Author's note: Oh ye of little faith, as if I could ever hurt Ianto!

Tybalt twitched his whiskers in his sleep and something new filtered through his dozing consciousness, dragging him up from dreams of big white duvets and escaped feathers. There was something in the air, something familiar and yet new, exciting, different, threatening. He'd smelt it before, but not here, and not with that undercurrent of worry and fear. Human emotions, for that was surely what he was smelling, were so obvious to a feline nose, Tybalt wondered that they seemed to be oblivious to each other.

He squeaked and opened his eyes suddenly as a huge, warm hand picked him up from the in-tray. The smell was suddenly intense; rich and spicy, comforting and familiar and... Ianto! Ianto knew this smell, Ianto had that cloth that he wasn't allowed to sleep on, it smelt just like this man, with his massive hands. They were huge! They absolutely dwarfed him, could completely hide him if they chose, but they were so gentle, one finger stroking softly behind his ears and down his back, cradling him against his chest. His trust won, Tybalt gave another mewl and snuggled deeper into the hands, causing them to wrap around him gently, holding him safe and secure.

Ally cleared her throat with that note of amusement in it. "Captain Harkness, thank you for joining us."

Captain Harkness sat down and kept hold of Tybalt, holding him to his chest with one hand still. "What can you tell me? Where is Ianto?"

Tybalt perked his ears up, trying to understand what had happened to his Ianto. "The Prime Minister left for a meeting in Miami at 09.55 hours. They were due to arrive in Miami at 14.20."

"They never made it?"

"No, we lost contact with the plane shortly after they entered the Bermuda Triangle, but this wasn't unexpected. When the loss of contact continued, however..."

Tybalt smelt Captain Harkness's sharp burst of pain, and the hand holding him shook, although it didn't become any less gentle. "So the primary assumption must be that the plane has gone down?"

Ally nodded. "I'm sorry. I took the liberty of requesting assistance from UNIT as soon as I found out. They have more sensitive equipment than the regular search and rescue services, but the only starting point we have for a search is the last point of communication. Unfortunately, this point was three miles due west of the previous location, which was in turn four miles to the North of the one before it."

"The signal was being scrambled."

"By something." Ally agreed. "Do you have a more... accurate or reliable way of locating Ianto?"

Tybalt was placed in the warmth of the Captain's lap (where his smell was even more intense, and his fear was obvious) so that the Captain could use the leather strap aroudn his wrist. It opened and he showed whatever was inside to Ally. "Tosh and I should be able to locate him with this. I'm assuming that he still keeps his Torchwood tracker on?"

"I believe so."

"Good. Well, from here we'll be able to say for certain if he's still on the planet..."

"On the planet?" Ally's voice wavered and her delicate scent nearly matched the Captain's for fear. "You mean they might be..."

"The Bermuda Triangle is caused by a dormant Rift. The one in Cardiff is currently active, but it was only opened in 1869... the year I arrived. I sometimes wonder if I had anything to do with it. But even before it was fully active, there were occasions when it opened and allowed people or objects to fall through from the past. There's a chance that this is what happened here."

"And if it did?"

The Captain stood up and placed Tybalt back on the desk, stroking him once, gently, when he objected. "Sorry, kid. Let's find out if Ianto's on the planet, for starters."

Tosh looked up as Jack entered the main office and smiled at him reassuringly. "We'll find him, Jack. Don't worry."

"We have to, Tosh. What have you got?"

"I'm picking up a signal, but it could just be trace. I need your wrist strap." He handed it over and rested his hand on her shoulder as she connected it up. "What are you wanting to find?"

"I don't know, Tosh. If he's on this planet, chances are that the plane's gone down and he's..." He swallowed. "But if he's not, then where is he? And is there any chance of bringing him back?"

She squeezed his hand and hovered her finger over the 'enter' key. "Are you ready?"

"I have to be." They watched the screen and Jack's hands tightened on Tosh's shoulders, his head dropping to his chest. "Oh God."

A strong signal came from a stretch of open water.

3 hours earlier.

