With a shuddering gasp, Ianto Jones drew in a life-affirming breath he knew rivaled some of Jack's more dramatic revivals. Yet he couldn't help it: some how, some way, he was alive. He'd been shot, stabbed, and poisoned, and yet he was still there, still breathing, still feeling. After a few more breaths to prepare himself for whatever he might encounter, Ianto slowly opened his eyes.

He immediately smiled and relaxed when he saw Jack's concerned face hovering over him. Jack in turn offered a crooked grin, his eyes crinkling in relief as a hand gently swept across Ianto's brow and cupped his cheek.

Ianto tried to speak, but started coughing instead, until a plastic mask was placed over his mouth, the clean crisp oxygen settling his suddenly cramped airways. He felt the cool hand of Dr. Williamson taking his pulse.

After a few moments, the doctor removed the mask and Ianto found he could breathe much better. "That's better," said Williamson. "Have some water. Sip slowly."

Jack held a cup with a straw to his mouth; Ianto wracked his brain for some sort of smart remark, thinking this was probably something Jack had rarely done before, but came up blank. Instead, after swallowing carefully to soothe his parched throat, he simply asked, "What happened?"

Dr. Williamson took the glass from Jack and offered a rueful smile. "Quite a lot, actually. And it's a heck of a story. I'll let Captain Harkness fill you in, though. I want to check on Ms. Morgan again now that you're awake."

The doctor wandered away, which was when Ianto finally noticed he was strapped to a gurney at the back of an ambulance, a blanket wrapped around him from the waist down. It was still dark, though the area was well lit by the flashing lights of emergency vehicles. There were dozens of people milling about, including Tosh, who hurried over, bent down, and threw her arms around his waist, squeezing gently.

"You're all right," she whispered into his shoulder. "Thank god. We didn't know what to think, we didn't know what had happened at first, how much you had ingested…" She trailed off as Jack placed a hand on her shoulder and stood back a bit sheepishly. "Sorry. You must be tired."

"And confused. Jack, what happened? All I remember is collapsing, I didn't even know whether I'd been shot or not…was I shot?" He glanced down at his body but couldn't really see much from a prone position under the blanket. "Please tell me I wasn't shot again."

Jack shook his head with a soft laugh. "No, you weren't shot. That was probably me shooting the rest of the suits."

Ianto struggled to sit up; he hated lying down and wanted to be able to see better if he was going to hear the rest of the story he knew was there. Jack pushed him down and propped the gurney up from the back instead. "Better?" he asked.

"Yes, much," said Ianto. He ran his hands over his face and nodded. "Right. Tell me what's going on. What do you mean, it was you? I thought you died." He paused. "Again."

"I did," Jack shrugged. "But I have a bad habit of ignoring it. As soon as you took down the three suits in the back of the van, you collapsed. I came to just in time to see you fall, although I had no idea why. I saw the back of the van open and quickly shot the two men in there before they could get to you."

"Thanks," Ianto murmured, vaguely remembering those gunshots and glad he hadn't, in fact, been shot.

"No, thank you," said Jack, taking his hand and squeezing. "Do you have any idea what you did tonight? What you stopped?"

Ianto glanced around the park once more: he saw UNIT personnel everywhere, as well as Jordan Ford and Nigel Williamson talking to a man he vaguely recognized as John Frobisher as well as someone who was likely their MI5 superior. There were cars and ambulances, and worst of all, bodies laid out under sheets.

"I think so," he finally replied softly, looking down at his hands. His fingers brushed over his other cufflink, and he took it off, staring at it as it all came back to him: the abduction, the seduction, the insane plan to destroy the world, ruined instead by a single kiss. "I wish I hadn't had to do it, though."

"You did what you had to do," Jack said softly, taking the cufflink from Ianto and placing it in a pocket somewhere, as if to hide the grim reminder. "You saved the world, Ianto."

"I killed a woman," Ianto replied, his voice filled with sadness and regret now. He let his head fall back and closed his eyes. "Someone who survived the horror of Canary Wharf. She was completely insane, Jack, but she didn't deserve to die like that."

"She would have killed you all," Jack said. "And us. And then the rest of the world, if this secret project at UNIT is any sort of reality."

"Oh, I imagine it is, knowing them," Ianto replied wearily, opening his eyes and meeting Jack's gaze. "And yes, we stopped it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Jack leaned forward to kiss his forehead. "Of course you don't. I'd be more worried if you did."

