Gwen almost danced with impatience as she waited for the Tourist Office wall door to open. She squeezed through before it had barely opened wide enough for her to pass through and made her way down the hall towards the lift. She stopped abruptly, taken aback by the small sign on the lift door that said 'The Management regrets that the lift is temporarily out of order. Please use the stairs.' She turned, running down the stairs. As she reached the bottom, she could see Jack sitting on one of the lower steps, a toolbox open at his side.

"Good morning," Gwen said as she took a seat next to him and cautiously peered around the corner. The lift doors were open and standing inside with the bottom of the elevator above him was Ianto, a screwdriver in one hand and a schematic diagram in the other. She raised an eyebrow as she looked back at Jack. "Problems, gentlemen?"

"Just a little electrical issue. Nothing to worry about," Jack said blithely. She wasn't so sure. While she knew that Ianto was smart, she wasn't sure how good he was at this sort of thing.

"Is this a good idea?" She asked skeptically. She had a vision of it catching on fire and taking the Hub with it.

Jack grinned and shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. He seems to be doing okay so far."

"I have hidden skills, the depths of which you have yet to realize," Ianto commented, his voice muffled as he used the screwdriver to pry a wire from one of the circuit boards on the lift. He looked down at the schematic for a moment before returning his attention to the board above him.

"Never let it be said that I am one to underestimate your talents, Mr. Jones." Jack quipped. He stifled a laugh at the expression on the other man's face. "But please, regale me with an explanation for how you learned the essentials of elevator repair and maintenance."

"It all goes back to my misspent childhood," Ianto said, detaching more wires and unscrewing the board.

"Ah yes, you did have a record, didn't you?" Jack mused. Gwen covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. Once these two got going it was better than watching a television program. "I hardly think that petty theft would provide you the skills necessary for this sort of thing." Gwen tsked at the allusion to Ianto's criminal past.

"That's because I never got caught," Ianto said, turning to the two and giving them a wink. "I'll have you know that some of my electrical knowledge came from lifting cars as a teenager."

"Ianto, I'm shocked," Gwen said, trying, but not succeeding very well in stopping a grin. "Stealing cars from penshioners for a joyride?"

"Pretty much," Ianto admitted freely with an impish grin. He came out from the lift shaft and retrieved a butane soldering iron and a roll of lead solder from the toolbox. He lit the iron and watched as the tip began to glow. "Terrible, wasn't I?"

"Gwen, what's the statute of limitations for something like that? We may have to do our civic duty and turn this young man in. For his own good, of course," Jack said. "Perhaps some time spent in a cell would make him learn the error of his ways."

"You want me in a cell, Jack, you have a few of your own to choose from," Ianto retorted. Gwen finally submitted to the urge and giggled.

"Oh, don't encourage him," she said. "Knowing that one, the next thing you know he'll be dragging you downstairs to lock you up." Jack had a speculative look on his face and she shook her finger at him. "Stop it before you think any further on that, Jack. I am not climbing those stairs again so you better let him fix it!"

"Spoilsport," Jack accused her. She stuck her tongue out at him and laughed.

"All right, enough of laffing about. I need to get some work done!" She declared.

"Coffee's on if you want some," Ianto said absently as he held the soldering iron to the board and used a pair of pliers from his pocket to pry something loose.

"Ah, sounds good." She dusted her jeans off as she got up. It was on the tip of her tongue to recommend they call someone in, but she knew how impossible that would be. They couldn't retcon everyone who came in contact with them. Though she was sure that Jack was willing to do so if necessary.

"Right," Ianto said as she went through the open cog wheel into the Hub. "Just need to change this connection and we should be all set to go." Something flashed behind her and she closed her eyes, not wanting to witness what happened next. "Oops."

"What do you mean, oops?" Jack asked nervously.

"Nothing." Ianto said. "Hand me that meter, please." The sounds of Ianto working were muffled by the walls of the Hub while Gwen moved about, getting her coffee from the waiting carafe and going to her desk. She could hear Ianto muttering as he worked and she shook her head as she checked the monitors for activity. All seemed quiet, which was a relief after their last several weeks of running around. She looked around the Hub. It was finally beginning to feel normal again.

As she listened to the two men working behind her, she smiled. Their banter was teasing, Jack questioning Ianto's knowledge and Ianto talking circles around his boss about volts, ohms, electrical currents and capacitors. She wasn't sure if he was just doing it to confuse the issue under discussion or whether he actually knew what he was talking about. A while later the sound of clapping drew her attention back to the door and she saw Ianto take a mocking bow as the lift closed shut behind him.

"Wow, it works!" Jack said, amazed as the lift doors opened again. "Does this mean I owe you a raise?"

"How about standard union electrician rate, with a four hour minimum?" Ianto said, leaning over to put his tools away in the box on the step. Jack moved behind him and grabbed him, pulling Ianto back against him.

"How about just having the undying gratitude of your boss?" Neither of them was aware that Gwen was watching them, an amused expression on her face.

"I thought I already had that?" Ianto teased as he attempted to pull away from Jack's embrace.

"Oh, but this time I'll really mean it," Jack said, wrapping his arms around the younger man. "And I'll let you win the next round of hide and seek." Gwen shook her head and walked away. Those two would be at it all day. It felt good to hear them laughing. Life was finally settling down. Time to get some work done while the rift was still quiet, she decided, pulling up some overdue reports and getting to work…

~*~