Title: Meant To Be
By: nancy
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: NC18
Warnings: mpreg
Summary: Jack and Ianto wind up in the future with an unusual situation. (Written before Children of Earth).

Ianto groaned as the pain in his head penetrated the darkness. He vaguely heard Jack’s voice, the tone frantic, and struggled to reassure the other man that he was fine, managing to mumble something that, even to his own ears, didn’t seem quite right. What had happened? He remembered a blinding light and then bitter, bitter cold and then nothing.

“Ianto, please, just open those baby blues of yours for me,” Jack’s voice pleaded, suddenly making sense.

Whatever he lay on was hard and uncomfortable, but the warmth of Jack’s hands holding his grounded him, focusing Ianto further. He did finally make the right connection to open his eyes and found Jack right next to him, his face pinched with worry. Ianto rasped through a very dry throat, “Jack? What happened?”

Jack seemed to sag in relief, a brilliant smile surfacing as he exclaimed, “There you are! It’s about time to came out of it. No coffee for you, Mister, putting me through that!”

Ianto half-smiled at the empty threat and cleared his throat before countering, “As if I would drink coffee you made.”

Jack’s smile grew and he bent in to kiss Ianto, a short, hard kiss before just resting their foreheads together. That told Ianto how very worried the other man had truly been and he reached up to cup the back of Jack’s head to comb fingers through the soft, short hair.

A delicate throat clearing started Ianto, but Jack just kissed him again before sitting upright. Looking over, Ianto found a well-dressed, dark haired man in his mid-thirties standing a short distance away.

“If you don’t mind, Captain, I would like to examine Mr. Jones and make certain the cortex damage has been completely fixed,” the man, doctor obviously, said softly.

And then Ianto put the word ‘cortex’ in context and gaped at Jack. “Just how injured was I?”

Jack swallowed visibly and answered, “Brain damaged from traveling through the, ah, wormhole. Luckily, the wormhole deposited us here and Dr. Tam was able to heal you.”

“Something I would like to verify,” Dr. Tam said. “It won’t take long, Captain, if you’d just wait outside?”

Jack hesitated, but then nodded and stole another quick kiss before leaving the small room. It was highly unusual for Jack to be so very public in his affections, which also told him just how worried the man had been. Ianto’s gaze followed him out and he saw that the infirmary was stocked with all manner of equipment he’d never before seen, not even in Torchwood’s archives.

Dr. Tam smiled and told him, “This isn’t going to hurt, I promise. You’re lucky. I just convinced Mal to buy an imager last month and even third-hand, it’s extremely accurate. My sister made sure that it was in perfect working order and she’s a genius.”

Recognizing the soothing patter for what it was, distraction and comfort, Ianto offered a brief smile and observed, “You’ve a much better bedside manner than our last doctor.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Dr. Tam replied, smiling. “Hold still now.”

Ianto watched in fascination as the doctor pulled a round, metal disk down and centered it over his head. A three-dimensional image instantly popped into sight and Ianto’s eyes crossed a bit as he tried to look at his own brain scan. “That is…amazing.”

Dr. Tam’s eyebrows lifted and he questioned, “Have you never had one done?”

“Not like this one,” Ianto replied.

“What’s your name?”

Realizing they’d moved onto standard questions, Ianto could only hope the man didn’t ask for the date and answered, “Ianto Jones.”

“How old are you?”

“Thirty-six.”

“And who was that gentleman here just now that I sent out?”

“Captain Jack Harkness.”

“Your relationship?”

“Lovers.”

“Your father’s occupation?”

“Master Tailor.”

Dr. Tam’s mouth opened and then closed again before he asked with obvious surprise, “Excuse me?”

Ianto wondered exactly how to explain, but instead just repeated, “He’s a Master Tailor.”

“I see,” Dr. Tam murmured. “Well, that should take care of things for now. You shouldn’t do anything strenuous for the next couple of days, but everything seems in order.”

Jack reentered the room when Dr. Tam turned off the machine and pushed it back into place. “What’s the verdict, doc?”

Dr. Tam half-smiled and replied, “I’ll let you know just as soon as someone explains to me what a Master Tailor is?”

Ianto slowly pushed upright, glad for Jack’s assistance when the room swam a bit around him. Holding onto Jack’s hand, Ianto replied with pride, “He was one of the most sought after tailors in the UK. Had his own shop for decades. Prepared clothing for the nobility, even.”

