Ianto tried to think of tests the doctor might enjoy but it didn’t seem to matter. To the Owen’s credit though, he did at least go along with the tests, and at times he flat out amazed Ianto at how quickly he was getting a handle on his new senses. Perhaps the doctor in him was able to approach it scientifically?

"I bought some aromatherapy oils.” Ianto said, pulling a small bag out of Jack’s desk.

Owen groaned.

Ianto ignored him and continued.

"-That I'm going to place a tiny amount of on index cards and hide around Jack's office. It's your mission to track down all the cards and identify the scents."

"So I'm a fucking blood hound now?"

"Yes. Now go play in the hub till I'm finished setting this up."

Owen rolled his eyes and got up to leave, grumbling about being treated like a five year old.

Jack chuckled and watched as Ianto pulled out the stack of cards and bottles of oil. "Interesting idea. What's my torture for tonight?"

"Oh you'll find out soon enough. Close the blinds will you I don’t trust him not to peak." Ianto told him with a smirk while he dabbed minute amounts of oil on the cards and hid them, spreading them throughout the office. When he finished he impulsively grabbed one of the bottles, and dabbed a drop of it on to the back of Jack’s neck. "For fun, to see if he catches it.” He said at Jack's raised eyebrow.

When he finished he closed all the bottles and put them back in the drawer so Owen wouldn't be able to read the labels. "Okay Owen! Come in!"

Owen scowled and came back into the office, shutting the door.

Ianto smiled, reinforcing the shaky shield he had erected earlier as he felt a wave of what could only be described as grumpiness roll off the Sentinel. He reached out, laying one hand on Owen’s elbow.

“Concentrate on the scents in the room. If you smell something familiar, concentrate on it, let it become stronger than the others, until it leads you to the card.”

Owen closed his eyes, visibly concentrating and Ianto let his hand drop, but stayed near him ready to step in if he started to zone or had a problem.

“It smells like stale sex. It’s getting in the way of everything” The doctor commented with a wrinkle of his nose.

Ianto sighed. Not his fault. “Focus on that scent. Acknowledge it, and then let it go.” He waited until Owen nodded. “Good. Now that it’s gone, focus on the other scents. The one’s that weren’t here before.”

Owen slowly tracked over to the filing cabinet and pulled the top drawer open He pulled out a card. "Peppermint."

"Good. That's one down." Ianto took the card and placed it on Jack’s desk.

"How many are there?"

"That would be telling."

Owen snarled without any real malice and shook him self moving on, sniffing. He reached onto a high shelf, wriggling a little as he tried to reach. Ianto was in the position to lightly smack Jack as the captain leered. “Behave,” he whispered, pitched only for Jack’s sensitive ears.

Owen pulled down another card. "...Patchouli?"

"Correct."

He pulled a card out from under the chair cushion. "Rosemary."

Another from a shelf. "Orange."

He pulled a card out from the desk drawer. "Cinnamon."

He found the one under the computer. "Tea Tree."

It continued that way, Owen finding each card and naming the sent. He knelt down next to the couch and pulled out a wrinkled blue tie. He tossed Ianto a filthy leer.

"That is not a index card." Ianto said stiffly. He had been missing that tie for ages, since before Jack left. He had even accused Jack of stealing it once,

"Hm no. But it still smells like you." Owen wrapped it around his fingers, bringing it up to his nose, "...and sex, which explains the smell earlier. That’s been bugging me all week!"

Ianto reached out and grabbed the tie, stuffing it hurriedly in his pocket.

"Yes well, bonus points for you then. Get back to sniffing. You're not done."

Owen rolled his eyes and stuck his head back under the couch, making a face as he came back out waving a card. "...Rotting flowers?"

"Neroli." Ianto informed him.

"Neroli? What the fuck is neroli?"

"A scent that clearly you are unfamiliar with."

Owen sighed and tossed the card at Ianto. "Am I done yet? I'm getting a headache."

Ianto moved forward slightly, brushing his fingers along Owen’s spine. “You’ve done amazingly well. Just one more."

