"I hate this place right now." Jack grumbled, walking into the hub behind Ianto, who just shook his head in amusement. The hub was the same it had been the day Jack had left in search of the Doctor, so their absence couldn't have been that long.
"Oi, Tea boy, you're late. Coffee." Owen grumbled, rubbing at his tired eyes.
"On the way." Ianto said, smiling to himself. He wanted to run up to Tosh and Gwen and hug them close, just to ensure they were alive, but that would be an odd behavior on his end so he did what he did best, make coffee.
"So did you ever find the Doctor? I honestly thought you'd be gone longer." Owen said, addressing Jack. "I mean a week is hardly a long time for you."
"A week was plenty long enough Owen, and yeah I found him." Jack said, walking over and hugging Owen close, having missed his team so.
"A week doesn't warrant this long a hug mate." Owen grumbled when Jack refused to let go.
"Right. Where's Tosh?" Jack asked, watching Ianto emerge from the kitchen with a tray of coffee.
"She's a bit under the weather, said she'd be in before lunch." Owen explained grabbing the offered cup of coffee with a nod of thanks.
"And Gwen?" Jack asked, trying hard to keep the malice out of his question.
"With Rhys. She said she'd be in later, considering the slow week we've had." Owen sounded annoyed. He hated Gwen for always having an excuse to skip work.
"I got this." Jack said taking the cup of coffee Ianto handed him with a nod of thanks and grabbing for his cell.
With the push of a few buttons Jack called Gwen and waited for her to answer.
"Jack, you're back." Gwen said sounding happy.
"Yes, and you're not here." Jack said hearing Gwen sigh with resignation. She knew she would have to come in soon.
"I'm with Rhys, I'll be in if..."
"No! You will be in now." Jack said before hanging up the phone and looking at the shocked look Owen was giving him.
"What?" Jack asked, taking a sip of his coffee and smiling at the taste.
"You usually don't mind it if she takes a day now and again." Owen said, finishing off his coffee and handing the cup back to Ianto.
"I do now." Jack said as way of explanation before stalking over to his office, hoping he wasn't followed.
Owen just shrugged and made his way to his station, working on his paperwork from the night before and finishing up a couple for Tosh, seeing as how she was feeling a bit under today, and Ianto went about straightening up the hub and heading down to the archives. He wanted nothing to do with Gwen, knowing what she'd done, and he knew for a fact that Gwen avoided the archive room with a fervor.
He walked about the archives and cataloged this and that and looked through the artifacts, seeing if they'd changed or if they'd been disturbed in any way, and was grateful that no one had thought to come after them. He wasn't in the mood to deactivate and re catalog them.
The last year had been hell on him but he wasn't one to tell Jack. He didn't want that man to take on the responsibility of helping him...and funny enough, it wasn't the torture or the deaths that had done it...it was the memories those acts had woken up. He'd buried so much away, hoping to forget them permanently, but memories have a way of haunting you, no matter how far you run.
"What's up tea-boy?" Owen asked, referring to the sullen face Ianto was sporting.
"Nothing...and everything." Ianto said, stretching his arms above his head and hoping to work some kinks from his body.
"Jack's looking for you." Owen said, turning and walking away. Ianto sighed and followed.
He wasn't sure what Jack wanted with him, but he had wanted to fester in his own horrid thoughts a bit longer, but the day wouldn't stop just because he was feeling a bit down.
Ianto made his way into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee for Jack before making his way to the Captain's office.
"Reading my mind, are you?" Jack asked with a smile and Ianto smiled back before handing the coffee to the older man.
"You know me sir, always prepared." Ianto said and took a seat. "What can I do for you?"
"It's Wednesday." Jack said, as though this should explain everything but Ianto looked a bit lost so Jack explained. "It's our talking day."
"Shit...I'd forgot. I'm sorry Jack." Ianto said, upset at his lack of memory.
"After the last year, I'm not surprised. Talk to me." Jack said, signing some paperwork as he waited patiently.
"I don't want to burden you." Ianto said and Jack sighed. He knew this was going to be hard for Ianto. He knew Ianto would feel bad for unloading on him after the year they'd both had.
