Chris Kendle was one very sorry looking son of a bitch, Kathy decided as she walked into the interview room. He looked like he was still at the worst end of a particularly bad hangover, and she couldn't help but wonder just how aware he was of his surroundings.

He watched her sullenly as she sat down opposite him, and she couldn't help but wonder at how a kid like this could possibly commit the kinds of acts such as those that had been perpetrated on Jack.

"Is it Christopher, or just Chris?" she asked, keeping her voice deliberately neutral. As the superintendent had said, the kid's words in the cell did not translate directly into a confession, and she needed something solid if they were going to be able to hold him. The best way to do that was to try and develop a rapport.

He glared back at her insolently.

"Mr Kendle to you, bitch."

"Watch your mouth, Christopher," she threw back at him, funperturbed by his attitude. "You're in enough trouble as it is without getting on my bad side."

"I got pissed," Chris snarled. "That's all. I didn't do nothing else. You can't keep me here!"

"You say you didn't do anything," Kathy said. "However, our footage of you in the cells tells us a different story."

His lawyer, Harold Bunter, silenced Chris with a hand on his arm before speaking placidly to Kathy.

"Detective, my client was under threat of being sexually assaulted, and he was still under the influence of alcohol, into the bargain. You can't possibly take anything he said in there seriously. He would have said anything to save himself from being assaulted."

Kathy glared at him, utterly unsympathetic.

"It's a pity that Jack Harkness wasn't given the same chance to save himself, then, wasn't it?"

"I didn't do nothing to that faggot," Chris said sourly. Kathy raised an eyebrow.

"If you didn't have anything to do with that assault, Chris, then how would you know that Captain Harkness is gay?"

Chris looked to his lawyer with a visible hint of panic, but Bunter spoke up quickly for his client.

"You can't pin this on my client, Detective. You have no evidence to prove he was a part of what happened to that man, aside from a few drunken words said in the heat of the moment. There's no way you can possibly make this stick against him."

"No?" Kathy asked coolly. "Watch me."

"I'll thank you not to threaten my client, Detective," Bunter said flatly. "Unless you want to lose your rank?"

Kathy almost lounged back in her chair, unperturbed.

"Now who's making threats, Mr Bunter? Anyway, I'm really not in the mood for playing verbal ping-pong, so how about we agree to be straight with each other, Chris? I'll ask straight-forward questions and you give me straight-forward answers. Fair enough?"

Chris looked uneasy, but shrugged a little in an effort to put forward an air of cool indifference.

"I guess so."

"All right. Did you take part in the sexual assault and physical torture of Captain Jack Harkness on Christmas Eve?"

"No fuckin' way. Wasn't me."

"And yet you said you did whilst in your cell."

Bunter spoke up with growing impatience.

"I thought we cleared that up, Detective."

"Only in your own mind," she snapped. Bunter stood up abruptly.

"We're leaving. Get up, Chris."

Kathy regarded them soberly as Chris lurched to his feet.

"I'd sit back down if I were you, Chris."

"Yeah? Why?" he sneered. She allowed herself a tiny smile.

"There's something you ought to know about the man that you assaulted. He's the head of Torchwood."

Chris frowned in visible confusion.

"Just what the fuck is Torchwood? He said he was Torchwood that other night, and the lads just thought he… oh… fuck…"

It was all Kathy could do not to laugh. That really had proven to be embarrassingly easy.

"I think your client had best sit back down, Mr Bunter. He's not going to be going anywhere anytime soon."

Chris sat again with a thud, and so did his lawyer.

"Now," Kathy went on in a more subdued tone. "I think you'd better be prepared to spill your guts, Chris, because a full confession now is the only thing that's going to save your sorry arse."

"Again with the threats, Detective," Bunter reiterated, though there was less vehemence in his voice than before. Kathy shook her head.

"Not a threat, Mr Bunter. Not from me. But as I said, the man your client assaulted is the head of Torchwood, and that is a very powerful organisation. They operate outside all official jurisdictions, and I guarantee they wouldn't blink twice at dealing with a little degenerate like Chris here."

Bunter stared at her, pale and grim-faced. Beside him, Chris was almost in tears. Both men recognised the truth in her words, and the reality was scaring the hell out of the both of them.

"What is it that you want?" Bunter asked. Kathy stared hard at Chris.

"Names and addresses of everyone involved in the assault, whether they laid a hand on the victim or not."

By then, Chris had lost all his arrogance, and was looking thoroughly sick.

"They'll kill me," he mumbled, but with little conviction. Kathy shrugged.

