Deny Me Not
Summary: It wasn't supposed to be like this, but his flaky sister had abruptly backed out of their surrogacy agreement at the last moment and Ianto is left with a newborn that he is in no position to care for. Janto, AU, Mpreg.
A/N: This is a Torchwood Rewrite of the Novel, " Staking His Claim" by Tessa Radley. I changed a few things around to match the characters. This story is considered an AU. I do not own the concept of "Staking His Claim" or Torchwood. They belong to their respective creators and not me. This story is for entertainment purposes only and I am merely borrowing.
A/N#2: I couldn't leave you hanging for so long so here is Part 2 of Chapter 3!
Warnings: This story contains MPreg, if you do not like it please do not read.
Enjoy the Story!
Chapter 3: Part 2
This morning Jack was dressed to impress. He wore a dark gray suit that fitted beautifully.
Towering over the chair he sat on, with the light shining behind Jack, Ianto could see that the other man's hair was still a touch damp; evidence of a recent shower, perhaps.
It was only when Jack tilted his head to look down at him that the Welshman noticed a slight dusting of stubble shadowing his jawline. A dazzling blue silk shirt, with the top button undone, curved around his neck... completely distracting Ianto.
Suddenly Ianto was glad he wasn't in bed.
Yesterday he'd felt that he was at a terrible disadvantage and at Jack's mercy as he'd towered over him then as he did now. He felt exposed... dare he admit it, vulnerable. Even now, sitting instead of lying in bed, Jack's height no matter how many inches apart they were, was still intimidating. But at least he could rectify that...
He rose to his feet. " The baby is in the nursery."
" I know; I've already been to visit her."
Annoyance flared inside of him. He hadn't been consulted. " They let you in?"
The hospital staff would have to be told he was not welcome in the future... Ianto wouldn't put it past him to try and take the baby. This man was accustomed to getting his own way. But not this time.
Some indefinable emotion glimmered deep in the deceptively clear depths of his eyes. " Gwen and Grey were with me; they vouched for me."
" Gwen's here?"
Had his sister had second thoughts since Tosh had spoken to her?
Jack was shaking his head. " They've already gone. Grey has quite a bit to finalize before I can release him to fly across the world."
All Ianto could think of was that Gwen hadn't even bothered to come by and say good morning. Hurt stabbed at his heart. Then he set it aside. No doubt Gwen was avoiding him because deep down, he hoped, that his sister was experiencing some guilt for the decision she and Grey had made.
Ianto decided he wasn't going to let himself dwell on the turmoil that Gwen's choice had created.
It was done.
Now there was the baby to think about...
But Jack's response caused him to realize that he hadn't even asked his sister when they planned to leave for Africa. He'd been too busy trying to cope with the magnitude of the shock. Gwen had said she and Grey had already booked the tickets but that's all he knew.
" Do you have any idea when they plan to leave?" It disturbed him to have to depend on Jack for information but he needed to know.
" I believe they leave the day after tomorrow."
" That soon?"
Ianto was still absorbing this new disappointment when Jack asked, " What will you be thinking about?"
" Pardon?" For just a moment Ianto thought Jack had picked up on his earlier hurt at Gwen's failure to come say good morning and was asking about his thoughts.
" You told the social worker you'd think about it." Jack replied, moving till he was right beside him, causing the space in the ward to become smaller. " What will you be thinking about?"
Ianto frowned as he realized he'd overheard the last part of his discussion with Tosh. He had no intention of revealing that Tosh thought he needed counseling. The good thing was at least Jack hadn't detected his hurt over Gwen. " It's nothing important," he said dismissively. " It wasn't about the baby."
" Did you tell her I'm going to adopt the baby?"
" But you're not." Inside, his stomach started to twist. But he stood strong. " I told her you weren't suitable."
" You what!" Jack bellowed out. " I can't... you didn't!"
" I did, yes."
Jack's gaze blitzed into him. " Because I'm single?"
Ianto didn't glance away from his hard stare. " Among other things."
