Thank you to everyone who continues to read this. I'm still paying the price for letting my imagination rampage for 23 chapters and if it were not for your wonderful comments I'd be hiding under my bed.

Now I have to get Tosh & Owen comfy enough to throw tools at each other and Jack to the point where he is ignoring Ianto completely (or appears to be)...so here goes...hope you like...

"She's got wireless internet," Tosh commented. "That'll make it easier."

"Thanks for the tip," Ianto muttered, looking up from the screen of Tosh's laptop. "I suppose you'd have this done already."

"Stop whining," Tosh scolded. "You're nearly finished."

Ianto turned obediently back towards the screen. Tosh watched her friend fondly, trying not to giggle at the way his mouth opened slightly when he was concentrating.

They were in the back of the tourist office, conducting Ianto's first 'hacking' lesson. Tosh knew she'd enjoy working with Ianto, but she hadn't anticipated how much she'd enjoy teaching someone else about her job. She'd always been a bit protective of her skills in the past. Looking back, Tosh realized she'd been afraid. Scared that if she taught anyone what she knew, they wouldn't need her anymore. Afraid. Scared. That pretty much summed up the person Toshiko had been, before Torchwood. Before Ianto.

Would she lose all that when Ianto left? It would, she thought, be a poor way to repay all Ianto's faith in her if she collapsed in a heap just because he wasn't around to prop her up any more.

"OK," Ianto said finally, sitting back. "How did I go?"

Tosh checked what he'd done. "Not bad, for a beginner," she conceded. "Not bad at all. You've got us in and it doesn't look like you've tripped any security software. I'm impressed."

Ianto grinned in triumph, but his brows creased as her giggle escaped. "You're not being just a touch patronizing there, are you Miss Sato?"

"Not at all," she said hastily. "You did well, really." Tosh clamped firmly down on the remaining laughter. She was sure he wouldn't want to know about how badly he'd messed his hair up by ruffling his fingers through it.

"Now back off and let me finish," she ordered.

Ianto watched in something approaching awe as Tosh secured a connection and 'woke' the computer she'd targeted. In the time it had taken him just to find the targeted internet account, Tosh set a recording device onto the land line and a tracer on the mobile phone. After today, Constable Gwen Cooper would hardly be able to scratch her nose without Torchwood knowing about it.

Tosh glanced at him and giggled again at the look on his face. "I'm not the Messiah," she quoted.

"You're just a very clever girl," Ianto misquoted back. "The most I'd have been able to do is get us an alert when she'd logged on and piggyback off that. Assuming she used the phone line. I didn't even think about wireless."

"It's still more than most people could," Tosh commented. "Or should, for that matter. How did you learn all this stuff?"

Ianto blushed. Tosh grinned. "Sordid past, Ianto? Tell me all."

"I got caught shoplifting when I was a teenager," Ianto confessed.

"I already knew that," Tosh said absently. "Ran a check before you started here."

Ianto chuckled. "Of course you did. But I didn't want to risk getting caught again, so after that I did my shoplifting on-line." He smirked. "The IT teacher at school gave me extra marks for spending so much of my free time in the computer lab."

Tosh's eyes widened in astonishment.

"I only stole things I really needed," Ianto said defensively. "Clothes, books for school, stuff like that. We weren't well off, and my parents wouldn't let me leave school and get a job. I thought I was helping, providing what I could for myself." He grinned, suddenly looking very young. "And I didn't get caught, so they never knew."

"My friend the master criminal," Tosh teased.

"And how many privacy statutes did you just break?" Ianto countered.

Tosh blinked. "All of them," she decided. "Which means I've earned a coffee, don't you think?"

Ianto laughed. "Subtle, Tosh. Not." He paused on his way out, hand frozen on the counter. "Does this feel weird, or is it just me?"

"Hiding out of range of the CCTV – that's normal," Tosh agreed. "But with Torchwood's blessing? Twilight Zone. Still, you know what they say about gift horses. Speaking of which, tell Jack about that police search when you give him his coffee, won't you?"

