2

Ianto was lying on the floor by the teacher's desk.

His left arm was above his head like he had thrown it up to protect himself and it had fallen back that way as the bar had struck the side of his head.

His eyes were half open with one eyelid twitching as he choked, blood bubbling from the corner of his mouth.

His pretty tie was covered with blood and had gone an ugly black colour.

Then he had spasmed on the floor, his back arching as his mouth had opened in an ugly gargle.

Jack screamed.

John as there, shaking and holding him at the same time as he repeated his name and Jack blinked as the hospital room came into focus. He shrugged John off and moved from the daybed to sit on the edge and cry softly with his head in his hands, the memory so raw and haunting.

Then a machine beeped.

Jack rose and stumbled to his chair reaching for the hand that lay palm up waiting for his to slide home.

"Hey darling" Jack whispered, "Can't sleep? Me neither. Remember how Walter used to trick me into an extra book at story time? Remember that book Rhia got him where I had to do a girly voice for the pig and if I didn't he would snarl like a tiger?"

Jack laughed softly as if Ianto were agreeing and then rubbed his face with his free hand, his stubble making a rasping sound.

"Hey" Owen entered and looked at the dishevelled man, then at the bed where John was still lying.

"Hey" Jack croaked back, still rubbing his face.

John slid to the edge of the bed and stretched as he yawned and Owen sat in a chair as he waited for Jack to do his morning routine.

First he kissed Ianto gently on the lips while telling him he had handsome, strong and lazy bones.

He then spent a couple of minutes running his hands over him as he talked softly, maintaining as much contact as possible before sitting back down and singing.

The song changed each day and today it was Lady in Red which, for some reason, made Jack tear up.

Finally he was finished, looking at their photograph sitting by the bed.

"I want to remove the breathing tube today" Owen said softly, "I think he is strong enough and it means we can turn off that sound. I can also get the rest cleared out once he is breathing on his own."

"That's good news, one step closer to taking him home" John said as he rose and walked over to stand behind the chair and pat Jack on the shoulder, "I gotta go. Ton has his school thing and I promised I would take him."

"Tell him I miss him" Jack said with a sigh, wishing he could scoop up Ianto and take him home too.

They had brought Ton in to see Ianto once his face looked better but Ton had reacted badly, his heartbreak too hard for Jack to take so they hadn't tried again.

Babs tried to come every day but they only let one child a day so she had to wait her turn, and lovely Stephen had given up his turn a couple of times when she had been too upset to say no to.

Walter was silent.

Hadn't spoken since that night, pushing past Owen, who was there thank god, and seeing his Taddy like that.

He was like a wraith, moving on the edge of the action. Each time he came with Eugene or James he would just sit and hold Ianto's hand stroking it like it was a cat. The shock had been overwhelming and Jack was at a loss to help, his own life blown apart.

All he could do was hang on and have faith, Ianto had never let him down and had never given up, not when Lisa died, not when he was held captive, not when buried in snow, not when cancer threatened him and not now.

OK?

Not now.