Told you I'd try harder! Unfortunately I have a dissertation to write as well :/ Don't you worry though. I won't abandon you again!

A year had passed since Ianto Jones first started at Torchwood. Rhiannon had moved out and into her own flat with Johnny, the proud parents of Mica Davies. Johnny, of course, had been delighted when Rhiannon had told him that she was expecting and he had immediately started saving up for a down payment on a place of their own. Ianto was happy to see his baby sister so happy and thriving in her new family, but he couldn't help feeling abandoned. Logically he knew that wasn't the case but coming home to an empty flat wasn't exactly comforting. If he was honest with himself he was struggling. He'd moved into a top price flat in Cardiff bay, making it easier to get into the hub at a moment's notice. It was bigger than the one he'd lived in with Rhiannon for all those years, which only highlighted the fact that he was completely alone in it. From the moment he was born he'd never lived on his own, okay so the first 15 years of his life hadn't exactly been idyllic but he'd never been alone. His thoughts drifted to his parents, what were they doing now? Were they still in that house? Was his mother even alive? He'd never been entirely sure whether the fact that his mother had never appeared, or at least shown any semblance of effort to find them, was a good thing or not. Sometimes he regretted the way they had abandoned her, other times he wished he'd been more brutal. Not that it really mattered anymore. He had long given up the hope and/or the fear that his parents would find them again.

'Penny for them?'

Ianto looked up from the computer screen he'd been staring idly at to see Tosh beaming at him from the other side of the tourist counter. 'Morning, Tosh.'

Tosh placed a to-go coffee cup on the counter, 'Americano, whole milk, and a dash of sugar.'

Ianto blinked at her, 'I could have sworn coffee was my job.' He took a swig, 'At least somewhere knows how to do a proper roast.'

Tosh looked absolutely smug, 'I knew you'd approve. There's a new place that just opened up in the bay, and I always remember the thing you said about how new places always do the best coffee because they're still trying to make an impression.'

Ianto smiled, 'You are honestly one in a million.' He leant over the counter and gave her a brief kiss on the cheek, 'you realise I made that comment over a year ago, right?'

'Just shows I'm a good listener,' she leant over the counter and pressed the button to make the fake wall swing open, returning the kiss on the cheek as she slid back to her side. 'See you down there.'

Ianto smiled blithely at her back as she disappeared into the bowels of the hub. Tapping a few buttons on his keyboard he shut the desktop down, giving the office a cursory glance to make sure everything was in order before pressing the button himself and walking through the hidden doorway.

TWTWTWTWTWTWTW

Jack Harkness watched from his office as Ianto Jones entered the hub. It had been fucking forever since he started working here and still nothing. Jack had envisioned glorious sex-filled days and nights, bending the delicious Welshman over his desk, Suzie's desk, Tosh's desk, and hell even the sodding autopsy table. He knew it wasn't fair to assume that Ianto would jump straight into bed with him, but he never thought a former rent boy could be such a prude. After the awkward dismissal he got at Ianto's old apartment a year ago the excuses kept popping up, pushing Jack further and further away. And there's only so much pushing a man could take before his ego took a substantial bruising. It was petty, but Jack had started acting passive-aggressively. He'd flirt shamelessly with the other members of the team, sure to give Ianto pointed looks every time. When that didn't garner a reaction he upped the game, deliberately bringing people back to the hub when he knew Ianto was working late. He'd always send them off with a pat on the back and a system full of retcon, but still Ianto treated him the same as he ever did. Eventually Jack had assumed that the attraction had been largely on his part, and maybe he'd misread Ianto's natural friendliness for sexual attraction. Hell, he was even starting to think he'd imagined them fucking on the millennium.