Ianto hesitated. "Tosh, couldn't you…?"

"No, Ianto," Tosh said firmly. "If I have to talk to Owen, you have to talk to Jack." Which was an unfair statement, Tosh chided herself. She hadn't been alone with Owen since that horrible Christmas Eve. But Ianto didn't have to know that and Tosh still felt sorry for Jack. And she had a strong suspicion Ianto missed Jack, too.

"Now hurry up so we can get onto those analyses for Dr Tanizaki," Tosh ordered, flapping an imperious hand.

Ianto sighed, very loudly. "Yes, ma'am. Coffee all around and report to the boss. What did your last slave die of?"

"Executed for insolence," Tosh retaliated, deciding impulsively exactly what to do with the paper she'd been writing notes on.

A scrunched-up ball of paper hit Ianto on the head as he dragged his feet back towards the main Hub. "Bullseye," Tosh crowed.

"Good aim," Ianto called back. "Bet you can't fire a gun that straight."

The second ball of paper hit him on the ear. It stung. But not as much as knowing that after three more weeks, he'd never see her again.

Jack looked up at the knock on the door. His last remaining office-based pleasure, he reflected sourly, after that uncomfortable attack of conscience. Looking at the gorgeous Welshman. Could be worse, Jack conceded to himself, letting his eyes roam. Ianto did look good in a suit. Not quite as good as he looked out of it, but better than nothing.

"If you're bringing coffee, you don't need to knock, Ianto," Jack said. Couldn't help smiling, and if his eyes showed his appreciation, well, a thing of beauty was supposed to be appreciated, wasn't it?

"I'll try to remember that, Sir," Ianto answered, not quite meeting his eyes. He placed Jack's mug onto his desk, in reach but out of range of the paperwork. Out of range of Jack's hands, too, incidentally. And snatched his own hand away, but not before Jack's fingers made contact as they closed over the handle. Jack allowed himself a smirk of triumph. Was that a blush? So, looking and flirting. The day was improving already.

"You're in early," Jack noted. His eyelids drooped as he inhaled the scent floating up from his mug. Looking, flirting and coffee. Amazing coffee. Heaven in a cup, served by heaven in a suit. This was probably what they meant by counting your blessings. A concept obviously developed by someone who subscribed to that pathetic 'glass half full' mentality.

Ianto nodded. "Toshiko offered to come in before I had to open the tourist office." His hands twitched across the desk, straightening the edges of the piles of paperwork.

Jack leaned back, mug clasped between his hands. Still looking. Observing the deliciously ruffled state of the Welshman's hair and determinedly not wondering whether Toshiko had anything to do with it.

"Oh yes, the hacking lesson." Jack waved vaguely at the chair on the other side of his desk. "Have a seat, Ianto. You might as well give me a progress report while you're here." Just checking on staff training, he told himself. Nothing to do with wanting to keep Ianto in his office.

Ianto obeyed. Didn't relax into the chair though. Spine straight, arms crossed over his chest. "So," Jack prompted. "How's it going?"

"Constable Cooper is now under Torchwood's surveillance," Ianto answered.

"Good work," Jack said, "And you? Master Hacker yet?"

"I'll never be up to Josh's standard." Ianto said modestly, relaxing just enough to uncross his arms. "But she says I'm doing well."

Jack added 'listening to that voice' to his list of office indulgences.

"And there's been a police search triggered for Captain Jack Harkness," Ianto continued.

Jack smiled. "Constable Cooper?"

Ianto nodded. "We assume so, Sir."

"Persistent," Jack mused. "And will she find him?"

Ianto smiled that butler's smile. All in the mouth, nothing in the eyes. "She'll find him, Sir. There is a Captain Jack Harkness in the public records. An American volunteer stationed in London. Went missing in 1941, during the Blitz."

"Couldn't be me, then," Jack commented, hiding his reaction behind his coffee mug. "Though I do carry my years exceptionally well."

