Disclaimer : I don't own Torchwood.
A/N: A big thanks to all my reviewers, alerters and favouritors (is that a word?) Also, a million thanks to my beta HydroJen
Yet each man kills the thing he loves,
By each let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word.
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword!
Some kill their love when they are young,
And some when they are old;
Some strangle with the hands of Lust,
Some with the hands of Gold:
The kindest use a knife, because
The dead so soon grow cold.
Some love too little, some too long
Some sell, and others buy;
Some do the deed with many tears,
And some without a sigh:
For each man kills the thing he loves,
Yet each man does not die.
- The Ballad Of Reading Goal, Oscar Wilde
"Guys, you're all too worked up, go home early today," Jack ordered his team at four 'o' clock. "Tosh, set the Rift Alarm to my mobile, everyone keep your mobiles on and with you all the time. Go, relax for a while."
"Sure thing!" called out Owen from the autopsy bay as he picked up his bag.
Tosh hit a few keys on her keyboard before getting up. "There, all done. You'll get an alert if there's any Rift activity. Though, mind you, you might get lots of false alarms as well. The programme can't differentiate between dangerous and safe spikes."
"That's fine, I'll manage. Thanks Tosh."
As the other two walked out of the cog door, Gwen went up to Jack. "You sure you don't want me to stay here?"
"No Gwen, you don't need to stay here, go home and make a nice dinner for Rhys. Enjoy the night."
"You asked Toshiko to set the alarms on your mobile; you going somewhere?"
"Yeah, I'm going to Ianto's. Better check on him."
"Oh- oh," Gwen mumbled, nodding to herself. "So, you're not going to Retcon him then?"
"No, I'm not. He'll be back here after a month."
"And he will be safe then?" Gwen asked cocking her head to a side.
"Gwen, understand this - Ianto has not really committed a crime. In fact, I think all this, it just showed how loyal he can be. If I have a chance to have someone like him on my team, I'm not going to let it go," Jack said confidently.
"Not a crime? Jack! That cyber girlfriend of his almost killed us all! I... I was almost converted!"
"Almost, Gwen, almost. And that was because of the cyberwoman, not Ianto... and not Lisa. It was the cyber implants in her that made her do what she did. As for what Ianto did, it was all out of love. You'll understand that when you see your boyfriend in danger. But that's all irrelevant now, forget it all, go home to Rhys."
Gwen turned around like a scolded child and went to pick up her things.
-XxX-
Owen glanced around in the club, looking for someone to shag. A good lay was what he needed right now so that he could forget everything for a while.
He spotted a fine-looking brunette at the bar and made his way towards her.
-XxX-
Tosh put on some light music and lay in her bed thinking about Ianto. He was such a good man and she hoped with all her heart that he'd be fine.
-XxX-
As he stood at Ianto's doorstep, Jack took out the duplicate key to the Welshman's flat that he kept for emergencies, but decided against using it and knocked on the door instead.
When there was no response even after five minutes, Jack used his key and threw the door open. Letting the food bags fall to the floor, the Captain rushed in.
"Ianto? Ianto!" he cried out as he looked into all the rooms. The worry on his face changed to a soft smile when he opened the bedroom door and found his archivist sleeping on the floor, a photo album clutched against his chest and a few more lying around.
The Welshman looked so vulnerable, so much younger than his twenty-five years, so calm and peaceful. His chest welled up and down, rhythmically. Jack allowed himself another smile before he crouched next to the young man.
"Ianto? Wake up, Ianto," he whispered.
-XxX-
"Yes! Harder! Yeah! Like that!" cried out the brunette. Owen tried to remember her name but couldn't. It was just fine with him because in his mind, he was fucking Gwen. As soon as he reached his orgasm, he pulled out of her, removed the condom and walked out of the toilet.
-XxX-
Tosh lay still, staring at the ceiling. She wished she had someone to talk to, someone who'd hold her for the night, take care of her. She would normally have given Jack a call and talked to him for a while but today she knew that the Captain would be with Ianto. So, all alone, she tried to fall asleep.
-XxX-
Gwen lay in her bed, twisting and turning, waiting for Rhys to come back home. She felt guilty for having fought with him on the phone.
Hey, love."
"Gwen, hello lovely. Listen, I was just going to call you. I'm gunna be here till late, so don't wait up for me."
"What do you mean, late? I came home early, so that 'we' could have some quality time, but no, your work comes first."
"Gwen, your work always comes first. You're always out till late, but one night, when I work overtime, you blame me for ignoring you," he said before hanging up.
She knew that it was her own frustration that she had vented out at her boyfriend. Fidgeting again, she fell asleep, dreaming of naked Owens, Jacks and Rhys's being chased by cybermen.
-XxX-
"I didn't know what you'd want to have but I figured you like Chinese, so..." Jack trailed off. "Why don't you have a shower while I set up the dinner?" he suggested, walking out of the bedroom, trying not to notice how beautiful Ianto was and how inviting the bed looked.
However, he had hardly taken a step when Ianto grabbed his shoulders from behind, turned him and pushed him into the wall. "YOU MADE ME KILL HER! YOU! YOU MADE ME SHOOT HER AND NOW YOU COME AND ACT ALL CIVIL WANTING A NICE DINNER? What do you expect, Jack? I'll say 'yeah sure, let's forget that my girlfriend just died, that I killed her, because of you, and let's have some beer, Chinese, a nice movie? What did you expect, you bastard? Why don't you fucking leave me alone? Why don't you just... " The rest was lost in the Welshman's sobs. Despite the resistance, Jack pulled Ianto close and wrapped his arms around the young man, as both of then cried together.
When he felt Ianto calm down, Jack pulled away and held the Welshman at his shoulders. "Go have a quick shower, we'll talk after that, please?"
Too tired to argue, Ianto nodded and did as he was told.