Chapter 4

"Your room?" Ianto asked surprised

"Yeah, I lived here whenever I wasn't in barracks or working to far away to commute. It's the closest thing I have to a home, though I don't get to come here very often these days. It's actually Dex's house but Ari and I live here from time to time as well." Jack shrugged coming over to look at the photos with Ianto.

So many memories, so many lost over the years.

Jack saw Ianto tense beside him and turned curious eyes towards him wondering what it was that inspired such a reaction from the quiet Welshman.

Ianto numbly reached forward and picked up a photo from near the back of the collection to get a closer look.

It was a photo of Dexter, Arabella and him at a sporting event of some kind, dressed appropriately for the time period he didn't see what was so fascinating about it they could have been in fancy dress for all Ianto knew. That was when jack noticed a banner in the background of the photo, a banner advertising the event with the date underneath, 1903...Oh.

"Sir, is this real?" Ianto asked

"Yes,"

"Time travel?"

Jack winced, "Not exactly,"

Ianto was quiet for a moment before turning to look at Jack photo still in hand.

"How old are you in this photo sir?"

Jack looked up meeting Ianto's gaze "81,"

"So now you'd be around..."

"175, my inability to die includes aging it would seem," Jack replied

There was an awkward silence as Ianto processed the information.

"Well that explains a few things about the archives and records that I had always wondered about. And I must say you're doing well for your age sir," Ianto said putting the photo back.

Jack chuckled glad Ianto was taking it so well. He'd already had to deal with so much in the last few days, Jack was amazed he hadn't had a mental breakdown; then again it was Ianto they were talking about.

"Who are they?" Ianto asked nodding towards all the photos

"Friends, lovers, loved ones from over the years, almost all of them were gone now," Jack replied eyes scanning over all their faces.

"Arabella and Dexter are pretty consistent through the times, you've known them a while?"

"I met Ari in 1873 and Dex through her. We kind of just gravitated towards each other after that since none of us aged. We became good friends."

"I'd say so since you share a house together┘ How old are they then?"

Jack chuckled, "Ari's 374 and Dex is 2,056, he was one of the first ever Pirask."

"And suddenly I feel like such a baby amongst you three," Ianto muttered.

Jack laughed resting his hand on Ianto's shoulder and squeezing gently.

"Come on our tea and coffee's probably gone cold by now. I grabbed your spare clothes from your locker before we left the Hub, they're over there in the wardrobe with my stuff. You get dressed then come and join us downstairs," Jack said before heading out the door.

Ianto now dressed in a pair of black cargo pants and a maroon coloured T-Shirt, the only things in his locker that weren't his suits, made his way to where he could here the voices of the others talking.

As he got closer to the door way he could here Jack and Arabella talking animatedly about someone called Peter who seemed to be a relative of Arabella's and she was telling Jack all about him.

"So is he good in bed?" Jack asked and Ianto's jaw just about hit the floor, did Jack have any shame?

"He's a fast learner," Arabella replied with a smirk.

"Not as good as me then?" Jack teased

Arabella rolled her eyes and shifted so she was stranding Jack's thighs, his hands resting comfortably on her hips.

Biting her lip she began to trace patterns on Jack's chest with her nails and Ianto had to force down a sudden flare of jealousy.

"As much as we all know about your sexual prowess Captain, I have to tell you in all honesty..."

"What beautiful?" Jack growled back

"Dexter's still got a century and a half over you," She said smacking him lightly on the side of the head as she jumped to her feet into Dexter's arms where he stood at the bar to the side of the room.

"Oww, you wound me princess," Jack replied hand on his heart as Dexter and Arabella laughed,

Ianto's chuckling from the doorway drew their attention to his arrival.

"Hey Ianto, come sit down," Arabella said patting the couch between her and Jack as she flopped back down to her previous position.

Ianto made his way over and sat between them on the couch, squashing his satisfaction at being able to separate the pair.

Arabella turned so her back was now against the arm of the couch facing Jack and Ianto and stretching her legs out across their laps with a cheeky grin.

Dexter walked over with two glasses handing them to Jack and Ianto.

Ianto looked down nervously into his glass of blood.

"The tea and coffee went cold," Jack explained taking a sip of what smelled like Scotch.

Ianto looked back into his glass and hesitated.

"You need to drink, we need at least two pints a day to stay healthy, more if you're injured or exposed to illness," Arabella said accepting as Dexter passed her a glass then perched himself on the arm of the chair behind her.

In one hand Dexter held his own glass, his other hand rested on Arabella's neck, thumb rubbing her jaw line in what seemed to Ianto, to be an incredibly intimate gesture between the couple.

"Where does it all come from?" Ianto asked "I'm assuming you don't have a pet human chained out in the backyard."

Jack snorted into his drink at the horrified look on Dexter and Arabella's faces.

Some people just didn't get Ianto's sense of humor.

