The sound of car wheels on gravel caused Miranda to look up from her book. She wasn't expecting anyone. I'm in the middle of the Welsh countryside precisely so that I never expect anyone, she said to herself. There was the tinniest itch of Presence in her head. Merely a pre-born, she noted. She left her sword leaning against her chair and reached for the Glock pistol in her side table drawer. She loaded the clip, flicked the safety off and chambered the first round before walking towards her front window. She pushed aside the drape and saw a large black SUV in the drive. A handsome young man wearing a charcoal suit was getting out of the passenger side. Miranda didn't bother looking towards the driver's side of the car. She already knew who must be driving the monstrosity when she had seen the word 'Torchwood' stenciled onto the bonnet.

Her and Jack talked occasionally but they were still repairing their friendship. She'd said she'd needed time and asked him to give her some space. Now, he was pulling into her driveway unannounced. Captain Jack Harkness, you have some nerve… She felt anger rising in her throat, her infamous temper clouding her thoughts. She didn't stop to wonder why he'd drive the Torchwood SUV four hours from Cardiff to Caernarfon. She didn't stop to wonder why he'd brought someone with him. She merely strode out onto the front porch, raised her gun and pointed it straight at his head.

"Jesus! Will, don't shoot!" Jack shouted as he raised both his hands.

The man in the suit drew his own gun and took aim. That must be Ianto Jones, she 'd heard of the young man who 'looked good in a suit' from Jack, of course. She cast an appreciative glance at his handsome features and youthful appearance. The dark suit was superbly tailored and highlighted the well muscled body beneath. Jack still has excellent taste. Jack cast a worried glance towards the younger man that said far more to Miranda than he'd probably intended. She now knew exactly where her bullet would do the most damage.

"Harkness, you have 20 seconds to tell me what you want," she shouted, shifting her aim and said, "or the next bullet goes between your lover's eyes."

Jack dropped his hands slowly. He suddenly looked small and deflated. His voice broke slightly as he said, "Two of my team are dead."

Miranda swallowed on a dry throat, her anger evaporating. She studied the young man more closely. On closer inspection, she now noticed the red rimmed eyes and dark circles as well as the waxen pallor to his cheeks. She turned her gaze back to Jack and gave him a quick once over. He's a sodding wreck.

"I'm sorry," she said as she lowered her gun, and clicked on the safety.

She stepped into the house, leaving the front door open. As she walked towards the kitchen, putting the gun on the counter, she shouted, "Well, come on in then!"

When she heard the front door latch shut, she called out, "Coffee, Jack? Or something stronger?"

"Coffee's fine, Will," Jack said from the front hallway. She set the coffee to brew then headed into the hallway to join him there.

"Your young man needn't wait outside. You don't need a guard dog," she said, gesturing to Ianto's outline in the front door's window.

"He doesn't know you," he said simply, "and you did just point a gun at us."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Her voice softened and she said, "Who else is left?"

"Just Gwen Cooper," he replied drawing in a shaky breath.

Sato and Harper are dead then. Miranda reached up, wrapping her arms around Jack's neck and pulling him down into a tight embrace. She felt his shoulders relax slightly. Out of old habit, she pressed a kiss to the shell of his ear and inhaled deeply as she leaned her nose into the crook of his neck.

They stood like that for a few minutes until they were interrupted by the sound of the coffee pot beeping. Miranda slipped Jack's coat off his shoulders with practiced ease and hung it on the coat rack. He scrubbed his hands over his face and then followed her into the kitchen.

The room looked different from when he'd last been in it. Miranda had updated all the appliances when she'd moved back in and painted. She'd kept the thick square wooden table and as she moved to the coffee pot, she saw Jack seat himself in his usual chair facing the counter. She pulled out his blue and white stripped mug from the cabinet and poured the coffee, handing it to him black.

"How long will you need me?" she asked as she fixed her own coffee with cream and sugar.

"Until I can find a permanent doctor." He blew on his coffee and took a sip. She watched him pull a face as she sat down. It was the first time he'd done that with her coffee. There was no question to her which position he needed her to fill. Miranda hadn't practiced medicine in nearly twenty years but a trained doctor was a necessity at Torchwood.

"I'll need a little time to pack and lock up the house," she said.

"Take all the time you need. I'll have Ianto book you something at St. David's."

