Okay. I've focused a lot on Ianto in all my chapters and I thought it's only fair if I try to cover EVERYONE else with a bit more depth than a few sentences! So, I hope you enjoy...

It is currently about 3 in the morning so if there are any typos or mistakes you can blame the late hour, or is it early hour? Hmm...

Listening to Evanescence and relaxing piano music – a bit of a contrast there I think – is quite helpful for my mind-set.... must listen to it more often! =P

You never know what you have if you're afraid to reach out and grasp it, depending on faith alone...

!!Alonzey!!

Chapter 14

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JACK

"To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead."

Bertrand Russell, Marriage and Morals (1929) ch. 19

He didn't want to be alone. He hated being alone. In all his time, in all his life-times he'd always hated being alone. Being alone wasn't normal for a human, even if he does use that term loosely nowadays. Humans, by nature, are social creatures. They will seek out the light in the darkness with the vague hope of finding others. They will band together when left in the night, they will stay together when faced with danger and death, with despair and difficulty. They hope that by staying together they will be safe, they see sociality as being a sign of safety – if you're in a group you're less likely to be the victim.

He sometimes wanted some time to himself but he never really wanted to be alone. No-one can ever truly say they enjoy being alone. At some point they will eventually need to see someone, to speak to them, to feel them.

He wanted to be holding someone in his arms, he wanted to take comfort in the fact that he isn't alone. He loves being held, being touched, being one with another. He doesn't ever want to lose such a thing ever again.

But he will, he might already have lost it. If only he could've seen it. He should've known. It was like Suzie... he'd been tricked, blind-sided and he couldn't even see it!

He hated himself, he felt so much self-disgust for himself he hated being in his own skin! He'd let his lover be hurt, he'd hurt him. How was he meant to be forgiven for something like that?

How could he ever be forgiven for anything he did?

How could he be forgiven for existing?

He wasn't meant to be... he was wrong. Wasn't he?

He was always wrong, he knew that. He was never right. And he knew he would never be able to hold Ianto in his arms again... but... he hoped he could.

And there are times when all you can do is hope... so that's what he did now.

He hoped... oh god, did he hope!...

He was an immortal man. He had nothing to fear, he could walk into a nest of Weevils and laugh. He could get shot in the head and could smile afterwards. He could die a thousand deaths and still live another day.

But he was afraid to love. It hurt so much to love. Losing a love hurt more than any physical wound ever inflicted. To lose a lover after loving them so much, with every fibre of your being, it just... hurt. It killed him more than any bullet, more than any claw, more than anything ever could.

He never wanted to love, but he couldn't help it. He fell, like an Angel outcast from Heaven. He fell and he hit the ground... hard. And now all he can do is wait for the day when this lover will die and he will hurt and die within again. But he'd be damned if he'd let the fear of being hurt stop him now!

He would love as much as he could and he'd do it with a smile on his face thinking of the joy and happiness it brings, instead of a frown when he considers the consequences of his love.

He refused to let his fear rule him any longer! He was making a stand... he was about to win the war.

He turned away from the view he had of the city of Cardiff that stretched before him, it's lights blinking and flickering in the darkness of the night. He turned away and began the long trek across the roof and down the stairs to the ground-floor. He walked, with a purposeful stride and his eyes blazing with such determined passion that it could ignite the night sky into a burning inferno, towards the hospital that he'd fled only hours before. He walked towards the man he'd ran from when consumed in his own fear and guilt...

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OWEN

"Everyone has a doctor in him or her; we just have to help it in its work. The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well. Our food should be our medicine. Our medicine should be our food. But to eat when you are sick, is to feed your sickness."

Hippocrates Greek Physican (460 BC – 377 BC)

He was stopped on his way up to Ianto's room when his mobile began to vibrate in his jacket pocket and his blue-tooth activated automatically. He wondered idly who it was as he waited for them to speak, well speak to him. Whoever they were, they were bickering with someone on their end of the connection.

He found out who it was when a familiar feminine voice began speaking to him, talking so fast that he missed the first few sentences, or questions as they were, before he caught up.

