Strange Encounter

Chapter Thirteen

Having left the team in the bar I had ensured that Ianto and I were alone in the Hub but my plans for a shag were not realised. With my bracelet off, he left my side and made coffee then, after some desultory discussion and with a look of disgust at the guano speckled place, he said goodnight and walked off to his room. I didn't press for an explanation or anything else. I had a feeling I'd done something wrong but had no idea what. Or maybe it was something else entirely. The boy was a complex mix of emotions and I was not going to fathom him out overnight - if ever.

Coffee in hand I went to the office and took a couple of hours to sort through the case files and other papers that had landed on my desk. The day had been quiet, so Suzie had got Owen and Tosh onto the paperwork which meant there was a lot to look through. Surprisingly, most of it was complete for once so I was able to sign it off. The e-mails were as numerous as ever but I weeded out the rubbish and answered one or two then went for a stroll round the Hub. It was still a mess from Myfanwy's first day in residence and I set about sorting it out.

Dismantling the tents, I spread the plastic out and ran a mop over it to clean it up before taking the mop to the splashes of guano over the walls, floor and railings. The physical activity was welcome after a day spent driving, sitting at the conference and then drinking and I've never minded getting stuck in. It didn't take long to clear up the worst and I was relieved to find three small frozen cubes of waste; the vomit-o-matic had worked. Spurred on by this success, I climbed up into the space under the roof where Myfanwy was roosting. She had found a ledge against the wall and started to create a nest of sorts. I perched up there with her, she seemed content for me to be close, and I tried to remember how the pterodactyls I'd come across before acted in the wild so that we could replicate the conditions for her. They ate meat or fish and studying the shape of her beak I thought Myfanwy would be okay with fish – we'd have to get a regular supply for her. Water she could get from the overflow pool below and she'd already found a suitable place for a nest. Have to get some straw or sticks or something to make it more comfortable for her. Clambering down I made a note about the fish and straw, tidied away the now dry plastic and went to bed for a couple of hours with only a wistful thought for the Welshman sleeping a few floors below.

At seven o'clock the next morning, washed and dressed, I was wondering where Ianto was; I'd been hoping he'd join me in the shower. The door to his room was ajar – I swear it was – and so I peeked in. He was sitting on the bed partly dressed but didn't see me so I took a pace back and knocked on the door. "Ianto?" I called as if I'd just arrived.

"Come in."

"Morning. I wondered if you were okay, you're usually up and about before this." I stood looking at him and realised he was down in the dumps again. Owen had warned me about the boy's likely mood swings but I was still surprised. He'd seemed okay yesterday.

"I'm fine," he said after a minute or two. It was clear he wasn't. He was staring at something in his hands. Taking the bull by the horns, I went over and sat on the bed next to him.

"Doesn't look like it."

"She was alive last week. Then I met you and you killed her." He looked up then and I could see he had been crying. "This is who you killed." He thrust a photograph of the two of them at me, one of those I'd seen on his fridge,.

I took the photograph, no way to avoid it, and put it on the bed beside me. "No, Ianto. I killed a Cyberman. THEY killed Lisa months before, at Canary Wharf."

"So you keep saying." He got up and ran a hand through his still unbrushed hair. He was in trousers and unbuttoned shirt and looked … gorgeous. Even in the middle of an emotional conversation I have eyes. "I should never have done it," he muttered.

"Done what?"

"Come looking for you. It was my idea to get in here, I thought you'd have the means to make her better." He laughed mirthlessly. "How wrong could I be?"

"No one and nothing could have made her 'better'," I pointed out. "She was never going to be the Lisa in this photo ever again. She was lost from the moment she was put in the conversion chamber."

"I should have got to her sooner!" he blurted out, smashing a fist into the wall. "It was my fault, all my fault."

I was on my feet now and pulled him away from the wall. If he kept hitting it like that he'd break his hand. He struggled against me but I kept a firm hold and managed to get him into a kind of hug. Not the kind I wanted but anything's better than nothing. "We talked about this. You couldn't fight the whole Cyber Army. You did exceptionally well to get her out as it was. I'm still not sure how you did, the emergency services were there pretty fast."

