Chapter Three

Jack pulled on the hand brake and paused before he leapt out of the SUV. His head was swirling. He had only read the first part of Ianto's letter and was so angry he had stormed out the Hub to confront him. Now he was coming to the realisation he had seriously fucked up. He had no idea he had been injured. As he went back over the events of yesterday he realised he hadn't even noticed him coming back into the Hub let along being treated. How had he missed it? It would have been in full view.

Striding across the Hub Jack saw Owen had returned and indicated he should follow him to his office.

"Ianto was injured and you didn't tell me," Jack stated the facts.

"As if you care," Owen replied bluntly.

"You don't think I care for Ianto?" Jack asked, stunned.

"No," Owen told him, trying to keep his voice steady because he knew he was seriously going to lose it.

"I want a full report," Jack told him, not allowing himself to show how much Owen's reply bothered him.

Crossing his arms Owen gave him a full report of Ianto's injuries and how they had been sustained.

"I've taken him off active duty. He is to remain at home for at least five days. He can come back to work depending on how he feels, which I am sure he will considering what a conscientious bugger he is. If he does it's to be light duties only, eight to five, no late nights or weekends, half days if necessary," Owen told him.

"Agreed," Jack said as he saw the look of disgust on Owen's face. "I do care, I care for him a lot," Jack told him.

"Yeah we've all seen how much you care," Owen snarked doing air quotes around the word 'care'.

"What does that supposed to mean?" Jack barked out.

"Look Jack, Ianto is good at making himself invisible. Yesterday was a prime example, but even I've noticed how unhappy he's been, especially since you blew him off over the weekend you planned."

"We talked about that, he was okay about it," Jack explained.

"So the excited conversations he had with me and Tosh, telling us all about how much he was looking forward to it, followed by the deafening silence and hiding in the archives, when you blew him off didn't get your attention?" Owen said exasperated.

"He said he was okay about it," Jack repeated stubbornly.

"Ianto says lots of things. Oh he put a brave face on for you, made a whole pile of excuses and justifications to us, but he was hurt."

"We spoke; he was okay with it and I promised to make it up to him," Jack said now getting annoyed as he tried to get his point across.

"And have you made it up to him?" Owen asked him.

"I was going to. I got a couple of ideas, I don't go on holiday with just anyone, he should know that," Jack replied.

"No you take Gwen instead," Owen told him as Jack threw a sharp look at him.

"That was not a holiday it was a UNIT conference, she went as my P.A," Jack told him. Owen shook his head and glared at him, his arms crossed.

"He was injured and you didn't tell me why?" Jack repeated his earlier question after several awkward moments passed.

"He asked me not to and considering what a horrible day he had I could hardly blame him," Owen told him.

"I should have been told," Jack retorted.

"What, so you could make him feel worse by offering to take him home and then leave so you could race back here and continue Gwen gazing on the CCTV? I don't think he could take it, not after yesterday." Owen shouted at him.

"That is not fair," Jack retorted.

"Okay, then where is Gwen today?" he asked him flat out.

"I told her to take the weekend off to stay with Rhys to make sure he was okay," he replied quietly as he understood the implications.

"Fucking knife wound, 17 fucking stiches, kicked about, tied up, gun to his head, beaten up and I'm betting you never even noticed he was gone, until you wanted something," Owen said furiously. "And if that wasn't bad enough, what does he have to walk in on? You declaring to Gwen she's the most important person in the universe and he's standing right there and you didn't even look at him."

Jack sat down then. He held his elbow, closed his eyes and covered his mouth with his hand.

"I'm not feeling particular clever about this situation either, I should have checked everyone before I left the warehouse. The one good thing about all this will be his last field mission before he leaves," Owen added.

"Would that work, taking him off field ops? Do you think he would be stay if he didn't have to go out in the field?" Jack asked quietly, still trying to come to terms with the events of the morning and insight to why Ianto felt he had to leave.

