Splitting of the Ways

by Totally4Ryo

A what if starting with Doctor Who's "Boom Town". Ianto Jones was on the Plass that night. He had no idea his life was about to change in ways he could never imagine, even working for Torchwood One. Ianto/Rose Tyler & hint of Jack/Ianto.

Title: Splitting of the Ways

Author: Totally4Ryo

Characters/Pairings: Ianto Jones/Rose Tyler, 9th Doctor, Jack Harkness (a spark of the start of Jack/Ianto if you squint).

Warnings: Character death (not permanent)

Rating: R (bad words)

Disclaimer: Torchwood and Doctor Who does not belong to me. They belong to BBC and RTD.

Word Count: 33023 (according to Word)

Beta by cjharknessgirl and Dawn Mennea

Major spoilers for "Boomtown", "Bad Wolf" and "Parting of the Ways"

Summary: What if during Boomtown, Ianto Jones had appeared and found himself inside the TARDIS? What if some unknown force pulled the TARDIS from Cardiff suddenly before Ianto had a chance to leave? And what will become of Jack Harkness?

Notes: This is done mostly from Ianto's POV, so if he is not in a scene, you won't see it here (just assume that it mostly happened much the same as what was televised with very little difference). This was written with an assumption that these episodes were seen to fill in the blanks.

"Boomtown", "Bad Wolf" and "Parting of the Ways" were written by RTD, and part of dialogue used here are his, but in most cases have been slightly altered to fit the character.

Written for Torchwood Big Bang 2009

OoOoOoO

Ianto Jones, junior researcher at the Torchwood Institute, otherwise known as Torchwood London or Torchwood One, strolled along Mermaid Quay in Cardiff, Wales. He was on his way back to London after meeting with his family for a rare visit. Once he left his sister's home, he decided to stop off at the Quay for nostalgic reasons. In his wayward teens, he had spent many nights roaming the area with his friends, and sometimes by himself because he hadn't wanted to go home.

As Ianto entered the area, he was amazed at the development since his youth. He remembered the area being shabby, with rundown warehouses and rough pubs that a teenager had no right to attempt getting into. He always thought that the area would continue its downslide until it was like a ghost town, forgotten. Or it would be levelled and stay that way. So he was not surprised to hear the old warehouses were being razed, but he was when he found out that a new music venue was being built, along with the old docks being revamped into a stylish tourist trap, filled with high end restaurants and bars nestled among various shops. The old water basin was filled in and became what was now known as Roald Dahl Plass. The oval shape was accessed by some steps and lined with tall cylinder poles providing lights for night time. It seemed the centrepiece was not the new Wales Millennium Centre, which was set just off the basin, but the tall silver water fountain that rose higher than the perimeter lights. The half cylinder was set off by some raised stones to contain the water which fell down the length of the fountain.

Ianto smirked as he saw it come into view. Little did anyone walking along the Plass realise that beneath the fountain and the filled in basin was the location of Torchwood Cardiff, also known as Torchwood Three. What bothered Ianto was he knew more about the secret base where a small team of experts helped protect the Earth from hostile aliens who fell through the Rift in Cardiff, while he didn't know anything about the team itself. He gazed at faces that passed him, wondering if any of the people who passed him were part of the mysterious team. He knew something had happened at the turn of the century, something terrible that decimated most of the team at the time and that was it.

Since then, the leader had pulled away from its ties with Torchwood London, insisting operating on its own, despite Yvonne Hartman's best attempts otherwise. Not even threats from the Director of all of Torchwood could cause Torchwood Three to cave and come back under London's control. And to Hartman's chagrin, apparently whoever ran Torchwood Three managed to get Whitehall and the Crown to stand behind them to function on its own.

Ianto wondered if anyone who belonged to Torchwood Three did happen to walk past him, would he know it? Was there something about those who worked for the organization that set them apart so visibly from the general public? The one thing that amused Ianto was that for a secret organization, the branch he belonged to back in London, the home office was situated in what was known as the Torchwood Tower, a high, shiny, skyscraper in Canary Wharf. It was amusing how often people referred to the building by name, and yet had no idea what the several hundred employees that filled the entire building did. Supposedly not even the Prime Minister knew about their work and they were known only to a select group of upper ranking officials in UNIT. Torchwood One was thought to be just another corporation and nothing more.

As a majority, the public did not acknowledge the existence of life on any planet other than Earth. Ianto knew more accepted it than a few years ago, but yet the number of those who believed, who didn't fall for the cover stories put in place by Torchwood was vastly minimal compared to the overall population. Even in Cardiff, Ianto heard of stories of a standard government issue SUV that was clearly set apart from the many others in the pools of government, UNIT and Torchwood London by the name Torchwood emblazoned along the side of the vehicle's bonnet. And like in London, not many actually questioned what it was those who rode in the vehicle did.

As more of the Plass came into view, Ianto realised that there was something there that did not belong on the Plass. It was something Ianto recognized, having read the Torchwood charter, and knew that by default, Hartman still saw as the enemy. Despite UNIT declaring the owner of the object as a friend, even an ex-employee, Yvonne Hartman justified her antiquated ideals with her catch-all, the phrase that all Torchwood employees were to make their motto and adhere to it -- If it's alien, it's ours. The basis of the original charter of Torchwood, drawn up by Queen Victoria, was to protect the Earth from alien threat and to eradicate the being simply known as The Doctor.

He knew he should be on his mobile calling to Hartman's assistant to report this. To report to the Director of Torchwood that the enemy was here, on the Plass directly above Torchwood Three. He wondered if that was the mystery of the Cardiff branch, if maybe they had direct links to the Doctor. They seemed to work better with UNIT than with the home office of their own organization. Ianto could not help but think that was the reason why. Torchwood Three was in contact with the Doctor. And if he called to report in the blue police box sitting on the Plass, and if the Doctor was caught, it could mean a promotion for him.

Ianto sighed. Was it worth it? He rather enjoyed what he did in his department, working in the secure archives. He would not mind making Senior Researcher one day, even heading the department. But if a promotion was to be given for this, it would most likely take him out of his vaults which were behind many doors and pass codes, and which started in the basements of the Torchwood Tower then went further down. He did not want to move up to the posh offices closer to Director Hartman any more than he relished the idea of having to brown nose the woman. He had his own ideas about his boss and none of them were complimentary. It was a good thing he was a nobody deep down in the basement levels, so he would not have to deal with her more than her once a month inspection and his signature on research reports on the alien tech that he had access to figure out.

His own curiosity got the better of him, however. To him, the Doctor was a legend. He may never be able to tell a soul, but to have a chance to meet him, even if just for a moment, he knew it would be an amazing thing. Perhaps he should check into a transfer to Cardiff if they were in contact with the amazing and brilliant Time Lord.

Ianto did not have much more time to think as the ground beneath him started to rumble.

OoOoOoO

Captain Jack Harkness, the name the ex-Time Agent from the 51st century had given himself during his time spent in the 1940's, was taking a break from work on the extrapolator that was recovered from Mayor Blaine's model of the nuclear plant she planned to build in Cardiff. Jack had found it, and along with the Doctor, taken possession of it, deciding to integrate it into the TARDIS' system, hoping that it would provide a force field. It was the Doctor who noticed the new mayor of Wales' capitol city was not human, and the Doctor and Rose had encountered her before. She was of the family Slitheen from the planet, Raxacoricofallapatorius. The Doctor had discovered the extrapolator at the base of the plant's model and along with capturing the Slitheen to bring her back to her home world, had taken possession of the object. Jack was familiar with the object and informed the Doctor that with the extrapolator installed, it would halve the time required for the TARDIS to refuel. Currently the TARDIS sat on the area in Cardiff where a Rift in time and space was opened back in 1869. The Doctor landed the TARDIS in the oval basin in 2005, to use the Rift as a means to refuel the TARDIS.

During his break, he wandered into the kitchen, looking for a snack. While there, he realised that they were running low on supplies that he knew he would miss while away from the Earth and knew Rose would feel the same. He grinned as he thought that even the Doctor was picking up certain favourites from Earth lately. It was then that he decided to take it upon himself to find a store and restock, planning to return before the Doctor was back from taking Margaret Blaine out for her last meal before her return to her home planet, where she was to face her death, and Rose from wherever she was with that boyfriend of hers, Mickey.

It was night now, and cooler than when they were out earlier in the day, so Jack left his flight jacket he wore that day behind in favour of the greatcoat he used from his time posing as an American volunteer with the RAF back in the 1940's. He knew it probably looked strange with the dark blue tee-shirt and jeans he had changed into after quickly getting cleaned up, but he really did not care what people thought. Especially when he knew he still made a striking image.

This is why he found himself walking along the streets of modern day Cardiff, laden down with plastic carrier bags when he felt the ground rumble beneath him. At first he thought it to be an earthquake, but glancing up at the sky; he saw a massive column of blue-white energy in the area where he had left the TARDIS behind. Clenching his bags tightly, he broke into a run toward the Roald Dahl Plass, nearly knocking panicking people out of his way.

OoOoOoO

Rose Tyler, of Powell Estates in London, currently the Doctor's travelling companion, along with Jack Harkness, was talking to Mickey Smith, the boyfriend she had left behind in favour of travelling among time and space with the Doctor. Their discussion of where their relationship stood was interrupted when the ground beneath them started to shake. People were starting to scream and run in every direction as Rose looked up to notice the source of the quakes. It was coming from the TARDIS, and Rose immediately started to run toward the source. She looked back toward Mickey, to find her boyfriend giving her a hard look.

"Go to him. I'm done," Mickey said and turned to head off in the opposite direction among the panicked crowds as the ground continued to shake.

As she reached the beginning of the Plass, she found the ground shaking apart as she ran across it, trying to dodge the cracks. Ahead of her was a young man, who was doing his best to keep from falling into the breaks of the ground around him as he ran in her direction. She figured he was attempting to get away from the bizarre occurrence. The bluish-white column of angry energy was shooting up from the top of the TARDIS towards the sky. The energy also seemed to wrap itself around the tall water fountain, causing a display that was both frightening and beautiful. Rose spared little time on it, concerned for what it could do to the TARDIS and in fear for the Doctor and Jack. Especially Jack, who last she knew, had planned to stay inside the TARDIS for the night. She saw no sign of Jack outside the TARDIS as she ran.

Rose stumbled as a crack caught up with her, her foot slipping in. She was certain she was going to fall, and screamed, scared that the crack would open more and swallow her.

Suddenly strong arms caught her, kept her from falling and lifted her then placed her on solid ground. Cracks were still forming around them, as she looked up to see it was the young man.

"We need to get out of here. It's not safe," he said to her.

"No! I need to get to the TARDIS," she insisted. Too late, she realised that the young man most likely did not know what a TARDIS was.

To her surprise, she found him helping her as they half ran, half stumbled, sometimes jumping to avoid newly forming cracks. "Are you with the Doctor?" he shouted at her to be heard above the noise.

She merely nodded, surprised that he knew about the Doctor.

"Shit! Torchwood Three has to be taking a beating. I hope no one is below."

She gazed up at the man as they approached the blue police box. She noticed the Doctor had run from another direction with Margaret and were already going in. The man with her also seemed to notice.

"Is that him?" he asked.

"Just get in there," she insisted.

Once they reached the police box, she opened the door and both she and the man ran in. The Doctor was frantically working at his console in an attempt to shut down the power.

"Doctor, what's going on?" Rose asked, running to the console to join the Doctor.

She forgot the stranger who entered with her. The stranger who now stood a few feet from the door and stared around the interior with admiration on his face.

"It's the extrapolator," the Doctor replied, still turning dials and pushing buttons. "I disconnected it, but it's still feeding off the engine. I need to stop it! It's gonna rip open the planet!"

OoOoOoO

Ianto Jones was having trouble believing he was actually inside the Doctor's TARDIS. He moved a few feet further into the ship taking it all in, as if storing the information for later. He tried to remain in the background, allowing the Doctor and Rose to do what was needed to finally stop whatever was happening. Ianto was aware that Torchwood Three was tasked to monitor and watch over the Rift in Time and Space that was created back in 1869. He also knew enough about the fixed phenomenon to understand that at least the city, if not the planet was in dire trouble at the moment.

No one paid attention to Margaret, who was making her way behind Ianto until it was too late. She tore off one of the arms from her skin suit to wrap her natural form arm around Ianto's neck.

"Doctor!" Rose cried out, noticing what was happening.

The Doctor looked up and started to take a step toward the Slitheen and her captive.

"One wrong move and this one snaps like a promise," she threatened.

"I might've known," the Doctor commented, frustrated. While it was true that the young man had no business being inside the TARDIS, it did not give the Slitheen the right to take his life.

"You, Blondie," Margaret said to Rose. "Put the extrapolator at my feet."

Rose looked from Margaret and the young man who had helped her get across the crumbling Plass to the Doctor. When he nodded, she went over to where the extrapolator was and carefully picked it up, to place at the Slitheen's feet.

"Thank you," the Slitheen sneered. "Just what I needed."

"I thought you needed to blow up the nuclear power station?" Rose asked.

"WHAT?!?" Ianto gasped, still trapped by Margaret, who tightened her grip on his neck.

"Quiet," she warned Ianto. To Rose and the Doctor, she replied, "Failing that, if I were to be… arrested… then anyone capable of tracking me down would have considerable technology of their own. Therefore, they would be captivated by the extrapolator. Especially a magpie mind like yours, Doctor. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to Plan B!"

Ianto was certain that this was Plan B. What he hoped was that he would live to not tell anyone about it one day.

She tightened her grip again on Ianto's neck and with her other, still human looking hand, she pulled on a tuff of his hair. "That is, to lock onto the nearest alien power source and open the Rift. And oh…what a power source I found! I'm back on schedule, thanks to you."

Realizing the dire situation they were currently in, Ianto managed to conclude when her grip on his neck loosened enough so he could gulp in air, "The Rift's going to convulse. It will destroy the entire planet."

"And you with it!" Margaret said with glee. She tightened her hold on Ianto's neck one more time before shoving him aside.

Ianto would have crashed down to the grated floor if not for Rose, who had rushed over to him. He found his arms going around her to help find his balance as she held onto him.

"Meanwhile I'll ride this board over the crest of the inferno all the way to freedom. Stand back boys, surf's up!"

More lightning and energy burst from the TARDIS as the Rift continued to be ripped further open. Meanwhile inside, a panel on the lower part of the main console started to open, bathing Margaret in a blinding white light.

In a calm voice, the Doctor stated, "Of course, opening the Rift means you'll pull this ship apart."

"So sue me," Margaret spat out.

"It's not just any old power source. It's the TARDIS. My TARDIS. The best ship in the universe," the Doctor continued, still in the same tone, but it was hard not to notice the pride creeping into his voice.

"It'll make wonderful scrap," the Slitheen sneered.

"What's that light?" Rose asked.

"Where is Jack?" the Doctor demanded. "And who are you?" He spared a look at the new arrival who was still clinging to Rose.

OoOoOoO

Jack was approaching the Plass when his foot got caught in a crack and he went tumbling to the ground. Before he had a chance to get up, he found himself under the stampeding feet of those still in a panic. He attempted to keep himself from getting crushed, but when a rushing foot caught on his head, it was the last thing he remembered.

As he faded into unconsciousness, his last thought was hoping he would not be killed in the trample going on around him.

OoOoOoO

The young man pulled away as if he realised what he was doing. Tugging on his leather jacket in the manner one would to a suit jacket, he took another step away from Rose. "Jones. Ianto Jones," he introduced himself.

"Doctor, what's happening to her?" Rose asked, noticing Margaret stood where the light was, seeming frozen in place.

"It's the Heart of the TARDIS," the Doctor explained. He looked over to Margaret, who was bathed in the white light. "This ship's alive. You've opened its soul."

If Ianto found that to be a strange statement, he showed no outward sign. He merely stared at the woman he recognized as the one who entered the TARDIS with the Doctor in mild curiosity. "That's the Lord Mayor," he stated.

"Was the Lord Mayor," the Doctor replied. "We were on our way to take her back to her home world of Raxacoricofallapatorius."

Ianto's eyes went wide. "The mayor is an alien?"

And once again before anyone was able to answer, the light got even brighter.

"Everyone look away!" the Doctor warned. He turned to push several levers and the door that was opened started to close.

When Ianto felt the light lessen, he looked back to where Margaret Blaine last stood. There was no sign of Cardiff's Lord Mayor. He gasped as his eyes rested on the skin-like body suit.

"Rose, if you don't mind a hand here," the Doctor instructed.

Rose rushed to join the Doctor at the console.

"Those levers over there." He frowned slightly, his eyes falling on a section of switches across from them. "Ianto Jones, if you will, please, flick all those switches in that section over there."

Ianto found himself following the Doctor's instructions, not wanting something like hesitancy stopping him from the task the Doctor had bestowed upon him. He only paused long enough to assure he was at the right section and when the Doctor nodded started to flick the switches.

The console continued to shoot sparks from it until the tremors seemed to stop, and the lightning coming from the console vanished.

The Doctor leaned with his hands against the console for a moment, taking a deep breath. "Nicely done. Thank you, all. Including you, Mr. Jones."

Rose looked as confused as Ianto when their eyes went to the body suit. "Where did she go?" she asked.

"She must have burned up," Ianto muttered.

Rose nodded. "Carried out her own death sentence then."

Ianto stared at her in surprise, as he did not know the full story behind the alien posing as a human.

"I don't think she's dead," the Doctor stated as he started to walk around the console.

"Then what happened to her?" Ianto asked, turning to watch the Doctor as he went over to where the body suit was.

"She looked into the heart of the TARDIS, and even I don't know how strong that is," the Doctor replied. "And the ship's telepathic, like I told you, Rose. Gets inside your head. Translates alien languages. Maybe the raw energy can translate all sorts of thoughts," the Doctor mused.

Ianto found himself obtaining a great deal of information about the TARDIS that day. Information that was not on record within the Torchwood Institute, and Ianto determined, realizing the honour that was upon him, never would be. "Cardiff's mayor was a Slitheen?" Ianto asked, sounding surprised.

Rose and the Doctor looked over at him. The Doctor recovered quickly and brushed Ianto's exclamation off, merely saying, "Yes. She was."

"How do you know?" Rose asked.

"It's a requirement where I work. We deal with things alien," Ianto explained. "It is our business to know that it was because of the Slitheen that they are rebuilding 10 Downy Street."

The Doctor knelt next to the body suit, looking around inside it, while Ianto and Rose's eyes scanned the immediate area.

"Here she is!" the Doctor exclaimed, as he pulled a large strange looking egg that had small tentacles sprouting from one half of it, from the suit.

Both Rose and Ianto moved closer, looks of surprise on their faces.

"It's an egg," Rose stated, staring at it in amazement.