Butler smile again. Level Two. Let the boss think his jokes are funny. Jack fought the sudden urge to crack the mask. His hands tightened around his mug. It'd be so easy. He'd done it before. In this room. On this desk, even. Holy hell, Harkness, he warned himself. Get a grip. Or don't, actually. Don't even think about it.

"There's no trace of you in any records, Sir," Ianto confirmed. "Toshiko has Torchwood well hidden."

"Really?" Jack bit his tongue against the sarcastic edge in his voice. Only natural for Ianto to want to praise his…girlfriend? Had it gotten that far yet? Jack had to assume so, if he'd been dumped for her. Dumped. He hadn't been dumped. Jack Harkness didn't get dumped. Besides which, that implied a relationship, which there wasn't.

Ianto smiled. A better smile this time. "Oh yes, Sir. Tosh had me search before she gave me full Torchwood access. Couldn't find a thing."

"Well, I did hire her for her genius," Jack confirmed. What was wrong with him? Toshiko deserved praise. She was a genius.

Silence followed. Ianto twitched in his seat. "Something you wanted to ask, Ianto?" Jack asked idly.

"There was….no, it doesn't matter, sorry. None of my business, Sir," Ianto answered quickly.

Jack leaned forward, chin propped on his hands. "Probably not, but you've got me curious. What did you find?"

"Tosh found his service photo, Sir," Ianto said, "and the Captain Jack Harkness of 1941 bears a striking resemblance to you."

Jack tensed. Of course Toshiko would have found it. Of course Ianto would have noticed the resemblance, even though he'd had that GameStation makeover shortly afterwards. And it was far too late to be realizing he should have restored the original service photo. Couldn't even remember what he looked like, that man whose name he'd stolen.

"I remember being told I was named for some heroic ancestor," Jack said dismissively. He really should get around to faking himself a family tree. He could feel the curiosity in Ianto's eyes. Didn't want him to start looking too hard. He ran the Archives, for goodness sake. If Ianto started looking for Jack Harkness, he'd find – how many filing cabinets were there now? Jack cast about somewhat frantically for a change of topic. Oh yes, they were discussing his training, weren't they? Training. Training with Owen. That'd deflect him.

"Owen tells me you've been practicing in the shooting range together."

"Once," Ianto answered, eyes wary now. Deflection accomplished.

Jack grinned. "Not as useless as I'd thought," he quoted. "High praise, coming from Owen."

"Glad you explained," Ianto replied. "I'd never have picked up the subtlety."

Jack chuckled. He did enjoy the verbal banter. Not quite as much, admittedly, as the physical encounters. But again, better than nothing.

"We might have Suzie give you some lessons, next," Jack suggested. He waved a hand vaguely. "General artifact repairs." Whereupon he opened his mouth and choked on his own foot. "As you seem to be doing the rounds of the team."

It was only after Ianto exploded out of his chair and stormed away that Jack realized the connotations of what he'd just said. And for someone as skilled as himself at the not-so-subtle art of the innuendo, that was a clear indicator of how totally messed up things had become. How messed up he'd become. Jack sighed and drank coffee soured by the taste of guilt. Alex had constantly lectured him about getting involved with his team-mates. Should have listened to him.

Jack rose and ambled across to the railing, looking out over his domain. The main Hub was empty. Toshiko was still in the tourist centre. Ianto would be there by now, too. Hope Tosh could calm him down, or Jack would be on decaf and death glares for the foreseeable future. No sign of Owen or Suzie, but it was still early.

Alex. His old boss, the one who'd trusted him with the task of leading Torchwood into this dangerous new century. Trusted him by default, he supposed, since Jack was the only one Alex couldn't kill. After he'd gotten past the shock of Alex's death, Jack had been excited about taking on the leadership of Torchwood. He'd wanted to make something worthwhile of the Institute, and in some ways he had. The victims of the Rift were cared for now. The aliens that came through were treated with respect, at least as long as they weren't trying to kill anyone.

