“Don’t even act innocent.” Owen called out as he reentered Jack’s office, fully dressed; towels and clean clothes tucked under one arm, medical kit slung over his shoulder. “I saw you from across the hub.” He set down his burden and grabbed the coffee from its place on the desk, gulping down the rest of it to remove temptation.

He smirked at Ianto’s protest.

"Jack dry off, get dressed. Ianto lay down on the couch."

Ianto protested. "Owen, you've examined me a dozen times, I doubt you're going to find anything different."

"Yeah well we're making it a bakers dozen then. I want to keep a close eye on your vitals till they stop shooting into alarming categories. You're just lucky I'm not dragging you down to the autopsy bay to do an EKG yet. Maybe a Holtar monitor..." he muttered then shook his head, pointing to the couch "Now lay down!"

Jack had already finished drying off and was pulling on his clothes while Ianto and Owen bickered. "His heart's already getting back down to normal." Jack informed Owen.

Owen gave him a look that said ‘I’m the doctor. Fuck off.” and just in case his look wasn’t clear enough he said the same out loud.

Ianto didn't have the energy to argue anymore so stood and went over to the couch, pulling off his jacket and folding it across the back of the chair on his way.

"Don't know why you bothered getting dressed up. Roll up your sleeve." Owen commanded pulling out the medical equipment he thought he would need.

"Don't we have scanners? Why are you using blood pressure cuffs?" Ianto was eyeing the, by Torchwood standards, primitive technology skeptically, and Owen felt slightly offended. He had cut his teeth on this equipment,

"I'm not feeling very trusting of alien technology, right now, Yan." Owen growled as he started examining the younger man.

Jack sat on the edge of the desk and watched as Owen took Ianto blood pressure, listened to his chest, and all the other medical things he could think of without using the scanners.

When he finished he sat back on his heels. "Well other then his blood pressure still being a bit high, and his pulse jumping around, everything seems to be back to normal for the moment."

"I told you so." Ianto said, using Owen to lever himself up and reaching for his jacket.

"Shut up. You need more sleep. Even I know your shielding abilities are going to go to shit when you’re tired. Which means you to!" he said turning around to point at Jack.

Jack waved him off. "I hardly sleep. I've gone months without so much as a catnap before."

"And were you concentrating on shielding at the time?"

"...no." Jack admitted.

“And you’ve been shielding him how long now? Six, seven hours?”

“I’m fine!”

Owen rolled his eyes.

"Right. So both of you into the POW camp." He pointed to the hole leading to Jack's room. Exhaustion wasn’t going to help any of them. At least with a few hours under their belt, Ianto might be up to shielding himself. And Owen could see the migraine starting to build up behind Jack’s eyes.

"You're as tired as we are!" Jack argued.

"Yeah but I can be researching.”

Ianto crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not sleeping if you don't have to sleep."

Owen grit his teeth. "Ianto stop being a two year old!" He tried to remember that it was the exhaustion. It was putting them all on edge.

"Make me."

"Do not fucking tempt me!" Owen snarled.

"Boys!” Jack moved between them, and Owen snarled again as Jack blocked his view of Ianto. “You're both- we're all going to sleep. Ianto's still drop dead tired, and we're not much farther behind him. Getting some sleep couldn't hurt right now, and we'll think more clearly, and be less homicidal afterwards."

Owen threw his hands up in the air, feeling his own head start to pound. "Oh fine, whatever! Just get down the hole!"

Ianto shifted on the couch, and Owen saw his knuckles go white as he gripped the seat.

"Well?"

"What?” Ianto looked at him incredulously. “You don't think I'm going to sleep down there do you?"

"Yes."

"Of course not! There's barely room for two, let alone three people."

"It's cozy!" Jack defended.

"Not to mention,” Owen added. “if we leave you up here, in five minutes you'll be up and trying to work again. We'll just have to stay close. Down ya go." The doctor made shooing motions towards the hole.

"NO!” The protest came out a little stronger than perhaps Ianto intended, and the young man looking startled at his own vehemence. “No. Look I have tolerated this bossing around since last night, but I am a grown adult and I will not be treated as a child! I can make my own decisions, and I am sleeping on the bloody couch!"

"Well if I could fucking trust you to actually stay on the couch and not decide to get up and do paperwork, or clean something, or drink coffee maybe I could let you out of my sight! But every time I do that you wind up curled in a ball in pain again! So get down there now, or I will just fucking sedate you!" Owen bellowed back.

"Guys..." Jack sounded pained, rubbing one ear. "Ianto? Please? We even promise we're too tired to crack any threesome jokes?"

Ianto pinched the bridge of his nose. "I am not going to bed with you. If you two have no trust in me whatsoever, why don't you just lock me in one of the cells?"

Jack moved closer to Ianto, not quite touching. If Owen were asked to define it, he would probably use the word ‘hovering’.

"Ianto we trust you. We're just feeling...needy right now. We want you close to us. Please?" He brought out his worst puppy eyed pitiful expression. If it wouldn’t spoil the effect, Owen would have been tempted to snicker. Manipulation and flirting had always been Jack’s strong suit.

Ianto didn’t give in, though Owen could see the muscles in his jaw twitching. "I will sleep on the couch up here. Take it or leave it. I could always just go home."

Owen began to protest, but Jack jumped up clamped a hand over Owen's mouth. He tapped the Bluetooth on his ear “Gwen. You and Tosh are in ch- Yes. Ianto’s fine. You two are in charge. Wake us if the world’s going to end.”

Ianto flopped back on the couch, crossing his arms over his chest glaring up at Owen.

Owen glared back, crossing his own arms. Exhausted Ianto was usually easier to deal with. It didn’t help that he was starting to get tired himself. Stretched out, patience worn thin. He was still half tempted to grab the Welshman and shove him down into Jack’s bedroom headfirst. "I swear to god if I find out you weren't asleep I will handcuff you to the bed."

"Bite me Owen." Ianto growled, dropping his suit jacket on the floor and abruptly turning over, presenting his back to the two men, burrowing into the back of the couch.

Jack picked up Ianto’s jacket, folding it neatly and laying it across his desk before pushing Owen towards the bedroom below. "Sleep tight! “ He said. Too bright and loud. “Sweet dreams, see you in a few hours." He told Ianto.

Owen stopped and stared at Ianto for a few moments, not thinking of anything in particular until Jack latched on to him again, manhandling him down and towards the bed.

Maybe sleep wasn’t such a bad idea. Things were getting too entirely out of hand. Sometimes he really fucking hated Torchwood.