a/n: Takes place shortly after the events form BLAME - no Episode Tag.

Restoration
Part 1

It had been a week since what Owen could only consider the Slip—it was a childish name for something as big as what had come to his realization. Owen had always thought that Ianto and Jack's relationship was perfect; Jack would go out on a Hunt, Ianto would stay at the Hub, Jack would come back and then they would go into Jack's office and take care of business. Owen had never seen them fight before, not even argue; they always got along and were very affectionate to each other and from the looks of it they loved each other.

Owen thought about it; really thought about it for a second. "I get to spend more time with the man that I love—even though he's in love with the only person here who isn't available to him!" He figured out a while ago that the person that Jack must have been in love was Gwen, as she was with Rhys yet she and Jack had this thing. So did that mean that Jack didn't love Ianto, and that was why he beat him? But no, Owen knew that Jack must love Ianto in his own way. And Ianto—Ianto was literally and physically head-over-heals in love with Captain Jack Harkness, Jack owned his soul. Ianto would actually do anything for Jack, and letting Jack beat him nearly unconscious before going back to him would be one of them.

Owen had tried multiple times to corner Ianto, but they were never alone. Owen was either on a Hunt or there was always someone else in the Hub, making it so that Owen had no way of confronting Ianto. But today, as Owen looked around the Hub, he realized that he and Inato were the only two there.

"Ianto?"

Ianto looked up from his journal at Owen. It had only been a week since the Slip and the bruises around his eyes was already fading to yellow, the split on his cheek was scabbing, he had a few cracked ribs as well as a broken one, which were wrapped tightly and like his eye, the bruises that covered his torso were also a dim yellow. Ianto had been trying to avoid the team in general, mostly Owen though—because of the looks that Owen kept sending him, whereas Gwen and Toshiko looked at him with concern—not willing to breach the subject of which only Owen had unintentionally been witness to. But Ianto couldn't dislodge himself from this now; he was cornered—and Owen knew it too.

"Ianto," he said again, this time it wasn't a question as much as it was a command of sorts.

Ianto stayed where he was, on the couch with his ankle crossed over his knee. Supporting his journal, with his pen poised, frozen in mid stroke. He continued it, before the ink could clot and while he had his face turned down, he forced his expression to be calm and in control. He set his pen down in the crease of his book and looked up at Owen.

"Yes, Owen?" he said, his voice polite with a hint of curiousness.

But Owen wasn't buying it, he knew better than that and he knew that Ianto knew better than that, but by the bull-headed expression on Ianto's face, he knew that the other man was not going to budge. He crossed his arms over his chest as he stared down at Ianto, showing that he knew.

"We need to talk." he told Ianto.

"We do?" Ianto furrowed his brows, "Whatever about?"

"Cut the crap, Ianto!" Owen told him. "You know exactly what this is about."

"You're right!" Ianto agreed, closing his journal with a slap and slamming it down on the table top in front of him. "I know exactly what this is about, but what I also know is that it's none of your business." he stood, coming around the table to stand in front of Owen.

His heart was beating fast with ache, and as well as being upset with the current situation, Ianto was upset with himself. He had been able to hide it before; it was easy because no others knew beside Jack and himself. But when Ianto had said what he had said to Owen and Jack had over heard, the Captain wasn't able to control himself—and Ianto had understood that. He would have been fine with that, if he had had enough mind to order Owen to leave. Because now that Owen knew—now that he knew what went on—it felt as if everything that they had worked so hard for, that he deserved—was now falling apart, his world going off kilter.

"Jack and my relationship is none of your business, just as what had happened between you and Gwen was none of my business!" Ianto turned then, rushing from the Hub before more things could be said.

Owen stared as the cog door rolled closed and the Hub was once again sealed off to the world above. He was speechless—Ianto knew about that fling that he and Gwen had had? Not even Jack knew about that, so how had Ianto?

Owen shook his head, running his fingers through his dark hair; it didn't matter now, it was over and done with. He turned, intending to—well he didn't know what he intended to do now; the air that filled the Hub felt awkward around him—suffocating even. He fingers went through his hair once more as he sat heavily on the couch where Ianto had moments ago occupied. He leaned back; about to close his eyes when something caught his eye.

Owen sat back up; right in front of him on the table top was Ianto's journal. He turned his head, giving the paper back book a side long glance. He knew that he shouldn't, it wasn't right to read something as personal as this that belonged to someone else. It wasn't right, but Ianto wasn't here. Owen picked it up, the worn leather smooth at his finger tips. Owen puffed out his cheeks as the pros and cons ran rapidly through his mind, trying to figure whether it was worth it or not.

He knew that what had happened a week ago was his fault. He had also guessed that what had happened between Ianto and Jack had been a returning occurrence—if only the way that the both of them had acted so cavalier about the whole thing. But he knew that he had caused it this time, that he was to blame for the injuries that Ianto had sustained.

