1

AN INTERROGATION ROOM

Sitting at the end of a long table facing us, Ianto Harkness-Jones. His eyes are hidden behind a pair of chrome-tinted Aviator glasses- has seen better days. Far... better... days. With his hands resting palms down upon a partially-destroyed, blood-stained Monet resting on the table before him, we notice a Mickey Mouse watch prominent upon his left wrist. His left ear is torn, lips cracked, nose shattered, one cheek slit, and the other bruised. His tie is loose, his white shirt and simple suit jacket stained with blood, caked with soot, and sodden with mud.

He looks like a corpse sat upright upon his seat, unmoving... until suddenly... Ianto reaches into his inner jacket pocket and retrieves a fresh packet of cigarettes. He unwraps the plastic and -as he taps it against his palm- realizes that the pinky and ring finger of his left hand are dislocated. Upon slipping free a cigarette, he places it between his lips, lowers the pack, reaches over, and snaps the fingers back into place.

Satisfied, he reaches into his right pants pocket and slides free a silver lighter -with an odd dent in its side from a bullet impact years ago- which he sparks to flame, expertly rolling it across his knuckles before lowering it down onto the table.

Ianto pulls in a deep drag, holds it, and exhales.

A beat... and he reaches into his left pants pocket to wield an old school can opener. As he holds it in his left hand -ignoring those attached to the pinky and ring finger- Ianto reaches into his right jacket pocket to retrieve a can of tuna which he solemnly opens, setting aside the lid.

Again, Ianto takes a drag, holds it, and exhales...as from his left jacket pocket he removes a kitten, placing it down to down on the table in front of him. Ianto lowers his hands back down upon the table -palms down- and shifts the cigarette from one side of his mouth to the other.

A long beat... and a voice asks "Just who the fuck are you?"

A long beat, then Ianto replies softly "Me?"

Again, the cigarette shifts to the other side of his lips, his cracked and bloodied teeth clenching down upon it as he grins. Another long beat, then he repeats "Me… I'm Nobody."

.

.

A SUBURBAN HOME - MASTER BEDROOM – NIGHT

Sleeping on his back with his hands folded upon his stomach, Ianto shares the bed with his husband Jack Harkness-Jones -forties, athletic, attractive save for the perpetual scowl. A wall of pillows -built by Jack every night- creates a physical rift between them which reflects their relationship nowadays.

Thump.

A beat... and Ianto opens his eyes. Stifling a yawn, he listens for a long moment. Nothing. Ianto rolls onto his side, closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and exhales as-Thump-Thump.

Ianto opens his eyes and sits up with a sigh. He runs his fingers through his hair and stands with a groan.

We follow Ianto out into the hallway where he pauses to glance into his daughter's room where Alice Harkness-Jones -nine years old, petite, swift to smile- continues to doze.

He then looks into his son's room... ...to find Blake Harkness-Jones -sixteen, stereotypical jock, a bit smarter than he lets on but not by much- laying on his side with his eyes open: he heard it, too. Ianto motions for him to stay and heads down into the foyer.

Ianto slows, listening to hear whispered voices. Still not putting two and two together, Ianto walks into the living room where he freezes at the sight of two thieves -one male and one female, dressed all in black, each wearing masks and thick gloves- who are in the process of ransacking his home.

Ianto ducks back out into the downstairs hallway moving slow and low to enter the kitchen where he reaches to pull a Putter from the golf bag leaning against the corner. He hesitates, slides it back, searches, and pulls free a Driver.

Shouldering it, Ianto lifts the phone from the receiver when-he grows still, turning to find himself staring down the barrel of an old .38-special- in the unsteady hand of the female thief.

A beat... and she motions for him to hang up the phone which he does with a nod. In the living room behind her, we see a male thief rooting around.

"Look... We don't want any trouble." Ianto says softly.

"Your money. Cash." The Female Thief pulls back the hammer with a CLICK. "NOW"

Ianto motions to the bowl which is full of change, dry cleaning tickets, loose keys, antique candy, crumpled bills, and who knows what else. "That's about it on that."

She mutters something under her breath and grabs a handful of the contents, stuffing it into her pocket.

" Sorry. I use a debit card for…" Ianto starts to say when he is interrupted by her seizing his arm.

The Female Thief holds up Ianto's wrist watch. Interrupting, she motions "Is this worth something?"

