Sorry it took me so long guys, but here is the next chapter! I hope you like it, it would make my day if you cloud leave a quick review! 3

After being eyed by the rest of the team for a few awkward moments, Lizzy had decided to join Ianto in the kitchen, eager to watch him prepare his wildly praised coffee she had already heard about in only her first hour at the Hub. Most of the time, the motel rooms that she often stayed in with her brothers provided coffee machines and Lizzy was sure Sam and Dean would enjoy a nice brew for a change. Normally, Ianto didn't like it when people questioned him about his skills, but Lizzy would be leaving soon and he didn't worry too much about her taking his place. Explaining the different steps and brews to the girl, Ianto let his thoughts wander because his brain went in auto pilot.

After a while, he restated to the back of the room and told Lizzy to do as he had taught her. He was watching her movements over her shoulder. His gaze was fixed on her slender fingers that were working on the machine. The slim digits clutched the cups and pressed the buttons with ease. Lizzy was a fast learner. Ianto absently looked at her hand, his gaze stopping at her palm for a moment. Puzzled, he raised his eyebrow and then gave Lizzy's hand a slight nudge. She knew what he was trying to do, so she turned her hand palm upwards and waited for his reaction. It took Ianto a while to reply, not being really sure what to say.

"Did... Did you do that?" He finally asked and Lizzy nodded. His expression got incredibly sad and just then she realized what he must have been thinking.

"Oh, no. I didn't do it to hurt myself, Ianto! I can't stand blood at all!" A small smile was playing on her lips as she traced the three bashing scars that were scattered across her palm. Her eyes got sad once she looked back on the events that had caused them.

"Then why did you do it?"

She simply shrugged. "Some spells require blood from a wound that will make you weak, and trust me, slicing up your palm does."

Ianto was surprised to not hear any emotion in her voice as she spoke, no pride, no fear, not even annoyance. She was just stating a fact. "And your brothers let you do that?!" Ianto was a little stunned, Lizzy's siblings didn't sound like people who would let their little sister in danger if it couldn't be somehow avoided.

"Well, no... but they have the tendency to get knocked out quite a lot, and then it's me who has to clean up their mess." She didn't sound bitter and the young man could hear a smile in her tone. Nonetheless, he gave her an understanding smile.

"I know all too well what you're talking about, Lizzy..." Being uncomfortable with the focus of the conversation lying on her, she tried to change the topic.

"So you and the Captain, yeah?" A teasing smile was playing on her lips and Ianto just scoffed. "Aaw, c'mon!" She lightly nudged his arm, a sign that she was used to being around guys, Ianto could imagine all too well that she would nudge and tease her brother in the same way once they mentioned something about a possible love interest.

With a sigh, he said "It's not that simple, you know?"

"Ianto, please, even a blind man could see that you two like each other!"

"He is a man, after all. It's not that easy to..." He trailed off and Lizzy looked at him, deadpan.

"Really, Ianto? You hunt down aliens on a daily basis and you really think that being gay is gonna be the shocker?!" With that and a raised eyebrow, Lizzy turned away, now lightly chuckling, and made her way out of the kitchen to rejoin the others.

Ianto stayed behind, thinking about what she had just said. She did have a point about Jack, but what stunned the young man even more was how brave the little girl really was. When he had first met her, she looked helpless and lost, and after Ianto had seen her sitting in the interrogation room, he thought that it all had been an act. Now he wasn't so sure anymore. The way he heard her talking about her brothers, how she only seemed concerned about them and not herself, Ianto started to wonder what Lizzy has seen in her young life. He wasn't sure how to ask her about it, but he craved to know. Stepping out of the kitchen, he called out for her.

"Lizzy?" He saw her slowly raising her head and looking at him with a puzzled look on her face. She was sitting next to Tosh, a picture of some alien device displayed on the screen in front of them. "Can you come up here for a second?"

Rising from her seat and slowly walking up the stairs, Lizzy came closer. Once she had stepped in again, Ianto closed the glass door that was separating the kitchen from the rest of the Hub.

"What's up?" She asked, her voice sounding alert.

"Can I ask you a question?" Everything in Lizzy's body screamed at her to say 'no', and just walk away, but the way Ianto's gentle eyes were resting upon her, she mumbled a quiet

"Go ahead."

Taking in a ragged breath before speaking, Ianto said "Where are your parents?"

Lizzy was already somewhat prepared for this question, but unlike her brothers she never managed to turn her feelings into anger. She felt the sadness she knew too well wash over her, crashing together over her head like the waves of the ocean she felt she was drowning in. Her eyes looked on Ianto's, and she said "They are dead, Ianto. They are dead because of me."

The young man drew in a sharp breath and then sighed, regretting asking her immediately.

"My mom died a few months after I was born, my dad was killed two years ago. I had to bury my father, Ianto! I had to bury him when I knew that it was my fault that he died!" A sob broke her voice and tears started cascading down her cheeks. "There's just so much pain, you know? So much, and it never seems to stop."

Ianto felt his eyes watering, too, and a few moments later the tears were spilling onto the floor. He looked down at Lizzy, who was now slouched on the floor, her head between her knees and her body being shook by harsh sobs. "I'm sorry." was all he brought out before kneeling next to her and draping his arm around her. "I don't think it was your fault, sweetheart."

"You have no idea." she replied, sounding bitter and disgusted with herself. How pathetic was she, crying to a man who barely knew her, let alone her family.

"I'm so, so sorry." Ianto murmured and put his head on top of Lizzy's. The young girl normally didn't like people touching her, but she found it surprisingly easy to relax into Ianto's arms. Slowly running his hands over her back in a soothing motion was the only thing he felt able to do.

Looking at her now, broken and crying on the floor, Ianto was able- for the first time since he had met her- to see how young she really was. She made everyone believe that she didn't care what was going on around her, and that it didn't bother her what other people thought about her, but it was all an act after all. Lizzy Winchester was an actress, amazing at hiding the way she felt from others. What Ianto didn't know what that that was the way she was brought up, not only by her father but also by her brothers.

The two of them sat on the floor, holding each other, crying for reasons that were different and yet the same, blaming it on nobody but themselves that they couldn't save everyone.

The minutes just passed and neither of them said a word, comfortable with the silence in the room.

Ianto lost track of time, because when Lizzy stood up and started brushing the dust from her pants, he didn't know for how long they had sat there. Fast and rough, Lizzy wiped the dried tears from her cheeks and sighed before extending a hand to help Ianto up.

"Come on, we've got work to do." She said, pulling him up. "Thank you, Ianto. This was long overdue."

The tears still faintly glistening in his eyes, Ianto managed a small smile.