Hey gang. I'm posting this chapter earlier than I intended but I'm in a good mood. However, I won't post chapter eight till I'm done writing chapter ten. Does that make sense?
I think there's Gwen-bashing in this chapter, depending on your perspective. We also see how things are going in 2008 and Jack tells the gang about Ianto.
Jack
Ianto got that job, how could he not? He was also looking at trade schools and trying to decide what kind of long term career he wanted. Now that his early 21st century masculinity was thankfully satiated—temporarily anyway I was able to look forward to my 16th birthday. I wondered what he would get me with his new income.
We didn't have money per se, we had credits. Everyone old enough to count was issued a, well, a credit account. For kids parents would fill it with allowance and once you started working your employer would fill it. You paid for things with your thumb print. It was much more efficient because vendors couldn't cheat you out of paying extra. You just had to be careful who you presented your thumb too.
I know what you're thinking, not every race has thumbs and you're right. Don't worry the credit scanners read more than just thumbs. But the City of Boe had mostly human inhabitants anyway with other races just passing through on holiday or on attack. Of course they didn't pay for stuff when they were on attack, I was merely giving an example of when other races might show up.
I woke up on my sixteenth birthday to silence. We'd had a sandstorm for the past three days and it was finally over. Thank goodness, I had not wanted to spend my birthday indoors.
Next to me, Ianto was twitching in his sleep and his eyes were moving rapidly behind his eyelids, he was dreaming. He sometimes talked in his sleep so I decided to watch him a while. But his hands clenched and that told me he was having a nightmare.
I shook his shoulder "Ianto, wake up."
He moaned "Go 'way Jack. Too tired."
I sighed, he did this sometimes, called me Jack when he was half asleep or had too much to drink. I knew why since seeing that picture in his holo-flat; it wasn't hard to recognise an older version of myself but I knew I couldn't ask even though I also knew what it could mean. I couldn't even think about it really, to be safe.
"Ianto, it's me, Junior," I kissed him.
His eyes fluttered open "Junior?"
"Hey, you were dreaming about what's-his-name again. I think he was trying to molest you."
He groaned "Oh I'm sorry. There were weevils. Is it morning?"
"Uh huh, storm stopped."
"Good. Oh, happy birthday, cariad" he kissed me deeply "no morning sickness this morning?"
"Not so far. I feel pretty hungry actually."
"Then let's get some breakfast. Remind me again what you call this month?"
"The Month of Sandstorms."
"Very fitting. And it's the 10th right?"
"Yep."
"Any idea what it would be on Earth?"
I laughed "You'd have to ask Bob."
"Bob" Ianto asked when we got to the dining table "what day is it on Earth today…using the Julian calendar?"
"Which time zone Ianto?" Bob asked.
"Oh, yes, Greenwich Mean Time and if they're not still using that, just what day is it in the British Isles today?"
Bob's machinery whirred while he calculated "On the Julian calendar, it is Tuesday, the 29th of November the year five thousand eighty-two and it is one o'clock in the afternoon."
"Thank you, Bob. I knew it" Ianto sounded rather pleased "I knew I had you pegged as a Sagittarius" he said to me.
"What's a Sagittarius?"
He sighed "Never mind. What's for breakfast Ava?"
Mom smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek "Whatever Junior likes. What sounds good sweetheart?"
I thought about it, I was craving something new "A chocolate omelette."
Ianto spit out the coffee he had just replicated "A what?"
"I can do that" Mom said "would you like one, Ianto?"
"I'd rather a cheese omelette if it's not too much trouble, please."
…
Later we sat out at the beach. I had a shirt on though, only two months along and my abdomen muscles had already softened.
Ianto rubbed my belly "Don't be so self-conscious, luv, I think you're gorgeous."
"You'd better" I mumbled and leaned against him.
He put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head "I love you, you know that?"
"I love you too," I hugged his waist. "How long do you think it'll take Mom to make that cake? I don't want to be out here all day."
"I thought you wanted to be outside today."
"So did I."
"We can go on a walk."
"No," I pulled him down so we were lying on the blanket, "just hold me for a while."
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I just want you to hold me."
He kissed me again "I can do that all day."
