Ianto ran to the edge of the cage, as the others shot towards Jack. Owen was nearest having passed the two girls to get a clear shot at the Laxus Mandrake, now lying drugged on the floor. Out of the corner of his eye Owen saw Ianto. He planned to leave dealing with him to Gwen and Tosh.

However, Ianto had other ideas. Jack had locked him in the cage to stop the Mandrake being able to get at him, the beast's bulky shoulders would not have made it through. But like everything else in Torchwood the cage was not designed for small children. Ianto wriggled through the bars and ran towards Jack.

Owen instinctively dropped the dart gun and grabbed Ianto around the waist as he ran to Jack. Owen lifted him off the ground using both arms to pull Ianto tightly to his chest. The little boy flailed, still trying to reach Jack. Jack's eyes stared up sightlessly and there was a pool of pool, soaking into Jack's coat. It was going to take some serious cleaning and the person that usually dealt with it was way too small to do his job at the moment. Ianto always seemed to produce a spare during times like this, but Owen had no idea where he got them from. Randomly his mind started to debate the idea of Jack having a secret wardrobe somewhere in the vaults.

While that ran through his mind, Owen moved instinctively. He ran up the stairs and towards Jack's office taking Ianto with him. No one would disagree that Ianto shouldn't be anywhere near Jack while he was recovering from another death. However, Ianto didn't quite see it like that and he voiced his displeasure the only way a three year old could. He threw one hell of a tantrum.

By the time they reached Jack's office Ianto was screaming at the top of his lungs and he flailed his arms and legs around, landing several hard kicks onto Owen's hip and the top of his right leg. He didn't know yet if he could actually bruise, Owen doubted it really, having no blood flow, but he was seriously about to find out now.

Ianto continued to scream. Owen snapped. He shifted Ianto, draping him over his right arm and walloped him hard on his backside four times. Ianto yelped but stilled down slightly, but he kicked his legs a little in protest.

"You carry on, so will I," Owen warned him. Ianto stopped kicking but wriggled enough that Owen couldn't hold him. He dropped to the floor landing in a rather unceremonious heap. A second later he scrabbled forward and pushing Jack's chair aside crawled under Jack's desk tucking himself up into the leg space and crying quietly.

"Shit," Owen said, not sure how to follow that up.

"What are you doing?" Toshiko demanded, making him jump. Owen turned to look at her, feeling a little guilty. He flexed his left hand, it wasn't stinging but he reminded himself, he had no feeling anymore. She watched the movement with slowly narrowing eyes.

"He was hysterical. It calmed him down, didn't it?"

Toshiko glanced down at Ianto tucked under the desk, hiding his face, stressed and frightened.

"Well, he's stopped screaming anyway," Owen said. The sounds were now down to light whimpers and Owen didn't think Toshiko thought that to be much better. Seeing the look on her face as she walked forward Owen jumped out of the way to let her get to Ianto. He backed up a little.

Toshiko crouched down, Ianto huddled back even further. He whimpered and hid his face in his hands as Owen crouched next to her. Toshiko looked up at Owen. Owen flinched a little, seeing the look on Toshiko's face. She gave a huff and then turned back to Ianto, ducking her head as he shuffled as far back as he could get.

"It's okay sweetheart. Everything's going to be fine."

"Want Jack!" Ianto said his voice a little muffled.

"Jack can't come yet… he's…" Toshiko stumbled, trying to work out how to explain it in a way that little Ianto would understand. She looked to Owen for help. Ianto whimpered and slammed his feet on the floor a little.

"Sleeping?" Owen suggested.

"No!"

"Owen's right, sweetheart," Toshiko said.

"Don't like Owen!"

"I can entirely understand that."

Owen winced again

"I was trying to help," he said, rather helplessly.

Toshiko snorted, "I suppose you're someone who got smacked regularly and there's nothing wrong with you!" She suddenly felt very aware that her hands were clenched at her sides; slowly she uncurled them and exhaled heavily. Owen looked at her, his eyes burned but his face had gone stony cold.

"Actually no, my mother was very much against physical contact of all kinds."

