Chapter Nine

Océane: Oh, and as I forgot to mention, I don't own labyrinth, David Bowie, the Muppets, etc…

John: Finally! Océane is back! She's still here… (leers slightly in my direction) She's pretty darn hot.

Océane: shut up. But I am back! A billion thanks to Potrix! You are Ezhisk babe!

John: seriously, the plot bunny has gone missing some how.

Océane: you mean you murdered him and took his place.

John: maybe… Anyway, Océane doesn't own torchwood, Doctor who, or anything else.

Océane: Enjoy! But keep the matches in the box flamers!

DEATH_

Nestlings

He followed the group back into the hub, only a half an hour after they had left it. Well… one version of them. John rolled his shoulders, to keep from freaking out when the alarm went off again. Hopefully, he would get over that particular fear before anyone else found out about it. That was definitely something he did not need on top of everything else.

John shuddered, thinking about - among other things - how Gwen-bleeding-Cooper would react to finding out that he was startled be loud noises. He blatantly put that thought aside, while keeping his head down so that no one would notice his reaction.

John stayed a little back from the Torchwood team, just to give himself a little room to breathe. He needed space to collect his thoughts and emotions. When he started to go over the day's events, a cold shiver went down his spine. After all the time that he had been planning it, to have his suicide intervened in twice, was almost unheard of. But not with Jack around. The man made basically anything possible, no matter what. Still… John couldn't shake the feeling that he was screwing around with borrowed time.

He was startled out of his thoughts by a piercing screech overhead. John looked up, grinning when he caught sight of Myfanwy. The huge Pterosaur blocked out the florescent lights temporarily with her wings. The shadows cast around her massive form made eerie shapes against the steel grate floors, making it disorienting to look down.

Gently, John tried to connect with her mind. He was rewarded, as Myfanwy looked down at him. She called again, confirming that she had noticed his presence. John could sense her curiosity, and her internal guidance. But there was something beyond that, something that nobody else would be able to notice. He started to pick up on a mild telepathic field from the Pterosaur, probably to recognize the needs of her hatchlings.

Myfanwy started to fly off in one direction, calling back. John grinned, following her, as he navigated his way around the Hub on his own. When the reptile came into sight again, John sped up, watching as she circled the Rift Manipulator. Slowly, she began to drop in height, spiraling downwards with every circle. It was clear that she was starting to land, but John couldn't figure out where.

Finally, he came to the top of a staircase. Suddenly, John broke out into a grin, sliding down the handrail.

Myfanwy stood on her hind legs, letting out a series of quiet clicks, like the pulses from sonar. He smiled, glancing around. She had found a flat, empty area, just out of sight from the rest of the group. Her claws were hooked in the grating, to help her stay balanced.

John started to approach, his hands out to his sides slightly. Myfanwy stopped making her clicking noise for a moment, dropping down. Fear split through him for a second, as the thought occurred to him that she might crush him. Fortunately, Myfanwy had other plans.

She dropped down, folding her wings so that she could stand on four limbs. John grinned, relieved that he wasn't in danger for the moment. Once again, he reached out mentally, soothing her as he tried to connect. Myfanwy returned the contact, her response feeling like a cuddle from a pet.

John came still closer, not yet bold enough to reach out and touch her. He froze, as Myfanwy came towards him, walking on all fours. Suddenly, John found that he had the theme music from Jurassic Park playing in the back of his head (not the "oh my god, there are dinosaurs and they're amazing" music, but the "fucking hell, the T-Rex Just ate that lawyer!" music.) John backed away, as she fixed him with the Pterosaur equivalent of the stink eye. Startled, he stopped, raising his hands to shoulder level.

'okay, okay girl. I'll stay put. Just don't decide that I look like dino-meat, okay? Please?'

Surprisingly, Myfanwy seemed to react. John felt a slight pull on the line he had thrown across into her mind. She started to clack, hesitantly reaching out towards him as she came closer. John let himself smile a little, cautiously reaching out with one hand.

