruckus to take another one out. Where's Gwen?" Sontaran Jack swiveled, discovering the limited mobility of his battle armour.

"Dunno." Ianto hoped the lie didn't sound as hollow to Jack as it did to himself. "She said something about Rhys and left. By the time I'd figured-out how to turn this tank of a suit, she was no where in sight. Just gone." Shut-up now, Ianto added to himself.

"Oh, just peachy! Damn!" Jack glanced around them, but with no sign of Gwen he continued, "Well, she wasn't going much farther anyway. We can do without her."

"Yep."

"So, where was this teleport you saw?"

"Well," Ianto headed towards the warped wooden door-within-a-door to the warehouse. "I think it was a teleport."

"Ianto..."

"Jack."

"If it isn't a teleport, this isn't exactly gonna work. Was it a teleport? Or not?"

"Dunno. Looked like a teleport. I'm not exactly a teleport expert or anything."

*****

"C'mon, Tosh. They're gonna need this thing, preferably working." Owen moved behind her, hovering.

"That's not helping."

"Then give me something to do." He leaned on the table beside her. Unaware that the pause in her movements was tied directly to his proximity, the scent of his aftershave.

"Stop distracting me! That's something for you to do." Tosh forced herself to re-focus on her task. The aftershave once again demanding her attention, she turned. "Cup of tea?"

"The end of all fuckin' mankind… and you want tea?" He demanded, standing upright again.

"Two sugars please." Tosh smiled.

Owen stared at her. Glared at her. Then he grinned at her and moved off towards Ianto's kitchen area. He looked at the coffee/espresso machine and wondered if the space shuttle had controls as complicated. After a moment, Owen located the kettle and checking that it was full, flipped the switch. He looked at his watch, wondered where the others were by now, wished he was with them, wondered if he'd ever see them again.

*****

There were rather fewer Sontarans within the warehouse than either Ianto or Jack had anticipated, but still rather more than either wanted to see. Ianto waited for the alarm, the shout, the demand for identification. He wondered at their apparent luck, or the Sontaran's apparent blindness. Both he and Jack towered over those they passed. Thinking short thoughts, Ianto led Jack down the stairs towards the cellar.

"Kinda surprised no one's noticed us." Jack whispered.

"Helpful." Ianto took a deep breath, opened the door at the base of the stairs and strode into the room. The empty room. Well, nearly empty. There were no Sontarans, no cloning pool, and no cyber-conversion-like bed. There was just a thing in the corner. A thing like a big tunnel. A thing like a dual cyclonic energy/matter transport.

*****

As Jack and Ianto slowly materialized aboard the Sontaran Battle cruiser, Commander Smuul turned to the transport chamber, "Report!"

"Uuh… All is proceeding as planned. It is a glorious day for Sontar!" Ianto could feel Jack's nudge. He turned slightly to see the exaggerated motion, asking him just what he thought he was doing. Waiting until the Sontaran on the ship turned away, Ianto indicated the three petals on the lotus-shaped flower emblem of his helmet, then indicated Jack's two. At least in the Sontaran army, Ianto outranked him.

"It is unfortunate that the humans have necessitated a premature move to the final phase. I would have liked to savour the battle longer." Smuul checked readings and made several insignificant adjustments.

Ianto felt Jack's elbow in his ribs, but couldn't think of a reply. He thought back to Stuul. What would Stuul have said? "Better a swift victory, than none at all."

"True. They are starting to die. A place called Tokyo. The humans lack a central command and their inferior battle strategy is becoming apparent." Smuul made further adjustments. "Their public announcements are… amusing. The humans actually feel the need to warn the public to stay away from their vehicles. At least they understand what is happening. They are referring to this as 'The End of Days.'"

Jack and Ianto exchanged a glance, 'Haven't we done that one already?' It seemed this Sontaran was more than willing to spend the entire battle discussing the glory of it all, but the clueless, hopeless, humans without a central command had other plans.

"We've been ordered to check on the power-output interchange relays." Ianto edged further into the room.

