Characters: Cpt.Jack, Ianto, Gwen, The tenth doctor, Rose

Pairing: Jack/Ianto

Setting: After children of Earth

Previously:The landing was shaky at best but the now familiar noises of London filtering in through the door meant we'd arrived. "Ianto?" The doctor had a huge grin on his face as he walked back into the room. "It's time."

Ianto

"Are you serious!" I was already breathless just thinking about being home again in Jacks arms."Completely serious, you best be off if you want to surprise him" the doctor quipped, opening the door I'd had such trouble finding when we first met. "I'll miss you Rose, Take care of him for me will you, he's a little bit helpless without you" we laughed for a while and I pulled the two of them into a tight embrace. The lavender smell of Roses laundry had become familiar over the year (doctor time) of time travel, I would miss it.

"Right well, go on, I'll see you soon okay? Text me or something" Rose wiped a tear off her face and smiled wryly. I lingered, not wanting to leave her upset. "GO! I'll be fine, really! Get!" Rose pushed me out the door and waved while the doctor took it on himself to walk me to the nearest taxi rank.

"Ianto I probably shouldn't tell you this but get a gun. You're going to need it. Keep it hidden on your person at all times." He whispered into my ear while shoving a handful of random objects into my pockets. Flagging down a taxi he nodded to me and turned, briskly walking away. I watched him leave for a moment, confident we would cross paths again.

I hopped into the taxi and fumbled in my pockets for a while, hoping money had been high on the doctors list of things I needed in my pocket. Sure enough I felt the crisp edge of notes. "Cardiff please"

The smell of Wales hit ne before anything else. The combination of cut grass and car fumes were intoxicating, They pulled me in like no drug could. It was nice to have an hour to myself. After all I'd spent almost a year with the doctor, a year in his time vortex thing that is. In reality it couldn't have been more than two months or so. Every single day Id thought about Jack, how stupid I was not to tell him I loved him sooner, what I was going to do with him as soon as I gother the chance.A certain stopwatch came to mind more than once.

Being alone was both soothing and terrifying at once. In the dark rear of the cab I felt trapped back in the confines of death. It was just me alone with my thoughts, but those all disappear with death. It's usually quite a final thing.

The cabbie pulled into Cardiff high street and stopped, requesting payment. I produced a wad of notes and threw them at him as I rolled out of the car. The pier was relatively empty, the day was just overcast enough to deter people from hanging about. The ominous clouds held the promise of a torrential down pour. "Definitely Wales" I chuckled to myself and continued strolling leisurely toward the torchwood hq. Rooting through my stuffed pockets I found more money, keys to my apartment, my wallet filled with my id and license and a mobile. I flicked it on and went straight for the contacts. There were three numbers in total: Rose's, Gwen's, and The doctor's. I knew exactly who to call.

"Hellloo Gwen Cooper speaking who is this?" "Feeling very formal today Gwen?" she gasped and then there was a moment of rustling while she ran to her office, I could see her perfectly from my spot on the pier, her kitchen window faced directly out to sea. "Ianto Jones if you're messing with me from the grave so help me I'll be digging you up and strangling you myself!" she was only half kidding. "No it's really me, look out at the pier" she turned and waved to me frantically, I could see that she was screaming even after she'd hung up.

Though heavily pregnant Gwen could still run much faster than I ever could. I barely managed to say a word between the rib crushing hugs and squeals of "How?! Never mind I don't care all that matters is your here!" eventually she got tired of standing though she didn't admit it and we walked together to the nearest bench and sat down. "God Ianto what took you so long, Jack's been going out of his mind, I think he might have given up all hope that you made it to London at all. He kept muttering something about not factoring in the fade... But your here!"

That gave me pause. As difficult as the last few months had been for me, I'd been doing something, with other people. Jack hadn't. He'd been alone with his guilt for two months while saving the world, again. Gwen took my silence as the sign to start getting up. "Come on so, let's see if we can give him a heart attack" It was good to be back.

Gwen strode into torchwood and winked at me, then put a finger to her lips. "Jack" she murmured outside the door of his office. He was sitting in the dimly lit office, facing the window. By the looks of the place he'd been There for a good while. He grunted at Gwen who continued whatever charade we were pulling. "Someone here to see you, says it's important official business?" I could see her struggling to hold her composure and I had to turn away to avoid her eye.

"Im not seeing anyone Gwen, I don't care if the world is crumbling. Tell them to piss off" Jack grumbled, his voice deep and throaty as ever.

Gwen nodded and tapped me in. "Not a very nice way to treat guests Jack, you've let your manners slip while Ive been away" The look in his eye was almost manic in it's need for this to be real, for me to be real.

"Ianto" he pulled himself out of the chair and barrelled over to me, pulling my face into his as if I was the oxygen to his lungs. His hands were rough as ever, the calloused flesh unfit for the gentleness of his hand on my face and for a very long time it was just us and his lips on mine and the feel of his hair and that smell of cologne and dry cleaning I loved so much, we were all that the mattered.

Too soon he pulled away."I missed you more than I can ever even dream of saying,God you had me going out of my mind,I thought I'd really lost you, for good this time." He clasped my hands in his and purred softly in my ear "I'm nother letting you out of my sight for a very long time" I blushed and he laughed, for the first time in a while evidently because he almost tried to quell it. "Gwen?" he called out, half dragging half carrying me to the door.

"Taking an early night, be back eventually" Gwen just smiled and nodded. "It's good to have you back" she called out to us as we disappeared through the door. "Both of you" she whispered quietly to herself as she sat down and pulled the coffee maker out from under her desk.