**As I have just completed Part three of this story and thought I would celebrate by posting and extra chapter this week. Enjoy.

Current word count 61582

Affairs of the Heart

Chapter 37

Jack watched as Ianto walked into the room. He always marvelled at how Ianto maintained his

standard at dress but today Ianto looked more than a little dishevelled. He was wearing faded jeans and a black tee shirt covered with a hoodie. The black shirt highlighted how pale and tired he looked. But he was relieved to see Ianto did not appear to have been outwardly affected by the events of the day before.

"I'm sorry, I know it's a Saturday, but Tosh and I were having a discussion, when she recalled you had done a lot of work on the local history surrounding the henge," Jack explained.

"Looks like you had a rough night, you up for this?" Jack asked seeing the dark look Ianto gave him.

Ianto looked at Jack.

'No I'm bloody well not up for this,' he thought. 'I was perfectly content lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, contemplating the misery of my existence. I've had no real sleep for weeks. My nights are filled with the most horrible nightmares. Last night I dreamed I was bound up like some kind of animal being slaughtered as my throat was being cut and I woke up screaming.

Because of this I haven't eaten properly for weeks and I am surviving on a combination of coffee, caffeinated sodas with the odd dry cracker thrown in. And if truth be known if you didn't take me out to dinner once a week I would have starved to death by now.

I'm terrified you might disappear again at any moment like you did before, but this time you won't be back. I have no explanation for the why I feel this way, I just do

I think I have fallen in love with my boss. Yesterday I found out that there is no chance for me not even in the slightest degree because he has already found someone.

But I'll smile and pretend that everything is ok because that what expected of me.

"What can I help you with- Sir" Ianto replied.

Jack winced as he heard Ianto call him sir. He hated it when Ianto hid behind a mask of obsequiousness as the perfect assistant and was clear indication that he was as unhappy as he looked.

He put one hand on Ianto's chest and the other on his back. "I am sorry but this is important we really need your help," He added

"When I was last here I gave you some whole of journal articles I had found out about the local area stories and such. " Tosh reminded him as he sat down at his desk. "From what Jack tells me you have created an extensive data base of all the local legends.

"I wouldn't say all, " Ianto replied as tiny edge of a smile lifted his face. "I'm still waiting for some information from the British Library."

"Can you give us a summation of what you learnt?" Jack asked.

Ianto moved over to the filing cabinet and pulled out several files. "Where would you like to start?" he asked.

"Let's start with the oldest and work forwards?" Tosh suggested helpfully .

He threw the files on to his desk top. "Let me at least get some coffee on then I will start with the most interesting," he added.

Several hours passed as Ianto began with another noted tale.

"It's been noted and even I agree with this, that the arrangement of stones look like the iris of an eye," Ianto said as handed both Tosh and Jack a diagram. "This ties up with the idea that the henge is the eye of a sleeping dragon. It is said that if the dragon ever awakes it will eat the stars."

"Another one around the same theme, is about a race of dragons who lived in the stars, one dragon in particular when rogue and began to devour planets. As the planets were inhabited this was upsetting to everyone. So it was trapped here by a group of other dragons for all eternity. The stones around the outside representing the bars of a cage."

"However the most detailed legend and held as local knowledge by the locals and where it gets its name comes for an old English epic poem which was first transcribed from an old manuscript in the 1700's. This transcription was itself taken from a much more ancient document from approximately 900CE and was noted as coming from an oral tradition that goes much further back. What is strange is the 900CE transcription was done at the insistence of the Founding Abbot at local monastery. It was lost during the time of Henry the VIII when the monasteries were disbanded. It was rediscovered hidden in one of the crypts at the local church in Emindale sealed in a lead box." He took a drink of his now cold coffee and continued

"It runs to around 200 verses so I'll summarise," Ianto added as he saw the look on Jack's face, " There was Heaven, where those who lived among the stars dwelt. Many Gods lived here among the stars."

"There were many different kinds of Gods and a disagreement broke out between two of them. And a war began in Heaven. It went on eons and eons and both sides became the destroyers of worlds. Eventually it went on for so long neither side could remember what they were fighting about. Each side was evenly matched so sometimes one side won, then the other. In between those who lived under the heavens suffered the most."

"Even though the true cause of the war was lost, both sides fought themselves to ruin, but neither side would give in. Eventually both sides were on the point of annihilation, both having constructed weapons that would win the war by destroying the other.

On both sides there were those that saw the coming genocide and decided to act. They were called the wise brothers and wise sisters."

"They stole one of the terrible weapons and hid it in a place neither side could find and sent an ultimatum, stop fighting or we will destroy everyone from both sides, nothing will remain, not even a memory. Only the fanatics wanted to keep fighting and it was the lesser Gods on both sides who overthrew them, Then both sides came together and worked towards peace. All the terrible weapons on both sides were destroyed except one."

