The team recover in the Hub and Jack does some strange things...

Who?

Chapter Ten

"Well done, all of you," said Toshiko from her desk, "that looked awful." She was suffering her usual reaction to a difficult operation; guilt at being safe in the Hub while her colleagues were facing danger. She had watched the proceedings on grainy CCTV images but the angle had not been perfect and some of the action had been out of the field of vision.

"Thanks to your input too, Tosh. We couldn't have done it without you." Gwen smiled wearily. "Did you work out what it was?"

"No, it's totally new. Best as I can work out, it was dropped into the shop by the Rift and attacked anything that moved."

"Add it to the database for next time," replied Gwen. "And now, I am going to go and have a long, hot shower."

"When you're done, I'll look at your grazes," said Owen. He had flopped onto the sofa. As he had arrived late at the scene, he was still reasonably clean if a bit sweaty from his run. Gwen nodded and went off to the bathroom. "Ianto, you okay?" asked Owen.

"Yeah, thanks. Anyone want coffee?" he asked, looking round.

"Love one but it can wait until after you've cleaned up," said Owen. He was keen to build bridges with the Welshman after the tongue lashing he had given him at lunch. He and Ianto were not close but the doctor had come to recognise the other man's strengths and to value his contribution to the team. It had taken awhile but under the surface insults they respected one another.

"I can make one if you …"

"Go and shower, Ianto, you smell!"

"Suppose I do too," commented Jack, looking down at his battered clothing. It was strange how his body mended but his clothes remained torn and dirty. He sniffed loudly and pulled a face. "Where do we wash? And do I have a change of clothes here?"

"You can use your bunker," said Ianto.

"My what?"

"Your bunker, your quarters." Ianto smiled at Jack's expression. "Sorry, I should have explained; you live here."

"In this dump? I was hoping for a penthouse with room service."

"No, all you've got is a hole in a cellar with a Pteranodon for a pet," put in Owen, grinning.

"What a weird person I am."

"You said it, mate!" The two men exchanged grins.

"It's this way." Ianto walked to the office and opened and secured the hatch. "These are your quarters," he said, gesturing down.

"Oh my God, you weren't joking."

"It's quite nice actually, a bit like a ship's cabin." Ianto smiled faintly.

"So, do you live down there with me?" Jack smirked.

"No – but I visit." He grinned and then turned and walked away.

-ooOoo-

It was a strange feeling to be in a place that was supposedly his home but that didn't look the slightest bit familiar. Jack was sitting on the bed, which he thought small and hard, looking round. He'd had a shower and dressed in clothes he had found in the drawers and wardrobe. The place did resemble a ship's cabin but to Jack they were spaceships not sailing ships. The compact space was well fitted out with cupboards in all the nooks and crannies of the odd shaped space. He'd looked through the cupboards but nothing was familiar.

He wondered, sitting there gazing round, who had built this living space. Had it been here all the time? Had he lived here for years and years? He was immortal, events had proved that, and supposed he could have been here for decades, centuries even. But if he had been here that long, why did he have memories of spaceships and civilisations much more sophisticated than this one? Why did he know that something was coming? That something was going to happen here sometime soon? It was as if he had special knowledge, knew about the future.

And that brought him back to the immortality. Ever since his run in with the creature, he had pushed thoughts of his death and resurrection to the back of his mind. But he had to face them sometime. How was it possible he could resurrect like that? What had made him like this? From the reaction of the rest of the team, his dying and coming back to life was no big deal; only Ianto seemed to be affected. It was so hard to know how to respond, how to come to terms with the fact that he couldn't die. He sighed. If his memories never returned he would have years and years to consider all these issues and he decided to leave them for another day. What good was it going to do him if he fretted over it all. Better to leave it be for now.

"Jack, you all right down there?" came from above him. Owen, the doctor, checking up on him.

"Yeah, just coming up." He climbed the ladder and joined Owen, Toshiko and Ianto. "I was looking round down there, it's like an Aladdin's cave." He smiled, standing with his hands in his pockets. He noticed the silence and saw them staring at him. "What?"

"Where did you find those?" asked Ianto, gesturing to his clothes.

"Down there. They were stuffed at the back, behind that old-fashioned gear. Why?" He looked down at himself. The trainers, jeans and sweatshirt were all fastened correctly and seemed suitable for a night in a cold, damp cellar. "What's wrong with them?"

"Bloody hell! What have you got on, Jack?" exclaimed Gwen, coming up behind him. She circled him, a grin on her face.

"It's the same as Owen's wearing. What's the fuss about?"

