Chapter Twelve

The team looked at him differently after his undercover gig. Tosh couldn't stop hugging him and expressing her pride. "I knew you could do it," she told him the next day, as if hearing it enough would force him to believe it. He shrugged it off, and she smirked. "Of course, if I had a gorgeous boyfriend backing me up, I could probably take on a Weevil fight club by myself too."

"Tosh!" Ianto exclaimed, whirling around from where he was trying to make coffee. "I wasn't by myself, you were all there, and he's not my boyfriend." As soon as he said it, he wondered why if it was true and why he'd said it. He wasn't embarrassed or ashamed to be with Jack, and now that the team had seen them working together, there was certainly less to hide; David Evans knew, after all. Yet he wasn't sure if Jack saw their relationship that way. Yes, they were sleeping together, and yes, he could even say they were dating. But did an immortal man from the future even use words like boyfriend?

"But he is gorgeous," Tosh pointed out, breaking his thoughts. "Like a film star."

"I suppose," Ianto murmured. She smacked him lightly on the arm.

"He was all over you," she said. "And Gwen saw him kiss you. So the cat's out of the bag, Ianto Jones. You're dating him, aren't you?"

Ianto handed her a mug of coffee and motioned toward the sofa. They sat down and faced each other, and after making her wait while he carefully sipped his hot drink, he finally set his mug down and nodded.

"Yes."

She grinned, and Ianto thought he'd be swept up in another embrace. "I knew it!" she exclaimed, which was when Gwen came out of David's office.

"Knew what?" she asked curiously, joining them on a chair nearby. Tosh looked to Ianto. His first instinct was to say nothing, but after working with her for several months, he knew Gwen wouldn't let it go, not if she thought he was hiding something. He waved his approval and picked up his mug to shield his face.

"Ianto is dating Jack Harkness, the man at the fight club last night," Tosh told Gwen. To Ianto's surprise, Gwen frowned, opened her mouth, closed it, and tried again.

"Ianto, do you…do you know anything about this man?" she asked, leaning forward, her face taut with concern. Ianto swallowed a frustrated sigh, sensing he was about to become one of her charity cases.

"Yes, Gwen, I've known him for several months now."

"David said he used to work for Torchwood Three," Gwen said. "Only he left eight years ago. I didn't think you could do that, leave Torchwood."

"There were extenuating circumstances," Ianto told her, hoping she'd drop it but knowing she wouldn't.

She glanced down, as if reluctant to speak. "Ianto, David said everyone on that team died except for Harkness. Don't you find that strange?"

"No," Ianto replied. "I don't. I find it tragic. He didn't do anything wrong."

"Oh, of course not," she said, her voice dripping with false compassion. "I didn't think he did, but…it's strange, you know? That he was the only one who survived, that he left Torchwood but stayed in Cardiff, that he was there last night."

"I can't imagine why he'd stay with Torchwood after what happened," Ianto said, hoping she wouldn't point out that he'd done exactly the same thing after Canary Wharf. Then again, Gwen seemed to understand very little about the disaster that was Torchwood One's downfall.

"Apparently, he was with Torchwood for years," she said. "Only I can't find anything on him in the records, only that one file."

Ianto sipped at his coffee, his blood boiling. Why was she looking up Jack? What business of hers was it who he dated? He kept his calm, however, determined not to give Gwen the satisfaction of seeing him upset. "Gwen, what's your point?"

"I want to be sure you're safe, sweetheart," she said, and Ianto exchanged a look with Tosh. It was more likely Gwen was sticking her nose in places it didn't belong, because she always had to know, always had to be right once she'd set her mind. "I searched every record I could this morning, and all I found was a reference to an American volunteer named Jack Harkness during World War II. But he died in 1941."

"Obviously not the same man then," Ianto pointed out.

"Who's not the same?" Owen asked, coming up from the medical bay.

"Gwen thinks there's something strange about Ianto's…about the man who helped us last night, Jack Harkness." Tosh stopped herself, and Ianto gave her a grateful look. Owen sat down in his chair, put his feet up, and smirked.

"Other than he's sleeping with Jones? Because that's a dead giveaway for major psychosis right there."

"Sod off," Ianto muttered.

"So it's true, then? You're dating the legendary Jack Harkness?"

"Legendary?" asked Gwen, turning toward him in surprise. "I've never heard of him, and I couldn't find out anything about him."

"I still don't understand why you were looking," Ianto reminded her. She didn't answer.

