1
Ianto said goodnight as he slid from the passenger seat, turning to bestow a soft smile on Tosh in the back seat.
Jack nodded and Owen gave a grunt.
Gwen, of course, didn't even look up.
He watched the SUV speed off and sighed as he let himself into his home, switching on the lights and preparing for the night.
.
.
.
Jack hesitated on the front step, wondering if he was getting soft in his old age, then raised his hand and knocked.
There was no sound from within the house, and he wasn't sure that he had been heard but as he raised his hand to knock again he heard the clicking of locks.
Like, several locks.
Like…Jesus, at least six.
Finally the door cracked open and bright light spewed out onto the street as a familiar eyeball appeared, looking him up and down.
"Hi"
The eye blinked and the door slammed shut.
Jack stepped back with shock and Ianto Jones slid from the interior like toothpaste from a tube.
"Sir?"
"I need an extra pair of hands, Weevil." Jack shrugged ad Ianto grimaced, his eyes sliding sideways.
"Owen?"
"Ianto, you need to get your hands dirty eventually" Jack said calmly, "This refusal to work after hours is wearing thin."
"Not true!" Ianto bristled, "I work after hours all the time, the archives and in the hub 'til all hours!"
"But not in the field!" Jack growled.
"Like that worked so well last time" Ianto was not normally this belligerent and Jack was slightly confused by the strong will being shown.
"I want you to get in the SUV and come catch a weevil in the lower ward, now!" Jack demanded, watching Ianto have an internal battle before slumping and stomping towards the SUV.
"Ianto?" Jack called and Ianto stopped without turning around, "You gonna lock up?"
"No need" Ianto shook his head as he climbed into the SUV and Jack sighed as he climbed in behind the wheel, unsure how to treat this man.
The weevil was in a carpark and Ianto made a small noise as they pulled up.
Then came the strangest few minutes of Jack's time with Ianto. Ianto was fine chasing it until it ducked behind something or jumped into the shadowy corners. Then, to Jack and the weevil's confusion, Ianto would flee.
Once they got the weevil back to the hub and Ianto calmly walked it to a cell, Jack sought out Owen.
"Well, it might be a form of PTSD from the bloody countryside bullshit!" Owen said as he felt around inside the corpse with a look of determination.
"It was weird Owen" Jack said with a grimace as the body seemed to move, "Like he was scared. Even the bloody weevil was confused."
"Ya got the weevil, right?" Own withdrew his hand and the parasite within.
"Well, yes." Jack sighed.
"So? Who gives a fuck!" Owen dropped the parasite into a jar of liquid and held it up to the light, snorting as it slammed against the glass as it sought a new host.
"I'm tell you Owen, he needs another evaluation!" Jack growled.
The brogues neatly set together at the top of the steps to the autopsy bay parted as Ianto moved away.