A/N: I'm so, so sorry for making you wait for MONTHS! (winces) I… sort of lost my way to this story and ended up straying to other projects. But I'm here now and this one will DEFINITELY be completed. Hooray?

THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart, for all your reviews and listings! You're the once who brought this one back from the death. (Harkness style.) So thank you!

Awkay, because I've already kept you waiting for too long… Let's go! I really hope that you'll enjoy the ride.

The End of the World

When Ianto woke up he wasn't with Jack. Or even John Hart. Instead he stared at a face that looked vaguely familiar although he couldn't understand how. Had they met before?

The other man smiled at him. Despite that there was no underestimating the danger in those eyes. "So you're finally with me. Good. We can go on with the show." The stranger took a step closer. "My name is Gray. Do you know who I am?"

Ianto nodded stiffly, a wave of nausea washing over him. All of a sudden he realized perfectly just how deep trouble he was in. "Yes. Jack told me about you." The story had broken his heart, although not even nearly as badly as the tears in his lover's eyes while the man relived what had to be one of his most painful memories.

Gray's eyebrow bounced up. "Really, now? I'm surprised." The man shrugged. "Well, that saves us some time. You know me, I know you. And very, very soon we'll have Jack on the line. He's taking his time to wake up but when he does… Well, if I were you I'd choose my words to him carefully. Because they'll be the last ones you'll ever utter."

Jack gasped painfully on his way back to life, his dead lungs filling with life once more and blood rushing back into his veins as his stilled heart remembered how to beat.

He hadn't realized how often he'd woken up in Ianto's arms until he noticed that this time there was no warm embrace to help ground him. The Welshman's scent wasn't there to provide a much needed promise that he was safe, that everything would be alright. His eyes flew wide and he struggled to sit up, only to find metal chaining his ankles and wrists. All he saw was an endless sea of white.

"IANTO!"

Jack hadn't even realized that the scream was torn from him until he heard a familiar, much longed voice. "Shh, shh… It's… It's alright. You're okay, you're alive. I'm right here."

Jack's gaze began to dart around eagerly, only to find nothing but laboratory equipment. Cold settled into the pit of his stomach. And then he noticed a small, black device nearby, transmitting his lover's voice. He swallowed, unable to get rid of the bitter taste of disappointment. "Ianto? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. A bit… banged up, I guess. But I'm fine." Ianto didn't bother asking if he was alright, obviously knowing that he wasn't. Not when his pregnant boyfriend was captured like this with him.

"Oh, please. With the greeting I just gave you you're fairly far from alright." That voice…! There was a brief, treacherous pause. "Now what's this? Jack, it feels like your kid doesn't like me too much. How rude, considering that I'm its only uncle."

Jack's eyes widened and all of a sudden he felt exactly as cold as he did while dying. Everything, absolutely everything, froze for several moments. Everything was spinning, which wasn't a surprise with all breath having left him. "Gray…?"

"Long time no see, brother dear." There was such venom in the man's voice that it would've chilled anyone. "You abandoned me. Left me to rot and die. In a way I guess I did. But now… Now I'm back. And I'm going to make your whole world burn for what you did to me."

Jack wasn't aware of the tears that rolled down his cheeks when the meaning of those words sunk in. Nor did he realize how badly his whole body was trembling. "Gray, please…!" He definitely wasn't one to beg. But this, his all on the line… "Please, don't…!"

"Jack." It was Ianto's voice. There was a hint of almost perfectly disguised fear and sorrow in it. "It's… It's okay, Jack. Really." The sound of a gun being prepared made the younger man falter for a moment. "And the thing… you asked, right before… Yes. Of course yes."

Jack's mouth opened but in the one moment when he would've wanted to say a million things all words failed him. He closed his eyes since they weren't much use, anyway, with how blurry they'd become. His body felt like it'd been torn to pieces, set on fire and freezing to the core all at once. It was ages since he last felt such agony.

"No final words, Jack?" Gray's voice was nauseatingly merry. "Very well, then." There was a second's pause, full of heavy tension and hard breathing. "You abandoned your family once. I'll make sure that you'll never, ever have another."

With that the echo of a single gunshot shattered Jack's world. As did the utter silence that followed. Finally Jack found his voice, miserably too late. "Ianto?" There was no answer. Never would be again. "Ianto!"