"Harkness is a Cardiff legend," Owen replied. "I'm surprised you haven't heard about him before now. He worked here until his whole team died on New Year's Eve and he quit Torchwood for good." He threw a rubber ball into the air. "Lucky sod."

"Owen!" Tosh exclaimed, as all three of them glared at the doctor.

"I meant the quitting part, not the dead team part. Christ, you're so touchy," he muttered.

Gwen looked at Tosh. "Have you heard of him?

"Yes," Tosh admitted. "I knew he worked for Torchwood. They say he still helps out, when he can—chasing Weevils, leaving tips and tech."

Gwen turned back to Ianto and patted his knee. "Just be careful, all right? He sounds a bit dodgy, like a vigilante or something."

"I appreciate the concern," Ianto replied in his dry, butler voice. "But I'm perfectly capable of managing my own life outside these four walls. Now, if you don't mind, I've got to write up my undercover adventure. Owen, did you finish those autopsy reports?"

"Working on it," the doctor replied, still throwing his ball around.

"Owen," Ianto started, but the doctor shut him down.

"I'll do it," he snapped. "My hand was cramping."

"Right." Ianto stood and took his coffee over to his station, knowing they were very likely to keep talking about him and Jack Harkness even though he was halfway across the room and could still hear them. Gwen's concern bothered him: where had she come by it? She was naturally suspicious and notoriously clueless about her teammates' lives, but Ianto wondered if she'd drawn her own conclusions from the few facts she had, or if David Evans had said something to her.

Which didn't make sense, as Evans had been nothing but respectful of Jack during the cleanup of the Weevil incident. That he'd expressed any appreciation at all still made Ianto shake his head in wonder. He wanted to know why David Evans was so enigmatic when it came to Jack, and why Gwen was so worried, but then the Rift alert went off, and he put off the report he was working on to track down some space junk with Tosh.


The Rift continued to act up for the rest of the week, until another alert went off first thing Saturday morning. Ianto frowned; it looked like it was part of the larger pattern Tosh was tracking. Tosh was off, though, heading out of town for the weekend, and the others weren't in for their weekend rota yet. Ianto was only there because he'd spent the night at Jack's and had decided to check in before leaving for the afternoon.

He went up to David's office to report the alarm. His boss was already looking at it on his own screens.

"Call Tosh," David said, barely looking back at him. "She's been working on this and should see it."

Ianto frowned. "She's planning to go to London for a family party."

Evans turned around in surprise. "That's right. Damn. Call her. If she hasn't left, have her meet you there and check it out before she leaves. It shouldn't take long. She's the one with the data, so she'll know what's going on better than any of us."

"Yes, sir," Ianto murmured. He hated disturbing Tosh and half hoped she'd already left. She hadn't, however, and agreed to meet him at the dance hall where the strange readings were happening. He took his own car, as Gwen and Owen had still not got in yet and might need the SUV for another call. Tosh beat him there, standing on the sidewalk with her laptop case flung over her shoulder.

"Thanks for coming, Tosh," he said. "I hope you're not going to miss anything in London."

"It's my grandfather's eighty-eighth birthday today," she replied. "I'm supposed to watch grown men throw rice, but I can be a few minutes late."

Ianto smiled. "Hopefully we can settle this quick and you can get on your way then."

"So, what have you got?"

"This is the Ritz dance hall," Ianto replied as they entered. "It's been derelict since 1989, but someone's complained about hearing music drifting out. Music from the 1940s."

They stood in the foyer, gazing around at the ruined building. It must have been quite a sight at one point in time, but now it was nothing but broken fixtures and peeling paint covered in graffiti and old flyers.

"Listen," Tosh said. "I hear something. Let's go up."

They went up the staircase into a larger room, but it was empty, wrapped in plastic and covered in dirt and dust. After looking around, they headed back downstairs, but they heard it again: laughter, and the distinct sound of jazz music. Hurrying back upstairs, they stopped in their tracks when they encountered a room full of people this time, dressed in old-fashioned clothing and dancing to the tunes of a swing band.

"They look so real," Ianto murmured. "Are they ghosts?"

"No, not ghosts," said Tosh, looking at her handheld scanner. "It's a temporal shift." She glanced up at Ianto in alarm. "We should get out."

They hurried back downstairs to find it also filled with people. As they left the building, an old man wearing a cravat held the door open for them. "Do call again," he told them, sending shivers down Ianto's spine.

"No thank you," Ianto muttered under his breath, then stopped abruptly as they stepped outside.

