Ianto was glad to be rid of the sling. His arm still hurt a bit, and ached on especially cold days like this one, but he would rather face a little discomfort than be an invalid for any longer. Owen had shaken his head at him two weeks before when he'd requested to take it off, and commented about stubborn Tea Boys, but had agreed that he likely wouldn't do any harm as long as he was careful.

Free range motion of his arm was something Ianto had taken for granted, and having to perform his duties without it, even light as they were, had taken some getting used to. Now Ianto moved about the archives as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, carrying boxes and rearranging furniture.

"Ianto?" Jack's voice said in his ear.

"Yes sir?"

"Should you be putting so much strain on your arm? It's still healing."

Ianto rolled his eyes, setting a box atop the stack he'd started in the corner. "Owen gave me the go ahead to remove the sling two weeks ago, sir. It doesn't take six weeks to recover from an arm sprain. It's fine."

"Just because you no longer need a sling it doesn't mean your arm is back to normal," scolded the captain. "If you reinjure it you could do permanent damage."

Hands on hips, Ianto looked up into the CCTV camera. "Was there something you needed from me, sir, or were you just spying on me because you're bored?"

There was a chuckle in his ear. "I wanted to find out if you'd had a chance to make an appointment with any of the agencies I listed."

"Actually, no. Not yet."

"Ianto, it's been nearly three weeks."

"I'm well aware, sir."

Silence settled over the comms and Ianto's eyebrow went up. He thought there would be more to that conversation but apparently not. He turned back to the job at hand.

"I thought this was what you wanted, Ianto."

The Welshman straightened from the box he was reaching for on the floor, sighing. He hadn't made an appointment because it just hadn't been at the top of his list. After all, there was plenty of time left before he had this child. What was the rush?

"It is, sir."

"You're not having second thoughts about keeping the baby?"

Ianto's eyebrows furrowed. "No."

Another pause, and then Jack replied, "It just seems odd for you to put something like this off, that's all. You're usually more efficient than that."

Ianto's anger boiled to the surface. "More efficient?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest and glaring up at the CCTV. "You want me to be more efficient?"

"Ianto…"

"No, Jack, no," Ianto huffed, digging his mobile out of his pocket. He punched in a number. "If you want more efficient I'll show you more efficient. Yes, hello. My name is Mr. Jones, and I'm calling on behalf of Captain Jack Harkness. Our firm represents a young lady who is interested in possibly using your services to adopt out her baby. That's correct. She's approximately six weeks along. Yes, I realize that. Yes, she's sure. Could we possibly set an appointment for further discussion? The soonest you have. That would be perfect. Tomorrow morning it is. Thank you."

Jack signed through his earpiece. "Tomorrow."

"Ten in the morning," Ianto replied, reaching down for the neglected box and hefting it up into his arms. "That's their earliest appointment. I hope that's soon enough for you."

"I didn't mean to…"

"Don't worry, Captain," Ianto interrupted him, "I'm well aware of what you meant."

There was no doubt in Ianto's mind that Jack would love for him to keep this baby. He wasn't sure if it was because Jack realized Ianto's own childhood hadn't been what he'd wanted it to be, and he thought having his own child would make up for that, or if he really did think that Ianto would make a good father, but it wasn't going to happen. He had no intention of leaving Torchwood and being Retconned, then left to raise a child on his own, apart from the financial support of one Captain Jack Harkness. This baby was going up for adoption. There was no way to raise a child while working in the environment he did.

"If that will be all?" he added. He received no reply.

The archives weren't going to rearrange themselves so Ianto got back to work. Jack didn't interrupt him again and that made for a much more productive morning. By the time lunch rolled around Ianto had succeeded in changing the layout of the archives entrance. He'd pushed his desk to the middle of the space instead of against the wall; he'd shoved the cabinets to his right side, and restacked the boxes awaiting his attention against the shelves on his left.

Dusting his hands off on his trousers Ianto congratulated himself on a job well done. Even if no one else would even notice the differences he'd made, it looked better to him and that was all that mattered.

Heading up into the Hub Ianto intended to take requests for lunch. He found the workstations and Owen's medical bay empty, however, and turned toward Jack's office. The captain was seated at his desk, scowling over what Ianto recognized as the budget. They normally worked on it together.

