Seven

As the next few days passed a canker grew in Ianto's chest. It felt like chronic indigestion. Every time he saw or heard the man the bile grew leaving a dirty taste in his mouth. 'Harkness had done a number on everyone. Charming, kind, caring Jack Harkness with the thousand watt smile.' He wondered what they would think of him if they actually knew what a bastard he really was.

A few weeks and he would then only have to suffer hearing about his next great exploit. No doubt he would reach Captain while he Ianto was stuck in some dead end contemplating the futility of his existence. Ianto looked at the squash ball in his hand. Imaging it was Jack Harkness he squeezed it until his hand felt numb

Swinging his racket he hit the ball into the side of the court. Screaming out an expletive he smashed the ball into the wall again and again.

After losing Liselle Space Command had been a refuge, and like skiing he had found he had a talent he could use to take him places he had never imagined. The rapture of being somewhere no human being had ever been. The enjoyment of submitting evidence of strange anomalies or the camaraderie that only comes with the shared intimacies based on professional and personal respect. It had been taken from him by a petty minded arrogant chicken shit officer driven by a mad psychotic bitch.

It was infuriating watching other people take his place in the life he had earned for himself while Harkness continued on as if nothing had happened. It must have been very hard for Jack to endure the slight slap on the knuckles for the ruination of Ianto's life.

The ball returned at an angle and he missed it. Cursing he walked over to where the ball had come to rest. Placing his foot over it he attempted to flatten it to nothing. He knew how the ball felt; something to be just beaten around, only to be replaced when its usefulness was over.

'And most galling of all was Harkness will continue on as if nothing had happened…' Ianto said out loud.

Picking up the ball it sprung back into shape. 'No,' he told himself; this ball was Harkness, and he could just snap back into shape with no effort.

Throwing the ball into the air he struck it with the racket using both hands on the grip. He felt himself burn due to the frenzy of shots.

The ball rebounded just out of reach; twisting, he stretched and a tsunami of pain hit him. Opening his eyes he found himself face down on the floor, one arm caught under him. , The arm with his other hand still gripping the handle of the racket was twisted on his back. He felt his back spasm and he tried to bring the hand still gripping the racket to his side. The last time this has happened had been three days after putting his first foot on the ground at the rehab centre. Wasted muscles straining to hold his weight, he had been so determined to make one step on his own, he had strained his back.

'Maybe laying here for a bit might settle things down,' he told himself and sent soothing thoughts to his lower and middle back.

Long seconds passed made it clear this was not going to work. This meant in turn he would have to alert sickbay. To do that he needed to use his wrist manipulator and that was on his arm twisted on his back.

Taking a deep breath he tried to bring his arm forward. This simple effort told him this action was a movement too far.

Trying to bring his other hand forward he recalled he had left his communicator in his room. He had left it there because at the time he didn't want to speak to anyone, no one, not one single person. Not just on this ship, he wanted to shun every living sentient being in the entire universe. There was nothing he wanted to hear or had to say. Any attempt at conversation would only end with him screaming at them to leave him the hell alone.

He huffed again and regretted the sentiment as pain travelled from point A to point B followed by the entire alphabet. He supposed he could call a general alert but that would require him to explain his situation and he was in no mood to go another round with Martha Jones.

His other option was to lie here in pain and wait to be rescued. Someone was bound to require the holo-suite and find him. 'All he needed was a hand up,' he argued to himself. Then once on his feet he could make it back to his cabin and get in the shower; he could do that, easy peasy.

'Oh God No,' a thought invaded his denial. It was entirely possible that the injury alarm system had already alerted someone. They would find him laid out the floor, helpless. It was beyond mortifying.

Debating a second attempt to move his arm was interrupted as the doors opened. Groaning his worst fears were realised when he saw Owen. Owen dropped to his knees and opened his medical kit.

'What happened?'

'Back,' Ianto squeaked out.

Owen ran his medical scanner down Ianto's body. 'You've strained the ligaments, lower middle and upper back, causing them to seize.' Owen told him.

'Really,' Ianto grunted through a red haze. 'I would never have guessed.'

'You can drop the snark.' Owen moved quickly and the next thing Ianto heard was the hiss of a hypo. 'We need to get you to sick bay.' Owen looked down at Ianto's creased face. 'You need some of the good stuff followed by deep massage which should fix this right up.'

Owen stood and spoke into his wrist communicator. Several moments passed and three medical assistants entered the space with a back board.