"There were such differences between the two races of Gods that a war could break out in the future. So it was decided that the one weapon stolen by the six beings would remain hidden. Three beings from one side and three from the other chose to remain with the weapon for eternity keeping if safe. They lie, forever watching, ready to use the weapon to destroy both sides if a war starts again. According to the locals the three large stones on the left are called the three brothers the three big stones on the right are the three sisters."

"It goes on that the two sets of gods have now become one and the purpose of the weapon has been lost so it sits here waiting. Finally, there is a note added about a prophecy that in the future, an Immortal and the lonely God, will call on the sleeping brothers and sisters to assist in saving the universe from a great future evil. The locals call it the Eye of Emin; Emin meaning God."

"This is fascinating," Tosh commented as she jotted down notes.

"Just a couple more," Ianto added as he looked at his watch seeing it was now almost the middle of the afternoon.

"This one celebrated in the local village church at Emindale, " Ianto said as he handed them photocopy of stained glass window. "In medieval times there was a legend that this was the eye of a sleeping serpent hence the circle, that when it dreamed it would heal people especially children."

Jack looked up suddenly alert, as he also saw Tosh sit up. "Oh," he said.

"There was this small boy ,who had been born to a couple who thought they would never had children. However the child was born with no speech and was clearly slow. He had some affinity with animals wild or tame so he was put to work looking after the village sheep. One day while with the herd, he fell asleep at the stones. When he awoke, there had been a miracle. Before he couldn't speak a single word he now could take on a full conversation. At first the locals thought it was witchcraft but the boy could quote the bible word perfect. He went into holy orders starting up a local monastery whose work centred on healing the sick."

'Any dates around when this might have happened?" Jack asked.

"Well the monastery was set up around 920CE, so if you believe this then it could have been anytime around 880CE onwards," Ianto advised.

"Did it become a pilgrimage site for healing like other places in the middle ages?" Tosh asked

"Strangely no, there were no further documented healings so it just disappeared off the radar," Ianto advised. "Except for this " He handed Jack and Tosh photocopies from a news paper article from the 1920's. "This is a report from the local newspaper. A local family were denying rumours that their daughter who had been visiting the stones with her brother had started to speak. She had been diagnosed as a childhood schizophrenic and had stopped speaking some years before. Apparently according to the report she returned from the stones and slept for two days. When she awoke not only could she speak, she awoke with an abiding passion for numbers. She went on to influence modern ways of seeing the universe, but leading a normal life in every other way."

"I wonder how many more there were?" Tosh asked thinking out loud.

"Pardon? " Ianto commented not sure what she meant.

"Locals, like this family whose children were healed but who didn't want to draw attention to themselves."

"Tosh and I got talking last night. She has a theory that the stones have some other purpose that what appears on the surface," Jack advised cautiously.

"No doubt. " Ianto advised trying to keep the sarcasm from his voice. "That the whole mystery surrounding standing stones is no one knows why they were built or by who."

"You have to admit," Tosh pointed out, "it is in intriguing that this stones would appear to be taking an active role in healing people." She paused to order her thoughts. "I mean what is the criteria they use, how would they choose?" she added then saw the warning look on Jack's face. "Why some and not others..." she trailed off.

"So your saying you believe that the stones are somehow healing people ,children!" Ianto burst out.

"Yes. Why not, it's a valid hypothesis?" Tosh stated back.

"What? So there really is some kind of sky snake that lives under the ground choosing to heal people," Ianto snapped.

"Well something is going on," Tosh told him after a few seconds.

Ianto took a deep breath as he looked directly at Jack, "Look, I don't believe in miracles or happy endings. It's more likely the children were misdiagnosed or it was just simple co-incidence," he argued.

Seeing the look on Ianto's face he could swear he felt his heart actually ache. He stood up and looked at his watch it was 2.30 in the afternoon. "I think that's enough for now it's a lot to think about."

Ianto stood quickly. "Right, I'm off home." he said relieved he could finally escape back to his flat.

"Tosh and I were going out for a late lunch," Jack said in an effort to stop Ianto leaving.

"Please join us," Tosh piped in taking Jack's lead.

Ianto shook his head desperate to leave. "Look thanks and all that, but right now I'm not good company," he explained.

"My treat, I insist," she said as she saw him brace himself. "Look I would really like to thank you." She looked at Jack who was looking at her nodding at her trying to make sure she continued, "

for all the hard work you've done."

Jack watched as Ianto face smoothed into his nice mode the perfect mask as he hid his pain, smile and get on and endure.

Following behind Ianto it took every ounce of his control not to spin the man around take him into his arms.