Title: Lowri's First Days
Pairing: Jack/Ianto, OFC
Rating: T
Warning: None.
Spoilers: Only for my Unexpected! Verse, if you haven't read any of my other stories, you won't have a clue about some of the characters!
Summary: A one-shot revolving around Lowri's first few days with her new parents. An insert set after The Unexpected Path in my Unexpected! Verse.
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or any of the characters. These belong to RTD and the BBC. However, I do own Lowri Caniad Harkness-Jones, so please ask before borrowing! I also don't own the lyrics to '39, those belong to Brian May and Queen. Please don't sue!
Okay, so someone told me how to check my traffic for my stories and stuff and i was just completly blown away by how many people actually read this. As of 2/10/2010, 287 people have clicked on this link but only 4 people have bothered to review. If you know you're one of those people who haven't reviewed, please don't be afraid to drop me line, even if its just 'i liked it'. Because as far i as i know, 283 people read this and hated it.
Ianto had had an uneasy first few weeks with his little daughter. He hadn't expected to pick up fatherhood from the offset, but he was feeling a little useless.
Ianto would stay behind, either at the hub or at home, while Jack went to work. Lowri would cry and grizzle the entire time, creating a seemingly never-ending amount of mess and work for Ianto to clean up after. Then Jack would flounce through the door, pick up a screaming Lowri from her crib and instantly, she was quiet. It never ceased to amaze Ianto, how good at second-guessing Lowri, Jack was. It secretly annoyed Ianto to no end, how quickly Jack had known how to take care of Lowri. Even though Lowri spent most of the day with Ianto, Ianto was worried that maybe they weren't bonding close enough. Aside from that, Ianto couldn't remember when he'd last gotten more than two hours of sleep at a time. Lowri seemed to be constantly awake and alert.
"Don't you ever sleep?" Ianto once jokingly asked her, as she tried to stuff the end of his tie in her mouth.
Ianto rescued his tie and left Lowri to enjoy her naptime while he went to sort out the mess that was the playroom. He picked up Lowri's red squidgee hippo from the floor and went to put him in the steriliser. The hippo got battered and abused by Lowri. She dropped him on the floor, and then put him in her mouth. She was probably at risk of contracting all sorts of horrible diseases from the thing.
Ianto had just put him in the steriliser, when Lowri started to wail through the baby monitor.
Ianto sprinted up the stairs to see what she wanted.
"What's wrong, eh?" He picked her up out of the cot but the wailing didn't stop. "Are you dirty? No.
Hungry? No.
Tired? Well, you can't be!
I don't know what you want!"
As if on cue, Jack opened the front door.
"I'm back!" he called. On hearing Lowri's cries, Jack bounded up the stairs.
"Here you take her, she won't listen to me!" Ianto thrust Lowri into Jack's arms.
"Hey, baby. What's up? Why aren't you sleeping?" Jack looked down at his screaming daughter.
"I've tried feeding her. I've changed her. She's not too hot or too cold." Ianto looked worn-out.
Jack looked back down at Lowri, "Maybe she's not tired."
"No, she always has a nap at this time. I'm trying to get her into a routine, this is her naptime."
Jack looked around the room, "Well is there anything that you did differently this time?"
Ianto sighed, "No, I put her down then I took her toys to get sterilised."
"Which toys? Jack asked.
"Just that red hippo." Ianto replied.
"Well, that's it then! Her favourite toy's the squidgee Hippo, that's probably what she was trying to say." Jack said. "Where you missing Mr. Hippo, baby?
Ianto sighed, "I should have known that! She's my daughter and I couldn't even work that out!"
Jack drew Ianto into his arms, "She's only what? Two weeks old. You're allowed to make mistakes Ianto; it's part of learning how to be a Tad."
"I better go and get her that hippo." Ianto moved out of Jack's embrace.
Ianto went to fetch a newly clean and sterile Mr. Hippo for Lowri and positioned him in her cot, facing her. Lowri fell quiet and started to resolutely poke Mr. Hippo in the eye, before eventually falling asleep.
Jack and Ianto where downstairs. Jack watched as Ianto set about laying out a new romper suit for Lowri when she woke from her nap.
"You don't have to do that now. Leave it and come sit down!" Jack attempted to drag Ianto away to the sofa but Ianto protested.
"If I don't do it, who else will? You? You're always busy."
Jack cupped Ianto's face in his hands, "I know you've been rushed off your feet and I know I haven't exactly helped much. Why don't you let me help, I can do something. Bath-time, maybe?"
Ianto sighed, "No, its fine. I can do it."
Jack looked adamant, "Ianto, you look like you're about to drop!"
"But she only screams for me! I need to get her used to bonding with me."
Jack sighed, "At least let me help then, we'll do it together."
Ianto relented, "Okay then, thanks." he smiled weakly.
Jack returned the smile, "Now, you sit down, I will do this and you can tut and roll your eyes as you watch me get it wrong. I'm far from Father-Of-The-Year, Ianto. I need just as much practice as you and lucky for us, we've got the next 20 years at least to work it out."
"30", Ianto warned, "You don't think I'm actually going to let her leave the house, do you?"
Jack chuckled, "She's going to be a spoiled Daddy's girl, I can tell!"
Ianto nodded, "She's already got me running around after her. I don't mind though.
"Yeah, it makes it worth it when she smiles at you." Jack finished folding Lowri's clean clothes and putting them away.
Jack sat down on the bed next to Ianto and turned to kiss his lover.
"Jack, please, I'm too tired. Lowri will be waking up soon."
Jack pulled back. He looked abashed, though not completely rejected. "Its fine, it was ridiculous of me to even….. I'm sorry."
