Hello! first of all, I suck. I had planned to get this started/finished/up last week and here we are. I don't know why I struggled so hard with this episode I just couldn't seem to find my stride, but here we are none the less. I have the next part already partly finished and hope to have it all up by the end of this week. I'm visiting family over the next few days but hoping I can find some time to get it done. As always, I hope you enjoy. We've sort of broken the barrier in regards to Jack and Rose now so expect to see more of them in more of a coupley sort of thing from here on.

Enjoy, thanks!

Chapter 22

Greeks Bearing Gifts Part 1

It had been a pretty uneventful few days, there had been little rift activity and aside from the odd rogue weevil they'd had little reason to leave the hub. Not that Jack or Rose had any complaints, after the events in the Brecon Beacons a little downtime was welcomed. The feelings they had been dancing around for sometime had finally come to fruition upon their return from the countryside. The lack of activity paired with the others recovering at home had given them time to explore this new level of their relationship, something they would have to learn to tone down once the others returned to work the next day. Until then however..

Rose smiled when a cup of coffee was placed on the desk in front of her, followed by a quick kiss to the top of her head.

"Thought you might want a fresh cup." Jack told her and she glanced up at him with a smile of thanks.

"Anything new?" He added and she shook her head, looking back at her screen with a sigh.

"Nope, shouldn't complain though I 'spose, it's not often we have nothing to do." She said with a shrug, reaching forward she grabbed her cup and took a sip before leaning back in her chair.

"Well.." Jack started, waiting for Rose to put her cup back down before turning her chair around to face him.

"I can think of a few things we could do to pass some time." He continued with a smirk, resting his hands on the arms of her chair before leaning forward and capturing her lips in a kiss.

Rose smiled as their lips met, this was something she could definitely get used to.

It was everyones first day back, aside from Jack and Rose of course. They had all been pretty shaken up after their run in with the cannibals, with some injuries being more psychological than physical. None of them had been in touch throughout their time off which was expected and Rose was eager to check in with them all when they arrived and see how they were. They had always been a pretty close nit team but after going through something like that, they would definitely been looking out for one and other more.

They were due anytime and Rose had planned on being there when they arrived to welcome them back, that was before she had nipped to Jack's office to ask him a simple question. He had been sat at his desk and she'd leaned in to give him a quick peck before heading out into the main area to wait for the others, she should have known better than to start something with Jack if she didn't have the intention of it escalating. That is why she could hardly be surprised by her current position. His desk was starting to dig into her ass as he trailed kisses from her lips down to her throat, the hands she had originally raised to his chest in a half assed attempt to push him away were now curling around his hips to pull him closer. He smirked at her change of heart, bringing his lips back to hers he moved his hands to her hips so he could lift her onto his desk.

The all too familiar sound of the cog wheel door sliding open echoed throughout the hub and the two parted, Rose let out a breath of a laugh as Jack looked at her in annoyance. He took a step back and she offered him a smile.

"Back to business." She said and he nodded with a sigh.

Stepping out from between Jack and his desk she headed for the door but he reached out and grabbed her hand to stop her.

He moved forward and gave her one last quick kiss, he pulled away with a smile and squeezed her hand softly before letting go. She returned the smile and left his office, running a hand through her hair she hoped she didn't look as flustered as she felt.

Wondering over to the main area she caught sight of Ianto already retreating over to his coffee station and followed, it felt like so long since they had spoken properly and not only did she miss her friend but after the events in the countryside she didn't want to risk things being left unsaid and never having the chance to say them.

"Hey Ianto!" Rose called out with a smile.

Ianto looked up from his precious machine and over at Rose, offering her a small smile.

"Morning." He replied before getting back to his task.

She came to stand beside him as he made a start on the coffees, the others would be in shortly so he made sure to put enough on for everyone.

"How've you been?" She asked, knowing it was a pretty stupid question given what they had all been through. She'd had nightmares ever night since, but was lucky to have Jack there to help her through it. As far as she was aware, Ianto had nobody, not since Lisa and she couldn't image how much harder things must be for him.

"Fine." He said simply with a shrug and she sighed.

"Yan it's me, look I know things haven't been the same between us since.." She paused and he glanced at her briefly but remained silent.

"I miss being able to come to you about stuff even Jack wouldn't understand, I miss you being able to talk to me too, I'm sorry I let it go on this long, I was being selfish and I'm sorry." She continued, running a hand through her hair in frustration.

"I miss it too." He said, frowning as he thought about how much he had missed their friendship and how his actions had very nearly cost Rose her life.

"I'm sorry, truly sorry." He added, meeting her eye and hoping she could see just how sorry he was for what he had done and for what he had nearly done.

She stepped forward and the two embraced, second only to Jack, Ianto had been her closet friend since she arrived and their distance had been hard on her.

"Well isn't this cosy, do I get a welcome back hug too?"

Rose rolled her eyes at the voice and they parted, Ianto went back to making the coffees and she looked over at Owen who was watching them with a smirk.

"I'll catch you in a bit Ianto." She told her friend with a smile and he nodded.

"Have a nice few days off?" She asked Owen as she made her way over.