" But once I'm married that will change." Jack muttered softly before stepping closer to Ianto, placing a hand on the younger man's cheek. " You know that."
Ianto blinked. He found himself inhaling the warm scent that lingered on Jack's skin; the kind of scent that made him want to fall forward and forget anything and everything. He shook his head and took a few steps back. He had to wonder what the hell Jack was up to now.
Jack refused to let Ianto step away from him, so he reached out and pulled him closer, " You should've seen her." Jack's voice took on a husky, intimate tone. " She's so beautiful..."
Ianto recoiled, pushing Jack away. " I don't care what your wife-to-be looks like!"
At his interruption, Jack looked puzzled, then he smiled. A smile filled with a burst of charm and humor that Ianto never wanted to recognize in Jack Harkness. It made the billionaire seem all too human. And irresistibly appealing. This wasn't happening. He wanted; no needed; to keep thinking of him as Gwen's overbearing, bullying brother-in-law.
" Not my wife-to-be. The baby, Ianto." Jack chuckled. " She was awake... waving her hands and watching them. Smart and beautiful. You've seen her this morning."
It wasn't a question.
Ianto averted his eyes, reluctant to admit that he'd barely glanced at the baby while she was in the ward during the pediatrician's consultation. Then he told himself he had no reason to feel guilty. Gwen and Grey's actions were not his fault.
Rather than answering his question, Ianto changed the subject. " So you're going through with it? You're really going to get married?"
Jack nodded. " I want that baby."
God, the man was stubborn. Didn't he ever accept no for an answer? Time for him to learn he couldn't always get what he wanted in life. Sometimes someone else's needs came first.
This time, the baby's best interest were paramount. Not his.
Letting out the breath he'd been unconsciously holding since he first smelled the delicious essence on Jack, Ianto said, " Then you need to realize that you're sacrificing yourself for nothing. I'm not going to change my mind. And it's still my decision. As the legal carrier, I get to choose the parents the baby will go to."
Jack went deadly still. " You will choose me... and whoever I marry."
Was that a threat?
Ianto carefully assessed his motionless body, Jack's face stony and serious after his... suggestion. But Ianto needed Jack to understand that he just wasn't going to let the other man bully him.
" Unlikely. This morning I gave Toshiko a list of the qualities I'm seeking in the prospective parents. Nothing you can offer meets even the smallest criteria. She's going to bring me portfolios of the prospective parents to look over... and I'll choose a couple from there."
The tension in the air became electric. " When?"
" Shouldn't you be at work doing whatever it is that high-powered billionaires do?" Ianto knew he was being deliberately provocative, but he never expected Jack to be this concerned about the baby.
" When?" he repeated, his face tight.
Jack wasn't going to relent, he realized. " As soon as I'm back home; tomorrow probably."
" What happens then?"
" The couples have already been interviewed and screened. Police checks have been done. Once I choose a couple and the consent is signed, then the paperwork for the adoption can be filled in and submitted."
" The consent?"
" Yes." Ianto decided to explain further. " Only the legal mother or legal carrier can sign the consent, that's the formal document where I agree to give up the baby, on the twelfth day. And yesterday, the day the baby was born, counts as the first day."
From where he stood Ianto could sense the intensity of Jack's gaze. He wasn't smiling anymore. He was watching him, his head tipped slightly to once side, his brain working overtime. Jack was busy hatching a fiendish plot. Ianto was certain of it.
There was something curiously exhilarating about being the focus of all that raw, brilliant energy. Jack might have come in a devastatingly well-groomed, amazingly scented and well-built male package, but it was his mind that Ianto found fascinating. That ability to concentrate with such single-minded intensity. The ability to conjure up solutions no one else had come up with before.
Ianto could understand why so many have fallen and become attracted to that...
" So you can change your mind anytime up until that twelfth day?" Jack questioned.
Ianto blinked himself out of his thoughts, he was letting his guard down. What was it about Jack Harkness that made it hard to think around the man? " In theory. But I wouldn't do it. It wouldn't be very fair to do that to a couple once I've told them they've been chosen."