Myfanwy paused, staring at him in interest. Then, she nuzzled her beak against his hand, purring contently. John smiled, tenderly rubbing his hand over her smooth, warm skin. He came closer, so that he could reach up to Myfanwy's forehead. As he started to rub against her head-crest, she jerkily shoved her head into his palm. Instead of the offence that he had expected, she seemed genuinely pleased.

John smiled, rubbing more deliberately – almost petting. Myfanwy trilled, as tears pricked at his eyes. It had been forever since John had a pet – of any sort. In fact, his last pet had been a miluvian shark. When she had died, John hadn't had the heart to get another pet.

Myfanwy seemed to pick up on John's sadness, as she cuddled closer. She clacked gently, as if asking if he was alright. Swallowing, John tried to stem his tears enough to nod. But, they just wouldn't stop. Myfanwy trilled again, this time it sounding more like a chastising parent than a pleased pet.

'talk.'

John took an involuntary step back, just from the shock of Myfanwy's words. He hadn't been expecting any contact of that sort, just images and feelings.

Myfanwy followed him, trilling annoyedly. Once again, she pressed her head into his open palm, nuzzling against it.

'talk!' she repeated, now a clear demand.

John smiled weakly. Well… at least he had one new friend.

DEATH_

While John was preoccupied watching Myfanwy, Jack was busy, trying to get the Hub back into order after his extended absence. He thought he saw John leave in the corner of his eye, but there were more immediate issues.

"Tosh, go on and do whatever you need to about the rift. If anything major shows up, scream and I'll be right there, okay?" Tosh nodded, and started typing.

"Okay… Gwen, go home." She opened her mouth, already planning a complaint, but Jack cut her off. "Gwen, look. John is going to be staying here for a while, since he can't very well go out and find a job. So, you can either go home and recuperate," he smirked, a devious glint in his eye. "Or you can help me pull my old cot out of storage."

Gwen closed her mouth, turning around and leaving. Ianto watched her leave, before shrugging. He figured that she was still moody over John's behavior earlier, though it was understandable. (John's behavior, not Gwen being moody)

Jack sighed. "Well then. Owen, make sure that your arm's bandaged and healing right." Owen started to make a snarky comment. "That's an ORDER Owen, not a request. The last thing I want is to have to take you to the ER because it's gotten infected."

Owen sighed, but set about cleaning equipment and finding bandages.

"What about John then?" He asked, measuring out a dose of morphine before he pulled off the bandage. Jack shrugged.

"Let's get you taken care of first. Then you can look him over."

Owen frowned. "You say that like I have a choice."

Jack smirked. "Well, you can either spend half an hour making sure that John's okay, or you can clean this place up."

Owen looked like Jack had just hit him.

"What?"

Jack grinned. "What, you thought that I didn't notice?" He gestured to the piles of junk surrounding them. "It was definitely not like this when I left. And I'm pretty positive that Ianto's OCD is committing suicide at this moment."

Ianto nodded his agreement. "Yes, actually, it is. Now, I'm going to be in the armory."

Jack waved, as Ianto set off to organize and lock up the seventy-pound box of stuff that they had taken off John earlier. (or maybe it just seemed like it was seventy pounds because of how long it had taken to get him to hand all of it over…)

Jack sighed, climbing over the piles of cables and around tables to the stairs that led up, to his office. He barely paid attention to the small changes that Gwen had obviously made while he was gone. He knew that it had to be Gwen that had moved things around. For one, she had talked a lot about it giving him more room if he shifted his desk. (More room for WHAT exactly, he didn't really want to know). And another, the notes stuck to his desk were on Pink post-its. And while it eliminated Owen from suspicion, it also got rid of Tosh – she had a severe prejudice against the color pink.

He slid down the ladder into his small room, expecting just as few changes to have been made. However…

Jack frowned, silently making his way back up the ladder, across his office and down the staircase. He stood right behind Tosh, leaning over to whisper in her ear.

"Toshiko…" Jack muttered, feeling her back stiffen. "Whose idea was it to pack up my room?" He asked sweetly.

