The boardroom hadn't been built to occupy more than seven people so there were a few people left standing once everyone had shuffled inside. (John had offered to let Andy sit on his lap and so Andy was standing rigid in the corner when Jack and Ianto arrived). There was an awkward moment when Gwen, Jack, and The Doctor all tried to begin the meeting at the same time.
Gwen stood up and sighed at the two long-lived men, "How long are you back for Jack."
He smiled brightly at her, "I'm back for good."
"For good or until the next time Ianto dies?" Gwen asked harshly. Immediately after the comment slipped out her eyes widened like an anime doll and she turned to Ianto and apologized: "Oh, pet. I'm so sorry. That's not what I meant."
Ianto shrugged uncomfortably and attempted to smile reassuringly at Gwen, "I understand perfectly the fear that Jack is going to leave."
Jack's blinding smile fell slightly and he surreptitiously reached over to grasp the newly instated Time Lord's hand, "I'll be here long enough to help set up Torchwood so that it can operate without me and then Ianto and I are retiring."
"We'll stay in Cardiff for a bit after that," Ianto continued explaining the plan that he and Jack had decided on. "Buy a house and settle down. Long enough that we can watch our families grow old and then when we're the odd old couple that's been around for as long as anyone can remember…"
"They'll send out an alert on Jack's vortex manipulator and I'll swing by to pick them up," The Doctor inserted the final bit of the plan.
John looked over at the Doctor in surprise, "I thought you were staying here?"
The Doctor shook his head, "Jack and Ianto are trying to make Earth self-sufficient for when I can't be around to save the day. It would be counterintuitive for me to be here while they did it."
"Well then I'm coming with you," the former time agent told him decisively. "I'm not going to stay tied to this backwater planet when you can take me to see the fifteen wonders of the Aesop Galaxy."
The Doctor shot a pleading look first to Ianto who shrugged and then to Jack who spoke up hesitantly, "You do know that if you stay with the Doctor then you'll have to help people and you might have to put your life in danger for the sake of others."
His former partner sneered at him, "You're not the only one who's allowed to turn over a new leaf. Maybe I've changed too."
Jack looked doubtful but turned to the Doctor and mouthed, "I tried."
Letting out a huge sigh the Doctor agreed, "Fine, I'll take you with me, but before we leave I have to spend some time with UNIT. They've gotten out of control in recent years."
"And then we'll go hunt down more eye-candy?"
The Doctor nodded and explained to Martha, "You've seen how often the Daleks managed to escape the Time War and now I find out that yet another Time Lord escaped as well. There could be others out there, metaphorically or literally trapped inside stopwatches and waiting for someone to open them."
After that had been decided, it didn't take long for The Doctor to make his escape with a surprisingly eager John Hart in tow, but it wasn't for a few hours that Ianto found himself sitting around Gwen's kitchen table while Jack and Rhys checked on the baby. Ianto grinned at her sleepily, "Back together again, the old team."
"If anyone were to come back, I'm glad that it was you Ianto." Gwen told him seriously. "Don't tell Jack or Tosh or Owen, but I always liked you best."
"That's alright," Ianto shut his eyes and leaned back. "I was everyone's favorite. It's something about a lethal combination of coffee and well-pressed suits."
A/N: So, I'm pretty sure that this is awful, but I wanted to give this some sort of ending rather than just stopping it, because I'm very grateful to all of you who have read and reviewed.