Ianto woke to noise, lots of it. There were laughing to his right and two female voices chatting away to his left. So much for the curtsey of letting a patient rest. His head was far too groggy for him to make much out of it though. He groaned while someone kept banging on some very large drums in his head. He was in a hospital right? That should mean painkillers. The sharp scent of disinfectant filled the air and as much as he disliked that, it was better than the fresh paint smell at SCT. Buildings shouldn't constantly smell of paint it made them feel to new. Ianto liked old buildings that had held lifetimes of history. Disinfectant made him think of all the people who had traveled through in hope or despair as their life were on the line, old wood made him think of the lives people had experienced. Paint was just a cover-up, cover up all the history and start a clean slate. As much as he wanted a clean slate losing all the experiences and history wasn't worth it. Ianto Jones didn't want to forget, he just hoped he would at least have that choice.

He dragged his hand to his head, it felt weak, and tried rubbing the sleep out of his face. The light stubble itched his cold fingers. The rest of his body wasn't much better. He tried shifting a bit and his sore muscles protested sharply. It seemed they had gotten a little too used to lying still. Another sigh filled the quiet room. Wait, quiet? He furrowed his eyebrows and strained his hearing to pick up on the smallest sounds. Several people were in the room, revealed by unsynchronized low breathing and some whispering by the door at his right. There was of course a much easier way to figure out who was in the room, but Ianto had only now realized he still had his eyes closed. Now that he had realized he was a little scared to face the crowd without Intel on the future proceedings. There was only so much he could do in a hospital bed with his eyes closed though. He opened them slowly since they felt a bit sticky, which was very uncomfortable. The room was slightly blurry at first as he peered out through half-open eyes. He managed to make out the two shapes by the door, Owen and a man in a white doctors coat. They were whispering, he noticed their lips moving, but Ianto still couldn't make out the words; Still In a slight daze. The doctor turned towards him and raised his eyebrows high when he noticed him being awake.

"Ianto Jones, awake at last. How do ye feel?" The doctor spoke loudly and briefly looked at the monitor Ianto was hooked up to before coming over giving his patient his full attention. The heavy Scottish accent with the rolling 'r's confused Ianto for a moment. Waiting for an answer the doctor proceeded with coming over and checking his pupils with the little medical penlight. Ianto flinched at the intrusive light, but the doctor held his head and eyelid still with his other arm.

"Like I've been shot." Ianto mumbled, before coughing a bit to clear his throat.

"No problem with the short-term memory I see that's good was a wee bit worried about that. Head trauma can be very unpredictable. Ye people are very resilient, ye know that?"

"Plural?" At Ianto's confused tone the doctor nodded towards the window. Ianto followed his gaze and saw Tosh with a worried little smile on her face. Next to her was an uncomfortable looking Gwen looking everywhere, but at him and fidgeting with her sleeve.

"She came in much the same condition as ye, only minus the bullet hole. An' the lass behind me here seem to have been in a scuffle as well. I'm doctor McBeck" The man spoke with a warm smile on his face.

Ianto gave a slight nod, still felling groggy and worn.

"Ye had quite the experience there Mr. Jones, but yer making a full recovery. The bullet hole is healing nicely an' the head trauma caused no internal injuries, to be quite honest yer doing far better than expected." He looked down at the hospital chart with pride endowing his features before looking up with a grin on his face. He quickly continued talking however in a more serious tone.

"Still I want ye in the hospital for another three days an' back for checkups once a week after that. Three wee weeks an' we'll remove yer stitches an' ye will be back to normal." The doctor tore a paper sheet of his chart and turned back to Owen to hand it over before leaving the room. Owen walked over slowly staring at the paper and sighing softly.

"You mate are going to be on some heavy medication for the next couple of weeks. And only light duty at work, no going into the field." He raised his head and stared strictly at Ianto, who felt like he was being given a slap on the hand by an overworked parent. Not that he minded, Ianto had been prepared to beg and annoy until he got his job back, if it was at all possible, but Owen seemed to take it as expected. He gaped at Owen before recollecting from the shock and shut his mouth. The white patch on Owens forehead made Ianto flinch again as he remembered his actions when he visited the hub.

"About before at the hub, I'm really…" Owen cut Ianto of before he could continue, that was more expected. The Torchwood doctor had never fancied talking about such much.

"Forget it, just…" Owen sighed lightly before continuing. "You're ready to be back at work at Monday and when you show up you're going to make us all some bloody good coffee, got it mate?" He emphasized on bloody and gave a strict glare. Ianto gave another quick nod; he was getting fairly used to simply replying in the yes-sir manner.

"Now get some rest teaboy, doctors orders." Owen gave him a quick pat on the shoulder before he headed out the door. Passing by Jack who immediately froze upon noticing Ianto was awake. Jack's reaction made Ianto's stomach clench; now he was really worried. In the end of the day if Ianto returned to Torchwood or not it was Jack's decision. He let his gaze drop as the room fell into silence. Until the click of heals came from his left. Sure he knew it was Gwen and Tosh, but for a moment his mind flashed to memories. First to smiling naive Madison trying so hard to help him. Then to Suzie and the feral look on her face before she pulled the trigger. The last month so much had happened and so much blood had been spilled. A lot of it had been his fault. Jack had acted like everything was fine after figuring out Ianto's memory had returned when Jack was capture, but he had little choice at the time. Now he did and Ianto was terrified of what he would decide. A light feminine hand on his shoulder made him look back up. Tosh was smiling carefully down at him with question in her eyes.