"Where are the others?" he asked, standing in the open doorway.

"Gone to lunch," Jack replied, not looking up from his paperwork.

Ianto frowned. "I was going to order in for everyone."

"No need," Jack replied.

"Would you like me to get something for you?"

"Nope. I'm actually about to head out myself." He finally looked up, his face expressionless. "I have some things to do this afternoon."

"I see," said Ianto, even though he really didn't. "I suppose I'll just pick something up for myself then, shall I?"

"Whatever works for you, Ianto," Jack told him. "The others should be back within the hour."

He watched as the captain put down his pen, closed the folder he'd been working in, and got up to grab his coat. If Ianto hadn't been preoccupied wondering what was going on, he'd have made a move to get the captain's coat for him, as he normally did. But something was off. Jack must be angry at him for his attitude earlier.

"If this is about what I said before…"

"It's not about you, Ianto," Jack replied, shrugging on his coat and slipping his Webley into its holster. "Believe it or not, not everything is."

With that Jack moved past him and out of his office. He was past the workstations and down the stairs before Ianto had even turned around to look. The cog door rolled open and Jack was gone, leaving him alone in the Hub.

Looking back at Jack's desk Ianto licked his lips. It wasn't like Jack to be so brusque with him. In fact, he hadn't acted that way toward him in quite a while. Jack might have said it wasn't in retaliation for the way he'd acted that morning, but he couldn't see any other reason for it. Jack was just trying to be helpful, regardless of the fact that he'd been a slight bit demeaning, and Ianto had snapped at him to prove a point.

Stepping over to Jack's desk Ianto used his phone to order himself a pizza. He'd get extra, just in case the others were hungry later. No reason to get something different for dinner if they didn't have to.

He sat by himself near the railing of the hot house, eating a slice of pizza and washing it down with a bottle of water. It had been forty minutes since Jack's departure and still the others had not returned. He wondered why they'd left for lunch in the first place. It wasn't like them to exclude him from their plans. At least not anymore. Perhaps he'd been snappish with them today as well?

He finished his third slice of pizza and then got to his feet, bringing his plate and napkin to the bin and dropping his bottle in the small recycling container he'd set in the kitchen. Putting the rest of the pizza away, including the unopened meat feast he'd purchased, Ianto considered making some coffee. If the others came back soon they might want some.

He started a pot, leaning on the counter. Dropping a hand to his stomach he rubbed it as he waited. He wasn't far along enough to feel movement, but it comforted him. He'd been lucky, according to Owen. He hadn't been sick in a couple of days, and the medic advised he might have already gotten past his morning sickness. He hoped the doctor was right. He remembered when his sister had been pregnant with David, and her morning sickness had lasted a couple of months. She'd been an absolute mess. The thought of feeling like he had for that long was terrifying.

Several minutes later the alarms sounded and his teammates came through the door. They were chatting amongst themselves but as Ianto delivered coffees, the conversation stopped.

"How are you feeling, Ianto?" Toshiko asked him, accepting her mug.

"I'm just fine, Tosh. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, well…when we asked Jack if he thought you might be up to going to lunch with us he said no," she replied, sipping her drink.

"We assumed you must have taken ill again," said Gwen, smiling gently. "You're not ill then?"

Ianto passed her a coffee. "No, I'm not."

"That's good," said Tosh.

"Is it your arm?" asked Owen, taking his mug of coffee directly from the tray. "Is it giving you trouble again?"

"My arm is just fine," said Ianto, smiling. "I'm sure he just meant I was too busy. I've been working in the archives all morning. I ordered pizza for myself. There's extra, in case anyone is hungry later this evening."

"Thank you love," Gwen replied, patting his arm.

Ianto nodded and moved off to the kitchen to drop off the tray. He didn't let the others see it, but he was livid. How dare Jack tell the others he wasn't up to going to lunch with them? There was no reason at all for the captain to do that unless he was angry, and it was now quite obvious he was. What had started as something between the two of them was quickly turning into a problem for the whole team. No matter the extent of their issues before Jack had never included the others in them.

There was no way around it; he was going to have to have a serious talk with Jack.