Worth The Risk

Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or any of its characters (no matter how high I bid- 'lesigh')

Spoilers: Various bits and pieces from Torchwood season 1- "Countrycide" and Doctor Who "Doomsday". Post-"End of Days"

Chapter 1

Jack watched from his office as Ianto carefully travelled from the coffee machine with his tray of industrial strength coffee to each member of Torchwood Three. Gwen eagerly took her mug and praised Ianto for his expertise in coffee making. By the time Ianto had made his way to Jack's office, there was only one mug on the tray left.

Although they were both staring at each other, Ianto knocked on Jack's door.

"You don't need to knock any more," Jack said from behind his desk as Ianto made his way across the room to deliver the goods.

"Every one else does," Ianto replied, placing the mug in front of Jack who didn't seem to acknowledge its placement.

Jack kept his gaze on Ianto. "You're not every one else."

Ianto smiled and nodded his head. "One cup of industrial strength coffee," he said, indicating to the cup. Jack ignored the cup and stood up from his desk and began to make his way around.

"- just for you," Ianto finished. Jack maintained his gaze on his lover, moving slowly toward him. He made his way around the back of Ianto and gently slipped his arm around his waist, pulling his closer.

"I'd much rather have you instead," he whispered into his ear, and then gently kissed behind Ianto's ear.

Ianto giggled. "That tickles, Sir."

Ianto slowly turns to look deeply into his lover's entrancing eyes. He could spend hours just looking into his eyes. Jack softly pulls Ianto forward until both bodies were touching each other. Jack gently places a kiss on his lover's lips. Ianto returns the kiss with force, prying Jack's lips apart and slid his tongue across his teeth. Jack snogs back, placing a hand behind Ianto's neck and playing with the base of his hair, making him chuckle and pull his lips away from Jack's.

Meanwhile downstairs, Gwen strolls past Owen with her profile on an eyewitness account on a Weevil attack.

"You goin' up to see Jack?" Owen calls behind her.

"Yep," she replied without stopping or looking back.

"I wouldn't!"

This made her stop, turn and sigh. "They're at it again, aren't they?"

Owen nods.

"That's all well and good, but not when I've got bloody work to do" she complained as she walked back towards Owen.

"Oh, hang on, did I just hear that properly? For a moment there, you sounded like Tosh," Owen commented. Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Well, perhaps you should be more like Tosh. Have some enthusiasm to work here."

Owen laughed hysterically as Gwen battered him with her folder. Owen jumped out from his chair and engulfed her in a gigantic hug and started to tickle her.

"Owen, stop, ple—" her cries of angst were cut short by cries of laughter. She kicked the air as Owen continued to torment her.

They both stopped when Tosh's computer sang out an alarm. Tosh wasn't at her work station, which was odd.

"Tosh?" Gwen called out, just in case she was somewhere and couldn't hear her computer.

"You better have not killed my computer like last time," Tosh called as she promptly marched toward her work station.

Gwen huffed a laugh. "No, your computer is giving out some sort of…warning? I dunno."

Simultaneously, something in Ianto's pocket vibrated against both Jack's leg and his own. Ianto pulled away from Jack's grip and Jack moaned.

"I doubt that's what I was hoping it would be," he laughed and Ianto smiled at the joke as he looked at his palm pilot from his pocket.

"Tosh's computer is giving out a warning about something being washed through the Rift," he explained, as he began to walk out of Jack's office. "I suggest you sit down for a while until that goes down a bit, Sir," Ianto commented and walked out towards Tosh's work space.

"What's going on?" Ianto inquired.

"Hate to pry you away from Jack, but my computer is giving off readings of some sort of alien weapon that has washed up on Cardigan Bay."

"Do you know what it looks like?" Owen asks.

Tosh shook her head. "Fro some reason, my computer doesn't recognise it. It could look like anything, however big or small."

"Any one for a treasure hunt?" Jack called, already walking through the Hub door. As usual, Gwen, Tosh and Owen grabbed their jackets and followed their Captain out of the Hub, leaving Ianto alone. He sighed as the main door shut and went about his cleaning duties. He didn't even bother to look up when he heard the door open again.

