![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Title: Reunion
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: It's all as innocent as a summer rain... if Jack and Ianto were playing outside
Summary: After seven years, Jack and Ianto meet again
Disclaimer: Oh, please. If I owned them, would I let some of those idiots write the scripts? And if I were making any money off them, would I be where they could find me?
Author's Note: During my recent writer's brick wall (writer's block doesn't quite do it justice) I did manage to write something. This stand-alone was written for torchwood-fest.livejournal.com/. As usual, I forgot that livejournal and dreamwidth do not pick up the formatting in a .doc. My fault, I should have coded it properly, but, considering how many meds I was on, I doubt I could have been successful. Therefore, here it is. BTW, I do encourage you to go read the stories, especially the one written for me by tonjavmoore: torchwood-fest.livejournal.com/49611.htm
Part one is here
CHAPTER THREE: GWEN
“This is real coffee.” Gwen stared at the mug she was holding as if it were filled with live worms. “Real, honest-to-God-from-roasted-beans coffee.”
There were chuckles and snorts around the table, but they were friendly sounds. As one of the relatively few people on Earth with regular experience of off-worldlers, Gwen had learned the difference between friendly amusement and condescension pretty quickly.
“Ianto has contacts among the Anachrons,” Toshiko giggled. “In fact, Ianto has contacts pretty much everywhere.”
Gwen stared openly at the young man sitting across from her. He looked barely old enough to be a graduate assistant, much less a full University professor formerly employed by the Alliance's Office of Intercultural Affairs, and having contacts in multiple planets.
“My father was a member of the First Contact Bureau,” he explained, putting her curiosity out of its misery. “By the time I was eighteen I had lived in half a dozen planets.”
She nodded, trying to wrap her brain around that kind of life. After a few moments, she gave up. “You lived in the eeulinaali home planet?”
“From the age of six until right before I turned eleven. Went back later on for two more years.”
“So you know a lot about them, right?” Andy asked. “What's with this planet grabbing crap?”
“The eeulinaali evolved in a massively resource-poor environment. Their home planet is mostly desert, with a few oases down in the valleys and nothing but rock and underground lakes in the plateaus. Huge wind patterns circle the planet. It almost never rains and when it does, it's catastrophic. The only truly fertile zone in the whole planet extends less than one hundred miles on either side of the equator. Taking into consideration evolutionary pressures that required speed, strength, and hyperfast reflexes for survival, what kind of culture do you think could develop there?”
“Warrior,” Andy said, then took a gulp of his coffee. “Winner take all.”
Gwen noticed the startled glances Toshiko and Owen gave her partner and snickered softly. Andy's sweet, slightly goofy looks always fooled people.
“It was,” professor Jones confirmed. “But after a couple of millennia of warfare, a less genocidal version emerged. Do any of you know what counting coup is?”
“The winning of prestige through some sort of physical feat, rather than injuring your opponent... most commonly in battle but it also could refer to, say, taking your opponent's property...” Andy seemed to mentally skid to a stop. “So the eeulinaali count coup? And whoever captures the biggest prize gets to... what? Head the government? Control the resources?”
“DI Davidson,” Jack drawled, “you and I will be discussing your future career very soon. Talent like yours can't be wasted chasing common criminals.”
“Yes, sir,” Andy said absent-mindedly. “So the eeulinaali are using the murder of the ambassador to claim that Earth as a whole owes them weregild to the tune of five hundred years of slavery? High price for one single individual.”
Ianto shook his head. “Earth wouldn't be paying for a single individual. Ambassador iilaaila'inali's rank made him one of the most important people in his Culture. They iil are pitching it as an attack upon their clan.”
“Still only an single clan and a single individual,” Andy said. “They've never tried this with an Alliance member before, have they? They usually go after planets away from main trade routes, with societies that I would call medieval. Why us and why now?”
Professor Jones hesitated, looking at Jack, who nodded. Something in the exchange made Gwen wonder about the relationship between the two men. There was something deeply personal about their interactions, as if they could read each other's minds, and yet they seemed to keep a certain distance. She had noticed that Toshiko had subtly directed them around the conference room table so that the professor was seated at Jack's immediate right, and that both men had hesitated briefly before taking their seats. Now everything came together in a flash of intuition. Lovers. Those two had been lovers at one time, and the emotion still clung to them. Former lovers, and still in love.
