Title: A Day in Cardiff (4/5)
Author: iantojjackh
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Follow up to A Day in Glasgow. Jack returns to Cardiff two years after Ianto's death with his and Ianto's son and finds that people are not happy to see him. Will they believe him about the boy's linage? Characters: Jack, Gwen, Rhys, Rhiannon
Pairings: Jack/Ianto (past), Gwen/Rhys
Word Count: ~1100
Spoilers: CoE compliant, but MD never happened
Warning: Angst and grief
Beta: SoR who still betas stuff for me on occasion even if he's never watched an episode of TW
Notes: Written for the Grief prompt at hc_bingo.
Chapter 4- The Truth is Hard to Swallow
Gwen slammed the door and let out a scream. The conversation with Jack played over in her head and she never wanted to throttle him more than ever.
"Everything okay, Gwenie?" Rhys popped his head from the kitchen. "We've got..."
"He's the most infuriating man I've ever known. I just wanted smack him." Gwen clenched her fists. "It's like he never bloody left."
"Who?" This was the first time in a very long time Rhys had seen his wife this worked up and Torchwood was usually the cause. "You found Jack, didn't you?"
"Yes. I forgot how mad he could make me. Wait how did you know?" The angry energy jump from her body.
"I tried to tell you that we had company," Rhys pointed to the kitchen where Rhiannon sat with her husband and kids.
"I thought you said you didn't know where Jack Harkness was. Have you been protecting him all this time?" There was betrayal in Rhiannon's eyes. She wondered what kind of power Jack had over people that made them follow him blindly.
"If I knew where he was I would not be this angry with him. I'm sorry I didn't say anything. When I saw him leave the cemetery I had a feeling where he was staying and I was right. I needed to know why Jack did what he did," Gwen sighed as she tried to read the expressions of Rhiannon and Johnny.
"Where has this tosser been all this time and do I need to get a gang from the estate to teach him a lesson?" Johnny had heard enough from his wife to know that this Jack person needed to be taught a lesson about how to treat people.
"Jack's been in Glasgow," Gwen looked to Rhys for support and sighed heavily. "The truth is stranger than fiction."
"Isn't that normal for Torchwood?" Rhys saw that he said too much with Gwen trying to stop him and the shocked looks on the Davies' faces.
"You were Torchwood?" Rhiannon looked in shock. It was just more secrets that had been kept from her. There were countless stories about the mysterious Torchwood and the spooky weirdness they were involved in. "This is why my brother died? Jack got him involved in the weirdness and it cost him his life?"
Gwen gritted her teeth, tired about being at the brunt of everyone's anger. "Ianto was involved with Torchwood long before he met Jack. The attack at Canary Wharf in London five years ago, Ianto was only one of twenty-seven people to survive. He came to Cardiff shortly after that." There was no use keeping Torchwood secrets anymore and if Rhiannon's reaction was any indication she had no clue what happened to Ianto in London.
"What did Jack say to you that got you upset? What did he say about the boy with him?" Rhiannon snapped, tired of all the stories and half-truths. She would never be able to forgive Jack for hurting her brother. The news that Ianto had survived the horrible terrorist attack shocked Rhiannon, it only showed more all the pain her brother had dealt with in his too short life and how little Ianto told her what was happening in his life.
Gwen paused and grimaced, knowing that she had to share a few truths about Jack first. "There are some things that are different about Jack from most people. He cannot die and he's originally from the future, the fifty-first century." She had to get those facts out first before she could explain Jack's pregnancy.
Johnny snorted with disbelief, "I thought you were going to tell us the truth."
Rhiannon stood up, "I've had enough of this. How can you stand here and lie to my face?"
"Gwen is telling the truth. I've seen Jack die a few times and come back to life moments later," Rhys added. He had been in their shoes years ago and would not believe it himself unless he did not see it with his own eyes.
"You people are all crazy. Certifiable." Rhiannon motioned for Mica and David to come. "We are going. I'm through with all this craziness and lies. You can all protect Jack Harkness all you want, but if I ever see that man again I will strangle him with my bare hands. I thought we were friends, Gwen."
Gwen let out a strangled cry when the door slammed, singling the exit of the angry family.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Rhys tried to comfort his wife. "What did you find out from Jack?" he would believe the story, knowing all the insanity that surrounded Torchwood. "What is it?" Rhys held on tightly seeing how tough this day had been on Gwen.
"Rhiannon has Jack all wrong. I did too. We all thought he had played Ianto but the truth is Jack really really loved Ianto. Still does. He's still in so much pain over losing him. His son is the only thing that keeps him sane. Would you believe that in the fifty-first century you don't need a woman to have a baby?"
"What?" Rhys said with a laugh. This was a tough pill to swallow, but he learned that the impossible was possible where Torchwood was concerned.
"That's why the boy looks like Ianto. Jack named their son after him. There are bits of Jack in the kid, but there is so much more of Ianto. Anyone who knew Ianto can easily see the resemblance. Jack is hesitant about telling Rhiannon that the boy is her nephew," Gwen took several deep breaths and wiped her eyes. "Rhiannon is never going to know her nephew because she is too pissed at Jack for what she thinks he did and Jack thinks his son his going to be taken away from him if Rhiannon learns the truth." She cried into Rhys' shoulder. "Bloody freaking Torchwood."
"Is the boy well cared for?" Rhys always wondered what kind of parent Jack would be and that is all that mattered in the end was the welfare of the young child.
"Jack adores his son."
"Then leave Jack be." Rhys became the voice of reason like so many times. "When Jack and Rhiannon are ready they will say what needs to be said. You can't force them to talk before they are ready."
Gwen sighed, knowing her husband was right. This was none of her business and she had to find the power and will to step away and let things go.
Tune in tomorrow for the gripping conclusion.