"There have been reports of fluctuations." Jack added as he hazarded a glance at Ianto. Ianto wasn't supposed to know about the relays. The relays that formed the one potential weakness in the Battle cruiser's construction. The relays that were central to Jack's plan. The relays that really should not be brought to the Sontaran's attention if that plan were to stand half a chance of succeeding.

Smuul moved to his left and glanced at a panel of controls. He tapped a dial, keyed a sequence. "The relays are all within established parameters. Who ordered the check?"

Jack drew his Webley, from where, Ianto didn't hazard a guess. As Smuul turned back to face them, Jack's round pierced the armour and he fell to the deck, dead.

"No Cordolaine field up here then." Ianto stared down at the lifeless form at their feet.

"Hmm. Guess I should have checked that first, huh?" Jack nudged the Sontaran with the toe of his boot. "Slide him out of the way while I get started on these relays, would ya? Nice work, by the way… finding out where the relays were…"

"Thought it might save us some time." Ianto bent and dragged the alien out of the center of the room. "You… uh, know what you're doing there?"

"Yeah. Not too complicated. It's always easier to mess things up, than it is to fix them."

"Speaking from personal experience?"

Jack snickered, "Yeah, more times than I care to remember."

They worked in silence for several moments before Jack paused and watched Ianto typing on the alien keyboard, his soft features hardened with concentration. Jack couldn't help but smile as he watched the young man working. He couldn't help but love him.

"Looks like the U.N.I.T. boys have finally bothered to show-up." Jack indicated a monitor that showed the Port Talbot plant thousands of miles below.

"'Bout time." Ianto never looked-up from his work.

Jack smiled, "Really like those hats. Sexy."

Ianto glanced up at the monitor that had caught Jack's attention. He glared at the hats, or more specifically, at the U.N.I.T. soldiers wearing them. He glanced at Jack and frowned at the expression he saw there… lust? Ianto shook his head at the feeling he felt swelling inside, could he really be jealous of the hats? Or was it of the soldiers wearing them?

As Ianto resumed typing, Jack hazarded a glance at his companion and grinned at the obviously jealous look still on the young man's face.

"You finished?" Ianto didn't look up from his typing as he felt Jack's gaze.

"Just about." Jack tore his eyes away and forced himself to focus on the controls before him. Seconds later, "Done."

"Me as well."

"So, now that that's all done, seems like maybe it's a little crowded up here."

"Jack, about this plan of yours…"

*****

"Finished." Tosh called triumphantly.

"Give-us a minute. Can't find where Ianto keeps the bloody teabags." A loud clatter sounded from the direction of Owen's voice.

"He doesn't do teabags." Tosh stood and stretched her aching back.

"How can the Tea-boy, not do teabags?"

"Loose tea, in an infuser." She moved to where she could now see him, only his back-side visible as he burrowed in the kitchen's cupboards.

"Doesn't that boy ever do anything the easy way?" Owen withdrew himself from the cabinet and caused another avalanche of supplies to tumble to the floor.

"He's not a boy. He's almost as old as you are. And he just believes in doing everything the right way. The proper way. He looks up to you, you know." Owen spun round and frowned at her. Tosh immediately wished she'd never brought it up. Owen opened his mouth, closed it and frowned yet again. Tosh continued, "Seems to think you're the ultimate field agent or some such rubbish. He just doesn't know you as well as I do. If he did…"

The frown flattened. Tosh started to continue, but instead Owen finished for her with, "If he did, he'd realize I'm not a good role-model."

"Rubbish."

"Yeah, that I'm rubbish."

"That's not what I was going to say, Owen."

"Yeah, anyway…" He threw a tea towel at her and grinned, "So, finally finished are we?"

*****

"You never question me." Jack tilted his head to the left and smiled. Happy that they'd been able to rid themselves of their bulky Sontaran uniforms.

"Would a little bit of reciprocity be asking too much? Just this once?" Ianto sighed.

"Ooooh… say that again."

"Say what again?"

"Reciprocity. I've always loved those Welsh vowels."

Ianto moved closer and sensed, rather than felt, Jack's sharp intake of breath. "Reciprocity…" his whisper was at its huskiest. Ianto leaned the final few inches and as Jack moved forward and closed his eyes in anticipation of the kiss, he continued, "Good-bye Jack… Sir."