…
Back at the Hub…
I sighed heavily and got to my feet. It was time to tell the others about Ianto. As I stepped towards my ladder, a wave of nausea came over me. I went to my knees and vomited into the rubbish bin that was by my bed, mostly bile though because I hadn't eaten. I often feel sick when I don't eat in more than a day, so that's probably what it was. Unless…unless, my rather desperate and emotional plan worked.
When Ianto and I made love, I was usually on top and we always used condoms. Ianto preferred condoms when he thought of them because, "it's less messy that way". But in the weeks before his disappearance I let him be on top more often and I may have tampered with the condoms. I wanted something to remember him by in case he wasn't able to find his way home. Mind, I wasn't sure it would work with all that's happened to me over the years but I wanted to try.
Of course, if he did make it home and found out I tampered with his condoms, there was a couch with my name on it.
I wiped my face with a tissue and then went into my en-suite bathroom to brush my teeth…and clean out my rubbish bin.
I took several deep breaths and made my way up to the main Hub. The three of them were all looking at me expectantly.
"What's wrong Jack?" Gwen asked, "You look like death warmed over."
"Where's Ianto?" Tosh asked, sounding like she actually cared, where Gwen sounded like she was only asking because she wanted me to talk to her. The bright side of this whole thing was that I could stop pretending now—I hated having to make Ianto think I was actually attracted to that woman.
"Well, he's not in the morgue" Owen stated "I checked."
I took a breath "I'm only going to say this once: last night Ianto and I were weevil hunting and he was taken by the Rift."
Tosh gasped and a hand went to her mouth "Oh my God."
Owen sank into his chair "Shit."
"What happened?" Gwen asked.
I blinked "That's funny; I thought I just said what happened. Look, I know where he went and he was fine the last time I saw him."
"What does that mean?" Owen asked.
"The Rift took Ianto to the 51st century, my home town and the first person he met was me."
Owen and Gwen stared at me blankly but Tosh lowered her hand "So, you knew this was going to happen?"
I nodded "I couldn't stop it. He did his best not to tell me he knew me but I figured it out eventually, never said though." And before anyone could speak, I said "I'll be in the shooting range and I'd like to be alone for a while so you three just do your jobs."
I made my way down to the shooting range without another word, I needed to blow off some steam.
I was down there maybe ten minutes before Gwen started invading my personal space. "Jack," she drug out my name into two syllables, which really grated on my nerves, "are you all right?"
I turned and looked at her, gun still in my hand "What part of alone did you not comprehend?"
She blinked "I'm sorry, I just thought you'd want to talk."
I sighed frustratingly "The words 'I'd like to be alone' mean I don't want to talk to anyone. Now, will you please go do your job?"
She held up her hands "Okay, I'm sorry. Well, you know, I'm here if you want to talk." She walked away.
I sighed deeply, if I was going to talk it wasn't going to be to her. Even if Ianto and I never got together, Gwen lost all chances with me the moment she cheated on Rhys with Owen. I have no respect for adulterers. I could forgive Owen because he hadn't been in an established relationship at the time and he was making an effort to change. He had even been nicer to Ianto; during my absence, being the only men in the Hub they'd bonded and formed a semblance of a friendship—they still bickered like brothers from time to time though.
I set my gun down and sank to the floor, if I was going to talk to anyone, it was going to be to Owen. Ianto had talked of him often, missed him more than he would ever admit.
…
Tosh's voice buzzed in my ear "Jack, there's a rift alert."
"Where at?" I asked.
"Merthyr, doesn't look too big."
"Okay, have Owen meet me at the SUV."
…
"Why me?" Owen asked when I met him in the parking garage "It's Gwen's turn."
"I don't want to deal with her, Owen" I said. "Now, get in the car, I want to talk to you."
"What is it, Jack?" he asked once we were on the road. "Tosh and I were watching the CCTV feed when Gwen followed you down to the shooting range. You've never been that short with her."
"I didn't have a choice before. Ianto never said I was this Jack idiot he talked about but like I said I figured it out. And I can't tell you how often he complained about Jack's relationship with Gwen."
I glanced at Owen and his brows were furrowed but then understanding dawned in his eyes "So you had to act like that so you wouldn't change the future? You had to make Gwen think you saw her more than just an employee, 'cos you know, she does."
