The cleanup work took most of the early morning hours, with Jack having to pull rank on the locals to get things done. Cardiff CID took control of the cult, claiming jurisdiction in regards to the previous murders that had taken place. Gwen handled the irate farmer who stood off to one side moaning about the damage to his barley. Ianto continued to clean up evidence, and ignored the local constables who milled around aimlessly.

By the time the South Wales police had loaded the cult into their Rover along with the vehicles of the local constabulary, Andy was conscious. He was terribly embarrassed by his state of undress and wasn't too happy when Gwen told him his clothes were nowhere to be found. Jack loaned him the ripped, torn and bloodied greatcoat since it covered more than Gwen's leather jacket could. Together he and Gwen got Andy to the SUV and bundled into the back seat. He was still feeling the after effects of the drugs he had been given and had little memory of what had happened that evening.

When Jack returned to the area of the stone, Ianto and Aeron were finishing up with the locals. He smiled in satisfaction. They had a new ally with the DCI after this adventure, he knew. Soon the farmer and the local PC left, ushered out of the field by Sorles and Drake and it was back to just them.

'What the hell happened tonight?' Aeron James asked no one in particular.

'Hell tried to break loose?' Jack had his hands on his hips, oblivious to the red stain in the middle of his shirt and the tear where Deryn's dagger had slashed his upper arm. From where Aeron was standing, there was no sign of any wounds on the other man. He shook his head in wonder.

'Doesn't that hurt?' He asked, gesturing towards Jack. Jack looked down in surprise as if noticing the damage for the first time.

'Oh, my coat stopped most of it. This isn't blood,' he dissembled, though Aeron had been close enough when restraining Deryn to know blood pumping out of a wound when he saw it. 'That's the dye from those thorns.' Gwen turned away to hide a smile. Ianto was over by the stone, still cleaning up the stuff that the Adoliat had left behind during the ceremony. She watched as he leaned against the stone for a moment before straightening fully and heading back in their direction.

Jack used Ianto's approach as an excuse to turn away from the Cardiff DCI. 'All set?'

Ianto nodded, folding over the top of a rucksack he was carrying. 'Yeah, that's the last of it. Anything left behind won't mean much to anyone as I've got all of the important stuff right here,' he said as he patted the bag over his shoulder. "And if I never have to say another word of old or middle Welsh again, I'll be grateful." Jack smiled in response. They had done well that evening and had finally stopped the Adoliat permanently. He felt a sense of satisfaction for a job well done.

'Okay then, time to head back,' Jack said. He turned to Aeron. 'It's probably best if you head back with your prisoners. We'll stop back at the cottage and get our gear before heading back to town.'

'You'll watch over Andy Davidson?' Aeron asked. Gwen nodded.

'Absolutely. We need to make sure that the drugs get out of his system, so we'll keep an eye on him,' Gwen said. 'Don't worry, Aeron. I'll personally make sure that he gets the best care.' Aeron stared at her in the light of their headlights. She was so different from the woman he had known a few short years ago on the force. He nodded his head.

'Thanks. I'll also need statements from you as well,' he said, looking between Gwen, Ianto and Jack. Jack told him they'd stop by in the next couple of days and get that to him. Gwen hid a smile, knowing that whatever they did end up sharing with the CID would probably raise more questions than it answered. Aeron bid them farewell and headed off to his Rover. They had also commandeered the transit van and Edmund Sorles would drive the rest of the prisoners back to Cardiff in that. Gwen was amused to see that several of them had been gagged so at least it would be a somewhat quiet ride for Sorles, though perhaps not, she thought as she listened to one of them kicking the side panels of the idling transit van.

The Torchwood team stood and listened as the sounds of the engines faded away into the night. Jack looked up at the clear night sky. The stars twinkled above them.

'I swear this is the only thing I like about the country,' he muttered as he stared up at the stars. Ianto followed his glance upwards and chuckled softly.

'You certainly don't get this kind of view in the city with all the ambient light, but then you also don't have roofs to prowl out there, either,' he commented. 'If I don't leave the city for a long while, I'll be happy after this.'

'Well, it's not like we went camping again,' Gwen replied, earning a glare of annoyance from her teammate. 'And we're not in the Beacons this time.'

'And we don't have the locals trying to eat us,' Jack said as they began to pick their way across the crushed barley, using the headlights from the SUV to light their way. 'There's something to be said about that.'

'Mmmm,' Ianto replied noncommittally. 'No, just ancient goddesses who want their acolytes to castrate the men of the world and kill them on top of old rocks. I can see where that would be much better than a couple of cannibals.' He could see Jack shrug as they walked together.

'You two,' Gwen said with a laugh as she reached the SUV and opened the rear door to get in. 'You make me laugh.' Jack grinned at her. He stretched, reaching up towards the sky.

'We did good,' he commented. 'No one died tonight. I'll count that as a win.' Ianto nodded. They had come close and he almost wanted to correct Jack on his comment, but let it lie. Someone had died this evening, but if it had to be one of them, at least it was Jack who could come back to them. He climbed into the passenger seat, sighing with relief that the night was over. Jack got into the driver's side and Ianto handed him the spare set of keys. Jack's were still in his coat pocket which was with Andy, who was asleep in the back. He started the engine and listened to the purr of the engine a moment before pulling the SUV in a wide circle to head back down the access road.

'You know, we still have another day paid on the cottage,' Jack said with a sidelong look towards Ianto. Gwen laughed softly as she looked out the window and listened to them banter with one another in the front seat. Andy was slumbering beside her, wrapped in one of the SUV blankets they had in the back and exhausted from the events of the night. She leaned her head back against the headrest, weary to the bone. She felt a deep longing for her bed with Rhys warm and cozily spooned against her. It felt like ages since she had had a decent lie in, and she was determined to vote for heading home and to her own bed with her gorgeous husband.

The images outside the SUV window blurred and she closed her eyes to block it out. From the front seat she could hear Jack and Ianto talking. Ianto was debating whether it was better to spend the night at the cottage and let them all rest or to go back home. Jack was obviously opting for the former. Her ears perked up at the reference to one of Ianto's neighbors and her rather odd behavior the last time that Ianto had seen her. While he speculated that something was wrong, Jack was oddly silent. Gwen opened her eyes, her senses attuned something off in Jack's response. She stared at his profile from the back seat, trying to guess what it was that he wasn't saying in response to Ianto's comment.

A moment later, she just shook her head. Whatever it was, it wasn't anything to do with her. Still, she resolved to mention her intuitive feeling to Ianto later. She smiled to herself and closed her eyes again, knowing she could at least relax. Things were back to normal. Or as normal as it ever got with Torchwood. She sat back, satisfied.

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(Author's note: Thank you for reading this story, I hope you enjoyed it. The mythology depicted in this story is based on the stories of the Mabinogion, and the Middle Welsh used in the early chapters was translated by a gracious graduate student at Aberstwyth University. Many thanks to everyone who helped with my research on this novel and if you've enjoyed it, please leave a review and pass the link to it to your friends. Tylluan)