Don't Cry

Vague sound of rain,

Pierces through my song again

The light in the room slowly started to fade as the sun set, beams of light shrinking as if trying to avoid the horrific sight. Over fifty body bags lay in rows across the room, illustrating the massacre which had occurred in the Thames Building that day. A lone policeman strolled aimlessly back and forth across the room, averting his eyes from a solitary figure which lay crying next to one of the dead.

But I get distracted by the way his toes move when he plays,

So I let it burn.

Jack Harkness cradled the body of his dead soulmate as he wept and wept. His shoulders shook and countless tears poured down his handsome, heartbroken face. He whispered to himself as he cried, repeating his soulmate's name over and over again, as if trying to bring life and sparkle back into Ianto Jones's eyes once more.

"Ianto…Please…Come back to me…Please… Ianto… Ianto…" mumbled Jack. He laced his fingers through Ianto's cold, lifeless hand and gazed helplessly at Ianto's bruised face. Jack longed to see those shining eyes light up, to see that dazzling smile which made his heart flutter.

I just poured my heart out,

There are bits of it on the floor.

After a while, Jack managed to compose himself a little and he shakily sat up, still holding Ianto's limp hand tightly. With his free hand, Jack brushed Ianto's face with his fingers, remembering the warmth and the softness which his skin once held. One of his fingers traced Ianto's lips, and Jack was resolved into floods of tears once again as he remembered the tender kisses that they once shared. Jack knelt next to Ianto's body, rocking backwards and forwards as sobs sent tremors through his whole body, and precious images of Ianto in life flashed through his mind.

And I take what's left of it and rinse it under cold water,

And call him up for more.

"Don't cry," said a voice suddenly, barely more audible than a whisper. Jack's head snapped up as he searched for the source of the voice, but he saw nothing and tears continued to stream down his face.

"Don't cry," said the voice a little louder this time, so that a light Welsh accent which wound through the voice became more apparent. Jack tried to stifle both his sobs and his shock as he began to recognise the soft voice.

"Who's there?" he whispered warily. Jack peered at Ianto's face, but it was just as lifeless as before. His eyes scanned the room, and then came to rest on a hazy figure that knelt just to the right of him.

"Ian-Ianto?" Jack said quietly, his voice still shaking a little.

"Yes," came the soft reply. Jack reeled in shock.

Beside him knelt a ghostly, semi-transparent figure. Despite the pearly silver luminescence which surrounded it, despite the fact that Jack could see through it to the other side of the room, there was no mistaking who it was. Shimmering blue eyes the colour of a fresh summer sky gazed tenderly into Jack's own. A gentle face carried the dazzling smile which Jack had so wanted to see, and short, soft brown hair fell forward slightly over Ianto Jones's smooth-skinned face.

"Ianto? But-but… How?" asked Jack, brushing away more tears.

"I will be here when you need me the most," replied Ianto's apparition lovingly, "you needed me, Jack, so I came."

And I say baby, yes I feel stupid to call you, but I'm lonely,

Jack shivered and tried to control a fresh stream of tears, but asked no more about how he was talking to Ianto, yet clutching his lifeless hand at the same time.

"Ianto, I'm-I'm so sorry. I should've g-gotten you out somehow…I-I was too s-selfish. I a-always am…" stuttered Jack through his tears, "you t-told me everything, and I didn't return that f-favour."

Ianto's own eyes shone with tears as he watched Jack weeping.

"Jack," he said softly, "please, don't worry about it. You did what you had to do, and I appreciate that." Ianto reached up to wipe away Jack's tears, but his hand was as ethereal as it looked; Ianto couldn't touch Jack.

"Please…" Jack begged, "Please, forgive me, Ianto,"

"Of course I'll forgive you," Ianto replied, "I love you, Jack Harkness. You mean everything to me, and you always will." Ianto reached out to touch Jack's face once again, only this time he could feel Jack's warm, smooth skin beneath his hands.

And I don't think you meant it when you said you couldn't love me,

They remained like so for countless minutes, Ianto holding Jack's face in his hands, and occasionally brushing his lips against Jack's. After a while, Jack stopped crying and released Ianto's dead, lifeless hand to hold the alive, if slightly transparent hands of Ianto's apparition. Jack started to speak, but stopped and reconsidered his words before continuing.

"I will never forget you, Ianto Jones," he said quietly, "never. As long as I live, and as long as I die, I will never forget how much of an impact you made on my life."

All of a sudden, Ianto burst into tears, his opalescent face twisted with sorrow.

And I thought maybe if I kissed the way you do, you'd feel it too.

"I can't do this, Jack," he sobbed, "I can't leave you."

"You'll always have me with you, Ianto," Jack soothed, "you'll always have my heart."

And I don't think you meant it when you said you couldn't love me,

And I thought maybe if I kissed the way you do, you'd feel it too.

Ianto took hold of Jack tightly and kissed him deeply, but he couldn't stop the tears.

"Tell me you love me, Jack," he pleaded when they had parted, "please… I need to hear you say it."

He said I'm sorry,

So sorry,

Jack avoided Ianto's gaze as he contemplated the request. He started to speak, but, again, was cut off by his own doubts.

"Ianto, I… I don't think I can," he said finally, "I'm sorry, Ianto, I'm so sorry."

Ianto was crushed at Jack's words. He knew that Jack wasn't human, and so didn't experience emotions in the same way as humans did. But Ianto had thought he was that exception. That he was that special person who stood out from the rest.

I'm sorry,

So sorry.

Ianto leant towards Jack and kissed him on the cheek, his eyes brimming with tears. He started crying loud, heartbreaking sobs. After one last look into Jack's sapphire eyes, he vanished, leaving Jack kneeling on the floor and feeling worse than ever before in his life.

Jack had been shot. He had been electrocuted. Stabbed, poisoned, drowned, strangled, blown up, buried alive in concrete.

But this death was the worst he had ever experienced.

That evening, Captain Jack Harkness died of a broken heart.

He said I'm sorry,

So sorry,

I'm sorry,

I am sorry.