I wish there were excuses, but there are no excuses. (well apart from the surprise lack of internet earlier this month). This should have been the easiest chapter to write, seeing as this was the last chapter, but this went through several re-writes (one which included Adam turning up as this is set almost the day before the episode) but I was never truly happy. But now, I have cracked it, plus Ive included a sneaky peak at my new fic in the making 'Under Your Skin.' Enjoy the last chapter guys, its been a great ride!

They had been early for their reservations, so they decided to take a detour and bask in the night air of Cardiff. Jack and Ianto, their hands still entwined, moved between the late night shoppers, the teenagers up to no good and the general hustle and bustle of everyday life. Jack's eyes lingered on a couple sitting outside of a pub, laughing and joking with each other as they clinked their wine glass together. So full of life, so lost in each other's eyes as they leant over the table to capture their lips with the others. Jack had envied them ever so slightly, observing the life he wished he could have as his grip on Ianto's hand tightened slightly.

Ianto turned to Jack when he felt his grip tighten. His eyes followed his partner's gaze and he found himself watching the couple as well, feeling the same pang in his heart. If he had been asked before whether Captain Jack Harkness would be content in a monogamous relationship with the general help of Torchwood Cardiff, he would have no doubt found the whole thing quite humorous. But that had been before Jack had left, abandoned them all in favour of his precious Doctor. Ianto had never expected him to come back to them, to him, but he was proved wrong when Jack's bullet narrowly missed his head that night they had chased the blowfish and the Captain made his heroic return. When Jack had not only returned, but then had gone on to ask Ianto out on a date, he knew that his partner had indeed changed during his time away. For the better, well, Ianto would have to wait and see. For the moment, he was happy to carry on.

'Do you reckon they'll last?' Ianto was slightly taken aback by Jack's question as his partner turned to face him, a look of curiosity fixed on his face. The seriousness behind Jack's eyes was almost tangible as he hoped for an answer from Ianto. The silence lingered whilst Ianto considered his answer; what could he really say to Jack? What was the answer he was looking for? Could Ianto say that they would last long into their old age and die together in some old cottage, or should he just say the woman was after some quick shag to bide her time between failing relationships? It took a while, but Ianto began to understand this was nothing to do with the couple; this was all about their future together. Did Jack have a future with Ianto? Would they last until Ianto's body withered and gave up on itself, whilst Jack remained the same as he had when they had first met? Ianto knew deep down that that would never happen, so he simply took a sharp intake of breath.

'I think they'll make each other happy.' He watched as Jack's face began to soften and slowly nod his head. It wasn't the answer he had wanted to hear, but it was enough for now. Jack had been trapped in his own negative thoughts all day, he let the answer wash over him and gave Ianto a sad smile, no longer dwelling on the day's events.

'Yeah, suppose so,' Jack said as he hid behind his signature smile and continued to walk on with Ianto, leaving the couple behind them as they continued on their walk. No Weevil alerts, no spaceships, no ex-lovers falling through the Rift; this was their time and Jack wanted to savour every second of it.

*****

'What was it like?' Ianto had been spinning the same piece of spaghetti on his fork for the past few minutes as he built up the courage to ask Jack the question that had been forming in his mind since Jack had returned. His eyes dropped as he saw Jack lift his head from his own meal and stare at him. Stupid, why had he asked that question? Here they were, having a nice meal in a French restaurant, enjoying the ambience of the newly opened building whilst drinking a rather pleasant bottle of red wine and Ianto wanted to know what horrors and nightmares Jack Harkness had inflicted on himself whilst being trapped in his mind.

'What do you want me to say?' Jack cursed himself for the tone he had delivered his reply. He should have known Ianto would been inquisitive, wanting to know exactly what he had been through. That was one of the things Jack both liked and hated about Ianto; he could share almost everything with Ianto. There was no hero worship or forced sympathy Gwen was insistent on giving. It wasn't really her fault, it was what she had been taught in the police force to do. He had tried to share things with Gwen when she had first joined Torchwood and, although he did care for her, he could still see the level of hero worship she would never shake off and the knowledge that she would turn away from him if she ever found out who he really was. That was what he loved about Ianto; there was no hero worship, no forced sympathy, and no questions. Ianto would listen then, usually composing himself, he would nod his head and simply hold Jack whilst the memories of his past still danced in front of his eyes.

