Author's Notes: Okay, another chapter today. Because... I don't know. Because I felt like writing it and I thought that it would solve the regeneration issue that will have to come up at some point anyway, so I hope you like it.

What Ianto is quoting in relation to Jack's visions is 'The Well', which is an old Irish song; I'm personally introduced to it through Omnia's cover on it and it's basically about a girl and a man that tells her what her future will be.

Day Eighteen: During Their Morning Rituals

When Jack woke up several days and a fixed machine later, he was immensely grateful to realise that they had went back to their usual appearances overnight. As much as he'd liked Ianto – and himself – as a woman, there were just things he didn't want to get used to.

Ianto was still asleep, his head buried in the pillow and his hair sticking up at odd angles, only half of his body covered by the duvet. Jack smiled fondly at the sight – he'd missed it greatly – and then dragged himself into the bathroom, but not before glancing over his shoulder once again, just to appreciate the way Ianto's skin was glowing on the candle light. Like he'd told Jack so long ago, he didn't like complete darkness and it wasn't like the TARDIS had windows, so it was always there without anyone actually lighting it up. Jack supposed that it was the TARDIS's own doing because Ianto didn't seem to take care of it, either.

There was something almost surreal in that glow. Ianto's whole skin was covered by it and Jack's mind suddenly jumped to an image he had never seen before and that was yet oddly familiar – Ianto next to him as the Captain was lying on the ground, subtle golden shimmer crawling up his lover's skin and intensifying by the second.

Jack held onto it, mostly because it felt strangely like a memory. It had to be his head playing tricks on him, surely – he knew what that shimmer could mean and he knew that Ianto had never regenerated, but there was still something that hit too close to home to be just a figment of his imagination.

He heard a small gasp coming from the bedroom and immediately knew that Ianto was awake. That was how he usually woke up and Jack could never be sure if it was because he'd had a nightmare or because the whole deal of waking up startled him, but he did it often and seconds later Ianto walked into the bathroom, rubbing the sleep off his eyes with one hand and stretching with the other as he yawned.

"Good morning," Jack said after another cold splash of water to his face.

"Morning," Ianto mumbled with a small smile and leaned in for a kiss. It was sloppy and thorough and Jack gave himself to it for about a minute before pulling away. The still-half-asleep look in Ianto's eyes immediately sharpened. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"What regeneration are you on?" Jack asked before he could stop himself and Ianto frowned.

"I've already told you that. I've never regenerated. This is my first body." When Jack didn't say anything, Ianto kept going. "What brought this on?"

"Nothing, really." Jack tried to be as casual as possible and knew that he was failing miserably. "It's just that I've got some sort of– I don't know. If it's not happened yet, then it must be some sort of visions, but–"

"If you be the man of noble fame, you'll tell to me what will happen to me," Ianto hummed under his breath as he picked up his toothbrush. Jack ignored him.

"I'm just not sure what is happening, that's all," he continued. "It's just that... Like a kind of remember it except it's not really there. And it looks like you're regenerating."

Whatever humour Ianto's eyes had held until then now vanished. "Regenerating?"

Jack nodded. "It looked like that. I've seen the Doctor regenerate once – well, sort of – and that was what it looked like. I think I..." Jack tried to force the almost-memory back into existence. "I was lying down and you were standing over me. Owen was there too and Gwen, I think. You two were talking about something, and then you came back and told me that you're sorry."

"And what did I do next?" Ianto's voice was extremely gentle now and Jack was getting more and more certain that his imagination had nothing to do with the whole situation.

"You gave me– You Retconned me." It wasn't a question now; more of an incredulous statement. Ianto nodded silently and then, at Jack's wordless demand for information, he sighed.

"There was an alien we were chasing and it attacked you. It was feeding on Rift energy so its effect was basically like looking into the Vortex. It's a powerful defence move, because it leaves you disoriented while it escapes, but... most people would shrug it off as drugs in the air or whatever other explanation that makes no sense but also helps them sleep at night, but you? You'd know what was happening. We had to Retcon you. No one's supposed to see the future; especially the future of the people who are closely related to your own life. We had no choice."

"You had no choice or you had no choice?"

Ianto avoided Jack's eyes. "Both, I'd say."

"Oh. Nice. How much I've lost?"

As fast as he'd dropped his gaze, Ianto's head snapped back up. "What?"

"It couldn't have been just once. How many memories am I missing?"

"Nothing, really." Ianto's reply was too fast to be honest. "Just this one and... one other time, but you can't trigger it. It doesn't matter now, does it?" It sounded almost like a plea.

"Perhaps not," Jack said – and meant it, mostly. "But... It still means that I'll see you regenerate."

"You will one day." Ianto's voice was quiet. "One way or another. I'm not immortal, Jack. I'm just really stubborn."

Jack laughed quietly and brushed Ianto's cheek with his thumb. "I've noticed. You were like that even as a human."

"You helped about that," Ianto reminded with a small smile of his own.

"And I've never been more happy for making that decision," Jack said and Ianto looked at him, not without a good amount of scepticism and disbelief. "Seriously, Ianto, after all this time? Do you think I regret not killing you that day?"

"Of course I don't think that," Ianto said with a scoff. "I was just thinking and you don't need to worry. Regeneration won't make any difference."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"My parents believed that if you let your body change with regeneration, then your mind will change too and you'll lose a part of yourself. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to risk that."

"No," Jack agreed. "Neither would I."

It wasn't perfect. But it was everything.