"Corpses don't talk back, Jack. Trust me, I'd know." Gray sounded… happy, almost. "Do you hear that silence, brother? It's the sound of the end of the world. Does it make you want to beg that you could just die?"

The traffic was impossible and eventually Gwen had to admit the facts to herself. There was no way she'd make it to work on time. She groaned and ran a hand through her already disheveled hair, then fished out her cell phone.

Only she wasn't able to reach Jack. She frowned. "It's me. I was just trying to call that I'll be a little late. See you soon."

Her frown deepened when she couldn't reach Ianto, either. Usually she might've just shrugged it all off but now alarm bells went off in her head. And that's why she decided to call Tosh.

Ianto didn't know how long he'd been under from when Gray knocked him down. He woke up, sharply and unpleasantly, to nasty twinges of pain in his abdomen. He groaned and attempted to find a more comfortable position. It was soon proven to be a lost cause since he was still very tightly fastened to the ceiling. There was a bullet on the floor, reminding him of the events before he blacked out. It'd hit the wall but it also hit Jack right at the man's heart without even having to touch the Captain. Ianto's stomach plummeted.

Oh no…!

And then he became aware of the scent in the air, familiar and all wrong at the same time. Cold shivers traveled across his whole body. His eyes flew open to see John wrapping a bandage around the man's arm.

Ianto's jawline tightened. Very quickly his mind cleared completely and he began to work on the cuffs that trapped his wrists. Compared to those he used with Jack… "Here for another round?" he growled.

John sighed, getting up and looking at him. "No. I'm here to try and save your sorry, gorgeous ass." The man walked closer and invaded his private space without asking for a permission. As had been expected John pressed himself a lot closer than would've been necessary before beginning to open the cuffs. "A little 'thank you' would be nice. I'm risking my life, here."

Ianto wasn't feeling very appreciative, with his whole body aching from how he'd been hanging, dizzy and unaware of where and how Jack was. He groaned upon feeling something press against him. "That'd better not be what it feels like."

"What?" John didn't sound sorry at all. "I've always had a thing for bondage. Something Jack and I have in common." The man's breath tickled his neck in a way that felt far more alluring than it should've. "That invitation to the orgy still stands when you've popped out the brat."

Ianto rolled his eyes, shivering when the other's skin touched his. "Get your excitement off me or I'll rip it off", he growled hazardously. He glanced towards the room's door. "We've gotta get out of here before Gray comes back."

"I doubt that he'll do so anytime soon. Gray's already had a big part of his fun. As far as Jack knows you're dead now." John's voice was far tighter than usual while the man released him hastily. "Even Gray knows that while Jack's made the mistake of letting way too many people close, as it is you're the one who matters the most." Those eyes strayed towards his stomach, a little too curious to his liking. "Especially in your… condition."

Ianto's eyes narrowed while a small, threatening growl slipped past his lips. The sound and the look that came with it had a very clear meaning. 'Hands and eyes off, NOW.'

John, who'd just managed to set him free, lifted both hands in a pacifying gesture. "Relax, Eye Candy. I'm only trying to help you."

Sure enough, John had a lot of combat experience and ridiculously fast reflexes. But he'd never truly felt the temper of a crossed Welshman. Before the unfortunate man could make a move to stop it or dodge he'd been struck down by Ianto's hammer hard fist.

The blond groaned and rubbed at his injured cheek tenderly. A pair of confused and, unfortunately, mildly aroused eyes turned towards the younger man. "What the…?"

"That…", Ianto hissed. "… was for what you did to my team the first time we met." The second punch was even more swift and merciless in its force. "And that was for shooting Jack."

Leaving John to the floor, pleased to have some of his still boiling anger and intense worry soothed, Ianto made his way to the room's far wall where Jack's coat was hanging. He wasted a couple of seconds with caressing it tenderly before starting the actual search. With experienced, skilled hands that any tailor would've been jealous of he examined the fabric. His eyes flashed with satisfaction when he felt what he'd been looking for.

Three small, seemingly harmless pieces of such metal that no detector in 21st century world would be able to notice.

Moving quickly, worried that Gray might come back and finish what he'd started, Ianto combined the pieces. In a flash he'd succeeded in putting together what was, without a doubt, a small but very effective futuristic weapon. Jack had showed him how it worked, once. He could only hope that he remembered correctly.

John looked at him with a smirk. "Dang. I'm starting to see why Jack likes you so much."

