Chapter 7 - Anger

"Oh, sweetheart," said Gwen, after some time had passed, and didn't quite know what to say or do except hold her friend in a tight embrace. "It'll be alright… It's surprising to see him, but maybe this is good?"

"Good?" Jack scowled at her through his tears, "How can this be good? Daffyd and I are finally settling into a normal routine, since I've come to accept that Ianto had disappeared from the face of the earth. What will I tell my little boy? Sweetheart, this is your tad, he's coming to live with us and everything is going to be hunky-dory! He's used to having one parent and I'm used to being alone."

"Do you want me to hit him, Jack?" Rhys asked abruptly, hoping a little humour would help the situation, but there was still some truth in the offer, as he felt very protective of his friend, especially after having seen him through his pregnancy.

Jack smiled and shook his head, "thank you Rhys, but if anyone should hit him, I should be the one to have the pleasure."

"I just can't believe he's back!" he continued after a little pause. "I've been dreaming about this for so long, and all of a sudden he's here, and I don't know what to do."

"I don't think you have to worry that much about Daffyd's reaction, Jack, he knows Ianto from photos and he is a bright kid. If you sit him down and explain that his tad hasn't been able to come for him earlier, but now he's back and he wants to be with you both, it'll only be a matter of time before he's forgiven him and accepted him fully." Gwen said. "But, do you want Ianto back? We all thought you did, but after your reaction tonight, I'm not sure you'll be ready for that any time soon."

"Yeah, I think you're right Gwen, I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust him again, and what kind of relationship would that be? Me worrying that I don't know if I can trust him, and wondering if he's just gonna leave again. Can I really commit to a man like that?"

Neither of them answered, but Gwen couldn't help but smile a little upon hearing this, since this was exactly the way Ianto had felt about Jack some years earlier, they were more alike than they cared to think.

Gwen and Rhys settled into the guestroom a little while later, as the exhausted Jack had fallen asleep on the couch from having cried so much. They fell asleep holding each other tight, both of them so incredibly happy for having each other and sharing a relatively un-complicated life.