“And you didn’t follow him into the business?” Dr. Tam questioned.

Ianto glanced at Jack and smirked a little as he answered, “Got a better offer.”

Jack snorted, an amused glint in his eyes.

The door opened just then and another man came in. He was dressed a lot more casually than Dr. Tam and there was an air about him that Ianto immediately picked up on; authority. It was the same with Jack, though there was definitely a darker edge to the newcomer that he could sense right off the bat.

“And how’s the patient?”

Dr. Tam replied, “Seems fine, Captain.”

The Captain’s eyebrows shot up and he demanded, “All that money I spent on your doodad and you say he ‘seems’ fine?”

Dr. Tam’s lips twitched as if trying not to smile. “When one is dealing with brain injuries, there is always the possibility, however remote, of something going wrong down the line, Captain.”

“You’re just trying to get out of a money-backed guarantee,” the man commented, wagging a finger at him. “So. Introductions now that the life and death-ness is over with. Captain Malcolm Reynolds, at your service. You’ve already met our fair doctor. And you are?”

Jack answered for them with, “Captain Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones.”

“And a wormhole deposited you on my ship.”

There was no doubting the incredulity in the man’s tone. Ianto looked at Jack, who was smiling thinly at their host. That couldn’t be good. Standing, he put a hand on Jack’s shoulder and decided on the truth. “We came through a rift in time and space. Got caught in it, actually, back in Cardiff, Wales, on a planet named Earth. We aren’t sure what time we’re in or where we are, other than your space ship. I presume it is a space ship and not actually an ocean going vessel as I do not feel any sort of tidal forces?”

At the word ‘Earth,’ Captain Reynolds and Dr. Tam both went very still. By the end of the explanation, the captain jerked his head at the door and the doctor silently went to close it.

Jack gave him an exasperated look and demanded, “Just how am I supposed to lie convincingly when you go and spoil it with the truth?”

Ianto smiled a bit as he said, “Truth always wins out, Jack, you know that.”

“I do not,” Jack muttered, but it was a token protest.

Captain Reynolds held up a hand and said, “You’re telling me that you’re from Earth-That-Was, back when it was livable?”

Ianto shrugged a bit and answered, “I’m from an Earth, at least. Jack’s from…somewhere else entirely. It may or may not be the same Earth that you’re talking about.”

“But really, what are the odds they aren’t?” Jack pointed out.

Nodding, Ianto agreed, “It’s probably the same planet.”

When Dr. Tam and the Captain exchanged a look, Jack said, “Don’t worry, we aren’t crazy or delusional or on drugs. Test us. Physically, I mean. I bet our DNA’s got some surprises for you.”

Ianto’s eyebrows lifted as he asked in Latin, “Is that a good idea, Jack?”

“It’s that or kill myself, which I’m really not in the mood to do,” Jack answered, also in Latin. “Had enough pain just going through the Rift.”

Dr. Tam did as Jack suggested, taking a swab from both of their mouths and running it through a scanning device Ianto had never before seen. It beeped a few times, causing the doctor’s frown to increase each time.

“Well?” Captain Reynolds demanded impatiently.

Lips pursed, Dr. Tam finally allowed, “They’re human, but there are significant differences in their genetic markers from ours. Evolutionary differences. Especially his.”

Not surprising, the doctor pointed at Jack with his final words.

Dr. Tam continued, “I would say they’re telling the truth, Captain.”

That was when the Captain scowled, but he only asked, “And how would you two be getting back to your time?”

Sounding annoyingly cheerful, as he inevitably did in these kinds of situations, Jack replied, “Not a clue. We’ll figure something out, though. In the meantime, you mind if we get some grub and rest up?”

Captain Reynolds looked at the doctor, who shrugged his okay. Face still etched with aggravation, the captain said, “C’mon, then. I’ll give you the tour and introduce you to everyone.”

Ianto was glad when Jack took his hand. In an unfamiliar universe and time, it was good to have something that meant home, to hold.

*  *  *  *

There was something about Harkness that put Mal’s teeth on edge as he gave them the tour of Serenity’s common and sleeping areas.

Jayne was eating when they got there and he blinked at the newcomers with surprise. Looking at Mal, he asked, “Where’d they come from?”

“Wormhole dropped ‘em off,” Mal answered, just to see how the man would react.

