PART SIX

Ianto just lay there on his back staring at the ceiling. He just couldn't wrap his head around the events of the last couple of days and he was glad he managed to get home to get away from Jack's bad temper. Clean up of the meat factory had been a torturous affair. They were all angry about the inhumain treatment afforded the stranded alien 'Whale'. Owen was additionally distressed by having to put it down. He, himself was bruised and sore from having Dale kick the crap out of him, but mostly he realised he was furious with Jack for endangering Rhys. The whole case had been emotionally charged from the moment it became apparent that Harwoods could be involved. Ianto found himself wondering what the hell Jack had been playing at bringing Rhys out into the field. For once Ianto shared Gwen's sentiments on the matter, but as usual he had kept quiet and done as Jack had asked without a word of protest. Of course it didn't end there, what with Gwen snogging Rhys and eye fucking Jack from the couch and then having a hissy fit about Retcon. Ianto had lost count of how many of the protocols had been broken and Jack had made a total arse out of himself and Gwen had insulted all of her team mates. A shit day was had by all and now he was back to discretely observing Rhys to make sure he didn't blab. Bloody wonderful. Of course the day had been finalised with a brief but explosive argument between Jack and Owen. Ianto had been just about ready to leave for the day, pulling on his coat after Owen had checked him over and given him the all clear. The medic had clearly been spoiling for an argument as soon as Jack had been bullied into not Retconning Rhys, but the argument had been something totally unexpected......

"You fucking Tosser, Jack. All that woman has to do is flutter her eyelashes at you and you give her anything. You have to Retcon Rhys, he's a security risk." Owen was yelling in the office, the door wide open, Ianto and Tosh exchanging concerned looks.

"To top it off you practically disclose your undying love for her in front of your own boyfriend!"

At that Ianto felt a deep blush rise in his cheeks. He hadn't mentioned anything to Owen, in fact he'd kept his trap shut all day. He could feel Jack's glare through the window on his back.

"I beg your pardon?" Jack shouted back.

"Ianto... Tea Boy.....Eye Candy, the bloke you've been screwing over available surface. Have you no consideration for his feelings Jack? Not to mention how many rules you are breaking and putting an untrained man in the firing line and letting Gwen get away with insubordination, again!"

"This has nothing to do with Ianto, he is not my boyfriend, we are not involved and it's none of your damn business who I fuck! I made a decision that will be better for the team in the long run. Gwen needs Rhys and the rest of us sad fuckers are so used to being alone that we are blind to the fact that we can't always do this alone."

"That's bollocks Jack and you know it. Fuck's sake why don't you just go and shag her and get it out of your system!" Owen turned and left and stomped out of the Hub, leaving Ianto and Tosh to gape at the closing cog door. Jack stepped out of his office and yelled.

"Tosh, go home!"

Tosh flicked a sympathetic glance at Ianto and grabbed her bag and he was eternally grateful that she didn't hear what happened next. Jack strode down the steps and stopped by Gwen's desk sitting down in her chair and glaring at Ianto, his arms folded across his chest.

"What the hell did you say to Owen?"

Ianto immediately resented the tone and the implication of the question, he arched his eyebrows.

"I'm not having this discussion whilst you are in this mood Jack." He turned to leave.

"Don't you bloody dare walk away from this."

Ianto froze and slowly about faced. "Are you going to stop yelling and get off the defensive?"

"Dammit Ianto!"

He sighed. "I haven't said anything to Owen. I didn't even know that he knew we were..... well whatever it is we do and I resent your implication. I'm not some hormonal teenager. I have had a shit day and quite frankly after your performance on a number of occasions during it I really do not want to be anywhere near you!" Ianto kept his voice level and steely. "What's more Owen is quite correct about the protocols."

"So what, you want Gwen to compromise her relationship with Rhys? Do you dislike her that much?"

Ianto closed his eyes for a moment, gathering his patience. "What I want is to go home and have a hot bath and a decent sleep. What I want is to get through a day without having a gun, or claws or teeth threatening my life. What I want is for you treat everyone fairly and equally. And if you really can't live without her, do something about it instead of using me as your back up plan."

Ianto walked away this time and Jack, mouth hanging open, let him go.

The trouble was Ianto was so wound up that sleep completely evaded him and he lay there on his bed staring at his ceiling. Like what else could he do after a day like that? He kept telling himself it wasn't about Jack, or Gwen's double standards or poor bumbling Rhys getting shot. Of course it was all of those things and much more.

Jack was right, they all needed someone or something on the outside to help them cope with the way of life that was Torchwood. Neither he, Owen or Tosh had relationships outside of their work. Even he as a local boy Ianto had lost touch with people he'd known, even his own family. However, Owen was right too on a whole number of levels starting with Gwen's repeated rule breaking and Rhys as a potential security risk. Ianto was soon to realise that it really wasn't those things that were bothering him. It was the fact that Jack assumed he would want to damage Gwen's relationship with Rhys. He assumed that Ianto was jealous, almost expected it and Ianto wasn't. There was never any point in being jealous especially where Jack was concerned. That man would take who he wanted whenever he wanted and Ianto simply accepted that. It was clear he and Gwen wanted one another and Owen was once again quite right, they really needed to get on with it or get over it and in his current mood Ianto didn't care which. Part of him wondered if Rhys had any idea and all he could feel for the man was sympathy.

It shocked him that he had come to this resigned acceptance of his situation. He had always been raised to believe that relationships were meant to last and to mean something and it bothered him deeply just how much Torchwood stripped all of his values away one by one. It concerned him that somehow over the last weeks..... since that year in fact, he had stopped caring. He loved Jack, deeply so, but was tired of the emotional tug of war that was a companion piece to being Jack's 'bit on the side'. It was Jack's way of course. Ianto didn't doubt Jack's feelings, but Jack's ideas about love were wholly different to his. Some days, like today Torchwood was just too much. Some days Ianto craved ordinary things, like the supermarket, going to the dentist and sitting in the library reading. Perhaps it was time to quit, accept the Retcon and just go. Ianto knew he never would and part of him resented Jack for that and more worrisome was the fact that he had resigned himself to it.

Ianto glanced at the clock on the beside cabinet, 3:46am, he sighed indulgently and rolled over burying his face in his pillows trying unsuccessfully to allow sleep to steal him away.