Owen was working in the medical bay where he'd been all day, analysing samples and definitely not hiding from Jack after what happened last night. Maybe he'd got the wrong idea but honestly Jack had been out of order chasing him through the HUB threatening to shoot him last night, and that 'apology' text had just reeked of Ianto. That was how today he found himself completely alone with Jack and Ianto in the HUB – Gwen had taken the day off and he had ordered Tosh to stay in bed after she woke up with a horrible cold – it was barely five and for the first time in weeks the medic found himself watching the clock till he could escape without being seen as fleeing the HUB once again.

"Jack!" he heard Ianto scold followed by a muffled argument before a sulky looking captain appeared at the top of the stairs and refused to go any further.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you yesterday, you were looking out for Ianto and I reacted badly" he recited in a monotone.

"And?" Ianto stood behind his partner with his arms folded, Owen tried not to laugh as he saw just how the two men were going to parent their child.

"and I shouldn't have pulled a gun on you" The apology was so obviously scripted that it was all he could do to keep from smirking at Jack for fear of starting his temper but he accepted it.

"And I'm sorry I thought there was something going on that wasn't, I don't think you could ever hurt Ianto." the three men stood uncomfortably for a minute before the medic broke the silence

"Well before we turn into proper girls I reckon we should go shoot something, or something manly like that."

Jack opened his mouth to suggest something manly they could do together but Ianto cut him off before he could start and Owen was almost glad for the sudden beeping from Tosh's computer alerting them to a rift spike that hadn't shown up on the predictor.

The spike had registered in a neglected park near splott, in a patch of dense trees that had Owen complaining that his shoes were going to get ruined to retrieve an alien hairbrush like last time.

"It was a toothbrush and that mud came out thank you very much" Owen just glared at Ianto, with the girls out they had been a man short and as it was a routine pick up Jack had reluctantly agreed to let him come along. After ten minutes of searching the undergrowth for the item that had been thrown through the rift their efforts paid off and Owen held up something that looked like a tiny toaster,

"See Jack that went..." Ianto didn't finish his sentence as he managed to lose his footing in the mud and fell straight back into a tree, knocking himself unconscious in what was possibly the most hilarious Torchwood injury since Suzie had broken her ankle cheating at Limbo at a Christmas party.

Ianto opened his eyes slowly, groaning at the throbbing in his head as he looked around to find himself in his own bedroom,

"You're awake" unable to answer as Jack knocked the air from his lungs and held him in a vice like hug Ianto settled for curling his fingers in the other man's hair until he could pull them apart and assure him he was okay.

"I thought I'd lost you, I mean Owen checked you over but you were out for hours"

"I'm fine I promise" and Owen said the baby was okay?"

"he's great, but Owen might be pissed with me in the morning because I didn't even mention the baby until he mentioned him" The last part was mumbled but he still earned himself a slap on the arm from Ianto for forgetting their child, if only for a minute.

"Jack!"

"Hey I thought that was it" Jack couldn't help that his voice wobbled at that "I know Tosh said the nanogenes should protect you but I've lost so many people and I thought for a second this was it." Taking a deep breath he reached into his pocket and pulled out a red box and held it to Ianto.

"I've been saving this. I didn't want you to think I was just asking because of the baby"

"Jack?" Ianto opened the box and revealed a beautifully simple silver band with an inscription in a language Ianto couldn't read.

"I picked it up before I came back, because I knew what I wanted then and I know we don't have forever but I want to try"

"Jack" Ianto didn't really know what to say, he hadn't really thought about this, he had been completely satisfied with the home they had built together but while the box in his hand felt like it weighed a hundred pounds one look at the love in Jack's eyes had him grinning like an idiot as he allowed the Captain to place the ring on his finger and pull him in for a kiss.

"I don't need this you know"he said when they finally stopped for breath.

"But you want it?" Ianto smiled, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that he wanted this, he just wouldn't have ever asked for it himself, he knew that the loss of the few spouses Jack had ever had hurt him more than anyone else he had left behind. Knowing that Jack wanted to marry him knowing that he would one day put himself through that again meant there was no way Ianto could ever say no. He couldn't answer with words, not trusting his voice but instead pulled himself on top of Jack and, once he'd relieved the older man of his shirt, proceeded to show him just how happy he was to accept his proposal.

AN/ Okay this isn't very long but it needed a chapter of its own and I wasn't making you wait a week for it. I'll be back in a few days when the boys' big news is broken sooner than Ianto would have liked and Jack is a beefcake

Happy New Year (^_^)

SpecialFrancine... you wanted more fluff... i gave you more fluff, feeling so sick from the sweetness