"Morning, Jack. Didn't really expect to see you in. Figured you'd be spending the whole weekend with your boyfriend."

"Had to give him some kind of time on his own," Jack shrugged. "Not really fair, monopolizing someone's time. Besides, you guys have been doing extra work while I've had nights off. That's not fair, either."

Andy narrowed his eyes at Jack. "Don't give me that shit. What's goin' on? Bit of a barney or what?"

Jack shook his head. "Nothing like that, Andy. Everything's fine, really. I did want to give him some time, don't want to be the clingy boyfriend. Not my style."

Andy smirked. "Yeah, only you look like you wish it was your style."

Jack just sighed.

"You know, you could take advantage of the quiet. Never know when we're going to have weeks of round-the-clock Rift activity. Might get some quantity time while you can."

"I could say the same to you."

"Yeah, only I haven't got a girlfriend, or whatever, have I?"

"It isn't just a relationship that makes a life worth living, Andy. Take it from me. Don't sit around waiting for that sort of thing to come along before you start living your life."

"You don't talk like that very often, boss."

"Don't take it for granted, Andy. That's all I'm saying."

"Alright, then. I was thinking of popping out for a coffee. You want one as well?"

Jack smiled. "No, thanks. Don't think I can go back to shop coffee."

"Why's that? Health alert I haven't heard of?"

"Nah. You haven't had Ianto's coffee," Jack grinned. "I've lived a long time, had all sorts of coffee. Never had a cup like his, though."

"Can't get us some of that, can you? Save me deciding between instant or dropping 3-pound-90?"

Jack laughed. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks. I'll be back in a few, then. Anything else I can pick up while I'm out?"

"Nothing I can think of, Andy."

"Right. Well, ring if something occurs to you."

Jack nodded and switched on his computer monitor, hoping to find an evening when the Rift had nothing planned for them. He already wanted to phone Ianto and plan something, just to hear his warm voice while he was sat in the cold, damp Torchwood Hub. Jack fiddled with his mobile for a moment before sighing and shoving it into his desk drawer. He was so not doing clingy!

Ianto sat at the kitchenette, trying to convince himself that he was reading the paper and only glancing at his mobile every minute to check the time. After nearly 10 minutes, he let out a long breath and told himself he was being ridiculous. Jack would ring when he had time. Until then, it was silly, sitting around his flat like a bored puppy.

Picking up his mobile, Ianto selected Tosh's personal mobile from his contacts.

"How you feeling, then? I didn't hear from you yesterday, so I presumed you were alright," Ianto said, setting down the pizza and beer he'd picked up on the way over.

"I'm fine, Ianto," Tosh said. "Still kind of rattled, though, to be honest. I never drink that much… but I still don't remember hardly anyhing from that night. I have a vague impression of you and your boyfriend arriving, but… nothing after that at all."

"Did you go to a clinic, have your blood tested for something?"

"I did. It was seriously embarrassing, telling them I'd blacked out, but they found nothing unusual in my system. So I guess it wasn't some drug, which makes me feel a bit better. Guess I'd best watch the drinking though," Tosh said, looking doubtfully at the bottles Ianto'd brought.

"Tosh, I'm here. It's just one for each of us, yeah? If you look sick off of that, I'm taking you to hospital myself. Alright?"

"Yeah. I'm just being paranoid." Tosh took a couple plates out of the cupboard and passed one to Ianto. "What are we watching, then?"

"I thought we could go retro? 'Singin' in the Rain'?"

"That's one of my favourites," Tosh grinned.

"Mine as well."

"So, how was the rest of your Friday night?" Tosh asked, queuing up the DVD and joining Ianto on the sofa. "Apart from having to get me home."

"It was fine," Ianto said, taking a swig of lager. "Actually, Jack stayed at mine and we… kinda ended up talking a lot."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. About… ourselves, you know? Sharing those secrets that…," Ianto took a long breath. "I dunno. The things that, deep down, make a person who they are."

"That sounds really deep."

"It was," Ianto nodded.

"Does that mean it's getting serious, between you two?"

"I think it does, Tosh. At any rate, 'I love yous' have been exchanged. That's pretty big in my book. In his, too, I think."

"I'm so happy for you, Ianto," Tosh said, squeezing Ianto's hand. "You really deserve this in your life."

"Thanks, Tosh. I didn't really expect it, you know, with him. When he asked me for a date, I thought, no way, this guy's way too hot to be for real."

"Don't sell yourself short. And now I really wish I could remember more about him. All I've really got is this very vague, foggy impression of a tall American walking in with you."

"That sucks, seriously. Maybe that pub just had a bad bottle going around or something… a lot of people seemed really out of it when we were leaving. Not just you."

"Who knows."

"Well, maybe you can meet Jack again some time. We could get together for a round of pool some evening."

"Are you sure about that? Some men don't handle losing to a girl very well."

"Not all men are Owen Harper, thank god. I doubt Jack would have that problem."

"I'm sure that's true. He'd have to be a gentleman to be dating you, after all," Tosh smiled.

"Jack!"

"Huh? What?" Jack jumped up from behind his desk, halfway to his coat before Rhys's laugh registered. "What?"

"Nothing, I was just trying to ask you if you wanted something for supper, but you've been sat there staring into space for something like an hour."

Jack took a breath. "Sorry, Rhys. Any suggestions for supper are fine with me."

"What's up, Jack? I've never seen you distracted like this."

"It's nothing. It's fine. Really."

Rhys hesitated. "Is everything alright with you and Ianto?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Yes, we're fine. Honestly, you and Andy are exactly alike."

"Alright. I just thought maybe actually seeing the Hub on top of everything else put him off or something."

"No, he was fine with it." Jack sighed. "Actually… it is sort of related, though."

"Uh huh?"

"According to Ianto, we're not very good housekeepers around here."

Rhys gave Jack a sheepish look. "Yeah, I haven't been keeping up with the place as much as I'd like… between the filing that's backed up and the mechanical maintenance…."

"I wasn't blaming you, Rhys. It's all of us, me included. I know we're short-staffed." Jack frowned. "Ianto… um, kinda volunteered to give us a hand around the place."

"What kind of a hand?" Rhys asked.

"Cleaning, tidying up."

"Great! When's he start?"

"No way, Rhys! I put him off, told him we could talk about it later, but I have no intention of -"

"Jack. It would be a good idea, if you think about it."

"No," Jack said firmly. "His knowing about us is one thing. I'm not bringing him on the team, though."

"Why not?"

"Rhys! How can you ask why not?"

"He wouldn't need to be a field agent, Jack. We need the help around the Hub. You know he does archives as well, right? He might just be a perfect fit for us."

Jack shook his head. "It's not just the danger in the field. You know what this place is like. It isn't much safer in here half the time. And he'd need training… clearance…."

Rhys just raised a brow at Jack.

"No. Definitely not. No way," Jack said, sitting back down at his desk.