"Yes." The Doctor started to grin. "Regressed to her childhood."

"She's an egg? An egg!" Rose continued on.

"Apparently by some means, our alien Lord Mayor has been reverted to her infant stage," Ianto surmised.

The Doctor's grin got wider as he nodded. "That's correct, Mr. Jones." He looked over to Rose. "She can start again! Live her life from scratch. If we take her home, give her to a different family, tell 'em to bring her up properly, she might be all right!" the Doctor concluded.

"Or she might be worse," Rose muttered.

"That's her choice," the Doctor stated.

"She's an egg," Rose said again.

Ianto chuckled softly. For someone who apparently travelled with the Doctor, she appeared rather impressionable. Ianto decided it suited her. It did not do to be jaded at so young an age when it came to the wonders of the universe, like he was.

"She's an egg," the Doctor affirmed holding it up for all to see.

Ianto broke into a smile. "Indeed. She is."

"Now once Jack gets back, and we're on our way, we'll make a quick stop to drop her off at the hatchery, where she'll get a second chance at life. Hopefully this time she'll make the best of it," the Doctor said.

Ianto stepped over to the Doctor and held out his hands. The Doctor handed the egg over to Ianto, who held it carefully as he studied it.

"So it's true what they say about the TARDIS. It is bigger on the inside." He looked at the Doctor and gave him an embarrassed smile. "Forgive me, but I heard and read so many things about the Doctor and his TARDIS, while some stories seem to stay the same, others do not. I'm honoured to meet you, Doctor."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ianto Jones. But how do you know about me and the TARDIS?"

"It's a requirement where I work."

"Which is where?" the Doctor asked.

"Torchwood. I'm from Torchwood London."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed with suspicion as he took a step closer.

"And what will Torchwood do now that they have an operative inside the TARDIS," he asked as he removed the egg from Ianto's hands.

Ianto smiled at the Doctor. "Bugger the charter," he replied. "I want to travel."

The Doctor studied Ianto Jones for a moment and then broke into a huge smile. "You do, don't you? Fantastic. We could use another hand handling the old girl." He returned custody of the egg back to Ianto.

"Where is Jack?" Rose asked, starting to look concerned for her missing friend.

As Ianto balanced the egg on the main console, he noticed a note. "I would guess you use post-its in the TARDIS," he said, sounding amused.

"Sometimes, especially when we want to leave a note and are not sure if someone will think to look on the computer for it," Rose replied, looking over at the Doctor and shaking her head.

Ianto chuckled as he caught on to what Rose meant and held out the note.

"Gone shopping. Be back soon. Jack," Rose read the short note in Jack's handwriting, which was reflective of the time they met the ex-Time Agent in, rather than his own time in the far future.

"He should be back by now," the Doctor mused.

"I hope he wasn't injured. Cardiff was shaking pretty badly," Rose said.

Ianto nodded. "I hope your friend is okay. Perhaps we should go out and look for him?"

Rose was about to take Ianto up on his offer when it felt as if the TARDIS was powering up on its own.

"What?" the Doctor asked as he ran to the console, pressing levers and turning dials, in hopes to stop it.

"What's it doing?" Rose asked as she grabbed onto the edge of the console as the ship started to rumble.

"I can't stop it, hold on!" the Doctor called out.

Ianto followed Rose's example and grabbed onto the edge of the console as the TARDIS started to leave Cardiff.

"Well, Mr. Jones, it looks as if your first trip will be sooner than planned," the Doctor yelled out.

"But what about Jack?" Rose cried out.

"We'll come back for him when we drop Mr. Jones off… once we figure out where we're going," the Doctor replied.

OoOoOoO

Less than an hour later, all records of Ianto Jones were erased from Torchwood London's databases. By the next morning, it was as if Ianto Jones had never worked for the London branch of Torchwood.

OoOoOoO

Jack woke up to find EMT personnel hovering over him, and realised they were asking if he was okay. Remembering what he was doing before everything went black on him, Jack nodded and groggily tried to get to his feet.

"Please stay still, sir. You might be injured more than you realise."

Jack shrugged them away and scrambled to his feet. His ankle hurt and he felt a massive migraine starting but otherwise, he did not feel as if he had any broken bones or serious injuries. All he needed was to get back to the TARDIS, and any minor injuries he had suffered would be taken care of. He was just glad to still be alive. "I need to find my friends," he insisted. "I'm fine. I don't need your help. Go help someone who's worse off than me." At that, he took off at as best a run as he could considering his ankle, the bags of groceries long forgotten and left behind where he had been found by the emergency workers.

By the time he reached the Plass, he had stopped running a while back and was now hobbled along. Upon looking at the area, along with its cracks, his eyes went wide as he searched the area for the TARDIS.

It was nowhere to be found.

They left. The Doctor and Rose were gone. Leaving him in Cardiff, Wales, in 2005. It was only at that moment that he realised that he had left his Vortex Manipulator on the console in the TARDIS' control room. He had taken it off when he found he had to put his arm through some intricate and sensitive wiring and circuitry, and did not want to take a chance having it get snagged and causing serious damage to the ship, or frying his arm off as the least of the injuries he imagined could have been possible. In his haste to get cleaned up and changed to have a chance to do shopping before everyone returned, it had slipped his mind until then.

He squeezed his eyes shut as he amended his situation. He was more than just left behind. He was stranded. In a time and city he hardly knew with no way of leaving. All he had was the clothes on his back, the phony ID in his wallet, and the bank card that didn't have even 50 pounds left on it once he was finished with shopping. He did not consider being stranded, so he had only made sure there was enough to do some shopping plus a little extra.

He dropped down on the steps leading to where the former oval basin was, his aching head in his hands, with no idea what he was going to do next.

OoOoOoO

The TARDIS had been pulled by an alien SOS transmission. The Doctor had explained that it happened once in a while, especially when an old acquaintance was involved. They found themselves across the universe, in the past. It was a simple thing, a favour, but Ianto found himself along with Rose doing plenty of running to keep themselves alive until the Doctor sorted the hurt feelings he had caused.

Their next stop had been to Raxacoricofallapatorius to drop Margaret the Slitheen's egg off. The three had bonded in the short time, and while the Doctor was prone to drive Ianto to grinding his teeth in frustration at times, he still found he admired the Time Lord, and adored Rose Tyler.

The Doctor took them to 16th century Scotland next, and after that they continued to travel, going up and down along time and across the universe. Ianto was having the time of his life.

OoOoOoO

Ianto currently found himself on a Human outpost world in the 34th century, where a festival was going on. The Doctor was talking on and on about everything going on and what to expect.

The Doctor could talk all he wanted, as he did every time they went somewhere, but it still had never fully prepared Ianto for what he would experience each time.

Ianto was in awe as they explored the festival. He was not only on another world, but in the future. He doubted he would ever get used to it, or start to become jaded as he had with his job at Torchwood. He marvelled at the progression the human race had made, finally reaching out to the stars beyond the moon. Space travel seemed stilted in Ianto's time, and he had been prone to wonder if they would ever find a way to travel to the stars. To see how far Earth had gone with space travel and spreading human life to other galaxies across the universe was remarkable to Ianto. There were more than just humans on this world participating in the festival, all of them friendly. Ianto found himself in conversations with so many other races, more than he ever expected, even while working for Torchwood. He picked up trinkets that seemed like nothing to the merchants selling wares, but he knew Yvonne Hartman would have orgasms over and would be willing to kill him for. If he ever found himself back at Torchwood One, he had every intention of not letting the Director get even her eyes on the items he had been collecting.

At one point in the afternoon, Ianto found himself taking a short walk on his own, leaving the Doctor and Rose behind. With all he had seen and done so far, he realised that there was no way he would be able to walk away from this and go back to his life at Torchwood. With a wry half smile, he also knew he should be thankful that was the job he left behind, with knowledge of species that had been to Earth, and working with technology that was far beyond what they had on Earth. It might have been more overwhelming to Ianto if he had a normal job. He started to wonder how Rose had settled into this life and adapted so well.

Ianto Jones was having the time of his life. The thought of going back to London and Torchwood did not sit well with him, not when there was all that was available by travelling with the Doctor. If Doctor would have him, he knew he would continue to travel with him for the rest of his life.

The Doctor seemed to enjoy his company too. But too soon he was reminded that he had quickly and abruptly replaced someone else. Someone that Rose considered a friend and missed.

Ianto found her sitting alone later that day after he had freshened up and changed his clothes before they headed out for dinner. She was sitting not far from the TARDIS. She seemed a little off all day, despite all the laughing they had done, ganging up on the Doctor, and participating in games contributed by not only humans from many worlds but other races as well.

Ianto sat next to Rose, and gently nudged her with his elbow. "Penny for them. Is it about this Jack again?"

She nodded, lifting her head. Looking at Ianto, she smiled. "Don't get me wrong, Ianto. I really like you." Their eyes met. It was not the first time Ianto felt the mutual attraction. He smiled at her and winked, letting her know he understood. "But Jack was a great person." She shrugged. "Well, maybe not at first." She giggled. "That's not exactly true either. He was very charming. And he did save my life."

Ianto settled more comfortably and placed a friendly arm around her shoulder. "Tell me about him."

"He says his name is Captain Jack Harkness. The Doctor claims that's not his real name, but Jack seemed quite settled with the name. For now, at least." She shrugged and giggled. "He saved me when I was hanging from a barrage balloon in the middle of the London Blitz."

Ianto's eyes went wide. "Wow, you do find situations to get into," he said, amusedly.

"I didn't realise the line I used to climb up a wall was attached to it, but anyway Jack noticed me. He was posing as an American volunteer in the RAF, so when I found myself in his arms, he was dressed in a RAF uniform. In his Chula ship – his stolen Chula ship. He tried to con us, but he turned out to be a good guy."

Ianto raised an eyebrow. "Oh yes, he sounds like he has a heart of gold."

Rose giggled. "I love when you do that, with such a straight face. The Doctor or Jack could never pull that off."

"What about you?" Ianto asked. "Think you could?"

"Oh, no way." They looked at each other and laughed.

Rose continued to tell Ianto about Jack Harkness, and the more she said, the more Ianto realised that he might have also liked the ex-Time Agent.

"He was handsome too," Rose said with a smile. "Like you. Only he was older."

"Ah, that makes sense then," Ianto said as he sat back and looked up at the stars, once again marvelling at them being different than the skies he was used to seeing back in London in his own time.

"What does?"

"The Doctor, this Jack. You like older men."

He knew Rose was studying him before he shifted his eyes in her direction. He fought to keep the smirk off his face, knowing she was trying to determine whether he was once again joking or not. There was a three year age difference between them, which is why Ianto figured they had immediately bonded, but he really did wonder if perhaps the feisty blond was more interested in older men, despite her assurances that Mickey, her now ex-boyfriend, was around their age too. She did leave him for the Doctor, after all.

"Jack's amazing," Rose admitted, "and I do miss him, but you're pretty special too."

"Oh really?" Ianto asked.

"Do you like to dance?" Rose asked, quickly standing up, and grabbing onto Ianto's arm.

"Well, I need music," Ianto said as he allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.

Rose giggled. "Wait right here then."

"What?"

"You'll see."

Ianto watched as she ran off toward the TARDIS and decided it if made her happy, he would wait. She returned quickly, holding the brown leather wrist strap Ianto had found in the control room not long after they were abruptly pulled from Cardiff. He knew it had belonged to Jack and already knew what it was capable of. The Doctor had said he would hold onto it, but Rose insisted that she keep it safe until they were able to go back and get Jack.

Ianto sighed. He had a feeling the Doctor had no such intention of retrieving the former Time Agent to join them. Ianto had told the Doctor he really had no one to return to and it did not matter when he came back to his own time. The Doctor seemed pleased to have Ianto along with them now. Jack, apparently was now stranded in Cardiff, without his Vortex Manipulator to get around. That was the only thing about the Doctor that set Ianto on edge. He seemed like a man who appreciated those with him only while they were there. Once they were out of his sight, the Doctor would move on, forgetting about those left behind. Which made him realise he felt sorry for the man he did not know. It was not fair for Jack Harkness to be stranded in a time and world that was not his own, while he got to take Jack's place travelling in the TARDIS with the Doctor.

It actually seemed like further insult to Jack when Rose approached him and grabbed his arm to put the wristband on. "It looks good on you," she said.

"This isn't right, Rose. It's Jack's," he protested.

"It is. And it swallows up my arm when I put it on. But you should wear it; let the Doctor see it, remind him of Jack. Maybe we can convince him to go back and get him."

Ianto turned around. "What if that means I have to leave then?" he asked, feeling his chest clench at the thought of going back to the life he had left behind a short while ago.

"I won't let that happen. You and Jack with me and the Doctor, yeah? It'll be brilliant," Rose said.

Ianto could not help but feel her hope and he turned back around. "Okay, I'll wear this then."

"Here, I'll show you what I know about how it works, but whatever you do, do not let the Doctor have at it. I'm afraid he wants to disable it, and I don't think that's right."

Ianto nodded. "I'll protect it with my life until I can give it back to Jack Harkness then."

Rose's smile was bright. "Thank you, Ianto. Now, let's dance." She showed Ianto the right buttons to push, and suddenly there was Glenn Miller playing. Ianto laughed at the absurdity of it all – Glenn Miller playing in the far future in another galaxy across the universe. Only with the Doctor. He pulled Rose into his arms and together they started to glide across the grassy ground. Rose was pleased that Ianto knew how to dance, and they continued to dance until the Doctor called for them to join him back in the TARDIS.

Ianto did not take off the wrist strap afterwards, and he quickly learned how it worked. After all, his job was to figure out that type of thing along with alien artefacts. The vortex manipulator was easy, at least getting it to do the little things. It was all that he needed it for anyway, and left the more complicated uses to its owner whenever the time came that Jack Harkness felt it was time to leave and go back to his own world.

Later that night, Ianto snuck to Rose's room, exclaiming he was able to get the wristband to play more than Glenn Miller. They continued to dance through time's collection of music. During a slower song, Ianto found Rose in his arms, pressed against him as they swayed slowly. Ianto started to sing along to the song, smiling at the pleased look on Rose's face as she exclaimed he had a wonderful voice. Ianto smirked, admitting he had been in a band once before he started to work for Torchwood. That was back during the six months Ianto thought he would be a starving musician, hoping that the band would start bringing in some money. The band broke up after six months and Ianto found himself once again drifting, until he got himself in a position to be approached by Torchwood One's recruiting agent. He had found an item that he could not identify, but thought it looked like it could bring in some money in a pawn shop. What he did not expect was the owner to come after him for it – a multi-tentacle creature from another world. He ended up working briefly with Torchwood One until they managed to capture the alien and take possession of the artefact. Ianto was expecting some sort of compensation in the way of a reward, but found himself talking to the agent as she explained that the Institute was impressed with how he had handled himself, and even how he figured out limited use of the object. He was given two choices to pick from: that he would be Retconned, with no compensation, and left to go on his way with nothing gained since finding the object, or that he come work for Torchwood.

Ianto took the job offer and found himself impressed with the starting pay. He was making more than he thought he would be at that stage in his life. Even better, he had found a career that he found rewarding, and threw himself into it wholeheartedly. He did not think he would ever leave Torchwood, until the day he had met the Doctor.

Rose knew that about him, since he had told her and the Doctor while they were travelling to Raxacoricofallapatorius. Now she was discovering a bit about his life before Torchwood and that he could sing.

It was not long after that song that Rose Tyler discovered that she loved the way Ianto kissed.

The next day, while they were still exploring the festival - the Doctor said it would take them days to see everything, and seemed to have every intention on them doing just that - Rose and Ianto managed to slip away from the Doctor and went back to the TARDIS. As they made their way around the festival, the two would often hold hands. When the Doctor would slip away for a few minutes, they moved off to a place where they would not be seen to kiss. Not long after midday, it was obvious what they both wanted. So they ended up back in the TARDIS, Rose feigning a headache, and Ianto offering to take her back allowing the Doctor to continue with his enjoyment of the festival. Ianto promised to meet up with him later, and if Rose was feeling any better, she would be with Ianto.

By the time they met with the Doctor, both Ianto and Rose were feeling wonderful. It was also hard for the Doctor not to notice something had happened between his two young Companions. If it bothered him, or he felt offended, he did not let it show.

After several days and having seen enough of the festival, they decided to leave and go somewhere else. Once again, Rose tried to talk the Doctor into returning to Cardiff 2005 to pick Jack up. The Doctor said he would go back eventually, and that it would not make much difference to Jack anyway, since he would make sure not much time had gone by since they left. Ianto shook his head and took Rose's hand, squeezing it in reassurance as the Doctor took them to their next destination. Much to their amusement, the Doctor had chosen a recreation world in the future. However, despite his insistence that they both go off on their own and do whatever they wanted for a full day, Ianto and Rose could not help but notice the sadness in the Doctor's eyes.

And Ianto definitely felt the Doctor's stare burn into him as his back was turned and he walked away with one arm around Rose's slim waist.

OoOoOoO

Ianto slowly opened his eyes, trying to remember when he closed them. As white blurry shapes filled his vision, he felt the pounding in his head, worse than he could ever remember. He had a moment of panic as he realised he did not remember much of anything, including his name.

He realised someone was speaking. Or something. It was definitely a voice, but it sounded metallic, like it was coming from a robot.

"There we go again. We've got our work cut out for us," the voice said.

"I don't know – he's sort of handsome. That's a good button nose," a second metallic voice chimed in.

"Button noses are so last year," stated the first voice as Ianto felt himself wake up more.

He pushed himself up, regretting the action as a wave of dizziness washed over him. He was sprawled out in a chair, and currently in an uncomfortable position. His instinct was to fall back again, but upon seeing the white robots before him, his fascination with anything not from the Earth made him settle into a sitting position.

"Excuse me," he said, breaking into the robots' conversation. "It's nice to meet you, uh…ladies," there was a slight question to the last word, but it appeared to have gone unnoticed by his hostesses, "but where am I?"

"We're giving you a brand new image," the first robot, Trin-E, replied as they turned to him.

"A new… wait! I was with the Doctor…."

He remembered their last stop was to Exaliar Four, an amusement world. Instead of spending a full day there, after only half a day of making love in garden that they rented out for such uses, they ended up mutually agreeing to go back and find the Doctor. They managed to drag the Doctor out to a festival for a few hours, before deciding to find somewhere else to go.

The Doctor had decided to let fate decide their next destination, setting the TARDIS randomly. They were laughing, the three of them. He was holding Rose's hand, and despite the joking between them, they were aware of the Doctor's eyes flickering occasionally to their joined hands. At one point, Ianto let go of Rose's hand to go over to the Doctor and give him a hand with something.