"Woah, woah, slow down Tosh! I can't understand you when you talk faster than the speed of a bullet! Take a deep breath and then talk." He said, running a hand through his hair and rolling his eyes.

He enjoyed listening to the speed that Tosh spoke at when she'd written some revolutionary program or when she'd figured out the purpose of some random piece of tech. She truly looked beautiful when she was so enthusiastic Well, he thought so.

Tosh, it seemed, had decided to listen to Owen's advice and was talking slower to him asking various questions about Ianto and about Jack. He felt somewhat over-whelmed by the constant barrage or questions he was getting, they were starting to give him a headache.

Deciding to cut Tosh off before she likely had a panic-attack Owen cut in with, "Tosh! Ianto is fine, he's healing and he woke up not too long ago. I think he'd currently sleeping. Jack's with him and that bloody Doctor of his. So breathe Tosh. I don't want to have to save another one of us! Ianto's hard enough work as it is, I don't need you having a panic-attack too!"

There was silence on the other end of the connection as Tosh processed the information Owen had given her and was feeling rather sheepish at the fact that she'd freaked out about Ianto's hospitalization. After a few silent seconds she told him thank-you for the information and to tell Ianto that she and Gwen wished him well. He smiled and told her that he'd tell him. Before the connection was cut he heard Tosh say, in a tone worthy of a reprimanding mother, "And you better get some decent sleep Owen! There's plenty of Doctors to check on Ianto! You do need to sleep!"

He smiled and cut off the connection. He loved it when Tosh became a mother-hen, it made him feel loved. And he liked the attention he got from Tosh, showed she cared about him.

He walked into Ianto's room and stopped when he saw that Ianto and the Doctor where speaking -albeit in quiet voices, or a croak in Ianto's case – and were focused intently on each other. There was no sign of Jack. That made him somewhat curious since he'd expected to find him with the teaboy, making sure he was alright. After all, they were meant to be in a relationship together. And Owen, as cruel and sardonic as he was, didn't want Ianto to be hurt by Jack and being one of the Captains many conquests. If that's all Ianto was to the git then he'd shoot Jack a thousand times over and wait to see which bullet would finally kill him!

The kid didn't deserve to be hurt again, not after everything he'd been through in such a short amount of time. Kid was too sweet and innocent, even if he had seen hell and been trapped in it for a few hours.

He'd find a way for Jack to die permanently if he hurt Ianto again. That was a promise, and Owen Harper kept his promises... mostly.

As the Doctor and Ianto finished speaking he walked over and grabbed the patient chart. Looking through it quickly he noted down that the pain-meds had been administered at the right time. He also noted that there was nothing bad or potentially deadly happening inside the kid and that the acid-like substance on those tentacles wasn't poisonous and wouldn't leave any scarring – well, nothing that would be easy to see unless you had a magnifying glass.

"Well teaboy, you'll be up and about in no time. Which is good for you because I'm going through coffee-withdrawal and that's not a good thing to have happen to the guy who does your physicals." he said, his voice not as loud as it would normally be, nor was it anywhere as snarky as it normally was. It was almost sensitive...

Hmm... looks like he was healing after Katie... maybe he was moving on, at long last?...

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GWEN & TOSH

"True friends are those who really know you but love you anyway."

Edna Buchanan

After Tosh had called Owen they aimlessly wondered around the Hub trying to find something to pass the time before some U.N.I.T lackeys turned up and they could run off to the hospital and check-up on Ianto. They both wanted to make sure he was alright. He was the youngest and, to Gwen anyway, the least experienced. Tosh believed that Ianto had seen and been through far more than he ever let on, more than she, Gwen or Owen ever had been through. She doubted he'd been through more than Jack but... one never can tell for certain.

Gwen found her way to her desk and sat down heavily in her seat. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, she was going crazy waiting to go and see Jack and Ianto. She wanted to know if they were both alright. She knew Jack would be distressed and would need a shoulder to cry on 'if only he needed more... from me at least' and Ianto was so young. She believed that Ianto was far too young to have had this happen to him, he was far too innocent. He didn't have the experience to handle this, he'd need help getting over this. And she would be there, she'd be waiting to help him through it.

