8
Once Janet was secured back in the truck and Owen's laughter had died, they heard a voice calling.
Mrs Jones waved them over to the homestead and as they approached Jack could smell food. Ah, Gods.
He lifted Stephen up and placed him on his shoulders as they wandered to the front steps. Ianto's Nain was waiting with her hands on her hips.
"You'll be wiping your feet now boys" she warned as she opened the screen door to allow them access, "No dirt on me good wooden floors please."
"Why didn't she say girls as well?" Owen growled to Ianto.
"Because girls know their manners young man" she eyeballed him and he grinned sheepishly as Ianto snorted behind him.
"As for you Ifan!" she scolded and Ianto looked up from his boots, "You will take off that poor coat and let me have a go at it. Just like your mother, always ripping something she was."
Ianto slid the jacket off and saw the torn shoulder for the first time. Must have been when Stephen was clinging to him, poor mite. Ianto handed it over with a soft kiss to her cheek.
"Thank you Nain" he whispered, then walked into the house.
She watched him go, then turned and eyeballed Owen. He grinned softly and she smiled back as she ushered him through.
The house was large, wood panelling and books scattered everywhere. Photos of little Ianto and Rhia peppered the walls along with other children. Owen recognised Mica and David amongst the frames and he felt a wave of sadness for the boy.
The meal was the first they had all sat down to since the madness had started and Mica was seated happily on her Great-grandmother's lap as she started to doze off.
The huge crockpot casserole was wonderful, as was the cold salad and ham on offer. Ianto had eagerly gone for the casserole and Jack had followed suit.
Gods! It was like Irish stew, melted in your mouth. Vegetables were so soft and creamy as they were peppered though the gravy and he knew he was moaning but couldn't help but show his enjoyment.
Ianto watched his Nain as she watched Jack and knew she was trying not to mother him, Jack had done exactly the right thing and now he would be fed like there was no tomorrow.
"How did you know we were coming Mrs Jones?" he asked between bites. "Gods, wonderful!"
"Didn't" she smiled, "Call me Anna, please. We always had a plan, this was little Ifan's bug out point. Whatever happened, he would come to us."
"Yeah" Ifan growled, "Now I know why the plan failed after those so called terrorist attacks in London."
"Enough old man" she scolded, "Not now."
"I always make large amounts of casserole because it is easy to freeze down into meal lots. When it all hits the fan, you need to be prepared." She answered Jack.
"Ah, a woman after my own heart!" Jack sighed and she giggled as she blushed. Ah, that's where he gets that from then.
Gwen made a noise and rose to lift Mica but Ianto's grandmother waved her off.
"I've been tending children as long as I've been tending to him over there!" she huffed good naturedly, "I can handle this wee Bairn."
"She's Scottish?" Jack whispered and Ifan huffed.
"I decided not to hold that against her some time ago" Ifan deadpanned and Owen huffed with humour.
Anna poked her tongue at her husband and smiled lovingly as he pouted back.
She left the room and Stephen asked to be let down from the table.
"Wanna see the animals?" Ianto asked and the boy's sorrowful face suddenly lit up.
"What animals?" he enthused.
"Cows, sheep, horses, goats, pigs, chickens, rabbits … oh, whatever else is lurking." Ianto winked.
Stephen turned to his mother with a silent plea and she smiled. "Go on honey, I need to talk to your Uncle Jack for a moment anyway."
"Yay!" Stephen rushed to get his coat and as Ianto rose Jack reached out and snagged his hand in a silent squeeze of thanks.
Ianto smiled down as him and let his hand brush his shoulder as he slid from between their two chairs. Ifan watched the exchange silently.
"Uncle?" he finally said and Owen froze, his piece of bread half way to his mouth. He looked at Tosh and found her frozen as well.
"Alice is my daughter, but I think you know that Ifan" Jack looked at him long and hard, "What else do you know, given the response to my name out there."
"Follow me" Ifan rose and the team rose as well, following him to the stairs where he opened the door underneath them.
It led down, the steps went on for a while and the flickering on of halogens had Owen swearing with awe.
The underground bunker was massive, must be half the compound. Concrete reinforced walls and filtered air, this place was a fortress hidden under the dirt.
Jack saw rooms with beds down one side, a war room and even an armoury.
Owen saw a medical bay and headed towards it with interest, Alice following more sedately.
Tosh saw the computer banks. She squealed as she ran to the keyboard and typed in the Torchwood mainframe logins. The screens burst into life and several showed newsfeed of the devastation above, one showed Ianto laughing as Stephen was chased by a kid in the goat enclosure and the large main screen said 'Hello Toshiko' as mainframe came on-line.
"That little shit! All this time he told me he worked in a coffee shop." Ifan growled as he watched the torchwood mainframe assimilating with his system as the "T" symbol slowly rotated in the screen, "bloody little shit!"
"He was protecting you" Jack said softly. "If T1 ever smelt you, this place would have been torn apart because of your connection to him. This was the … is that… Fuck me!"
Jack noted the piece of tat laying by a keyboard and picked it up. "This is alien tech!"
"Yeah? So?" Ifan bristled. "You're not the only one who likes baubles ya know!"
"Where did you get it?" Jack fiddled with it in his hands.
"Car boot sale." Ifan held out his hand for his possession, "Get great prepping shit at those."
Instead of handing it back, Jack activated it. The room filled with soft light and the sound of waves. Jack pointed it at a bare wall and pushed another button. The wall became a screen as the tat projected a beach with a green sky and orange water.
"Fredollia. Lovely planet" Jack sighed, "They loved their peace balls."
"Really?" Ifan beamed as he gingerly took the tat and looked at the scene again.
"See those?" Jack pointed to two large animals lumbering in the corner of the screen. Like rhinos but a pale red with fur. "Their children. Grow as large as a house but such delicate fingers to make these lovely orbs. Can be quite expensive on the market planets."
"Planets?" Ifan's eyes lit up at the thought of whole planets full of car boot sales and Jack knew he had found the reason for Ianto's calm acceptance of Owen's annoying, childish ways.