Jayne blinked a few more times at Mal and then shrugged and said, “I ain’t giving up my bunk. They can have the Doc’s old room if they’re staying.”

Jayne’s literal and accepting nature sometimes astounded Mal. Shaking it off, he introduced, “Captain Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, that there’s Jayne Cobb. He does the musclin’ around here.”

Jack grinned and said, “I just bet he does.”

Jayne paused with his spoon partway to his mouth and then smirked before announcing, “I like him.”

Mal rolled his eyes and saw an annoyed but resigned expression on Ianto’s face and took that to mean the flirting happened a lot.

“You look prissy like the Doc used to,” Jayne commented at Ianto. “Need any vests?”

Mal slapped him upside the back of the head. “Manners, Jayne.”

Jayne made a face at him and went back to eating.

Mal told them, “So we got protein, protein, and protein for food. What’ll it be?”

Jack’s mouth twisted a bit as he replied, “Protein, thanks.”

“Any coffee?” Ianto questioned politely.

Jayne guffawed, spitting some of his protein back out in the process.

Mal told him, “We have grounds that in a former life might have been grounds of the grounds of former coffee beans. They’re in that cabinet. Help yourself.”

Ianto walked over to the cabinet in question, rifling through it with apparent interest.

Mal caught the openly fond expression on Harkness’ face and some of his original edginess about the man lowered a bit. It didn’t look like he had the man as competition anyhow. Not that Simon would respond, but Mal had seen the man’s pretty manners on first talking to Simon and been reminded of everything he wasn’t. Hopefully Simon wouldn’t pick up on it or bring it up later when they were in bed.

“So what part of space are we in just now?” Harkness asked.

Before Mal could answer, Kaylee hopped down the stairs from the opposite way and asked cheerfully, “When did we pick up passengers? That why the alarms went off earlier?”

Harkness smiled at her and greeted, “Well hello. And you are…?”

Mal stiffened at the overly familiar tone and the way Kaylee blushed and answered, “Kaylee Winnett Frye.”

Harkness took her hand to kiss the back of as he said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Frye.”

Kaylee giggled. “It’s just Kaylee, honest.”

Mal looked over at Jones, who ignored the entire exchange while putting together his attempt at coffee. Seemed to be a familiar exchange to the man. Didn’t mean Mal wouldn’t take exception to his mechanic getting pawed like that. Stepping forward, Mal answered, “The back end of space. Want a closer, more personal-like look?”

Glancing his way, something in his pissed expression obviously spoke to the man because he winked and let go of Kaylee.

“Now, Cap’n, no need to be getting all huffy like that, he was just bein’ friendly,” Kaylee scolded.

Jayne leered a bit as he commented, “And you ain’t had a friend in a while.”

Mal glared at Jayne, but didn’t really want to get into a conversation about Kaylee’s occasional sex bouts. “Kaylee, go on back to the engine room.”

Kaylee rolled her eyes and answered, “Time for lunch, isn’t it? Everyone’s coming up.”

‘Everyone’ being Zoe and Simon, both of whom already knew about Harkness and Jones. In the two hours since the men had been on board, Zoe had been looking for an explanation as to their sudden arrival. Her dark gaze met his and she shook her head, indicating nothing new.

“What is that…oh my God, that smells like real coffee,” Simon said, his nose practically twitching as he swerved over towards Jones.

Harkness smirked. “That’s my boy. He can make coffee practically out of nothing.”

Jones gave a modest little smile and replied, “I do try.”

There was time spent pouring coffee into cups for everyone and then even Mal had to admit to the heaven that was in the form of coffee made by Ianto Jones. Silence reigned completely over the ship for almost five minutes, only the hum of Serenity herself and the slow sips audible.

“I say we keep him,” Jayne said abruptly.

Kaylee raised her hand. “Me, two.”

Taking that as a sign, Mal shook his head and ordered, “Time for lunch. We’ll discuss secret coffee recipes later. Who’s on today?”

“You are,” Simon reminded. “I’ll help.”

Mal wagged a finger at him and ordered, “You’re sitting. You’ve already been on your feet doing too much today.”

Simon rolled his eyes, but obeyed, taking a seat at the table.

Kaylee heaved a sigh and observed, “Isn’t it just the sweetest thing ever?”

Jayne snorted. “Think I’m gonna puke.”

 Zoe elbowed him on the way by and said to the newcomers, “Zoe Washburne.”

