A.N: Written like half an hour after "Fragments." When I should have been sleeping. Or… if you like, exactly thirty seconds after Fragments… set at the end of the episode, eliminating the cliff hanger in the way that my mind says. How I imagined it all to be. I'll shut up and let you read now.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I don't own the italics, all I own is the plot, and even then I probably don't. Sue me if you like, but there's nothing to take.
He was in shock, he could not think, but he had to think. It was his job to think in situations like this, not panic. He had already squashed his immediate thought of grabbing Ianto and running as fast as he could for eternity, but he knew what was coming soon. The inevitable fight…
"Everything you love, everything you treasure, will die."
Those were John's words, the words that shattered what happiness he had managed to create for himself in this world. There were four things that he loved: the memory of his brother, the Doctor, the Earth and Ianto. He could not reach Grey, though he had a feeling they would hear more from him, the Doctor could defend himself. The planet… he had saved before and could probably save again. Ianto…
Jack could feel his lover's hand on his shoulder, and heard the frantic calling of his name, "Jack, Jack." Gwen was calling him too, but it was Ianto's voice that had shaken out of his daze.
"We have to. He knows we're here. We're not prepared to fight him." He swung round and gazed into Ianto's face. He was ashen and drawn, the cut at his mouth was bleeding scarlet, which only made him appear paler. There were no doubt more injuries hidden behind the pinstripes of his suit. "We need to move."
"Wait, we're just going to run?" Owen asked.
"No, but we can't fight like this, Jack's right," Ianto said, though he never once removed his eyes from Jack's.
"How are we going to get away from these wrecks then?" Toshiko asked. "The SUV is gone, we're stuck here!"
"No… no we're not. My car's still here," Rhys interjected.
Owen took a single glance at the rusty, five seater car, and blanched, "We won't fit in there!"
They ended up with Gwen and Rhys quite comfortable in the front, and Tosh, Owen, Ianto and Jack crushed into the back. After much moaning and some strategic manoeuvring, Ianto ended up on Jack's knee. The couple did not mind; it wouldn't be the first time that they had sat like that, and they hoped it wouldn't be the last. That gave more space for the injured Tosh to rest. Due to complaints from Owen, Jack restrained his roving hands until the medic and Tosh had been dropped off at Owen's apartment, where Owen could fix her up.
As they watched the two walk up to Owen's from the car, Gwen leant over the seat to look at the two remaining passengers and pointed out, "You can sit in separate seats now you know."
"Where would fun be in that?" smirked Jack, pressing a kiss to the back of Ianto's neck.
The younger man shivered. "No fun at all," he grinned back. Lowering his voice slightly, he added, "I'd turn around and kiss you back but there's a problem with the inability to move without pain."
"I'll distract you from that pain," Jack whispered, trailing his tongue down the side of Ianto's neck, the only part of his body he could reach subtly. "You know I can."
"I expected nothing less."
Suddenly, Rhys interrupted, "Where do you want me to go now?"
"Your place or mine?" queried Jack.
"He'll know where I live, and he knows how to get into the Hub. Wherever we go, he'll find us, that much is obvious," sighed Ianto, "But we'll have a better chance in a protected, armed bunker than my flat."
"To the Hub then," commanded Jack.
"I should get paid for this," muttered Rhys. "I'm not one of your employees you know."
000
They entered the Hub cautiously, on their guard, but there was no one there. Jack sent Gwen home, knowing full well that it would not be long before he summoned her back, then took Ianto down to his sleeping space.
"The first place he'll look is here," said Ianto as he unbuttoned his shirt.
Jack eased it off him, viciously saying, "Let him look. He won't lay a finger on you, I swear. Don't worry."
As Jack searched for bandages and creams in the adjoining bathroom, Ianto said, "I'm not."
"You're not what?" Jack called out.
"Not worried, not for me anyway." Jack returned and Ianto beckoned him over, then took his wrist so he could pull him close. The older man sighed and sat down on the bed. "I'm fine Jack, and I know that the chances of any of us getting away from this unscathed are astronomical. Except for you of course. You don't scar"
Gently, Jack looped his arms around Ianto's waist and pulled him down onto the covers. He stared up at the ceiling, but Ianto let his head rest against Jack's firm chest. He could hear his lover's heartbeat through the shirt, soft but steady, the calming rhythm that would go on long after his own had stopped.
"Not physically no," Jack said, "But we'll all be OK."
"He'd kill you if he could. He's going to hurt you in every way possible."
"I won't let him hurt me through you."
"You can try," sighed Ianto, snuggling against his lover.
"Are you doubting me?" Jack began to play with Ianto's thick hair as he asked the question, threading it through his fingers, twisting it carefully so it made spirals.
"Just being realistic Jack." He breathed in deeply, inhaling Jack's delicious scent.
"We'll get through all this. We always do," soothed Jack.
Ianto lent up and nuzzled at the crook of Jack's neck, planting tiny kisses there, as he murmured, "He's a madman Jack. Like he said, he's going to tear us apart. We don't know what's going to happen. We just have to wait and see."
A.N: yes, that last bit was me getting frustrated over the seven days that I would have to endure impatiently waiting for torchwood to return, and then the months.