That's when everything went wrong. Suddenly there was a bright light and it started to engulf Rose. She reached out, calling for the Doctor and Ianto. As both men ran towards her, arms extended in hopes to grab her hand, she was pulled into the light. They watched as she disappeared.

They had no time to react as the same light engulfed them, drawing them apart and further into the light.

The next thing Ianto remembered was waking up in his current situation.

Ianto's eyes went wide as he looked down at himself, taking in his baggy jeans and hoodie over a white tee-shirt. During his travels with the Doctor and Rose, he realised how dependent he had become on his suits. He was wearing one when he ended up on the TARDIS, but since had chosen more casual clothes after quickly discovering that travelling with the Doctor was hectic. He had put on a suit twice when they were going out to eat, and Ianto was fairly certain they would only eat and not find themselves in the midst of trouble, he was wrong only one time.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" he asked, lifting his gaze back to the two androids before him. Another thing he was reminded of once again was that not even Torchwood One prepared him for some of the things he encountered during his time with the Doctor. They had androids back at Torchwood One, but nothing like the ones before him.

"It's all very twentieth century," Zu-zana android stated. "Where did you get that denim?"

Ianto shrugged. "It was in the back of the wardrobe. I like it," he added defensively.

"Oh, design classic," Zu-zana exclaimed as she wheeled around him.

"We're going to have to find you some new colours. Maybe get rid of that pseudo-punk look you have going on," Trin-E commented, her metallic hands appearing to be clasped as she gave Ianto the once over.

"Pseudo punk?" Ianto sputtered indignantly. "Ma'am, I call this comfortable." He straightened himself up to his full height, standing tall and proud. "However, I prefer suits." He placed his hands on his hips, attempting to stare down two androids who thought they had better fashion sense than he.

"Just stand still and let the Defabricator work its magic," Zu-zana said, going over to a machine that was positioned before Ianto.

"What is a Defabricator?" Ianto asked.

The androids who were on each side of the machine and turning it on, demonstrated what the Defabricator did. A beam of light hit Ianto in his mid-section. The light began to split up, one end moving upward toward his head, while the other went to his feet. As the light beams moved, Ianto's clothes disappeared until he was left still standing with hands on his hips, totally and completely naked.

Ianto felt his face heat up as his cheeks glowed in a flush. "Um," he started, resisting the urge to cover himself, "Defabricator. Does exactly what it says on the tin," he finished, his tone that of a Torchwood researcher when faced with new alien tech. There were only the androids in the room with him, no matter how alive they seemed, so for the sake of science, he found it easy to remain in his position while naked. Until a thought struck him.

His eyes flickered to a sign that said What Not To Wear. Looking around some more, he realised they were in a television studio. Which meant that the red blinking light probably meant…

"Uhh, am I naked in front of millions of viewers?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly.

"Absolutely!" both androids replied in unison, extreme pleasure in their voices.

It took more will than Ianto thought he had not to cover himself, run and hide. "So," he asked, taking a deep breath, "where's the Fabricator? Please?" His flush spread from his face down to his upper torso.

"Oh, just stand there a bit longer," Trin-E exclaimed.

"Indeed," Zu-zana added. "I do believe our ratings just got higher."

Ianto removed one hand from his hip to cover his face as he groaned. "Now what did the Doctor get us into?" he muttered.

OoOoOoO

Ianto found himself wearing black leather trousers with a white vest. He made a few half hearted attempts at posing, but he could tell the droids were not happy with him. Leather trousers were something Ianto never had interest adding to his wardrobe. They looked well and fine, he had to admit though. His eye caught his backside reflected in a mirror and he had to grin. He had to admit he did fill them well. Casting a glance at the perturbed droids, he decided that it was just a game, like dressing up for Halloween, and chances are no one watching him would know him anyway. He had the impression of being too far in the future for his family to be embarrassed by him. The thought that filtered through after that was why he cared what they thought. Wasn't that why he had run to London in the first place? Why he decided to stay with the Doctor as long as he could? Oh, seeing the universe and being a part of living history was definitely an incentive for staying on, but when Ianto admitted it to himself, he was running from his family. It was not that he had anything against his older sister. He loved her and her family dearly, but they represented his past, a past he fought since he was eighteen to escape. He always felt there was more for him than living in estate housing. His family was rough around the edges, and that was being polite. Particularly his brother-in-law, and especially his father. After almost falling into the traps of someone from his social status – gangs, drinking too much, taking drugs, smoking, stealing, he pulled his act together when Torchwood One hired him. With his employment, he created a new life for himself, including a few lies about his past, and built on the lies until he believed them, and they were what Ianto Jones was.

So why not add model for a futuristic audience to the list?. The droids seemed to find him good looking enough, and it did spur his confidence. He never had trouble finding girlfriends or even casual encounters, and he even had Rose now. Rose, who was beautiful and so full of life, and now she was his. He felt a twinge of guilt, knowing he had swept her up from the Doctor, but one law of life was if you're too slow, you lose. The Doctor had his chance, and he blew it.

Thinking of Rose suddenly brought him back to his current situation. Where was Rose? He had to wonder, and hoped she was okay. He had to put faith in the hope that she had ended up somewhere close to where he was. So all he had to do was make the viewing audience and the two odd droids who thought they had fashion sense, but lacked it completely, happy and then he would be free to find her, and hopefully the Doctor as well. The last thing Ianto wanted was to be stuck where he was. Maybe with some luck, Rose was already with the Doctor, and he'd find them both in one try. Or even better they would find him.

So he posed a little more, and decided he was bored with black and white. It was utterly and dreadfully boring. He turned to the droids and the clothes rack nearby.

"It's the buccaneer look. A little dash of pirate and just a tweak of President Schwarzenegger," Trin-E explained.

Ianto shook his head. "I'm not sure about the vest. What about a little colour to lift it?"

"Absolutely not!" Zu-zana exclaimed. "Never wear black with colour. It makes the colour look cheap and the black look boring. Now, let's talk about jackets."

Ianto shook his head again. As he had thought, the droids believed they had fashion sense. Still he decided to play by their rules for the time being, especially if it meant being done with it and on his way to find Rose and the Doctor.

Looking thoughtful, his eyes on the rack, he said, "I kinda liked the first one."

"No. That's too Hell's Angel," Zu-zana stated. "I think I like the shorter one."

With a sigh, Ianto put on the jacket that was held out for him. He had to admit it did look good on him, and it was nicer than the one he had picked out.

"Look, waist length, nice and slimming," Zu-zana commented, "shows off the bum." She patted Ianto on his bum.

Affronted that he was just groped by an android, Ianto quickly turned to face the two droids, making sure his bum was turned away from them. Fighting down a flush, he simply stated, "Works for me."

"Once we've got an outfit, we can look at the face," Trin-E said. "A little lift around the eyes, tighten up the jaw line, what do you think?"

Ianto raised an eyebrow, studying the two droids before him. "No. Never considered it. I'm a bit too young to get to that stage of vanity."

"Really?" Trin-E remarked, sounding surprised. "But you have such old eyes."

Ianto smirked. "I've been told that before. Let's just say I've seen a lot in my life so far." He smiled at Trin-E, a tad on the flirtatious side. Ianto Jones knew how to play people, now he was hoping those same skills could play the droids. "But no, darling. I like my face just fine." He winked at her, giving her his most charming grin.

"Oh, let's have a bit more ambition," Trin-E insisted. "Face changes are to die for."

Ianto rolled his eyes at her insistence.

Turned away from Ianto, with Zu-zana now taking his attention, she removed the covering from her forearm to reveal a chainsaw. "Let's do something more…cutting edge," she finished.

OoOoOoO

Ianto decided to go along with things, allowing the droids to dress him up through several outfit changes. He felt like he was four again, when his sister Rhiannon would dress him up while their parents were out working. He really did not have much of a choice back then, because his sister was older and knew how to bully him into doing what she wanted. It felt almost the same here, something kept telling him it was best if he just allowed the two droids to do what they wanted. He was beyond the embarrassment of finding himself totally naked several times while on live telly. His only grace was knowing he was far enough in the future that it was highly unlikely he'd run into anyone he knew.

Except Rose and the Doctor. Rose might give him a bit of a time with teasing him, but it's not like she had never seen him out of his clothes. Thoughts of her turned into worry, hoping that she was not in something she could not handle. He wondered when this show was over, would he be escorted to a green room of sorts where he would be reunited with Rose and the Doctor? He hoped it to be true, but a feeling inside him gnarled, causing a knot to form in his stomach and increase his anxieties. One thing he had learned from travelling with the Doctor, it usually never was that easy.

The quickest way to be on his way toward the Doctor and Rose was to get through this. So Ianto clamped down on his anxieties and modesty to do the best he could in giving everyone as good a show as he could. That way, they could not refuse his request to be joined with his travelling companions when he asked. Or so he hoped. So far they had kept him away from suits, stating that the look was not exciting enough.

He currently found himself in a tennis outfit, swinging a racket to an invisible ball. He felt completely silly, as he had throughout most of the ordeal so far. He stopped and looked over to the droids.

"Sorry, this isn't working. Tennis isn't really my thing." He gave them a small smile. "I just don't see how this can be exciting." His eyes drifted over to the rack, once again noting there was nothing there to resemble a suit. And thanks to the Defabricator, there were no sign of the clothes he had been wearing when he first found himself there.

"Stage Two is ready and waiting," Zu-zana announced as Ianto was ushered before the Defabricator again.

As the beams removed fabric, trainers and socks, he hoped Stage Two meant they were closer to finally being finished with this nonsense. Imagine me trying to appease the crash fashion sense of two over eager androids. If only the others back at Torchwood London could see him now, especially his bosses. Hartman would be having a boner, even with the lack of necessary equipment.

He clasped his hands together. "Well then, bring it on," he enthused, trying to keep himself in the swing of things for a while longer, and admittedly curious as to what Stage Two was. Maybe he could finally convince them to allow him a suit. Or maybe he'd find himself expected to wear some garish avant-garde look. His eyes fell on a pair of black leather trousers with straps and buckles. They reminded him of pictures he had seen of the London punk look back around the time he was born, and the pants that were horribly more expensive than he was willing to pay in one of the underground clothes shops that was still in business around London. If he was honest with himself, he had to admit it was a lot like cosplay, if only he could direct them to the right styles to really have some fun with.

When he was once again naked, Trin-E stated, "And now it's time for the face-off!"

"Face off? Does this mean I'll have a competitor?" He grinned, amusing himself. "Or will I have to put on one of those Sumo garments and fight someone? I spent some time in the company of feudal Sumos, very recently in fact," he went on.

"No, like I said – Face. Off," Trin-E corrected him.

The android held up her arms. One hand's fingers turned into large, evil looking needles, while her other arm was now a chainsaw.

Ianto's eyes went wide as he stared at the arms-turned-implements before him, and he tried to consider if this was some type of joke. Surely they couldn't be serious, he tried to tell himself.

"I think you'd look good with a dog's head," Zu-zana added, holding up her own arm, which was now a pair of giant scissors that made a snipping motion.

Ianto gulped, wide eyes going from Trin-E to Zu-zana. His head whipped back to Trin-E when she stated, "Or maybe no head at all. That would be so outrageous." She sounded absolutely pleased with the idea.

Ianto was not pleased with the idea at all, or having a dog head attached to this body. Either one was not good at all.

"And we could stitch your legs to the middle of your chest," Zu-zana added. "After we move the pelt on your chest to another location. Now where should we put that?" she wondered.

It took all his concentration to keep his jaw from hanging open, although an eyebrow still shot up. He stared at his two hosts, definitely more than a little concerned. He quickly took stock of his options, realizing that as outrageous as the suggestions seemed, it was possible the two insane androids were serious. In which case, escape would be the best option. Once again he was thankful for Torchwood London's pushing on ways to be prepared for the impossible. During that time he had groaned and bitched throughout the training sessions and random inspections to check on inventive weapons hidden , but since travelling with the Doctor he was very glad that he always managed to keep a weapon of some type hidden on his person. He was even more thankful that he had never mentioned having a very small laser pistol on him when he first found himself on the TARDIS. Rose recently found out he had it, but promised to keep quiet about it, knowing it would come in handy one day. He never left the TARDIS without it, and on that particular day was more than thankful for following a feeling he'd earlier in the day and placed the small weapon in an undetectable place. That he did not have to worry about going in his pants only made it easier and he sent a silent thanks to the damned Defabricator after all.

"Nothing is too extreme," Trin-E babbled on. "It's to die for!"

Okay, enough is enough, Ianto thought. At first he thought to give them a chance, taking the polite way, as all the Torchwood disaster training was going through his head.

Holding out both his hands before him, he said, "Ladies! Please. This is surely a joke. Yes?"

Both droids shared a looked before their attention went back to him.

"Well, of course not," Zu-zana stated. "That is what Stage Two is about, after all."

"Look, I don't want to be forced to hurt either of you," Ianto warned, dropping his arms to his sides. "But if need be, I will shoot you."

"But you're unarmed!" Trin-E exclaimed, and looked over to the other droid.

Something about the exchange warned Ianto he had no other choice. It was either make an escape now or he would find himself dead, with dismembered body parts in places they had no right being. Not that dying appealed in the slightest bit to Ianto, along with the fact that his body would be twisted into whatever they had planned for him seemed a most undignified way to face the eternal sleep.

"You're naked," Zu-zana pointed out the obvious to him.

With a grin he reached behind himself to grab the small pistol that he was given shortly after being certified to use it back in his early days with Torchwood. He held his hand out, ready to fire once he figured which one would make the best shot first.

Both androids seemed surprised to find themselves being held at gun point.

"But that's a Compact Laser Deluxe!" Zu-zana exclaimed.

"Where were you hiding that?" Trin-E inquired.

Ianto gave them a crooked grin. "You really don't want to know," he stated, wondering if the cameras and the live audience already knew where it had come from, and felt himself blushing slightly at the though.

"Give me that accessory," Trin-E stated, as if speaking to a petulant child.

"Sorry ma'am, but I can't do that." He aimed the pistol at the approaching droid. "I'm sorry about this too, but you've really given me no choice."

He shot Trin-E's head off and immediately trained the pistol on Zu-zana. The second android suffered the same fate as her counterpart.

"Great," Ianto muttered realizing that there might be security about to storm in on him. He had to get away as fast as he could, but he was still naked. And as useful as the laser had been, he knew it was very likely he needed a better weapon to defend himself.

More of his Torchwood training kicked in, along with his knowledge of working with alien tech and artefacts.

First thing he did was get dressed. He grabbed the first pair of trousers that his hand touched and pulled them on to discover he was now zipping up the leather ones with the straps and buckles. He settled for a white tee-shirt and black leather vest, along with a pair of black shoes. He had been known to get dressed rather quickly when needed, but this had to be record time. He also located where his belongings had been placed. He figured that when he first arrived and still unconscious, someone went through his pockets and deposited what they had found in a box sitting in a corner. Quickly he got everything tucked into the pockets of his newly acquired trousers, mentally going over a checklist to assure he was not missing anything.

Securing his pistol in the band of his trousers, he realised the only tech available was the Defabricator. Giving it a quick look over, he decided it would have to do. It did have all the parts and technology he needed. All he had to do was find a quick way to reassemble it after he changed the energy charge.

He held his breath as he worked, hoping he was doing things right. He did not have time to keep going back to start over again like he had back in the secure archives. He fumbled twice as he was on alert, listening for any indication of security storming down on him.

At least he was satisfied with his creation. Grinning he lifted the reassembled Defabricator, giving it an appreciative look. Once he found the Doctor, he knew the Time Lord would not approve, but Ianto could not be bothered. It was very possible that Ianto's new Defabricator gun would save his life. By now he was very worried about both Rose and the Doctor. He had to find them, and hope that they had not ended up in situations as precarious as he had found himself. And if they did, well, he was ready to amend that.

Shouldering the weapon, he grinned as he looked over at the two smouldering robots. "Looks like I got myself a real gun. Well, it's been interesting, ladies, but I do have to say that you have atrocious taste in clothing for experts." He winked and pushed a button to open the door, stepping to the side just in case. Once he was assured it was clear, he ran from the studio.

Only to come to a stop in what looked like an empty corridor. "Great. Now where?" He looked around and noticed a lift.

He ran to the lift and after a cursory glance, assumed he needed to place his palm on the imprint by the door. He hoped it was just a general means of calling for a lift and not set off any security systems. To his relief, the doors opened and Ianto got in, closing the door behind him.

In the lift, his mind was in gear. Realizing he had a means of locating at least the Doctor, he lifted his arm with the wristband he had been safekeeping. "Sorry Jack," he stated, "but at least this is proving to come in handy." He used the wristband to scan and found what he was looking for. "Two hearts," he said with a grin, knowing he had located the Doctor. His frown quickly left his face. "But which floor?" He sighed heavily, mind already on what to do next.

He played with the dials again until he set the lift to move. Hopefully he was going in the right direction to meet up with the Doctor. With any luck, Rose would be with the Time Lord.

OoOoOoO

To Ianto's relief, he found the Doctor exactly where the wrist strap had led him. He exited the lift to find the Doctor before him, unaware that he was no longer alone. Ianto frowned, deciding that was not a good thing and the Doctor was lucky it was not someone unfriendly arriving.

Nonetheless he was relieved to find the Doctor. As he entered the area, his voice boomed out, causing the Doctor to turn around. "I'm so glad to see you that I could kiss you," he stated.

The Doctor grinned. "Watch it, 'cause you're starting to sound like Captain Jack."

Ianto grinned back. "I'm not going to take that as an insult, Doctor." His smile fell as he realised the other person with the Doctor was not who Ianto was hoping it was. "Have you seen Rose?"

The Doctor shook his head. "We've been trying to locate both you and her with no luck."

After the Doctor introduced Lynda to Ianto, they found themselves to be on the Observation Deck on the 56th floor. The Doctor explained the situation he had found himself in, which also explained Lynda's presence with them. Ianto briefly filled the Doctor in on his own situation, leaving out the naked parts. He would tell Rose everything later, once they found her and they were safely back in the TARDIS. He would wait until it was just her and him, and they could laugh over it, even if Ianto knew he would finally start to feel mortally embarrassed. It was just those types of things he felt comfortable sharing with Rose, and then made light of it. Afterwards, they would take advantage of not only his own naked stage, but hers. Ianto grinned slightly at the thought, which led him to affirm they were going to find her, and soon.

He had been fiddling with the wrist strap trying to find her location now that he had a better idea on how to scan for individuals. It was a handy thing, the wrist strap, and Ianto wondered if once they were able to go back and get Jack, if would he be able to convince the Doctor to take them to where he could get one of his own. Travelling with the Doctor, Ianto suddenly felt like it was an essential item to have with him. Between that and his micro laser, there would be no situation he couldn't get out of.

