"It's all my fault." I could hear the words leave my mouth immediately after I thought them.

"No it's not." He replied.

"Don't speak, save your breath." There was nothing more that I wanted, nothing more, than for him to live.

His lips quivered, and his eyes started to water up. The look on his face made these next words so much worse. "I love you."

"Don't." At that point, even I started to cry. The tears weren't spilling over, but they were there. I could feel them. Then, his eyes closed. I could feel his body go limp in my arms. I started to freak out. "Ianto? Ianto. Ianto, stay with me. Ianto, stay with me, please. Stay with me! Stay with me, please." At that time, I knew I sounded pathetic.

His eyes opened again and a single tear started to fall down his cheek. The tears that were building into my own eyes were starting to slowly drip out. "Hey…" He started, his voice sounding weak. "It was… good, yeah?"

"Yeah." Again, his lip quivered. I could tell he was trying to save his last breaths.

Every time he spoke, I could hear the poison going even further into his body. He must have been close to death. "Don't forget me."

"Never could." It was all going way too fast, and yet in a horrible slow motion… and those words? I meant them. Out of all of the people I had been in a relationship with… this one was honestly the best. Ianto was the best. Even if I wanted to… I wouldn't forget him.

"A thousand years time? You won't remember me." Even over my own breathing, as I felt the poison inch through my body, I could hear the pain in his voice. He was afraid, afraid that I'd forget about him.

"Yes I will. I promise, I will." The tear, the single tear that had escaped my eyes… rolled down my cheek. Ianto's head rolled back, and his mouth hung open just slightly. His eyes closed again. I stared for what felt like a minute. A mere second had passed. "Ianto? Ianto?" I think I was panicking inside. It seems like a blur now. "Don't go. Don't leave me, please. Please, don't." I could only mutter the same thing over and over. It was too late.

"You will die. And tomorrow, your people… will deliver the children." The 456 spoke, causing my anger to rise again. For a second or two, I stared at the foggy glass, cuddling my dead boyfriend close to my body. Then, I returned my eyes to Ianto.

I slowly, very slowly… lowered my head down to his… and I kissed him. The last kiss. But it was a dead kiss. The kiss didn't have the same heat as the others. It didn't have the passion or the love. It only held sorrow… and a slight spark. And then…

I died.

(Ianto POV)

I woke up with a gasp. I was drawing in a large breath, getting the air that my lungs needed. I looked around to see myself surrounded by red body bags. I could see Gwen in the distance. The look on her face, as she stared at me was pure horror. 'What happened to me?' The words echoed in my mind. To my right, there was another body bag. Through the top, I saw a familiar head of hair. Was that Jack? That was when I remembered what happened. The 456 had released a poisonous gas into the building. I breathed it in. "But I didn't die…" That time I muttered the words aloud, as if I was testing reality. Was I really there?

Gwen was approaching me as if I were a ghost. I glanced at my hands. I knew I wasn't. Once she was close to me, she kneeled down, her eyes widening.

"Ianto? Is that really you?" She asked. It was obvious that she didn't believe what she saw. I didn't reply. Instead I turned to the bag next to me. She followed my eyes and moved the red plastic back. Then I heard a suffocating gasp from my love. Jack had awakened from his deathly slumber.

I stared at him for what seemed like hours. He stared at the ceiling, the pain etched in his face. He thought he had lost me. And Gwen was too shocked to speak. Finally, he sat up, and looked around. First, to his right. Then to his left. He stared at me. He didn't understand. I was alive, when I should have been dead. Slowly, clumsily, he got onto his knees and moved a little towards me. He used Gwen for support. Then he spoke.

"Ianto?" When he called out my name, the voice was like music to my ears. I was alive. I could hear, and I could see, and I could smell that 50 century hormones, that he claimed was not a body cologne (I still couldn't believe that.) I looked at him, blinking slowly. He spoke again. "Ianto… Is this a dream?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so… sir." I added that last bit, simply for some comfort of formality. It was familiar, and I clung to that. My voice was cracked though. The poison had given me a sore throat. It seemed like that's all that it did… But I do remember dying.

Gwen looked between the two of us. "Jack…" She started, but was cut short by Jack. He lunged towards me, grabbing my tie as he pulled me closer to him. He looked into my eyes with a glare.

"This isn't Ianto." He growled. Now I understood. I understood why so many aliens feared him. Why he held the power at Torchwood. Those eyes were frightening. I would have done anything to get away from them at that moment.

"Jack-" Again, Gwen was cut short.

"Ianto died. I saw it Gwen. This isn't Ianto!" Though he was glaring at me, trying to figure out who, or what I was, I could hear the panic in his voice.

Finally, I spoke again. "Jack, it is me. It's me, Ianto. Ianto Jones." But he just shook his head. Bringing me closer, his glare intensified, causing me to shudder.

"Who are you? Ianto died. Don't tell me you're Ianto!"

"Jack, It's me! I can prove it!"

"How?"

"Ask me anything. Something only the two of us would know. Ask me anything, I'll tell you." I could see his lip quiver. "I couldn't leave you Jack… I couldn't let you suffer anymore…"

Maybe he believed me. That was probably it. He looked at me as his eyes started to water again. I could feel mine do the same. "How? How did you survive?"

I shook my head. I didn't know. I didn't think anyone knew. Not even Jack's special Doctor could know what happened to me. I had an idea, but who knew if it was real. Maybe it was Jack who saved me, who brought me back.

Maybe.