Martha, much to Jack's frustration, had insisted on seeing Ianto alone to complete the medical examination. The room simply wasn't big enough to accommodate them all, and Martha had wanted a chance to talk to Ianto by himself. This, of course, had almost resulted in a fight of epic proportions. Jack was insistent that he was not leaving Ianto alone again.

It didn't matter what the man in question protested – that he would be fine, that Jack himself had said that he wasn't going to disappear, that Martha would make sure he was okay – nothing would soothe Jack. Martha was curious that Ianto was okay with Jack leaving him and was not quite sure what to make of it. If Ianto was not who he said he was and was using Jack to hide and protect himself surely, he'd want to keep Jack close. But in the end, it had been Ianto's protest that he wanted a decent coffee after Martha had finished with him that had finally convinced Jack to go. He'd taken one look at the instant coffee packets in the white mugs that Mickey had shoved to one side to make room for his gadgets, screwed up his nose and turned his wide eyes and pout to Jack.

Gwen has stayed silent until Jack was hesitantly started to agree with Ianto when she suggested a coffee shop with a bakery that was within walking distance. She looked absolutely shattered, but Martha was grateful for her suggestion that would keep Jack away a little longer. Rhys had made some noise about getting breakfast too, and with a firm look from Martha, Mickey had agreed to go with them to get something too. It had been difficult enough trying to book a room at such short notice, not to mention negotiating an earlier check-in at an unusual hour. Martha didn't fancy pushing her luck to try and get a table for breakfast at the hotel restaurant too.

So, with much protesting, Jack and the others finally left them to it. He checked multiple times that Martha and Gwen had each other's numbers and she promised that she would ring if anything happened. Rhys even left his own mobile with Ianto, just so he could contact them directly.

The small café they found was not far from Cardiff Central and pretty popular with the workers on the way to the office if the queue that stretched out the door was any indication. Jack was adamant that they go there after spotting a familiar-looking coffee machine behind the counter. Ianto would kill him if he brought back instant coffee. Rhys, for once, had agreed with him. By his reckoning, the fact that the other places they had glanced inside weren't half as busy, so this place must have been pretty good.

So, whilst Mickey and Rhys waited inside for their order, Gwen and Jack found a bench near some large bare planters on the pavement. A few green tips were starting to emerge from the soil; soon the daffodils would grow and bloom, adding some bright colour to the overcast days of spring. Gwen wrapped her coat more tightly around herself and yawned. Her breath was visible in the cold March morning air.

"Do you think he's all right?" Jack asked.

"Mmhmm." Gwen hadn't been counting how many times Jack had asked after Ianto in the last twenty minutes, but if she had been, she would have surely lost count by now.

"Has your phone-"

"For God's sake, Jack! Yes, it's got charge, yes, it's on full volume, and yes, it's got signal. No, it hasn't rung or beeped, and yes, I would have heard it if went, and no, I don't need to check it again just in case and no, you're not having it because you'll just annoy Martha texting her and her patient when she's trying to work."

"Sorry," he muttered.

Gwen snorted. "That's new. Jack Harkness apologising."

He just shrugged and pushed his hands deeper into his pockets. "It's just that since he came back… I can barely close my eyes. I'm scared, Gwen. I'm scared that I'll bink too long and he'll be gone again. I'll close my eyes and he won't be there when I open them."

"Well, I'm sure Martha would phone us straight away if he suddenly vanished."

Normally, Gwen would have been pleased to be granted access to Jack emotionally, but she was exhausted and cranky. She'd accidentally dropped off once or twice last night whilst reading, but for no longer than half an hour. Her back hurt and her feet were sore. She wasn't too sure how much more she could take.

"Yeah. Yeah, she would," he sighed sadly, "I just can't stop worrying, y'know. I've spent the last six months seeing him, wherever I go. Him, and Steven, and Melis- Alice, and Owen, and Tosh, and Suzie… This whole planet is like a graveyard. All of them, because of me."

Gwen sighed too and reached into his pocket to squeeze his hand tight. "It wasn't your fault, Jack."

"Oh, I think it was," he said with a grimace.

"You saved us so many times, saved me."