Miranda took a minute to think. With the team short, St. David's wasn't the most sensible choice even if it was very close to the Hub. In the north sub-basement, she and Jack had converted several storage rooms into a small flat back in the mid 1950's. They'd shared the rooms on and off whenever Miranda returned to work for Torchwood. They'd last lived there together when Miranda had come to help Jack after Alex Hopkins had left him the last man standing at the turn of the millennium. That would be the most sensible choice.

"Are you still living in that hole under your office?" she asked. "Hey, it's cozy!" Jack said with false hurt.

She was glad to see him relaxing enough to offer banter. Jack hadn't lived outside the Hub in decades. She'd rather not intrude upon his privacy but she knew most of her time would be spent at the Hub and that a room at St. David's or renting a flat would be moot.

"I'll use our old flat," she said, "if you don't mind me skulking around the Hub."

"As long as you don't mind me and Ianto playing naked hide and seek," he said with a grin.

Naked hide and seek? Whatever that was she wondered why the young Welshman would agree to play any game with Jack. He cheats. He always cheats. "I don't want to know, Jack," she laughed.

"I'll clean the place up before you get there."

She couldn't suppress a groan. If she let Jack clean, she'd just end up doing it again. "Jack, no offense, but I'll handle it myself."

"I could get Ianto-"

Miranda raised her eyebrow. Jack was woefully obtuse sometimes. "You did not just suggest that you have your lover clean up our old flat."

Jack looked down into his mug, chastised.

"It won't take me long, and it's no trouble," she said. She looked at the clock above the doorway. It was barely noon. The two men must have left Cardiff at the crack of dawn. "It's a long drive back to Cardiff. You and Mr. Jones will stay here tonight."

"It's still early. We need to get back. Gwen-"

"You left her at the hub alone?!" she interrupted.

"Of course not!" Jack said defensively. His expression gave way to annoyance and embarrassment as he continued, "Some friends from UNIT are watching the rift. Gwen's in the hospital. Dehydration and exhaustion."

Miranda felt anger rise again. While her and Jack were on shaky ground, he knew that no matter what was going on between them, she wouldn't have refused to help him. She wondered how long it had taken Jack to swallow his pride and come here. Too long, she thought if the Welshwoman was in hospital. She knew that both men needed rest and she knew exactly where to apply pressure. "Jack, I know how you feel about UNIT. I know you want to get back. You may be immortal but that young man isn't. He needs a decent meal and some sleep. Have you looked at him, Jack? He's about ready to drop."

She saw Jack press his mouth into a thin line and knew what she'd said had struck home. He had his hands gripped tightly around his mug. She wondered… "If you stay through to the next morning, I will be able to leave with you."

That also got his attention. "We meant to head back today. We don't have anything."

He was grabbing at straws and they both knew it.

"You still have things here, Jack. I'm sure they will fit your young man." She decided to dig in her heels. She got up from the table and said in a firm tone, "You and Mr. Jones may have the master suite."

She felt another wave of relief that Jack didn't argue with her. She pulled out another blue and white mug and poured coffee to take to Ianto.

"He takes it black?" she asked.

Jack only nodded. He looked so defeated. She squeezed his shoulder before leaving him alone with his thoughts.

She headed into the lounge to put her gun away, pausing to put one of the pictures on the mantle facedown before heading to the front door. She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. She had no claim to Jack Harkness and hadn't for years. Her nervousness was about how Ianto would perceive her and Jack's relationship. Jack's concern for the Welshman was palatable. He was obviously someone who meant a great deal to Jack. She had no desire to become a wedge between the two men.

She squared her shoulders and opened the door, stepping out onto the covered porch. She found Ianto leaning against the railing. He seemed lost in thought.

"Mr. Jones?" she said offering him the mug and then her hand. "I'm Dr. Miranda Ryan. My apologies for earlier."

He took the mug, quirking an eyebrow at it for some unknown reason and said, "No apology necessary, Dr. Ryan. I did try to convince Jack to call first. Thank you for the coffee, and please, call me Ianto."

"Miranda," she said. She sobered her expression and laid a hand on his arm. "I'm very sorry for your losses."

The pain that flickered across his face was brief but profound. "Thank you," he said quiety. He didn't look up at her, instead admiring the landscape. The river Seiont was sparkling in the late morning sun.

She squeezed his arm briefly and let go. She could see that Ianto Jones was a man who kept up appearances. "I've spoken with Jack," she said. "You and he will stay here through the day after tomorrow. I'll be returning with you to Cardiff."