We see a flicker of shadow cross his eyes, but only just barely. He answers softly "To me. Sure."

As she slips the watch on, we see a tattoo of a dove upon her wrist.

"Look, I…" Ianto starts to speak again as Blake tackles the Male Thief to the ground and begins to pummel him. Both Ianto and the Female Thief react. As the Female Thief strides out of the room, Ianto follows, his knuckles white around the grip of the driver as Blake is choking out her partner.

"Get off him!" she screams "Now!"

Blake looks past her... ...to see his father emerging from the shadows behind her, moonlight glinting off of the driver. A grin crosses Blake's lips as -in this moment- he has "tunnel vision" and does not realize that the Female Thief has her gun on him. Blake's look devolves into dejection as Ianto -his gaze growing shallow as he takes notice of something only he can see- drops the driver to the floor... ...and steps out between them. Ianto's eyes are hard upon her own as he ignores the unsteady weapon in her hand now aimed at his chest.

" Son!" Ianto says, then takes a moment to be calm… a beat, then "Let him go."

Blake is incredulous "What?"

"I said... let him go."

A beat... and Blake releases the man with a scowl, shoving him aside to gasp for breath.

"Please." All turn to find Jack, with wide eyes (With both his vantage point and timing, Jack only witnessed the macro of the situation while Ianto perceived the slightest of details.) "Just... leave."

A beat... and the Female Thief lowers the pistol to be tucked into the pocket of her hooded sweatshirt. She strides past and pulls her partner to his feet before they exit through the front door.

Jack moves towards Blake, reaching for him "Honey, are you okay?"

Only for him to -frustrated- ignore his hand, pulling himself to his feet with a scowl. "I'm fine. You could have taken her, Tad."

Ianto stares through his son with a vacant look.

Blake shakes his head and he walks past "...Jesus..."

Jack tosses Ianto a fleeting glance.

He knows what could have happened here and hopes their son never does.

.

.

With a police car parked in the driveway, Jack -obsessed with worry- and Alice -exhausted and confused- look on... ...as Blake excitedly reenacts his engagement with the thief to Policeman #1 who jots a couple of notes down upon his notepad... ...while a rather bored- looking Policeman #2 looks on. Ianto stares at the overloaded trash can in the garage, an old cereal box having tripped the sensor to keep the door from closing.

Now that Ianto's wrist watch has been stolen, he is always playing with his sleeve or holding his left wrist in his right hand, almost as if he is hiding something.

Ianto glances towards Policeman #1 who is suddenly talking to him. Ianto blinks hard, focusing as sound suddenly returns. "Excuse me?"

"So, she took maybe twenty bucks and an old watch?"

"Yeah."

"And the golf club. You didn't even take a swing?"

"She had a..." Ianto's voice faded away, trailing off with a sigh "No."

Policeman # scoffs "Y' know, if it was my family, I'd have…"

Policeman #1 slaps close his notepad with a dismissive sigh, casting Policeman #2 a glare, shutting him up. Policeman #1 says "You did the right thing, Mr. Harkness-Jones."

His tone, however, does not match his words, his eyes unable (and unwilling) to meet Ianto's own. "We'll get out of your hair. (motions) Just keep that garage door closed, ok?"

"Yeah. "

As the cops turn to leave Alice and Blake head back inside. Jack, hugging himself, stares off after Ianto, who can't meet his gaze. This silent moment speaks volumes before Jack -desperate for Ianto to connect with him- turns to follow.

Ianto now finds himself standing at the end of the long driveway... alone.

.

.

THE BASEMENT

Ianto clicks on the light and walks down the stairs...into a veritable man cave of a sort. We see an old pinball machine, pool table, and large screen tv...along with a massive LP collection.

Ianto lies down on the sofa to stare up at the ceiling. A long beat... and Alice -dragging her blanket and a pillow, half-asleep- joins him.

Ianto smiles "Hey."

Yawning, she replies "Hey."

"Scared?"

Alice curls up next to him. "No. You?"

"Yeah."

"Don't be." Alice croons softly "I'm here."

Ianto smiles and holds her tight.

"Hey, Tad?"

"Yeah?"

Alice tells him matter-of-factly "We need a cat."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

Ianto mutters "Yeah, I was thinkin' the same thing."