Author's note: sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry!! I didn't mean for it to take this long!! Been caught up with working and stuff. I've got a new job in a horsey place, but there's no internet there. Luckily I'll be home 2 days a week so I can write while I'm there and post when I get home. Thanks to my lovely beta wonder for being fantastic, and thanks to everyone who keeps reviewing you make it all worth while. Hope you all enjoy this installment! Please R&R, I'm a hopeless review junkie!!

When Ianto woke, he was nestled safely in the lap of a rather fidgety Jack. Looking up, he saw that the older man was lost in his own thoughts, a nervous look on his face, and was chewing his lip furiously. He snuggled closer, stroking small circles on Jack's tummy and mumbled,

"What's wrong?" Jack looked down at him, wide eyed, obviously shocked that he was awake.

"Nothing… Dinner should be here soon. You're pretty restless this evening." He shifted Ianto up to sit on his lap, curling his arms round him and burying his face into the boy's neck. Ianto cuddled back, his head still a little fuzzy from sleep and his illness, and mewled happily.

"I guess I did too much sleeping today…" He sighed, sitting up. "I'm gonna go get some juice. Want anything?" Jack looked at him oddly again, and Ianto found himself suddenly slightly suspicious.

"No, I'll come too. Best meet the pizza guy upstairs." He sighed, looked at the floor. "C'mon then, baby." He stood up, releasing Ianto and letting him climb the ladder, then followed, playing the evening's events over in his mind. He hated lying to Ianto, loathed it, and he always got caught out when he did. It wasn't even like anything had happened, he should just have told him. Too late now, he realised, as he followed up the ladder and into the kitchenette. "Ianto…"

"Yes, Jack?" Ianto asked, looking up at him expectantly. Great, he already knew something was up.

"You know I'd never hurt you right?" He asked sheepishly, looking anywhere but at the child stood before him. Ianto sighed.

"Yes, Jack, I know you'd never hurt me. What did you do?" Ianto's mind was running wild with possibilities, the foremost of which being 'please God don't let him have accidentally killed Myfanwy!' Jack looked at him, wounded, and pouted.

"What makes you think I… Oh, it's not like I can lie to you anyway… Gwen was here earlier…" Ianto arched an eyebrow and replied, sarcastically,

"Yes, Jack, she works here."

"No." Jack shook his head, "She came back. When I said I'd just been to get coffee, she came back. She'd had an argument with Rhys… And I was comforting her… and…" He looked away, and everything clicked into place in Ianto's mind.

"And you had sex with her." He finished. Jack looked up sharply, mouth open in shock.

"No! Nonono! Nothing like that. We just… She went to kiss me, and I almost kissed her back… AndthenIrealisedwhatIwasdoingandIsaidIhadtocheckonyouandIranaway…" Ianto frowned.

"In English?" He asked sharply. Jack sighed and looked at him pathetically.

"Sorry… I realised what I was doing, and that I couldn't do it, so I told her I had to check on you and we both ran off." He looked at the floor again, his cheeks a little flushed. "But it didn't mean anything, it was just the heat of the moment, and I stopped myself… and…. and…"

"Jack." Ianto interrupted. "It's ok." He smiled softly as Jack looked at him again, like he was speaking gibberish. "Nothing happened, you said it yourself. I understand. It's not easy for you, this situation." He moved forward as he spoke and Jack lifted him into a choking hug. "I know how you feel towards Gwen, and it's fine. I know how hard it is to have gotten so close to me then had it all ruined by this stupid artefact. I know you're secretly all over the place at the moment. If anything, I'm proud of you. You've lasted an entire week without shooting anyone or committing some kind of sexual assault." Jack laughed at that.

"Seriously, I nearly flirted with Owen earlier before I caught myself. I don't know what's wrong with me…" He groaned. "You're too good for me." He sighed, setting Ianto down. "I'm gonna go get that pizza." He went to leave the kitchen.

