Part Two: The most unstable factor in the universe is human beings. They are unpredictable.

.

Oh, baby when you look for me
Can you see forever
I begin baby, where you end
We belong together

Circle in the sand, 'round and 'round

--Circle in the Sand, Belinda Carlisle

.

Earth, July 2009:

Ianto Jones gulped down the last of his coffee as he tapped a finger impatiently against his watch, waiting for Jack to finish dressing and join him.

They were going to be late. Again. Actually, it made the usually uber punctual Ianto smile every time he thought about it. Gone were the days when Jack Harkness lived exclusively at the Hub. It was getting to be more often than not, the nights were spent together at Ianto's flat. He could get used to that. He wouldn't even mind the tardiness, except for the knowing smirk Gwen leveled on them every time she arrived before they did. Then Jack would grin lasciviously and wink at her and Ianto would blush despite himself – which would only make Jack grin wider. The man was incorrigible. And that irritated him, because god knew after all this time with Captain Jack Harkness, Ianto should have been over the blushing stage long ago.

While he was waiting for his tardy lover (probably dallying on purpose because Ianto had refused to shower together on the grounds it would make them really late), he scooped up the mail that he'd tossed hastily on the hall table last night – while too busy trying to suck Jack's tongue out of his mouth and get him naked to care about the post. Flipping through it he automatically separated into piles.

One of the envelopes boldly had the return address of London Sex Shops stamped in the corner. "What did you buy this time, Jack," Ianto muttered, glancing towards the bathroom with equal parts irritation and anticipation. "Absolutely incorrigible." And totally unrepentant. Ianto had a feeling he wouldn't want it any other way.

A letter from a lawyer's office in Cardiff caught his eye and he pulled it out to frown at it. He'd heard of the firm but had no business with them, so he was puzzled as to why they'd be contacting him. Tearing it open, he found another envelope inside, this one with just his name printed on it. In very familiar handwriting.

Chilled for no reason he could put his finger on, Ianto opened this one with hands that shook just a little. There were only a few lines on the single piece of paper inside.

July 9, 3009

I remembered you.

Forever, Jack

"Anything important?"

Ianto jumped at the sudden voice behind him, quickly stuffing the piece of paper in his suit pocket. "Just junk mail. Oh, and this…" he waved the envelope from the "toy" shop in front of Jack to distract him.

"It's a surprise," Jack told him with a suggestive raise of eyebrow. "You'll find out soon enough."

Ianto thought he might be starting to dislike surprises. On the way out the door, he crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it into the bin.

XXX

Ianto had been distracted all day, moody, well, moodier than usual. If Jack didn't know better he'd say his lover had been preoccupied ever since they left for work three days ago, although he had no idea what was causing it. There was an air of sad desperation about him. With the tension between them due to all the secrets he kept, he didn't feel he had a right to say anything about Ianto's. It seemed everything was hitting at once. Ghosts from the past, possible end of the world, again, and those little relationship bumps all couples go through. All he could think to do was give them each their space to work things through.

Jack had hopes that things were turning around when they made the united decision to stop running and hiding and be Torchwood, go see the 456 themselves. Determined not to let these aliens extort any more children of earth.

And that's when the past changed.

As they walked up to Thames House, Ianto stopped abruptly, putting a hand on Jack's arm. Jack gave him an inquiring look.

"I think… I should wait out here and follow you in later."

It was so unlike anything Jack was expecting that he gave him a long, assessing look before speaking. "Why?"

"What if they arrest you on sight? We know better than to trust them. Someone has to be free to confront the 456 in that case. And organize a jail break," he added with a slight grin that didn't meet his eyes. "Again."

It made sense. Still, Jack couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else going on, something Ianto wasn't telling him. In the end though, he simply nodded. Because suddenly, he realized it would be a relief. The "plan" wasn't a plan at all, just a last ditch desperate attempt to save the children. He didn't know the parameters of what the 456 were capable of, he was just winging it. He had no idea what was going to happen inside. And he was the one who couldn't die. None of his team should have to take this risk. It was his mess to fix, his mistake to atone for. He should go in alone.

Then Ianto was grabbing Jack and kissing him right there on the steps, like Jack had kissed him before sending him up out of the Hub to safety.

"Don't do anything stupid out here," Jack joked.

"Don't you do anything stupid in there," Ianto countered.

"Who, me?" he asked jauntily, giving that trademark Jack Harkness grin before bounding up the rest of the steps and going inside.

XXX

Everything had gone to hell.

Ianto sat, his head in his hands. He couldn't seem to stop shaking, and he felt ill.

"What have I done?" he whispered to himself.

The 456 had released a poison gas, killing everyone in the entire building. And Ianto would have been in there with Jack. If not for the strange note. He'd thought about it all week, gone round and round in his head trying to figure it out. Jack of the future had arranged for it to be delivered to him, and it was dated exactly one thousand years in the future -- today. If he hadn't seen it, he would have gone inside too.

All those people were dead. He would have been among them. Was he supposed to be dead? Did he deserve to live while so many perished with no chance?

Ianto rubbed a hand over his face. He'd finally figured out the significance of the message. Jack had wanted him to know that he did remember him… to know before he died. It wasn't like Ianto hadn't thought about dying, many times. The odds were against him, and he didn't kid himself otherwise. And so he knew that's what he would say if he was dying: don't forget me. And the only way for Jack to know that…was if he'd died.

Ianto held his hand over his mouth, fighting down the urge to be sick. Everything he needed to put the pieces together was there, but he didn't believe Jack had purposely sought to alter the past. Jack knew better than anyone how dangerous that was, how wrong, and if he had he certainly wouldn't have waited a thousand years to do it. He'd only wanted Ianto to have some peace before he died.

And that left the blame squarely with Ianto.

Because he didn't know how, or where, or why, but he knew he was going to die. Today. He could have let it happened, but as he'd walked up to the Thames House suddenly he was struck with a foreboding so strong it stopped him in his tracks. And he'd made his decision. He told himself he was doing it for Jack. Jack needed him. That had been his mantra even before, before they'd become a…a couple. He told himself he was doing it for the Earth. Torchwood couldn't afford to lose yet another team member if they were going to fight both a powerful alien and their own government. But in the end, he knew there was another reason, one much more simple and selfish.

He didn't want to die.

"Forgive me…" he whispered.

He would receive no forgiveness this time though, because Jack would never know. Of all the guilt Jack carried for the devastating decisions he'd had to make, the pain that he lived with through endless centuries, the untold number of deaths he felt responsible for… Ianto could spare him this one. This burden he would carry himself.

For Jack.

Pulling himself together with a deep breath, Ianto got to his feet, glancing around to be sure he was still unobserved in his hiding place. There would be plenty of time for self recrimination later, right now he had a job to do and plans to make. Jack would no doubt be arrested when he came back to life, and he didn't know what was happening on Gwen's end, and they still had the 456 to defeat.

When the world was ending, Torchwood carried on.

The end

A/N: Leaving the story as incomplete for now, because I'm toying with the thought of adding one more chapter. I have a few ideas for a short addition, but I may decided to leave well enough alone.