emeraldsnakes

Part One





He was empty. Broken. Beat. Lost. Alone.

He wasn’t actually alone but he felt it. His body was heavy and his mind was blank. Too blank. There wasn’t the snarky, devious, loving voice of the crazy powerful archangel added to his thoughts. There wasn’t the sense of closeness they’d shared. One would think that he would be relieved to not have someone wearing his suit but he wasn’t. He didn’t feel safe anymore. He wasn’t happy.

He was miserable.

Gabriel had been called back to heaven. God had asked him to, not demanded and Gabriel had gone. Castiel too because the man was their Father and despite all he’d done, despite the pain he’d put them through and the faith he’d caused them to lose, they still loved him. They still did as he asked. Heaven had to be changed, brought back into God’s order and made right again. Paradise was in mournful chaos The Apocalypse had seen the death of many angels and five of the seven archangels. Lucifer had done an excellent job in devastating the Heavenly Host and demoralizing them and not even God’s return had been able to change everything.

Gabriel had only survived by being tricky. Michael survived because he wasn’t even involved. Castiel survived because of Dean.

Sam and Dean were long gone. Ianto wasn’t sure how long it had been since Gabriel had left, wasn’t sure if that was exactly when Sam had left too. All he remembered was waking up and knowing there was no one except him and poor Jimmy, still passed out on the other bed. Ianto would be worried - he was worried - but he was two damn tired to do anything. His body just felt so heavy and so worn out. Gabriel had told him being an archangel’s vessel would be taxing but he never realized how much so.

There was a moan from the other bed. Jimmy was finally waking up. Maybe it hadn’t actually been that long, Ianto couldn’t tell but it sure felt like it. He was glad Jimmy was alive. He didn’t want to be recovering in the same room as a rotting corpse.

“Dean?”

“Sorry,” Ianto replied. “It’s just me.”

He turned his head to look at the other vessel, lying on the bed in pretty much the same position as him, hair wild on the pillow, face pale. Ianto wanted to get up and help him. An archangel may have been riding him, but a falling angel had been riding Jimmy and that made it a harder toll on his body.

“They’re gone,” Jimmy said softly, sadly.

“Yeah,” Ianto replied needlessly.

The Winchesters might have left but they hadn’t left the room unprotected. The doors and windows were salted, there was a knife on the bedside table and a canister of holy water.

They’d also left two broken hearted vessels.

It was a few days before Ianto felt strong enough to move. He found a wad of cash on the dresser, ordered them some light take out and helped Jimmy when he needed it. It was painful and exhausting and he felt like he’d taken ten steps back in his recovery. Jimmy was no better but at least he was looking healthier.

Each day though he felt just a little bit stronger. He was able to eat more, help Jimmy more and even support them both around the room. Jimmy was getting better too, but it was slow going.

“Thank you,” Jimmy said softly once after he’d been settled back into his bed.

Ianto could tell it was for more than just this specific time.

“You don’t need to thank me Jimmy,” Ianto told him, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“You could have left too,” Jimmy told him looking away. “You didn’t have to stay but you did. We barely know each other Ianto.”

“Then I guess we’ll just have to fix that,” Ianto told him firmly.

Jimmy looked at him surprised and it made Ianto want to hug him. Sam and Dean had really shaken their confidence in one another by leaving and Ianto wasn’t going to let Jimmy think he’d do the same. Jimmy was all he had left.

The nightmares came soon after. Ianto dreamed he was still on fire, Lucifer laughing in the background. He dreamed of Gabriel abandoning him, flying away from having to fight his brother for a third time because he was just sick and tired of fighting. He dreamed of being tortured, torn apart piece by piece for the rest of eternity.

They felt so real and he cried. He cried because he knew they weren't real, that none of that had happened and never would. But it could have, he knew how close any one of those possibilities had come to pass.

Some days he'd wake up wondering of what he was living was just a dream too.

Other days he woke to Jimmy tossing and turning, whimpering or on the rare occasion crying. Ianto never asked. He crossed the small space between their beds, crawled in beside him and held him. They'd stay that way until they both felt calm and composed enough to face the day. They never spoke of it, they both needed it and there was nowhere else to go.

