Fly Home To Me
Disclaimer: No ownage here.
Summary: Certain alien-induced problems cases the TARDIS crew makes a time-traveling stop back to Cardiff. The whole Torchwood team, however, tends to arrive en mass, whenever the strange happens. Ianto/Jack. Fifty-second in the "Immortal Janto" series.
I realized that, thus far, I haven't written anything about Jack and Ianto and their relationship with Myfanwy, the beloved pterodactyl of Torchwood Three, ergo, this story came to mind. Then I realized how much fun it would be to involve EVERYONE from Torchwood Three (and a few others as well) in the story, hence something a bit longer (and slightly different) than what I've written in the past.
Like my other forays into Torchwood canon, this story deals with the series 2 Torchwood . . . since I think of this as the "real" beginnings of the relationship between Ianto and Jack (despite the fact that there was clearly a relationship between them in series 1). Also, within "Immortal Janto" canon (for Tosh and Owen), this takes place after "Toshiko Sato's Rainy Days Adventures" and "How To Scar Dr. Own Harper For Life."
Alright, enough of my prattling on, let's get on with the epic "Immortal Janto" story of Doctor Who/Torchwood epic-ness (as I've taken to calling it, since, hello, so many people appear in this particular story).
The Rift alarm went off about twenty minutes after Myfanwy cawed and swooped down from her nest, dropping a half-eaten fish into the Autopsy Bay, an action that had earned her a long string of swears from Owen. However, her antics were forgotten as the team jumped into action.
"What do we got?" Jack called, his voice level, as he went behind Tosh's station, looking over her shoulder.
Around them, Owen was just finishing getting his field kit together from the Autopsy Bay and Ianto's fingers were flying over the keyboard at his preferred station, running support to Tosh's scan. Gwen, on the other hand, rolled her chair over next to Jack, looking a bit wide-eyed, as if searching to find something that neither Tosh nor Ianto could find. The air was fairly tense, as it had been ever since Jack had returned and they had to figure out the new dynamics among the team.
"There was a spike in the Rift three-quarters of a mile southwest of us," Tosh relayed, her tone even though quick. "I can't get a pinpoint on anything that came through. The CCTV isn't showing anything unusual."
"Weird," Gwen commented, looking hopefully up at Jack. "It was just a false alarm then?"
"Not likely," Jack replied, returning her look quickly. "It never is."
"And you'd be right," Ianto announced. All eyes in the Hub went to him. "The CCTV won't pick anything up because someone or something is interfering with it and causing it to loop imagery, probably to hide something."
"How is that possible?"
Despite everything that had happened since her arrival in Torchwood, Gwen's inexperience was very obvious now. She was the only on in the Hub who seemed to be confused by this fact.
"Normally, someone wouldn't notice," Ianto explained, "but I'm picking up on a slight wind discrepancy in one localized area."
Jack left Tosh's station and went to look over Ianto's shoulder.
"Shit, you're right."
"I know."
Tosh looked at Owen. The doctor raised an eyebrow, acknowledging and agreeing with the observation that the genius had made.
"Alright, Ianto, Owen, you're with me," Jack said. "Tosh, Gwen, run support here. Ianto, transfer the information to Tosh's console."
"Already done."
Ianto hit a final button and Tosh's computer pinged with the arrival of the CCTV that he had been specifically watching. Mere seconds later, the Japanese woman saw exactly what Ianto had seen and silently cursed herself for not picking up on it beforehand, though she gave a nod and a small smile to her co-worker and the closest thing she had to a best friend in this place.
"Thanks, Ianto."
"No problem, Tosh."
As Jack, Ianto, and Owen made for the cog door, Tosh set into her work and, out of the corner of her eye, watched as Gwen went to intercept the trio.
"Shouldn't I go with you, Jack?" the woman asked, her tone reminiscent of an eager, yet wounded puppy. "You'll need me in the field."
"Not on this one, Gwen," Jack replied. He stopped and turned to face him as Owen and Ianto continued through the door, heading towards the SUV. It was obvious that neither one was very concerned about the fact that Jack was squaring off with Gwen. "You need to stay here and run interference with Tosh, in case we need to keep the police from getting involved."
Those words apparently struck a chord with Gwen because she gaped at him.
"Isn't that more of a job for Ianto?"
Jack paused and considered her for a moment before he answered her, "Not this time. I need Ianto in the field with me."
