"So what's the deal with Jack then?"

"What?" Ianto spluttered, looking up from the plate of pasta he'd been twirling absently. Jenny had cooked for him on a rare evening off from work, but his head was still at the hub.

"Jack" Jenny repeated, "you've told me a fair bit about the others, Owen and Gwen and Tosh, we've hung out with them now and again. But Jack, he's a bit of a mystery"

"Yeah you could say that" Ianto laughed bitterly, before coughing uncomfortably, "He is to all of us really, none of us know a lot about him. He… keeps himself to himself"

Jenny nodded, "seems nice though. Charismatic"

"Yep" Ianto said tightly, "anyway…"

"We should invite them all over! To your flat, I can cook or we could get takeaway or something"

"I don't know if that's a good idea"

"Why not?" Jenny asked, "It'd be nice to see each other outside of work wouldn't it?"

"Well everyone's quite busy when we're not in work, they have lives and things"

"You work for the tourist board! Even if you do have some weird hours" She reached her hand across the table to squeeze his, "I want to get to know your friends, Yan"

"Yes…. I guess I could suggest it" Ianto sighed resignedly, hoping to steer her away from the topic of work.

"Good" she smiled, "Let me know when you get a date booked in"

X-X-X

"That has got to be the best Chinese around here" Owen sighed, stretching back in his chair, "And I should know I practically live off them"

"yeah, that and cold pizza" Gwen nodded, "Thanks for inviting us over, both"

Ianto gave her a shy smile as Jenny grinned, "You're welcome, its always nice to spend time with Yan's friends"

Tosh nodded and smiled politely, quietly observing the dynamic at the dinner table. Jack was sat immediately to her left, the tension in his body clear as he fleetingly glanced between Ianto and Jenny. The Welshman himself was also sneaking glances in Jack's direction, subtly enough that only the sharp-eyed Tosh even picked up on it. She stifled the urge to roll her eyes at the two of them, like teenagers with secret crushes. They all rose to begin to clear the table, spreading themselves around the open plan apartment to relax after stuffing themselves silly. Jack sighed deeply as he sank onto the sofa, looking around Ianto's home. The place summed him up perfectly, immaculately organised and minimal, but there were warm touches of his personality shining through. The entire James Bond collection stood in date order on the DVD case next to the flat screen, the corresponding books lined up on the shelf below it. Jack smiled fondly as he noticed Ianto's stopwatch resting on the mantlepiece, his mind drifting back to all those months ago when Ianto had propositioned him using it.

"You ok over here?" Jenny smiled warmly, settling down next to him and breaking him out of his reverie,

Jack smiled back weakly, "Yeah of course. Its been a nice evening" he said politely,

"I'm glad to be getting to know you all. I know how important you are to Ianto"

"We're a close team" Jack nodded, "Bit like a family, in a way"

"So you and Yan know eachother well then"

"We've worked together a while" Jack acknowledged tightly, "he's a great guy"

"Yeah he is" Jenny grinned, "We haven't been together all that long but… who knows, things could be getting pretty serious"

"I'm really happy for you" Jack said bluntly, hoping his voice didn't betray his true feelings, "I should go help with the dishes"

"No no, let me" Jenny rose from the sofa, "you're all guests after all"

Jack glared at her retreating figure "So are you, you don't live here" he muttered bitterly, not noticing the other welsh woman approaching him,

"What was that?" Gwen settled into the seat next to him.

"Oh, um, nothing" Jack said quickly, looking guilty as she raised an eyebrow, "Just Jenny acting like she's the hostess when its not her house"

"Well, it was her idea to have us over, wouldn't have been Ianto would it" Gwen pointed out, "Plus its her boyfriend's house, she'll probably stay tonight, and who knows she could move in at some point"

"Don't remind me" Jack groaned, leaning back into the sofa, "eugh, when did I become this petty jealous whiner?!"

Gwen shrugged, "No idea, but…."

A beeping from Jack's wrist strap startled them both, a clear alert from the Hub. Jack rolled his eyes and tapped a few buttons, before looking back up to Gwen,

"We need to go"

X-X-X

Ianto looked out over the darkness of the bay, the sea air biting at his face in a way that cleared his mind. Tosh leaned over the balcony next to him, following his gaze out towards the inky sea.

"Thanks for inviting us over, its nice to do things outside of the Hub isn't it"

"Oh, it was all Jenny's idea" Ianto murmured, "Not that it wasn't nice to see you all, obviously"

"Ianto, can I ask you something?"

"Course"

"You and Jenny…. is it getting serious?"

Ianto turned to look at her "I don't…. I mean its complicated, with what we do, I can't be completely honest with her. I like her"

"you like her?" Tosh rolled her eyes, "that's a warm sentiment"

"Hey" Ianto said indignantly, "it hasn't been that long! I care about her. I want her to be happy and she does make me happy too. It's just something isn't quite… it's work that's making me reluctant to take it further"

"Work… as in?"

"As in the fact that we work in a secret underground organization and catch aliens maybe?"

Tosh giggled, "I know that, but Gwen and Rhys make it work"

"Yeah" Ianto agreed, "But its more complicated for me"

"I know" Tosh nodded, "They were already serious before she even joined. And… because of Jack"

"I don't…" Ianto looked down, "Jack and I… I don't think of him in that way"

Tosh looked him in the eye "Can you tell me that honestly?"

Ianto opened his mouth to do so, then closed it again with a small shake of his head. A small cough from the doorway made them both jump. They turned to see Jack stood there, a blank, steely expression on his face,

"We have a problem" Jack murmured, "Weevil alert, a pack of them in Sophia Gardens"

"A pack?"

"At least 4" Jack nodded, "We need to go"

"Ok" Tosh immediately went to grab her bag, the men following behind into the flat,

"Ianto see you in the morning" Jack turned towards the door to sweep out, as the rest of the team assembled at his side.

"I'm coming with you, you'll need all of us"

"It's fine"

"Jack, I'm coming" Ianto said firmly, and the steely determination in his eyes made Jack pause.

"But Jenny"

"Shit" Ianto closed his eyes briefly, "I'll sort it. I'm coming too"

The rest of them nodded in assent and flooded out of the door, Jack giving him a lingering glance,

"Fine, we'll go on ahead in the SUV, bring your car"

He swept out of the door after the others, and Ianto watched him go before turning back to the living room with a sigh. Jenny came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on her jeans.

"Dishes all done…. hey, where did everyone go?"

"There was a… work thing. I have to go" Ianto said to her, "shouldn't be too long"

"What?" Jenny asked in confusion, "where are you going?"

"I said it's a work thing" Ianto said carefully, "I'll be back as soon as I can"

"I don't understand though, what work thing?"

"I can't… look I'll explain later, stay here if you want but I have to go"

"Yan what the hell?!"

"Jenny please" Ianto said tensely, "just believe me when I say I need to go"

"you're being ridiculous you're not making sense"

"I just can't!" he yelled, "I will explain but now is not the time, my team needs me now that's all that matters"

"What?!" she practically shrieked in disbelief as he turned on his heel and sped out the door. He knew he was going to have to come up with a proper explanation later, along with an apology. He had anticipated an emergency at some point leading to this discussion, and in hindsight it was sheer luck that it had lasted this long without Torchwood interfering. But he couldn't think about that now, his team had to come first.