19.

Ianto woke up, took a shower and ironed the suit to be able to wear it one more day. Then he prepared coffee and a small breakfast. Just when he was on his way to see if Jack and Matthew were awake, the two of them entered the main Hub. Matthew was wearing jeans and a black sweater. Both came from the small wardrobe Torchwood kept for undercover missions and both were a bit too big on his frame. Matthew seemed pale and younger than he actually was.

"There he is," Jack said and stepped closer while Matthew was busy taking the main Hub in. Jack put a hand on Ianto's shoulder. "How are you?"

"Fine, sir."

"You look better," Jack said with a smile. "Good thing you could finally catch some sleep."

"How is Matthew doing?"

"Fine," Jack answered. "A bit tired but I think that's to be expected. Hungry."

"I prepared breakfast, sir."

Jack's lips brushed Ianto's forehead. "Great. Will you look after him? I'm afraid the PM's awaiting his call. I'll join you as soon as I'm done."

Ianto nodded and Jack addressed Matthew who was watching them curiously.

"Matthew, Ianto's got breakfast. Go with him. I'll be with you in a few minutes." Jack headed for his office and Ianto gifted Matthew with a polite smile. He signalled to him to follow and offered him a chair in the boardroom.

Matthew watched warily while Ianto poured coffee and sat down opposite. Matthew sipped the coffee. "This is great," he said softly, giving Ianto a small smile.

"Thank you," Ianto answered.

"I'm the one who should thank you."

"Mainly Jack," Ianto answered.

Matthew looked through the big windows down towards Jack's office and nodded. "Yes … Jack ..."

The alarm sounded and Matthew jumped.

"It's alright," Ianto soothed him. "It's just the door. The others are coming to work."

Matthew smiled nervously. "We didn't have anything like that."

"Our Hub's a bit more secure," Ianto answered. The door to the boardroom opened and Gwen and Tosh entered. They nodded at Ianto and then looked curiously at Matthew, who'd turned around to them.

"Hi!" Gwen said, offering him her hand. "Gwen Cooper."

"I remember you," Matthew answered, shaking her head. He nodded at Tosh who sat down beside him while Gwen took the chair next to Ianto. Ianto was glad that Gwen was here now. She was able to start a chat and keep it going. He tuned out her questions about Matthew's well-being and Matthew's shy enquiries about the changes the Hub had gone through.

With Owen joining them, the volume level rose because Owen was accusing Gwen of using his mug while Tosh explained to Matthew the technological advantages of the 21st century.

Jack joining them calmed things down a bit. The breakfast ended with Owen telling Matthew that he wanted to examine him more closely. Gwen and Tosh busied themselves with clearing the table and Jack and Ianto stayed behind.

Ianto wiped the table clean and Jack watched him attentively. "Are you sure that you're okay?" he asked, worried.

"I'm sure."

Jack took his hand and pulled him closer. "Ianto … things changed. I don't want you to-"

"I know," Ianto interrupted him. "You have to think of Matthew. You should rebuild your relationship." Ianto nodded to strengthen his words, forcing a smile. "This is good. I don't have a prior claim."

Jack looked him over carefully and Ianto became a bit nervous.

Finally, Jack said, "Right." He smiled, squeezed Ianto's hand and left the boardroom.

XXX

Jack blinked into the autumn sun. He felt as if he hadn't left the base for days. The cool sea air hit his face, playfully ruffling his hair, and he took a deep breath. His arm pulled Matthew closer and wrapped around his hips, holding on when Matthew tried to step away.

"It's okay," Jack said soothingly. "I told you that most of the people tolerate homosexual couples nowadays." He could practically feel Matthew's insecurity and smiled. Matthew tugged on the jeans jacket Owen had lent him and looked around. He seemed to try to relax and Jack kissed his head while they strolled along the Quay.

A group of young women passed them and Matthew looked after them. "Those clothes ..."

"Yeah," Jack answered with a laugh, "but wait for the summer. It'll be even better. Short skirts, hot-pants, small tops … and I'm not talking about only the ladies, either, the men in some very special clubs around here are just the same ..." He winked at Matthew and Matthew smiled.

One of his arms wrapped around Jack and held onto his coat. "Everything changed," he said.

"Yeah," Jack said, shoving his free hand in his trouser pocket.

"You too," Matthew said carefully.

Jack nodded. "I'm not saying it will be easy, but I'd like to pick up again where we stopped."

Matthew avoided his eyes and looked at the sea. "Me too, but … you have someone."

"No," Jack answered.

"Ianto," Matthew said. "I don't mind. It was bound to happen. I mean, I was gone for so long and ..."

Jack's lips sealed Matthew's and swallowed any protest he might have. He stopped and cupped Matthew's face in his hands, then he leaned their foreheads together and said, "Yes. Ianto and me had sex, but it wasn't a relationship."

"I'm glad you have someone. He seems to be very nice."

Jack nodded. "But it never was anything other than sex." He put his arm back around Matthew and led him up to the Roald Dahl Plass.

