After lunch, as he and Ianto walked down the bayside boardwalk in a misty rain, Jack reached out for Ianto's hand. "What am I facing?" Jack asked as they approached the tourist office.
Ianto glanced over. "What do you mean?"
Jack took a deep breath. "Are they angry at me? What were things like while I was gone?"
Ianto gave Jack's hand a squeeze. "You're their Captain. Our Captain. It wasn't easy without you, but from what I've gathered, that's because you were a good leader. There were still difficult situations, but your leadership helped immensely. And the reason we've got through it till now is also down to your leadership. Andy and Rhys were able to work together with us to keep everything functioning because there were some solid practices in place."
Jack let out a breath. "Here I always thought we were winging it."
Ianto ignored Jack's attempt at levity. "We were worried, Jack. That was the main thing. I think the best thing would be to call a team meeting as soon as we go in. We all need to debrief and regroup and be ready to adjust to new dynamics the next time we're called out to save the world."
"It's really hot when you talk sense like that," Jack said, turning on the charm.
"Nice try," Ianto smirked. "Come on. I'll put coffee on," he said, unlocking the door.
Jack immediately took a half step back, looking around at the little front office. "It… it looks nice in here…."
Ianto's smirk turned a little more proud. "That's because this is my territory. Along with the archives. Which are still 80% a bloody disaster, but I'm making progress."
Jack stared at Ianto admiringly. "Wow."
"Yeah. Wait till you see the rest."
"Huh. Ok," Jack nodded, letting Ianto go ahead of him to open the hidden door that lead to the lift. "Hey, Ianto?" Jack said as the lift doors closed behind them. "You're with me, right?"
Ianto just smiled, nodded, and took Jack's hand.
Jack's grin broadened as the lift doors opened, the alarm went, and the cog door rolled back. He had really missed the Hub, something he'd never have believed possible. Something was markedly different, though, Jack thought. It wasn't just that Ianto apparently ran a very tidy ship – another thing he'd never have believed possible – but something in the air…. Jack turned to Ianto. "The air is dry in here. It's never been dry in here!"
"Dehumidifiers. All primary levels," Ianto shrugged. "Draws down the moisture and condenses it. We added triple-purification filters and recirculate the water throughout the Hub. We now have the cleanest drinking water in the European Union. I test it weekly. The quality of the air down here was harmful to the archives, let alone the humans, and the water down here was doing unforgivable things to my coffee grounds. I also fixed the heating."
"Yeah… I can tell," Jack said, a bit mystified at the improvements. "Last time the heating worked in here was… December 1962. It conked out right before the New Year, just in time for that freak century blizzard. I've never been convinced the Xartnec who turned up repeatedly that winter didn't bring the weather and knock out our heating, just to be annoying."
Ianto gave Jack a raised brow and rolled his eyes. "Just as I suspected, then. The reason the heating went out was that no one bothered changing the filter. And clearly, in 50 years, never bothered checking that was the problem either."
"Oh…."
"Alright, Jack?" Rhys called, coming out of the greenhouse and glancing between Jack and Ianto. He didn't want to ask right out, but after that confrontation in the field the night before, he rather expected significantly more tension.
"Yeah, Rhys," Jack called back with a nod. "Everything's alright. I hope," he added quietly. "Where's everybody, Rift call?"
"No, it's been a quiet morning. Andy and Tosh are working on some tech research thing, down the archives. John's not been in yet."
"Call him, please. I want to have a team meeting in 30 minutes or so." Jack took a deep breath. "You all deserve an explanation from me."
Rhys hesitated a moment. "You're sure, Jack? If it's none of our business, it's none of our business, you know."
"I know, Rhys, and thanks. But, yeah, we need a meeting."
"Ok. I'll get on it."
"Thanks, Rhys. Can you get Ianto's swipe card and weapon as well? He'll need them."
Rhys nodded and gave Ianto a grin, but said nothing more about it.
"Coffee, Rhys?" Ianto asked before Rhys set about gathering the team.
"Have to ask?" Rhys laughed.
"Nope, just a formality," Ianto smiled, heading to his coffee corner.
Jack stood aside for a moment, taking in how smoothly things seemed to be operating, like there'd never been an interruption. He wasn't surprised that Ianto got on well, but he seemed so… natural within the Hub. And maybe the improvements to the place weren't just in air quality and cleanliness.
Jack realized he was standing about at a loose end and decided to go see what the state of his office was these days. Before he was halfway up the stairs, Andy and Tosh emerged from the lower levels and Jack stopped short. Andy had his arm around Toshiko's shoulders and she was holding his hand in a way that definitely suggested more than just warm camaraderie. Apparently, Jack had just as much to catch up on as his team did!