“That is why your team is so successful,” the t'Li – Owen, she needed to remember his name and avoid giving offense – murmured. “He scents facts and you scent emotions.”
She looked back over her shoulder at him. The huge compound eyes reflected hundreds of copies of her own image back at her. There was intelligence and humor behind the odd insect face. “I've never heard it put that way, but yes. That's how it works.”
“Before Ianto continues,” Jack said, and there was an undertone in his voice that made Gwen give him her undivided attention, “there is something all of you,” he pointed to Gwen, Andy, and Suzie in turn, “have to understand and agree to. One of the most important things we at OIA do is keep secrets. That's why we are trusted by all Cultures. If you reveal anything you hear, the penalty is to have all memories of your previous life removed. No family, no friends, no home planet. Are you still interested?”
Gwen swallowed hard, but nodded. After a moment, Andy and Suzie did the same.
“All right. Ianto, go ahead.”
“The scarcity of resources of the eeulinaali home planet resulted in an evolutionary pattern where reproduction is closely tied to dietary abundance. An eeulinaa's estrus is triggered by a combination of nutrients that build up over several years of good eating. It lasts only a very short time and each female gives birth to one child. Even one year of scarcity will result in infertile eggs. For centuries, eeulinaali clans raided each other, taking all the food they could carry and destroying the rest. It triggered long, vicious feuds that led to the extermination of many of the lesser clans.” He poured himself more coffee. “That's all by way of making you understand the relevance of the next bit of information. There are persistent rumours that the iil are having reproductive problems. Since children are not seen by outsiders until their naming ceremony, there's no way of verifying them, but...”
Andy straightened slowly, and Gwen, recognizing the expression, braced herself for one of his logical leaps. “You're suggesting that the iil sacrificed their future War Leader in order to get themselves more territory. No. More resources?” He frowned. “But there are more fertile places than Earth, and easier to grab. So it's a special kind of resource they need?”
Ianto raised one eyebrow. “It is universally accepted that the best genetic engineers are Human.”
“Good luck in finding out for sure,” Gwen snarled. “We were not allowed to search the Ambassador's quarters. Diplomatic immunity again. According to the delegation's secretary, we can be assured that the Ambassador's official residence does not contain any clues to his unfortunate demise. He suggested we drag the earthfirsters from their hidey-hole,” she mimicked the elegant drawl of the official, “after all, wouldn't they be the usual suspects?”
“Gwen,” Jack said urgently, “were those his exact words?”
“I tend to remember what condescending pricks say to me, Captain Harkness.”
“Good. Ianto?”
“He was sending us a message, Gwen,” professor Jones explained. “eeulinaali do not have a concept for official residence. Think of a clan house as a medieval king's castle, both a home and a place of business.” He held up a hand to stop her from saying anything. “The secretary was telling you that the Ambassador had a hiding place somewhere in Cardiff.”
“How do you know that?” Andy demanded.
“Because the eeulinaali delegation secretary had every reason to expect that I would be called in to consult. Because it was I who taught him Standard English, including the concept of a hidey-hole.” He smiled at them gently. “And because he wouldn't want to see my home overrun by the iil. After all, he's my brother.”
CHAPTER FOUR: IANTO
It had been so easy to slide back into their usual pattern, so normal to sit at Jack's right hand, make his coffee and finish his sentences. The easy knowledge of what Jack was thinking and the ability to see the weak points and correct them had all come back as if seven years hadn't passed. The t'Li called it twinning, two souls meant to be one reaching for the union they had been denied. Owen swore up and down that he and Jack were two such, and at times it was easy to believe.
He believed he had moved past Jack Harkness. He had the family he had craved, a profession that gave him a great deal of satisfaction, and the respect of his students and colleagues. And yet the moment he set eyes on the damned man he knew nothing, nothing at all, was past.
He sighed. Lisa had always said his biggest talent was for deceiving himself.
“Tad?” Five-year-old Dai stood on tiptoe to look at the lasagna Ianto was assembling. “Is Aunt Rhi coming over?”
