"I hate the bloody countryside," Owen complained and Ianto was quite inclined to agree with him. He felt himself nodding along as Owen added, "And what's that fucking smell."

"That would be grass Owen," Gwen teased.

Ianto shuffled his legs in a vain attempt to find a comfortable position until he finally asked plaintively, "Is it time for me to switch with Owen yet?"

Gwen unfolded her giant map, causing the backseat to become even more claustrophobic as one corner of the map wacked Ianto in the face. She cleared her throat loudly and informed them, "We should reach the agreed upon rest spot designated for the change in approximately ten kilometers."

Leaning forward so that his head was pressed between the driver's seat and the window, Ianto pleaded, "Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Drive fast."


"Need a hand getting it up Owen?" Tosh teased as she watched him unsuccessfully attempt to raise his tent for the fifth time.

Ianto missed Owen's sarcastic reply, but the crestfallen look on Tosh's face alerted him that it wasn't pretty. He winced on her behalf and called out to Jack, "What happened to my sleeping roll?"

Jack called back from inside the girls tent where he was helping Gwen set up their air mattress, "It's in our tent."

Ducking into the tent, Ianto noted that it contained only one two person sleeping bag rolled out on the floor. He quirked his eyebrow up in amusement as Jack pushed him farther into the tent, "You know these were designed for a bloke and a woman. Do you really think we'll both fit?"

"It'll be a close call. There might not be room for any clothing," Jack nipped playfully at Ianto's ear. "I'm thinking a little role play: You can be the lost hiker that wandered into my camp with hypothermia and I'll be the good Samaritan who will strip you down and warm you up."

"You're an impossible thing Jack." Ianto informed him, pressing a quick kiss to his lips.

Jack grinned, "So I've been told" and Ianto could feel his smile as they kissed.

A loud cursing from outside the tent forced them to reluctantly part and emerge from the tent to discover Owen kicking a pile of thick tarp and string, "I fucking give up! Looks like I'll have to bunk with you two poofs."

Jack broke off mid-laugh and a frown with the corner of his lip curled up in distaste brushed over his features, but was gone quickly as he smiled, "Trying to sneak into bed with me Owen?"

Owen rolled his eyes, "On second thought. Help me with this tent: Where did you even get these things anyway? They're absolute rubbish."

"Standard UNIT issue tents. I thought they were much cooler than the flimsy plastic ones used for recreational camping."

"They're much better Jack." Gwen smiled brightly at him, "Very festive."

"Yeah, Jack," Tosh hastened to agree. "Plus they'll keep us a lot warmer in this Welsh weather than other tents would have."

Tosh nudged Ianto who then contributed: "They, um… camouflage better?"

Owen snorted, "Because camouflage is definitely our main concern."

"How about we play a game," Gwen suggested quickly in attempts to change the subject. "To lighten up the mood: who was your last snog?"

"Christ, how old are you Gwen?"

"I'll go first," she continued, gesturing for everyone to take a seat on the logs around the empty fire pit. "Mine was Rhys. What about you Tosh?"

She smiled shyly and replied quietly: "Owen."

He snorted, "In your dreams Tosh."

"It was Christmas: we were waiting on the curb for Jack to bring his car around. I had mistletoe."

He looked at her doubtfully, "You haven't had a snog since Christmas?"

She shrugged, "Well, who was yours then?"

A look of mischievous comprehension dawned on his face and he smiled scornfully as he pointed across the way to: "Gwen."

Everyone blanched at the same time and Tosh was the first one to speak, "When was this?"

"Just drop it Tosh," Gwen ordered.

After an awkward pause Ianto spoke up in order to spare Tosh, "Mine was Siobhan."

Jack sent Ianto an unfathomable look which was promptly ignored. Gwen smiled tightly and turned to Jack, "How about you then?"

He thought about it for a moment and then lunged across the empty fire pit and caught Ianto up in a passionate kiss. A few minutes later, he released a thoroughly disheveled Ianto. Jack's lips were swollen and red as he turned to Gwen with a self-satisfied smile, "Ianto."

Ianto coughed and adjusted his collar, rubbing his hand against his own swollen lips as if the gesture would eliminate the redness. The two girls were staring at the two boys with barely concealed lust while Owen rolled his eyes, "Thanks for that little display. I'm going to go get some firewood before you two start shagging on the grass."

"I'll go with him," Gwen said hurriedly before chasing after the Londoner.

Tosh's face immediately fell, "Didn't we bring firewood?"

Ianto nodded looked away to save her from embarrassment, but when his gaze fell on Jack who was pointedly sending him a smug look. Ianto decided it was time to return to unpacking the SUV. He surreptitiously moved the wood he brought into the backseat of the van for disposal at a later time when Tosh wasn't around.

Jack came up behind him and said, "Why don't you and Tosh go and get some water. I'll go after Gwen and Owen?"

"Good idea," Ianto replied. "I'm sure Tosh will feel better knowing they're not alone."

