No words were exchanged between the two men at all during the first fifteen minutes of the ride to the flat. Ianto concentrated on the road as Jack sat in the passenger seat silently, Ianto's hand held firmly in his, grounding him. He felt safe with his Ianto, gaining comfort and strength from his grasp, his fear slowly beginning to subside.

This was his Ianto, he reminded himself over and over like a soothing mantra, the Ianto that Jack knew and loved and the Ianto that loved him in return, not that … that other Ianto, the one who caused him such misery and heartache. Jack studied his lover openly the remainder of the ride, causing Ianto to glance at him repeatedly and smile nervously as he tried to decipher the thoughts and emotions running through Jack so that he'd know how best to help him.

“What?” Ianto finally asked after a few minutes of Jack's staring.

“What?” he shrugged “I can't just look at you?” Jack frowned playfully, then raised a mischievous eyebrow. “Besides, I seem to recall you like it when I look at you.”

“With you, sir, it's never just a look.” Ianto grinned as he saw the Jack he loved slowly starting to emerge again.

They pulled up in front of the flat and Ianto turned off the engine, but didn't make any move to get out right away. He didn't want to let go of Jack's hand, not just yet, he enjoyed the feel of Jack's hand in his. Jack made no move to let go either, they both sat staring at their hands clasped between them on the console, fingers intertwined. Ianto sighed as he flexed his fingers and used his thumb to playfully trace inside Jack's palm. When he looked up, Jack was smiling, looking at their hands. Ianto squeezed gently and Jack returned the squeeze, giving Ianto a look that clearly said 'I 'm not ready to let go, either.'

“Shall we … um, go inside, now?” Ianto asked, suddenly looking a bit nervous and unsure of himself.

“Definitely.” Jack smiled “You still owe me that drink, you know.”

They reluctantly let go of each others hand, uttering mutual sighs of disappointment at the loss of contact and exited the SUV. Jack walked round the SUV to join Ianto as they unconsciously reached for each others' hand, needing to regain contact again, both men simultaneously laughing out loud as they nervously headed upstairs towards Ianto's flat.

As they ascended the staircase, Jack suddenly realized that in all the time he and Ianto had been 'together', he had never been here before. They had always seemed to wind up back at the Hub for their 'trysts', usually due to some artifact or piece of random junk falling through the rift and setting off an alarm, much like this evening. The 'where' had never been an issue, wherever Ianto was, that's where Jack was going to be. He didn't care where they spent their time, as long as they were together, any time spent with Ianto was always the best part of the day for Jack.

With trembling hands, Ianto fumbled with his keys while trying to find the right one before dropping them on the ground. Jack bent over and picked them up, handing them back to Ianto, who found the correct one and slid it into the lock. He turned the key in the lock and opened the front door, holding it open for Jack with one hand as he gestured Jack inside with the other. It was dark inside, the only light filtering in through the open door.

“Here, let me just, uh, get the lights” said Ianto distractedly, his hand searching the wall blindly as if he suddenly had no idea where the switch was. “Yep, that's it there, got it.” soft light illuminated half of the flat, the other still left filled in shadows.

Ianto kicked off his shoes by the front door, hanging his suit jacket and keys on hooks by the door, then he helped Jack out of his greatcoat, reverently hanging it up as Jack removed his boots. Jack's eyes twinkled as he observed Ianto's usual gentle treatment of his greatcoat as he walked across the pristine white carpet, enjoying it's soft plushness beneath his feet.

Unable to resist teasing his lover about his obvious affinity for Jack's greatcoat, he quipped playfully, shaking his head, “You and that coat, Ianto. ”

Ianto's eyes were full of mirth as he tried to look affronted, “No worse than you and my suits, SIR.” Jack's only response being a raised eyebrow.

Jack looked around the flat, finding three doors on the left, two doors grouped together and one slightly offset, 'I wonder which of of those is the bedroom? ', Jack surmised with a grin playing at the corners of his mouth.

Watching him from the entryway, Ianto saw where his lover was looking as the grin spread across Jack's face. 'Leave it to Jack to locate the bedrooms straightaway', Ianto thought to himself with a smile.

It was an extremely nice flat, though longer and more narrow than most, it looked very much like Jack had thought it might. The kitchen area was just inside the front door to the right, containing a small, rectangular glass-topped table against the wall with three chairs surrounding it. The very clean and organized space and the sleek chrome appliances were not a surprise, they suited Ianto.

'A little too organized - also very Ianto' the thought bringing a smile to Jack's face.

The kitchen area then opened into the lounge over the bar-style counter, featuring a sleek black sofa on one wall, low ebony colored coffee table held up by massive steel-pipe legs in front of it, facing a rather oppressive looking flat screen occupying most of the opposite wall. Jack looked at the size of the screen, raised an eyebrow at Ianto, and grinned.

“Nice place, Ianto.” said Jack “Love the telly by the way.”

“Really, sir? I kind of thought it a bit on the small side.” he deadpanned, glancing at the television, causing Jack to laugh, effectively breaking some of the tension that began when they entered the flat.

Normally thoroughly unflappable, Ianto now looked more than a little lost as Jack watched him aimlessly wander about the kitchen looking a little nervous. Jack couldn't help but find it totally adorable the way his presence in the flat seemed to unbalance Ianto.

“What was I doing?” Ianto muttered to himself, “Oh, right … drinks.” smiling nervously, he wandered to the kitchen cupboards near the ceiling, producing glasses out of one cupboard and a liquor bottle from another.

“Here you go, Jack.” Ianto handed Jack a half-full glass and turned back to set his own, along with a full bottle of liquor, over on the coffee table.

Meanwhile, at the far end of the room just beyond the light's reach, Jack was staring out the large floor to ceiling windows at the gorgeous view of the city lights at night, deep in thought. Ianto removed his waistcoat and tie, taking care in folding them and placing them neatly over the back of an armchair. Ianto unfastened his cuffs and did up his sleeves as he stared at Jack with a little more than his usual amount of awe.

Moonlight was cascading through the window bathing Jack in an ethereal glow, further enhancing his already chiseled features. Ianto silently crossed the space between them and put his arms lovingly around Jack's waist, and nuzzled his neck. Ianto felt Jack relax into him and sigh heavily.

'I know that sigh' thought Ianto, though he could not see his face, he knew that Jack's eyes had now closed. It was the same contented sigh Ianto heard when he nestled close to Jack's neck in bed.

Ianto was shaken from his thoughts, as Jack's arm come to rest on top of his, Jack's fingers seeming to melt between his own. Jack tilted his head back to rest against Ianto's shoulder as he lovingly squeezed and stroked Ianto's hand with the side of his thumb. They stood there in complete silence for what felt like an eternity before Jack sort of whispered.

“Are you sure you want to hear it all? It was … really horrible.”

Ianto turned his head, pressing his lips to Jack's neck in a silent gesture of comfort, holding them there for a moment as he thought carefully before giving him an answer.

“I know how bad I am imagining that it was … so, yes I want to know, but only if you are ready to tell me, Jack.”, softly whispering in Jack's ear as Jack slowly nodded.

“God, Ianto, I was so scared … ” his whispered admission drifted off into the ether.

'Jack is never scared of anything.' Ianto felt the color drain from his face as his blood ran cold. 'Shit, this is gonna be worse than I thought.'