Jack watched Ianto as he darted about the hub, picking up mislaid files and leftover take-out cartons, depositing a personalised plate of treats and a mug of coffee on each team members desk as he went. Neatness literally followed the man around the hub, and Jack had to admit his life had become so much easier since he hired him. The fridge was always stocked, food was always ordered in, coffee always appeared just when he wanted it. Even mission time had been cut down thanks to Ianto's extensive knowledge of Cardiff. Now if only the man would stop being so stubborn and let Jack help him out of those delectable suit trousers…

Sighing Jack stood up abruptly, swinging out of his office to lean on the railing. 'I'm bored! Why have we been stuck in this tin can for the last two days?'

Suzie snorted, 'Don't be such a child, Jack.' She smiled, 'This is the perfect opportunity for you to catch up on all that paperwork you complain about all the time.'

Jack groaned and slumped over the railing, 'Baby, don't hurt me. I'm sure I hired someone for that sort of tedious task.'

'Are my ears burning?' Ianto smiled blithely, 'May I remind you, Sir, that I cannot sign everything.'

'You know what my signature looks like,' Jack pouted, 'Just pretend you're me and put pen to paper.'

'Christ, you'll give the tea-boy nightmares with a suggestion like that,' Owen piped up.

'Rude. You're all rude.' Jack slumping so low over the bar he could balance with his feet off of the floor, 'C'mon! Rift spike, rogue weevil, sodding visit from the Queen! I don't care what it is but if I don't get to run around in my coat looking dashing I think I'll explode.'

'I'd rather you implode, Sir.' Ianto deadpanned, 'makes it much easier to clean up.'

Jack scowled. Ianto was being down right unfair, he knew full well the wealth of innuendoes that Jack could spout as a comeback to that statement. Jack held his tongue instead, favouring instead to let out a loud groan.

'Would you shut up?' Suzie shouted— she'd been losing her temper more and more these days. 'Some of us actually use this free time to work on our own projects.'

Tosh and Owen shifted uncomfortably. Tosh wondering whether Suzie was going to out her to Jack about her borrowing devices from the archives to continue studying them at home, and Owen wondering if Suzie knew that he'd taken the alien pheromone that makes even the sexiest bird eligible for a shag. Of course Suzie knew about their extra-curricular activities but if she bought those to Jack's attention then her own obsession with the glove would be dragged out into the light of day. And she was so so close to mastering it. She could feel it just beyond her fingertips, the chasm of death so expansive and deep she couldn't help but be drawn to it. She was terrified of it but equally enthralled by the souls trapped in the depths of it. She could cure death. She would cure death. She just had to find larger corpses.

The phone in Jack's office began to ring, eliciting another groan from the man. 'I was kidding, I really don't want a visit from the Queen.' He dragged himself back into his office and snatched the receiver up, 'What?' he barked down the phone.

'HELP US PLEASE,' a voice screamed at the end of the line, 'THEY'RE KILLING US.'

Jack's grip tightened around the phone, 'Who is this? What's going on?' There was a terrifying shriek at the end of the line, and the sound of heavy metal footsteps. 'TALK TO ME!' Jack shouted down the phone, 'Tell me where you are!'

'T-Torchwood one. Oh God, Jack. You were right. I should never have- it's too late now. They're everywhere.'

'Hartman? What's happening? Tell me that you didn't activate that ridiculous ghost shift again?'

Yvonne Hartman sobbed down the phone, 'CYBERMEN.' The line went dead.

Jack's breath stilled in his lungs. They had to move. Now. Grabbing his coat he ran out of the office, 'IANTO!' he ran down the metal steps, 'Get the SUV running, NOW.'

Ianto appeared in front of him, 'What's going on, Jack?'

'We have to get to Torchwood London now. Tosh, Owen, Suzie grab as many weapons as you can, anything that you think has the capacity to destroy ruthlessly and indefinitely bring it. MOVE.'

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

'Fuck. FUCK.' Jack swerved dangerously between lanes, going a speed Ianto didn't even know existed in a vehicle this size.

'Jack you still haven't told us what's going on,' Suzie shouted from the back.

Jack growled, 'Torchwood London is under attack by a race of beings that are ruthless and deem everything else to be inferior.'

'Daleks,' Ianto breathed.

