SPOILERS: Upcoming chapter includes minor West Wing series 1 (first episode)

Chapter 2

Everyone has their own ways of dealing with stress or a particularly bad day at work. Gwen went home to Rhys and her normal other life, Owen went out on the lash, Tosh went home and watched films and Jack tried it on with the nearest person. Ianto Jones ran.

Ever since he'd been in high school, he'd gone running when things got too much. He did sprinting, long distance running, cross country, anything that got him moving, that got his legs working. He used to run every morning during college and his time at Torchwood London, something that he hadn't told anyone about. It was something he did alone and he didn't even want to risk anyone wanting to come with him.

It was only the period of caring for the half converted Lisa that had stopped him from running. He hadn't had the time to do so. He'd tried once or twice, but within five minutes, the guilt of enjoying himself whilst Lisa suffered made him turn back. It wasn't until Jack put him on indefinite suspension that he went out and bought himself a treadmill. He'd saved a lot of money over the years, never having been one to indulge in little things, so he bought one of the best he could find.

Within a few hours of having it, he'd rediscovered his love for running. He spent almost all his time on it, running until his knees gave out, or his legs went numb. As soon as the ache in his muscles died down, he got back up and started running again. It was this complete surrender to the task which would later get Ianto through those agonising few weeks without Jack.

All that time spent in one place had urged him to buy a new stereo, to play his extensive CD collection on, and the box sets of his favourites TV shows, including West Wing and ER. By the time Jack told him he could come back to work, he'd managed to make his way through all seven seasons of West Wing and three seasons of ER.

As today had been the stressful day to end all stressful days, Ianto knew exactly how he'd spend half his night. Whilst finding Jack's clothes, he'd changed into a pair of knee length shorts and a plain grey t-shirt, pulling on a clean pair of socks and grabbing his running shoes. He walked down the corridor, dragging a chair to the bathroom door and left the change of clothes on it for Jack to find when he was ready. Then he continued through his flat and turned the TV on, switching it onto DVD and starting up West Wing season one for what must've been the third time at the very least.

As soon as it started, he turned the treadmill on and set himself going at a steady pace. As he settled into the rhythm, he increased the speed until he was at his most comfortable. Relaxing his mind, he watched as the Senior Staff members hurried to the White House, ready to deal with what their day presented them; today it would be 'POTUS in a bike accident' and Josh's impending loss of his job.

The episode progressed and Ianto became more and more detached from the world around him, his body moving in a familiar and comforting motion, his mind fully absorbed in the political drama that unfolded. He'd managed to completely forget about what had happened the day before; about John, Jack and Jack's absence, everything that made Ianto so upset he could've killed Jack several times over.

By the time the credits started to roll, he slowed his speed down, stopping both the treadmill and the DVD. He stretched for a few moments to regain his breath, then kicked his trainers off, going to check on Jack. He listened in at the door and smiled at the sound of a low humming. It was a tune he recognised from previous time spent with the captain at the hub, something that made him nostalgic for the times before he'd left. He swallowed the lump in his throat and knocked.

"Yeah?" Jack's voice was more relaxed now, a little weary perhaps, but there was no pain in it any longer.

"I was wondering whether you needed anything." Ianto listened for a reply but heard the sounds of Jack heaving himself out of the water, accompanied by a couple of hisses of pain before the sound of material rubbing together. He could only assume that Jack had grabbed the towels he'd left in there, and he was right.

Jack appeared at the door, one towel around his waist and another wrapped around his shoulders. He stood in the doorway smiling tentatively at Ianto for a moment before looking down at his feet and wiggling them a little in the edge of the thick carpet of the corridor. Ianto just smiled to himself and opened the airing cupboard, pulling out a small towel and placing it on the pile of Jack's clothes.

"Get dressed, I'll help you with your shirt in a minute if you need me to. Then you're going to bed." Jack's lips curled in a very faint smile before he nodded and picked up the pile on the chair next to him. He disappeared back inside the bathroom and Ianto sat down on the chair, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes for a moment. He was tired, very, very tired, and he needed to have a shower and sleep. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite in the mood where he wanted to sleep in the same bed as Jack again, so that would be a dilemma in a moment.

"Uhh… Yan?" Ianto blinked his eyes open and stepped into the bathroom calmly, stopping a chuckle at the sight of Jack with his arms tangled in the t-shirt he was attempting to pull over his head. Ianto smoothly grabbed the material and pulled it down, noting mentally that the bruising had already started to change colour a little, looking a little further on the road to actually healing.

He trailed his hand down one of Jack's arms without thinking before grabbing the small towel and his arm, pulling him towards the bedroom. They remained in silence as Ianto made Jack sit on the bed and he rubbed his hair dry gently, the captain giving out a gentle groan of happiness every so often. After Ianto had managed to drag the process out as long as possible, he pulled the towel away and smiled briefly at Jack, letting himself feel a bit more relief at him being home and safe.

"Go to bed now, Jack." He pulled the cover back on the bed and headed towards the door.

"Stay?" Jack asked, his voice quiet and vulnerable. Ianto turned to find his blue eyes watching him carefully. He let himself be sucked in just a little bit before shaking his head slightly.

"Not tonight, Jack. Not yet." Ianto sighed, he barely had the willpower to stay away, yet he knew there were things they needed to talk about first, things that he couldn't bring himself to talk about. It was as if there was a wall he couldn't scale quite yet. He'd tackle it another time, just not now. His expression was apologetic and Jack picked up on it, just nodding and settling back down under the covers.

Ianto turned the light off and closed the door, heading back to the front room. He stopped on the way to grab a blanket from the airing cupboard and returned to the sofa, curling up and turning the DVD back on, letting the opening theme to the West Wing soar into action. He kept the noise down low as he watched, losing himself again in the politics.

Before the end of this episode, he was snoring softly against the arm of the sofa.