"I began to like it. And look what I became."

"Look, I- I never got to say, I'm sorry about Steven, about what happened to him and your daughter," she said, turning to face him with a watery smile. "Johnson told us when we got back to London, after everything. She told us what they made you do. It wasn't your fault, Jack."

"Oh, Gwen Cooper, you know it was. Mil-" He choked on the name of his daughter again, the name he had given her all those years ago. "Alice was right all along. And so was her Mum."

"You didn't have a choice."

"Oh, Gwen Cooper, you always have a choice. Hasn't Torchwood taught you that yet?" he laughed humourlessly. "You always have a choice, it's just easier to think that you don't."

She nodded. Tears silently flowed down her cheeks once more. She ducked her head so the people dressed in smart suits and parents and kids walking by couldn't see her cry. Through her fringe, she could see Jack staring straight ahead, glassy-eyed. She squeezed his hand. He didn't respond.

"So," she said with a sniff, pulling out the packet of tissues in her coat pocket to dry her eyes and blow her nose.

"That's what you did. You made your choice and found a way to get Ianto back, or whatever he is."

He turned to stare at her with a cold look. "What?"

But Gwen had never been one from shying away from tough questions. "Ianto, what is he? You said you got him back, but how?"

"That's none of your business."

"He's my best friend! Was. He was my best friend. But he died. He died saving the world. And you ran away. I know you wanted me to tell his sister that he'd died, and I wanted to, I'd rather it was me than some government official on the phone, but you have no idea what it was like after! I stood with Rhys at the back of the crematorium, alone, because Rhiannon hated my guts. And where were you? Even John bloody Hart came – I saw him on the CCTV at the cemetery! Martha sent flowers and so did Andy, but neither of them could make it, so it was just me and Rhys standing alone. I had to just stand there knowing Ianto was lying there in the most ugly god-awful suit Rhiannon had chosen and say nothing. She couldn't cope with the fact that we killed him. Yes, we, Jack!" she said, not giving the chance to interrupt. "He was killed by the 456 because he was Torchwood. He was killed because he stood up to them, he refused to hand over a single child to those monsters. He did it because it was his job, because he was Torchwood and because he cared."

Gwen took a breath. "And until six months ago, we were Torchwood. Me, you, and him. It's not just been you who's been missing him all this time. God, I still think about him every day. I miss him! You get that, Jack? I miss him. Rhys misses him, so does Martha. And Andy. His sister and brother-in-law, niece and nephew. There's this couple who run a coffee shop down the bay who miss him, too. It's not just you who lost him, or did you forget that? Too busy running away that you forgot that Ianto had us, his friends, his family?"

The fire in Jack's eyes dimmed the longer she continued. Gwen knew she should feel bad, but she didn't. She wanted to scream and shout and hit him. Couldn't Jack see that it hadn't just been him that had been affected that day? But, as ever, this was Jack. The man held himself up higher on a pedestal than she the one had ever placed him upon when she first joined Torchwood all those years ago. He had once told her that he never wanted to be a hero. He was always the martyr, though. Everything was always his fault. But not everything was his burden to carry alone. So instead, she kept her voice low, her tears in check, making sure she didn't draw the unwanted attention of the passers-by.

"Sorry," he said, looking down at the ground.

"Twice in 10 minutes – that's got to be a record."

He looked up at her again, almost equal parts pleading and fear. "But I can't tell you. I can't."

"And there he is again: Captain Jack Harkness. The man who can speak for days but never say anything." She sighed. "You know, we can't help you unless you open up. You need to talk to us, Jack. I don't care if it's me or Martha or even Rhys. You need to talk to someone."

The cold fire was back in his eyes. "I don't. I don't need any help."

Gwen threw her hands up in the air. "Fine!"

She stalked off, back to the café where Rhys and Mickey were just coming out. Jack trailed behind her a moment later.

"Everything all right, love?" Rhys asked.

"Yeah, sure. Come on, then. Hand them over and nobody needs to get hurt."

Rhys laughed, handing over her breakfast order and a bottle of J2O and she gave him a kiss for stopping Mickey from ordering something with fried onions because he knew that the smell turned her stomach.

