Chapter 9
The next day found Ianto waking to a loving kiss from Jack, and after a short make-out session, the two men forced themselves to leave Ianto's bed and set about getting ready for the day.
It was only when Ianto appeared in the kitchen dressed in a suit that Jack reacted negatively. Jack fought to keep Ianto at home, claiming his young lover needed more rest, but Ianto was determined to go into work, saying that with Gwen gone, they couldn't afford to be another man down. At that point Jack gave in; he could see how right Ianto was, and after he made Ianto promise that he would stay on light duties and work in the Hub where Jack could keep an eye on him, did Jack agree to let Ianto go in to work.
Ianto looked up at Jack with mischievousness in his eyes. "If worse comes to worse, I can always ask my parents and the others for help," he suggested.
In truth, Jack was okay with some of Ianto's magical friends and family, although he did not like the idea of Sirius and Draco glaring at him all day for touching his Ianto. As much as it pained him to admit it, even to himself, the extra help would be welcomed if it meant keeping Ianto safely out of the field. Having outside help would also give the rest of his team the much needed back-up they had long been denied. "Fine, but only if it turns out to be something we can't handle." Jack gave in.
Ianto beamed at Jack and gave his love a thankful kiss on the lips. He understood that it took a lot for Jack to open up his home and the safety of his team to others. "I promise we will only call them in if we need to."
Parting, Jack took a hold of one of Ianto's hands and linked their fingers together. "I'll hold you to that. Come along, Mr Jones, work is waiting." Ianto raised an eyebrow in disbelief and Jack grinned at the look. "What? I get to watch you bend over and I won't miss out on your coffee anymore."
Ianto shook his head fondly; he should have known that was what Jack had in mind. It was nice to see his captain so happy, he liked seeing Jack smile.
Arriving at the Hub, it was clear that it had a feeling of sadness over Gwen's departure, which once again left a hole that needed to be filled. But they couldn't deny that it was best for Gwen and her relationship with Rhys for her to leave this all behind before it cost her more than she was willing to lose.
As much as he was loath to admit it, there was a small part of Ianto that was greatly relieved to see that Jack was not at all broken up at the loss of Gwen. He felt badly for feeling that way, but it had hurt to see the way Jack would look at her and watch how strongly he would flirt with Gwen.
Wolves are, after all, very possessive of what is theirs. And Ianto was very possessive of his mate.
"Green was a surprisingly good colour on you." Jack whispered teasingly into Ianto's ear as he wrapped his arms around Ianto from behind.
Ianto felt his cheeks warm with a blush that began to spread; he honestly thought that he kept his jealousy under control. He just hoped that Jack hadn't seen how hurt he had been every time Jack flirted with Gwen.
Too bad Ianto was going to be disappointed. "I'm sorry I hurt you with my meaningless flirting with Gwen. I was actually trying to make you jealous with all the attention I was giving her. Flirting with Tosh, Suzie and Owen didn't seem to have any effect on you, so I thought the new girl might and so I upped my normal flirting," Jack admitted.
Ianto was speechless as he stared into Jack's blue eyes. "You mean to tell me that all this time you were just using Gwen to make me jealous? Do you have any idea how many times I wanted to throw you on your desk and ravish you until you knew who you belonged to?" Ianto growled low in his throat.
Jack's eyes darkened with lust as he purred, "Really? And so, what about now?"
Lunging forward, Ianto claimed Jack's mouth in a toe-curling kiss that left no doubt in the immortal's mind that Ianto was laying his own claim on him. And in truth, Jack rather liked it.
"Bloody hell! This is not what I needed to see first thing in the morning." Owen's voice was better than a cold shower and Ianto quickly broke away from Jack.
It was move which immediately caused the immortal to pout at Owen, "Couldn't you have waited until after I finished my Ianto-time?"
Tosh giggled as Owen smirked and answered, "That is my small joy in life, blocking you from getting the nasty on with our Tea-Boy."