"It was alright, the usual" Owen explained with a shrug and Rose resisted the urge to roll her eyes again.

"Booze and shagging then?" She surmised and he looked almost offended for a moment before a smile tugged at his lips.

"You know me so well Miss Tyler." He told her and she chuckled.

"Mind if I take a look at your wound?" He added, gesturing to her stomach and she nodded.

Jack had helped her change the dressing whilst Owen hadn't been there, since she refused to go to a hospital he'd told her he would keep a check on it to make sure it didn't get infected. He led her through the hub and down to the medical area, she hopped up onto the table whilst he grabbed the necessary equipment.

"How have you been feeling?" Owen asked as she lifted the bottom half of her top to expose the dressing covering her gun shot wound.

"Like I was shot." She told him bluntly and he rolled his eyes.

"Alright smart arse." He said, peeling back the dressing taped over her wound.

Rose flinched at the contact and looked away, it didn't hurt as much now and the painkillers she had been given helped immensely but she couldn't bring herself to look at it as Owen made sure it was clean before grabbing another dressing.

"It's healing nicely, no signs of infection, but you still need to take it easy." He explained as he recovered the wound, she nodded and pulled her shirt back down as he stepped back and offered her a smile.

"Thanks Owen." She said with a smile and he nodded.

She left him to put his things away and headed back upstairs, Jack was standing nearby and she flashed him a smile before resting a hand on her side.

"I'm good to go." She told him with a shrug.

"Not what I said!" Owen shouted up and Rose rolled her eyes.

"I'm fine Jack." She assured him.

Jack had expressed his concern about her going out in the field when she was still injured so she had been banking on Owen giving her the all clear. Apparently not. She sighed and headed off towards her work station, Jack close behind.

"You were shot, you need to take it easy for a while." He told her and she sighed.

She sat down in the chair at her desk, ignoring Jack's intense stare when she winced at the quick movement. She hated being cooped up and hated even more that the others were going to treat her like she wasn't capable just because she had been injured.

He put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze before he headed off back to his own office. Running a hand through her hair she let out another long sigh before shifting her mouse to activate the screen, if she was going to be put on house arrest then she'd have to find something to keep herself occupied whilst the others were out doing the real work.

She didn't know how Tosh did it. Aside from the odd occasion, Tosh usually stayed back at the hub whilst the others were out in the field, monitoring cctv and giving them information and directions through their earpieces. Whilst Rose was on house arrest however (she could practically hear Jack roll his eyes every time she used the term), she and Tosh had swapped roles somewhat. When her assistant wasn't required however and she was left twiddling her thumbs whilst the others were off running around the city, she still had Ianto to keep her company. She helped him feed Myfanwy on occasion and it also gave her time to check in with her friend whilst the others weren't around to make sure he was alright. After what had happened with Lisa and then in the countryside she didn't want to risk him feeling like he couldn't open up to them again.

It was starting to feel like groundhog day, Rose loved her job but she hated being cooped up. She wanted to be out in the thick of it with her team and she felt an uncomfortable itch when she wasn't able to. After what felt like a lifetime, and as she was just starting to think she was actually going crazy, she was finally given the all clear as long as she promised to take it easy.

Jack had received a call about a skeleton being found at a construction site alongside an object they couldn't identify, they all grabbed their things before heading out and Rose couldn't help feeling a little excited to finally be back out in the field, even under the circumstances.

They drove through the construction site and came to a stop outside a tent surrounded by police tape, everyone got out and headed straight inside to where a partially dug up skeleton lay beside an odd metal looking object.

"Just once id like to walk into one of these tents and find a party, y'know with food and drink? People dancing, a girl crying in the corner." Jack thought allowed, kneeling in front of the object he flipped open his wrist device to see if he could identify the origins.

Rose smiled in amusement and came to stand beside him with her arms crossed.

"Is it alien?" She asked, peering over to get a better look.

"And how, I'm getting traces of ilmenite, pyroxine and even dark matter." He explained with a frown.

"Do you have any idea what it is?" Gwen chimed in and he shook his head.

"Not a clue, could be a weapon or a really big stapler." He told her before looking over at the skeleton Owen was examining.

"How's our friend there?" He asked.

"She's dead." Owen deadpanned and Rose rolled her eyes.

"Thanks for that Sherlock." She shot back sarcastically.

"She?" Jack questioned.

"Judging by the size of her skull." Owen summarised.

*How long have they been here Tosh?" Jack asked looking to his technical analyst.

"Judging by the depth they were found, one hundred and ninety six years, eleven to eleven and a half months, the earths been disturbed so i'm afraid I can't be more accurate." She explained.

"So do we think it was the stapler that killed her?" Rose asked and Owen shook his head.

"See those shattered ribs? I'm thinking she was shot." He told her.

"Well, let's get her back to the hub and find out." Jack told his team as he stood, glancing at Rose before leaving the tent.

Rose followed him out and found him waiting for her, flashing him a smile she walked with him back to the suv.

"How're you feeling?" He asked and she sighed.

"Fine." She told him.

"I promise." She added, reaching out and giving his hand a quick squeeze.