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Description
CHAPTER ONE

Ianto Jones was running for his life. He didn’t know what from, but he did know that his life depended on it.
His dress shoes slid on the stone floor as he sprinted down a long corridor, sweat dampening his brow. His heart threatened to burst from him chest, and his lungs were on fire. All he knew was that he had to keep running,
He turned the corner, and skidded to a halt. Ahead, the pathway came to a jagged, abrupt end. The ground lay hundreds of feet below.
“No!” he shouted, turning back to look behind him.
His shadowy pursuer was just rounding the corner, walking at a leisurely pace.
Ianto glanced back at the ground, trying to decide if he could survive the fall if he leapt . Probably not, he thought, looking around of another solution,
Maybe he could disarm his stalker and then climb the ivy to the next floor. He wasn’t sure if the ivy would support his weight, or what was above him, but he knew that whatever it was, it had to be better than what was headed his way.
“Stay back!” he barked, swinging his fist threateningly.
The shadowy figure continued walking toward him.
“I said stay back!”
Ianto threw another punch, which connected with his assailant, or rather, went through the thing. Oh fuck, he thought.
Desperate, he grabbed at the ivy and hauled himself up, not caring that he was mucking up his suit.
Surprisingly, the ivy held his weight. Not stopping to worry anymore, he hauled himself up, using al his strength.
He pulled himself up onto another stone floor nearly identical to the one that the had just been on. He swung his legs up and lay for a second on the cold stone floor, panting like a dog.
A bone saw stabbed through the floor, inches from Ianto’s head.
With a manly scream, Ianto sprung to his feet and took off down the corridor. He went up a flight of stairs and through a door.
Ianto slammed the door behind himself, and barred it with a wooden beam. He turned around and surveyed that he was high up the roof.
Looking down over the edge, he saw that he was several stories up from the ground, definitely too high up to jump.
The door burst open with a rending shriek of metal.
“Oh, come on!” Ianto muttered, running his hand through his short hair in exasperation.
The thing started toward him, it’s shadow essence trailing behind it.
A gun suddenly materialized in Ianto’s hand, the cool steel at once comforting and menacing, too. Ianto was not overly familiar with guns.
Sliding the safety off, he aimed the handgun the approaching figure, grounding his feet.
“Fists can go through you,, but can bullets?” Ianto taunted, trying his damnedest to sound unafraid,
The creature didn’t halt its pursuit. It either didn’t understand what he was saying, or it just didn’t care.
No pressure, then, Ianto thought, sighing with resignation.
He pulled the trigger repeatedly, steeling himself against the recoil.
The bullets ripped through the creature, its blood spraying out. The bullets pushed it back, throwing it against the door.
Ianto kept firing until his hand began to grow sore.
Tentatively, he lowered the gun, cautiously looking at the slouched figure by the door. There were no signs of life it.
Ianto sighed with relief, and dropped his defenses,
In the blink of an eye, the creature was back on its feet and crossed the twelve feet to Ianto.
Cold hands clasped his throat, lifting him up off of his feet. Ianto’s eyes bugged out of his head, his lungs screaming for air.
“Please,” he croaked beseechingly.
Sunlight spilled onto the shadow figure, and it’s features changed to that of Captain Jack Harkness, Ianto’s boss and lover.
“Jack!?” Ianto exclaimed.
“Ianto.” Jack’s tone was ice cold, like his grip.
“Why?” Ianto could not keep the hurt out of his voice. How could Jack do this to him?
“I’m bored,” Jack replied.
He threw Ianto across the roof. Ianto landed on his back, the air whooshing out of his lungs. He lay there stunned, his head swimming.
Jack snatched him up once again and held him over the edge of the roof, his eyes gleaming maliciously.
“Why Jack?”
“It’s time.”
“But I loved you!” Ianto sobbed, tears pooling up in his eyes, blurring his vision.
“I never loved you,” Jack replied, angrily.
The pain in Ianto’s chest was more intense than anything he had ever felt, except watching Jack kill his girlfriend, Lisa.
