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position. Keep your head down, mate, it ll help with the dizziness.
Thanks. Jack put a hand to his head and winced. It came away covered in blood, but he could
already feel his skin repairing itself. Hearing a rise of gasps and murmurs around him, Jack
looked up to the small crowd. It looks worse than it is, he reassured them. What about my
clothes?
Clothes? What clothes, mate? The ones you re wearing?
No, I had& clothes. Packages. I was carrying them when the car
Oh those! Sorry, they got a bit scattered.
I ll round them up, volunteered the other man.
And I ll go talk to the driver. Looks rather peaked. You stay put, mate. I ll be right back.
Jack nodded his head and immediately regretted it. Someone came over with a cool, wet flannel
for him, another with a glass of water. The other man who helped him up was busily running
around, gathering the torn goods. Jack prayed they were salvageable.
The stranger returned a short while later and the crowds disperse.
Are you sure you re alright there?
Jack swallowed a mouthful of water before replying. Yes, thank you. Thank you for everything.
If you hadn t& Jack didn t want to think about it. If this man hadn t helped him, he could have
died and worse, revived in front of the whole neighborhood.
Don t think about it. I was here and you re going to be fine. My name s Rhys, by the way, Rhys
Williams. Rhys stuck out his hand and Jack shook it gently, not jostling himself too much.
Jack Harkness.
Rhys froze. Jack Harkness. This was the man who had his best friend completely enthralled, so
much so that he rarely saw him anymore. Had he heard correctly? This guy was handsome, like
Ianto said, but he was older than Rhys s friend. And he saw this man flirt his way through the
caf where they met. He was a playboy and shameless. Or so Rhys thought. A nice enough guy,
but not one to leave alone with your partner. Or apparently, your kind and emotionally sensitive
best mate. Jack Harkness?
Yeah. I work with Owen at the club.
Rhys sighed. So it was the same man. The world was a very small place suddenly and not for the
first time, he wished he stayed in Cardiff. You re Ianto s Jack.
You know Ianto?
I live with him. He s my best mate.
Wow! Small world. Rhys grimaced and Jack wondered why his friendly savior was suddenly
acting a bit cold to him. He remembered the few stories Ianto told about his friend Rhys and they
were all so positive. Even during their darker times, Rhys seemed to be the one holding Ianto
together, always there for him. So, why was he put off by Jack suddenly? Well, thank you
again, so much. Is there any way I can repay you?
Rhys bit back the reply that wanted to burst from his mouth. No, Harkness. It s just a good
deed.
Come one, let me do something. A drink? Dinner? Let me buy you dinner!
Here are your things, sir, the other man said, bounding over with the clothes. If you re all set
here, I ll be off.
I am and thank you for your help, Jack said gratefully.
Just be more careful next time, yeah? I m sure your loved ones would appreciate it! With a
smile, the man wandered off.
This is Ianto s writing, Rhys noted, staring at the packages. Ballanger and Homme is
outfitting you?
New job, new clothes. Worked out rather well, since I met Ianto at my work and then invaded
his and dropped quite a few quid.
I heard the story. He s not going to be happy about this.
No, and he ll be pretty upset that I almost got run over too. Jack and Rhys both laughed,
knowing how angry Ianto would be if the precious tailoring were damaged. Well, I guess I
better be on my way, get home and assess how much wrath I ll incur from my boyfriend.
I trust I don t need to give you the whole, Mess with my mate, you mess with me speech, do
I?
Rhys, after seeing the lengths you ll go to help a stranger, I can only imagine what you d be like
protecting a friend.
Ianto s more than a friend. Not like that! he corrected himself, upon seeing Jack s suspicious
expression. We re just close, very close. For awhile all we had was each other.
Jack got up on his somewhat unsteady feet and hefted his load into his arms. Well, you don t
need to worry about speeches, Rhys. I ve heard them all and gone against them a few times. But
I won t with Ianto. He s special.
I know that. Just don t you forget it.
Jack smiled broadly, his teeth gleaming. He reminds me with everything he does.
Rhys nodded, but his expression was still not warm. Can you make it home on your own?
I m fine. You ve done enough, Rhys. But I mean it. Let me make it up to you somehow.
Nope, no need, Jack. I d want someone to look out for me. Just watch where you re going. I
don t want to have to tell Ianto his idiot American got squashed.
I promise. I m not going anywhere. I ll see you soon though, yeah?
I m sure you will. Take care.
Jack watched Rhys walk off down the street. It was only when the man had disappeared from
sight that Jack continued on to his flat.
Hey, mate. I ve been waiting for you to What the fuck happened to you?! Owen exclaimed
as Jack entered their flat. Owen jumped up off the bed and took a few of the rumpled bundles
from Jack s arms. There was dirt on his face and his green shirt was stained with blood and torn
in places.
Had a little accident in the street. Almost got hit by a car.
Christ. You re alright though? Do you need me to check you over? Owen asked, slipping
easily into his doctor role. He moved Jack s head from side to side, trying to find the wound that
cause the blood on his shirt.
Jack pulled away from his friend. I m fine. Someone tackled me to the ground and out of the
car s way. My tailoring, unfortunately, was not as lucky as I was.
Well, I m sure your new boy will take care of that. What is wrong with you that you didn t
notice a car coming right at you?
Jack shrugged as he started to unbutton his ruined shirt. He winced as he felt a slight pull on his
shoulder muscles. I was just lost in thought. Thank God Rhys was there. Oh, you know him.
Rhys Williams?
The piano tuner?
I guess so. I met him on my first day here. He told me where you worked.
Yeah, he tunes my piano at the club. Nice bloke. Apparently noble as well, if he risked his neck
to save yours.
He s also Ianto s best friend. They live together.
Small world.
That s what I said. As Jack tore off the paper wrappings and hung his belongings alongside
Owen s, he remembered what Owen said when he entered. Why were you waiting for me?
Oh! I forgot. Maurice called a little while ago and he wants us to head into the club early
tonight.
Did he say why? Jack suddenly was a little worried. They couldn t be getting fired surely? The
patrons loved them. And he needed the money if he was going to get his own place.
He wants to talk about expanding our gig! Apparently, a guy that used to play at the club some
years ago is back and in need of a new pianist. He was pretty excited about having a vocalist too,
so Maurice set up the meeting! Looks like we might become an official band.
And official band will mean more gigs and more money which means I can move out!
You re moving out? Owen asked.
I don t know how much longer my back can take this floor, Jack joked.
You sure the back issues have to do with my floor and not the weight of your art boy on top of
you? Owen remarked with derision.
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