February 13th

Jack dragged in at ten past four in the morning. All his leads had turned up nothing. Martha had arrived in the early evening, muttering at Jack for not telling her sooner about Pol's injuries, and spent most of the night checking her over and catching up whilst Mickey went over everything he'd uncovered, which wasn't much. Jack had offered them the night at his flat, which they'd declined in lieu of reservations at St. David's and a leisurely ride home in the morning.

"I want a spa," Martha had said. "My back is killing me."

Mickey had said, "If you need us, the reservation's under the name Horowitz. Don't need us."

Home now, and trying to be quiet, Jack took a quick shower. He ran over every small detail he had in his head again. No-one had seen Alice be taken. None of the cameras in the vicinity had picked up anything unusual. None of the local or non-local aliens, even the ones Mopolite or the Bugs thought were on their payrolls, had heard anything about a hit or a kidnapping. No ransom demands. Mickey's leads had led to nothing.

He was beginning to think he'd been wrong. She may have been taken by a human after all, unrelated to the coming war. The abduction was a professional job, or insanely lucky. The Families? Did they remember? The last time he'd phoned Rex, the other man couldn't place Jack's voice and rang off.

Shower done, he looked in on Steven, who was sound asleep, and safe, and alive. Jack resisted the urge to go in, ruffle his hair and kiss his head. Apparently, some people (okay, Alice and Ianto and Gwen as well, at which point Jack had stopped asking around for opinions) thought it was weird for Steven's naked grandfather to kiss him goodnight, and no amount of Jack's pointing out he'd run about naked half the time back when he himself was a boy would change their minds.

He slid into bed next to Ianto, who stirred. "Good evening to you. You're freezing."

"Good morning. Get closer and I can warm up."

Ianto's gaze flicked over his face, and saw the lack of news without his having to ask. He leaned in for kisses, tilting his head when Jack gratefully took him up on the offer. Sure, he had come home to sleep, but Jack had never been found wanting when there was an offer of comfort sex, or any other sex, on the table. He rolled on top of Ianto, kissing him with the same intensity they'd first shared years back, the very first time Ianto had walked into his old office in the old Hub, with the old stopwatch in his hand ticking the very last second of ten minutes counting down to something new.

Things had changed. Things always changed. They'd broken this off. Jack had died numerous times. Ianto had died twice, once to the Toclafane and once to the 456, and his ghost had sacrificed himself again. Now the impossible had occurred, pushing them back together, and Jack felt his brain stutter to a halt every time he considered ever parting from this man. The only reason Jack hadn't suggested marriage was the existence of two wives he was certain were still alive somewhere after he'd faked his death with each. Marriages ended badly for him. But this? This was as close to forever as he could give to anyone.

Their kisses grew deeper, hands roaming over faces instead of flesh lower down. Jack loved the feel of his fingers in Ianto's hair, and always grinned at Ianto's face when his fingers got stuck on the product in Jack's. Not tonight, not with his hair damp from the shower, and his heart sore from worry and the oldest fears.

Ianto's hands found their way down first, grasping Jack loosely and stroking him. Jack arched and moaned at the feeling, enjoying the caress and the easy knowledge between them of what felt good. He bent in for more kissing, reaching as he did for the table with the pump bottle. The gel was cold, and colder still when he reached back and slid his fingers up inside his own body. He loved this, too, he had to admit. He'd make love to a hundred different species, and still enjoy his own hands and fingers best.

Almost best.

Jack moved his body, carefully lining up Ianto's cock against him with a few wet strokes, then slowly descending to impale himself. Ianto's hands never broke their rhythm of stroking him even as his breath caught. Not fully prepared, not quite open enough, Jack bore down on the burn and the stretch before rising and falling in their familiar patterns of push and fuck.

Ianto's hand sped its stroke as Jack lifted and fell, murmuring endearments in old languages. This was succour, skin against skin with someone he loved. This was forgiveness, in the gasp and tender gaze of someone who loved him. This was home, where hand grasped hand and hearts raced and lips whispered and met in the dark. Pleasure pushed away heartache for a few sweet minutes.