With that Jack turned on his heel and walked out of the Hub.
Tosh was able to hide her grin by focusing on her computer screen, busily running analysis on the CCTV footage that Ianto had sent her. While Gwen's point might have been valid, once upon a time, she saw that Ianto would be valuable to Jack in the field. During Jack's absence, Ianto had proved himself time and time again that he could function both in the role of support from the Hub as well as in the field, as a very effective field agent. His shot was a far cry better than Gwen's shot and her own shot were, up on par with Owen (a product of the fact that the two had managed to find common ground at the gun range when Jack was away).
And it wasn't as if Tosh and Owen hadn't run support from the Hub before. Prior to Gwen's arrival and, later, when they were a man (Jack) down, it was necessary for them to step into and fill new roles. She was actually quite fine with staying behind in the Hub on occasion, especially if Ianto was there as well. He was very fun to run support with, though Tosh knew that she would have to suck it up and deal with a fuming Gwen now.
Gwen stomped back to the console that Ianto had abandoned mere moments before and slumped down into the chair, a pout on her lips. Tosh rolled her eyes at her co-worker's antics, amused.
And then she turned her attention fully to her work as Myfanwy swooped low overhead.
-Torchwood-
The SUV slid to a skidding stop at the site of the Rift spike and the air discrepancy. Ianto and Owen were out of the car in seconds flat, a combination of the need to be free from the Jack-caused death-trap and the desire to do their work. Jack followed them a moment later, the ghost of a shit-eater grin on his face.
Ianto scanned the area and, in seconds flat, with an affirmation from Tosh, walked towards a spot about fifty yards from the SUV, his hand on the butt of the gun on his hip. His two co-workers followed him, both drawing guns.
"Here," he said, his tone even.
Nothing was very obvious, but, given that the three of them worked for Torchwood, their observational skills were much higher than the average human being's.
Jack used his free hand to use his Vortex Manipulator to scan the site. Yep, Ianto was right, as always. However, while he was able to pick up on something, Jack found that he was having trouble trying to pinpoint the exact nature of the disguised alien. He couldn't tell if it was dangerous or not, which was never a good thing for Torchwood agents.
"It's there alright, but I'm not picking up on anything dangerous, though it's better to be safe than sorry," he cautioned.
Even as those words left his mouth, the air in front of Ianto swirled and something – an alien – appeared. It was appeared very ethereal, wispy, as if made of air itself, though Jack saw the dangerous looking claws hooking. The three Torchwood operatives stepped back, guns trained on the alien.
"Who are you?" Ianto asked, authority that Jack had never heard in his voice coming out. "What are you doing here?"
The alien laughed an airy, though very frightful cackle. "So this is Earth? I expected more from this pathetic planet." The look in its eyes was scary. "Dominating this planet will be too easy."
There was not one particular signal as Jack, Owen, and Ianto opened fire on the alien in sync with each other. Seconds later, it was obvious that their bullets weren't doing anything to it, as they passed right through its body.
Jack holstered his Webley quickly as he saw the alien tilt its head to the side. This wasn't going to be good. He had never run across this type of alien before, but, if it was bent on taking over the planet, then he inherently didn't like it. Jack was rather fond of the Earth and the people who inhabited it.
Wispy energy formed into a ball in one of the alien's claws. As it made to throw the energy ball at the three of them, Jack reacted instinctively and pushed both Ianto and Owen out of the way.
He could bounce back from such a devastating injury (99.99% of the time). They couldn't.
Pain shot through him as a crippling injury ripped through his stomach and energy flushed through his body. Ianto's arms were around him, holding him, as he called out in pain. Owen caught his other side, supporting part of his weight.
Even as Ianto and Owen lowered him to the ground, Jack heard the familiar caw of Myfanwy overhead, a blessing in disguise. Fighting through his pain, he watched as the pterodactyl swoop down and back-wing before she hit the ground, hovering between them and the alien, flapping gusts of air towards the ethereal alien, much to its obvious chagrin. Jack had to smile in gratitude to Myfanwy. She was quite protective of those she cared about, especially when Ianto himself seemed to be in trouble.
He thought he heard another familiar sound, a sharp klaxon-like noise that was associated with only one thing in the universe, but Jack knew that it could be attributed to the pain that he was feeling.