Owen groaned and continued his search, circling the office twice before catching on. "Lavender." he said pulling a card from Jack's coat pocket. Then he frowned. He sniffed the air again. “In two places.”

He continued to track and found him self climbing on top of Jack. "You smell like lavender too." he muttered, nose buried in Jack’s neck. The captain was grinning broadly.

Ianto smiled as well, though his was a good deal smaller. "Very good. You got all of them, and only couldn't identify the neroli. That's very good Owen."

Owen made a vague grunt at Ianto but kept his face buried in Jack's neck, sniffing. Jack didn't seem to mind.

"Ahem. Yes well.. well done Owen.” Ianto felt a vague itch of lustfulness, and clamped his shield down tighter.

“I'll have to make it more challenging next time. Maybe blends of scents on each card.”

Owen continued to ignore him

“You can get off Jack now. You know you're not going to get anywhere, right?"

Ianto might as well have not been in the room for as much attention as they were paying him. They were going further, not just sniffing, but kissing, hands drifting.

Ianto covered his eyes and sighed, sitting on the couch. In a few minutes they would start to zone. They’d stop in time, curse loudly, and badger Ianto some more about figuring out some type of solution. It wasn’t like he hadn’t tried. There wasn’t exactly an instruction manual. He knew. He had looked.

Ianto refused to think as things continued and firmly ignored the shirt that flew by his head.

It was harder to ignore and moaning, panting, growling and filthy talk though.

"Oh god Jack! Fuck yeah!"

"You taste irresistible. I want to you so bad I could kill. Fuck I want anything bad enough to kill right now!"

"No fucking kidding!"

Ianto rolled his eyes. Really it was a week. They acted like they'd been in chastity belts for a year. They were acting like horny teenagers, and sounded like a cheap porno.

Ianto startled himself by growling when he heard the sound of zippers.

"Well since you two seem to have gotten over you're inability to…” he searched for the right word, failed, and then steamed ahead, “I'll be leaving."

"Feel free to join in if you want! Always love a good threesome!" Owen called out teasingly, not stopping what he was doing. Whatever it was he was doing. Ianto wasn’t looking

He left the office, pulling the door closed, and leaned against it for a second, trying to catch his breath. He could hear them inside, stumbling towards the couch.

Ianto moved away from the door, wanting to just go bury him self in the archives, but having a feeling he would be needed soon. He was thankful at least that Jack had been helping him with his shields. Half of the time he was able to separate Jack and Owen’s emotions from the pain that seemed to permeate the emotions of others. The rest of the time he could usually shield himself from them.

He headed for the coffee pot but froze at the base of the stairs as the now familiar stab of pain and panic drove in between his ribs. He turned back, heading quickly for the office.

Ianto opened the door to find the two men on the couch, wearing far less clothing than before, and completely motionless.

Swallowing back a taste of fear, he calmly moved over to them and started to talk them down.

"Owen? Coc Oen? Come on, time to come back." he covered Owen's eyes gently, and stroked his shoulder, kneeling down to reach the man that Jack had pinned to the couch. "Come and wake up and talk to me Coc Oen. I told you this would happen."

Owen eyes snapped open and he pulled back with a gasp, letting out a stream of obscenities as he exhaled. "Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck! Am I never going to get to fuck again?"

"Looks like that's a no." Ianto said dryly and moved to Jack. He had to wriggle, moving in between Owen and Jack to look the captain in the eye. He flushed as he felt Owen’s breath through his thin shirt.

"Jack? Jack Love, Come on, come back to me. Breathe, relax. It's okay; it's all right, talk to me. Focus on my voice and come back to me." He stroked Jack's cheek while he spoke gently.

After a minute life returned to Jack's eyes and he surged forward pulling Ianto into a kiss. Ianto made a startled noise and tried to pull away, but Jack held on tightly, fingers wrapping in his hair.

Ianto’s eyes widened as he felt Owen lean into him.