Tosh turned slightly, frowning. "Gwen – Gwen told Ianto to clean it out if you weren't back in two months. She said that she would want to use the space for something else." Tosh swallowed, and Jack could feel her anxiety about having him this close. But, despite that, he still felt that she was more comfortable to have him Too close than to not have him there at all. Jack stepped back a bit, and Tosh continued.

"But, I-Ianto refused to do anything with your quarters. He wouldn't stop ho- we all knew that you would come back at some point. And you wouldn't want all your stuff to be messed with." Jack noticed how she stopped herself from using the phrase 'give up hope'.

Jack felt himself growing angry again. Why did she think that she had the right to invade his personal space? Did that mean that he now was allowed to walk in to her house any time he wanted? Jack suspected the answer to that was no, because of how she reacted to him.

"So Gwen packed it up herself." Tosh's emotions told Jack all he needed to hear, and whatever Tosh didn't say was clear: 'the only stupid thing she did on her own while you were gone.'

"Tosh…" he sighed, stepping back. "Don't touch anything in my bedroom, okay?"

Jack started back up the stairs, when Tosh called out suddenly,

"Jack!" He turned around, just in time to see her start to cry. "I'm glad your back!"

Finally, Jack felt a smile crease his features. Slowly, he nodded.

"Thanks." It was barely more than a whisper, but he was sure Tosh heard it.

With that, he went back into his room, to start digging through the cardboard boxes Gwen had so carelessly packed up. After close to forty minutes of searching, he finally found what he was looking for.

Jack grinned, pulling his old, full-arm gloves out of the very bottom of one of the packages. He shook them out, before trying to zipper one around his arm. It didn't fit, but that was even better. After all, he was grabbing them for someone a lot smaller than him.

Jack folded the gloves up, zippering them closed so that they wouldn't fall open. On his way back through his office, he paused. Jack frowned, scrutinizing the changes Gwen had made to his office. Then, it hit him.

The piece of TARDIS coral he had been raising for the past century and a half wasn't where it was supposed to be.

Panicking at the thought that Gwen, in her blind stupidity, had thrown it out, Jack began to feverishly search for it.

'Her' he reminded himself. 'it's a baby TARDIS, so it's a Her.'

Papers scattered across the floor, and he probably overturned the chair, desperate to find his infant ship. Finally, Jack let out a relived sigh when he found her.

Gwen had cruelly stowed her away in the back corner of a bottom, dark, scary drawer. (Jack could feel her terror through the inch of plywood.) When he pulled open the drawer, Jack was rewarded by a blooming of joy from the baby TARDIS. She wasn't just happy to be out in the light again, but to have her surrogate daddy back as well.

Sighing, he sat down under his desk, unbothered by all of the clutter. Gently, he ran his fingers over the coral's surface, smiling as she warmed at his touch.

Finally, he had found the un-conditional love he needed to heal.

DEATH_

Owen growled to himself, measuring out his dose of morphine. He didn't like using himself as a pin cushion… then again, he wasn't all that keen on sticking other people. Regardless, he did have a hole in his arm, and it did need to be treated.

Before he even had a chance to start cutting the old bandage off, Jack came back down the stairs. Owen paused, before setting down the medical scissors and watching. Everyone was worried about Jack – more so now that they knew what he had gone through. Owen would have liked to put his concern down as just his inner doctor looking after his patient.

However, that would have been lying to himself... Fortunately, Owen had a lot of practice in that field. So, he ignored the tiny part of him telling him 'hey, idiot… you're friends with the man!'

He watched silently, until Jack leaned over Tosh's shoulder. He sighed, beating down the feeling that welled up in his stomach. That is, until Tosh turned to face Jack.

Owen ground his teeth, blindly ignoring the envy growing inside him. He turned his attention back to fixing his arm, but couldn't help glancing back every few seconds. Tosh hadn't moved, but seemed to be talking to Jack. Owen tried to stop watching, but the bitter part of him refused to stop its vigilance.

