"All this for a Tuesday night?" Johnny said, taking a whiff of the delicious smelling air as he walked into the kitchen/family room area.

"We're having company," Rhia said as she went about smashing the potatoes.

"We are?"

"An old friend is back in town," she said with a smile.

"Anyone I know?"

"Yeah," she said, laughing to herself.

"So who is it?"

"An old friend," she repeated.

"Yes, yes, but what's her name?" Johnny persisted. This was getting ridiculous.

"No need. He'll be here soon. I told him 6:30."

"Him? What's going on, Rhia?"

"Making dinner. Having company," she said turning from the stove and beginning to set the table. "Now could you go and get David and Mica, please? Have them wash up for dinner."

"Not going to tell me who's coming then?"

"You'll see soon. Go and fetch the kids."

"Alright, alright," and he left mumbling something under his breath.

Mica enter the room a few minutes later. "Daddy says someone's coming for dinner, Mum. Who is it?" Mica inquired as she sat on the couch, picking up the playstation controller and turning the console on.

"Oh no you don't. Put it down and come help me with the table." Mica stood up and rolled eyes, but obliged her mother's command. Her older brother entered the room not but a few moments later. "David, turn that thing off and then come and help your sister with this table." He too rolled his eyes, but did as he was told. Johnny returned a few minutes later.

"Now, come off it Rhia, who's it coming for dinner?"

"He'll be here any moment, Johnny, just breath." She went to the sink and washed her hands before setting about moving the food to the table. As she finished, Rhia took a step back to look at everything and as she sighed with its completion the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," she said, eyeing her husband who had made a move for the door.

The Doctor hadn't said exactly what or how much Rhia knew about what was happening with him, but he did say that she was expecting him for dinner at 6:30 this evening. He wasn't going to disappoint his little sister again. He'd left Jack back at the Hub and headed out to Cromwell Estate alone. This was going to be awkward enough, no need to drag his boyfriend, or whatever Jack was into it too. When he reached the stoop he rang the bell. He could hear footsteps approaching the door.

"Ianto," she said with relief as she swung the door open. "Come in, come in." Rhia ushered her brother inside, taking his jacket in the entry and hanging it in the cupboard there.

"Do they know I'm here?"

She half-smiled at him. "I didn't want them to be disappointed if you didn't show."

Ianto's face fell. It was clear that Rhia knew enough, but that she was more worried that he wouldn't show up of his own accord. He'd done that to her too many times in the past. It wasn't going to happen again. Not now. Not when he knew that someday he'd outlive her. "I'm sorry."

"Whatchu sorry for?" she asked, smacking his shoulder. "You're here, aren't you? That's what matters, then, yeah?"

"Yeah," he said with a small smile.

"Who's that? Who is it?" Johnny came round the corner from the kitchen. He froze in place the moment he saw Ianto's face. Ianto smiled at his brother-in-law.

"Daddy? Who is it? Who's here?" Ianto's face broke into a wide grin at the sound of his niece's voice.

"No one," Johnny said, turning back to the other room. "No one, Darling."

"But I heard Mummy talking to someone," she said precociously.

"It sounded like Uncle Ianto," David said.

"You know that's impossible, David."

"I know. I'm just saying. Whoever it is sounds like him, don't you think?"

"I suppose you're right," Johnny said, walking back towards the hallway. "You two stay here a moment, yeah?" The children rolled their eyes, but stayed where they were on the sofa. Johnny walked back into the hallway.

"Rhia, who is this?" He said approaching them, looking carefully at Ianto's face.

"What d'you mean, who am I?" Ianto said, rather louder than he anticipated.

In the family room, David turned to his little sister, "It really sounds like Uncle Ianto, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, but you heard Daddy. That's impossible," she said.

"I mean," Johnny said in an intense whisper. "Who the fuck are you? You come into my house, talking with that voice, and make my kids think they're Uncle Ianto's come 'round for tea. Just popping back from the grave, I suppose. Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"You'll never change, will you?" Ianto said, laughing to himself.

"Johnny," Rhia said, trying to comfort him. "This is Ianto."

"But that's impossible, Rhia. Ianto's dead."

"I'm not," he said cautiously. "Really didn't tell anyone, did you?"

"He made me swear I wouldn't. In case something happened," she said shaking her head.

"For the best I suppose," Ianto said, nodding at his sister as she patted her husband's arm. "It's really me though. When through this whole thing with my coworkers last night."

"The handsome man?"

Ianto sighed, his face going red. "Yes. And his name's Jack."

"Jack?"

"Yes. Now, are we going to have dinner, or stand in the entry all night?" Ianto was getting impatient. He'd known that Rhia wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but he thought she'd have the sense to tell her family who was coming 'round for tea.