Eventually Ianto went out to the office to see how much longer the room had been paid for.

"You don't know?" The man behind the counter gave Ianto a more comprehensive look over. "Man you look like shit."

"Thank you," Ianto deadpanned. "Can I get that information now?"

It took the man about five minutes to find the papers. Apparently this was the town's very off season. Was he even in a town? Ianto had no idea.

"Here we go. Looks like you've still got another seven days paid off."

Ianto went back to the room, wondering why he'd never bothered to turn on the TV or find a newspaper. He should care, shouldn't he? How far away from Detroit were they? How was the disaster at Detroit being handled?

He couldn't remember much about what happened after Gabriel had dive bombed them into Lake Erie. He just knew that they had won, that Cas found God and that God had opened up Hell and sent the Demons back.

"Hey, look what I found," Jimmy said when he entered, holding up multiple IDs and credit cards.

Jimmy was sitting up in his bed, the bedside table opened up. Ianto could see the hints of a box and he wondered why the hell he hadn't looked to see what else Sam and Dean had left them besides what had been clearly visible.

"How much cash do we have left?"

Jimmy shrugged, "maybe $400. I'm surprised they left us any money at all."

Ianto snorted. He figured that was Sam's doing. He threw the room key on the desk and picked up the remote. He didn't turn the TV on, just sat on his bed and stared at the remote as if it would give him all the answer without having the turn the TV on.

"You don't have to, you know," Jimmy's voice gave nothing away but Ianto could guess that he wasn't looking forward to seeing any News.

Ianto shrugged, "I want to, I think. I don't know."

Jimmy hunkered down, grabbed one of the extra pillows and hugged it. "Do it then."

Ianto hesitated, thumb hovering over the on button. Once he did this, there'd be no going back, no forgetting what he'd see. He pressed down before he could talk himself out of it and flipped to CNN.

"...but the biggest question still remains. What happened? Authorities are still refusing to say anything on the matter and survivors themselves are unclear about exactly what went on."


He flew over the west end of the city, his power rumbling around him. He didn't have to hide himself here, everyone was out in full force. The Graces of his brothers and sisters were pulsing, some in defence, some in offence and some exploding in death. It was so similar to when Lucifer first Fell.

Everyone was screaming. Angels and Demons but mostly Humans. They cried, they ran, they hid but mostly they died. There was nothing he could do about that, no way he could help despite how everything in him screamed at him to. Some of these people were going to die even if he ended up helping them. They would only truly be saved if this battle ended the way they wanted it to.

"Resources are still pouring in for relief efforts, but economists are already saying that Detroit will never fully recover." The newscaster continued to speak but Ianto didn't hear his words.

He recognized the area of Detroit being shown in the current video. The former apartment building, 20 stories high, had been levelled and bodies were still being discovered. He began to tremble. He'd done that. It had been the first Angel to die, Fallen though he might have been. Ezriel had aimed for Dean and he'd thrown the asshole around. The Fallen had dared to challenge him, thought that just because he fought for the humans he was weak and boy, did he show Ezriel how wrong he'd been.


He killed those people. He'd been so focused on destroying Ezriel that he'd forgotten the humans around him. Oh God, he'd killed children. He'd done some of the Demon's work for them.

It didn't matter that Gabriel had been doing all the fighting. He'd stopped thinking of Gabriel's actions as having nothing to do with him when he started falling for Sam. Ianto was just as responsible for whatever Gabriel did as Gabriel was himself and vice versa.

How many other buildings had he destroyed had people still inside? Maybe it had been every single one. Maybe that's why Lucifer had been laughing at him the first time.

A full, heavy weight knocked him over and landed on top of him, hands snatched the remote and everything fell silent.

Ianto blinked a couple of times. His heart was racing, his breathing coming in gasps and he could feel his body shake. As everything began to calm down and even out he realized he'd been having a panic attack and that he'd have to do something concerning the cause so that it didn't happen again.

The feel of Jimmy's weight on him and the comforting sensation of his hand running up and down Ianto's arm was really nice.

Ianto mentally shook his head and refused to even go there.

"Thank you."

