Paternal Approval
Disclaimer: I do not own a thing here.
Summary: Annabelle has a boyfriend that Jack and Ianto actually might like. Only problem? They know the guy very well! Ianto/Jack. Surprise Annabelle pairing. Fifty-fifth in the "Immortal Janto" series.
So, I've been agonizing and agonizing over the potential boyfriend of Annabelle. Then, it struck me. There was one person who I've neglected to mention in this series, who I loved from the TV series, and who I felt could be a potentially great pairing with Annabelle. Ooooh, you though that I was going to tell you who it was, right off the bat. Nope. Not going to do that. You have to read to find out.
Thus, without further ado, let's begin.
When Annabelle rang them after she had been time-hopping (under the close supervision of both Geoff and S.J.) for about nearly a year to say that she had met a young man who she was falling in love with, both Jack and Ianto were very incredulous.
From what she had told them, they had met when she and the twins had stopped in a coffee shop in the early 21st century for a drink. The young man in question had also stopped into the shop for a pick-me-up coffee when he had gotten off work and they had (apparently quite literally) bumped into one another, causing both coffees to spill. Ianto had been a bit miffed to hear that she had stained her duster (which Jack thought was positively adorable, considering he wasn't as pissed off about her falling in love with a guy from the past as he was that she had stained her coat).
In repayment for spilling her coffee on her coat, the young man (who, after much needling and prompting from Ianto, Annabelle revealed was named Andrew) had bought her a fresh coffee and they had spent an enjoyable evening chatting up. Geoff and S.J. both approved of the man, which was saying a lot, given that they were both Time Lord-dominant and they had both gotten the Lecture about relationships with people from the past from the Doctor on multiple occasions.
During the few months that the trio spent during that time period, Annabelle spent more and more time with this Andrew fellow. Apparently, as reported by the twins, the attraction between the two was undeniable and both were pretty darn sure this could be the one for Annabelle, though no one was planning on figuring out how to make the man long-lived yet.
He had to survive meeting Jack and Ianto first.
Which was what led both Jack and Ianto to be waiting in a quaint coffee shop in a nice neighborhood in London in 2015.
Annabelle had given them the address of the shop, stating that it was neutral territory for everyone involved. They wouldn't have to worry about running into their past selves either, Jack noted with a smile.
Ianto, Jack saw, was incredibly nervous. His left foot was twitching and that was always a blatant sign of his nerves.
Reaching over, Jack took Ianto's hand.
"It's going to be okay, Yan," he said, reassuringly. "We've met all of Annabelle's boyfriends. Why should this guy be any different?"
Ianto arched an eyebrow at him. "Because she really likes this one."
Jack paused to consider those words and shook his head. As always, Ianto was right, though Jack was not going to show that he was more nervous about meeting Annabelle's potential love interest than any previous one – either Annabelle's or Alice's, though Alice had been very reluctant to introduce Jack to anyone she had in her life.
Ianto tapped the back of his hand with his finger. Jack raised his eyes to Ianto's and the two immortals shared a look. Jack knew what Ianto was thinking.
"Oh, alright, you win, Yan. I'll try not to send this one running and screaming, the first time we meet him."
Okay, he had only done that once – twice – well, three times, but all three guys deserved it. They weren't good enough for Annabelle and none were totally comfortable with the fact that Annabelle had two fathers. Long ago, Jack and Ianto had figured out that, when meeting potential romantic interests of their daughter, they had to be completely upfront with their personalities – and the coats, since Ianto had pointed out that the coats were so damn scary and any person who didn't reflexively get scared or overly-impressed when they came walking towards them, coats on, might have a chance.
"Dad! Tad!"
They heard Annabelle's voice from a distance, calling them, and both turned reflexively, standing up to greet their daughter.
And both felt their jaws drop at the man who was walking, albeit a bit bashfully, next to her.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Jack said, suppressing a groan.
"How could we have missed that?" Ianto echoed.
Andy Davidson, current sergeant and former PC of the Cardiff police force, was walking, hand-in-hand, with Annabelle.
The blonde stopped dead as soon as he recognized the two men. His eyes widened, surprise filling them. A wide range of emotions crossed his face and, at any other time, it might have been hilarious.
But not now.
Annabelle sensed that something was up. She looked between her fathers and her (very new) boyfriend.
"What's going on?" she asked, clearly unaware of the relationship that Andy had with Ianto and Jack.
"Those are your parents?" Jack heard Andy ask, looking to her, astonishment so evident in his voice.
She nodded to him in affirmation. "Yep, they are."
"I am so confused right now."
Jack felt some sympathy for Andy. He did like the younger man, though that level of like would depend on the outcome of this particular meeting. However, in general, he thought that Andy was quite competent and, on more than one occasion, had proved himself to be a loyal asset to Torchwood, even if he had never officially been a member of the organization itself, in any of its incarnations.
He traded a look with Ianto and only years of being around each other had meant that they had perfect the silent conversation.
