Another short chapter...but some good news: i know have an actual plan! It's all in rough at the moment but I'm working on the next chapter now. And it will be a full chapter this time!

"Right, Tea-boy. Time's up. What's this 'danger' you speak of?" Owen asked. Ianto just smiled secretively as he drove.

"Can't tell you. Sorry."

"Ianto, please-" Owen stopped, cutting himself short. He never said please. It was part of his mask, part of controlling people's impressions of him. It had been automatic, just then. He couldn't remember when he'd last said please.

"Owen, I can't tell you." Ianto replied, sounding genuinely sincere. Owen doubted it. Ianto was too good at hiding things, just like he was too good at making people believe he didn't care…

He sighed heavily. Ianto looked at him, surprised. "You okay?"

"I can't believe how shit this life is, you know? I mean…we chase aliens for a living. Our boss shags anything-" Ianto flinched here-"To try and forget the fact that he's immortal, and responsible for a hell of a lot of pain. I'm not even sure that I'm not the biggest git on the planet anymore because that's what I've been saying, and you're so bloody messed up inside that you're actually letting people notice. None of us can get a girlfriend/boyfriend without them being some source of danger, or mad, and we've all resorted to casual sex as a way of control…shit, Ianto."

They drove on in silence, pain and loss keeping them apart. General lust didn't really help, either.


Jack sat on the roof, miserably looking over Cardiff. Images of Ianto's bed, mixed with ones of Owen and Ianto kept creeping into his head. Was that why Owen had offered to go to the flat? And had Ianto just been acting odd out of guilt?

"Not like I had any claim on the fucking boy anyway." Jack muttered. "And he was about the only kid in this city Owen hadn't screwed yet…"

There had been nothing else of interest in the flat, except the dirty bed. Jack had looked, trying to make himself believe there still might be something there…but nothing.

"Better go back to the Hub…" Jack thought out loud, making no effort to move.


"One…urgh, no, nine…" Tosh muttered, trying to concentrate on the super-fiendish Sudoku. She could feel panic rising, just below the surface and her efforts to quell it had proved unsuccessful.

"Please Jack, help me." She whispered, starting to cry. "I'm stuck, someone, please…"

A loud bang came from behind her. She jumped in fright, cowering in her chair. "Who's there?" she called nervously. "Hello?"

"Tosh, sweetheart." Owen's voice called. "You okay babe?"

"Owen, thank god you're here. I couldn't get out…how did you get in?" she stammered.

"The normal way…" he replied, sounding alarmed. "Sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. Ianto with you?"

"Ianto? No, why?"

"Uhh…no worries. Thought he would be, that's all. You know, 'coz of everything…"

"Yeah. Well, I left him at his flat. Thought he needed some time off."

"I agree. He has been acting oddly, hasn't he? Jack went off, to the flat I think, to check it out himself…"

"To…to Ianto's flat?" Owen questioned.

"Yes, that's what I just said isn't it? That's okay, right? I told him you didn't find anything but what do I know?"

"Hey, don't be like that. You should have gone with him, you could have helped him. Maybe spot the vital clue, huh?" Owen protested gently. She started to reply, smiling softly-then she froze.

Someone was banging outside, trying to get in. "Tosh, open up, me and Tea-boy are freezing our arses off out here-"

Trembling, she looked at Owen. "That's Owen…" she whispered, thinking of a plan. "So who are you…?"

Drumroll, please! Not how I imagined this story...but I couldn't stop. It's all part of the plan...X