Jimmy nodded into his shoulder and shifted after a while so that he was lying behind him but he didn't leave. They managed to get the TV turned back on, but Jimmy immediately switched it to Spike, one of the few channels he knew never had any news or special reports. He was also able to stand most of their shows. It was either that or SyFy but he didn't think he could handle aliens or advanced science or whatever else they showed yet. He wasn't sure Ianto could yet either.

. . . . . .

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I wanna fucking get outta here."

Ianto laughed. He didn't think Jimmy actually swore but it was nice, different and that's what he wanted right now. "That's good, because I think we should probably head out tomorrow anyways. Our "rent's" up and I feel really anxious to go."

Jimmy was better. He could walk around and do most anything on his own now. The only indication that he was still recovering was how easy things seemed to tire him out. He got up from where he sat, reading a local newspaper that said surprisingly little about Detroit and sprawled out on Ianto's bed beside him.

"Where do you want to go?"

Ianto shrugged, "Anywhere. I don't care. You know this country better than I do."

"Well," Jimmy though about that. There were three hours away from Detroit and they could only go further. He frowned, "How are we getting out of this town."

Ianto's eyes widened and he hid his face when he answered, "I was hoping you wouldn't ask and just go with it."

Jimmy blinked, "You stole a car?"

He saw the blush creeping up Ianto's neck. "Um…yes? It was in an impound lot."

"You still stole it. And how did you know how to hotwire it? I'm assuming that's what you did?"

Ianto nodded, "I prefer the term liberated."

Jimmy laughed, "I'll remember that for when you get us arrested."

Ianto looked up at him, "The fake IDs will probably get us arrested sooner. Eventually we'll have to get rid of them."

"And the car," Jimmy insisted.

"No one will miss it," Ianto argued. "It's a perfectly good vehicle too, a 2001 Toyota Camry. Not a lot of mileage and it appears to be in pretty good shape."

Jimmy scowled. "I'll think about it. No promises."

. . . . . .

They drove for a couple of days before ending up in a small city in California. They remained there for three weeks before leaving. They hopped around, city to city, town to town, never staying longer than a month and sometimes only staying a few days. Jimmy drove most of the time. Ianto found it difficult to remember that driving was different in America, especially when he was tired.

When they stayed in hotels, or rented a small apartment they started off by getting two beds. But almost every night one of them ended up moving. Their sleeps were more peaceful that way so they eventually stopped bothering.

It never went any further than sleeping though many nights Jimmy would watch Ianto. The younger man was beautiful, flat planes, light muscle ridges and an ass Jimmy felt compelled to explore with his hands and his mouth. He never acted on his urges though. It felt sort of wrong to want someone so soon after Dean had left and he didn't want to screw up the easy way he and Ianto were able to coexist.

. . . . . .

Ianto came back from a library one day, handed him a folded pieces of paper then hid himself in the bathroom. Jimmy stared at the closed door bewildered. Ianto usually greeted him at least.

He looked down at the paper, folded five times but crinkled as if Ianto had made it into a ball and intended to throw it out; multiple times. Jimmy slowly opened it, wondering what could possibly have Ianto so out of sorts and frowned.

It was an address in Peoria and suddenly it made sense. Amelia's brother lived there, she'd probably moved in with him for a while before getting her own place. At least she'd been safe.

"Ianto!"

The bathroom door opened slowly and Ianto came out with a blank face. Jimmy didn't like not being able to read him.

He held up the address, "Why?"

Ianto shrugged, "They're your family. I don't want to be the one keeping you from them."

Jimmy sighed, "You're not. I don't want to go back, not yet anyways."

When they left that particular motel for good, Jimmy threw the address in the trash. He found another copy in his gab when they chose their next stop. Instead of making a big deal about it he slipped it into his wallet quietly.

. . . . . .

Jimmy woke with a gasp, heart pounding, nightmare fading away. He hadn't had a dream like that in years but he knew exactly what triggered it. He rolled himself over and draped himself over Ianto.

"Jim?" Ianto's voice was thick with sleep and accent heavy.

"Sorry," Jimmy replied softly. "Go back to sleep."

"Mmph," Ianto's arms wormed their way around him, "'sokay. Are you alright?"

"Just a nightmare."

Ianto's arms tightened, "I understand."