“It’s you.” Owen’s voice whispered in his ear and Ianto jerked. “Fuck me, but it’s you.”

Ianto tore himself away from Jack, and tried to turn to face the other man, gasping as he was stopped by a mouth against the back of his neck.

“What do you mean ‘it’s me’?’ He tried to sound indignant, but his voice cracked.

“Letting us do this. Not zoning out again. Not with you here. It’s you. “ Owen said, punctuating his words with small bites and kisses to Ianto’s neck. Jack had begun to mirror Owen’s example on the other side of his neck, and Ianto felt his head swim.

Ianto shook his head violently, and pulled him self free of the two men. He fell back, momentarily landing on Owen, but jerking away as he felt the man’s arms coming up to steady him, or restrain him. Ianto wasn’t sure. He kept backing up, sliding across the floor until his back hit a wall.

Ianto panted, running his hands though his hair. "Look. Look, I know you two are frustrated, but that does not mean… you can’t...” he was at a loss for words again. He knotted his fingers around a curl and yanked. “You can’t just jump me!” he blurted out.

Owen looked over at him, and then flopped back down, throwing an arm over his eyes. "Ianto come on, please! We're gonna die here! It's been a week! A week! We're used to shagging all over all day, everyday!"

Jack was giving Ianto a look that wavered between concern and frustration.

Ianto rolled his eyes. Now that he had a good metre between them he could think again, and his heart was starting to beat normally. "Oh for gods sake, you act like you’ve never gone without sex before!"

"Haven't" Jack mumbled.

Owen nodded.

"...Never?" Ianto asked.

"No. Not unless I was stuck working or something, and even then I could normally find someone to get a quick shag with."

"I even had a few guards during the whole year that never happened." The cushion muffled Jack’s voice.

"Yes, well...that's very disturbing, but not the point!” Ianto felt his own frustration welling up, and wished for once that he could throw his feelings at the two men. “We're just going to have to find another way. Maybe the mediation! I'm not going to have sex with you two, just because you're… you’re… raging sluts who can't go a week without sex!" Ianto blinked, briefly surprised at the words he had chosen.

Owen seemed to have recovered slightly, doubled over hugging his knees dramatically, and Ianto felt a trace of amusement mixed in with the other man’s annoyance. "Death take me now! I can't live like this!"

Ianto snorted and leaned against the wall falling into a soft sort of hysterical laughter.

Jack and Owen both sat up, frustration forgotten, and Ianto grimaced at the wave of concern that swept over his broken shield.

"Yan? You...okay?"

"You- you are just such drama queens! My god I've never heard anyone so dramatic over going a week without sex!” The edge of pain quieted Ianto, though a giggle still slipped through. "I mean, I've gone months and not been nearly as hysterical as you two!"

"...Months?"

"Well and 20 years, but that hardly counts."

Owen stared wide-eyed in disbelief. "20..."

Ianto smirked at the touch of disbelief from Owen. "Yes, 20. You can both close your mouths. And since then I have survived.” Ianto stopped to think. “A year without having any sex. In fact, I’m going on seven months at the moment. And you two are going to whine about one week?”

Jack looked slightly astonished, while Owen looked alarmed. "Uh Yan, maybe we should go to the autopsy bay and run some tests."

Ianto rolled his eyes and pushed him self off the floor still chuckling. "I'm fi-" he paused not saying the dreaded F word, that seemed to equal 'dying! Run every test in the universe!' to Owen, "I'm not sick, or insane. I'm just...beyond tired of dealing with your insanity. It's sex. Yes it's a basic human instinct, but normal people are able to ignore it, and live their lives!"

Neither of the men looked convinced, though they did look vaguely chastised.

He brushed him self off and straightened his clothes. "Now I'm going to go make some coffee. You two get dressed and we can get back to practicing your senses."

As soon as he was out the door, and a safe distance away he collapsed into Tosh’s chair.

Christ. This had not been in the job description. Those two, without a doubt, were going to be the death of him.

He laughed softly to himself.

Oh, but what a way to go.