Torchwood: Divergence
Book Three: Rheoleiddiad

Chapter 1

By the time the rest of the team headed home at 8:30 pm, Ianto was feeling pretty much back to normal and was once more covering his duties as usual. He was fit enough in fact to go solo in the Hub again for a span, so Jack could go out to enjoy a little high vantage time. So, while the older man was gone, the T3 Archivist was cataloguing the recent weapon and alien artefact acquisitions. The job was nearly done, only two items remaining that needed to be scanned, categorised, labelled, and stored. His mobile rang as he was typing up the information on the first one, and he answered it distractedly, figuring it had to be his partner considering it was now half past nine.

"'Lo," the twenty-six-year-old called quietly, busily typing one handed.

[Ianto Jones?] a vaguely familiar voice queried uncertainly.

"Yes…" he replied hesitantly, pausing in his work. "May I please ask who I'm speaking with and how you got my mobile number?"

[This is Mary Cooper… Gwen's mother,] the woman explained. [Rhys left me his mobile when he dropped the baby off earlier today, told me to use the speed-dial for you or Captain Harkness if I had any major problems, and I found yours first… I'm not very good with his fancy phone.]

"Ah… sorry, Mrs. Cooper, I didn't recognise your voice," Ianto responded evenly. "How can I help you?"

[Well, I'm up in my room with Ebrill,] Mary stated simply. [And I have the door locked and braced, because there's a strange man with a fish head in my living room. He broke the lock on my kitchen door and started ransacking the place, so I slipped up the stairs with the baby. I thought of phoning the constables, but this seems a bit out of their scope.]

"Definitely," Ianto agreed with a grimace, remembering that the team had lost track of a Blowfish near Penarth the day before and had been waiting for it to resurface. "Stay on the line with me, Mrs. Cooper, I'm going to get help over to you as soon as I can."

He engaged his earcomm, praying that Jack had his turned on.

"Jack, we have an emergency," the young Welshman stated firmly.

[Ianto?] Harkness responded in surprise. [You okay?]

"I'm fine, but I've located that missing Blowfish," Ianto explained quickly. "Gwen's mother is currently barricaded in her bedroom with the baby, because Sushi-boy is running loose in her house right now. How fast can you get to her place in Mumbles?"

[Same place as the after-gathering?] the Captain asked grimly, the roar of the SUV's engine audible as he accelerated when he got an affirmative answer. [Tell her to stay on the line with you so we know what's happening, and not to worry if she hears gunfire. Barring a wreck or other catastrophe, I can be there in about twenty minutes.]

"Just don't roll it on a sharp turn, yeah?" Ianto insisted before putting his mobile to his ear again, knowing only too well the high speed that time frame would require. "Mrs. Cooper, Captain Harkness will be there in about twenty minutes to take care of the intruder. Just stay on the phone and let me know if your unwanted visitor tries to come upstairs or leave the house. And if you hear gunshots, don't panic, that will be Jack if the Blowfish refuses to vacate peacefully."

[I can still hear him rummaging about down there,] the woman informed him helpfully. [Do you think the Captain will actually have to shoot him?]

"His kind do tend to be pretty unreasonable," the young Changeling stated sadly. "Jack'll try to simply capture him, but if it comes to it, he will put him down. Making sure you and Ebrill are safe is the most important thing."

[You're a sweet boy,] Mrs. Cooper murmured. [You're the one who stayed to help after Geraint's funeral… the handsome young lad in the nice suit who watched after the baby. You're the Captain's boyfriend.]

"Yes, ma'am," Ianto confirmed, feeling himself blush.

[For the longest time, Gwen and Rhys talked about you as though you were dead,] Mary explained quietly, sounding rather confused. [She was always so sad when she mentioned your name. And he would get angry, blame the trouble in London a couple of years ago for you not being around.]

"I… was hurt in London," the young Guardian breathed hesitantly. "And very ill for a long time after because of it. The doctors didn't think I'd pull through… it took a lot of extremely specialised treatment to get me well again."

[Well, I'm glad you've better, dear,] the aging woman said gently. [You're obviously a good friend to my Gwen, and Rhys says you're the only one in the world that makes Captain Harkness happy.]

She chatted cheerfully about how her and her husband had been that way with one another, that it still seemed strange not to have him around the house. Time ticked by, then her tone suddenly changed.

[Oh, my…] she exclaimed quietly.

"Everything okay?" Ianto prodded worriedly. "Mrs. Cooper?"

[I hear shouting downstairs,] Mary whispered. [I think the Captain's here… Oh!]

The double report of Jack's Webley was audible even over the phone connection.

"It's alright," the young Welshman in the Hub reassured. "Just stay where you are. Captain Harkness will come up to let you know when it's safe."

[Oh, dear… the fuss has woken the baby,] the woman on the other end of the line tutted, Ebrill's uncertain mewling just discernible in the background. [I'm going to lay the phone down, is that all right?]

"That's fine," Ianto replied evenly. "I can still hear what's happening as long as the mobiles are connected."

A slight hiss in his right ear told him that his partner had activated his headset, and he could clearly hear every word now.

[Mrs. Cooper?] the American called, lightly rapping on the bedroom door. [It's Captain Jack Harkness. Is everything okay in there?]

[Mr. Jones told me that you might have to shoot the fishman,] Mary said as she unblocked and opened the door, obviously holding a sleepily fussy Ebrill. [Thank you for coming so quickly, Captain… What should I do now?]

