Twenty-five minutes after Mel had left the Hub, the comms beeped signalling that one of the girls wanted their attention. Ianto was in the passenger seat, and answered as Jack was a bad enough driver without the added distraction of a conversation. "What's happening Gwen?" he asked. He had asked Tosh to install a light in the comms that would change colour depending on who was trying to get their attention, so they would know without asking who it was. Each comm device had been assigned it's own unique colour, including the four that were spare. Gwen's colour was red, his was dark blue, and Jack's was pink. Owen had dared Tosh t do it, and she had thinking that Jack would demand to have a different colour set as soon as he found out, however he had surprised the pair by leaving it. Tosh's had been purple, while Owen's had been a florescent green (Ianto's dare to Tosh). Martha's was currently white, with the three to spare ones being orange, grey and ice blue.
"She's just finished being on the phone to someone. She's in the cafe that me and Tosh used to go off to in our breaks!" Gwen sniffed at this, but continued in a slightly choked and watery voice, "Two people have just met up with her. Oh, I could just eat that!"
"What?" Jack asked with a frown. He had been listening to the conversation, even if he wasn't talking.
"Sorry, they've got croissants and muffins! Oh and Mel's got a chocolate filled doughnut –they're my favourite doughnuts. It's so unfair! Oh right, the people. She's with a man, who I must say is very hot, and a woman. He's tall, about 6' 4" or 6' 5", and has long black hair. Wearing a black leather jacket, which is over the back of his chair; blue top with some sort of design on it; dark blue or black jeans; and black trainers. I'd watch him boys, looks very muscular and strong!" She listed the man's clothing and features. She studied him, as he argued with Mel about something. The other woman had had her hand on his thigh the whole time and now put her hand in his.
"The woman's pretty; Owen would have definitely gone for her!" She gave a watery chuckle before continuing, "She's probably similar height to you, Ianto. Long blonde hair, that's in a ponytail tied with a pink ribbon. Wearing a nice pink summer dress, with darker pink and purple flowers all over it – I might get myself one of those if I can find it. She's also got a white cardigan on. They brought two large shoulder bags with them, which are on the floor." Martha and Gwen had both liked the dress that the woman was wearing, so they were both searching the internet to find one similar or the collection that it was apart of.
"Thanks Gwen. I can just see them now. We'll keep you updated!"Jack parked the SUV in a parking lot, a few minutes walk from the pleasant little cafe. Ianto remembered him and Mel coming here occasionally for coffee and tea. He spotted Mel immediately, as she and her companions were sitting by the window. Mel was sitting closest to the door, with the man to her right and the other woman sitting opposite her. He noticed that the man had his arm draped around Mel's shoulder, while his other hand was entwined with the woman's.
The man looked up, as if sensing people watching them. Both Ianto and Jack were startled at the look of malice in his ice blue eyes. He watched for a while as they approached, then said something to Mel without taking his eyes of them. Both Mel and the other woman looked up. The Blonde was clearly startled, as Jack and Ianto could see it in her hazel eyes. Mel smiled, told the pair something. The couple smiled, as Mel waved at them.
The three stood up, collecting bags, coats and calling thanks to the waitress behind the counter. They met the Torchwood pair at the door, moving to one side as some of the other occupants followed them out. Ianto couldn't help it, as he enveloped Mel into a hug which she returned. She chuckled, saying into his shoulder, "It's ok Ianto. I know these two! And I'm all right."
She pulled back from his embrace, but left his arm round her shoulder. "Ben, Jen. As I said; this is Ianto Jones, my best friend and the world's best tea and coffee maker! And this is the leader of Torchwood Three and fellow immortal, Captain Jack Harkness." Jack and Ianto shook the couple's hands, and they were both impressed by the grip of the pair. Mel continued, "Jack, Yan. These are my friends, Ben and Jen or Jenny. Ben's full name is Major Benjamin Johnson; ex-medical officer of the armed forces, served in Afghanistan and Iraq. He's a damn fine medic, and has been broadening his expertise by joining me in my adventures to other planets, so now has a good knowledge when it comes to dealing with aliens and their injuries and diseases." Jack eyed Ben, as the other man saluted. He grinned as Mel and 'Jen' rolled their eyes at the obvious familiar gesture.
