Chapter Eleven


A week later Jack needed to go to a meeting with the PM so Tosh had been sent round to Ianto-sit much to Ianto's annoyance. Really what did Jack think he was going to do? Run away and join the circus?

Owen had been checking in with them every morning and Tosh would often come by in the afternoon or evening and watch a movie with them, even Gwen had stopped in one or twice.

Things between Jack and Ianto were still a little awkward though it was steadily getting better. They were no longer arguing with each other and it was almost like they had reverted back to the friends they had been before. Before they were together, before Lisa, when they were happy to just talk and work side by side at the Hub after the others had gone home for the night. The awkward moments would come though and at the most inopportune times and were usually completely unexpected. A touch that got a little to close or a little to long, or when they brushed past or bumped into each other when training. Eye contact was a big no and Ianto had developed a habit of holding his breath when Jack got to close to avoid breathing in his pheromones.

Tosh grinned up at Ianto as he handed her a mug of coffee and took a seat beside her on the couch.

"So how's all your training going?" Tosh asked eagerly, she'd been dying to know but Jack simply refused to let them 'talk shop' when she would come over on visits and that included Ianto's training it would seem. Now that jack wasn't here however Tosh was dying to find out and she was pretty sure Ianto wouldn't mind talking about it either.

Ianto looked at her out the corner of his eye and used his coffee mug to hide his grin, "its going fine Tosh."

Tosh sighed dramatically picking up a magazine that had been left on the coffee table and whacking Ianto with it as he laughed at her, "I want more details than that!"

"Well I've got my sight completely under control; that was the first thing Jack worked on with me. I've got enough of my hearing sorted that no one has to whisper around me anymore but Jack wants to teach me how to listen to really quiet things which I can't do. It's like I've learnt how to turn down the volume but not actually how to tune my hearing in so I hear the oddest things at times," Ianto explained, Tosh sitting there listening to him carefully, her clever mind processing everything he was saying in case she needed to know something later.

"You're not squashing me when you hug me anymore either," Tosh noted.

"Yeah I had to adjust to my new strength fairly quickly, Jacob got so tired of me breaking things he just stopped replacing them until Jack told him it was safe to again," Ianto chuckled, when it came down to it his slightly increased strength was one of the easiest things to adjust to it was simply a trick of not putting in as much effort as before.

"How much stronger are you?" Tosh asked curiously.

"A bit, I guess, I can pick Jack up without too much effort. You should have seen the look on his face when I did. It won me a fifty-pound bet with Jacob. I'm not as strong as Jack, though he says that's the same as anyone being stronger all I'd have to do was work out a little and I could get closer to matching him," Ianto shrugged.

Tosh's eyes flickered down to his t-shirt clad chest and back up, "You're not exactly weak Ianto."

"Trim and fit is what my sister calls it. She says there's enough muscle to make me look good but not enough to bench press a bus," Ianto said mimicking his sister's voice, which set Tosh off into giggles again.

Ianto smiled at her, they'd developed a good friendship since he was zapped, he was pretty sure they were on their way to being friend when she would talk to him after Lisa, but it was like that cloud had moved on after the zapping and they could finally enjoy each other's company completely.


Tosh's stomach growled slightly making her blush and Ianto laugh, climbing to his feet Ianto fetched the room service menu and the phone and passed them to Tosh.

"Order whatever you like,"

Tosh nodded scanning the menu until she found something she liked the look of before beginning to dial. "Ianto did you want anything?" she asked before hitting the call button.

"Just tell them to send me something as well, they'll work it out. Oh and order Jack the steak, medium-well." Ianto replied and walked from the room.

Tosh frowned in confusion and quickly ordered her food, she was quite surprised when she mentioned Ianto's name and they seemed to know exactly what was going on and said they'd prepare one of his specialized meals. Ianto reappeared from the bathroom not long after Tosh had hung up the phone. "Why are you on a specialized diet?"

"Because according to Jack I'm not ready to handle most foods so I keep getting stuck with things that I know are bland and boring," Ianto shrugged flopping down into the armchair.

"You know they're bland and boring?" Tosh prompted a little confused about his word choice.

"Don't tell Jack, but he's probably right since the things he's been getting me to eat actually taste alright, even though I know they should taste like I'm eating cardboard," Ianto replied.

Tosh was just about to ask something else when the door was opened and then slammed shut making them both jump and Ianto wince.

Jack who'd just stormed through the door saw Ianto wince and felt a stab of guilt "Sorry," he muttered shrugging off his coat and throwing it over the back on a chair as he made his way over to the sofa and flopped down onto the couch with Tosh, his impact making her petite frame bounce a little on the other side of the poufy cushions. Eyes closed he rested his head back, eyes closed and small frown still in place.

"It went well then?" Ianto asked standing to fetch Jack a drink.

"Don't get me started…" Jack groaned.

"Okay, well we ordered you dinner," Tosh replied changing the subject.

"Thanks."

They sat there in silence as Ianto poured them a drink. Tosh took hers with a smile and Jack cracked an eye open as the smell of scotch hit his nose. Ianto stood before him holding the drink out to him and he took it with a grin taking a first sip and moaning slightly in pleasure.

"Feel better?" Tosh asked in amusement.

"A good scotch can always make things better," Jack grins at them both. Ianto is sitting there with his coffee and Jack wonders whether Ianto is ready for stronger flavours yet. He holds the scotch out in Ianto direction "Do you want to try?"

Tosh sits there quietly watching as Ianto stares at the glass for a moment. He has missed sitting having a drink at the end of the evening. He reaches out and takes the glass from Jack. His nose itches at such a strong smell.

"Tiny sip, Ianto, just in case." Jack warns and Ianto nods lifting the glass to his lips and sipping, letting the liquid into his mouth.

It takes less than two seconds for him to spit it back out, into Jack's glass. "Oh God how do you stand it? It's so strong!"

Tosh tries to cover her giggles, it really wasn't that funny after all but she just couldn't help it.

"Okay, I've seen you drink coffee so why haven't you reacted so badly to that. Minus the alcohol, which by the way will barely affect you these days, it's flavor is just as strong, especially the way you drink you coffee," Jack muttered.

"What's wrong with the way I drink my coffee?!" Ianto demanded.

"Nothing! It's not that different from how I take mine; the point is why could you handle the coffee and not the scotch?"

Ianto stared down into the glass in his hand, blushing as he realized what he'd done.

"I'll get you another drink," He muttered walking over to the drinks cabinet.

While getting Jack a new scotch Ianto had to think about what Jack had said not entirely sure if he knew. Soon he came up with an answer that made at least some sense to him, though whether Jack would understand what he meant was a completely different thing.

"I guess I was more focused on how it made me feel and the sensation and comfort from drinking it. I know what it tastes like and I enjoy the taste so I guess I was concentrating on the other parts of it."

"Exactly, and that's what you need to do with the stronger flavours you come across until you get used to how they now taste. Don't focus on the taste or that's all you'll be able to experience, you need to take in all the feelings and sensations so the sensory inputs will balance out," Jack replied sounding quite proud of himself as he takes his fresh scotch with a grin.

"You sound like my biology teacher you know that?" Ianto snorted.

"Was he good looking?" Jack grinned.

"It was a she for a start and no she wasn't, she was three times her healthy body weight, greasy hair and nasty BO," Ianto replied watching as Jack's face screwed up in disgust causing both Ianto and Tosh began to laugh at him.

"Alright I'll make sure never to sound like that woman again... that's just disturbing," Jack mutters getting up to answer the door when a knock signaled their dinner had arrived.