Owen made quick work of dressing his injury, though Jack knew that it would be fully healed (and scar-free) in a matter of hours. Energy-induced injuries tended to take longer to heal, even with his highly-accelerated healing rate – and they hurt like hell in the process.
The alien cried out in distress.
A trio of footsteps sounded.
Jack looked around Ianto and Owen to see three people emerge on the other side of the alien. A blonde woman and a dark-skinned man were carrying heavy-duty weaponry while a younger woman with dark brown hair set some technology down on the ground, fiddling with it quickly.
Mere seconds later, the young woman spoke softly to her two companions and they fired their weapons at the alien. In almost no time, they had gotten the alien hooked into some kind of trap. A button was pushed and it closed tightly, seeping the energy out of the alien and causing it to shrink to half its height.
Jack watched Myfanwy flap her wings again and gain a little bit of altitude, before swooping in a circle around the three newcomers, cawing gently. The young woman's eyes lit up – they were a very distinct deep blue – and she smiled a warm, yet slightly devious smile that seemed so familiar to Jack. Myfanwy then swept past them and flew high into the sky, disappearing from sight in a matter of moments.
"Hell, they weren't kidding about the pterodactyl," the man said, rubbing his forehead, an American accent spilling out of his mouth. "I really shouldn't question those stories sometimes."
The blonde woman rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Rex, after everything we've been through, you're going to get into a snit about a pterodactyl?" Like her male companion, she appeared to be an American as well.
The man – Rex – scoffed. "Honestly, Esther, you have to admit you didn't believe the story about the pterodactyl. That's stretching it, even for him."
"Oi," the young woman replied, drawing their attention to them, "can we save the marital dispute until after we finish up with what the Doctor sent us to do?"
Wait? What?
Jack's attention was drawn the moment she mentioned the Doctor.
"Alright, you win, Annabelle," Rex said, clearly caving. "You really come by your bossiness honestly."
Annabelle grinned. "Damn straight, I do."
The three shared a laugh as the blonde woman – Esther – shifted her gun and picked up the trap. Only then did they approach Jack, Ianto, and Owen.
"Everyone alright here?" Esther asked, assessing them.
"For the most part," Jack replied, cautiously, his hand at his side. Silently, he prayed that the pain would subside quickly.
All three of the new arrivals caught his gesture and they shared a look.
"You're going to want to get that dressed better than out here in the field," Rex said. "Energy balls are bitches to recover from, especially with a shot that you took."
"Who are you people?" Owen asked, blunt as ever.
"Friends," Esther told him. "We're here to help. Torchwood is as Torchwood does."
"Are you with One?" Ianto quietly asked.
Jack knew that there was pain and dark memories running through his favorite Welshman's mind right now and it took everything in him to keep from cradling him and kissing away that pain.
Annabelle shook her head. "They're Torchwood America, so to speak, though they do have time travel on their credentials as well."
"And you?"
She grinned. "Time travel. A bit of world-saving, here and there. Almost finished my degree at university, so I haven't affiliated with anyone yet." Annabelle laughed to herself. "Well, besides the Doctor, of course."
"You know the Doctor?"
"Yep. I've known him all my life," Annabelle replied, her eyes twinkling. "He's still on his tenth regeneration. Got my own key last year as a birthday present."
"Impressive."
She rolled her eyes very drolly. "It only took me twenty-one years of pestering before he caved. I'm Annabelle, by the way. My friends are Rex Mathis and Esther Drummond. Wait?" She turned to look at Esther. "Is do you still go by Drummond, Esther? Or did you decide to go by Mathis now?"
Esther laughed. "Mathis, for the time being. I'm trying to convince Rex to take my last name."
"Fat chance." Rex folded his arms across his chest. "Not all of us are like Jeeves and the Red Baron."
Annabelle raised her eyebrow. "Remember who you're talking to, Rex."
He sighed heavily, though a bit dramatically. "Please, we all know you keep them in line better than even the Doctor."
She laughed. "True." A phone went off and Annabelle swore quietly, digging into her pocket. Seconds later, she pulled out the offending object and flipped it open. "Hello? Oh, hey Dad. Yeah, we got the alien . . . . No, no one died . . . . Well, that did happen, true . . . . Yeah, sure, that sounds good . . . . We'll meet you there in thirty . . . . Love you too. Bye."
