Set between 'Meat' and 'Adam' Season Two....... I am going on the assumption that only Jack, Ianto and Owen know about Flat Holm Island.

RIFT CHILD

"Oh my god."

Jack froze at the sound of those words. The deep sadness in Ianto's voice was enough to bring him to a jarring halt.

"I've found it Jack. It's here."

In the dim light of an early autumn dawn Ianto straightened up and turned to face his boss, a squirming infant humanoid in his arms. The young Welshman was looking down at the tiny thing in his arms that could almost be called a baby.... a human baby.... but for the row of tiny ridges that rose from its brow and disappeared into its scalp, which was covered in downy feathers instead of hair. Jack recognised the species immediately and huffed out a sigh to match the look on Ianto's face. Ironically they were called Sparrow on their home world. Ianto was quick to nestle the tiny child into the folds of his coat, human or not, it was still a vulnerable baby that would need.......

"We'll take it back to the Hub, and get Owen to check it over." Jack said finally gathering himself for a storm to come.

Ianto nodded, feeling the warmth of the thing against his chest, it really was almost human. He walked a pace behind Jack wondering what the poor child's parents were currently going through. They would never see their baby again, never know its fete. Ianto couldn't think of anything worse. Jack opened the door of the SUV and Ianto, careful with his charge, climbed in, the door was shut for him. When Jack got in behind the wheel he assisted with the seatbelt, before keying the ignition.

"Don't go too fast Jack."

Jack nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. Today was about to get all kinds of ugly, in the few minutes that Ianto had been in contact with the child, he had already bonded with it. He could not afford for anyone else on the team to touch it, separating the infant from Ianto was going to be hard enough. Part of him wished he'd found it first, if only to put it down.

"Don't got too attached Ianto." He said, knowing how useless and belated that short command actually was. Sparrows affected human's that way. He heard Ianto sigh and risked a quick glance at him. His Welshman was looking down at the baby and smiling stupidly into the eyes that were looking back at him.

"How old do you think it is?"

Jack tried to sound disinterested rather than worried. "A few days, maybe a week. We'll have to take it to Flat Holm."

The smile dropped away. "Jack it's a baby, not a patient."

"I know Ianto."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jack pulled the rest of the team into the boardroom whilst Ianto took the infant down to the autopsy bay to wait for Owen. Jack made a point of closing the door. His team sat in the chairs around the table and Jack paced about, agitated.

"We have a serious problem."

Owen arched his eyebrows and grimaced. "What's Tea Boy done now?"

Jack sank into a chair. "The Rift has dumped an infant on us."

Tosh and Gwen both immediately looked through the glass in the direction of the autopsy bay.

"Is it human?" Tosh asked.

Jack shook his head. "The race are known as Sparrow, they are humanoid accept on the outside, they have feathers instead of hair and little bumps on the brows. They are also bonders, which means they communicate through touch and speech, but are inseparable from their parents until they find their mates. Ianto found it and picked it up...... Yes I know dangerous, but he saw a baby and did what any one of us would have done. The problem is the infant has already bonded to him, separating them is going to be distressing at best, for both of them. Now until I figure out what we are going to do with this child I do not anyone other than Ianto to touch it. Owen when you do the medical, make sure you are wearing at least two pairs of gloves. I mean it, no one is to touch it because the separation is..... well like I said."

Owen was looking thoughtful. "How do you know it has bonded with Ianto?"

Jack sighed, "You'll see in a minute. Ianto is many things, but cuddly isn't one of them."

"So what are we going to do with the baby? We can't send it to be adopted or anything, I mean... has this happened before?" Gwen was looking anxiously between Jack and Owen.

"Alien refugees usually go to UNIT, but this is the first time a child so young has come through the Rift and survived. Sparrows are pretty tough physically, but they go mad if alone and unbounded. I'll be honest I am not entirely certain how to handle this."

"What about communicable diseases Jack, is there anything we're likely to be at risk from?"

Jack shook his head. "I don't think so, but it wouldn't hurt to do a thorough medical assessment anyway. Look, guys I just wanted to stress the importance of quarantine. Ianto has already been exposed, let's just keep it to him until we have a safe place to send the child."

"Jack how severe is the separation anxiety likely to be?" Owen was sounding worried now.

Jack huffed a sigh. "Serious. Ianto's behaviour is gonna be out of wack, when the infant is taken from him he'll lose it and we need to be prepared for that, he'll need us to be prepared for that."

"Surely they only bond with their own species?" Tosh said.

Jack shrugged. "No, there's a big slave trade in Sparrows, because once they bond they simply never leave your side, they are the most loyal, dependable..... like all weaknesses it's exploited. Sparrows can bond to pretty much any sentient organic species with a language, the only problem is the bonding goes both ways where human's are concerned, which is one of the reasons why they are also hunted and killed. It's sad, they really are a lovely peaceful people."

Owen got to his feet. "I guess I better check on both of them."

Jack nodded. "Gwen, I'm sorry to ask, but could you please go to the shops and get baby supplies, nappies clothes and something we can put the child to sleep in safely."

Gwen pushed her chair back and stood up. "No problem." She offered up a smile before she left, realising just how worried Jack was. Once she was gone Jack turned to Tosh.

"We have to find somewhere for this child to go, UNIT is my last resort. Shit."

Toshiko watched him closely for a moment. "What about food Jack, what does that Sparrow eat?"

"It should be ok with whatever infant food humans normally have." He was looking past Tosh into the middle distance. "This is going to be hard Tosh, damn it. I don't know what the hell we are going to do with it."

She decided to be the voice of reason. "Well for now, lets get it checked over and fed. You've been on Earth a long time, you must know someone who may be able to help us find a home for it."

Jack didn't reply.

"Jack?"

He finally looked at her. "There's no guarantee we'll be able to separate it from Ianto without killing it. I'm amazed it didn't die from being removed from it's mother."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh."

"Is Ianto's life in danger?"

Jack shrugged. "It depends on how deeply he responds to the bonding, either way the damage was done from the moment he picked the child up."

AN: Another experiment..... I must be mad.....This one won't be very fluffy though.