Chapter Nineteen: The End of Everything is The Beginning of Nothing

The went into battle a team; Jack and Nesta leading Ianto, Gwen, and Owen and for the first time since Toshiko’s demise they felt like a team. They faced an impossible enemy, one that could hide themselves amongst the stars if needs be, ones who could erase their entire existence and still feel good about themselves. They learnt more about each other and their own selves as they executed their risky plan which took eleven hours to complete. Finally when it was all over they left with two wounded agents and a dead leader to report back that Jack Harkness was dead. But they themselves had not come out unscratched.

Jack had died, twice, and been miraculously resurrected each time. Owen had been shot and lost conscious from blood loss although a piece of alien tech that Jack had scrounged off their foes had healed him enough to patch up Gwen’s leg and Ianto’s arm and side. Nesta was the real casualty though… she didn’t make it.

Jack offered to go with him to inform Nesta’s husband of her death, but Ianto had shook his head and took a deep breath, trying in a futile attempt to steady his hands. In the end his own shock and sorrow prevented him from driving; so he had asked Owen to drive him down there. He hadn’t wanted Jack to see him like that because he realised now that no matter his past; the child abuse, the prostituting himself, the tests and trials of Torchwood One, losing Lisa and finding Jack only to have the mood swings and the closeted life… even with all that Ianto now finally believed that Jack loved him, and he loved him back. It was more than enough for Ianto that Jack would be there for him to come home to.

Gwen became a good friend. Not as close as Toshiko but he found that they shared a sense of humour and both had big hearts. He was also comforted by the knowledge that she was completely in love with Rhys who she intended on marrying as soon as he proposed. In fact she had let him into a secret that she was prepared to propose to him if he hadn’t by this time next year. She was not a very patient woman.

Ianto on the other hand had as much patience as Jack – and since Jack was going to live forever his patience was almost infinite. Now they were living together openly, they dined at fabulous restaurants and seedy clubs and intimate cafés never fearing being caught. On the weekends that they were not tied up with Torchwood business Ianto went to his stepfather’s house and picked up Heather and took her to the park and all around Cardiff and Wales seeing all the sights and telling her all about how much she was loved by her mummy even though her mummy had left to go to Heaven, and by her daddy, and my her big brother Ianto and by Jack. By the time Heather was six she was sure she was going to marry either Chad Michael Murray or Jack. It was that year that her dad died – shot in the line of duty. The authorities had informed Heather’s aunt on her father’s side of her brother’s death but the woman already had five children and was in the middle of a messy divorce so after much discussion, Ianto asked to take Heather in. One year later Jack and Ianto married – well, they became Civil Partners – and the year after that they took a trip to Italy for a week to celebrate, it was both a first anniversary present for Jack and Ianto and a gift for eight year old Heather who wanted to become an artist and was desperate to become more cultured so Chad Michael Murray would be impressed when he finally realised that he was deeply in love with her, now that Jack was off the market.

Owen didn’t do as well as the others though. He had never fully recovered from Toshiko’s death and although he occasionally dated and participated in Heather’s life as ‘Uncle Owen’, he never found that thing that made life worth living. He always said that he didn’t want to end up life Suzie who had also never found ‘it’. She had been desperate to live because she couldn’t face the alternative – but she hadn’t been desperate to stay alive for a reason. Owen said he too would rather die than live without love or purpose. Secretly Ianto always thought that Owen held on to the hope that when he died he would be reunited with Toshiko again. Of course he would never admit these things especially not when sober.

Owen finally got his wish five years later. An alien who ate fire had set alight a hospital and Owen had been rescuing children when he had fallen victim to smoke inhalation. Ianto didn’t care how childish the thought was because it was some what a comfort to think of Owen as being reunited with Toshiko in death. Heather agreed although neither of them ever voiced this opinion to Jack who took Owen’s death the hardest because he worried that Owen had let himself die rather than go on living and therefore it was Jack’s own fault. Nonsense, of course, but in this even Ianto could not persuade his husband otherwise.

Ianto himself lived longer than he had originally planned on. Transfer – Jack always said. His kiss you heal and since he spent 80% of his awake time kissing Ianto and having sex with him then the energy had transferred into Ianto, keeping his younger and healthy and expanding his life span by another three hundred years. But not even Jack could stop death by the time it came. Heather’s great-grandson attended the funeral as with his wife; Gwen’s great-granddaughter. Jack cried openly as Ianto’s body was entombed at Torchwood HQ and again as the ceremony came to an end. Soon after he left to travel with the Doctor and never returned to that period of time, always remembering Ianto even when he died over a millennia later with Martha at his side.

The end of everything may be the beginning of nothing, but what is nothing but potential; the potential for anything and everything.

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Thanks everyone for reading! Thank you for your comments and for your support. THIS IS THE END – I thought it was going to last another chapter but I wrote and this is what came out. I hope it is to your liking. Thank again, everyone, and remember to comment and say goodbye to From the Streets of Cardiff. I'm a little bit sad to see it end.

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