Title: Fallout, Part TwentyThree

Author: Emma

Characters: A whole bunch of folk.

Rating: Starts PG, but hey, it’s got Jack in it!

Disclaimer: Oh, please. If I owned them, would I let some of those idiots write the scripts? And if I were making any money off them, would I be where they could find me?
Author's Note: This fic is CoE compliant

Part One is here; Part Two is here; Part Three is here; Part Four is here; Part Five is here; Part Six is here; Part Seven is here; Part Eight is here; Part Nine is here; Part Ten is here; Part Eleven is here; Part Twelve is here; Part Thirteen is here; Part Fourteen is here; Part Fifteen is here; Part Sixteen is here; Part Seventeen is here; Part Eighteen is here; Part Nineteen is here; Part Twenty is here; Part TwentyOne is here; Part TwentyTwo is here

            “What are you doing here?”

            “Did Jack send you?”

            Tish sat down on the bench next to him. “Actually, Kathy did. She saw you leave.”

            “And tracked me down through CCTV, no doubt.”

            “Yeah. So?”

            “I wonder which nameless bureaucrat had the decency to have Torchwood London rebuilt in Greenwich.” Ifan kept his eyes on the two coxless fours racing past the dock. “I should thank them. Having to go back there would have been… impossible.”

            “It was Jack. He refused to let them use that site again. At the time, they were all too shell-shocked to argue with him and by the time they wanted to, this place was half-way completed.” She turned slightly towards him. “What happened, Yan?”

            “Jack and I, we… fought. Well, I did. I screamed at him. He told me it was over.”

            “Oh, I doubt that. He cares too much.”

            “He cares about Ianto!”

            “Yes. And about you. And me. And Martha. And Kathy. And Gwen. And the Doctor… Jack loves. It’s his strongest virtue and his greatest weakness.”

            “I know.” He sighed and dropped his head on her shoulder. “I made an arse of myself.”

             “Are you really afraid that Ianto will overwhelm you?”

            “No, not really. I don’t know what happened!  Suddenly it was like I knew they were plotting against me, and I lashed out at Jack.”

            “Could it be… do you think maybe that’s part of the Master’s plan? Make you distrust them, I mean.”

            He jerked up. “Damn him. How could I have missed it?”

            “Easy. It’s all inside your head.”

            “Yeah. And it’s going to keep making a hash of everything I try by myself. Tish… I’m going to need help. Someone who cares, but who’s not… Can I ask you?”

            She kissed his forehead. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll hold your hand if you hold mine.”

            “Kathy?”

            “Yeah. I’m out of my depth here. Usually if I walk into a room where there’s a gorgeous woman and a homely man I’ll automatically look at the man. So how did I find myself falling in love with Kathy?”

            “I was talking to Rhi about it one day. She said Ianto had told her that it wasn’t about men. It was about Jack. The person. With you, it’s not about women. It’s about Kathy.”

            “So when I try to explain this to mother you’ll be there to support me?”

            “I know my behavior has been a little crazy lately, but do I look to you like I’ve completely lost my mind?”