"Your choice," she said as she stood up. "We're going to find them, whether you help us or not. But I can tell you right now that it'd go in your favour with the judge if you cooperate. Think about it, Chris, but don't think for too long. You pretty much have until we finish laying charges against you to make up your mind."

Chris stared at her, wide-eyed, and then leaned over and whispered urgently to his lawyer. Bunter's eyebrows shot up in reaction to whatever he was being told. Minutes passed, with Kathy growing more uneasy, before Bunter finally spoke again.

"Well, that puts things in a different light. Go ahead and charge my client, Detective. He'll be pleading provocation and self defence."

Kathy sat back down, unable to conceal her incredulity.

"Excuse me? And how, exactly, are you going to argue that? From what I can tell, your client was completely unharmed!"

"Physically, perhaps, but I'm talking about psychological provocation. My client is a God-fearing Christian…"

"Who assaulted and raped another man, and left him for dead," Kathy spat angrily. "Yes, I can see he's a model Christian."

Bunter scowled, but didn't react to the barb.

"He was raised with the belief that homosexuality was wrong and evil, and that it was his duty as a Christian to act against that sort of evil."

Kathy felt her stomach starting to knot up. She could already see where this was headed. Bunter went on with greater confidence, sensing suddenly that he was regaining the upper hand.

"Chris says that Harkness made advances towards him, and that he was quite aggressive about it. He refused and left the pub, but Harkness followed him out. Tell her the rest, Chris."

"Well, he followed me out, right? And he cornered me near that big black truck of his. He was tryin' to kiss me… said he weren't gonna take no for an answer."

Kathy was fighting to stay calm by then.

"Are you trying to tell me that you were afraid he was going to rape you?"

"Yeah!" Chris burst out, pouncing on that with a desperation that was almost frightening. "Yeah, that's it. He was gonna rape me."

Bullshit, you fucking little toad, Kathy thought, but she swallowed the desire to say the words out loud. Chris went on eagerly, his voice gathering strength as the lie took shape within his own mind.

"So, he has me pinned, yeah? But my mates, they followed us out, and they… they pulled him off me, right. And that was when Gav said we oughtta teach him a lesson."

By then, Kathy was trying hard to resist a powerful urge to laugh. The story was rubbish, but she had no inclination to waste the time now in pulling it to pieces.

"Chris," she said tersely, "even if what you've just said is true, and I don't believe for a second that it is, then self defence would have been a few quick punches or kicks. Not what you and your mates did. That was pure, unadulterated evil."

Rage flashed across Chris's face at her blunt accusation.

"Evil? He's the one who's evil! He's a poof, a fucking homo! I only had to bat my eyes at the fucker, and he would've jumped into bed with me! He weren't half as hard to catch out as the others…"

Again, Chris trailed off as he realised too late what he'd said. He stared at Kathy, wide-eyed, and she returned the look with one of grim satisfaction.

"I did some research, Chris. There have been eight others who have been killed in similar circumstances to the attack on Jack Harkness. Tell me, Chris. Did all your other victims try to rape you as well?"

Bunter stood up again abruptly.

"This interview is over. If you're going to charge my client over the Christmas Eve assault on Mr Harkness, then do so. But he will be pleading not guilty by reason of provocation."

Kathy pursed her lips in mute aggravation. Never before had she so badly wanted to shoot a suspect and his lawyer.

"So be it," she said harshly. "An officer will be in shortly to formalise the charges against you."

She walked out before either man had a chance to speak again. The superintendent was waiting for her when she emerged, and his expression was worried.

"Think there's any truth to it?" he asked. Kathy shook her head vehemently, still nauseated that one of Jack's attackers could have resorted to accusing him of attempted rape in order to save himself.

"No. Not a chance. Jack Harkness might be a lot of things, but he's no criminal, and he sure as hell is not a rapist."

"Well, all else aside, we're going to need to get Harkness to formerly identify Kendle, somehow. Kathy… I've been hearing rumours."

"What rumours would those be, sir?" she asked, quietly dreading what was coming.

"That Harkness somehow faked the extent of his injuries. Word is that one of our PCs sighted him the night before last, and that he was healthy as a horse."

Kathy suppressed a desire to moan. Now, more than ever, she was finally beginning to understand why Jack and his team had wanted to take the case away from the police. Jack had been right. There was no way it could be allowed to go to trial.

"He didn't fake anything, sir. Believe me on that. His injuries were very, very real."

The superintendent frowned, her choice of words not lost on him.

"Were, Detective?"

"From what I saw, sir," she answered, taking care to maintain eye contact with him. "He wasn't faking anything, and I'd testify to that in court."

Except, she knew then and there that neither Chris nor any of his mates would get a trial; because as soon as she had the opportunity to do so, she would be calling Torchwood and telling them about Chris. What actions Torchwood took after that would be their concern.