'I can get up by myself I just need to a hand,' Ianto grumbled into the floor. Owen put out his hand to assist him to stand. Owen watched as Ianto lifted his hand a fraction of an inch before falling back.

'As I thought.' Owen indicated the three others with him to move forward. They moved into place, laying the back board alongside the downed man.

Laying on his front Ianto pressed his face into the surface of the medi-bed. Drifting in and out he relaxed as the deep heat and massage unknotted the stress in his back. It was pure bliss; the only problem was the pain wasn't worth the cure.

He heard footsteps and Owen came into view.

'I've done a check, and everything is okay,' Owen assured Ianto as he helped him sit up. 'Can you tell me what happened?' Owen asked as he pulled up a chair.

'I was playing squash and I guess I got carried away,'

'Can I make a guess, you were angry?' Owen checked.

'I guess,' Ianto admitted.

'Ianto, you've been like a bear with a sore head. You've hardly spoken to anyone beyond a grunt of one or two syllable for days. You've been short with your students and grumpy with your friends.'

'Sorry,' Ianto added meekly.

'I don't want sorry, Ianto. I want to help. All of us can see that you've been out of sorts ever since you had that row with Jack. And now you've hurt yourself.'

Ianto jerked his head up and glared at Owen. 'See, you called him Jack. Happy, nice, friendly Jack. The wonderful kind caring helpful officer, who gets to live his dreams and continue on like nothing happened.' Ianto took a breath and gulped down his distress. 'That's one hell of a reward for ruining my life.'

'For the record I did swear once to his face I would make it my life's work to ensure he and I never met again.'

'So what happened?'

Owen let out a sigh. 'It's difficult to explain the past five years. For a long time I was steaming mad at him.'

'And you forgave him.'

Owen stood. 'Jack is not the same person he was on the Diligence. There he did have an arrogance about him and he did accept things too readily. There is no denying he went out of his way to persecute you, but he wasn't the cause…I'm not explaining this very well.'

'I don't understand any of this,' Ianto said as much to himself than to Owen.

'You are angry because you think Jack never paid the price for hurting you,' Owen reflected.

'Was my life and career life worth so little all he got was a slap on the wrist?'

'Ianto, you won't believe me but what happened was the exact opposite of that.'

'You are right, Owen. I don't believe it. Because from where I'm sitting Harkness is the same smug arrogant bastard I knew. Worse he's back in a position of authority, free to fuck someone else over. Like nothing happened.'

'Ianto, you have every reason for believing that but in this case you are wrong.'

'Now you are defending him?' Ianto said in disbelief.

'No I'm not. What I'm trying to say is the Diligence was five years ago. A lot happened after the Diligence returned.'

'Right…Susie Costello was committed and Jack got a mild rebuke,' Ianto retorted. 'As for the finer details I was more than a bit pre-occupied.'

'Don't get snarky with me, Ianto. I'm one of the good guys, remember?'

'Sorry,' Ianto said, immediately contrite.

'What are you, three? Owen crossed his arms. 'I don't need you to apologise for your anger. You have every right to be angry. You've had everything you valued taken away from you. You feel like you no longer have any control over your life and you think what happened was meaningless because the man who was the face of your persecution just walked away.'

Ianto nodded. Maybe Owen did sort of understand.

Owen walked over to his computer. 'I'm going to send something to your library. It's the report from the Diligence. It outlines the root causes from before you were hurt and what happened after you were discovered on the holo-suite. I want you to read it cover to cover. I'm also going to send you several links that are related which involve the enquiries and court martials of those involved. And finally a list of the hundreds of recommendations that came out of all of them; recommendations that changed how Space Command functions over the entire service.'

Owen held out his hand and helped Ianto stand. Ianto threw off the offered help and walked away without a word.

A few moments passed and Owen realised Martha Jones was standing just off to his side. 'Has any one told you, you are a very good armchair physiologist?' she asked him.

Owen looked at her. 'The only problem is once he reads the report and finds out who the author is it is only going to add to his confusion.'

Martha smiled. 'Confusion is good; it means we are forming a new understanding of the world.'

'That's one way of looking at it,' Owen said.

Martha was about to add something when Jack appeared out of breath. 'Ianto, I just heard…'

'Ianto is fine; he put his back out playing squash,' Owen assured him.

'Does he need anything?' Jack offered.

'Time and some space along with a good dose of knowledge,' Owen told him.

Jack frowned, not sure he understood.

'For Ianto the clock stopped the day of his accident on the Diligence,' Owen told him. 'He doesn't' know you worked to bring Susie down, and took full responsibility or worked to ensure this never happened again. As far as he is concerned you're still him.'

