Daria stood with Jack, watching Ianto clean the blood off of the floor. Her heart went out to the young man (and he was so very young, his youth hidden behind suits and emotionless masks). She made certain to keep her mental walls up. The last thing anyone needed was for his emotions to leak over to her. He was so broken and hurt, yet he kept himself composed (for the most part) as he cleaned the basement, as per Jack's instructions.

"What next, Jack?" She murmured.

"I don't know. I need to talk to my team. Maybe Gwen. I hired her to be the heart of Torchwood, after all."

"And Owen?"

"He told you about Katie?"

"Only once I told him I could feel his emotions. Which he was not very happy about, but I think he has come to accept that it is just something that isn't going to stop."

"Are you going to bond with him?"

"My, my, Captain. How blunt of you. And this is not the time for that discussion."

"Is it ever?"

Daria gave him a look that conveyed her contempt for his nosiness, then turned and walked from the room. Ianto stood after a minute.

"Time to get it over with, I suppose, sir."

"What are you on about, Ianto?"

"Protocol, sir. I committed treason, put the whole world at risk. Protocol states-"

"I know the protocol. And I don't agree with it. I'm not executing you." Jack sighed.

Ianto looked bewildered. "Then what punishment are you giving me, sir?"

"I haven't decided yet. I'm sending you home with Daria for now."

Ianto scoffed. "Why? To make sure I don't run away? Where would I run to?"

"No, so you don't do anything stupid. Now upstairs. I'll be right behind you."

Ianto trudged up the stairs in front of him, looking for all the world like a man headed for the gallows.

"Daria!" Jack shouted as soon as they emerged at the main level of the hub. He heard a muffled sound that vaguely resembled 'what' coming from the direction of the couch. He went towards the sound, a bit irritated that she chose now for a nap.

However, his irritation melted away at the sight before him. She was laying with Owen, behind him on the couch. He could hear her humming, just barely, but he knew Owen could hear it loud and clear, in his head, blocking out the worst of the feelings that today had unleashed from the prisons in his mind. He appeared to be sleeping.

"Where are Gwen and Tosh?"

"Home. Hope you don't mind. They were so shaken. I actually think Tosh went back to Gwen's. Dunno what she's gonna tell that boyfriend of hers..." He had always found it cute how her whole manner of speaking change when she was tired. And the way her voice went from sounding like bells to the sound of an old guitar.

"How's he doing?"

"For now, he's fine. He'll rest for a bit, then probably going to go out and get pissed. Maybe pick up some bird, trying to bury his sadness again. In a couple of days, he'll be right as rain. Well, as right as he's been since you found him."

"So he'll be fine if I send you home with Ianto?"

"I'm a wolf, not a dog. But yes, Owen will be fine, and yes, I'll do your guard dog work." She stood and stretched, doing her best not to disturb the sleeping man she had been wrapped around.

"Good. I'll be by tomorrow with my decision for his final punishment."

"Lead the way," she gestured to Ianto. She watched him carefully as he walked. The fight seemed to have left him, for now. He just looked tired and resigned.

The walk back to Ianto's flat was quiet. Ianto's flat itself felt lonely and stale, still half in boxes. How much time had he spent taking care of that thing? She walked to the closest window and opened it a bit, trying to get some fresh air in. Bring life in. A door slamming drew her attention away from the window. She heard the lock click and a shower start.

Mentally preparing herself, she let down her walls and felt for Ianto's emotions. What she found instead was a wall. An old, crumbling wall, but a wall nonetheless. "Empath," she whispered to no one in particular. She poked at the wall and received a light push in return. A small smile graced her lips and she walked over to the bathroom door, resting her head against it. She was mad, of course she was. He had let a cyberman loose. But he had done it for love, and the sadness she felt for him greatly outweighed her anger.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear the shower turn off, or the sound of footsteps. Oblivious as she was, she fell forward as Ianto opened the door. She slammed into him, but he barely had to adjust his footing to catch all of her weight and set her right again.

"Was that you poking around in here," he asked, gesturing to his head.

"Yes. I assume you know that your walls are breaking down. I didn't know there were empaths around this early in the human timeline"

"Of course I know. It's just worse than I thought. I didn't realize how bad they are until you started poking. I guess there must be a few early on, right? The mutation has to start somewhere."

"Well, maybe in a couple of weeks you'll feel up to rebuilding them. But, in my humble opinion, you should just let yourself grieve. I'll keep my walls up so you won't have to deal with my emotions on top of your own. And I will try to give you as much space as you need."

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because I could feel your emotions throughout all of this. I almost broke down when you realized it wasn't really her in that shell any more. All of that pain and despair and heartache. I can see why you did it, from your point of view."

"That's not the only reason why. I can feel it, I can feel like you're hiding something. I've never been able to feel that before."

"It takes a lot of pain or guilt behind a secret for you to be able to feel it. But I know how you feel, on a personal level. I know what it feels like to be willing to tear apart the universe, possibly all of reality, to save someone you love. And the crushing feeling of failure when you still lose them in the end."

"Who did you lose?"

"That is a story for another time."

"You're as bad as Jack, always dodging questions and changing the subject."

"Who do you think I learned it from?"

"I should have known."

"Yes you should have. But you should go rest now, before you fall asleep on your feet."

"I don't want to sleep..." Ianto's voice was so small in that moment that she already knew what was wrong.

"Nightmares? Canary wharf?"

Ianto nodded and took a deep breath against the tears stinging his eyes. "And I'm sure there will be dreams of this."

"Of course there will be. But dreams can help us sort through our feelings in a way far clearer than conscious thought."

"But it hurts so much."

"I know. But, if you are still having too much trouble sleeping, I will dream walk with you."

"You can do that?"

At first Daria was taken aback that he knew what that was, but she figured he had done his research on what he was while he was in Torchwood.

"More or less. I will be able to comfort you then, even in sleep, and I can anchor you to reality, even in your dreams. There is a catch. I would have to make a pack bond with you."

"Will it hurt?"

"No, but you will always be able to feel me and we will always be able to find each other. It can be broken, but you won't really feel it if it breaks, there will just be a vague emptiness where my consciousness used to be."

"But it will hurt you." Of course he would be able to feel that she was hiding that. She scolded herself for leaving that out and he smiled at that.

"Yes. It is agony for me when the bond breaks. But it is something I am willing to risk."

"Are you bonded to Jack?"

She knew he meant no harm by the question, but her body ached in memory of the bond breaking. Closing off her emotions as best she could, she gave him a side small. "I was, once upon a time. And I still do not know what broke that bond. Enough of this talk. Sleep now, pup."

"I think I would hardly be considered a 'pup'. We're probably the same age."

"I am far older than you think. You are still a pup to me."

"If you say so. You will have to tell me more about your species some time."

"When your heart has started healing."

"I'm not sure it ever will. I feel like it's gone, replaced with a void."

"Such is the pain of heart break and loss. You may see no end to the pain now, but time heals all wounds. There will be scars, but you will survive."

"I guess I'll just have to live one day at a time for now. Good night, Daria. You are welcome to the couch or my room, whatever you would prefer."

"May I share your bed?"

She felt his confusion first before she felt his understanding. He could feel her loneliness and need to be close to others.

"Come on then."

Daria carefully put her walls up, to protect both of them in their sleep. He didn't need their emotions mixing in his head, and she needed the rest if she was going to have the energy to make the bond.