"They were busy. I dragged her to a lift and went down to the car park." He was talking quietly and with no emotion in his voice, resting against me. "I put her in my car. We were going away for a long weekend, that's why I had it. I managed to drive out in the confusion and parked it a few streets away. Hid her under a cover and went back. No one knew I'd been anywhere, thought I was just a confused survivor."

"That was quick thinking. You did what you thought was right and it's okay." I patted him on the back and released him. "Look, stay down here as long as you like. You don't have to work today if you don't want to." I don't think he heard me and he went on, in that same emotionless voice.

"And now I've betrayed her."

"How?"

"With you." He laughed that mirthless laugh again. "Of all people, it was you. Less than a week after you killed her I was … we were … " Tears were rolling down his face again. "How could I have let you?"

"Hey, you were willing." I suppose for 21st century humans it was considered inappropriate to move on to another lover so soon after a loss but in my time we had no such scruples.

"And that makes it so much worse." He sank back down on the bed and put his head in his hands. "Please leave."

I thought about going, even took a pace towards the door, then remembered that Owen considered the boy to be potentially suicidal. And, just my luck, this was the doctor's day off so I couldn't get him down to talk to the boy. It was all up to me – damn. I couldn't leave him down here to brood, I had to keep him busy and in sight.

"No. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. What's done is done and I need you on your feet and properly dressed – now!" I stood with arms crossed and waited for him to move.

He looked up at me, the old look of dislike if not actual hatred was back. "Why should I?"

"Because Lisa wouldn't want you to wallow in self-pity. She'd want you to get on with your life. And don't tell me you didn't enjoy our shag because I know better. Okay, the timing was … unfortunate but you wanted it as much as I did. Now get moving."

A little to my surprise he did. He levered himself off the bed and did up his shirt, tucked it in, put on a tie and then made the bed. With his suit jacket over his arm, he walked out of the room without another word. He'd forgotten to comb his hair but I didn't comment, just followed him out and up to the main level.

That morning was a long one and Ianto's mood affected us all. The Rift was quiet, luckily. It's like that, periods of manic activity then nothing for a couple of days. Went quiet for three weeks once, back in the twenties, and some idiot actually thought it had closed. They were in the middle of the celebration party when there were six openings in an hour. A lot of people died that night, me included. More than once. At least it was being quiet when I needed it to be 'cos I stuck close to Ianto. And not for the reasons that Suzie thought. After breakfast with her and Toshiko – just toast and coffee this morning – I let Ianto go down to the archives. Setting Suzie on sourcing fish and nesting materials for our new pet, I took the case files I'd cleared down to the archives. Ianto was in the Registry, sitting at the desk, reading and moving files around.

"Got some more for you," I said cheerfully, plonking them on the desk. "How's it going down here?"

"Okay."

"So, show me what you've set up so far."

He stared at me for a moment or two, obviously working out if I'd go away or not, and decided I was there for the duration. Standing, he went to the row of four drawer filing cabinets. "This cabinet will hold the index and cross-reference books, when they're complete. The case files, which will each have a unique number incorporating the year, will be held in the remainder - in order. The miscellaneous papers will be filed alphabetically by subject, usually the alien involved."

"Sounds great." I opened a drawer which I saw had been relabelled – neatly – as 1879 – 1885. The smell of old paper greeted me and I smiled on seeing those tattered old folders with their copperplate handwriting once more. The folders were neat and all up the same way so I could find the one I wanted without having to take the drawer to pieces. "I'm impressed."

"It's very basic." Ianto sounded bored but I'm sure that was just his mood. He moved back to his desk and sat down. "The important part is the cross-referencing. It's through that we'll be able to find relevant papers and associated artefacts."

My heart did a little leap. He had said 'we' which surely meant he planned to stay. I hoped so, really hoped he'd want to stay and not just be here under duress. "I see that. Need a hand? I've got some time on my hands and maybe I can shine some light on the stuff here." I smiled ingratiatingly.

"If you must. You could check that pile over there," he pointed. "I can't read the handwriting."

