Gwen stood up first, she had said that she needed some air and to leave Jack with some time alone with Ianto. Jack only gave the slightest move to the head indicating to Gwen that he had heard her. Jack was heartbroken, not only did he lose the love of his life, he didn't get the chance to save him like before or even say the three words he had always wished he could say but never could owing to the fear of losing the one he loved the most. He had made that mistake before and he couldn't risk it, Jack had kept telling himself this but he had hoped Ianto knew that his feelings for him were true.
Jack remembered the first time he saw Ianto, he felt as if his world was knocked out of kilter. The only thing Jack could think of was how beautiful this Welshman was and how brave he was, helping Jack fight off the weevil. Jack had tried to put barriers up around his heart, but the Welshman was persistent, he tore down Jack's line of defence every time. Jack had used everything to stop himself getting closer to the Welshman, even his betrayals and deception; he had even used the fact that Ianto had hidden his half-converted cyber girlfriend in the basement on Torchwood three. But even that didn't stop Ianto from tearing down his line of resistance.
It was then, when Jack had finally realized that he had well and truly fallen for the Welshman, the bashful reserved Welshman who would do just about anything to save the ones he loved. Jack loved his witty remarks, dry humour and his crippling shyness. He was able to get a rare smile out of Ianto sometimes but he felt privileged to see it emerge when Jack had brought Ianto some flowers, or taken him out on a surprise date or even the little things like a small compliment at the beginning of the day. The more time Jack spent with Ianto, the happier he became.
But their relationship was never easy, they had their fights, breakups, make-ups, you name it. There was one occasion where Jack thought that he would lose the love of his life in the second worst way possible.
Ianto had regressed back into his shell when Jack had returned from the Year That Never Was, it had been over a year and a half since Jack saw Ianto and he was glad that it was over and he wished that he could un-see all the horrors the Master had inflicted on the world. However, it wasn't him who had suffered the most, it wasn't even Gwen who thought she had a claim on Jack or the whole team put together. It was Ianto, Ianto suffered the most, not that anyone had noticed, but Tosh had her suspicions but was helpless to the situation. Ianto hid himself in the archives day after day, filing and organising only coming up to get coffees for everyone, cleaning the hub and filling in for any field operations that needed an extra pair of hands. He had kindly declined any offers for a drink after work whilst mentally building a shield around him once again. The shield that Jack had once knocked down with so much force, he left Ianto's world spinning out of control. Ianto had promised himself to never let that happen ever again, but his resistance was weak and it crumbled to his feet before he could say coffee when Jack had asked him out on a date awkwardly and gave him one of those 'I'm too damn cute for my own good and you know it' type of smiles he had specially reserved for Ianto.
Slowly, but surely Jack had helped Ianto out of the dark place he had put himself in and he began to see the effects immediately. Ianto's smiles were brighter; he had a bounce in his step and even regained his witty comebacks when Owen and Gwen were being annoying, immature or just plain rude.
Jack smiled through the tears that were slowly dripping onto the red blanket as he remembered happy, joyful memories that no longer filled him with happiness or joy but a dull ache of sadness and loss.
Jack parted one last kiss on the lips of his lover as he stood up and walked away determined not to look back. Not because he didn't want to but because he couldn't he knew that if he did, he would break down beside the body of Ianto Jones and find a way to take his life just to be with Ianto even though it would not have been what he wanted for Jack. He would have wanted Jack to do the honourable thing, to find a way to kill the 456, to save the world and to carry on with his life. But how could I carry on without you? Jack thought to himself miserably, the tears blurring his vision and falling faster with every step he took further away from his beloved Welshman. But in his midst of emotions, he didn't notice a small gasp from the body lying at number 14.