As they entered the main hub, Ianto could see Patrick at his desk, the pile of parts, papers and wrappers not particularly changed since the last time, though it was supplemented with a small collection of coffee containers from various places he recognized from around the bay. Without Nisha, he was fairly sure that no one had braved his coffee machine. He looked up and smiled at Jack and Ianto. The rest of the hub was quiet, and Ianto wondered if Jack had sent the others home, or if they were just out on a call.
"Where are we going?" Ianto asked.
"Not much further. Oh, we have a new team member. Well not exactly…he's down from London for a bit, studying weevil behavior…"
"I didn't know Weevils exhibited enough behavior to study," he said.
"Yeah, well, Dr. Tarleton thinks that they do, and anything that helps keep them from rampaging down St. Mary's of a Saturday night…" He left off as he led the other man up the stairs to the gantry above the boardroom. From here you could practically see the entire hub but before Ianto could spare more than a glance, Jack had pulled him back against him and flipped up the cover of his wrist strap. "Now, enough about the good doctor, it's time for your surprise. Press here and here." Jack pointed to the requisite buttons, surprising him a little. The older man had always been particularly possessive and close mouthed about the secrets of his wrist strap. He never took it off, not even in bed or the shower and he never let anyone else touch it. It said more about Jack's feelings than any words ever could.
Ianto looked up at the other man and smiled shyly as he pressed the buttons. After a moment, he heard the familiar screech of Myfanwy circling down toward them. He smiled at Jack handed him a bar of dark chocolate. It was probably not good for her, but she enjoyed it so and neither of them was particularly good at resisting her.
Their pet pterodactyl was starting to get old, or at least slowing down a bit. Certainly she stayed closer to the hub than she had when they first brought her, or so Jack had been telling him. He had tried to take a guess at her age and lifespan but not one of the experts he had tracked down had an idea of how long they were supposed to live. There just wasn't a good way to track it down when all you had were fossil records. Jack had told him it didn't matter, after all lifespan in the wild was usually shortened anyway and Myfanwy had no predators, didn't have to worry about food, or shelter. In short, she had everything a pterodactyl could want in the modern world except more of her own kind and she always seemed to have made up for it with the team, especially him and Jack.
She landed on the Gantry near them, barely fitting herself in the space, and wobbled forward in that ungraceful way she had when she wasn't in the air. Ianto began to unwrap the chocolate bar, but Jack stopped him. He had been a little concerned that she would forget him. Jack had not been all that inclined to let him spend a lot of time visiting. "This is lovely," he said, as he reached out to scratch her crest as she leaned down to him. "But hardly the surprise you promise…" he faltered as the other figure settled down on the rail next to him. Ianto just gawped. "I thought…How…" he didn't know what to say.
On the rail was a miniature version of the beloved flying reptile standing before them, and like her, the little one was screeching and leaning forward for a scratch which Jack was only too happy to provide. It was only about a foot and a half tall as it stood there, stretching up toward Jack's hand. "Gwydion, that is a welsh name isn't it?" he said, as he offered a little bit of chocolate to the creature. "He fell through the rift about three months ago. I was looking for something to do with my spare time…"
"So you adopted another pterodactyl, and a baby at that? And what does Myfanwy think of him? Come to think of it, what if she is still fertile? Did you think about the possibility…"
"Hush, he isn't even the same subspecies. According to a Dr. Cutter I spoke to up in London, our little friend here is a pterydactylus, a smaller species, and he will be full sized in another six months to a year. As to how she gets on with him, well." Jack nodded to where she was feeding the piece of chocolate she had just been given to the younger creature. "I am not completely sure, but I think she is trying to mother him."
Ianto stood looking in amazement at the two creatures. Now that Jack mentioned it, she did look a bit broody. He broke off a bit of his own chocolate bar and held it out to the younger reptile. Gwydion hopped up and grabbed it before ducking his head for a scratch. "Jack, leaving aside from the fact that we now have two prehistoric reptiles that are flying around Cardiff now, what you have done is amazing. Though I am surprised that he is letting me get so close, considering how skittish she was."
"I have been training him to recognize your scent. I…I used one of your shirts," Jack said, looking almost embarrassed.
"He is beautiful," he said, leaning back into Jack, breathing in the familiar scent. They had both become very attached to Myfanwy, especially considering the way she brought them together. More than once when Ianto had caught him spoiling her, he had excused himself by saying he owed her and she wasn't exactly getting any younger. But the thought of an empty hub was something he couldn't imagine.
"Not as beautiful as you. Finish spoiling them and I can get on with reminding you how much I have missed you."