There was a sparkling in the air, a crackling snapping sound, and Jack slipped downwards. Ianto dropped the stun-gun and caught him, lowering him gently to the floor of the transport tunnel. He bent and kissed Jack one final time, "Think of me."

Ianto activated the controls and watched as Captain Jack Harkness slowly dissolved to safety.

*****

"Have you heard from the others?" Tosh did a final check of the firing mechanism of her atmospheric converter.

"No. And something tells me we might not." Owen's voice was quiet and lacked its usual sarcasm.

"What do you mean?" Tosh lowered her glasses and looked over at Owen.

"Take a look at this." Owen swiveled his monitor and keyed the replay sequence. It was a video from Jack. In it, he spelled out all the details of his plan, everything that he'd refused to elaborate upon previously. He told how Ianto, Gwen and he would infiltrate the Sontaran ship that he'd send Gwen back down to "secure a clear escape route." That done, he and Ianto would sabotage the ship. Jack then planned on ordering Ianto back to Earth as well. Here he paused to apologize to Ianto, telling him that he knew he could always count on him to follow orders, and thanking him for keeping it all quiet. He explained to the others that Ianto had always known it was a one-way mission, but had been told that that included him. He commended Ianto for his bravery (at which point the video image of Jack started to cry, tried to pretend he wasn't, and continued.) He further commended Ianto for his loyalty, and for being the most incredible, sweetest, sexiest and hottest man Jack had ever known, ever. The video Jack put on a brave face. He announced that he was leaving Gwen in charge (as Ianto had told him she'd done an excellent job in Jack's absence.) He asked them all to continue on, doing the work, saving the planet, taking care of each other. The video Jack left them with one final grin and the recording ended, the image blinked out of view and was replaced with the familiar swirling patterns.

*****

Alone in the room, apart from the dead Sontaran in the corner, Ianto took a deep breath. He glanced at the monitors that showed other parts of the ship, Earth television broadcasts, the Port Talbot plant below. He lightly touched the screen that showed Jack unconscious in the teleport tunnel. An announcement had been made that all teleports were locked now, so at least he didn't have to worry that Jack would wake-up too soon. Didn't have to worry that Jack would come charging back to save the day, at the cost of his… what? His life? Even if the plan had gone as Jack had conceived it, what really might have happened to him? Would he have been stuck, floating in space, forever? Continually dying of suffocation? Until what? Being pulled into the gravity of some star or planet? Or could the explosion of the ship have killed even Jack? None were options Ianto would allow.

He glanced briefly at the image on one of the monitors, the gas levels were approaching 66% in urban areas. The Sontarans were pushing everything to maximum. If he didn't act soon, it would be too late. Ianto glanced away from the monitors and the cold, heartless statistics they displayed. His gaze moved to the giant observation window before him. He noticed for the first time, the view of the Earth, its usual blue-green now a bilious yellow. Just as he started to look away, a flash caught his eye again. He stared. A section of the atmosphere seemed to catch on fire. Ianto was mesmerized as he watched the line of fire race around the globe, until the entire planet was engulfed. "Is that you, Tosh? Did you just do that?" As he continued to observe, the Earth slowly returned to its normal colour and Ianto couldn't help but let out a small whoop of joy, punching the air with a fist.

The elation, however, was short-lived as Ianto realized that the Earth still wasn't safe. The gas was gone, but the cars that produced it, and the Mr. Potatohead clones who had caused it, were still here. It wasn't over yet. Ianto glanced at the power-output interchange relays, and said to himself, "But for you, Ianto Jones, the Coffee-Bringer, it soon shall be."

Something on an adjacent monitor caught Ianto's attention. In what appeared to be the command center of the ship, there was a human. He stood talking to the Sontarans. He looked vaguely familiar, but what he held was even more familiar. Ianto squinted and looked closer at the grainy resolution of the monitor image. The man seemed to be holding what looked like the device Tosh had sketched, an atmospheric converter.

Somewhere he could hear a countdown announced. Without thinking, his hand clasped the stopwatch in his pocket and pressed the button on the top. Ianto's mind raced: Who was he? Where had he gotten the converter? What was he planning to do with it? What could you do with an atmospheric converter? Besides of course, convert the atmosphere… the thought dawned like a heard of stampeding wildebeests. No… really?

