Author: Emma

Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Andy Davidson, Toshiko Sato, others

Rating: Starts PG, but hey, it’s got Jack and Ianto in it!

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?

Summary: Andy Davidson must embrace his inheritance in order to protect Jack and Ianto’s daughter Gwen

Author's Note: This is an AU where Gwen and Owen were killed by Gray. So if you want to know why Martha is married to Rhys and Jack and Ianto have a CP and two adopted daughters, you may want to read Evolution first
Author’s Note: The title is shamelessly stolen from Robertson Davies’s magnificent novel. It’s also an old saying: what’s bred in the bone will out in the flesh
Author’s Note:  Please note I’m still taking liberties with Welsh. Also, Rhys’s welcome comes from an obscure Irish legend that says if you give hospitality to a total stranger, especially one you suspect of being a fairy, you should greet them with words similar to those. It stops them from playing tricks

Part One is here; Part Two is here; Part Three is here; Part Four is here; Part Five is here
 

            Before I could say anything, Rhys stood up and bowed. “You are welcome at our hearth, my lord. We pray you, do not mock us.”

            Sometimes Rhys can manage to surprise the hell out of me.

            Robin was amused by the traditional greeting. He clapped his hands gleefully and returned the bow. Then he went on to examine each one of us in turn, even me, whom he had helped raise from birth. He smiled knowingly at Tosh, making her blush like a village maiden, then, smirking at me, filled her lap with bluebells and primroses. Her little squeal made me smile even as I gave him a dirty look. Cheeky sod.

            I got a bit of my own back when he took a good look at Martha. His eyes widened, and an elegant posy tied with white ribbons appeared in midair in front of her. Martha took it, giving Robin one of her patented make-you-feel-all-warm-and-fuzzy smiles.

            “Rosemary for remembrance,” he said as he sailed past her on his way to Rhys.

             “In this case, in remembrance of." I said. "You have friends in common.” When she still looked confused, I recited, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day…”

            She gaped as she stared at the being now giving her husband the once-over. “He knew… cowslips and eglantines… he’s not… is he?”

            “Indeed he is. For my sins.”

            I waited patiently until Robin had completed his circuit; some things cannot be hurried. The last one he came to was Jack. The two immortals stared at each other, identical looks of intense curiosity on their faces. Robin leaned in and sniffed Jack, then burst into laughter.

            “Robin…” I said as severely as I could.

            “No, no. Your forgiveness, Captain, I pray. I am known for having an odd sense of humor.” He presented Jack with an old-fashioned watch fob charm made of pink quartz carved in the shape of a shell. “Mended?”

            Jack looked at me. There was something about the gift knocking at the back of my head, but I couldn’t drag it into the light of day. Still, Robin would never do anything to harm Jack. I nodded.

            Jack took the present with a small bow. “Mended.”

            Robin laughed. “And all is well.”

            “Maybe not, Cousin.” I judged it was time to steer the conversation to our purpose. “Grandmother says the Bachgen’in foresee evil on the Road.”

            He cocked his head, considering. “Evil? Perhaps. Darkness, certainly. It searches for something it lost a long time ago. They all do.”

            “They? More than one?”

            “Some of its kind were here many centuries before we came. Although it is gossiped among the beldames that the Lady Achren had battle-knowledge of them from the days she Guarded the Road.”

            “We should be talking to her, then,” Jack said.

            “Good luck on that,” I said sourly. “Aunt Achren disappeared when my grandfather was a boy. The beldames clamp their teeth and refuse to say why, but I do know she was hard to find even before then.”

            “Damn. She could be dead for all you know.”

            I would have been appalled by his comment if I hadn’t been looking at my Cousin. Robin was staring fixedly at Ianto; he was playing with the geas energy the same way a cat plays with a string. We had done this before, Robin and I, during my training. He knew something, but couldn’t tell me. It was up to me to dig it out.

            “Cousin, what is the duty of one who is Bound in love?”

            “To willingly accept his share of the burden.”

            “And if he does not know to whom he owes this duty?”

            “Then he must return home and make an end or a new beginning.” He shook his head. “No more questions. All the cold iron makes me tired. Perhaps next time we will meet under the trees.”

            “Then I will not detain you any longer. Our thanks for your attendance, cousin.” I waited until he was nearly gone before I shifted to the Lesser tongue. “And next time, my Lord Puck, let me do my own proposing.”

            He glanced at Tosh, who still sat with her lap full of flowers. “Faint heart and slow wooing, bachgen, never made husband and father out of a man.”

            He faded out completely, leaving the scent of wildflowers behind. Rhys gave a great, big, explosive snort.

            “Now I’ve seen everything.” He turned to Martha, teasing. “And what is it with you and powerful beings giving you presents?”

            She laughed and kissed him. “Ah, but I got a little posy. Tosh got a lapful of gorgeous flowers.”

            “Bluebells. Fairy thimbles, my mam-gu called them. And primroses. My mam-gu used to say they meant…” He caught a glimpse of my face. “Ah, never mind. Business to take care of, right?”

            “Right.” I said. “Ianto, where does your family come from?”

            “The Valleys. A tiny place called Dynogoddeu. I think we go back centuries. Why? And what did… Duw. Was that really Robin Goodfellow? The Puck?”

            “Yep. The oldest and most powerful of the Bachgen’in, the Small Ones. Our Companions.” I shook my head. “And sometimes our shepherds, I think.”

            Ianto gave me an odd look. “He whispered welcome back when he was looking me over.”

            “Ianto, somewhere very far back in your family history, your ancestors entered into a reciprocal Bond with a Tylwyth, a very powerful one. That makes you sort of one of the family.” I howled with laughter when he gave me the look. “Sorry, Cousin.”

            “What does that have to do with my home town?”

            “When we were talking about aunt Achren, Robin became utterly fascinated by you. He was even playing with your geas energy a little. He wanted me to ask about you, and specifically about your Binding. He told me you would have to return home. And now I find that you come from a town named The Men of Goddeu, using a taffodh grammatical construction? Do you really think it’s a coincidence that your family has deep roots in a place named after the one piece of Welsh literature that mentions Achren by name?”

            “Umm. I see what you mean by being shepherded.” Jack tapped rapidly on the arm of his chair. “I don’t like Ianto being manipulated like this.”

            “Neither do I, but we don’t have a choice at this point. If Achren is the only one who knows how to fight this darkness thing we have to find her. And it would seem that the best way of going about it is through Ianto.”