He came fast, and less intensely than he often did. The pain was a bit much, and his heart wasn't in it tonight. Changing positions to better use his knees, he began riding Ianto harder until he too fell over the edge, thrusting into flesh that hurt more than pleased now.

As soon as Jack rolled off, Ianto rolled into him, kissing him more, and stroking the hard lines Jack felt on his face. "It's going to be all right," Ianto said. "It's all going to be fine."

It wasn't. Alice could be dead. Alice could be worse than dead. Steven hadn't inherited his curse. The only way to know for sure Alice hadn't was for someone to end her life.

As if reading his mind, and doubtless he was, Ianto embraced him and held him tight.

Gwen stood on Andy's doorstep with a tea and a smile.

"Go away," he said in a more friendly fashion than she'd feared.

"I need your help."

"You always need my help, and then you shut me out. No thanks, Gwen." He made his way down the stairs and towards his car. Undeterred, she followed him, waving the tea like a flag of truce.

"There's a woman gone missing, Andy."

"I don't do missing persons. You'll have to talk to the DI on the case."

"We haven't reported it yet."

He turned on her. "Why the hell not? You're coming to me for yet another favour, and you haven't done the first step in finding her yourself?"

She dropped her voice. "Torchwood has been searching for the last two days. We can't find a trace. Her name is Alice Carter. We need to find her, Andy."

"Is she an alien?"

"No. She's a mum. Her son needs her." She dropped her voice further. "And we think she might have been taken by aliens, yeah, which is why this is the first you're hearing about it. Aliens are our division."

He grabbed the tea from her hand and gave her a stern look. On any other face, she'd have been worried. On Andy's, it was all she could do not to laugh, bless him. "What happened?"

She filled him in on the details, leaving out why Jack was so hellbent on finding Alice. Andy didn't need to know everything. He nodded, asking questions as they walked. Yes, they'd covered that. Yes, they'd looked there, too.

He shook his head. "Gwen, the trail's already cold. I'm sorry, but by now, I'd be dredging the Bay."

Alice paid attention to the guards outside her cell. The cellblock, as much as she could tell, extended down a narrow bricked hallway to one door at the end, where the guards stood except when Johnson came to visit her. Johnson had instructed them not to listen to her, which meant logic or begging wouldn't get her anywhere. The one time Alice had stolen a spoon from her dinner tray, two guards had immediately come in, held her arms, and taken the spoon right back.

She didn't hear any other prisoners around her. Despite the three other doors she'd managed to see, she was certain she was alone in this block, if not the entire facility, wherever she was being held.

As one act of rebellion, she'd thrown her pillowcase over the camera lens, giving herself some privacy. Johnson hadn't commented and the guards hadn't stopped her. For her second act of rebellion, she'd begun examining the springs of her small bed, and with some perseverance, was in the process of getting one loose. As her mother had taught her, anything was a weapon, and any non-traditional weapon meant a higher chance of living. "A shiv in the eye they don't expect is better than a gun they do."

If Jack wasn't going to show up and free her, she bloody well was going to free herself, even if she had to stab Agent Johnson with a bedspring to do so.

Ianto tried and failed to beg off a trip to the cinema with Rhiannon and the children today. He wasn't helping with the search, because Jack wanted him to act as Steven's bodyguard at all times. He hadn't gone on a retrieval in days, and wasn't Miss Valentine surely thrilled to have him out of her hair as her own people scooped up more alien trinkets?

That reminded him, with a sudden thump. Tomorrow was Valentine's Day. He had his gift ready for Jack, sitting unremarkable and unnoticed in a heap with other artefacts in the Hub. He'd thought perhaps a night away together would be nice, but they had Steven, and Jack was worried sick about Alice. It'd be grotesque to spend the day thinking about romance.

A cold breeze blew down his neck like a handful of razor blades. Beside him, Steven shivered in his new red coat. February was brutal this year. Lois had said it was all Climate Change, and bundled up more warmly. Albert said it was aliens. Jack wouldn't say, but Jack rarely did when it came to possibly spoiling humanity's future.

