Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or its characters

Chapter 12

Jack could feel himself falling. Suddenly he felt himself flying and slam onto what he realised was the pavement in the plas. Moments later a figure landed on top of him with a groan. Ianto blushed as realised the position he landed. He stood up quickly and helped Jack up.

"We made it!" Ianto gasped.

Jack checked his VM. "We have! Back to my universe" He looked at Ianto. "Told you we would be fine. And it's 10am. Back in time for coffee!" He grinned. Ianto smiled back looking relieved.

"JACK!" They turned to see Gwen running toward them. She barrelled into Jack and he hugged her tight.

"You're back!" Then she noticed Ianto. "Both of you? What happened? Not that I'm not happy to see you back Ianto" She gave him a hug.

"It's a long story Gwen. First things first, how long have I been gone?"

"4 days" she said. She smiled. "Command is still yours. Martha and Mickey are back at the hub. I'm so glad you're both back" She hugged them both again.

"Let's get back to the hub. We'll explain everything" Jack said. He took both their hands as they walked to the lift.

Jack stood looking at the picture of Ianto. He was feeling so many emotions and all these events were catching up with him. He and Ianto had spent most of the day being examined by Martha and this was the first time he could come into his office.

"I wonder what you make of all this. I can't believe I have you back after all this time. Well not you you, but another you". Jack rubbed his forehead. "I wonder what you thought of parallel universes. Are the other versions of us completely different, or are we all the same, like our souls, our very essences?" He ran his hand through his hair. "I can't believe I'm getting all spiritual now, after everything I have seen and done. But when he is around I feel like he is you. And I feel complete again." He put his head against the glass and closed his eyes. "What do I do Ianto?"

"Maybe we could start at the beginning?" Jack jumped at the voice as he opened his eyes and saw Ianto standing at the doorway.

"Ianto! How long have you been there?"

Ianto walked over to Jack. "Long enough"

They stood in silence, neither knowing what to say. Ianto finally broke the silence.

"You kissed me"

Jack smiled. "I thought if it was going to be my last moment and everything went wrong I didn't want any regrets. Bit embarrassed now, but I don't regret it"

Ianto smiled. "Me neither"

They stood in silence before Ianto broke it again.

"For what it's worth, I believe we are the same people across all the universes, we've just lived in different circumstances. Some are obviously very similar, some very different, but I believe the core is the same. So you and my Jack are the same, and me and your Ianto are the same, mostly. I'm not making any sense am I?"

Jack nodded. "You are. I'm just aware of how recent your loss is compared to mine"

Ianto took Jack's hand into his and Jack looked him in the eyes, those big blue eyes he loved so much.

"Like you said Ianto, maybe we can start at the beginning and take things slow"

Ianto nodded and smiled. "I'd like that"

6 months later

"Mickey it's heading in your direction! Stay sharp!" Jack shouted down the comms.

"On it!" Mickey responded.

Jack and Ianto ran past several warehouses, looking for the red blowfish that had come through the rift. Suddenly Jack heard gunshots down the comms.

"Mickey! Are you alright?!"

"Fine. Bastard is armed with a gun so watch out! Going to need to shoot to kill on this one"

Jack and Ianto caught a flash of red running through one of the passageways.

"Ianto you go right to one end and I'll cut him off halfway" Ianto nodded.

"Be careful"

Ianto grinned. "Always am!"

They split. Jack kept his back against the walls of the warehouses, slowly stalking his prey. He suddenly heard a yell and gunshots. That yell sounded like Ianto's.

Jack ran towards the sound and saw the blowfish on the ground with a hole between its eyes, and Ianto lying a few metres away with blood pooling round him.

"Ianto!"

Jack ran to him, falling to his knees and pulling Ianto into his arms. He saw blood around a gunshot wound in his chest. Ianto opened his eyes and smiled weakly.

"Sorry Jack. I wasn't careful enough"

"It's ok. You'll be ok Ianto. Just hang on please!"

Mickey appeared and swore, calling Martha on the comms and whispering frantically.

Ianto coughed and was struggling for breath. Jack held him tighter.

"Hang on Ianto please. Martha's coming. She'll fix you right up and you'll be back making coffee by tomorrow. Ianto?" Jack's voice was frantic. "Please don't leave me again. Please!"

"I'm sorry Jack" Ianto whispered. "I love you. These past 6 months have been amazing. I'm so sorry it's ending this way" With that Ianto closed his eyes and went limp.

"Ianto!"

Jack cradled him close, buried his face into Ianto's soft hair and sobbed. He didn't care that Mickey was stood right there, watching him fall apart. He didn't care about anything. He had lost Ianto again. It's not fair! What had he done to make the universe hate him so much? He just wanted Ianto, was that so much to ask? After all the times he had saved the world, all he had sacrificed, didn't he deserve some happiness? He held him close and let the tears flow. The love of his life ripped from him again. He didn't know what he was going to do now.

GASP!

"Woah!" Mickey jumped back.

Ianto opened his eyes with a loud gasp, flailing as he tried to grab something. He grabbed Jack's coat, a frantic look in his eyes. He met with Jack's teary but shocked ones.

"Ianto?!"

"Jack?"

"You're alive?! But you were dead!"

They both looked down to Ianto's chest to see no sign of the wound. All that was there was a hole in Ianto's favourite purple shirt.

"It's gone!" Ianto looked at Jack.

Jack pulled Ianto into a tight hug, now crying happy tears into his shoulder.

"Jack. As much as I love this, I need to breathe" Ianto laughed. Jack let him go.

He helped Ianto stand up and looked him up and down. There was no sign of any injury. You wouldn't have known he had been dead a few minutes ago. Mickey approached.

"Glad to have you back with us mate" he clapped Ianto tentatively on the shoulder.

"I'm not complaining, but we need to find out what happened" Jack said, pulling Ianto close to him. "Better get you back to the hub."

"Well this is interesting"

Martha was looking at results on a clipboard. Gwen and Martha, who had heard everything over the comms, had given Ianto the biggest hug when they arrived back before Martha had dragged Ianto away. She had poked and prodded for hours, taking blood and doing every scan possible. Jack refused to leave Ianto's side no matter how much she protested. Now everyone was stood around Ianto, who was sitting on the bed awaiting the results.

"I've been comparing your results to the ones taken when you first arrived here. The blood work didn't make sense but I had a hunch so I compared your blood with Jacks. Ianto, your blood is the same as his"

Everyone looked puzzled.

"Are you saying I'm now immortal like Jack?" Ianto couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"It looks that way" Martha replied.

Ianto looked at a tray of instruments before picking up a scalpel.

"Ianto!" Jack cried.

Ianto dragged the scalpel along his palm. It healed almost instantly.

"Sorry. I had to check" he said, looking at his hand stunned. Jack took his hand and kissed it before glaring at him.

"How could this happen?" Gwen asked.

"Honestly? I couldn't say. But if I had to guess I would say it was travelling through the rift. Ianto travelled through it three times. I think all that different energy and radiation you've been exposed to has changed you at a cellular to become like Jack"

No one knew what to say. They stood silent before Ianto suddenly burst out laughing.

"Ianto are you ok?" Jack asked, worried Ianto was more hysterical than anything.

"You realise now you are stuck with me forever Jack?" he said with a big grin. Jack grinned back.

"I can't think of anyone else I would rather spend eternity with"

He pulled Ianto off the bed and kissed him, not caring that everyone else was there. He ignored the groans from Mickey. Ianto was alive and now always will be. He didn't have to worry about losing him again. He looked toward the ceiling, and thanked the universe for this gift. A gift he will treasure forever.

Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it!