“Nighty night, Eye Candy,” Captain John Hart said, materializing at Jack’s side,
Jack’s tight grip on Ianto’s neck loosened, and he fell.
Ianto fell in slow motion, watching as Jack and John kissed passionately, groping each other like a pair of hormonal teenagers.
The tears completely blurred Ianto’s vision as the ground grew closer and closer.

Ianto gasped and shot up in bed. A cold sweat dampened his skin, and his heart was beating a mile a minute.
“Ianto?” Jack murmured sleepily beside him.
Ianto glanced over at Jack, his eyes straining in the darkness of the bedroom.
“Jack,” he gasped, tears springing to his eyes.
Jack sat up and put a comforting hand on Ianto’s naked shoulder.
“Are you okay?” Jack asked, concern tinging his voice.
“Bad dream,” Ianto managed, fighting back the tears.
“Come here.”
Jack pulled Ianto close to him, lying Ianto’s head on his bare chest. Jack stroked Ianto’s damp hair lovingly.
Normally, Ianto would find comfort in Jack’s strong arms, but after the dream, all he could think of was Jack’s betrayal.
“Jack?” he whispered.
“Mmmm?” Jack murmured sleepily.
“You were in my dream.”
There was no response from Jack, so Ianto continued.
“You killed me,” Ianto confessed.
Jack’s deep, steady breathing was his response.
Ianto pulled away from Jack and pulled his clothes on. Glancing at his watch, he saw that it was 3:30 in the morning.
As Ianto tied his shoes, he glanced back longingly at Jack. It had been a dream, but the truth was, Ianto was very insecure about his relationship with Jack. He had never been with a man before Jack, only women, and Jack had been with, well, everyone. He couldn’t help but wonder if Jack shared his feelings, or if he was just a pleasant distraction until something better and more interesting came along.
With a heavy heart, Ianto turned and walked out of Jack’s room In the Torchwood Hub.

Gwen Cooper was her usual chipper self as she made her way up the Roald Dahl Plass to the Millennium Center.
She absolutely loved her job. She had loved being a Cardiff police officer, but working for Torchwood 3 and saving the world from alien threats fulfilled her so much more. There was never a dull moment working for Torchwood. Just recently, deadly viral outbreak had broken out in Cardiff, threatening to wipe out millions of people. Thankfully, Torchwood team had been there to once again save the day.
As Gwen made her way down the boardwalk to the tourist entrance to the Torchwood Hub, she potted Glynn, a fisherman smoking fag on his dinghy.
“Morning, Glynn,” Gwen called with a warm smile.
Glynn nodded at her, his eyes scanning the blue waters in the horizon.
Gwen nodded back and entered the tourist shack that Ianto ran as a front for the secret organization.
Surprisingly, Ianto was not at his usual spot behind the desk, cup of steaming coffee in one hand and a charming smile adorning his face.
I hope I’m not about to walk in on more of Jack and Ianto’s naked funny business, she thought with a giggle. There had been quite a few times that she had walked in on Jack and Ianto in varying states of undress, though she had not actually (thankfully!) caught them in the act since that time in the greenhouse.
Her heeled boots clacked on the floor as she made her way through the secret passageway down to the actual entrance to the Hub.
The giant cog door slid aside to grant her entry. Gwen poked her head through the door, looking both ways.
“Oi, Jack! Ianto! Clothes on now! Fun’s over!” she called. Her words echoed throughout the cavernous Hub.
“Learned you lesson?” Jack asked, coming up from the morgue.
“After last time? Yeah. I’ve seen more of you and Ianto than I ever cared to,” Gwen replied with grin.
“Fortunately for you, there isn’t any fun going on, just work.”
Jack didn’t smile. For once he was all business.
Gwen frowned, setting her bag down at her computer terminal.
“Is everything okay, Jack?” she asked, knitting her brow in concern.
“I don’t know,” Jack replied. “Why?”
I don’t know, Ianto wasn’t at his post, and he’s not down here.”