As she closed the phone, Esther calmly asked, "They meeting us there, I suppose."
"Yep, easier than picking us up here and then having to come back for the SUV." Annabelle chuckled under her breath. "Besides, it'll be more fun to see everyone's response to the arrival all at once."
Owen tensed beside Jack. "Not that I'm not grateful to you lot for helping us with the alien, but what the hell are you talking about?"
The Londoner met Annabelle's eyes and the young woman gave the man an unreadable look.
"You don't have to have a sex change to have a baby," she said simply and with a completely straight face.
Owen's reaction was one of surprise. "Holy shit!" he swore. At the confused looks from both Jack and Ianto, the doctor back-pedaled, gaping for words. Annabelle only appeared amused by his reaction. Finally, the man said, "You'll see when we get back to the Hub."
Ianto groaned, clearly having done a head-count. "Speaking of which, how are we going to get everyone back to the Hub."
Esther looked at Rex and the dark-skinned man gave an over-dramatic, yet well-meaning sigh. "I'll ride in the back with the alien."
"In that case," Annabelle said, "shotgun!"
Ianto and Owen both groaned at that because Jack had his "I know I'm injured, but I want to drive anyway" face on. The archivist and the doctor traded looks and, in unison, said,
"You're calling the Hub."
-Torchwood-
The cog door rolled opened and Tosh looked up from her station. She bit her lip as three people came walking in behind Owen, Ianto, and Jack, carrying an alien in a trap (which appeared to be quite ingenious to her – even from judging at this distance) between them. Based on their voices and the CCTV footage that she had pulled up while they were en route, she could guess who was who among the group.
Rex, the sole man of the new threesome, whistled lowly, clearly impressed. "How come they get a massive underground facility and the best we ever got was a safe house and a few commandeered SUVs?"
"We were fugitives, remember that," Esther replied, dryly.
It sounded like an old yet regular, bantering disagreement to Tosh.
"Oh, would you stop complaining, you old farts," Annabelle said. "That was ages ago, before I was even born."
"Sure, rub it in, small fry," Rex answered, a little bit of sarcasm rolling off of his voice. Only the smile on his face showed that he meant his comment as a joke.
Tosh rose from her station and went around to greet the new arrivals, as Jack was forcibly pushed down into a chair by both Ianto and Owen, the doctor then proceeding to take a closer look at the injury to Jack's side. Ianto folded his arms across his chest, not budging from Owen's side, save to get the doctor the few tools that he needed from his kit, despite Jack's repeated assertions that he was fine and that he only needed coffee (made by Ianto, of course) to get better. (Those two were scary when they agreed about something.) Gwen was at her side quickly, her hand extended eagerly.
"Hello," the other woman said, "I'm Gwen –"
"We know who you are, Cooper," Rex said, cutting her off. "Or are you going by Williams yet?" He sighed heavily. "Time travel messes up my sense of people's personal timelines."
His comment clearly made Gwen a little uncomfortable.
"Not yet," she bit back, her tone indicative that she though that he would treat her better than he did. Tosh didn't know who Gwen thought that she was kidding. Not every person who crossed her path would instantly take a liking to her. "And I wasn't planning on changing my name when I did get married."
Rex ignored Gwen's comment as he gave Tosh a flattering smile. "However, I haven't met you yet." He extended a hand to her and Tosh took it carefully. She was quite surprised when he raised her hand to her lips and pressed a kiss onto her knuckles (which, Tosh noted, earned him a sharp look from Owen). Tosh blushed. "And who might you be?"
"Toshiko Sato," she answered.
"Rex Mathis, at your service." He gave her a charming smile – and earned a slap on the shoulder from Esther. "And this is my lovely wife, Esther Drummond-Mathis."
Tosh greeted the woman with a handshake and a warm, if apologetic smile.
"Ignore his antics," Esther said, conspiratorially. "I always do. It's better for his mental health that way."
"Oh don't worry," Tosh agreed, "Jack and Owen are the same way."
The blonde woman chuckled. "I don't doubt it."
Tosh looked over Esther's shoulder at the younger woman who was hanging back and looking around the Hub, as if burning the memory of the place into her mind. She seemed so familiar to Tosh, though she didn't know why.
Annabelle – since that was the only logical choice for her identity, given what Tosh had ascertained from the comm-links and from the CCTV scans – was average height, had curly, dark brown hair that was tied back into a pony tail, and had dark blue eyes that Tosh knew she had seen before. A dark red duster wrapped around her a way that made her seem both friendly and approachable and intimating and capable.