"I broke three bones and ripped every muscle in my arms trying to get to you the first time you were killed...I have no idea what I'd do if you were gone...I think I would have torn the universe apart to get you back." Jack admitted, trying to get Ianto to open up. He'd been watching the Welsh, as he walked around the archives, and the lone tear that made it's way down his face had made Jack worry.
"Then you came back and I felt like a selfish ass...all I could think was that you were alive...holy hell you were alive and I wouldn't be losing you...I didn't think past that...to how much you were going to suffer because you were like me, I was only thinking about how happy I was to see you breathing." Jack sighed as he remembered how happy he'd been to see Ianto alive that it hadn't even occurred to him that he could die again and again and again, without actually dying. Jack hadn't cared. 'Just don't leave me.' He'd thought, not wanting to be in a world where Ianto was dead.
"When you'd died for that week...I didn't care what you might be when you woke up...I didn't care that you might never wake up and if you did you'd have to live a life without dying...I just wanted you back, I wanted to see you happy and alive...I couldn't face a world without you in it Jack." Ianto said, smiling at Jack, trying to reassure the Captain that he'd been thinking along the same lines.
"If you love me, truly love me, it's no burden to listen and lend a shoulder to cry on if I need it. I love you and no matter what you tell me, it could never push me away, it could never be too much for me to handle. You're not a burden Ianto. You could never be." Jack said, hoping to get to the bottom of his lover's distress.
"That year stirred up memories I'd rather forget." Ianto admitted, hoping Jack would let it drop. It wasn't a good past...it wasn't happy...mostly it was hell and Jack didn't need to know how broken Ianto was.
"I won't force you to say anything, but I will let you know that I'm here when you need me."
"Thank you sir." Ianto said, smiling at Jack and loving the man all the more for his understanding.
"Sir?" Jack asked, smirking at Ianto as the Welsh tried to stammer out an apology.
"It's okay Ianto." Jack said, standing and placing a gentle kiss to Ianto's forehead. "I understand."
And he did understand. Ianto liked his work place to be professional, and his private life was sarcastic and happy and full of loving words. It was how Ianto preferred it and Jack understood.
"My tad wasn't nice." Ianto said standing to take his leave only to be confronted with an angry Gwen.
"Hi Gwen." Ianto said with a gob smacked face.
How long had she been there? Had Jack known? Had she seen them kiss? Why was he worried about all this? Ianto didn't know, but he knew that look meant horrible things would be happening to him in the future. Ianto knew Gwen had a crush of sorts on Jack, but he was hoping she would leave things be. They were happy and they didn't need her butting in where it wasn't needed.
"Hello Gwen. Nice of you to join us." Jack said, catching Gwen's attention.
"Doesn't look like there's much to do, seeing as how you two are sitting making love eyes at each other." Gwen said, furious at the situation.
"It's Wednesday Gwen." Jack said looking at realization dawn on her face.
"You still need a councilor?" Gwen asked, laughing hysterically and Ianto frowned.
"I'll take my leave now sir." Ianto said, side stepping Gwen and walking towards his station.
"That was uncalled for Gwen." Jack said, point to a chair and watching Gwen take a seat.
"What? It's been almost a year since Lisa died, he should have gotten over her by now." Gwen said, shrugging.
"Aside from your callus outlook on this matter, that's not all we've been talking about. Care to tell me why you took every day off for the last week?" Jack asked, looking at her overall attendance.
"Things came up." Gwen said, turning away from Jack, refusing to make eye contact.
"I see. Did this have anything to do with me being gone?" Jack asked, taking another sip of his cooling coffee.
"So?" Gwen asked, looking at Jack with tears in her eyes. "I love you Jack and you were gone...first dead then gone, what was I supposed to do?"
"You were supposed to come to work and help out your team." Jack said, angry at the woman sitting before him. He understood love, but he didn't understand her.
"Ianto was gone too, why the hell isn't he getting this talk?" Gwen asked, anger flaring.
"There were extenuating circumstances surrounding his absences." Jack said and Gwen's blood boiled at his words.