Jack disappeared off into the woods with a swish of his coat and Ianto gathered his campsite map from the glove compartment. The sky was darkening as they headed towards the spigot marked out in black writing a few campsites over. Loud voices echoed towards them as they emerged from a clump of trees to find what appeared to be an entire cricket team.

"Look boys, fresh meat." One of them called to the others, leering at Tosh.

Ianto frowned at them and put his hand on the small of Tosh's back with the intention of leading her around the rowdy group, "Ignore them Tosh."

"Oh, she's got herself a little protector." A particularly burly man sneered.

They were obviously drunk as one of them grabbed Tosh and pulled her into his chest, "What do you need protecting from baby? I promise you that you'll enjoy it."

"Stop it," Tosh ordered, her voice shaking.

He licked his lips and ran his hand down the side of her breast, "But you're so tender."

"Leave her alone," Ianto said, shoving the bigger man away from Tosh.

The other men all gathered round Ianto in a tight circle. The one who he had shoved bared his teeth angrily and punched Ianto directly in the face, blood poured profusely down his face. The other boys joined in the beating until Ianto was on the ground being kicked repeatedly in the stomach. They backed off for a minute and allowed him to clamber to his feet.

The one who had grabbed Tosh seemed to be the leader and he walked forward menacingly, "You want to shove me again boy?"

Ianto sent Tosh a look telling her to run and he head butted the other man, knocking him to the floor. As the circle closed in on him he saw Tosh make her escape and then everything went dark. Tosh ran through the woods and as she neared their camp she began yelling, "Jack! Help, Jack!"

She burst into their clearing to find the camp empty, but crunching in the woods alerted her to the arrival of the others. She gasped when she saw that Gwen was being supported by the two boys, "What happened?"

"Gwen twisted her ankle," Owen replied. "She's in pretty bad shape."

"Where's Ianto?" Jack asked.

"We were attacked," Tosh replied frantically. "You have to go after him."

Jack was already running towards the other side of the camp, "Owen with me. Tosh come and direct us, but then I want you back here with Gwen."


Ianto's eyes cleared and he found himself tied to a wooden post. His left eye had already swollen up so that his vision was obscured and he thought he saw the swish of an old military coat before fighting broke out again. Jack's voice rang out above the clamor, "What the fuck did you do to him?"

Ianto was clipped in the side of the head by an errant kick and a loud ringing sound blocked out the rest of the fight. His vision swam, blackened, and the next thing he was aware of was Jack's fingers brushing through his hair as he murmured, "Ianto, you're okay. You're safe."

Owen quickly checked out Ianto's injuries: gingerly prodding a dark purple bruise that covered his swollen ribs. Jack then insisted on carrying Ianto bridal style back to the camp. The two girls gasped when they saw the bruised group of boys return. Owen was grumbling as he followed at Jack's heels, "I knew coming to the bloody countryside was a terrible idea. We have to get him and Gwen to a hospital."

The Welshman in his arms began protesting his hold as soon as he came round to what was happening, "Jack, put me down. I can walk just fine."

Jack promptly ignored him, "Owen would Ianto be better off in the backseat or in the front?"

"What are you asking me for?" Owen groused.

Tosh sneered at him, obviously still bitter from the earlier incident, and replied, "Because you're the medical student."

"Oh, right." Owen had the decency to look chastised. "I think he's got a few broken ribs so we should try and see if he'll fit comfortably laying across the back. Gwen needs to keep her ankle elevated so she would probably be best off in the front."

Jack nodded decisively, "I'll put him down back there while we pack up. Tosh will you get the door? The keys are in my coat pocket."

She fished the keys out of his pocket and opened the door to find the pile of wood Ianto had dropped onto those seats, "I knew we brought firewood!"

Jack pushed her aside gently once she gathered up the wood so that he could lower the Welshman down, "Now's not the time Tosh."

Ianto was still protesting, "I'm not an invalid Jack. It will go much faster if I help."

Jack carefully covered the boy with his greatcoat and shut the door with Ianto inside. It took them less than twenty minutes to pack up the SUV, though the packing consisted mostly of Jack bundling things up and tossing them in the boot of the vehicle with no sense of organization much to Ianto's dismay. Jack tossed the keys to Owen, "You drive."

He then climbed in gingerly next to Ianto, sitting sideways with one leg stretched down the seat and the other braced on the floor, and cradled the younger boy against his chest. Tosh slid in and propped Ianto's feet up on her lap so that she would fit, and Gwen leaned her seat back a bit so that she could lift her ankle up onto the dash. Owen checked the backseat and sent an attempted grin at Tosh, "Good thing you're so tiny or there's no way this would work."

She sighed, "Just drive Owen,"

Jack looked around the SUV to make sure that nobody was looking before pressing a swift kiss to Ianto's forehead, "How are you feeling?"

"Okay," He mumbled tiredly. "How's Tosh."

"She's fine," Jack told him. "You helped her get away, remember?"

