"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Back's going to be a bit sore for a couple days I reckon."
"You're a hell of a fighter."
"So are you," Ianto said quietly. "Except most of your fighting you do here," he said, tapping Jack's forehead.
Jack sighed.
"Come on," Ianto said, taking Jack's hand and pulling him down to sit on the couch. "What was it about that alien? I know you care, but I've never seen you react like that."
Jack pulled Ianto close. "I don't know exactly what it was, but I think it was a kind of star-whale. They're one of the most incredible creatures in the universe. Truly selfless. Of all the awful things we see here…." Jack's head dropped back. "Just once something kind and beautiful comes through that Rift, and it's damned to that."
Ianto held on to Jack, resting his head on Jack's shoulder. It was his opinion that the alien whale wasn't the only 'kind and beautiful' thing to ever land in South Wales, but maybe selfless things were always damned in some way.