For a moment they glared at each other. Toshiko shook her head.

"Go and help Gwen, I'll deal with Ianto."

"You could just leave him there. He's not likely to move."

"I'll deal with him, Owen."

Owen backed up. Her tone was steady, hard. It sounded like she had been about to raise her voice but then brought herself back at the very last minute. As she controlled her voice it hardened in a way Owen had never heard before. Even when she was angry, assertive, there was emotion in her. This time there was nothing. Owen swallowed and backed up.

"Sorry," he said to her, almost to the empty air, if it was listening. Toshiko gave a fleeting smile then she turned around and pushed Jack's chair out of her way a little and she knelt down on the floor.

"Hey, come on, Jack's going to be fine. He just has to sleep for a little while."

Ianto whimpered and kicked Jack's desk with his booted feet. He didn't take his hands away from his face.

"Want Jack!"

"I know, we all do. None of us like it," Toshiko said gently. "But Jack's going to get better. Jack's magic power, you remember it, don't you Ianto."

He didn't look at her but there was a little nod.

"He just has to go to sleep for a little while and then he'll be fine, okay? I promise."

Ianto's hands came away from his face. His blue eyes looked at Toshiko. He brought his right hand to his mouth and started to chew on his fingers. Toshiko was tempted to reach up and stop him but for now, she didn't think he would appreciate the contact.

Ianto jumped, his left hand covered his eyes and he continued to suck on his fingers as there were footsteps. Gwen came into the office and put Barney on the desk.

"Owen, thought… you know… he might need him."

Toshiko gave a smile and a go away look. Gwen nodded. She moved around the desk and climbed down into Jack's quarters. Toshiko looked back at Ianto.

"It's all right, it's just Gwen, and she's brought Barney." Toshiko took him off the table. "Do you want Barney?"

"NO!" Ianto roared angrily, the word muffled through the fingers in his mouth. Gwen came back up the ladder. In one hand she held a clean tee-shirt and shirt for Jack. She turned, walked through the office and closed the door behind her. Throughout that, she didn't even look in Toshiko's direction, never mind say anything to her. Toshiko ignored her as well.

"Okay, Barney can just… stay there." She put him on Jack's chair, then she turned back to Ianto, she shifted from her kneeling position, which was killing her and she crossed her legs. Ianto looked at her, his fingers still in his mouth. His eyes kept moving to Barney, then to her.

"Do you want me to stay here, while we wait for Jack?"

Ianto nodded. Toshiko held out her arms. With a little cry Ianto crawled forward and clambered into her lap. She was slightly disconcerted as he pressed his face into her chest. It suddenly reminded her that Ianto was a grown up, a grown up that had been accidentally turned into a child. None of them were still entirely sure what parts of Ianto still remained, or how he had viewed the world when he had been a true child. However, he just started to cry, clinging onto her. Automatically Toshiko put her arms around him and lifted him to sit on her lap. He clung on around her neck, and rested his head on her chest.

"It's okay, sshhh, it's all right… I'm going to stay here. Shush, it's all right," she soothed him as he cried. It took a few minutes but eventually he settled, occasionally just sniffing. The thin material of her top felt very wet.

"Would you like me to tell you a story while we wait?"

Ianto's head moved up and down, he lifted his head and looked around. "Barney?" he asked in a lost, little voice.

Toshiko reached for Barney and let Ianto take him. He stopped clinging to her and wrapped his arms around the teddy bear, burying his face into the soft, plush, grey fur. Toshiko tightened her grip and shifted slightly.

"Let Auntie Tosh sit on the chair, floors aren't good for story telling."

Ianto gave a little hiccupping giggle. Toshiko held him in one arm as she put her other palm on the chair behind her and hoisted herself up. The chair rolled a little so they both thumped into it rather ungraciously. How Jack managed to flop into it and not roll halfway across the hub Toshiko didn't know. She hurriedly spun round as she caught sight of Owen and Gwen carrying the Laxus Mandrake down into the vaults. They were struggling a little but getting there. She probably should have helped but she wasn't going to. Instead, she smoothed Ianto's ruffled hair and settled him against her. His head rested against her shoulder and he kept his face in Barney's fur.