“Captain Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones,” Harkness replied, taking her hand. He was surprisingly businesslike as he continued, “I know we didn’t have time for introductions earlier.”

Jones also shook her hand and said, “It’s a pleasure, mum.”

And just where is that accent from? Mal wondered. He’d never heard it before.

“Cap’n? Food?”

Mal waved Kaylee off and went about getting the protein ready, minus Jayne’s share since he’d already gone and eaten. It didn’t take long and he listened as Harkness gave Jones’ explanation to the rest of the group as to where they’d come from. Surprisingly, no one dismissed it out of hand. Not surprising, it got Kaylee’s mouth going about a mile a minute theorizing about wormholes and time travel almost faster than the words could be formed.

Walking over to her after depositing the main container of protein ‘soup’ on the table, Mal simply clapped his hand over her mouth. He felt her grin under his palm and scolded, “No time traveling talk at the dinner table. It’s like to cause indigestion.”

She shook with near silent laughter, but nodded.

Mal sat down beside Simon and then frowned, looking around the full table. “Where’s…”

River popped down from the ceiling, her hair fanning out as she hung upside-down from one of the pipes. She smiled at him and answered, “Right here.”

He jumped at bit at the sudden appearance and then glared at the girl. “I told you to stop that.”

“Sure thing, Daddy!” River agreed, swinging down to land lightly on her feet. She patted Simon on the head and sat on his other side before looking at Harkness and Jones across from her. Frowning, she continued, “You don’t belong here.”

Kaylee exclaimed, “River! That’s not polite.”

But River ignored her, looking at the men as she said, “So far from home, so far ahead. Bright and shiny and old, very old. And pregnant too! Simon, you’ve got a friend!”

Startled, Mal looked at Harkness and Jones to find shocked expressions in place on both. Then Harkness laughed, if a bit uneasily, and said, “Sorry. Definitely not pregnant this time.”

Jones’ head swung around as he repeated, “This time?”

Harkness coughed into his hand and muttered, “We’ll talk about it later.”

River shook her head and insisted, “Pregnant! The pretty one is definitely pregnant.”

Harkness looked outright offended at that and countered sharply, “I am not pregnant!”

“Jack, I think she means me,” Jones said, sounding unsteady.

“Okay, enough with the pregnant talk at the table,” Mal ordered summarily. “No offense to those who may or may not be in a family way, but all time travel and baby talk is now banned from the rest of this meal. Which I would like to eat now.”

That put an effective damper on the conversation and everyone ate in silence. Halfway through, Mal sighed and gave in. “All right. Kaylee, go ahead.”

She gave a little clapping squeal and exclaimed, “Shiny!” before delving right back into rapid fire questions aimed at Harkness and Jones.

When Zoe and River joined in, Mal wondered if maybe there were something to the old saying about women being the smarter half of the species. Not that Simon was dumb by any stretch, but he could be the exception. Besides which, that extra chrome that made him able to have kids could swing him over closer to female than not.

“We could go back to the spot where you came aboard and see if the opening’s still there,” Zoe offered practically. “Might be the best way to get you back.”

Mal shook his head and said, “Not too close or we might go back with them.”

Kaylee suggested, “Loan them a shuttle?”

“Hey! That’s my shuttle!” Mal protested. “Only got two of them.”

Jayne’s offering was, “Space suit ‘em. If it’s there, they’ll go on their own and if not, we can pick ‘em back up.”

Everyone looked at him, varying degrees of surprise on their faces echoing the surprise Mal felt at the logical suggestion.

Defensive, Jayne got to his feet and snapped, “What? I can’t have good ideas? My head’s for more than just a hat rack, ya know.”

Mal watched the man stalk away muttering about Vera being the only one who understood him and shook his head. “Regardless of Jayne’s persecution issues, it’s a good idea. River, take us on back to where we were. Ish. Not too close.”

She saluted and hopped up, walking towards the cockpit.

Kaylee stood up with, “Think I’ll go with her,” before jogging after River.

Jones asked, “Dr. Tam, may I see you in private?”

“It’s Simon, please,” Simon replied. “And of course. Let’s go back to the infirmary.”

Which left Mal, Zoe, and Harkness at the table.

Looking at the other two, Mal offered, “Drink?”

Harkness’ gaze lingered on Jones and Simon as the two men left the common area, but he accepted, “I’ll have a double.”

Mal didn’t blame him. River was rarely wrong.