Ianto reached up to brush his thumb underneath Jack's eye, "Don't ever apologise to me for something like that. I wish we could, but I just can't Jack."
"I know."
"It's not that I don't want to, I mean…"
"But not right now."
"Yeah."
Ianto allowed himself to lean back against Jack's shoulder and closed his eyes for a second.
Jack gently massaged his partner's shoulders through the thin fabric of the shirt.
"I love you, did you know that?" Jack asked softly.
"I know everything," Ianto replied with his eyes still shut. "But did you know that I love you too?"
Jack pressed a kiss to Ianto's hair and smiled against the skin. "Well, I had inkling."
"Really, what gave it away?" Ianto murmured.
"The beautiful daughter that you gave me."
Ianto quietly opened the door to Lowri's nursery. His baby was awake and alert in her cot and still clutching the hippo.
"Hey, Lowri!" he called through the bars of the cot.
Ianto lifted Lowri out of the cot and carried her and Mr. Hippo downstairs.
Downstairs, Jack was preparing Lowri's formula. Ianto walked into the kitchen with Lowri.
"Does Her Ladyship demand a feed?" Jack called over to Ianto.
He passed Ianto the bottle and watched, as his lover fed their daughter with the quiet efficiency with which Ianto did nearly everything with.
Later on, Jack made good on his promise to help Ianto bathe Lowri. They both stripped Lowri and rolled up their sleeves. Jack tested the water with his elbow before gently lowering his baby daughter into the small tub. Ianto floated Mr. Hippo across the water to Lowri, who pointed towards it, then looked expectantly at Ianto.
"Yes, that's your Hippo! Aren't you clever?"
Lowri attempted to grasp hold of the surface of the water, holding her hands up, confused when she failed to grab hold of it. She curled her toes underneath the water and kicked her legs happily as Jack scrubbed her clean with a soft flannel. Water was going all over the floor, so Ianto went and put towels around the bath to minimise the mess.
Jack lifted Lowri out of the bath and wrapped her in a towelling hood and left her on the bed. Ianto had had the good foresight to put down a blanket on the bed, in case of any 'accidents'.
"There, you can puke all over your own covers now!" Ianto laughed as he popped a soother into Lowri's mouth.
Jack cleared away the tub and towels from the bedroom floor while Ianto lay down on the bed next Lowri. He gently brushed his fingers against her soft wisps of hair and stroked her along her arms, relishing the feeling of the soft skin he found there.
Jack came back with a fresh sleeper suit for Lowri and dressed her in it. He passed her back to Ianto, who carried her over to her cot and laid her gently down.
"Go to sleep now, baby. We'll come and give you a feed in a couple of hours." Jack whispered.
Lowri just blinked big, blue eyes up at both of them. Ianto passed her the hippo toy and both he and Jack retreated from the room. They made it as far the top of the stairs, before Lowri started to cry.
Ianto made to turn back but Jack stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"No, I'll go. You go downstairs and put your feet up, watch some rubbish telly. It's my turn to do the running around now."
Ianto sighed and made his way down the stairs.
Jack turned around and stuck his head back around the door of the nursery.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, "You know it's getting on past your bedtime and I'm sure you don't want to be grouchy for your Tad tomorrow."
Lowri's cries quietened as soon as Jack entered the room.
"And what's this I hear about you giving Tad hell when I'm at work?" he continued. "Because your Tad and I went through a lot to get here; and to have you. You know, I'd really appreciate it if you played nice with him tomorrow. Okay, baby? We both love you, but your Tad and I get tired when we don't know what you want. This is new to us too, remember."
Lowri listened to Jack's voice intently.
"How about we both do a deal? Okay, you go easy on Tad and maybe we'll both reconsider the age we'll let you start dating?" Jack smiled.
"So, are you ready to fall sleep yet? Hey, how 'bout I sing you a song?"
"In the year of thirty-nine/ Assembled here the volunteers/ In the days when lands were few/ Here the ship sailed out into the blue and sunny morn/ The sweetest sight ever seen/ And the night followed day/ And the story tellers say/ That the score brave souls inside/ For many a lonely day/ Sailed across the milky seas/ Ne'er looked back never feared never cried
Don't you hear my call/ Though you're many years away/ Don't you hear me calling you/ Write your letters in the sand/ For the day I'll take your hand/ In the land that our grand-children knew
In the year of thirty-nine/ Came a ship in from the blue/ The volunteers came home that day/ And they bring good news/ Of a world so newly born/ Though their hearts so heavily weigh/ For the earth is old and grey/ little darlin' well away/ But my love this cannot be/ Oh so many years have gone/ Though I'm older but a year/ Your mother's eyes from your eyes cry to me
Don't you hear my call/ Though you're many years away/ Don't you hear me calling you/ Write your letters in the sand/ For the day I'll take your hand/ In the land that our grand-children knew
Don't you hear my call/ Though you're many years away/ Don't you hear me calling you/ All your letters in the sand/ Cannot heal me like your hand/ For my life's still ahead, pity me."
Jack kept singing until Lowri closed her eyes and fell asleep. When he turned around, Ianto was stood in he doorway, looking in.
"How long have you been standing there?" Jack whispered.
"Not long. You know Queen?" Ianto raised an eyebrow.
"Everyone does!" Jack defended.
"Not a lot of people remember that song, though."
"You do?" Jack questioned.
"Bit before my time", Ianto shrugged, "Still a good song through."
"It's about a time-traveller who travels in space for a hundred years but in that time he's only aged one year. When he comes back, he finds out his wife's dead but then he finds he has a granddaughter. Kind of speaks to me." Jack said.
Jack got up off the floor and left the room behind Ianto.
When they were sat downstairs, Ianto pulled Jack into a kiss.
"I love you, Jack."
"I love you too, Ianto, always."