“No, Dai. Remember the pictures I showed you last week? Your aunt Tosh and your uncle Owen? They're visiting Cardiff and I've invited them over for dinner.”
Dai's twin sister jumped up and down. “Is Uncle Jack coming too? He's pretty!”
“Anwen!”
Ianto attempt at admonishing his daughter ended up in helpless laughter. Anwen was as outgoing and forthright as her brother was shy and reserved. Light and Shadow, Lisa had called them. Anwen had inherited her mother's artistic eye; of course she would notice Jack.
“Have you two finished your homework?” Two curly-haired heads nodded in unison. “Well, then, you can watch some vids until our friends get here. Dai, it's your turn to choose.” He turned a gimlet eye on his daughter. “And if you open your mouth it's time out for you.”
She started to glare back then shrugged and nodded. Grabbing her brother's arm, she dragged him off to the living room. Ianto finished the lasagna, popped it in the oven, and then set about making a green salad and setting the table. He hadn't planned on inviting his old team to dinner, but Tosh had looked so exhausted towards the end of the meeting that the words had left his mouth before he had a chance to censor them. Tosh had a habit of skipping meals in order to get sleep, and it played havoc with her sensitive metabolism.
Resolutely ignoring the little voice that suggested that his real reason was spending more time with Jack, he had rushed home and changed into jeans and an old University of Cardiff sweatshirt. It had been, the annoying little voice whispered, Jack's favorite look on him: young, carefree, and most of all, willing. Now, he looked down at his bare toes and sighed, wondering what the hell he was doing.
He was getting the coffee machine set up for after-dinner brandy and dessert when the doorbell rang. A mad rush of little feet answered it.
“Dai! Anwen!” He called out as he went, “what have I told you about opening the door?”
“But Taaad...” Anwen wilted under her father's steady look. “We're supposed to wait for an adult.”
“Good girl.”
He opened the door to find three mountains of beautifully wrapped boxes with legs – well, two pairs of legs and one set of truefeet. Rolling his eyes, he stood aside. As his former teammates swept in, he glanced at his children. Both of the seemed paralyzed by the sight. Even the voluble Anwen was stunned into silence. Ianto removed a few boxes from Toshiko's pile and pointed her towards the Christmas tree near the window.
“Over there.”
Presents were piled up under and around the tree until it looked as if the poor thing had been buried in an avalanche of red and green paper. Ianto recognized it as the signature wrap of the most expensive children's store in Cardiff. He turned his most severe look on his friends.
“Consider it five year's worth of birthdays and Christmases,” Jack said, smiling at the twins. “Besides, isn't it the uncles' and aunties' priviledge to spoil the kids?”
Before Ianto could say anything, Anwen threw herself at Jack, who caught her in midair and settled her on his hip. She ran her little hands over his face and hair.
“Pretty.”
“Why, thank you, darling.” Jack repeated her gesture. “So are you. Very pretty.” He extended a hand to the quiet boy standing next to his father. “And you must be Dai.”
Dai nodded and took the offered hand. Jack maneuvered them to the couch and sat down. Soon they were deep in conversation. Ianto stared at them, desperately trying to keep the sudden surge of emotion under control.
“Is there anything that needs doing in the kitchen?” Toshiko threaded her arm through his. “I haven't had a chance to cook in months.”
“All done, but you can help me pour the wine.” He steered her towards the kitchen. “Owen?”
“No, no. I think I'll join the Captain, get to know the kids.”
Ianto heard him mutter something under his breath that sounded like ammunition. Ianto decided that, as usual with Owen, discretion was the better part of valour. He really didn't want to know what the t'Li was planning. He made a few final checks on the meal and put together a tray of appetizers while Toshiko dealt with the wine.
“You are happy.” Toshiko said. “Or you were, until we came.”
“I am happy. My job is fulfilling, my children are a joy. It's just that... seeing them with Jack. It still hurts.”
“He always thinks of you. When Lisa died, he pulled every string at his disposal to get me here in time for the funeral. He said that no matter how good your new life was, you would need someone who knew you well enough to understand the pain.” She smiled sadly. “He hurts too, Ianto.”
“I know. He's punishing himself for Gray's death. But dammit, Tosh, this could have been his family!”
