Rhys closed the front door behind him, shutting out the dark wet night that had descended on Cardiff. He ambled up the hallway and was surprised by the lack of any voices coming from the living room. The light was still on so he opened the door and stuck his head round. Gwen turned her head from where see sat on the sofa, cradling her tea cup. There were no more pizza boxes or empty glasses lying on the coffee table, the living room looked as neat and tidy as it usually did.

"They gone?"

"They're in the spare room." Gwen sounded tired, exhausted even.

"They're staying?"

"Yes."

"Both of them?"

"Yes."

"In our spare room?"

"Yes."

"Right."

"What did you want to me to do with them Rhys?" Irritation rose in her tone.

"Well, I dunno, it's just. Well they can't stay there forever."

"No of course they can't. But tonight they're both here and they have no one but us, and nowhere to go. So they're staying here. We can deal with tomorrow, tomorrow."

"Right, well let's get you to bed, you look shattered."

He held the door open. Gwen gently placed her cup down on the table and stood up out of the sofa.

Jack sat down on the edge of the neatly made double bed. Ianto sat down on the other side. For a while no one spoke. Silence filled the simply guest room. It was Jack who broke the silence, twisting round to face towards Ianto's back.

"How are you feeling?" His tone had lost all the bravado it usually contained, instead it was lower, slower, and expressed concern that felt so deep it touched Ianto inside.

"I'm fine." He was sure he'd said this before. He too twisted to face Jack, their eyes met, the blue of Jack's eyes crystal clear even in the dim light. "Physically I really do feel fine. It's nice to know you're no longer on a list to kill, and it's great that the kids aren't still under alien influence. It's a little disconcerting that I've apparently been dead a year, and somewhat inconvenient that the only thing I have to my name is a dusty suit, a clean suit and a pair of jeans. But on balance, I'm fine."

Jack didn't say anything, he just continued to looked deep into Ianto's eyes, as if he could see right into him through this pupils.

"What about you?"

"What about me? I'm concerned about you, I'm not sure I understand what's happened, and based on our previous experience of people returning from the dead I think I want you properly checked."

"I can't go to a hospital Jack. My medical records say I'm dead, there'd be out roar."

"Oh no way are you going near one of those places. There is only medic I trust, and I plan on calling her first thing tomorrow. I'd call her now but I think it's rather late on Earth."

Ianto managed a small smile from one side of his mouth. It always amused him, how extreme Jack could be, all the weird and wonderful things he dealt with day to day and then that little bit of consideration for normal life. Ianto wanted to know how Jack had been the last year, he wanted to ask him about his own death, his daughter and grandson, his travels; but he feared Jack would brush it off and the topic would be lost forever, never to be discussed.

"It's good to see you again." There it was again that deep tone, pure and simple, from the heart.

Ianto saw his chance, but he could no longer meet Jacks eyes. He looked down at the duvet. "What happened after I died?"

"After you died?" Jack raised an eyebrow, he couldn't quite understand the embrassment that went with Ianto's question.

"Gwen filled me in a bit. She says you took it pretty hard." Ianto paused and looked at the wall. "She says you had a grandson, and that you lost him to the 456." Another pause, Ianto looked at his knees. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault." Jack's voice sounded hard.

Ianto turned back to meet his gaze. Jacks face looked strong and determined, but Ianto was sure that was tears he could see in his eyes.

"When I woke up in the row of dead bodies, I wished beyond hope that I wasn't going to find you among them. That by some chance you hadn't died there in my arms. But when I sat up I saw Gwen sitting next to your body, cold, grey and mostly definitely dead. I felt like someone had ripped every ounce of motivation out my body, I had no reason to keep on fighting it all seemed so pointless, so inevitable."

Jack broke their gaze and turned as if starring through the curtained window out into the Cardiff sky. He breathed in deeply and began again. "I've been in love before Ianto, been married, had kids, grandchildren. But everytime it ends in pain, they die or they resent me for what I am. I promised myself last time not to let it happen again. I flirt oh yes, but I promised never to get involved again, too much too loose, too much pain. And then there was you."

He paused for breath again, and this time looked straight into Ianto's eyes. " I'm sorry I must have sent so many mixed messages, but I was scared Ianto, scared of the evitable loss. I was just starting to settle, put my fear away, allowing myself to be taken in, to love you without considering the consequences."

Ianto could feel his own tears welling up. He had no idea what to say. Every now again Jack opened up, told you how he felt. And here he was sat on the other side of the bed explaining that he had been cautious to get involved because he was scared of it ending. How strange that seemed. It was the commitment Ianto had thought Jack was scared of; which it was in a way just the inevitable loss that followed.

"Does that still worry you, now I'm back?" Ianto fought back the tears.

"Yes. But I came back didn't I?"

"How long do you think I've got? "

"Dunno." Jack's shoulders made a small shrug, and his face followed suit. "Thats why I want to call Martha, though I don't know how much she will be able to tell us."

"Hmm." Ianto had never considered that he might not have a normal life span, as far as he was concerned he was still perfectly normal.

" Better make the most of it." Jack smiled, but didn't move.

"Yeah." Ianto smiled too, however scared he was, Jack had come back, back for him.

" Now?" Jacks smile became more suggestive, and his eyebrow rose.

"Why not?" The smile on Ianto's face grew to a small grin.

"The last time we had this conversation, I told you the world might be ending. You told me the world was always ending." The flirt had gone from Jack's voice to be replaced by something much more reflective, he gazed focused somewhere beyond the window.

"That's because it usually is."

"My world did end."

Ianto slid across the bed ending slight behind Jack's right shoulder. Jack turned his head to look back at Ianto sat behind him, his face looked somewhere between a frown and a smile. There weren't any words that could do justice to such a comment. Ianto lent across and kissed Jack.