Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, etc. etc. etc. no infringement of copyright intended, etc, etc. just playing with them, like everyone else here.

Warning: Explicit, MA for adult theme. Jack/Ianto Slash/swearing (eventually)

What if Jack wasn't the leader, what if there was someone else appointed to head Torchwood 3? Wonder how things would go….? AU, everybody still alive. No particular timeline.

Captain Jack Harkness took the stairs down into the hub two at a time. He was late and he knew it, although he had a good reason. Shit shovelling, again. The rest of the team had returned hours ago, as always he had landed the messy job of getting rid of the bodies. He grimaced as he hit bottom, he was always shit shovelling, clearing everyone else's mess up after them, making sure they got everywhere on time and, oh yes, making the coffee. At least he was complemented for his coffee making skills. It was his own fault, he thought sourly. He didn't delegate very easily, didn't trust others to do a good enough job. Swinging round towards his workstation, its computer humming in readiness, he noticed that the others were nowhere to be seen. He cast his eyes up to the office above to see if the boss had noticed but there was no movement. He breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he had quit for the day…

"Jack? Where's my coffee?"

Damn, Jack swore beneath his breath. Did that guy miss anything?

"Coming Sir" he called, hurrying towards the small kitchen area. Precisely six minutes later he knocked on the door and went in, seeing the boss behind his desk, immaculate in suit and tie, scanning some paper work. The man popped the button on the stopwatch he held in one hand, glanced briefly at it and said with a grin "six minutes, you're getting faster…" and watched as Jack walked round to stand beside him, same place as always, and set the coffee mug down on the desk next to him, same place as always, and said "Will there be anything else, Sir?"

Ianto Jones' grin faded and he took a sip of his coffee before saying anything. He hadn't been Torchwood 3's boss for long but it felt like an eternity sometimes, but if anyone could understand eternity, then this man could. "Excellent, as always" he said with what he hoped was a warm smile, putting the mug down. He wished Jack would relax in his presence. The rest of the team did, but not Jack. Ianto had always put it down to the man's immortality. He appreciated how difficult it must be to live with seeing your friends grow old and die but he had no idea of what it must do to a man to go through that time and again. Nothing could kill him. He simply died and was resurrected time and again. It made him a valuable resource for Torchwood, but Ianto wondered why he had never been made leader. His personality was flawed, but then, so was everybody else's. No one who worked for Torchwood was ever perfect, some were even quite seriously damaged. They were often the ones who got promoted, for God's sake.

No, Ianto thought, it was because they feared him, those still in charge, the anonymous folk in Government and UNIT who kept an eye on those supposed to be above them all. Who watches the watchers, he thought glumly. They considered Jack Harkness (it wasn't even his real name, no one knew it) to be more of a threat than an asset, one they were happy to use until he outlived his usefulness or threatened their nice cosy world. The man was even friends with the enigmatic time travelling "Doctor", the original 'enemy number one' as far as Torchwood was concerned.

Ianto had always felt at a disadvantage in the matter of Jack Harkness. The man looked no older than his late 30s but he was well over a hundred years Ianto's senior if the files were to be believed. Ianto knew that he, himself, was young for a Torchwood operative never mind a leader, but he had graduated from Torchwood 1 with honours as far as the 'Management' were concerned, playing a part in the battle of Canary Wharf, although he had been almost the last one standing. He had been sent back to his native Wales as Torchwood 3's new boss after its previous leader, Suzie Costello, had died less than a year ago. Such losses were something you lived with in Torchwood. Ianto had lost people close to him, first his mother at a relatively young age, then his fiancée Lisa at Canary Wharf, although he rarely spoke about it. He recognised something in Jack, a sorrow, a shadow of something shared. But although he was drawn to the charismatic Captain, Ianto didn't allow himself to lower his guard. The man was an inveterate flirt, had a reputation for sleeping with anything he found attractive, human, alien, male, female, it didn't seem to bother him. The reports all said he that was charming and superficial with a forceful personality. Ianto had known that the people who had sent him into this job were worried that he would find Jack a handful to keep under control, that he wasn't a strong enough personality to hold back the loose cannon that was Captain Harkness. Maybe, a small voice had said, I won't want to hold him back. Maybe that's what makes him so useful.

