The pattern of their lives didn't change over the coming weeks and months, other than to draw the two men ever closer into the daily lives of the tribe. Time flew for Jack and it wasn't for some time that he thought about life beyond what he had until one evening one of the children started to ask him about his life before he had come to their home. They pestered him for stories and he told a couple that he thought fairly tame while the adults watched indulgently. It was with a lot of protest that Bellaron and Caterin got the children to sleep that evening, they had clamored for more.

"Tell me Jack," Rhylarin said while Nicolaren passed the gourd around for them to drink now that it was quiet once more. "Do you ever long to return to the worlds that you tell tales of?" Jack looked up in surprise as Eointaran poured his drink.

"Honestly? No," he said. "I have found all that I need here." He and Eointaran shared a kiss. They had discussed the same thing a long time ago and Jack had explained why he was there and what he had been searching for. Eointaran had told him that since he had found it, he need look no further. He understood that he would age while Jack would not, and had accepted it philosophically, saying that their time together would be well spent. As a species they did not age very fast so he reasoned that they would have many years together.

"So you will stay with us?" Nicolaren asked, delighted. Jack nodded and the men both reached out to clasp arms with him. "Then all is good. I would not have my sheren be without you."

"Nor I," Rhyarin said. "Stay, brother. You are part of our family and have been for some time. We have no wish to see you part from here anytime soon." Jack smiled, feeling a lump in his throat. These people had readily accepted him. He had been a stranger and now was loved by another and a trusted member of the tribe. He also knew that no matter how much time he spent in any one place he would always return to the point of origin, and that the device that was safely tucked away in the quarters that he shared with Eointaran would also bring him back to the same time as when he had first left.

"Thank you. I can think of no higher honor than to be called brother by you," He said to Nicolaren and Rhylarin. They had been more than friends, they were his family. And he was deeply touched by their concern as well. He looked at Eointaran, the man whose face was as familiar to him as his own. The blue eyes twinkled at him as the merman smiled at him. While the differences were quite apparent from his own Ianto, the similarities were far greater. And the fact that this man knew about him and accepted him for what he was helped greatly. He had truly met his match in this man, and was determined to enjoy his time spent here for as long as he could.

Cardiff Bay: Present Day

Gwen Cooper stood on the bay munching a chip when she heard a beep from her PDA. She looked down in surprise before remembering what it was that she had programmed in there to monitor. Pulling it out of the pocket of her leather jacket, she stared down at the display. "Oh my god," she murmured. Dropping the half finished bag of chips into a bin, she began racing back towards the Plass. She reached for her com and paged her friend.

"Martha! He's coming back!" She exclaimed, not listening for a response as she pelted in her high heel boots past people who were staring after her. She ignored them, heading unerringly towards the place she had last seen Jack. He had returned numerous times in the past, and each time she hoped that this time he would be back to stay. She didn't know if this time would be any different, but she couldn't help but hope that it would be the case. Though only weeks had passed for her, sometimes years had passed for Jack. She didn't understand the way the device worked that it would bring him back to the same time, but she was happy it did.

When she got to the Plass, Martha was there looking around. She had a scanner out, but other than that one signal there had been no other alert. She looked up as she heard Gwen run up to her. "Nothing yet," she said. She swept the area again with the scanner. "A false alarm?"

"It's never been wrong before," Gwen retorted. She looked at her friend. "Do you think he found him this time? That he'll be here to stay?"

Martha sighed. Each time Jack had come back, it had always been a mixed bag of emotions. And each time he returned empty handed. Sometimes he would tell them about what happened, other times he was as closed mouth as if the Master had been there to torture him again. She wondered if he would give up when those times happened. The pain in his eyes at whatever happened was always hard for them to bear. She could only imagine what it must be like for Jack to have to live through whatever happened. She silently shook her head as she scanned the area again.

"Wait, over there," Gwen said, hearing the telltale beep and Martha moved the device back to the right, towards the railing. "That's where he'll come." The two headed in that direction and were just about there when there was a blinding flash of light and a figure dropped to the ground. Gwen ran forward and helped Jack up. She stifled a gasp. Jack looked so different.

