A/N – This came to me last night right before I went to bed so hopefully it comes out right.

On a story note, I never finished watching CoE, because I know what happened. So if the details are a little off… deal with it. For me it never happened.

Delta 32

Jack gasped as he quickly sat up. He felt like he could still feel the burn of the gas in his throat. Sitting there on the cold concrete floor of the makeshift morgue, he didn't want to open his eyes. He didn't want to see the body he knew would be there.

"Jack!" He heard footsteps and Gwen's voice. "Oh god Jack, thank god you're back." He felt her drape his greatcoat over his shoulders. God he could still smell Ianto on it. "Jack, are you okay to get up? It's been hours and Ianto has been asking for you. The doctors won't let him go."

Jack's eyes went wide. "What?! Ianto's alive!?"

He struggled a little getting up – the stiffness of death still holding on to his limbs. Gwen helped him steady himself. "Yes. He and a young woman from the IT department. The only two survivors...besides you, of course."

Gwen led him out of the makeshift morgue and through a maze of hallways. "How?" Jack asked wishing she'd move faster.

"They don't know. That's what the doctors are trying to figure out. They both breathed in the gas which apparently had some kind of virus in it. But when the bodies were being collected it turned out that Ianto and this woman were merely unconscious."

Gwen nodded briefly at the guards as they entered the medical area. It had obviously been expecting many more people so it looked very empty with just two clusters of medical staff.

"Jack!" he heard Ianto's voice from the cluster on the left. It wasn't until the moment that he actually heard his name that Jack actually believed Gwen. The cluster parted and Ianto clad in his dress trousers and t-shirt pushed past the doctors and met Jack in the middle of the room.

The embrace that followed would rival any romantic scene in the history of motion pictures. After several long minutes, Ianto, remembering where they were, pulled back slightly.

"Jack, I'm okay. They've been running tests for hours. At first they found inactive virus in my blood, but now it's all gone. I'm not going anywhere. The same with Kate." He added nodding to the young woman sitting in the middle of the other cluster.

"But how?" The older man breathed, not wanting to let go.

Ianto indulged him, but moved them both over to one of the beds so they could sit down away from the middle of the room. "That's what they're working on now. " He lowered his voice a bit. "Gwen called Martha in, and she called a special consulting Doctor." He put a certain emphasis on the last work, knowing Jack would get his meaning.

Jack bristled. "He should have been here… he could have stopped all of this. But since it's not Christmas, I guess he figures it's not his problem."

Ianto just let him vent.

They sat there for a while. The doctors had done every test they could but would not release Ianto or Kate without authorization. They found out Kate was a computer genius – almost running the IT department of Thames House on her own. She had obviously been traumatized by the loss of all of her friends, but she had found a kind of kindred spirit in Ianto, when he had told her he was a survivor of Canary Wharf.

Finally, Martha arrived. She had orders from the top that Ianto was to be released into Torchwood custody for further testing. All relevant results were to be released to UNIT medical staff. Ianto had no problems with this, figuring whatever had saved Kate and himself could be used to help others.

Jack stood up and offered Ianto his hand. "Time to go home." He turned to Martha. "When your consultant arrives, tell him he should have been here to deal with this from the start. Even Torchwood wasn't equipped."

He turned to Ianto when the younger man hesitated.

"Jack," he said nodding toward the obviously nervous Kate. "She has nowhere to go and we do need a computer specialist."

-End- (or maybe not)

A/N – Comments, questions, etc are always welcomed. Before I get slammed by requests… I would LOVE to continue this, but my muse has just recently returned after a multi year hiatus and still isn't working full time. So it may or may not happen. Don't hold your breath. Better to be surprised than disappointed.

NOTE - The premise is based on the semi newly found CCR5-Delta 32 mutation. It's a long drawn out story but the basic idea is; it is a genetic mutation that prevents certain viruses or bacteria from attaching to the T-Cells. The people who have this mutation were immune to the Bubonic Plague, and are also immune to HIV. Currently they are working on gene therapy for HIV and at least one person has been cured. The CCR5-Delta 32 mutation occurs in about 5-14% of people of Northern European descent.

On a side note, I have found this interesting because my father (who was born in Poland) and I hardly ever get sick. We've never had the flu or chicken pox. So I've wondered if we have this mutation.

Thanks for reading!