8

"No, it's too far" Ianto said stubbornly as he shelled the peas and Bethy looked at Babs with a sigh as she gave up but Babs was not ready to, not by a long shot.

"It's only a house away, just Jarred and Carl here…. Hey. It's a four bedroom house" she swung to look at Jarred who was going over Mayoral mail and he looked up with a hum of surprise.

"The firehouse is only two bedrooms, you have the kids in one together right?" she said with growing glee, "We can swap. You can have the Dawson House so the kids can have a room each, Bethy and I can live in the firehouse until we have a family by which time the kids will be grown and you and us will simply swap back right?"

"And if Carl doesn't want to be fire chief what happens then?" Ianto asked.

"Then they would need another house anyway, Gods Taddy they will never leave!" she said as she started to see her dream evaporating.

"Babe" Jack said softly, "If they swapped it would just be a garden gate between us, the same distance as Fen's cabin."

"Traitor" Ianto hissed theatrically, then flopped back with a howl of despair.

Babs knew in that moment that she had won and she resisted the urge to punch the air.

"Well it would be nice to give them a room each" Jarred finally said to Ianto, "Izzy is a real little girl now, she needs space for her dollies. Especially with a loving Uncle Walter buying her more blingy things all the time. He does spoil her."

"Because she reminds him of me" Babs said happily, "he told me she is a little Babbity. He will always look after her ya know."

"I love this place" Jarred sighed with contentment, nodding as he agreed to the idea. "Me and Carl were talking about looking into another place to rent or buy."

"So just buy it then she doesn't have to" Ianto quipped, then laughed as she glared at him. "Kidding, kidding. OK. You buy it and swap, then when Carl and Jarred are ready to move you can have it back. Good deal."

"The Mayor has approved the relocation of the firehouse then?" Jared asked and Ianto nodded.

Babs felt one air punch was warranted as she and Bethy ran to tell Bethy's parents what had just happened and Jack rubbed his hands together with a maniacal grin.

"Our plan to assimilate the world into the Harkness-Jones clan has begun. One house at a time, we will own them all. Seven houses to house the kingdom. One house to rule them all, yes my precious." He said in a silly voice and Ton froze as he reached across the table for a biscuit from the plate.

"Don't do that again" he said to his father slowly then walked out of the room shaking his head like he had just been insulted.

"He never gets my movie quotes" Jack pouted.

"Because they aren't" Ianto replied as he chose another pod, "You bastardize it so much he just thinks you are having a stroke or something."

"Ha bloody ha" Jack said, secretly pleased Ianto was OK with his decision.