When, Jack wondered, had he forgotten that his fellow humans deserved the same sort of respect he offered the rest of the universe? Especially the humans he'd chosen as part of his team. They were good people, this team. Damaged, though, all of them, in one way or another. Had he done that on purpose, chosen people as damaged as himself? Or was it only the broken that could survive Torchwood? Eggs and chickens.

Jack couldn't fix them. Couldn't fix himself, couldn't fix anyone else. But he could stop leading them in the wrong direction. Stop getting drunk with Owen twice a week, for a start. Stop letting Suzie run off on whatever tangent she wanted. Stop playing infantile games with Ianto. Stop throwing Tosh into the front line when it was obvious she wasn't comfortable there. Stop mooning about the fact that the century had turned. It might be months before he found the Doctor again. Years even. No reason to waste them.

Start acting like a leader, even. Which might actually involve apologizing when he'd stuffed up. Maybe even following his own rules. Jack ducked back into his office and collected the Doctor detector. Crossed the empty Hub and put it back in its proper place. It was a start. He could still see it from his desk, after all.

Tosh hurriedly hid the files on Lisa as she heard the tinkle of the bell over the tourism office door. The office wasn't due to open for another half hour, but maybe she'd left the door unlocked. She ducked through the bead curtain and hurried towards the counter, hoping Ianto had a pamphlet to hand out. Tosh didn't really know much about the delights of Cardiff.

"Relax Tosh, it's only me." Owen. Smiling. At her. A very simple thing, very normal. Absolutely no reason for her heart to be not only in her throat but hammering as well.

"Good Morning Owen," Tosh answered. She reached under the desk and pressed the access button for the main Hub. The door swung open.

"Toshiko?"

Tosh looked up. Owen lingered in the doorway. The sound of the door swinging shut echoed in the strained silence.

"We're good, right?" His voice sounded strange. Rough, as if he'd been smoking too much. Did Owen smoke? He hadn't tasted as though he did. Tosh stamped firmly on that train of thought and swallowed her heart back down to where it belonged. "Sorry?"

Owen moved back towards her. He stopped on the other side of the counter, propping his elbows on it and regarding her warily. He looked at aliens that way, sometimes. Wondering whether or not they were about to attack. Tosh suspected she was looking at him exactly the same way.

It wasn't very mature, the way she'd avoided him since Christmas. Weeks ago, and this was the first time they'd actually been alone together.

Owen's fingers started drumming on the counter. An uneven rhythm, just like her heartbeat. "I've been trying to say this for weeks," he grumbled. He met her eyes and she looked away instantly, terrified of shedding the tears that threatened. "I'm sorry, OK? Had too much to drink Christmas Eve and I, well, I shouldn't have, and ….. I won't again, and" he mumbled to a halt. "You're not making this easy, Toshiko," Owen complained.

Tosh forced herself to start breathing again. She raised her eyes, forcing them to meet his. "It wasn't your fault, Owen. I…I overreacted, I suppose. I…" her turn to stammer to a halt. "Can we just forget it?" she asked weakly.

Owen heaved a sigh that had to be relief. His shoulders slumped. "Sure. Friends, right?"

Tosh nodded. Friends would be good. She'd need a friend after Ianto left.

Owen shoved himself away from the counter. "Glad that's sorted, then."

This time he ducked through the door before it was even fully open. Nearly ran bang into the Teaboy. First time he'd seen him without that stone face, though. Well, not in the Hub. In fact, the only time Owen had seen Ianto looking like that was right before he'd found out how hard the boy in the suit could punch.

This is what you get, Ianto told himself, for wounding Jack's pride. Humiliation. Fine. It wasn't as though he hadn't felt humiliated in his dealings with Jack before. And it's only for three more weeks, he promised himself. You can put up with anything for three weeks. For Lisa.

Tosh jumped in her seat as the flap in the counter slammed back down.

"Ianto?"

"Don't ask, Tosh." The tacky bead curtain rattled as he swept it aside. Tosh ducked away from the violently swinging strands. Those things looked like they'd sting. "Sorry," Ianto apologized. "It's nothing. Just Jack being Jack. And you look like you don't need to hear it, anyway."