*  *  *  *

For the second time in two hours, Simon had Ianto Jones on his exam bed. At least this time, it was for something much better than a brain injury. Smiling at the worried man sitting on the bed, Simon promised, “This won’t take more than a minute, Mr. Jones.”

That didn’t seem to assure the other man who abruptly said, “It’s Ianto.”

Simon nodded and pulled out the handheld scanner for a slow pass over Ianto’s abdomen. No three dimensional imaging on this one, unfortunately, but the scanner sucked down prodigious energy and fuel, so he only used that one when absolutely necessary. Looking at the small monitor on the device, Simon saw what he expected to see on River’s pronouncement and smiled again. “You’re approximately seven weeks pregnant. No morning sickness?”

Looking stunned, Ianto shook his head. “No, no morning sickness. Are you sure? This can’t be happening.”

Understanding struck and, sympathetic, Simon guessed, “You didn’t know you had the extra genes.”

Pale blue eyes flew up to meet his and Ianto exclaimed, “Extra genes? I don’t have any extra genes! I am a perfectly normal human man! It is not possible for me to get pregnant!”

Thinking that maybe on Earth-That-Was no man could get pregnant, Simon said carefully, “We can always abort the fetus. I don’t know if that will sort out your organs or not, but for us, now in this time I mean, the fetal pouch retracts to its place where the spleen should be when we’re not pregnant. I could probably remove all the organs dealing with reproduction, if you’re certain you don’t wish to have any.”

Ianto went very still at that, eyeing him warily. “Are you telling me that you’re pregnant?”

“Five weeks now,” Simon confirmed, “the first three of which were absolutely miserable with morning sickness. I’ll be developing a temporary vagina in the next couple of months, which should be…very strange, to say the least. I have no idea what it’ll be like from first hand experience, though I’ve read enough about it to know that it’ll be extremely uncomfortable until actually formed.”

Swallowing, Ianto whispered, “May I have some water please?”

Simon immediately turned to the sink and poured a cup of water from the tap. He brought it back to Ianto and apologized, “It tastes bad, but there’s nothing bad in it.”

Ianto didn’t seem to care, instead staring into space as he sipped at the small cup.

“Mind if I cut in?”

Simon looked over at Captain Harkness’ words and smiled in response to the man’s easy, flirtatious tone. It had been a long time since Simon had dealt with his sort and he was definitely flattered by the attention. Keeping Mal on his toes was an added bonus. “Of course. I’ll give the two of you some time.”

Leaving them there, Simon closed the door behind him and watched briefly as Captain Harkness walked over to Ianto, said something, and then just gathered the younger man in his arms. It was a bittersweet tableau, knowing as he did that they were neither prepared for, nor desiring of, a child in their lives. He turned resolutely from the sight and gave them their privacy to find his husband.

Mal was still in the common area, cleaning up, so Simon teased, “How the mighty have fallen.”

Looking over at him, Mal smirked a bit and replied, “Wait ‘til I get you in bed next. I’ll show you how low I can really go.”

Simon rolled his eyes at the bad joke, but continued to close the distance between them. He rested his arms on Mal’s shoulders and then kissed him, slow and easy.

Mal made a contented noise and then broke the kiss to say, “Not that I’m complaining, but what brought that on?”

“Just knowing how lucky I am to have you,” Simon told him.

Mal half-smiled in a knowing expression and asked, “Our guests not overjoyed at their new condition?”

Simon sighed and shook his head. “I don’t even think they’ll keep the baby. He had no clue that he could get pregnant in the first place.”

Surprise sketched over Mal’s face as he repeated, “He didn’t know? How could he not?”

“Apparently men on Earth-That-Was don’t get pregnant at all.”

“Well that’s dumb.”

Simon chuckled and pointed out, “I doubt they have a say in their biology, Mal. After all, we don’t even know how it first happened in the here and now.”

Mal kissed him and pulled him in close before murmuring against his ear, “Glad we’re where and when we are, then.”

Flushing happily, Simon leaned against Mal and silently echoed the sentiment.

*  *  *  *

Holding Ianto was, generally speaking, one of the best parts of being his lover. Not this time, though. Not knowing how upset the young man was and knowing he was the cause of it. How could he have not remembered one of the possible affects of getting sprayed with a Cloisen’s venom? He kissed the top of Ianto’s head and murmured, “I’m sorry, Ianto. I never even thought about this happening to you.”