"Okay. Once upon a time there was a handsome prince, Prince Jack. And he was the handsomest prince in all the land, and everyone loved Prince Jack because he loved everybody back…"

Ianto had looked up at the mention of Jack's name. Although his nose stayed in Barney's fur his eyes fixed on Toshiko.

"But there was somebody who secretly didn't love Prince Jack. His evil step-brother Lord Owen…"

"Oh, fine make me the bad guy!" Owen announced, scowling as he heard the story through the comm. feed. There was a beep as Tosh pressed her comm. and shut it off.

"Hey!" Owen said. Gwen stepped back from the containment cell where they had placed the Mandrake, and where the gas levels could be regulated.

"Jack said 60% didn't he?" she said as Owen set the controls.

"Well, let's make it comfortable, not fighting fit. Let's put it to 40%. It seemed to manage fine in our 20% so it should be enough for it."

Gwen nodded, she also tapped into the CCTV feed to Jack's office.

"Now the evil Lord Owen came up with a plan, to get Prince Jack out of the way, so he could make all the people love him instead."

"God, what is this, propaganda?" Owen asked.

"Shush!" Gwen said.

"So he tricked Prince Jack into eating a special apple. It put Prince Jack to sleep and Owen got his army of weevils that worshipped him to imprison Prince Jack in the highest tower of the remotest castle in the land."

"We should really go and check on Jack," Gwen said.

"Yeah," Owen said absently. Then blinked and shook his head. "Yes."

"Now," Toshiko continued. Ianto listened with avid attention. He had stopped clinging onto Barney and turned him round so he could also sit and listen, Ianto draped one arm loosely around him to stop him falling to the floor. "Far away across the land, two beautiful princesses heard of Handsome Prince Jack's plight and they vowed to save him. So they got the strongest horses from their father's stable and began a quest across the land to rescue him."

Ianto cooed in delight.

"And as they crossed the land the people learnt of their adventurous quest and offered them help. They fed their horses and the Princesses themselves, they gave them good clothes to travel in, and gave them places to sleep for the night. But there were other people, who Lord Owen had in his pay, who spied on the princesses and he found a way to trap them."

"Hang on!" Owen said.

He and Gwen were back up in the main area of the hub, watching Jack and listening to the story from Toshiko's desk, having again tapped in to the CCTV feed.

"Why am I only a Lord? Everyone else is bloody royalty here! Er… that's not fair."

"Might be why you're evil."

"All right for you Miss Beautiful Princess, riding across the land to save Handsome Jack!"

Gwen giggled. "Shush… listen…"

"The beautiful princesses came to a castle. It was dark, made of black stone, it's towers rising up towards the blue sky like they wanted to taint it and darken it with their evil."

"She's hot on evil isn't she?" Owen said. Gwen nudged him.

"Shush!"

Toshiko's voice carried on. "The princesses were unsure if they wanted to enter but Princess Toshiko persuaded Princess Gwen to search the castle…"

"She's going to lead you to your death…" Owen said. Gwen slapped his arm.

"I'm a princess in a fairy tale, I'm not gonna die."

"And when the entered the big hall they saw a huge throne fit for an ogre. And by the throne, held up by a golden chain was a golden cage and in the cage sat a little boy. Princess Toshiko went to the cage and looked at the little boy. 'Who are you?' she asked. 'I'm Prince Ianto,' was the reply. 'Help me,' he said. 'The evil ogre wants to use my magical teddy bear Barney for evil'"

"Oh for God's sake. And he get's to be a bloody prince as well. This isn't fair!"

"You shouldn't have smacked Ianto then," Gwen said. She sent him a sidelong look. "The comm. was open, remember."

"Fine," Owen waved his hands, sighing in resignation. "I'm evil."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Jack rocketed back to life with his usual desperate gasp for air. His hand moved up to his neck by reflex reaction. But it was clear, the skin smooth and untainted. Owen had taken the spike out of him. Gwen had removed his coat. It didn't do much good. He had already bled on it. His shirt and tee-shirt were soaking wet. Jack sat up.