[PC Andy Davidson is on his way here so there'll be a police report for your insurance,] Harkness explained. [He's our liaison with law enforcement, so he'll know the right things to write up. For now, I'd say stay here with the baby, let the special team coming in get things cleaned up in the kitchen. I'll wait until Andy arrives, then leave you in his capable hands.]

[Davidson…] Mrs. Cooper said slowly. [Would that be the same young man who was Gwen's partner before?]

[The very same,] Jack smiled. [And I see flashing lights out front, so that's probably him. I'll go give him the details and let you get poor little Eb settled again. Ianto… UNIT's enroute and I'll be heading back your way shortly.]

"I'll put some fresh coffee on," Ianto promised, then the comm went silent. "Mrs. Cooper?"

[I'm here, dear,] Mary responded, apparently picking up the mobile again.

"I might be able to help you settle the baby," the Archivist offered. "Can you put the mobile where she can hear me?"

[Listen, sweetheart,] Mrs. Cooper cajoled, obviously shifting the device. [It's your Mam's friend from work.]

"Hey, Eb," Ianto called gently. "Did all that racket wake you up, petal?"

[Frân,] the youngest Williams acknowledged, knowing his voice.

"Yeah," the young Guardian smiled. "I'm sorry we woke you… but everything's okay now. You don't have to be afraid of anything. Your Grammy's there to keep you safe, and Jack and I are looking out for you too. Can you go back to sleep now?"

[Seeps…] the now nineteen-month-old yawned.

"Good girl," her godfather encouraged. "You have good dreams, and we'll see you soon."

There was silence for a moment, then a shuffling sound.

[Little angel's gone right off to sleep again,] Mary whispered into the mobile. [Must be that lovely voice of yours. Thank you for everything, dear. I'd best go talk to the police. Good night.]

"Good night, Mrs. Cooper," Ianto replied, waiting for the call to disconnect on her end before closing down his own phone and touching the stud on his Bluetooth. "Jack?"

[Wow… that was almost really bad,] the Captain breathed. [Fish Head had wrecked the kitchen and part of the sitting room looking for who knows what, and was starting upstairs when I showed up. He ran for the kitchen, but instead of trying to escape, the idiot grabbed a filleting knife and threw it at me. It and the next two from the butcher block missed, but I didn't. Of all the places for that delinquent to break into, why did he have to pick the house that belongs to Gwen's mother? Especially now.]

"Maybe that was number three," his partner murmured with a slight frown.

['Number three'?] Harkness repeated curiously.

"You know… they say most people have bad things happen in groups of three," Ianto explained, heading up to start a pot of coffee. "Gwen's lost her father and had a miscarriage, all in the space of a couple of weeks. Maybe her mother's house being invaded by a rogue Blowfish is the third occurrence. In which case she should be done for a while."

[Let's hope so,] the older immortal responded quietly. [Her family really needs to catch a break. I'm about a fast forty minutes out… coffee and a couch cuddle when I get there?]

"Absolutely," Ianto smiled, getting the hot beverage going so he could finish his cataloguing. "I'll even fetch a blanket from the room for us to snuggle up in."

[I'm glad the Scieron got you all patched up today,] Jack admitted with a slight chuckle. [I was afraid to hug you too tight while you were still trying to heal, didn't want to accidentally hurt you. Boy, have I missed being able to hold you really close.]

"Me too," the young Welshman sighed. "As well as other things."

His lover laughed knowingly, then sobered again.

[You did a great job tonight, Ianto,] the American stated firmly. [Excellent co-ordinating to get me there asap, and really nice work keeping Gwen's mom calm through it all. I know she's a pretty tough lady… probably where her daughter gets it from. But still, if you hadn't taken just the right tone and kept her engaged, she could've panicked. You did good.]

"Okay… red may be my colour," Ianto smiled, always thrilled when he earned praise from his Captain. "But not when it's because I'm blushing."

Harkness laughed again, amused that he'd embarrassed the Changeling.

[See you soon, Tiger Pants,] he chuckled, shutting down the comms.

Ianto went back to the workstation to finish his cataloguing, greatly looking forward to his partner's return. Finally, it was back to business as usual at Torchwood.

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Welsh Bits:

Rheoleiddiad Regulation

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AN: Back again, just in time for Ianto's Birthday!

I started writing this in December of 2009, because I simply could not accept the horrific mistakes made in Children of Earth, especially the meaningless death of Ianto Jones. So, 'Torchwood: Divergence' was born. This is Book Three of Five. And as with Book One and Book Two, whether the rest of the Books get posted will depend on how this one is received.

There are Doctor Who characters in this story (even a few bits with Eleven himself) but it is not a Cross-Over.

I am an American and have yet to visit Wales or anywhere else in the UK. I compared 4 sites for the Welsh, so I hope it's okay. I did as in-depth research as possible to get the settings and terminology correct, but there are limits to that and this has neither been Brit-picked nor checked by a Beta. So, anything not quite right… let's just put it down to this having to be Alternate Universe and call it a day. I realise that how I perceive some characters may not please everyone, but anyone who dislikes it is advised to go read something else or write their own. NO FLAMERS.

I will only be able to post once a week, usually on Saturday.

I hope those who read Book One and Book Two enjoy this one as well.

Disclaimer: I make no profit from this story and own only the plot, and the main Aliens involved within it… a certain little dog and a few other creations… but all else is still the property of the BBC and He Who Shall Not Be Named (yeah, that's how I see him), I make no profit, and no copy-right infringement is intended.