Summary: After the events of "Cyberwoman" and "Countrycide", Ianto is left emotionally broken. Will Jack be able to put him back together?

Rating: M

Characters: Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper, Gwen Cooper

Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Owen/Tosh

Warnings: Swearing, angst, suicide attempt, Gwen bashing

Spoilers: Cyberwoman, Countrycide

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I just like to play with them.

TWTWTWTWTW

It had been just over two months since Ianto attempted to take his own life, and every day was a struggle for Jack to maintain optimism.

The pills Ianto had smuggled out of Torchwood One had been intended for Lisa. Much stronger than even hospital grade pain killers, fast acting and quickly metabolized. By the time Owen had gotten to him, it was too late to try and flush the drug out of Ianto's system.

These pills weren't intended to treat a simple headache or toothache. They were meant for only the most severe - often alien induced - kinds of pain, such as what one would experience after being partially converted into a cyberman, as Lisa had been. In less than an hour, it numbed the body, shut down brain activity, and caused a person to fall into a medically induced coma. It was only to be used in extreme cases, when the patient would have been in unspeakable agony if awake, and the effects typically only lasted about a week. Ianto, however, had taken nearly 1/3 of a bottle. Swallowing that many pills would be a bad idea for anyone. But the fact that Ianto had a slight build, hadn't eaten a proper meal in days, and was severely dehydrated meant that his body had turned against him. It pained Jack to think that Ianto just might get his death wish after all.

At this point, it seemed things were one step forward, two steps back for Ianto. He was breathing on his own now, but still comatose and unable to eat. The feeding tube had been removed from his nose, and a more long term one placed in his stomach. Sometimes, Ianto appeared still as the death. Others, his eyelids would flutter for just a split second.

Jack tried to focus on the progress Ianto seemed to be making, rather than the setbacks, though it often felt like he was confusing hope with delusion. But he wasn't ready to give up on Ianto. Not yet.

TWTWTWTWTW

The team was feeling the strain of being down two people at all times. They were also suffering from a lack of decent coffee. No one could get the coffee maker to work like Ianto did, and going to Starbucks daily would be expensive and inconvenient. So, as much as they hated it, they had resigned themselves to the fact that they might need to settle for instant sometimes. Toshiko had tried to make it more bearable by bringing in instant cappuccino drinks and various teas, but they were no replacement for Ianto's bold, aromatic coffee to get them through the day.

Despite all this, most of the team was taking things in stride, being understanding and cooperative, and dealing with the loss as best they could. Jack spent most of his time with Ianto, and was the one who was usually left in charge of the more intimate aspects of his care, such as bathing. But Tosh and Owen also played a big part in looking out for Ianto's health and well being. Being Ianto's doctor, Owen naturally spent almost as much time with him as Jack did. He felt Ianto was his responsibility, and thought this was the least he could do to try and make up for the bullying he had subjected the Welshman to in the weeks following the incident with Lisa.

While Jack and Tosh had come around to forgiving Ianto, it didn't come as easily to Owen and Gwen. Feeling betrayed, as if everything they thought they knew about Ianto was a lie, they went out of their way to leave extra messes for him to clean up. They often complained about the coffee; claiming it was too weak, too strong, not hot enough for their liking, etc. Though the coffee was always perfect, they took pleasure in watching Ianto have to make more, always left with extra dishes to wash, and wasted coffee that he would need to replenish.

Sometimes, Owen would "accidentally" bump into Ianto, spilling coffee or snacks all over his nice suits. And if the Welshman ever looked the least bit upset, Owen and Gwen would make comments intended to rub salt in his wounds.

"Careful not to piss off tea boy, Gwen. You don't know what else he might be hiding in the basement."

It wasn't until they went out to the countryside, and Gwen asked who the last person everyone snogged was, that Owen began to feel twinges of regret at his actions . Gwen had framed the question under the pretense of it being a game, but Owen knew better. It had been intended to hurt Ianto. And to see the sadness in his eyes that day, to hear the grief in his voice, Owen started to truly feel like a monster.

Seeing Ianto later that night, frightened and vulnerable at the hands of the cannibals, and learning that he had been put in that position because he was trying to save Tosh, Owen saw the goodness and heroism in him. He'd never intended to harm anyone. And what right did any member of the team have to pass judgement on him? They weren't exactly saints.