As he worked on trying to scan for Rose, they were looking down at Earth. Ianto tried to feel impressed, but looking down at the murky clouds that surrounded the orb, all he felt was sadness for his home world's future.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he realised the Doctor was speaking to him.

"Can't you track her down?" the Doctor asked.

Ianto shook his head, biting his lip in frustration. "She must be inside a studio. All the studio rooms are shielded." He was able to determine that much from the scans. Once Ianto was able to figure out how to get the scanning function to work, he was familiar enough with alien scanners to know what he was hoping to get the wrist strap to do. So far he was not disappointed.

He was also amazed that so far the Doctor had not said anything about the big-assed gun that sat next to him.

The Doctor was standing next to what looked like a computer console, playing with it, hoping it would help them. "If we can just get inside this computer… She's got to be here somewhere." It was obvious from the tone of his voice that he was frustrated. Ianto was assured that the Doctor was not going to leave Rose behind, because Ianto knew the Time Lord cared deeply for Rose, maybe even had feelings for her. It was not Ianto's fault that he knew how to act faster. Although Ianto knew he tried not to show it, the Welshman was able to notice when the Time Lord was jealous, and yet he could sense something close to relief as well. At least the Doctor did not hold it against Ianto. Currently they worked together, knowing they would do anything it took to find Rose and have her back with them, even if it meant the Doctor would have to take a step back to allow the budding relationship between Ianto and Rose to further develop.

Ianto shook his wrist in frustration and glanced over to the Doctor, who was still attempting to get into the computer. Lynda stood on the side, attempting to stay out of the way.

"Hurry up," Ianto said to the Doctor. "These games shows don't exactly have happy endings."

"You think I don't know that?" the Doctor snapped, stopping what he was doing to glare over at Ianto.

Ianto stood up, fiddling with the wrist strap. He had an idea. If he had any say, he would have been helping the Doctor with the computer, but the Doctor was the expert – of everything.

Still, it did not stop Ianto from having his input. After all, the two of them working on the problem would increase their chances of finding Rose before something happened to her.

He went over to where the Doctor still worked on the computer. Very much aware of Rose's warning when she had first given Ianto the wrist strap to wear and keep it safe until Jack Harkness was able to join them on their travels again, he decided that she would just have to accept his decision and once she knew why, she would understand. Besides, Ianto had no intention of allowing the wrist strap in the Doctor's possession longer than necessary.

"Here," Ianto said, dangling the wrist strap before the Doctor's face. "Patch it in there."

The Doctor took the wrist strap from Ianto, looking at him in question.

Ianto gave the Doctor a small grin. "It's programmed to find her. It should serve as a patch for you to get the computer to give you an exact location."

The grin the Doctor gave Ianto nearly split his face in two. "Thanks," he said, going to work with the wrist strap, while Ianto stood close by, ready to take possession of it as soon as the Time Lord was done. He shifted the makeshift strap of his assembled gun to keep the weapon slung along his back and out of the Doctor's sight.

He noticed Lynda seemed stressed as she stared down at Earth. "Hey Lynda," he called out.

The perky blonde turned to face him, mustering up a smile.

"Don't you worry," he assured her. "Once we find Rose, we'll be off and running from this joint." He winked at Lynda, which made her giggle.

"Stop that," the Doctor admonished without looking away from what he was doing.

"Stop what?" Ianto asked. "I'm just making small talk."

"Sounds like flirting from where I'm at," the Doctor stated.

Ianto shrugged, grinning at Lynda. "Well it wasn't." He saw her face drop just a little in disappointment. "Not that I wouldn't, but I have a girlfriend," he explained. His eyes shifted toward the Doctor and glittered impishly. "If I didn't, I'm thinking of all sorts of chat lines that I would be giving."

Lynda laughed again, visibly relaxing.

"Ianto Jones!" the Doctor exclaimed, which made both Ianto and Lynda laugh.

"I don't mind, really," Lynda said. "Even if he is taken."

"Yeah, he's taken," the Doctor said, voice void of emotion. "And if he knows what's good for him, he's going to do right by her."

"Of course I am," Ianto remarked indignantly.

"Oh," Lynda said, her eyes wide. "This Rose…. is she your girlfriend?"

Ianto nodded. "Yeah. She is."

"She's very lucky, Ianto Jones."

"I'll take that as a compliment, sweet Lynda," he replied, emphasizing 'sweet' because she had previously mentioned that the Doctor called her sweet. He crooked an eyebrow when Lynda giggled. "If I didn't know the Doctor better, I'd say he had hit on you."

"I did not hit on her," the Doctor grumped, clearly annoyed.

"I know. Like I said, I know you better," Ianto commented dryly.

Lynda covered her mouth to keep from bursting out in laughter at the look the Doctor gave Ianto.

Anything the Doctor might have said in retaliation never came as the wrist strap beeped loudly. "It's not compatible!" the Doctor announced hotly after checking the results. "This stupid system doesn't make sense."

The Doctor tossed the wrist strap to Lynda. Ianto shot his arm out to intercept when he realised what the Doctor was up to. Instead he moved closer to the Doctor and helped pull away the front of the computer. Once the task was completed, the Doctor held out his hand for the wrist strap.

As the Doctor went back to patching in the program Ianto had set up in the wrist strap, he started to talk. "This place should be a basic broadcaster. The systems are twice as complicated. It's more than just television. This station's transmitting something else."

Ianto frowned at the implications of what that meant. He placed his hands on his hips and looked around at their surroundings. "Like what?" he asked.

"I don't know," the Doctor admitted. "This whole Bad Wolf thing's tied up with me. Someone's manipulating my entire life. It's some sort of a trap and Rose is stuck inside it."

"How can that be?" Ianto asked, wondering how the Doctor was able to surmise that much. Then again, he was a Time Lord. Ianto's thoughts paused on that. "Wait a minute," he paused. "How can someone manipulate a Time Lord's life?"

The Doctor paused from his work to meet Ianto's look. "Exactly."

Ianto's frown grew. That was answer enough, enough for Ianto to know it was something extremely dangerous. He felt a chill run through him. And Rose, his Rose was caught up in the mess. "How is Rose….?"

The Doctor gave Ianto a sad smile. "I don't know, Ianto. I wish I did. Of course, now you're trapped in it too."

Ianto opened his mouth to say something when the wrist strap beeped loudly.

"I found her! She's on floor 407!" the Doctor exclaimed.

Ianto was already reaching for the wrist strap, preparing to head to the floor and get Rose when Lynda let out a terrified noise. Ianto and the Doctor stared at her in concern, pausing in the action of the Doctor handing Ianto back the brown leather band.

"Oh my God!" Lynda exclaimed. "She's with the Anne Droid! You've gotta get her out of there!"

The Doctor and Ianto needed no further explanation as they headed for the lift. The Doctor pulled Lynda along, while Ianto fumbled to secure the wrist strap and then hefted the gun that still was slung from his shoulder as if he found a sense of security in the weapon.

Once inside the lift, it seemed as if it could not move fast enough to get them to Floor 407.

After what seemed like an eternity, the lift finally came to a stop. Ianto was already squeezing through the opening doors as soon as he knew he could fit through. The Doctor was right on his heels with Lynda following.

After a scramble to find where the studio was, they found themselves at the right door which was locked. On loudspeakers, they were able to hear the proceedings inside the studio and Ianto felt himself grow anxious. Rose was a wonderful and amazing woman who at times had insight that lent to brilliance, but he had to admit that she wasn't the smartest person he knew. To be fair to her, it was to her disadvantage that the questions were based on events that had happened in the history of the current time they were in. When Ianto had first learned where Rose was, he had a moment of wishing that he had ended up there instead, because he was good with trivia, but not even he would have stood a chance with the questions asked.

The Doctor was attempting to unlock the door using his sonic screwdriver, but so far he was having no success, which made Ianto anxious. Everyone was aware that time was running out for Rose and they had to get in there. Unable to wait any longer, Ianto aimed his handmade gun at the palm plate.

"Doctor, move away from there!" he insisted. "Let me get this."

The Doctor spared Ianto a glance, displeasure on his face. "Put the gun down!"

"We don't have time, Doctor!" Ianto insisted. From what they were hearing, the last question was being asked to Rose, and if she got it wrong… Ianto didn't want to think about it. Nothing was going to happen to his Rose.

"It's a fuckin' piece of machinery, not a living being," Ianto growled, striding to the Doctor. He pulled the Doctor away. "But don't think of stopping me if something happens to her."

With the Doctor cleared from the door, and knowing Lynda was behind him, he aimed the gun at the face plate.

"What if you only accomplish breaking the mechanism?" the Doctor demanded.

"We don't have a choice. Your way isn't working. Now we try mine."

"So Torchwood," the Doctor muttered in annoyance.

Ianto did not reply, acting as if he didn't hear as he pulled the trigger. A beam emitted from the gun, hitting the panel. As sparks flew, the lights flickered and turned red. With smoke emitting from the panel, the doors slid open.

Ianto released the breath he was holding and started for the door. The Doctor managed to get in before him. Ahead of them, Rose was in a panic, afraid of being disintegrated. At the Doctor calling out her name, her face lit up when she saw them.

.

"Rose," the droid said, an Anne Droid Ianto realised as he looked at it, "you leave this life with nothing."

"Stop this game!" Ianto yelled out, hoisting his gun in the air.

Rose slipped between the contestant podiums to run towards them.

Ianto followed the Doctor in a run to meet her, with Lynda behind him.

"I order you to stop this game!" the Doctor demanded.

"You are the weakest link," Anne Droid announced.

"Look out for the Anne Droid, she's armed!" Rose called to them as she ran.

"So am I," Ianto called back.

The Anne Droid turned its head to follow Rose's path. They were only mere feet from her when the Anne Droid's jaw dropped and Ianto watched as a beam of light was emitted from the android, hitting Rose in the back.

His heart broke as he watched Rose disappear before them, leaving nothing left but a pile of dust.

Consumed with anger, Ianto hoisted the gun and charged towards the humans in the room, running past the Doctor who had dropped to his knees before the spot where Rose last was. The android seemed disengaged, but not taking chances, Ianto fired at it before his aim swung to the female with the headset that he assumed was the stage manager and the dark skinned man who was behind the podiums next to Rose when they entered. He found himself yelling at them, threatening to make them pay.

Guards charged into the room. Ianto turned to see the Doctor was still on his knees, appearing to be in shock, before a pile of what looked like sand, running his hands through it.

"Rose," Ianto muttered in pain, realizing that all that was left of the woman he loved was that pile of sand. Ianto started to yell again, waving his gun dangerously at the stage manager and the woman. Turning, his rage included the guards who were now surrounding the Time Lord. Everything was surreal to Ianto, the only thing driving him was that Rose was dead. His Rose, dead. Because of these sick people and the games they played. He was ready to take out everyone on the station, not even considering that he would have no chance.

He aimed at the guards, with intent to fire if he had to. "Don't you touch him!" Ianto yelled, anger and pain in his voice. "Leave him alone!"

Looking at the Doctor as the guards ignored him and dragged the Time Lord to his feet, guns pointed at his head, Ianto saw on the Doctor's face was what he was feeling. Emptiness., His heart shattered. Ianto might have made his move first, and the Doctor had stepped back to allow the relationship with Rose grow, but it did not stop the Time Lord from still loving her. Instead of feeling jealousy, Ianto accepted it. Together, the two of them had done what they could to keep Rose safe.

Now she was gone.

And the Doctor seemed to have given up the will to resist.

A guard came up behind Ianto during his distraction, with a gun trained on him. Ianto was not an idiot. He knew he could take down the guards by the Doctor, but he would find himself going down immediately after. He could not get his revenge for what they did to Rose if he was dead too. So he nodded to the Doctor and dropped his gun. He clamped down on his emotions, not wanting to break down and cry over losing Rose. He did not want to give the bastards that satisfaction.

As his hands were being constrained behind his back, he could not help but spit out, "You killed her! You and your fucking stupid games killed her, you bastards." His voice broke.

Everything was in a haze after that. Ianto barely noticed as they were arrested, processed and an attempt at interrogation was made. The Doctor said nothing. He had said nothing since he had seen Rose get killed. He did not answer any of the questions put to him, and did not speak to Ianto and Lynda.

Ianto was full of responses to questions asked, nothing that answered what was being asked, but he could not keep quiet and shut down, needing to vent. Lynda spoke only to defend the Doctor and Ianto.

They found themselves in a prison cell, sitting on a bench. The Doctor still had not spoken. Ianto had fallen silent since being returned to the cell after having their photos taken and their arrest records entered into the station's system.

Suddenly a guard appeared outside their cell. Ianto and the Doctor continued to stare ahead in the cell, not giving the guard their attention. Lynda was the only one who shifted to look at the man on the other side of the bars.

"You will be taken from this place to the Lunar Penal Colony, there to be held without trial, you may not appeal against this sentence," the guard stated in a solemn tone.

When neither man made any indication of hearing him, he asked, "Is that understood?" His voice turned cold.

Again, nothing. The guard started to open the door to take them out.

The Doctor finally moved his head to look at Ianto. "Let's do it," he stated.

Ianto nodded and was on his feet with the Doctor. Lynda got up after them. Being closest to the door, Ianto managed to kick at the opening door, knocking the guard off balance as Ianto made his way through the door. He gave the guard another kick, sending him into the wall and rendering him unconscious. Another guard ran at them, going for the Doctor, but the Time Lord managed to push him into a wall, also knocking him out.

Ianto went for his gun, as the Doctor retrieved his sonic screwdriver. Lynda was grabbing weapons, and Ianto decided to grab whatever else he could carry before they made their way to freedom.

Following the Doctor, Ianto and Lynda got into a lift, where the Doctor requested the lift to take them to floor 500. As the lift ascended, the Doctor turned to Ianto and took the gun that Ianto had made from the Defabricator from him. Ianto was about to protest, claiming that they'd need it; they would need all the weapons they had when he felt Lynda slip him one of the machine guns they had nabbed. Next he was given a handgun from the Doctor. As he secured the hand gun in the waistband of his trousers, he watched in amazement as the Doctor acquainted himself with the weapon he now held.

The Doctor lifted his head, meeting Ianto's eyes in silent question. They were approaching floor 500. Ianto glanced at Lynda, assured that she was armed with a handgun. He was not sure if she would know how to handle it, but Ianto would be the first one to attest to learning quickly when the need arose. The Doctor had not been happy about Ianto's newly honed skills, but it had saved their lives several times, so Ianto felt no remorse. He knew Rose felt the same. He had undergone weapons training as part of his orientation to Torchwood, but he never had any need to pick up a gun and use it during his time with the Institute. He tried not to think too hard on the irony that he became adept with guns by travelling with the Doctor.

Ianto dropped his head a moment, biting back the emotions threatening to break through. He clamped tight on them, forced them back. It was not time yet. First he was going to avenge her, both he and the Doctor would, and then there would be time enough to grieve after.

When the lift doors opened, they stormed floor 500, which served as the central control of the station, all three brandishing weapons. Ianto was not certain if he should be impressed or scared as he watched the Doctor lead them, dark fury set on his face, holding the gun as if he meant serious business. He knew he mirrored the Doctor, only he held two machine guns up, fingers on the triggers, ready to take action when needed.

The people who ran the station, all turned as one and watched as the Doctor walked down the centre aisle, the Defabricator gun pointing ahead. Ianto followed the Doctor with Lynda behind him.

When the Doctor remained silent, Ianto felt there were some things that needed to be said, in order to further establish who was in charge now, and then Rose would be avenged and they could be on their way.

Without Rose, Ianto thought and quickly clamped down on his emotions again. He started to speak loud enough for his voice to carry down the large room to the station staff ahead. "Okay, move away from the desk," he warned the staff. "Nobody try anything you might regret. Just clear the area."

As the staff started to move away from the main desk, Ianto herded them to a corner, training his guns on them. He glanced back to notice the Doctor stood before the Controller.

The Doctor lifted the gun to get a better aim at the Controller. "Who's in charge of this place?" he demanded.

The Controller was in the midst of a countdown and appeared to ignore the Doctor.

"This satellite's more than a Game Station," the Doctor continued, intent on getting answers.

The Controller still counted down, but Ianto noticed that she - at least it looked like a woman attached to something by many cables – faltered and the number that came from her was out of sequence. Something was happening. With one eye on the station staff, Ianto prepared himself to react when needed. He glanced around to find Lynda standing on the other side of the staff, with a gun trained on them, blocking them between her and Ianto.

"Who killed Rose Tyler?" the Doctor demanded, shaking the weapon for added effect.

Still seeming not to hear the Doctor, the Controller spoke, "All staff are reminded that solar flares…."

"I want an answer!" the Doctor insisted.

"…in delta point one."

One of the men being held spoke up. "She can't reply."

Quickly turning towards the one who spoke, the Doctor brought about the gun to aim at the gathered staff. Everyone flinched, including Ianto. He remembered that the safety he had built in was off, had been since the lift, and he had to wonder if the Doctor really knew what to do with a weapon.

"Don't shoot!" the man who had spoken cried out in fear.

The Doctor looked at the man, then down at the weapon he brandished. Looking back up at the man, he stated, "Oh, don't be so thick. Like I was ever gonna shoot." He tossed the weapon to the man he spoke to.

Ianto flinched again, and reached over to set the safety, before gaping at the Doctor, wondering what had just happened.

"Ianto Jones," the Doctor called out, "we've got more guards on their way up. Secure the exits."

"Yes sir," Ianto replied and still holding up his own guns, rushed off to do as the Doctor requested.

Along the way across the large room, Ianto was aware of the Doctor talking to a clearly shaken programmer. He shook his head when he heard the man ask if he could put down the weapon he had ended up holding. He took his attention away from what was going on across the room to concentrate on the task of locking down the doors the guards would take.

Satisfied with his work, he called out to the Doctor, announcing the door was locked and should hold for about ten minutes.

Ianto hoped it would not be necessary, but he set himself up as the first line of defence between any security guards who might find out how to break through Ianto's shutdown, and the Doctor. He decided to let the Doctor handle dealing with the staff for now as he maintained a watch so they would not have any surprises.

The wristband on his left arm beeped, bringing Ianto's' attention to it. He looked down and started to read the information that was coming through, and raised an eyebrow. Looking around, Ianto studied the area for doors that would lead to back rooms.

He picked up the programmer explaining to the Doctor something about unauthorized transmats happening for years around the satellite as he made his way over to another door, following the signal coming from the wrist strap. He had quickly become used to the device and was going to regret the day when he would have to turn it over to its rightful owner. He intended to do whatever he could to convince Jack Harkness to obtain one for himself because it was a handy thing. Just because Rose was gone was no excuse for Ianto to break his promise to her, and that also meant he would make sure that as soon as they could get off the satellite that they would return to pick up Jack.

