Here's a tale that explores the relationship between Jack and Tosh, with a little bit of Jack/Ianto thrown in. It's set just after To the Last Man. Oh, and did I mention Jack's in shorts ...

1. The Car

Toshiko Sato squirmed; she did not feel comfortable in the car. She looked over her shoulder at the back seat but saw nothing other than her jacket lying there. She turned back to face forward and watched the road and other vehicles. After a while she turned her head and looked out of the side window at the suburbs of Cardiff, bright in the late summer sunshine. Finally, she looked to her right at the driver, the real source of her discomfort.

"Have you forgotten something?" asked Jack Harkness, well aware of his companion's unease. "'Cos if you have, we're not going back."

"No, we've got everything," she said then added. "I still don't know what I'm doing here. Gwen would be much better at this than me. Or the others."

He laughed. "Come on, Tosh. It's a day out. The sun is shining and all's right with the world."

Toshiko was not convinced. She had been uneasy ever since Jack had mentioned this trip the day before. He had received a tip from a reporter on the Western Mail that a local family was up to strange things at Ogmore Beach. Taken in conjunction with other rumours, Jack had been suspicious and had determined to take a look at what was going on. Toshiko had no idea why he had chosen her to accompany him; her place was in the Hub, at her computer. Despite her protests, and Gwen's pleas to go instead, Jack had remained firm that he wanted Toshiko to accompany him.

So it was that Jack had arrived at her flat at 8.30. He had taken one look at her jeans, jumper and ubiquitous leather coat and sent her back to change into something 'more summery'. After several attempts, he had finally agreed to her wearing a T-shirt, a faded cotton skirt and pumps, topped off with a denim jacket she had found buried at the back of the wardrobe. She would not have minded being made to change quite so much if he had been similarly dressed but, no, he had been in his usual 1940s style shirt, trousers and boots. A secretive smile was all she had received when she had pointed this out.

"We should be there in about an hour," Jack said. His eyes were on the road. "We'll park a way up the beach and walk up, as if we're just trippers out for the day. Just nice and leisurely."

"What are you expecting to find?"

"No idea. Just have a gut feeling that something's not right." He glanced at her. "Did you find out anything from your searches?"

"Yes, the family is quite well known." Tosh opened up her laptop which was on her knee: she never went anywhere without it. She read from the screen as she continued, "The Jenkins family were fishermen for generations but with the downturn in the industry they've diversified into tourist trips and salvage. They have four boats; three for tourist day trips and a fairly modern salvage tug." She paused. "They appear to be doing well but they've always sailed close to the wrong side of the law."

"Like what?"

"Well, the head of the family is Emlyn, 63 years old and a hard man by all accounts. He's had run-ins with the police all his life, mainly threatening behaviour, drunkenness and handling stolen goods but there are unproven claims that he's involved in smuggling and lately piracy. Originally it was cigarettes and booze but now its DVDs and CDs with possibly some drugs. He has two sons. Gareth, 45, and David, 38, both in the same mould as their father. Gareth was in gaol for assault, served two years, but has been clean since he got out. David has got close to gaol a couple of times but has managed to avoid it so far."

"My contact, the lovely Sam, said something about a daughter." Jack smoothly accelerated around a car full of children and luggage, enjoying the feel of the powerful Mercedes-Benz engine. He had decided to hire a car to avoid anyone linking them to Torchwood.

"Sam? I thought you and Ianto were ... well, together now," Toshiko prompted. Ianto had indicated, over beer and pizza late one evening, that since Jack had returned from his trip with the Doctor, he and Ianto were seriously involved. "Things seem to be pretty serious between you two."

"We're good, yeah." He lapsed into silence, a private smile playing across his face. He thought of the last few nights they'd spent together and his smile became a grin. "Very good," he said finally.

"So why are you chasing this Sam?" Toshiko pressed. She liked Ianto, she'd didn't want him misled by Jack.

"I only remarked that she's lovely, which she is. I think it's because she's so small, only just five foot; I like small women," he winked at the diminutive Toshiko. "And red curly hair is a definite turn-on." He paused, giving all his attention to the road as a car pulling a swaying caravan overtook a van. He gave them plenty of room and then powered past both vehicles. "How did we get onto this?" he asked. "Why is my love life so interesting all of a sudden?" He flicked a glance at Toshiko who was staring out of the windscreen.

"It was just an observation," she replied coolly. "Ianto's my friend; I don't want to see him hurt." It was silent in the car for some minutes.

"I believe I was asking about the Jenkins daughter," said Jack, having decided not to respond. His relationship with Ianto was not something he felt like talking about.

"Yes, her name's Ruth. She's 28, a lot younger than her brothers. She runs the tourist side of the business and is quite ruthless. The Jenkins' operation – Bay Cruises – was in competition with Cardiff Cruise Boats. However, 18 months ago the latter started having difficulties. No-one would work for them and their boats were damaged as well as their on-shore base. Finally, some illegal drugs were found at their offices following a tip-off, anonymous of course. The owner claimed the Jenkins' were behind it and the police reports show they thought Ruth was heavily involved, but there was no proof. Cardiff Cruise Boats went out of business, although no-one was prosecuted, and Bay Cruises has been the sole operator since." Toshiko pressed more buttons on her laptop. "Ruth has also had problems with the Inland Revenue, like her father. Seems there's some serious tax evasion going on."

"What a lovely family," Jack commented. "Anything else?"

"One interesting fact that may have a bearing on these rumours. Ruth is married to a Christopher Carter who is the Quartermaster at the local UNIT base. We don't have a huge amount on him yet, Gwen is using her contacts to find more."

Jack whistled, "So there's a connection with UNIT? That could well be important. Good work, Tosh," he smiled across at her.

"There's more. I've got various ..."

"Keep it for later," Jack interrupted. "Let's enjoy the lovely day and this beautiful car. There's a service area about 20 minutes from the Beach. We'll stop there, have a coffee and I can get changed into my beach attire." He beamed at Toshiko, looking suspiciously like the cat that got the cream, "You'll like my beach attire!" He waggled his eyebrows at her.

Toshiko knew that if Jack was in this mood at only, she checked her watch, 9.15 in the morning, it was going to be a looong day.