'No-one told him what happened did they?' Martha said.

'Not in any detail,' Owen told them both. 'This is partly his family's doing. It didn't help that in the first few months after he came to any mention of the Diligence put Ianto into either a catatonic state or hysterics of one form or another due to PTSD. Things kinda went from there with them consciously then unconsciously censoring events. It even went as far as not mentioning the name of the ship when he was awarded the medal for saving everyone. In his mind all he could recall was being awarded the one for saving Tish Jones.'

'When you combine it with him being focused on the day to day battle to regain his health. And it was a battle, he had several minor and one major setback when one his back surgeries left him partially paralysed. For four months months it was touch and go, and we all feared he would never walk again. In light of this it's understandable they didn't want to rake it all for him. I believe they were hoping they could protect him from having to deal with anything to do with the Diligence. They wanted to build a thousand foot wall and keep Ianto safe behind it forever. I think they also hoped to find or buy him a new direction so he could get on with his life and leave what happened behind. Of course that's the fantasy which holds no bearing on how Ianto actually feels or wants in his life.'

'It explains a lot,' Martha said as she took on board the insight Owen had provided and what she had already suspected.

Owen nodded. 'Ianto has worked really hard to get to this point but the focus has been his physical recovery and getting him emotionally functional. And to be honest if he hadn't taken the role on board the Torchwood I doubt he would have found out fully for years.'

'Let me help,' Jack offered again.

'Right now Ianto needs time,' Owen told him.

'He's lost enough time because of me,' Jack argued.

'Well like it not, time is what Ianto needs,' Martha told him.

'Time…this always comes back to lost time. Let me know if there is anyway, anything I can do,' Jack offered.

Martha put her hands on Jack's arm. 'I will.'

Both Owen and Martha watched as Jack retreated and together let out a long breath each.

Waking, Ianto lay and stared at the ceiling. This was the second day he didn't want to get up. Luckily it was his scheduled time off. Turning over he looked at the dual framed images of Craig and Liselle.

'Leave me alone,' he grumbled and placed it face down.

Swinging his legs out he scratched his way to the toilet then shuffled to the replicator.

Flicking through the choices twice he decided all he wanted was a hot water. Cradling the cup he went and sat by the computer.

He felt surge of rebelliousness. Why bother turning it on all when all there would be was demands from his students, messages from his father, and constant requests to find out if he was okay?

'No, I am not okay, stop making a fuss and stop bloody asking,' he said to the screen. Standing he moved to the window strip which ran shoulder height along the wall.

'Lights off, ' he growled and the room darkened. Once his eyes became accustomed to the dark he focused on the distant spots of star light. A few moments passed and instead of their normal calming effect he felt a rise of…

He wished he could put a name to the feeling but he couldn't. What he did know was it made him feel horrible; useless and wasted. What he needed was to get out of here, away from all this. Not for the first time he felt the loss of his ability to ski keenly. Hitting the slopes, the rush of sharp cold air could clear the cobwebs from his mind in seconds. As he moved through the landscape the skis and poles felt like they became extensions of his body.

He opened his eyes and found himself still in the dark. Another feeling began to rise and it was such a contrast Ianto took a moment to recognise it. Then it came to him; it had had been when he had received the invitation to take Sandra Zhang's place. The sheer excitement of knowing he could escape had been a moment of revelation. In truth it was the first time since the accident he had made a decision on his own. It had felt so good.

'Lights on,' he called out and the stars disappeared.

Now he was here, and with everyone telling him what he should do was just making him feel trapped again. Owen was not his father and Martha was not in charge of him.

Sitting he burst out laughing. Owen had called him three and that's how he felt…three.

'You are not the boss of me. I'm the boss of me,' Ianto said out loud. 'If I don't wanna, I'm not gonna.'

What he needed was to escape from his mind, something physical he could lose himself in. His eyes fell onto the squash racket on the table where he had placed it two days before. Standing he picked it up and did a couple of swings.

Squash was good and he enjoyed the game, but when he was on his own all it did was exacerbate how he was feeling. Just to be contrary as much as he liked having a partner what he enjoyed was challenging himself, a personal one on one.

He needed a sport which was not dependant on a partner and would take his complete concentration.

Taking a deep breath he sat down and turned on the screen. Leaning forward he requested the list of activates on the holo-suites. Anything with any element of risk was out. No base jumping. He felt an instant of regret.

Something caught his eye. He punched up the details.

