Author's Note: I have a feeling some people will hate this chapter. My apologies in advance.

Lew had been leaning heavily on Vanna as they teleported out, sending both of them to the ground as they reappeared at Torchwood 57. She'd been surprised when it was Jakob Harrison who was the first there to help sort them out, carrying the six-foot-six Lew to the medical bay. He was the most badly injured, having caught the edge of an electricity blast from a Cyberman before Ianto had shot it. Vanna and Harrison had followed Lew's instructions to treat him and then the injuries that Vanna and Evelyn had sustained—nothing major in their case, though Evelyn had stressed the shoulder she'd injured a few days before.

Ianto and the Captain had disappeared as the injuries were dealt with and only just returned two hours later. Lew had spent the time asleep, Evelyn in her office, and Harrison sitting to the side brooding. Vanna had been at her own desk pretending to work, but really she was watching Harrison.

Vanna had always believed in Captain Jack Harkness. Even when she had been sure that he was merely a sentient computer program, she had believed that he was the heart and soul of Torchwood, an almost infallible leader who steered them where they needed to go. If she disagreed with an order handed down from the Captain, she accepted it as something she didn't understand only because she didn't have all of the information. Even knowing that he was merely a man—okay, a three thousand year old immortal man—she still believed that. What she had trouble believing was that her Captain had once been Jakob Harrison.

Torchwood 57 had crossed paths with Harrison a couple of times. He was a screw up and an impossible flirt, and every piece of information they had said that they would be better off keeping him from ever leaving his own time. And yet, somehow, he'd become her Captain. She could see the resemblance, and she knew they both believed it, but she couldn't wrap her brain around it.

Ianto appeared at her elbow, and Vanna gratefully accepted a cup of coffee. She'd been impressed by the young man, who had shot with berserker accuracy despite the fact that the Cybermen still clearly terrified him. Not that she could blame him for the latter—Vanna wasn't a scholar, but Canary Wharf was required learning for all Torchwood operatives. She knew something of what he'd been through.

Ianto continued past Vanna to deliver a cup to Harrison, who looked up in surprise. "Didn't think you'd want to talk to me," said Harrison as he took the coffee.

"Apparently making the tough calls is something you've always done rather than something you picked up later," said Ianto evenly. "I've always respected that, and I don't intend to stop now just because you're not quite my Jack yet." Vanna pretended to be absorbed in her computer as Ianto stared into his coffee. "Lisa didn't die at Canary Wharf."

Harrison jumped, and Vanna flinched. "I got her out, convinced Jack to hire me so I would have access to what I needed to cure her. She was only partially converted, but I didn't realize that the mental programming was complete. She got loose and nearly killed us all—and if she had, she'd have taken over the world. Jack and the others shot her in front of me."

Vanna was unable to keep up her pretense, but fortunately Ianto was still staring into his coffee and Harrison was busy gaping at him, so neither noticed her. "It took a while before I could admit it, but he did the right thing there, just as you did today with Silver Ferris." Ianto shifted his gaze from his coffee to his shoes. "He always said I wouldn't like who he was before, and he wasn't entirely wrong. But I can see some of the qualities I respect in Jack in you. Regardless of what he thinks, he's not the way he is just because of the Doctor."

"He put you through that and you still fell in love with him?" asked Harrison so softly that Vanna almost couldn't hear him. "No wonder he held onto you for all those years."

Okay, this was getting a little too personal. Vanna carefully rose to her feet and slipped quietly away towards Evelyn's office.

"No, I'm not going to send him back now!" said the Captain heatedly. "Another day or two won't hurt. A week, maybe even a month…"

"I am not keeping that boy three thousand years out of his time just so you can get a good shag," snapped Evelyn.

"But he's going to die," said the Captain, his voice breaking. Both Evelyn and Vanna started. "Surely a little bit longer here won't hurt him."

"Everyone dies, Granddad."

"He came back here on his twenty-sixth birthday—August 19, 2009. Think about it, Ev. You remember more about Torchwood's history than even I do. What happened in September 2009?"

"Torchwood disappeared for two years following the incident with the 456," said Evelyn reluctantly.

"That still ranks as one of the worst weeks of my life. On Monday, someone put a bomb in my belly and blew me up—Gwen and Ianto only barely made it out of the Hub. On Tuesday, I came back from the dead before I'd completely healed and screamed in agony until they drowned me in concrete. On Wednesday I learned that the 456 wanted 10% of the world's children because they wanted to use them to get high and that my daughter and grandson had been taken by the people who'd blown me up. On Thursday I took Ianto with me to confront the 456 and they poisoned the air in the building we were in. He died in my arms, begging me not to forget him. By Friday I was so broken that when the only way we could come up with to combat the 456 required using a child and the only one available was my grandson, I sacrificed him. His name was Steven."

Vanna was frozen in place, and Evelyn's face was set with horror. "And the worst thing is, I can't go back and change it. I would do almost anything to keep him, but I can't do that. Sacrificing Steven was the only way to stop them…and wanting to make sure Ianto didn't die in vain was the only reason I brought myself to do it." His voice broke. "So many children. They were going to send the ones from the poorest schools, which included Ianto's niece and nephew. His nephew became an architect and redesigned San Francisco after the quake of 2037—some of his buildings are still standing. His niece was a brilliant geneticist who made some major breakthroughs in cancer treatments. So many lives saved that would have been lost if Ianto hadn't died. I can't value his life above all of those others no matter how much I loved him….not the least reason of which is because he wouldn't have let me."