Jack shook his head, 'No not Dalek's a race called cyber-'

'No, Jack,' Ianto pointed up, 'Daleks!'

Jack slammed on the brakes, narrowly avoiding colliding with the car in front of them, and stared into the sky, 'No.' Cybermen and Daleks? What the hell was happening? Jack killed the SUV's engine when he realised that there was no way the traffic in front of them would be moving anytime soon, if at all. 'Grab as much as you can and follow me!'

He led his suddenly tiny team through the streets of London, checking the sky every few minutes for any movement from the Daleks above of them.

'How far away are we?' Owen gasped.

Jack grunted, 'Too far still, dammit.'

'Jack look! What's happened?' Tosh shouted from behind him.

They all looked up in the sky to see the Daleks being pulled into the Torchwood building, the screams of the Daleks reaching their ears as they're sucked in. Jack breaks the spell and starts running again frantically in the direction of the building, followed by the rest of his team. By the time they reach the building they see a group of shell-shocked employees wandering around at the base of the building.

Jack runs up to the nearest one, 'What happened?' The woman opens her mouth uselessly and shakes her head, sinking to the ground wailing hysterically. Jack grabs the next person, 'What happened?!'

'The-the ghosts they weren't ghosts. These horrible metal men, screaming delete. They took so many people. I ran- I had to- I couldn't.' The man breaks down. 'What were they?'

Jack grunts and runs towards the building, Suzie, Tosh, and Ianto close behind him. 'Tosh, Suzie with me. Ianto get on to UNIT, MI5, the military, everyone just get them here and get them to start dealing with this mess. Then come in after us and help find survivors.'

TTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWT

Ianto had wanted nothing less than to follow the rest of the team into that death filled place. He'd organised UNIT soldiers into factions, some to help the people who'd made it out and to help Owen treat survivors' wounds, the other to go into the building with him and help eliminate any threats left in the building and save those who could be saved. Taking a deep breath he entered the building, gun raised. It was eerily quiet; he'd decided to check the lower levels first thinking that he would head there in a crisis like this. Stepping over bloodied metal, he carefully made his way to the archive entrance. Rounding a corner he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Training his gun on the spot he moved towards the figure, 'Come out, with your hands up.'

A tall man in a brown pinstriped suit and converse turned around, 'Oh. Mind pointing that thing away from my face, it's just I quite happen to like this particular face.'

Ianto frowned, and lowered his gun, 'Who are you? Do you work here?'

The man laughed, a hollow sound, 'God, no. Who would want to? I mean,' he kicked half a helmet away from his converse, 'terrible housekeeping.' Ianto blinked as the man moved closer to him, 'Don't tell anyone you saw me.'

'Why not?'

The man sighed, 'Weelll, I'm not supposed to be here technically. And there's a particular man I'd rather not run into. Thank god he wears that coat, can't miss him in that. But then he never could do subtle.'

'It's not that Jack can't do subtle, it's that he thinks he's depriving people from his rapier wit and dashing charm.' Ianto frowned, 'I know he's got a rather…bracing personality but he is dashing. You've got to give him that.'

The man smiled, touching the tip of his tongue to his front teeth, 'Ohhh, you know Captain Jack Harkness. The universe is getting smaller and smaller.' His expression dropped, 'You can't tell him you saw me.'

'He's my boss.' Ianto sighed, 'And just because you happen to be spectacularly attractive doesn't mean you can tell me what I can and can't do.'

'You really must work for Jack. Does that man have no boundaries?' The man smiled sadly, 'What's your name?'

'Ianto Jones.'

'Well then, Ianto Jones, let's make a deal.'

Ianto nodded, 'Okay. My price isn't very high. Two questions.'

'Fire away.'

'What's your name?'

'The Doctor.'

Ianto's mouth dropped open. Torchwood's alleged number one enemy emerging after a massive catastrophe where half the staff had been massacred. That couldn't be a coincidence. The universe was rarely so lazy. Ianto struggled to not let a careless question slip out of his mouth, thinking desperately for what his next question should be. The identity of the man in front of his had made him forget what he was originally going to ask.