"Do you think it's really him?" Rhys asked Gwen as they made their way back to the hotel, Jack and Mickey walking together a few feet ahead of them.

Whilst Jack was striding on ahead, obviously desperate to get back to Ianto, Mickey was animatedly talking to him about something Rhys couldn't quite make out.

Gwen hushed him, elbowing him in the stomach and he obediently lowered his voice.

"Do you think it's really Ianto?"

"I don't know, love. I really don't know. Hopefully, we've given Martha enough time to have found something out."

Rhys hummed in acknowledgement and took another bite of his all-day breakfast bap, minus the fried onions. "Do you reckon he's like that doctor bloke, maybe? Dies then comes back to life again?"

"Huh?"

"Doctor, uh, Harper," he said, remembering the bloke's name. "Owen."

Gwen snorted. Owen would have loved that, someone remembering he was a doctor. The rest of the team always tried to deny him that title, after all, Tosh was a doctor too, but she hadn't gone around reminding everyone of it every five minutes.

"He said he was 'The Living Dead'," he continued, putting on a spooky voice and pulling a strange face that was probably meant to be scary, obviously trying to imitate Owen.

"When did he say that?" she asked, trying not to laugh.

"At our Wedding Reception. He said something else first, too science-y for the likes of me to understand, mind, then said he couldn't eat or drink. I'd offered to find something to plate up since he missed the Breakfast. Assumed he'd pulled the short straw to tidy everything up along with Jack. But he said he was dead. I asked if he was a Zombie, but nope, he couldn't eat or drink anything – not even Brains."

She burst out laughing at that. Jack and Mickey stopped and looked back at her, along with many people on the street. Rhys held on to her elbow as she hunched forward. Jack raised his eyebrow at Rhys, and he answered his unasked question with a nod of his own. Gwen was fine, there was nothing they could do to help.

"What's so funny?" Mickey asked.

"Just reminiscing about our wedding," Rhys called back with a fond grin on his face.

Jack grinned at that too, eyes rolling skyward as he remembered that eventful day. "Yeah, it was pretty good."

Gwen composed herself and wiped her eyes. She leant into Rhys who kissed her on the top of her head.

"You ever meet a Nostrovite…?" Rhys heard Jack ask Mickey, as they continued walking.

"You doing okay?" he asked her, knowing how quickly and frequently Gwen's laughter could turn into tears, especially when the subject of Torchwood was involved.

"Yeah, yeah," she sniffed. "Just memories, you know? Torchwood wasn't that bad all the time."

"But it's bloody dangerous."

"It always was. And no, I don't know what Jack's done this time," she admitted. "Six months, travelling the world and he still won't tell me what he was doing. For all I know, he's been searching for a way to bring Ianto back for all that time. Last night he did say he was following some kind of information trail. Years ago, Torchwood had bases all over the world, not just in the former British Empire. And then there's the other organisations, UNIT, the KVI in Russia… Maybe he found a way to recreate Ianto. I mean, he's not like Owen – he can eat and drink, he's got a pulse – but he might be a clone or a shapeshifter, or something else. But he's – it's – not Ianto."

"Do you think he's – sorry, it's – dangerous?"

"Honestly?" she asked, and Rhys gave her a firm look. "I don't know."

"Gwen-"

"I don't know, okay! I honestly don't know. Maybe. But that's why Martha and Mickey are here, so we can find out. And I know it's not my job anymore, but it's Jack. It's Ianto. I can't just turn a blind eye. They're my friends, for god's sake! I can't just – I won't-"

"Okay, okay. Fine. I get it, I really do. I just don't want to see you getting hurt and dragged back into this mess all over again. Not when you've just managed to break free. You said it yourself just the other day, it's too dangerous for us. You're the one who wanted to get away from Cardiff as soon as possible. And we've got so much more to lose now."

Gwen came to a stop and faced Rhys. "I would never – never – put our family in danger. This-" She held his hand in both her own and squeezed tightly. "This means so much to me, Rhys Williams, the fact that you're still here beside me. And the baby, our baby, they mean the world to me. You both mean more than everything to me."

"I know," he said softly, kissing their joined hands. "I know."