Italics denotes a past or future time.

Ordinary type denotes present time.

TWTWTW

Everyone was at their workstations busy and quiet. There had been no rift activity for two days but the previous week had been madness and they were all grateful for the rest.

Owen was in the med lab collating his analyses from various alien autopsies looking for similarities. Toshiko was spending time helping him. This wasn't strictly necessary, Owen could complete the information alone, but they were both enjoying spending time together and Jack was not one to begrudge such indulgencies.

Gwen was out of the hub at present catching up with Andy, her one time police colleague. He knew more about Torchwood than most police officers, but out of loyalty to Gwen rarely asked for more information than he was given. He was a good contact to have and Jack had asked her to keep up the relationship.

Ianto was making coffee and Jack was standing watching him, he was bored and restless. He walked up behind Ianto and placed his head on Ianto's shoulder.

'Can I watch you make my coffee?' he pleaded like a petulant toddler.

'Yes, but I can't make it with your head on my shoulder' said Ianto in exasperation.

He almost hoped for rift activity on days like this as a bored Jack could be very dangerous. At best he would make them all undertake some dreadful team building exercise, at worst he would demand sex and would not much care who heard or saw them.

Fortunately for all the team he took neither option that day. He twined his hands about Ianto's waist and nuzzled his neck and asked him to come to his office and talk.

'Do you mean talk Harkness, or is that a euphemism for something sexual and degrading?' laughed Ianto.

'I want to talk Ianto' Jack pouted, 'I want you to tell me something about you that I don't already know.'

Ianto looked around at him in surprise Jack didn't often like to spend time on introspection, this would make a nice change.

'Ok, give me two minutes to take drinks to the others and I'll join you' he replied wondering what secret he was willing to give up to Jack's boredom.

Ianto did not realise then that those two minutes would be the longest he had ever experienced.

He took drinks to the med lab for Toshiko and Owen, stopping to smile at their obvious closeness before he placed their drinks down and left them to their work.

As he travelled back to the main hub he spotted a blurred area at the bottom of the steps to Jack's office. He stood and contemplated. It looked as if part of the fabric of reality was fuzzy, like poor transmission on a television.

Ianto really should have known better. He should have alerted the others and not walked towards the phenomenon, but he wasn't even sure it existed, maybe it was just a trick of his own vision. He needed to mount the steps to join Jack and so went to investigate.

Ianto was drawn immediately into a whirl of mist and feeling suddenly dizzy he sat on the steps and watched the world around him dissolve. He stood and tried to get his bearings but he was no longer in the hub. Or rather he was in the hub but everything and everyone around him had disappeared.

He found himself face to face with an unknown man, obviously an image as Ianto's hand went straight through him when he reached out.

'Ianto Jones I am the Doctor' said the man.

Ianto looked at him askance, this was the very man of whom he had been jealous for so long. Jack's Doctor.

'What's happening?' he asked.

'You are in a time whirl Ianto...it's a time/space distortion thingy..oh you probably won't understand...but I'm trying to get you out' answered the Doctor.

'Ok...is it harmful?...do you think you will be able to get me out?..is there anything I can do to help?...will the others be affected?' demanded Ianto.

The Doctor looked at him with a little more respect.

'It won't affect anyone else I've managed to contain it..you can't help..I am brilliant so I should be able to get you out...it's not exactly harmful but you could be stuck for ever' said the Doctor answering Ianto's questions in reverse order.

'A time whirl will keep you enclosed within your own timeline...you will revisit moments of the past and ones from the future...but only from your own lifetime and only in this environment...so don't be worried if you start to witness...well yourself' continued the Doctor.

'Ok' answered Ianto 'tell Jack I'm ok...will you be able to do that?' he asked worriedly.

The Doctor just looked at him for a moment.

'I tell you that you could be stuck here witnessing your own life forever and you want me to stop trying to help long enough to go and tell Jack you're ok?' he asked in disbelief.

Ianto shrugged.

'He'll be worried' he explained.

The Doctor gave him a big goofish grin.