'C'mon then, second question. I haven't got all day. Linear time is so dull.'

Ianto gulped, 'Uhm. Uhh. Let me think. I wasn't expecting you to be…well you.'

'You've heard of me then?' The Doctor said, looking a little smug.

Ianto nodded. He knew him through Torchwood, yeah. But he also knew him through Jack's personal files. After Jack had been going through a particular bout of petty passive-aggression Ianto had been planning to get his revenge by going through Jack's personal files and finding something that could embarrass him. What he'd found had shocked and devastated him in equal measure. Jack's immortality, his wife, his daughter, his grandson, and above all the century he'd spent waiting for this man. The man in front of him. Ianto knew what his next question was.

'Okay. So Jack can't die.'

The Doctor watched him curiously, 'Go on.'

Ianto took in a deep breath, 'Jack can't die. So something must have happened to make him like that either before or after birth. I'll bet that has something to do with you and perhaps the reason you don't want to see him. But what I don't understand is why he's been waiting for you to come and get him for over a century.'

The Doctor was inspecting his converse, 'What's your question?'

'Why are you avoiding him? And no stupid one line answer that's cryptic, I want honest detail.'

The Doctor stared at Ianto levelly, 'Jack can't die because Ro-' he took a deep breath, 'Because Rose Tyler didn't want him to die. But she brought him all the way back to life. She made him a fact, something true and unmoving in time and space.' The Doctor's expression hardened. 'He's wrong. It's not easy looking at him because he's just…wrong.'

Ianto felt his emotionless mask slip, revealing a quiet fury he did not know he possessed. 'Jack may be many things, Doctor, but he is not and never could be wrong.'

'Let's call it a difference of opinion. Timelord vs Human perception.' The Doctor turned away, 'Now Ianto Jones, I expect you to keep your end of the bargain. Oh and if you're heading towards the archives I'd be careful.' Ianto raised an eyebrow, 'never know what you're going to find.' With that The Doctor sauntered out of Ianto's sight, who was quietly cursing his luck for running into the man at all. He'd have no problems not telling Jack that he'd seen the Doctor now he knew he was avoiding Jack. Raising his gun again he headed towards the archives.

TTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

Jack Harkness was exhausted. He'd run up and down and round and round the Torchwood building like a lunatic, helping trapped employees out of the building and ordering a particularly capable UNIT taskforce to help him dismantle the conversion units that had been set up on one of the upper floors. Desensitised to the gore that covered the floors, walls, ceilings he'd traipsed through the blood disconnecting half converted bodies from the machines pumping bullets into each skull as a precautionary measure. When he'd convinced himself that he'd done enough he exited the building. Owen was scurrying around, ordering UNITs medical taskforce to attend to the people scattered on the blood stained pavement. Tosh was sat in the middle of it all surrounded by a pile of cybermat technology, hooking up various devices to her handheld computer. Suzie was liaising with the higher-ups in UNIT, swapping information for official reports to be filled out no doubt. And Ianto was…Jack frowned. Where was Ianto? Standing he scanned the immediate area, grabbing a passing UNIT soldier.

'You seen a welsh guy around here? About your height? You'd know him from the delectable accent.'

The soldier saluted, 'Yes, Sir. Mr Jones entered the building with my team approximately 45 minutes ago. He separated from my team against my express wishes and I have not seen him since.'

Jack groaned, 'Which way did he go?'

'Towards the lower levels, Sir.'

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

Ianto had found her almost the minute he'd entered the lower levels. Her screams pierced through his skull as she dragged her backwards towards a storage container. Her blood was all over him, covering his arms and torso, soaking through his suit. He stumbled and dropped her, she was so heavy. Picking her up again he propped her up against the wall of the container he'd dragged her into. Crouching down in front of her he felt tears prick the back of his eyes, 'Oh, Lisa.'