He slumped into the chair beside Tosh. Actually, he tried to slump but it didn't quite work, considering that his muscles were still too stiff with anger for anything remotely resembling relaxed posture.

Ianto took a few deep breaths, getting himself back under control. "Sorry Tosh. But really, I'm fine. I should have expected something like this. You don't offend the mighty Captain Harkness and emerge unscathed. So, I've vented. Your turn, Cariad. What happened with Owen? He bolted out of here like the Furies were after him."

Tosh tried to smile, but couldn't bring it off. "The ghosts of Christmas past seem to have visited us both this morning."

Ianto's face darkened again. "What did he do this time?"

Tosh shrugged, trying her best to be casual. "Nothing bad. He even apologized. Wants us to be friends. Could be worse, I suppose."

"Told you he wasn't good enough for you." Ianto squeezed her hand and sighed. "Sometimes I really hate this place, Tosh."

Tosh pasted on a smile. "Let's see what we can do about getting you out of here, then." She turned back to her laptop and retrieved the data on Lisa.

"Speaking of getting out of here," Ianto remarked, rummaging through his pockets. "I was packing last night and I thought I'd better bring this back." He handed over the artifact Tosh planted in his flat all those weeks ago. "Did I miss anything?"

Tosh took the object and examined it. "No, it's all here. Are you sure you won't need it again, though?"

Ianto shrugged. "He hasn't accessed my GPS since Christmas." Tosh didn't need to ask who 'he' was. "And I didn't want to leave without dismantling it. Don't want you getting into trouble if he takes my flat apart after I've gone."

After I'm gone. The words hung almost visibly in the silence. "I wish you could come with us," Ianto said softly. His arm slid around her shoulders. "Selfish of me, but I do. We do."

"So do I," Tosh admitted. "I don't suppose…." More silence.

Ianto broke it. "Can't do that to you," he said gruffly. "We'll probably spend the rest of our lives hiding. Bad enough I'm doing that to Lisa. Won't do it to you as well."

Tosh sighed. She had to admit she didn't really want that for herself either.

"I'll have to open the tourism office soon," Ianto prompted, squeezing her shoulder gently.

Tosh felt the comforting weight of Ianto's chin resting on her shoulder. They turned back to the screen together and continued with their task. Sending him to a freedom that was beginning to feel like a different form of captivity.

Somewhere in the back of Tosh's mind a nasty voice wondered whether Lisa was worth it.

The first thing Owen noticed as he entered the Hub was the addition to the artifacts near the entry. Jack's pet hand was back. Owen wasn't sure if that was a good sign or a bad one, but Jack was in his office, staring moodily out across the Hub, which tipped the scales towards 'bad.' Owen wondered if Jack had anything to do with Teaboy's temper and concluded the odds were heavily in favor of it. And Tosh hadn't looked much happier. Bloody Teaboy. Life in Torchwood was easier before he'd arrived. Dirtier, less organized and woefully undersupplied with coffee, admittedly. But still, much less complicated.

It was obviously shaping up to be one of those days, Owen decided gloomily. He hadn't even made it down to the Autopsy Bay when one of the alert systems went ballistic. And since Tosh was still out front with the Teaboy, Owen grumbled his way across to check the alert. Whereupon everyone's current happiness level became irrelevant.

"Bloody hell," he swore. "Jack," he yelled. "There's a Weevil in the frigging hospital."

"I have to say, I don't really understand what Dr Tanizaki's getting at with these tests." Tosh noted. "It's not like you'll be taking the converter with you, so why does he need to know the composition?"

Ianto's face crinkled in thought. "One of the reasons he thought I was hoaxing him at the start was because everything the Cybermen brought with them got sucked back into the void. I've tried telling him they made converters here, but I guess he still doesn't believe it. Or I suppose he could be trying to make one of his own. Best to humor him, don't you think? He's taking a risk, flying over here when he's obviously still not sure I've been telling the truth."

Tosh saved their work hurriedly as the door from the Hub slammed open. Owen again.

