Ianto didn't die. The Doctor helped Jack stop the 456. Ianto Jones and Jack Harkness just got married. How can anything go wrong? Revisit the gang at the Hub, along with Martha and Mickey as well as two new characters, Rabbi Aliyah Teelbalum (an...
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Chapter 1
Don't the hours grow shorter as the days go by
You never get to stop and open your eyes
One day you're waiting for the sky to fall
The next you're dazzled by the beauty of it all
When you're lovers in a dangerous time
- Bruce Cockburn
Ianto Jones sat behind the counter of the illusory harbor tour boat shop twisting the spinner on his wedding ring partly out of frustration and partly out of anticipation. After the successful, permanent elimination of the 456, the Hub was immediately reconstructed, per his specifications – it now included a nursey (which Jack Harkness thought was rather large for Gwen's small child), a "reading longue" (as Ianto had given up his flat and moved in, he found sometimes he needed space), an enlarged floor area for access and ease of use to the 3D computer system (Ianto LOVED "Iron Man" and felt Torchwood should be, could be equally as equipped), a new holding area (less dank and more humane), and a state-of-the-art medical theatre. He was quite pleased with himself as he supervised the entire construction and it had come out brilliantly, or at least Gwen and Rhys thought so. Only he hadn't anticipated spending any time in it today, his wedding day.
It was planned as a simple affair and originally he thought they'd have a civil service at the local town hall, a nice lunch with friends and family, then be off for some steamy sex to break in their new rooms at the Hub. However, changes happened in rapid succession to the point where events were out of his control. Rabbi Aliyah, Jack's longtime friend from his days at the Time Agency and leader of Torchwood Tel Aviv insisted that "some sort of ceremony be performed to mark this monumental occasion for you both" (conveniently ignoring the fact that both he and Jack were atheists). Then, Gwen "just won't have it" – they had to have a reception "somewhere romantic" and engaged Ianto's sister, Rhiannon in securing and decorating the Caban Cardiff, the restaurant where the two had their first proper date. And then somehow Martha Jones from U.N.I.T got involved by booking a 10 day stay at a ryokan (Japanese inn), the historic Hiiragiya in Kyoto, where she and her husband Mikey had spent their honeymoon. The Doctor, initially offering a trip to some intergalactic affair, luckily barely made it for the ceremony and had to rush off after getting a urgent call from Clara or ". . . who knows where we might have ended up," Ianto considered. This thought brought a brief smile, not just because he was grateful for his small but deeply caring set of family and friends but because, having finally met the Doctor, he was satisfied that in this incarnation the Doctor was a grumpy older man (which shocked Jack when the TARDIS arrived as he hadn't seen the Doctor since the last regeneration).
Still, one does not like a nice meal interrupted, especially when it is a piece of sister's decadent chocolate and chestnut torte (the proprietress of the Caban Cardiff only allowed this after tasting a sample prior to the reception – Rhiannon now has a contract to make this for the restaurant's menu at least twice a week since she was unwilling to part with their family's 100+ year old secret recipe!). Everyone was taking their first bites and sipping their third (fourth??? It was Moët et Chandon Dom Perignon OENOTHÈQUE 1992 after all) glass of champagne when Jack and Rabbi Aliyah's vortex manipulators as well as Martha's and her husband's U.N.I.T. issued mobiles rumbled, lite up, and rattled as if announcing the apocalypse in 3D with surround sound. "It's never done THAT before," said Martha. Jack stood to ridged attention, shook off his intoxication (Rhys always wondered how he did that), and said, "Everyone, back to the Hub!" Rhiannon's husband and children started to run out the door with everyone else when she stopped them. "Let's leave this to the professionals, folks, why don't we?!" she said. "After that madness with the 456, I'd prefer to stay a civilian, thank you." Her husband and kids were slightly disappointed but proceeded helping her clean up.