'Rightio then...next time you see me will hopefully be when the Tardis materialises around you to pull you out'

The Doctor's image faded and then re-focussed sharply.

'Try not to look too hard at anything you see from the future' he warned and faded permanently.

Ianto could not look at anything at the moment, mist was swirling all around him and nothing was in focus, he could just make out blurred images of what he assumed to be people moving about. He panicked slightly now that the Doctor was gone, suddenly taking in the reality of his predicament and feeling very alone.

But then the mist cleared and he found himself fascinated by the scene before him.

This is my first day thought Ianto. When Jack was desperate to see a reaction from me to the hub and I was equally determined not to give him the satisfaction. Ianto was fascinated watching his former self, all stiff upper lip, suit and secrets.

He felt himself crumple a little. He wanted to reach out and tell himself not to do it. To trust Jack, to tell him about Lisa and not put himself through months of torture and nearly get them all killed.

'Hey' he shouted before he had time to think clearly.

'Hey...er ...Ianto' he tried again.

No reaction, nothing at all, from himself or Jack or, oh God there was Suzie grinning and greeting him. It would seem they couldn't hear him, he supposed that was to be expected in this time whirl thing.

Probably not a good idea to try and interact with his past anyway.

TWTWTW

He watched himself and Jack walk into the hub through the main door. Jack walked in first and stopped to turn around and watch Ianto's reaction.

'Ianto this is Suzie and Toshiko and Owen...Owen's the doc around here so he'll need to check you out at some time today' said Jack.

'Alright' nodded Owen 'when Jack's finished showing you around just come down to the med lab and I'll run a few tests...make sure you're ok ...take a few blood samples and so on' he continued.

Ianto looked slightly alarmed, he hated being looked at and touched and really didn't want to be prodded by anyone, even a qualified doctor.

'It's just routine Ianto' assured Jack and Ianto immediately relaxed his face into his professional mask.

'Of course sir' he replied.

Jack looked at him a little concerned but then shook himself and led Ianto off to the archives.

Suzie wandered over to Toshiko's workstation.

'So what do you think?' she asked.

Toshiko did not take her eyes from the screen where she was running what looked like a translation programme.

'I think I may be close to a breakthrough. I just have to collate these findings with the ones from yesterday' said Toshiko obviously distracted by her concentration on the monitor.

Suzie laughed at her.

'I meant about the new bloke. What did you think about him?' she smiled.

'Oh...yes...seems nice' answered Toshiko still wrapped up in her work.

Suzie rolled her eyes at Owen as he came to join them.

'Well we all know why Jack hired him' he announced.

Toshiko looked up at him.

'Do we?' she asked ingenuously.

Owen smirked at her.

'Well he looks good in a suit...he's calling Jack sir...and he has a certain naive charm...yes I think we all know why Jack hired him'

Suzie joined him in laughing.

'So...I reckon two days...any takers?' Owen finished.

Toshiko looked at him in puzzlement.

'Oh I think he's straight...it will take Jack a bit longer than that to get him into bed...I'll take two weeks' laughed Suzie.

Toshiko looked slightly shocked.

'You are seriously taking bets on how long it will take Jack to bed the new guy?' she asked incredulously 'do you really think that's why he hired him...I mean we do need office support'

Toshiko looked concerned as she began to realise the possibility that her boss had hired Ianto for just such nefarious reasons.

Owen and Suzie both looked at her with despair and contempt on their faces.

'Ok' announced Toshiko 'new guy looks like he has morals...I'm thinking three months and only then on Ianto's terms'

Ianto laughed. Even from the brief glimpse Toshiko had seen of him that first morning she had read him better than either of the other two. It had been just over three months before Jack had got anywhere near Ianto and even then it had been kissing and a few surreptitious gropes and they had definitely been on Ianto's terms.

He watched them talk about him for a few more minutes. It was strange hearing other people's opinions of himself and he wondered if they still thought of him in the same way now. Suzie was no longer with them and Toshiko and Owen knew he and Jack were together, so presumably they thought a little differently. He certainly hoped they did.