Jack continued up to his office and a couple minutes later, Ianto caught him up with a mug of coffee on offer. Jack hadn't yet stopped staring at his desk. Everything was just as he'd left it… except that on his desk was a tidy stack of bound reports, half a metre high.
"What are those?" Jack asked faintly, finally finding his voice.
"Daily reports," Ianto said, and Jack groaned. "Take it easy," Ianto smirked, picking up the top book. "Each book is a month's worth. I've broken them down by week, by day, and by individual's report. Each week has a summary report and there's a monthly overview as well at the beginning."
"Really?"
"Yes, of course."
"That's… a really good idea. Think you could keep on doing it that way? Would make it a lot easier for going back and referencing -"
"It would, wouldn't it? I see no reason why I couldn't continue compiling your reports this way. After all, it's how I'm doing them for the archives. Mind you, though, that doesn't mean you're going to get out of reading them – and writing them."
Jack pouted pitifully, hoping to soften Ianto up.
"Behave and drink your coffee, Captain," Ianto chided, replacing the report book.
"Here I was starting to think this might actually be a good idea," Jack grumbled, sitting down behind his desk and opening the drawer. His keyring was inside, just as Ianto had said the night before. "Hey, um… the loft?"
"Untouched. Except for dusting. Cleaned out the fridge and your cupboards, though. Wouldn't do to have mice or bugs."
"Wouldn't do in the least. Thank you for taking such care of things. It's not in the job description, you know?"
"Maybe not for the GSO job, but I have it on good authority that it is part of being a good boyfriend."
"In that case, you deserve a rise," Jack grinned, standing up and kissing Ianto soundly.
"Pay's good," Ianto smiled. "We should get over to the board room."
Jack nodded and started toward the door, then turned. "What about my bunker?" he asked, pointing at the ladder.
"Just dusted there, as well." Ianto stopped a moment, frowning a bit. "I, um… a couple times I had slept there, actually. I was just so tired…. I didn't go through any of your things, though."
"Don't be worried about it, Ianto. In fact, any bed of mine is a bed of yours, even without me in it – standing invitation."
"What, exactly, are we here for?" John complained, slumped in a chair at the far end of the table and shielding his eyes. "We know he's back. What's the point of –"
"The point is getting the team on track, sunshine," Rhys barked louder than normal, and John winced. Andy and Tosh just politely hid their amusement as much as possible. "No better than you deserve. Shouldn't even be having hypervodka in this star system."
"Moved the board room?" Jack noted, strolling in with Ianto. "Not a bad idea. It's more defensible down here. Let's hope that's never an issue, of course. So… lot of changes around the place. So far, all look long overdue to me. Welcome aboard, by the way," Jack said to Tosh. "How's the job change working?"
"Quite well, thanks. The mainframe here is… well, just about the most incredible thing I've ever seen."
Jack grinned and nodded. "We'll have a lot to talk about. We all will," he said, addressing the full team again. "I don't doubt that it'll take a little time for everybody to get back on just the same page, so just don't worry about rehashing anything if necessary." Jack cleared his throat and took a seat. "I owe you all an apology, as well as my gratitude for keeping this place going without me. The fact is, I never intended to be gone for more than a few hours, and that's why I didn't tell anyone I was rushing off. I fully expected it to be no more than, say, taking a run out to Swansea. When things… got delayed, I wasn't able to get in contact with any of you about it."
"Noticed you didn't bring back that hand in the jar," Andy mentioned quietly.
"Yeah. It's back with its original owner," Jack said.
"So it was the Doctor?"
Jack nodded.
"Could he fix it?"
"No," Jack said blankly.
"And why couldn't I get you on the…," John piped up before Andy could start the wave of condolences, waggling his left wrist.
Jack sighed. "Well, firstly, because the Doctor's TARDIS literally went to the end of the universe to try to shake me off, after which a bunch of stuff happened that nearly lead to the end of the world, and secondly, because shortly after we returned from there, we ended up on a UNIT ship where I was held captive for a year – which, fortunately, was largely reversed because trust me when I say that nothing good happened that year."
Ianto sat silently, thinking that if he ever met this Doctor, there was going to be quite the account to settle.
"But now that everything ok," Jack continued before there were too many questions, "I have a proposal to make."
"Bloody hell, Jack!" John complained. "The whole bloody team doesn't need to be kept abreast of your romance with Eyecandy."
"I was referring to business proposal, of sorts," Jack retorted, though he had to admit it was a rather good idea.
"What d'you have in mind, Jack?" Rhys asked, hoping to head off any Time Agent snipe-fights.
Jack stood up again. "There's one other change that's long overdue around here. We need a medic." Jack opened his wrist strap and projected a profile onto the screen. "Meet Dr. Martha Jones."