"Well, I wouldn't have been able to do it without you and Tosh," Ianto murmured. He took Tosh's hand and held it for a while. "Thank you for all your secret weapons."

"I'm just sorry you actually had to use them, especially the cufflinks," she said. "I was hoping the credit card would be more useful."

"Can I keep it then?" Ianto asked, a smile pulling at the edges of his lips in spite of his guilt and exhaustion.

"Of course you can keep it," she laughed. "For the next time you try to play James Bond."

"James Bond," Ianto repeated absently. "Did he ever kill anyone with a pair of poisoned cufflinks?" he asked.

Jack exchanged a look with Tosh. "I don't know, Ianto. But you did what you had to do."

"You said that already," Ianto tossed back. "Tell me something I don't know, like how the hell you showed up just in the nick of time, as usual."

"Actually, there's not much to tell," said Jack. He stepped back and grinned. "Young apparently forged an order to have us put under house arrest, but Fiona had a perception filter that Collins had given her, so I was able to escape. Dr. Wiliamson is apparently a brilliant criminal psychologist as well as a fine doctor, and he thought Canary Wharf would be the most logical place for them to bring you. So I nicked a gun from a late night pawn shop, took a cab, and was here for the big confession."

"You do know how to make an entrance," Ianto murmured. "Glad you revived in time to save my arse, though."

Once more Jack leaned forward to kiss Ianto, this time on the lips. "You were doing fine on your own. You were brilliant—with Young, with the suits, all of it."

Ianto frowned as he thought about something. "You know I didn't mean anything, right? All the things I said to Katherine about joining her, about Torchwood…about shooting you?"

Jack laughed lightly. "Of course I knew. Did I play along so well you were worried?"

"Yep," said Ianto, nodding slowly. "I was. It was not a pleasant charade to play."

"I know." Jack turned serious. "But you were amazing, you really were."

Ianto looked away, oddly embarrassed, and they were silent for a moment as activity continued to bustle around them.

"Where did all these people come from?" Ianto asked curiously.

"Dr. Williamson suggested I just walk into UNIT headquarters and tell them everything, but I knew I needed to get here first. So when Major Burnston, who put us under arrest—" he pointed out a short, dark-haired man barking orders—"came by to check on us, Tosh told him where I'd gone and why. They arrived about ten minutes later, troops in tow."

Ianto frowned. "How did you get him to believe you?" he asked Tosh, who shrugged.

"I was honest. It seemed clear from the start that he wasn't in on it. He seemed like a decent man, and between me and Nigel, we managed to convince him to at least take a look. When we arrived here you and Jack were the only ones left standing." She grinned. "Proverbially speaking, of course. You didn't look so good on the ground."

"I didn't feel so good," Ianto replied dryly. "And not to sound ungrateful, but how come I'm still alive and not on the ground, under a sheet?"

"Because you had a very good doctor on call," said Jordan Ford, coming to join their small group with Dr. Williamson by her side.

"I must have swallowed a lot of the poison, though," Ianto pointed out, sitting up a bit straighter.

"No, not really," said the doctor, a proud smile playing at his lips. "I'm guessing you kept as much from entering your own mouth as possible and spit out everything you could when you were finished?"

Ianto nodded slowly as he thought about those moments in the van; it was not something he wished to ever experience again. "Yes, I did. I didn't think it would make much difference, but I had to try."

"And that is why you would make an excellent MI5 agent, Mr. Jones," the doctor whispered conspiratorially, with a wink.

Jack rolled his eyes at the doctor. "He's Torchwood and he's staying that way."

"So he's already said," the doctor murmured, a twinkle in his eye. "Anyway, I was able to stabilize you with a generic anti-toxin. You'll need some more treatment at the hospital. You may not feel well for a few days, but then again, you've had quite the adventure here in London, so some time to rest will do you well."

"And give you lots of time to write it all up," Jack added cheerfully. Ianto groaned and fell back against the gurney again, even though the thought of the paperwork didn't bother him too much. It would almost be a relief to just sit and write after what he'd been through in the last thirty-six hours.

"Speaking of reports, did you talk to UNIT? What was Katherine referring to with that secret project to destroy the world?"

Jack's face clouded over as he shot a glance toward John Frobisher again. Their Homeland office contact was now speaking with General Brightman, one of the top officials at UNIT, and Ianto could guess from the men's body language and the disgruntled look on Jack's face that they would probably never know what Katherine had been referring to.