“I don’t know where Ianto is. He disappeared in the middle of the night.”
“Do you think it’s something alien?” Gwen queried.
“I don’t think so, but you never know. Stranger things have happened.”
Gwen glanced at the empty computer terminals that had recently belonged to Toshiko Sato and Dr. Owen Harper. They’d recently died during a crisis when Jack’s long lost brother Gray had resurfaced, trying to destroy Cardiff with the help of Captain John Heart.
Owen had perished alone at the nuclear power plant, but Toshiko had died in Jack’s arms, with Gwen and Ianto watching in awe. Owen….Tosh……
Gwen could still see the life go out of Tosh s her blood dripped out onto the cold cement floor of the medical room. A cold chill grabbed ahold of Gwen’s spine, making her shiver.
“You okay?” Jack inquired, folding his arms over his chest.
“Yeah, I was just thinking about…Owen and Tosh.”
Jack’s face grew grim, and Gwen could tell that Jack still blamed himself for the death of his friends and teammates.
Any further conversation was cut short as the door slid open again, and Ianto strode in, looking impeccable in a black suit, with a checked vest, lavender dress shirt, and a red tie
”There you are,” Jack said with a tight smile.
“Good morning, Sir,” Ianto replied, handing Jack a mug of coffee.
“Sir? It must be my birthday,” Jack replied with a wink at Ianto.
“Down boy,” Ianto said, rolling his eyes.
“Where were you?” Gwen asked, accepting the cup of coffee that Ianto was holding out for her.
“I didn’t sleep well last night,” Ianto confessed.
‘Is that why you got up and left In the middle of the night?” Jack asked.
“I wanted my own bed,” Ianto said simply.
“You could’ve left a note,” Jack said softly.
“I didn’t know you cared.”
Ianto spun on his heel and headed up to the board room to tidy it up.
Jack and Gwen exchanged inquiring looks before sipping their coffees.
“Shall I go talk to him?” Gwen offered.
“Why do you always get to do the talking?”
“Because you don’t know how to talk, Jack. You go right into snogging and shagging,” Gwen replied, giggling.
“Fair enough.” Jack nodded in agreement.
Gwen took another sip of her coffee, then followed Ianto up to the board room. She knocked on the door tentatively.
“Ianto, it’s me,” Gwen announced.
From inside the room, Gwen could hear the roaring sounds of the vacuum cleaner. Before Ianto had become an active field agent, he had mostly spent his days as the Torchwood butler making coffee, cleaning up after them, doing Jack’s laundry. He hadn’t really come into his own until after the fiasco with his cyberwoman girlfriend, Lisa.
Gwen tutted in exasperation and opened the door. Ianto was vacuuming the carpet, his face scrunched up in concentration.
“Ianto,” Gwen shouted, hands on her hips.
She got no reply as Ianto continued his cleaning, lost in the task.
Gwen tutted and stalked over to the plug. With frustration, she yanked the vacuum cord out of the wall plug.
Immediately, the vacuum’s gregarious roar died, giving birth to peaceful silence,
Ianto turned around, brow knit in confusion, when he spotted Gwen, arms crossed over her bosom, booted foot tapping on the floor.
“Oh, Gwen.” Ianto cleared his throat. “Hi.”
“Hi, Ianto,” Gwen said, the warmth returning to her voice. “You okay?” she queried.
“I’m fine.”
His eyes averted from hers for the briefest of moments, and Gwen knew for certain that he was hiding something. She had learned a bit from her days as a police officer. Human psychology was just the tip of the iceberg.
“Something’s up,” Gwen continued, determined to crack Ianto’s emotional shell.
Ianto’s shoulders sagged, and he nodded his head, staring down at his immaculately shined dress shoes.
“Ianto?” Gwen pressed.
“It’s….” Ianto trailed off and sighed. “You’ll think I’m being childish.”
“Try me.”
Ianto sat down on the edge of the boardroom table, chewing his bottom lip. Gwen crossed the room, and sat down beside him.
“It’s Jack,” Ianto said softly.
