This Is Our Normal Attitude
Disclaimer: I do not own a thing here. I'm merely borrowing and playing with the characters and ideas that you recognize.
Summary: Johnny's retirement party takes a turn for the fun once Ianto, Jack, and the rest of the TARDIS crew arrives to join in the celebration. Ianto/Jack. Fifty-ninth in the "Immortal Janto" series.
Yeah, because the TARDIS crew can't have a normal party.
They let Johnny have his normal retirement party with all of his friends and co-workers. Rhiannon knew that they were coming in as a surprise to Johnny, but well after everyone had left the event. In fact, she had been in on it and had arranged a hall for the formal retirement party, where Mica and David had run interference back to the house, where Ianto and Jack were coordinating the second party – the weird one, where the extended, adopted family would celebrate all of Johnny's successes.
And the best part was that Johnny had absolutely no idea what they were planning.
In retrospect, that was the best part. It meant that they had full reign of pulling out all of the stops on this one.
Ianto loved all of it, Jack could tell. This was his way of thanking both his sister and his brother-in-law for putting up with their weirdness, over the years, and not putting up walls as time went on, like Gavin and Rebecca had done. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that, out of all of his siblings, Rhiannon was the only one who shared Ianto's distinct ability to see the reality of the situation and was able to look beyond the stupid to see what was the most important things – or maybe it simply had to do with the fact that, out of all of them, she had been the one he had reached out to during the 456 incident, all those years ago, simply because, at the time, she was the only one of the four Jones siblings to have children. He didn't know, but he didn't care, to be perfectly honest.
Finally, when Mica gave the go-ahead on final preparations (because the official party was winding down), Ianto found himself grinning like a schoolboy.
He had been the main driving force behind the idea of treating Rhiannon and Johnny to an elegant tour. Jack had jumped on the idea and had convinced (somehow, magically) the Doctor that the couple should see the galaxy by the way of the galaxy, even if only for a few trips. Ianto had wanted to treat them to the finest tour of the planet, but he realized that the two had lived on Earth all of their lives, so maybe it would be nice to share this part of his life with them, if only for a little while.
And he knew that Jack had wanted to help him create a few more memories of Rhiannon.
That was one of the many reasons that Ianto loved Jack.
Mere moments before Johnny and Rhiannon pulled into the driveway, Ianto got everyone in place, waiting for them. The TARDIS was parked in the back yard, hiding away from sight. Mica and David had stepped out from the official retirement party much earlier in the evening, sneaking back to the house with their spouses.
He heard their voices, long before they opened the door. Ianto didn't bother to suppress his mischievous grin. This was quite fun.
Rhiannon was the first one through the door, Johnny right behind her.
Both stopped at the sight of all of the people gathered – Ianto and Jack, Annabelle (who Andy was hiding behind – he hadn't officially met Rhiannon and Johnny as the boyfriend of their niece), the Doctor and Donna, the twins, Martha and Mickey, Theo and his new wife, Rhys and Eleanor, Anwen and her boyfriend, Zach and his wife. Ianto saw the surprised look cross Johnny's face. All of the people here, at some point, had spent time with Rhiannon and Johnny and had bonded with the couple.
"Congratulations, Johnny," Ianto said, as he approached his brother-in-law, drinks in hand, Jack behind him. "You've do so well for yourself."
"You planned this, Ianto?"
"Jack and your kids had a major hand in this," Ianto admitted, grinning as Johnny and Rhiannon took the drinks from him. "We couldn't let your retirement after a very successful career pass unnoticed, so we got every weird person we know together to celebrate the most stable relationship in our lives."
Johnny laughed, understanding his meaning. "Have I mentioned how odd you all are, Ianto?"
"Less than you should, Johnny."
His brother-in-law shook his head.
"Regardless," Jack added, a grin on his face, "I love a good party."
"You would," Rhiannon quipped, slapping Jack on the shoulder. "You love to be the center of attention."
Jack pretended to look offended by that.
"I do not!"
Ianto and Rhiannon shared a knowing look. Jack was lying, but neither felt like calling him out on that at the moment.
"The point is moot right now," Ianto soothed. "Let's just enjoy the party, yeah? And then the two of you have to get some rest because, tomorrow morning, we start off your retirement in an entirely fun way."
Ianto watched as his sister and her husband exchanged a confused look.
"What are you talking about, Yan?"
Jack smirked. "Guess what, you're going to have a little adventure on the TARDIS, nothing too serious or life-threatening, of course. Simply a few trips through time, seeing the sites and meeting a few famous people, if we can swing it. That's up to the Doctor and Donna entirely."
"Really?"
Rhiannon was cautiously excited about that. She was such the history buff. Johnny, on the other hand, looked a little more apprehensive, though Ianto could tell that he was very intrigued by the fact that he wanted to travel – really travel – on the TARDIS.
"Yep," Ianto confirmed. "Besides, it'll give you a chance to grill Annabelle's new boyfriend."
"Right, Annabelle's boyfriend," Johnny said. Ianto could see the unbridled glee at the prospect of playing protective uncle to Annabelle – a notion he shared with the Doctor and Mickey. "Where's the bloke anyway?" He peered around and spotted Annabelle and Andy, who had found his way, a bit bashfully, out from behind her. "That him? The blond bloke who looks all shy and all?"
"Yep, former Cardiff police Sergeant Andy Davidson."
Rhiannon's eyes widened at Jack's comment.
"I remember him," she said, looking back to Ianto. "He was with Gwen, protecting the kids we were housing during that 456 incident, from when you – well, when you died."
"Him?" Johnny exclaimed, obviously surprised. "Oi, time travel really screws with your brain."
"Just you wait," Ianto warned. "You'll have more time to mess with him later, so be nice tonight, Johnny."
Johnny grinned. "Oh, alright Ianto. Only because I like you lot and because you threw me this party."
"Now get along and enjoy this party."
And Johnny went off and did.
Later, Rhiannon found her way to his side and wrapped her arm around his waist. Ianto looked over at his older sister and gave her a warm smile.
"Thank you," she said, "for all of this."
"It's the least I could do," he replied. "Besides, the two of you have been hearing all about our adventures on the TARDIS for years now, so it's your turn."
Rhiannon rolled her eyes. "Why do I get the feeling I'm going to have to play baby-sitter to Johnny?"
"Probably because you will." Rhiannon snorted at his comment. "I do it all the time with Jack and Donna definitely does that for the Doctor, so you'll be in good company."
"That's good."
With that, the two siblings reached an agreement on their imminent travels.
It's not too long, but hey, it's fun.
Let me know what you think. I love to hear your feedback! And, as I always say, I'll have the next story up as soon as I possibly can!