Jack gets his memories back, but how?
Who?
Epilogue
Ianto woke from a deep, dreamless sleep alone in Jack's small bed. He lay back and stretched. It had been a good night, a very good night. He realised that the faint noise he could hear was humming and it was coming from above him; Jack must be in his office. Ianto glanced at his watch - 6:50 - time to be up and working. He had a quick shower and shaved, dressing in the suit he had changed into the day before and a clean shirt. He emerged from the hatch to see Jack sitting at his desk dressed in his customary 1940s clothing but not working.
"Morning," said Ianto, smiling.
"Morning. Hope I didn't wake you." Jack returned the smile, sitting back in his chair and admiring the view. In his hand he was twisting the 'blade' taken from Beth Halloran's arm.
"Time I was up and about anyway." Ianto shifted uncomfortably under the stare. He felt like a specimen being studied, a captive butterfly pinned to a board.
Jack rose and walked round the desk to stand beside the Welshman. He held Ianto's hips and leant in to kiss him. The kiss was long and gentle and left the young man tingling. "Last night was … Well, it was just like the first time."
"It was. I was so nervous and … Hang on, you can remember?" Ianto pulled back, his gaze on Jack's face.
"Yeah. Must have come back in the night. I woke up and it was all there; Torchwood, the operations, the others, you." He smiled a silly smile, "If I'd known that great sex would bring them flooding back I'd have had you earlier." He laughed heartily when Ianto blushed.
"You're sure all the memories are back?" queried Ianto, ignoring the embarrassment.
"As sure as I can be. But if there are any gaps I know how to fill them." Jack leered and kissed Ianto again, hands wandering.
"Oh yes, you're definitely back to normal." Ianto pulled away again and this time disentangled himself. "Cup of tea?" he asked mischievously.
"Very funny. I often make myself tea but coffee made by you will always be my morning preference." Jack was chuckling as he sat back at his desk; the paperwork there unfortunately now made sense to him and he had a pile of reports to check and sign off.
-ooOoo-
The morning passed in a round of routine duties for all members of the Torchwood team. Everyone was relieved Jack had his memories back and resumed their normal roles without difficulty.
Toshiko was first in and Jack managed to sit and chat with her, checking how she was coping with the loss of Tommy Brockless and giving her confidence a much needed boost. When Gwen arrived she joined Jack in his office and they had a private chat. She was radiant when she emerged, on a high from Jack's praise for the way she had handled him and the team. A medical examination was demanded by Owen when he rolled in an hour later than everyone else but still early for him. Jack endured the tests the doctor considered necessary and used the opportunity to thank him for his support. The two men were usually at loggerheads and Jack had not expected such friendship and said so, managing to embarrass Owen for the first and last time.
In the late morning, Jack and Gwen went to see the market trader who had bought items from James Ingalls. They confiscated his stock and sufficiently frightened the man to ensure he never touched alien artefacts again. At lunch time, they caught up with Alfie Simmonds and warned him of the danger in the items he found lying around. He was a good kid and agreed to alert Gwen when he came across anything; Jack intended to slip him a few quid from time to time for his trouble. Alfie handed over his photographs of what he had found in the past which they promised to return after Toshiko and Ianto had gone through them. That was one promise Jack did not intend to keep.
On their way back to the Hub, Jack made a detour to Rhiwbina and the shops where the still nameless alien had run amok. They parked and wandered around among the Council workers repairing the damage. Here, they came across a familiar figure.
"Andy, how are you?" asked Jack genially, slapping a hand on the other man's shoulder. He remembered the professional and even kind way that Andy Davidson had treated him the day before. He had not played any cheap tricks which, Jack had to admit, Andy had every right to have done.
"I'm all right. Why?" He looked at Jack askance wondering what the other man wanted; Jack had never acknowledged Andy's existence before. "What's he up to, Gwen?" he asked, glancing between the two.
"Hey, I was just asking," replied Jack, arms flung wide in a show of innocence.
"Ignore him," said Gwen seeing the confusion Jack 'being nice' caused. "Find anything here?"
"Sod all. I'm on clean up, I am. On sodding light duties." He looked and sounded disgusted as he kicked at a stray piece of metal lying on the ground.
"Why's that?"
"Lost my bleeding memory!" he exclaimed. "Can't remember yesterday at all. Complete blank. Nada. Been told I was here but I can't remember a thing." He was shaking his head in frustration.
"Sorry to hear it," said Jack, clapping him on the back again. "I hear there's a lot of it going about."
He and Gwen kept straight faces until they had turned and taken a pace towards the SUV then burst into peals of laughter. Andy Davidson looked after them suspiciously then shook his head and went back to his job.
And that's your lot. Hope you enjoyed the story and many thanks for the reviews.(By the way, Jack's memory really came back naturally and had nothing to do with whatever he and Ianto were doing at the time!)