Jack opened his eyes to find Ianto. His Ianto, looking like he had done a few days ago, sitting on the edge of the table. This time his feet almost reached the floor. He looked around in confusion, automatically taking in his surroundings and then looking for Jack.

"Why are we in the firing range?" As he glared at Jack his eyes were almost popping out of his head. It wasn't helped when Jack grinned broadly, relief flooding through him.

"What's so bloody funny?"

Then Ianto's eyes rolled as he realised everyone else was in the room. He shifted slightly and looked down at himself. He was still holding Barney to his chest but as he realised he was wearing nothing but a shirt he gasped and slid Barney down to protect his groin. He jumped off the table and glared at everyone.

"Okay, is anyone going to tell me what's going on?" Ianto's voice wavered, the stress rising in him. Jack could see his eyes working frantically. Jack glanced at the others.

"All right out!"

Toshiko, who had been spending her time putting the device back into the secure box, had been very discreetly not looking in Ianto's direction. She was half turned away from him to emphasize the fact, as she snapped the locks into place she picked up the box and left.

"I'd like to do my job actually!" Owen snapped and picked up his scanner. He went over to Ianto, who was watching with wide eyes, he almost raised his hands, then suddenly realised he was clutching Barney, and with good reason. The shirt was long, but not long enough. He used both hands to keep Barney in place, flinching as Owen ran the scanner down him.

"Jack, perhaps…" Gwen started, and was abruptly stopped.

"Out!" Jack repeated sternly. Gwen looked a little unhappy with the order but she followed Tosh. Jack moved closer to Owen and Ianto. Ianto was watching Owen with wide eyes a little unable to do anything about the scanner except lean away from Owen, but he couldn't evade him. Owen looked at his readings.

"We're a little out actually," Owen said, he glanced up at Jack.

"What?" Ianto asked frowning and glancing at Jack for an explanation.

"What!" Jack growled at the same time. Owen glanced back down at his readings.

"He's four months, five days, six hours, fourteen minutes and ten seconds younger than he used to be. The machine appears to have rounded the calculation down. Not to be complained about I suppose…"

"Is he all right?" Jack demanded folding his arms across his chest and glaring at Owen. As Jack moved nearer, flanking Ianto, the young man moved to huddle closer. Jack felt an overwhelming urge to put his arms around Ianto and just hug him but for the moment he restrained himself.

"Perfectly, we must have just put the calibration a little out but… essentially four months is not something to worry about. Barney's the same age as he was before." Owen added blithely. "And a good thing the shirt is as well, otherwise that could have been interesting. It only works on organic matter."

Jack leant towards Owen and glared at him. "Get out!"

Owen flashed a smile. He glanced at Ianto, rolled his eyes and then followed in the wake of the girls. Ianto watched him go and then looked at Jack staying as close to him as possible.

"Jack, where the hell are my clothes?" Ianto asked in an almost frightened tone.

"Oh, sorry," Jack said. He went over to the nearest target where he had hung the suit up. Ianto's underwear was tucked on the coat hanger with his trousers, as were his socks. Jack laid it on the table and pulled out the underwear and socks first. Ianto tossed Barney onto the table, he landed on his side and as Ianto struggled to get his underwear on Jack reached over and moved him, shifting his stuffing around so he sat up. He still looked a little sorry for himself even then.

Ianto paused as he pulled his underwear up watching Jack curiously.

"Jack, what is going on?!"

Ianto grabbed his trousers and started to pull them on, looking at Jack with fear, anger and confusion in his eyes. Jack bit his lip and took a breath.

"What do you remember? Clearly remember?"

Ianto paused and frowned as he slowly fastened his belt and idly straightened up his shirt as he tucked it in. Ianto winced, his eyes de-focussed staring out into the middle distance before rolling down to look at Barney.

"Well… really clearly, tidying up the hub and then… lights and then I was scared, I didn't quite know where I was and everything seemed big…"

Jack smiled, "not exactly big, you were just marginally smaller." His smile faded as Ianto looked at him, glaring at him. He took the waistcoat Jack was holding off him and started to shrug it on. Jack automatically went to help him, pulling it up onto his shoulders. Ianto paused, turning around in confusion.