That almost made Ianto smile. Almost. Focusing firmly on the task at hand he marched towards the room's door. "Thanks, for releasing me." He looked towards the other with impatient eyes. "Now are you coming with me or not?"

John sighed. The man's shoulders seemed to slump a little. "You do know that whatever you're planning is a bad idea, right?"

Ianto gritted his teeth. For the second time since waking up he felt a sharp twinge in his stomach and the baby was moving around restlessly. Something was happening, inside him as well as around him. "Probably. But I'm not leaving this place without Jack. We can as well see this through."

It was one of those days when Owen was already in a bad mood when he stared at the sun rising. His spirits didn't improve when he went to work and discovered that no one but he and Tosh had bothered to show up. "So everyone else decided to have a bloody 'shag it off' day?" he exclaimed. That was when he noticed something about Tosh's expression. His eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong?"

The computer wizard, who'd been typing off busily, swallowed loudly. "Gwen just called. Jack and Ianto are missing. We can't get a hold of them."

Owen was just about to tell her to stop worrying about two grown men who were just getting it on somewhere. That was until he remembered Ianto's medical condition and the complications only he knew of. He groaned, loudly. "We have a problem."

The hallway John and Ianto found was far from inviting. Although it was difficult to see the reek of blood and death spoke very clearly. As it did the blood stains of the walls and floor.

"Charming", Ianto muttered, his heavily accented voice dripping with sarcasm.

John shrugged. "I've slept in worse dumps than this. But for some reason I have a really bad feeling about this."

Ianto gave him a dry look. The man's hold on his weapon grew tighter. "Oh really?"

They hadn't made it further than about twenty meters from their original location when they heard entirely too familiar growls. They looked at each other with a healthy degree of alarm, both tensing up. Weevils, several of them. And judging by the noise they were approaching very quickly.

Those sounds were all the warning the men got. In a flash five of the creatures came charging in to the narrow, dimly lit hallway. Smelling and now seeing potential targets they picked up pace.

"Fantastic…!" John growled, taking his own gun quickly and firing a few well targeted shots. Two of the Weevils went down. The others didn't seem to appreciate it or feel even the slightest bit threatened.

Ianto wasn't left idle, either. With hands that'd clearly held the bizarre gun before the Welsman fired thrice, each shot finding a target. It offered them a small degree of hope to see the number of their pursuers drop.

Well, that was until they heard all two familiar snarls from behind them and realized that they were getting trapped.

Moving in some sort of a silent understanding the men shifted so that they were back to back, John spinning around to face the new threat and Ianto working his hardest to keep the earlier view under control. Feeling Ianto's warm body against him John couldn't resist a sly little smirk. "You know, Eye Candy… Under different circumstances this would be one hell of a foreplay."

"Shut up or I'll waste a shot on something delicate that you appreciate a great deal."

The benefit of Ianto's gun was that it didn't need bullets or recharging. Unfortunately John's did. The moment he ran out of bullets that they didn't have more of they knew that they were in a trouble. Fortunately that was also when they noticed a door that'd been left ajar.

"How does a tactical retreat sound?" John suggested.

He felt Ianto nod and, not wasting a second, they stepped into the sanctuary. Hoping, against their usual luck and all hope, that it might be a way to someplace safer. Of course they weren't getting away quite that easily.

Instead of facing stairs or another hallway they were embraced by such cold that made them shiver instantly. Hanging everywhere around them were chunks of nearly frozen meat the origin of which they were much happier not knowing. There was no back-door.

For a second John only stared. Then groaned and ran a hand down his face. "Great. Brilliant." He took a step forward. "Just…"

Ianto must've seen something that he hadn't. Because all of a sudden the archivist's eyes widened. "John, don't…!"

But John's leg had already been moving and he wasn't quite fast enough to stop it. And in a flash he understood the warning. He'd already triggered the trap wire his ankle had been pressed against. His eyes widened, just a little bit, while a chill crossed him. "Shit…!"

They charged towards the door but it was hopelessly too late. With a loud, furious growl the majestic piece of metal was locked. Leaving them trapped into the pit of frosty cold.

Eventually Gwen showed up and although it was just the three of them pure chaos ensued. Owen couldn't tell the girls more than that it'd be ideal if they'd find Ianto soon and the pressure was improving none of their spirits. The fact that Jack was missing as well did little to comfort their fried nerves.

Finally Tosh, who hadn't stopped typing for more than a few seconds at a time, seemed to find something. She shivered visibly. "You've gotta see this."

