The day had been so beautiful. After our walk on the beach, Jack and I went sightseeing to some of the more tourist-inhabited spots. I wouldn't typically be a fan of such things, but I had decided to indulge myself. We went shopping at some high end boutiques where I purchased some souvenirs to bring back to my sister and her kids. Hell, I even bought Johnny a T-shirt so that Rhiannon wouldn't be uptight about my excluding him.

We ate dinner at a lavish restaurant. Jack refused to let me see the prices of our meals, assuring me it wasn't too much. I watched him charm the waiter, not feeling a twinge of jealousy. How could I when he had been spoiling me so heavily? The Jack Harkness Charm worked, and we were brought a bottle of champagne; compliments of the restaurant owner. We ordered lobster. I hadn't had lobster in years. It was delicious and perfect. He even ordered us dessert; a small chocolate cake with a love heart drawn around it in chocolate syrup. I watched Jack in amazement as he looked so carefree. It was a look I had rarely ever seen on his face before. He was happy.

"Well, Ianto," Jack began, taking my hand as we exited the restaurant. "We have several days left here, but I am almost out of surprises." He laughed.

"I don't need surprises, Jack. I am so happy to be here with you. You've absolutely spoiled me." I pulled his hand up to my lips and kissed it gently. "Cardiff is going to be a bit difficult to return to after all of this," I remarked.

"Well," he said. "I do have one more plan for us tonight if you're up to it."

In reality I was bloody knackered. My joints were sore and lethargy was setting in. Despite that though, I couldn't help but do whatever his sparkly eyes asked of me. "What's that?" I asked.

He took me by the hand, pulled me to the edge of the curb, got us a cab, and gave the cabbie an address. "I've arranged a private visit somewhere I think you'll enjoy," he said. I couldn't imagine where, especially seeing as it was after dark, but I trusted him.

The ride took a while, and I grew more and more tired. I rested my head against Jack's shoulder, and he moved his arm around me so that I could better snuggle in with him. I nodded off a few times on the ride, only fully regaining consciousness when the car came to a halt. I looked up and saw a sign welcoming us to the Los Angeles Arboretum.

"Jack, I'm sure this will be lovely, but don't you think it will be a bit hard to see everything when it's dark out?" I queried, stepping out of the cab and stretching my back and arms.

He turned and looked at me, that goddamn smile staring at me. "Don't worry," he said. He grabbed my hand once more. His hands were always warm and rough to the touch; not unpleasantly rough, though. They were worn, as if his hands were one of the only elements of his that showed signs of aging. His hands knew me so well. I felt lucky to know his hands.

He led me to a gate to the left of the main entrance. As we approached, I could faintly smell kerosene burning. I knew the scent as I had a kerosene lamp at home. There wasn't much practical use for it, of course, but I liked the way it looked, and I indulged myself on occasion. The smell grew stronger as Jack inserted a key into the lock on the gate and pushed the door open.

What I saw next made my heart jump in my chest. Behind the gate was a pathway lit entirely by small, vintage lamps that provided just enough light to see the path as well as the flowers that lined it. At the end of the path sat a white lattice gazebo lit with yellowy-white fairy lights. My heart pounded against my chest and I looked up at Jack, who was already looking at me. I didn't have words. It was beautiful and secluded and romantic. He grabbed me by the elbow and nudged me forward so that we could walk down the pathway together.

The lowlight cast our shadows around us. Watching our shadows felt like watching myself from the outside. There were pink and white flowers hiding behind the lanterns, and large trees with leaves that seemed to drip from them like vines. It was dark, so I couldn't see much of them. Signs sat every few feet to educate passersby about the foliage. Ordinarily I would have loved to stop and learn, but at that moment I couldn't focus on learning or reading. All I could focus on was Jack.

When we got to the gazebo, Jack helped me up the stairs. I looked up and watched the hanging fairy lights dance gently with the breeze. "This is incredible Jack. I can't believe you did this for me." I looked at him and couldn't help but grab his face between my hands. "I love you so much."

Jack pulled my hands from his face and held them in his hands. He smiled at me and slowly went down on one knee, keeping eye contact with me the whole time. He brought my left hand to his lips and gently kissed my ring. "Ianto Jones," he whispered. My heart rate rose. "You are the most important thing to me. You are my last thought at night and my first thought in the morning. I love you beyond belief. Would you please, please marry me right now?" As he asked, I noticed a man in a white collar standing to the side of the gazebo. A minister.

Tears filled my eyes. I slowly leaned down and kneeled as well so that we were at eye level with one another. For a moment I was able to ignore the aches in my joints and the pressure on my knees. "Nothing would make me happier," I said, my voice cracking as I was overcome with emotions. I fell into him and he held me tightly against him. Everything the two of us had been through together had led up to this very moment.

The minister climbed the stairs. He introduced himself to me and explained that, seeing as we were not having any formal ceremony, we would mostly be exchanging vows and signing our paperwork. That was perfect for me; a beautiful location without the stress of a crowd or the formality of a ceremony.