Jimmy buried his face in Ianto's neck. Ianto didn't really understand this time. It wasn't the Apocalypse related, hell it wasn't even Dean related. It was just one of the many things he didn't like to think about, let along talk of.

"I used to have an older brother," Jimmy found himself saying despite the lump in his throat and ach in his chest. "Connor was awesome, he was my idol. I'd follow him, imitate him, I'd try to be him and he was never bothered by it."

"What happened?" Ianto's voice was soft, curious but respectful. If Jimmy decided he didn't want to say anything more he wouldn't push. But Jimmy wanted to talk. He wanted Ianto to know about Connor, to know about the kind of person he was because of him. He'd never wanted to talk about him before.

"Connor was four years older than I was, so he was in his final year at University when I was just starting. I knew something had been bothering him, he'd been kinda quite during the summer but I didn't think that whatever it was was so bad that…that he…"

Jimmy couldn't say it. After so many fucking years he still couldn't bring himself to say that that's what Connor had done. He didn't know why, he'd said it in the context of other people but he could never get it out when it came to Connor.

"It's okay," Ianto told him soothingly. "I think I know what you're trying to say."

"It's not okay," Jimmy's breath hitched and his eyes welled up. "He left me and I don't know why. I would have helped him, I would have done anything for him. Why did he do it Ianto?"

He curled around Ianto tighter. He doesn't think he's cried like this since it happened, not over Connor, not over his parents when they died in a fifteen care pile up six years ago.

Ianto whispered Welsh in his ear and ran a hand through his hair. It continued even after Jimmy's tears had dried and Jimmy was grateful. He didn't want to speak anymore.

"I'm sorry you had to be reminded today."

They'd been shopping downtown, walking between stores when they head a woman scream. Ianto reacted immediately and Jimmy followed out of habit. They woman was young, around twenty five with spiky blond hair and she'd come home to find her boyfriend hanging by a noose. With some help Ianto cut him down and checked for a pulse but he was already gone.

"I have an older sister, Rhiannon," Ianto told him. "She's five years older than I am so we weren't the closest but we still get along pretty well. She'd married to a bloke named Johnny. Kinda average but he'd not a bad guy and he's so very Welsh. They have two kids, David who's seven and Mica who's five. I never saw them often, couple of times a year when I could get some time away from Torchwood. I should probably call her tomorrow."

Jimmy snorted, "Probably."

"Mmhmm. I don't have any other family, really. Tad was an only child and I haven't talked to my mum since I joined Torchwood. She didn’t like that I couldn't tell her about my job and I got really angry when she started comparing me to Tad. It still makes me angry, actually."

"I’m sorry."

Ianto laughed, "Don't be. I did this. Maybe I'll get past it, maybe I won't but honestly it's not that big a deal. I was never close to her."

"I couldn't stand to be near my parents longer than a couple of days after Connor died. They appeared to be so unaffected and I just couldn't take it. University was a very good place to lose myself. After Connor died I lost faith. I drank, I smoked and I partied hard. I slept around too, woman first. Then one night some guy hit on me and I was like 'what the hell, why not.' I think it helped that he was really hot and I was more than a little drunk."

"But you regained your faith."

Jimmy nodded, "After University I met Amelia and I knew she wasn't going to give me the time of day if I didn't straighten myself out."

"Do you regret it?"

Jimmy shook his head, "Not most days, but sometimes. Sometimes I think about how most of the angels turn out, about how God was just not up there and I wonder why I'd been putting my faith in that. I'd wonder why I bothered to change and then I remembered that I probably wouldn’t be here if I didn't."

"I’m glad you're here," Ianto whispered.

Jimmy looked at him, at the ridge of his nose, the curve of his lips and the allure of his eyes, "So am I."

. . . . . .

Two and a half months after the End, countless towns and cities later, they went to Peoria. Ianto tried not to show how much he dreaded their arrival. He'd given Jimmy the address; he had no say over whether or not he left and went back to his family.

He regretted it now. He didn't want to lose Jimmy, he'd be alone and then what would he do? Torchwood was always an option, but Gabriel had changed him. He couldn't go back to catching aliens and worrying about what could come at them from out there when Earth had just as many problems. He couldn't Hunt though either. He'd seen the way it affected a person. He didn't want to be like that.

