Spoilers: Combat

Beta-ed: TattoedLibrarian

Jack was enraged, he felt like a ping pong ball. It was like he had been tossed around, back and forth without stopping. For him the weevil combat began with Tosh. Her smugness was too much. She didn't even let him finish his sentences. It seemed like she had done everything he could think of, plus some things of her own.

The thing with Gwen and her boyfriend Rhys was just routine; he was used to jealous boyfriends, it seemed like everyone became that way around him. It was funny really, because most of the time he wasn't a real threat because there were enough people without strings to pursue. Strangely those same boyfriends would just look over Owen and he was a real threat. That reminded him to send Gwen home. If she wasn't smart enough to go straight home after a disagreement like that he was at least smart enough to send her home. That was just the kind of argument that ended countless relationships. He knew that nobody liked to stand there hanging while the other person was running away.

Of course Owen dozed off and ignored him completely. He wasn't his boyfriend and he wasn't going to let him treat him like one. If he wanted someone to give him the silent treatment he would find someone better looking. He was his boss and there was work to be done. These were the things that made it difficult for him to be a boss. It wasn't in his nature to discipline people; it would feel hypocritical of him. He liked his team to be strong headed but sometimes it was just pain in the ass the way they felt free to be insubordinate. Maybe he gave Owen too much space.

That's why he stood behind Tosh and gave her the spotlight. She really did shine that day and he decided that her efficiency was a good thing, and nothing annoyed Owen more than when Tosh won. Of course that even his tapping on her shoulder backfired on him. It was just one of those days when everything went wrong. She felt so self-assured that she openly challenged his decision. That got even worse when that damn Weevil Janet was lost. He liked Janet and on top of losing her to those cruel murderers he had to admit to Tosh that he'd reached a dead end. He didn't feel better when she didn't use her 'I-told-you-so' moment. Owen would and he could argue with him. This way he could just drive back to the Hub and wait Owen to call. They were almost there when Gwen called and saved him from walking around helplessly.

This way he could get there just in time. It wasn't a sweet victory but it was a victory and he wasn't the one to be petty. Janet wasn't hurt so Tosh couldn't hold his plan against him. The fights were over and the Weevils could get back to skulking around like they usually did; potentially dangerous aliens they had to capture from time to time. The leader was dead by his own will; Jack wasn't the one to ponder about that. It was one person less to deal with. Owen was alive, that was a plus too because it wouldn't be easy to find new doctor that was obsessed like he was. Of course he was able to resent his own survival.

"Do you always know what's best, Jack?" Owen's words followed him to the Hub. He forgot about the team, he just wanted to be alone, to remind himself why the hell he is doing this, for whom? Nothing he ever did got him anywhere but guilt, hurt. Sometimes it seems that there was nothing else in the world.

Of course in the Hub there wasn't silence. Gwen was there and she was crying. Damn Owen, of course it was him, who else would turn his trusted team member into a wreck. He probably did it just to disprove Jack's belief in her. She didn't mention Owen but it was all too obvious. He couldn't really get mad at her. He understood her far too well. He was the first in line when it came to loving more people at the same time. He never really understood 'the-one' issue but it seemed others were firm believers in monogamy so he played along, never really into a serious parade of couples. But Gwen believed in that too and she was really upset so he did his best in giving guidance about relationships. If he was in a better mood he would enjoy irony of it all. He was sure that some of his exes would enjoy this sight.

Speaking of that he looked at Ianto suddenly worried how this looked from his point of view. He seemed undisturbed. That came as a relief, the first in a long few days. He even made small nod towards the archives. Did he make a competition out of his not sleeping thing? If he did he would lose. He put Gwen at a distance because his thoughts of contests weren't neutral thoughts anymore and Ianto hadn't challenged him in far too long.

After Gwen ran off to save her relationship Jack went to the archives. He was walking slowly thinking about Ianto. He was part of the reason Jack was off balance lately.

He wasn't rebellious like Owen, or self-sufficient like Tosh, or even troubled like Gwen. In fact he wasn't troubled at all, and he should be, at least a bit. He didn't rebel and he always asked for pointers, even when he knew everything there was to know. In many ways he was the perfect employee. God, he even shagged the boss. The others were never open to that kind of stress relief. But still.

Jack caught himself watching the young man, trying to find out what he was thinking. Not about their arrangement, he had a good idea where they stood, but about other things. Like in this case, he took him out in the field, in the hospital and out on the chase. But even before that they were standing in the vaults and he talked to the boy about the Weevils. It seemed normal but it was the way Ianto listened that made Jack feel like he could tell him anything. And there in the hospital Ianto was sitting there eating grapes looking adorable and Jack was too soft on the scared man. There were so many things he could have done to him, he could get more, but he couldn't bring himself to be that man that died countless deaths earlier, especially in front of Ianto. And that was his problem with Ianto. Jack cared what Ianto thought of him. He didn't care about Owen's disapproval, Tosh's valuation, or Gwen's challenging. But Ianto's acceptance meant something to him and when they lost Janet last night Ianto's little sigh disturbed him more than the angry silence that Tosh had gave him. He didn't like that.