“Did he…sleep with someone else?” Gwen asked gently. If he did so bloody help me, I’ll knock Jack over the head with a brick
“No. Not that I know off.” Ianto sighed again. “I never know where I stand with him. If he….loves me.”
“He hasn’t told you?”
Gwen couldn’t keep the incredulity out of her voice. She wasn’t exactly in the know about Jack and Ianto’s relationship, but they had been at it for a while now, and she’d always assumed that they were committed or whatever the proper term was.
“He takes me out on dates, we sleep together.” Ianto stared off into space. “Sometimes I get the feeling that he does care for me like that, but then other times he’s so cut off I can’t help but wonder if this…if I am just a momentary distraction for him.”
“You could ask him,” Gwen suggested, pushing her bangs out her eyes,
“Ask Jack if he’s in love with me?” Ianto laughed bitterly. “Do you know how hard it is for me, Gwen? How confusing?”
“How do you mean?” Gwen frowned.
“I’ve never done any of this before. Before Jack, there was Lisa. Before Lisa, there was aa few girls at school. I’ve never wanted to be with a man before. It’s….very confounding.”
“I’m sorry, Ianto,” Gwen soothed. “I just always assumed that you were, you know….bisexual.”
“No.” Ianto shook his head slowly. “It’s Jack. Just Jack.”
“He does have an effect on people,” Gwen supplied. “He has this thing about him, like he oozes sexuality.”
“Yeah.” Ianto’s mind flashed to Jack’s mouth on him, their bodies entwined in the dark, the feelings that coursed through him during their nocturnal activities.
“You have to talk to him, Ianto. It’s the only way you’ll know for sure,” Gwen pressed.
“I know, I just…don’t know how. I don’t know what to say.”
“Tell him what you just told me.”
“About it being only him?” Ianto asked.
“Yeah. Every man wants to be extraordinary, wants to be the hero of the story. That would definitely stroke his ego."
"Fair point,” Ianto conceded.
“It’ll be okay, Ianto, I promise.” Gwen rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. “For what it’s worth, I think Jack cares about you very, very much.”
“Yeah?”
“Haven’t you seen the bloody way he looks at you? Haven’t you seen how angry he gets when you’re in danger?”
“No.”
“It’s the same way that Rhys looks at me, that I look at Rhys.”
A grin tugged at the corners of Ianto’s lips.
Suddenly, Gwen’s mobile started to ring.
Gwen stood up and fished the phone out of her pocket. The name on the display screen was ANDY. It was her old police partner, Andy Davidson.
Andy often called Gwen when his cases had a weird vibe to them, and Torchwood would step in and save the day.
“Hello, Andy,” Gwen said amiably.
“Oh, Gwen, thank God!” Andy gushed.
“What’s going on?”
“Have you heard about those two kids that went missing a few weeks ago in The Cwm Nofydd?”
Gwen had seen something on the news about It recently. A teenage girl and her boyfriend had met in the woods outside of Cardiff late at night. They had not been seen since. Police had been sweeping the woods, but nothing had yet been found.
“I know the basics,” Gwen replied, her stomach tying up into a knot.
“I found her, Gwen. I found Catrin Foster. It’s….it’s not good, Gwen?”
“What do you mean?”
Gwen’s blood felt like it had been drained from her body and replaced with ice,
“Can you meet me? I could really use your help,” Andy begged.
Gwen swallowed the fear that was welling up inside of her.
“I’ll be there, Andy, as soon as I can. I have to talk to Jack first,”
“I’m at the hospital.”
“See you soon.”
Gwen ended the call and turned to Ianto, who was eying her with curiosity.
“Is everything okay?” Ianto asked.
“That was Andy. He found her.”
“Found whom?”
“That girl who went missing in the woods a few weeks ago. Something tells me that this isn’t going to be good.”
Ianto jumped to his feet, all business.
“Let’s go get Jack,” Ianto said, all traces of his earlier upset totally gone.
“Let’s,” Gwen agreed.
They quickly exited the room and raced down the stairs to find Jack.