She smiled through gritted teeth, 'Ah, still gorgeous, Jones,' she hissed in pain.

'So this is the top secret government thing, huh?'

She grimaced, 'Was I always so eloquent?'

Ianto wiped away a trickle of blood from the side of her face. He was panicking. He didn't know what to do. She was dying. Beautiful, funny, full-of-life, Lisa. Possibly the only woman he'd ever fancied in his pathetic life. One of the only people in the world who had never treated him with contempt or disdain. He'd even go as far as to say she was his best friend, even if they hadn't spoken in a while.

'I'll get you out of here, I swear.'

Lisa shook her head, 'There's no way I'll make it, Ianto,' she smiled weakly, a tear falling down her cheek, 'I'm a gonner.'

'Don't talk like that. I'll find a way. Maybe- maybe the people I work with can think of something.'

She shook her head again, the metal helmet shaking with her, 'If they're anything like this place I'll be killed.'

'That's just it, Lisa. I'm Torchwood as well. I just work in the Cardiff branch, and it's so different there I swear.'

Lisa giggled manically, 'Christ, typical there'd have been a local branch.'

Ianto heard a crash from down the hallway followed by Jack calling out, 'Ianto! Where are you?'

'Jack! I'm down here,' he turned to Lisa. 'Jack's my boss he'll know what to do.'

'Captain Jack Harkness?' Lisa laughed hysterically again, 'I'm definitely dead now.'

Jack burst into the room relief on his face upon seeing Ianto but turning to disgust when he saw Lisa on the floor, 'Oh fuck, Ianto get back.'

'No, Jack. It's okay, I know her! She's my friend,' Ianto stepped in front of her, guarding her. 'We have to help her.'

Jack shook his head, pulling his Webley from his belt, 'She can't be saved.'

Ianto grabbed Jack's gun and knocked it from his grasp, 'I can't let you kill her! There has to be some way of-'

'No Ianto! There isn't. You don't understand what these things are. They're like a plague, spreading out and converting and killing people as they go. Even she's a danger.'

Ianto stepped back, closer to Lisa, 'No she's not she can barely even move, Jack. How could she hurt anyon-'

'Don't be so naïve, Ianto!' Jack shouted, 'The process has already begun. It's only a matter of time before the programming kicks in and she tries to convert you too.'

Ianto looked at Lisa, her face scrunched up in pain. He was sure she wasn't even following this conversation her pain was so great. 'I don't believe it. She isn't capable of that. Lisa is one of the kindest people I know.'

Jack grabbed Ianto by the shoulders, 'And the Cybermen killed that when they stuck her in one of those machines. That isn't the woman you knew. She's gone. That thing is using her memories to trick you, to get you to help her.'

Ianto looked at Jack's hands on his shoulders, unable to believe what Jack was saying. He knew Lisa, there's no way that a soul-less metal being could be capable of imitating her that well. 'No. It is Lisa. Clinging to her humanity. Please, Jack. Help her!'

Jack slammed Ianto against the wall, 'There is no helping her. The only way to help her is to put a bullet in her skull.'

Ianto pushed Jack away from him, 'There has to be another way! I can't just let you kill her!'

Jack lunged for the gun in Ianto's hand, wrestling Ianto for control of the weapon, 'Give it to me!'

Ianto struggled to keep it out of Jack's reach, 'No!'

The pair tussled for it. Jack pulled Ianto's hair, manipulating his movements to bring the gun closer to him. Ianto kicked Jack in the shin, knocking him off balance. The pair crashed to the floor, scrambling for possession of the gun. Biting, scratching, clawing, hitting, and struggling against one another when a loud bang made them both freeze. They looked up to the gun, barrel slightly smoking, impossible to tell who had pulled the trigger. Ianto pushed Jack harshly off of him to see where the shot had landed. His face draining of all colour when he saw the blood pooling and running down Lisa's chest.