Ianto went to touch the palm plate to open the door to where the signal was directing him.

One of the female programmers yelled out in protest, "You're not allowed in there! Archive Six is out of bounds!"

Jumping, Ianto glanced back at the woman. Lifting both machine guns, he cocked an eyebrow. With a half smirk, he commented dryly, "Yes ma'am. Words can stop me." The smirk grew. "Archives you said? Then how convenient that I'm an Archivist." He lowered the guns and continued to enter through the door.

He stopped just inside the door as a grin grew. "Hello there," he said as he looked at the TARDIS in the centre of the room. Walking over, he slung the guns by their straps on his shoulders and dug out his key for the TARDIS from the pocket of his leather trousers.

He entered the TARDIS and smiled briefly, feeling comforted as it hummed to him. As he walked over to the centre console, he noticed Rose's denim jacket hanging over a handrail. He paused, his fingers brushing along it and closed his eyes, once again forcing his grief back. Without thinking, he ended up lifting the jacket and bringing it up to his face, inhaling. His mind spun as it was assaulted with the familiar scent of his beloved Rose. Gripping the jacket and wiping his eyes, he continued on his way. Whoever did this is going to pay. I promise you that, Rose," he silently vowed.

Still holding her jacket, Ianto made his way over to the console. After some fiddling around his attention was directed to the screen. His eyes went wide as he digested the information. "What the hell?" he asked.

OoOoOoO

Ianto went running back into the control room. Catching the Doctor's attention, he called out, "I found the TARDIS!" He gave the Doctor a grin as he jogged to join the others still occupying the room. It was obvious that he interrupted something.

The Doctor looked pleased at the discovery, but quickly gave Ianto an admonishing look. "We're not leaving now."

Ianto nodded his head in acceptance. He did not expect anything else. The Doctor would stay until he solved whatever it was they stumbled across or everyone around him died in the effort. Ianto shoved that last part out from his mind, having no intention of dying anytime soon. Especially after his discovery within the TARDIS. "No," he agreed. "But the TARDIS worked it out."

The Doctor looked over at Ianto with interest, watching as Ianto pulled a programmer from his chair and sat down. Ianto was glad for his work with Torchwood. Researching, testing and repairing all the alien tech that came across his desk gave him the ability to work the alien tech he had found himself constantly facing while travelling with the Doctor. His time travelling, as well as working with the TARDIS had further developed his sharp skills.

"You want to watch this," Ianto stated, his fingers flying across the control panel before him. Finally he lifted his head and grinned at Lynda. "Lynda, may I ask you to stand over there please?" he requested of the woman they had gained acquaintance of and had promised to help her leave the satellite.

Looking uncertain, Lynda said, "I – I just wanna go home."

"Of course you do," Ianto agreed with her. "But this will only take a second. So please…" He indicated with a hand where he wanted her to stand.

With a sigh, Lynda started to move to the indicated empty area. She smiled back when Ianto gave her an encouraging smile.

Looking around at the others, his eyes finally came to rest on the Doctor, who watched Ianto in fascination, Ianto asked, "Everyone watching? Good. Now… three, two, one…." He pressed a button and a beam, much like the one that had hit Rose shot down towards Lynda from the ceiling. Lynda looked horrified in the split second before she was gone.

The Doctor glared at Ianto as he rushed forward towards where the plumes of smoke were in place of the woman. He turned back with shocked eyes, his displeasure evident. "But you killed her!" he accused angrily.

Ianto smirked as he met the Doctor's eyes. "Oh, do you think?" he asked. "What type of person do you take me as?" As if punctuating his question, he pressed the button again.

Lynda appeared next to the Doctor, looking slightly disoriented. A quick glance over told that she was otherwise unharmed.

"What the hell was that?" Lynda asked, stunned.

Ianto thought the Doctor's look was priceless. For once, the Time Lord was speechless, asking his question by the look on his face.

Ianto's smirk grew. "It's a transmat beam," he started to explain. "Not a disintegrator. It's a secondary transmat system." He quirked an eyebrow at the Doctor, waiting for the Time Lord to realise all the implications.

Ianto knew the moment it all connected by the way the Doctor's eyes lit up. With a huge grin, Ianto started to walk over to the Doctor. "People don't get killed in these bloody games. They get transported across space." He stopped before the Doctor, meeting the Time Lord's eyes. He knew the Doctor understood, but he had to say it anyway. He had to hear it said aloud, and knew the Doctor needed it just as much. "Doctor, Rose is alive!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up with joy.

The Doctor started to laugh merrily as he reached out to pull Ianto into an embrace. The two men shared a hug, along with their happiness that Rose was not dead.

OoOoOoO

The Doctor was in a mad rush, going from console to console, all the time urging the Controller to give him much needed information. Ianto stood by, listening, wondering who were the masters she was speaking of, and realising that he had missed something significant during his short time inside the TARDIS. But as long as the Doctor was able to obtain where they could find Rose, then hopefully they could settle matters quickly and all be on their way off the satellite. A quick stop to drop Lynda home, and then perhaps both he and Rose could convince the Doctor for one more quick stop back to Cardiff in 2005 and collect Jack Harkness before going back on their way to wherever and whenever.

The Controller, who at first seemed to only be able to speak in numbers that was crucial to the running of the station, started to speak more about those that she called her Masters. When she was giving the Doctor coordinates, it seemed as if she was starting to feel pain. Ianto wondered if it was from her Masters. When the Doctor mentioned something about there being no solar flares and someone being able to hear her, Ianto knew he had guessed right. The pain seemed to increase, but she kept feeding the Doctor coordinates. Right up to when she screamed and suddenly she was gone. Ianto assumed that like everyone else who had been thought of as dead, she had been teleported to another location. He bit his lower lip, as he had a feeling that what faced her wherever she was taken to was not going to be as kind as the game contestants.

Ianto looked over to the Doctor, who was looking back at him upon noticing the wires that were attached into the Controller hung loose. "They took her," the Doctor stated.

Ianto ended up sitting in the chair at the console again, trying to work out with the Doctor the last of the coordinates. There was something hiding. According to the Controller, they were her Masters, and they manipulated Earth by using the station for some reason the Doctor and Ianto were unable to fathom. The others who worked on the station were not much help in filling in the gaps of the information.

However, one of the male programmers handed Ianto a disk. "Look, use this," he said. "It might contain the final numbers. I kept a log of all the unscheduled transmissions."

Ianto looked up at the programmer, admiration on his face. He always appreciated those who took extra steps and showed initiation, especially when it meant being a great help to others. Particularly when it meant lives could be saved and most importantly in this instance, that the woman he loved would be returned to them.

"Nice work. Thank you," he said, grinning at the programmer in appreciation. "Ianto Jones, by the way. And you are?"

"Davitch Pavale," the programmer responded, smiling and taking Ianto's offered hand to shake.

The Doctor scowled. "Ianto! Please!" he scoffed, folding his arms and shaking his head. "There's a time and a place."

"What?" Ianto asked, perplexed and wondering what he had done.

"Honestly, you and Jack will hit it off and get along just fine. Unless one of you gets jealous of common interests. Which honestly, I don't believe Jack is capable of. So you should be just fine."

Ianto shook his head. "I was just saying thank you, and it's nice to know the names of those you're working with, especially when you're saving their lives."

"Whatever," the Doctor waved him off and went back to his own work.

Ianto smirked and winked at Davitch. "For the record, we are attempting to find the whereabouts of my girlfriend." He smirked more when he noticed the Doctor's grimace, finding satisfaction in the Time Lord's response.

"I'll do whatever I can to assist," Davitch stated. He leaned over Ianto's shoulder, ready to direct him in operating the equipment rather than Ianto having to take the time to figure it out himself.

Ianto paused and looked up after hearing the Doctor mutter what he thought was, "Jack Jr." while the Time Lord stood at his side. "Doctor?" Ianto asked, and before the other could look up, he ventured on. "Does that mean we'll be stopping to get Jack then?"

The Doctor sighed, giving Ianto the impression that he would have avoided such a stop if he was able. His reply confirmed Ianto's feelings. "I suppose that the only way to shut you and Rose up would be to get him."

"Yes, it would." Ianto frowned. "Jack's abandoned back there, in a time that's not his own, with who knows how much money, if any. Doesn't seem right."

With his arms still folded, the Doctor stared ahead as he started to speak. "Fine. We get Rose and work out this mess, and next stop will be to pick up Captain Jack. Happy?"

"I know Rose will be ecstatic." As Ianto went back to his task, he decided he was going to tell Rose that the first chance he got and they would make sure the Doctor actually did what he had said he would.

A female programmer, who was standing next to Davitch asked the Doctor, "Are you saying this entire setup's been a disguise all along?"

"Going way back," the Doctor replied. "Installing the Jagrafess a hundred years ago. Someone's been playing a long game. Controlling the Human Race from behind the scenes for generations."

Ianto removed a small cylinder from the computer console and held it up to the Doctor. "Here, try this."

The Doctor took the object from Ianto's hand and pointed it ahead of them and pressed a button. A large projection of space appeared.

Still from his place sitting at the console, Ianto pointed to an area of the projection. "The transmat delivers to that point. Right on the edge of the solar system."

"There's nothing there," the woman who stood with them remarked.

"It looks like nothing. 'Cause that's what this satellite does," the Doctor explained. "Underneath the transmission, there's another signal."

"Doing what?" Davitch asked.

"Hiding whatever's out there," the Doctor stated. "Hiding it from sonar, radar, and scanner." As everyone continued to stare at the projection, the Doctor spoke on. "There's something sitting right on top of Planet Earth, but it's completely invisible." He moved to access the control panel. "If I cancel the signal…." Bending down, he pushed some buttons.

The projection of empty space changed, to reveal an elliptical spaceship. The Doctor's eyes went wide as the image pulled back, revealing more than one. There in the projection was a fleet of hundreds of ships.

Ianto stared at the image in shock, not quite believing it was real. The design seemed vaguely familiar to him, and he knew he had come across something of the race the ships belonged to in Torchwood's Archives. The only problem was that he could not remember what they were.

The Doctor was having no such problems, as he shook his head, his eyes growing larger.

"Who is that? Why are they there?" Lynda asked, panic raising the pitch of her voice.

"Dear God," Ianto uttered as he suddenly remembered. He knew them not only from the Torchwood Archives, but from the memory banks of the TARDIS during the times when he sat in the control room alone, learning more about the universe and the Doctor's previous journeys. "How could it be?" Ianto asked. "Weren't they destroyed?" He looked up to the Doctor.

"Obviously, they survived," the Doctor said, not taking his eyes away from the projection.

"Who did?" Lynda asked. "Who are they?"

"Two hundred ships," the Doctor intoned. "More than two thousand on board each one. That's just about a half a million of them."

"Half a million what?" Davitch asked.

The Doctor looked scared as he replied, "Daleks."

Silence fell upon the small group. Suddenly the image flickered and the Dalek spaceships were replaced by three Daleks and a human.

"Rose," Ianto whispered, his eyes now glued to the blonde. She was alive, but knowing what he had learned of Daleks, that could be changed very quickly. He swallowed thickly.

A metallic voice rang out through the transmission as one of the Daleks started to speak. "I will talk to the Doctor."

"Oh, will you?" the Doctor commented. "That's nice. Hello!" With a big plastered false smile, the Time Lord waved in the direction of the transmission. The grin was quickly replaced by a frown.

"The Dalek Stratagem nears completion. The Fleet is almost ready. You will not intervene," the Dalek stated.

"Oh really? Why's that then?" the Doctor said, his tone mocking.

"We have your associate," the Dalek said. "You will obey or she will be exterminated."

Rose seemed to look right at Ianto, and then the Doctor as she started to shake. Ianto found himself gripping the edge of the console, as he clamped down on his fears. He managed to affect a mask of indifference as he looked back at her.

"No," the Doctor simply said.

Ianto's head snapped up, finally able to tear his eyes from the image of Rose surrounded by the Daleks, and stared with wide eyes at the Doctor. The others with them seemed to have done the same.

"Explain yourself," the Dalek demanded.

"I said no," the Doctor repeated.

"But she will be destroyed," the Dalek said.

The Doctor stood tall and unwavering as he stated, "No! 'Cause this is what I'm going to do. I'm gonna rescue her."

The others stared at the Doctor in awe. Even Ianto was touched, but fear still gripped his heart. One thing he learned fast since finding himself aboard the TARDIS was that with the Doctor nothing was never as easy as it seemed. However, he knew that if the Doctor intended to rescue Rose, he was going to be at the Time Lord's side, doing whatever he could to assure they did just that – rescue Rose.

"I'm going to save Rose Tyler from the middle of the Dalek Fleet, and then I'm going to save the Earth, and then just to finish it off, I'm gonna wipe every last stinking Dalek out of the sky!" the Doctor declared.

"But you have no weapons," the Dalek remarked. If a Dalek could be affronted, it would probably sound like the one speaking. "No defences. No plan." It was clear that the Daleks had not anticipated this response from the Doctor.

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed. "And doesn't that scare you to death?" His eyes shifted from the Dalek to Rose. "Rose?"

"Yes, Doctor?" Rose asked, her eyes wide and trusting.

"I'm coming to get you," the Doctor said. He glanced down at Ianto, and their eyes met as Ianto nodded.

"Now we leave?" Ianto asked.

"Now we leave," the Doctor affirmed.

The doctor instructed Lynda to stay with the programmers, assuring her that they would return once they had Rose. Ianto glanced at the woman, who was biting her lip, hand curled with fingertips close to her mouth. Ianto saw in her eyes that she feared they would not return. He gave her a smile as he nodded at her, and then winked before following the Doctor to the TARDIS. He knew why Lynda feared they would not return because Ianto found himself pushing the same fears down. He had to believe that they would be successful and not die in their attempts to save Rose.

OoOoOoO

Ianto struggled at the console, finding himself having to grip it tightly during the rocky trip as the TARDIS hurled towards the Dalek ship that Rose was being held on. He had learned previously that the TARDIS required several pilots to assure a smooth trip; however even if they had the required number of pilots, nothing would be smooth with this trip. Ianto and the Doctor were struggling with all they had to keep the ship on course.

He glanced down at the screen and muttered a curse. "Doctor, incoming!" he warned the Time Lord.

They both braced themselves as the two missiles fired from the Dalek ship and collided with the TARDIS.

Barely managing to keep himself on his feet, Ianto grasped onto the console and read from the screen in front of him.

"The extrapolator's working," he announced to the Doctor, even knowing it was obvious, since they had not been blown up by the missiles. "We've got a fully functional force field." He glanced over at the Doctor, looking slightly amused. "Try saying that when you're drunk," he quipped dryly.

Flicking switches and pulling levers, the Doctor replied, "And for my next trick…." He grinned over to Ianto.

Ianto took that as his cue. He checked his balance as the Doctor landed the TARDIS inside the Dalek ship, and rushed across the control room to where he placed his handmade gun. The Doctor took stock of where Ianto stood and suddenly the bulkheads of the TARDIS started to flicker, exposing faded images of the larger ship beyond. He held his breath as Rose started to appear inside the TARDIS.

Unfortunately as she started to materialize, so did a Dalek which was next to her.

"Rose!" the Doctor yelled out from his spot across the control room. "Get down!"

Rose looked over at him uncertainly, obviously shaken.

"Get down, Rose!" the Doctor repeated.

As Ianto hefted his Defabricator gun to aim at the Dalek, he saw the eyepiece of the alien twirl toward Rose. He held his breath, forcing his fear down as he placed his finger on the trigger. Rose threw herself on the floor. The eyepiece continued to move away from where Rose had been standing and was now pointing at Ianto.

"Exterminate!" the Dalek stated.

"Oh no you don't," Ianto remarked as he pulled the trigger. The Defabricator weapon shot out a beam towards the ray from the Dalek. Ianto held his breath as he watched his weapon's beam met with the ray. It not only blocked the ray from reaching Ianto, but it deflected the ray back to the Dalek.

The Dalek let out a loud screech as the ray hit it, and it blew up, smoke billowing out in the area.

"Holy fuck," Ianto muttered, holding the weapon up and accessing the damage. He watched as Rose clambered to her feet.

"You did it!" she exclaimed joyously.

Ianto took a deep breath, realizing that they had Rose, alive and unharmed inside the TARDIS. He lowered his weapon as the Doctor strode across the area towards Rose.

The Doctor put his arms around her, pulling her close and hugged her tightly. Rose returned the hug just as tightly.

"Feels like I haven't seen you in years," she said to the Doctor as they continued to hug.

"Told you I'd come and get you." He pulled away, but still kept her at arm's length, and smiled.

"Never doubted it," Rose replied with a smile to match his.

"I did. You alright?" the Doctor asked as he looked her over.

"Yeah. You?"

"Not bad," the Doctor replied. "Been better."

He finally released Rose and strode over to the remains of the Dalek. Crouching down, he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and started to study it.

Ianto placed the Defabricator gun down and made his way over to Rose. It took all his might to walk briskly instead of the run he wanted to break into. She was turned, looking at the Doctor.

"Hey!" Ianto called out. As Rose turned her attention to him as he approached, he asked, "Don't I get a hug too?"

Rose smiled brightly, holding out her arms toward him. "Of course. Come here you!"

Ianto smirked, and unable to resist, cast his eyes toward the Doctor, who was still studying the destroyed Dalek. "I was talking to him," he stated.

Rose shook her head, giving him a knowing look. They started to laugh as they both moved to quickly close the distance between them.

Ianto threw his arms around her and after a moment of hugging tightly, he moved his head to kiss her. She returned the kiss with equal passion, pulling Ianto even closer.

"Oh Ianto, I thought I'd never see you again," Rose sighed when they broke apart.

Ianto rested his head against her forehead. With a smirk, he commented lightly, "You were lucky. It was just a one-shot wonder. Drained the gun of all its power supply." He glanced in the direction of where he had put the gun down as his hands rubbed up and down Rose's back. "Now it's just a piece of junk."

Ianto pulled away, but took Rose by her hand. Together they went to join the Doctor by the Dalek. The casing was broken, leaving the remains of the true form of the Dalek exposed.

Ianto stared at it in part amazement, part fascination. He was reminded why he continued to travel with the Doctor, and despite some differences, why he would remain at the Doctor's side, helping the Time Lord whenever he was needed. He had seen so much that the majority of the world did not know even existed, and in many instances denied the existence of. It was a dream job to Ianto, especially working research in the secure archives. He had been privileged to not only see objects and devices that many of the others in the upper floors did not, and it was his job to give them hands on workouts, learn how to operate them, and figure out what their purpose was. His reports would then go up to the Senior Researchers, who tried to determine their places in defending the Earth from alien threats. Ianto's exposure to actual aliens had been limited, and he mostly learned of other races from reading files. Most of his education on various races across the universe did not come from what was available to him through normal Torchwood London files. Ianto knew his way around a computer and proved himself adept at secure hacking, able to cloak himself as he made his way through files across the Torchwood network and cover his tracks. Most of his knowledge was from those files accessed from Torchwood Two, which collected all information from the other locations for research. Normally it took a security clearance higher than Ianto's but it did not stop him. He had even managed to obtain the files from Torchwood Cardiff's mainframe. The only thing he had not been able to hack his way into were the names of the team that made up Torchwood Three.