Description
CHAPTER ONE

Ianto Jones was running for his life. He didn’t know what from, but he did know that his life depended on it.
His dress shoes slid on the stone floor as he sprinted down a long corridor, sweat dampening his brow. His heart threatened to burst from him chest, and his lungs were on fire. All he knew was that he had to keep running,
He turned the corner, and skidded to a halt. Ahead, the pathway came to a jagged, abrupt end. The ground lay hundreds of feet below.
“No!” he shouted, turning back to look behind him.
His shadowy pursuer was just rounding the corner, walking at a leisurely pace.
Ianto glanced back at the ground, trying to decide if he could survive the fall if he leapt . Probably not, he thought, looking around of another solution,
Maybe he could disarm his stalker and then climb the ivy to the next floor. He wasn’t sure if the ivy would support his weight, or what was above him, but he knew that whatever it was, it had to be better than what was headed his way.
“Stay back!” he barked, swinging his fist threateningly.
The shadowy figure continued walking toward him.
“I said stay back!”
Ianto threw another punch, which connected with his assailant, or rather, went through the thing. Oh fuck, he thought.
Desperate, he grabbed at the ivy and hauled himself up, not caring that he was mucking up his suit.
Surprisingly, the ivy held his weight. Not stopping to worry anymore, he hauled himself up, using al his strength.
He pulled himself up onto another stone floor nearly identical to the one that the had just been on. He swung his legs up and lay for a second on the cold stone floor, panting like a dog.
A bone saw stabbed through the floor, inches from Ianto’s head.
With a manly scream, Ianto sprung to his feet and took off down the corridor. He went up a flight of stairs and through a door.
Ianto slammed the door behind himself, and barred it with a wooden beam. He turned around and surveyed that he was high up the roof.
Looking down over the edge, he saw that he was several stories up from the ground, definitely too high up to jump.
The door burst open with a rending shriek of metal.
“Oh, come on!” Ianto muttered, running his hand through his short hair in exasperation.
The thing started toward him, it’s shadow essence trailing behind it.
A gun suddenly materialized in Ianto’s hand, the cool steel at once comforting and menacing, too. Ianto was not overly familiar with guns.
Sliding the safety off, he aimed the handgun the approaching figure, grounding his feet.
“Fists can go through you,, but can bullets?” Ianto taunted, trying his damnedest to sound unafraid,
The creature didn’t halt its pursuit. It either didn’t understand what he was saying, or it just didn’t care.
No pressure, then, Ianto thought, sighing with resignation.
He pulled the trigger repeatedly, steeling himself against the recoil.
The bullets ripped through the creature, its blood spraying out. The bullets pushed it back, throwing it against the door.
Ianto kept firing until his hand began to grow sore.
Tentatively, he lowered the gun, cautiously looking at the slouched figure by the door. There were no signs of life it.
Ianto sighed with relief, and dropped his defenses,
In the blink of an eye, the creature was back on its feet and crossed the twelve feet to Ianto.
Cold hands clasped his throat, lifting him up off of his feet. Ianto’s eyes bugged out of his head, his lungs screaming for air.
“Please,” he croaked beseechingly.
Sunlight spilled onto the shadow figure, and it’s features changed to that of Captain Jack Harkness, Ianto’s boss and lover.
“Jack!?” Ianto exclaimed.
“Ianto.” Jack’s tone was ice cold, like his grip.
“Why?” Ianto could not keep the hurt out of his voice. How could Jack do this to him?
“I’m bored,” Jack replied.
He threw Ianto across the roof. Ianto landed on his back, the air whooshing out of his lungs. He lay there stunned, his head swimming.
Jack snatched him up once again and held him over the edge of the roof, his eyes gleaming maliciously.
“Why Jack?”
“It’s time.”
“But I loved you!” Ianto sobbed, tears pooling up in his eyes, blurring his vision.
“I never loved you,” Jack replied, angrily.
The pain in Ianto’s chest was more intense than anything he had ever felt, except watching Jack kill his girlfriend, Lisa.