"So, where is Jack?" She asked. Johnny still hadn't moved and she was still patting his arm comfortingly.

"At the Hub."

"You're boyfriend doesn't want to meet your family?" Ianto's face fell. "Oh, you didn't want your family to meet your boyfriend then?" His face fell further.

"No, Rhia. I didn't ask him. You wanted me 'round for dinner and here I am. It's the first time you've seen or heard from me in over a year and this is what you want to talk about?"

"No, no. Of course not. Are you quite alright then?" she asked suddenly seeming more like a sister should in a time like this, if there even was a protocol for that.

"Quite."

"Well, good. Come on then," she said, waving for him to following into the kitchen. Johnny stayed in the hall, frozen where he was out of shock. It was a good 15 seconds before he came 'round and followed them.

"Kids," Rhia said as they entered the room. "You're Uncle Ianto's come to visit."

"I told you it sounded like Uncle Ianto!" David said turning around to look at them.

"But Daddy said it wasn't. He said that was impossible," Mica said as she turned around.

"It's me," Ianto said, smiling at his niece and nephew as he pulled his wallet out. He handed each of the children 50 quid and stowed the wallet back in his pants pocket.

For most of the meal, talk was casual. The children told their Uncle stories of the year he'd missed and Rhia told him the news that had happened. Johnny was uncharacteristically quiet the entire time. He only nodded and mumbled agreement as the chatter around him passed. Finally, as Rhia was clearing the table and after the kids had moved back to the sofa and started up with their video games again, Johnny spoke.

"So, I guess I'll just ask the question we're all wondering, Ianto." Everyone paused, Rhia turned from the sink, Ianto stared at Johnny, and the kids looked up from their game.

"How is it that a year after we was all at your funeral, you're sitting at my kitchen table having dinner like nothing's even happened? Or did I miss something?"

Ianto sighed. He knew that was coming, but what could he really tell them. Certainly not the truth. "It's complicated, Johnny. I'm going to be around for a long time. A long time after you're gone. After the kids are gone."

"What d'you mean?"

"I mean to say," Ianto took a deep breath he didn't have much of a choice her. "I'm not going to die at least not permanently. I can't. Something happened a while back. I didn't even know until I woke up in my casket. But something happened and now I can't stay dead."

"That friend o' yours, Gwen; she told us you was involved in that nonsense with the children last year. Said you that Jack of yours talked to the things that caused it."

"We did and they released a poisonous gas into Thames House. We all died. Jack, me, everyone in there. Of course me and Jack can't die for good though."

"You and Jack can't die. Was something he did to you?"

"No," Ianto smiled. At first he had thought that might be it, until the Doctor reminded him of what happened in London. "No, it happened when I was living in London."

"When you was in London. But that was years ago."

"Yeah, it was," he said looking down at his hands. Trying to figure out where to start. "I inhaled something. Something dangerous. And now. If I die, I come right back. Of course the first time takes a little longer. It gets quicker with practice, Jack said."

"So how old is he, Jack? You talk like he's done this for a while."

"I'm not even sure if Jack knows how old he is. He's died a lot. He's not from around here, and I don't just mean America. He's aging though. It's just really slow. He inhaled the same thing or rather, he had someone throw some into him when he'd already died the first time."

"Well, what is it then? We can all just go inhaled that stuff and no one will die, then, right?"

"It's not like that, Johnny. You can't just find the stuff. It's hard to get a hold of. We can't have too many immortal people just wandering around. We don't know what's going to happen to me and Jack if we live for millions of years. No one does. Not even the Doctor."

"That Doctor fellow. He said you told him what was going to happen. How's that then?" Rhia said suddenly, sitting back down at the table.

"Well, the Doctor, he's a time traveler. He goes all over the place. That's how I got to Gwen's last night. The Doctor took me with him in his time machine."

"He has a time machine?" Ianto nodded. "Then why couldn't he just go back and save you before you died at all?"

"Because what happened at Thames House is a fixed point in time and space. He can't alter those. It's rather complicated, but he did what he could. I can't tell you everything. You've just got to trust me." Ianto said, standing up. At that moment his phone in his pocket buzzed. He pulled it out and looked at the screen. It was Jack. "I've got to take this," he said smiling at them. Rhia nodded as he held the phone up to his ear. "Jack?"

"Ianto! We've got a Weevil problem down by the docks again. Rhys and I are on our way, but we could use a third pair of hands."

"On my way," he said hanging up. "I've got to go. I'll talk to you soon." They didn't try to stop him. This is how Ianto's visits always ended, with an abrupt phone call and a quick departure. "Good-bye."

Ianto took his coat from the closet on his way out the door. He got into his car and sped off towards the docks. It seemed like just last week he was off chasing Weevils with Jack, but he knew that wasn't true at least not for the others.