Matthew stared at the Millennium Center. "It's beautiful," he said.

"You should see it by night," Jack answered. He looked for Ben Bryan but he couldn't see him. Maybe he'd finally given up. "You want a coffee? I know a nice little place overlooking the Bay."

XXX

Owen read through Matthew's blood tests and shook his head. "Nothing."

Gwen raised her eyes from her screen and frowned. "Are you still trying to turn Matthew into a threat?"

"He is a threat," Owen said and turned his chair to look at her. "Please: cute young guy from the past unexpectedly turns up in his lover's life again. Everything's perfect. It's the oldest story in the world and it always ends in tears."

"Maybe not," Gwen answered stubbornly. "Maybe it's just a romantic story coming true and you're just going mad."

"Maybe Matthew will stab us all tomorrow," Owen answered.

Gwen shook her head in disbelief. "Can't you just be happy for once because everything's going smoothly?"

"Gwen," Owen said earnestly, "think about it: we have no idea who put Matthew in that chamber and we don't know why."

"Just because Jack wants to give him some time to acclimate. We'll know in a few hours."

"Okay, let's say we know. We know who did, but why did he do it? Why freeze Matthew in the first place? Why didn't he just kill him or got rid of him some other way? Why so complicated? Why did he make sure that Matthew was woken regularly? He could have just let him lie in that chamber forever, but he wanted his body to stay undamaged and why? Because Matthew needs to be fit when the time comes."

"The time for what?" Gwen asked, swayed.

Owen could see that he was starting to make an impact on her. "That's it," he said. "We don't know."

XXX

Thanks to the CCTV, Tosh found Ianto where she least expected him to be. Carefully, she opened the door to the room where he'd hidden Lisa. Ianto was leaning against the wall next to the door, staring at the place where the conversion unit had been.

"What are you doing here?" Tosh asked.

Ianto sighed. "I haven't been here since that night."

Tosh leaned next to him. She remembered dismantling the unit with Jack and Gwen while Owen had examined Ianto. When she'd offered to scrub the blood away, Jack had just shook his head and done it himself. The room looked as if nothing had ever happened. Nevertheless … Tosh didn't believe in ghosts but she thought she could see the faint outline of the conversion unit, hear Lisa's steps …

"Why did you come here tonight?" she asked to distract herself.

Ianto didn't answer for a long time, then he said softly, "Lisa doesn't have a grave. Not really. The one in London is empty. Jack incinerated her and the ash is hidden away somewhere in his safe because the cyber technology was incinerated with her. She doesn't have a drawer in the morgue." He turned his head to look at her. "She was my world and now she's just gone. She doesn't even have a grave." Tosh took his hand. He turned his head away. "Maybe that's why I can't let her go." He sighed. "I really believed Tanazaki would be able to help her. But maybe she wasn't even there anymore."

XXX

They were on their way back to the Hub, walking hand in hand, when Matthew asked the question Jack had dreaded. "What happened to Michael?"

Jack let go of Matthew and buried his hands in his coat pockets. "Constantine gave him away. I wanted to take him but … it wouldn't have worked."

Matthew seemed to take that information in, then he asked, "Where did Constantine take him?"

"I don't know," Jack answered.

Matthew ducked his head and stared at the wooden walkway. "He's seventy-three years old now."

"Yeah."

"I wonder what kind of life he's leading … he won't even remember me."

Jack would have liked to tell Matthew that Michael would remember him, but he wasn't stupid. Not very educated, as James liked to say, but not stupid.

"I don't think so. He was only three months old when you ..." He stopped. "Matthew, we have to talk about what happened to you. No matter what you remember about it, it can only help us. We could ..." He noticed that Matthew wasn't walking beside him anymore and turned around. "Matthew, are you coming?"

Matthew was just standing there, staring at the ground.

Jack frowned. "Matthew?" He went back towards him and put his hands on Matthew's shoulders. "Hey, we … could try and find Michael. Find out how his life has been, but we can't contact … Matthew." He grabbed Matthew's chin and forced him to look at him. Matthew's eyes were empty, as if he wasn't really there. "Matthew?" He brushed some hair out his forehead. "Matthew ..."

"Is everything okay?" a young woman asked.

Jack shook his head. "Thanks. Don't-"

"I'm a doctor," she said, turning Matthew's head to face her. Jack looked towards the tourist office and wondered if the others were seeing what was happening. If Owen was. He hadn't taken his comm link with him and started to hunt through his pockets for his mobile.

"Weird," the woman said. "He seems to be in shock. Catatonic."

"What could have caused it?" Jack asked.

Before the woman could answer, Matthew blinked and said, "It was wishful thinking."

Jack gave up his search and put a hand on Matthew's cheek. "What?"

"It was unrealistic to think that Michael would remember. You're right, three months isn't a long time for a baby." Matthew seemed to realize that they weren't alone and that Jack was looking at him strangely and returned his gaze with a questioning one. "What's wrong?"