Standing before the rock wall Ianto looked up. 'What grade is this?' he asked out loud.

'Beginners,' the computer told him. Ianto mapped out the route with his eye, taking a moment to imagine how he would place his hands and feet.

'Show me moderate.' The wall morphed. 'Show me the highest grade…now that's more like it,' Ianto said under his breath as he saw the complexity and overhang. 'Can you make this so it looks like it's on an actual rock face based on the moderate grade?'

The wall became an outdoor version of a rock wall on a cliff face with Ianto at the base. The climb disappeared upwards into blue sky.

'Choose background.' The computer gave a list of remote areas from Earth and other planetary locations within Home Space. 'Colorado Rockies.' As he spoke the surrounding area transformed into an astounding mountain view.

'Note. As this is first recorded climb it is recommended you begin with Grade one,' the computer intoned.

'Noted,' Ianto said as he took in the view.

'Safety parameters are not set,' the computer told him.

'Set to maximum,' Ianto ordered.

'You are not anchored,' the computer told him as he moved towards the wall.

'Stop trying to ruin my fun,' Ianto said loudly as he found a harness and rope system around him.

Moving forward he reached for the first handheld.

Sweat rolling off his entire body, Ianto looked up. He was three handholds and two foot holds from the ledge which signalled a break at the middle of the climb.

His muscles burning with effort he glanced up the yellow hold was just out of reach, which meant he had to go for the grey. Reaching out and using his left foot to balance he put all his weight on the right. Stretching he got a good grip and brought this right foot across. He looked down his heart beating wildly and he felt a surge of exhilaration.

Pulling himself over the ledge, Ianto rolled onto his back. Several seconds passed as he caught his breath.

'That was fucking amazing,' he stated out loud. He was so unfit but he had pushed himself and made it. Taking in the view he realised his head had cleared.

Now he had to find his way down. A thought came to him.

'Computer, change safety roping to abseiling configuration.'

Standing and backing to the edge of the ledge threw himself down the rock face.

Reaching the bottom he looked up to where he had been. He felt amazing and a feeling of accomplishment he had long missed raced through him, body and mind. He had reached the middle of the climb, next time he would reach the top. Maybe he could even find a way to free climb with just chalk. 'Now that would be a challenge.' He felt an ecstasy of anticipation long missing return to him.

Feeling more himself he realised he needed some advice. Owen was too blunt and would just tell him to get on with it. Martha…well he wasn't even going to go there. In truth there was only one person whose advice he could trust.

'You are looking a lot better,' Tosh said as Ianto came through her open office door.

'I found a way to clear my head. I had a go at climbing, made it half way up this massive rock. Just being alone with myself and working my way up the face was amazing. I can still feel my body humming. My reward of getting up to the first marker was abseiling down,' he told her with a huge smile.

'Ianto that's wonderful.' She patted his arm stilling the urge to fuss over him.

'I need to ask you something?' Ianto began quietly. 'Everyone, well when I say everyone I mean Owen and Martha Jones have suggested I read what happened after the Diligence returned. I feel so conflicted; I do and don't want to know. I guess part of me doesn't want to hash over the past. I know what happened next...'

'What do you think happened?' Tosh asked.

'Several crew members were arrested. Alex Hopkins resigned his commission but was basically dishonourably discharged, Jack got off. Suzie Costello was committed. Several crew members were court martialled.'

'That's the basic bones of it except the bit about Jack,' Tosh added.

Ianto felt a surge of irritation and annoyance as he heard Jack's name. 'If that's what happened why do Owen and Martha keep asking me to find out more?'

'Because there is so much more. I can't promise you will find all the answers you are looking for but there are some to be had.'

'I don't know.' Ianto chewed his lip, looking uncertain.

'Did you know there are over two hundred regulations now written into Space Command Law that came directly from the recommendations of each enquiry?'

Ianto looked at her surprised as she continued.

'When you came on board you were asked to confirm your records, correct?' Ianto nodded as he recalled the drama. 'That's because there is a new system for transferring personal records. All crew records are now held in an encrypted cache within the Space Command central core. Records now have to pass through there before being sent on to ensure a match. Just in case an error creeps in all transfer personnel have to confirm their records belong to them.' Tosh ticked off the next one on her finger.

'All medical data crystals have to embedded. Why?' She answered her own question 'Because when Owen needed your medical information it was hidden. The delay in finding it could have led you to dying. Now there are three copies of medical data, one is kept digitally held by the on board medical director, one on you as a physical copy and one with your records held in the Space Command central core.