"What are you doing?"

"Helping," Jack said and then backed off. He let Ianto take the jacket off the coat hanger and dress himself. For the want of something to do Jack picked up Barney feeling the soft, plush fur that Ianto had clung to over the last two days.

"Do you remember anything after that?"

"It's a little jumbled," Ianto said. He paused as he was about to put his arm into the sleeve, wincing as the skin on his forearm pulled against the dressing. He put the jacket down and put a hand to his arm and then unfastened the cuff to pull the shirt sleeve up. He looked at the bandage and frowned. It was a little too small to cover the scratch, which had grown with Ianto's arm.

"Brad scratched you."

Ianto glanced up at Jack, he frowned again and for a moment the expression on his face was so reminiscent of his infant self that Jack reached forward and took hold of him and pulled him against his side, he put his arm around him.

"I was… it felt… I wanted to pick him up, even though you told me not to, not like I cuddled Barney." Ianto looked down at the teddy bear, still in Jack's hand, he reached to take it off him and he looked at Barney curiously.

"Jack?"

"One of the devices we tested, it kind of had an unusual affect, one that wasn't expected, it…" Jack wondered the best way to explain it. "It de-aged you, so you were three and a half."

"What?!" Ianto looked at Jack in horror.

"It literally re-wound you, physically at any rate. You were just under three and a half years old. But you remembered me and them…" Jack nodded in the direction of the door. "… and where you were. You still had all your memories but you were a kid, so you couldn't kind of process them too well."

As Jack spoke he backed up to the table perching against it. Ianto, in Jack's grip, did the same. He held Barney in both hands again, clenched around the teddy bear's torso, looking down at it as if he expected it to come up with an even better explanation than Jack.

"Tosh bought me… Barney?"

"Yeah, she thought he might be… you know… comforting. It seemed to work," Jack said carefully. "You have been quite attached to him."

Ianto nodded. He kept looking at Barney. Jack wondered if he would get an explanation of what Toshiko knew with regard to that. Ianto said nothing, looking at Barney with a frown on his face. Jack presumed Ianto had no intention of expanding on the subject.

"Is any of it clear?" he asked to break the silence.

"A little, it's weird, it's kind of there, how long have I been like that?"

"Two days there about, just over 48 hours at any rate, not too long." Jack wanted to make it sound a minimal as possible. At least if the memories were a little jumbled then Ianto might not feel too bad. It was probably hard not to feel a little humiliated when you were at a stage when things just happened and you couldn't really hope to control yourself.

"And everyone's been…" Ianto looked up. He gazed at Jack, took a sudden shocking breath and his eyes widened. "Oh my God, I peed under your desk!"

Jack winced. "Yeah, I don't think you really meant to, you were just sort of scared. Having just been changed into a three year old it was kind of understandable."

Ianto gave a flash of a smile. He looked down at Barney, he frowned a little as if he was trying to sort out his memories, then he looked back up at Jack.

"You've been looking after me?" It was more a statement of fact than a question. Jack smiled and hugged Ianto close, he turned his head and kissed Ianto lightly on the temple.

"Of course, we had to make sure we got the machine right though, that's why it took so long."

"I'm glad to hear that," Ianto said. Jack smiled, it was nice to hold onto Ianto, as a grown-up. He could hardly believe that it worked, he was glad it had. A baby employee was not something they were prepared for.

"Are you all right? Do you feel okay?"

"Fine, just about. Everything seems a little strange, but I feel all right. Should I expect any side affects?"

Jack winced and kissed the side of his head again, gently. He caught the slight scent of the baby shampoo that he had used on Ianto's hair the previous night. Jack sighed in relief, it was good to have Ianto back as he was.

"Nothing seemed to adversely affect you when you youthenised. Owen's word." Jack added in explanation. "But he's probably going to want to take another look at you, just check you're all right."

He felt Ianto flinch visibly and his hands tightened on Barney.

"He's gonna have to Ianto," Jack reasoned.

"I know, just not yet, just let me… oh I don't know."

"Actually I do."

