AN- Hello to any new readers and welcome back to all of my friends who've been keeping up with the story :) This chapter (and story) can be read alone, but I don't reccomend it. If you haven't read my story, go to my profile and read it, it's still a work-in-progress, but it's worth it. So, I hope you all enjoy this and I'll be updating this on Wednesdays (for now) and Big Bad Wolf will continue on Mondays. Remember, I don't own Torchwood and I love reviews!
The Five Year Adventure
Chapter 1
"So, I know it isn't much, but its home," said Ianto Jones as he led in his new charges, Paul and Vaughn Jones, into his flat.
"So where do we sleep?" the little nine year old girl named Vaughn asks looking up at him with her tear stained face. Vaughn was very pretty with her green eyes and sandy blonde hair and though Ianto didn't know much about children, he supposed that her she must be of about average height for her age.
"I have a spare room," he said with a frown. "We'll have to get a new flat, maybe one closer to the Hub," he mused. "But for now, you two will just have to share."
"But she's a girl!" the teen boy, Paul, whined. He also wasn't an ugly child. His green eyes were the only thing that really made him look like he could be related to his sister. He was taller and wirey with a larger nose and black curly hair that looked like it needed a trim. Or at least Ianto would make him get a trim.
"And your little sister," Ianto said reasonably pushing his thoughts aside. "Besides, it's only temporary."
"Been in worse before, I suppose," Vaughn says a tad smugly, as if trying to prove she's better, though Ianto doesn't know who she thinks she's better than…
"So've I," Paul shot back. "I've seen things you have never even dreamt of seeing with the Wolf!"
"You forget I was with the Doctor," she says as she rolls her eyes. "Your Wolf is like a girl Doctor."
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Enough!" Ianto yells and begins to wonder why he and Lisa had ever wanted children.
"Sorry," Paul and Vaughn mumble looking sheepish.
"Look, it's been a long day. Why don't you two go look around, maybe clean up a bit, and then we'll go out for some food. Sound good?" They nodded their head and turned around to leave. "And no arguing!" he called after the siblings. They rounded the corner without acknowledging him. Ianto sank into his couch with a big sigh thinking back on the previous day.
Back in the Hub Gwen was finalizing the computer's calculations. "Good news, they're still on this planet, bad news, the computer says the date we're aiming for is in five years in the future."
"But that could be good," Paul said with a frown. "I mean, it royally sucks, but that means we have a lot more time to get a plan and train together. Do you know where they will be?"
"But five years!" Vaughn said upset, the beginning of tears leaking from her eyes. "That's a long time! I'll be fourteen!"
"Yeah, that sucks, I'll be nineteen. I'll never be able to have my high school rebellion against dad, but we'll be able to rescue them and train and really know what we're up against! Where are they, Gwen?"
"They're in America, some large home that was abandoned in the middle of the country that was actually just bought by some millionaire last month. Bet whoever that man is is the one who kidnapped Jack and everyone else."
"So what's the plan, Gwen?" Ianto asked waiting for orders.
"We have five years to make that up. For now, we need stories for the kids," Gwen said reasonably.
"We could be cousins of Ianto's?" Paul said trying to keep calm. "He's taking us in because his cousin, our mum died and we haven't seen our dad for years. A typical story that would be easy enough to believe."
"You'd have to go to school," Ianto said. "There is no way my neighbors would believe that I'd home school any kids in my possession."
"That's true," Gwen said. Paul looked ready to object, but went on before he could, "to keep up appearances. Ianto works too much for them to believe that he'd home school any children. You and Vaughn can go to the local schools and train here with us after the school day, too. Maybe even help out once we know a bit more."
The four people in the room looked at each other with grim determination and realized that for the next five years they were almost all each other had.
Ianto listened to the inevitable arguing that came through the walls as the two new siblings began to try and get used to each other. They didn't know each other, but they sure acted like any sibling duo he knew. Especially his niece and nephew. Actually, they were better than his niece and nephew. David and Mica always bickered and yelled, and while these two siblings were doing arguing, it wasn't as loud or piercing. Overall, he just really hoped that Paul and Vaughn would not be as bad as them.
