Earlier

"Ianto?" Jack called out.

Oh god….please don't tell me I was too late……god please not that.

"Gwen help me."

His second rushed over to help roll the Golem of Ianto who had thankfully started to come round.

When Ianto tried to sit up, Jack pressed his hand on the younger man's chest to keep him down, scanning his body for injuries.

"I'm fine Jack. Help me up."

Jack was dubious, but grateful, that Ianto was alert and gladly helped him to his feet, resting a hand on his lower back to steady him when he wobbled slightly.

He looked questionably at Ianto to make sure he could stand on his own, not moving until he got a confirming nod.

"Is it…..Jack is it dead?"

He turned to see Gwen looking down at the prone form that had caused so much chaos.

"Yes, it's dead." Gwen confirmed.

"So is he." Ianto countered sadly

Jack watched as Ianto shakily squatted on the floor next to the man he had tried so desperately to save.

"Gwen? Let Owen and Tosh know it's over, we'll handle the clean up here."

She nodded walked out, leaving Jack and Ianto alone. Jack knelt by Ianto and put a hand on his shoulder as the younger hung his head in sorrow.

"Who would have done this Jack?"

Ianto looked to Jack as if he had all the answers. God, he wanted to have all the answers.

"I don't know."

"They could do this again and we couldn't do anything to stop them."

"Yes." It wasn't really a question but Jack wanted to answer it anyway, that was the one thing out of this he was sure of, also the one thing that didn't help in the slightest.

Shifting tact Jack hailed the rest of the team. "Ok Gang, tell me where we stand."

"Ambulance just picked up the woman and the kids, woman is in a bad way but still hanging on," Owen informed Jack over the comms. "Bloody miracle she's still alive if you ask me, still along way from being out of the woods but she's still breathing…it's a start."

"Retcon?"

"Already administered, Jack."

"Good, I need all of you in here, bring two body bags, standard clean up kit, jobs not done yet."

Captain Jack Harkness

Walking back to Ianto with antiseptic and dressings in hand he took in the sight of the young man on the couch, his head resting back with his eyes shut as the day caught up with him. A hundred scenarios ran through Jack's head, none scarier than the silence he got when the Golem landed on top of Ianto.

"Stop staring at me and come and sit down."

Jack shook off the morbid thoughts and fixed a grin on his face and rejoined Ianto on the couch.

He gently lifted Ianto's hands and winced when he saw the raw red skin and realised it wasn't going to matter how careful he was, this was going to hurt. Dabbing the antiseptic, he tried to ignore the hisses escaping Ianto's lips.

"Ianto what where you thinking?"

"I couldn't stop, I just needed it to be clean, and after today I had to make it…..I couldn't save…."

"Oh Yan, you hung on longer than anyone could have expected you to and that thing would not have stopped until it had killed the entire family."

Jack gently brushed the tears that had spilled over onto his cheek.

With a small smile Ianto replied,

"I know…I just had a moment, sorry."

"No, I'm sorry, sorry I left here tonight."

"Don't Jack"

"No, Ianto, I knew you needed me tonight I should have stayed I should…"

"Jack, despite appearances I can take care of myself, I know tonight was not the best example of that."

"But I should have been here."

"Stop it Jack!"

Jack finished his first aid, carefully winding the dressings across the tips of Ianto's fingers where the skin had worn through, and placed the antiseptic and unused dressings on the ground before he spoke again.

"You needed me to be here,"

He felt Ianto touch his cheek as he turned his face so they were looking directly at each other.

"Tell me Jack, you where on a roof, yes?"

Jack nodded.

"Then you where exactly where you were meant to be. Listen to me Jack. We all have different methods of coping. Owen deals by drinking his bodyweight in hard liquor and finding some random girl to lose himself in. Tosh would have polished off the last reserves of red and fell asleep on her couch and Gwen has Rhys. You do rooftops and I clean. I'm not saying its ideal but it's what we do and once we have done it then it makes it easier somehow to find a way forward."

Jack was quietly contemplating this as he ran his fingers over the dressings on Ianto's hand.

"Sometimes it feels as if I need to gather you all together. Protect you all."

Deciding to reason with Jack in a language the Captain understood Ianto leaned forward and kissed Jack softly on the lips.

"Feel like making a bet with me?"

Jack looked at him quizzically.

"What about?"

"In 10 minutes Tosh, Owen and Gwen are going to come through that door because at the end of the day we will find one another and we'll take care of one another."

"Ianto, you can't know that?"

"Will you take the bet?"

"What am I wagering?"

"They come through that door in….eight minutes and breakfast for all. Fully cooked breakfast that is, on you."

"What if they don't?"

"Huh?"

"What do I get if they don't?"

"Hmmm, ok special Ianto Jones style massages every night for a week."

"Oh deal!"

As they shook on it Jack noticed the self-satisfied smug look on Ianto's face and it made him decidedly uneasy.

They sat out the eight minutes in silence, comfortably leaning against one another. Ianto's smirk never left his face and Jack had a feeling he was so going to lose this bet but he really didn't care, it was worth the look on the Welshman's face.

Sure enough, right on queue the alarm sounded as the rest of his team entered the hub arguing about some movie trivia. Delighted, Ianto stood up and offered his hand to Jack and pulled the older man with him.

"Oi Ianto……tell me I'm right," the Doctor shouted.

"Oh give it up Owen…" Tosh replied.

Jack watched in delight as Ianto went to join the others and settle what ever it as they where arguing about.

His team - bonded in blood, in simple camaraderie and that's what made it all worth it in the end.

"Ha! Told you Owen!"

"Oh what would you know, Teaboy."

"Well I do know Jack is buying us all a cooked breakfast."

"Wow, cleaning the moths out of your coin purse hey Jack?"

"Watch it Owen or we'll leave you behind. Come on, I know the perfect spot."

Jack grinned as he followed his team out of the Hub and out onto the Plass.