"You're coming back, right?" She looked as nervous as he felt.

"If I can, of course." He smiled back up at her, the first smile since he had woken up here. She looked relived and threw herself down at him for a hug. Ianto inhaled sharply as the force of the impact reminded him of why he was in a hospital. his chest stung and for a moment he found it hard to breath. Still the scent of jasmine on her made him smile anyway. She pulled back sharply with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry, I forgot, are you okay?" She hurriedly asked stumbling over her words as she went.

"I'm fine." Ianto reached out and grabbed one of her hands staring straight into her eyes. Wishing he could convey as much of the gratitude he was feeling as possible. She was one of his closest friend and her welcoming him back and worrying about him meant more than she would probably ever see. Tosh always used to underestimate herself and how much she mattered. "Thank you"

A warm smile graced her face and to some extent she looked like she understood.

"See you on Monday." She replied quietly before shooting Jack a warning glare, who looked more at ease now.

"I'm glad you'll be okay." Gwen reached over and patted his hand from Tosh's side. Ianto let go and the girls started leaving. When they passed by Jack Gwen mumbled threateningly 'be nice' and Tosh gave their boss one last glare. Ianto shook his head as Jack suddenly looked like a gleeful child plotting to disobey.

"They really should know better than to bait you by now." Ianto mumbled softly.

"It's the face, to sweet and reasonable, fools everyone." Jack grinned brightly. Ianto rolled his eyes, Jack might live forever, but he would never change. Ianto actually liked that about Jack, no matter how fast the world would alter and spin some things would always be familiar.

"So, are you?" Jack's question made Ianto frown, he had no idea what that meant.

"What?" Yes, not his best reply ever, but Ianto was fairly certain head trauma and a bullet hole could excuse him. He stared dumb folded up at Jack. Jack sighed as his grin was replaced by a weak smile.

"Are you coming back?" Jack clarified and Ianto felt the thumping in his head return. Jack was asking him? After everything Ianto had done Jack was saying it was his choice? Ianto didn't know what to say, to be fairly honest he felt a bit like crying. Waking up he had never expected this; First Owen, then Gwen and Tosh. Now Jack. He was so happy he felt like bursting. Jack misinterpreted his silence and became increasingly worried himself.

"If you want to leave, I will leave you alone. Starting now. No wait, when you're out of the hospital. After everything I wouldn't want to leave you alone without a guard until you're back on your feet. I don't snore so I won't disturb your beauty sleep much; at least I haven't the last couple of nights. Look, you're still a beauty so no worries there." Jack spoke quickly and gave a small nervous laugh in the middle. He mentally kicked himself for sounding like a thirteen year old with a crush, but he was still bothered by the lack of response making it increasingly hard to keep his thoughts straight. However something in his rapid speech caught Ianto's attention.

"Wait, you've been here? But I woke up and no one was here."

"Must have been out for coffee. The stuff they serve here is probably not meant for humans, but it has caffeine." Jack shrugged, but made a weird grimace probably meant to convey just how bad the coffee was. Ianto felt even happier, he thought they wouldn't come back, but someone had actually been here all along. Jack took a deep breath before repeating his question. Although to his surprise this time the answer was nearly immediate.

"Yes! Yes, I'm coming back." After a deep breath Ianto mumbled again, more to himself this time. "I'm coming back."

Jack grinned widely again and his eyes glinted with mischief. He leaned in and let their lips meet. It was soft and careful, but Ianto still felt their stubble rub together and leaned a bit up to put more force into it. Jack wasn't known for forgetting to shave. Ianto smiled into their kiss, he must have been worried. He inhaled the scent of bad coffee clinging to Jack's coat. He was planning to go on a coffee strike for a while. He would serve the others, but after what the drug had messed up he wouldn't be able to stomach any himself for a week or so. First priority when coming back would be washing that coat and get rid of the god awful smell. He groaned when he disconnected from the kiss and let his head hit the pillow again as a though hit him.

"So exactly what state will the hub be in when I return?" Jack literally paled for a moment and Ianto found himself laughing loudly. He laughed until he felt tears sting in his eyes as he finally got an outlet for every piece of worry and happiness. Once he finally managed to calm down another thought crossed his mind while he stared up into Jack's crystal clear blue eyes. It was good to be home.

When Monday came the rift activity alarm rang in the hub and across town on the top of a parking house an orange glow began forming. It spread outwards creating a large circle and out of the glow itself walked a man. His clothes seemed caught from out of time. The red jacket seemed stolen from the times of Napoleon. He wore high leather boots and a katana like sword. He looked around with an extremely bored expression on his face before noticing something that piqued his interest. Robbery in progress by the end of the roof. He began making his way over thinking maybe this time period could be some fun after all. When he was done here he could make some noise, maybe at a bar, and lure out an old partner. He smirked subtly before reaching the two in a scuffle on the rooftop, time for some blood and alcohol.