“He doesn’t think he deserves one. Gray’s death…”
“Was an accident. Jack was twelve years old, for God’s sake, how was he supposed to protect his brother?”
“We know that. But Jack’s mother reaction to Gray’s death made a deep impression in an already traumatized boy.”
Ianto sighed. “Rehashing it won’t do us any good. Come on, let’s take these out.” He pointed to a tray of appetizers. “We can munch and talk while the lasagna finishes cooking.”
They took the food and wine out to the living room. Tosh and Ianto sat on the floor and passed around goodies. Soon Dai was on Tosh's lap and Jack had talked Ianto into letting the kids open one present each. The beautifully set table was forgotten as the lasagna and salad were placed on the coffee table and everyone helped themselves. Ianto watched his kids bloom under the attention of adults that treated their questions as serious inquiries. He knew that many people, even his sister, found the twins' precociousness startling and even uncomfortable, and, bright as they were, the children couldn't help but pick up the signals. Surrounded by people who saw nothing odd about five year olds asking about the feeding patterns of Centauri Prime pseudo-butterflies, they were happier than Ianto had ever seen them.
They were slurping down Owen's favorite mango ice cream when Jack tapped the implant behind his ear.
“Harkness. Gwen?... All right. Good.” He set down his spoon with a sigh of regret. “Sorry, kids. Work calls. Gwen and Andy have found the ambassador's hidey-hole. Ianto, we'll need you tomorrow morning again in the holo room...”
“Why don't I stay with the kids and Ianto go with you instead?” Tosh asked. “I don't know much about eeulinaali culture. I can set up here and do whatever research is needed.” She pointed at each kid in turn. “Is that all right with you two?”
Anwen gave her a speculative look. “Can you tell good bedtime stories?”
“Your aunt Tosh's mom is an Onemi word-singer,” Owen said, in the tone of one conveying a great secret. “Tosh can tell the best stories ever.”
Dai's eyes brightened. “The wind spirit stories?” At Tosh's amused nod, he turned to his father. “You can go, Tad.”
“Thank you,” Ianto answered dryly. “Come on, Captain. Duty calls.”Enter your cut contents here.
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: It's all as innocent as a summer rain... if Jack and Ianto were playing outside
Summary: After seven years, Jack and Ianto meet again
Disclaimer: Oh, please. If I owned them, would I let some of those idiots write the scripts? And if I were making any money off them, would I be where they could find me?
Author's Note: During my recent writer's brick wall (writer's block doesn't quite do it justice) I did manage to write something. This stand-alone was written for torchwood-fest.livejournal.com/. As usual, I forgot that livejournal and dreamwidth do not pick up the formatting in a .doc. My fault, I should have coded it properly, but, considering how many meds I was on, I doubt I could have been successful. Therefore, here it is. BTW, I do encourage you to go read the stories, especially the one written for me by tonjavmoore: torchwood-fest.livejournal.com/49611.htm
Part one is here
CHAPTER THREE: GWEN
“This is real coffee.” Gwen stared at the mug she was holding as if it were filled with live worms. “Real, honest-to-God-from-roasted-beans coffee.”
There were chuckles and snorts around the table, but they were friendly sounds. As one of the relatively few people on Earth with regular experience of off-worldlers, Gwen had learned the difference between friendly amusement and condescension pretty quickly.
“Ianto has contacts among the Anachrons,” Toshiko giggled. “In fact, Ianto has contacts pretty much everywhere.”
Gwen stared openly at the young man sitting across from her. He looked barely old enough to be a graduate assistant, much less a full University professor formerly employed by the Alliance's Office of Intercultural Affairs, and having contacts in multiple planets.
“My father was a member of the First Contact Bureau,” he explained, putting her curiosity out of its misery. “By the time I was eighteen I had lived in half a dozen planets.”
She nodded, trying to wrap her brain around that kind of life. After a few moments, she gave up. “You lived in the eeulinaali home planet?”
“From the age of six until right before I turned eleven. Went back later on for two more years.”
“So you know a lot about them, right?” Andy asked. “What's with this planet grabbing crap?”
