Alrighty then, after the best part of a year on hiatus I've lost this story, decided I didn't like it anyway, and now decided to give it another stab.

If you're still out there, thanks for reading! Hope you like it :-)

Reiews & feedback adored as always xxx

Ianto drummed his fingers lightly on the cold desk he was sat behind. After an hour of phone calls, e mails and a little begging he had managed to unearth the details for a Miss Howe. He skimmed through the information he had managed to dig up over the last few hours, and consequently was absorbed in his reading when the door opened.

The woman who had entered hardly looked a day older than 27, though her file stated otherwise. She maintained a nervous demeanour and never quite managed to make eye contact with him when introducing herself. Ianto gestured at the seat opposite him, and smiled at an attempt to put her at ease.

"Miss Howe, thank you for taking the time to meet with me."

"You're welcome, though I'm not sure what you think I can do for you. We don't get many enquiries for meetings with library staff."

Another reassuring smile and Ianto decided that he should play this one completely straight.

"You didn't always work at the library though, did you Miss Howe. May I call you Sally?"

"Yes..." she stammered "But I don't see what-" she trailed off, as the only thing of any note in her short career as a PC jumped to the forefront of her mind. "No." She stood up, moving towards the door. "No. He's dead now and I don't want to...I can't...You understand?" She was pleading now, pleading to the kind looking Mr Jones who was sat in front of her, about to dredge up her worst nightmare, her past mistakes.

"Yes, he's dead now. He can't hurt you. But he is hurting Nikki Wade."

Just the mention of her name was enough to bring Sally back to the chair, half falling into the comfort of stability. Ianto surmised that had been a predominant theme in her life for some time now.

"She's launching an appeal, and her case revolves around provocation. We think the fact that the policeman in question attacked and threatened to rape her girlfriend could provide grounds for Manslaughter. To do that, to give this woman her freedom, we would need to be able to prove that this was a likely thing for PC Donnelly to do. That his character leant itself to such attacks."

Ianto stopped here, taking a chance to place his hands on top of the two trembling ones facing him.

"You can help make sure that everyone knows what he was." He hesitated, and then decided he had to hear her story first hand before he could take this to Jack as a success. He was eager to demonstrate his skill to the man and earn not only his approval but also the right to watch him work, to learn. Even if he was becoming increasingly disheartened with the law, Ianto could see that being tagged to Jack Harkness was the quickest way into any other career he might choose should things with Lisa not last the course. "Sally, why did you leave the police?"

A tear ran down her cheek, and he felt her fingers violently shake as she began to tell her story.

Jack was sitting at his desk when Ianto got back to the office; eyes half closed, feet crossed on the table and tapping in time to the jazz that was softly playing. He snapped open his eyes as he heard the door open, and let a lazy grin meander across his face at the thought of his handsome junior.

"So then Mr Pretty Face, what have you got for me?"

"Sally Ann Howe. Former police officer, made a claim of Sexual assault against PC Donnelly six months before Wade. She claims rape, sir. When she submitted the complaint, Donnelly leant on some friends in high places, and she was asked politely to leave the force. She is willing to testify."

Jack was grinning so wildly by the time he got to the end of his story that he was treating Ianto to a full view of his shiny polished teeth.

"Ianto you are truly amazing. Truly. She'll really testify for us?"

Ianto nodded. "She feels guilty Sir. She thinks that if she had persisted then, Wade wouldn't be inside."

Jack furrowed his eyebrows temporarily, and muttered more to himself than anything else.

"Better keep her away from Wade then. We don't want her to be put off by another 'I don't regret a thing' diatribe." He looked once more to Ianto and sighed. "you mentioned earlier that the original case was compromised by not putting Wade on the stand. Do we know why they chose not to? Because if she's going to stand up and tell the appeals court that she'd do it all again given half the chance, then I'd be inclined to leave her out of the box as well." He motioned for Ianto to sit, and couldn't help but let his eyes wonder at the way his shirt hugged his chest as if it were made to measure.

Ianto hesitated as he sat, not sure if he should share the gossip and speculation he's picked up on with the illustrious QC. Jack beckoned with his hand, urging Ianto to continue.

"Well sir, this is only whispers that I've heard, you understand. It's just gossip, nothing concrete." Jack grinned.

"In my experience, the rumours tend to be pretty much spot on." He wiggled his eyebrows at his junior, which Ianto promptly ignored, innuendo be damned. "Well, you know that the governor at the prison, a Miss Helen Stewart is pushing for Wade to appeal, and supporting the case?" Jack nodded, not seeing where his junior was going. "Rumour has it that Stewart has a vested interest in Wade's release." Jack still didn't get it. "Their relationship sir, it's said to be…Not strictly within the bounds of professional decency." Jacks' face lit up.

"Seriously? Girl on girl forbidden love? Oh am I ever going to enjoy this one! So what's her deal then, they can only be together on the outside?" Ianto nodded, and added

"So I think there's little chance of Wade mouthing off, this is the only thing standing between a chance with the governor or another twelve years of yard exercise and trying not to drop the soap." Jack chuckled at him.

"Was that a joke Mr Jones?"

"Apparently, Sir"

"Well I'll hand it to you, you've made quite the impression on your first day. Fancy a drink, to celebrate your success? And that suit, by the way. It's wonderful. I'd like to buy you a drink to celebrate that suit as well." In Jack's defence, he did manage to stop himself from leering.

Ianto hesitated. Professionally he should accept; but the way jack was eyeing him hungrily was setting of alarm bells in his head. Mainly because he was a little worried that if his boss did make a move on him, a few glasses of red down and he might not be able to resist.

"Another time perhaps, sir?"

"You can count on it."