"He's back," Owen's voice drifted over to him.

"Yeah, shouldn't you check him?" Gwen said.

"Why? I know the readings he'll give off. Shouldn't you do the whole concerned thing?"

Jack lurched to his feet. His mind told him there was something he should be worried about. Under Gwen and Owen's conversation he heard another voice, Toshiko's, clear and gentle, talking consistently and steadily.

"The princesses reached the castle, with Prince Ianto riding on Princess Toshiko's horse and they looked at the mountain that seemed insurmountable…"

"I bet they use the axe."

"What would that do?" Gwen asked Owen.

"I bet they can chop the mountain down with it."

"No," Gwen disagreed. "They'll use the fairy dust to make a stairway, or you know…"

"Chop the mountain down… I bet Princess Gwen wants to chop the mountain down."

"I want to chop something down!" Gwen threatened.

"Guys! A little help here!" Jack was on his feet, wavering a little as he fought off the last of the blood loss and his system got back to normal. Owen in the end came down and steadied him, letting Jack rest a hand on his shoulder. He took two tentative steps forward, then seemed to pull himself together and stood up straight, shaking his head.

"Oh God, oh wow, that was a knock out, what happened?"

"Princess Gwen took out the axe. It gleamed in the sunlight, the edge sharp. 'I can take down the mountain' she said. With one mighty swing with the power of the dwarfs behind her she cut into the stone and it shuddered under her blow. 'But stop' Princess Toshiko said. 'There are the vines surrounding the tower. Surely the axe would be better used there. I can use the fairy dust to lift us to the castle.' Princess Gwen lowered the axe…"

"Oh clever…" Owen said.

"What the hell is going on? Jack snapped. The he looked around. "Ianto! Oh God…"

"Ianto is fine, getting the fairy tale of a lifetime told to him. Although typically you're asleep in the tallest tower of a remote castle and we all have to go and get you. Actually I don't," Owen said. "I'm your evil half-brother, so I put you there and my army of weevils…"

"Have been scared off by weevil spray aka fairy dust!" Gwen said.

"Oh yeah, I'm trying to forget that. Still, I bet they make a comeback in the castle."

"What?" Jack said. He started to move toward his office.

"Perhaps you ought to change your shirt first," Owen said. Jack looked down. Blood had soaked into the material right down to the waistband of his trousers. He pushed his braces off and yanked off his shirt.

"But…?"

"On the crystals," Gwen said. She still stood with elbows resting on Toshiko's desk listening to her talk.

"Is Ianto all right?"

"He'll be fine if you don't walk in there covered in blood," Owen said. "So do you reckon a princess will revive him with a kiss or will Barney do it?"

"Barney," Gwen said.

"Ah… all your illusions shattered. Superseded by a teddy bear."

"Is that your word for the day?" Gwen asked.

"You bought me the calendar. And it was yesterday's word. I just didn't get a chance to use it."

"What was today's word?"

"Propaganda. I'm doing well today," Owen said.

"Okay, any time anyone feels ready please do tell me what's going on?" Jack said loudly.

There was a sudden whimper.

"See," Toshiko said. Jack looked up to his office. Toshiko was sat on his chair, with Ianto in her lap, but as he looked through the partition and saw Jack he squealed in delight. He wriggled down off Toshiko's lap and ran to the door. Jack pulling on his shirt hurried to meet him, worried that Ianto might just try and crash through the glass. Toshiko obviously had the same thought, she jumped up and reached the door handle as Ianto stretched for it, and opened it.

Ianto ran out and Jack knelt down to meet him. Ianto practically ran up him. Jack could feel the solid pressure of Ianto's shoes against his thighs and his arms went around his neck. Barney ended up on the floor but Toshiko picked him up. Ianto burst into another round of noisy tears. Jack stood up with Ianto in his arms. He held him to his chest and Ianto buried his face into Jack's neck sobbing furiously, his arms locked around Jack's neck.

"It's all right, see I'm all right," Jack felt the crushing weight of one of his deaths fall down on him. Over the last few years he had been rather cavalier about them. Recently, only the one with Abbadon had made him pause. Ianto, this Ianto, had all the memories, but was reinterpreting them as a three year old. Perhaps he ought to stop being so casual, Jack thought to himself.