“The eeulinaali evolved in a massively resource-poor environment. Their home planet is mostly desert, with a few oases down in the valleys and nothing but rock and underground lakes in the plateaus. Huge wind patterns circle the planet. It almost never rains and when it does, it's catastrophic. The only truly fertile zone in the whole planet extends less than one hundred miles on either side of the equator. Taking into consideration evolutionary pressures that required speed, strength, and hyperfast reflexes for survival, what kind of culture do you think could develop there?”
“Warrior,” Andy said, then took a gulp of his coffee. “Winner take all.”
Gwen noticed the startled glances Toshiko and Owen gave her partner and snickered softly. Andy's sweet, slightly goofy looks always fooled people.
“It was,” professor Jones confirmed. “But after a couple of millennia of warfare, a less genocidal version emerged. Do any of you know what counting coup is?”
“The winning of prestige through some sort of physical feat, rather than injuring your opponent... most commonly in battle but it also could refer to, say, taking your opponent's property...” Andy seemed to mentally skid to a stop. “So the eeulinaali count coup? And whoever captures the biggest prize gets to... what? Head the government? Control the resources?”
“DI Davidson,” Jack drawled, “you and I will be discussing your future career very soon. Talent like yours can't be wasted chasing common criminals.”
“Yes, sir,” Andy said absent-mindedly. “So the eeulinaali are using the murder of the ambassador to claim that Earth as a whole owes them weregild to the tune of five hundred years of slavery? High price for one single individual.”
Ianto shook his head. “Earth wouldn't be paying for a single individual. Ambassador iilaaila'inali's rank made him one of the most important people in his Culture. They iil are pitching it as an attack upon their clan.”
“Still only an single clan and a single individual,” Andy said. “They've never tried this with an Alliance member before, have they? They usually go after planets away from main trade routes, with societies that I would call medieval. Why us and why now?”
Professor Jones hesitated, looking at Jack, who nodded. Something in the exchange made Gwen wonder about the relationship between the two men. There was something deeply personal about their interactions, as if they could read each other's minds, and yet they seemed to keep a certain distance. She had noticed that Toshiko had subtly directed them around the conference room table so that the professor was seated at Jack's immediate right, and that both men had hesitated briefly before taking their seats. Now everything came together in a flash of intuition. Lovers. Those two had been lovers at one time, and the emotion still clung to them. Former lovers, and still in love.
“That is why your team is so successful,” the t'Li – Owen, she needed to remember his name and avoid giving offense – murmured. “He scents facts and you scent emotions.”
She looked back over her shoulder at him. The huge compound eyes reflected hundreds of copies of her own image back at her. There was intelligence and humor behind the odd insect face. “I've never heard it put that way, but yes. That's how it works.”
“Before Ianto continues,” Jack said, and there was an undertone in his voice that made Gwen give him her undivided attention, “there is something all of you,” he pointed to Gwen, Andy, and Suzie in turn, “have to understand and agree to. One of the most important things we at OIA do is keep secrets. That's why we are trusted by all Cultures. If you reveal anything you hear, the penalty is to have all memories of your previous life removed. No family, no friends, no home planet. Are you still interested?”
Gwen swallowed hard, but nodded. After a moment, Andy and Suzie did the same.
“All right. Ianto, go ahead.”
“The scarcity of resources of the eeulinaali home planet resulted in an evolutionary pattern where reproduction is closely tied to dietary abundance. An eeulinaa's estrus is triggered by a combination of nutrients that build up over several years of good eating. It lasts only a very short time and each female gives birth to one child. Even one year of scarcity will result in infertile eggs. For centuries, eeulinaali clans raided each other, taking all the food they could carry and destroying the rest. It triggered long, vicious feuds that led to the extermination of many of the lesser clans.” He poured himself more coffee. “That's all by way of making you understand the relevance of the next bit of information. There are persistent rumours that the iil are having reproductive problems. Since children are not seen by outsiders until their naming ceremony, there's no way of verifying them, but...”
Andy straightened slowly, and Gwen, recognizing the expression, braced herself for one of his logical leaps. “You're suggesting that the iil sacrificed their future War Leader in order to get themselves more territory. No. More resources?” He frowned. “But there are more fertile places than Earth, and easier to grab. So it's a special kind of resource they need?”
Ianto raised one eyebrow. “It is universally accepted that the best genetic engineers are Human.”