"It's not far," Ianto said as they walked more quickly. Suddenly, they were stopped by the sounds of shouts. A Gr'nak, high on alien crank, threw its body again and again up against a door to a florist shop. Steven opened his mouth to scream, and Ianto clamped his hand over his face, hard. "Don't. Don't make a sound."

He took Steven's hand in his. Steven was getting too old for this, but it was safer. "Look down," Ianto said in a pleasant voice. "Don't make eye contact. Just walk and look like you have something else to think about just now." Looking positively preoccupied, they crossed the road together, away from the alien without attracting its attention. The first shop Ianto saw was a coffeeshop. "Go inside, lock yourself in a cubicle in the loo, and stay in there until I come for you."

When he was sure Steven was safely inside, Ianto checked his weapon. He touched his comm. "There's a Gr'nak on Charles Street. I'm going to try to subdue it. Send the car."

"Don't go in," Jack said in his ear. "Just hold the scene."

"Whoops, signal's breaking up. See you soon." Ianto punched the button to silence the comm. This was a terrible idea, and would likely get him killed. Nevertheless, dozens of people were around now, and making enough noise that the beast had stopped paying attention to the delicious flowers and started noticing the delicious takeaways on legs.

"Oi!" he shouted, darting through cars to get closer. The Gr'nak paid him no mind, giving chase to a woman with an armload of shopping. Ah damn. Ianto ran faster, shouting and then shouting obscenities in an attempt to get its focus on him. The screaming wasn't helping.

A bloke beside him had a Venti, steaming in the cold air. Ianto said, "I need this, sorry." He overarmed the hot coffee at the Gr'nak, which roared in pain and turned. "Walk away very slowly," Ianto said to the man whose coffee he'd taken. "It won't chase you."

The bloke screamed and pelted away, catching the alien's attention again. Ianto sighed, and tried not to panic as a ton of muscle galloped his way. He steadied the shot and squeezed twice. Both bullets landed directly between its eyes. The momentum carried it the rest of the way, barrelling the corpse into him, and knocking the wind out of him as he fell, stunned.

The pavement was frozen and cold. The Gr'nak was steaming and stinking. Dead, though. Ianto felt woozy. He'd probably bumped his head on the hard concrete.

Hands helped move the Gr'nak off him, and voices chattered around him. He had to get up. He had to fetch Steven. Steven wasn't supposed to be out of his sight. Jack would be here any minute.

One of the voices clarified. "Let me through!" his sister demanded, as he was being helped upright. Rhi bent down to him. "God, Ianto, are you all right? I thought we were going to watch the film, not be in one."

He smiled. "It's fine. I'm fine." He glanced at the Gr'nak. "Fucking bear escaped from the zoo. Glad we didn't take the kids."

Rhiannon brushed her hand over his face. "That's not a bear, you muppet. That's an alien." She blinked. "You catch aliens for a living." Then she punched him in the arm. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Jack and Gwen sprinted out the door. Albert turned on one heel and went to their containment facility, which wasn't much more than a couple of locked rooms in the cellar. Pol was out of her bed, redirecting the CCTV cameras to watch the goings-on. She flinched. "We can tell Albert not to bother with the containment cells." She touched the comm. "Jack, hope you took a body bag. That Gr'nak is going to leak everywhere."

Lois cringed. She'd be the one to clean up that mess when they got back, she just knew it. Ignoring this, she pulled up a screen's worth of information on their search to make herself feel better about helping. Alice Carter had left work when she typically did. If she arrived home, she wasn't there by the time her son arrived an hour later.

Just because she could, Lois reran the CCTV records from one hour and then two hours before the kidnapping. She extended it out further, going fifty km in every direction, running their face-matching software and licence screens. Just as Gwen had found nothing over the last two days, no new information leapt out at her. She checked the satellite records again, but even those had been out of range. Or retasked.

Lois stared at her screen in thought.

