Title: Family Affair 7/10

Genre: Torchwood AU
Characters: Names are the same… that's about it!
Rating: K
Spoilers: None, completely AU
Disclaimer: Sadly not mine, that whole RTD/BBC thingy.
Summary: Widowed Jack Harkness is in need of a kid tamer; enter one Jones, Ianto Jones.

A/N: This is my first story posting at Fanfiction. I wrote this for my livejournal a while ago and have begun to post my stories here. Hope you enjoy.

Thank you for all your wonderful comments.

***Part 7

"Ianto, can you help me with this word?" Gwen asked placing the storybook in Ianto's hands and climbed up next to him on the settee in his sitting room.

It was currently school break and any private time that the child minder thought he was entitled to was nonexistent.

"Which word are you having trouble with Gwen?" he enquired, quickly perusing the page.

"This one," the little girl said, pointing to the top of the page, "Supercali…"

Ianto quickly closed the book, "No, not this one. Please any storybook but this one?"

"But why?" Gwen asked; her eyes growing bigger as they focused on Ianto. "I like this story, it reminds me of you."

"That's part of the reason; this book made my great aunt Mary's life so difficult after it was published. It made every child think all nannies are made of magic." Ianto said. "And truly everybody knows that the real magic comes from children not nannies."

"That's bollocks." Owen's surly tone came from the doorway.

"Oi, you used a bad word! I'm tellin." Gwen cried out.

Ianto pulled Gwen a bit closer, leaving room for Owen to slide in, "Gwen, remember, not everybody likes a tattletale."

"But, he did something bad." Gwen pouted.

"Yes, he did. But, there is an adult already in the room aware of it." You need to remember that Gwen, especially when you are at school, you won't make friends that way. Now, what story would you both like to hear?" Ianto said.

"Something with a princess!"

"Aliens or zombies!"

"Well Owen, I'm not too sure that zombies are good for Gwen, they may give her nightmares, and Gwen I think Owen is a bit too old for princesses. Why don't we ask your father to come in from the hall and tell us all a story?" Ianto looked up and caught Jack peeking in the doorway and smiled at the older man.

Within minutes Jack was on the floor with his grandfather's RAF coat on and Ianto's white silk scarf tossed over his shoulder telling wild tales of the Red Baron, arms wildly in motion and the children laughing and falling over themselves at their father's antics.

Ianto slipped from the room unnoticed.

Later that night when Ianto was making his rounds of the house he came to Jack's study with a final cup of coffee, before he left the room Jack held his hand to keep him.

"Why did you leave earlier?"

Ianto smiled, "Because I wasn't needed; it was family time, as it should be."

Jack still held Ianto's hand; he stared at the cuffs of the red shirt and ran his thumb over the young man's palm. "But, Ianto, you are part of the family, you'll always be needed."

Ianto straightened and gently pulled his hand away from Jack, "You needed help reconnecting with Owen and Gwen, that's all. Soon I will be superfluous and it will be time to be on my way again."

Jack stood and faced the young man, again clasping his hand and bringing him closer, "No, you will always be needed, if not by the children then by me, haven't you, who knows everything, figured it out yet?"

Ianto stared at his employer and licked his dry lips, "What?" he whispered.

Jack's other hand caressed the young Welshman's face and pulled him fully into his embrace.

"This." Jack tilted his head and pressed his lips gently to Ianto's putting all the pent up emotion of the last few months into it. With actions he told the younger man how he felt, how he had snuck inside him and took over all the dark places and made them light again.