Jack strode forward and backed Ianto into the wall, trapping him there with his body. Determination ignited in his eyes. " This baby will be mine; I will do everything in my power to make sure that happens."
Despite the morning sunshine spilling through the windows of the ward, Ianto shivered. He watched quietly as Jack pulled away, smile in place before leaving the ward.
/
It was evening.
The sun was setting across Cardiff in beautiful colors. Turning his head away from the beautiful display, Jack dropped down onto the king-size bed in Suzie's hotel suite and watched contemplatively at the woman standing in front of the dresser, the woman he planned to shortly reduce to screaming satisfaction.
Yet instead of dwelling on the pleasures of seduction, his mind was already elsewhere.
It was the end of day two. He had only ten days left. Jack knew he needed to act; and fast.
He had to get engaged; he needed to convince Ianto to change his mind about his suitability to be a father.
That was going to be the hard part and he only has a limited time to do it in.
This situation was enough to make him grind his teeth with frustration. Yet he was a long way from admitting defeat. He'd never been the kind of man to back away from a challenge; and this was the most important challenge of his life.
Now or never.
Taking a deep breath, he gave Suzie his most practiced smile and patted the bedcover beside him. " Come here, Suzie."
Suzie glided across the room, kicking off her high heels, she settled herself on the bed beside him. Long fingertips reached for the buttons of her silk nightshirt, and she gave him a pout.
" How do you feel about children?"
" Children?"
Suzie's eyes widened, and her fingers stilled in the act of undressing. Her lips, still plump with gloss, parted. Jack could identify with her shock. He was shocked. This was a conversation he had never conducted with anyone of his lovers. It was new, ground breaking territory.
He watched her hesitate before she school her expression and spoke in an equal tone. " I've always wanted children."
So far so good.
Coming up on his elbow, he propped his hand beneath his chin. " I'm pleased to hear that."
From across the ebony black satin comforter, with her long legs folded beneath her, she watched him through those catlike eyes of hers. " So you want children?"
What choice did he have? There was a child... and he couldn't walk away from her. But Jack wasn't ready to reveal more. So he gave Suzie the same answer he'd given Ianto. " The time has come."
" I do have contractual obligations."
That wasn't what he wanted or needed to hear. Talk of contracts reminded him too much of... Ianto.
He rolled away and lay back. She, too, was proving to be like the mother, no the woman he tried to never think about. Keeping his voice level, he responded, " You don't have time for children."
" No, no. I'm not saying that!" Suzie edged closer and placed a hand over his in panic as if her were about to call their relationship to a end. " But I never expected you to offer..."
She clipped her words.
Sensing an opportunity, he turned his head towards her. " You never expected me to offer... what?"
" What are you offering, Jack? You haven't actually said."
This was something he liked about Suzie; she was direct. He chuckled softly, secure that he was about to get what he wanted. The sensation that shot through him was familiar; the dart of adrenaline that signified the successful conclusion of a deal. " I'm offering a diamond ring to the mother of my soon to come child."
She barely heard past the words diamond and ring. " Marriage?"
Jack nodded. For one uncertain instant he considered telling her about the baby girl he planned to adopt... but before he could speak, Suzie grasped onto his arm and threw herself at him screaming, " Yes! Yes! Yes!"
A wave of euphoria swept him. The first step of his plan had been accomplished. Ianto Jones would stand no chance...
But why was he thinking about him when he should be focused on Suzie? Tightening his fingers around his fiancée's, he prompted, " And what about your contract?"
" We'll work something out; I do want a baby."
Jack studied her from under hooded eyelids. It might be a good idea to wait... to see how she reacted to the baby before he showed his hand entirely. The brief moment of uncertainty passed. Suzie was beautiful, no doubt about that. Sexy, too. And beneath the model-perfect exterior she was well... likeable. Everything a man could ever want. Everything he should be desiring...
So why did he keep remembering a pair of outraged ocean-blue eyes?
End of Chapter 3.