The others got the surprise of their life as Jack and Ianto came back up from the firing range. Ianto made straight for the hub doors and left without a word to anyone. Jack watched him go before heading towards his office.

"Jack, where's he going?" Gwen asked.

"I need to run tests," Owen said. Jack turned to them.

"Just leave him alone all right, just… leave him alone."

"But Jack, you can't just let him wander off," Gwen said.

"He's not wandering off, he just wants to get out for a bit, on his own. He'll be back later."

Jack cut off any further objections by storming into his office, dropping dramatically into his chair and slamming the nearest keyboard. All three of them glanced at each other knowing full well that Jack was looking at the CCTV, tracking Ianto. Wherever the hell he was going.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Ianto, as he walked, wasn't quite sure where he was going. He just strolled along, looking around, seeing things as he normally saw them.

As far as he could tell Jack wasn't following him, although if that was the case he guessed he was tracking him on CCTV. Ianto knew most of the places that the cameras couldn't reach so he could have disappeared off their radar, but Ianto couldn't really summon up much enthusiasm for such an act. He didn't want to worry any of them, or scare Jack. All he wanted to do was be alone for a bit.

He paused walking as the sound of children reached him. He looked around and realised he had walked to the park, to the adventure playground. That felt very familiar to him, in a rather strange way. He looked at it, watching the children playing. Something flashed into his mind, something recent.

Looking at the playground, he recognised the tower, and the bridge and the place the bully had pushed him off. His knee ached a little at the memory. And he remembered someone else picking him up, not Jack, someone that he wasn't quite familiar with but somehow knew.

"Hi."

Ianto jumped, snatched out of his reverie, and the memory locked into place.

"Rhys. Hello."

Rhys paused a little distance from him with a sports bag held in one hand, he looked a little flushed and his hair was lank with sweat. Ianto vaguely remembered Gwen saying something about him playing five-a-side on Sundays. He watched Rhys look him up and down. It wasn't scrutiny Ianto would normally have felt comfortable about but this time he felt fine with it.

"They did it then?" Rhys eventually asked. "Fixed you. Sorry, that's kind of obvious really, isn't it?"

Ianto looked down at himself and then back up. "Yeah, about half an hour ago."

Rhys frowned slightly. "Should you be wandering about on your own then? Not that you can't… you know manage now… I don't mean… is it safe…" Rhys stumbled desperately, obviously trying to find whatever the right thing to say in a situation like this. There probably wasn't a right thing to say, Ianto decided.

"No side effects, feeling sick or anything." Rhys finally coordinated his words.

Ianto shook his head. "No, I'm fine, there wasn't any after effects the last time, only the whole I was a kid thing."

"One hell of a side effect really," Rhys said. "So you're back to normal?"

"I'm just over four months younger than I used to be," Ianto said. Rhys grinned.

"Don't knock it, you'll be glad of that in a few years," Rhys assured him. Ianto smiled, he looked back to the playground and his smile faded as he looked at one of the people playing there. Rhys followed his gaze, then back again, seeing Ianto's face as he watched Amiee playing. Rhys' eyes strayed further to see her grandmother watching from her usual bench.

"You got on very well with her," Rhys said with a grin. Ianto looked at him.

"I could say the same about you."

"I was not playing kiss chase," Rhys said archly. Ianto laughed.

"You didn't tell Jack about that did you? God knows what way he'd find to pervert that."

"I don't want to know, Gwen asking me how you'd play naked hide and seek was quite enough for my mind, never mind how you'd manage to cheat."

"That's Jack for you, his mind is somewhat advanced to ours in that capacity."

"You seem to keep up fairly well."

Ianto smiled, took a breath and looked around again. Amiee had run to her grandmother for her drink of juice, Ianto frowned and watched. Rhys stepped a little closer.

"Are you really all right?"

"It's just hard when your memory is so unclear and yet you get the sense of everything, and you know it's just… oh I don't know."

"Come on, I'm going to the pub, I'll buy you one." Rhys took Ianto's arm firmly.

"I'm not really in the mood for a drink, plus I shouldn't, I'd promised Jack I'd come back to the hub."

