I know this chapter has been a long time coming, but work has pretty much gotten in the way of any writing. But now I have a whole week off, I should be able to get back into the swing of things. Expect a new chapter of this every day now (okay, I'm setting myself a challenge, but I need to so I can get into a work pattern)

'Christ, Ianto.' Gwen had all but jumped out of her skin when she had heard the unexpected deep Welsh tones of her colleague from behind her. It wasn't the words of caution which drew her hand sharply from the object in front of her, it was the reverberating sound of Ianto's voice which snapped her senses back into the real world. She inspected her hand quickly, hoping she hadn't injured herself or caught some kind of alien disease. Although, come to think about it, how would she know if she had contracted an alien disease just by touch? Was she expecting an instant reaction or some marking on her fair skin? She tried to focus as she became aware of Ianto's voice again.

'Sorry, Gwen.' Ianto raised his hands in mock surrender, hopefully implying to Gwen that all was fine. 'Didn't mean to scare you, but you were getting dangerously close to that thing.'

'Well how about next time putting up some kind of sign,' Gwen stated as she tried to slow her racing heartbeat. 'You know something like "Glowing alien artefact. Do not touch." Something like that perhaps. Not too much to ask, is it?' Gwen was still expecting her hand for any damage, brushing her thumb against the fingertips which barely avoided contact with the object. Finally composing herself, she finally looked up into the eyes of her work colleague, who looked back at her with a look of annoyance and slight anger. On closer observation, Gwen could see the darkening circles under the young man's eyes, indicating yet again he had had very little sleep over the last twenty four hours.

'I'm sorry, Gwen. I shall bear that in mind next time.' Gwen knew she had overstepped the mark and she had now unleashed the beast in Ianto that very rarely came out to play. 'It's just that I've been rather busy dissecting our current alien cadaver being housed in our medical facility. Next time I leave an unidentified alien artefact on a workstation in an otherwise empty Hub, I'll make sure to use a Post-It note. Is that okay?'

'Am I going to have to separate you two?' The immaculately dressed and widely awake Captain Jack Harkness made his grand appearance from the medical bay, his long military coat sweeping behind him like autumn leaves caught in a breeze. He joined his two teammates as they continued to lock gazes with one another, the tense atmosphere tangible as it hung in the air. 'Then again, I could just let you two wrestle it out.' The glint in his eye was missed completely by his fellow colleagues as Ianto turned on his heels and headed straight back down into the medical bay, leaving a rather bewildered Gwen to deal with the Captain.

'Is he okay, Jack?' Gwen was truly concerned; over the past couple of weeks, after losing Tosh and Owen, Ianto had taken a more pivotal role in the Hub. Granted, he had to and as there was only the three of them now, it was logical that Ianto would be called on to take on more work, both in the field and in the Hub. Sometimes though, Gwen thought it might all be too much for the young man.

'He's just had rather a restless night, what with our recent Rift activity.' Jack took hold of Gwen's shoulder and began to guide her towards the medical bay. 'Speaking of, feel like meeting our new inhabitant?' Gwen smiled nervously as she looked over the iron banister at the ripening corpse of what firstly looked like just any other human. It was only the green intestines and various other coloured internal organs which were now clearly visibly from the incisions Ianto had made which gave the creature away. She blamed the early morning rush and lack of caffeine for her sudden instinct to vomit.

'Not exactly the finest specimen we've had on that table,' Gwen commented as she joined her two friends at the table.

'Not going to be the one to have that title,' Jack said as he looked up to Gwen. 'That title has to belong to a certain coffee boy...' Jack was silenced by Ianto's nervous cough and the red flush that crept up his neck. The immortal man could only smile as the young man squirmed at being the centre of attention.

'Anyway, back to our friend.' Ianto waved a scalpel at the body lying cold on the autopsy table. 'Human features on the exterior, masking an entirely different biology underneath. Only sign of establishing his place of origin was the decorative burn mark on his forehead.'

'Was?' Gwen asked as she peered down to the face of the alien, noticing with horror the bullet wound that had all but obliterated the forehead. She could see some remnants of the mark, but found it impossible to distinguish much more, as this young man was now wearing more of his brains outside than he was in.

'Our fearless leader here is to blame for that,' Ianto muttered as he joined Gwen at the head of the table.

'If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead.' Jack had stepped into the conversation, certain to make his presence known. 'Plus, you gotta admit that was a great shot.' His two friends shook their heads in dismay and returned their attentions to the matter at hand. It seemed all too much for Ianto who swayed on his feet and grabbed the edge of the table. Jack was at his side in a heartbeat, drawing the young man to his side.

'I'm fine, Jack.' Ianto spat as he waved his partner away. 'Just a bit tired. Anyone for coffee?' The young man summoned up his strength and made his way up the stairs, oblivious to the calls of his colleagues.

'Jack, he needs to rest,' Gwen said as she moved over to Jack. 'He's been up longer than I thought, hasn't he?' Gwen watched as Jack lowered his head in guilt, unable to stare Gwen in the eye when he knew she was so close to weaving the truth out of him.

'He hasn't been sleeping well since Tosh and Owen...' he left the sentence open, knowing he had no need to finish it. Instead, he tried to focus on his lover, putting him first. After all, Tosh and Owen were gone. He couldn't help them anymore. All he could do was focus on his two remaining friends. 'He gets a couple of hours a night, but I usually find him pacing around, trying to keep himself busy. He's not telling me, not opening up to me. If only I knew...' He was cut off by the sound of breaking crockery coming from inside of the Hub. Gwen and Jack ran from the medical bay and up to Ianto's coffee machine to find the young man trying to clear up the mess with a shaking hand.

'Ianto, sweetheart.' Gwen was the first one to meet him as she weaved her arm through his. 'Come on, let's sit you down, shall we?' Jack took Ianto's other arm and manoeuvred the young man towards the aged sofa which lay against the wall. They settled Ianto onto the sofa and Jack retrieved a blanket from his office and draped it across his partner's shoulders as he lay back, cushioning his head on the pillow Gwen had found. They watched as the young man's eyes closed and Ianto drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

'Ianto took a drawing from memory of the symbol,' Jack said as he went straight into his traditional business mode. 'See if it registers with anything in our database. I'll check the body again, see if it gives us any clues.' Gwen watched as Jack stroked the hair away from Ianto's eyes. She thought he was going to kiss him, but at the last second he turned away and fled down the stairs to the medical bay.

'Sure,' Gwen muttered as she settled at her workstation. 'Let sleeping coffee boys lie, eh?' She logged onto her computer and began searching the online archive, unaware of the small box glowing once more and the effect it was having on the slumbering figure of Ianto Jones.

Oh, cliffhanger, how I have missed you. More tomorrow :)