A/N: I am sooo sorry for the wait, guys! This past week I had finals so this fic was on the back burner, but now school's out, leaving me more time to write! :D

I'm sorry, but I lied last chapter when I said that there would be four years in this one. There's only 15 months, as that was all I could cram in. But I promise that after the next chapter we'll back in the present!

So, thanks once again for favoriting/ subscribing to/reviewing my story! Please continue to do the latter!

Disclaimer: If I owned Torchwood, do you think that Ianto would need resurrecting?

Chapter 4: Mortality

Ianto soon found out that in this new world it was no secret that aliens are among us. Without Torchwood, UNIT or the Doctor, the police and government were left to deal with extraterrestrial problems, and since they had to manage this on top of everything else, the secret had not remained a secret for very long. Still, this made the police all the more grateful when Torchwood appeared, and they quickly agreed to add Torchwood to their payroll- which was a blessing for Torchwood, as the crown was no longer there to pay them (this world's United Kingdom had no monarchy, only a Parliament). Also, this world had recently discovered teleportation technology, but being that it was very new most people didn't trust it and still drove to where they needed to go.

Ianto quickly adjusted to life as a Torchwood Four agent. He started out managing their cover, an antique store. Ianto had at first thought that such was a cover was a bit arbitrary, but Cameron quickly explained its significance. Having an antique store where people could resell their antiques would enable Torchwood to obtain artifacts from the rift, as such things that had been passed down in old Belfast families or that people had found and were simply trying to pawn off as antiques. Ianto was able to track down many items from the rift in this way, and often thought to himself that he definitely enjoyed running this store much more than he did the Tourist Office back in Cardiff. He gained more responsibilities quickly, eventually picking up some work that had once been Aoife's so that she could do more work with the computer system, which had become her specialty.

Ianto grew quite close to Aoife, as well as Megan, and he soon found out that the two were a couple. Apparently a year or so after the Shift, Megan had asked Aoife out and they had been together ever since. While Ianto was saving to rent an apartment he stayed in theirs and out of the team, he remained the closest to them even after moving out.

While Ianto eventually came to thrive at Torchwood Four, he couldn't help but miss his old life. It had been demeaning, sure, and nothing, not even his relationship with the man he loved, was ever set in stone, but it was his life, not something that he had been pulled into by force. It had been familiar. It had adventure. It had Jack.

Since Jack he had tried to move on. Megan and Aoife encouraged him to get out and enjoy himself, and he tried. He had gone out on the pull several times and ended up in the beds of a few men, and even a couple of women. And it had been great, sometimes amazing. But every time, something just didn't feel right, and in the end the person lying next to him was just another warm body that Ianto would never see again after that night. He would go home in the morning feeling just a little bit lonelier than he had the day before.

15 March 2010

This loneliness was felt the entire team after Charlotte died.

It had been sudden. One cool morning Cameron had come into work early to find her dead on the floor, a sealed glass tube not far away labeled in a shaky hand: DO NOT OPEN.

After calling the rest of the team in, Cameron played back the CCTV recording of what had happened.

Charlotte had been on the night shift, and one of the many pieces of "rift junk" stored in the basement had released as lethal gas which she was able to contain, but not before breathing in enough for it to be fatal. Over the CCTV they heard her choke out "Sorry, guys," just before collapsing.

Headquarters was quiet, the computer station left unmanned. When this continued for about a week, during which the team did not respond to a single call, Ianto decided to do something.

The team was seated idly in the lounge area of the headquarters' first floor when Ianto came in from the antique store to make coffee. Instead of going back to the store after handing it out, like he always did, Ianto stayed, standing in the middle of the lounge area.

"What are we doing?" He asked, a hint of anger in his voice.

When no one responded he took a deep breath.

"No, don't answer that. I know. Nothing. We're doing nothing."

"No, we're not!" Cameron finally piped up. We're…drinking your coffee, and I was upstairs doing some admin before…"

"When was the last time you went out on a call?" Ianto interrupted.

Cameron sighed. "Two weeks ago," he replied, resigned.

"Exactly. Would Charlotte want us to leave the city at the rift's mercy? I sure wouldn't want Jack and Gwen to do that after…" He froze unable to finish that thought. How were they? Was there even a Torchwood anymore?

He was pulled out of his reverie by a touch, something brushing across his hand. Looking up, he saw that Aoife now stood beside him. She didn't speak, but smiled, encouraging him.

"I've lost teammates, and so have you. I lost two of my best friends in one night, and Jack told Gwen and I that the end is where we start from," he looked up at Cameron, who was listening intently. "And starting tomorrow, I'll go out on calls with you if you need the extra hand that Charlotte provided."

Cameron simply nodded.

"And Aoife could manage the computer system. She's been getting good at it," Megan said, smiling at her partner, who shrugged humbly.

"E-excellent idea," was all that Cameron could say.

Over the next few months Ianto gained lots of experience in the field, and began accompanying Cameron quite frequently. It was on one such occasion that his life changed forever.

13 September 2010

The rift readings seemed innocent enough; large mass, possible life form. Bring sedation and containment equipment. Cameron and Ianto went to an abandoned warehouse not far from the one that the latter was discovered in expecting a Murak, a harmless purple cat-like creature, or something similar.

What they didn't expect was a very large, very angry bear-like creature with fangs and sharp claws.

It lunged at Ianto first, claws slicing through his throat with a chilling savagery before doing the same to Cameron.

With what little strength he had left, Cameron shot his gun, missing the creature and frightening it away.

While he did this, Ianto lay sprawled on the warehouse floor, the now familiar darkness beginning to creep over his senses.

This is it, he thought as Cameron fell next to him. I'm not coming back this time…

The last thing he heard was Aoife shouting frantically over the comms "Ianto? Ianto!" before he was lost to the world once more.

A/N: CLIFFHANGER! I'm kind of proud of this ending, but the rest of this chapter…well, why don't you just review and tell me? ;)

Regarding Ianto's sexuality: Despite the show's writers' confusion over this, Ianto is bisexual. Ianto is not gay, and it's not "only Jack." The Torchwood novel Twilight Streets confirms this. I personally believe that every member of the original team was/is bisexual, but that's not the case with Belfast. Aoife and Megan are lesbians.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!