If being a junior researcher was a dream job, then travelling with the Doctor was paradise. He found himself studying the mutated blob within the blasted casing, once again finding himself face to face with another alien. This one, while dead, was almost legendary according to the files he had read. There was a time that Ianto had been glad he would never have to face one of these creatures, which seemed to be the most deadliest of all the races across the universe. That was then. Now he was staring down at the dead life form – the Dalek that he, Ianto Jones, had faced down and killed.

He knew then that he would never willingly leave the Doctor's side.

Rose looked between the Doctor and Ianto. Squeezing Ianto's arm, she stated, "You said they were extinct. How come they're still alive?"

Ianto sighed. "According to files I read, and don't ask me where, one minute they're the greatest threat in the universe, and the next minute they vanished completely. Gone." He shrugged.

"I guess those files failed to mention they went off to fight a bigger war," the Doctor said. "But it's probably better that way."

"Which war?" Ianto asked.

"The Time War," the Doctor replied, looking haunted. His eyes were on Ianto and yet they seemed to stare right through him.

"Things come through the Rift in Cardiff, we get them," Ianto replied. "Well, they do, but eventually they have to send their reports to Two."

"You heard of it?" the Doctor asked amazed. He scowled, wondering just how dangerous this Torchwood was to have such knowledge of the future.

"It didn't say much, and what there is seems more like someone's tall tale rather than a true account," Ianto replied. "Only a handful of people are supposed to have access to the file and only those of the highest security. I doubt those who can request it have done so." Ianto gave the Doctor a crooked smile. "I just happen to be slightly proficient with computers." He shrugged.

Rose laughed as she hugged Ianto. "A little? You learned your way around here quick enough. I'm still trying to work out the simple stuff." She smiled up at him, pride evident in her eyes.

"You were saying about the Time Wars and the Daleks, Doctor?" Ianto asked, his quest for more knowledge evident. It was what the Doctor liked most about him.

This time, the answer came with sadness and regret, unlike previous conversations where the Doctor's enthusiasm rubbed off Ianto while they talked for a long while. Rose would sit close, a look of amusement on her face.

"I was there," the Doctor said, looking at Ianto. "The war between the Daleks and the Time Lords. With the whole of creation at stake. My people were destroyed, but they took the Daleks with them." The Doctor's voice dropped and softly he added, "I almost thought it was worth it." Eyes on the blasted Dalek before them, he added, "Now it turns out they died for nothing."

Rose looked worriedly from Ianto to the Doctor. "There are thousands of them now. We could hardly stop one. What're we gonna do?"

Ianto put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, once again thankful to have her back, while his eyes rested on the Doctor. He, too, waited for the Doctor's response.

The Doctor visibly brightened up as he jovially replied, "No good standing around here chin-wagging! Human race, you'd gossip all day." He clapped his hands. "The Daleks have got the answers. Let's go meet the neighbours."

Rose and Ianto watched as he bounded along the ramp to the door. Ianto rolled his eyes and then shared a grin with Rose. "Shall we?" He started to follow the Doctor.

"You can't go out there!" Rose insisted, calling out frantically to the Doctor. She made a grab to keep Ianto from going, but missed. The Doctor already was opening the door and walked out of the TARDIS. Ianto made his way across the ramp, but hesitated at the door, looking back at Rose until she joined him.

He heard the Daleks who clustered around the TARDIS. "Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Common sense told Ianto to stay on the inside of the TARDIS door, but since he had to assume the Doctor was still out there and in one piece, he went to step out of the TARDIS only to rear back, throwing up an arm as he found bolts of energy being fired toward the TARDIS and them. Rose clung to Ianto, resting her head on his chest when they realised the Doctor stood away from the TARDIS and the energy bolts were being stopped before they did any harm.

Ianto had to grin when he realised the extrapolator was still protecting the TARDIS and in turn, them. He stood in the doorway holding Rose, and watched as the Daleks gave up, ceasing their fire.

The Doctor raised his hands as if mocking the Daleks. Ianto snorted softly as the Time Lord started to speak.

"Is that it?" the Doctor asked. "Useless! Null point." He walked back to the TARDIS and leaned against it. "It's all right, come on out," he said to Ianto and Rose. "That force field can hold back anything."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "Almost anything," he corrected the Doctor.

The Doctor gave Ianto an annoyed look. "Yes, but I wasn't going to tell them that. Thanks," he said sarcastically.

"Sorry," Ianto stated. He looked around them to find the Daleks were quiet and watching them.

Moving away from the TARDIS, the Doctor walked toward the Daleks. "Do you know what they call me in the ancient legends of the Dalek Homeworld? The Oncoming Storm. You might've removed all your emotions, but I reckon that right down deep in your DNA, there's one little spark left. And that's fear."

Ianto noticed one of the Dalek's eyepiece twitch and he fought back a smirk. He glanced around and noticed more Daleks surrounding them. He should have been filled with fear, but instead he could only feel amusement at the Doctor's way of dealing with the metallic beasts.

"Doesn't it just burn when you face me? So tell me, how did you survive the Time War?"

"They survived through me," came the reply from beyond the surrounding Daleks. The Doctor's head jerked in the direction the voice came from. His mouth fell open in shock.

Ianto also turned to look, and noticed what looked like a large metal canopy with a half constructed Dalek hovering within. Attached to the bottom was something like a glass tank, with the true form of the Dalek inside. Ianto got the impression that this Dalek was in a position of command.

The Doctor started to walk towards it, and Ianto fell in step behind him. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Rose joining them. Other Daleks appeared along the sides, some of them floating.

"Rose, Ianto," the Doctor stated, "This is the Emperor of the Daleks."

Ianto raised an eyebrow, suitably impressed as he stared ahead at the Emperor.

"You destroyed us, Doctor," the Emperor Dalek accused. "The Dalek Race died in your inferno, but my ship survived, falling through time, crippled but alive."

"I get it," the Doctor said, his tone mocking.

"Do not interrupt," one of the Daleks warned, and then another and another until all the Daleks repeated it.

Ianto bristled, as it definitely got to him. It brought to his attention just how many Daleks there were and there were only three of them. Besides that, it was just bloody irritating.

The Doctor glanced down for a moment, looking slightly annoyed before he looked up again. "I think you're forgetting something. I'm the Doctor. And if there's one thing I can do, its talk. I've got five billion languages, and you haven't got one way of stopping me. So if anybody's gonna shut up, it's you!" he snapped, addressing all the Daleks.

The Daleks closest to him rolled backward, away from the Time Lord.

Ianto was most certainly impressed, if not just a bit worried. He was careful to school his features, making sure his fears did not show on his face.

"Okie dokie," the Doctor said, brightening up and giving his attention back to the Emperor Dalek. "Where were we?"

The Emperor Dalek started to explain how the Daleks started to rebuild, using human bodies. Rose looked as if she was going to be sick, and Ianto could hardly blame her.

"So you created an army of Daleks out of the dead,' the Doctor deduced when the Emperor was finished with his gruesome explanation.

"That makes them – half human," Rose realised as she glanced at the Doctor and Ianto.

Ianto nodded his head in agreement, giving her a small smile for being the one to realise it.

"Those words are blasphemy!" the Emperor Dalek roared loudly.

The Daleks started to repeat and chant, "Do not blasphemy!"

Ianto realised he had quite enough of the Dalek's way of repeating things. Looking annoyed, he griped, "Oh, do shut the hell up!"

Rose smirked and the Doctor gave him a half-amused look.

"Everything human has been purged," the Emperor insisted. "I cultivated pure and blessed Dalek."

"Since when did the Daleks have a concept of blasphemy?" the Doctor asked.

Rolling his eyes again, Ianto asked, "Since when did the Daleks find God? Blessed? Really."

The Emperor Dalek was prepared to answer both men. "I reached into the dirt and made new life. I am the God of all Daleks!" he proclaimed.

"Here we go again," Ianto sighed. "I swear if this thing starts talking of the Immaculate Conception, I'm outta here."

Rose giggled and then covered her mouth when the Doctor looked back. His eyes sparkled with amusement, but his face warned Ianto to be careful.

The Daleks started to chant once more, "Worship him!" over and over.

Ianto managed to keep quiet, but could not stop his eyes from rolling one more time. He was truly done with these things, and started to wish the Doctor would bypass story time and get to the punch line so they would know what needed to be done. Then they could do whatever it was and soon after, go back to Cardiff to pick up Jack Harkness and then go onward to whatever other adventure awaited for them.

It was still story time, Ianto decided when the Doctor started to speak again. "They're insane!" he exclaimed to Ianto and Rose. "A hundred years hiding in silence, that's enough to drive anyone mad." His attention shifted from his two human companions to the Daleks. He walked away from Rose and Ianto towards the closest cluster of Daleks, still speaking loud enough for all to hear. "But it's worse than that. Driven mad by your own flesh. The stink of humanity." He shook his head in sorrow. "You hate you own existence. And that makes them more deadly than ever." Then as the Doctor looked back to the Emperor Dalek, he spoke the words Ianto had been hoping for. "We're going."

"You may not leave my presence," the Emperor demanded.

Ianto was already on his way to the TARDIS keeping Rose in front of him before the Emperor started to speak. A quick glance back confirmed the Time Lord was right behind him. The three ignored the Emperor as they continued to walk back to the TARDIS.

"Stay where you are!" one of the Daleks ordered as Ianto urged Rose into the TARDIS before him. He went in and guided Rose to the side as the Doctor entered the doorway.

The Doctor paused to look back out at the Daleks and gave them a huge phony smile and then closed the TARDIS door behind him.

Ianto was watching the screen on the console as the Daleks started their battle cry of "Exterminate!" He could hear the voices even inside the TARDIS, realising that all of them were chanting and those closest were firing at the blue wooden box. Ianto shook his head, glad that the extrapolator was still shielding the TARDIS from the Daleks' assault.

"They're bloody mad," Ianto exclaimed, looking up from the screen to find the Doctor facing the doors and resting his forehead against the wood. Ianto felt chilled to the core. Rose grasped his hand as if seeking reassurance, and squeezing her hand, he gave his girlfriend a weak smile. From their place by the console, they watched the Doctor who remained unmoving. For a minute, the Doctor looked defeated and lost. More than standing outside and facing the Daleks, the sight of the Doctor at that time frightened Ianto. He put his arm around Rose, who rested her head on his shoulder and together they watched the Time Lord, wondering what would they do if he did not bounce back like he normally did.

When the Doctor finally turned to face them, he gave them one his carefree grins. "Let's go back to the Satellite," he said.

Rose and Ianto shared a quick look. The Doctor may have appeared to recover, but they knew better. They were going to keep a watch on the Time Lord, it was silently decided. Ianto was already flicking switches when the Doctor joined him.

Rather than leave the Satellite, Ianto had to agree with the Doctor that they could not leave the Earth defenceless against the Daleks' attack. They had to find a way to stop them first. The Doctor felt guilty for causing the mess they had initially found themselves in because he insisted he had changed something while they were on the station a hundred years in the satellite's past. Ianto understood that the Earth – the Human Race - was not where it should have been by that time, and the Doctor had seen what should have been. Besides, Earth was Ianto's home, even if it was hundreds of thousands of years in his future. He could not turn his back on his own race. Rose felt the same. So they let the Doctor formulate his part of the plan, which was to create a Delta Wave to stop the Daleks, using the station's transmitter.

Ianto had found himself working out the defensive strategy to keep the Daleks from reaching the Doctor before the Time Lord's task was done. It seemed hopeless, because there was only a handful of them and limited weapons. Yet, Ianto found he could not run. He had to stay and assist the Doctor to put things right.

It was time for them to move. Rose was to stay with the Doctor and give him a hand, while Ianto took the programmers and Lynda to set up their defensives. It was time to take leave and suddenly Ianto felt the importance of the moment.

After Lynda and the Doctor had said goodbye, Ianto walked up to the Doctor and Rose, who were already at work. He took a deep sigh, no longer kidding himself.

"It's been fun," he said to them, trying to keep his tone light.

The Doctor smiled at Ianto.

"But I guess… this is goodbye," Ianto said softly.

Rose's eyes went wide as if she did not realise the implications until that moment. She dropped the wire she was stripping and placed a hand on his chest. "Don't talk like that," she warned him. "The Doctor's gonna do it. You just watch him. Then we'll go get Jack, yeah?"

"Rose," Ianto sighed. He looked into Rose's eyes. God, I love this woman, he thought. It was not the first time the thought came to him. He cupped her face in his hands and smiled tenderly at her. Looking into her eyes, he stated, "You are worth fighting for." He rested his forehead against hers. "I love you," he whispered and kissed her softly. "Remember that."

"I love you too," Rose said, her voice cracking as she was close to tears, but fighting to put up a brave front as Ianto was doing. "Don't do anything stupid, yeah?"

"Me?" Ianto scoffed as he pulled away from her and raised an eyebrow. "Don't be daft." He grinned and hugged her. "Make sure he takes care of you." He glanced towards the Doctor.

"Until you come back," Rose said.

Ianto smiled again, taking her hand he squeezed it. Releasing her hand, he turned to the Doctor. Grinning, he said, "Wish I'd never met you, Doctor. I was much better off a coward hiding from Hartman's shadows." A wicked thought came to mind and he could not stop himself from carrying it out. He placed his hands on the Doctor's face, much like he had done with Rose. Before the Doctor had a chance to react, he kissed the Doctor on the mouth. He pulled away and winked while Rose let out a laugh.

Ianto pulled Rose to him one last time, and clapped the Doctor's shoulder. "See ya in hell," he stated, and then forced himself to walk away from them. He strode forward to the exit and never looked back, even while part of him screamed that he would never see Rose and the Doctor again.

Ianto's first stop was Floor Zero and the contestants that were stranded there during the evacuation of the station. He was hoping to get them all to volunteer to help defend the station, and keep the Daleks from reaching the Doctor, but only seven joined the cause. The rest argued, angry and demanding their payments from games won. Chaos started to ensue.

Pissed off, Ianto raised his gun and fired upward. Everyone froze and silence ensued. Looking around the group, Ianto snapped, "One last time. Any more volunteers?"

Roderick, the other contestant who was left in the studio with Rose, shouted at Ianto, called him a liar and denied the existence of the Daleks.

The floor manager got up and joined the small band with Ianto, and he muttered his thanks to her. He glared at Roderick until the dark skinned man looked away, Ianto looked around at the others. "For the rest of you, the Daleks will enter the station at Floor 494, and as far as I can tell, they'll head up. Not down." He looked around, meeting eyes that shifted from his. "But that's not a promise. So a bit of advice – keep quiet." He turned to join the group waiting for him, then paused and looked back. "Oh, and if you hear fighting up above, if you hear us dying," his eyes hardened, "then tell me that the Daleks aren't real." His eyes settled on Roderick again before leaving with his small band of volunteers.

OoOoOoO

Sometime later, Ianto found himself speaking into a visual intercom. "Rose, I've called up the internal laser codes. There should be a different number on every screen. Can you read them out to me?" he asked. While it was something he knew needed to be done to help them, he found himself anxious, wanting to see Rose again.

Instead of Rose appearing on the screen, it was the Doctor. "She's not here."

Ianto shook his head, slightly amused. "Wonderful timing to use the loo. When she gets back, could you tell her to read me the codes?" he requested.

The Doctor looked at him, his gaze seeming to penetrate as if there was no intercom between them. The Time Lord looked serious. "She's not coming back," he announced.

Ianto blinked. "Excuse me? Where did she go?" He demanded.

The Doctor went back to his task as he stated, "Just get on with your work."

Ianto realised what had happened. While he was saddened that he would not see his beloved Rose one last time, he felt relieved. "You sent her home, didn't you?" he asked softly.

"Yeah." The Doctor looked up towards the intercom.

Ianto nodded. "Thank you," he stated. He watched as the Doctor went back to work, and suddenly he knew just how possible it was that he would never see Rose again. "Doctor," Ianto asked, "the Delta Wave… is it ever gonna be ready?"

Ianto started when instead of the Doctor replying, he heard the Emperor Dalek speak. "Tell him the truth, Doctor." Ianto grimaced as the Emperor Dalek continued to speak, much to his annoyance. "There is every possibility that the Delta Wave could be complete, but no possibility of refining it. The Delta Wave must kill every living thing in its path, with no distinction between Human and Dalek. All things will die. By your hand."

Ianto looked horrified. He could only imagine what was going through the Doctor's head. He also worked out the rest of what the Emperor Dalek implied. "Doctor," Ianto said, hoarsely, "the range of this transmitter covers…the entire Earth."

The Dalek spoke again, agreeing with Ianto. Ianto muttered under his breath, cursing the Dalek. He realised that the Doctor was saying something about there being Human colonies across the universe, while the Daleks they were facing were the only ones in existence. Ianto bit his lip. From what he had heard since their encounter with the Daleks, he was not so certain that could be true, but he decided not to say anything and hope he had a chance to bring his concerns up with the Doctor at a later time. And if he did not… well, that would mean he would not have to worry about Daleks, or anything else either. He pushed those thoughts to the side. Oddly enough, when he signed on to work for Torchwood, he never considered giving his life. That was for others in another department in the middle floors of the Torchwood Tower – the field agents. While accidents did happen while working with alien technology, especially when having no idea what an object did, it wasn't often, and the chances were the same of him getting killed in a car accident. He felt it was no more of a risk than anyone took in day to day activities.

This was something different. He was now on the frontline in saving the Human Race. It was daunting enough, but it did not stop there. Now he realised that in order to save the Human Race, he had to help the Doctor destroy all life on Earth, the home world for Humans, his own world.

Ianto saw the Doctor look at him through the intercom. "Do you see, Ianto?" the Doctor asked. "That's the decision I've got to make for every living thing. Die as a Human, or live as a Dalek." The Doctor looked at Ianto, his eyes pleading, as if he was looking to Ianto for an answer.

Ianto's breath caught as he realised that the Doctor was giving Ianto a chance to voice his opinion. He could stop this, if that was his reply. The Doctor's question gave Ianto insight to more than he already had gathered. It was as a Human that he knew his answer. It was knowing the Doctor and all he did that affirmed that he made the right decision.

Ianto gave the Doctor a smile, as he nodded his head. "You sent her home," he stated. "She's safe." I'm so sorry, Rose, but it's true. You're safe and that's so much more important than my own life. Live well, Rose. I love you. "Keep working, Doctor."