"So, I'll get you a coke and a sandwich," Rhys said. He took Ianto's arm and steered him away from the playground. Ianto risked one glance back, Amiee's grandmother was looking their way, watching as Rhys took Ianto's arm protectively and led him away. She frowned as she watched them. Looking at Rhys again she realised it was the same man she had seen yesterday, and she had been keeping half an eye on the troubled looking young man in the suit, who had been staring at the playground so intently. The scene now looked so familiar to her as she watched Rhys guide Ianto away.

Cardiff was, now and again, a strange place to live. Most residents who had been there long enough couldn't deny that. But that was just a little too strange to her. The young man's eyes looked right on him now, not like they had yesterday. Just a little too old for that babyish face. She blinked and shook her head turning back to her granddaughter as Amiee started to babble about her new baby brother.

She tried to just shake off the feeling, but it would stay on her mind for a very long time.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Rhys led Ianto to a quiet corner of the pub and got him settled before going to the bar. As he ordered he kept glancing in Ianto's direction just to make sure he was okay. Ianto just sat still, his eyes roving over the other occupants of the pub. He probably could have left but he didn't want to upset Rhys, who looked so concerned. Plus it would have been a bit rude, he added, trying to ignore the fact so many of his senses and feelings felt rather settled around Rhys.

"Here you go," Rhys put a tall glass of coke and a plate of sandwiches down in front of him. "Cheese and tomato."

Ianto managed a smile. "Thanks."

As Rhys went back for his own pint and ham salad sandwiches Ianto carefully peeled back the top slice of bread and extracted a sliver of tomato from the sandwich and ate it. Rhys came back and as he sat down he watched Ianto do exactly as he had the day before. Ianto bit into the sandwich chewing slowly and frowning at the grin on Rhys' face.

"You actually do that then, or are you just remembering yesterday?" Rhys asked.

"What?" Ianto asked as he chewed on the sandwich.

"Take the salad items out of the sandwich and eat them, you did that yesterday."

"I always do it."

"I just thought you were just being three and strange. Never realised you were grown up and strange as well. Why don't you just have the tomato separate?"

"It doesn't taste the same," Ianto said, extracting another slice.

"So did you used to do that as a kid?"

Ianto shook his head and ate the tomato. "No, I never used to eat anything remotely healthy, unless I was really bullied into it. I was about eighteen when I discovered soggy sandwich salad. Jack thinks I'm nuts, he won't let me eat sandwiches with salad in them in front of the others."

Rhys laughed. "Like Jack's got any room to talk, how was he when you changed back?"

"Pleased I think, it was… you know," Ianto paused and took a sip of his drink, flinching a little as he tasted it.

"Vodka," Rhys said. "You looked like you needed something."

Ianto smiled, didn't dispute him and took another swallow. "I don't know. Remembering things, and what happened, and how I was with the others. I'm not sure I can really face them."

"You're not the first one to go through something, my wedding day is distinctly memorable. Gwen will understand how you feel if nothing else."

Ianto looked down at his sandwich, his face tensing slightly. Rhys frowned in concern.

"And Jack's all right isn't he? He's not mad at you or anything?"

Ianto shook his head. "No, it's just... I suppose I'm the one that's a bit mad, at myself. It's hard to... just knowing how helpless I was."

Ianto sighed, looked down and felt a sudden rush of tears. He put a hand over his eyes, resting his elbow on the table and tried to get himself under control. Rhys said nothing. He just waited and carried on eating. As Ianto desperately tried to get over it he ran though what everyone else would do. Jack would have hugged him, Owen would have found something sarcastic to say, Gwen probably would have talked about feelings and Toshiko would have held his hand and tried to sympathise.

Rhys did none of that. He just sat there and waited for him to get over it. When he did he looked up.

"Thanks."

"For what?" Rhys asked in confusion.

"Not doing anything, not trying to make me feel better or… anything."

"Was I supposed to?" Rhys asked in concern. "It's not like when that bully pushed you off the bridge. When you started crying then I knew I had to do something but… you were three and you wanted it. That amount of howling made that obvious."

"I did," Ianto sighed. "I just get a horrible feeling that I'm going to be treated like a child for a while."

