Ianto had been sullen all morning. Gwen noticed he was carefully avoiding everyone. He only ventured near when absolutely necessary. When Jack had suggested they go out for lunch, the Welshman had simply stalked away without saying a word. Gwen looked at Jack questioningly, but the Captain merely shrugged.

"I'll go and talk to him."

Jack caught up with him at the tourist office.

"Talk to me Yan."

Ianto stayed resolutely facing away from Jack. His head was bowed and his shoulders were slumped. The Captain gently put his hand on the younger man's shoulder and turned him to face him. Ianto's face was impassive but Jack knew him well enough to see the hurt in his eyes. It was at times like this when Jack could see just how young Ianto was.

"Come on," the Captain said, as he guided the other man to the door. "I'll buy you a drink."

The two of them went up to the Terra Nova, which was situated directly above the tourist office. Jack bought Ianto a pint and got himself his usual glass of water. The Welshman downed half the drink immediately.

"What's happened Ianto?"

"I had a huge row with my parents last night," Ianto replied, with a resigned tone. "My father even threw me out of the house."

Jack was surprised. Ianto and his family were close, so the argument must have been about something serious.

"What caused the row?" he asked.

"You," Ianto told him. "Well, not you personally, but you're a big part of it."

Ianto downed the rest of his pint, while Jack patiently waited.

"I was planning on asking you to my cousin's wedding," he continued. "I wanted to show you off. What would you have said?"

Jack took hold of Ianto's hand and kissed his palm.

"End of the world permitting, I'd say yes."

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

The previous evening, Ianto had gone to his parent's home for dinner. He'd put it off once too often and his mother had grown impatient. The meal hadn't gone as badly as Ianto feared. However, the atmosphere changed when his sister, Rhiannon, had asked if he was bringing anyone to Cousin Maggie's wedding.

"Come on," she coaxed. "I know you're seeing someone. Bring them along."

"I am seeing someone," Ianto confessed, "But, I don't think he would be interested."

The silence in the room was deafening and Ianto felt extremely vulnerable under his family's stunned glare.

"He?" His Dad asked eventually.

"Yes. His name is Jack Harkness."

Ianto had known it was never going to be easy telling them about Jack. What he hadn't been fully prepared for, however, were his parent's reactions. His mother had started sobbing and muttering prayers. His Dad, on the other hand, had exploded with rage.

"No son of mine is a bloody Queer."

"Dad!" Rhiannon shouted. "This is supposed to be the twenty-first century."

"It's immoral and I won't have it in my house."

Mr Jones grabbed his son by the front of his shirt and dragged him to the door. Rhiannon protested loudly and tried to pull her dad away from her brother, but to no avail. Ianto stumbled as his father pushed him out of the door. He turned to say something, but found the door being slammed in his face.

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

Jack pulled Ianto into hug to try and prevent the tears which were threatening to fall from the Welshman's eyes. Cursing, not for the first time, the ignorance of this era, the Captain tried to soothe his lover.

"Give 'em time Yan."

"I can't believe how ballistic my dad was. If they can't handle me being with a man, what would they say about you not being from Earth? Or the age gap of several decades?"

Jack smiled sympathetically.

"Let's just leave them with one thing to deal with," he said, with a slight laugh. "They'll come round eventually."

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

Two days later, Ianto was still slightly moody, but better than he had been. He'd tried a couple of times to phone his parents, but they weren't answering. Rhiannon told him just to bide his time. He took himself off to the archives for a couple of hours, to take his mind off things.

When he eventually emerged, it was late. Gwen and Owen had both gone and Tosh was alone in the hub.

"Jack about?"

Tosh smiled warmly when she saw Ianto.

"No," she told him. "There was a small rift storm at an address in Cathedral Road a few minutes ago. He went to check it."

Ianto felt his blood run cold and he felt slightly dizzy. He grabbed the doorframe to steady himself.

"Ianto, what's wrong?"

"That's my parent's street. What number?"

"Erm… seven."

Before she could say anything else, Ianto was sprinting out of the hub.