"Skates on, Toshiko," he yelled. "Bloody Weevils. We're lucky Suzie hadn't left home yet. She's gone ahead to close the wing of the hospital."

"Hospital," Tosh repeated. She turned to Ianto. "Would you start the cover story? Something requiring quarantine?"

"I'll find a suitably obscure disease," Ianto agreed. The tourist booth would be opening late, today. Couldn't have anyone leaning over the counter and reading about an outbreak of …Dengue Fever? – No, too tropical for Cardiff.

"How about smallpox?" Ianto suggested.

"Something like smallpox," Tosh said at the same time. She smiled. "Guess that's agreed then."

"Good choice," Owen commented. Bloody hell, they were practically reading each other's minds. "Plenty of diseases re-emerging since people started getting all anti-vaccine," he added, his foot tapping out an impatient rhythm as he waited by the door.

"What's a Weevil doing inside the hospital, though," Tosh fretted. "All right, Owen, I'm coming." She ducked through the gap in the counter as Ianto lifted the flap for her. "They usually avoid inhabited buildings, don't they?"

"Tell me about it," Owen agreed. "I think we should try to bring this one back. Try to find out what's changed."

"We always bring them back," Tosh protested.

"Alive, I meant." Owen turned back and looked pointedly at Ianto. "We'll need a cell." It was beyond pathetic, how good it made him feel, giving Teaboy orders in front of Toshiko. Get over yourself, he thought. Get over her.

Ianto merely nodded. The tourist desk wouldn't be opening at all, today. Preparing a cell gave him plenty of excuse to be out of sight. He'd be able to sneak down to visit Lisa. She'd been so sweet, lately. So excited about Dr Tanizaki, making all sorts of plans for when they were free. And it had been Lisa who'd gotten Ianto thinking about taking Tosh with them. Couldn't happen, of course. But she was becoming more and more like the old Lisa every day. Amazing the difference having a bit of hope made.

"Come on then Tosh," Owen urged. "Jack's bringing the SUV around. He'll be leaning on the horn any minute."

Tosh followed him out, wondering exactly what had made Jack so eager to avoid Ianto that he'd started playing valet. Something bad enough that Ianto wouldn't tell her about it.

The SUV pulled up and Tosh put all personal concerns into the back of her mind. A Weevil in the hospital. Owen was talking about how this was typical predatory behavior, honing in on the sick and the weak. Tosh became so engrossed in listening to his theory that she forgot to be uncomfortable around him.

There was exhilaration in working with the whole team that was never quite there when they split up. The four of them worked smoothly together, getting into position without any of the hospital staff even realizing they'd gotten into the closed wing. The musical sound of Ianto's voice directed them as they spread out and closed slowly around their quarry. Tosh found herself smiling, glorying in the rush of adrenaline. It was going to be all right, she realized. She was going to be all right. She was part of the team. They were her friends. Or at least Owen was.

They just about had the Weevil cornered when Ianto's voice crackled over the comm. Not calm anymore. "The bloody woman's stalking you, Sir" he yelled. "Constable Cooper's between you and the Weevil. And she's brought someone else with her."

The mood in the SUV was subdued as they loaded the sedated Weevil into the back.

"Is it too much to ask for just one day where nobody dies?" Owen demanded. "And he'd have stayed out of the way if that daft PC hadn't stuck her nose in."

"She's still there," Ianto reported. "If you take the rear exit you'll miss her, Sir."

A wicked grin slid across Jack's face. "Let's see if she's as good as she thinks she is," he gloated. "Ianto, it's time to test your hacking skills. Make sure she can't trace the SUV."

Constable Cooper jumped clear as the SUV bore down on her. Suzie and Owen laughed openly. Jack grinned his predatory grin. Even Tosh couldn't help the satisfied smile that twisted her lips. They'd achieved their goal but it had cost the life of a civilian. A civilian who'd followed a woman with far too much curiosity for anyone's safety. Even her own.

If anyone has a better theory about why Lisa and her converter didn't get sucked into the void, pls tell me and I'll add it in. Thanks for reading.