Hello! This story came out of a plotbunny that attacked me and my buddy AmberHarkness during lunch one fine day. So, we are using the same characters and some of the same ideas. It's kind of a friendly competition between us. ;Spy

The Torchwood Team: 10 Years Later

Author's Note:

This is set before CoE (all thoughts of which I am more than happy to erase from my mind) and after Exit Wounds. John Hart came all good and saved Tosh from Gray (so she didn't die, hooray!), and then Owen didn't die. (Well, his body didn't get vaporised.) But, he's still dead. But conscious.

Jack woke up, blinking in the sunlight coming in from the window. The space usually filled by his favourite Welshman was empty. He sighed, checking the wall clock.

11am? he thought. It can't be! Wow...I slept in. What time did I get home? It must have been...what, midnight? At least.

Jack counted the hours on his fingers.

"You know, there's a wonderful modern invention. It's called a calculator." Ianto said, having appeared at the doorway. He was twisting the small gold wedding band which resided on his ring finger.

Jack sighed and, swinging his legs over the side of the bad, got up. He shivered as the cold morning air made contact with his skin.

"Here." Ianto said, holding out a jumper. It was gratefully accepted.

"Is it really 11am?" Jack asked.

"Yes. You got in late, so I didn't wake you when I got up. I thought you might need the extra sleep."

Jack studied his face, then leant forward and kissed him softly on the lips.

"And that is why I love you, Ianto Jones." he said, heading downstairs. "Is that coffee I smell?"

7 Years Earlier

"Well, I think that's the last box, Ianto!" Jack said, putting said box in the kitchen of their home.

Ianto, who was already putting some of Jack's things away, appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Jack?"

"Yes, my handsome fellow?"

"That's because you only had five boxes!" Ianto said, walking down the stairs. "I put your clothes and shoes away."

Jack grinned. "I'm so excited!" he exclaimed. "I haven't lived in a house for...ages!" He clapped his hands. "And especially not with such an attractive housemate, too!" He tipped Ianto a flirtatious wink.

Ianto put his hand on Jack's shoulder.

"There's somebody you need to meet."

Jack sighed and gave Ianto a death stare.

"Don't tell me you already flatshare. If you do, I'm leaving. Roommates are no fun."

"No, no, no." Ianto said. "It's not like that."

Jack eyed him suspiciously.

Ianto rolled his eyes at Jack's childishness and went upstairs.

Jack crossed his arms and frowned as Ianto came back downstairs again. He was holding a small, black, furry, thing.

"A cat?" Jack said. "You flatshare with a cat?"

Ianto nodded. "Jack, meet Spook. Spook, meet Jack."

Spook miaowed, then shot out of Jack's arms and into the kitchen. He took refuge under the dining table, yowling loudly when Ianto went over to coax him out.

When he had eventually given up, he turned to face a slightly miffed Jack.

"Oh, don't mind him. When he realises you aren't going anywhere, he'll come out and say hello." Ianto said, heading over to the kitchen bench, home to his coffee machine. "Coffee?"

"Sure." said Jack, still staring at the small cat watching him with green eyes from under the table.

Later, Ianto was cleaning the coffee machine when Jack (having finished putting his small amount of things away) came into the kitchen. Spook, who had taken to sitting on the dining table, miaowed at him.

"See?" said Ianto, not turning around. "He's fine. Oh, and watch out. His teeth are sharp."

Jack yelped. Ianto turned around to see him sucking on his finger, glaring at Spook, who yowled obstinately, then skulked off to sleep somewhere else.

"He bit me!" Jack whined.

Ianto sighed. "This is one of the moments in our relationship where I say, 'I told you so'." He smiled, part mild condescension, part sympathy, in the way that you smile towards a child who has just learned a valuable life lesson. Like not to put their hand on a hotplate.

Jack tried to smile back, but he was too busy sucking his finger. Also, there was something on his mind. Obvious to you if you didn't know him, bleedingly obvious if you did.

And Ianto did.

"Jack, what is it?" he asked softly.

Jack rubbed the back of his head, running his fingers through his hair. His hand followed the curve of his skull, and traced right down his jaw line, resting on his chin. He bit his upper lip nervously.

"Jack, whatever it is, just say it!" said Ianto at the same time as Jack said, "Ianto, I'm pregnant."

Ianto stopped, mouth open.

One eyebrow drifted vaguely upward.

"What?"

"Um, we're...going to have a...child?" Jack said.

That evening, they were sitting on Ianto's couch, watching re-runs of bad American sitcoms. Ianto was leaning companionably on Jack's shoulder, and Jack's head was resting on Ianto's head. Jack's arm had snaked its way around Ianto's waist. Spook had made peace with Jack and was curled around his feet.

"You know," said Jack, during one of the ad breaks. "I can't believe you didn't tell me you had a cat."

"You know," replied Ianto, "I can't believe you didn't tell me you were pregnant."

Present Time

"Uh, Ian-to?" called Jack. "Can you come here for a teensy moment?"