"You asked but he didn't tell?" Ianto offered, and Jack nodded, obviously frustrated.

"It's beyond top secret—it doesn't even exist, I'm told. I'm surprised Katherine Young managed to find out about it."

"She said she was consulting on it, after Canary Wharf," said Ianto. "So I'd guess that something about her experience at Canary Wharf made her qualified to know."

"I'm qualified to know," Jack replied, sounding rather petulant. It made Ianto smile, perversely enough. He shouldn't, as they were talking about something that had the potential to destroy the planet, but the fact that Jack Harkness was pissed off about being left in the dark nevertheless amused him. Or maybe he was just too tired to think straight.

This time he reached out and squeezed Jack's hand. "We'll figure it out," he said. "You can bully just about anyone into telling you anything."

"I am not a bully—" Jack started, and when Ianto raised an eyebrow to stop him, everyone laughed until Jack finally joined in.

"All right, last question," said Ianto. "What about Gwen and Owen? Did anything happen in Cardiff?"

Jack sighed. "Yeah, it did, but they're fine. They were detained as well. They had no idea why, so they were practically going spare by the time I talked to them a while ago. They wanted to come out and see you, but I told them to stay there. No reason to crowd London with the lot of us."

"London couldn't handle us," Ianto murmured absently, and was rewarded when Jack's eyes went wide as he grinned.

"That's exactly what I said!" Jack exclaimed. "See, brilliant minds think a like."

"And so do you two, apparently," murmured Tosh, then clasped a hand over her mouth as she realized what she had said. Ianto rolled his eyes affectionately while Jack laughed. "Sorry," she murmured. "It just slipped out."

"It's not a bad thing," Jack said, trying to sound defensive but failing.

"For you, maybe," Tosh tossed back.

"Touché," murmured Ianto, but he was smiling, enjoying the return to normal banter, instead of all the running and hiding, talking and planning they'd done for the last thirty-six hours.

"What about—" he started when they had stopped, but Jack interrupted him.

"You said that was your last question."

"Oh Jack, let the man talk," said Dr. Williamson. "He needs the whole story to be able to understand and process it."

"Right, what he said," Ianto agreed, offering Dr. Williamson a smile. "Although, you two can probably tell me more. Jordan, are you all right?"

Jordan Ford nodded. "I'm fine, thank you. They got the drop on me when I was on my way to meet you this morning, though, so mostly it's just a matter of pride." She shrugged, but Ianto could tell she was not happy about it.

"And Anastasia Morgan? She was the one who arrested us at UNIT."

This time the doctor answered. "I just checked on her. She had a very bad reaction to the same drug used to knock you out, which was why she's been unconscious for so long. They'll be keeping an eye on her in the hospital for a few days."

Ianto frowned, trying to place his finger on one of many things that still didn't make sense. "So was she really in on it or not? Or was she another pawn, like Commander Collins?"

"We're not sure yet," said Jack. "She's not up to talking, but both Burnston and Brightman seem to think she was being manipulated by Katherine Young somehow."

"Collins was blackmailed," Ianto pointed out. "Morgan was requisitioning tech under his name, and when he found out, Katherine threatened to kill Fiona."

"So it's possible she was doing something similar to Anastasia Morgan, forcing her to cooperate. We'll find out once she's able to tell us." He paused. "If she tells us."

"Will she be charged?" asked Ianto, and this time Jack shook his head.

"I don't know. Most likely. She did forge those requisition requests to come from Commander Collins, even if she didn't know what she was actually involved with."

Ianto sighed. "I wonder why she did it. I wonder how much she really knew, if she would have agreed." He paused and glanced around at them all. "And Commander Collins? I take it he didn't make it?"

Dr. Williamson shook his head. "He was dead by the time I arrived. You did what you could to save him, Ianto. You did your best."

"I was too late," said Ianto, knowing he would regret it every day of his life. "What about Fiona? Does she know?"

The doctor glanced behind him at one of the cars. Ianto squinted and noticed Fiona sitting in the front seat, talking on her mobile phone. He gave the doctor a questioning glance.

"She does. And she's actually doing better than you would expect, because it's over now. You stopped it. She's got in touch with her family for the first time in months." The doctor touched Ianto's good shoulder. "You saved her. You really did do a fine job, Mr. Jones."