"Would you care to share your own vows?" he asked Jack.

"Yes I would." He grabbed my hands and looked me in the eyes. "I don't know why I'm nervous," he said with a chuckle.

"It's okay," I said, laughing with him.

"Ianto, I vow to care for you for the rest of your days. I promise to keep you safe to the best of my abilities, and to make up for the time I spent not telling you how important you are to me." He took a deep breath. "I vow to appreciate you and our time together. I am so grateful for the person I am around you. You make me a better person every day, and I could not be that person without you. I have lived so many lives and loved many people, but I have never cared about anyone as much as I care about you."

I rubbed my thumbs on his hands to soothe him, seeing as he was becoming quite emotional. I smiled at him. His words were so sweet. I felt like so much had changed in the past couple months. He had become exponentially more open with me. Chances were that it was because he knew I would be taking all of that knowledge to the grave, but I appreciated it.

The minister turned to me. "Would you care to share your vows?" The reality was, I didn't have much planned. I decided that I would tell him my vows on the spot, rather than coming up with them ahead of time.

"Jack, I vow to cherish you for the rest of my days, however many that may be. I vow that I will not take you for granted. I promise to be there to support you in all you do, and to be open and honest with you. You have changed my life in so many ways. Our coming together was happenstance, but I am so grateful that it happened. I promise to do everything I can to make you happy, and show you my love every day."

The minister handed me a ring that was identical to mine; that same black steel with visible grain and two cuts near the edges. I took the ring and grabbed Jack's hand, slowly pushing it onto his left ring finger. I couldn't help but feel a little bit as though I was taming the wild Jack Harkness, putting a leash on him, and turning him into a husband. I smiled, but tried to keep it to myself. He didn't need to know that it was funny to me.

"I know you're already wearing your ring," Jack said, "but I wanted you to have something to commemorate this day with as well." He grabbed a box from the minister. "It might seem kind of silly, but I thought you might like it." He blushed and handed me the box.

I opened the lid and found a tie clip, made from the same brushed metal as our rings, sitting inside. On one side, a diamond was set into a fitting. Jack told me to turn it over. As I did so, I found our initials inscribed on the back; "JH + IJ." It was such a sweet present. I looked down at my outfit, suddenly wishing I was wearing one of my suits so that I could add it immediately. I didn't care if it was cheesy or not. I clipped it between two buttons on my shirt.

"It's beautiful. Thank you." I smiled, as the gift made me realize how well he knew me. I wasn't one for jewelry aside from a ring. An accessory that I could wear everyday without changing my style was perfect.

After a few more exchanges, the minister looked between us. "Well, by the power vested in me through the state of California, I pronounce you married. You may now seal your vows with a kiss."

I grabbed Jack and pulled him against me quickly, kissing him. I wrapped my arms around him and stood there with him for a while, giving him kisses every now and again. I could feel tears falling from his eyes against my neck and we held each other. I couldn't dare look at him until the minister pulled us aside so that we could sign our necessary paperwork. After that, the man who'd married us disappeared out the gate, wishing us well and leaving a basket on the stairs.

Jack picked up the basket. I assumed he knew what was in it. I hadn't asked who the minister was; maybe an old friend of Jack's or someone who owed him a favor. Regardless, I could tell that Jack had thoroughly planned everything with him well in advance. He opened the top and pulled out a speaker.

He put on some quiet music and asked me to dance. "You know I'm not much of a dancer, Jack. I'd love to be, but I've got two left feet."

Jack swooped his arm around my waist and pulled me against him again. "It doesn't matter," He whispered. "You're my husband and we have to have our first dance together. Besides, no one is around to watch. It's just us." With that, he pulled my head against his cheek and began to sway us to the music. We danced together for a few songs before Jack pulled away and returned to the basket.

He pulled out a bottle of champagne and two champagne flutes. I watched him pour us each a glass and bring one to me. "A toast," he said. I asked him what he was toasting. He seemed to think for a moment before deciding. "To spontaneity and matching outfits." We linked our arms around each other's and each took a sip, sharing a quick kiss afterwards, still able to taste the champagne from each other's lips.

"Everything has been so amazing, Jack," I whispered in his ear as we swayed to the music together again. "I don't think I can take anymore surprises. You've done so much for me. I can't believe any of this."

Jack pulled away and grabbed the empty flute from my hand. He walked to the basket again and began to refill them. "You don't understand, Ianto. Seeing you happy is what makes me happy. You could argue this has all been out of selfishness." He turned around again to give me a fresh flute of champagne.

Instead, however, he turned as I fell to the ground. I heard the loud thud as I went down against the hard wood of the gazebo floor. I began to violently shake uncontrollably, my limbs moving freely of their own volition. I felt myself slowly losing consciousness. As I passed out, I could hear Jack screaming my name. I couldn't respond.

I was laid on my back, staring up at the fairly lights as everything around me went silent and black.