"Forget the car keys, again?" He said, putting empty pizza boxes into a plastic bag.

"Not exactly," came Jack's voice and Ianto was lifted from behind and carried down the stairs and out the door.

"Jack, what are you doing?" Ianto cried, not sure whether to be happy or embarrassed as the team snickered at the sight of Jack carrying him.

"You're getting some fieldwork experience."

"Last time that happened, I was almost cut into sausages," he said, as Jack set him down next to the SUV.

Jack waited until Gwen and Tosh had climbed into the back seat of the SUV before replying. He placed a soft hand on Ianto's cheek. "You're with the Captain now."

The trip to Cardigan Bay was filled with gossip about the weather, cherry blossoms and "Brokeback Mountain".

In the midst of a moment's silence, Ianto chuckled to himself.

"What's so funny?" Gwen asked from the back.

"It just occurred to me…You always tease me because I clean the coffee machine each day, I'm just wondering how many times Owen cleans his car each day?" Ianto mused, pointing out how shiny and clean Owen's blue sports car looks from the back.

Gwen and Tosh sniggered; Jack just smiled and kept driving.

"You know, I swear I thought I heard him talking to his car when we were leaving the Hub one night," Tosh added. This made every one start cracking jokes about how intimate Owen is towards his car.

Owen turned off the main road and onto a small, deserted beach, the SUV in pursuit.

"Oh my GOD," Gwen cried as her hair was tossed every which way by the wind. "It's freezing."

"You can say that again," said Owen as he strolled to meet the rest of the team. "So where is this thing?"

Tosh pulled out her palm pilot. "It's…approximately 120 metres west from here." Jack lead the way, the team followed.

Gwen, Tosh and Owen shivered and hugged themselves in an attempt to keep warm; Ianto and Jack seemed unaffected by the wintry temperature. They walked along the sandy beach in search of the alien weapon.

"Jack," Tosh yelled above the winds. "It should be about 20 feet ahead."

Ianto's eyes locked onto something in the distance. Something that didn't belong on a beach.

"We see it, Tosh!"

The team formed a circle around the object, half buried in the sand. It was an oddly shaped trinket box, about the size of a clenched fist with bizarre symbols inscribed on its browny-gold surface. It's round and the top resembled a pyramid; all sides curved smoothly to a golden point in the middle.

"I thought you said it was a weapon," Owen said.

"I did."

Putting on his rubber gloves, Owen carefully picked it up only to yelp with pain and drop it again.

"What happened? Is it hot?" Gwen asked.

"No," Owen said cradling his hand. "It's freezing cold."

"You should've used safety tongs, anyway," Tosh said as she placed the trinket box in a plastic bag with the "Torchwood" symbol on it.

"Thankyou for telling me that Tosh. However, you were a little bit delayed—"

"Cut it out, Owen."

"Can we please get out of here?!" Gwen pleaded, jumping up and down.

"Was there anything else, Tosh?" Jack asked.

"No, just this," she said, holding up the bag.

"You might want to put it in another bag," Jack said, looking at the hole the trinket had made.

"It's melting it's way through the plastic…"

"Even more incentive for us to get back to the Hub!"

Jack nodded his head and Gwen bolted for the SUV, Tosh and Owen trailed behind. Ianto walked ahead of Jack and stepped around a large puddle of sea water.

He turned to speak to Jack. "You know—" was all he could say before his front was splattered with the water from puddle by Jack's foot. Ianto stopped dead in his tracks, looked at his wet suit, then to Jack, back to the suit and then back to Jack with an expression as if to say, "What the fuck was that for?!"

Jack burst into hysterics and put his arm around Ianto's and led him toward the SUV.

"I couldn't resist," he laughed.

Ianto shrugged off Jack's arm around his neck and pushed him to the car door. Ianto returned the smile.

They got into the car and made their way back to the Hub.

"Okay, when we get back, run a search on the trinket box. I want to know what know what this "weapon" does.