Ianto accepted a coffee slightly dubiously and set it aside after one sip. Gordon held onto his until the aide had left the room, then put it down beside Ianto's and let out a laugh. "My dear boy, you have ruined me forever."

He inclined his head with a smirk and leaned back in his seat. "I do my best, sir." He faltered and looked away. "Besides, that is utter muck."

"I agree." Gordon was watching him closely, with that paternal air that usually meant that Ianto was about to give away something deep and meaningful about himself . "Tell me about him."

"About whom?" Ianto wanted to be wrong, but as it didn't happen often, he didn't hold out much hope.

"Captain Harkness. He seems like an interesting fellow."

Ianto laughed. "How disappointed are you at being out of London from the day before to the day after the Lords test?"

Gordon shook his head. "Captain Harkness?"

Ianto sighed. "Cap... Jack is... Jack is a hero, a legend in his own lunchtime, he's handsome and brave and extraordinary and just being around him changes you. You want to be a better person."

"He shouts a lot." Gordon observed. "Or, at least, he shouts at me a lot."

"He doesn't like politicians." Ianto agreed. "He's had problems with them in the past, getting the funding we require, keeping their noses out of what they don't need to know."

"So to get on with Jack Harkness, one should avoid asking questions?"

Ianto closed his eyes, thinking of silent nights, thinking of how little he knew about Jack, really. "I've barely scraped the surface myself. With Jack, there are too many questions. Once you ask one, you can't stop." He opened his eyes again. "It's best not to know."

Gordon opened his mouth to speak, but grabbed for the coffee as the plane juddered and swore in a very un-Gordon-like way. Ianto pulled his PDA from his bag and stood, heading towards the cockpit. "Probably just turbulance, I'll check."

It wasn't, he knew that from one glance at his PDA, but there was no point in saying that. Not when someone could hear him. He made his way through the plane, looking out for anything out of the ordinary. He found it in the cockpit. "Ah, good afternoon."

The slim, purple hermaphrodite (and yes, it was that obvious at a single glance) closest to the door raised its weapon at him and smiled brightly. "Go away." Then hei shot him.

1 hour later

He groaned and checked himself over mentally. He couldn't feel anything unusual, so decided to risk sitting up. He was back in the lounge area that he and Gordon had been in before, but everyone else seemed to be in there too, and he was lying on the floor. "Did you really have to shoot me?"

Hei was watching him carefully, and offered him a flask of something. "Here, this will help with the headache."

He frowned at the flask. "This is unusual, but I don't have a headache."

"If you want it to stay that way, drink."

He took it and looked up at the alien with a slight frown. "Safe for humans?"

Hei sighed. "Yes, just drink before the headache knocks you out again."

He drank carefully, then sat up fully and got to his feet. "Are you aware that this is a level five planet, as designated by the Shadow Proclamation?"

Hei ignored him. "I am Vulva..." Vulva looked around when someone sniggered. "Is that funny in some way?"

"It's the name for part of the female sex organ." Ianto explained calmly, trying his best not to remember the occasion when they'd met an alien called Penix. Jack had had fun that day. "May I suggest that the Prime Minister and I discuss matters with you in private?" It really seemed like a sensible idea, people were panicking, hyperventilating, staring. His instincts were telling him to Retcon them all, but getting the aliens out of sight would be a good starting point.

Vulva studied him for a moment, then turned and gestured to the door. "Your leader is already discussing matters with mine. I feel that your presence may be neccesary." He followed hir down the corridor, checking his PDA as he went. "He is your leader, but you are clearly the one who knows. Are all leaders in your world that ignorant?"

He smiled. "Not all, just most. He cultures his ignorance, and gathers people around him to know what he needs to know. If he knew all that I do, he wouldn't sleep at night."

"I don't know your name." Vulva commented, turning another corner, "Who are you?"

"Ianto. Ianto Jones."

"And do you sleep at night, Ianto Jones?" He didn't answer.

Gordon and Vulva's leader were sitting in a smaller lounge area, attended by two human aides and guarded by four aliens. The aliens sprang to check him over, but Vulva waved them away and bowed low before hir leader. Ianto did the same. Hei seemed to find this amusing, but flattering. "Vulva, speak."