"It's dark," he said in surprise. "And where are the cars? Have they been stolen?"

"No," said Tosh. "We have."

Ianto glanced around. There was bunting festooned across the street, and banners everywhere. On the door to the dance hall was a poster proclaiming a Kiss the Boys dance…for Saturday, January 20, 1941.

"We're in 1941," he breathed.

Tosh was on her mobile, but slapped it shut with a frown. "It's no use, it's dead. I can't get through to the Hub."

"Because we've traveled back in time," Ianto told her, pointing at the poster. Her eyes widened, and she grabbed Ianto by the hand and pulled him inside.

"Come on. Let's get back inside. That's where we were when we crossed."

As they reentered the dance hall, Ianto was struck by the colors, the lights, the sounds, and the people. It was exactly like the stories his grandfather used to tell. "We really are in 1941," he said. Something occurred to him. "What if we can't get back?"

"We will," Tosh said, reassuring him much like she had in the Beacons. Then her face fell. "Only they can't help us back at the Hub because I have the latest readings in here." She patted her laptop case, only to glance up and see several people watching. "And now people are staring at us."

"We should try to blend in," Ianto said, placing his earpiece in his pocket and taking off his coat. He tried to think of what to do; he helped other displaced time travelers, but had never been one himself. There was nothing in the manuals about time travel other than to avoid changing the timeline at all costs.

"That's easy for you to say," Tosh murmured as she took her coat off as well. "You're Welsh. I'm the only Asian here!"

"And you're with me," Ianto told her, knowing immediately why she was so uncomfortable. It wasn't something she had to worry about in their own time, but they were stranded at a point in history where it could be dangerous. "I'll watch out for you. We'll figure this out. Come on, let's get a drink and sit down."

He led her to a bar and ordered a glass of wine and a pint of beer. The barman nodded. "Three and six, please," he said.

Ianto started to pull out his wallet, when he remembered his currency would be more than sixty years out of date. "Shit," he murmured, as it hit him how hard it would be to blend in if they couldn't even purchase food and drink. Eventually they'd need a place to stay, and clothes, which would probably mean finding a job, all while trying not to—

"I'll get them," said a voice behind them. Ianto turned to find a young soldier standing there and nodded his thanks.

"On one condition," the soldier continued. Before Ianto could stop him, he took Tosh by the hand and pulled her out onto the dance floor. Tosh looked positively panicked, as if she had never danced before. Ianto knew that wasn't true, had seen her face weevils and cannibals; she was just as concerned about the timeline as he was.

He took their two glasses from the barman with a nod of thanks and stood on the edge of the dance floor, watching them dance and trying not to worry. The woman in front of him was watching as well. "Why's George dancing with a Jap?"

Apparently, Tosh's concerns about her heritage were valid. Setting down their drinks, he stepped out onto the dance floor and tapped the man, apparently named George, on the shoulder. "May I?" he asked.

"I'm only borrowing her, mate," the man replied.

Ianto inclined his head toward the band. "I'd like to dance with her before the song is over."

"And I'd like to finish what I started," George said, twirling Tosh around again. She stopped and pulled her hand away hard.

"And I'd like to sit down," she snapped. She left the dance floor, still holding her case close. Ianto shrugged at George, hiding a grin, and left, guiding her back to their table, where she took her glass of wine and drank half the glass.

"Thanks for trying," she said, glaring across the dance floor to where George was talking to another man in uniform. He appeared to be getting a dress-down from the man, who was tall and dark-haired and inexplicably reminded Ianto of Jack. George turned to look back at them, then walked off. The other man made his way toward them.

"Sorry about that," he said. He had an American accent, which surprised Ianto. "The men are a bit lively tonight. It's the last day of OTU tomorrow."

"You don't have to apologize," Tosh said. The man shook his head.

"A lady deserves an apology," he said, holding out his hand. "Your name?"

Tosh glanced at Ianto, who shrugged. Sharing their names couldn't hurt the timeline too much, could it? "Toshiko Sato," she said. "And this is Ianto Jones."

"My apologies, Ms. Sato," the man said, then turned to shake Ianto's hand as well. He had a nice smile, but a look of sadness in his eyes that betrayed it. "I'm Captain Jack Harkness, 133 Squadron."


Author's Note:

Another long chapter I decided to split. Easier editing and hey, readers get more chapters! Surely you knew I'd send Ianto back, right? Like the others, a lot of the dialogue is taken from the episode with no copyright infringement intended. Changes have been made to fit the story and characters. Thank you for reading!