I don't like this chapter as much as the others, but it's very useful in setting things up and recreating the atmosphere and stuff... so, I hope you like it! I may even post the next chapter tonight if I feel the need!

Chapter 9

And I'd have fought the world for you
If I thought that you wanted me to
Or put aside what was true or untrue
If I'd known that's what you needed
What you needed me to doIanto didn't dream this time. He didn't dream, he didn't remember - he heard.

"Ianto…" Jack was whispering, sobbing his name repeatedly as he sat alone in the dark room. This time, his voice came from behind a curtain, not through water. It was muffled, but clearer - he could hear him properly.

"Ianto, please… I'm begging you, just wake up." He murmured, his voice thick with tears that Ianto knew he would only shed when he was alone. The others must've been called away. The Rift didn't take a break just because Ianto Jones got scattered across the universe.

How long had he been lying there? Long enough, he supposed. Long enough.

Jack's voice was harsh from lack of sleep and sustenance and he sounded more than a little groggy. It broke his heart to hear Jack cry, it tore him into pieces which only the feeling of Jack's arms around him could heal. Jack only cried when his world began to fall away from him.

"I was thinking, I could call the Doctor…" He murmured, a sudden spurt of hope in his voice. "I could call him and we could go back in time and we could stop you from going to the car park with us…"

Ianto's heart tightened as he realised what Jack was proposing and he desperately willed his lover to forget the notion completely.

"No…" Ianto managed to whisper at the sheer force of anger he felt at the fact that Jack was considering something as damaging as hanging history just to save him from this. Jack heard him but obviously didn't think he'd heard so much as imagined him.

"Yeah, you're right… he would've just shot someone else…shit, I was prepared for him to shoot one of the others over you!" He gasped and Ianto heard him murmur to himself, horrified. Ianto could feel tears on his own face at the sound and he desperately wished he could comfort his lover in some way.

I'd do anything for you, Jack… Anything, please don't be sorry, please don't cry… he thought gently, pretending that he could say the words out loud and soothe him, if only to soothe himself.

"Ianto, I don't tell you how much you mean to me enough, I know I don't." Jack said softly, the tears gone from his voice again, leaving it rough and brusque. "I swear, if you come back to me, I would move mountains to make sure you knew how much I love you. Because I do, Ianto. I love you more than anyone or anything. If the Doctor could made me mortal again, I'd give you my entire life to making you happy. As it is, I'll be there as long as you want me to be, I'll never leave you. Never."

I already knew, Jack… I already knew. Please, I can't stand you crying… Ianto felt like giving up, but he couldn't bring himself to leave Jack and return to the TARDIS. He was like a little boy peering out of a window that he couldn't climb through. He wanted so desperately to be on the other side of the glass, but he couldn't find a way to get there.

"Everything I've ever done to hurt you, all the lies and all the cheating… I would take it back in an instant. It was unbearable to see you happy with someone when I had no hold over you, no intimate connection at all…" He sighed heavily and kissed Ianto's hand gently again. "I can't believe you put up with all my crap for so long… I can't believe you took me back."

Stop it, you idiot! Stop it, stop crying! Shut up, I'm not going to die, I'm not! Ianto cried, knowing for sure that he'd wake up with a damp pillow from the tears.

"Ianto, they want me to sign a DNR, in case you go into arrest again… I don't know what to do, Ianto. I can't see you go through any more and they say you're weakening, that your heart's not going to last for much longer - that it's been through too much." Jack was crying again, clutching his hand desperately, head bowed as he sobbed painfully once more. "I don't know what to do!"

Ianto felt a surge of anger and grief and it was just enough for him to push the window open.

"Don't you dare give up on me…" He murmured angrily, gripping Jack's hand with all his strength, forcing his eyes half open as Jack looked up and stared at him in shock. "Don't give up…"

Jack swallowed and nodded, his expression setting into one of determination as he gritted his teeth and scrubbed at his eyes. By the time his hand was away, Ianto was motionless again except for the soft rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

*

Ianto woke up with a start and sure enough, his cheeks were sodden and his eyes were sore. He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair, glancing around the darkened room for a second time. This time, he didn't feel like going to find the Doctor immediately – he was feeling a strong pull to investigate the room.

The first place he looked was in the chest of drawers. He pulled it open and his jaw dropped at the sight of the contents. Scattered in the wooden drawer were a selection of things that Ianto recognised. There were photos of him and the team – including one of Ianto fast asleep on his bed, half curled up in the sheets and his mouth half open, the whole thing looking particularly endearing – and notes that Ianto had taken to sticking on Jack's work to make him pay attention.

The bright array of post-its made him smile and he ran his fingers over them gently before noticing, with a spark of annoyance, that Jack had even snatched one of his ties. He remembered looking for it for half an hour before resigning himself to wearing another one.

There were also other things, from other times and other aspects of his life. Ianto decided that he wasn't going to look at those any closer, he didn't have the right.

With a smile, he pushed the drawer closed and sighed, shuffling across the room and dropping into the large armchair – which reminded him strongly of his own.

He picked through the array of gadgets on Jack's table and picked up something that looked like a permanent version of Jack's wrist strap. He frowned at it and pressed one of the buttons which he recognised. A hologram flickered into life - just as John's had - but this time it was of Ianto, leaning on what must've been a doorframe.

"Want a coffee, sir?" He asked casually, yawning slightly.

"Uhhh… I don't know, what's this week's special?" Came Jack's voice.

"What makes you think I have special coffee each week?" He saw himself ask defensively.

"What makes you think you have to hide it?" Jack asked silkily in reply. Ianto could remember the grin on his face as he said it.

"Well, considering how tired I am, it'll be regular old industrial strength." Ianto smiled sleepily and yawned again.

"Sorry, I must've worn you out last night." Jack said, laughter following it.

"No, you didn't." Ianto rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I did." Ianto shot the invisible Jack a look and invisible Jack laughed happily again, the grin evident in it.

"If you want coffee, I would suggest getting out of your chair and making sure I don't fall asleep half way through." Ianto countered slyly, a small smile on his face.

"Oh? And how would I do that?" Jack's voice sounded intrigued and Ianto could remember what had followed – sex in the kitchen area.

"I'm sure you could use your imagination." Ianto watched as he raised his eyebrows meaningfully and left the room, to the sound of Jack's chuckles and the hologram stopped, flashing 'End of File' at him in blue letters.

A/N: That last bit is partly taken from Minority Report - when Tom Cruise's character watches videos of his son even though he lost him.