Jack strode into the office and clapped his hands together.

Carys looked up and rolled her eyes.

'You, young lady, have been spending too much time with Ianto.'

'Whatever, you've got something planned, I can tell.'

Jack tilted his head to one side. 'How?'

'I can see the storm clouds filled with big fat piles of doom gathering in your aura.'

'I don't know what you've been reading young lady.' He looked up as Cassie stepped into the office, three coffees and a plate of melting moments on a tray.

'As requested Jack, but this better be good.'

Carys laughed. 'He's up to something.'

'Better hide his credit card and change the internet password before he books another weekend away.' Cassie handed Carys her coffee before pulling up a seat and looking expectantly at Jack. 'Oh.' Judging by the look on his face she suspected she'd been right. 'Please tell me it isn't the South of France again, or, Blackpool.'

Jack picked his coffee up and sighed. 'Thank you for your vote of confidence and I hear Blackpool is actually quite nice this time of year. By the way, your Christmas bonus has been cancelled.'

Carys laughed as she shook her head. 'What are you planning this time Jack.'

'Thank you Carys, and that trip to France was three years ago.' Not that anyone ever let him forget.

'Wasn't France three years after that camping trip you took him on in the first place?'

'Oh shut up.' Jack grinned. 'This time I really have it all worked out, and if it goes tits up -.'

The two women chimed together. 'Which it will.'

'Yes, well this time it wont be my fault.'

Carys and Cassie exchanged a look and Carys groaned.

'Jack, what are you up to?'

'It's our ninth wedding anniversary, and Gareth is away at a school camp next week.'

Cassie shrugged. 'So you don't need a babysitter then.'

'Nope. And as it happens, the two of you will be in charge of the rest of the arrangements.'

'What?'

'That's right. I want a proper suite in the best hotel in Cardiff, room service, private dinner for two. Something with a spa for massages and pedicures or something.' He frowned. 'You aren't taking notes.'

Carys rolled her eyes again and picked up a pen and her note pad. 'Fancy hotel, room service, dinner for two, massage and spa. Anything else.'

Cassie looked over her shoulder. 'Don't forget a decent tub and bubble bath.'

'We could get a bottle of champers.'

'And roses and chocolates on the pillow.'

'Would a violin at dinner be too much?' Carys looked up and Jack was gone. 'Did he say when for?'

Cassie shook her head as she reached for a calender. 'Duno, but the kid goes on camp on Monday and he's back Friday so how about Wednesday night?'

Carys checked the date and shook her head. 'Major sale in Cambridge that day, Jack's been planning it for weeks.'

'You can't go?'

'Wilson's busy with training up the latest newbies at Torchwood and Da's not been feeling well so I can't ask him to take the twins. And they wont fit in your flat with your three and Andy.'

Cassie grinned. At two the twins where quite a handful. 'Fair call. Why not book them in for Monday night then?'

'That should work.'

Ianto grinned as Jack walked towards him, sipping his coffee and holding a half eaten melting moment in the other hand. 'All sorted then?'

'Ah ha, the girls are in charge of all the details, just, try and act surprised.'

Ianto shook his head. 'The hardest part will be Cassie keeping this to herself.'

'That was your idea my love, not mine. And I didn't say she couldn't tell you.'

Ianto straightened Jack's shirt and brushed the crumbs away. 'You have a customer.'

Jack swallowed the last of his coffee before turning the Harkness charm on and greeting the well dressed young woman looking at the jewellery on display. 'Hello, I'm Jack.'

Cassie looked up and saw a crowd of their regular coffee drinkers walking in. 'I've got to get back to it or Ianto will wonder what I'm up to.'

'Crap, do you think Jack wants him to know about this?'

Shrugging she shook her head. 'I don't know, I wont say anything if he doesn't.'

Carys nodded, wondering how that was going to work. 'I'll give the hotel a call and see what I can book in.'

'It's sweet, even if it hasn't worked out for them yet, that Jack still tries to book time away for them.'

'Is that envy Cassandra?' Carys grinned at her friend. 'I could suggest Wilson drop a few hints to Andy at work you know.'

Looking out into the shop Cassie grinned. 'You might just get your chance, looks like the SUV just pulled up out front.'

Owen parked the SUV and called over his shoulder. 'Come on you lot, look lively.' He waited until everyone disembarked before locking the door and holding his arm out to Tosh. 'I could murder a coffee right now.'

She accepted his arm as they followed Wilson and Andy into the shop. 'I'm not sure why you all felt the need to come along too.'

Owen snorted. 'Half the team is married to half of them indoors of course they were going to tag along. And you know me, your wish is my command.'

'You have a good point, don't let it go to your head mind.'

They were greeted by Jack as Carys and Cassie both hugged their husbands and discreetly checked them over for scratches. The team had spent the previous evening chasing weevils and it was something that even just over nine years since they had all met still made the girls nervous.

'I'll be glad when we can introduce the new recruits to the joys of weevil hunting, give these two the night off once in a while.'

Owen shrugged. 'The lads knew what they were signing on for.'

'Their wives didn't.'