'Crew Resources did a psych re-evaluation on every member. In light of what happened all officers within Crew Resources lost their command privileges.'

Tosh took a breath. 'And for good measure you should listen to what the head of the DES had to say. She was furious and for two years she suspended all transfers of DES officers to Space Command until they made the fundamental changes necessary to ensure their safety. Then there were the changes to the DES…'

Ianto interrupted by holding up his hand because his head was spinning. 'Does this mean you will do some research?' Tosh asked

'You always give the best advice.' Ianto drew her into a hug.

'I would be a pretty poor advocate if I didn't,' she teased. If you have questions or just need to talk you know where to find me,' she added as Ianto headed out the door.

Back in his cabin Ianto armed himself with a large coffee then sat down and turned the screen on his computer on.

Opening the folder Owen had sent him, he was surprised it appeared to contain only one document and three links. Ianto read Owen's opening comment. Apparently the report was so comprehensive it had become the definitive guide and was the foundation for everything that followed.

'We'll see,' Ianto said to himself.

As Ianto began to read through he realised why the document was considered as such. It was more than just an in-depth time line or analysis. It was considerably more. No incident or event was left untouched. Much to his surprise there was even a section which included every instalment of the Ghost cartoon. An involuntary shudder went through him as he flicked through the section. He had always imagined these had been destroyed but then again maybe there were so many copies, it had been an easy task to gather then together.

Turning to another page he sat back in surprise. It was a list of his tormentors with a points table. It appeared to have been some sort of competition with points awarded for abuse. Ianto took a moment to recover. He had no idea this had been going on but as he thought about it now it made a lot of sense.

Finishing the overall breakdown he now turned to the commentary on each crew member active in his mistreatment, starting with Harkness.

Much to his satisfaction it noted every one of the Jack's failings. In fact he read through it twice after refilling his mug with coffee in celebration that the writer had managed to pin every one of the man's faults so precisely in his dealings with Ianto from his arrival to his discovery on the holo-suite.

Ianto found one phrase particularly gratifying; it stated that Harkness had 'demonstrably failed in leadership, supervision, fairness and upholding the demands and values of a Space Command officer.' His very actions had allowed the crew to take his lead as implicit approval. It noted that Harkness along with other officers could have stepped in and stopped the abuse at any time regardless of who John was. They didn't because it was believed John had earned the abuse due to his reputation prior to the Diligence.

The writer recommended Harkness never be placed in a position of command again. In fact he should suffer the harshest possible condemnation and penance for his actions. The writer kept coming back to the lost opportunity when Ianto has asked to prove his skills. The report reflected much of Ianto's own thoughts. Had he, Ianto, been allowed to speak and demonstrate his skills then everything that followed would not have occurred. As uncomfortable as the situation would have been his position within the crew would have eventually become normalised.

He wanted to meet this person and shake them by the hands for their clarity, honesty and courage in laying this all out in such stark terms.

He flicked over the page and read the signature.

'Commander Jack Harkness'.

For several moments his eyes failed to register the name. Thinking this must be an error he searched the document again. Maybe it wasn't 'Jack Harkness' but someone who just happened to share same name.

This was too big. It had to be a misprint or maybe the information had been mixed up.

'Impossible, not possible,' Ianto said out loud. Jack Harkness had the empathetic capacity of a teaspoon, even less. Ianto struggled with the implications.

Sitting back he struggled to breathe. How could this be? It was impossible.

The next few days Ianto kept himself busy dealing with his students. He had neglected them, so in recompense he now threw himself into the work he was there to do. They were not to blame for his situation and deserved the best he could give them. In a sense, focusing on his students meant he didn't have to think about the implications raised by who the author of the report was.

As each day passed a theory began to form in his mind. If he was right it explained how Harkness had gotten away with just a reprimand. Ianto figured that if his hypothesis held any validity it would be found via the links Owen had sent.

Two days later found him back in front of his computer and opening the link the main enquiry. The second was for each court martial, including Harkness's. The last link was the recommendations that came out of the board of enquiry.

Ianto started with what he knew. Susie's hearing had found that she was criminally insane. She had orchestrated the entire event and manipulated the crew. Her fate was to be sent to Beta Nine, a high security psychiatric facility, never to be released.

Captain Hopkins he already knew about but he read the summary anyway. He had taken full responsibility for his failure to lead and resigned his commission, which was refused. He was found guilty of mishandling the entire affair and was dishonourably discharged without prejudice. This, Ianto understood; it meant Hopkins would still be granted his pension in honour of his thirty years of service.