"Hey, come on, I'm here. I'm sorry, I'm all right, everything's fine." Jack spun round and looked at Toshiko. One side of her top was damp with tears and snot, plastered down to her breast. She had obviously been looking after him for a while.

"Thank you," Jack said to her. She had done better than the other two in knowing how to handle the situation. She smiled and reached up to tuck her hair behind one ear in an embarrassed gesture.

"It's fine," she said with her head down. She rushed from the office and went to her computer. Gwen and Owen fell back and she looked at the screen, seeing it linked to the CCTV to Jack's office, they had been listening as well.

"It was good," Gwen said. Toshiko typed, bringing up the analysis of the item that had caused this in the first place.

"Story!" Ianto yelled. "I want the story."

"No," Jack said. "First I'm going to put you in your pyjamas and get you into bed. Then if you are still awake enough Toshiko will tell you a little bit more, but you are going to sleep."

Ianto whimpered, kicked and struggled against Jack. Jack held him tightly.

"No, you've had enough, and you're overtired now," Toshiko said. "The story isn't going anywhere, and you know that Handsome Prince Jack will wake up."

"Want to know the story!" Ianto whined.

"And if you behave like that I certainly won't tell you!" Toshiko said, her voice changing again. Ianto stilled in Jack's arms.

"I'm sure she will," Jack said. "Do we have the stuff?"

Gwen appeared with some pyjamas, thick socks and a packet of 'pull up' nappy pants, which she was trying to open as she walked, so she could give Jack just one from the packet.

"Just stop and do it properly," Jack said. Gwen stopped by Owen's desk, worked on the packet.

"For something that you may need to get to with one hand, it wasn't made easy." She handed one to Jack who took it. Ianto stayed in his arms but by the same process, Jack propped him with one arm and carried the stuff he needed in the other. He felt really awful taking the nappy with him but Ianto didn't seem very inclined to remember basics like that, when it was necessary.

"Perhaps I don't need this. He's only made a mess once," Jack reasoned out loud, mainly to himself.

"We don't know how good he'll be overnight. Best to be on the safe side I think," Gwen said. Owen sat down on the sofa and propped his feet on the table and added.

"He has tons of information he doesn't understand. Complex stuff, and that's all running around his brain. We need to deal with his less complicated life, which means nappy pants and smacking him when he's out of line."

"Who smacked him?" Jack asked as he felt Ianto tense.

"I did, to kill his hysterical attack when you collapsed on the floor dead, so don't you start Handsome Prince Jack," Owen snapped. "He can't process things in his mind unless it's explained to him simply. I just explained that having hysterics was no good and then Toshiko took over from me. She started telling the very good fairly tale."

"You smacked Ianto?"

"Don't come all high and mighty with me. You don't have the capacity to be emotionally detached from this, so instead it has to be me."

Toshiko stopped typing and turned to stare at him in shock. Gwen did much the same.

Jack glared at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're the man who gave a little girl to a group of supernatural beings, because you had to and the man who ordered Ianto to execute his girlfriend, when you had every intention of going down there to do it yourself because you knew he wouldn't! You're all emotionally attached to Ianto, I'm not therefore I do have to be the bad guy here."

Owen saw Jack's blue eyes blaze and he tightened his grip on Ianto, glancing down to see what effect the words were having on him. However, all Ianto was doing was resting his head on Jack, uncaring of the concerns going on over his head. Owen glanced in the same direction and said.

"He's fine. He thinks I'm evil now and that's fine, and when he's fixed, I don't bloody care what he thinks!"

And with that Owen stalked off. Jack swallowed his anger down and he carried Ianto off to the bathroom again to change him. He contemplated washing him but Ianto was tired. Despite the second wind the Laxus Mandrake had given him he couldn't keep going. Jack carried him off realising that Ianto was still wearing his coat.