Ianto Jones stood, hands on his hips and stared at the monitor, then back again to the switches. Uncertainty flooded through him. If he was wrong he would be responsible for the deaths of every single human being on Earth. If he was right, however, there was the smallest chance, the slightest glimmer of possibility, that he could actually survive this after all. Could he be selfish enough to hope? His heart beat faster at the concept that maybe, just maybe… that an hour ago would not be the last time he would have ever held Jack in his arms. But could he, really? Who was he to risk all humanity for just his own life? Ianto closed his eyes, took a deep breath, released it with a sigh and reached for the lever.

*****

When Jack first came back to consciousness, he thought for an instant that he'd died, again. There was that same rushing feel, the quick disorientation. "Ianto?!?" He glanced franticly around the room. Not the same room. He was back on Earth. "NO." He said it again, louder. He said it again and again as he pounded the lifeless controls of the teleport. He screamed and raged at the ceiling and the roof and the sky above them. Charging up the stairs three at a time, he burst through the warehouse and into the crisp air of late afternoon. He never noticed that the sky was now free of its deadly gas. Jack scanned the heavens until he could just make out the point of light in the sky that was the Sontaran Battleship. "Ianto?"

The quiet unobtrusive point in the sky burst into a ball of flames and then disappeared, as if it had never existed. "Ianto," Jack whispered, before collapsing to the ground.

Somewhere in the despair, a voice called his name. The wrong voice. Not his voice. Jack ignored it. It called again and again and again. Demanding attention that he felt too numb to give. There was no point. He wanted the darkness to envelop him, swallow him whole. The voice sounded again in his ear, refused to be silent. "Jack."

Jack opened his eyes and could see the dim outline of Gwen Cooper as she held him, cradled in her arms. She smiled at him. He looked blankly at her, then he looked away. Jack stood. He stared at the SUV, parked exactly as they'd left it, shining in the sunlight. Jack stared at his own reflection in the burnished surface. The shine that Ianto had polished into its obsidian paint. Jack took a shuddering breath and strode to the SUV. As he reached for the door handle, the voice again. "Jack…" He paused, waited. It continued, "Where's Ianto?"

A lump built in Jack's throat, threatening to suffocate him.

"I woke-up in the back of the SUV, Jack. Was that part of your plan?" the recrimination building in Gwen's voice.

"Ianto's plan." Jack whispered, but didn't turn to face her.

"I guess…" Gwen approached him again. "I guess this was part of his plan then, also." She held an envelope out in front of him.

Jack looked down at it as she held it between him and the vehicle. He stared at it. Slowly, he took it from her and held it in his own hand. He stood for what seemed like an eternity before turning the envelope over. There, written in Ianto's neat and beautiful hand, was Jack's name. A drop of water hit the printing and Jack's other hand moved like lightning to wipe it away before it could threaten to smudge the writing. A thought floated through Jack's consciousness like a moth… was it starting to rain? That would be fitting. Ianto always liked the sound of the rain falling. Another thought floated… not rain, a tear. Jack's tear. Ianto wouldn't want that. Would he? Maybe a little.

Reluctantly turning the envelope over, Jack carefully unsealed it, cautious not to tear it, this last memento. The letter inside was written in the same striking hand and Jack couldn't help but stare at it's exquisiteness before starting to read.

Dear Jack,

Please forgive the briefness of this… there just isn't the time to tell you all the things I wish I could, that I wish I had said before now. I'm guessing that by now you've figured out that things didn't go quite according to your plan. With any luck, they have gone according to mine. I need to apologize for lying to you, when I told you I'd follow your orders. I realized quite early on, that in the end only one person would be needed to activate the destruct. I also realized that you'd probably worked that out for yourself as well and… Well, we both know who that one person would have been. The thought of living without you… and of what could happen to you out there…

Anyway, since this is my last chance, there are some things I'd like to say. Firstly Jack, you are the most egotistical, self-centered, thoughtless bastard I have ever met. Secondly, I love you. I think I always have. You have been the one thing in my life that allowed me to believe that maybe it was all worth while. In so many ways I wish I could have been more like you. I'm proud to have known you, worked for you, worked with you, and to have loved you. Know that my dying thought will be of you.