There was no way he was talking to Jimmy about it. He didn't want to affect the choice Jimmy made because if he knew anything about the older man, it was that, when left alone he made the decision that was best for himself. He had a feeling that, oftentimes Amelia hadn't let him do that.

They arrived in Peoria as it was getting dark. They booked a hotel room and then went out for supper. It was tense and Ianto felt as if their entire history together had been forgotten.

When they were finished Jimmy drove them to Amelia's. He parked across the road but remained in the driver's seat.

"You don't have to do this today." Ianto said hesitantly.

"I have to."

Ianto nodded and so he waited. Jimmy stared out the window for a while before he exited. He crossed the road, but he stayed at the sidewalk. Ianto wondered what he was thinking, feared it. Jimmy would go in, maybe not for Amelia but definitely for his daughter. Nothing had changed the way he felt about her and as much as it might kill Ianto, he wouldn't begrudge Jimmy the need to be with her.

He tried not to think about it, about what he would do. He wants to beg Jimmy not to leave. He thought they would stay together. That's what he'd intended. They'd woken up in that motel and all he'd thought about was not being like Sam and Dean and that, if one day they ever parted ways, they would do it when they both thought it should happen.

This was not what Ianto ever thought would happen.

He jumped when the door opened and Jimmy slipped in. He started the car and they went back to the hotel. Ianto didn't want to ask what was going on. He was almost afraid to know.

He followed Jimmy into their room but as soon as the door had closed Jimmy rounded on him and pushed him up against the door, bodies flushed together.

"You can ask you know," Jimmy growled.

Ianto took a deep breath but he couldn't think straight. Jimmy smelt so good, and he'd been dreaming about this, dreaming about something finally happening.

"I didn't want to make you uncomfortable," Ianto told him, breath coming quicker, heart bounding.

"Well fuck Ianto. I'm not going back. I can't even fathom doing so."

Ianto nodded. Jimmy was so close. All he had to do was lean down a little. Jimmy took the initiative. He grabbed Ianto and pulled him into a kiss and all Ianto could think about was how long he'd been waiting for this.

Jimmy was the one to pull away, resting his forehead on Ianto's eyes closed, arms circling around him. "Fuck, I need you Ianto. In you, in me, I don't fucking care, I just…I need this."

That was all Ianto needed to hear. He pushed away from the door, aimed for one of the beds and led Jimmy. He worked his hands up the front of Jimmy's shirt and swallowed the gasp he received when he brushed his nipples.

They stumbled and fell onto the bed. Ianto stared down at Jimmy, disheleved and so beautiful. He wanted this, had wanted this for months and now he was going to get it. He could almost swear this was a dream if it wasn't for the look Jimmy was giving him.

"Ianto," Jimmy growled. "Stop thinking and fuck me."

Ianto laughed and proceeded to do just that.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Ianto parked outside the shelter and looked at Jimmy. "Are we sure about this?"

Detroit was a mess and would probably be for another ten years while they cleared out the rubble and rebuilt what they could. They had both been feeling compelled to the city again for some time but had been avoiding it. They'd given up when it was pretty clear that the feeling wasn't going away, packed and headed north.

"No," Jimmy replied. "But this is definitely the place we're supposed to be."

They'd been navigating the city all morning, looking for what felt right and they didn't have to look hard at this place to know it was the right one. This place had a great big Enochian Sigil on it.

"That's one way to get our attention." Ianto commented as he got out and closed the door. "Do you think it's maybe a little too obvious?"

Jimmy shrugged, "When it comes to Angel related things, I find that they're very obvious."

Ianto snorted, "There was nothing obvious about Gabriel except his sweets."

The shelter was larger on the inside then it appeared and there were surprisingly less people then they expected to see. Most of the inhabitants seemed to be too young, too old or too sick to be out and doing whatever it was they could.

"Can I help you?" a woman in her late fifties, reminding Ianto just a little of his mum, came up to them. She was a short lady, 5'3 maybe and Ianto had the uneasy feeling of her being able to totally kick his ass.

"Actually," Jimmy said, "We were hoping we could help you. Volunteer for a while."

She nodded stiffly, "Follow."