As they reached the bathroom Jack pulled Ianto out of the coat, took off his boots, the so cute little boots that were now scuffed and used, and his clothes. He took Ianto to the toilet, a scary and frightening thing, realising just how helpless Ianto was. Ianto didn't even object to the nappy. Instead he just touched it, feeling the absorbent material. Jack winced; this was Ianto, the tidiest person he knew, reduced to being cleaned up by someone else.

Jack got him into the pyjamas, a blue jersey material with a crudely stitched dinosaur and 'sleepyosaurus' emblazed on the top. There was another pair of thick socks which Jack got onto Ianto's feet. Ianto grizzled, kicked his legs and whined as Jack dressed him, a little more efficiently than previously. He was acutely aware that it was nearly twelve o'clock. Which was fine by the normal Torchwood clock, but Ianto had been awake at five thirty that morning and been working for most of the day, until he had been changed.

He looked at Ianto, sat on the edge of the bathroom sink. Dressed in a nappy, pyjamas and thick socks. Jack could start to guess why Ianto was fighting sleep. He held Ianto around the waist and kissed the top of his head.

"Come on Ianto, you need to sleep now. Your body can't take it, I'll look after you, I'm sorry I… please just try and sleep."

" 'Kay," Ianto said. He sagged down and it was tempting for him to try and find out. Had Ianto just agreed with him because… There was only one reason he would, Ianto slipped through the three year old façade. But Ianto had to sleep.

"Owen?" Jack nodded as he walked through with Ianto almost asleep on him. Owen followed without a word and as they reached the hole behind Jack's desk he held out Ianto to Owen.

"He can't climb, I need you to pass him down."

"If this goes on we'll have to rethink it," Owen said.

"It's not going to go on."

"Oh, hello! Finally. Welcome to my world. I appear to be the only person who isn't enjoying Ianto like this." Owen knelt at the side of the entrance and waited for Jack to catch Ianto. Owen leant over, carefully offering him down. Ianto stirred in his arms and Owen felt the fear shoot through him again.

"What?"

"Jack," Owen dropped Ianto the few inches. He landed in Jack's arms and Jack pulled Ianto to his chest.

"Ianto is a grown-up. And a very screwed-up, grown-up at that. Let's face it, his nightmares go way beyond general nerves, psychosis and working through the day to day of Torchwood. His life for the moment is a little less complicated."

Jack paused, cradling Ianto carefully in his arms while he looked up at Owen.

"What I'm saying is don't make it worse for him while he's like this. Maybe a little less complication in his mind will do him good for a while. I don't agree with this little game of how cute Ianto is but I can't deny that it might do him some good," Owen said.

Jack stared up at him and Owen returned the gaze steadily before giving what looked like a very un-casual shrug.

"I'd better get back to work."

Jack let him, distracting himself as he looked down at Ianto, who was sleeping in his arms, and whom they had all indulged. Owen was the one who hadn't. Had Ianto appreciated that? Did he understand it at all?

He snuffled a little as Jack put him into the bed and he put the covers around him carefully. Jack sat on the bed and watched as Ianto rolled over; even in sleep he kept a tight grip on Barney. All of them had rather enjoyed Ianto as a child over the course of the afternoon and it was probably because everything was so uncomplicated.

Jack reached up and ran his fingers through Ianto's hair. He stirred in his sleep but didn't wake. He had said once that they probably shouldn't enjoy this but underneath it, underneath the tears and tantrums that he had pulled today Jack wondered, was Ianto actually enjoying himself?

For the moment things could be solved so simply. With a few cuddles and a story. Whatever Toshiko knew about Ianto's state of mind, she knew how to handle him now, and Jack couldn't seem to do anything wrong. After so long in the background Ianto appeared to like being the centre of attention, as the rest of them seemed almost seduced by his cuteness. But by the same token, it couldn't last forever. They had to get him back. In the meantime however, Jack had to make sure he didn't do anything to traumatize him further.

Because despite finding ways to justify it, twist it onto someone else and rationalise it, Jack had always been forced to admit that Ianto was the screwed-up grown-up he was because of Torchwood, because of him. He leant forward and kissed Ianto gently on the forehead. This time he didn't stir.

"Goodnight Little Prince Ianto."