"You were only a kid for a couple of days, they didn't get that much into a habit surely."

"Kind of. There were skills coming out that I didn't think any of them had."

Rhys gave a slightly non-committal grunt then looked at Ianto.

"Can I ask…" he paused and faltered. Ianto carried on eating and shrugged, Rhys grimaced but carried on. "… as a baby sitter. How was I?"

Ianto choked slightly, banging himself on the chest to dislodge the lump of sandwich. Rhys hurried on.

"I mean it's the only babysitting job I've ever done and it made me think, since I've been trying to get Gwen to sit down and chat about us… you know… me and her having a family. I think she was slightly geared for it when she was working for the police, but now with Torchwood she's changed."

Rhys paused. Ianto stopped coughing.

"I think she thinks that she can't now and I don't know if she was thinking about it just to please me or… if something else is stopping her. I know about the whole danger thing, I've been there!" Rhys sighed.

He looked up at Ianto with an expression that Ianto didn't like to see and it made the jealousy rise in him. This time more complex than when Jack had referred to Gwen as a pretty lady, or when she turned up for breakfast that morning. Ianto visibly started as those memories locked into place but Rhys didn't seem to notice.

"There isn't anything else stopping her, is there?"

The jealous husband asked the jealous lover. They knew it as they looked at each other. Gwen was jealous of Ianto, Ianto was jealous of Gwen, Rhys was jealous of Jack and Ianto felt suddenly extra jealous of Gwen. Not because of her connection with Jack but because she had Rhys. Even deep down Jack would accept that Rhys was far better for her than he was. It was why Jack made sure she stayed with him. It occurred to Ianto that Rhys wasn't simply grounding Gwen, but by chain reaction he was grounding all of them.

It wasn't Gwen anchoring Torchwood in the real world, it was Rhys. And he had done it so very well for Ianto yesterday afternoon. Of all of them, he was the most normal with him while his mind had whirled around, understanding nothing in that three year old little brain he had been lumbered with.

"No," Ianto said, probably a little more forcefully than he should have done. "Jack asked me, when I get back today, he asked me to get the maternity policy out for Gwen to have a look at. I think it came up when they were out yesterday. Well, kind of hard not to when one of the employees is a child."

"Oh," Rhys said. "Really? She mentioned it?"

"I think so, sorry. I don't know if she was supposed to be secretive about it."

"No, no, it's fine."

Rhys said nothing for a minute. Instead for a while both of them concentrated on eating and drinking.

"Do you want another?" Rhys eventually asked as he finished his drink.

Ianto smiled. "Could I get a pint this time?"

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Are you all right?" Owen took Ianto by surprise by the coffee machine. Ianto had returned and realised they were down in the conference room, so he had gone to make coffee. Ianto needed one to help clear his head. Two pints and one large vodka and coke were probably not the best thing after being reconverted by an alien blast.

"Yeah, I just kind of need a coffee." Ianto tried to coordinate himself. Owen rolled his eyes and shouldered Ianto aside to work the coffee machine himself. "Just be careful that…."

"I know how this machine works Ianto, you showed me…"

Ianto stopped trying to intervene and Owen poured him a coffee and handed it to him.

"You put it in Jack's mug."

"I'm sure he won't mind a bit of your spit in it."

"Not what he said last night," Ianto said, sitting down and sipping at the coffee. Owen's head whipped round and he gave Ianto a hard stare. Ianto looked up and slowly his brain reminded him that he had been three and a half last night.

"We were making dinner and I kept licking the spoon while I stirred the tuna."

"Right, sorry, I didn't mean anything by that," Owen said. He carried on making the coffees. "I need to run those tests. Do you want me to do them now while everyone is occupied? Aside from the blood test, that's probably best left for now."

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, I guess you needed something after the last few days. Look, don't worry, I found you very un-cute and I refused to go into broody mode. Although I don't think Jack was that broody either, more sort of practical. You seemed to know how to handle him though." Owen smirked.

Ianto said nothing. He wasn't quite sure what to make of Jack during the last two days. He had been very reassuring, most of the time, at least when he wasn't dying, Ianto thought to himself.