"Yeah, you'd best do!" Ianto called after him, "And I hope you ordered extra mushrooms on mine." He added, hearing the reply,

"Yeah, yeah, extra red pepper." Ianto laughed at the retreating form, knowing he was only teasing about adding Ianto's most hated vegetable to the pizza. He glanced at the clock, it was just gone midnight. Sighing to himself and shaking his head, he set about filling his beaker with apple juice.

The pizza went down well, and by the time they'd finished the last slice together, even Jack was yawning. He scooped Ianto up, feeling a lot more relaxed now, and carried his sleepy form back to the bedroom, settling down for the third time that evening, and finally going to sleep.

When the two woke, it was because Ianto's shape suddenly changed in Jack's arms. He jumped awake to see that it was just Ianto ageing, then cursed as he realised it must be gone 11 and he was still in bed. Ianto sat up, rubbing his eyes, and blinked at Jack.

"S'late." Jack observed, checking his wrist-strap to see if there was anyone in the building. Tosh and Gwen were there, but Owen was absent, and Jack wondered why neither had bothered to wake him up. Well, actually, he could guess why Gwen hadn't… Yawning and stretching, he clambered out of his bunk and stumbled towards the shower room, calling over his shoulder, "Gonna shower. You can have one after." He heard the muffled reply,

"Whatever." and looked over his shoulder to see Ianto settling back down on the bed. He curled the covers round himself, and buried his nose in Jack's pillow, considering all that had happened over the past week. He supposed it was a good thing that this had happened. He'd been so close to giving himself over to Jack completely. The older man had been pursuing him since they met, and had doubled his efforts after the Lisa incident. Ianto had been so tired and lonely and, dare he admit it, desperate for some kind of affection, that he'd gradually allowed Jack to wear away at his defences. True, Jack had been a gentleman about it. He never pushed Ianto too far or made him feel stupid if he didn't want to do something. They'd played cat and mouse for a long time before Ianto had finally let Jack into his bed, and even then they hadn't really done much. A few frenzied hand jobs and clumsy, hurried blowjobs in the archives wasn't exactly what Ianto would call a relationship. He was glad they hadn't gone all the way, because now Jack seemed to have some newfound respect for him. Maybe he was beginning to appreciate Ianto at last. Letting out a soft sigh, he considered that maybe they were actually starting to form some kind of bond with each other. They loved each other as friends, of course, but he thought that maybe, just maybe, they had feelings towards each other as lovers too. Putting it from his mind, he decided to wait and see how it all panned out. There wasn't much he could do in a seven year old body anyway.

Ten minutes later, a slightly damp-looking Jack appeared from the bathroom, clad in a towel. He shuffled over to the wardrobe, one hand still drying his hair with another towel, and swore loudly.

"I've no trousers!" He whined, turning to pout at Ianto, who would usually have done the washing, but hadn't been able to for obvious reasons.

"Oh dear…" Ianto replied, standing to go over to him, and trying not to smirk. "You'll have to wear jeans… I can wash the trousers today…" He looked up to see Jack pout even more.

"I don't wanna wear jeans…" He whined again.

"Just exactly who is the child here?" Ianto asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. Jack screwed up his face, poked out his tongue and made a suitably rude gesture with the hand that wasn't drying his hair.

"What do I do?" He asked, when he was done being immature. Ianto just looked at him.

"I would have thought that was obvious. You know, you're supposed to have some small amount of intellect when the fate of the world rests on your shoulders so often. You wear the jeans."

"But they'll look funny!"

"Oh ye Gods!" Ianto sighed. "Then wear them with one of your undershirts instead of a real shirt. Why do you even have jeans if you wont wear them?" Jack glowered.

"Trinny and fucking Suzanna." Ianto eyed him suspiciously.

"I didn't know you watched TV, let alone make-over programmes."

"I don't. Long story. Very boring. Ended up with my clothes being vaporised on national TV… The jeans were ok though…" He sighed and threw the towel in his hair aside, brushing the damp tendrils off his forehead.

