A/N: Well, this is fast. My muse decided I needed to write this up tonight, no if, ands, or buts. Go thing I go into work late tonight. Anyways, I'm thinking of getting a beta. Anyone interested?

Chapter 7

"Hello?"

"Hi, Jack"

"Awake finally?" Jack said softly.

"Yeah. Sorry about last night."

"It's alright. Your sister said that you need the sleep."

"So you did meet Rhiannon. I'm surprised she's still here with memories intact."

"Yea, well, your sister can be very persuasive. She not a barrister by trade, is she?"

Ianto laughed. "No, she's just a home mother."

"Well, I think that she missed her calling in life. She laid out a very convincing argument as to why she shouldn't lose her memory and why I shouldn't be mad at you for telling her things that she shouldn't know." When Ianto didn't say anything, he continued. "Look, we need to talk. In person. I'll be over in a few minutes."

"Alright."


When Jack reached Ianto's flat, he was surprised to find Ianto's sister still at the place, but kept quiet. Ianto led him to the kitchen.

"Coffee, sir?"

"Yes, please. I see that you sister is still here."

"Yes, sir. She won't leave until she's satisfied that I'm either taking my pills on a regular basis or that I'm eating on a daily basis." He gave Jack his coffee and sat down at the table with him.

Jack drank his drink, giving a small smile. "We've missed your coffee. Starbucks and Costco are doing a brisk trade with Torchwood because of you being gone."

"I'm surprised that no one has tried to get the coffee machine to work."

Jack laughed. "We want you back, Ianto. We're not touching your machine, we know better than that. None of us want to be put on decaf because it got broken while you were gone." He turned to look at Ianto, his face becoming serious. "We do need to talk about what is going on, why you felt the need to tell highly classified information to your sister. And I need some answers as to why she said some of the things she did."


Rhiannon woke slowly, taking her time to adjust to the darkened room and a quiet flat. She could have sworn that she had left the tv on as she was falling asleep. Looking around, she frowned as she realized that she could hear voices coming from the kitchen. Recognizing the voices, she stepped over to the door to listen. She knew she shouldn't, Ianto would yell at her if he ever found out, but she had to know what was going on. She had to know that everything was going to turn out ok.


"Ianto, I need to know why you told your sister about Torchwood."

"Why? What difference would it make? Your just going to end up retconing her anyways."

"Not if I don't have to. I can tell that she's helping you, that she's doing something right to make you feel better about yourself, about what you did. Let me in, tell me whats going on inside your head."

"She's everything to me, Jack. She keeps me sane. After our mother...died, our father grew distant. She kept our family together, as best she could. At least until left when I was sixteen. But the damage had already been done. Da and I don't talk, haven't talked since the day I left. Rhiannon is the only family I have left. I trust her with my life; she's saved my life so many times."

"Do you think that she can be trusted to keep everything you told her a secret? From her husband, her kids, her friends?"

"Yes."

"Then, for know, I'll leave her be. I will be monitoring her communications for a few months, just be on the safe side, understand?"

"Yes, sir. I'll tell her."

"Good. Now, as your friend, I want you to know that I'm glad your sister is here for you. You already look ten times better than when I saw you last."

Ianto snorted. "I'm not your friend."

"I'd like to think that you are mine."

Ianto got up and went into the kitchen. Grabbing a bottle of liquor, he poured himself a measure. "I threaten to kill you and your think I'm your friend." He drank his glass and poured himself another. "Just what, exactly, gave you the idea that I would want to be your friend after everything that just happened?"

"Ianto?" Rhiannon said, walking inside the room.

"Go to hell, Rhi," he said, downing another glass.

"Hello, Rhiannon," Jack said. "How long have you been listening to us?"

"Long enough," she said, walking up to her brother. Taking the bottle of liquor from him, she poured it down the sink. Ignoring his look, she said, "I'm not going to interfere with the business between the two of you. It has nothing to do with me, I know that. And I'm willing to accept any surveillance that is needed in order to help you, Ianto." She took the bottle of beer from his hand. "But this isn't the answer to your problems," and turning to Jack, "and you need to stop beating around the bush. Now, I am going to go out and do some shopping so you can talk with out me around."

"No."

She turned back around to face her brother. "What do you mean, no?"

"No. You are not my mother, you do not tell me what to do."

"Of course not! Ianto, I'd just thought you and your boss might want to be alone to talk, that's all."

"Bullocks."

"Ianto, your sister is only trying to help." Jack placed his hand in Ianto's shoulder. Ianto shrugged him off.

"I don't want any help! I don't want to be fucking alive! I should be dead! Dead like Lisa, dead like our mam!" He pushed them away, heading for the door.

"Ianto, wait! Don't go!." His sister said, going after him.

"Ianto, calm down. Don't do something stupid."

"You mean like what I did last week? Don't worry, sir, I'm not going to try to kill anyone else."

"Ianto, please don't go." Rhiannon said, grabbing his arm.

"Fuck off, Rhi," he said, opening the door. "Go to hell and take Jack with you," Slamming the door behind him.

Jack turned and look at Rhiannon. "What the hell just happened?"

Rhi sighed. "Jack, meet Ianto when he hasn't been taking his pills correctly. One minute he's fine, the next, well, you just saw what happens next."


"Owen?"

"What ya want, Gwen?"

"I was wondering if you could help me find some information on the Battle at Canary Wolf?"

Owen looked up from the autopsy he was doing. "Why can't you ask Tosh?"

"She left already, and I don't think that she likes me all that much at the moment."

"Reverting back to the school yard, are we? What ya do to get her mad?"

"I asked about Ianto. I know that they are friends, so I'd thought I'd ask how he was. I probably shouldn't have push the issue."

"No, you shouldn't of."

"But the thing is, none of you talk about what happened so I don't know what happened. And when I look through the database to get information on it, I find that I don't have access to it. I need to understand what is going on, Owen. Can you please just grant me access to even the basics of the file?"

Owen took off his gloves and came over to her workstation. Putting is his access codes, he brought up the files. "Only the basics, mind. If you want more than that, you'll have to talk to Jack. There's a reason why this information is restricted."

"I know. Thanks, Owen."


Tosh wasn't quite asleep yet when the doorbell rang at 1am. Work for Torchwood meant that she slept lightly, waking at the slightest of sounds. She wasn't amused that it was the door, though. She was more used to the phone waking her. She was even less amused when she saw who was on the other side of the door.

"Ianto? What are you doing here?"

"I need some help, Tosh." Ianto kept his head down, but Tosh could still see the signs that he had been drinking, and crying.

Letting him in, she lead him over to her couch. "Tell me what's wrong, love. What ever happened can't be as bad as you think it is."

"I ran out on Jack tonight. He had come over to talk about stuff."

"What happened? Did he say something to upset you?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. I'm so confused, Tosh. And now I think I just made things worse for everyone."