With all my love, always.

Yours faithfully,

Ianto

p.s.: Please don't be cross with me for disobeying your orders. You know I'd have followed you anywhere, I just couldn't let you go alone.

Jack's breaths came in ragged bursts as he collapsed against the side of the car. Somewhere in the back of his mind another thought floated. You're smudging the car. Ianto wouldn't approve. Jack felt himself being helped into the passenger seat of the SUV and dimly heard the engine start a moment later. Of the ride back to the Torchwood Hub, Jack could recall nothing.

*****

As Jack entered the Hub, he was greeted with whoops of joy from both Tosh and Owen, "You're alive!"

Jack stood a moment just inside the cog-wheel door and let them both hug him and Gwen. Without a word, he moved past them and up into his office. He could hear Tosh quietly ask Gwen, "Where's Ianto?" Her reply, if she gave one, was lost in the sound of his office door slamming shut.

Jack slumped in his chair and stared blankly, thoughtlessly, at a wholly unremarkable blank space on his office wall. Time had no meaning. Life had no meaning. He pulled the mobile phone from his pocket and hit a speed-dial. He demanded answers from U.N.I.T. When he didn't like what he heard, Jack hurled the phone into the wholly unremarkable blank space on his office wall, shattering the phone and denting the wall.

*****

The cog-wheel door rolled slowly out of the way, the sound of the warning alarms echoed through the Hub. Outside it was a bright sunny morning; inside was pretty much the same as it ever was. The same with one exception: there, stood in the space just outside Jack's office was Gwen, her arms around him, holding Jack. Ianto, standing alone in the cog-wheel doorway, felt his heart slowly break. Hadn't taken Jack long to move-on. He wondered if Jack had even read the letter he'd left with Gwen. If he'd read it and thrown it away. Ianto took a deep breath, put on a brave face (smile, make eye contact.) "Ummm, hello?"

"I can still hear his voice, that lovely voice, those beautiful vowels." Jack sighed to Gwen.

"Umm, thanks." Ianto replied.

Jack spun. He looked, he blinked, he couldn't believe. "Ianto?"

"Jack."

"Ianto?!?"

"Yes, hello. It's me."

"Where? How?" Jack pushed Gwen's well-meaning but unwanted hug aside and ran to Ianto, crying, "I thought… I thought I'd lost you."

"Nope. Was right where you'd left me last. Well, then I was in France. Don't know which was worse."

"I thought I'd lost you." The tears were flowing unchecked now.

"You, uh, said that already." Ianto tried to reconcile Jack's current state with the scene when he'd first arrived. He chose to believe Gwen had cornered Jack with her concern. Maybe Jack hadn't been hugging her back after all. Had his arms been at his sides? Quick mental image confirmed, yes, they were. Ianto smiled.

Jack took Ianto in his arms, and hugged him like a life preserver on the Titanic. He took Ianto's face in his hands and stared at him, as if to confirm that he wasn't a ghost, "Don't you ever leave me again. Understand?"

From the look in Jack's eyes, Ianto felt all his self-doubt evaporate and smiled as he answered, "Yes, Sir."

*****

No one consciously planned it, but Ianto's survival and return weren't mentioned when Tosh and Owen each arrived for work shortly thereafter. Jack called a meeting in the conference room and had to bite-back a smile as he observed them sitting slumped in their chairs. Gwen fairly choked to stop herself from laughing in anticipation.

Ianto entered and placed tray of mugs on the table. He selected Owen's mug and placed it on the table before him. Owen, nodded and grunted a, "Thanks, mate." A moment later, his chin shot up. He turned to look at Jack who now grinned.

Within a fraction of a second, Tosh stood with a squeal. She ran to Ianto and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him repeatedly on the cheek.

Owen stood, took a step towards Ianto, half a step back. He looked at Gwen who was grinning wildly now. Owen took the remaining steps and embraced Ianto the moment Tosh had let go. Then, with a resigned, "Oh, fuck it!" Owen kissed him too.