“Nighty night, Eye Candy,” Captain John Hart said, materializing at Jack’s side,
Jack’s tight grip on Ianto’s neck loosened, and he fell.
Ianto fell in slow motion, watching as Jack and John kissed passionately, groping each other like a pair of hormonal teenagers.
The tears completely blurred Ianto’s vision as the ground grew closer and closer.

Ianto gasped and shot up in bed. A cold sweat dampened his skin, and his heart was beating a mile a minute.
“Ianto?” Jack murmured sleepily beside him.
Ianto glanced over at Jack, his eyes straining in the darkness of the bedroom.
“Jack,” he gasped, tears springing to his eyes.
Jack sat up and put a comforting hand on Ianto’s naked shoulder.
“Are you okay?” Jack asked, concern tinging his voice.
“Bad dream,” Ianto managed, fighting back the tears.
“Come here.”
Jack pulled Ianto close to him, lying Ianto’s head on his bare chest. Jack stroked Ianto’s damp hair lovingly.
Normally, Ianto would find comfort in Jack’s strong arms, but after the dream, all he could think of was Jack’s betrayal.
“Jack?” he whispered.
“Mmmm?” Jack murmured sleepily.
“You were in my dream.”
There was no response from Jack, so Ianto continued.
“You killed me,” Ianto confessed.
Jack’s deep, steady breathing was his response.
Ianto pulled away from Jack and pulled his clothes on. Glancing at his watch, he saw that it was 3:30 in the morning.
As Ianto tied his shoes, he glanced back longingly at Jack. It had been a dream, but the truth was, Ianto was very insecure about his relationship with Jack. He had never been with a man before Jack, only women, and Jack had been with, well, everyone. He couldn’t help but wonder if Jack shared his feelings, or if he was just a pleasant distraction until something better and more interesting came along.
With a heavy heart, Ianto turned and walked out of Jack’s room In the Torchwood Hub.

Gwen Cooper was her usual chipper self as she made her way up the Roald Dahl Plass to the Millennium Center.
She absolutely loved her job. She had loved being a Cardiff police officer, but working for Torchwood 3 and saving the world from alien threats fulfilled her so much more. There was never a dull moment working for Torchwood. Just recently, deadly viral outbreak had broken out in Cardiff, threatening to wipe out millions of people. Thankfully, Torchwood team had been there to once again save the day.
As Gwen made her way down the boardwalk to the tourist entrance to the Torchwood Hub, she potted Glynn, a fisherman smoking fag on his dinghy.
“Morning, Glynn,” Gwen called with a warm smile.
Glynn nodded at her, his eyes scanning the blue waters in the horizon.
Gwen nodded back and entered the tourist shack that Ianto ran as a front for the secret organization.
Surprisingly, Ianto was not at his usual spot behind the desk, cup of steaming coffee in one hand and a charming smile adorning his face.
I hope I’m not about to walk in on more of Jack and Ianto’s naked funny business, she thought with a giggle. There had been quite a few times that she had walked in on Jack and Ianto in varying states of undress, though she had not actually (thankfully!) caught them in the act since that time in the greenhouse.
Her heeled boots clacked on the floor as she made her way through the secret passageway down to the actual entrance to the Hub.
The giant cog door slid aside to grant her entry. Gwen poked her head through the door, looking both ways.
“Oi, Jack! Ianto! Clothes on now! Fun’s over!” she called. Her words echoed throughout the cavernous Hub.
“Learned you lesson?” Jack asked, coming up from the morgue.
“After last time? Yeah. I’ve seen more of you and Ianto than I ever cared to,” Gwen replied with grin.
“Fortunately for you, there isn’t any fun going on, just work.”
Jack didn’t smile. For once he was all business.
Gwen frowned, setting her bag down at her computer terminal.
“Is everything okay, Jack?” she asked, knitting her brow in concern.
“I don’t know,” Jack replied. “Why?”
I don’t know, Ianto wasn’t at his post, and he’s not down here.”