By the time the Captain had told Evelyn of how Ianto's spirit had sacrfificed himself to close the Cardiff rift, Vanna was crying silently. She wasn't the only one—even the ever stoic Evelyn had tear tracks on her face as she held her great-grandfather's hand. Vanna heard another sniffle behind her, and turned to find Ianto standing there. As soon as he realized she was aware of him, he turned and fled. Without hesitation, Vanna followed him.

It didn't surprise her when he found his way to the Archives. Evelyn had shown him around earlier, pleased to meet a fellow archivist and historian—though she hadn't let him look at anything too closely. He'd complained good-naturedly about that.

Vanna stayed close enough to hear him but stayed out of sight at first. She'd already realized that Ianto was very private—their first conversation had proven that—and she didn't want to intrude, but she did need to know how much he'd heard.

She'd expected him to cry, but Ianto surprised her again. What she heard in the Archives was not despair but rage. The walls shook as he pounded his fists against them, and her ears rang with the creative curses he rolled out—in several languages, no less. It was only after the noise petered out that she entered the room.

Ianto sat on the floor, his head in his hands as tears rolled down his face. "How much did you hear?" asked Vanna, her voice gentle.

"Everything," he said. "You didn't leave nearly as quietly as you thought you did. I was right behind you." He didn't look up. Carefully, Vanna sat down beside him. She wanted to slide an arm around his shoulders and cuddle him but didn't think he would allow it, so she settled for getting as close as she could without touching. "I knew that working for Torchwood meant I'd die young."

"What are you going to do?"

He sighed. "I don't want to die," he said, his voice nearly inaudible. "But it seems I've got no choice."

"You could stay here a while," said Vanna. "You're good in a fight and Evelyn would love to have more help in the Archives."

"No," said Ianto quietly. "Jack's right. I have to go back. How can I weigh my life above 10% of the Earth's children?"

"Maybe there's another way, a way to save them and you?"

"And what if that it doesn't work? How many people are descended from that 10% and thus would never be born? If my nephew was taken by them, Lew would cease to exist—and so would those buildings in San Francisco. How many people were saved by Mica's cancer research? Can I condemn all of them to die as well?" His voice broke and Vanna risked sliding an arm around him.

"You know you're incredible, right?" she asked, and he looked up at her, surprised. "Most people wouldn't go back knowing they were going to die."

"I don't want to die," said Ianto again. "And I don't want to know I'm going to. Do you still have Retcon?"

"Yes."

"I want you to give me some. I want to forget everything I just heard Jack say. But first, I want a few more days here with this Jack." Vanna blinked at him. "My Jack has never admitted that he loves me, and from the sounds of it never will, at least not in my lifetime." He grimaced. "I want to enjoy a few days with a Jack who does acknowledge his feelings for me. I want to feel loved and treasured even if I know that you'll have to take that memory with the knowledge of my death."

"But won't Jack—"

"I hid a Cyberman in the basement of Torchwood Three for months. I can make him believe I don't know." Vanna nodded even though she'd gone pale at his words. "You know your Retcon better than I do, so I'll leave the when up to you. I'll just make sure we pop in to say hi each evening. I'd prefer to remember at least some of this, but if you and Evelyn and Lew feel I should forget it all, well, I guess I won't know the difference." He smiled wryly.

"You're a very strong person, Ianto Jones," said Vanna. "I'll do as you ask."

"Thank you, Vanna….I just realized I don't know your surname."

"It's Williams." His eyes went wide and he choked slightly on what sounded like a laugh.

"Really? Vanna Willliams?"

"What's so funny about that?"

"Nothing, really," he said quickly. "Only, you look just like my friend Gwen."

"Gwen Cooper. Evelyn looked up the team you were on," she added when he looked surprised.

"Yes, but her husband's name is Rhys Williams."

"Huh," said Vanna. "Guess Lew and Evelyn aren't the only ones descended from Torchwood Cardiff." Ianto laughed.

They didn't see much of Jack and Ianto over the next several days, though Ianto did manage to locate The Princess Bride and force all of them to watch it. (Not that that was a hardship—Vanna loved the movie and made a copy so she could watch it again later.) They did, however, see quite a bit of Jakob Harrison. He had insisted on being the one to take Ianto home, but was afraid that if he left Torchwood, he'd be picked up and mind-wiped by the Time Agency before he could.

On the third day, Vanna served Ianto a cup of coffee laced with Retcon. As he drifted off to sleep, he smiled a thank you to her. It was the Captain who hit the roof.

"I expected Evelyn to try that, but not you!" he shouted. Vanna stood her ground, eyes flashing, but it was Jakob Harrison who answered.

"That boy chose to go back to his own death rather than risk a paradox," he said, getting in the Captain's face as much as he could considering that they couldn't touch. "You will not cheapen that choice by shouting at the person who made it possible."

"He heard your conversation with Evelyn," said Vanna softly. "He asked me for a few days to enjoy being with you." Evelyn had been concerned he would change his mind, but Vanna had seen his face. She'd have fought for him to have more time, but had conceded to Evelyn that it was best if he and the Captain were gone before Dev and Merrick got back. "This is what he wants."

"He'll remember nothing of being here," said Evelyn gently. "It's best this way, Granddad."

"I know," said the Captain softly. "I remember he knew nothing, but I'd hoped that maybe he was just keeping some of it from me, that he'd know how much I loved him even though I couldn't manage to tell him." He turned away from Harrison, looking at Ianto. "Could I have a moment alone with him?"

Fifteen minutes later, Captain Jack Harkness and the three members of Torchwood 57 saluted Ianto Jones as Jakob Harrison took him home.