Ianto put down the shirt he was ironing and went upstairs. He reached the top and said, "I'd come, but I don't know where you are."

Jack poked his head through the doorway of their daughter's room. Ianto headed down the hallway towards him. The pictures on the wall showed just how much time had passed since the day Jack had (officially) moved in, 7 years earlier. There were photos of Sophy, their daughter-starting school, at the park, at the beach, and that one time when they couldn't find a babysitter and instead were forced to take her to the Hub. That was a looong night. A three-year-old loose in the Hub, with all that cool alien stuff to touch and so, so many places to explore. Like the vaults.

Luckily, Ianto found her before she managed to come face-to-face with Janet.

Scattered among these scenes of relative normality were paintings done by Sophy at school, and in one case, a certificate presented to Jack by the rest of the team, upon inspection of their house, granting him permission to raise a child ("We didn't want the poor kid to end up like you.", said Gwen, only half-jokingly.)

Standing in Sophy's room was Jack. As Ianto approached, he held something out to him, motioning for Jack to take it.

Jack had somehow managed to decapitate Sophy's favourite teddy bear.

Ianto took it and grinned. "She's going to kill you." he said in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, I know!" Jack said. "But, I've been killed before, you know?"

"But have you been killed by a six-and-a-half year old? Especially our six-and-a-half year old." Ianto asked, handing back the aforementioned teddy bear. "I recommend fixing it before she gets back from school."

"Oh, what? Why can't you?" wheedled Jack. "You know I'm no good at...householdy stuff...I'm more of a manly, planet saving kind of guy." he complained.

"Well, I am not taking the blame for you. If you'll excuse me, I have to go iron." said Ianto cheerfully.

He left.

"Ian-to!" called Jack. "Help me fix it, pleeeeease? Pretty pleeeeease? With ice-cream and sparkles on top?"

He heard a sigh from the end of the corridor.

"Fine, fine, fine. But if she figures it out...which she will...I am directing all complaints towards you." Ianto said, pulling a needle and some thread out of a drawer.

"What if that doesn't work?" said Jack.

Ianto pulled out some superglue and a ribbon.

"Ohh..." said Jack, as Ianto sat him down at the table, and pulling a chair close to him.

"Now, Jack, I'm going to show you this once, okay?" Ianto said, smiling.

When Ianto arrived home with Sophy after school, Jack was sitting at the table reading a book.

"Daddy!" Sophy called, bursting through the door, and running towards Jack, a piece of paper in her hand.

"Soph! Heey, sweetie! What is that?" Jack said, putting his book down and smiling as Sophy reached up to give him a hug.

"Look, Daddy, I painted us!" Sophy said, standing on a chair and spreading her picture across the dining room table. "See? There's you, with your coat, and Tad-a with his tie, and Spook, remember how I tied a ribbon around his neck? Yeah, that's it! See? Isn't it colourful? And there's a tree, and a bird, and a fish!"

Jack smiled as he looked down at the picture. "A fish? In the sky? You're silly!" he teased gently.

"Daaaad, it's a flying fish. See? There are wings! Like the one you got last week, at work? I told Miss Wright it was an alien, but she said there were no such things, and then I said there so were, and then Jamie was eating glue so I won the argument and then I labelled it just to make sure, see?" Next to the fish there was some childish writing in pencil: "This is a fliying fish"

Ianto grinned. "It's brilliant, Soph. Come on, you can pick the place I'm going to hang it, okay?" Sophy nodded and skipped up the stairs after Ianto. Jack smiled at his daughter, one of the rays of sunshine beaming on the dark ocean of his life.

His smile didn't last for long, however.

"Daddy, I have something to ask you about!" yelled Sophy, as she stomped down the stairs. "I went to hug Mr Snuggles and HIS HEAD FELL OFF!"

"Oh..." said Jack. "Yeah, sweetie. About Mr Snuggles. Want to hear what happened?"

Sophy crossed her arms and frowned at him. Ianto slipped silently into the room, watching the scene with a smile on his face.

"Okay, well, what happened was...I was getting your washing basket from your room, and well, I had a lightsaber in my pocket, and it slipped out, and illuminated, and Bam! his head fell off! Okay?"

"How old do you think I am? Five?" said six-year-old Sophy. "If his head was cut off by a lightsaber, then there would be burn marks. From the laser." she smiled. "But I will accept your explanation...as long as I can have some ice-cream."

Jack looked at Ianto, who was shaking with silent laughter. Sophy turned around, searching for backup, and his face went deadpan and he nodded seriously. She turned around again, with a 'see?-I-told-you-so!' look. Ianto smiled, shaking his head, and went to get his keys. A trip to the ice-cream shop seemed imminent.

Author's Ramblings:

What did you think? See the little blue link there, on the bottom of the screen? Click it! You know you want to~!

Please read my friend's story! It's really good! ;Sly

Thanks for reading! And a pre-emptive thankyou if you're going to review!