He noted Kassey, Gray and Brooke had laid all blame on Susie and each had ended up with various prison sentences. Others he noted also joined them, still others like the author of the Ghost cartoon were dishonourably discharged.

There were several exceptions to the rule noted by the enquiry. The entirety of C shift was uninvolved, including several officers from B shift. Also uninvolved were Chief Engineer Andy Davidson and Doctor Owen Harper and Tech Specialist Toshiko Sato. They all admitted to knowing of the abuse but were not aware of the depth of it. They were reprimanded and placed under supervision for a year.

Toshiko Sato was given a recommendation for licence for discovering and helping to expose Susie Costello which was granted. Owen was similarly noted for his role in capturing Suzie and for saving of Ianto's life.

As enlightening and hearting it was to know that the crew had faced the consequences of his ordeal, there was one person who hadn't. Ianto turned to the final court martial.

During his court martial Harkness was as brutally honest about his role as he had been in the report. He admitted his mistakes in detail, accepting his part with an unwavering honestly.

In his final statement to the court he had admitted, rightly or wrongly, that he had put his faith in someone who he had no reason to doubt. Finally he was haunted by the 600 seconds he had refused Ianto.

'Good,' Ianto said to himself.

Ianto felt vindicated. As suspected Jack Harkness had gotten away with this because he had thrown himself on his sword. He must have known he would be called to account; cue faux remorse, hence the report.

It was all wasted because according to the notes the board enquiry had recommended Jack be sentenced to incarceration for many years, followed by the invalidation of his records of service. Which effectively meant if and when Jack was released he would never set foot on space vessel again in any crew capacity.

Ianto sat back puzzled. 'So how it was that five years later Harkness was First Officer of the Torchwood, his records intact?' Ianto turned the page.

'I don't care what time it is I want to speak to my father and I want to speak to him now!' Ianto shouted at the security chief at his family home.

A few moments passed and Ianto's father appeared on screen looking sleep ruffled, his face creased in fear.

'Ianto are you okay?' Arthur said out of breath.

'Tell me why you spoke up for Harkness?' Ianto demanded.

'How did you find out? Did he say something?'

'No, I've been reading about what happened after the Diligence got back. It's been eating me up inside how he walked away.'

'I assure you Harkness did not just walk away.'

'He was facing an extended prison sentence along with invalidation of his records and service history. Then I find out my own father turned up unannounced and spoke on his behalf.'

Arthur locked his jaw. 'It was the right thing to do.'

'Right thing to do?' Ianto spluttered.

'Yes.'

'Dad, you are the reason he was offered rehabilitation!'

'Son, I know this will be hard to understand. I loathe Jack Harkness. I don't want him anywhere near you or this family. However I stand by my words. '

'Then how…why?' Ianto leaned forward in disbelief.

'If you are prepared to listen I will tell you.'

'What you are telling me is after everything he did to me you then stood up and spoke on his behalf. You must have known your word carried so much weight they would give you what you asked.'

'I knew that when I spoke.' Ianto went momentarily silent, stunned at his father's words. 'And I knew at some time in the future you and I would be having this conversation.'

'Did you?' Ianto said fury slurring his words.

'Susie Costello ruined many people on the Diligence. Good people like Captain Hopkins, careers ruined, future pathways destroyed. I gave Jack the opportunity for a second chance, that was all. He could have thrown that away but he hasn't.'

'You called him Jack.'

'Harkness then. When everyone stood against him I gave him an opportunity, nothing more. In a sense I granted him something he had refused to give you. If that makes me a lesser man in your eyes...'

'It doesn't, Dad. It's the shock; I never thought…'

'Throwing a life vest to a drowning man is called compassion. I don't and cannot forgive him for what he did to you. But that does not negate his efforts to correct his many mistakes. I 'm not sure if you are aware yet but his investigation was crucial to ensuring that Costello was brought to justice at great personal cost to himself.'

'I don't want to hear that,' Ianto warned him.

'That's as may be. When you get back we can sit down and I will lay out my reasoning. It is up to you to accept or reject it. But I stand by what I did.'

Arthur looked at his son, who was shaking with anger. 'Never forget the real villain was Susie Costello. I did what I did to see true justice done. '

'Dad you are right. We need to talk.'

'Now I'm going back to bed and in six weeks' time we will sit down and talk this through.' Arthur smiled. 'Good night.'

The view went blank and Ianto sat down with a thump, his head swirling.