"Can't hurt. First aid kits always come in handy."

He hesitates a long moment, rubbing the cream absently into a pale patch that wraps around his hip and vanishes under his sweatpants. Then John takes a deep breath and turns toward Ianto, eyes drifting somewhere around his shoulder instead of his face.

"Listen. You..."

Where is he even going with this, John has no idea. He presses his lips together, tries desperately to regroup.

"You know I didn't exactly know the Natha would... come back."

Come back and fish him off the surface, shove him in a tube and piece him back together.