However, before anyone could say anything further, unfamiliar, klaxon-like sounds filled the air. Tosh saw Annabelle, Rex, and Esther relax noticeably – and Jack tense.
A blue police box appeared in the Hub and Tosh knew that she had seen it before – only once, but that once was enough to lock it forever in her memory. She had to fight – really fight – to suppress a smile at that (admittedly vague) memory.
Seconds after the police box had materialized, the door opened on the side and a face that Tosh placed (despite her somewhat skewed recollection) appeared.
"Oh, so this is what the Hub is supposed to look like," the Doctor said, enthusiasm dripping off of every word. The Time Lord looked over his shoulder and shouted back into his ship, "Donna, come have a look!"
"Oh come off it, Doctor," a woman's voice said, a hint of sarcasm in her tone, "you know what Jack always says about the Hub."
A distinctly male laugh echoed from inside as well, one that Tosh had heard a few times and had committed to her memory and to her voice. "Favorite place on the planet, besides anywhere that there's coffee," a familiar Welsh voice added.
"And you, Yan. You know very well that I can't live without you and your coffee," a second, equally familiar voice replied.
Shivers ran down Tosh's spine at the banter.
"Oh please, Jack, you're just mad that you're still in time-out for blowing up the computers last month."
"It wasn't my fault this time, Ianto!" Tosh knew that they had to be the future versions of her co-workers (which made the present versions gape widely at the loud, yet obviously loving exchange). "There was an alien virus and it was going to happen anyway. I just helped it along."
"And the half a million in property damage?"
There was a disbelieving snort. "Doesn't mean I have to go into time-out from both your coffee and sex."
Annabelle stifled a laugh and called into the Doctor's ship, "Lay off it for five minutes, you two. Don't you remember where we are?"
"Oh yeah." Jack – a future Jack – poked his head out of the door and grinned widely. Tosh was pretty damn sure that she saw the glint of tears in his eyes, though she could have been mistaken. The future version of her boss let out a happy sigh. "I forgot how amazing this place was." He looked over his shoulder and called, "Come and see, Yan. Everyone's here!"
"I'm coming," the familiar Welsh tones of one Ianto Jones replied as the Welshman – future Welshman, Tosh amended – brushed past Jack breezily, striding into the main room of the Hub.
He was a little older than the Ianto who Tosh saw every day, a bit older even, it appeared, than she recalled (however hazily) from that one meeting with errant time travelers those few weeks ago. There were still gray streaks in his hair and his eyes held the age, though he looked relatively young in the face. But Ianto was smiling that rare, truly happy smile that Tosh missed seeing from her friend and co-worker.
"What in the world is going on here?" Gwen gasped out. One look at her face was indicative of the fact that she was clearly not able to wrap her mind around time travel and these future versions of Jack and Ianto.
"Still bossy and confused as ever," future Jack said, grinning that cocky, easy smile of his as he walked beside Ianto.
"As if that would change," Ianto replied. Tosh saw the little way the two men looked at each other, subtly leaning into one another in such a way that only someone who knew them would pick up on.
"And they wouldn't." Tosh looked at the red-haired woman who emerged from the Doctor's ship – Donna, she thought, though she couldn't be certain. "These are set events in your past and you know they can't be changed."
If Tosh wasn't mistaken, there was a cryptic message there.
"Regardless," the present Jack – Tosh's Jack – said, his voice tense, "why did you all come here?"
"Because we were tracking the same alien you were and you didn't have the appropriate facilities to store it," Annabelle said, stating fact without preamble and with a tone that indicated that she shouldn't be questioned.
There was a little inhalation of breath from Tosh's Ianto. "And what makes you think that we couldn't? We do have a rather extensive Archives here and would have figured something out."
"Oh, I'm sure you would have," Annabelle replied, humor lacing her voice now, "but the fact that there is no record of this particular alien in any records from Torchwood Three means that you didn't keep it here, and you know the importance of preservation of information." She sniffed and looked at the trap with the struggling alien. "Besides, as a fellow member of Torchwood, you wouldn't deny Esther and Rex the chance to catch an alien, would you, Tad?"
Her casual (and familial) addressing caused the present Ianto to tense up visibly.