"You'll look great." Ianto promised. "They'll accentuate all your best features." He said in a commanding tone, as if he had a clue what he was talking about.

"Well… they are very tight…" He mused.

"Indeed." Ianto observed, as Jack removed them from the wardrobe.

"So my ass will look fantastic…" Ianto said nothing, just allowed Jack to carry on convincing himself. "And if I only wear an undershirt, it'll show off my muscles…" Ianto snorted, trying not to point out Jack small muffin top problem. Too many full fat lattes and donuts will do that to a man. "Why are you laughing?" He demanded.

"Because you sound like my sister choosing what to wear on a night out. Put the jeans on and go save the world Captain Ridiculous!" Laughing, Jack whipped off his other towel and threw it at Ianto's retreating back, missing him. "I'm going to shower." Ianto called, not looking back.

"Well, sexy jeans, looks like it's just me and you…" Jack sighed, pulling the offending clothing on. "Mmmh… You're actually quite comfy…" From somewhere in the bathroom, with a mouth full of toothpaste, Ianto yelled,

"Shtop tawking to thu jeens you idiot!" Jack glared at the door, and pulled on a top, some socks and boots before climbing the ladder to face the music.

He wandered into the main Hub, casting a glance at Gwen, and made his way towards the kitchenette, but was stopped by a squeal from Tosh.

"Jack! You're wearing jeans!!" She exclaimed, leaping up from her station and stalking around him in circles, leaving him more than a little bemused.

"Er… Yes, I am." He confirmed. "Is that bad?"

"No!" Tosh squeaked, "They look great! They really flatter your legs… and wow… they make your bum look pretty good too…" Jack grinned and leered.

"Looking for a pay rise Toshiko?" He smirked. "Cos you can meet me in my office in 10 and we can discuss terms…"

"Behave!" Tosh growled, swatting him with a handful of paperwork. "I was just telling you they look nice. It doesn't mean I want to have sex with you." She smiled and blushed despite herself, and Jack growled suggestively. "Down boy!" She giggled, and he growled again and bit the air near her as she scurried off back to her station. Turning to face Gwen, he held his arms out wide and did a twirl, before asking,

"So, PC Cooper, whaddya think?" He winked at her, and she blushed, bit back a smile and replied,

"I think you look like a twat." He gasped in mock horror and chased her round the room a little, making the Hub fill with shrieks and squeals. When he caught her, he flung her over his shoulder and threatened to throw her in the pool at the base of the tower. She squealed and flapped.

"No! Jack! Don't! I didn't mean it! What I meant to say was that you looked so sexy I was incapable of truly expressing how amazing you are in words!" Laughing, Jack backed off and set her down, taking the resulting punch to the arm like a man, then going to find himself some coffee.

Ianto emerged from Jack's quarters dressed in camouflage trousers and a white T-shirt that had a picture of a cat on it. The girls descended on him too claiming he was 'just gorgeous' and asking if he was feeling better and did he need anything? He assured them all he was fine and went to sort out the coffee machine after Jack's rampage, just as Owen walked in. Ignoring the bickering between Owen and Gwen, and Jack and Gwen, and Jack and Owen, Ianto made his way around the Hub, tidying up, then went down to Jack's quarters to collect all his washing together. There wasn't too much of it. Just a few pairs of trousers and shirts. He gathered it up, folded it neatly and put it in a bag, before climbing back up to Jack's office.

"Jack, I'm going to take this stuff to the dry cleaners. Want me to do your coat as well?" He asked quietly. Jack looked up and grinned.

"Nah, you don't need to, it's clean." Sceptical of this, Ianto decided to go see for himself, and sighed.

"Jack, it smells like something died in it…" He groaned.

"Well…. I did… Does that count?" Jack continued to grin, then pouted like a child as Ianto took the coat off the hanger, before collapsing into giggles at the result. The coat was heavy. Ianto knew this because he picked it up every day to help Jack on with it. However, he had forgotten that he was maybe not as strong anymore. As a result, the heavy coat had plummeted onto his head, causing him to fall flat on his arse and be swamped in a sea of foul smelling material. Seriously, it smelt like dead weevil. Sighing, he managed to fold it and put it in a bag, before leaving hastily.

