Saturday, Day 194, 01.47 GMT
Latitude: 51° 27' 9" N
Longitude: 3° 9' 9" W

Not bothering to towel his hair dry and snapping his suspenders into place as he went, Jack headed straight to Tosh's work-station.

She wasn't there, but her computer was whirring away: codes reeling over the screen with military precision and lightning speed.

"She's having a shower." Turning Jack found Gwen, coffee in one hand and a sheaf of paper in the other. "Owen is sulking in the autopsy-bay; Tosh banished him there after she told you off," Gwen smirked.

"He's still here?"

"Refuses to leave. At the moment he's banging about, slamming his cupboards and rattling his equipment."

"I don't want him here." Jack's voice brooked no arguments and his eyes were cold.

Gwen, however, had never been one to heed the warning signs or back down from Jack in a snit. "Jack, be reasonable. Until we know what's going on we need all hands on deck."

Jack shook his head – water droplets hitting Gwen and landing on the computers, leaving an iridescent trail behind – and his face settled into a blank mask. "No. If he can't keep his mouth shut and doesn't want to help Ianto, I don't want him here." He pushed past Gwen to read the arrest warrant again. "I don't need him here."

"That's what I told him." Tosh padded up the steps, her flip-flops flapping on the floor.

"But he's part of the team," Gwen protested; her eyes wide, unable to comprehend how they could be so cold. Even to Owen.

"Well, he's not acting like one is he?" Tosh pushed her way past her empathetic colleague, heading for her computer. "Excuse me Jack."

Jack moved, or rather he jumped away from the console as if burnt. "Uh, Tosh…"

"Yes Jack?"

Jack shuffled his feet, shifting his weight nervously. "About earlier…It's just, it's Ianto Tosh and I…well, I wasn't thinking clearly."

Tosh snorted.

"Sorry?"

Rolling her eyes, Tosh pushed the desk slightly making her chair spin to face Jack and scrutinised him carefully. She knew her boss – and not in the way Gwen claimed she knew Jack – in the way only a person who had studied and fought side by side with him for years could. She knew when he was joking, flirting, lying and, most importantly, being sincere. With those bright blue eyes it was easy for him to fool almost anyone, especially when he flashed that dazzling grin, but she'd never seen him as a potential lover. He'd always been her boss, her brother, her saviour and she saw him without Gwen's rose-hued glasses.

He was being sincere now, she knew that. She could see it in his eyes. And beyond that, lurking in the darker tones of his irises was fear. That didn't mean he was off the hook though.

"You should be," she scolded softly. "We need you Jack. We can't go up against Torchwood One without you."

"I know."

"No, I don't think you do." She pinched the bridge of her nose and wished Gwen away. When the woman didn't move, other than shifting on her feet and tapping a long, surprisingly well manicured finger against her papers, Tosh lowered her voice, "It hasn't been five years yet Jack. We can't afford…" she trailed off as understanding dawned.

She hurried on, tears welling in her eyes, before Gwen could query what they were on about.

"Besides, Ianto might need you to rush in and save the day." She tipped her head to the side, "Be his hero. Like you were mine."

She knew she was begging him, willing him to give her a miracle as he had in the past. He had saved them all, so many times – from cannibals, talkative blow-fish, from UNIT… She needed to believe that he could save Ianto. He could save her brother. Because Ianto was, he was her baby brother who looked after her and all of them, but who was so very broken inside. He needed a hero now, and Tosh was determined that Jack would be it.

He just needed a kick up the backside every so often.

Reaching out Jack grabbed Tosh by the shoulders and pulled her into a tight, engulfing hug. Compared to him she was tiny, lost in the circle of his arms. But she felt safe. And loved.

"I will Tosh," Jack whispered into her hair before pulling back and cupping her face with large warm hands. "I'll get him back."

Her smile, watery though it was, was genuine enough and completely inspired by the vicious conviction in his words. "Good."

She held his gaze and for a moment there was just the two of them, the invisible spectre of Ianto hovering between them and all their love for him tied them together. Encircling his wrists with tiny hands, her fingers barely able to span the circumference, she squeezed gently. "He couldn't ask for a better one."

There was a moment, nothing more than them just existing, before Jack pressed a kiss to her forehead – a silent and eloquent benediction – and moved away, allowing Tosh to resume her rightful place in front of her computer.

Buoyed by the absolute faith Tosh had in him and more than a little humbled, Jack watched her go. How, he wondered as he had so many times before, did he – the unknown con-man from the fifty-first century – manage to inspire such loyalty, such unwavering faith, from all these wondrously special people? Why did they believe in him? He wasn't worthy; nowhere near in fact. But he would be, was trying to be. They deserved it.

Ianto deserved it.

Grinning, although his smile lacked its usual brilliance, Jack moved to look at the screen Tosh was examining closely. "Anything?"

Pursing her lips Tosh shook her head.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing more than the original warrant. Whatever they were doing, whatever Ianto was caught up in, they didn't want anyone else to know."

"They can do that?" Gwen asked, edging closer, reminding them of her presence.

"They're Torchwood Gwen. They can do anything." Jack's tone was weary and his shoulders were sagging as if the world's weight was resting upon them. For him it was. "Seriously, there's nothing there?"

"Not even a single byte of information." Tosh began chewing her lip. She did that when something was bothering her; either that or suck on the temple of her glasses. "Although…UNIT seem to have been creeping about the system."

"You can tell that?" Gwen's eyes were wide again: this time in astonishment. Tosh seemed full of surprises tonight.

"Same IP as when they try to hack us. Luckily they can't get past our firewalls." Tosh laughed, "Actually, Ianto had this…" she trailed off.

Jack squeezed her shoulder. "He isn't dead," he said smiling – though it was forced. "You can talk about him. I won't break."

"No," she took a deep breath, "but I might."

"Ok, then I won't ask if anyone needs coffee," Jack teased. And it was good.

"Nowhere will be open at this time Jack," Gwen said despairingly. "I'm on instant."

"That'll do," Tosh declared decisively. "Anything with caffeine. I need caffeine."

Gwen and Jack exchanged looks before clenching their fists and beginning a game of 'Rock, Paper, Scissors'. Despite the fact Jack's paper was trumped by Gwen's vicious scissoring fingers, he was not forced to play barista.

In Jack's office the phone rang. Bounding up the stairs Jack raced to pick up before it rang off. Deep in his gut he knew the call was about Ianto. Diving across his cluttered desk, sending papers and artefacts to the floor, Jack snatched up the handset. His fingers were sweat as he gripped the handset, sliding on the smooth plastic.

"Ianto?"

"Afraid not Jack," came the gruff reply.

"Alistair?"

"The one and only." There was a soft chuckle before Lethbridge-Stewart resumed his more formal attitude. "Although I am calling about that boy of yours."