"You never wear jeans," she protested, "though you've got the arse for them, I'll give you that!" She slapped it playfully.

He grinned. "Glad you like it."

"You look so different," said Toshiko, still marvelling at the transformation. Jack looked … normal, just like everyone else. She liked it but at the same time was disappointed; without his forties-style clothes he was diminished in some way. He had lost the larger than life presence.

"But still gorgeous, eh Tosh?" He was beaming at her and she grinned back. His personality had not changed at all, whatever clothes he was wearing and whether he had his memories or not.

"You all want some coffee?" asked Ianto, recovering from the shock. He had not known Jack possessed modern clothes and was unsettled seeing him look so different. There were general murmurs of agreement.

"Um, could I have tea?" asked Jack. This earned even more startled looks. "Now what?"

"You never drink tea," supplied Toshiko, looking at him strangely. "You live on coffee. Owen, are you sure this is Jack?"

"I'm starting to doubt it!" said Owen.

"Will you all just stop!? No doubt you're enjoying playing with my mind but right now I've had enough! I am wearing comfortable and suitable clothing for this place and I want a cup of tea. If you don't like it, tough!" He plonked himself down on the sofa, put his feet on the coffee table and crossed his arms. He glared at them.

"Of course you can have tea, if that what's you want. Um, milk and sugar?" asked Ianto, still bemused.

"Yeah, two sugars."

Ianto went off to make the beverages. One of the fixed points in his working and private life had just shifted through one hundred and eighty degrees. If Jack wore normal clothes and drank tea then perhaps nothing was the same any more. Working the coffee machine gave the Welshman time to recover and he was wearing his normal impersonal expression as he handed round the drinks. Gwen was having her grazes treated and she and Owen took their coffees in the Medical Bay, the other three gathered round the sofa.

"So I live here," said Jack, breaking the awkward silence. "What about the rest of you?"

"We all have flats around the city," replied Toshiko. She told him of her new place and they had a lively discussion about the advantages of black silk sheets.

"Isn't it time you went home?" He had checked his watch and discovered it was close to seven o'clock.

"You usually tell us when to go," said Ianto, sipping his coffee. He was surreptitiously watching Jack drink his tea, surprised that the man was enjoying it. He glanced over as Owen and Gwen emerged from the Medical Bay, the latter with a gauze dressing on one cheek.

"Well, go home then. You all started early when I got blown up." It was hard to believe that so much had happened in a little over twelve hours. "No doubt you've all got wives and husbands – or fiancés – waiting for you." Jack saw them look at one another and groaned loudly, "Now what have I said!?"

"Gwen's the only one with anyone at home," said Toshiko in a quiet voice, shooting a sidelong glance at Owen who was looking the other way.

"I am not going to say anything else until or unless my memory returns," Jack pronounced, standing up. "Good night all." He walked to his office and shut the door. They saw him sit at his desk and begin reading a paperback book.

"You all get on home, I'll stay and keep an eye on him and the Rift," volunteered Ianto.

"I'll be here for a bit longer. Want to make a start on the lovely box of cinders you scraped up for me," said Owen, finishing his coffee and handing Ianto the mug. "You girls might as well as get off."

"Okay," agreed Gwen. If she went now she'd have time for a few hours with Rhys before bed and could make up for her abrupt departure that morning.

"I'm going to wait for this translation to complete, should only be another hour or so." She turned back to her desk, preferring the Hub to her empty flat where memories of her night with Tommy Brockless were still painful. Ianto gathered the mugs and went off to wash up and then go about his usual routine tasks.

At midnight the four were still in the Hub, gathered in Jack's office playing poker. They had been there for nearly three hours, playing for matches, and Toshiko was the big winner. Glasses and beer bottles were strewn around and Ianto had gone so far as to remove his jacket and loosen his tie though he adamantly refused to take off his waistcoat.

Laughter resounded off the brick walls as Jack flung up his hands and declared, "That's it, I'm bankrupt. Go home, people." Reluctantly, the party broke up and Owen and Toshiko left together.

Ianto lingered in the office, clearing up as his excuse. If Jack wanted it, he was willing to sleep with him. If not, he'd crash on the sofa. When they were alone, Ianto stood watching his boss collect up the matches they'd been using as the stakes. "You going to be okay?" he asked.

"Yeah." Jack smiled at him then recognised the look on the young man's face; Ianto wanted him. And why not? He, Jack, was a gorgeous guy. "You want to join me downstairs?" He nodded towards the hatch.

"Okay."

Last chapter to come. Jack's memories return but how? Anyone want to speculate about what triggers them?