Mel continued, as she shared a cheeky grin with Jen. "Jen's actual name is Jennifer Fareweather. She's a techno geek, and I'm afraid to say that she can rival Tosh in her abilities. Jan has actually been able to hack into your network, as well as Unit's database. She has also been accompanying me and Ben on our trips, so she now knows how to operate and hack into alien technology and computer system. She managed to pilot a Gricknoideka ship remotely." Jack whistled silently at that, as even he couldn't pilot one of those ships – and he had been a Time Agent for goodness sake! "Oh and she's a fantastic cook. Plus hands off her Jack, because Ben and Jen are engaged!"
Ianto coughed, which gained him everyone's attention. He blushed slightly and asked Mel, "So can we go and hang out now?" He was relieved when she nodded, but she surprised him by saying "Ok, but only if we go dancing. And Jack, Ben and Jen can come!" He looked at Jack with the Eyebrow. Jack grinned and nodded, as he quite liked the idea of dancing. Ianto had told him what a brilliant dancer Mel was, so he wouldn't mind to dance with her or Ianto for that matter.
"Ok then everyone into the SUV. Best let Gwen and Martha know what's happening!" Jack turned around and began to stroll back to the SUV several steps in front of the other four, all the while telling Gwen and Martha that everything was fine and that they were going for a quick dance before returning to the hub. As everyone got into the SUV, after Mel and Ianto had placed Jen and Ben's bag in the boot, Jack grinned saying "Well, Gwen is jealous and says that she is deeply offended that we haven't invited her. She and Martha also said that we had better tell them where we're going so that they can keep an eye out!"
Later that afternoon, the Torchwood team plus Mel, Martha, Ben, Jen and Rhys were in a small underground club. Jack had not even known that this club had existed, but it was exactly to his taste. Slow music that people could dance to, and yet they could still hear other people's conversation. At the moment he was sitting by himself at their table, drinking a cold beer, whilst watching everyone dance. Mel was dancing with Ianto, Michael Bublé's 'Sway' was on. They were just swaying to-and-fro to the music, as were Ben and Jen, as well as Gwen and Rhys. Martha was currently outside talking to Tom, her fiancé, on her mobile.
He was bored, so he got up and tapped Ianto on the shoulder. Mel smiled as Ianto turned, and went to move so the two lovers could dance but was surprised when Jack pulled her to him. She frowned at him, and he just grinned. She went on tip-toe to look over his shoulder and saw Ianto sit at the table smiling. She blew a cheeky kiss at him, and he pretended to catch it and put it in his pocket while he winked at her. She started giggling and buried her head in Jack's shoulder. "What's so funny?" asked Jack, then feigning a hurt voice, "I hope you're not laughing at me dance!"
Mel brought up her head and chuckled, "Of course not Captain. I hear you're a wonderful dancer. Now show me those light feet of yours. Let's do a cheek-to-cheek until they changed the song, then you can surprise me!" Another Michael Bublé song came on and it was 'Put Your Head on my Shoulder' and they shuffled around the dance floor, a similar way that she and Ianto had. Suddenly, another one of his songs came up 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' and Jack started doing a Lindy Hop. He was shocked that she instantly followed his lead.
Everyone moved out of their way as they danced. "You know the Lindy?" he asked her. He didn't know anyone who could do the Lindy. She looked beautiful as she danced, as she was laughing, her eyes were sparkling, and she was slightly flushed from the activity. She laughed and he made out her saying, "I learnt it ages ago! One of my friend's was a soldier in the Korean War, he learnt over there and he taught me. We even entered a contest just to Lindy once, it was fantastic!"
She suddenly grasped her head and chest, and fell to the floor. Jack wasn't fast enough to catch her, but thankfully she hit someone's foot so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Ben, Jen and Ianto appeared out of no-where and were next to him. Gwen had yelled to Martha what had happened and asked her to get the SUV ready, and now she and Rhys were trying to calm down the man whose foot Mel had landed on.
Ben scooped her up, and looked at Jack asking, "Can we take her to the Hub? She's told us all about Torchwood, and she and Jen said that we can trust you. So can we go and see what's wrong? I have an idea, but I need to prove it!" Jack nodded, and signalled for him to follow. Jack got into the driver's seat of the SUV, while Ianto slid into the passenger. Ben got into the back still carrying Mel while Jen slide into the other side, constantly looking over at Mel who was breathing shallowly.