"I'm going to get a big head if you all keep telling me that," Ianto murmured, though he did half smile about it. In spite of the death and destruction around him, he latched on to the fact that he had saved people—Fiona, Anastasia, the other Torchwood survivors. He wasn't sure about saving the world, but maybe he had done that too, if anything Katherine Young had said was true. It had been difficult, playing the dangerous game of spy and having to actually kiss someone to death in order to stop them, but like Jack said, he'd stepped up and done what had to be done. Guilt warred with relief now, and a strong desire to just get out of there and go home, back to Cardiff.

"Okay, last question this time: when can we leave?"

Jack laughed. "As soon as you want."

"I meant, back home to Cardiff."

"They need us for a few days, Ianto. To understand what was going on and wrap things up, make sure it's over."

"And you need the hospital for a day," said Dr. Williamson, nodding sagely. "I suspect it's the only way you'll get any decent rest."

"I'm fine—" started Ianto, even though he did feel weak and exhausted and overwhelmed; he suddenly found the idea of staying in bed for several days quite appealing. Of course, he'd prefer his own bed and prefer to have company, but he could manage an overnight at the hospital, just to make sure the poison was out of his system. He did not want to go through that ever again.

"You'll go, and that's an order," said Jack. He smiled to soften his words. "And I'll stay with you, just to make sure."

"Make sure of what?" asked Ianto, raising an eyebrow.

"That you rest," said Jack, but there was a twinkle in his eye and the slightest twist to his lips.

"Right," Ianto murmured perfectly in time with Tosh, and once again they all laughed.

They were interrupted by Major Burnston and General Brightman, a tall, imposing looking man whose jacket was covered in fancy medals. Ianto knew he and Jack did not get a long in the slightest—Jack didn't get along with most of UNIT, however, so that was no surprise—but Brightman virtually ignored Jack, instead choosing to address only Ianto. He tried to sit up and appear more put together than he felt, but the general offered a tight smile.

"At ease, Mr. Jones," he said, though Ianto barely relaxed. "I just wanted to come by and thank you. You stopped a very deadly plot, and I'm sorry that UNIT was involved in any way in harming you or the other survivors of Canary Wharf."

Jack's eyes were wide as saucers, but he did not say anything, and it was all Ianto could do to not laugh at the look on Jack's face. Instead he nodded gravely to the general. "You're welcome, General. I'm glad I could help."

"I wouldn't say you helped," said the General. "I'd say you single handedly stopped one of the biggest conspiracies our organization has seen."

"I had help, sir," said Ianto, nodding at the others around him. "And I'm just sorry I couldn't do more before it was too late for the others."

The general studied him for a moment before holding out his hand. Ianto took it in a firm grip. "You're a good, humble man, Mr. Jones. Try passing that on to your leader sometime."

Jack snorted but remained silent.

"I'll try," Ianto murmured, and now he was really trying not to grin.

"If you'd ever like to transfer over, we'd be glad to have you. You've got guts, you've got experience, and I still remember that cup of coffee you made at our last meeting."

Ianto actually bit his lip; apparently he had his pick of jobs at the moment. Jack looked furious.

"Thank you, sir. I'll remember that."

"Plus we don't have Weevils," the general added with a very uncharacteristic wink. "Or Jack Harkness."

Ianto raised his eyebrows. "Your loss, then, sir. Neither is all that difficult to deal with, once you get used to them."

"Right. I'll believe that when I see it." The general turned toward Jack, half a grin on his face. "I don't know how you keep the good ones, Harkness. Just don't screw them up too bad."

"I try my best," Jack said, and Ianto knew he was answering in exactly the opposite way than the general intended. Apparently the general did as well.

"I'm sure you do," he murmured. "We need all of you to come to UNIT tomorrow to debrief at 1300 hours. We will expect you then. Burnston, they can go while you finish up." He inclined his head at Ianto. "Mr. Jones." And then barely looked at Jack. "Harkness." With a sharp click of his boots, he turned to leave. Jack pulled a face behind the general's retreating back.

Jordan Ford watched him with an amused look on her face. "I take it you don't get along?" she asked.

"Do you get along with MI6?" Jack tossed back.

"Point taken," she murmured.

Major Burnston stepped forward then and offered his hand to Ianto, who took it in confusion. "I'm Major Burnston. Your friends managed to convince me to come out and consider rescuing you. I'm glad I did."

"So am I," said Ianto. "Thank you."

