The kettle was already on the boil; Andy helped himself to the comfy chair and Gwen patted the other end of the sofa, indicating that Ianto should sit down. She went to make the tea, and returned in no time with a steaming mug for each of them.

Gwen slipped on to the other end of the sofa, and curled her fingers round her warm mug.

"What happened Ianto?"

He breathed in. Paused, blinked and breathed out.

"The last thing I remember is the bomb in Jack's stomach, him insisting we left. I kissed him goodbye, I was sailing up on the lift, and then there was this almighty explosion, I banged my head, or something hit it. The next thing I remember I'm waking up amongst the flora of the forest, vaguely aware of voices close by, which is when I was found. They called the police, I thought we were still a target, but I figured Andy was a safe bet."

Gwen looked thoughtful.

"You don't remember getting to London, hiding in the old Torchwood base..." she trailed off. Ianto's face looked blank.

"No." He said plainly. "Tell me what I don't know."

"Well to summarise what was possibly the worst few days of my life" Gwen paused, she hadn't trawled through these memories in a while, and the pain reminded her why.

"There was an order to kill on Jack. You, me Rhys and Jack hid in the old Torchwood base near London; in fact you found it for us. We basically stole credit cards, computers, anything... Jack stole a sports car; apparently the software for the hub was stored on an external server and we started doing what Torchwood does. The 456 was in Thames house demanding 10% of the world's children and the ministers appeared to be deciding which 10% and how to get them there."

Ianto looked positively shocked.

"So," Gwen continued. "You and Jack went storming in, and tried to fight it." She paused again, her mug rocked in her shaking hands. "It released a deadly virus into the air of Thames house, you were there and like everyone else in that building you died." There were tears in her eyes, for a while no one spoke.

"And Jack?" There was a hint of concern in Ianto's voice. "He survived the bomb, what about the virus?"

Gwen straightens herself up. "He came round as he always does, but you were cold and grey. I believed we lost you forever."

"And the children?"

"Jack, well, he took your death quite badly, I haven't seen defeated before. He sent Rhys and I back to Cardiff to your sister's, and he stayed in London. I thought it was all over. But while we were hiding with your sister and most of the kids from the estate in an old hut, Jack was back in London saving the world." She smiled, and then her face fell. "It turns out he had a daughter, and a grandson. But the 456 were using the children to communicate to us, and so he sent them away from Earth with what he calls an anti-wave, communicated through his grandson. It saved the world but it, it, destroyed the boy, right in front of his eyes. I don't think his daughter will forgive him, and he'll ever forgave himself. He tried to travel the world for 6months, take his mind off things, but it didn't work, he got wind of a spaceship above earth and we fixed his wrist strap for him, and he disappeared into the night sky."

"You've not heard from him since?" Ianto's voice was soft and quiet.

"He occasionally drops a voice mail into the hub network, I sent him a video of Carys and us when she first came home. I think he's doing ok."

"You still have the hub stuff"

"Yeah couldn't sell it on could I? It's in a box in the study.

"Can we get it out? Has there been much Rift activity, what about all the stuff it chucks up? I mean what does Cardiff do without Torchwood?"

"Hey hey," Andy interrupted. He hadn't said anything in awhile, the other two had nearly forgotten he was there. "There's UNIT and there's me, and between us we sort it out."

Ianto looked slightly puzzled or was it doubtful, a sort of combination of the two.

"The rift has been pretty quiet," Gwen explained, "Andy is the official unexplained incidents officer. If there are odd things then between him, Martha and I, we tend to iron it out, there really hasn't been anything like the volume we used to see though."

"I'd like to see what was going on today when I appeared in the forest" Said Ianto carefully.

"Well I'd certainly class that as an 'odd event'" said Andy "but as much as I'd love to help set up Torchwood in Gwen's study some of us have jobs to do."

He placed his cup on the coffee table, stood out of his chair and headed for the door. Leaning back into the room from the hallway he smiled at Gwen "Phone me if you need anything" Nodding his head at both of them he left.

"Well, shall we have look then?" Gwen was on her feet, baby monitor clipped to her belt.

"After you" Ianto followed Gwen through to the study.

The rift monitor for the current time did indeed look calmer than Ianto ever remembered seeing it, but as they scanned back to this afternoon, there was positive spike, a fairly standard spike but amongst the quiet background it looked quite frankly enormous.

"That'll be me then?" Ianto pointed at the screen.

"Guess so" Gwen nodded. "Impressive."

"Never imagined I'd have a spike named after me"

Gwen smiled, she looked at Ianto he smiled back, in what was a very strange afternoon for both of them, there was suddenly something very normal about examining the rift again.

"Can we contact Jack?" Ianto's voice was very matter of fact.

"Yep," said Gwen, "think he'd probably want to know about this one, even if he isn't on Earth anymore."

"The video cam is in that box somewhere" Gwen gestured towards the smaller of the cardboard boxes sat to the left of desk.

Rooting around a bit Ianto found a very swish but slightly battered video cam.

"It's been through a lot that cam" she said without turning her attention from the screen.

"I can see" Said Ianto

"Rhys had it with him when we were running from the army during the 456."

"It still works I assume?"

"Of course if still works, give it here" Gwen smiled at Ianto, it was really great to have him back.

The message they sent to Jack was short. Gwen insisted that she ought to start and then if Ianto wanted to be on it he could say hi. She didn't seem to think that the image of Ianto appearing out of Jack's wrist strap was really the best idea.

"Sent!" Gwen announced proudly.

"And now we just wait?" Ianto slumped against the wall

"Yep that's Jack for you..." Gwen trailed off. "Ianto, you look shattered."

"I am" Ianto nodded, even his voice sounded weary. "I don't suppose I still have a flat to go home too?"

Gwen bit her lip and looked at the floor. "I'm sorry, you were dead, so well it was sold. Your sister might still have some of your stuff."

"She thinks I'm dead too, doesn't she."

Gwen bit her lip and but this time stayed focused on Ianto, "Yes, she does. We keep in touch from time to time, mainly about the kids. Why don't you take a rest in the spare room, I'll have word with Rhys before he gets home, and we can all have some food later on?"

Ianto smiled, when he had first come round he was so relieved he hadn't died, but now he was beginning to think that, having apparently been dead, life was going to be just that bit more complicated than it already was.