"So, who of you wants to be the first one to take their chances with me on the shooting range?" Jack lifts him arms in an inviting gesture, but neither Gareth nor I volunteer to go first. I can see in Gareth's eyes that he is still slightly uncomfortable around Jack, even though he is slowly getting used to the Captain's flamboyant personality.

"I'll go first. Besides, I've already shot you, so that's crossed off my list anyway."

"Why do people always have the tendency to either kill me or kiss me? Or both. I remember one species that loved to use their-"

"Jack! I don't want to hear those stories at this time of the day. I'm not even sure whether I ever want to hear them."

"You don't know what you're missing. Some alien species can be very creative with their... Anyway, let's just start with some basic fire-arm training first. Follow me!"

"Aye, Captain!"

When we get to the shooting range, I see that Jack has already laid out some guns, glasses and ear protection on a table. He puts on his own glasses and ear protection and gestures me to do the same. I feel quite stupid wearing these things, which are rather uncomfortable by the way, but, of course, I do see the point of having to wear them.

I look up at Jack, not really knowing what to do.

He smiles at me. "You ready?"

I nod, not really trusting my voice. Sure, I'm quite nervous about using a gun, but it doesn't really help that Jack is the one to teach me this. I mean, of course I already noticed that he is quite an attractive man, but being in one room with just the two of us, makes it difficult to focus on learning how to use a gun and actually hitting the targets. It slightly annoys me that he makes me feel like a sixteen year old girl again who has a crush on the boy sitting next to her, but I can't help it.

"Here's your gun. Just try to shoot the leftmost target."

I'm really trying to concentrate on hitting it, but I can feel Jack standing behind me, his eyes running all over me, which makes me self conscious of every move I make.

I try not to think about him and just lift my gun, clenching it in two hands.

I close my eyes and squeeze the trigger. When I hear and feel the gun go off, I open my eyes again to see whether I hit the target.

Wide. Very wide. Embarrassingly wide. Great.

I look at Jack, who is laughing at me. "I can see that there is some room for improvement. Thankfully, I'm just the right guy for that. Come here."

He walks over to stand next me and turns me to the left, so that the shooting range is now to my right.

His breath tickles the tingling skin of my neck as he says something, but I can't actually hear what he says. The only thing I can think about are those bloody fifty-first century pheromones and his body so close to mine. I really have to resist the urge to turn around, push him against the wall and do the things that are on my mind right now. I never really noticed how soft his hands are, how gentle his touch. His left hand is slowly moving from my shoulder, along my arm, down to my hip, where he rests his hand and draws me even closer to him. I can feel that he hasn't shaved yet, because his lightly stubbled chin is scratching my own skin as he continues to whisper something about looking along your shoulder and breathing.

Suddenly, he lifts my arm and points the gun at the target, holding both the gun and my hand with his own hand.

"Breathe in... Focus... Breathe out... Squeeze gently."

Jack's breath is sending shivers down my spine and I can feel that he is building up the pressure on the trigger. This brings me back to reality. I'm not letting him do all the work.

I'm taking over the control of the gun and Jack lets me pull the trigger.

"That wasn't so difficult, was it?"

He takes a step back and I immediately miss the warmth of his body against mine and almost want to follow his movement.

I look at the target, which I almost forgot about. Almost right through the middle.

"No, it wasn't, but I'm sure I can do much better than that. You put me out of my concentration by whispering in my ear because you were afraid that I might be better than you. You were distracting me on purpose."

"Oh, you liked it and you know it. Just admit it." He answers my smile with his own wide grin.

"You wish."

An hour later, we decide to stop. I have tried several guns and learned quite a lot of useful tricks. I have also gained a lot of respect for Jack. Even though he sometimes acts like a little kid and has the gift of making everything sound like an innuendo, he is a professional when it's necessary. It feels like he was born to be a leader, and, judging by the look on his face, he is glad to be one again, even if it's just for a short time.

"You think your brother is ready for some action now?"

"Yeah, but I think I should tell you he's not... you know, you can be quite enthusiastic and you tend to have little respect for people's personal space, and Gareth is a very private person. I just want to say that you'll freak him out if you're going to press up against him like you just did with me."

I don't really feel like explaining why Gareth is can be so closed off, because talking about the accident still is a very personal subject. Plus, just like Gareth, I usually don't openly talk about private subjects with people I basically just met. "Just be careful with him please."

I look up at Jack, hoping that I didn't sound too harsh. He is looking right back at me. His grin has entirely disappeared and has been replaced by the all too familiar sad expression.

"I'm sorry," he whispers. "It's just that he reminds me so much of him. He doesn't even look or sound like him, but there is something in the way he laughs, the way he talks about some things. Hell, even the way he masters that coffee-machine reminds me of him. You know, when he showed up in that suit, it was like he was alive again. For one second, my Ianto was alive again. For one second, I hoped that the last three years had been nothing but the most awful nightmare you can imagine. I never even had the balls to say it to his face. I never said I..." He shakes his head. "I just miss him. Still miss him and always will."

I walk over to Jack and grab his hand. "You know what? Gareth and I will keep you company for a while. I can't stand to leave you on your own. Besides, this is far more exciting than sightseeing!"

He starts to smile again.

"Good, you haven't lost that charming smile of yours yet. I'll mentally prepare Gareth for you and your special fire-arm training, and send him down here."

"Thanks. By the way, if you want, you can have a look at the Rift monitor. Just familiarise yourself with it. Might come in handy sometime. There is also some information about Torchwood, if you want to know more about this." He vaguely waves around to emphasise 'this'.

"Aye Captain." I salute him and go back to Gareth.