2. What Is This Thing Called Love

Captain Jack Harkness had been waiting for his doctor for more than a century. He'd been just biding his time through the years. Early on in his wait, he'd allowed himself to have more meaningful relationships with people knowing he wouldn't be going anywhere soon. He'd married. Then years later, he'd met and loved Estelle.

Since the turning of the twenty-first century, Jack had been much more cautious about letting anyone get close. It wasn't just that his doctor could come at any moment and he'd then have to leave and hurt any possible partner. It was also the fact that he didn't want to get hurt again. During the past century, he'd opened his heart to lovers and friends and had inevitably lost them either to death or to his own immortality. It just hurt too much to risk letting anyone in.

Unfortunately, that plan pretty much flew out the window one night in Bute Park. From the moment he first set eyes on Ianto Jones, Jack knew it would be impossible to keep his distance.

The fact that the young Welshman was so insistent on getting into Torchwood Three, especially after what happened at Canary Wharf, should have set off blaring alarm bells in Jack's mind, but something about Ianto pulled him in and made him ignore all the signs of trouble. The night they caught Myfanwy was the first time Jack had truly had fun in god knows how long. Jack had given in to his gut feelings and hired Ianto on the spot.

Once Ianto was part of the team, Jack didn't know how they (or himself) got along without him. The young man seemed to be able to anticipate the needs of everyone on the team. He was there whenever Jack needed something from a cup of oh so delicious coffee, to an excuse to get off the phone with the Prime Minister. Also, he didn't seem to mind Jack's nearly constant flirting and even responded in kind.

Ianto always seemed to be around when he was needed. He came in early and left long after everyone else – except Jack, of course. He quickly managed to become much more than just an employee to the captain. Jack found himself letting down his guard around Ianto. He looked forward to their late-night chats over coffee. Jack noticed he was opening up to the younger man as the months passed.

Then, one night, it all came crashing down.

Ianto's constant presence in the hub had more to do with hiding his cyber girlfriend than actually being there for the team. His apparent ability to anticipate any needs was more to prevent anyone noticing him, than actual attentiveness.

After the discovery of Lisa - the cyberwoman - in the basement, one might have assumed Jack would have retconned Ianto back to infancy. After a betrayal like that, it wouldn't have been considered unreasonable to have contemplate execution.

But Jack did neither. He knew why Ianto had done it all. He saw how loyal the young man could be. Instead, Jack suspended Ianto for four weeks, then welcomed the younger man back into the hub once again as fully integrated team member. The others didn't agree with his decision at first, but Jack didn't care. He wasn't exactly sure why, but there was something about Ianto Jones that he just couldn't let go.

End

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