She'd joined Torchwood initially as a helper. There'd been a case, a terrible government cover-up that still made her upset even to consider. PM Green had lost his position over it, and shortly after, his life when he'd chosen a home-rigged noose over a life in prison. But he'd hurt children. She remembered the children. The government had controlled everything, including the satellites. She'd made copies.

Not a single one had caught the area where Alice Carter would have disappeared from. Now that she had an idea of what she was looking for, Lois pored through the satellite records again, overlaying military, entertainment, Google, and the rest.

She looked for the hole in the picture.

Gwen had expected the Gr'nak's body, and the small crowd which Ianto wasn't managing to keep off. She hadn't expected the crowd to include Ianto's sister, and her children, nor for Rhiannon to turn instantly to Jack when he stepped out of the car and harangue him. Gwen gave him a look and told him his domestic problems were not her domestic problems, and she went to help Ianto with the onlookers.

"Animal control," Gwen said, flashing one of several badges she had. "We need you to back away so we can load this poor … "

"Bear," Ianto said.

"Bear into the SUV."

Behind her, she heard Rhiannon going on at Jack. "You put him into danger! This mad thing almost killed him."

"It didn't almost kill me."

Gwen shooed the last of the bystanders away. Not wanting to get involved in the personal drama, she fetched the body bag from the car.

"He got you killed, though. Christ, Ianto, I remember that!" She shouted at Jack, who backed away quickly. "You trying to do it again?"

That stopped her. Gwen looked at Ianto. "What's that?" Killed? But Ianto was right there. He was fine. Jack was the one who died all the time.

Memories of the Miracle flowed into her mind, and Gwen dropped the bag. How could she have forgotten that?

Jack held up his hands in case Rhiannon got it in her head to deck him. He asked Ianto, "Where is Steven?"

"Across the way. I told him to hide in the loo."

"I'll get him," said Gwen. Her mind was playing tricks on her, perhaps from the weird sunlight today, shining through air so cold it burned her cheeks.

Jack said, "I'll get him. Ianto, help us load this. Gwen, take it back to the Hub and let Polly sort out what happened. When she's done, there's a garage in Grangetown where you can leave the body." He checked over the Gr'nak and frowned. "I know this guy. He worked for the Bugs. They're not going to like this."

The three of them managed to get the corpse loaded into the back of the SUV. Gwen chose the better part of valour and got out before the real shouting started. Rhiannon was angry about something, and it sounded as though there were a lot of somethings. She kept saying her brother was dead, which was ridiculous. Ianto stood right there in front of her.

The Hub wasn't in much better condition when she pulled into the underground car park. Lois babbled excitedly about a hole in the satellites, which Dr. Pol overlaid her own natter on. The phone was ringing, and Albert picked up as Gwen came in.

"I'll put you on speaker," he said, and flicked the switch.

Mopolite's smooth voice filled the room, sending Lois and Pol silent. "Where is Captain Harkness?"

"He's out on a case," said Gwen. "Gwen Cooper. We've met. You can talk to me."

Lois scribbled quickly on a piece of paper and handed it to Gwen: I've found Alice. We need to go now.

"Mrs. Cooper, tell me, why did Torchwood burn down our warehouse last night?"

Surrounded with too much information at one time, Gwen said, "Mr. Mopolite, I'm going to hand you over."

"If you say I'm to be put on with your lovely admin, Miss Habiba, I assure you that I will gut her like a fish." Mopolite's tone never changed. Lois looked sick.

"My associate. Albert?" Gwen clicked off the speaker, and mouthed, "Deal with him."

Albert picked up the phone and said, "What warehouse?"

"Come on," Gwen said to Lois and Pol. By all rights, Lois should stay and sort out whatever was going on with the alien crime boss, and Albert should go with. Jack should as well, but Gwen had no intention of letting him ride along, not with the possibility that they'd be riding in to retrieve Alice's dead body. She couldn't risk that. There was no telling what Jack would do if someone he loved died.