The reports could not have prepared him for certain things however. In the flesh, Harkness was a very attractive man. At 6 ft tall, he was a shade taller than Jones whose 5'11" frame was also appreciably lighter in build. Harkness was strong, broad through shoulders and chest, he was powerful to look at. He exuded charisma, his easy confidence rubbing off on everyone around him. He already had an easy camaraderie with the small team, they liked him, loved him even. Ianto Jones knew right then that the key to winning them was to win Jack over but all that little fact did was daunt him. How could he compare to the fearless Jack Harkness, what the hell could he ever do to gain this man's respect, his trust? He had no idea that Tosh had pulled his personnel reports, that they already knew about his actions and commendation for the part at Canary Wharf. Jones also knew he could never rival Jack's ease with his own body, his lack of self consciousness. There was an animalistic grace in the way he moved, a warrior's confidence, eyes so blue and intense they made Jones' heart miss a beat when he first saw them gazing into him. No, they did not gaze at you, they gazed into you, it was as if Harkness was looking into his soul. He had laughed later at the fanciful notion, but could not forget the way it had made him feel at the time. His insides felt like they had turned to soft melted fudge. By comparison, the Harkness handshake was firm, dry and as brief as possible. A single shake, no more. He didn't try to get one over on the new boy, which Jones' had been half expecting. Ianto had been in plenty of situations where someone had almost crushed his fingers to 'test' his reaction. It didn't come. Oddly, he respected the fact that the Captain hadn't tried it on.

It had been Gwen who had fetched him from the railway station, brought him through the Tourist Office front on the wharfside near Roald Dahl Plas and into the bowels of Torchwood Cardiff via the 'secret' door. She had an endearing way of chattering too much when nervous and (Ianto wasn't sure if it disturbed him or not) his arrival had made her nervous. He had been openly admiring of the set-up, although the others had shown its faults to him over the course of the next few months. They had given him perfectly valid reasons why certain things made life more difficult and others had needed jury rigging to make them even part-way operational. It seemed that Suzie, in her growing madness, had ignored or dismissed lots of problems and most of those had needed ironing out immediately. He had attempted to requisition things, buy things or authorise things that would rectify the difficulties, some of which had worked, some hadn't. Overall, things had improved, which he was proud of. He was suitably impressed with the team's ingenuity though and had praised a blushing Toshiko for her work. Jack had not said a word about any of it, although Ianto had caught him looking now and again, almost as though he wanted to say something, to make some comment, but had held it back.

Since his arrival, Ianto had made an effort to come up to expectations, throwing himself into the work, trying to support his new team, listening and organising and, well…leading, he hoped, by example. The lack of response from Jack Harkness had surprised him but he therefore assumed that he couldn't be performing that badly. Surely, he surmised, someone with Jack's personality would simply not be able to sit back and let him make a hash of things without making comment. Maybe he was like that, maybe the brashness all the reports referred to wasn't as prominent as they thought. Didn't stop him wishing Jack wouldn't be so formal though, would at least be a little more friendly. He smiled "No, thank you Jack, there's nothing else" but the man didn't move to leave. Ianto looked at him, frowning "Was there something?" he asked.

For a moment he thought Jack wasn't going to speak but then he took a deep breath and said "I need to talk to you Sir"

"OK, go ahead" Ianto gave him his full attention, the least he could do really.

"I've been thinking quite a lot lately Sir. I guess you could say I've been considering my future and I've made my decision. I have to tell you, I'm leaving Torchwood"

Ianto sat as if poleaxed, the coffee mug paralysed half way to his mouth. He was completely taken by surprise.

"Jack? Why?"

So there it is, first chapter done…Oh God, I hope people like it - excuse me, anxiety attack here – really wish I had more of the Harkness 'who-the-hell-cares' attitude really. I know I require a thicker skin if I'm to become a writer. So please read and review, I await in trepidation as its only the second thing I've posted that I'm half way happy with. Have got more chapters written, just waiting to see response first.

Sorry if this has been done before, but it's just a bit of fun with an AU setting. Just a 'what if…' really. I don't know the site well enough to have tracked anything similar down yet. Please be kind….