Feeling badly for the brightly blushing Ianto, Tosh decided to bring the attention back to the matter at hand. "With Gwen gone, what are we going to do?" She asked softly.
Jack rubbed his forehead. "I've had the feeling that Gwen was going to be leaving soon, so I've been thinking of approaching Andy Davidson to work for us as our police liaison, but I don't know if he's cut out to be a field agent. Ideas?" He asked the rest of his team.
Tosh nodded her head in agreement. "I hate to say this, but Andy might make a better liaison; Gwen could be a little heavy-handed and pushy when dealing with her former colleagues."
Owen nodded. "That's actually not a bad idea, but what about another field agent?" He brought up the other half of their problem.
Jack and Ianto held a silent conversation that by their body language Ianto was clearly winning. Pouting after losing, Jack turned to the others. "We may have a few people that could help."
Ianto took over from there. "But first there is something you need to know. I am a wizard, as is the rest of my family, and since most of them are planning to stay around for a while, we could put them to work."
The reactions from Tosh and Owen were just what Ianto and Jack through they might be. Tosh stared at Ianto with wonder in her eyes, while Owen's was simply Owen. "Bullshit," was his very emphatic and vocal response.
With a huge, shit-eating grin, Ianto drew out his wand and cast a silencing charm on Owen. When the medic could do nothing more than imitate a fish, Jack let out a booming laugh which nearly drowned out Tosh's musical laughter.
It was later decided that Ianto should be the one to approach his magical family and friends, as well as PC Andy. The team reasoned that the offer coming from Ianto might go better with his friends and family because he knew them. As for him going to Andy, well, Ianto was, sad to say, the only one who treated the officers with respect, and was in turn, respected by the local constabulary.
Jack did not like the idea of having his Ianto out of sight for even a moment, having Ianto gone for at least half the day had the captain sulking up in his office.
Chuckling fondly as he entered Jack's office, Ianto placed Jack's cup of coffee on the desk, and then he moved around to kiss that pouting mouth. Without warning, Ianto found himself pulled onto Jack's lap and the kiss turned from innocent to passionate in a heartbeat.
Pulling away from Jack's tempting mouth, Ianto smiled. "No need to pout, Captain. I won't be that long and when I get back," he nuzzled Jack's nose, "we can go out for a late dinner before heading back to my place." He suggested with the quirk of an eyebrow.
Jack's pout turned into a bright smile as he slowly stroked Ianto's arm. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. I'm looking forward to tonight. Don't be too long." Jack whispered back; although he hated the idea of Ianto being out of his sight for even a moment, he knew he had no choice in the matter.
Ianto could sense Jack's fear. "I'll keep my comm on at all times. I'm going to talk to my family first, and then Andy agreed to meet me for a cup of coffee. I'll be back in two hours, tops, and if I'm not, feel free to come and look for me." Ianto told Jack.
"Oh, I plan to, Mr. Black-Lupin. If your gorgeous arse isn't back here in the Hub and on my lap in two hours, I will come looking for you." Jack growled.
Blushing lightly and attempting to keep what was left of his control, Ianto climbed off of Jack's lap. "I'll see you soon, Sir." And with as much grace as possible Ianto scurried out of Jack's office and the Hub with Jack's laughter echoing behind him.
Reaching his mother's house, Ianto opened the front door. "Dad's? Anyone here?" He barely finished speaking before a multi-coloured blur slammed into him, knocking him to the floor. "Hello, Tonks. Could we please get off the floor?" Ianto asked his favourite cousin while trying to hide his wince; the fall had sent a wave of pain through his still-healing ribs.
"I'm sorry, Ianto!" Tonks quickly climbed off him and helped him to his feet. She hadn't missed the wince that crossed Ianto's face; in her excitement of seeing Ianto, she had forgotten he was injured.
"It's all right, Tonks. Are the others here?" He asked.
