Jack frowned and shook his head as he tried to focus of the paperwork in front of him. The letters refused to stay still, and he had signed one document four times before realizing it was Thai print out menu.

A dull headache throbbed behind his eyes. It had started during the blast, and had been fairly constant, ebbing only when Owen or Ianto proved a distraction. Unfortunately they had both buggered off fairly quickly, preferring to deal with the night�s events in their own havens. So Jack had retreated to his office, and started to tackle the stack of paperwork, only after discovering Ianto had stolen his ipod again. Man was a stickler for empty �to do� trays.

But paperwork was boring; his head hurt, and his whole body tingled. Everything seemed over sensitized. Sounds were too loud, his clothes, which before felt perfectly comfortable, now felt rough, and he was still nauseous from his one attempt at Ianto�s coffee. What was usually Heaven in a cup, had tasted wrong and bitter and ceramic. He wondered if he was getting a migraine or something. Sensitivity was a sign wasn�t it? He sighed and cracked his spine, wincing as his cotton shirt scraped across his back. Maybe he should just call it a night. Tosh and Gwen had left hours ago.

He looked up as he heard someone swearing under their breath. Owen sprawled against the doorframe, rubbing at his eyes. "I�m not working any more. It reeks out there. Perfume and cologne and mold. Smells like someone�s dumped a bottle of cheap vodka on the couch, and the lights are too goddamn bright.� He moved, only to sprawl in a chair instead. He wrinkled his nose. �Smells like old sex in here. Don�t you ever clean?�

Jack rolled his eyes and turned back to his paperwork. �This place is spotless and you know it. Ianto would have convulsions if it weren�t.�

�Speaking of Spooky��

Jack tried to give Owen a disproving glare, but ended up grinning. He tried to discourage name-calling, but Ianto tended to earn the nickname. He constantly managed to sneak up on the doctor, or finish his sentences, or chose the exact right moment to bring Jack an important file, leaving Owen frustrated and stuck under Jack�s desk, trying to keep his feet out of sight. Besides, Ianto had plenty of colorful names for Owen as well.

�Is he gone yet? Bet he�s lurking around just waiting for another cock block.�

Ianto brushed by him lightly, as he entered the room, and picked up a pile of paper from Jack's out box. "Believe it or not Owen my world doesn�t revolve around keeping you from having sex."

Jack gave Ianto an appraising look as the younger man handed him a mug of pale tea. The man himself was just as pale. Eyes slightly glassy, and hair starting to escape its gel. Jack felt tired just looking at him.

�Chamomile and lavender, Sir. It will help your headache. Shouldn�t upset your nausea.�

Jack frowned, wondering how Ianto knew. He hadn�t seen him for at least an hour. He shrugged and took a tentative sip, relaxing as his stomach didn�t protest.

Ianto reached over and dimmed the lights in the office, and Jack noticed that Owen didn�t squint quite so much as before.

Owen scowled. "What are you still doing here?"

"I'm actually working. The paper work is reaching dangerous heights."

"But it's after five." Owen pointed out, not bothering to hide his frustration.

"Your clock reading skills continue to impress me." Ianto growled �Don�t let me stop you two.� he turned to leave.

Jack frowned. " I think we should all call it a night and get some sleep. We're all getting crabby. Ianto! Go home! Someone can do the paperwork tomorrow!" he shouted after Ianto, then winced at the volume of his own voice.

Owen shook his head slightly covering his eyes with his hand. Ianto turned, coming back to lean stiffly against the door jamb.

�No way in hell is that man getting on the road.� Owen protested. �He�d be asleep before he got out of the garage.�

Jack saw Ianto wince.

�He�s probably right, Sir.�

�You need to sleep Ianto.� Jack tried to reason.

�I can sleep on the couch.� Ianto seemed to hesitate, sounding unsure. �If that�s okay. � His voice took a hard edge, and his eyes flicked to Owen, mirroring the other man�s annoyance. �Your quarters are fairly sound proof if I remember. You won�t even know if someone�s in the hub.�

Jack opened his mouth to reply, but Ianto was gone again, footsteps purposely loud as he escaped to the office.

Both men watched the door for a few seconds. Owen was the first to speak.

�Didn�t even stick around for a threesome joke.�

�Somehow I doubt he�d see the humor in it right now.� Jack looked at the unfinished paperwork, tiredly, and left it where it was, stretching again as he stood.

"Does he ever?� Owen sighed and levered himself up. �I just wanna pass out for the next eight hours."

Jack gave a mild snort. "Eight hours? What dream world do you live in?"

Owen ignored the painful reality of the statement. �I'm too knackered, and my head is killing me, to drive home. I'm crashing in
your bed."

Jack smiled slightly. "You know you�re always welcome...though I never thought I would say these words: not tonight dear. I have a headache." He tilted his head, savoring the novelty of the statement.

Owen choked on a laugh and half stumbled over to the hole in the floor leading to Jack's room. "One of these days you gotta get a real room. I'm going to break my neck falling on this bloody thing. And I feel like I'm a POW every time I go in here."

Jack rolled his eyes. Okay, so there wasn�t much room. Owen had insisted on a bigger, more comfortable bed, leaving little room for anything else. In fact the mattress curled a little around the edges at being shoved into such a tight space, making the whole thing rather nest like. Jack thought it was pretty nice, himself.

The captain covered a yawn and followed him. "Yeah, yeah, heard this before."

"Well listen one of these days and I'll stop saying it."

Jack slid down the manhole after Owen, not bothering with rungs on the ladder, and pushed Owen playfully on to the bed.

�You�re welcome to join Ianto on the couch if you�re going to complain.