Jack sent everyone home as soon as they returned to the Hub. Ianto hung about in the reception area as he waited for the team to leave. Jack had promised him he'd send them up via the lift.

As soon as he heard the stone slip back into place he headed down to the main part of the Hub and up through Jack's office to the back room. He put Charlie down in his cot and tucked him in.

Jack came through a few minutes later holding two mugs of hot chocolate. He handed one to Ianto and sat beside him on the bed, watching Charlie for a moment. He hadn't realised how hard it was going to be for him to tell Ianto everything. He hadn't thought about most of it for so long.

"I better start from the beginning," he sighed after a while.

"Is this a long story?" Ianto asked. "Only I wanted to watch 'Wife Swap'."

Jack rolled his eyes as Ianto giggled softly.

"Well, it is a long story 'cause in order for you to understand everything, I have to start right back from when I was eleven," Jack paused. "Which was a long time ago… or a long time yet to happen…?"

He told Ianto everything. How he was born in the 51st century, how he went to war with his best friend, and watched him die, how he turned to the time agency because it meant he could occasionally pop back and watch him and his friend playing as kids. He even mentioned to Ianto about his previous son, one he'd carried for friends.

He explained that when the time agency had taken two years worth of memories, which he still hadn't got back, he turned to being a con man, stealing a Chula ship and travelling through time and space conning time agents.

He smiled slightly as he reminisced the way he had met Rose Tyler and the Doctor, last of the Time Lords. He had to ignore the slightly hurt look on Ianto's face as he told of how much he'd loved the pair of them and how he'd been heartbroken when they'd left.

After that was down hill. Ianto knew most of Jack's back story from when he landed on Earth again in 1900 having to live out the past hundred odd years over again and avoiding meeting himself or anyone who knew him.

"And then I found I couldn't cope without a boost in the morning, what with being so old," Jack smiled slightly. "So I had to hire a gorgeous Welshman to help me."

He glanced over at Ianto who had, at some point during his story, stretched out, lying with his head on the pillow. Ianto smiled up at him.

"I think I know the rest from there," he said quietly.

"That you do," Jack agreed, stretching out beside Ianto. "So how do you know Ollie exactly?"

Ianto sighed. He knew it was going to come up in the conversation at some point. Might as well get it over with and get his version of events in before Ollie did.

"He was my best friend when I was in secondary school," Ianto began. "And… my first boyfriend."

Jack didn't say anything. He decided it would be better for Ianto to explain himself fully before he was interrupted. He might lose nerve else.

"He was great, I mean with the shit I was going through at the time I was glad to have someone who I could just be me with, I didn't have to think about things at home," Ianto sighed. "But then he started asking questions. Wanted to know why I never mentioned my family. Why we never went back to my house. When I told him everything he… he just turned his back on me. Told the whole school. Things just got worse and worse…"

Ianto trailed off sounding like he couldn't quite bring himself to relive that moment in his life again.

"I'm sure he was only trying to help," Jack replied quietly.

"That why he joined in the beatings is it?" Ianto shot back.

Jack decided not to argue with Ianto. The last thing he needed was to feel like his partner was taking the side of his ex best friend.

"Do you want me to fire him?" Jack asked after a few moments silence. Ianto shrugged.

"Past mistakes are hardly a fair reason to fire a competent and probably very loyal, brave and useful asset to the team," he said bitterly.

Jack loved how, despite his past and the past he shared with Ollie, Ianto was willing to let the other man stay unless he proved himself to be un-trustworthy.

"Adults can be cruel, but kids are worse," Ianto continued. "For all we know he might've changed. Just don't expect me to work closely with him."

"Course not," Jack said, wrapping an arm round Ianto's waist and moulding himself to the other mans back.

"We could do with getting Charlie some more stuff tomorrow," Ianto yawned. "He's only got the basics."

"Mm, as long as nothing happens before the team arrive I'll leave Owen in charge and we'll go shopping," Jack agreed, closing his eyes.

Ianto rested his arm across Jack's which was lying across his stomach. His arms were starting to sting and he had the feeling that one of the cuts he created might have reopened.

At least it gave him something else to think about as he tried to get to sleep. He didn't want his head full of Ollie right then. He didn't want to think about the fact that they'd loved each other, or what they'd done together, or the pacts they'd made, the secrets they'd told each other. He didn't want to remember how much it hurt to know that the one person he'd trusted, was the one who lead the attacks.

When he finally fell asleep his head was full of dreams, nightmares, most of them involving Ollie, some of them involving his mother, but in every one of them was one person Ianto knew he really could rely on. Someone who would die rather than break his trust. Jack was always present to pick up the pieces.

At one point he woke up and found himself lying face to face with Jack who was staring right back at him. Neither said anything and eventually they both closed their eyes and tried to get back to sleep. But Ianto felt Jack's fingers close round his own gently and knew that his partner was letting him know he was there for him.