Jack had blocked the entirety of his conversation with Gwen from Ianto, not wanting to let him feel the anger in his heart. The immortal walked out of his office, leaving the Welshwoman to sit and stew. Maybe he had been a little harsh with her, but he had felt Ianto's reaction to the anger she sent him. Something had to have been done. His lover met him at the bottom of the stairs, slightly paler than usual, but otherwise showing no physical effects. The Archivist handed his Captain his coffee before stealing a quick kiss and spinning away, back to work. Jack smiled softly. He could really get used to this whole relationship thing.
Tosh watched the Welshman surreptitiously. Something was different with him, his sense of fashion aside. He had come in this morning so different. Smiling and laughing and utterly happy. One look at Gwen and his entire countenance had crumbled. He had retreated back into his oh so familiar shell. She had watched him in the kitchenette, so unfocused and obviously pained that she had nearly called Owen in to check on him. She had seen the look of agony on the Welshman's face when the all heard Gwen start ranting. It was almost as if he could feel all of her anger directed at him, searing through him like a knife. Then she saw him shut down, lips forming words subconsciously. She saw color return to his cheeks slightly, though not near enough for him to look healthy, and he made the coffee for the day.
Tosh ran the footage of Ianto through the HUB's translation software, knowing that it would read his lips. The results were in Welsh, but a quick conversion showed that he appeared to be having a conversation with Jack. Her brow furrowed. She knew Ianto wasn't taking to himself, In truth he hadn't been talking at all. She pulled up the CCTV footage of Jack's office muting it. She saw Jack's reaction to Gwen's wrath. The glare hadn't been his usual, it had been the same one he gave anyone who dared to harm Ianto. She saw his eyes close briefly, the faintest quiver of his lips and then his cold and calculated conversation with Gwen unfolded.
"Spying on the boss, eh Tosh?" Owen said, and the technician jumped.
"Owen, do you believe in Telepathy?" Owen looked her over surreptitiously.
"Well, yes. Torchwood London was working on harnessing the telepathic and empathic powers of humans right before it fell. Why?" Tosh spun around in her chair, typing furiously at her keyboard. She pulled up Ianto's health records from Torchwood London. She dug through them, Hacking through layer after layer of top-secret encryptions, down to his first evaluation. What she found not only confirmed her suspicions, but also deepened her hatred of the facility.
"19 year old test subject, Ianto Jones, #131909, shows all the markers of an empathy, yet after extensive testing and experimentation, he has yet to respond. Three neuro-electic stimulation procedures have been performed, yet 131909 still refuses to admit to any empathetic feelings. Subject has been deemed a case study failure. RETCONN was administered to remove the details of his examination. 131909 was told that he was tested, and that he failed. Higher authorities have decided to hire him on at Torchwood London's offices as a Junior Researcher, so as to monitor him for any signs of maturing empathic powers." Tosh saved the page, before closing it and looking over at the dead man.
"Tosh, do you know what that procedure is?" The dead man's voice was monotone, yet his eyes were burning." Tosh shook her head. "They cut the base of the skull, insert electrodes into the brain stem, and shock it. All while the subject is awake." Tosh wanted to scream.
"But that said they did it 3 times. Owen, Ianto doesn't remember any of it." Owen nodded.
"The RETCONN Torchwood London would have used, it was nicknamed reset. A large enough dosage could complete erase everything from a person's mind. The fact that Tea-boy is not only fully functioning after that procedure is one thing, it had a bad habit of turning people into vegetables. But that procedure 3 times, and reset, Ianto shouldn't be alive, let alone fully functioning." They both gazed at the Welshman, who met, Owen noted , the very stiff moving Captain at the bottom of the stairs. They both witnessed the kiss and coffee hand over, and looked at each other quizzically, Ianto hated PDA. The Welshman moved swiftly over to them, tray of coffee in hand. Owen consciously pushed down his emotions knowing that Ianto could most likely feel them.
"So, Tea-boy, care to explain why the Captain looks like he's walking with a stick up is ass?" Owen quipped, curiously. Ianto rolled his eyes.
"Probably because he had one last night." Owen grimaced and Tosh nearly choked on her coffee. Ianto grabbed a thermos off the tray, walking away swiftly. He didn't care for the mixture of shock and pity pouring off the pair.