So I think I finally have an actual grip on exactly where this is going. Haha. Anyway, here's chapter 4. Minor Gwen bashing...nothing bad though. I don't really think I have anything else to ramble about. Enjoy!

They sat at the bar and ordered drinks. Almost everyone was in a happy, chatty mood. Almost. Jack would have rather been sulking in his office and drinking alone, but he knew he didn't really have much of a choice in the matter. If he hadn't agreed to come, then Gwen would have just found some way to drag him along, anyway. So he happily drank his scotch and listened to whatever the others were talking about with a somewhat forced smile on his face.

Ianto sat at the other end of the group next to Tosh, sipping his beer. He had really needed a night out for some fun and was quite happy that there had been no rift activity. He really didn't bother trying to ignore Jack, seeing how they worked together and it would have been impossible. So, instead, he was learning to live with him there, kind of in the background. He knew it would hurt sometimes, but he's a big boy. He could learn to live with it until it stopped.

Jack half listened to Gwen as she rambled on about something that, frankly, he didn't care about. At all. Every now and then he'd glance down the bar to see Ianto and Tosh seeming to be in some intense conversation. He couldn't help but feel jealous. He knew that nothing would ever happen between them, but deep down he wished that Ianto would talk to him like that again.

Jack stared back down into his drink. I'm not allowed to think like that…he has no reason to talk to me like that anymore so why would he? I really wish things could be easier… he thought to himself. He knew he was thinking like a selfish brat and that he had to stop soon before he ended up like Gwen. He grimaced at the thought.

"You alright, Jack?" Speaking of…

"Yeah, I'm fine, Gwen. Just spacing out," Jack replied. Gwen stared at him for a moment before continuing on whatever the hell she was rambling about.

Around two hours later, when almost everyone was pretty drunk, they decided to call it a night and head home. Owen and Tosh shared a cab to their own places. Yeah right… Ianto had thought. Gwen had called Rhys to pick her up. Ianto, who had only finished off one and a half beers and was barely buzzed, was left with the unfortunate job of getting a drunken Jack back to the hub. Why me? He had thought to himself.

The bar they ended up at wasn't that far from the hub, so they could walk back. Well, Ianto could. Jack would have to be half dragged. Ianto knew that Jack had to have drank a whole hell of a lot to get himself drunk so this was a bad sign. Ianto walked out of the bar with one of Jack's arms around his shoulders and one of his arms around Jack's waist. As they started walking, Jack was mumbling things that Ianto could hardly understand.

"Oh, this will be fun…" he muttered to himself.

Ianto eventually got back to the hub and got Jack down into his bunker, quite relieved that it wasn't as difficult as he had anticipated. After Jack had practically fell down the ladder, which Ianto did feel bad about, Ianto managed to lay him onto the bed. He then took Jack's shoes off and pulled the covers over him.

"And here I am, still taking care of you…why am I not surprised?" Ianto said to himself and sighed. He turned to leave when he felt a hand grab his wrist. He looked down at Jack and his heart almost broke. He knew it didn't make any sense, but seeing Jack looking so broken and vulnerable, hurt Ianto. Jack looked into his eyes.

"I'm sorry…I messed everything up…I always do…I try to do the right thing…but it seems I'm always wrong…" Ianto shook his head. He really didn't want to hear this. He had been doing so well.

"Go to sleep, Jack. You need some rest." Jack looked down and let go of Ianto's wrist. "Goodnight, Jack," Ianto said and climbed back up the ladder.

Ianto laid down on the couch in Jack's office and closed his eyes. He didn't want to leave Jack alone while he was like this. With his luck, if he did, Jack would end up doing something stupid; and, really, that would be bad for everyone. He figured he should just stay the night on the couch so he could make sure that things would be okay. Was he worried about Jack? Yes. Should he be? Probably not, but he couldn't really help it anymore. He sighed and made himself comfortable on the couch, letting himself fall into a deep sleep.

And there's chapter 4! Hope you liked it. I think this might just be one or two chapters more. Please review!