Title: Bred in the Bone (20/20)

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
Author's Note: There's an epilogue!

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; Part Eleven is here; Part Twelve is here; Part Thirteen is here; Part Fourteen is here; Interlude Two is here; Part Fifteen is here; Part Sixteen is here; Part Seventeen is here; Part Eighteen is here; Part Nineteen is here

           We piled into Jack’s SUV, except for Pansy, who sniffed disdainfully and popped out of sight. Ianto helped Jack into the back seat and slid in next to him. Jack was still groggy, but I couldn’t see any injury. Hart, on the other hand, was bleeding from several deep cuts, and loudly unhappy about it. After digging out a roll of bandages from the first-aid kit, he threw the keys at me and climbed into the passenger seat.

 

            “Jack wouldn’t have stayed dead, you know,” I pointed out.

 

            He didn’t even look up. “Pansy didn’t think it was a good idea to let him get killed.”

 

            We found grandmother, aunt Achren, and Angie in the Hub. When she noticed Hart's condition, Angie ran to him and started fussing. Ianto rolled his eyes. Tosh ran too, and I scooped her up as she threw herself at me.

 

            “Susan Creevey?” Grandmother asked.

 

            “Puck has her.”

 

            “Shouldn’t she be here?” Euan ventured. “We have very secure cells.”

 

            “Believe me, Euan, wherever Susan Creevey is, she is secured. Jasmine is back with the tywyl and I doubt we’ll have any trouble from that quarter.”

 

            “That’s a relief,” grandmother said. “It’s better not to have to fight in two fronts at once.”

 

            “Did you two come up with anything?”

 

            My grandmother and her sister traded a speculative look. I had seen that kind of look before in the Lady Modron’s face; seeing it double made me hug Tosh tighter and brace myself. Ianto, much more innocent in the ways of the Tylwyth Teg, walked right into it.

 

            “You want to perform a Solstice ritual.”

 

            “That, yes, but also,” Achren took a deep breath, “we will need to perform a sacrifice.”

 

            Rhys gasped. “You want to kill someone?”

 

            “No, Rhys!” I jumped in before anyone else could misunderstand. “For us a sacrifice is a ritual where consecrated objects or people are used to generate…” My mouth dropped open. “The Green Man ritual.”

 

            Grandmother nodded. “Tomorrow night is a full moon.”

 

            “But who…” I followed her gaze. “Oh. You know something, grandmother? I’ll let you explain this one to Ianto.”

 

            “Explain what?”

 

            “Sex magick,” Angie said calmly. “The oldest and most powerful. On the full moon, a maiden carrying the symbols of air and water gives herself willingly to a man carrying the symbols of earth and fire.” She grasped John’s hand tightly. “I asked John to be my Consort and he agreed.”

 

            The conversation degenerated a bit after that. I won’t try to reproduce it. I tried to keep count of all the threats sent John’s way, but gave it up as a lost cause. Finally, Angie exploded.

 

            “Enough! This will happen, Jack, and no, Ianto, you won’t be there. The only male allowed is the celebrant. The women of both families will be in the Circle, as will be the female retainers of both courts. The men will keep Jack company while Andy and Ianto are keeping vigil.”

 

            And that was that, really. The following evening, as the sun set, Toshiko, Martha, and Tish were whisked away to the Women’s Circle. Martha and Toshiko had insisted on visiting Gwen’s grave to pick some of the roses that grew nearby to add to Angie’s crown. That is as much as I know. Toshiko has never said a word about what she saw, and Rhys and Thomas tell me their spouses have been equally closemouthed, though we all notice that their attitude towards Hart has mellowed considerably.

 

            On the stroke of midnight, Ianto and I took our places in the vigil chamber. From this moment on, everything we did had a magickal as well as a physical component. Puck led us through a set of exercises meant to cleanse our minds and then took us to the bathing house, where our retinues waited with hot baths and more exercises. Finally we were dressed and crowned. Ianto’s sigh of relief at the sight of proper trousers, tunics, and soft boots, and simple diadems for our heads, made the Small Ones cackle.  I think he had visions of being dressed as an extra in a gladiator movie.

 

            We left the chamber at sunrise to the sound of drum and harp. I noticed a viewing stand had been set up, with Jack and Tosh in pride of place, both robed and crowned and looking very comfortable in their roles. Grandmother and Aunt Achren sat on either side. The rest of our crew was either back at the Hub or standing guard over the children. Both had Small Ones with them; we were taking no chances.

 

            “We will give you as much Energy as we can,” Puck whispered. “Be safe, my children.”

 

            We stood in the center of the field and the Small Ones drew and closed the Circle. Perception was much easier this time; the energy web sprang up immediately, and we balanced at the crossroads opposite each other, glowing green and white. The dark blot I had noticed before had gotten larger and strands of the web hung loose, dripping a thick ichor that burned wherever it touched another strand. Merihim was close.

 

            We moved towards it, making sure that we mirrored each other with every step. It was harder than what we had done in practice. There, the strands had welcomed the healing we brought. These fought back, twisting away and snapping at our legs, trying to make us fall. Somewhere in the distance I could hear the growls of Tosh’s engines battling to keep the Rift closed.

 

            As we reached the center of the blot we could find no lines to follow, but there were fiery red outlines in the darkness where they had been. Red, the color of passion. John and Angie had drawn the pattern for us.

 

            I placed my staff at the place where one of the strands ended and slid it across the fire until it touched the proper crossroad, drawing the line again in its proper channel. It felt as if I were trying to drag the weight of all of Earth. On the opposite side, Ianto matched the gesture. I could see him grimace with effort. And so we wove Earth’s energy web whole again, one strand at a time.

 

            It went on and on and on until I couldn’t see anything but the golden strands. Every time I thought I would drop a new wave of energy surged through me. I heard Euan scream as one of the engines shook itself apart and sent him flying into a wall, snapping his leg. I could see cracks appearing in the Rift and Tylwyth warriors lining up to meet a foe they couldn’t defeat. I could see Small Ones dropping with the exhaustion of feeding us. I could see my grandmother grow pale and wan, barely able to hold up her hand. I heard Martha sob as the air inside the Hub grew thick with Rift stuff and Rhys’s hand slid from hers. I saw Jack and Tosh trying to reach us. And we kept going, and the web strengthened with each pass.

 

            Finally, just when I knew I could not draw one more breath, when there was nothing to hold my mind and my body together, I felt the Energy web solidify under my feet. A blaze of golden light surged along the strands fusing them together. I saw Ianto fall, and felt my own feet slide out from under me. We tumbled down to solid Earth and fresh-scented grass and the arms of my Uncle Robin.

 

            “Well done, young ones, well done."