AN What can I say except I am really sorry for the delay in updating. The only thing I can say is that real life got in the way big time. Thank you to all who read and reviewed the last chapter and I hope you like this one. My thanks go to JonesIantoJones for being a wonderful friend and beta - keep eating the jaffa cakes baby Ninja needs the vitamin c!
As always the team do not belong to me.
Now onto the next part and if you have time please review xx
Returning to London part 32
Once they had arrived at the underground car park Jack called for Gwen to help them with Dora. The very carefully carried her down to the very bottom basement and set the box on some rocks. This was the first time that Gwen had been down here, hell she hadn't even known this was here. She turned an angry face to Jack. "So how long have we had a boat bobbing around down here? Does everyone know it's here but me?"
"Hey calm down." Jack said. "It's on a strictly need to know basis and until now you didn't need to know. Right I'm just going to move The Sea Queen from here to just the other side of the entrance. Tosh," Jack said turning back to her. "Ianto and Owen should be here soon to give Dora a once over. Once Owen has done that can you get him to quickly run through the data from the soldiers just to make sure they are ok? Gwen I need you and Ianto to find some tech in the archives. It looks like a ball of metal string, not sure where it's filed but I'm sure Ianto does." Without waiting to see if the girls had an questions Jack had stepped aboard the speedboat and keyed the ignition. He very gently eased her away from the rocks and headed to the entrance.
Gwen rounded on Tosh. "Did you know we had a boat Tosh?"
Tosh looked up at her. "Sort of."
"What do you mean sort of? Either you did or you didn't." Gwen asked still angry that she hadn't known.
"Well I'd heard rumours about a boat, but this is the first time I've seen her." Tosh explained.
"So where's Jack swanned off to then?" Owen called as he and Ianto approached them.
"Taken the boat out of the way. He wants you, Owen, to check Dora is ok then check the data from the soldiers. We've been monitoring them since we brought them back. Ianto he said we need to find some tech, he said it looks like a ball of metal string and that you might know where it is." Gwen answered.
Ianto sighed. "Why does he think I might know where it is?"
"Dunno, but he was pretty certain you would." Gwen said then asked. "You don't seem surprised about the boat?"
"That's because I know about the boat. Have done since I took over the finances and budgets." Ianto answered.
Gwen sighed and seemed to visible deflate at that.
"Come on Gwen lets go to the archives and see what we can find. Did he say anything else about what we're looking for other than it looks like a metal ball of string?" Ianto questioned.
"Um no." Gwen stammered.
As they walked along the corridors Gwen kept surreptitiously looking at Ianto as though she wanted to say something to him. Ianto decided to put her out of her misery. "Look Gwen if you've got something to say then just say it - I promise I won't bite your head off."
"I...um..I...just." Gwen swallowed her mouth suddenly gone dry. "Um look Ianto I'm sorry."
Ianto turned his head slightly and raised an eyebrow questioningly.
Gwen swallowed again before she continued. "I'm sorry for not taking you and Owen seriously and for prying too much into things that have nothing to do with me. I am happy that you and Owen are together and that you can give each other the love and support you both deserve. I just hope you can find it in you to forgive my behaviour over the last few weeks."
Ianto stopped in his walking and put his hand on Gwen's arm to stop her too. He turned to face her. "Look Gwen while I can't say your behaviour over the last few weeks hasn't been hurtful sometimes, life's too short to hold grudges and resentment. So yes, let's put it behind us and if Owen or I want you to know what's going on in our lives we will tell you. Ok?"
Gwen let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks Ianto. And I promise to try not to pry too much and if I do then just tell me to back off."
"Don't worry I will." Ianto smirked as he pulled her into a brief hug. "Right I do believe we have a ball of metal to find." They carried on to the archives where Ianto went to a filing cabinet marked MA-MU. He opened the top drawer and started flicking through the files; he pulled one out and handed it to Gwen. "See if this resembles what we are looking for?" he then turned back to the drawer and continued flicking through the rest of the files randomly pulling some out and handing them to Gwen for her to skim through and see if it was what they were after. As Gwen rejected yet another file she looked at Ianto despondently. "We are never going to find this ball, are we?"
Ianto stopped what he was doing and turned to face Gwen. "Hey don't be so negative. If Jack says there is such an artefact then we will find it. It may take time, but it's not like Dora is going anywhere, is it?"
Gwen smiled weakly at him. "No I suppose not. Is this what you have to do every time one of us requisitions an artefact?"
Ianto smiled back. "Yes it is. Now you can see why it sometimes takes me a long time to find things. Especially when you lot give such vague descriptions."
Gwen looked amazed at him. "God I never thought it was this involved, I just thought..."
"What that I knew where every single file and artefact was in the archives. Gwen I may be good but I'm not that good." Ianto said laughing as he handed her another file before he continued his search through the drawer. They carried on this way for another ten minutes or so before Gwen gave a triumphant. "Yes. I think I've got something here."
Ianto looked around at her as she continued talking. "It says here that a metal string like substance was found in Bute Park in the early nineteen sixties. It was rolled up into a ball to be brought back to the Hub."
"Sounds promising." Interrupted Ianto. "Does it say what happened to it and where it might be stored?"
Gwen scanned her eyes over the page before turning it over and scanning down the next page. "Yes it says here that it was tested and found to be extremely strong but light weight. It's stored on sub level four storage room six."
"Right then Miss Cooper would you like to accompany me to storage room six on sub level four?" Ianto asked smiling at Gwen and holding his arm out for her.
"Why thank you Mr Jones don't mind if I do." Gwen replied smiling back at him and linking her arm with his they walked down the corridor towards the lower levels.