"Ianto," he heard Vaughn say quietly as she walked back into the room. "Ianto, we don't have any clothes or anything else to freshen up with."
"I suppose you don't," he said as he thought about the situation he had been placed in. "Tell you what, after dinner we'll hit a shop and buy a few spares until we get into the new house. Then we'll fix the wardrobe problem and get the essentials."
"That sounds brilliant!" Vaughn said happily. "A whole new set of clothes!"
"Right," Ianto said feeling awkward again. Children were never his field of expertise.
"I'm starving," Paul said as he came into the room with a grin on his face. "What's good in this universe?"
"What do you mean universe?" Ianto asked confused.
"Me and my dad are from another universe, that's why me and Vaughn didn't grow up together," Paul rattled off. "There are an infinite number of universes, and this is the one that the Wolf and Jenny are from, and in this universe I died when I was little along with my dad during some battle with the Cybermen and the Torchwood in London, which was evil here, but they created so much cool stuff in my universe, but the Cybermen here were created in my universe where Vaughn was never-"
"Alright, I think I get it," Ianto said to try and keep the boy from rambling anymore. Paul quickly shut his mouth and Vaughn thought he rambled a lot like the Doctor.
"Right, food and shopping, then?" Vaughn prompted the boys. "Do they have a good chippy close by? I haven't had any for weeks!"
"What's a chippy?" Paul asked.
"Fish and chip shop," Ianto replied promptly. "That'll make a good and easy dinner. Come along then."
"Right," Paul said as they began to exit the flat. "Anyone care explain fish and chips to me? I'm sure it has something to do with fish…"
"They don't have fish and chips in your London?" Vaughn asked as if it were a crime.
"Suppose not," Paul said irritated.
"Well," Ianto said walking into a small restaurant, "Better late than never." Ianto ordered three meals of fish and chips before the small group sat at a table and Ianto and Vaughn began to eat in silence.
That silence was broken, however, when Paul ate his first bite and gasped. "This is amazing!" he cried out happily. He then, to Ianto and Vaughn's amazement began to devour his whole order of fish and chips.
"Enjoying that, are we?" Vaughn asked with disgust.
Paul's reply was unintelligible, but Ianto thought that it was something along the lines of: "Shove off you, these are amazing and you know it."
When they were all finally done Ianto led them to Henricks, the local department store. They used to be very popular, but after the one had been blown up in London years before they had never been the same. However, it was close to his flat and had reasonable prices on all the clothing the children would need.
Within fifteen minutes Paul had chosen four pairs of jeans, five pairs of beige cargo shorts, three polo shirts, and five "cool" t-shirts. Paul had also picked up some pajamas, pants, socks and a pair each of blue and red of trainers.
Over an hour later, however, and the boys were still waiting on Vaughn to depart from the dressing room. Most of everything she had tried on had been declared unwearable and ghastly. The boys had stopped making suggestions and comments five minutes in and were wearily waiting for her to be finished.
"There, that's an acceptable start," Vaughn declared exiting. She ended up with two casual summer dresses, one blue and white cardigan, a pair of jean shorts, two pairs of jeans, a plaid skirt, a white button down shirt, and four t-shirts. She quickly decided on a pair of trainers and black Mary Jane shoes. After picking up her pajamas, trousers and socks the trio made their way to the counter to check out.
"Is that all?" the bored shop assistant asked.
"I think it's quite enough for one day, thank you," Ianto said tiredly. Ianto paid the sum thankful for his quite large Torchwood salary and the group ran by a shop that carried soaps and other bathroom essentials before slowly making their way back to Ianto's flat.
"Off to bed, now," Ianto said as the children lagged behind him through the door. "We'll talk more in the morning." The children were too tired to even argue with Ianto who slid down the wall and buried his face in his hands.
How had it come to this? No Jack. No Owen. No Tosh. And to top it all off, he was now responsible for two children who he didn't know. Ianto wasn't sure how long he really stayed wallowing in self pity but he must not have stayed awake because the next thing he knew he heard his phone ringing and it was 9 o clock in the morning which made him very late for work.