Future Ianto (this was getting quite confusing for Tosh) rolled his eyes. "Annabelle," he said, a warning in his voice.
Annabelle winced, realizing her mistake. "Sorry."
"It was bound to come out eventually," Esther said, sympathetically, smiling at the young woman, before looking to the future Jack directly. "You have to give her some slack, after all."
"Well, we were going to have to modify their memories anyway," the future Jack agreed, giving the future Ianto a wan smile. "After all, can't have the me of the past running around being an idiot because of Annabelle and you, Ianto."
"I'll never hear the end of this," the future Ianto said.
"And I hope that I do," the present Ianto added.
The two versions of Ianto shared a look and both grinned mirror grins. Oh, this was so weird. Ianto was agreeing with his future self.
"Oh please, for the love of my eyeballs, no orgy make-outs," Owen pleaded.
Both Jacks grinned the lecherous grin that Tosh had come to associate with only her boss. "Now that you mention it, Owen," the current Jack said, "that sounds like a great idea!"
Owen, both Iantos, Annabelle, and Rex all blanched at that.
"Gross!"
The Doctor leaned against the door to his time machine and coughed, drawing attention to him. "Well, now that we got what we came for, we should be going. The TARDIS is making sure that you don't really recall this little meeting, not that you'll completely forget that an alien was caught – just how."
Both Jacks gave unhappy looks at that comment.
"Wait," Gwen asked, his eyes wide, "how'd you manage to find the alien when we had trouble pinpointing it."
"Easy," Esther replied, shrugging, looking at Gwen, "the TARDIS and this." She pushed up her sleeve and revealed a Vortex Manipulator similar to Jack's. "It's a modified Manipulator and a hell of a lot more effective than Jack's is. Ianto made sure of that before he gave it to me."
The present Jack snorted. "Typical Ianto."
"Oi!" The future Ianto was very indignant. "I resent that. Esther has to look after Rex, who's almost as bad as you are."
"That's not what you said this morning," the future Jack replied, slipping an arm around the future Ianto's waist, placing a kiss on the other man's cheek.
So they were still going strong. That was good and it reassured Tosh.
Out of the corner of her eye, the Japanese genius saw the way that Gwen tensed at the clear ease and comfort at which the future versions of Jack and Ianto interacted with each other. Tosh knew that they were good together, that they balanced one another out well, but it was clear that Gwen didn't necessarily realize that yet.
"And yet your manners in the bedroom have only improved ever so slightly." The dry tone in his voice was as familiar and comforting as ever. "We should be going then," the future Ianto said, changing the subject. "Annabelle has to get back to school."
"Right, you've got a few exams coming up," future Jack agreed.
Annabelle groaned. "Dad, Tad, I told you, I've already prepared for them!"
"That doesn't mean you can't review extra!" Jack told her, paternal sternness in his voice. "We expect you to do very well."
Tosh couldn't suppress her smile. The similarities were quite obvious.
"At least I got to see Myfanwy."
A smile crossed the future Ianto's face. Briefly, the man looked up.
Overhead, the pterodactyl cawed and swooped down low. Future Ianto reached up a hand and touched her wing as she landed briefly. The contact lasted a matter of seconds, but Tosh saw the blissful look on Ianto's face. She didn't know how long it had been since he had seen the pterodactyl, but Tosh knew that Ianto had a special bond with the dinosaur. He was, after all, Myfanwy's favorite and was the only person she let feed her on a regular basis without trying to take a nip at that person.
"Right, let's be off then," the Doctor interrupted.
Not thirty minutes later, Tosh found herself wondering what happened about the Rift spike and why Jack was healing from a pretty blatant energy wound. No one knew for certain, except that the alien had been trapped and was taken care of.
Though Tosh was damn sure that Jack and Ianto would have a beautiful daughter one day and , in a cautious conversation that they had many weeks later, Owen agreed with her whole-heartedly.
What do you think? Good? Bad? Did you like? You should know what to do by now! Review please. I absolutely love them.
I know, I did a bit of a tease, by incorporating Tosh and Owen into this story, but I had to – really. I miss them as characters and I wish that they hadn't been killed off when they were (just like I wish that Ianto hadn't been killed off either). Still, I hope you like my portrayal of the pair of them in this story.
And, as always, I will put up the next story as soon as the Muse decides to inspire me.