"I've got my Bluetooth!" He called, before leaving the hub via the tourist office and walking purposefully across the Plas. In fact, he was walking so purposefully that he failed to notice that the smell of the coat was enticing the weevils. They were trailing him quietly through the shadows as he made his was into town. He was still oblivious when he reached the dry-cleaners and went in, standing on tiptoe to see over the counter. He had his cover story ready, so when the owner came out and looked him over with a smile, he just grinned toothily.

"Hi." He said, childishly.

"Hi there." The dry cleaner replied. "What can I do for you young man?"

"My dad sent me. He says he always comes here… And he said I should say… ummmm.. Oh…. I can't remember…" He bit his lip and looked upset.

"Okay, not to worry, who is your dad?"

"He works in the tourist office."

"Ohhh, I see! Yes, he does come here often. Well, let me see what you have there…" He took the bags, grimacing as he opened the one with Jack's coat in.

"Oh yeah! Now I remember! He said sorry about the smell on the coat! Could you please try and do your best with it, you know how important it is…" He frowned. "I didn't think it made any sense."

"Oh, it does, believe me." The cleaner smiled. "Tell your dad I'll do my best, and it'll all be ready in the morning." He smiled warmly. "I'll put it on his tab."

"Okay. Thanks mister!" He called. "Bye!" He bounded out of the shop, deciding to get some cakes and pastries from town, still unaware that the weevils were trailing him. Taking a shortcut through the backstreets, Ianto hummed to himself loudly to shake off the feeling of being watched. He always got it in these alleyways, so he paid the tingling in the hairs on his neck no attention and carried on walking. As he passed an alley, he heard a muffled yell from the far end, and saw a woman being huddled into the corner by a weevil. Charging into the alleyway to save her, he reached into his back pocket for his gun, realising too late that he didn't have one and he was a seven year old. Panicking he whirled around to see several weevils blocking off his exit. Stepping back, he pressed his comm. unit, watching the weevils stalking him as he gasped,

"Jack! It's Ianto! I'm in trouble. There are tons of weevils here and I have no gun! I'm trapped in the dead-end alley by your favourite bakery!" the earpiece buzzed into life immediately.

"On my way, Ianto. Don't you dare do anything stupid!" Ianto decided to disregard this as one of the weevils made a sluggish lunge for him. He ducked and skittered away from the claws, trying his best to look big and threatening. If he could just avoid them for a little…

It seemed the weevils had other ideas. They formed a tight circle around him, closing in slowly so he had no escape. Praying that one would make a mistake, Ianto twirled frantically, looking for the best way out. There must have been at least twenty of them now. Fortunately, it seemed that three on his left were arguing amongst themselves. His heart racing, he vaulted over one of them who was bent double and ran to the far end of the alleyway, cowering as the weevils advanced on him, growling and snapping. He kept thinking he'd hear the SUV any minute, but no sound came, and finally, the weevil which seemed to have been appointed as leader lunged at him, teeth bared.

A flash of dark blue swept before him and several shots were fired. Ianto collapsed to the floor and gaped up as Jack, Gwen, Tosh and Owen made quick work of the weevils, Jack pelting more bullets then were strictly necessary into the one which had nearly gotten to Ianto. In his fury at that particular weevil, he missed another with a flesh wound coming at him from behind, and before anyone could warn him or react, the weevil had taken him down and was busy ripping the flesh from his neck. Owen pumped three bullets into it, jumping to save Jack's bleeding, but he was already dead.

Ianto didn't move for a moment. He was too shocked. When he did move, he whimpered softly, then crawled forward to set Jack's head in his lap and stroke his hair. Gwen looked helplessly up at Tosh and Owen.