Jack lacked the desire to shoot anyone around him, but that was going to change very quickly. Steven hadn't wanted to come out of the loo, claiming Ianto had specifically said to wait for him. On the one hand, Jack was glad. The bond between Ianto and Steven had only grown since their return home. Steven was closer to him than to his real father, and Ianto had trained himself to refer to the child as his godson to condition himself out of calling Steven his son. Ianto told Steven what to do and how to live and when to brush his teeth, and Steven listened. He wouldn't come out until Ianto said so, because Ianto was the only one who'd not abandoned him.

"I'm telling you, it's safe now."

"I have to stay here until I get the word."

That was another thing. Jack had accustomed himself to no longer being the centre of attention when the three of them were together for weekends or meals. The other two shared passcodes and shorthand jokes which left Jack mystified. He remembered this feeling from his early days on the TARDIS. Part of him was reassured, remembering also how swiftly that situation melted into warm camaraderie, creating his own jokes and stories with Rose and the Doctor. Part of him worried more, remembering what came after, remembering waking up alone and frightened, and discovering later he'd not been simply left for dead as he'd told himself for a century must have been the case.

He could face being shut out. He was not sure he could face being left again, no matter how many times he told Ianto to take Steven and go. Tomorrow promised nothing but a return to yesterday's loneliness. Today, Steven capitulated, with promises of ice cream from Jack.

They headed back into the street, where Ianto and Rhiannon were rowing. As they were rowing about aliens and coming back from the dead, and neither of them fools, they didn't shout and they argued in a shorthand he could translate very easily:

"You should have told me about your rowdy friends."

"First. You wouldn't have believed me. You'd have thought I was loony."

"You are loony, but I would have believed you."

"Second! I had signed … a promise not to talk about them. At all."

Jack approached, carefully holding Steven's hand despite the latter's reluctance. "It is true," he said to Ianto. "You are a loony." He kissed his cheek. "Are we done here?"

"You never come to see us any more." Rhiannon's expression was dark, not exactly angered but almost disappointed. "You might drop by. We don't bite and we've had our shots."

"Let's start with the cinema," Ianto said. "See if the kids get along. All right?"

"Fine. But you're coming for dinner on Sunday. No arguments."

"Great," said Jack before Ianto could argue anyway. "I'm going back to work. Enjoy the film."

He took a taxi back to the Hub, where he found Albert on a call and the rest gone.

"I assure you," Albert said in a strained voice, "no-one from Torchwood was in London last night. You're mistaken."

Jack took the phone out of his hand and said, "Captain Jack Harkness. Who am I speaking to?"

"Captain," said Mopolite. "Your week ends in two days. Do not spend it wasting my time." The line went dead.

"Funny. He spent the entire time insisting on talking to you."

"Yeah." Jack set the phone in its cradle. "Where's Gwen? And everyone else?"

Albert turned away, focusing on his console. "They went out on a retrieval. They'll check in later."

"Shouldn't we join them?"

"Won't be necessary."

She would never admit it, but Alice really wished her father were there. She had her tiny weapon wrapped in her knickers, which was the only small cloth she had available. Her mother's words and training running through her head, she readied herself for an opportunity, any opportunity. The guards didn't seem like the type to fall for the "sick prisoner" scam. Her only way out of the cell was when the door opened, and that meant taking down Agent Johnson.

So, problem solved. She wasn't getting out.

The door at the end of the cell block creaked open. Alice sat on her bunk, legs braced. If she pushed off against the floor and launched herself at the woman, she had one chance at taking her by surprise. The spring was 15 cm long, long enough for her to stab Johnson in the eye or ear. "A soft target is best," her mother had instructed. "Give them something personal to deal with instead of with you."

Boots clacked their way down the corridor. The window darkened, and the door opened.

Mouth sour with fear, Alice threw all her weight at Johnson, stabbing her arm directly at the woman's face. A black-clad arm blocked her blow, but the metal sliced home, ripping a gash into her flesh. The spring stuck, and Alice let go, shoving as Johnson cursed at her.

