Epilogue

Jack leant against the railing watching the last of the human race board a shuttle, at the end of the universe.

They were waiting while the doctor charged up some gadget but his mind wasn't on the task, or on the amazing sight before him, it was back in Cardiff.

Standing in the lift he shifted his weight anxiously from foot to foot waiting for the lift to reach the top level, since the tourist office was his fastest way to the Plass, as the
TARDIS was parked on his invisible lift.

He didn't have time to say goodbye, he didn't even know how long they'd be and he couldn't miss the Doctor. Not this time. Not now.

If he was going to put everything he had into his relationship with Ianto, like he wanted to, he needed his answers. He needed to be free of that burden.

He couldn't leave without saying goodbye, but he couldn't wait either.

Closing his eyes he focused on Ianto putting all of his effort into sending a message through their new bond, praying it'd be strong enough.

I'm Sorry. I'm going with the Doctor. I Have to. Wait for me, I'm coming home. I'll be back for you!

With a sigh of relief he felt Ianto receive the message and took off out of the lift before the door had even finished opening.

"Jack are you ok?"

Jack jumped slightly at Martha's gentle voice beside him

"Sure, why?" Jack asked turning to face her

"You seem awfully quiet; it's like your somewhere else. I know I haven't known you very long but it seems a bit of an odd thing for you." Martha replied leaning on the rail next to him

Jack chuckled, he liked Martha and she seemed to be a good Companion for the Doctor but he wasn't sure her crush on the Time Lord was going to do her any good. It never did any of them any good in the end.

"I was just thinking about home. I left in a hurry didn't have a chance to say goodbye properly, just kind of left while no one was looking." Jack sighed

"Did you leave a note?" Martha asked, trying not to think about the fact that she had done the exact same thing to her family when she'd first left with the Doctor.

"I did but I don't know if he got it." Jack replied with a shrug

"Did you leave it where he was going to find it or in a text message or something?" Martha asked

"Message." Jack replied with a small smirk

"But he hasn't replied?"

"No I didn't get a reply only… he was confused and worried… oh god." Jack whispered the last part to himself, he'd felt Ianto's emotional reaction but in his rush he hadn't thought much of it at the time.

Ianto hadn't understood the message, whether that was because it didn't get through properly or what Jack wasn't sure.

Not bothering to explain to Martha Jack took off down the hallway, he needed to get to the TARDIS, he could hear the clop of Martha's boots running after him but he paid no attention just kept running.

He slipped past the Doctor and the Professor without being seen and into the TARDIS Martha right behind him.

"What is it?" Martha asked then froze as Jack began to tinker with the controls on the TARDIS. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm sending a message home. But to do that I need the right frequency, the right co-ordinates and the right time code. Plus a little bit of a power boost. I can get the first three from the TARDIS, she'll be able to work it out for me. Then I just need a little bit of power from her so I can boost the message." Jack said working at the consol while punching data into his wriststrap as he got what he needed.

"Will the Doctor be happy about this?" Martha asked watching what he was doing with interest.

"Probably not, but I'm not going to tell him," Jack grinned

"My lips are sealed. I'll go make sure he doesn't come in," Martha said squeezing Jack's arm gently before heading out of the TARDIS.

-----------------------------------------

The Hub hummed quietly in the night, it had been one month since the Captain had been within these walls, but things still chugged along quietly.

Gwen lay at home wrapped in Rhys arms as they both began to drift off the sleep for the night.

Toshiko sat by her fireplace, hair wrapped in a towel from her recent shower as she curled up on the sofa with her book.

Owen moved to the music of the club, arm curled around the waist of a pretty redhead, one whose name he wouldn't even remember in the morning as he snuck out of her apartment.

Deep in the depths of the hubs where only a few people knew existed; you could hear the sounds of fighting and laser's buzzing.

"Damn it Ianto! She's not going to break for god's sake, hit her!" Dexter called, watching his mate and protégée sparring in the middle of the training room.

The training room Jack had created was amazing and once Dexter and Arabella had gotten over the shock of what Ianto had told them of Abaddon and Jack's disappearance, they couldn't help admire all the work he'd done.

For the past month Ianto trained by himself during the week when he wasn't busy at work. Then on the weekend, normally Sunday night, Arabella and Dexter would come down and they'd train together.

Dexter teaching him martial arts and Arabella teaching him more psychic work.

Currently Dexter was standing to the side while Arabella and Ianto spared, he would throw out instructions and pointers to the two as they went and to make it more interesting he had a couple of droids hovering nearby ready to fire at them on his command.

"I'm bloody trying!" Ianto growled back blocking as series of attacks as Arabella went on the offensive.

A shrill beeping filled the air and Ianto paused as he recognised the sound… unfortunately Arabella was mid bunch and he didn't block.

The blow connected with his jaw sending him back onto his ass and Arabella let out a surprised squeak before dropping to her knees next to him to see if he was ok.

Dexter rubbed his hand over his face in frustration before picking up Ianto's still beeping PDA and walking over to the pair.

"What is it?" Arabella asked as Ianto took the PDA from Dexter, his other hand rubbing his throbbing jaw.

"Ummm, it's a message but…"

"Well read it." Dexter sighed

"It's video," Ianto said in confusion as he typed in his password to access the video file.

Suddenly the tiny screen was filled with an image of none other, than Captain Jack Harkness.

"Hopefully this is working right. I've sent this message to reach you a few hours after I left, thinking the team would have gone home and you can see it in private. Hopefully it reaches you when it's supposed to." Jack explained

"Sure it's only a month late, but at least he tried." Arabella whispered

"Do you want us to leave?" Dexter asked

"No you can stay," Ianto replied, eyes not leaving the screen.

Dexter moved to stand behind Ianto and Arabella shuffled so she was snuggled into his side, they all watched the screen as Jack continued.

"As much as I want to I can't talk for long, the Doctor will roast my ass if he catches me using the TARDIS for this. But I realised that the message I tried to send you through our bond might not have made it through properly and I couldn't' leave it like that." A noise distracted Jack briefly for a moment but then return his focus to the message.

"I'm sorry I left like I did, but he was here and I couldn't miss him again. But Ianto above all else, I need you to know, I'm coming back to you! I'll be back as soon as I can, as close to the time I left as the doctor can get me… hey I might be right there beside you listening to my own message as we speak. But if I not, explain to Ari and Dex for me and look after the team while I'm gone. I don't expect you to tell the team you've heard from me but it's entirely up to you." Jack sighed now as if he didn't want to go but knew that he really had to.

"I love you Yan. Please wait for me, I'll be back, hopefully before you know it. Take Care." Jack finished giving once last smile, the one he saved for those he loved and the message finished.

The three friends stayed where they were not saying anything as Ianto restarted the message. Just enjoying each other's company and feeling safe in the knowledge that the missing part in their odd little family group would return to them.

FIN

The Sequel "Year of Blood" Can be found by going to my Profile / Authors page – Enjoy.