It was security footage from nearby a park the evening before. It took a moment before the two others realized what they should focus on. They saw four men, one of which had pulled a hood to shield his face from sight. Ianto, who appeared very tense and pale but largely unharmed, was following the others slowly. They were willing to bet money that the Welshman was held at a gunpoint. Jack was alarmingly limp when the two others dragged him. One of them was John Hart.

Owen hissed instantly. His fists balled. "Son of a…!"

They all loaded into a black SUV that disappeared in a blink, dashing into distant unknown.

For a while they all stared. Then Gwen spoke what they were all thinking. "We've gotta find them. Fast."

Jack had no idea how long it'd been since the gunshot. He lay perfectly still because there was nothing to fight for anymore, just waiting. For a yet another death, perhaps a permanent one this time, or Gray, whichever might come first.

Gray, apparently. For all of a sudden his brother was there, right before his eyes, although he could've sworn that he hadn't heard a door being opened. There was an unreadable look on the younger man's face.

Jack swallowed thickly, feeling so much all at once that it overwhelmed him. "I… I looked for you", he half shouted, half whimpered. "I spent ages looking but I… I was only a child!" A tear slipped but he knew nothing of it. "I lost my world then, too!" For the first time of entirely too many.

Gray shook his head. "No, you didn't. Not yet." The needle was out and piercing Jack's skin so fast that he couldn't even react. His brother's motions were far from gentle when yanking it off. "Goodbye, brother."

"Wait!" Jack howled at his brother's disappearing back. "Ianto… Where is he? I…" He gulped with difficulty. "I just want to take him home. Please…!"

There was no reply. The door closed, separating them. And mere seconds later the metal restraining Jack opened, unleashing him once he'd already lost everything.

It took several minutes. But eventually Jack managed to haul himself up, first to a sitting position, then to his unsteady feet. He didn't have anything to get up for, really. Nothing but the sole task of taking his pregnant lover's body home.

He owed Ianto and their daughter that much, at very least.

Slowly and with unexpected difficulty Jack began to make his way out of the room. It didn't matter what he was just injected with or where he was, all that mattered was finding whatever there was left of Ianto. And then… Then he'd find Gray and John and show them what the end of the world really was.

What Jack didn't know upon starting his gloomy journey was that he'd been only a wall away from Ianto.

Every minute in their ice-cold trap felt like a decade to Ianto. The clothes he had on were far too thin and he was trembling miserably while he scanned through the room, trying to find a way out that wouldn't lead them right back to the mass of Weevils. He could still hear them behind the now tightly locked door. Which also seemed to be the only way out. He was trapped, with John Hart of all people.

It didn't help Ianto's stress level that the twinges of pain now came closer and closer to one another. At the moment they seemed to be only four minutes or so apart, if he had any sense of the passing time at all. It was the worst possible timing but his baby girl didn't seem to be in the mood for any more waiting.

As though to solidify that guess the next couple of twinges were much, much more painful than the ones preceding them. Ianto groaned, leaning heavily against a wall and bringing a protective hand against his stomach. At that exact moment came another, horribly painful stab of agony and he cried out, feeling something warm and wet trickle down his legs.

The sound earned the attention of both the Weevils, which started scratching at the door and growling furiously behind it, and John. The man who'd been examining the room with utmost focus turned towards him with a frown. "You alright?"

Ianto swallowed thickly. The warm liquid was cooling rapidly, making him tremble even more than he had been. If such was possible. "I… I think my water just broke", he wheezed, trying to keep his teeth from chattering.

John's eyes strayed downwards. A spark of alarm could be seen in them. "Uh, Ianto…"

Equally alarmed Ianto also looked down and instantly wished that he hadn't. There, all over his pants and on the floor, was a pool of crimson. He swallowed thickly, drawing a very grim conclusion.

The baby was coming now and something was badly wrong.

TBC

A/N: Oh crap…! Those poor things. (winces) How will this end? Will the entire little family be safe and sound?

Soooo… Worth the wait? Back to the drawing board? The word's yours!

IF all goes according to my plan there should be three more chapters and an epilogue left. (Or one less or more.) The next chapter SHOULD be out sometime during the next weekend (aka in a bit over a week.) How does that sound?

I've reeeeeeeeally gotta get going now because it's silly o'clock. I really hope that I'll see you all next time!

Take care!