AN - Huge thank yous to the ever lovely kausingkayn, silentjellyfish, Rachy Babes, and bbmcowgirl for your reviews. It is amazing to have people pleased to see the return of Jay. And I'm glad you liked how I handled the Jack/Ianto thing. Thank you for your comments to get me there.
Jack gave her one of his mega watt grins.
"Knew you couldn't keep away. It's the coat isn't it? It's always about the coat."
"Actually," grunted Jay, "right now it's all about the very large space wolf sitting on my chest. How about a hand?"
"I don't know," said Jack thoughtfully. "You got yourself into this mess…"
"I didn't get myself into anything. It was caught up in the rift when I came through and went for me."
"Probably thought you were the in-flight meal."
"It's not getting any less heavy while you make jokes."
Jack noted that Jay's arms were also trapped under the beast. "So shoot me." he grinned.
Ianto rolled his eyes and stepped forward. Consciously avoiding looking at Jay's face he braced a foot against the creature and pushed. Jack came to join him and they pushed together while Jay wriggled to free herself.
Jay stood and regarded the space wolf as she brushed herself down.
"We'd better get it ho…back to the Hub." She coughed and backed up a step. The tension in the air was suddenly palpable. Jack glanced up at Jay, watching her shake her head at her own mistake, her face unreadable. Turning to look at Ianto he saw the young man's perfect mask in place, but his body language betrayed his discomfort.
Jack broke the silence in an overloud voice.
"Get the SUV open Ianto; Jay grab the front of our friend, I'll take the rear!" Jay forced a grin at Jack's attempt to lighten the mood with innuendo while Ianto took full advantage of the opportunity to turn his back.
It was difficult to manoeuvre the large beast into the boot of the SUV, but with an effort they managed it. Jay reached a hand down to lift the tail gate and her fingers connected with Ianto's as he went to do the same thing. As if electrocuted, they both snatched their hands away. Jay took a few steps back from the vehicle while Ianto seemed frozen to the spot.
Jack frowned to himself as he watched this unfold. He plastered a smile back on his face and calling to Ianto, tossed him the keys.
"Ianto. You drive. Jay, we have some catching up to do."
Ianto started moving again, closing the tailgate before seeking refuge in the driver's seat.
********
The drive back to the Hub was, without doubt, uncomfortable, but Jack did his best. While Ianto studiously kept his eyes on the road, Jack was swivelled in his seat telling Jay about the new members of the team. Stories were told and embellished in that way that only Jack could, and Jay laughed along in all the right places. Jack knew that this was not the right time to ask Jay why she had come back, and he wanted her to find out about the changes at Torchwood from him.
Ianto pulled up on the Plass and let Jay and Jack out of the car. He could have taken them all down to the underground car park, it wasn't like Jay didn't know about it, but he wanted distance between them as soon as possible. And he needed a minute on his own. His head and gut were a whirl with emotion. A part of him was pleased to see Jay. He had cared a lot about her and enjoyed the time they had spent together, both as colleagues and lovers, but he felt that he had betrayed her. Even though she had left him, and even though he had discovered that she had known all along that she would leave, he still felt guilty about moving on so quickly. But did it even count as moving on, when you went back to the person you had been with before?
Ianto had no idea what he should say to her. What she would say to him. He didn't want to hurt her, but he was fairly sure that it was now inevitable. He would just put it off for as long as possible and deal with the guilt the best he could.
*********
Jack stood with Jay on the paving slab that was really a lift and Jack moved to tap on his wrist strap. Jay's hand fell on his arm, stopping him. She looked into his eyes.
"Are you and Ianto…? She left her question hanging.
"Yes." answered Jack simply.
Jay nodded, looking away. Everything she had expected for all that time was confirmed.
"I was just a stop gap."
"No." Jack's voice was firm. "You were more than that. Ianto needed you and you were there for him. He did, does, love you."
"But not as much as he loves you." Jay sighed. "I always knew that."
Jack kept his gaze steady on her. "That's not what you came here for though is it? This isn't a social visit." It was more of a statement than a question.
Jay shook her head minutely, but answered "Later. I have to deal with this first."