The door was still open. The guard was down the corridor. Johnson never came into the cell armed. Alice had no weapon now and no way to get another. She'd just attacked the one person who cared about keeping her alive. Mum's teaching helped her start; Dad's piss-poor planning skills would get her killed.

"Fuck," she said under her breath, and ran for it. Johnson shouted to the guard. Please be a stupid guard. Please be a stupid guard.

The uniformed man raised his weapon and trained the sight on Alice. "Halt or I will shoot."

Alice didn't even slow down, diving for his legs and confusing him for half a second. Two shots rang out. Alice screamed, feeling nothing but the pain in her hands where she'd hit the hard, concrete floor.

The guard fell, clutching his neck. A woman appeared in the doorway to the outer cell block. Alice recognised her from somewhere. Torchwood? Dark hair, gun, shouting Alice's name. Probably Torchwood.

Alice scrambled to her feet. She didn't look down at her captor. Behind her, she heard Johnson's boots.

"Come on," said the woman.

They ran down the outer corridor together. Alice hadn't been conscious on her way in, and now she followed the woman in a confused dash. The building was old, nearly abandoned. Where she expected guards, she noted empty workstations with panels and wiring ripped out.

"What is this place?"

"Old military holding facility." The woman reached a closed door, and stopped. She pounded three times.

Johnson hadn't stopped her pursuit. They'd outrun her for the moment, but Alice heard her catching them up. "What's wrong?"

"It's electronic. We blew the lock, but it must have shut. Damn!" She pounded again, unable to move the heavy metal door.

"Hold," Johnson said. Alice turned to see Johnson, bleeding from the arm, holding the stricken guard's weapon. "You're not leaving."

"Like hell," said her rescuer, aiming back at Johnson. Standoff. Lovely.

"I need the information Mrs. Carter has. I will free her myself after she cooperates."

"You don't need anything from me."

"I do. I need to know why I remember your son's death. I need to know why no-one else does. You're the only one who can give me answers."

"You're mistaken," said the other woman. Gwen. Alice had met her a couple of times. Definitely Torchwood. "Alice's son is alive and well, and I am taking her home to him."

"No! I was there. I remember. What happened? What changed?"

Gwen steadied her gun. "Look, I don't know what you think is going on, but Alice and I are going to leave now. Find yourself a nice analyst, talk through your issues about your mum, whatever." She blinked a couple of times, as though flies were at her face, or a bad dream. "Steven's not dead."

Johnson raised her gun.

"The Doctor changed time," Alice said. "Some woman he travelled with had the world in her head. People came back. That's why you remember. There were multiple timelines, not just two, but hundreds. They've sorted themselves out, and my son is fine, and I want to go home." It sounded mad. It was mad. But so was the rest of Alice's life. "The Trickster Brigade can see multiple timelines. You got infected. I'm sorry about that. I'd forget about the other timeline if I could."

"Other timeline?" Gwen asked, her own face gone blank and soft. "Steven died?"

"Things are better now," Alice said, in her same calming-the-crazy-person tone.

Johnson stared at both of them. "The Doctor? UNIT's old consultant? I thought he was a myth."

"He is," Gwen said, sounding more sure of herself. "He's also real. Questions answered?"

"How do I forget? I don't want these memories." She lowered her gun. "I don't want to see that, night after night."

"Join the club," Alice said wearily. "We'll make matching shirts."

"Stand back!" came a shout from the other side of the door. Gwen looked at Johnson, but she was no longer attacking. She seemed lost and sad. The three of them backed away from the door, which shuddered a moment later and fell down.

From the other side, two women held up their own guns. "Gwen!" shouted the first. A younger woman, hair cut short, looking terrified. The other woman was short, and a bit dumpy, and looked like she'd been in a fight with the guards outside.

"It's fine, Lois," Gwen said. "We're leaving." Despite this, the shorter woman stepped into the room and began feeling for Alice's pulse and examining her for any injuries. She glanced at Johnson, but did not offer aid.

Alice took one last look at her gaoler. She had a question of her own that burned for an answer. "Why now? Steven's been home for over a year."