He sighed softly as he pulled his wife into his arms. It was a familiar argument and one neither had an answer for. 'We can't stop living our lives because of the what if's Tosh. Andy was a cop, he could have been killed in a bar brawl. You've seen what these Welsh get like on a Saturday night. A few pints of bitter, a curry or a kebab and they think they can fly.'

'No different to the English then.'

'Hay, I used to resemble that remark.' Owen laughed softly as he pulled Tosh up beside him and kept hold of her hand. 'Let's just try this new blend of coffee Ianto's come up with and you can look at the jewellery again.'

Her eyes lit up. 'Do you think they have any new pieces in?'

Owen groaned but they both knew he didn't mean it. 'Talk to Carys, she sometimes keeps the good stuff back if she can hide it from Jack.'

'He's remarkably good at this bric-a-brac stuff he does.'

Owen looked around the shop and grinned. 'It's a lot less bric than when he first started.' The furniture had slowly become more elegant over the years. The junk more refined and the collectables side attracted a larger proportion of the twin set and pearls market than Clives Curios ever had. And the coffee, that had always been good, but with the benefit of Jack's charm Ianto was able to milk his contacts for better deals. The brand new coffee machine looked right at home, all brass and chrome surrounded by Victorian tables and old books. Very steam punk, was the words he'd heard some teenager use last time he was here. 'I'll get the coffees in.' He watched her dart over to the jewellery counter, as Carys approached her with a leather covered box he knew from past experience was usually velvet lined and contained diamonds or similar. He shrugged, they earned good money. Besides, it impressed Tosh's mother no end when she turned up wearing them. Lessoned the impact of his being English...

Carys smiled as Tosh picked up the pearl and sapphire necklace and draped it around her neck. 'I put these away special so you could get first dibs on them. I've been able to track the jeweller who made them back to 1901. Pearls, diamonds and sapphires.'

Tosh gave a happy sigh. There was a necklace and matching bracelet both with triple strands of pearls with a tear drop sapphire centre piece surrounded by smaller diamonds. They were matched with two pairs of earrings, one set of tear drop sapphires, the second of pearls. Carys had written a price down for Tosh and she just nodded. Her cousin had a christening coming up and she wanted something to wear that would make a statement. And this she suspected would do just that. She felt Owen standing beside her as he placed a coffee on the counter.

'Let's see it then.'

Tosh showed him the set and he whistled softly.

'That is going to make your cousin green with envy Toshiko.'

Carys laughed, she'd heard about the rivalry between the two cousins. 'That reminds me, we haven't had a girls night out for a while. The local trade college is doing hair and make up again.'

'We should book in.'

Owen retreated, once they started talking secret women's things he knew it was his cue to leave. He joined Andy and Wilson and shook his head. 'They are planning a hair and make up thing again.'

Wilson groaned. 'Great, that leaves us holding the bairns.'

Andy just laughed. 'You're the idiot who had twins.'

'That wasn't my fault, and you can talk mr lets have one more.'

Owen sipped his coffee and said nothing. Sometimes silence was easier.

Jack slid into the empty seat next to Owen, his voice soft. 'How's things?'

'Other than a desire to bang some heads together? We had a late one chasing weevils, again, so I guess they need to let out some steam.'

'I thought the girls were a bit worried this morning.'

'Sometimes I wonder if one day.' He sighed. 'If I wont be able to send the boys home safely, or that I wont be able to do enough to save them when they get hurt.'

Jack sighed. 'It never gets easier, unless you lock your emotions away.'

Owen laughed sharply. 'Have you ever been married to a woman? Like that's an option.'

'Oh it's always an option, it's just not a very good one, but what's up with the weevils?'

'You don't think another fight club could have broken out? The weevil crap we're dealing with has a similar feel to it and the numbers of sightings are up again.' He watched the older man shrug.

'Who ever really knows. It's people who constantly surprise me, you find so many ways to die it becomes too easy to forget how to live.' Jack smiled. 'Then you find someone like Ianto.'

'I'm happy with my Tosh, although my other biggest issue right now is getting the lad settled into school.'

Jack grinned. 'Ianto was a bit lost when Gareth started.'

'That why you took him to France?'

'Why does no one let that go?'

'Because it's so funny. You planning any more trips away for the two of you?'

'Next week, Gareth's on school camp.'

Wilson and Andy joined the conversation, putting their cups down as they heard this and both groaned.

Jack nodded at this. 'Oh you two would be right to be worried since your wives are the ones organising everything.'

'Bugger. Carys'll be wanting a weekend away now.'

'She might have said something to that effect.' Jack gave the Scot a smug smile over his coffee. 'Tell you what, I'll give her a break so she can talk to you about it if you like.' Rising from his seat he walked away, laughing at the stream of Gaelic that followed him. Thankful he didn't understand it or he'd be sure his ears would have turned red.

Wilson shook his head as he looked at Andy. 'What are you laughing at?'

'Well, remember that weekend when I took Cassie to Bristol?'

'A year ago right?'

'When do you think we decided to work on baby number three.' He slapped his friend on the back. 'You might get that son after all my friend.'

'Some how I doubt it very much. She dina have a good time of it with the girls.'

Owen just drank his coffee.