With everything that had happened, and the clear physical evidence of Ianto's inner turmoil now threatening to take his very life, Owen couldn't understand how Gwen couldn't have had a change of heart too. In fact, she seemed to be torn between a smug satisfaction that Ianto was fighting for his life, and annoyance that caring for him had taken Owen's attention away from her. "And let's be honest", Owen thought. "She's not exactly thrilled that Ianto's getting so much of Jack's attention either."

Owen knew that Gwen didn't hate Ianto. But he also knew that she held some resentment towards him after Lisa had strapped her into the conversion unit. Understandable. But he didn't know how she could continue to believe that Ianto had intended for any harm to come to her, or anyone else on the team.

Additionally, Owen couldn't deny that Gwen was more than a little selfish. She claimed to be the "heart of Torchwood", but had remained blind to the suffering of her own team mate.

"I may be a bastard sometimes, but even I came around eventually," Owen thought as he pulled up in front of Ianto's building. He hadn't made it out of the Hub without having to endure yet another angry rant from Gwen about how he never made time for her anymore.

"Torchwood is supposed to protect the planet! Why are we wasting our time on one man who tried to destroy it?" Gwen ranted.

"Come on, Gwen, you don't really mean that," Owen said warily, trying not to lose his temper with her. "Ianto's life is just as important as anyone else's."

"I'm not saying his life doesn't matter," Gwen argued. "I just think -"

"Go on ahead, Owen," Tosh interrupted calmly, yet firmly, surprising Owen and Gwen with her quiet approach. "Don't waste your time arguing. Ianto is the priority here." Tosh's eyes narrowed as she glared fiercely at Gwen. "She's not worth wasting your breath on."

"Right," Owen nodded, putting on his coat. He didn't want to leave the two angry women alone together, but Tosh was right. Taking care of Ianto was priority, and he couldn't let Gwen distract him.

"Gwen, I hope you'll rethink your opinion of Ianto. You might just find he's the true heart of Torchwood."

Left speechless by Owen's words, Gwen simply waved him off indignantly. And as Owen walked away, he noticed two surprising things.

1. Gwen actually did seem to be considering what he had said.

2. The loving way that Tosh was looking at him.

With a strange flutter in his heart, Owen began to think that maybe his affair with Gwen was a mistake, and he found himself finding Tosh more beautiful by the moment.

TWTWTWTWTW

Letting himself into Ianto's flat, Owen reminded himself that, if Ianto ever woke up, things were going to need to change at work. He knew it. Jack and Tosh knew it. The only one who seemed to need convincing was Gwen.

Walking into Ianto's room, Owen looked on as Jack pulled the blankets up over the younger man and kissed him on the forehead. It really was a sweet and touching sight. Seeing the gentle warmth that Jack had been showing Ianto every day made Owen see Torchwood's leader in a whole new way. Before, he'd never thought Jack capable of falling in love. But it was clear as day to anyone who saw him with Ianto now that that was exactly what was happening.

"How is he?" Owen asked, checking Ianto's IV.

"No real change from yesterday," Jack sighed tiredly, as he reached to take Ianto's hand. "I just gave him a bath. He's got a rash on his groin, so I had to put some ointment on it."

"Better you handle that than me," Owen chuckled . "You should get back to the Hub before Tosh and Gwen kill each other."

"That bad, huh?" Jack asked with a joyless laugh.

"Yeah," Owen nodded. "You need to have a talk with Gwen. She's still holding a grudge against Ianto. If he wakes up and has to come back to that, I'm not sure he could handle it. We already know that his mental state is very fragile."

Jack sighed, running his thumb along the top of Ianto's hand. "Do you think he could ever forgive us?"

Owen shrugged. "Hard to know what's going on in his head. I mean, I had no idea he was so messed up."

Jack glared darts at Owen.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Owen held his hands up in surrender. "Not messed up. Just...troubled. And believe me, I feel awful that I never bothered to notice."

"Me too," Jack choked out through his tears. "I knew what happened at Canary Wharf. I knew that Ianto was there. I should have taken the time to find out what he needed, not just ordered him to take care of our needs!"

"Well, hopefully we'll all have a chance to make it up to him," Owen said, holding up the blood pressure cuff. "But right now, I need tea boy's arm.

"All right," Jack nodded as he started to let go of Ianto's hand. Then, with a suddenly jolt, he looked up at Owen with surprise.

"Everything all right, Jack?" Owen asked, giving Jack a quizzical look.

"Yeah," Jack whispered, smiling.

"Ianto just squeezed my hand."