'They're so close together.' He thought, shuddering. 'probably could kiss…'

But Jack wouldn't do that, would he? He had to know… but how could he? Owen hand never told anyone about how he felt… hell, he didn't even admit it to himself. Besides, Jack didn't go like that. Him and tea boy were pretty solid proof of that. So was John… but Owen wasn't quite ready to go there yet. Jack's words from hours ago still stung pretty badly.

"Owen, he bothered to notice that I went through HELL while I was gone. And he hasn't even seen me in over a hundred and fifty years. That puts him above most of you in my books"

What made John notice something that he had missed? Owen had worked with Jack for just under four years, and in that time, he had thought that he had gained a strong understanding of the man. Apparently not. However, John's insight may have been based off of prior experiences, something the Owen just didn't have. And, guiltily, he was glad to leave those ordeals to the two other men. It may have made him cruel, but Owen was positive that he would have jumped off a bridge rather than face a week in either's shoes.

Not that he would tell anyone, but John scared him. He scared him like nothing else. Owen was positive that if given the chance, John could easily kill him without a second thought. He had already proved his lethality, having pushed Jack off a roof. And they had been close – maybe even best friends. So if John was capable of doing that to his friend, how did that bode for the rest of them? What sort of threat did that make John to him?

Of course, it wasn't just his self-preservation instinct that made Owen dislike John. He felt threatened by the other man's presence on an entirely different level. Because, as he was reluctant to admit, Owen was the jealous type.

When Tosh had voiced her approval of John, Owen had swallowed a small feeling of envy. But as the two of them grew closer, he found it harder to ignore the sensations. The only thing he could think of to do about it was talk to Tosh, but Owen was wary. He didn't want to say something he didn't mean to, or have something come out wrong.

Finally, Jack left, going back into his re-organized office. Owen licked his lip, his mouth suddenly dry. As Tosh resumed going over the Rift scanner, he went back to bandaging his shoulder. That is, until he just couldn't stand the silence anymore.

"What did he want?" Owen asked, nodding towards the directing Jack had just gone.

"Nothing much." Tosh shrugged. "Just who had messed with his stuff."

"Oh." Owen let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. Something about that answer seemed, simple. Safe. Maybe too safe, he re-considered. After all that they had been through, anything simple seemed to come under scrutiny.

Tosh raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

Owen paused, considering his answer. He didn't want to answer – not when He didn't even know the truth. So he couldn't tell Tosh. Even if he did think… no. NO, he didn't.

"I, well, just wanted to make sure he wasn't worried about things." That was a believable enough answer, wasn't it?

Tosh smiled. "Owen, is it possible that you're actually being considerate?"

Owen snorted. "As if. I just don't want Jack snapping, especially with his crazy ex around. One person on a psychotic break is enough for me, Thank you."

Tosh's smile faltered, as Owen went back to his shoulder. He barely winced as he injected the dosage of painkillers into his arm.

DEATH_

At least half an hour later, Jack came down from his office again. He needed to give John time to re-acclimate before throwing him another curveball. His unease over re-appearing so suddenly had been calmed by the tiny piece of normality his baby ship had provided. She wouldn't run away from him like her big sister and her pilot had.

'that's because you're her daddy.' He thought, smiling a little. His baby ship sang in the back of his mind, confirming this sentiment.

Jack smiled, making his way to the armory, where he knew Ianto would be. He stood in the doorway for a minute, watching the young man's every movement. He had told Ianto the truth. More than the others, he had missed him.

And regardless of what Owen may say, he did miss more than the sex. Ianto just managed to understand him better than the others. He accepted what Jack was willing to tell them about himself, and didn't push for any more information.

Though he did miss the physical comfort. Jack couldn't help but wonder how much more bearable the Doctor's rejection might have been if Ianto had been there to soothe it away. But instead, he had to wait over a year to receive any form of consolation. And the first bit of sympathy… well, it certainly hadn't been from the person Jack would've expected.

That was something he was hoping to change, and soon. If there was just a way that he could make everyone understand what had happened while he was gone… but Jack knew that could never happen. If even that small number of people remembered, the paradox's seal could easily fracture. It didn't stop him from wishing there was someone he could talk to and who would understand his feelings.