“Good luck in finding out for sure,” Gwen snarled. “We were not allowed to search the Ambassador's quarters. Diplomatic immunity again. According to the delegation's secretary, we can be assured that the Ambassador's official residence does not contain any clues to his unfortunate demise. He suggested we drag the earthfirsters from their hidey-hole,” she mimicked the elegant drawl of the official, “after all, wouldn't they be the usual suspects?”
“Gwen,” Jack said urgently, “were those his exact words?”
“I tend to remember what condescending pricks say to me, Captain Harkness.”
“Good. Ianto?”
“He was sending us a message, Gwen,” professor Jones explained. “eeulinaali do not have a concept for official residence. Think of a clan house as a medieval king's castle, both a home and a place of business.” He held up a hand to stop her from saying anything. “The secretary was telling you that the Ambassador had a hiding place somewhere in Cardiff.”
“How do you know that?” Andy demanded.
“Because the eeulinaali delegation secretary had every reason to expect that I would be called in to consult. Because it was I who taught him Standard English, including the concept of a hidey-hole.” He smiled at them gently. “And because he wouldn't want to see my home overrun by the iil. After all, he's my brother.”
CHAPTER FOUR: IANTO
It had been so easy to slide back into their usual pattern, so normal to sit at Jack's right hand, make his coffee and finish his sentences. The easy knowledge of what Jack was thinking and the ability to see the weak points and correct them had all come back as if seven years hadn't passed. The t'Li called it twinning, two souls meant to be one reaching for the union they had been denied. Owen swore up and down that he and Jack were two such, and at times it was easy to believe.
He believed he had moved past Jack Harkness. He had the family he had craved, a profession that gave him a great deal of satisfaction, and the respect of his students and colleagues. And yet the moment he set eyes on the damned man he knew nothing, nothing at all, was past.
He sighed. Lisa had always said his biggest talent was for deceiving himself.
“Tad?” Five-year-old Dai stood on tiptoe to look at the lasagna Ianto was assembling. “Is Aunt Rhi coming over?”
“No, Dai. Remember the pictures I showed you last week? Your aunt Tosh and your uncle Owen? They're visiting Cardiff and I've invited them over for dinner.”
Dai's twin sister jumped up and down. “Is Uncle Jack coming too? He's pretty!”
“Anwen!”
Ianto attempt at admonishing his daughter ended up in helpless laughter. Anwen was as outgoing and forthright as her brother was shy and reserved. Light and Shadow, Lisa had called them. Anwen had inherited her mother's artistic eye; of course she would notice Jack.
“Have you two finished your homework?” Two curly-haired heads nodded in unison. “Well, then, you can watch some vids until our friends get here. Dai, it's your turn to choose.” He turned a gimlet eye on his daughter. “And if you open your mouth it's time out for you.”
She started to glare back then shrugged and nodded. Grabbing her brother's arm, she dragged him off to the living room. Ianto finished the lasagna, popped it in the oven, and then set about making a green salad and setting the table. He hadn't planned on inviting his old team to dinner, but Tosh had looked so exhausted towards the end of the meeting that the words had left his mouth before he had a chance to censor them. Tosh had a habit of skipping meals in order to get sleep, and it played havoc with her sensitive metabolism.
Resolutely ignoring the little voice that suggested that his real reason was spending more time with Jack, he had rushed home and changed into jeans and an old University of Cardiff sweatshirt. It had been, the annoying little voice whispered, Jack's favorite look on him: young, carefree, and most of all, willing. Now, he looked down at his bare toes and sighed, wondering what the hell he was doing.
He was getting the coffee machine set up for after-dinner brandy and dessert when the doorbell rang. A mad rush of little feet answered it.
“Dai! Anwen!” He called out as he went, “what have I told you about opening the door?”
“But Taaad...” Anwen wilted under her father's steady look. “We're supposed to wait for an adult.”
“Good girl.”
He opened the door to find three mountains of beautifully wrapped boxes with legs – well, two pairs of legs and one set of truefeet. Rolling his eyes, he stood aside. As his former teammates swept in, he glanced at his children. Both of the seemed paralyzed by the sight. Even the voluble Anwen was stunned into silence. Ianto removed a few boxes from Toshiko's pile and pointed her towards the Christmas tree near the window.