'No, no, no, no, no. Lisa?' He shook her body, 'Lisa? Can you hear me?' He shook her harder, 'No, please, no, no. Lisa!' He shouted at her body, shaking her as hard as he could, tears streaming down his face.

'Ianto-'

'No! It was an accident! I didn't mean- I never meant-' Ianto crumpled in on himself, 'Jack. What have I done?'

Jack crouched down next to the Welshman and put an arm around his shoulders, 'Ianto. Listen, do you trust me?' Ianto gave a watery nod. 'Then believe me when I tell you that there was no way to save her. If she had recovered from the partial conversion then she would have been one of them. The Lisa you knew was gone long before you found her.'

Ianto gave Jack a scornful look, 'Why did you have to come down here? Why couldn't it have been Owen or Tosh? They would have tried to help me, or at least considered the possibility. Why do you have to be so bloody merciless?'

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

The ride back to the hub was long. Ridiculously long in fact, even with Jack breaking the speed limit. Tosh wondered whether there was ever a situation where Jack would go the speed limit. She mainly kept her eyes glued to the handheld computer in her hand, deciphering the complex code and schematics of the technology she had just been in contact with. Most of the tech she'd wanted to bring back with her Jack had denied her and ordered UNIT to destroy it. Tosh supressed a shudder as she remembered being surrounded by people in those uniforms again, due to the nature of the situation her concentration had been diverted elsewhere otherwise she might have had a meltdown the minute she saw those red caps. Tosh glanced quickly over to Ianto who was sat awkwardly in his seat, a blank expression on his face. Even blanker than the usual mask he'd kept on. Something had clearly happened between him and Jack when Jack had gone to find him in the archives, something to do with the body that they had dragged out with them she assumed. She felt a pang of guilt when she'd been intrigued by the composition of flesh to technology ratio. Torchwood had been changing her for a long time now; she'd been horrified at most of the things she had seen and the people that had died in the process, now she barely batted an eyelid at a corridor full of bloodied metal components.

She shifted in her seat, brushing up against Owen as she did so. He grunted slightly, not waking from the doze he'd been in, his head lolling onto Tosh's shoulder. Her gaze flicked down to his unguarded face, a slight smile spreading over her mouth as she indulged in the feeling of his body so close to hers, shifting slightly so his neck wasn't bent at a too awkward angle. She'd always had been attracted to Owen, ever since he joined the team. He was rude and brash; completely the opposite to Tosh, but there was something about him.

Owen jerked awake as Jack pulled into the underground garage, cursing under his breath as he stretched his neck out. 'Sorry, Tosh. Didn't mean to use you as a pillow.'

Tosh shrugged, a slight blush creeping over her cheeks, 'That's okay. I didn't mind.'

Owen gave her an odd look, 'Right.' He swung his legs out of the SUV and stretched up, moving round the back of the SUV as he did. Teaching down to help Ianto carry up the body from the boot. Owen didn't know why they were bringing this particular body back with them, but the determined and harrowing look in Ianto's eyes had prevented him from asking about it. They both struggled up the stairs to the main hub, stumbling, the body slipping from their grip as they went. When they finally managed to place the body on the autopsy table, they were both breathless from the effort it had taken.

'Ianto,' Owen started, not quite sure how to continue, 'what do you- I mean, do you want me to-'

'It's fine, Owen. I- I know it was strange of me to request we bring her back with us but,' Ianto took a deep breath, 'I knew her, Owen.'

Owen frowned, 'I don't get it. How did you know her?'

'She was my friend. Probably my best friend. I worked with her before I worked here.' Ianto took her hand, 'Can I just sit with her for a second?'

'Sure, sure I'm gonna head out anyway,' the way Ianto was looking at her lifeless form reminded Owen far too much of how he'd looked after Katie. He felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him. How long was it going to take before every sodding little thing would stop reminding him of her? He was tired of a lump forming in his throat every time Tosh asked for a peppermint tea, one of Katie's favourites. They had bickered endlessly about its validity as an actual tea or just a fancy title for hot minty water. She had won of course; he always let her win just so she could do that adorable "I told you so" face. Swallowing hard he grabbed his coat and stomped through the cog door.

