Title: Bred in the Bone (11/?)

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

Part One is here; Part Two is here; Part Three is here; Part Four is here; Part Five is here; Part Six is here; Interlude is here; Part Seven is here; Part Eight is here; Part Nine is here; Part Ten is here

 

            The narrow silver ribbon meandered between hillock and forest, farm and town, following the valley towards the horizon.  From our vantage point atop Achren’s hill we could see where it merged with a much larger pewter ribbon that spilled out of sight into the lower valley on its way to the ocean.

 

            “What is it?” Toshiko asked.

 

            “It’s the Nant Clydach,” I told her. “The bigger one is the Taff. We’ll be in Cardiff in no time.”

 

            “I didn’t think you could use anything bigger than a canoe on the Clydach.”

 

            “There are boats and then there are boats. Ours should be getting here soon. Let’s go down.”

 

            She took my hand and we followed Angie and Ianto to the dock. Achren was already there. She wore the drab green tunic and trousers of a warrior, covered by the traditional plaid cloak. She had insisted we all wear them. I hadn’t really argued. The things had the almost-living feel common to all things crafted by the beldames’ own hands; only they knew how many protective magicks were woven among the threads. On the physical sense, the colors had been muted down to a mixture of green, brown, and grey that made them perfect camouflage if we had to go to ground.

 

            Besides, Achren had graciously allowed us to keep our own clothes, properly laundered, of course. 

 

            A soft whoosh and a rippling of light and our transportation arrived. Toshiko gave a little squeal then rounded back and clouted me one on the ear.

 

            “Oi! What was that for?” I asked, grinning like a fool.

 

            “You said a boat!”

 

            “Well, that’s what we call them!”

 

            The wedge-shaped platform rode the air a few inches above the water. It was made of molecular-memory steel coated with a thin layer of gold; it would take whatever shape and size was needed. Height and speed were controlled by huge sheets of spider web silk guided from four pilots’ stations near the prow. This particular boat was rigged to be crewed by Small Ones. There were only three of that kind in existence. The other two were in our family’s boat house.

 

            Tosh whispered something to Angie and whatever it was sent them into giggling fits.

 

            “What are you up to, you two?”

 

            “Tosh says…” Angie hiccupped then started again. “Tosh says if someone starts whingeing about my preciousssss she’s getting off and hiking the rest of the way.”

 

            I looked around. There were four Small Ones manning the boat, a human king in disguise, a powerful… wizard, in human terms, and… an elf-prince… I threw my arms around both of them and howled.

 

            “All right, children, enough.” Aunt Achren used her most regal tone, but I could see a twinge of an upward curl on her lips. “Let’s get going.”

 

            Angie jumped gracefully onboard, followed by Tosh, who copied her movements perfectly. On the other hand, Ianto stumbled and had to be helped by one of the Small Ones. That was unusual; Ianto is the most graceful of men, and his training with the long staff should actually have improved on his natural ability. I took a closer look. He looked the same way he did whenever he had bad news and would rather chew his own arm off than talk about it.

 

            I waited until we were underway to approach him. “What’s going on, Ianto?”

 

            “I don’t know what you mean.”

 

            “Like hell. And we don’t have time, Ianto. If there’s something wrong, we need to know, or everything goes to hell. You know that.”

 

            “My eyes.” He rubbed his forehead. “I’m getting these moments of double vision. Right now, I’m seeing a small town right over there” he pointed “and a road with several cars. I’m also seeing, right on top of it, a birch forest with a small trail leading into it and there are some people gathering something… why are you grinning like that?”

 

            “Because you’re turning out to be very talented… aunt Achren!” I waved her over. “Ianto’s seeing double.”

 

            Her self-satisfied little smirk, identical to the one often aimed in my direction by a certain Welshman, made me wonder if her connection to the Joneses was more than just stewardship. She put her hands on either side of Ianto’s temples, holding his head immobile. “This is going to be a bit bothersome, grandson. I am sorry.”

 

            I didn’t even try to stop her; she was far more powerful than I was and, in any case, it was essential for Ianto to be ready when the time came, and that meant having all his abilities fully functional. Instead I grabbed Ianto’s hands and squeezed hard, giving him something to concentrate on. Having gone through it, I knew it was more than a bit bothersome. It was going to be fucking agonizing. Over Achren’s shoulder I saw Angie take hold of Tosh.

 

            At first, there’s very little for an observer to see when someone is rearranging your brain. You become a little pale, your nostrils flare as you try to take a little more air to replace what’s being stolen, and your spine becomes rigid so it seems as if you were standing at attention. Then, slowly, slowly, your body arches and your mouth opens in a soundless wail that seems to never end. You are drawn up on your tip toes as every muscle in your legs seize. Blood seeps from under your eyelids and your nose. Tremors shake your whole frame until it looks like you’re going to fly apart. And then you collapse.

 

            What you feel is fire.

 

            I eased Ianto down to the deck.  Angie rushed over to kneel by his head. Tosh, fearless as always, squared off with Achren.

 

            “What did you do to him?”

 

            Achren accepted a piece of cloth from one of the Small Ones and wiped her hands. The cloth came away streaked with blood. “It needed to be done, niece.”

 

            Tosh looked at me accusingly. “You knew she was going to do this?”

 

            “I suspected, though I didn’t expect it quite so soon. Come sit here and I’ll explain.” She gave me a nasty look but sat down next to me. “If Ianto had been raised in Dynogoddeu, he would have learned to use his talents as he grew, like any normal child learns, say, Welsh or maths. Instead, they were pushed into the subconscious and blocked. It was a survival mechanism, because untrained power can kill you or drive you mad. Now it's all pouring back into his conscious mind. He’s remembering thing he never learned and it’s playing hell with his whole system. What the Lady Achren did was to remove the blocks and rebuild the natural channels his talents need.”

 

            “It looked painful.”

 

            “That it was cariad, that it was.” I rubbed my own temple. “When they had to do it to me…”

 

            “Ymosodiad!”

 

            The shout came just ahead of the sound of sails being taken down. I looked up to see the Small Ones tying the ropes to the automatic controls and picking up their weapons. The Lady Achren had assumed her full Power: sword in hand, the air around coruscating with static electricity. Angie stood shield-maiden behind her and to her right.

 

            On the horizon, a roiling black cloud was moving towards us.

edited for one awkward grammatical construction that was driving me batty!