Ianto heard the cog door open, and ducked into the kitchen. 'Uh-oh.'
Owen stuck his head round the door. 'Here, have you done something to piss Jack off? He looks like a thundercloud.'
Ianto groaned. 'Thank you for that encouraging information Owen.'
'Owen!'
Jack's voice echoed from the Hub proper, and he grimaced at Ianto before vanishing. Ianto could hear them talking.
'Owen, Toshiko, go home.'
Tosh protested, but Jack cut her off. Ianto heard them packing up and shuffling towards the door and his heart leapt into his throat as he heard Jack's voice again.
'Have you seen Ianto?'
Tosh started to say something, but this time it was Owen who stopped her. 'I think he went to buy some more coffee. Something about running out.'
Ianto offered a silent prayer of thanks to any gods who may have been listening, and made a mental note to give Owen an extra doughnut with his coffee tomorrow.
He heard the door shut behind Tosh and Owen, and cautiously stuck his head round the door, in time to see Jack vanish into his office. He could see him slump into his chair, looking exhausted, and a pang of guilt wrung his heart.
He managed to sneak past the office and down into the archives without Jack noticing, planning on hiding out down there until Jack had headed to bed, and then sneaking home.
He started to file away some of the work the others had left lying around. Might as well get some work done.
Ianto worked steadily for about half an hour, before checking his watch. Jack should have crashed by now.
He opened the door to the archives and headed back up into the Hub. He was sneaking past Jack's office when a strange noise made him stop in his tracks.
It was the sound of someone…crying?
Ianto looked cautiously round the office door, and the sight he saw before him banished any thoughts of sneaking home to avoid Jack's anger.
The Captain was still slumped in his office chair, elbows on the desk, head cradled in his hands – and tears running down his face.
Ianto straightened up and walked quietly into the office – quite prepared to let Jack shout and rail at him if it made him feel any better.
He took of his jacket and hung it on the door silently, Jack still unaware of his presence – and then walked across to stand behind the older man, and put his arms round his shoulders.
Jack jumped, and Ianto felt him tense up.
'Not good.'
'Go home.'
Jack's voice was cold, and Ianto shivered involuntarily, but he held his ground. 'No.'
Jack shook of his arms and stood up, hastily wiping away his tears. 'Ianto, for god's sake, just go away.'
Ianto sat on the edge of the desk defiantly. Jack glared at him. 'You bastard…you complete and utter bastard!'
Ianto didn't flinch.
'You gave Gwen that GPS, didn't you? You're the only person who I've ever told about that place.'
Ianto nodded his head slowly.
'You promised me you wouldn't tell anyone, Yan!'
Jack had sat back down in his chair, hands shaking slightly. He felt awful. It was never a nice experience, going to that place, but combined with having to deal with Gwen, and knowing it was Ianto who had gone against his orders was making it twice as bad.
Ianto slid off the desk and pulled Jack against him, so that Jack's head was resting on his stomach.
'You're too obsessed with keeping secrets.' he told him, smoothing Jack's hair. 'Gwen's like a terrier sometimes. She refuses to let go. If she hadn't found out, then she would have kept at it and kept at it, until she did. That would have meant you were constantly on the edge, it would have made you angry, and then the whole team would have got involved with it, and we can't afford that.'
Jack shook his head. 'Are you always so fucking rational?'
'Most of the time.' Ianto admitted.
He tilted Jack's head up so that he could see his eyes. 'Forgive me?'
Jack sighed. 'You make it impossible to stay angry.'
'It's part of my charm.' smiled the Welshman. He sat down on the floor and leant back against Jack's legs, looking up at him. 'How bad was it today?'
'Bad.' admitted Jack in an almost inaudible whisper. 'Just…coping with Gwen…and then hearing Jonah scream…'
'Jonah scream? What do you mean?'
'Jonah, the boy Gwen was looking for….after he fell through the rift he spent years trying to get back home. While he was travelling, he looked into the heart of a black star. What he saw drove him mad. Everyday, regularly, he starts screaming. It lasts for twenty hours each day.'
He shivered involuntarily. 'It's such a terrible noise…'
Ianto reached up and took Jack's hand, threading their fingers together. 'Steady.'
He stood up and Jack followed him. Ianto was used to this now, as Jack made a point of visiting that island every month. When he came back he was always completely drained, but Ianto had never seen him cry before.
He led Jack down into the sleeping quarters and helped him out of his shirt and trousers and into bed. Jack buried his face in the pillow, and Ianto turned to leave, but was stopped by a hand catching his wrist. He looked down, surprised.
'Stay, tonight.' Jack told him, but it wasn't an order. It was a desperate plea. Ianto nodded slowly, and undressed, sliding in beside Jack, who wrapped his arms round him and buried his face in the crook of his neck.
Ianto was woken suddenly as he crashed to the floor. Before he had time to wonder what had happened, a terrible scream echoed round the room, and he jumped to his feet.
Jack was thrashing from side to side, mouth wide open in a never ending scream. Ianto caught him against his chest, rocking him from side to side, and calling to him, trying to block his ears against the bone-chilling sound.
Nothing seemed to be having any effect, so he took a deep breath, and pressed his lips to Jack's, praying it would shock him awake.
He felt Jack slacken in his arms and drew back to find terrified grey-blue eyes staring at him.
'Yan?'
'I'm here, I'm right here.' he whispered, clutching Jack against him. He jumped as he felt something warm and wet sliding down his chest, and he realised Jack was crying again, great gasping sobs racking his body.
Ianto helped him lay down, keeping his arms tight round the older man. He whispered nonsense into Jack's ear, and rubbed his back in soothing circles, feeling tears pricking at the corners of his own eyes. Seeing Jack so vulnerable and terrified was heart rending, especially knowing that it was partly caused by his own actions.
Ianto lay in the dark with the crying man cradled in his rams, and he swore to himself that he would never, ever leave Jack's side. How often had the man suffered alone? The mere thought made him cringe. So he swore that from now one, he would always be there when Jack's defences crumbled, to wipe away the tears and help him heal.
Because even someone like Jack needs someone to care.