Welcome to my first attempt at a multichaptered fic. It's not brilliant, I'll admit, but the plot smacked me in the face whilst I was doing coursework and I couldn't resist. Whether I write any more for this story depends entirely on the opinions of you guys. So please read and review. :) x

SPOILERS: Set post-Exit Wounds so some for Series 2, also after Journey's End so spoilers for that too. I regret nothing and you have been warned.

DISCLAIMER: This bit annoys me but I will never own any part of Torchwood, because its RTD's baby to create and destroy as he pleases. If Torchwood belonged to me there would have been a lot more Janto action. And i would join in. ;)

Chapter 1: Morning, Mr Jones

Ianto Jones slowly and reluctantly roused himself from sleep, glancing fuzzily at the alarm clock as he did so. Seven thirty in the morning. It was positively a lay-in, by Torchwood standards. With a muffled groan he sank back into the pillow and his eyes travelled down to the space next to him. Empty, for once. He felt a pang of guilt for leaving Jack alone in the Hub last night but Jack had insisted that he go home to rest; the three of them had been stretched and overworked since the incident with Owen and Tosh, and, he thought with a smirk, lets face it, being lover to Jack Harkness was exhausting in itself. Hence the reason he was occupying his own bed.

With the realisation that he'd better go to work before Jack got too restless (and only slightly embarrassed to admit that he missed his boss's insatiable libido), Ianto swung out of bed and sloped over to the mirror that was in the corner noticeably sparse bedroom. His reflection revealed a side of Ianto Jones that would shock anyone who knew him personally, except Jack. Hair tousled so that it stuck up on one side, the shadow of stubble underneath his chin, a slightly brain-dead look about him, and body language which translated into 'its- too- early- for-me-to- be -happy -so–stop- smiling' – morning-Ianto was not a suitable face for polite society, and so he worked tirelessly to correct the zombie. Forty-five minutes later, breakfasted, showered, and dressed in the suit that tended to make Jake salivate, he was ready to leave the flat, complete with his lunch in a Tupperware box. As soon as his front door was closed, Ianto Jones locked away normality and prepped himself for yet another day of harassment coupled with alien madness.

And so Ianto began his daily pilgrimage to the Bay. Although it would have been faster to go by car, he walked along the Cardiff streets (the nice ones, not the dingy and dark alleyways which his job forced him to frequent at night) and revelled in the clarity the commute provided his thoughts with, happy to completely randomise them. His flat wasn't admittedly in the nicest part of the city, but it was still a damned sight better than his old Newport estate, not that he'd ever mention it to Rhi; Ianto's sister was a lot prouder of their roots than he was, having stayed while he scarpered off to London for the supposedly high-life. As he moved into the city centre, he passed the giant John Lewis and smiled. Now that was a fun weevil hunt. It had been just him and Jack causing havoc in the middle of the night; they had tried to clean up after, but then Jack had got distracted in the lingerie section and, well, one thing led to another. Storing the memory in a special compartment of his brain, Ianto noticed he was about ten minutes away from work. He paused for a second to squint at his reflection in the window of someone's Porsche. The image was distorted, but he still looked impeccable. And he wouldn't have it any other way. Jack would though. Jack saw it as his job to make Ianto messy. Either that or strip him naked, Ianto snorted to himself.

Precisely ten minutes later he was in the Tourist Information Office door and heading down to the Hub. Trudging down the last of twelve flights of stairs, he made a note to force Jack to install another lift before passing through the security scanners. In the short delay before the giant cogwheel door opened he remembered that he still hadn't fixed the klaxon that was supposed to go off with its opening. Bloody dalek.

When the door did open however, he saw that the klaxon was the least of his problems. In fact, he just wanted the door to close again, if not just to hide behind. The Hub was an absolute tip. There was all manner of paperwork on the floor – stuff that had been previously organised in a precise fashion, he mentally hastened to add – smashed coffee mugs with their contents spilled carelessly on everything in reach, and a broken computer screen. He could never fix that, not without Toshiko. It made Ianto feel sick, starting something within him that Owen used to call his 'Princess Mode'. Ianto saw red.

'JACK HARKNESS' He yelled, fury emanating from his every pore, 'GET YOUR SORRY BACKSIDE OUT HERE NOW!'

He was greeted with silence. A worrying silence.

'Come on, Jack, I know you're here. Hiding will not help your cause, trust me.' Ianto was calmer now, but he kept his voice low and dangerous because he knew it would scare Jack.

Still no reply. Jack was never this sheepish. Ianto started panicking, six million questions racing through his head. 'Who broke in? Is Jack ok? How did they get it? Is Jack dead? Do I call Gwen? Can Jack come back this time? What species hates us now? Where the hell is Jack?'

In his nervous wanderings he'd pretty much covered most of the main Hub, and whoever had been here was long gone as far as he could tell. Or hiding he thought. Slowly, Ianto moved to investigate Jack's office; he knew every nook and cranny of this place and he was going to be damned if he couldn't find the intruder. It was why he always won naked hide and seek.

Removing his gun from its holster, he sprung into the office, sweeping the room as he did so. Nothing so far. Then he looked down.

Jack's clothes were crumpled in an untidy heap at Ianto's feet; belt, braces, greatcoat, the lot. Oh no you didn't Harkness Ianto thought, storming over to Jack's manhole with intentions of berating him until Ianto received a very sincere apology, complete with begging for forgiveness. He was just about to rip open the cover that concealed Jack's love nest when he heard a small and pathetic whimper coming from the mound of clothing behind him.

Turning, Ianto saw a small cocker spaniel emerge from beneath Jack's undershirt. A puppy, in fact. It was looking slightly scared, but also a little curious at the same time, which was something which Ianto couldn't help but love. Gingerly, he picked the puppy up, at the same time wondering how a dog managed to bypass the security systems and trying not to think who else may have got in if that was the case.

Ianto lifted the puppy up higher, towards the light, taking in its features to see if there was anything unusual about it. Nope; small and brown with floppy ears, it, or rather he, was definitely dog-like. Although its eyes were very interesting, if not familiar. They were a cold grey-blue, like the North Sea, like…

Suddenly, his head started to hurt; it was like someone was scrabbling around in there, trying to find a something to hold on to. The dog, it seemed, was capable of telepathy. He nearly dropped it through shock.

'Ianto! Finally someone who actually bothered to come in today!'

Ianto looked at the dog again. Suddenly he knew whose eyes those were.

'Jack!' he whispered in surprise.

'Hey there, handsome.'

Ianto looked around the office and then back at the cocker spaniel. And again. Realisation dawned upon him; his thoughts were best summed up in one word.

'Fuck.'

Let me know if you want me to continue. Reviews are much appreciated, good or bad. MC. x