I nodded "I can't tell you how much I hated having to make Ianto think the way he did. I love him, Owen, I always have and I hated not being able to tell him so."
Owen was silent for a while and as we neared the site of the rift alert he said "So you were together when you were younger?"
"We were. I was a young man when I found him in Boeshane all scared and confused. I fell in love with him right away. He was a little hesitant at first considering how young I was."
"How old were you?"
I grinned "Fifteen but I assure you it will be perfectly legal in the 51st century."
Owen sighed "Just goes to show he will do anything for you."
I parked the car "He resisted me for as long as he could, citing rules that no longer applied to him and personal morals but that just made me want him more."
Owen opened his door "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you're his friend, he missed you, you know. He always told me you were the brother he never had but always wanted."
A brief look of emotion flashed across his face, he looked away, and when he looked back that English stoic-ness had returned "Yeah well, let's go check this alert."
The site of the rift opening was in a non-descript alley way. I scanned the area with my wrist strap. "There" I pointed "on the ground."
Owen peered at it "That's it? It looks like a CD case."
"So it does but it's reading as harmless. We can get closer."
We did and Owen knelt by it "Jack, you might wanna take a look at this. It's got handwriting on it, looks like Ianto's."
I immediately knelt down too and in Ianto's anal retentive scrawl it said "As long as time will allow". "Oh my God" I breathed and I picked the case up and opened it.
"I think it's a DVD" I said after a moment.
"How can you tell?"
"Because the disc says 'video file' and there's a note here. I read it aloud "Place in any computer. Watch with the whole team, further instructions inside but you may want to explain a few things to them first. XO Ianto."
My eyes stung fiercely "Oh Ianto, you never cease to amaze me."
Owen stared at the disc "How the hell…?"
I closed the case and got to my feet "Let's find out. Back to the Hub, I except he has messages for everyone, why else would he want me to watch it with the rest of you?"
Mind I had to explain about male pregnancy first. Owen and I walked back to the SUV.
"I think I might be pregnant" I said, might as well start with that.
Owen, who had been carrying his kit bag, stopped and dropped it. He turned and faced me "I'm sorry, what did you just say to me?"
"One in every ten men in my time can get pregnant. I'm one of them. Ianto and I had three kids before I lost him. As the date of his disappearance neared this time I, uh, may have tampered with the condoms."
Owen looked terribly confused but all he said was "You were trying to get pregnant? And I can't believe I just said that to a bloke." He picked up his bag and continued on to the SUV.
When I joined him I said "I would appreciate you not bringing this up with the girls yet, at least the possibility of me being pregnant now."
He sighed, "Jack you may be an irritating immortal son of a bitch but I'm still your doc-physician and your friend. I won't tell them."
"You can say doctor, Owen. You're just not the definite article."
Owen rolled his eyes but said nothing to that. "Three kids?"
I nodded but didn't say anything else.
"What happened to them?"
My eyes stung "I don't know. I was away on a mission for the agency. When I came home the house was destroyed in such a way that anyone inside it couldn't have survived."
Owen gasped "Shit, Jack."
"But I have faith in Ianto and until I find out otherwise, as far as I'm concerned he, the kids and the K-9 made it out alive and went into hiding. Maybe they're even on their way here. Maybe that's what this message is about."
Owen looked at me intently "I can't believe this. So this whole time, this broody flirty overzealous jerk was all an act?"
"Most of it" I sighed "but I've always been flirty and I really was brooding but I'm not a jerk. And I wouldn't call me overzealous. When Ianto and I were together, when I was young, he was the strong one believe it or not."
"He was the husband."
"Oh boy was he." I took a breath "I will tell the girls about our kids, Ianto probably mentions them in the message. But I do want to confirm that I am pregnant before I tell them that bit."
…
How did Ianto manage to send a message? Clever boy, him. Is Adult Jack pregnant because he actually tampered with the condoms? How will Ianto react whenever he gets home?
We really start speeding things up in the next chapter. After all we gotta get through those three kids before Ianto finds a way back to 2008 and what might be a fourth child on the way.
Reviews are candy for the soul.
TTFN
