Ianto practically ran through the kitchens to servant's quarters. He was so desperate to meet with Cassandra that he didn't even stop when Sam tried to ask him what was wrong.
As he ran into his room he slammed the door closed behind him and saw Cassandra sitting on the stool in the corner of the room.
"Calm down Ianto." Cassandra held up her hand to calm Ianto.
"I can't! I have no home, no family and Jack's getting sent to the Cardiff Institute! My life couldn't get any worse." Ianto trailed off and bit his bottom lip to stop himself from crying.
"You do have a home, you do have a family but I'm afraid you're right about the Institute and I'm going to make your life a bit more bearable." Cassandra stood up and walked over to Ianto and Sam's wardrobe. "Which side is yours?"
"The left. What do you mean I have a home and a family? You head Mrs Harkness, I am to leave this house by 7 o clock tonight and she never wants to see me again." Ianto followed her to the wardrobe.
"You've been fired, right?" Cassandra turned around to face Ianto with her hands on her hips.
"Right." Ianto confirmed.
"Well I'm hiring you." Cassandra turned back to the wardrobe and started pulling Ianto's clothes off their hangers.
"What?" Ianto stood with his mouth agape.
"Ianto honey, close your mouth. I'm sending you to my house where you'll work as my servant and do not have to hide who you are." Cassandra smiled at Ianto's look of shock and placed the handful of clothes she had on the bed.
"What's the point in being myself if I can't be myself with Jack?" Ianto raised his eyebrows after he had gotten over the shock.
"I don't really think Linda will actually send Jack to the Institute. He always has been and always will be her precious son. She has only ever hurt him indirectly." Ianto looked confused. "Hurt those around him so he gets hurt too."
"I get it. So she's firing me and making me homeless because she knows he will be hurt by it?" Ianto asked.
"Yes and when he comes out of the Institute I'll let him know where you are and we'll come up with a story for him to move into my house so he can be with you." Cassandra explained her plan.
"That's sounds perfect but how do I get to your house? I don't even know where it is." Ianto admitted.
"I'll pay for a taxi and tell the driver the address and you will be taken there." Cassandra took the last of Ianto's clothes from the wardrobe and placed them on the bed. "Do you have a suitcase?"
"Yeah it's under the bed." Ianto gestured to the bed and crawled underneath to retrieve the almost forgotten suitcase. "What time will I be leaving?"
"I think the sooner the better. If you leave as soon as possible, people won't have time to ask questions. There's a greater chance that our plan will work." Cassandra began shoving the clothes into the suitcase as she spoke.
"I'm just going to say goodbye to Sam." Ianto was on his way out of the room when Cassandra called him back.
"Ianto honey, are you going to tell Sam the plan?" She asked.
Ianto thought for a moment and shook his head. "I know I can trust him but I don't want to leave him with the burden of covering up for us. It's not fair on him."
"Okay, don't be too long. I'll phone for a taxi now." Cassandra said as she finished zipping up the suitcase. She picked the phone up off the dressing table and dialled the number for the taxi service.
Ianto walked up the corridor of the servant's quarters and into the kitchen. He could see Sam sitting at the table in the middle of the room; he was eating his lunch.
"Sam, I need to talk to you." Ianto stated as he reached the table. Sam was about to complain about his food going cold but stopped when he seen the look on Ianto's face. It was solemn.
"Sure." Sam gestured for Ianto to sit in the empty chair beside him.
"Can we go somewhere more private?" Ianto looked around the kitchen at all the servant's going about their daily duties. Nobody looked like they were listening in but Ianto knew from years of experience that there was never nobody listening in the kitchen.
"Yeah, is our bedroom okay?" Sam asked and stood up to go to the bedroom.
"No." Ianto liked Cassandra but didn't want her seeing him saying goodbye to his closest friend. "The bathroom will be best." Ianto walked in the direction of the bathroom with Sam following close behind.
When the door was closed and locked behind them, Ianto turned to face Sam.
"What is it Ianto?" Sam was started to worry about his friend.
"Jack and I were caught again today. He was cleaning the wounds on my back whilst I was lying topless on his bed and Mrs. Harkness walked in. She's fired me and is sending Jack to the Cardiff Institute." Ianto said emotionlessly.
Sam closed his eyes and leaned against the wall behind him. He didn't think that Jack and Ianto would be caught again so soon.
"Yan..." He mumbled.
"I have to leave this house by 7 o clock tonight and she never wants to see me again but I'm leaving as soon as possible and I won't see you ever again." Ianto started to cry as he realised that he would be losing much more than his job and home.
Sam opened his eyes and looked at Ianto. The tears were flowing down Sam's cheeks as he looked at his friend for what would be the last time.
"Where will you go?" Sam managed to choke out.
"I can't tell you. It's going to be all right." Ianto sobbed. "I'm sorry Sam."
"What for?" Sam asked.
"For upsetting you." Ianto replied and wiped the tears from his cheeks. "And leaving you."
"Don't be sorry. You've been my best friend since I was five and you'll always be the best friend I've ever had." Sam wrapped his arms around Ianto and the stood and held each other in silence for a few minutes.
Ianto pulled away and chuckled slightly. "I have to go Sam. I can't stay here any longer. I'm going to miss you."
Sam merely nodded; any attempt at speaking was going to come out as a strangled sob.
Ianto unlocked the bathroom door and started to leave. He paused as before he left and turned back to Sam. Leaning forward, he wrapped his arms around his friend and hugged him once more. This time as he pulled away, he pressed a kiss to Sam's cheek. Ianto looked into Sam's eyes for the last time and left the bathroom and headed straight into his bedroom where Cassandra would be waiting.
Sam looked at the open door where Ianto had been standing. He slowly pushed it closed at re-locked it. He all but collapsed onto the floor and leaned his forehead against the back of the wooden door and sobbed. He couldn't think straight knowing that he would never see Ianto again. Neither man had any proper family left and they had become as close as brother's over the years and now it was like losing their family all over again.
Cassandra didn't say anything as Ianto entered the room; she just took him into her arms and soothed the broken man. When Ianto had almost stopped crying she pulled away.
"Ianto, the taxi will be here any minute now. I've wrote down the address here." She handed Ianto a piece of folded up paper with a sum of money. "There's also the money for the taxi. It won't cost any more than that."
"Thank you." Ianto whispered. His throat was hoarse from crying.
"Honey, I've already rang my house and my servants and daughters know that you'll be working there but you have my word that nobody will force you into any kind of work until you feel up to it. Have you got that?" Cassandra asked. Ianto nodded. "You better wait outside for the taxi." She led Ianto out of the servant's quarters, through the kitchen and to the front doors of the house. She ushered the former Harkness servant out of the door and down the steps where the taxi was already waiting.
"Ianto, it's going to be alright." She reassured him and pulled him in for a hug. "See you soon, yeah?"
"Yeah." Ianto forced a smile and climbed into the back of the car and gave the driver the address. He waved weakly at Cassandra as the car pulled away.
Ianto sighed, the tears had finally stopped and he looked back at the house that had been his home for so many years. As he looked up at the house the tears started falling again as he saw Jack at the bedroom window on the second floor. Ianto wanted so badly to be up there with him instead of driving away from him.
"Goodbye Jack." He whispered at they turned a corner and he could no longer see the house or Jack.