"Croda Hinst, I bring Ianto Jones, the one who will understand best." Vulva stood from hes bow and gestured Ianto into a seat. "He is their expert on aliens."

"Is that so?" Croda Hinst turned hes intelligent gaze on Ianto. "How do you come to be the expert?"

"I worked for Torchwood. My job was to form part of a team to protect he world from alien threats. Now my remit is limited to the Prime Minister." He nodded at Gordon. "So I need to know now if you pose a threat to him, or to anyone else on this plane."

Croda Hinst nodded, and gestured for Vulva to leave them and take the guards with hir. "My visit to this planet is a... diplomatic one, but one which does not require the general population to be aware. I am the Croda, you would say General. We seek a runaway from justice, but more importantly, the technology hei stole. It is... dangerous."

Ianto sighed and rubbed his temples, apparently the headache was inevitable anyway. "What would help us to locate this fugitive?"

The Croda appeared to consider the word, then smiled. "Ianto Jones, hei is purple. How hard can a purple person be to find on your pale planet?"

Ianto pulled a face. "You would be surprised."

Jack hadn't spoken more than bare words since they'd found the signal, and Tosh was more than worried about him. Now that Ianto was located, the search had been narrowed, and the buzzword was survivors. Once she and Jack got there, they could find Ianto with much greater ease, they would know, one way or the other. Tosh was convinced that they would find Ianto alive. He was calm in a crisis, he would have evacuated as many people as possible, probably saved everyone on the plane, and have taken control of getting them to safety. She had to believe that, for Jack's sake. He appeared to have given up. She nudged his shoulder. "He'll be fine, Jack. He's survived worse."

He smiled down at her, but it was as if he wasn't really there. "Of course he will. We're just got to go and pick him up."

She sighed as they were led to the UNIT jet waiting to take them to the search zone. 'Come on Ianto," she prayed, "you'd better be there!"

Concurrent

Ianto pulled his laptop closer and connected his PDA, downloading the software he would need. "The first place to search is the international resident aliens register. If your fugitive has registered with an authority, their details will be in the database. If they haven't, it gets trickier."

"Try your first database, then we shall see." The Croda instructed him.

Ianto worked quickly. "We've been spotted."

"What? Tell me!"

"Not to worry." Ianto replied, keeping working. "It's just Liberty Towers. I've left them notes to say it's me, so they won't worry. Has the advantage of letting my, letting my former employer know that I'm still alive. His help will be invaluable."

The Croda was strangely unsettled. "Have you found anything?"

"Yes." He grinned. "I think so. Alxa Drot?" The Croda nodded, eyes wide and gleaming. "And now I need to see an arrest warrant before I tell you where hei is."

The Croda took a step back, then pulled out a weapon. "I have a better idea, how about you tell me where hei is, and I won't kill you."

Ianto groaned and turned back to the computer. "I'll send it to the printer." (And a distress signal to, hopefully, Jack.) "But I'm coming with you."

3 hours later

Jack leapt from the plane as soon as the doors were open and ran to the UNIT officer waiting for him. "Is it true?" Halfway through the flight, they had heard news over the radio that Ianto's signature had been used in accessing a Liberty Towers database. Since then, the reports had been confusing, but encouraging. He had definitely been alive and accessing databases. "He's alive?"

General Adooya was there ahead of them, and intercepted Jack's desperate inquisition of the unfortunate soldier. "Captain, if you'd like to come this way." They fell into step, with Jack between Tosh and Adooya. "Jones is alive, but on the move. The plane has come back onto the radar, but on a very different course. They appear to be tracking an alien, resident in New York, called Alxa Drot. Does the name mean anything?"

"Nothing. Why are they tracking him?"

"Hei." Adooya corrected him. "Hermaphroditic race called Fraknas. Drot is a refugee, fleeing the military government who seek to use one of his inventions against another country on his own planet. He's on suicide watch."

"You've brought him in?" Jack checked.

"Of course, and our people will be waiting for them when they arrive."

Jack paused for just a second. "How soon can you get me there?"

Adooya smiled. "Helicopter is right this way."