And now for the epilogue. Thanks to those who've reviewed.

Winding Down

Jack was delighted that his ruse had worked and was full of beans. His mood was infectious and the others were grinning at one another. It wasn't often that such a neat solution, involving no risk to Torchwood personnel, was available and they made the most of it. Activity at the beach was still going on an hour or so later, when Ianto made the rounds with more coffee. Toshiko and Gwen were at the desks while Jack was sprawled on the sofa, feet propped on the table. Owen was leaning against the wall near the entrance to the medical bay.

"Thanks," said Jack, taking the coffee mug. He smiled up Ianto and then beamed at the others. "We did good today."

"How do you think UNIT will react?" asked Owen.

"I think, no, I know, they'll be incandescent with rage," smirked Jack. He sipped the coffee which was just as he liked it, dark and strong. "After all, having one of their people implicated and their repository of alien energy sealed inside a HWCU container won't be easy to swallow. And no amount of pleading will get that container opened for at least a hundred years."

"What gave you the idea?" asked Gwen.

"I remembered Ianto's face when he had to deal with the Fenccisitian Tablet," he smiled at the young man again, "and thought why not get this one handled in the same way. With Tosh's nimble fingers, it was easy to persuade the authorities that chemical dumping was going on at the beach."

"And your phone calls giving anonymous tips were the spur to get everyone moving immediately," finished Toshiko.

"What's happened to the Jenkins lot?" put in Gwen.

"The sons, Gareth and David, were on the boat and have been detained. Carter, the UNIT guy, has been arrested at his home. The Jenkins daughter, Ruth, is being questioned and given her record I think it likely she'll be charged too," Toshiko answered. "No news on father Jenkins yet but he should be implicated."

"So they're all off the scene, for a bit anyway," said Owen. "Neat."

"Yeah and no-one knows we had anything to do with it," Jack said with satisfaction. "A good day's work all round."

"Work?!" scoffed Owen. "You've been bunking off at the beach all day!"

"Hey, I was working hard," protested Jack before grinning widely and adding, "on my tan!" The rest laughed, for once content to let him get the last word. "And seeing as we're all done here, why don't you all take off. No need to hang around any longer."

They were happy to accept this dismissal and finished their drinks and cleared up, leaving the Hub within about 20 minutes. Owen offered Toshiko a lift and it looked like they might make an evening of it; Gwen hurried home to change and make dinner for Rhys, a rare event these days.

Ianto took his time unpacking the hamper and washing the coffee mugs to ensure he would be alone with Jack. He walked to Jack's office where the latter was humming a tune as he flicked through the papers that had accumulated on his desk. He was standing with his back to the door, on the wrong side of his desk. Ianto stopped in the doorway and took in the sight; tight T-shirt topping snug shorts and shapely legs, very pleasing on the eye.

"Like what you see?" asked Jack without turning round.

"Very much." Ianto moved into the room, standing behind his boss and wrapping his arms round his waist. "You can keep those on for the rest of the night."

"All night?" queried Jack, laughing suggestively.

"Well, maybe not all night," chuckled Ianto.

That's the lot, hope you liked my little tale.