"It's always something for your precious Ianto. You've used every excuse to get him out of trouble. Oh Lisa just died, oh he's just upset, oh he didn't meant it, oh extenuating circumstances...I was hurting Jack." Jack sighed and tried to control his temper. He already wanted to kill this woman for what she'd done to Ianto...but now he just wanted to stuff a sock in her mouth to shut her up.
"Gwen, your job is to be here, to back your team up and to give them the authority they need when I'm not able to do it. Are you trying to tell me that you'd be useless without me?" Jack asked and watched Gwen blush.
"So you'd be useless...good to know. I'll assign someone else to be second in command and you can resume your little mental break down in the hopes that you'll get some pity sex."
"What the hell Jack. That was uncalled for." Gwen said, glaring daggers at Jack.
"What? It's been months since Ianto and I got together, you should have gotten over me by now." Jack said, staring blankly at her, hoping she understood what he was saying.
"Don't you dare..." Gwen began but a glare from Jack silenced her.
"Don't I dare?" Jack said, slamming his hands on his desk and standing up to tower over Gwen. "You know better than to stick your nose in my business and Ianto is MY business. Do you understand me?"
"Yes sir." Gwen said, tears falling down her face.
"Good. Dismissed." Jack said, grabbing his cup of coffee and taking a sip before anger overwhelmed him and he threw the cup at the wall, shattering it.
Looking at the broken pieces on the ground, Jack immediately regretted what he'd done, knowing Ianto would be the one to clean up the mess and so with a resigned sigh, Jack set about picking up the broken cup and dabbing away the spilled coffee.
"What happened sir?" Ianto asked, bring over another cup of coffee for Jack and finding the captain sitting next to a puddle of coffee with his head in his hands.
"I wanted to strangle her."
"But you didn't." Ianto assured, taking a seat next to Jack.
"But I could have." Jack said, trying to prove something it seemed.
"I don't doubt that." Ianto assured, placing a light kiss to Jack's temple.
"Yeah." Jack said before they fell into a comfortable silence. The minutes ticked by slowly but neither man really wanted to move. There was nothing happening today and Jack decided to send the team home early. If there was nothing to do, there was no reason for them to stick around.
Once Owen and Gwen were gone, Tosh not having shown due to a bout of sick that caught her as she tried to leave her flat, Ianto began tidying the hub and washing the dishes that piled as the day progressed.
"So you said your tad was awful?" Jack asked and Ianto nodded, finishing up the dishes and starting on some coffee.
"Yes, he was pretty horrid. He was a drunk who would beat his family mercilessly." Ianto said, hoping Jack would drop the subject.
"And your mom?" Jack asked and Ianto smiled.
"She was a right angel, my mam. She tried to protect us, but it wasn't easy to protect two kids from a drunken man. He'd beat her unconscious before going after Rei...I never let him get to her...and I wasn't easily knocked out...I'd make sure he'd taken out his anger and left before falling into my bed for the night."
Jack walked over and held Ianto close. "He sounds like an ass." Jack said and he felt Ianto nod.
"He was a right prick he was. He beat my mam so bad one night that she'd ended up in hospital for a week and the whole week he'd tried to go after Rei...but I wouldn't let him...I never let him go after her. She was my sis and I wouldn't let anything happen to her. I slept at the foot of my sister's door.
"Four days into mam's stay in the hospital things got...well...things got really bad. He'd dragged me away from Rei's room by my hair, saying Rei had womanly duties she had to perform...I may have been young but even I wasn't stupid enough to not know what that meant. I grabbed something heavy...I think it was a vase or a statue...I can't remember now, but I hit him hard with it, trying to kill him I think, but he just looked at me with so much hatred.
"There was so much blood spilling from his head but he wouldn't go down. He just kept coming at me and he told me that I'd do well enough and dragged me to his...his..." And Ianto dissolved into a fit of tears. Jack held his hand to Ianto's mouth, not wanting to hear anymore.
"It's okay, don't say anymore." Jack said, rocking Ianto back and forth to comfort him. That's the second person in two days that he vowed he would kill. No matter how long it took him, he would track down Ianto's father and torture him to death.