"Are you just going to stand there staring at me all day… sir?" Ianto asked. Jack smiled, knowing that he had switched back to formality for the sole reason of taunting him.

"Well, it is a gorgeous view." He grinned, leaning against the door frame. Ianto turned, fixing him with a disbelieving look.

"Is it now?"

Jack paused, swallowing. He could tell where this conversation was going, but he wasn't sure that he would be ready for that yet. It would probably give anyone who knew him a heart attack to hear that he was actually having second thoughts about sex.

"Definitely." He responded, nodding confidently. Ianto raised an eyebrow, leaving what he was working on sitting on the counter.

"So, what you said about a date…" He let the comment trail off, and Jack watched him step closer. Ianto stopped just inches away from him, a fact that made Jack's pulse race. "That wasn't just you being cheeky?"

Jack bit his lip. Did Ianto really expect him to lie about that? As if he would drag anyone around like that deliberately.

"Of course." Jack smirked, trying to hide his unease. "Why wouldn't I be serious?"

Ianto shrugged. "Why would you?"

Jack frowned. "Ianto, I would never deliberately lie to you about that."

Ianto seemed unsure, and Jack could only think of one thing that he could do to convince him that he was telling the truth.

Slowly, he stepped forward, wrapping his arms gently around Ianto's waist. Softly, Jack pressed his lips to Ianto's, pulling away after only a moment. Unfortunately, even a moment seemed too long to combat the feelings swelling within his chest.

He unwillingly clutched Ianto a bit tighter. Shy, the younger man refused to meet his eyes.

"Ianto," Jack sighed, shifting his hands to rest in the small of Ianto's back. "Look at me."

It wasn't a demand, or an order. Still, at Jack's request, Ianto looked up. Jack smiled slightly, glad that he was finally able to meet the young man's eyes after his (albeit, comparatively mild) emotional roller-coaster.

"I meant it. I really did." He bit his lip, worried how convinced Ianto would be. His response was a raised eyebrow, prompting Jack to finish his statement.

"I came back for you." Jack swallowed. "I really did 'Yan. I came back because I missed you. Because I needed to keep you in my life. Everything else… " He searched for the right words. "It's just… Incidentals."

Jack held his breath, waiting – Hoping – For a response. But what Ianto said next, broke him deep inside.

"What about Gwen?" Ianto's tone was confused, almost insulted that Jack would say such a thing. But most of all, he was hurt. It was then that Jack realized.

Ianto saw him and Gwen down by the cells. Shit. Ianto Saw him, and he didn't even know it.

"'Yan." His voice was soft, unreliable. "I-"

"Because you forget," Ianto pushed Jack away, going back to what he was doing. "Sir, that I can read lips."

Jack froze. "'Yanto…"

"Because that's why you stick with me, isn't it? Because you can't have Gwen. I KNOW Jack. I know how you feel, and I know how much you want Her. And you want her more than me. The only reason you don't go after her is because of Rhys. I know you don't deliberately break up couples, so…" He turned away from the counter, and it was then that Jack noticed that Ianto was crying. "That's all I am, isn't it? I'm just a stand-in because you can't have her."

"Ianto," Jack took a step towards him. "that's not-" Ianto backed away, cutting off what Jack was about to say when he started to babble, pacing back and forth.

"I mean, I can understand that. You've only known me for a little over a year, so I realize that there isn't much I can expect in the way of commitment." Jack tried to say something, but couldn't get a word in. "Like with you and the Doctor, you clearly are desperately attached to him. I mean, after he left you behind you went running immediately back to him. Even Owen's been here for years, so there's really no way I can compete, is there? After all, you're already taken, so I don't know why …" Ianto let his statement trail off, when he noticed a sudden change in his boss's demeanor.

Jack stood with his head down, his hands balled into fists at his sides. Hot, fluid tears dripped one by one from his eyes down the bridge of his nose.