The mist swirled and the scene before him faded. Ianto struggled to contain his shock as people he did not know entered the hub. He looked around slightly panicked for somebody he recognised to confront the intruders.

He watched as Jack came out of his office and greeted the three comfortably. Ianto tried to control his breathing, this was obviously a scene from the future. But then his heart beat faster again as he tried to think about where that meant Tosh, Gwen and Owen were.

He sat abruptly in shock as he saw himself follow Jack out of the office. A much older version of himself, about twenty years older he realised. A brief feeling of relief and pleasure that he had made it to his forties followed, not many Torchwood operatives managed that.

'Stuart what did the readings show?' asked Jack leaning over the railings outside his office.

'Looks to be inanimate and harmless...Lucy and Michael are taking it straight to the archives...save a second trip' answered Stuart.

'Ok we'll meet them there' he grabbed Ianto's hand and they set off down to the lower levels.

Jack pushed Ianto against the wall and kissed him thoroughly. Ianto's hands came up around the captain's waist and pulled him closer.

'What is it with you and the archive corridors?' panted Ianto.

'Always remind me of times gone past...previous encounters...you and me' whispered Jack.

'Well I'm not as young as I was and the corridor floor holds little appeal' said Ianto.

Jack pouted and Ianto laughed at him.

'Come on sir...I promise to make it up to you later...in our very soft bed' Ianto whispered huskily.

As they made to continue their journey Ianto stopped briefly as if remembering something. He turned around and seemed to stare directly at the spot where today's Ianto was standing.

'Ianto?' queried Jack 'you ok?'

'Yeah' said Ianto softly 'just remembering something...it's all going to be ok' and he turned and continued his journey.

'Lucy...Michael...don't let us disturb you' snarked Jack as they found the two locked in an embrace.

They fell apart and looked apologetic.

'Ignore him...he's just as bad...attacked me in the corridor just now and he's old enough to know better' laughed Ianto looking at the guilt on the faces of his two teammates.

'Lucy showed me the CCTV footage from your office last night...I know you have no right to complain about us getting intimate in the work place' laughed Michael.

'For God's sake Jack...when will you learn to delete footage before we go to bed?' sniped Ianto snarling at the other man.

'When will you learn not to trust me when I tell you it's done?' returned Jack with a small shrug.

Ianto looked at Lucy harshly.

'And when will we both learn not to employ nosy techies with a penchant for voyeurism' he asked giving up the argument.

'Sorry' laughed Lucy apologetically 'for the record it was damn hot' she grinned.

'Enough!' shouted Jack let's do some work shall we?'

Ianto gasped. He was almost sure his other self had been talking to him in the corridor when he said everything would be alright. If this was his future self then maybe he had been remembering.

Ianto returned his attention to the fact that Jack still cared for him and the reference to 'our' bed held all sorts of possibilities that Ianto could not begin to believe in.

He and Jack were obviously still close enough after all these years for Jack to hold his hand, kiss and talk about sexual activity. These teammates knew about him and Jack, they were joking about them. He looked again at his future self. He definitely looked to be mid forties and yet he and Jack still seemed to have a relationship. This was just unreal.

He leant against the wall and breathed deeply. Please God let Toshiko and Owen be married and happy somewhere out there. Let Gwen be a mother of several children with better things to do than save the world. He knew both these scenarios were highly unlikely and he had to hold back sobs. He was obviously still alive, still happy, still involved with Jack and he refused to believe his friends were not as lucky.

The Doctor had told him to try not to look at the future, not to be affected by what he did see. That was impossible. He felt great joy at seeing himself with Jack, and enormous fear that his friends had been replaced. Seeing his past was hard, wanting to warn himself, but this was worse, knowing and yet not knowing. Please Doctor, get me out of here he thought.

Mist enveloped him and then cleared once more, Ianto found himself back in the main hub. He quickly realised that whilst he could move within the hub, following himself or others, he didn't have a choice where he would go when the time line changed.