Jack turned and brought his hands down comfortingly on her shoulders, bringing his face down to hers. "They'll be fine. They'll both be fine. They understand why you left."
She gave him a humourless smile. "I've been less nervous going into battle."
Jack laughed, straightening up. "That's because you know you can't just shoot Gwen and Ianto and get it over with."
Jay's snorted a laugh. "Come on then. Let's go down."
"Promises, promises." grinned Jack, earning an exasperated smile from Jay.
The lift started to descend into the Hub. Jay quickly spotted Gwen near the base of the lift, looking up expectantly, waiting for whatever, whoever, Jack was bringing down with him.
A look of confusion, then recognition flittered across Gwen's face. It was replaced by a big beaming smile and a squeal of delight from the Welshwoman as Gwen raised her hands to her mouth excitedly. Jay's face broke out into a broad, relieved smile and before the lift had even come to a stop at the bottom Jay had leapt off and the two women threw themselves into a fierce, tight hug.
Jay pulled back slightly without breaking the embrace. She looked into Gwen's face.
"Tell me everything."
Gwen didn't need to be asked twice and pulled Jay over to the sofa. She produced a digital photo frame that she kept continually in her pocket and started to go through the pictures with Jay. Jay smiled and laughed as Gwen showed her pictures of herself huge and swollen in pregnancy, before talking her through the pictures of the first three months of baby Harper Sato Williams' life.
Jack stood back and watched. Jay and Gwen hadn't broken physical contact with each other once. They sat close together and Gwen kept one hand on Jay at all times, almost as if she feared that if she let go the other woman would be gone again. A pang of sadness and regret stabbed at him. Whereas Ianto never spoke of Jay at all, Gwen did on occasion, but only to retell stories of some of the things they had got up to while he was away. She never mentioned missing her, and the fact that she had, desperately it now seemed, had never been betrayed in her words or actions either. But Jack still should have seen it. Should have addressed it. He wouldn't make that mistake next time. He balked internally as his mind automatically added the "next time".
"I'll go and give Ianto a hand with that space wolf." He told them. He received a dismissive hand wave in response and with a small smile he left them to it.
*********
Even between the two of them getting the space wolf out of the SUV and into the incinerator and taken quite a bit of effort, but once they were done Ianto turned to Jack.
"There's blood all over the back of the SUV. I'll get it cleaned."
"No Ianto, coffee first."
"But if I don't clean it now it will be harder to get out."
"Ianto. Coffee." Jack said firmly. Jay and Gwen would have had some time together now and he wouldn't let Ianto put this off any longer.
Ianto knew the conversation had nothing to do with coffee; "I don't know if I can Jack." He lifted troubled blue eyes to Jack's.
"Don't you think she deserves it?"
"She deserves more."
"Then go and talk to her Ianto. Let her decide what she deserves."
With a curt nod Ianto turned and walked the corridors towards the main Hub with Jack at his heels. Ianto went straight to the coffee machine while Jack wandered back over to the old sofa. Jay and Gwen were where he had left them. The baby pictures were still scrolling on the screen on Jay's lap but the two women were clearly on a different topic now by the sounds of distinctly filthy laughter coming from the pair.
"Are you talking about me again girls?" asked Jack with a wink.
"Yes Jack. After months of travelling the galaxies what I really want to talk about is you." grinned Jay.
"Good. That's as it should be then."
Their banter was interrupted by a discreet cough from Ianto as he carried a tray laden with coffees over to them.
"Gwen; can you update me on David and Cathleen's mission please?" Jack asked, none too subtly, picking up his coffee. Gwen nodded and giving Jay's leg a squeeze, stood, collected her cup from Ianto's tray and walked away with Jack.
Ianto stepped hesitantly forward and offered the tray to Jay. A lump formed in her throat as she saw the cup there. A strange part of her had still expected to see her cup on the tray. The one she had adopted and used for all those months.
"This isn't my cup. I suppose someone else has my cup now."
"No." said Ianto, his voice catching in his throat. "No-one liked your cup. It's – it's been lost now. Broken or thrown away probably." He stood awkwardly, his own coffee in hand, tray clutched under one arm, worried they weren't really talking about cups.
Jay looked up at him. Ianto looked away, looked at the floor, then forced himself to look her in the eye.