"But he will exterminate you," the Emperor Dalek's voice stated.

Bugger you, you ugly beastie. Just to know the Emperor Dalek would finally be destroyed was enough to make Ianto know he had made the correct choice. He stared into the intercom, just in case the Dalek could see him and gave a full grin as he replied. "Never doubted him, never will."

His smile grew as he watched the Doctor start to clamour to his feet. Walking over to the intercom, he gave a big, genuine smile to Ianto and nodded. Ianto understood that he was just thanked, and saw in the Doctor's eyes just how much his trust meant to the Time Lord.

The Doctor asked the Dalek about 'Bad Wolf' and how it seemed to follow him, believing it was the Daleks who were responsible for it. The Emperor denied having anything to do with it. It sounded quite convincing to Ianto. One thing Ianto noticed about Daleks – they did not seem to lie. Their truth might be brutal, but so far he could not see why they would lie. They would rather gloat on the truth than deny it.

The Doctor appeared to also take the Emperor's reply as truth. Perplexed the Doctor turned to gaze at the words written on a wall. The name of the broadcasting company. Ianto already knew the name – Bad Wolf Corporation. He sighed as he decided it was time to get back to his own tasks. "I'll check in on you later, Doctor." After the Doctor nodded his head, Ianto cut the communication and walked away from the intercom.

He went to the others, started giving them instructions and planning out how to use the few people he had in the most effective way. Ianto had clamped down on his emotions, making sure his face was a mask of calm and confidence when inside he was shaking. He never thought he would find himself as a commander of sorts in battle. He hoped that his plans were halfway decent. He found encouragement from his earlier planning session back in the stations control room. No one seemed to find fault with his planning. Ianto fell back to what was comfortable to him – logic. He had studied the situation, and then the station plans and came up with a plan that made the most sense to him. He hoped he was right. More than his own life, his biggest fear was sending others to their death. He wondered if he would be able to live with that.

His next thought was that he probably would not live long enough for it to truly matter. And he found strange comfort in that. He pushed his insecurities to the back of his mind and continued to lead the others.

He ended up settling Lynda at the Observation Deck on Floor 56. She was a nervous type, most likely the first one to fall to pieces under the pressure of the Dalek's attack, so he decided to designate her as their point person. Her job was to observe and report back the Daleks advance, the state of the planet that rotated through the large windows. It might have seemed that he was just placing her out of the way so the others could do the real job, but Ianto knew she had the most important task. Whatever she relayed to them meant how Ianto would use the others, and if needed, be able to call a retreat to regroup to other locations in attempt hold the Daleks back.

Currently he found himself giving Lynda a pep talk while instructing her on what he expected of her. "You are my eyes and ears. I need you, Lynda. I couldn't do this without you." He grinned when he saw her smile slightly, and knew her confidence had been sufficiently boasted. "When the Daleks get in, you can follow it on that screen and report it to me."

"Understood," Lynda replied, nodding.

He caught the question in her eyes, and knew she was afraid to ask him. "They'll detect you," he admitted, "but that door's made of Hydra Combination. Should keep them out."

"Should?" Lynda asked, her eyes going wide.

Ianto inwardly smacked himself, but he also knew he could not lie to her. He was already hiding enough of the truth from everyone. Everyone believed that they would have life as a reward for succeeding, that after they held the Daleks back long enough for the Doctor to do what he planned, they all would live. Ianto knew they were fighting to give time for the Doctor to kill them all – Human and Dalek. That would include all those who had been earlier evacuated from the station back to Earth, while they had rescued Rose. All life within the station's transmitter would cease to exist.

At least the Dalek threat would be gone, and Ianto hoped that this was truly the last of the Daleks.

He gave Lynda a small smile. "It's the best I can do."

She returned the smile, and Ianto knew she would be okay. He squeezed her shoulders for a moment before turning his attention from her as he opened communication on the wrist strap. "How long before the fleet arrives?" he asked.

"They've accelerated," came Davitch's reply.

Ianto muttered under his breath in Welsh. The floor beneath them started to rumble, causing both him and Lynda to look out of the observation window. In horror they both watched the Dalek fleet move into view, obstructing the view of the Earth.

Ianto clamped down on his panic as he spoke into the wrist strap. "This is it, everyone," he announced. "We are at war!" His eyes were on the Daleks as they infiltrated the satellite.

He gave Lynda one last squeeze and left the Observation Deck. Inside the lift, he headed to the upper floors. "Activate internal lasers," he spoke into the wrist strap. "Slice them up."

He cursed as he heard a beeping sound. "What the fuck? What's happening?"

"Defences have gone offline," he heard Lynda's voice come through the wrist strap. "The Daleks' have overridden the lock."

Ianto swore silently, and decided to override floor 494 and head up to 495. Making sure the others could not hear him, he softly said, "I'm sorry," to those on Floor 494, knowing what their fate would be.

He heard the sounds of machine guns firing and winced when he heard the voice of the Floor manager yell out. "You lied to me!" she accused him. "The bullets don't work!"

Ianto rested his head against the surface of the lift as he heard those on Floor 494 meet their deaths. "So sorry," he repeated again, his heart going out to those he had set up.

OoOoOoO

"The advance guard has made it up to 495," Lynda announced.

"Ianto how are we doing?" the Doctor asked as Ianto made his way around Floor 499. He managed to have a reception waiting for the Daleks on 495. With a grin, he replied, "495 should be good. I like 495."

He watched on an intercom as the Daleks on Floor 495 encountered Anne Droid.

"You are the weakest link," Anne Droid announced to the first three Daleks that entered and emitted a beam, only this time destroying the Daleks, rather than transporting them elsewhere.

"YES!" Ianto cried out in triumph.

More Daleks approached. "You are the weakest link," Anne Droid announced again and shot out again.

To Ianto's dismay, one of the Dalek's energy blasts hit the droid, blowing it up.

"Fuck!" Ianto swore. He scrambled off to join the others waiting for him on Floor 499, knowing they were the last defence between the Daleks and the Doctor.

"They're flying up the ventilation shafts," Lynda announced through the wrist strap. "No, wait a minute. Oh my God! Why're they're doing that?"

"What?" Ianto snapped, wanting her to get to the point.

"They're going down," Lynda exclaimed.

"Shit!"

As Ianto made his way across Floor 499, he heard Lynda's cry of dismay, followed by her announcement that the Daleks had killed everyone on Floor Zero.

In horror, he continued to listen to the conversation between the Doctor and Lynda. His mind started to wander, thinking back to what he had told the Doctor before leaving. He never really considered himself a coward until that moment, realising that he had run from his problems at the first chance he had until Torchwood recruited him. Then he had hid himself in the lower levels of Torchwood. He had taken risks with the technology, but it was within a controlled environment of sorts. No longer running, but hiding.

That all had changed that night on the Plass months ago when he found himself helping Rose to get to the TARDIS. If he hadn't, he still would have been safe back on Earth in 2005, still researching alien technology, and hoping that what he did would do its small part in protecting the Earth from alien invasion. Instead he found himself in the year 200,100 on a satellite orbiting around the Earth, and, he wasn't going to fool himself, about to give his life to give the Doctor a chance to save the Human race. Not Earth itself, but all the Humans that had spread throughout the universe. Back in 2005, it didn't seem likely it would happen. While the rest of universe seemed to find their way to Earth somehow, humans seemed to be stilted with reaching out for the stars. Ianto found himself smiling slightly at the knowledge he had gained. If he was going to die, at least he had seen the future of mankind. He had faith in the Doctor, faith that the Human Race would continue to exist long after that day. Ianto was grateful for that knowledge. It was something that was worth dying for.

As he checked his weapons to prepare to go into battle, he knew that he was no longer a coward. And it was all because of the Doctor and Rose.

He knew he wouldn't change any of it for the world.

OoOoOoO

At first Ianto was heartened at the defence against the Daleks. He had no false reservations that they were going to survive, but the longer they held off the Daleks, the more of a chance the Doctor had to succeed with the Delta Wave. Then too soon, Ianto found himself the only one left of the volunteers, everyone else killed by the Daleks.

He ran through the corridors of Floor 499, shooting at the Daleks approaching behind him. He had barely heard the Doctor and Lynda through his wrist strap. He stumbled a moment, gasping out in pain when he heard Lynda's screams, followed by the observation deck's windows giving out to the Daleks.

"Goodbye, sweet Lynda," he muttered, leaning against a wall and catching his breath. He reloaded the machine gun and checked the rounds in the automatic he had tucked in his waistband. He used the wrist strap, hoping to determine the locations of the Daleks and find a route he could take that was free of them. He had to do what he could to prevent them from reaching Floor 500.

A Dalek turned the corner of the corridor from the direction Ianto had come from. Pushing himself off the wall, Ianto broke into a run, shooting behind him and hoping to reach the next turn before the Dalek could get to him. His ammunition was quickly depleting.

"Last man standing," he yelled out to the Doctor, knowing the Time Lord would hear him through the wrist strap. "For God's sake, Doctor, finish that thing and kill them!"

He started to run backwards. He had to continue past where he had hoped to turn because there were more Daleks going down that corridor. He realised that he was running out of places to run as the Daleks advanced.

"Doctor, you've got twenty minutes maximum!" Ianto cried out, shooting the last of his rounds in his machine gun. Knowing that was the last of the ammo for the machine gun, he threw it across the corridor towards the Daleks, and pulled the handgun out from his waistband.

He started firing at them, watching it do nothing as he backed up the last few steps until he was cornered. There were only a few rounds left and the handgun was as useless as the machine gun. He threw it down on the ground angrily, cursing.

"Doctor, I hope you're ready. Goodbye," he said.

He looked up at the Daleks and held his hands out. Oddly enough he found some strange calm at the moment, even knowing he was going to die within the next few seconds. He did what he could. Hopefully it was enough. He'd never know if the Doctor was successful or not, but he decided to put his faith in the Time Lord and believe he would be.

He decided he was not going to go out cowering in fear. He took a deep breath and stared at the Daleks, as if challenging them to kill him.

"Exterminate!" the forward Dalek exclaimed.

Ianto smirked, staring it down. "I kinda figured that." He held his arms further and waited.

The end was quick. Ianto had no time at all to think about it, and hardly registered any pain as the beam of energy hit him, followed by darkness.

OoOoOoO

One moment there was darkness, a sense of nothingness, or nonexistence. The next he found himself gasping, eyes wide and his body shuddering with the pain of air going through his lungs again, and of blood pumping through his veins.

He had no idea what had happened. He was killed, he knew it, he had died. Yet somehow there he was, alive again. He staggered to his feet, still feeling shaky. His mind reeled on what had happened. He took a step forward and noticed the piles of dust where he last remembered the Daleks were. He fell to his knees before the closest pile and scooped up a handful, letting it fall back to the floor through his fingers.

Something told him the dust was what was left of the Daleks. He looked up, grinning. The Doctor had done it, he had destroyed the Daleks. Then he remembered at what cost, the entire population of Earth decimated like the Daleks.

He heard the familiar whine of the TARDIS. Thinking it had just come back, wondering how the Doctor managed that, he got to his feet and started to run towards the lift. As it went up to the next floor, he wondered if somehow Rose had also returned with the TARDIS. He hoped so. Then they'd be together, all three of them. He'd be with his beautiful Rose again and together, they'd be with the Doctor. They'd go back to get Jack, and then they'd continue with their adventures.

Even after all that, all he had lived – and died – through, Ianto found he still had no intention of going back to the life he had left behind. He could not see himself doing anything else but travelling with the Doctor, Rose at his side, and getting to know Jack Harkness. He was given a second chance, and it looked good to him.

All this hopes were crushed as he reached the control room in time to watch the TARDIS disappear from view, taking the Doctor away. Maybe even Rose.

He was left there. Alone. And at the moment he had no way off.

OoOoOoO

He spent hours wandering through the station, finding nothing but dust. He could not even find the bodies of the Humans who had died by the Daleks. Everything was turned to dust. He did discover that there was still life on the planet Earth. At least the Doctor had managed to find a way to destroy the Daleks while keeping the Humans alive. He was grateful for small things.

It took him a full day after that to remember the other functions of the former Time Agent's wrist strap. He was not stranded on the empty, dead satellite. He could leave. He still took some time to figure out where he would go. He decided he needed to find the Doctor, get answers. He could go back to the night he met the Doctor, but that Doctor would not have the answers he wanted. Nor did Ianto have any intention of changing how things went. He still felt the same way as he did before he had died. He would not change the last few months for anything.

He would still go back to Cardiff, only at a slightly later time. The Doctor used the Riff that Torchwood Three guarded over to fuel the TARDIS. That meant the Time Lord would return to it someday. Ianto just had to make sure he'd be there when the Doctor did. He decided to try to go back to Cardiff as close to after that night as possible. If nothing else, there was another waiting for the Doctor's return. He would return then locate Jack Harkness, and return the wrist strap as he had promised to Rose. At least he would not be alone in his wait. The possibility of the Doctor leaving him behind on purpose crossed his mind, but he shoved the thought away. He still believed in the Doctor, could not believe that the Time Lord would abandon him.

Even if that's basically what he had done to Jack Harkness.

One thing Ianto determined, feelings of betrayal would not get him the answers he needed. Until he could find the Doctor and ask the questions, he could not know what had really happened. He just hoped he would not have to wait too long.

He played with the settings on the wrist strap, deciding it was finally time to leave. With a grin, he said, "Right. So hopefully Jack Harkness is as nice a guy as Rose said he is." He hoped so, because he still had no intention of going back to Torchwood One and his old job. And he really could use a friend who would understand what he had gone through.

He pushed the button that would take him away.

OoOoOoO

Jack Harkness sat dejected on the stairs of the Plass. He had sat there all night long, waiting, hoping. He had convinced himself that he was not left behind, and that once they realised their mistake, they would return.

Even if the Doctor did not, he knew Rose would make sure of a return trip to pick him up. So he decided to sit there all day, as he had all night, waiting. He really had no plan after that.

Jack hoped the TARDIS would show up soon. He still had a headache and his ankle throbbed. Being up all night did not help, he looked forward to finally going to his room in the TARDIS and falling into his bed and possibly sleeping for hours on end. He was also cold, and thankful he thought to leave with the greatcoat and not his jacket, because he would be shivering by now and most likely ending up sick for a few days. He was also looking forward to some warmth. He was thankful that the Welsh weather held and there had been no rain so far. Unfortunately, it was a dreary day and Jack was certain the usual rain was moving in. He would not be surprised if it started to rain before lunch. He was hoping he would be long gone with the Doctor and Rose in the TARDIS by then.

He heard someone clear their throat above him. Expecting it to be the police trying to shove him away for loitering, he looked up.

Smiling down at him was a tall man, a man who looked much younger than he, with dark hair and beautiful blue eyes. He wore a black and red pinstriped suit, red shirt and a striped tie of reds and charcoals. Whoever this young man was, red was his colour.

"Well hello there," Jack greeted, grinning up at the attractive stranger.

The young man sat down next to him, and held out a mug of coffee. "I figure you could use this by now," he said in a Welsh accent.

Jack took the offered mug from him and had a sip. His eyes went wide with amazement and he actually let out a moan. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "Its either that it has been far too long or you are the king of coffee."

The other man raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I would hazard a guess of it being both," he said.

Jack took another long draft from the mug, drinking almost half of it down. It was hot and delicious and it did him good after the long cold night. "Thank you. I really did need this." He shifted the mug to his left hand to hold out his right. "Jack Harkness. Pleased to meet you."

"Hello, Jack Harkness," the young Welshman greeted, taking Jack's hand and smiling brightly. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you." At Jack's surprised look, Ianto chuckled. "I believe we have a couple of mutual friends. I've heard many things about you, Jack."

"Whatever you heard, it probably was the truth," Jack stated, grinning back. "And you are?"

"Excuse my rudeness. The names Jones. Ianto Jones."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Jones, Ianto Jones." Jack looked down into the empty mug he held. "Is there a chance of more?"

Ianto nodded as he took the mug from Jack and stood up. "There is, if you'll come with me. I promise to throw in some pastries, as well."

"Don't get the impression that I usually follow strangers home, but between your coffee and the fact that I'm starving…I had some food last night, but it all ended up in the street somewhere a few blocks away. I don't suppose there's somewhere warm to sit for a short while too?"

"I'll make sure you're well fed in a warm place, Jack," Ianto said as he crossed the Plass with Jack next to him. "I also know that you were left behind by some friends." His eyes met Jack's. "The same ones we have in common. However, I was also left behind."

"Rose?" Jack asked, not wanting to just mention the Doctor without a good reason.

"She always spoke highly of you, Captain Jack Harkness."

"Ah. The Doctor, too, I suppose."

"Him too," Ianto said. "You're injured. Did that happen last night?" he asked, realizing Jack was limping.

"Twisted ankle," Jack explained. "I'm sure it'll be okay."

"I can have our medic look you over," Ianto said as he led Jack off the Plass, towards the entrance to the Tourist Booth.

"You don't have to go through so much trouble," Jack stated, "but I won't say no to getting some rest in a warm place."

"No trouble at all,' Ianto assured Jack. "You are, after all, a friend of Rose's. Once we talk, and I have Owen look you over, you are welcome to get some sleep."

"I'd say you're too kind to strangers, but since you know Rose and the Doctor, then I guess we're hardly strangers." Jack grinned at Ianto, his appreciation of the young Welshman's looks clearly evident on his face.

If Ianto noticed the open leer, he did not show it as he opened the door and held it open for him to enter.

Looking around at the small, but neat interior, Jack asked, "Does Welsh hospitality include coffee and pastries for out of towners?"

Ianto laughed. "Not exactly. However, we do try our best, but the coffee and pastries are not here." He walked behind the counter that was covered with neat piles of various types of brochures on Cardiff and pressed a button, causing the lock on the door they just came through to lock. "This is just a cover, although we do actually function as information when we're open." Ianto glanced around. "I could use someone to run the booth regularly." He glanced at Jack and caught his eyes. "I don't suppose you're not from around here?"

"Are you offering me a job?" Jack asked.

Ianto shrugged. "I'm not sure how long you'll end up waiting for the Doctor and Rose to return." He sighed. "Gods knows I've been waiting long enough."

"Excuse me?" Jack asked.

Ianto waved him off. "I'll tell you my story, if you tell me yours. Then once you understand the full scope of what I'm offering you in terms of employment, you can make your decision." He pushed a button under the counter.

Jack jumped and turned around to face what had appeared to be a back wall open, revealing it to be a door. "Secret organization?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow. At Ianto's nod, he said, "I'm intrigued. Do lead on, Ianto Jones."

