3rd Attempt - Afternoon Cruise

Jack's hands clenched the railing so tightly it was surprising the thick metal wasn't groaning in protest. His hawk-like gaze fixated on the retreating marina, eyes searching for any potential threat. Every muscle tensed for action, he barely permitted himself to draw air as the cruise ship sailed away from the dock.

The options for a third attempt at a date had been narrowed down to nearly nothing. Risk of Weevils eliminated a good portion of Cardiff. The Rift, too, had been factored into the decision making process. As with Weevils, its area of influence purged many options - all of Cardiff and most of the outlying areas were removed from consideration as a result. Practically, the only reasonably safe choice was an afternoon cruise. Still risky since the Rift extended somewhat into the Bay.

Nothing had been left to chance. At Jack's order, Gwen had conducted thorough background checks on the three crewmen, successfully convincing Jack to not cancel based on the fact that one of the crew had a five year old minor traffic violation charge. Tosh had inspected the boat, going over every inch to ensure that the engines were in perfect working order, the hull sound, and there were no mysterious devices which might cause mayhem. Owen had been tasked with scanning every single passenger as they boarded. Jack wasn't going to risk a Slitheen, Zygon, or Nostrovite sneaking aboard. He had even asked (more like ordered) UNIT to step up their patrols in the area.

"Jack, relax. We're supposed to be enjoying ourselves, remember?"

"Not yet, Ianto." Jack spared a half-second to flick his gaze towards his wrist strap. "We'll be beyond the Rift in two minutes forty-two seconds."

Ianto gave a sigh and wandered away to converse with some of the other passengers. Passengers who, understandably, were giving the anxious Jack a wide berth. If Jack moved starboard, the crowd drifted aft.

Almost there. Just a little longer.

While the ship continued to chug onward, Jack calmed at infinitesimal degrees as the seconds ticked away. Slowly, bit by bit, the Torchwood leader began to believe that, finally, everything would go to plan. As his scowl gradually shifted to a grin, he released his death grip on the railing.

He was just turning towards Ianto, completely calming as the probability of all perceived threats reduced to near nil, when his mobile began trilling. His fierce scowl reappeared as he eyed the caller ID.

"Tosh, whatever it is, make it go away. Nothing, I repeat, nothing is going to ruin this date. Do I make myself clear?"

"Doing the best I can, Jack," was her slightly preoccupied response. "UNIT Coast Guard has detected an anomaly in your general area and is moving to investigate. With any luck, they'll take care of it before it reaches your location."

"With any luck?" Jack sneered. "Not likely considering I've had nothing but abysmal luck trying to have an uneventful date with Ianto." He began scanning the open water, barely spying the fast approaching UNIT vessel in the remote distance. Unfortunately, the tremendously large wake it pursued was considerably closer, moving even more quickly, and its path unerringly headed towards the small cruise ship.

"Tosh! Tell UNIT to hur..." Jack's orders were abruptly cut-off by his resounding scream. (A very manly, heroic scream Jack was pleased to note.) Chaos broke out on the tiny deck with passengers and crew joining Jack in screaming. Bodies dived for what little cover was available as the vessel nearly capsized from the gigantic wave that washed across it.

Ianto miraculously appeared by Jack's side and the two Torchwood employees stared in astonishment at the cause of the panic. Out of the now turbulent water emerged a massive body that dwarfed the cruise ship. An impossible long, snake-like neck rose to loom over the deck where petrified passengers sprawled. Terrified screams rang out as everyone focused on the tiny head filled with long, dagger-like teeth.

Jack lifted his mobile back to his face. "Tosh, tell Owen to bring a boatload of Retcon. Ianto and I's date just got ruined by the Loch Ness Monster."

OOO

Jack stepped off the fishing boat, ignoring the loud slosh from his water-soaked shoes. He did not, however, disregard the emergency personnel rushing to assist him. To them, he gave an especial baleful scowl that sent them scurrying around him to aid the other rescued passengers from the cruise ship.

Jack had initially hoped that this latest incident could be easily contained. Just a few dozen passengers and the three crewmen had witnessed the appearance of the Plesiosaur (Ianto had smugly corrected Jack as to the true identity of the prehistoric creature). Unfortunately, just before the UNIT vessel had enticed the dinosaur to follow it into deeper waters, the creature had playfully struck the cruise ship with one of its mighty flippers. The result was a large breach in the steel-enforced hull. While Ianto helped the crew distribute life jackets, Jack had ordered Tosh to mobilize the fishing fleet to rescue everyone from the now sinking boat.

Could this day get any worse? He took in the crammed marina with an even more intense glower. It seemed as if half of Cardiff had decided to come to gawk at this latest bizarre incident. His glare focused up into the sky when he heard the unmistakable thuwp thuwp of helicopter blades slicing through the air. Jack let out an angry growl as he noticed a TV cameraman eagerly filming aerial shots of the marina.

"Tosh!" He spied her, standing calm and unruffled, in the midst of the surging crowds, her ever-present tablet in her hand. "Jam that signal right now."

"Already taken care of. Gwen's on her way to the landing pad to confiscate the film and Retcon everyone on board. Owen had the Police cordon off all exits but one. He's busy distributing Retcon as people leave and I'm busy creating a cover story should we miss anyone."

Jack calmed somewhat with the realization that the team was skillfully handling this latest crisis. "So what's the cover story this time?"

"Sci-Fi movie being filmed in the area."

"Again?" he scoffed.

She gave a negligent shrug. "If it ain't broke ... People accept the story so why change tactics now?" She gave him a slightly irritated glance. "Look, I'm busy Jack. Go check on Ianto and leave me to my work. He's being checked over by Emergency personnel." Tosh turned her attention back to the tablet, completely ignoring him.

Jack weaved through the excited crowd, eager to see that Ianto was okay but, at the same time, dreading what was about to occur. What had to occur. When he reached the young man's side, Jack hesitated, loathe to say what must be said.

Unlike the two previous failed dates, Ianto's eyes held no hint of amusement at the latest state of affairs. He opened and closed his mouth several times, searching for, and unable to find, just the right words.

Jack hardened himself before speaking. "The cliché you're looking for this time is Three strikes and you're out."

It took no more than a millisecond for Ianto to figure out the meaning behind those words. "Jack, no! You can't mean it."

"Can't I? Ianto, this has been nothing but disaster after disaster. All I wanted was to do this right. The only thing that kept me going while I was away was thoughts of Torchwood, of the team, but mostly it was thoughts of you. Of courting you properly. Of showing you how important you are to me. Of ... oh, what does it matter now? The Gods have spoken. The Universe has had a nice little laugh at my expense. Call it karma coming to bite me on the arse. It should be more than clear to you that this, that you and I are not meant to be and I can't tempt fate anymore." Jack's shoulders slumped in defeat, grief and regret evident as he turned and walked away.

He failed to see the fierce determination etched on Ianto's face.

TBC in Revisiting a Classic