"IANTO! Have you cleaned the kitchen yet?" Jack shouted from his office.
"Yes…" Ianto replied and rolled his eyes at Gwen.
Jack hadn't said why he wanted the Hub cleaned so thoroughly. Just that it was important that it was spotless by 5pm.
"Well have you dusted the Archives?" Jack stepped out of his office wearing a light pink apron that Ianto hoped had once belonged to a female member of staff.
"Jack, I dust the Archives regularly. They're fine." Ianto sighed. "Why are we cleaning everything?"
"I just think the Hub could do with a good clean." Jack shrugged his shoulders.
Gwen scoffed. Ianto was a neat freak. If anybody suddenly decided that the Hub needed cleaned; it would be him. Besides, even if the Hub needed cleaned, Jack wouldn't set a deadline. Especially one as soon as 5pm.
"Gwen, could you find an old toothbrush and clean the vault doors please?" Jack turned to head back into his office.
"No."
Jack stopped in his tracks.
"Why not?" He turned around and walked back to the railing and looked down at Gwen.
"I'm not scrubbing the vault doors with a toothbrush, Jack. There's no need. They'll be a mess again within a few days." Gwen shook her head.
"Jack, why are we 'spring cleaning'?" Ianto suddenly appeared beside Jack looking more sternly than before.
Jack looked from Ianto to Gwen and back again.
"Fine." Jack huffed and went to the sofa in front of the Torchwood sign.
Ianto and Gwen followed and sat either side of him.
"One of my old friends is coming to visit and I don't want him thinking I'm a slob." Jack admitted.
"Is that it?" Ianto raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean 'is that it'? It's important to me." Jack nodded.
"Is it an old boyfriend?" Gwen asked as innocently as she could whilst prying. Jack was a private man and now that Owen and Tosh were gone, she felt like she was being shut out. Ianto was his boyfriend so she assumed he knew a lot about their leader. But he never told her anything.
Jack glanced harshly sideways at Gwen. His look simply said 'it's none of your business' but he answered anyway.
"No, he was not my boyfriend." Jack glanced more softly at Ianto and turned his attention to an old empty pizza box on the table in front of him. After years of not really trusting anyone, it was hard to talk about his past. "I used to be a federal agent when I lived in America. It was before Torchwood." Jack thought for a few moments. "We were quite a pair back then. Nobody got away with a crime if we were assigned the case."
"Why did you join Torchwood instead?" Ianto sat up eagerly. He loved hearing about Jack's past.
"It was just a way of passing the time until I could meet the Doctor again. I mean, I enjoyed it; I just couldn't stay there. I wanted to protect the world from alien treats and help advance Earth's technology. I wanted to live like the Doctor." Jack continued his story.
"Do you still want to live like the Doctor?" Gwen asked.
"I don't know. Living in Cardiff and dealing with the Rift has let me see life differently. I don't think I want to travel anymore. I have too many responsibilities here. Besides, what would you two do without me, eh?" Jack laughed it off and stood back up to remove his apron. "I suppose you're right, the Hub is clean enough."
"So..." Ianto started to stroll down to the kitchen area to make coffee. "What's your friend called and when is he getting here?"
"His name is Leroy Jethro Gibbs and he's supposed to arrive at 5pm." Jack's answered and quickly checked his watch. It was five minutes to five now.
Gwen had caught on to this too. "Would you like me to go up and greet him?"
"Nope." Jack replied simply. "We're all going up to greet him. Come on." He hurried towards the corridors leading out of the Hub and gestured for Ianto and Gwen to follow him.
They weren't in the Tourist Office for very long when there was a sharp knock at the door.
Jack made a small, excited squeak as he bounced towards the door. Grabbing the handle, he pulled it open and grinned.
"Hello, Jethro." He beamed.
"That's Special Agent Gibbs to you," The man replied sternly and then broke into a grin that mirrored Jacks. "How've ya been Jack?"
Please review and let me know what you think! :)