They'd fallen asleep sated in each other's arms, Jack pressing a soft kiss to Ianto's forehead as he drifted off before following into unconsciousness. But while they may have resolved to tackle the situation together, and Jack had consciously felt more secure, his unconscious mind knew that the danger was far from over.
Ianto was sleeping uneventfully until a loud cry pulled him out of his slumber. He blinked sleepily, unsure what it was that woke him until the voice cried out again from next to him, clearly terrified,
"No please" Jack moaned, tossing and turning fitfully, "Yan"
"Jack" Ianto murmured, reaching out to touch his shoulder gently, hoping not to startle him awake.
Jack thrashed around as he groaned, his face contorted in pain and all hope of being gentle went out the window for Ianto as the man began sobbing, tears creeping from his closed eyes as they scrunched tightly together. He needed Jack to come back to reality. He placed his hands on Jack's shoulders,
"Jack, wake up" Ianto was shaking him, "You're having a nightmare"
Jack's eyes suddenly shot open in panic, glancing around breathlessly as he came back to reality. His hands reached out, gripping Ianto's forearms so hard it was sure to cause bruises.
"Ianto… what happened?"
"You just started shouting" Ianto breathed, "you sounded so scared"
"I… I was dreaming" Jack said, "John was there, with Gray. He was threatening to hurt me, he was going to hurt you"
"I see" Ianto nodded, "you shouted my name that's what woke me"
"I'm sorry"
"Don't be sorry you muppet. I just want to make sure you're alright"
"It felt so real" Jack whispered, "just like when he hurt you before"
"John's in jail remember, he's awaiting trial"
"I know but what if he comes after you again, or what if Gray…" Jack was babbling, "we were at this old warehouse and he was going to blow it up with you inside. He had a gun and everything"
"Jack listen to yourself. You know how farfetched that sounds, things like that just don't happen in real life"
"You never know" Jack shook his head, "we've seen what John is capable of, and Gray was the same level of sadistic. He spiked me with hallucinogenic drugs once, made me think I was being buried alive"
Ianto's eyes widened, "shit that's… intense"
"Its part of why I didn't tell you. I'd blocked so much of it out, what he was like when we were younger, why I've cut him out of my life. And the minute he's tried to get back in its made me…. Well look at the state of me"
Ianto looked at the genuine fear etched across Jack's face and pulled the other man back against him, tucking him under his arm against the pillow so he could rest his head on Ianto's chest. His hand tangled gently in Jack's hair, running it through his fingers in the way he knew Jack loved, the older man's breathing slowly returning to normal as his heart stopped racing,
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Jack. But hearing Gray's voice on the phone, he sounded guilty, nervous too. He'd obviously been torn over whether to call"
"What are you saying?"
"Well, maybe he's moved on. Maybe he wants to make amends"
"I don't know if I'm ready for that" Jack admitted,
"And that's fine. But maybe it'll give you some closure"
Jack nodded, "I'll think about it. I just don't want to risk what we have"
Ianto kept stroking his hand through Jack's hair gently, "I know, but for what its worth I don't think there's anything in this universe that could keep me from loving you"
"The whole universe huh?" Jack smiled, sniffing back the tears that hadn't quite stopped falling,
"yep" Ianto squeezed him close to his body, "no getting rid of me, Sir" he teased,
"Oh I'm more than ok with that" Jack grinned, snuggling closer with a yawn. Ianto continued stroking his hair as the older man drifted off to sleep, hoping he had for now made him feel safe enough to keep the nightmares at bay. But he was certainly worried. He'd tried to reassure Jack that Gray's contact could be a good thing, but there was a voice niggling in the back of his mind that he could be very, very wrong.