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Gwen was leering triumphantly as she zeroed in on Jack, still trying to get to his feet.
Jack's lips peeled back in a leer as he struggled to appear less affected than he truly was.
She got level with him and his angle, looking up at her gave him a prime view of her hands and he felt himself want to vomit as her left hand swing by her hip.
It was yellow.
Scaled and obviously rotting.
He focused on it, using his disgust to tune out the noise, finally standing to his feet to face her.
"Gwen, a bit over the top isn't it dear?" he asked calmly.
He could see Ianto and Rhys struggling in the toy stack, Ianto's eyes gleaming with unconcealed hatred as he gently tried to extract himself from a semiconscious Rhys.
Ianto's eyes were on them and then as Jack watched out of the corner of his eye, Ianto's gaze shifted to behind him and Jack knew it must be Rex flanking him.
Oh Gods!
He must protect Ianto.
His baby.
Jack locked eyes with Ianto and watched his face change into a mask of fury, finally getting free of Rhys and shifting to a crouching position, still partially hidden.
A bunny rabbit tumbled to the floor, skidding to a halt sitting upright, as if front infantry and Jack bit back a giggle of hysteria.
Then Ianto nodded.
Jack dropped like a stone as Ianto rose, opening fire with a roar of rage that was louder than the sound which gave Jack instant relief.
Taking a deep cleansing breath Jack rose and turned to see Rex on the floor comvulsing from the stunner as Gwen gaped, still turning to see what had felled him and Jack focused on her as he surged forward, tackling her to the ground.
Ianto was striding towards them, somehow appearing larger and more pissed than he had ever seen him, his arms swinging confidently as he looked past Jack and Gwen on the floor and made for Rex.
He bent down and grabbed the front of Rex's vest, picking him up and heaving him through the wall and Rex flew out into the forecourt of the café next door followed by several soft toys that bounced on the paving stones.
Ianto calmly stepped through the wall.
Yeah, I told you right, he just … well. I never saw anything like it … except in Terminator movies, ya know? He stepped through like it was chalk board, bearing down on the black man who was scuttling on his hands and knees as he looked for an exit.
Jack felt a spark of delight in the image, framed by broken sheet rock and then looked down at Gwen who hadn't seen.
She was so focused on Jack and he became aware of the smell.
Oh god, it was like hugging a corpse that had been dipped in dead skunks.
Jack drew back his fist and punched her as hard as he could in the side of her head, making her grunt with shock.
Commotion had him glancing up as Unit began to spill into the mall and he barked a warning to his beloved who looked up, his chin pointing at them like he was some wild animal on the hunt and Jack felt a spike of lust for the beautiful creature he was fortunate to have at his side.
His side.
Yes, where he should be.
Get up idiot.
Why did that sound like Rhys Williams?
Rhys was gripping the back of Jack's coat as he yanked Jack off Gwen and flung him at the opening Ianto had left, following after a quick boot to Gwen, stalling her attempt to rise and follow.
They stumbled out and away from the noise that was now obviously only in the baby store.
They were running and as they went Ianto scooped Rhys under his arm like a child, taking him at great speed past Jack and down the stair well then freaking him the entire fuck out by calmly vaulting over the handrail and dropping eight levels to the parking level, landing with a dull thud that rattled Rhys' bones as his teeth sapped shut.
Thank god he didn't bite his tongue.
Then Ianto released him and he saw why Ianto had done that insane leap.
Jack lay nearby where he had just fallen, leading the way with a suicide jump.
Ianto scooped up the body and started to run, Rhys having enough wits about him to follow and they clambered into the SUV that looked like it wasn't theirs.
As Ianto leaned under the dash Rhys looked around and started to giggle as he realized they were in Gwen's SUV, complete with weaponry and alien tech.
They roared out of the car park, snapping the barriers and entering afternoon traffic with glee, Rhys starting to laugh as Jack lunged between the seats to snatch some files off the centre console and disappear again, blood still on his cheek.
"I don't' know about you Cariad" Ianto panted as he drifted around a corner, "But I think she was slightly miffed at you. Forget her birthday gain?"
Rhys fell back against the seats as he roared with glee.
Bloody Torchwood.
Thank god he was finally back in the right one.