"What are they talking about down there?"

"Not you, if that's what you're worried about," Owen said continuing to make coffee for everyone, and casually putting it in the wrong mugs. Ianto started to wonder if Owen was actually doing that deliberately.

"Yesterday's meteor mainly, and some of the other things we've been running tests on. We don't need to discuss the youthenising machine, we've tested that to death. Although Jack's right the calculations are enough to make anyone's brain mushy."

Ianto giggled. That told him, and probably Owen, how drunk he was. He felt a little light-headed.

"Right I'll take these down to that lot and I'll tell Jack's you're back, and that I'm going to run the tests on you now." Owen put the mugs on a tray and picked it up. "Can you make your way to the autopsy room without incident?"

"I'm not that drunk," Ianto said. "And I presume Jack already knows I'm back."

Owen shrugged, "he followed you on CCTV a little but he seemed to relax when Rhys took you into his custody. Even though you're no longer on his mental level."

"Owen!"

"Go on Little Prince Ianto, you need to get yourself into the domain of Evil Lord Owen."

"You're going to get so much mileage out of that aren't you?"

Ianto followed Owen the stairs thinking, not for the first time, that now they had moved the conference room they ought to move the coffee machine. Still no one had really thought about it, except Ianto who was the one that usually made coffee.

"Yes, I am. That lot being broody has just as much value. What was with you and Toshiko though?"

"What?"

"The whole Barney thing?"

Ianto scowled at him. Owen raised his eyebrows but said nothing, instead he just nodded in the direction of the autopsy room.

"Go on then."

Ianto sighed but did as he was told. As he waited he looked to Toshiko's desk. Barney sat on top of some files, resting back against her monitor to prevent his drunken roll onto his back. Ianto went over and picked him up, looking at him, at his plush fur, serene face and the trace of stuffing that was coming out where one of the arm seams had ripped. Ianto stuffed it back into the small hole and made a note to mend him later.

"You can bring Barney with you if you like," Owen said, making him jump. Ianto went to put Barney down, then changed his mind and tucked him under his arm as he followed Owen. Ianto hopped onto the bed and waited for Owen to set everything up.

"Would you like me to scan Barney as well?" Owen asked. Ianto frowned, and then felt another memory lock into place.

"No, thank you," Ianto said rolling over the memories he had of Owen over those last two days. He frowned as one significant memory came to him.

"You spanked me!"

Owen spun round. "You kicked me first!"

For a moment they glared at each other. Owen blinked and looked away first, fiddling with the equipment.

"Sorry. Hysterical toddlers are not something I'm particularly prepared for." His voice was more than a little subdued.

"It's all right," Ianto said. Ianto remembered it had rather hurt at the time, but couldn't really dispute the reason behind it. There was silence for a moment as Owen organised himself and Ianto fiddled with one of Barney's ears.

"Was that true what you said?" Ianto eventually asked.

"What?" Owen said abstractedly as he set up a syringe. A little alcohol in the bloodstream wasn't going to affect his readings much, he decided.

"What you said to Toshiko about your mother avoiding all kinds of physical contact. You weren't just talking about smacking were you?"

"No," Owen said shortly, he turned around and Ianto offered his arm for Owen to insert the needle. Ianto winced as Owen was a little rougher that he usually was.

"Sorry," Owen said, realising what he was doing. He concentrated on drawing the blood out and then carefully removed the needle giving Ianto a small piece of cotton wool to press against the wound. Ianto pressed it down, having hooked his arm around Barney to stop him falling.

"Do you want to…?" Ianto started.

"No," Owen said before Ianto could ask him to talk about it.

For a moment awkwardness hung in the air like a heavy rain cloud, only to be broken when Jack appeared in the doorway and coughed loudly.

"When you two are finished can you join us downstairs?"

Both Owen and Ianto gave slightly subdued nods, neither of them particularly wanted to know how much of that conversation Jack had heard, so neither of them bothered to speculate. Instead Owen finished the tests and they both went down, so Owen could report his findings.

No one commented on the fact that Ianto was still, whether consciously or unconsciously, holding onto Barney.