Tonks shook her head. "Everyone but Molly, the twins, Snape and Emily, are still here. Emily wanted to stay longer, but she needed to get back to work but said she'll be back to check on you in no time."
Ianto felt sad that he had missed saying good-bye to his mum, but knew that she needed to get back to Hogwarts. "That's okay, but I need to talk to the others."
Nodding excitedly, Tonks grabbed Ianto by the arm and dragged him to where the others were gathered.
"Ianto!" Sirius was up and out of his chair and pulling his son into a hug before the others even registered Ianto's arrival.
Climbing to his feet, Remus moved towards his mate and cub, taking a good like at Ianto and smiling as he saw the look of peace in Ianto's eyes. 'Looks his and Jack's talk went well,' the wolf thought as he smirked to himself. "Son, not that I'm not happy to see you, but is there a reason you're here?" He asked Ianto.
Pulling away from his dad, Ianto turned to face the rest of them. "How would you feel about working for Torchwood?"
A general chorus of "Huh?" and "What?" filled the air.
Sighing, Ianto began to explain what had happen last night. After Ianto finished laying out the plan to his parents and friends, he felt a sense of dread go up and down his spine as he watched matching sinister smiles spread across Sirius and Draco's faces. Suddenly his brilliant plan didn't seem all that brilliant.
"I think it's a wonderful idea." Luna spoke up suddenly, a bright smile on her face and a sparkle in her eyes.
Sirius grinned at the blond. "See? Even Luna agrees it's a good idea. So when do we start?"
It was Luna's suggestion that Hermione, Tonks, Neville, Charlie, Harry and Draco stayed, along with Sirius and Remus, to offer the help that the Torchwood team needed. Ianto knew that Luna was up to something, he just had no clue what, and that worried him slightly, but he could not deny that Luna did indeed have a point. They would be the best choices to fill the voids at Torchwood Three.
Standing up, Ianto straightened out his jacket. "I'll inform Jack once I get back. I hate to rush off, but I have another meeting to get to." After getting another set of hugs from his parents, Ianto left.
Sirius was fine with working with Torchwood; this way he could keep an eye on Ianto.
To say Andy had been shocked at Ianto's phone call would be putting it lightly, yet, if it had been any other Torchwood member, he would have hung up immediately. But Ianto, the few times he had met him, had treated him with respect, so he decided he would give Ianto the benefit of the doubt. And maybe he could explain why Gwen was suddenly back on the police force and being transferred to Swansea.
"Andy, so glad you could meet me." Raising his head, Andy greeted Ianto with a smile as the other man slid into the seat beside him. Ianto wasted no time in getting right down to business, "How would you like to work for Torchwood?" Ianto smiled as Andy choked on his drink.
At the one-hour-and-fifty-five minutes mark, Jack was slipping on his greatcoat as he counted down the time. He could barely get over how possessive and protective he was of Ianto and he hadn't even claimed the man yet. It worried him a little when he wondered how much more intense his desire to shield the young man would become after their actual mating.
Alarms began sounding throughout the Hub, and with a smile on his face, Jack bounced out of his office and was down to greet Ianto before his young lover could even blink.
Eyes fluttering closed, Ianto moaned as he found himself being kissed senseless by Jack. Only when the need for air became too great did they break the kiss, and Jack nuzzled Ianto's cheek fondly as he whispered, "I missed you."
Ianto leaned into Jack's touch. "I missed you too. They all agreed to work for Torchwood." Ianto added as an afterthought. He really hoped that Jack was listening as he just made purring sounds in reply.
Tosh's soft giggles alerted them to the fact they were not alone. "Everything is quiet here, so why don't you two call it an early night? Owen and I can handle things," she offered.
Jack beamed at her. "Wonderful idea, Tosh, we'll see you tomorrow. Come along, Yan." Moving away from Ianto just enough to grasp his soon-to-be lover, oh, yes, he could not, and would not hold back any longer from claiming his mate, Jack dragged Ianto out of the Hub before the young man could offer for them to stay and help.