He went back to perusing the papers and making notes and I got on with my allotted task. I am sure it was the most menial he could think of but in fact it was a fascinating walk down memory lane for me. The files were mainly ones started by Bert, hence the lousy handwriting. He'd lost two fingers – hand grenade at El Alamein – and had done desk work during the fifties. That was a strange decade. So much paranoia about the bomb, spies and the Cold War that Torchwood got sidetracked into all sorts of non-alien activities. Had a lot of fun back then despite rationing. I started putting notes – those sticky ones that don't stay stuck – on the front with details of the file and suggestions for cross-referencing. Did a few more piles after the first one, and enjoyed myself. Quite surprising really but I could see the appeal of creating order out of chaos. Not that I'd want to do it every day, but once in a while was all right.

"Jack, lunch is here," announced Suzie over the comms around one o'clock. "You two coming up?"

"On our way." I put the file I was working on back on the pile. "Come on, Ianto, lunch."

He came, dragging his feet but he did come. We sat round eating curry and drinking coffee. Suzie entertained us with details of her conquest of the night before, some joker called Mervyn she'd picked up in the bar. He sounded a twat but I've found our Suzie likes them like that, makes her feel superior. Toshiko got Ianto talking about the archives and how they could be computerised. I chatted to Suzie but listened to the others too and realised that the boy did indeed know a lot about computers. We all ended up looking at the demonstration Toshiko had rigged up and made a few suggestions, Ianto getting quite animated for the first time that day. It must have helped take his mind off Lisa.

I got Suzie to baby-sit Ianto in the afternoon. She got all the equipment boxes out and spread them round the Boardroom and then went though each one checking what should be in them and re-stocking them. I watched on CCTV and it was a delight to see, especially when Ianto started suggesting a system for keeping them stocked. He was coming round. Toshiko was fiddling with her archive program incorporating some of the suggestions we'd discussed which left me to take delivery of three tons of fish. Okay, it wasn't really that much but it looked and felt like it when it had to be manhandled along the corridor and down in the lift. The whole place stank by the time I'd got it downstairs. Myfanwy was squawking before I had brought the first load in and I had to give her some there and then. Toshiko ran into my office at first but soon saw that in Myfanwy's eyes she was as nothing when compared to a good piece of pollock and returned to her desk. I had no idea how much fish to give a pterodactyl so just kept going till she looked full. There was plenty of fish left so I took it and put in the huge chest freezer we keep for just such a need.

"Go and shower, Jack," said Toshiko pointedly when I passed behind her on the way to the office.

"Yes, Ma'am!" I retorted, but with a smile. Showered and changed and smelling sweet again, I returned to the work area.

"Anything on the predictor?" I asked Toshiko, standing at her side. I was watching Ianto who was at the coffee machine, even from the back he looked more positive and alert than he had that morning. He and Suzie had finished the boxes and she was sitting at Owen's desk.

"No, it's all very quiet," she replied. "Hope it doesn't go on too long or we'll get bored."

"No likelihood of that," I assured her. "Thanks," I said to Ianto as he handed me the blue and white mug.

"Oh coffee, lovely," sighed Toshiko taking hers. "Thanks."

"As it's quiet, I thought I might take Ianto out for a walk when we've drunk this. If you want to go," I said to him.

"You make me sound like a poodle." He didn't say it angrily but there may have been a bit of hurt in there.

Suzie laughed, her deep-throated gurgle. "No, I see you as a golden Labrador." That defused the moment and we all chuckled. "I want to be out of here by six, Jack. It's Tuesday."

"Yeah, I know. The day you meet your secret lover," I joked. We had no idea what she did on Tuesday evenings but it was important to her so we worked round it. "That's why I thought we could go now." I glanced at my watch: four fifteen.

"If you're going out, Ianto said we need more coffee. You could go to the supermarket at the same time."

"Okay by me. Ianto?" I looked at him wondering what he would decide.

"Do they allow Labradors in shops?" he asked with a smile.

"You'll be Jack's guide dog. He's got no idea what to buy!" said Suzie sarkily. She was right.

"I'd like a bit of fresh air," he continued. "There are a few other supplies we could get at the same time."

"Hey, this was supposed to be a walk not a supermarket trip," I wailed but that did not stop him getting suggestions from the others about what was needed. This was not what I had planned.