"Fine. Coming, then?"

She blinked at him, puzzled.

"Sir…?"

"The meeting with the Detective Chief Inspector, the Commissioner and the Mayor, remember? It was scheduled for this morning, but they agreed to postpone it until this afternoon so that the interrogation of Kendle could go ahead. We're due in the Commissioner's office now."

Kathy swallowed a curse. That meeting would literally tie her up for the rest of the day, and she had to contact Jack.

"Right, sir. I'll be there shortly. Just have some business to attend to first."

"It'll have to wait," he said dismissively. "The Commissioner's office, Detective. Now."

She went with extreme reluctance, hoping desperately that Chris Kendle wasn't released on bail before she had a chance to contact Torchwood.

Ianto awoke to an empty bed. Startled back into awareness, he sat up quickly, his eyes searching the dimly lit room for Jack. He was both surprised and relieved to find Jack sitting beside the bed in the armchair. He was staring ahead blankly, his mind seemingly elsewhere.

There was an aura of calm surrounding him, like he'd finally found some degree of inner peace. It lifted Ianto's hopes; that perhaps Jack was starting to come to terms with everything that had happened.

"Cariad?" he asked softly. He made no move towards Jack, not wanting to startle him in any way, and was careful to keep his voice low and calm. Jack looked around at Ianto, and the younger man was taken aback by the new determination in Jack's eyes. His breath caught for a moment before he finally found his voice again.

"Jack, are you okay?"

"Not yet," Jack answered softly. "But I will be."

"You sound different," Ianto murmured. "Jack, what is it? What are you thinking?"

"That the time for tears is over. No more tears, Ianto. No more being afraid. I want control of my life back."

"You will have, Jack," Ianto reassured him. Jack stared at him intently.

"When we… When I pick them out, I don't want to just sit back in the Hub while the rest of you go and deal with them. I want to be in it with you."

Ianto faltered, his breath catching in his throat.

"You don't have to, Jack…"

The look on Jack's face brought him up short, though.

"Yes, I do," Jack said, with soft tones that didn't quite suffice to mask the layer of steel hidden beneath. "I do have to, Ianto. I have to prove that I'm in control of my own life. I have to show that I'm not afraid."

"Cariad, it's okay to be afraid. Even for you…"

"No!" Jack burst out. "No, it's not! I'm supposed to be the strong one, damn it!"

"You are," Ianto assured him. "But that doesn't mean that you're not allowed to be afraid. You don't have anyone to prove anything to, Jack."

"Yes, I do."

"To who?" Ianto asked, trying hard not to sound incredulous, and then instantly regretted asking, because there was only one individual to whom he imagined Jack might think he still had something to prove, and that was the Doctor. He could taste the bitterness on his tongue merely at the thought of the Time Lord, and braced himself for what he believed was coming.

"To me," Jack replied softly, startling Ianto out of his growing irritation.

"Jack…" he stammered, thrown for a loop by the unexpected response. Jack cut him off quietly but firmly.

"I'm going to be around for a long, long time, Ianto. I can't afford to live in fear, and I've already given those bastards enough of my time. I need to be able to prove to myself that I can move past this now, before it tears me down completely."

"Jack, it's only been five days!" Ianto protested. "You can't just deal with this in five days, and expect to be over it!"

"Why can't I?" Jack demanded to know, teetering on the brink of anger. "Why, Ianto? Tell me!"

"Well… because…"

Ianto trailed off, at a loss. Jack went on soberly.

"I have to face them, and not just on a computer screen. I'm still in charge here, and I say I'm going. You're either with me or you're not."

Ianto flinched at the ultimatum.

"Jack, of course I'm with you," he soothed. "We all are. We just want you to be safe."

"Safe," Jack murmured, a touch derisively. "I didn't stay with Torchwood to be safe."

"You know what I mean," Ianto said with a sigh. "Is it so hard for you to let us do the work for once, Jack? To let us be the ones caring for you?"

Jack reached out slowly and curled his fingers around Ianto's in a tentative gesture.

"Yes… and no. It's not about letting you look after me, though. I don't actually have an issue with that. It's… It's about not having control over my own life. And that's a scary thing, Ianto, when you know you've got forever ahead of you."

Ianto drew Jack's hand in close and brushed his cheek against the flesh of Jack's knuckles.

"I think I understand. The others will, too. Or rather, Toshiko and Owen will. Not so sure about Gwen."

A tiny smile quirked Jack's lips, amused as he was by the sudden irritation that was audible in Ianto's voice.

"Are you jealous of her?"

Indignation flooded Ianto's face.