"Are you happy?" she asked softly. Ianto nodded, tears starting to prick his eyes. Jay gave a small nod, almost to herself and looked away briefly. Ianto took advantage of the loss of eye contact to look back to the floor again.
Jay took a deep breath and looked back at Ianto.
"So, I was on this planet right, well actually a large moon, Solarum 9. And they have the weirdest obsession with fruit..."
Ianto looked up in surprise. A small smile was playing across Jay's face. Ianto allowed an eyebrow to raise in questioning amusement. He was being let off the hook, he knew he was. And he was grateful. He also knew that, like Jack, when Jay started telling a story it was always worth listening to.
On the other side of the Hub Gwen and Jack were determinedly not listening to what was going on behind them, but they couldn't fail to hear the peals of laughter that suddenly erupted from the other side of the room. They glanced at each other. It was not what either of them had expected, but neither of them was going to knock it. Jack gestured for Gwen to follow him.
Approaching Ianto and Jay they saw the pair, still some distance from each other, but laughing at a shared joke. Jack interrupted them.
"I think it's time now."
Jay sobered immediately and nodded. "Boardroom?"
Jack answered by turning and leading the way. Ianto followed with the women behind him. Only Gwen noticed Jay leave her coffee, still untouched, behind on the table.
Once seated in the boardroom all eyes fell on Jay, expectant. Her face was serious, the laughter gone. As they watched something akin to apprehension settled on her features.
"It's the Time Agency. They've decided to start it up again."
"That's good news, isn't it?" asked Jack. Although he had his own problems with the Agency, he knew that they mostly existed for the good of the Universe.
Jay's face at once fell sad.
"They're doing a cleansing Jack."
"A what?" asked Gwen.
"A cleansing?" repeated Jack, incredulous. He turned from Jay to Gwen to explain. "Cleansing is the name given when an organisation, or a government, want to start again; clean slate, fresh page, all that; and do so by systematically killing anyone who was part of the previous order." He turned his focus back to Jay. "But the Shadow Proclamation decreed cleansings as unlawful?"
"It hasn't stopped them. There are bounty hunters out there now, searching for us across the galaxies. They are using our wrist straps to track us down, and once we're located on a planet they're managing to block our comms and our teleports leaving us stranded and alone while they close in.
"There were only seven of us left before, but now... I just don't know. I wanted to come and warn you earlier, but they found me before I had the chance."
"But if they found you how come you're here?" questioned Ianto.
Jay smiled. "I got lucky. I was doing a little, ah…recognisance work for the Doctor. He got me out as they were closing in. Embarrassing really. Second time he's rescued me. And he shouted at me for shooting two of them. He manipulated the rift to get me here and he has now gone to petition the Shadow Proclamation to issue an order to stand down. He shielded my vortex manipulator for long enough that they couldn't track the trip. But it wont take them long to find me again."
"So that's why the rift readings were so screwy? The Doctor was playing with them."
Jay nodded.
"So that's it? You're here to warn me?" Jack asked
Before Jay could reply Ianto interrupted. "Now you're here, can't you stay and we'll protect you? Now we know to expect them."
Jay shook her head. "I'm not staying." Eyebrows arched in her direction. "Before I left I received this."
She flipped open her wrist strap and pressed a button. A hologram flashed into life from the device. It was the unmistakable image of Captain John Hart.
"I don't know if anyone is going to get this, but they've found me. They've shut down my teleport, maybe my comms now too, I don't know. There are a lot of them so I could really use a bit of a hand. Follow transmission co-ordinates. You know, quick as you like. Spit spot."
They watched as the image of John suddenly spun around in response to a noise they couldn't hear.
"Oh shit." John started before the transmission flickered and died.
Jay looked around the room. "I'm going to him."
"But," said Ianto, "Surely if they have already blocked his teleport they could have blocked his comms. If they let the message through then isn't it a…"
"Yes," interrupted Jay, "I know, but I have to go. He's the only one I know the location of for sure. Besides, I have a secret weapon."
"What?" asked Gwen.
Jay smiled. "I've got Torchwood. How would you like to come and breathe the air on a different world?"
AN – Hope you likey so far.