“Over there.”
Presents were piled up under and around the tree until it looked as if the poor thing had been buried in an avalanche of red and green paper. Ianto recognized it as the signature wrap of the most expensive children's store in Cardiff. He turned his most severe look on his friends.
“Consider it five year's worth of birthdays and Christmases,” Jack said, smiling at the twins. “Besides, isn't it the uncles' and aunties' priviledge to spoil the kids?”
Before Ianto could say anything, Anwen threw herself at Jack, who caught her in midair and settled her on his hip. She ran her little hands over his face and hair.
“Pretty.”
“Why, thank you, darling.” Jack repeated her gesture. “So are you. Very pretty.” He extended a hand to the quiet boy standing next to his father. “And you must be Dai.”
Dai nodded and took the offered hand. Jack maneuvered them to the couch and sat down. Soon they were deep in conversation. Ianto stared at them, desperately trying to keep the sudden surge of emotion under control.
“Is there anything that needs doing in the kitchen?” Toshiko threaded her arm through his. “I haven't had a chance to cook in months.”
“All done, but you can help me pour the wine.” He steered her towards the kitchen. “Owen?”
“No, no. I think I'll join the Captain, get to know the kids.”
Ianto heard him mutter something under his breath that sounded like ammunition. Ianto decided that, as usual with Owen, discretion was the better part of valour. He really didn't want to know what the t'Li was planning. He made a few final checks on the meal and put together a tray of appetizers while Toshiko dealt with the wine.
“You are happy.” Toshiko said. “Or you were, until we came.”
“I am happy. My job is fulfilling, my children are a joy. It's just that... seeing them with Jack. It still hurts.”
“He always thinks of you. When Lisa died, he pulled every string at his disposal to get me here in time for the funeral. He said that no matter how good your new life was, you would need someone who knew you well enough to understand the pain.” She smiled sadly. “He hurts too, Ianto.”
“I know. He's punishing himself for Gray's death. But dammit, Tosh, this could have been his family!”
“He doesn’t think he deserves one. Gray’s death…”
“Was an accident. Jack was twelve years old, for God’s sake, how was he supposed to protect his brother?”
“We know that. But Jack’s mother reaction to Gray’s death made a deep impression in an already traumatized boy.”
Ianto sighed. “Rehashing it won’t do us any good. Come on, let’s take these out.” He pointed to a tray of appetizers. “We can munch and talk while the lasagna finishes cooking.”
They took the food and wine out to the living room. Tosh and Ianto sat on the floor and passed around goodies. Soon Dai was on Tosh's lap and Jack had talked Ianto into letting the kids open one present each. The beautifully set table was forgotten as the lasagna and salad were placed on the coffee table and everyone helped themselves. Ianto watched his kids bloom under the attention of adults that treated their questions as serious inquiries. He knew that many people, even his sister, found the twins' precociousness startling and even uncomfortable, and, bright as they were, the children couldn't help but pick up the signals. Surrounded by people who saw nothing odd about five year olds asking about the feeding patterns of Centauri Prime pseudo-butterflies, they were happier than Ianto had ever seen them.
They were slurping down Owen's favorite mango ice cream when Jack tapped the implant behind his ear.
“Harkness. Gwen?... All right. Good.” He set down his spoon with a sigh of regret. “Sorry, kids. Work calls. Gwen and Andy have found the ambassador's hidey-hole. Ianto, we'll need you tomorrow morning again in the holo room...”
“Why don't I stay with the kids and Ianto go with you instead?” Tosh asked. “I don't know much about eeulinaali culture. I can set up here and do whatever research is needed.” She pointed at each kid in turn. “Is that all right with you two?”
Anwen gave her a speculative look. “Can you tell good bedtime stories?”
“Your aunt Tosh's mom is an Onemi word-singer,” Owen said, in the tone of one conveying a great secret. “Tosh can tell the best stories ever.”
Dai's eyes brightened. “The wind spirit stories?” At Tosh's amused nod, he turned to his father. “You can go, Tad.”
“Thank you,” Ianto answered dryly. “Come on, Captain. Duty calls.”Enter your cut contents here.
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