Torchwood: Divergence
Book Three: Rheoleiddiad

Chapter 18

Jack and Ianto stepped away from the risers to the kitchenette, simply enjoying being back together in the Hub.

"What new toys are you two playing with?" Gwen called as she came down from the Hothouse with the watering can she'd left up there earlier, noticing her friends' good mood and feeling she should be a part of it.

Harkness glanced at the eternal twenty-six-year-old beside him, who gave a quick nod and nervous smile before heading toward the couch. The Captain still had his own keys in his hand, so he dangled them for Cooper to see.

"Ianto was busy on his time off," he smiled. "He took a comment of mine form before he left and ran with it. He and I now have a flat and a house for times when we want a little non-Torchwood space. Does he spoil me, or what?"

"You're joking," the raven-haired woman half-smiled, only to have her mouth drop open in irritation laced disbelief when he shook his head. "Okay, I suppose I can see the whole flat thing, but a house? It took Rhys and me ages to go through the process. There's no way it took less than a week."

"It's honestly more a small terrace house than a flat and actually took longer than anything, because the old farm house has been in my name for several years," Ianto explained quietly from a safe distance. "Torchwood-London assigned me to purchase a property in Wales for them to use as a 'safe' overnight a few weeks after I started working as Yvonne's PA. They covered all costs, but it was put under my name for security purposes. On that note, Jack… when I used my PDA to find the deed and original purchase information, I accidentally managed to access the Torchwood One bank accounts.

"They weren't password protected, just clearance level locked, but they all have a password and security monitoring attached now. The Institute in London just assumed in their typical fashion, that only the very highest-level employees would have the account numbers and routing information, and the Future Options Committee apparently didn't bother to change anything before they were dissolved by the Crown in the wake of the 456 debacle. There are three accounts here across Great Britain in addition to the one our budget comes out of, two in Switzerland, one in Canada, and one still in India. All very, very big and all now have both of our signatures on file, because I attached them via remote from our combined account. Other than the rates on the house, the caretaker's wages, and maintenance fees for a private storage facility I thought we should investigate later, nothing else is tapping them at the moment. So, they should make a good back up if Whitehall ever cuts their part of our funding."

"That's amazing," Gwen grinned, resisting the urge to go hug her young countryman, even as she wondered why her signature hadn't been included since she was T3's second in command. "God, you were busy."

The Archivist on the couch smiled and lowered his gaze, blushing slightly.

"Do you have any idea how many times Tosh tried to find those accounts after Canary Wharf fell?" Jack asked with a huge smile. "She dug for ages, but never found a thing."

"She didn't have her name connected to multiple purchases made from them," Ianto shrugged, trying to downplay the accomplishment. "My only advantages were my lazy boss not lowering my A2 clearance when I went from PA to Archivist, so I could access those purchase records and dig back from there, and that the London branch thought they needed someone who understood Welsh to make the transaction here. Plus, they had me do the same thing for various properties in and around London later, because I got such a good deal on the house. That's how I knew about the warehouse in Battersea when we needed a bolthole."

"Quite the coup none the less," Turlough put in from his station. "Though from the CCTV view of the carpark, I'd say that Jaguar comes a very close second."

"Did I hear right?" Martha called as she came up from the Autopsy Lab. "You scored a flat, a house, the T1 bank accounts, and a Jag?"

"I had a very good Estate Agent, know a brilliant Solicitor, and was incredibly lucky," the twenty-six-year-old Changeling smiled, looking even more embarrassed than he already had been. "So… catch any interesting aliens while I was gone?"

"We had more tech and plain rubbish come through than anything," Cooper stated, wandering back over to her workstation to sit down. "A few singing slugs, a three strong hunting party of Maws, the usual Blowfish, another lone Stonefish, a very confused Judoon soldier that UNIT's housing till they can arrange pick up for him, and… oh, yes… the sodding Arcturian Death Hound this morning."

"It took us nearly two full hours with the biggest guns it was safe to use," the team doctor complained. "The fact that you killed one last year when it was just Jack's H&K and your Scieron steel… wow. That thing was super tough."

"Makes me wonder who's at war the reason they've suddenly started coming through the Rift when they never have before," Harkness commented. "I just hope it's not because the Rift is expanding."

The cog-wheel door opened at that moment, admitting Lois and her over-sized bag of deli sandwiches.

"Let's hit the Boardroom," the Captain called, striding toward the kitchenette stairs as his partner rose from the couch. "Ianto and I will bring water and juice; you all grab a seat."

"Um, Gwen…" the young Welshman began tentatively. "Could you… come get the plates?"

The former PC nodded, recognising the effort to get things moving toward normal between them again and more than happy to accommodate. Everyone ended up in the Boardroom within a few minutes, Habiba parcelling out the wrapped sandwiches and packets of crisps. The conversation during the meal centred mostly on the new vehicle in the carpark, with joking comparisons between it and the 2010 Ford Fiesta Edge that Lois was now driving. When they were all done, Ianto automatically started clearing the table as most of the rest of the team headed out toward the Hub.

"I can get this," Habiba offered.''

"You fetched, I can carry," the resident Scieron Guardian smiled. "It's fine, really. Back to business as usual, and very welcome. Thanks for the offer though."

The young black woman returned the smile then exited to head back to the kiosk upstairs. Only their leader remained in the room with the younger immortal, his expression one of contentment as he watched his partner gathering all the rubbish into a bin liner and stacking the plates for removal.

"Why don't I take this stuff to the kitchenette," he suggested. "You can go change into work clothes, put your stuff away in the bedroom."

"You sure?" Ianto prodded, turning when the older man touched his shoulder and finding himself in his lover's arms.

Accepting the obvious invitation, the Changeling returned the embrace and engaged the American in a kiss that said just how much he'd missed him. When they finally drew apart, Jack held him close for a few more minutes and whispered his plans for the evening in the Welshman's ear. Chuckling, the two separated, the older man taking up the bin liner and stack of plates, his lover keeping the door open so they could both exit. Even though they now had other options, this was the place they both felt the most comfortable, the most connected to at this point in time. And for Ianto, it was good to be home.

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AN: Things are easing back to normal… but Gwen still seems to think it's all about her…

Real internet again! Yay!

Thank you to those reading the story. And thank you to those who have followed, favourited, and reviewed. NM