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

After leaving Lisa in the med bay, Ianto trudged through the archives feeling as though he was part of a terrible dream. He'd begun to become acclimatised to death; he saw it nearly every day in this place, but it had never been anyone he knew. And there had never been so much death in one place. Ianto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. With his history of tragedy he thought that he would be able to close off his emotions to this new pain, just like he used to when he still lived with his parents, like when he was turning tricks like the proficient whore he was. But no one had ever died before. He'd been used and abused but no one had actually left his life so abruptly without his express action to make it happen. He contemplated how he would feel if his parents were dead, a strange conflicted feeling rose in his chest momentarily before fading into the numbness that he associated with his parents.

Ianto slumped down in a nearby chair, and put his head in his hands. He knew what Jack was saying made sense, and he trusted the man beyond all reason when it came to anything extra-terrestrial. But couldn't he have least humoured him? At least tried to do something to help her before telling Ianto he had to give up on her? He was angry. He was furious at Jack for not being sensitive to his feelings, not that that should even surprise him. After he rebuffed Jack's sexual advances Jack had been increasingly petty, deliberately trying to get a rise from Ianto by bringing all manner of backwater filth into the hub to screw around with. While Ianto trusted Jack with work matters, and even his life, he did not trust him with his heart. Jack had said several times that he didn't do petty 21st century things like "relationships" or "monogamy", claiming that it was a primitive and prudish time to be stuck in.

'Penny for them?'

Ianto snorted, 'Ironically, that's not the first time I've been asked that today.'

Jack smiled sadly and leant up against the wall facing Ianto, 'Well, with a stoic face like that anyone would wonder what was going on beneath the surface.'

'You're a wanker, Jack.'

'Ah,' Jack took a deep breath, 'Still angry then?'

Ianto looked at him incredulously, 'How could I not be?'

'I told you there was nothing that we could do.'

Ianto jumped up, 'But why couldn't you have tried at least? Even if you knew nothing could be done why didn't you fucking try?'

Jack shook his head, 'Because it was pointless. Why get your hopes up over something I know would never work?'

'Because she was my friend! You could have tried for me. Fuck, you could even have pretended to try and I still would have believed you.' Ianto shoved Jack against the wall, 'You could have pretended you cared about something other than your cock just for ten seconds.'

'Oh now you show an interest in my cock.'

Ianto stared at Jack, 'Are you fucking kidding me right now?'

Jack shrugged, 'You were the one that brought it up.'

'Fuck. You.' Ianto turned away, 'I don't have the energy to be this fucking angry, right now.'

Jack grabbed Ianto's shoulders and spun him around, his hands coming up behind Ianto's neck forcing their mouths together in a messy clash of teeth. Ianto pushed Jack away from him. 'What the fuck do you think you're- you don't have the right to even- why do you-' Ianto let out a frustrated growl and grabbed Jack's braces, forcing their mouths back together. Jack slides his hands down to Ianto's hips and grips them tightly as the younger man pushes Jack harder into the wall. Jack moves his hands to the small of Ianto's back, eliciting a small shiver from the other man. Ianto can feel his hands automatically moving over the planes of Jack's body, relearning their way around Jack's sensitive spots.

Breaking the kiss Ianto looks at Jack, pupils blown, rucked up shirt, ruffled hair are enough to break any resolve Ianto had about not sleeping with him again. The fact Ianto was still furious with Jack seemed only to spur him on, lose his reason faster. Ianto, fairly certain that the expression on his face is somewhere between aroused and annoyed, moves his mouth down to attack Jack's jawline, alternating between lips, teeth, and tongue like a true professional, finding the spots that made Jack's knees give slightly.

