As always, thanks for the reviews on the last chapter - although I have to say I expected more, even if they were you all yelling at me for the way I ended it. =P

Thank you to IceElf2008 for the beta job and the support.

Warnings: Mention of violence (not graphic) and character death.

In the few seconds that passed between Ianto hearing Gwen's voice and replying, a thousand different scenarios ran through his mind, each one worse than the next. Where was Jack? Would he really have left the house? Ianto knew Jack was going completely batty holed up in there for weeks, but would he put himself at risk like that? And if he had... Oh, God. He couldn't even think straight. He felt he was going to be sick at any moment and he found it hard to get the words out.

"Gwen, what happened?" he finally managed to get the words out past the huge lump that had formed in his throat.

It took Gwen a while to reply, she was utterly shocked. Of all the ways this could have ended, she had never expected something like this to happen.

"Ianto, he's... he's dead."

Ianto felt his whole world fall apart around him. This couldn't be happening. He was stunned, stupefied. He barely managed to say anything. "Wh-what?"

"Hart, he's..."

No, no, no, no! This wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to get over this, and everything would be fine. They were going to have a happy life together. They deserved that. Jack deserved that, not-

Gwen heard the sobs on the other end of the line, and that pulled her out of her shock. She belatedly realised she'd been misunderstood.

"No, Ianto, I'm sorry. Hart's dead."

Ianto was so shocked he barely heard what she was saying. It slowly started to register when he saw Jack appear in the doorway, returning from the living room to see why Ianto was crying. Ianto threw the phone on the bed and jumped up to hug Jack. He held him so tightly that Jack thought he might break something. Jack just held Ianto back, trying to think what could have happened to put him in such a state.

"Ianto, what's wrong?" he finally asked after a while.

Ianto pulled back, his whole face wet with tears. He looked at Jack for a while, still blinking, as if trying to make sure he was actually there. Then he remembered Gwen, and rushed back to get the phone.

"Ianto? Ianto, are you there?" Ianto could hear her asking.

"Sorry, Gwen, I was... Just tell me what happened."

"Well, he's dead. Hart's dead. My men found him about ten minutes ago."

"How?" Ianto still couldn't think straight. Nothing was making any sense.

"Apparently he got into a bar fight, and got the short end of the stick. He was beaten to death."

"What?"

"Well, first, I may have to apologise. We could have prevented this," she paused. "Not sure if that's a good or a bad thing," she finished under her breath.

"What do you mean?"

"We've been having problems for a while. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to worry, but my team had been reduced by a third of its original size. My men were working on fumes, and mistakes were bound to happen. One of them fell asleep tonight, when he was supposed to be watching both of you and John. He never caught the conversation between John and one of his mates. Apparently the one who'd found out about you in the first place."

"And...?" Ianto was getting nervous, he had to know what had happened. He still couldn't believe Gwen's words.

"About an hour ago we noticed the call. John was begging his mate to help him. He wanted to be able to talk to Jack alone, so he tried to convince the other man to call you with some sort of fake emergency to make you leave Jack's house. But the other man refused. He said he'd done enough already and he just wouldn't help him anymore, said John should deal with his own problems. John tried to plead, saying he thought you'd recognise his voice and he needed someone else, that it wouldn't cost him a thing, but his mate was adamant, and hung up on John. The staff at the hotel said they saw John leaving there just a few minutes after the call, raging mad.

"We found this mate's of his house and went there. Witnesses say that they saw a blond man knocking furiously at the door, not getting an answer and leaving a few minutes after, looking as if he could kill someone.

"Following cameras surrounding that area, we saw that he went to a nearby pub. The bartender remembered seeing John there. He said he downed shot after shot, cursing loudly to anyone who'd hear him, and trying to pick fights all around. Apparently, he finally managed to step on the wrong toes.

"We found his phone in an alley near the river, and his body a few hundred metres away, his arm caught up on the side of a boat. He'd been beaten into a pulp, almost unrecognisable. But the fingerprints match." Gwen paused. There was silence on the other end of the line, and she waited for Ianto to recover and say something.

"I don't even... I don't even know what to say..." He'd had the phone on speaker all the time and it was impossible to tell who locked more shocked, him or Jack. It was as if the penny refused to drop. They'd had been under the shadow of that man for so long now, and it all just seemed too good to be true. Not that it was good that someone was dead, but honestly, Ianto didn't think anyone would mourn for John.

"Well, Ianto, regardless of how it happened, it's over now. You're both free. I'd hoped we could solve this another way, but the fact is that you have nothing to worry about any more."

"Um, yeah... I know."

"I think you both need some time to digest this. Go get a good night's sleep, and it will all make more sense in the morning. I'll be here if you need anything."

"Okay. Thanks, Gwen. Good night."

"Good night, Ianto."

Ianto and Jack just stared at each other for a long time. Neither of them knew what to say, and were afraid to say anything and break the spell – to wake up from what might just have been a dream. Except that two people couldn't have the same dream.

"Did I... Did I really hear it right?" Jack finally said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Is it really over?"

"I guess so, yeah."

Once more, Jack was in shock. He sat motionless, his eyes slightly unfocused. However, Ianto, who knew Jack inside out by now, could tell that it was a completely different kind of shock. He might have been still, but Ianto could see every muscle in Jack's body relaxing, probably for the first time in months. His eyes were unfocused, but every once in a while he'd let out a sigh, as if he was drawing all the hurt and fear out of his body. Ianto waited, letting Jack take his time, slowly allowing for everything to sink in. After a while, Jack slowly turned his head around, focusing on Ianto, a small smile forming on his lips.

"Does it make me a bad person that I'm actually happy that someone just died?" Jack said, staring into Ianto's eyes. "I do feel a little bit guilty."

"No, Jack, it doesn't make you a bad person. You're not the one who killed him. He practically killed himself. Everything bad that happened to him tonight, he brought it upon himself. He wouldn't even have been out drinking if he weren't mad about the fact that he couldn't harass you more than he already was," Ianto said, reaching for Jack's hand and entwining their fingers, rubbing his thumb on his palm. "You're not happy because he died, Jack. You're happy because you're finally free. Because no one will hurt you any more. God knows that after all you've been through, you deserve all the happiness you can get."

Jack lifted their joined hands, and kissed every one of Ianto's knuckles and fingers. Jack's eyes were full of warmth, fondness... love. "You're too good to me, Ianto."

"No, Jack, I-"

"No, let me say this. I need to." Jack squeezed Ianto's hand tighter and stared straight into his eyes. "You stood by me all this time. You were at risk, but you never once considered leaving my side. I made it pretty hard on you these past weeks, but you kept taking care of me, you kept making sure I felt as safe as possible. Even with everything that was happening, you still made me feel loved. More than that, you showed me what love really is. I had no idea. I'm a completely different person because of you. You saved me, in so many ways." Jack paused, searching Ianto's eyes, trying to find the right words. "I'm so sorry I was never able to tell you this before. I was so scared... Scared of John, of being hurt, of losing you... I love you, Ianto. I've loved you for a really long time."

"I know, Jack." Ianto said, gracing Jack with a soft, tender smile. "I've always known."

A/N: So this is the last chapter. Only the epilogue to go now. I hope you've all enjoyed the ride. If you have a spare moment, drop me a review to let me know what you thought.