Ianto didn't know how long he and Jack lie together, holding one another. All he knew was that he'd seen two entirely different sides of Jack Harkness in the course of the last day – one confident, cheerful, a bit flash but entirely charming; the other, stripped of all veneer, raw, hurting and starkly vulnerable.

It had just about broken his heart when Jack said that there were people who believed him to be heartless. It was so obviously untrue to him that Ianto couldn't imagine anyone seeing Jack that way. The only thing he could imagine was that it came with the fear with which some people responded to Jack's condition of immortality. That only broke Ianto's heart further. Especially since Jack had confided that it was a traumatizing ordeal coming back to life. Ianto decided then and there that he was going to show Jack that he was loved, no matter what.

"Are you feeling alright?" Ianto asked quietly. "Would you like to get a bit more sleep?"

Jack shook his head against Ianto's shoulder. "I don't want sleep."

"You sure? I imagine you need your rest after… coming back."

"I'm sure. I'm used to not having much sleep. Actually, I've been really lucky with you. More nights than not, I wake up from nightmares. I've slept really well every time I've been with you, though."

Ianto was beginning to realise that Jack probably had several lifetimes worth of horror stories he carried around permanently, and no one to help lessen the weight of them. There was no way he was letting that go on.

Ianto cupped Jack's cheek and kissed him tenderly. "Then you'll just have to sleep with me more often, won't you?" he smiled. "How about some coffee, then? You could have a lie in and breakfast in bed, or my shower's all yours, whatever you'd prefer."

Jack sighed. "Your coffee will do more good for me than I can tell you. I'd love a hot shower, but I think I'll wait till I get home. My trousers are kinda stiff with rain and blood still."

"I've got a washer and drier. Why don't you shower, wear my dressing gown, and I'll do a wash? If you've got… hour or two?"

"I should probably check with Andy. I know Rhys would tell me they'll be fine for the rest of the day, but Andy is more pragmatic."

Ianto snickered and Jack gave him a curious look. "I'm sorry, it's just… Gwen Cooper's boyfriend actually works with you, catching aliens?"

"Um, yeah. She doesn't know anything…."

"I'd say not. She routinely goes on and on about how Rhys's work in haulage logistics is so important it keeps him out at all hours. We'd all reckoned he was seeing someone else and Gwen was too conceited to work it out."

Jack shook his head. "Nah, Rhys is very devoted. I keep telling him, though, that he needs to take the whole work-life balance thing seriously. He has something real in his life and he needs to hang on to it. There isn't much of that in our line of work."

"Well, that can change," Ianto said decisively. "Not being much of it, that is."

"I sure hope so," Jack said, pulling Ianto in for a kiss and holding him close for a while. "You know, I had no idea that Rhys was musical. I try so hard not to pry into my team's personal lives, I want them to have that separate space that doesn't have anything to do with Torchwood."

"You have very different workmates to mine, then. Tosh and I are the ones who generally don't announce our evening and weekend activities to everyone in earshot, whereas Gwen and Owen… no one has ever had to pry for anything out of them. Well, look, I'll start the coffee." Ianto got up and took a dressing gown from his closet. He handed it to Jack and pulled on a pair of pyjama pants, then kissed Jack's forehead. "Shower's yours if you want it," Ianto smiled. "Coffee will be waiting."

Jack nodded and shifted to fetch his mobile from his trousers.

"Did you at least get him home?" were Andy's first words on answering Jack's call.

Jack sighed. Andy sounded a bit annoyed and that was likely the result of exhaustion. "What's going on over there, Andy? Did you get any rest?"

"Was having a kip until about 30 seconds ago, actually."

"I'm sorry, Andy. I won't keep you up. I just… what about Rhys?"

"Helped him get Gwen home and told him to stay there, only had a few more to shift, all smaller frames, nothing I couldn't manage. He'll be at the Hub by now, I expect."

"Ok. I'll talk to him. Get some sleep, Andy. Sorry again."

"What about you, Captain? You alright?"

"I think I will be, Andy." Jack took a breath. "I…. I didn't give it to him." Jack peeked around the bedroom door to be sure Ianto couldn't overhear. "I know that's against the rules, and if you guys really think it's necessary, I'm… willing to give him a 24-hour dose. Enough to wipe out what he knows about me and Torchwood. It's enough for me to know that he didn't freak out when he found out; and even if he has to forget, I'll still know. But I can't -"

"Jack? Against who's rules? You're the boss, last I checked."

"That doesn't mean I can just break protocol whenever I -"

"You're willing to trust this guy with the fact that you can't die. That's good enough for me. Now… it might be a bit different if, say, Rhys were to refuse to retcon Gwen."

"Why should that be different, Andy?"

"Primarily because Rhys isn't a time-traveler from the 51st century who can get shot in the chest, bleed out, and walk away without a scratch, all in the space of an hour. Your personal secrets are a bit bigger than not really managing the haulage of produce. I told you last night – if you think he's worth it, don't let that go, Jack."

"He's worth it, Andy," Jack whispered. "I have no idea what I've just gotten him into, but he's worth it to me. I can only hope I'll be worth it to him."

"Look. Spend some time with him. Rhys and I will manage things. If anything occurs out of our scope, we'll… ring John."

"If at all possible, don't. Think you guys can spare me for just a couple hours this morning, long enough for me to indulge in a shower and breakfast…."

"Have you been listening to a word I've said, or staring at your boyfriend's arse this whole time? I said we'll be fine. Don't be worried, will you? Go, and since I'm covering for you later, let me get back to sleep now, eh?"

"Point taken. Thanks, Andy. Ring me when you're in the Hub and we'll talk more then." Jack dropped his mobile on Ianto's bed and shrugged into Ianto's dressing gown just as Ianto appeared at the bedroom door with a cup of coffee.

"Everything ok?" he asked.

"Yeah," Jack nodded, taking the offered mug. "Andy thinks they'll be alright without me on hand for the day. So… I'd love to take you up on that shower. And, if you haven't had enough of me, maybe we can… do lunch? Someplace quiet, maybe?"

"I haven't had enough of you, Jack. Lunch would be fine. Maybe the café over in the park. But, just now you should get showered up and I'll do breakfast."

"Ianto?"

"Yeah?"

Jack pulled Ianto into a fierce snog, pouring all of his gratitude and hope into the kiss before finishing off with a sweet, light peck and a smile and wink as he turned toward Ianto's shower.