"What? No! Of course I'm not. Don't be ridiculous."

"But… you feel threatened by her…"

"Jack…" Ianto growled lightly in warning. "Leave it."

"Just trying to get a handle on the situation," Jack said with a wry smile that softened into something more loving as he watched his young lover. "Just trying to work out exactly how hard I'm going to have to work to prove to you that you don't have anything to worry about, Mr Jones. I'm all yours, I guarantee it."

Emotion flooded Ianto.

"Jack, I would very much like to kiss you right now. Would it be all right if I did that?"

Jack looked momentarily taken aback, but then he shifted from the chair to seat himself on the edge of the bed. From there, he leaned in slowly until his and Ianto's lips met.

It was a chaste kiss, but even so Jack's breath caught as they came together. It lasted only for a few seconds, but there was a world of meaning conveyed in those few seconds of tender contact.

"Thankyou," Jack whispered as their foreheads rested lightly together.

"For what?" Ianto wondered. He had a powerful urge to reach up and caress Jack's face, and had to actively suppress the desire. Everything to happen in Jack's time – not his.

"For being patient. For understanding. For not expecting more from me than I can give you right now."

A soft sigh escaped Ianto's lips.

"It's the very least I can give you, cariad. Any ordinary person in your situation might have taken weeks… maybe even months… to get to where you are right now. If you deserve anything, it's to be given time."

Jack turned a little and settled in against Ianto, resting his head on Ianto's shoulder. Instinctively, Ianto wound his arms around Jack's body, drawing him into a protective embrace.

"If you really feel you need to be involved in the operation, Jack, then none of us will argue with you. We just want to know that you aren't trying to do anything before you're ready."

Jack considered that seriously before responding.

"I don't know if I'm ready. I just know it's something that I have to do. I faced down Daleks without flinching, Ianto, back when dead really meant dead for me. I won't accept that I'm too frightened now to face six men who can't actually do me any permanent damage."

"Maybe not physically," Ianto countered gently, "but I know why this hurts so much worse. They're humans, and they shouldn't behave like that towards a fellow human."

Jack tensed just slightly in Ianto's arms.

"How…?"

"The Brecon Beacons, Jack. You never were able to understand how humans could do what those people did."

"Just didn't make any sense to me," Jack admitted. "Everything that's getting ready to come down on them, and all they cared about was…"

He trailed off, unable to bring himself to say anymore. Silence fell between them, a comfortable and comforting silence. In that silence, Ianto's thoughts backtracked. Jack's reference to the Daleks, and the battle on Satellite Five had reminded him of something that he knew Jack needed to be told about.

"Jack… The others heard what you told me about Satellite Five. The intercom was still on, apparently. They overheard everything."

He fully expected Jack to withdraw from him, and was surprised when it didn't happen. When Jack spoke again, there was almost a tone of amusement in his voice.

"I should be upset. I know I should be. But you know something, Ianto?"

"What, Jack?"

"I'm actually kind of relieved. "It's out in the open now. I don't have to hide anymore."

Ianto took to stroking Jack's hair lightly.

"No, you don't. And now we understand why you were waiting for the Doctor, as well as why you had to leave so abruptly to catch up to him. He was the only one who could explain your immortality."

Jack sighed.

"I'm sorry I hurt you by doing that, but it did help me with one thing."

Ianto peered down at Jack curiously.

"What's that, then?"

"I was in love with the Doctor," Jack admitted softly, and it was all Ianto could do not to tense at the confession. Jack, however, went on before he had a chance to notice anything was wrong. "I was in love with him; heart, mind and soul… but not with this regeneration. I was in love with the regeneration that I met in London, in 1941, the regeneration who saved me from myself. I still love the Doctor. I'll always love him… but I know now that I'm not in love with him anymore. That's reserved for you now, Ianto."

Unable to help himself, Ianto pressed a tender kiss to Jack's temple, and was gratified when Jack didn't flinch or pull away from him.

"I love you too, cariad. I love you so much, and I promise I'll never let you down again."

Jack grasped his hand and squeezed it gently.

"Don't say that, Ianto. Neither of us can promise that."

Ianto conceded that point, if somewhat reluctantly. As much as he wanted to pledge to Jack that he would never do anything to hurt him again, he knew it was a foolish promise to make. He settled instead for a compromise.

"Well, how about this, then? I promise that I'll always try, and that I won't give up on us. How does that sound?"

Jack smiled faintly.

"I think I can live with that. And… I promise, too."

Ianto smiled and pressed another soft kiss to the top of Jack's head.

"Cara 'ch, anwylyd asgre," Ianto whispered, and Jack smiled as he took comfort in their closeness.

"I love you, too."

tbc...