Ianto felt like he was falling apart. Breaking apart. He crossed the road, heading away from the Hub. He couldn't even be around it. It felt like the air around it was poisoned, and he was suffocating. He crossed by a parade of shops. There were only a few streets separating him from the comfort of his own flat. He turned down an alleyway separating two shops, and came face to face with a hooded gang, smoking and swearing. They didn't seem to notice him, so he backed away. Just then, one looked up at him, a cigarette dangling unattractively out of the corner of his mouth.

"Aye, aye. What do we have here then?" The rest of the gang had seen him now. He inwardly cursed, but otherwise remained quiet. The guy who had spoken dropped his hood, and took a step towards him. He was the kind of man who might as well have had 'Thug' tattooed across his forehead. The kind who could break you in half. Ianto swallowed all his grief about Jack. He just had to focus on getting out of here. In one piece. He decided that staying quiet was the best option. He subconsciously thought, what would Jack do in this situation? He would be overly confident and flirt his way out. Like this would work for Ianto, though. Jack had charm…amazing good looks…an ability to make you feel like you're the only one who matters in the world. Ianto had none of this. He continued to walk away, but another grabbed hold of him.

"No…hang about."

"Much rather not, thanks…places to go, people to see…" Ianto was bluffing. He just wanted to get out of here.

"Really?" The guy looked around at his mates, who nodded, and looked back at Ianto. "People, eh? Girlfriend?"

"You could say that…" Ianto thought it best not to mention the fact that he was gay.

"Playing the field?" He clapped him on the shoulder. "Smart man."
"Yeah, well…" The rest of his mates came forward, and some of them put their arms around his shoulder.

"Hang round?" They seemed friendly enough, but Ianto couldn't stay here. He needed to go home, think things through. He'd been through more than enough today. He just wanted to leave.

"Love to, but, as I said, got plans…" Ianto told them, trying to wriggle away, but they clung on.

"Ah, I see. You gay?" One of them asked him. Ianto tried to ignore this.

"See you later, boys."

"Yeah, run home to your boyfriend, fag." Ianto groaned, quietly. This was just typical of his luck.

"Ah, gay boy are we?" Said a guy with their arm around Ianto.

"No." Ianto said defiantly, but his voice shook. The guys seemed to grow taller around him, and they closed in on him.

"You know what we do to you lot around here…"

"Us?" Ianto was panicking now, he was just trying to keep the thug talking to stop him, or at least delay him, from pounding his face in.

"You lot, you fags. You don't belong here." Ianto wasn't about to argue with him, no matter how much he wanted to. He just stayed perfectly still, praying for a miracle. "Do you know what we're going to do to you?" The thug grabbed Ianto by the fabric of his shirt, and threw him against the wall. Ianto was shaking, hard. He tried to stop; he didn't want to seem weak. The guy sneered at him as his mates stared at the trembling Welshman, eyeing him up. Ianto did the first, and probably the most stupid, thing that popped into his head. He lunged forward, and punched the man full in the face. The punch was good, knocking him clear off his feet. But Ianto had forgotten how unevenly he was outnumbered. He highly doubted he'd ever win a fight that was six to one. The men started jeering, clearly unworried by their friend's state. Ianto tried to make a run for it; it seemed the obvious thing to do. But he felt hands grab him, pull him back.

"Not so fast." The tallest thug said, pressing his face to Ianto's. His breath was overly hot on the Welshman's cheek, and smelled disgusting. Ianto briefly considered making a move and try and grab his gun. He slid a hand down his own leg, trying to locate his gun. Damn. He'd left it at the Hub. Bloody Hell. That was just typical of his luck. Had he already mentioned that? He heard the first punch before he felt it. He heard a fist colliding with his stomach, and then felt searing pain stabbing at his insides, burning. The next fist caught him in the jaw, the momentum pushing him back against the wall. Ianto's head hit the hard brick, and he slid to the floor, gasping in pain. He felt his face, even as it protested under his fingers. When he drew back his fingers, he felt blood. He felt sick, dizzy and light-headed, trying to ignore the throb in his skull, the pain in his gut. The gang circled him, laughing. One stepped forward, and before he knew it, a foot kicked him in the chest, knocking the breath out of him.

"Gah!" He moaned, rolling onto his back. He wanted to curl up, protect his stomach and face as more kicks were thrown, some narrowly missing, some reaching him with continuous sickening thuds. But his body wouldn't allow him to move. He was trapped, with no way out. The last thing he remembered was the boot in his face, the sound of bones snapping. And then everything went black. He thought he could hear a man…but then he remembered that was impossible. Ianto was floating. He felt completely at peace and calm. He looked around him, and all he could see was stars. They looked so close, Ianto tried to reach out and touch them. He couldn't move. His body was like a cage, holding him still. He tried to move his legs. Nothing. Then suddenly, like someone flicking a switch, the pain started. There was a fire burning in his body, it was touching every inch of him. He tried to roll over, and his body hit the cold, hard tarmac. A road. He opened his eyes, and everything was still black. He looked up as he heard voices. One voice he knew so well, he could probably hear it a mile off. It couldn't be. He stared up. The gang were still surrounding him, but they weren't looking at him. It was like they didn't even know he was there. They were staring down the road. Ianto rolled over, slowly, groaning. Every muscle in his body was protesting bitterly. Ianto looked up at what had caught their attention, and saw a tall man in a military coat striding towards them…