A/N: It seems that the stats numbers went up. I'm glad you're reading it.

Spoilers: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

Beta-ed: TattoedLibrarian

Jack woke up in the dark feeling relaxed and fine. He hadn't felt like that in ages. Sadly he was still alone in bed, which had to be rectified soon. He jumped up and turned up the lights. His wrist strap informed him he had slept for three days straight. He even managed to dream out his days with the Master. He rarely had the opportunity to deal with it in such subtle ways like dreams. In years he spent on Earth he had learned to fear dreams, they brought sorrow, lost faces, and mistakes, this time he felt relieved, like all the time with the Master had been washed away. He tapped at his wrist strap and discovered that his team had come back; they were on the move, like always in action. He grinned and opened his closet. He was fed up with his light blue shirt; he'd worn it too long. Something dark, dark blue to bring out his eyes, and some water to refresh him, he missed the shower. Simple things like a mirror and blade to fool unsuspected visitors, like he needed to shave. He wondered how he would look like after a year if his beard had grown. Terrible he imagined and probably he would smell just as bad. 51st century had it privileges, so his smell became just more intoxicating making those around him dazed and have difficulty focusing.

He dressed, strapping his Webley on his side, he missed its weight. He was about to close his closet when he noticed a black bag in the middle. It didn't look like his, so he opened it. He was rewarded by Ianto's suit, clean and pressed. He smiled at that small trace of Ianto.

He climbed up the ladder and was greeted with stations and computers working. He opened up the speakers to hear their voices in the coms, coordinating hot pursuit. It didn't go so well. He called up footage of the `blow fish` how they called. He smiled understanding why they had difficulties. Slippery type's those aliens, unpredictable, and unstable, and when they go rogue there's no turning back, they only move forward into more madness. It was only matter of time before this one would start to shoot people; he'd done almost everything else. Breaking and entering, stealing, beating, threatening, the kill was his next move. After that there were no limits to what he'd think of next. Luckily their species wasn't a very imaginative one, they were truly dangerous only in companionship with someone with the creativity to hurt and destroy.

Jack called up the track of his movements from when they spotted him. He wasn't only fish like; he had in his genome certain patterns of behaviour that were hard to fight, especially in high adrenalin chases like this one. He teased his team luring them in. He had no plan, just mad will to be chased around. When prey becomes intelligent it was hard to sustain their need to be chased, even when they became dangerous ones. Just because he'd chased ones like this one before, a long time ago, Jack knew that when the chase would become more intense they would start to run in circular pattern, making eights that would proceed forward trying to wear out their pursuer before they ran out of space. Their home planet had very small oceans, which is why they had to adapt to firm ground before losing their fish like characteristics.

He was in luck, its pattern started to go into loop an hour ago and he would be able to catch up with his next loop easily, he wouldn't even need a car. Jack ran through corridors to the tourist office exit, he had no patience to wait on the elevator. As he paced Jack laughed loudly. He would have never thought that after the time spent with the Doctor he would miss running, but he did; standing still for a year made him crave for motion. He quickly got into a steady pace not even stopping to check his route, he knew every turn, fence to jump over and back alley to cut before them. He heard shots and that made him change his course, they cornered him before his destined hide out before bay water, jumping into the bay was last stand, they hated to go back into the water.

He arrived at the house with the open door and cars parked sideways. He stopped and listened in catching his breath. He got there in time to hear him challenge Ianto as a minion. He couldn't have that, him talking to his team so depreciatively. He entered, positioned himself behind Ianto, nobody noticed him, not even the blow fish. He aimed right beside Ianto's shoulder.

"Can you, dare you, would you" he repeated in irritating manner. "Won't you?"

Jack shot him. It felt liberating to be able just to shot, to act, not to stand behind all strapped up.

Ianto turned with his blue eyes bewildered, and they all saw him now.

"Hello kids, did you miss me" he said with a smile and then laughed with delight. It was so good to see their faces again. Especially Ianto's confused face, which was a rare treat.

Then there was a short silence, after that everyone started to move purposely; everyone except Jack. They collected the body, Retconned the family, Ianto got into car that blow fish had driven and Jack sat in SUV in a passenger seat, Owen was driving. There was a thick silence in the car, one Jack wasn't willing to break.

Back in the Hub the situation wasn't any better. They just moved around him like he wasn't there. He took off his coat, without help from Ianto, rolled up his sleeves, paced around slowly trying to think of a tactic, but it was obvious he would have to speak up first. They were united front once again. It was strange to see them so collected and calm, without disturbance of that lost year. He imagined them like Ianto described them in few short lines. Ianto looked sharper than ever, there was no curls sticking out, no weight loss; he looked better than ever, more secure, masculine. Ianto smiled fondly at Gwen making the sushi joke. They looked familiar.

"You've got pretty organized without me" he said with a smile trying to keep things light.

"Yeah we have to" Gwen answered bitterly.

"Have you decorated in here" he tried to divert her from the subject, but she didn't want to have none of that.

"You left us Jack" she pushed him against the door yelling and he knew he had to give them something, but he would rather keep most of it to himself.

"I know I'm sorry" he sighed acknowledging that part of blame, he did run off.

"We knew nothing, Jack" Gwen continued angrily, she wasn't the one to let it go.

"Where were you?" asked Tosh cautiously. He couldn't deny her the answer, he thought what to say and he even smiled standing here with his own loop closed.

"I found my Doctor" he said realizing that his long wait for the Doctor was over, he was free to live his life, not to wait for change.

"Did he fix you?" Owen asked softly professional and aware what that meant.

"What's to fix, you don't mess with this level of perfection" he joked back with his unchanging condition, he would stick with that attitude.

"Are you going back to him" Ianto asked quietly with slight emphasis on `him` studying Jack's face in wait for an answer.

"I came back for you" Jack answered honestly watching him closely trying to see his reaction, but then he looked around remembering how Ianto was careful and private, and just how that sounded so he took a deep breath "all of you" and he did come back for all of them.

Then there was a Rift alarm and everybody started to move again turning their eyes from him. This time they included him a bit more. Jack drove the SUV, Owen sat beside him, and Ianto sat behind with Gwen and Tosh, there was no suggestion for any of them to be left behind.

Feel free to review, it does cheer me up.