His first feeling was one of relief as he took in the sight of Toshiko, Gwen and Owen. He smiled to himself as he realised he had never before been grateful for a sight of Owen. He and Owen had become closer whilst Jack was away but the medic still tended to snipe at Ianto more than the others, merely because Ianto's controlled nature meant that he would tolerate more.

He turned to watch himself making coffee, he would never be able to comprehend how weird it was to watch oneself. He had seen images of them all on CCTV but watching in so called real life was entirely different, if he wasn't so freaked out by it he might almost enjoy it, as if he were spying on things he should never have been privy too.

Maybe this was a little too close to the problem Toshiko had with the pendant Mary had given her. No this was different, he couldn't hear thoughts, could only witness what had actually happened even if he didn't see it at the time, or hadn't lived it yet.

Ianto shook himself, it really would be better for his sanity if he didn't think too hard about all this. He watched the scene unfold before him. This is from just last week he realised.

Ianto took Toshiko her tea and stayed to talk a few moments. Tosh had been quiet since Tommy had left and he was trying to offer some sympathy whilst not opening a sore subject. She appreciated his gesture and they chatted briefly about the programme she was working on.

Ianto moved on and handed a hot chocolate to Gwen.

'Cor just what I needed Ianto..thanks' preened Gwen luxuriating in the rich liquid.

'Oi...some of us may not be female..or captain shaggable..but we still need coffee' shouted Owen from his monitor.

Ianto rolled his eyes. Owen was in a bad mood, probably through a lack of rift activity, probably because he hadn't been laid in a week, or probably just because he was Owen. Whatever the problem was Ianto knew he would come in for most stick from the moody medic and hurried to provide him with caffeine stimulation.

Jack leant on the railings outside his office watching his team and Ianto in particular, dreaming lazily of their antics the night before. Lack of rift activity meant time and energy for other more satisfying pursuits.

He grinned when he heard Owen's name for him.

'Somebody not getting any Owen?' he laughed.

'I do alright mate don't you worry' muttered Owen.

The girls giggled, Jack had obviously hit a sore spot. Ianto sat at his own monitor and continued working, at least whilst Jack and Owen were sparring the medic was not sniping at him.

'Really?' questioned Jack and something spurred him to dig at Owen.

'Let's see who has gone the longest...Gwen when did you last get down and dirty?' he laughed.

Gwen laughed outright.

'Who the hell says down and dirty Harkness...and two days ago...you Toshiko?' she replied.

'Four nights ago' said Toshiko dreamily thinking of Tommy, it hurt to remember but digging at Owen in this way gave her a small sense of triumph that she didn't really want to investigate.

'What about you Jack?' she finished.

'Two hours ago' smirked Jack.

'What?!...we were all right here!' shouted Gwen whilst Toshiko grinned at his statement.

Ianto had stiffened when Jack had made his announcement, he really didn't like sharing this stuff with the others especially Owen.

'Oh God Harkness you really are disgusting' said Owen.

Jack had noticed Ianto's posture and was quickly realising that confession hadn't been wise. He and Ianto were still getting back on track after his disappearance and making light of their relationship was probably not a good idea.

'Well making coffee and being the captain's toy...I suppose this explains the teaboys stilted walk' sniped Owen.

Jack registered the mortified look on Ianto's face and tried to make amends.

'Owen!' he shouted 'Ianto is not the teaboy...he is my boy..and tea rarely comes into it'

Ianto stood and walked away into Jack's office and shut the door behind him.

'Oh God...that did not come out the way I intended' sighed Jack whilst the girls smirked and Owen just gaped open mouthed.

Jack quickly disappeared to placate Ianto in his office. He shut the door to be confronted by Ianto's back facing him as the young man stood at Jack's desk his shoulders shaking slightly. This is worse than I thought ran through Jack's mind.

'Christ Ianto..don't cry...it's not that bad...they all know we're together..does it really matter that I make a joke occasionally' he tried.

Ianto turned to face him and Jack let out a huge sigh of relief. Ianto was laughing and trying desperately to hold the sound inside causing his shoulders to heave.

'Did you see the look on Owen's face when you said that?...priceless!' he giggled.