Jack groans in delight at Ianto's ministrations, heart pounding and soul soaring. If enraging the Welshman was all it took for him to break his prudish resolve then Jack would do it again. Grabbing Ianto's jaw he brought him back up to his mouth, tongues sliding over each other. Jack smiled into the kiss, Ianto tasted of coffee this time round. Grabbing him by the shoulders he turns them around so this time Ianto is the one pinned to the wall, pushing his body flush against Ianto's as he plundered his mouth again, grinding their hips together forcing a whimpering gasp out of Ianto. An almost competitive urge rises in Ianto and so he reaches down and slips his hands below the waistband of Jack's trousers. Ianto almost laughs at the gasp that falls from Jack's mouth, oh yeah he was still good at this. Jack presses his mouth to Ianto's jawline; nibbling that particular spot that Ianto discovered the last time he was with Jack. Momentarily Ianto pauses in his own attentions to revel in Jack's.

Without warning Jack drags Ianto from the wall and backs him into the chair, forcing Ianto to sit heavily as Jack reaches out and pulls Ianto's shirt out of his trousers, undoing his belt and the top button in one deft movement. Giving Ianto a predatory look, Jack drops to his knees and reaches up to undo the fly. Jack hears Ianto's breathing hitch as he mouths him through the cotton barrier. This was always one of Jack's favourite moments. The absolute power over another person, to be completely in control of their pleasure. To have to ability to make them pant and tremble with every movement.

Jack yelped as Ianto grabbed his shoulders harshly and pulled Jack's mouth back up to his own, the friction between their bodies causing Jack to rock his hips against Ianto's in an automatic movement.

'You realise that there is a camera just there?' Ianto breathed against Jack's mouth, 'I'd rather spare Tosh the embarrassment of having to watch the entire show.'

'Then what do you suggest? Because if we stay like this much longer I'm going to tear your clothes off. With my teeth.'

Ianto groaned at the images springing to his mind, 'I suggest you take me to that cosy underground bed, Sir.'

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

Suzie watched as Jack and Ianto frantically moved themselves down the manhole in Jack's room. She would have been more disturbed at the sight of them barely dressed, unable to keep their hands off each other's bodies for more than a second, if she didn't have a more pressing agenda.

The body that they had brought back. It was perfect. The perfect thing to test the gloves true capabilities out on. Creeping over to the med bay, she positioned herself over the body of the woman. Slipping the glove on her hand she felt around in the darkness, waiting for the glove to respond to her, giving her access to the power it possessed. She smiled sadistically as the glove sprang to life on her hand, placing it underneath the head of the body. Suzie closed her eyes as she felt for the life force of the woman in the black void. Turning her head as though she were actually looking, she found it. The body jerked to life, a massive gasp emanating from her.

'Wh-where am I? What's happening? Oh God. Are they coming for me?'

'Shh, shh you're okay. You're safe! Nothing's coming to get you,' she moved into the eyeline of the woman, 'What's your name?'

'Lisa Hallet,' she looked around wildly, 'Oh god! Please don't let them get me!'

'I won't let anyone get you, I promise. Just stay with me okay?'

Lisa looked at Suzie, a feral look in her eye, 'Stay with you? Where am I going? Oh god, they got me. Where's Ianto? He said he'd help me. I need to see Ianto!'

'He's here; I'll go and get him in a minute. This is important what did you see before I woke you up?'

'What? I wasn't- wait where was I? It was so dark. Oh god, there was nothing. I don't want to go back there. Please! Please don't let it take me back there!'

'You've seen it too? What's it like?' Suzie's face lit up in a manic glee, 'I've been trying to get it's attention but it won't look at me.'

Lisa blinked, breathing heavily, 'No don't- it's terrible- so awful- I don't want- don't let it-' she stuttered and her eyes slammed shut, head going limp in Suzie's gloved hand. Dead again.

'No, no, no. Come back. I can bring you back here,' Suzie reached into the glove again, searching for the woman but no matter how much she tried she couldn't bring her back.

Suzie stared down at the glove. It should have worked. Why didn't it work? She knew that she could cure death. If only "it" would pay attention to her. She'd have to try again. She'd have to find another body.