It was also one of the things he hated about Ianto, not intentionally though. He knew Ianto simply wanted to know the man behind Captain Jack Harkness, but he knew he could never reveal him. If he did, Jack knew that he would never be able to give up Ianto Jones. How could he let the only man that was so close to understanding him pass by and leave him, either through old age or death by Torchwood?

'Doesn't matter,' Ianto muttered as he continued to play with the food in front of him, still unable to look into the deep blue eyes of his partner. He knew he had stepped over the line; he should have just kept quiet. However, his mind still longed to understand what Jack had been through. Lyn had seen a glimpse of what had happened and he suddenly became jealous of his dear friend; she had witnessed a side of Jack he knew he would never see and he felt the pang of jealousy deep inside. He almost jumped when he felt a hand lay on top of his. Ianto's head shot up as he looked into Jack's eyes, witnessing his partner's sad smile and his eyes aglow with the love he knew Jack would never be able to admit.

'How about we leave it until after the dessert? I'm just itching to feed you some of that chocolate mousse.' Jack waggled his eyebrows, which made Ianto smile, as he took his partner's hand in both of his own, bringing the knuckles gently to his lips and kissing the skin underneath. He could almost feel the wave of pleasure it was sending through Ianto's body and Jack was suddenly thinking twice about that dessert. Hell, they had chocolate mousse at home and Jack was suddenly thinking how it would be more fun to sit in bed and lick it off of Ianto's chest in their bedroom. But no; Jack had promised a nice, quiet meal without any risk of Weevils or Rift activity and Jack was going to keep to his promise. Even if it did mean sitting through the coffee and chocolates at the end, making idle chit chat instead of making love right here and there. Damn these twentieth century dating customs.

'I don't want to know it all,' Ianto said, breaking the mood almost instantly, as if the proverbial bull had just eyed the new china shop across the way. Before he could stop himself, because he knew if he did he would never have another chance, he continued. 'I just want to understand. I just want to help.' With his final sentence escaping his lips, he kept his eyes fixed on Jack, hoping to see any shift or acceptance in his partner's eyes. He was rewarded with another soft kiss to knuckles before being tugged lightly across the table, meeting Jack's lips in the middle as he closed his eyes. In the far off distance, Ianto became aware of a woman's wolf whistle and felt Jack's lips form into a smile. They broke away after a while and settled back into their seats.

'You help more than you'll ever know, Ianto Jones.' Still with his hand gripping Ianto's, he cleared his throat and began to tell his story. The dessert came, the coffee and chocolates came and the idle chit chat broke the tension and heartache Jack's story filled the room with. The bill was paid and Ianto retrieved their coats from the cloakroom.

'Let's go home,' Ianto said, holding his hand out and waiting for Jack to take hold. And as they stepped out into the cold wind of the night, Jack uttered two little words to the wind; loud enough for Ianto to hear, but quiet enough to let the moment remain between the two of them.

'My angel.'

THE END

'Under Your Skin.' I'm bad for writing this sort of thing, but I promise it will not be a truly fun trip. For I looked into the angst and the angst looked into me *evil grin*:

"Ianto wasn't that worried, which was slightly weird considering the circumstances. But he had done this before and was quite content in walking in heels, although he was sure he could have picked out a better pair himself. It was just Gwen who he was worried about. She had never been in this kind of situation; she was looking nervous, aggitated and he should have been more caring. But if she pulled at his shirt sleeves one more time and kept that stupid look on his face, he was seriously going to have to consider kicking his own arse."

Oh, can you guess what happens? You probably can so I warn you (and urge you also to read) that this won't be your usual body-swap story. Things are gonna get ugly between Gwen and Ianto and they will be suffering from my angst pen. *evil grin*