They walked in sync to Annabelle and Andy.
"Hello, Andy," Ianto said, a very genuine smile on his lips, "it's been a while."
It was Annabelle's turn to be surprised and confused.
"Do you know each other?"
Andy nodded. "Yeah, they worked for the special ops in Cardiff – Torchwood. But, last I heard, you had faked your death. Something about Witness Protection after the 456 incident." The Welsh policeman looked over Ianto and Jack saw the way that his eyes lingered on Ianto's hair. "What really happened to you, Ianto?"
A lot of people focused on Ianto's hair. It was quite the disconnect, given Ianto's youthful appearance, even though it had been years since that reactor incident.
Right, Jack realized, the cover story of the time.
Ianto shook his head, drawing a heavy sigh, one that made Jack wrap an arm around his waist in support. This was not the kind of meeting that either one of them had planned for, when Annabelle said that she wanted to introduce them to her new beau.
"It's quite a long story, Andy, but the short version is that I really did die in the Thames House, came back to life a few days later, found out that I was immortal, spent fifteen years bouncing around the Time Vortex with the Doctor, met back up with Jack in 2014, and we've been together ever since." Jack heard the slight humor in Ianto's voice and saw the way that Andy's face was screwed up, doing the math. Now came the very interesting part. "Of course," Ianto continued, "that was well over twenty years ago for us. Since then, we've been married twice and obviously had Annabelle."
"But? How?"
Andy looked between them and Annabelle.
"Come on," Jack said, sympathetically, "we'll explain over drinks."
And they did.
It was a lot for Andy to take in, though, to his credit, he handled it well, especially when it came the fact that they were all from the future. Apparently, frequent exposures to the "spooky-dos" had made Andy very open to pretty much anything.
Through it all, Jack saw how Annabelle was becoming quieter and more reserved. She was so much like Ianto that way.
Andy sensed it too because he was holding her hand the entire time and was constantly going to her for support.
Knowing that this was the make-or-break time and that, up until this point, her relationship with Andy was seemingly very strong, he looked at the man sitting next to his daughter and asked, very seriously, "So, Andy Davidson, you think you can handle traveling with the Doctor for a while?"
"What do you mean?" he replied, quietly, after a moment.
"Well, if you're going to be in a relationship with our daughter," Ianto said, "you've got to handle the fact that she has a very weird extended family, one that includes several Time Lords and a TARDIS."
Andy paused for a few seconds, clearly considering what Ianto was saying. He looked at Annabelle and saw the plain-as-day expression on her face. A genuine smile split across his face as their eyes met and Jack felt his heart melt at the emotions that he saw on both of their faces in that one, single emotion.
That was love alright, simple as that.
The mortal Welshman looked back to Ianto and Jack.
"I suppose I could handle it, as long as Annabelle's there to help me out," he replied.
Jack nodded.
It might take a while for them to fully approve of the relationship between Annabelle and Andy, but there was no denying the fact that Andy was obviously more than willing to give it a shot. That was a plus for him.
"Right then," Ianto said, his voice business as usual, "I'll ring Donna and have the Doctor pick us up, early next week."
"Why next week?" Andy asked, clearly confused.
"We've got to go back to Cardiff," Ianto replied. "You've got packing to do and we've got to handle the whole problem that we're essentially stealing a member of the police force away to go traipsing through time."
Jack chuckled, a thought crossing his mind. Ianto shook his head, clearly thinking the same thing.
"What do you reckon Swanson'll do when we came walking into the police station?" he asked. Jack winced at the mention of the woman. She was still there then. "We're going to have to avoid Gwen though. She'd be pissed as hell if she knew that the us of the future were stealing her co-worker of the present, all because he's dating our daughter."
"Or we could screw with her mind," Ianto countered. "Make her think that we're the us of the present."
Oooh, there was Ianto's nefarious mind.
"Just don't flirt, Dad," Annabelle said, dryly. "Not in front of me, please. My eyeballs still haven't recovered from the last time you did that."
"Hey!" Jack exclaimed, almost offended. "That was a very nice race of aliens and fondling their asses is just a way of saying hello."
"You used that excuse on me for a week, Jack," Ianto added, "and I restricted you to decaf and instant for three weeks for that."
He gave Ianto a little pout.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw Andy chuckle. "Oh yeah, definitely more interesting than working in Cardiff."
Yep, Andy just might last.
Ta dah! Mystery man in Andy!
A little silly, but hey, it gets Andy into the story and gives Annabelle a love interest that I just might like. This'll start a whole new arc for this story – one in which Annabelle has a very serious boyfriend (who Jack and Ianto know) and they get to be over-protective fathers. Yay!
Anyway, you all should know what to do by now. Send me reviews please. I love them. They are good feedback and they are inspiration for me to write more of these fantastically wonderful stories. And you want to see even more of them, don't you?
As always, I will attempt to get the next story up as soon as I possibly can. I just hope the Muse likes me.
Regardless, until next time, much love and Ianto/Jack gooey-ness.