She headed for the back, and after a quick glance at one another Jimmy and Ianto followed.

"Do you live in the city?"

"No Ma'am," Ianto replied.

She glared back at them, "I aint never been in the Military boys, call me Leanne."

She led them into a backroom, an office that looked about the size of a closet. "Are you staying somewhere?"

"Not yet."

She tutted disapprovingly, shuffling through her papers. It was bizarre that, in such a place paperwork was still required. "The closest motel is outside the city but I can't guarantee it has any rooms available. Most of the hotels in the city were destroyed and the rest are being used as shelters."

She paused, looked up at them and he could see the apology in her eyes. "We don't have two beds to spare."

"We only need one." Jimmy told her and crossed his arms, waiting for whatever she had to say about that.

She only raised an eyebrow, expecting them to elaborate. Jimmy wasn't going to.

Ianto sighed, "We were here when it happened. Sleeping together helps keep the nightmares away, and before you ask, we don't do public displays of affection."

Leanne nodded, "You'll still get some grief over it."

"That's nothing new."

"Okay then, thank you. Would you be willing to add your car to the motor pool? We ferry people to and from work, pick up supplies and go where ever we need to that we can't walk to."

Ianto blushed when Jimmy turned to glare at him. "You can explain this one."

"Excuse me?" Leanne asked confused.

"The car. To get out of the city, since we didn't own one before, I hotwired it out of an impound lot."

Leanne surprised them by being quite happy with that news. "Excellent. We've got an area out back of cars without keys but haven't found anyone to make them work. Are you a mechanic?"

"He was just a juvenile delinquent," Jimmy muttered.

Leanne smiled then started to show them around. She introduced them to other workers and residents and then put them to work.

. . . . . .

Ianto hotwired the lot of twenty-odd cars the shelter had, but it took him almost a full day. Each vehicle was a little different, some were harder to get at the wiring and some he had to break into. He also got called away to help with other tasks.

He was finishing up on a Range Rover when he became aware of someone watching. He sat up and looked around just in time to see a small head duck back into the shelter. He frowned. There weren't many children in this particular shelter. They and their families had been herded into the larger ones where, during the work hours they would be looked after by teachers and parents who didn't have anywhere else to work.

Ianto shrugged the intrusion off. The kid was probably just curious about what he was doing. He manoeuvred back into the unnatural position required and went back to work.

"Were you some kind of gymnast, or are you just naturally that flexible?" Jimmy's voice startled him. He'd heard his lover come up but he hadn't expected Jimmy to learn over and speak.

"Shit!" he rubbed his forehead where he'd hit it.

"Oh, sorry," Jimmy sounded more amused than sorry. "But seriously, this is kind of…"

He trailed off and Ianto rolled his eyes, "It's kind of painful, that's what it is."

He shifted and eased himself up again. "We're not doing anything here."

"It's not that public," Jimmy tried.

Ianto glared at him, "But it's still public so you can't stop thinking whatever it is you're thinking."

"You're not fun," Jimmy mock pouted.

"Not what you said two nights ago."

. . . . . .

"Who's the kid?" Jimmy asked Leanne.

The kid in question was normally alone, shying away from most people and never talked. He was small, skinny with sandy blond hair and sad blue eyes. He never smiled and it looked like he had no parents.

"William. He was one of the first brought here," Leanne answered softly. "I was told he'd been found by his parents, both of whom had been killed by something."

"Something?" Jimmy inquired intrigued.

Leanne sighed, debating over something. "Mr. Novak, I saw things that day that I though couldn't possibly be real."

"Men and woman with black eyes, other with wings and invisible dogs?" Jimmy guessed. At her surprised look he added, "I was here too."

She sighed, "William's parents, among many others to have died in that area appeared to have had their eyes burned out. We don't know why he survived and he won’t talk about what he saw. He likes you and your partner."

"He hasn't said anything to us," Jimmy told her defensively.

"No, but he smiles at you. He doesn’t shy away from you either and he watches you but not with distrust like he watches the rest of us. I don’t understand it."

Kid could look at Angels so Jimmy wondered if maybe he knew that he and Ianto were Vessels. Maybe he'd seen them, though Jimmy didn't recognize him and he'd only been in Detroit for a short time. Ianto hadn't said anything either.