'You're not mad' gasped Jack.

'No Jack...and I'm not enough of a girl to cry over it if I were...but the others expect me to maintain a respectable front...it wouldn't be as much fun for them if I didn't..especially for Owen..I couldn't let them see me laugh' he said wiping his eyes.

'However you are never to call me your boy again' he continued, but then he cocked his head to one side 'in front of them' he amended.

Jack sidled over to him and curled his arms about his waist.

'So I can call you my boy in private?' he asked huskily.

Ianto appeared to think about this for a moment.

'On one condition' he said.

'Ok' agreed Jack.

'You get to be my boy tonight' purred Ianto.

Jack's passion fuelled kiss was all the agreement he needed.

'And just think of the fun we can have messing with Owen...you can make him muck out the Weevils for a week on the pretext that he made you upset me' added Ianto with a wicked gleam in his eye.

'Ianto Jones you are evil' laughed Jack.

Outside the office their teammates were left wondering what was being said.

'Did he just seriously call Ianto his boy?' asked Owen bemused by the whole thing.

'I believe he did' Toshiko replied smiling.

'I thought they were just shagging...but this is getting creepy' sniffed Owen.

'I think it's sweet' announced Toshiko.

Gwen grinned and Owen just looked at the two of them in bewilderment.

Ianto smiled to himself as he remembered the scene. Jack had indeed been his boy that night. Some memories were good to relive. But not all Ianto's memories of times in the hub were as pleasant and he really hoped the Doctor would save him before the truly unpleasant ones were shown to him.

The mist enveloped him once more.

TWTWTW

Back at the hub Jack looked out of his office window wondering what was keeping Ianto. He went to the door and shouted.

'Ianto!...Iantooo!'

The other team members looked around at him.

'He was here a minute ago' said Toshiko.

Jack felt his stomach sink.

'Tosh check internal CCTV something has happened' the Japanese woman nodded .

'Ianto' Jack tried again over the internal comms.

'Jack! Oh my God Jack! Look!' shouted Toshiko pointing to her monitor.

Jack raced to her side and was quickly joined by Gwen and Owen. They watched as Ianto walked towards the stairs of Jack's office and then just disappeared. Toshiko replayed the image again and pointed to the slight fuzziness that swirled around Ianto immediately before his disappearance.

'What's that?' she asked.

'Don't know Tosh..but I want us all working on it until we find out...I want to know where Ianto is...and I want him back' announced Jack.

They all nodded and began running investigations.

'Oh God...we have to find him' muttered Jack to himself before taking a deep breath and joining in with the research.

Jack returned to his office to work as his constant pacing was beginning to affect the ability of the others to concentrate. He looked out of his window watching them help each other but then turned quickly at the sound of a familiar voice. He confronted an image of the Doctor.

'What!?' spluttered Jack.

'Yes yes...surprised to see me...what am I doing etc etc...really no time Jack...Ianto is ok...he wanted me to tell you..said you would be worried...he's in a time whirl and I'm working on getting him out'

The Doctor stopped speaking long enough to judge if Jack was taking in what he was telling him. He grinned.

'Rightio then...I'll get on with it' he said and his image began to fade.

'Doctor! Wait!' shouted Jack.

The image refocused.

'Yes?' questioned the Doctor.

'Make sure you get him...and tell him we miss him...I miss him' said Jack stunned by the sudden appearance of the other man and relieved to some extent that he was working on Ianto's disappearance.

'Blimey you lot have no sense of urgency..always wanting to send messages...I am a little busy you know...being brilliant and all that' he said aggrievedly.

Jack smiled and waved him away.

'Go...be brilliant...bring back Ianto' he said.

'OOhh that sounds good...we should start a campaign...bring back Ianto' trailed off the Doctor as his image faded again.

Jack took a deep breath. If the Doctor was helping then Ianto stood a good chance of being returned intact, but this was not going to stop Jack worrying and fretting until he had his Welshman in his arms again.

He strode to the door and prepared to update the team and tell them not to stop their work.