Ianto clutched the collar of the greatcoat to his nose and sniffed pathetically. Jack continued to stroke his hair and magnanimously decided to ignore the snot that Ianto was smearing across this inside lining of his coat. Owen's frantic speeding got them to the hospital in less than thirty minutes. Owen went with Gwen to a separate room to get her ankle bandage, but Ianto, after having gone through a few scans, was rushed to an operating theater. A nurse emerged from the room after ten minutes and Jack immediately accosted her, "What's happening? They haven't told us anything."

She smiled condescendingly at him, "I'm sorry, I can only release that information to family members."

Jack's eyes flashed angrily, "I am his fucking family."

Tosh placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and said soothingly, "Jack, why don't you call your father and see if he can find anything out."

He flinched away from her touch, but took a breath and replied, "That's a good idea. And someone should call Ianto's sister."

"Give me the number and I'll take care of that."

Jack nodded and after giving her the number he dialed his father, "Doc?"

"Jack!" John Smith exclaimed excitedly. "How are you m'boy?"

"I'm at the hospital," Jack told him, his voice breaking slightly. "Ianto's been hurt and the doctors won't tell us what's going on."

John's voice hardened as he replied, "I'll take care of it. Sit tight."

Exactly six minutes and twenty-four seconds later the nurse returned with an apologetic smile on her face, "I've just been given clearance to tell you what's happening. Your friend has suffered from severe internal bruising and moderate bleeding. He has one broken rib and two cracked ones, but he should be fine. He's in surgery right now, but we'll be moving him into recovery shortly."

"When can I see him?"

"Once we've got him settled in the other room you're welcome to visit, but he probably won't wake up for awhile."

Jack felt his nose sting as he attempted not to cry, "I want to sit with him."

"I'm going to call Rhiannon back and let her know about the update and then I'm going to go tell Owen and Gwen, are you going to be okay by yourself?" Tosh asked.

"Yeah, you go." Jack resolutely didn't look at her so she wouldn't see the redness of his eyes.

When Tosh returned, the other two were in tow (Gwen in a wheelchair), and they were directed to room thirteen where Jack was sitting with a still unconscious Ianto. He was clutching the Welshman's hand tightly and staring at him unblinkingly: he didn't look over as the others entered the room. Gwen wheeled over to Jack immediately, "The Doctor's said that he's going to be fine. Why don't we go get you some food? You're going to make yourself sick worrying like this."

"I want to be here when he wakes up," Jack told her. His face softened as he watched Ianto twitch slightly in his sleep and he muttered quietly, "He's my best friend."

Gwen cooed sympathetically, "Tosh why don't you and Owen go get us all some coffee."

Tosh's eyes brightened at the thought of being alone with Owen and she immediately agreed despite her misgivings about leaving Gwen with Jack. She needn't have worried though because Jack promptly ignored everything Gwen said so she simply sat and patted his back comfortingly.

It wasn't until Tosh had returned that Ianto snuffled awake and mumbled, "Is that coffee?"

Jack lunged closer to Ianto's face so that he was inches away, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I was beaten up with a cricket bat," he replied dryly.

Jack chuckled fondly, "Prat."

Tosh darted around the other side of the bed to press a soft kiss to Ianto's bruised cheek, "Thanks. I don't even want to think what would have happened if you didn't get me out."

Ianto laughed and then winced as the action jostled his ribs. He settled for a weak smile as he replied, "I'm just glad it worked. It wasn't much of a plan."

"Good thing you've got such a thick head," Owen told him gruffly, but not unkindly. "You did good tea-boy."

Jack squeezed Ianto's hand tightly and glanced over at Gwen in her wheelchair, "This isn't exactly what I had in mind when I suggested a camping trip."

"I hope not," Ianto intoned. "When can we go home?"

"Sorry, but they want to keep you overnight for observation," Owen told him.

Ianto groaned, "You should all go home and get some sleep. Just don't forget to come and get me in the morning."

Jack shook his head and flashed every single one of his pearly white teeth, "I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me."

Visiting hours ended a short time later and so the others all took the SUV back to the hub while Jack waited patiently on the hard plastic waiting room chairs for a chance to sneak back in. Around half past eleven the last nurse exited Ianto's room and switched off the light. Jack immediately took the opportunity to sneak back inside. He carefully avoided Ianto's IV line as he slid into the tiny bed and wrapped himself around the younger boy. Burying his nose in slightly dirty hair he whispered, "Ianto – are you awake?"

"No," the Ianto mumbled back sleepily. "Wha' are you doin 'ere?"

"Like I was going to sleep on a chair," Jack scoffed.

"Jus' a'mit tha' you were worried 'bout me," The battered boy murmured.

"Go back to bed," Jack chastised fondly.


A/N: So I always get convinced halfway through writing something that it's absolute rubbish and then I don't want to finish. That's already started to happen with this one, but I'm trying really hard to stick with it... and I hate Siobhan now so I'm trying to faze her out, but she keeps popping up again.