That also brought up the question of William's parents. They'd both died, which meant that one or both of them weren't his biological parents. He wondered what the truth was.

"You know something." Leanne accused.

Jimmy schooled his features. Leanne was a good woman but he wasn't getting into angelology and demonology with her if she hadn't already put the pieces together before now.

"I know a lot of somethings but if you are referring to what I think you are referring to, then you are wrong." Jimmy hoped that was the end of it, but he had a feeling it might not be.

. . . . . .

"How long do you think we should stay?" Jimmy whispered into Ianto's ear during the second week they were there. It might have been just over three months since the last battle in linear time but to him it felt like yesterday. It always felt like yesterday. He wanted it to stop.

Under him, Ianto shrugged, "Till we can't do it anymore, I guess."

Jimmy didn't think it would be much longer. He was having frequent nightmares again and he knew that Ianto was being weighed down with guilt about how many people he displaced with his participation in the battle.

There was a shuffling to the right of them, different from Kaci, the woman who slept in the bed closest to them when she constantly turned over. It was more like soft footfalls inching slowly forward.

Jimmy and Ianto both craned their necks to see William, in plain pjs and holding a stuffed anima. Jimmy couldn't quite make out what it was

Ianto stuck his arm out of their blanket and waved, them motioned William closer but William took off.

"We should talk to him tomorrow," Jimmy suggested. Ever since Leanne told him about the boy they'd been talking it over. They wanted to see if they could help, maybe find him someone that he could trust.

Ianto nodded, "After the residents go to work. When it's slow."

It took them a while to find William the next day. He was hiding and though they know all his usual places he hadn't been hiding in them. Instead, when Ianto went to search his bag for his journal he noticed a child sized lump on their bed.

"Hello William."

William pushed the covers down a bit and smiled at him, "Hi."

Ianto and Jimmy learned that William had seen the true forms of at least five different Angels, some as they died and other as they exposed their own Grace to kill the Demons en mass. The Angles had even gone as far as to protect him, having sensed that he was a vessel it seemed.

They talked, or more, Ianto and Jimmy talked and William listened. They talked for an hour every day and although they never mentioned it, both were beginning to feel deeply for William.

"You should take him when you go," Leanne told them when they informed her that, after a month they just couldn't take it anymore.

Ianto shook his head, "We're not qualified to look after a child."

"I think you are," Leanne countered. "I think he's just what you need to heal and I don't think he'll let you leave without him."

Leanne had been right. William had packed what little he had and followed them around on the day they'd set to leave.

"William," Jimmy knelt down with a heavy heart and placed his hands on the child's shoulders. "We can't take you. You're safer here."

William shook his head, "The big drawing got erased yesterday. Please don't leave me."

His eyes filled with tears, and Jimmy had never been able to refuse a crying child. He didn't need to convince Ianto either.

In the car, as they headed away from Detroit for the last time, William asleep in the back seat they discussed where they would be going.

"You know, I don't even know why we're making such a big deal out of it," Ianto said frustrated. "I mean, we've got an entire country to choose from, it shouldn't be that hard to pick a place."

"Well then why won't you?" Jimmy countered, equally as frustrated.

"Why won't you?" Ianto snapped.

They glared at each other, when Jimmy wasn't looking at the road.

"Okay," Ianto took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Let's just say one place we're think and go from there."

"You go first," Jimmy said.

"Why me?" Ianto asked annoyed. "This is your country."

"Well why not?"

They glared at each other for a moment again then took a deep breath.

"Kansas." They both said at the same time.

They stared at each other in wonder.

"How did you know what I was going to say?" Ianto asked.

Jimmy shrugged, "I didn't. I've been thinking about Kansas for a few days now. Kind of like…"

"Like the Big Man Upstairs is pointing us in the right direction?" Ianto suggested.

"Yeah," Jimmy sighed. "Think that's why we went to Detroit again?"

"Maybe. I don't like it though. I want us to be free to make our own choices."

"I think we're just being guided Ianto. It led us to William, and it was our choices to follow that lead."

Ianto slouched in his seat, a soft smile on his face. "You're right." He grinned at Jimmy. "Kansas it is."

Part Three