"Is that really what you think?" Jack's voice was choked, so quiet that he was unsure if he had actually spoken out loud. Swallowing, he looked up. "Really?"

Ianto stepped forward, apologetic, but Jack was reluctant to accept comfort.

"Ianto, you don't know anything." He practically snarled the last word. Ianto took a step back when Jack's nails dug into his palms, blood dripping to the floor with the tears.

"You may pretend to know about me, but when it really comes down to it, you don't know anything. No one does. The doctor Left me. And I left him. It's as simple as that."

Finally, Ianto stepped forward, giving Jack no option as he wrapped his arms securely around the sobbing captain. This time, Jack made no move to resist. Instead, he returned the hug, burying his face deep in Ianto's shoulder.

"Oh, God," Jack still tried to talk, despite barely being able to breathe against Ianto's shirt. "'Yan… everything was wrong. Nothing went right and – I – I,"

"Shhh," Ianto tried to console him, brushing the tears slowly with one hand. "Jack, You don't have to, I don't care. It doesn't-"

"He said I was Wrong." Jack's breath hitched, and Ianto felt his blood turn to liquid nitrogen. "The Doctor… He said I was wrong. That it hurt him to look at me – to even be in the same room with me made him sick. And after all that time I spent waiting, just waiting for him. Years and years and decades and centuries I waited, just hoping that he would come back and get me. And the moment I finally find him again… he tries to leave me behind. Again."

"Jack, you don't have to-"

"Even the TARDIS hates me. She ran all the way to the end of everything just to get rid of me. Like… some kind of parasite. It makes him nauseous to even look at me. The Doctor said so. He said I'm wrong – an impossible thing. Then… he expected me to say yes." Ianto raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"He asked me to go back to traveling with him. I mean, after all he had said, and all the pain that we had been through in the past ye- he had the audacity to ask me to go with him?" Ianto noticed Jack's self-correction, but doubted that Jack even processed what he was saying.

"And I wanted to. Oh, Ianto, I desperately wanted to go with him. But I couldn't. I told him no." Jack pulled back, so that he could look Ianto in the eye. "I had to come back. For you. That's what I mean when I say I came back for you. Not that I just came back, I chose you. I chose You over the Doctor."

Finally, Jack's meaning sank in.

"That's why I want you to think very seriously about my offer."

Ianto smiled slightly, before he remembered one fact about his lover. It was one fact that he hoped to change in the very near future.

"Jack," He wondered. "Are you going to kill yourself?"

Jack's eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped open slightly.

"Because if you are," He fixed Jack with his most professional 'don't mess with my logic' look. "I would very much like to know the time, place and intended method of suicide."

Jack was clearly at a loss for words, as his lips moved in a feeble attempt for speech. Ianto smirked a little more. It seemed he was still the only one able to make Jack speechless. Finally Jack found words.

"What?"

"Well, I would like to know so that I can schedule our date accordingly."

Jack seemed stunned for a second, before he started to grin. Then (Finally!), Jack started to laugh. And it was a sound that Ianto had missed every second while he was gone.

"I love you." He muttered, wrapping his arms securely around Jack's neck.

"Never doubt it again." Jack swore, before kissing Ianto soundly on the lips.

DEATH_

John smirked, stroking Myfanwy's beak. She responded with small, pleased clicks. Then, suddenly, her mood changed. She pressed her head into his hand harder, her demeanor more urgent.

'Talk!' she all but screamed in his head. John took a step back, gripping his head.

'TALK!' Myfanwy screeched again, advancing on him. John backed away, reaching out to keep her back. Eyes wide, he whimpered.

'no.' John refused. 'Myfanwy, leave me alone. I don't wanna…'

'TALK!' Her demand was louder, more instant. John cried out – it felt like his head was exploding – and tripped.

"Stop!" John finally cried out aloud, holding both hands up to protect his face. "Please! Myfanwy – stop. I don't want to talk. I can't talk. Don't – don't make me."

Myfanwy stopped, her clicks quieting. She trilled softly, nudging John's knee gently.