"No, once again, thank you." The major turned to Jack. "And Captain Harkness," he said, holding out his hand. "Thank you. For taking the risk and trusting that at least one of us doesn't hate Torchwood."

"Just one?" asked Jack with a grin. The major rolled his eyes.

"It's a start, at least." He stepped closer. "Seriously, let me know if you ever need anything. I meant what I said. UNIT and Torchwood should not be at odds with one another, and I'll do whatever I can to make relations smoother."

This time Jack gave the man a genuine smile, not the smile he used when trying to charm someone. "Thank you, major. I will definitely take you up on that offer if I ever need to. It would be a welcome change to not dread UNIT meetings here in London."

The major laughed. "Oh, I'm sure they'll still be ghastly, but we can try. I appreciate the opportunity to help." With a slight bow, he left them, and all five of them just stared at the enigmatic UNIT officer as he returned to directing others in the field.

"He can't possibly be for real," said Ianto, shaking his head. "Else he'd never get into UNIT."

"There is definitely something different about him," said Jack, shaking his head. "I'm not entirely sure we can trust him, but we can give it a try, at least."

"All right," said the doctor, "enough talking. I think we've said all that needs to be said. Mr. Jones should get to the hospital, rest for your meeting tomorrow, and perhaps the day after we can meet for our own debriefing over brunch?"

Jack shook the doctor's hand. "That sounds perfect. My treat for all your help. You've been invaluable, doctor. You should think about retiring to Cardiff."

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "So I could learn more about these Weevil things, perhaps? I don't think so. Just as Mr. Jones prefers Wales, so I prefer England. But I do hope we'll meet again in the future."

He patted Ianto on the shoulder. "I'll check in on you at the hospital, Ianto. Have a safe ride."

"Thank you, doctor," said Ianto. "For everything." He turned to Jordan Ford. "And you too, Jordan. Thank you."

She nodded wordlessly and stepped back. The doctor motioned toward the local medics, who came over to load Ianto into the ambulance. Jack climbed in with him, and Ianto was glad; he did not particularly want to be alone. Tosh, however, stood outside at a bit of a loss.

"Jack, what do you want me to do now?"

Jack took a deep breath. "Get our stuff back from UNIT, then book us rooms at the Corinthia. We'll be here a few days and need somewhere to stay. Then get some rest. We'll see you in the morning."

The doors shut and the ambulance pulled away. Ianto closed his eyes as he imagined putting as much distance as he could between himself and yet another disaster at Canary Wharf. And yet this time, he had done something more, he had saved someone. His failure at Torchwood One would forever sit heavy on his heart, but maybe he had been given a chance to finally release some of the guilt by redeeming himself this second time. He smiled as he thought about those he had lost, but also those he had saved, and most of all Lisa, and how she would have been proud of him.

He felt a gentle kiss on his forehead again and found Jack gazing into his eyes once more. He couldn't help wondering if Jack was proud or just relieved; the raw and emotional look in the man's eyes was so very different than ever before that Ianto wasn't sure how to interpret it. Jack, of course, knew how to ruin a moment.

"I'm sorry your birthday was pretty much awful," he murmured.

"Anything to save the world," Ianto replied, trying to keep the mood light, but Jack frowned thoughtfully.

"Let's try to avoid crazy government researchers intent on destroying the planet next time I hijack your one day off from saving the world."

"You do owe me lunch at the very least," Ianto laughed.

"I owe you much, much more, Ianto Jones." Jack's voice was a husky whisper. "Thank you for letting me tag along, for being there with me, for going in to stop it. But most of all, thank you surviving."

Ianto shook his head at Jack's sudden sappy turn. "How many rooms do you think Tosh will get us?" he asked, hoping to draw Jack out of his gloomy reverie.

"Three if she's afraid of offending you, two if she's afraid of offending me."

Ianto grinned. "Then it will be three, and you'll just have to come over to mine and thank me some more."

"I'll be there," said Jack, and Ianto pulled him down for a long, slow kiss, medics be damned. He had almost died, victim of a haunted past; now it was time to return to the present and look forward to the future, free of fear and full of life.

Author's Note:

Had to wrap up everything, but there is a short epilogue coming up. If you are a good mystery reader, you'll know where and why. ;)

If I forgot anything, I do apologize. It was quite a lot to keep track of! But it's been fun and more than anything I appreciate the tremendous response. A huge thank you to darcy58 and Cerih for all their wonderful help and encouragement. And thank you to everyone else for reading and keeping me going!