“I don’t know where Ianto is. He disappeared in the middle of the night.”
“Do you think it’s something alien?” Gwen queried.
“I don’t think so, but you never know. Stranger things have happened.”
Gwen glanced at the empty computer terminals that had recently belonged to Toshiko Sato and Dr. Owen Harper. They’d recently died during a crisis when Jack’s long lost brother Gray had resurfaced, trying to destroy Cardiff with the help of Captain John Heart.
Owen had perished alone at the nuclear power plant, but Toshiko had died in Jack’s arms, with Gwen and Ianto watching in awe. Owen….Tosh……
Gwen could still see the life go out of Tosh s her blood dripped out onto the cold cement floor of the medical room. A cold chill grabbed ahold of Gwen’s spine, making her shiver.
“You okay?” Jack inquired, folding his arms over his chest.
“Yeah, I was just thinking about…Owen and Tosh.”
Jack’s face grew grim, and Gwen could tell that Jack still blamed himself for the death of his friends and teammates.
Any further conversation was cut short as the door slid open again, and Ianto strode in, looking impeccable in a black suit, with a checked vest, lavender dress shirt, and a red tie
”There you are,” Jack said with a tight smile.
“Good morning, Sir,” Ianto replied, handing Jack a mug of coffee.
“Sir? It must be my birthday,” Jack replied with a wink at Ianto.
“Down boy,” Ianto said, rolling his eyes.
“Where were you?” Gwen asked, accepting the cup of coffee that Ianto was holding out for her.
“I didn’t sleep well last night,” Ianto confessed.
‘Is that why you got up and left In the middle of the night?” Jack asked.
“I wanted my own bed,” Ianto said simply.
“You could’ve left a note,” Jack said softly.
“I didn’t know you cared.”
Ianto spun on his heel and headed up to the board room to tidy it up.
Jack and Gwen exchanged inquiring looks before sipping their coffees.
“Shall I go talk to him?” Gwen offered.
“Why do you always get to do the talking?”
“Because you don’t know how to talk, Jack. You go right into snogging and shagging,” Gwen replied, giggling.
“Fair enough.” Jack nodded in agreement.
Gwen took another sip of her coffee, then followed Ianto up to the board room. She knocked on the door tentatively.
“Ianto, it’s me,” Gwen announced.
From inside the room, Gwen could hear the roaring sounds of the vacuum cleaner. Before Ianto had become an active field agent, he had mostly spent his days as the Torchwood butler making coffee, cleaning up after them, doing Jack’s laundry. He hadn’t really come into his own until after the fiasco with his cyberwoman girlfriend, Lisa.
Gwen tutted in exasperation and opened the door. Ianto was vacuuming the carpet, his face scrunched up in concentration.
“Ianto,” Gwen shouted, hands on her hips.
She got no reply as Ianto continued his cleaning, lost in the task.
Gwen tutted and stalked over to the plug. With frustration, she yanked the vacuum cord out of the wall plug.
Immediately, the vacuum’s gregarious roar died, giving birth to peaceful silence,
Ianto turned around, brow knit in confusion, when he spotted Gwen, arms crossed over her bosom, booted foot tapping on the floor.
“Oh, Gwen.” Ianto cleared his throat. “Hi.”
“Hi, Ianto,” Gwen said, the warmth returning to her voice. “You okay?” she queried.
“I’m fine.”
His eyes averted from hers for the briefest of moments, and Gwen knew for certain that he was hiding something. She had learned a bit from her days as a police officer. Human psychology was just the tip of the iceberg.
“Something’s up,” Gwen continued, determined to crack Ianto’s emotional shell.
Ianto’s shoulders sagged, and he nodded his head, staring down at his immaculately shined dress shoes.
“Ianto?” Gwen pressed.
“It’s….” Ianto trailed off and sighed. “You’ll think I’m being childish.”
“Try me.”
Ianto sat down on the edge of the boardroom table, chewing his bottom lip. Gwen crossed the room, and sat down beside him.
“It’s Jack,” Ianto said softly.