"Gwen," he said as he pulled her into a hug. He was dressed in his usual outfit, but the clothes seemed too large for him in some ways, and somewhat bedraggled and faded. His hair was unbelievably long and she stared at him in surprise. His face was thinner and tanned. "It's good to see you."

"Jack, are you okay?" She asked anxiously. As before, he was alone upon returning and as he turned to greet Martha, she took a long hard look at him. Wherever he had been, he had spent a long time there. She didn't understand the temporal mechanics of the device and how it always brought him back to the same relative time in Cardiff, but she was glad it did bring him back to her in between his trips.

"Martha," Jack said as he hugged the other woman tight against him and gave her a kiss. "You're looking well."

"And you are looking rather ragged, Captain Harkness," Martha retorted tartly. "Really, now!"

Gwen searched Jack's face as he turned and smiled at her, pulling her close to his other side so he was hugging both women at the same time. "Are you okay, Jack?" She reached up and brushed the hair out of his eyes and she was happy to see them smiling down at her.

"I'm okay, Gwen," he said with a nod. "So, what's been happening while I was gone?" He started walking, escorting the two over to a nearby bench. "Tell me everything." He stopped when Gwen pulled away from him and put her hands on her hips.

"Don't think you're going to not tell us what happened, Jack," she said with a shake of her finger. "You do not come back looking like that without telling us a story."

"She's right," Martha said, pulling back and nodding. "Nothing has changed here, work is progressing on the rebuild and so you have all the information you need about what's going on here. Tell us where you were and how you came to look so scruffy."

"Scruffy?" Jack asked in surprise. He rather liked the look himself. "I am not scruffy!"

"You are," Gwen accused him. "Look at that hair! And it's a good thing you don't grow a beard because it would have been down to your knees by now, I'm sure! You are not walking away without telling us how you came to be this way, Jack Harkness!" Jack turned to her and burst out into laughter.

"Wow, never knew my appearance was such a concern, ladies," he said with a grin. He was very amused by their reaction. He looked around the bay, the sounds of a modern industrial world that he had been away from for so long harsh in comparison to what he had been used to. He watched as the two women sat on the bench and waited for him to say something. "What?"

"Well? What happened?" Gwen finally burst out. "Aren't you going to tell us? Did you find him?" She was dying of curiosity for him to tell her. Beside her Martha tilted her head to one side as she examined Jack.

"Jack, just what did you find?" She asked, noting the relaxed lines of his face. Wherever he had been, he had been happy. She wondered that he had actually returned. "Where did you end up?"

Jack sat down on a concrete piling that separated the bench from the walkway along the pier. He nodded. "It was amazing," he said. "And I did find another version of Ianto. His name was Eointaran though." A smile played on his lips and Martha could see that once again, he had fallen for another version of the other man he had loved here in this world.

"Was?" Gwen asked, frowning at Jack's use of the past tense. "What happened?" Jack was still smiling, but she could see a touch of sadness there as well. "Why did you leave then?"

"I stayed for as long as I could," Jack said. "Years, really. Gwen, it was amazing! I was in a world of merpeople." She blinked.

"Ianto was a merman?" She asked. Jack saw the expression on her face and laughed.

"One of many," he said. "So of course he couldn't leave the world he was in, so I stayed with him instead." And with that he began to tell them of the tale of the people he had lived with for so many years. As the breeze whipped his hair around he could smell the oils and pollutants that this world had in it and he cherished the time he had found with a family of people unsullied by technology. They moved indoors once the weather grew colder and sat at a café just talking into the evening. Gwen and Martha were fascinated by the story that Jack had to tell them.

"Was it hard to leave?" Gwen asked when Jack had finished his tale. "It sounds so beautiful."

"It was. But it was time to leave," Jack said. He looked down at the glass of water that he hadn't touched in the time they had been talking. In his mind's eye he thought back to a simple shell in his hand and smiled. "They understood. They are an amazing people, really."

"Is this it, then?" Martha asked. "Are you done looking?" Jack looked up in surprise at her question. He stared at her for a long moment, not answering her question. Gwen held her breath, hoping that he would say that he was done, and would not travel forth again using the device.