"What, take away his only opportunity to get out of this shit hole so he's stuck here all the time?" Owen snapped back. "Ianto is a superb field operative. He really came into himself when you went AWOL, not that you've noticed."

"I did notice," Jack replied strongly now looking directly at Owen.

"Did you?" Owen snapped back just as strongly, "And how would he know?"

"I'm always telling you guys what a great job you do," Jack told him. He saw Owen shake his head.

"No Jack, you tell Gwen and in passing you throw the odd platitude my and Tosh's way but I have never been witness to any situation you have actually told Ianto he has done a good job, not here in the Hub or out in the field," Owen told him.

"I can't show favouritism in the field, if I make big deal of him in front of you guys then it makes it seem like I'm…" Jack said as Owen interjected.

"Why doesn't that apply to Gwen then? You're always telling her what a good job she does, making sure you're always together in the field. She's always in your office, sitting on the edge of your desk while you have your little chit chats, private jokes and knowing looks. Ianto walks in and you don't even look at him. Are you fucking her?" Owen asked Jack out right.

"No," he spluttered as his eyes widened in shock at the suggestion.

"But you'd like to," Owen threw back.

Jack reacted as he saw the truth of his statement.

"Then you are a bloody fool," he said as he saw Jack bite his lip.

"If I find out you somehow fucked up this opportunity for him, you will have me to deal with. Because I know you Harkness, I can see your mind working; a call here, an email there, and suddenly the job offer is rescinded, and he's stuck here watching the Gwen and Jack show."

"I won't," Jack said looking down not wanting to admit that was exactly what he had been thinking.

"Good, now I need to call Tosh and check up on him, and for Christ sake Jack read the rest of his fucking letter before you go racing up there guns blazing again trying to fix this because you can't," he said leaving.

Jack sat forward and picked up the letter and read it line for line. Five minutes later he put the letter back down, stood up, taking his coat, and started to head towards the Hub garage.

"You're not going to try and see him are you because if you are…?" Owen warned as he passed.

"I need to think. You can reach me on my mobile if there's a Rift alert. I just really need to think," he said as he passed on his way to the garage.

Standing on the top of the tallest building in Cardiff Jack looked out with unseeing eyes as he went over the events of the past twenty four hours. He berated himself; he should have seen Ianto was injured. He was there; he saw how Ianto was treated. Ianto had been incredibly courageous and if he hadn't acted as he had who knew what the outcome would have been? Would it have been so difficult to just check he was alright?

His behaviour he realised was part of a pattern he was only now coming to recognise. He had been deliberately distancing himself for weeks, months even. As a consequence he had treated Ianto very badly, undeservedly so to such a point he could no longer face working here, with Jack.

On a personal level he knew how mixed up he was inside and he knew this was due to the year that never was. The one thought he had kept him going during in his incarceration on the Valiant was coming home and seeing his team, especially Ianto. On his return he had meant every word he had said about coming home for him. So why had he treated him like he didn't count? Complicating this was his feelings for Gwen. Did he have any real feelings for her? Or was it that she was someone who was a could've been if the circumstances had been right and was using her as an excuse for distancing himself from Ianto?

'Had he used Ianto because he had been convenient and because he was there and willing?' he asked himself. He had certainly accepted Ianto's compliance on face value. Had he pushed him away emotionally because deep down he sensed Ianto wanted more and that scared him? Was that what was going on here? Had he treated Gwen the way he did because she had no power to hurt him but Ianto did? So he pulled Gwen closer and pushed Ianto away because he did have that power?

Where was Ianto in all this? Injured and left with the impression he didn't count on any level, his efforts unnoticed and unappreciated.

He had no idea how he was going to sort this out. Ianto leaving had never entered his mind, yet here it was in black and white. Ianto's letter had laid it out, in stark terms, Jack had failed him, not that he stated it outright but its polite language hit home more than any angry tirade would have.