“How’d it happen to you?” Ianto asked, words muffled against Jack’s shoulder. “No, don’t tell me. Just tell me everything’s going to be all right.”

Jack squeezed him tighter for a few seconds and then stepped back. Putting his hands on the other’s shoulders, he stated firmly, “Everything’s going to be fine. Aside from an extra chromosome and the possibility of getting reproductive organs, there are no other side effects from the Cloisin venom. Well, aside from the whole ‘horny for a week’ thing, but we already dealt with that.”

Ianto snorted, though it was as woebegone a sound as he looked. “So you really weren’t kidding when you said they were lovers and not fighters.”

“I really wasn’t,” Jack confirmed, grinning. If Ianto could joke, however lightly, then they were okay.

Then Ianto frowned and slowly questioned, “You said…an extra chromosome and reproductive organs?”

Jack nodded. “Kind of like the Nostrovites’ putting their eggs in other species via their bites, the Cloisin take the focus and/or danger off themselves by giving their potential enemies something more important to think about.”

Meeting his gaze for the first time, Ianto said, “Jack, I think this was meant to happen.”

Curious, Jack prompted, “What do you mean?”

Ianto explained, “Well, Simon’s pregnant and he told me the process, probably thinking it would help to know what would happen and he described exactly what you just did. And if we’re really from their past, it would have had to happen at some point that a human was hit with a Cloisin venom in order to pass down the genes.”

“More than once,” Jack agreed slowly. “Because despite the Bible, not just one person can be the carrier for an entire species. I wonder how many other Cloisin got through the rift before we sealed the breach?”

With a nod, Ianto continued, “And if we hadn’t come forward in time to see that it was a real development, evolution even, I, well, ah, might have aborted the fetus. But now I know that it needs to happen so that people in the future can, well, be born.”

Though it hurt to know that Ianto wouldn’t have had his child any other way, Jack wasn’t surprised. It went against everything the young man had been brought up to believe about being a man. Gender roles sure as hell went away when you could suddenly give birth, as Jack knew from personal experience. He managed a brief smile as he said gently, “You can still have an abortion, Ianto. It doesn’t need to be you. You don’t have to go through this.”

Ianto’s gaze flickered away from his, pale skin flushing almost instantly. In a low voice, he replied, “I know, but…I want to, Jack. How could I not, when it’s your child?”

Jack swallowed against a tight throat and wrapped his arms around Ianto again, holding him and feeling way the hell better than he had even ten minutes ago.

*  *  *  *

Ianto was both terrified and ecstatic at being on a space walk, in the middle of the black of space. And while he’d much have preferred access to Simon’s experience and technology through the next seven months or so, a data disk was securely tucked away in his pocket. Assuming it survived the trip, they had detailed instructions for what to expect until the baby’s birth.

“You okay there, Ianto?” Jack’s voice asked through the comm.

Ianto let out a long, shaky breath and he replied, “I am, yes. Ready to go home.”

The rift was a mere shimmer in the darkness, a patch of space that didn’t quite mesh with the rest of the universe. How it had wound up all the way out in the middle of nowhere, no one could even guess. Ianto smiled sadly as he thought about the lively discussion Tosh would have had with Kaylee.

Leaning into Jack, he let the other man steer them towards the gateway back home. There was a blinding flash of pure white and then absolute blackness and then he was flat on his back looking up at the familiar monolith of the Hub’s fountain. At least there was no brain damage, second time round through the rift, nor any pain.

He sat upright to find Jack doing the same a few feet away and removed his helmet as a crowd began to gather. It was high summer and plenty of tourists were about, clogging the bay area as they wandered the city. Jack hopped to his feet and was at Ianto’s side a moment later, helping him stand.

“All right folks, all right. Nothing to see here,” he called out, making a shooing gesture. “Ianto, you all right?”

Nodding, Ianto said, “Fine, Jack, thanks. Bit of an audience though to go to the Hub. My place?”

A slow, leering grin spread over Jack’s face. “Thought you’d never ask.”

Rolling his eyes, Ianto tucked the helmet under his arm and walked towards the taxi stand, Jack right behind him. As Torchwood standards went, their travel forward in time was hardly noticeable. On a personal scale, Ianto knew his life would never be the same again.

Jack slung an arm around his waist and Ianto couldn’t help smiling at him, thinking fondly, Not that that’s a bad thing.