"He's joking guys," Jack teased

"Yes, well..." Dexter muttered clearing his throat. "The blood comes from donors. The Coven arrange it. We have sixteen blood vans around the country and they have blood delivered to the homes of the Pirask homes once a week. Most comes from prisons and psychiatric hospitals, some is rejected from normal blood banks since whatever the reason for their rejection can't harm us because the organisms take care of it," Dexter explained

"Some people who know of us donate too, out of friendship," Arabella added

"Jack donates," Dexter supplied.

"Really?" Ianto asked in surprise

"MmHmm," Jack rested his hand on Ianto's arm and squeezed gently, "You need to drink Yan,"

Ianto looked at Jack having never heard that gentle caring tone directed at him before.

He and the rest of the team had experienced just about every other Harkness emotion; flirty, playful, teasing, bored, lazy, tired, stressed, focussed, annoyed, angry, sad even heartbroken when he lost Estelle.

The standard Harkness emotions were all his team ever received, never anything on a more personal level.

This caring, was new to Ianto, he knew the Captain cared about his team that much was obvious when he stressed and worried if they were hurt or in danger.

He just never showed it so obviously, yet now that Ianto thought about it, he'd received it from Jack a few times just this morning and that thought made his butterflies stir... he really needed to get a hold of that.

Ianto snapped out of his thoughts as he realised he'd been staring at Jack, judging by the amused, slightly confused raised eyebrow Jack was wearing he hadn't been very subtle.

Blushing he turned his attention back to his drink, taking a sip.

Jack squeezed his arm again in support before withdrawing his hand.

Ianto took another sip and frowned at the taste

"What is it?" Arabella asked noticing the frown.

"It tastes different to the glass you gave me earlier," Ianto replied

"Think of it like wine, different batches, different things in them, makes them all taste slightly different." Dexter said sipping his a small smirk appearing as he recognised the taste.

"But I have tasted this before, I remember, this tastes better somehow," Ianto replied

Arabella took a sip of her own a grin splitting her face. "It is good isn't it, sort of spicy, full of ... life,"

Jack promptly chocked on his drink.

The four sat around the lounge room talking when there was a knocking on the door.

Dexter jumped up grabbing the now empty glasses and running them to the kitchen so there was no sign of blood.

Jack got up to answer the door as Arabella cleaned up the bar where Dexter had prepared their drinks earlier.

"Hello, who are you then?" Ianto heard Jack asked only to be answered by a male English accent.

"Peter, I'm looking for my wife Arabella,"

"Sure come on in, I'm Jack, Dexter and Arabella's other brother and this is my... boyfriend Ianto," Jack said as they stepped through the doorway and Ianto thanked whoever was listening that he was facing in the other direction because he was sure he'd just gone bright red again.

"He's not feeling well, Ari's been helping to look after him while Dex and I have had to work," Jack explained.

"Pete!" Arabella smiled wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tight. "Time for us to go home then?"

"I put a roast in before I left, it should be ready just in time for when we get home," Peter said leaning down to kiss Arabella.

"Hey Pete hows it going?" Dexter said stepping forward to shake his hand.

"Dexter, not bad, you?"

"Yeah good, you two off then?"

"Yep," Arabella said stepping forward to give him a hug.

Before moving on to give Jack and Ianto a hug as well.

"Nice to meet you Jack, Ianto,"

"You too. Thanks for taking care of Ianto for me Ari," Jack called as the pair made their way to the door.

"I don't think he could whisk her away any faster if he tried," Jack said in amusement, "Where'd she find this one?"

"Not sure," Dexter shrugged

"I'm sorry what just happened?" Ianto asked really confused.

"That was Peter, Arabella's husband," Dexter said with a shrug heading into the kitchen obviously not feeling like being the one to explain this.

"I thought Dexter was her mate?"

"He is. It's not uncommon for Pirask mates to have other relationships, date, get married, but it never lasts more than ten years, then they divorce or break up or fake their deaths because after ten years it's a bit hard to hide the fact that your not aging."

"Why would you do that? If they find their mate, and I'm guessing they use the term mate rather than husband or partner as it's similar to some animal species where they find their perfect mate and become life mates. Why have other relationships?"

"Ianto try to understand, any species that has life mates knows that nothing but death can tear them apart. Pirask rarely have to face death they can live for hundreds or thousands of years, that long with the same person, even their life mate, would drive anyone bonkers. Their other relationships help balance their lives, they're still together during their other relationships just not living together."

"Do the other partners know?"

"No, they don't even know about the Pirask, let alone that their other half has a significant other. Too hard. Dexter and I are said to be Arabella's brothers, that way it doesn't seem to odd that she spends time with other men."

"Brothers, sir?" Ianto asked remembering Arabella's dark complexion and Scottish accent, Dexter's pale features and proper English accent, not to mentions Jack's American accent.

"We're adopted, from a big foster family," Jack grinned.

"I see, any other relative of your I should know about sir?"

"No Ianto, no others,"

"So sir, how do you fit into it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Arabella snogged you, right in front of Dexter and he didn't even bat an eyelid,"

Jack froze not quite sure how to put it, he was just about to answer when his mobile rang.

"Saved by the bell," Jack smirked