CHILD IN TIME: FINAL

Ianto sat at his desk, his hands splayed on the well-worn, wooden surface with fingers stretched out as far as they would go. He knew what he was trying to do. His emotions had been all over the place for the past few days as he clawed at his tattered memory in an effort to recall what had happened to him. He was desperate for answers and Jack had outright refused to subject him to the mind probe. They had tried hypnosis to no avail and Ianto had even agreed to being drugged and questioned in the interrogation room in an attempt to dredge up something. Jack had finally put to a stop to it after Ianto had collapsed after a particularly intense session. So now Ianto took to sitting alone in the silence of the archive, trying to empty his mind and search out the answers in solitude.

Nothing came back. It was as if someone had come along and scooped 48 hours out of his time line. It was worse than unsettling. Added to that was grief and guilt over Jules' death. Jules had always been kind to him and Ianto missed his steady presence in his life, even though he had kept his distance. Frustrating was the fact that his security clearance was still compromised because of concerns about him doing something to jeopardise Torchwood. That made doing his job somewhat difficult at times but Ianto accepted that, the security and safety of his team mates had to come first.

Gwen and Owen went back to ignoring him. Tosh, though shy made more effort and got him involved working with her on her translation programs, which was nice. Jack watched him like a hawk.

Ianto stared down at his hands and realised they were trembling very slightly. He was still nervous, waiting for another aging episode to push him past his natural age. There was no indication that it would happen, but there hadn't been before either. Jack had speculated the theory that Ianto had been youthenised deliberately, but quickly rejected the idea. Ianto recalled the Lazarus project of a few years ago, some nutty old millionaire turning himself back to his twenties. That hadn't ended well, though he recalled a rumour of the Doctor's involvement. Torchwood's number one enemy. He'd been at Canary Wharf the day the Cybermen came too. Ianto had seen him with his own eyes. It left him wondering; after all surely a Timelord would be capable of doing what had been done to him? Was he a victim of some elaborate experiment to find eternal youth? Ianto let out a long sigh and closed his eyes. He wished he could slow his thoughts down, but his brain insisted on repeatedly churning over the events of the last few months. He tried to divine meaning from it and found only frustration and speculation. It was useless to keep on at it, but Ianto knew himself too well, letting go was not something he did easily.

He was jerked out of his musings by the soft accented tones of Jack's voice.

"Hey, thought I might find you down here."

Ianto swung round, nearly tumbling out of his seat.

"Sir."

Jack moved forward into the pale light of the desk lamp and perched his arse on the edge of the desk.

"You can call me Jack you know." He said gently.

Ianto watched as Jack picked up a pen and fiddled with it. He wondered if his enigmatic boss was as nervous as he was.

"I don't think I have earned that right just yet." Ianto replied his voice quiet but steady. He met Jack's intense gaze and held it.

"Ianto, you're forgiven and I am down here to make sure you are alright. You're hiding from us and we're worried….."

"That I'm harbouring another dirty secret?"

Jack sighed, shaking his head. He put the pen down and shoved his hands into his pockets a moment later and Ianto was staring at a battered silver stopwatch that Jack proffered. He reached out a hand and then hesitated. Jack smiled down at him, not the flashy flirty grin of megawatt status, but something far more affectionate.

"Go on, take it."

Ianto did so, surprised by the weight and warmth of the antique time piece. He studied the face and then turned it over discovering an inscription hand engraved on the back.

"Dearest Jack love E." Ianto whispered. He glanced up to Jack. "Estelle gave you this?"

Jack nodded. "We used to play games and that came in very handy." His face lit up at the memory. "I want you to have it, a reminder that you can still find some laughter and I'd rather you didn't do it alone."

Ianto tightened his fist around the watch. "I promise I'll look after it." He vowed, understanding the magnitude of the gesture. It brought tears to his eyes.

"Thank you Jack."

"You're welcome."

A long silence settled around them and Ianto found it strangely comforting as he contemplated the gift in his hand. He eventually sucked in a breath and asked the question that had sat in his gut for days.

"Are we ever likely to find out what happened to me?"

Jack shrugged.

"All we can do is continue on."

Ianto doubted that was possible. "But I'm a security risk."

"So what would you have me do? Lock you up for the rest of your life? Retcon your arse back to infancy?"

Ianto shuddered at the thought. Jack reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder and Ianto felt the warmth of it seep into his weary soul.

"We'll keep an eye on you, but I think whatever has been done is over. Whoever took you got what they wanted."

"So why not kill me?"

Jack had a few ideas about that, but refrained from voicing them. "I am just grateful that they didn't. I am not going to condemn you Ianto. I just want you to trust yourself. Believe it or not I trust you. Maybe something has been done that we have yet to face. If that happens we'll deal with it. In the meantime we'll keep you under observation and with restricted access to the Hub's more sensitive systems."

Ianto slowly nodded. "I'll try not to let you down sir."

Jack squeezed his shoulder. "I know. Now we are heading out to Brecon tomorrow, the whole team so could you help me find the camping gear and get the SUV loaded?"

Ianto offered up a faint smile. "Yes, of course." He wondered who he was going to be left behind with at the Hub having not taken what Jack had just said.

"You'll need to go home too, get a good night's sleep and come in tomorrow in your casuals. We'll all be going; I think a bit of team building is order."

Ianto's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Oh…. Er…. Right. I guess I'd best jump to it then."

Jack chuckled. "That's my boy."

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

5 MONTHS LATER

Ianto Jones stepped on board the Valiant, a small suitcase in his grasp. He marvelled at the magnificence of the vessel as he was greeted by Harold Saxon himself. With Jack gone who knows where with his bloody Doctor, the job offer from the Prime Minister had been a blessing and a chance to put Torchwood and Jack Harkness behind him.

AN: This is not the end yet… will continue with another story once I have planned it out fully. Thank you for reading this and of course your lovely reviews.