Cautious and hesitant, John slowly brought his arms down from in front of his face. Swallowing, he knelt up, so that he could look the pterosaur in the eye.

"No talking, alright?"

Myfanwy blinked, as if responding, 'of course.'

John smiled, wrapping his arms around her beak. After all he had been through, he now found it impossible to keep his tears in check.

"I forgot how nice it feels…" John mumbled, rubbing his face lightly into her leathery skin.

Myfanwy responded with mild confusion, walking towards him hesitantly.

"… Just to have someone who doesn't judge or question you." He finished. John, for the first time in a long time, let his thoughts wander. Back to before all of the tragedy. Back to HER.

John felt his throat close up. No. she was gone. As gone as his youth and all of his friends.

'silly' Myfanwy muttered to him, nudging him into a standing position. With one jerk of her head, she managed to show John the whole scope of her domain. As his eyes followed the motion, John realized what she was trying to say.

'you can have new friends.'

Feebly, John laughed.

"You know, If I didn't know any better, I would almost think that you were trying to nest me Myfanwy."

'who say's I'm not?'

John chuckled. Exactly.

DEATH_

Ianto slowed, as he and Jack approached the Rift Manipulator. Many bad memories still surrounded the machine, not the least of which was Jack's death, at their hands.

"Jack, I…" Ianto tried to apologize, but his words stuck in his throat when the rounded the machine.

Myfanwy, Her wings tucked and folded into make-shift legs – as they were intended to – stood with her claws hooked into the grating. However, what really surprised him was the human who stood with her.

John's forehead was pressed against Myfanwy's beak, small tears slipping down her leathery skin. He slowly stroked her face, as she gave small, content trills in response.

Watching the two of them, just standing there calmly, made Ianto concerned. Myfanwy rarely ever behaved that way for him. And the only times she did, was when she knew that he had gotten her a chocolate bar. But there was no sign of such bribery being needed for John to get these results.

Jack seemed to notice his discomfort, slipping his hand inside Ianto's as they stood at the top of the stairs.

"I had figured that was where she went." He admitted. Ianto raised an eyebrow.

'How so?"

"Well," Jack shrugged. "I always got the feeling that Myfanwy was more than just a not-so-silent observer. There was this nagging in the back of my mind, that she had perfect timing, even though we had never told her to." Ianto looked confused, so Jack tried to elaborate.

"Think about it Yan." He sighed. "Every time we've come back from a really hard mission, or one of us was wounded, where was she?"

"Right over the front door…" Ianto muttered, then he realized, "like she was waiting for us."

Jack nodded. "Exactly. I think that she can tell. Myfanwy is a Pterosaur, one of the most complex-minded creatures to evolve before the asteroid struck. I think that she has a low-level telepathy, most likely used to recognize the needs of her nestlings."

Ianto nodded, keeping up with Jack's theory. "And that would allow her to sense us as well, being the closest thing she has around here to another pteranodon."

"It's more than that." Jack added. "I can feel her. In here." He tapped his head. "She sees all of us - hell, probably all of humanity – as her nestlings. And because of that, she reacts to each of our pain." Ianto swallowed. So when she had attacked Lisa… Myfanwy could very easily have been reacting to the smallest fragment of humanity left in her.

'the part that was probably begging to die, so that all of the pain and bloodshed would be over finally.'

"She can tell when any of us are hurting." Jack continued, giving Ianto time to gather his thoughts. "And John…" He sighed.

"John's hurting a lot."

DEATH_ End chapter?

Océane: How was it?

Owen: I hate you.

Tosh: No he doesn't. (goes to comfort crying Océane) He's just bitter because John has gotten more attention than he has.

Océane: I TOLD him he'd be getting a bigger part.

John: (walks in, completely oblivious to what has been going on)… okay, that's awakward… (three people turn to stare at him.) I just came to ask Océane where she put the hot cocoa mix…

Océane: **GLARES**

John: (backs away, holding mug innocently.) I think I'll go… ask eyecandy.

Owen: you do that.

John: (starts to run out of the room) Sure, yup. Thanks. Review!