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

Mr and Mrs Jones were backed into the corner of their kitchen. In front of them was a snarling creature about the same size as a Labrador. The fur of the creature was silver and it stood on its hind legs. Mr Jones pushed his wife behind him and reached for a carving knife. Not that he knew what he was going to do with it.

Suddenly, the kitchen door burst open, which grabbed the creature's attention. The Jones' barely had time to take in the sight of the man in the long blue/grey coat, before the creature launched at him.

Jack Harkness had no time to assess the situation as the creature attacked him. He always tried to capture rift aliens alive, but this time he had no choice but to defend himself. The Captain had already had his gun at the ready when he'd entered, but couldn't get a good shooting position. He screamed out in pain as the creature bit into his shoulder. The gun was abandoned as Jack physically fought with the animal for several minutes.. Unfortunately, it was too strong and it easily tore the life from him.

At that moment, Ianto entered his parent's kitchen. He took one look at the scene and shot the creature four times. The Jones' stood, looking on in shock as events unfolded. They had no idea how to process what was happening. They watched as their son threw the creature from the other man, before kneeling down and taking the dead man's head onto his lap.

Ianto held onto Jack and stroked his hair. He always tried to be with the Captain when he returned. The Welshman was aware of his parents staring at him, but chose to ignore them for the time being. He murmured to his lover, repeatedly telling him he would be fine and that he loved him. Mr and Mrs Jones looked at each other, realising that the dead man was the man their son was seeing.

Mr Jones was conflicted. His convictions told him that the affection he saw in his son's face was wrong. However, the boy had just lost the person he loved. Ianto though, seemed to be having difficulty accepting the fact. Mr Jones stepped over to his son and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Son."

"Shut up Dad," Ianto replied. "Give him a few minutes."

The older man moved away again and put his arm around his wife. They watched in silence, their hearts breaking at the sight before them. Ianto continued his litany of love, occasionally humming to his fallen Captain.

Several minutes later, Jack gasped back into life. Ianto pulled him into a tighter hug.

"It's ok Jack. You're safe. I'm here."

Jack clung on to Ianto as his heart rate normalised. Once he'd recovered, he lifted his head to press a kiss onto Ianto's lips. Ianto returned it not caring what his father thought about it. Eventually, the two men parted and climbed to their feet. Ianto finally looked at his parents. He couldn't fully read the expressions on their faces.

"Mam, Dad, go into the sitting room. We'll tidy up here then I'll explain."

Jack stared at Ianto in shock. Had he just called these people Mam and Dad? Taking Ianto's lead, Jack helped carry the creature out to the SUV.

"Are you ok Ianto?" he asked gently. "This is a massive conversation you're about to have."

"Actually Jack, I'm fine," he answered truthfully. "Are you ok with me telling them what I do? About Torchwood and about your resurrection? I think it will help with them accepting our relationship and I don't really want to Retcon them."

Jack smiled and told Ianto to do what he needed to do.

"I'll wait out here while you talk. Call me in when you're ready."

Jack paced up and down the street. Waiting was not one of his strong points. He desperately wanted to be inside supporting Ianto, but knew the younger man had to do this on his own. Jack wondered how he'd gotten to point of meeting Ianto's parents. He realised that he was actually quite content with the direction they were taking in their relationship. The Captain was in love with Ianto and meeting parents was all a part of being in love.

After thirty minutes, the front door finally opened and Ianto beckoned Jack inside. In the sitting room, Mrs Jones was sitting in an armchair while Mr Jones stood by the fireplace.

"Mam, Dad, I'd like to introduce you to my boss and partner, Captain Jack Harkness."

Jack held out his hand to Mr Jones. The other hesitated slightly before accepting the handshake.

"Please forgive us Captain," he said, with sincerity in his voice. "Ianto has given us a lot of information to deal with. Please be assured though, Torchwood will remain our secret."

"I believe you," the Captain replied. "And please, call me Jack."

"Well, Jack, take a seat and let's see if we can to understand each other. Go and put the kettle on Ianto."

End.