"He'll be back… Why don't you two go wait in the SUV? I'll stay here with Ianto until Jack wakes up." Gwen offered. Tosh and Owen nodded and left, throwing glances at each other as they turned the corner. "Ianto, love, he'll be fine." Gwen tried, but then saw the look on Ianto's face and decided that she should just shut her mouth for once. She watched, bemused and a little touched, as Ianto carefully brushed Jack's hair away from his face and stroked it softly, cradling his head as gently as possible.

"It calms him when he wakes up." Ianto explained matter-of-factly, not taking his eyes from Jack's expressionless face. Gwen just nodded and stepped back, feeling like she was intruding on an immensely private moment. Soon, Jack gasped and jumped into life, stilling as he felt Ianto's tiny hands running through his hair. He sat up and quickly pulled the boy into his lap, cradling him despite the large quantity of blood on his blue shirt. Ianto collapsed onto him and shuddered, letting out a small whimper. "I'm sorry." He whispered, sniffling.

"Gods, Ianto, I thought I'd lost you!" Jack gasped, squeezing the child tighter. "Don't ever, ever make me panic like that again! And what are you saying sorry for?" Ianto looked up at him, his face tear streaked.

"It's my fault… I'm sorry." He whimpered.

"Heeeey." Jack cooed, wiping away the tears with the pad of his thumb. "Nothing to be sorry for. C'mere." Ianto threw his arms round Jack's neck and buried his face in his hair, and Jack stood, smiling at Gwen. "Gwen, grab some Starbucks and meet us at the SUV."

Tosh and Owen couldn't help themselves. They knew it was wrong when Jack had just died and Ianto had just been in so much danger, but the adrenaline rush had made them both so brimming with energy that there was only one way it could go. Or at least, that was Owen's excuse, he decided as he pushed Tosh up against the side of the SUV, locked to her mouth, tongues fighting for dominance. He drew back, gasping for air, and went straight for the zip of her skirt, just as she did the same for his jeans. Gasping as she slid her hand inside his boxers, he kissed her again, returning the favour. She moaned and writhed against him, and he fumbled to open the car door, climbing onto the back seat with her. Straddling his hips, she pulled his T-shirt up and nipped at his chest, sliding his jeans down, and pulling her skirt up. Groaning, he managed to find a condom and pass it to her, and she opened it and put it in place with surprising dexterity for someone in a hurry. Gasping into his ear, she pressed closer, and slid down onto him, moaning softly as she did so, and he groaned, pushing up to meet her and gripping her hips hard.

"You know, I never listened when they said the quiet ones are best in bed… Wish I had now…" Owen gasped, thrusting wildly.

"Shut up, Owen, you're ruining perfectly amazing sex by talking." She gasped, urging him faster and moaning louder.

"Yes ma'am." He moaned, biting down on her neck.

"That's right, know your place!" She grinned and winked, and they laughed together as they came, gasping and kissing. Panting, Tosh pulled back and righted herself, settling on the seat next to Owen looking like nothing had happened. He managed to get himself back together, but still looked dishevelled as Jack arrived, opening the door to put Ianto on the front seat. He turned and scrutinised Owen.

"You look like you've just been shagged." He commented. "Whereas she," he jabbed a thumb towards Tosh, "Looks pristine." He grinned and turned to her. "Good work Toshiko, I'm proud of you. Harper, practice makes perfect." He winked. When Gwen returned, they all acted as though nothing had happened, knowing that she would frown upon it. Plus he had to sit in the seat where it had taken place… They drove home in relative silence.

One back at the hub, Jack stretched, cracking his neck and back and wiggling his shoulders, and yawned widely.

"I need a shower. Someone look after Ianto while I clean up? In fact, reckon you could run him a bath, Gwen?" Jack looked at her pleadingly.

"Of course pet, you go sort yourself out." She cooed, following Ianto down the corridor, bemused as to why he'd ordered Owen to get the SUV valeted.