"I needed to know. The woman said she knew your route from work, and I should ask you."

"What woman?" Gwen asked.

"She said her name was Mrs. Jones. I assume it was an alias. Are you leaving?"

Gwen nodded to her colleagues. No more questions today.

"I wouldn't have hurt you," Johnson said as Alice stepped outside. Alice didn't respond. She didn't believe her any more than she'd trusted her back during those terrible days that never were.

His mobile beeped as the credits rolled. Ianto's heart leapt as he checked the message from Gwen: "Alice ok. Meet us at the Hub."

"We have to go," he told Rhiannon and the kids, more excited than apologetic. "We're meeting up with Steven's mother in a few minutes."

Steven's head spun. "She's okay?"

"Let's go say hello, shall we?"

Rhi said, "You're still coming round for dinner. No excuses. Bring Steven's mum if you want to." She pecked him on the cheek.

The weather was frigid, and promised snow. He let Rhi talk him into dropping them off at the Chanticleer shopfront. "When you said you worked here, I thought you were just an antiques fancier." She placed delicate pauses around the words. Rhi did know what the name meant, but then, she'd taught him his first prick jokes when they'd been about David's age.

He ignored her unasked question. "I am. I love old things. I leave the alien-chasing to Jack. I'm strictly into collectables these days."

"Really aliens?" David asked. "Like, when your car got stolen from the estate, it had aliens in?"

"Thank you for the ride," he said, refusing to answer. "I'll see you Sunday." By Sunday, she may have forgotten again.

Steven burst through the doors as fast as he could run, and stamped impatiently until Ianto got the inner door unlocked. He ran down the corridor, Ianto walking more slowly behind. Moments later, Steven flew into the new Hub proper, and shouted, "Mum!"

Alice sat in the med area, Dr. Pol fussing over a tablet rather than the patient, and not even an I.V. started. Steven threw himself into his mother's arms, hugging her until she almost popped. Ianto grinned, a little tired, relieved and also (though he'd never, ever admit so) a touch sad. That boy was meant to be with his mother, always had done even when he'd been invisible to her and to everyone who'd known him. Steven was happy at home, usually, and when he went back after a weekend visit to Cardiff, he looked forward to seeing his mum and his friends. He came here for hugs, and an occasional recharge under Ianto's care and Jack's forceful personality, and then he went home. Ianto missed him every time.

"What happened? Where were you?" He came closer and took Alice's hand with a quick, friendly squeeze. She nodded at him over Steven's head, the closest she would come to thanking him for watching her son whilst she was missing. But that was Alice all around.

Gwen handed him a mug of coffee, which he drank and found a shot of bourbon in. "We're celebrating. Lois found her looking through the satellite records."

Jack said, "And Lois is getting a huge pay rise for it."

"I'll hold you to that," Lois said.

Ianto took a seat and let the story unfold in bits and bobs, as Alice filled Steven in, and Jack toasted the rescuers each in turn. Pol was looking much better today, either from Martha's care or from getting back to work. Albert, who hadn't gone, offered to fetch lunch, almost certainly as an excuse to get out from under the merriment.

Gwen said, "We'll have to do something about that woman, Jack. She's mad."

"I don't think so any longer," Alice said. "She wanted her answers. She got them."

"Mad," Gwen repeated. "She went on and on about Steven being … " She glanced at the boy. "Hurt. I don't trust her."

Pol said, "She said a woman told her how to get Alice. Said her name was Mrs. Jones. I would like to be the first to ask Ianto if he's got a wife stashed away somewhere." Steven giggled.

"We'll pay Johnson a visit," Jack said, and didn't say he'd force-feed her about five years' worth of Retcon, but then, Steven was still listening. "Not today."

"I want to go home," Alice said. "Thank you for coming for me. But Steven and I should get back. I've missed work, he's missed school." She glanced at her father. "You'll have fixed that, of course. Gone in and tampered the records."

"I'll have Albert cook something up when he gets back," her father promised.