“Did he…sleep with someone else?” Gwen asked gently. If he did so bloody help me, I’ll knock Jack over the head with a brick
“No. Not that I know off.” Ianto sighed again. “I never know where I stand with him. If he….loves me.”
“He hasn’t told you?”
Gwen couldn’t keep the incredulity out of her voice. She wasn’t exactly in the know about Jack and Ianto’s relationship, but they had been at it for a while now, and she’d always assumed that they were committed or whatever the proper term was.
“He takes me out on dates, we sleep together.” Ianto stared off into space. “Sometimes I get the feeling that he does care for me like that, but then other times he’s so cut off I can’t help but wonder if this…if I am just a momentary distraction for him.”
“You could ask him,” Gwen suggested, pushing her bangs out her eyes,
“Ask Jack if he’s in love with me?” Ianto laughed bitterly. “Do you know how hard it is for me, Gwen? How confusing?”
“How do you mean?” Gwen frowned.
“I’ve never done any of this before. Before Jack, there was Lisa. Before Lisa, there was aa few girls at school. I’ve never wanted to be with a man before. It’s….very confounding.”
“I’m sorry, Ianto,” Gwen soothed. “I just always assumed that you were, you know….bisexual.”
“No.” Ianto shook his head slowly. “It’s Jack. Just Jack.”
“He does have an effect on people,” Gwen supplied. “He has this thing about him, like he oozes sexuality.”
“Yeah.” Ianto’s mind flashed to Jack’s mouth on him, their bodies entwined in the dark, the feelings that coursed through him during their nocturnal activities.
“You have to talk to him, Ianto. It’s the only way you’ll know for sure,” Gwen pressed.
“I know, I just…don’t know how. I don’t know what to say.”
“Tell him what you just told me.”
“About it being only him?” Ianto asked.
“Yeah. Every man wants to be extraordinary, wants to be the hero of the story. That would definitely stroke his ego."
"Fair point,” Ianto conceded.
“It’ll be okay, Ianto, I promise.” Gwen rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. “For what it’s worth, I think Jack cares about you very, very much.”
“Yeah?”
“Haven’t you seen the bloody way he looks at you? Haven’t you seen how angry he gets when you’re in danger?”
“No.”
“It’s the same way that Rhys looks at me, that I look at Rhys.”
A grin tugged at the corners of Ianto’s lips.
Suddenly, Gwen’s mobile started to ring.
Gwen stood up and fished the phone out of her pocket. The name on the display screen was ANDY. It was her old police partner, Andy Davidson.
Andy often called Gwen when his cases had a weird vibe to them, and Torchwood would step in and save the day.
“Hello, Andy,” Gwen said amiably.
“Oh, Gwen, thank God!” Andy gushed.
“What’s going on?”
“Have you heard about those two kids that went missing a few weeks ago in The Cwm Nofydd?”
Gwen had seen something on the news about It recently. A teenage girl and her boyfriend had met in the woods outside of Cardiff late at night. They had not been seen since. Police had been sweeping the woods, but nothing had yet been found.
“I know the basics,” Gwen replied, her stomach tying up into a knot.
“I found her, Gwen. I found Catrin Foster. It’s….it’s not good, Gwen?”
“What do you mean?”
Gwen’s blood felt like it had been drained from her body and replaced with ice,
“Can you meet me? I could really use your help,” Andy begged.
Gwen swallowed the fear that was welling up inside of her.
“I’ll be there, Andy, as soon as I can. I have to talk to Jack first,”
“I’m at the hospital.”
“See you soon.”
Gwen ended the call and turned to Ianto, who was eying her with curiosity.
“Is everything okay?” Ianto asked.
“That was Andy. He found her.”
“Found whom?”
“That girl who went missing in the woods a few weeks ago. Something tells me that this isn’t going to be good.”
Ianto jumped to his feet, all business.
“Let’s go get Jack,” Ianto said, all traces of his earlier upset totally gone.
“Let’s,” Gwen agreed.
They quickly exited the room and raced down the stairs to find Jack.