Gwen ran the bath as instructed, but left Ianto to it this time, neither really speaking much. It seemed that's eh and Ianto had less and less to talk about these days, and she was still feeling guilty about nearly kissing Jack when she knew how Ianto felt about him, so she disappeared as quickly as possible, promising food when Ianto was done.

He sank into the water, sighing, turning over the day's events in his mind. He hated to see Jack die. Every time it happened, he died a little himself, unsure of whether or not he would come back this time. What if he'd run out of chances? What if this time he was really gone? What made it worse was that it had been Ianto's fault. Despite loud claims to the contrary, he still blamed himself. He settled deeper into the water, shuddering as he realised that he had nearly died himself. That Jack had died protecting him. He never wanted that to happen again.

Jack stood under the spray and washed away the slow ache in his every cell which always followed resurrection. He let the water wash over him and smooth away the grime and hurt and the panic he had felt when he'd found out that Ianto was in trouble, shivering as he recalled just how close he'd been to seeing Ianto ripped to shreds, and decided to never let him be in that much danger again. He turned his thoughts to something a little less depressing, shampooing his hair as he did so, and settling on Tosh and Owen's new relationship. He was pleased. Tosh had been after the doctor for a while, and Owen had wanted her but not known it. They looked cute together, and he was sure they'd be happy. He grinned as he remembered Owen's face back at the SUV. Now, if only he could get his hands on someone like Toshiko Sato. It was evident that she was amazing in the sack… He stopped that train of thought before it turned messy and concentrated on making himself clean.

When Jack emerged from the shower, the Hub was completely empty. There was no noise, and no-one to be seen. Panicking, he looked at the clock to check the time, and found that he'd been in the shower for just over two hours. That would explain the pruneyness then. And the complete lack of personnel. Although, he had thought that he and Ianto were going back to Ianto's flat together tonight to do some more cleaning. Scanning the Hub for life forms, he saw that Ianto was downstairs with Janet. Smiling a little and biting back the panic that had threatened to rise again, he bounded down the stairs, stopping at the bottom to stare at Ianto. For a few seconds, that's all they did, stare at each other with pained expressions on their faces. Then Jack threw himself to his knees, arms stretched wide, and Ianto launched himself into his amrs, immediately burying his face into his neck as he'd become so accustomed to doing. Jack squeezed him tight, breathing in the smell of Ianto and hair products and smiled.

"I thought you'd run off again. What were you doing hiding down here?" He pulled back a little to study Ianto's face, taking in the worried expression there.

"I felt guilty. I needed somewhere to think." He looked at the floor. "I'm sorry."

"Ianto, you have nothing to be sorry for. You didn't ask the weevils to chase you. So qit worrying OK?" He stood, reaching down to take Ianto's hand, and led him back up the stairs into the main Hub. "We must have been quiet then, for everyone to have gone home by 4."

"Yeah. Actually, they went to catch some more weevils. It seems like they're having a party today."

"Ahh, well… what shall we do while they're gone? Fancy some ice-cream?" Jack grinned.

"I'll make the ice-cream, you go do some more paperwork. You have a mountain of the stuff!"

Ianto fetched the ice-cream and they spent an enjoyable afternoon together trying not to drip the melting chocolate on the paperwork, and giggling like idiots. Just as they were beginning to worry about the others, Jack's mobile rang.

"Jack!" A high-pitched voice squeaked down the line. "We've been chasing this same lot of four weevils for 3 hours now. We're going home. The SUV is parked in the multi-storey near Owen's place. He says he'll bring it in in the morning."

"That's fine, Gwen." Jack grinned, suppressing a giggle at how out of breath she sounded. "Have a nice evening!"

"Oh, I will." She assured him, htne hung up.

"Well, baby, looks like it's just you and me…" Jack mused, putting his pen down. "Pacman?"

"Pacman!" Ianto confirmed, and they raced to the sofa, play fighting over who got the first go. Jack won, so Ianto pouted just so until the Captain relented and gave him the controller. Grinning, he started the game. "Bet I can beat your high score!"