Tosh typed away on her computers, writing several algorithms and trying to ha k the NHS database so she could look at Ianto's file – but, as it was the NHS she'd probably have better luck of building an express-way that reached the moon! She'd find a way into that confounded database though, because she was brilliant and it would bow to her technological genius!

When the U.N.I.T lackeys finally arrived, after nearly an hour of waiting Tosh and Gwen said to them, that in no uncertain terms were they permitted to enter the Hub. They were to remain in either the Tourist Office or their pretty, black van that they'd pulled up in, in the underground parking lot. Then, once Tosh had set the security alarms and made sure that any alerts would be easily accessible in the Tourist Office, they left the U.N.I.T lackeys in charge of the Rift and high-tailed it across the city straight to Cardiff General hospital and up to Ianto's private room.

Tosh sat beside Ianto's bedside and stroked the fluffy locks of brown-hair away from his face humming an old melody that her mother used to hum when she was young and had, had a nightmare. She thought he looked so vulnerable in his sleep. With his eyes closed she noticed that he really did look his age. 'Too young to have been through so much' she thought as she noticed Gwen slid down in her chair slightly, he eyes closed and her breathing rhythmic.

She watched as Owen stood and left the room, most likely heading for the loo or something like that. She felt slightly uncomfortable knowing that there was someone else in the room who wasn't part of the team. The Doctor stood off to the side, away from Tosh but still within sight of the bed and Ianto, simply watching. He didn't speak, didn't really acknowledge anyone in the room except with a curt nod, he just... watched. Almost as if he was waiting for something, or waiting for Ianto to wake-up.

She tried not to be disturbed by the constant presence, but found that it was too noticeable. It was too abnormal. She knew the Doctor was meant to be loud and vibrant, he was meant to gain the attention of everyone in any room that he entered, so the fact that he was silent and trying not to gain anyone's attention made Tosh worried. She wanted to know why the Doctor was acting like a sentry Angel... being silent and watching...

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He turned away from the view he had of the city of Cardiff that stretched before him, it's lights blinking and flickering in the darkness of the night. He turned away and began the long trek across the roof and down the stairs to the ground-floor. He walked, with a purposeful stride and his eyes blazing with such determined passion that it could ignite the night sky into a burning inferno, towards the hospital that he'd fled only hours before. He walked towards the man he'd ran from when consumed in his own fear and guilt...

JACK

"The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him."

Ralph Waldo Emerson
US essayist & poet (1803 - 1882)

He walked along the corridors not bothering to glance, (okay, to oggle) at anyone he passed as he made his way up to Ianto's room. He knew that Tosh and Gwen would probably be there by now, having got U.N.I.T to cover the Rift for a little while so they could all be there, for Ianto. Where he should be now.

As he turned the corner of the corridor he spied Owen leaving Ianto's room and heading off towards the toilets,'he must not have left him for a while'he thought as he reached the door and paused long enough to make sure he looked like he hadn't been standing on the top of some random building drowning in guilt.

He entered the room almost silently and smiled softly at the sight he saw before him; Tosh sitting next to Ianto's bed stroking his hair, Gwen slumped in another chair sleeping deeply and Ianto himself, so quiet, so still, so vulnerable with his beautiful eyes closed. Sighing quietly he made his way over to Tosh and stood beside her, waiting for her to notice him when he realised she was humming. It sounded so sweet, so soft, so gentle and so like Tosh that Jack wanted it never to end. He vainly tried to burn it upon his memory so he could remember it decades after she died, he wanted for it to be remembered for as long as his mind would allow him to recall it.

Tosh turned slightly to look at him and smiled softly as she continued to hum gently, before turning her attention back to Ianto's sleeping form. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Owen had re-entered the room and was about to sit down next to the now snoring Gwen. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze before moving to sit down beside, where he belonged. By his lover and the people he cared about more than he ever thought he would.

He was with those he loved...

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Well... isn't that all so sweet? Angst, fluff, and HC all rolled into one... hmm.. interesting development.

Anywho, you know the drill by now, well I expect you do, REVIEWS REVIEWS REVIEWS!!!!