"Martha, every time I go out there," he gestured towards the window, but she knew he meant the other universes he had been to. "I find another version of the man that makes me learn so much more about him. I know that I probably will never find another version of the exact man I once knew, but at the same time I think I'm learning so much more about him by finding these others. They're not copies, but individuals in their own right. If there is something that I've learned over time, it is that they're each unique. Each worth knowing."

"Even when it hurts you to leave them?" Gwen asked. She knew that Jack had spent years with this other Ianto. This Eointaran as he called him. She thought it would be hard to watch the one you loved die again, but Jack seemed at peace with it. She watched his face as he smiled down at the glass in front of him. Just what had he experienced that he hadn't told them? Her eye was drawn to something on his wrist and she reached out and stopped his hand from moving. It was an intricately woven band with iridescent shells. "That's beautiful."

Jack looked down at it and gently stroked one of the shells in what seemed to be a familiar gesture. "It is." He looked up with a grin. "Did I tell you I was naked the whole time?"

"What, on this planet?" Martha asked with a laugh. "So I guess you would be tanned all over?" Jack nodded with a twinkle in his eye. "Don't suppose you want to share then?"

"Don't think that would be a good idea," Gwen responded hastily. Knowing Jack, he would drop his clothes off right then and there if prompted. "Better not to, and just leave it to our imagination."

"You're no fun," Jack and Martha echoed together. Gwen shook her head at the two them.

"Seen Jack in the nude before," she said and covered her eyes. "That was enough for this gal." It had been hard enough the first time and she didn't want a repeat performance. Not when she had finally settled down into married life with Rhys and her baby. Jack Harkness was forbidden fruit as far as she was concerned.

"Spoilsport," Martha said with a laugh. "Maybe I'll get a private showing some day myself."

"Oh, it wasn't private at all!" Gwen protested and Jack laughed. In a way she was pleased that he could laugh about the past. Maybe these trips to other dimensions were good for him, and helping him heal from the terrible hurt he had experienced. He did seem more at peace for once. It made her feel better about his repeated attempts to know that it was doing him so good and perhaps he could find some closure and move on.

The conversation moved on into the night until it was time to leave. Gwen had to go back home, and so after giving Jack a hug and eliciting a promise that he wasn't going to leave for a bit, she left. That left Jack and Martha on the Plass.

"Back to mine?" She said with a smile and gestured not towards the rebuilt Hub, but in the direction of her apartment. She had long left the hotel in favor of having a place where she could relax. And the Hub wasn't it. There were too many ghosts for either her or Gwen, though that was changing over time. But she had no wish to bring back unhappy memories for Jack.

"Still trying to get me out of these clothes, aren't you?" He asked with a laugh and she grinned.

"Absolutely, Captain," she told him with a laugh. He extended his elbow for her to take and the two began to walk away in the direction of her flat. They walked in silence for a bit, their heels echoing on the sidewalk. They didn't speak for some time, and it was Martha who broke the silence. "I'm glad you were happy where you were. You deserve some time to yourself."

"Is that what he would say?" Jack asked, looking upwards. She knew whom he was referring to. "Or would he chastise me for interfering?"

"I think the Doctor would understand," Martha said. She knew how much he meant to Jack, along with his approval. He looked down as they walked, his long hair hiding his face from her gaze. Martha pulled to a stop and tugged on Jack's arm. "But would it stop you from trying again?"

Jack thought about that for a moment. "No." They began walking again. "I know my path lies in a different direction from the Doctor's. They may cross again in the future, only time will tell. But I have to make my own decisions without worrying about his disapproval. And this is something I've learned I had to do for myself." He looked up again at the stars and laughed. "After all, I have all of eternity to learn how to behave."

"You may need that long in his estimation," Martha retorted and the two grinned at one another. "You, Jack Harkness, are incorrigible."

"You say that like it is a bad thing," Jack chided her. "I see it as an asset."

"Oh do you?" Martha laughed. "I suppose you would." She hugged his arm as they continued on their way, bantering back and forth. Jack was back, but he wasn't here to stay she knew. But she was certain he was on the road to becoming the Jack she had first met years ago and she looked forward to a time when he would return and not go out again. Maybe he was wrong and the next time he would actually find a man who was most like the Ianto he had once known. She just hoped she would be there for it when he returned…..