"Good. Where's my car?"

The rest of them exchanged looks. Lois said, "We never found it. She may have towed it, or abandoned it somewhere we haven't looked."

Alice sighed. "I liked that car. I bought it the day you were released from hospital," she said to Ianto. "New life, new start, and all that."

Gwen sipped her adulterated coffee and frowned. "When was that, then?"

"Never mind," said Jack. "Steven's things are at ours. We'll go by, then drive you home." He sighed, and Ianto read the same half-sadness in his eyes before he hid the emotion away. His child would leave him again, too.

Jack drove the longer route back to the flat, extending the visit by a good ten minutes and not even running any traffic lights. Ianto had to know what he was doing, but Alice sat comfortably in the back, holding Steven next to her, and didn't object. She still hated him. He knew she did, and had, and would. She thawed a little more every week, every month, and possibly by the time Steven was old enough to marry, she'd return to liking her father again instead of merely tolerating his presence for the good of her son.

He pulled into the tiny car park beside their block. "Do you want to stay in the car, or come inside?"

"Inside," Steven said, even though he hadn't been the one Jack had asked.

The four of them walked into the building, Jack's nerves suddenly fraying. Something was wrong. He waved at Alice and Ianto. "Wait here," he said in a low voice, then walked up the flight of stairs alone. The door to their flat was open.

He pulled out his gun. He thought about shouting down to them, but didn't want to alert the intruders. Jack crept up to his door and looked inside. The flat had been turned upside-down. Books and CDs were all over the floor, the table and chairs were broken, as was one window, and the television was missing. The thieves were long gone.

"Come on up," he said. "We had a break-in." The door jamb was splintered, and had a kicked-in look to it. As the other three came to see, Jack noticed paint sprayed over the kitchen cupboards: graffiti too messy to read.

"Fuck," Ianto said, then covered his mouth with his hand as Alice shot him a look. "Oh, it's a mess. And the telly's gone."

Steven ran ahead to the little room he used. Alice followed. "It's messy," she called out, "but I think that's him."

Jack went back to their bedroom. The mattress had been tipped and the sheets slashed. Ianto stepped beside him, face falling. "None of the other valuables were taken. Not a normal break-in, then. Is it bad I'm praying it was a hate crime?"

"Not something to hope for," Jack said absently. He returned to the sitting room, toeing his boots through the mess until he found what he wasn't sure he'd been looking for. He grabbed a ruined antimacassar and picked up a broken piece of unfamiliar technology. "This wasn't our remote control. Got a bag handy?" Ianto ducked into the kitchen.

Alice came back out of the room. Steven had his suitcase. "We can stay a while until the police arrive."

"This wasn't a burglary. Someone targeted us. We'll tell the neighbours it was some hoodlums who saw us holding hands."

"Was it?"

"No." Jack showed her the item. He loved being able to identify the weird alien junk that washed ashore in his city, but he needed more research before he could definitively state where this one originated. "I told you, there are two gangs of aliens gearing up to start a war on my streets, and neither set likes me much."

"You do shoot aliens for a living."

Ianto came out of the kitchen and held the baggie open for Jack. "They take that personally."

Jack said, "You two can't go home. I can't guarantee they won't target you there."

Alice spread her arms. "We aren't staying here."

"It's all right. Steven and I found a place to stay." Ianto looked around, and Jack picked up on his worry. There was no telling what listening devices might have been left behind. "I'll just be a moment." He hurried into their bedroom, and Jack heard the sounds of his hurried packing.

"Dad."

"It's only for a few days. I need to know you'll both be safe."

"For how long, really? Until the next time you piss off someone important or green?"

"Alice, you just disappeared, and yeah, it was because of me. Can we not?" He went to the bookshelf and shifted it. Alice grumbled, then helped him move the heavy wooden frame to cover the broken window.

Ianto came out of the bedroom, an overstuffed suitcase in his arms. "Let's go. I'll tell you in the car. I'm driving. You can call Gwen and have her warn the others to be on their guard."

tbc