1
"What do you mean?" Ianto asked, blinking as he tried to understand the crackling phone call from his sister, "Hitched!"
"I mean, I just got married" Rhiannon was shouting over the wind in the convertible, "I am now officially Rhiannon Harkness-Jones!"
"Rhia, I…" Ianto struggled to find the words that were not as harsh as he knew they probably should be, "Congratulations. If he makes you happy then who am I to judge? I can't wait to meet him."
"Really?"
"Really" Ianto promised, "He must be special to have caught you."
Her laughter was light and even though they were hundreds of miles apart he felt her joy, "Oh Rhia. Good for you."
"There's something else" she said, "You will never guess."
"God. He's an alien!" Ianto said gaily and again her laughter was precious. So precious as her last husband had been a right bastard, the custody battle between them for the two children horrible and unresolved.
"No ya Muppet I'm…..NO!"
Ianto's smiled faded as he listened to the unmistakable sound of an accident in progress, the male voice full of fear as he yelled at Rhiannon to put her belt on and hold on.
Then the sound of crunching, screeching…screaming and silence.
Ianto listened as his sister and her new husband crashed their rental car, across the water in America of all places.
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Ianto stepped off the plane at Newark after a hectic twelve hour flight, turbulence ensuring he hadn't slept and he considered a rental car but went for a cab instead. To hell with the cost, he could afford it.
"New York-Presbyterian please" Ianto said as he slid into the back seat and tried to calm himself, the last phone call with the doctors not promising.
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He found himself inside a dingy office and an equally dingy man was looking at him as he mutely stared back.
"Do you need a moment?"
"No" Ianto croaked, "Just…could you repeat that?"
"Your sister shows no brain activity, no response to pain or other stimuli. I am afraid she is brain dead." The doctor repeated slowly, watching the man with the strange accent blink back at him.
"How, I mean. If she is dead why is she still alive?" Ianto asked.
"Artificial means" the doctor replied, "It was fate that a doctor and his wife were in the tour bus that happened on the scene shortly after the accident. They worked tirelessly on your sister and although her head injuries were too severe to maintaining life it was enough to get her to us so we could connect her to a ventilator and such."
"But…I am sorry. I am tired, jet lagged and a bit discombobulated" Ianto said as he rubbed his face, "Why did you do all that if she is not capable of survival?"
"The baby" the doctor said, "Your sister's inborn child is still alive."
Ianto felt the walls close in and Ianto was unconscious before he hit the floor.
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Ianto stood looking at the form of his sister. It had been six months since he had last seen her off on her adventure, the holiday supposed to be just a month away. Now, she would never come home.
"You silly mare" he said softly as he reached out to take a limp hand, unable to look into her face as he knew the slack features would resemble his mother's death mask from his childhood with Rhiannon the dead spit of their mother, pardon the pun.
Now, she would resemble her more than ever.
"Is there anything I can get you?" Doctor Kahn asked softly, the Welshman looking so fragile that he might fly apart at any minute.
"no"
"The baby is strong, scans do not detect any damage from the impact. Your sister was ejected from the vehicle as it rolled and this is what has saved your nephew. Unfortunately her husband was trapped beneath the vehicle and with no roll cage on the convertible…" the doctor saw no reason to elaborate.
"I never met him" Ianto said inanely, "Spoke to him one on the phone. That's it. Knew nothing except what he looked like from the photos she sent me of them in Vegas."
"I know you have a lot to consider here" the hand on Ianto's shoulder was gentle, full of compassion and Ianto fought the urge to step away as his fear of being touched screamed in the back of his mind.
"Thank you" Ianto finally said once he had regained enough control, "I just…I just want to sit with her. OK?"
"Sure" Kahn said with genuine sorrow as the man wilted ever so slightly.
"The body…I mean. Gray"
"His brother is here, he has identified him and we have released the body for burial but he is waiting for you. He wants to bury them together in the family plot" Kahn advised, "He is prepared to talk to you about preparations. We are waiting for your decision on tenterhooks about the baby."
"What decision?" Ianto turned with confusion, "There isn't one. I mean…she is dead. What the hell can I do now except wait."
"The decision on whether to keep her on life support as long as we can for the baby to have a chance of life, or if you want her to slip away and take the baby with her" he explained.
Ianto continued to stare at the doctor who slowly realized he had already been answered.
Wait.
He had to wait for the baby.
Ianto sighed, "We will move heaven and earth for their child. It's all I can do now."