It hadn't taken as long as he'd thought, to break through Jack's fever. It was around a day and a half later when his temperature finally dropped below the - almost - dangerously high temperature and he could declare him almost fever-free. His forehead still felt rather clammy and his skin was really pale. But with each passing hour, things seemed to get a little better with his friend.

During the night he hadn't had many hours of sleep as Jack was constantly keeping him awake. His talk about his daughter - of which he wasn't too sure was real - didn't seem to have an end. He now knew more about the little girl than he would ever care to admit if Jack even remembered telling him it. So he was really relieved when the fever broke and the delirium lessened.

Jack was peacefully sleeping when he decided a shower was in order. He hadn't showered or bathed ever since he had to take care of Jack. If he was honest, he smelled and his hair stuck up at places it shouldn't be. While he was under the shower he could hear footsteps walking inside the bathroom. One quick peek - by pulling the shower curtain aside - told him Jack had decided to join him there, his duvet was wrapped around his body while he sat in only a loose shirt and boxers on the lid of the toilet.

"Can I sit here?" He heard him carefully ask. Something had - yet again - changed in their relationship. Somehow without even knowing about it at first the barrier of 'just friends' had been broken and something else had come in Its place.

"Sure." He kept silent at first and from the corner of his eye he could see that Jack was frowning down at the tiles.

" Do you think I'm destroying your life?" Jack quietly asked. He could barely hear him above the dripping water, but he was sure of what he'd heard.

"Why do you think that?" He asked alarmed. Since when was Jack convinced he'd messed up his life?

" It's just… ever since you met me everything seems to go for the worse. You lost your fiance, the chance of becoming a father. You're stuck here with me and now you can't go out because you have to take care of me."

"That's not exactly your fault, now is it?" He turned off the shower tap and reached behind the curtain for his towel. He couldn't quite reach it, but it was placed in his hands by a sheepishly looking Jack.

" Maybe, maybe not."

"Jack, you've clearly been spending too much time in your head. If I didn't want to be here then I would've been gone already." He dried himself off as quickly as he could and draped the towel around his hips. He'd forgotten to take any clean clothes with him. He could feel Jack's eyes burn on his naked skin, a few droplets were gliding down his torso when he opened the bathroom door and made his way out on bare feet. Jack followed his every step and joined him in the bedroom. The only difference being that he stood in front of his dresser while he collected some clothes and Jack sat on the bed, cuddled in some blankets, watching him.

"Could you maybe… turn around or just you know, close your eyes?" He asked, ashamed that he felt so uncomfortable to be naked around Jack. He was sure that even though Jack was currently sick, things would still be able to escalate if he stood stark naked in front of him. Jack closed his eyes and put his hands in front of his eyes.

Please don't take a peak. He thought to himself while he let the towel drop to the floor. Quickly he grabbed his boxers from the bed and put them on. With that out of the way, he suddenly felt a lot safer, knowing that Jack wouldn't be able to see his precious crown jewels.

"You can open them." He told him when he was almost fully clothed. It wasn't like he was going anywhere, so he just went with a shirt and some jogging pants. After he'd brought his dirty towel towards the laundry basket in the bathroom, he went back towards the bedroom and sat down on the bed. He drew his knees towards his chin and thought about what he was going to say.

"When it happened, I felt so alone, I thought you were the only one who would understand me. The only one who would help me get through it all and not try to force his opinion upon me. I needed someone who would let me make my own mistakes. Not someone who would try to bring me back together with her or make me do things I didn't want to. I went to you, Jack, because I needed you more than anything. I needed a friend." His mind was screaming at him that Jack had always been much more than just a friend. Somewhere deep down he'd already been attracted to him from the moment they met. There was no denying it. The silence was all surrounding, he had no idea what to say anymore and neither did Jack, obviously.

"Why did you leave? Why did you start sleeping on that wee camping bed?" Jack asked him rather sadly. He seemed very tired as his eyes were drooping.

" I don't know, I felt uncomfortable. My thoughts… they were all mixed up. My heart was betraying me and my head wanted nothing more than to stay with you. I just wanted to find things out for myself." When he looked up, he found out that Jack was sound asleep and had heard nothing of his confession. Maybe it was better that way. Quietly he crept towards the other side of the bed and laid him down better so his muscles wouldn't be all tied up.

