Title: The Kitten and the Fern
By: TimeChaser1
Characters: Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG-13
Summary: This is what happens when you mess with weird aliens all the time. Someone is bound to be changed. If only temporarily...

***

Owen watched as the black kitten silently stalked the fern on Gwen's desk. This was the eighth time the kitten had tried to defeat the interloper. The score so far was Fern-7 kitten-0, but the kitten was nothing if not persistent.

He crouched. Tail in the air, the kitten sank down to his belly…than pounced at the fern!

He missed by three inches. Again.

The fern was not amused. And it showed its displeasure by bending down and whopping the kitten on its head. Than straightening again it became its usual ferny self.

Fern-8 Kitten-0

***

Tosh and Owen moved two chairs in front of the desk, sat and waited. The kitten did not disappoint.

He came slinking around the computer and glared at the evil fern. He crept forward on his stomach.

Slowly... Slowly…

Until he was directly beside the clay pot.

The little kitten than stood up on his hind legs, put his front paws on the rim of the pot and hoisted himself up. When he had gotten inside the dirt filled pot, the kitten being batting at the leaves.

This went on for several seconds before the fern finally got fed up.

Fern wrapped a leaf around the kitten drew back and let the kitty fly!

Fern-9 Kitten-0

***

Tosh, Owen, and Gwen all sat watching as the scene unfolded before them. The black kitten had knocked over a mug on Gwen's desk and was now pacing back and forth in front of it.

He stopped.

Backed up to the edge of the desk, than raced as fast as his little legs could go straight for the mug!

He reached the mug, jumped on top and catapulted through the air towards the fern! He rammed into it, knocking it off the desk and to the ground with a resounding crash!

***

"So what you're saying is that because of some weird chemical the alien released both of them were…." Gwen trailed off, not able to finish the sentence with both Jack and Ianto staring at her.

Jack, being his usual self, clapped his hands together once and dismissed everyone. "Well. Now that that incident is behind us, and best forgotten, let's each go home and get some rest."

"Ianto! Are you really alright?"

Ianto looked at Jack over his shoulder with a stunned look in his eyes, "I don't know if I'll ever get over this. It was wrong…just wrong."

Jack looked at Ianto's retreating back. He contemplated the days events and had to agree. But it didn't change anything.

Jack crouched low and waited…when Ianto was directly in front of his office door, Jack pounced.

***