It was his question of what the hell? that urged him to opened it, the page marked by Ianto's pen. He took a breath before looking down at the half filled page; Ianto had said that it wasn't his business, but that was wrong—this was his business because Owen felt responsible. A man should never hit a woman, Ianto may have been a man, but that didn't make it right either. Inato's handwriting was need and perfectly scripted, exactly like Ianto always was.

09/12/11

Owen won't stop staring, and it's starting to get to me. I have avoided him thus far, but the only reason for that was because the others were around. But now with them gone and the Hub empty save the two of us it's only a matter of

It cuts off there and Owen knows it's because that was when he came up to Ianto. This entry didn't give him anything, so he flipped back a few pages wanting to get to the good stuff. Something that would tell him what the hell was going on. How Jack could have done such a thing and how Ianto could just take it like that, and perhaps discover why Owen couldn't even move and defend Ianto when he had the chance.

09/08/11

Gwen and Tosh were shocked and concerned when they had come into the Hub and discovered my injuries. I lied to them of course, how could I tell them what had happened? They wouldn't understand, just the same way that Owen didn't. When I told them that while they were away, we went after a Weevil and that was how the damage was done. Jack didn't contradict me and neither did Owen even though he had looked so uncomfortable. So with neither of them denying it, my story was believable. Not that it would have if they hadn't agreed; I knew how to lie since I was just a kid, able to twist the truth and make anything believable even if someone said it before me and it wasn't.

Owen had remembered that day four days ago, and what Ianto had written was true. He had been uncomfortable and awkward and very concerned and guilty. Owen had known that that could have been his chance to get everything out in the open. Figure out why the hell it had happened. The girls would have demanded the truth about it too, but maybe even if Owen had said something they might not have even believed him. Ianto had never lied before-or so Owen had thought-so they would have believed him over Owen whose record was not a clean. The guilt of not saying anything and of knowing what he knew was eating at him, gnawing at his heart and his head. Owen turned back a few pages more until he found the entry written on the day that the Slip had happened. The script this time looked forced and a little unstable, like Ianto was writing through his emotions; his hand shaking just a bit and he pressed down harder on the page to stop it from doing so.

09/05/11

It had happened again, it wasn't really unfamiliar to yet it wasn't familiar either. I supposed that that was good, in all the years that I had been at the Hub and had known Jack this had only happened twice before. Those other times there hadn't been witnesses, but as the saying went "third times a charm". Owen had been there this time and I was surprise that Jack hadn't confronted the doctor thus far. Maybe he didn't to make Owen understand, I'm still not quite sure. Owen has been standing that spot for awhile now, and I'm pretty sure that he's in shock. I want to go up to him and ask if he's okay, but I'm afraid of how he might look at me now. Might think of me now as someone who was even weaker than before, the wimpy tea boy. It hurt but I could understand how he wouldn't understand. I had told one of Jack secrets, one that I had told him that I would never say out loud to anyone, so how had this happened? Owen was upset and he was yelling, taking it out on my coffee machine. I tried to force myself not take the bait; I knew that he was upset about the circumstances. But what he was saying was upsetting me more than I wanted to admit.

It just came out, the fact that Jack was in love with someone else other then me. I don't consider what Jack did abuse, or assault or anything like that. What he did was just what people did when they saw red, when you meet the person that slept with your wife or your husband. Just a spurt of anger. I knew that the instant that Jack had calmed down that he had regretted what he had done, that he was trying to apologize. I did forgive him, instantly-even well it was in motion. Jack wasn't a violent person and I hope that Owen would understand that-and just like that I had forgiven Owen too.

Owen didn't know what to think or say. He was sure that even after he read what Ianto's heart had pored out onto the page that his opinion on that matter had not changed. Owen may have only been in love once to his fiancée, but he knew that if you loved a person-no matter what-you would never do something like that, ever. With a weak heart and still confused, Owen flipped back through the rest of the journal. There were no more entries about any hitting, though Owen hadn't expected there to be-this journal was only a quarter filled and the leather that bound it together was still stiff form lack of use. The other pages were filled with less personal stuff; missions that the team had been on, injuries and the like.

He gently closed it and set it on the table, the guilt inside of his continuing to build. Now he had actually come to fully realize how much of this was his fault-all of it, he had estimated. Owen found it hard to keep his fits of anger inside, after all he always reacted before he thought and that was what he had done that day. He had always picked Ianto, he realized too, because he always seemed like an easy target.

Owen's breath was turning heavy as he had thought and remembered about all of the times since Ianto had joined Torchwood 3 that he had picked on the kid. And he had realized that it was more than he could count. Each and every time Owen realized that Inato had had nothing to do with the situation that had made his so angry and frustrated, but that the man had just happened to be there. Wrong place, wrong time, Owen thought. He knew that he needed to talk calmly and adultly to Ianto, and that he had to do it soon before this threw him over the edge.

Note: hoped you liked this first part in the continuation of "Blame", there will be more chapters, though I'm not sure how much yet. Please review!