Jack followed Ianto through a long brick corridor after the other man assured the door closed back into place. At the end of the corridor, he stepped onto a lift with Ianto. With wide eyes, he looked at Ianto in surprise when they started to go down. "Deep cover secret organization."

"Surely you weren't expecting to go up when there is not much to go up to," Ianto laughed.

"Well, there is another level up there," Jack said ruefully. "Besides, it won't be the first time I've encountered an invisible building."

"In the 21st century?" Ianto inquired.

"Nah. Not even on Earth, but that's only my experience," Jack said. "So who knows what secret organizations do these days. What do you do?"

The doors to the lift opened behind them, and Jack turned with a start. Ianto grinned and led him through the door. A red light started to flash while an alarm whined as they went through a circular cog-like door that rolled back for them. Ianto pushed open the barred gates beyond.

Jack's jaw dropped as he glanced around. "What an odd juxtaposition," he exclaimed as he strode up the few stairs and walked along the walkway, looking at the equipment. "All this advanced technology within such an old style setting." Jack looked around at the old brick and tile walls. "What is this? Early 20th century?"

"Late 1800s, but more later about that," Ianto explained. He went up a flight of stairs to the upper level, indicating for Jack to follow him. "I did promise you more coffee and pastries. If you like, I could then order some breakfast."

"You wouldn't believe how hungry I am. I think I last ate sometime yesterday morning."

Ianto smiled as he handed Jack the mug, now refilled with the coffee.

"You know how I like it?" he asked.

Ianto laughed. "Rose told me."

Ianto filled a mug and placed it on a platter, along with the promised pastries. "Unfortunately they are from yesterday afternoon, before the shit hit the fan."

The two men settled themselves in the conference room that overlooked the Hub. Ianto had excused himself briefly and returned with a blister packet of paracetamol, which Jack accepted gratefully.

"Where are we?" Jack asked after taking another drink of his coffee and the painkillers.

"Welcome to Torchwood," Ianto stated and as he took a sip of his coffee, he indicated to include all of their surroundings.

Jack stood up to look out the windows, holding a pastry. "So all this alien tech? You collect it?"

"Yes. Whatever comes through the Rift." Ianto looked across the room to Jack, meeting his eyes. "I know you know about it."

"The Doctor explained it. He uses it to refuel the TARDIS."

"Yes. He does."

"So collecting alien tech, huh?"

"More than. We also hunt aliens. Most of them come through the Rift, but once in a while something will show up through normal skies. We do our best to prevent them from getting too close to start a panic. Sometimes that doesn't work. Especially in London. Damn Torchwood One is useless for everything they claim there."

"Torchwood One?" Jack asked as he sat down at the table again.

"Yes. Torchwood One is in London. It's supposed to be our headquarters, but I really don't have much to do with them. Especially after I took over here. This is Torchwood Three, or Torchwood Cardiff. We also have Torchwood Two up in Scotland and run by a strange man. And then there's Torchwood Four, which went missing."

"Missing?" Jack asked, intrigued.

"If you ask me that was their choice. However, I would not put it past Yvonne to cause them to disappear. I know she'd do the same to us, if she could."

"If that's true, then it's most likely she had nothing to do with their disappearance."

Ianto smiled. "Rose did say you were smart." He nodded his head. "They'll most likely show up one day when we least expect."

"So, you're offering me a job here?"

"If you want. At least until the Doctor returns. If he takes you and you want to go, you'll be welcome to join him again."

"What about you?" Jack asked as he picked up a second pastry and bit into it after shoving almost half in his mouth.

"There was a time I would gladly pick up and leave with him again. But a lot has changed since I last saw him." Ianto leaned back in his chair. "I would like to have a chance to talk to him before he disappears again though."

"And you'd stay here?" Jack looked confused. "If you ask me, there's not much of interest to stay here for."

"For one thing, this is my world, my home." Ianto smiled at Jack. "I was born in Newport, which is just outside Cardiff for you geographically impaired. In 1983."

Jack did the quick math and stared at the young man before him. He did look no more than 25, but something about his eyes made him look older. "Twenty-two?" he asked. "And you're in charge of this secret organization?"

"It's more complicated than that. I had no choice but to take it over when the previous leader killed the entire team, and then took his own life. I was the only one to survive. I had to rebuild. At least I was able to bring Torchwood Three more of what I envisioned for such an organization, and not what that ice queen Yvonne Hartman feels. Don't ask, 'cause you'll find out soon enough if you take my offer."

"So there's more than just you?" Jack asked, starting to feel comfortable around the young leader.

"Yes. I'll introduce you tomorrow. We were in lockdown since yesterday morning." At Jack's surprised look, Ianto replied, "I couldn't take a chance of any of them stumbling across the Plass and running into any of us. Which was just as well, because we all spent the night cleaning up whatever we could from the disturbance yesterday. Thankfully we were able to protect the Hub from extensive damage, but it still caused some upheaval that needed to be cleaned up."

Jack nodded, and glanced out the windows to the rest of the Hub, noticing some damage. "You didn't want them to run into the Doctor?"

"I couldn't. And I most definitely could not to be out there either. You see, I was on the Plass last night."

Jack put down his coffee and put his hand to his forehead. "Don't tell me, we're going into crossed timelines."

"That's what I was avoiding, Jack. Yes, I was in Cardiff visiting family yesterday and was on the Plass when the Rift started to shake the ground apart. Meanwhile I was also down here finding things to keep the team busy until I finally released them early this morning. I told them to take the rest of the day off."

"What happened?" Jack asked quietly.

"I saw Rose, stumbling and almost falling into a crack. So I went up to help her. Next thing I knew, I was helping her to the TARDIS. When she went to leave, wanting to find Mickey and locate you, the TARDIS doors closed on us and just took off. The Doctor couldn't stop it."

"So? Somehow I take it things didn't work out as planned?"

"Rose kept insisting we go back to get you. I backed her, but you know the Doctor. Always just one more trip where he wants to go, thinking there will always be tomorrow."

"And?"

Ianto reached across to pick up the coffee carafe to refill their mugs. He went to pick up Jack's mug and the sleeve of his left arm pulled up, revealing the well worn wrist strap.

Jack's eyes fell on it. "That's my Vortex Manipulator."

Ianto smiled and sat back. He started to remove it from his wrist. "Rose made me wear it, to keep it safe. She suspected the Doctor would have loved to fiddle around with it. I promised her that when I finally met you, I'd give it to you. Of course when I did, we were thinking more like the Doctor returning to this time to collect you. That all went to hell."

"What happened?"

"Are you ready for a long story, Captain Jack Harkness?"

Jack nodded. "Especially if there's more of this coffee and pastries while you tell it." He studied the wide brown leather band that Ianto handed to him. "It looks well worn. Much more well worn than when I wore it yesterday."

Ianto snorted and met Jack's eyes when the abandoned ex-Time Agent looked at him in confusion. "For you, it's only been a day. For me, it's been much longer than that. I'm afraid you'll find out that your teleport and time travel features have been burnt out. I'm sorry about that. I had hoped to have it fixed by now, but with all the technology available to us, none of it has helped give me the ability to fix it."

Jack sat back in his seat and studied the leather band that he still held in his hands. While it looked more used, it did not look shabby. It smelled of leather polish, and the controls inside where shiny and clean. It was obvious that Ianto had taken care of it for Jack. "What happened?" he asked, his index finger rubbing the soft brown leather.

"The Doctor happened, that's what." At Jack's intrigued look, Ianto stated, "This is something the rest of the team doesn't know, so if you stay with us, I would appreciate it if you keep it between me and you."

Jack held up his wrist strap and gave Ianto a small smile. "I owe you one."

Ianto nodded and returned the smile. "We ended up about 200,000 years in the future, and then something happened."

"You were with the Doctor. Something always happens," Jack said with an affectionate chuckle.

"That is true," Ianto relented. "This time, well we came across Daleks wanting to take over the Earth."

"Daleks? But…."

Ianto held out a hand. "I believe those of us there went through this already. They disappeared to fight the Time War. Supposedly the war wiped out all Daleks and Time Lords. Except for the Doctor, of course. And one Dalek ship. It was enough for them to rebuild over time. They were going to use the Earth to continue rebuilding their race. Using Humans."

"Turning Humans into Daleks?" Jack uttered, looking horrified.

"I'm afraid so. The Emperor Dalek's description was terrifyingly much more graphic, but I see you already have the picture, so I'll spare you."

"Then what?"

"We managed to have most of the station evacuated, and then the few remaining were killed trying to give the Doctor a chance to succeed in stopping the Daleks. It came down to just me and him." He felt Jack tense up and he looked back at the other man. "Rose… the Doctor sent her home. She's safe."

"Thank Gods," Jack sighed. "When you said it came down to just you and the Doctor…."

"I know. And I understand." Ianto's gaze took on a wistful look and Jack seemed to notice it.

"So just you and the Doctor, eh? Shame there wasn't time to really take advantage of it," Jack stated with a leering grin.

Ianto laughed. "As if! I did love the Doctor, but not that way, thank you very much." He met Jack's eyes. "However, Rose was a different story. And one that I might tell you later – if you decide to work for me." He winked at Jack, then laughed when it was obvious he threw Jack off.

"You and Rose!" Jack exclaimed. "The Doctor had to have gone spare!"

"All for later. You want to know how come you can't just use that fancy strap of yours right now to go back to where you're from or anywhere else away from here, yeah?"

"Yeah." Jack stared down at the band again.

"It was just me and the Doctor, and Daleks. Of course, I was the one running around the station shooting at them while the Doctor tried to finish his defence to defeat them. Except there was only so much ammunition and I ran out of places to run. I ended up cornered, with no firepower and surrounded by Daleks."

Jack was holding his breath and leaned forward, resting his arms on the conference room table. He set the band down before him. "What happened then?"

"They exterminated me."

Jack pulled back in his chair, eyes wide. "They… they killed you?" When Ianto nodded, Jack stared at him. "But… you're here. You're alive. How?"

Ianto shrugged. "I wish I could tell you that. I don't know. That's why I'm hoping for a chance to speak to the Doctor next time he shows up, if you don't mind my pushing ahead of you when it happens."

"I don't blame you."

"One second, I knew I was dead. Gone. Finished. The next I'm back, with no clue how the hell that had happened. Except I realised I was alone. All the Daleks were gone, turned to dust. Everything was turned to dust on the station. Except for me." Ianto let out a bitter laugh. "Then I heard the TARDIS. I thought it might have been the Doctor bringing Rose back now that it was safe, but as I found out, it was leaving. Leaving me abandoned and alone on Satellite Five, in the year 200,100. At least the Earth was safe, but…" Ianto ran a hand through his perfectly styled hair, making it stand up in places, and releasing curls that were set into place with styling product. "I waited, hoping like you last night, that he'd come back for me. I stayed for days. He never came back. I decided I had to get away from there. I remembered that I could with that," he pointed to the wrist strap. "I thought I'd try to get back to now, in case the Doctor did show up again within hours in this time period, and if not, I knew there was another abandoned person waiting too." Ianto gave Jack a small smile. "I figured we could be a support group until he appeared again. He'll have to refuel eventually, right?"

"That's what I'm thinking." Jack moved the band about the table with his finger. "So, it burnt out taking you back 200,000 years?"

"Yep."

"But," Jack looked around the Hub, and then back to Ianto, "you didn't just arrive this morning."

"No. Miscalculation. I guess I'm worse than the Doctor in pinpointing when to arrive." Ianto shrugged. "I um… I ended up back in the 1800's. In America, of all the bloody places." His eyes went to Jack. "And don't try to act offended, because I know you're not American."

Jack chuckled. "Actually I am. My parents were born in the continent that America became. They met on the ship taking them to Boeshane, where they had both signed up to settle." Jack's smile suddenly left his face. "1800's? How did you get here then if it was burnt out?"

Ianto's clear blue eyes met Jack's own blue ones and held them, as if he was attempting to look into Jack's soul. "The long way," he replied evenly. "I lived it out from then."

"But that's over 100 years!" Jack exclaimed. "Humans don't have that long of an extended lifespan yet. And you, you barely look like you're 25, maybe younger."

"I suspect given enough time to go by, I'll look older. Eventually. But, like I said, something happened to bring me back to life. And as I discovered since, I don't seem to stay dead when I die."

"You don't age either. If you can find a way to bottle that, we'll be rich," Jack said, only half-joking.

"Believe me, it's not all its cut out to be as you think. Which is why I don't generally go around telling people. I'm only telling you because you do deserve an explanation as to why your Vortex Manipulator seems to have aged so much in the span of a day. Besides, we're both Companions of the Doctor. There's some type of unwritten code about that, yeah? We look out for each other?"

"I guess," Jack sighed. He picked up the brown leather band. "So I won't be going anywhere using this, huh? I guess that means I'm as stuck here as you are."

"You'll need a place to stay, money to live on for starters. I can offer you that."

"What do you want me to do then?"

Ianto's eyes glittered with amusement. "We're a small group and as you can imagine when dealing with saving the world weekly, we have many responsibilities. For starters, I need someone to help with the Admin around here. I handle it fine, but sometimes other matters cause it to build up."

"I can do that," Jack agreed.

"I do attempt to make everyone clean up after themselves, but I could use someone to help me pick up the mess the others leave behind."

Jack chuckled. "Admin and general maintenance?"

Ianto started to tick off his hand, "Also someone to man the information booth upstairs, at least half the day. You'll be surprised the things we learn from tourists to help us out. Also, you're from the future. You travelled the universe and have seen things that even I didn't. I could use your eyes and knowledge with the technology we come across. Maybe you can even go through the Archives in your own time and fill in the blanks on some things. Help me update our database on other races."

Jack nodded. "Sounds like a much more interesting job than I was afraid I'd end up with if I had to." He grinned. "I was afraid I'd end up working in a coffee shop, or asking people if they want fries with that. Oh, excuse me, Britain right? Then that will be, chips with that." His grin grew and he winked at Ianto.

Ianto had to look away from Jack. It was getting warmer in the conference room. It was time to finish this up and go sort out breakfast for him and Jack.

"Of course, when needed, you'll also work the field with us," Ianto continued, aware of the amused grin on Jack's face.

"Of course," Jack agreed.

"I also need you to do one more thing," Ianto said, finally looking up at Jack again.

"Yes?" Jack leaned on the table again, still grinning.

"Being Admin also includes dealing with officials and the other branches of Torchwood, especially Torchwood London. As of today, I'll probably go missing when I don't report for work, but the last thing I need is for Yvonne Hartman to get wind of me running the base here in Cardiff. I erased my records last night from the London branch, but there are still people who expect me to show up to work today and I won't." He sighed. "If I can find a way to Retcon them, I would but…" He shrugged. He noticed Jack's raised eyebrow. "You'll find out about Retcon soon enough, because that will be part of your job too. Now, I've managed to stay off the radar with Torchwood One while my younger self was working there, having the others handle things for me, but I need one person, one voice to make sure what I want is directed to them."

"I can't promise you to rein in my temper. Ever since I had a little run in with the Time Agency, I have this problem with authority figures."

"You'll do just fine." Ianto assured the other man, though he did wonder if that was the right place to put Jack. "There are places here to sleep until you get a flat sorted, the pay is more than generous so surviving here should not be a problem. All meals while you're on the clock will be on Torchwood's expense. Anything off the clock will be out of your pocket. And as I said, this is until the Doctor shows up. If you choose to leave with him at that time, you're welcome to it. However, I suspect you'll be equally welcome to stay here if that is your choice by then."

Jack smiled at Ianto, not one of his winning people over grins, but a warm, genuine smile. Ianto had a feeling it was a rare smile for the other man, and was also aware of the effects it was having on him. "You're a fair man, Ianto Jones. And I'd be honoured to work for you." He lifted his right hand and gave Ianto a smart salute.

"We'll get the paperwork sorted after you get some sleep, and have you settled by the time the others arrive for work tomorrow morning. Unless something happens today that will require me to pull them in. One thing about this place, I do try to give a semblance of normal working hours when the Rift permits, but when needed, it can become a 24/7 job."

"Understood." Jack shoved the wristband across the table to Ianto, who stared back at him with a questioning look. "Apparently you've had it for far many more years than I did. It's really yours by now. I can do without it."

"I couldn't," Ianto started to protest.

"But you could, because I'm giving it to you. You kept your promise to Rose, Ianto Jones. You returned it to me. And now I'm giving it to you."

Ianto silently cursed. He had gone through so much in his long life that he had long believed it was impossible for him to blush. There was something about Jack Harkness that brought out impulses in him as if he was 22 again. He hated to admit it, but it was refreshing. It was a nice break from becoming too jaded. He was afraid that one day he would lose his tenacious hold on humanity. "If you insist," Ianto agreed. "But if you should ever want it back, all you need to do is ask."

"I'll remember that. Now you were saying something about breakfast? As great as these pastries are, I really wouldn't mind some solid food."

Ianto smiled warmly at Jack and stood up to before the other man. "Perhaps we can go out and get something to eat? Most of the places around the Quay are still closed and cleaning up from last night, but once we leave the area, we'll find somewhere. We'll take my car."

"I think I'd like that," Jack said with a smile as he also stood up.

"I'll make sure Owen is waiting here for us when we return and look you over. We don't want to take any chances." Ianto held out his hand. "Welcome to Torchwood, Jack Harkness."

"It's an honour, Jones, Ianto Jones." He took Ianto's offered hand and held it tightly, his smile growing.

"What is that cologne you're wearing?" Ianto asked, realising there was something about the scent of Jack Harkness that aided in the tight, uncomfortable feeling settling in his trousers.

"I don't wear cologne. 51st century pheromones. Nothing else like it." Jack's grin grew and his eyes sparkled.

Ianto groaned in frustration. "Wonderful," he moaned.

Jack laughed as Ianto led him out of the conference room. "I'm very flexible," he called out to his new boss. "I can be a 'Captain's' boy, if needed, too. Even if I'm the Captain."

Ianto came to a sudden halt, causing Jack to almost walk into him, and he looked back. With a wink, he simply said, "Make that General and we might have a deal." He continued on his way to the stairs leading down to the main level of the Hub, putting the wrist strap on again.

"General Ianto Jones," Jack mused, with a grin. "I think I'm liking that better than plain ol' Ianto Jones."

Looking up and behind him, Ianto exclaimed, "Believe me, there's nothing plain about me."

Jack laughed as he continued to follow Ianto down the stairs. "I'm willing to find that out."

He watched as Ianto shrugged into a dark coat, and picked up his that he had dropped on a railing after entering.

"We'll take the scenic route up this time," Ianto said as he went over to what looked like a pavement stone near the base of the water tower that looked out of place there.

With a shrug, Jack was willing to see what was next that Ianto Jones and Torchwood had to show him.

Ianto was watching him approach from his spot on the stone. "By the way," he said, "love the coat."