Title: Bred in the Bone (17/20)

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

           “Fore hand ward! Thrust double! Ward to right! Thrust single!” Puck’s instructions were accompanied by sharp smacks to the back of the legs with the flat of his sword whenever we missed. “Lunge! Strike!”

            The Summer Folk had dragged me out of my comfortable bed and away from Toshiko an hour before sunrise. When we arrived at the practice field Ianto and his retainers were already there. He didn’t look any happier than I did.

            Puck was waiting in the middle of the field, a quarterstaff held in each hand. There was nothing of the merry wanderer of the night about him. This was the Puck who had beaten magick into my stubborn heard when I was hell bent on proving myself unable to learn; the one who could stop a herd of charging elephants with a single glare.

            Our respective entourages herded us to our proper places then bowed and walked back to the perimeter and stood, arms-length apart, along the circle etched into the grass. I felt a faint stirring of energy as the magickal Circle was cast and sealed. I could see Ianto’s eyes widen as the Energy shift reached him.

            Puck handed us each a quarterstaff. “In the combat of kings, the physical duel is only the outward expression of the magickal battle which is in turn the metaphysickal representation of the Universal struggle for balance. Open your sense and See.”

            I went inwards then outwards, as I had been taught. Usually I could get glimpses of the ultimate Reality, but this time when my perception stabilized I saw it all. The physical everyday human earth and the shadow Annwfn both faded and the energy web that cradled them stood in sharp relief against utter darkness. I stood at a crossroads; what I could see of my energy body glowed the green of young apple trees. Opposite me, on the other side of the web, was a human-like figure that glowed white. Ianto.

            I wondered what he saw when he looked at me.

            “Focus on the lines. Truly See them.”

            As I studied the web I began to notice multiple frayings, darkened spots, nicks and even what seemed like open sores. In one area there was a huge blot where the lines were barely visible.

            “The battle is not a battle,” I heard Puck’s voice thundering inside my head,” but the restoration of balance. Each move one of you makes must be perfectly mirrored by the other, both in the physical and the magickal. Even the smallest success will improve the Balance. Low guard!”

            I soon found that trying to move simultaneously in two energy levels was probably the most difficult thing I had ever attempted. I stumbled several times before I caught the proper rhythm, but even then I was always half a step off. I was a bit chagrined to notice that the Ianto energy seemed to be having a much easier time of it, until I realized that Ianto, lacking formal magickal training, had simply chosen to trust his own energy to achieve proper balance, while I was trying to think through each movement – and I needed to react faster than I could think. Forcing away or reasoning away my training didn’t work. Finally, in utter frustration, I closed my eyes and emptied my mind as completely as I could.

            Suddenly I was moving easily, feet sliding surely over the grass, magick sliding easily along the paths laid down by the lines. I danced the nicks and frayings away and watched as Ianto mirrored my steps. As we moved, we left behind the healthy glow of balanced lines.

            We were at it for what seemed like hours. Each and every one of my muscles ached, and my legs burned from the blows from Puck’s sword. Each breath was a blast of burning air cauterizing my lungs and my physical senses seemed packed in gauze. But movement was easy and I felt as if I could dance forever. I was actually disappointed when I heard Pucks’ instruction to stop.

            When I regained my human senses, I nearly collapsed from exhaustion. I reached for Ianto and we supported each other as we gasped for air.

            “Bloody hell. That was marvelous. I think I’m going to faint.”

            His whisper forced a hysterical little giggle out of me. He snorted and then started giggling too. We slid to the grass, laughing like complete idiots.

            “Up, up!” Pansy stood above us, looking for all the world like a mother scolding her errant children. “Do your majesties wish to catch a chill from the wet grass?”

            We stumbled up, apologizing and laughing in equal measures. Pansy handed us towels the size of tablecloths and stood there as we dried off as best we could. Finally, she made a big circle around us and as she went a warm little breeze finished the job.

            “Thank you, Pansy. “

            Ianto took her hand and kissed it. She blushed a bright pink and curtsied. I could tell Ianto was going to have the Winter Folk wrapped around his little finger in no time. I would have to learn from him; faced with the same situation, I would have struggled to maintain the formality I had learned in my grandmother’s house instead of following my first impulse.

            A shout from the edge of the field caught our attention. Several of the Small Ones moved outwards, opening a gate in the Circle, and then closing it after a group of Winter Folk had pushed a man through. An old, man, lean to the point of skeletal, looking much the worse for wear, hair in disarray and clothes that would have been quite elegant at one time looking worn and dirty. I heard Ianto growl.

            “Bilis Manger?”

            “Indeed.” He waited until the man had been brought to him. “Mr. Manger. You look a bit down on your luck. Perhaps We can improve it.”

            “Do you think you impress me, boy?” The old man struggled to find a haughty tone but I could see fear hiding in his eyes. “I remember you when you were nothing but Harkness’s toy.”

            Ianto raised a hand to still the feral noise coming from the Small Ones. “Still am. He’s mine also. Works beautifully. But you, Mr. Manger, you have become nothing. Perhaps you should reflect on the advisability of meddling in the games of kings and gods. Quickly, though. We don’t have much time.”

            “I want to talk to Harkness!”

            “No. You will speak to us.” He pointed at me and then at himself. “We Rule here, Mr. Manger. You can have what we say you can, and you will lose what we decide you will. If we decided you would serve us better dead, you would be. Immediately and without mercy. Understood?” He waited until the old man nodded. “Tell us about Susan Creevey.”

            “She found me a few years ago. Her lover was dead. You didn’t know that, did you? Yes. She was Ms. Costello’s lover. They became involved a few weeks after Ms. Costello joined Pilgrim. Susan is a sensitive and Retcon didn’t work on her. When she confronted Ms. Costello, you colleague tried to use the resurrection gauntlet against her. It seems she had wanted to experiment on a living subject. But instead of killing her, the gauntlet activated Susan’s Talent and linked her to Ms. Costello. Love at first mind-rape, I suppose.”

            “And what did Susan Creevey want from you?” I asked.

            “Training. Assistance.” Manger shrugged. “Her Talent was running wild and turning on itself. And she wanted revenge. Captain Harkness had killed Ms. Costello a second time and because of the mind link, Susan had been present throughout.”

            “Jack said Suzie had mentioned a darkness coming for him…”

            “That was Susan. Her Talent is exceptional, really, but her personality is seriously damaged. She suffers from delusions of grandeur and is given to melodrama. She projected herself backwards into Ms. Costello’s mind to plant the threat. Useless bit of showboating.”

            “And you signed up with her, Manger?” I shook my head. “I would have thought you would run as fast as you could in the other direction.”

            “I should have, but what did I have left? My Lord was dead and his enemy stood triumphant. I wanted revenge too. I didn’t realize how mad she was until later. She kept me a prisoner in her house for years until she learned all I had to teach. A few weeks ago,  she forced me to Summon Merihim.” He extended his hands and we saw that the fingers were twisted and shattered. “She left me to die, but I managed to escape. I’ve been hiding in the weevil tunnels since. Now that there aren't nearly as many of them, it was the safest place.”