Ianto's eyes widened and he nervously began, "I appreciate your hospitality but Jack and I need to get back-"

"Ianto," she said interrupted with a firm edge to her voice, "you need rest and a few decent meals. UNIT can handle the rift for a day."

She could see him forming another argument. After laying her hand on his arm again, she pleaded gently, "Please, Ifan."

The weariness was clear on his face. She could see the temptation of home cooked food and a warm bed pulling at him. For a third time, relief passed through her as she saw the young man nod.

Her expression sobered and she took another deep breath as she let go of his arm. "What has Jack told you? About me, I mean."

"You seem to know him well enough to know the answer to that question, Mandy" he said lightly, staring at the coffee in his mug.

Despite herself and the seriousness of the topic, she smiled. She hated being called 'Mandy' with a passion. It was clearly a rebuke for calling him 'Ifan' earlier.

"Has he told you… what I am?" she asked.

Ianto nodded slowly and said, "He said it would be a deal breaker if Gwen and I didn't know. He showed us the reports from his private safe. He also showed me your full personnel file."

She knew it was a delicate subject. But she also knew that revealing her immortality to the rest of the team was a necessity. She'd made the mistake of concealing it before and it had cost a young man his life. Miranda stayed silent for a few moments, trying to figure out how to explain her and Jack's complicated relationship to the young Welshman. Every scenario she ran through her head sounded worse than the one before it. Something must have shown in her expression because Ianto spoke first.

"You're Jack's wife," he said simply.

"But Jack didn't tell you that," she said. She didn't believe Jack had told Ianto for a second.

Ianto shook his head. "I'm Torchwood's archivist and administrator. In June of 1920, Jack's personnel file was updated to reflect a change in marital status and he received a 'breadwinner' pay rise. His wife's name was listed as Wilhelmina Harkness. Jack said he's known you for a long time and he's been referring to you as 'Will'. It wasn't a difficult leap."

"You pieced that together on remarkably few clues, Ifan," she said. She could see why Jack was so taken with him. Miranda studied his face carefully. She saw no signs of jealousy or malice. What she did see was wholehearted acceptance; acceptance of Jack's past and of Jack himself. Miranda wondered if Jack had ever known such acceptance in all of his life. And she hoped Jack realised what an extraordinary young man was sharing his bed. She felt a stab of pity for the young Welshman. He was clearly in love with Jack, a state that never ended well. It certainly didn't for me, she thought ruefully.

"Jack is rubbish at archiving," Ianto said with a shrug.

"I was in charge of the archives in the 50's and 70's and they were a disaster," she said with a small laugh. Her eyebrows knitted together as she frowned slightly. "Jack and I haven't been husband and wife for a long time. We're… we're complicated."

"We are talking about Jack Harkness," he rolled his eyes dramatically.

She let out another laugh but turned serious again. "I've known Jack for nearly a century. I do love him, very deeply, but in a way that you can't understand."

Ianto opened his mouth to interrupt but Miranda held her hand up to stop him.

"Let me finish, please," she said. "Being immortal isn't something mortals can understand. You can try and, yes, you can grasp some of it. But the only people who get it completely are other immortals. I have friendships and associations with others of my kind but those relationships are always tainted by the Game. But not Jack. With him, I can have friendship through the centuries without the Game looming over us. It is a gift that I treasure. We are occasionally bed partners but at its core, what Jack and I have is a close friendship. I have no desire to come between you two. I hope that you and I can be friends as well."

"So do I and I appreciate your candor," he said.

"I had planned on staying in my old rooms in the Hub's north sub-basement, but if you're uncomfortable…" she trailed off not knowing quite how to continue. She didn't know the specifics of their relationship. At first she had assumed it was merely physical but both men's body language was saying otherwise. If Ianto also considered the Hub his home, she certainly didn't want to intrude.

He shook his head. "It makes the most sense."

"It isn't always about what's logical. I don't want to intrude on your and Jack's privacy," she said delicately.

He shook his head again. "It's fine, Mandy."

She nodded and then turned to the practical. "I'm going to wash some clothes for you and Jack. The two of you will be more comfortable in the master suite. It's nearly lunch. Please, make yourself at home."

She gave his arm a gentle pat and turned towards the house. As she walked up the stairs she thought, Bloody Torchwood… I must be insane…