His hand was stuck on Jack's face where he caressed the soft skin beneath it. His fingers pushed away the stray hairs that lay on his forehead. He was so angelic when he slept. So innocent. With his other hand he pulled up the blanket towards his chest while his eyes where fixed on his face, he was mesmerized by the sight in front of him.

His mouth opened and a yawn escaped his lips. Maybe a quick nap wasn't such a bad idea after all. He lay down above the cover and occupied the place he'd been laying on so many nights since he came here. His eyes closed and he could feel his thoughts becoming heavy. He didn't lie quite well, so he turned on his spot and lay facing Jack. He could feel an arm wrap around his hips and pull him closer, but he didn't care about it as he fell asleep.

-0O0-

It was dark when something woke him up. A piercing sound woke him from his slumber, a few seconds later the ringing stopped only to start again. He opened his eyes sluggishly and peered into the room. Jack was still sound asleep and his arm was draped across him. Secretly he didn't want to leave the snug space Jack had created, but he knew he had to eventually. The mobile turned silent again and only a matter of seconds later began again. How Jack could sleep through that noise was a mystery to him. The ringing phone was far out of his reach so he left the bed and walked towards it, he answered it just in time before it could stop. Before he picked up the phone he registered that it was Jack's and not his. He should've known that as his own was resting on the bedside table. He pushed the green button and brought the phone towards his ear. The thing he heard made him cringe and move the phone a few inches away from his ear.

"JACK!" The woman screamed through her sobs. The name on the screen said Jackie, but he had no idea who that was.

"Jack! You need to help me, Rose's gone. I don't know where she is. They think that Mickey bloke might've killed her." He waited until she stopped talking to interrupt her.

"Miss?"

"You're not Jack!" She answered far more serious than he'd imagined she would, but what did he know? He didn't even know her.

"No, I'm Ianto. Jack's friend. He can't come to the phone right now, he's quite ill." He told the woman before she would start again. From behind him, he could hear Jack groan while he woke up. He spun around, ready to ask Jack if he would like to speak to this mystery woman when it happened.

"I think I'm going to vomit." He declared, not even a minute later he was leaning over the edge of the bed, puking out his guts into the bucket he'd luckily already placed there.

"I'm sorry miss, but I need to go, Jack's puking on the floor. I'll remind him to call you back once he's better." And with that, he dismissed the call, threw the phone back where it had been and made his way to Jack's side. He hadn't even been lying, Jack had really puked on the floor, half of it had gone next to the bucket and his clothes were stained with vomit. In a flash, he was at Jack's side and supported his body while he brought the bucket closer. When nothing came out anymore and he'd stopped dry heaving, he sat there ghostly pale and mortified. His eyes went to the stained pyjamas and made a decision.

"You, stay here. I'll be back." He said and emptied the bucket in the toilet. When he came back, he first started to clean up the floor - with a disgusted face - before he went to direct his attention to Jack. He took Jack in his arms and supported him while they walked together towards the bathroom. Like a little child, he put Jack on the closed toilet seat.

" Bath or shower?" He asked him thinking Jack knew very well what he was talking about.

"Let's just go with the shower," Jack whispered. So he turned on the shower and waited for the temperature to be perfect. Then he went to Jack and started prying off his shirt. There was not much on it but he'd still need to rinse it before he'd put it in the washer. Jack took off his underwear and carefully started walking towards the shower.

"Can you manage without me?" But his question was already answered as Jack stood swaying on his feet ready to fall down or step into the shower. Without even really thinking of it, he made his way towards Jack and helped him in. He didn't let him go and stepped with him inside, his clothes were soaked by the time he could pull them off, so he just kept them on.

"You're lucky I like you." He mumbled under his breath as he started to wash him. It wasn't like Jack had much of a chance to refuse. The once soft limb turned rock hard in front of his eyes while he washed Jack's chest. Somehow it seemed rather erotic, but he did nothing more than help his friend in need. Mostly, he didn't want to think about everything that went on down there and went further with washing Jack as soon and quick as he could. Not long after he helped a still naked Jack out and wrapped him into a towel. He threw off his own wet clothes in a hurry and did the same to himself. Together they went back to the bedroom where he provided both of them with clean clothes and put Jack back in bed. He would deal with the humiliation later. But not now.

A/N: I hope you liked it and please leave a review.

XXXFredAndGeorgeForever