Chapter 10

Jack woke early on the Sunday morning and got up, changing into his new clothes, which looked exactly like his old ones. He had chickened out at the shops, going for the old familiar. He wandered down into the kitchen, smelling Ianto coffee. Maybe he would get a chance to talk to him alone.

His hopeful spring in his step died quickly when he rounded the door and found Michaela pouring the coffee and singing some song he did not know to herself. He quickly ducked back behind the door and peered around, watching her for a few moments. If he ignored that she was married to Ianto, he could remember that he had thought her very cute, like a puppy or kitten, quiet and innocent. Really he had been confused about why Archie had hired her, she never seemed the right personality to be part of Torchwood. And yet here she was, now running the organisation with Ianto, like they were a golden couple. Jack paused as he realised he had no idea what she actually did within the organisation, if Ianto was the face of it, he probably made all the decisions. So what did she do between maternity leaves?

Jack shook his head, surprised by his own snide thoughts. He was not a jealous man by nature, well, in terms of getting upset over a person's happiness. He could be envious, wishing he could have it too, but never at the expense of the person who had it.

In a normal situation what Jack might have done was tested the waters to see if there was room for him in the couple, even for a night of fun and games. And really, why shouldn't he try that now? He was sure Ianto would be up for it, and Michaela had never been immune to his charms, blushing and biting her lip to hide her giggly smile when he had flirted with her. His one rule was that no one got hurt, and surely they would only agree if that was a certainty.

There was no harm in trying.

Michaela sipped at her coffee from a brightly painted mug one of the kids probably had made for her and sat down at the table. She lifted a tablet and started reading something, probably the newspaper.

Jack inhaled and stepped into the kitchen, smiling at her.

"Morning."

Michaela jumped and looked up at him. "Oh! Morning. Didn't hear you coming down the stairs."

"I'm like a panther, never hear me coming. Remember?" Jack winked at her. Michaela flushed and a reluctant smile appeared on her lips,

"Yes, I remember. You cost me two months worth of my salary for that joke."

Jack grinned, remembering how, at a conference before Canary Warf had fallen, Jack had snuck up behind her and scared her so bad she had spilled her drink all over Yvonne Hartman's fancy suit.

"Ah, but wasn't the look on her face worth it?"

Michaela chuckled and shrugged, "Maybe. I remember being terrified and wanting the ground to swallow me up."

"Yeah, you were bright red… it was a cute look on you."

Michaela snorted, sipping at her coffee, "Cute? God, I haven't been called cute in years."

"Really?" Jack was surprised, "You've still got those cute dimply cheeks."

Michaela blushed and touched her cheek, looking shy. "No one notices my cheeks, unless they look chubby. They're far more interested in my waistline and my wardrobe disasters."

Jack furrowed his brow in confusion. Michaela shrugged, "The world hasn't changed when it comes to being critical of women's looks. It's why we decided Ianto should be the face of Torchwood."

Jack stared at her in confusion and she sighed, "Because he's a tall, stunningly handsome man who manages to balance a large family with saving the world and being reasonable about all things while doing it, with a hint of angst and brooding and I'm just the fat, frumpy housewife who doesn't see her kids enough because she's got a career, which she probably isn't that good at because she's got fifteen kids taking up all her time."

Jack blinked hard and raised an eyebrow, "Ouch."

Michaela shrugged, "The world wouldn't feel comfortable if I was the one talking to the press, Ianto's far more appealing to them. Men are far more reassuring in a defensive role, especially if they're handsome. Do you really think the franchise would have worked as well if it had been Jane Bond? How would that have turned the evil lesbians to the side of heterosexual good?"

Jack shook his head, "This world…"

Michaela shrugged again, "It's all we got for the moment. And my kids live here, might as well protect it." She gave him a wry smirk and Jack chuckled. She lifted her cup, "Coffee?"

"I got it." Jack got to his feet and went to the cupboard. He grabbed one of the many generic mugs and poured himself some coffee, then he came back to his seat. He sipped at it and sighed in bliss, "Ah, Ianto coffee."

"No, just a poor imitation." Michaela sipped at it and shook her head, "I can never get it quite right."

"You made this?"

"I wasn't about to wake Ianto for it, he needs his sleep."

"And you don't?"

"Doesn't matter when I go to bed, I'm always up at 6am. After fifteen kids and working for Torchwood for…' She counted on her fingers, "Twenty four years, I've learned to live without sleep."

"It's a skill." Jack agreed. "I'm much the same."

Michaela proffered her cup, "To enduring insomniacs."

Jack chuckled and clinked his cup to hers. They sipped and Jack felt a little better, as if he had made some sort of progress. It was the first time Michaela had seemed relaxed around him. There was the sound of raindrops hitting the window and Michaela twisted to look outside. As she did her silky dressing gown opened at the front, exposing her cleavage a little and Jack's eyes dropped to admire the swell.

"Oh great, bloody weather channel got it wrong as usual. Said it was going to be nice today." Michaela sighed, turning back. Jack quickly looked at her face, and she did not seem to notice her dressing gown was open as she said, "I was hoping I could take the kids out for a ride with Ianto."

"Might clear up." said Jack.

"With those clouds?" Michaela jerked her thumb at the sky. "Nope, looks like it'll be all day. Damnit!" She looked genuinely annoyed.

"I'm sure you can go next weekend."

"Yeah, unless something else gets in the way." Michaela got to her feet and dumped her mug in the washing machine. "If it's not the Rift trying to kill us, it's aliens from above, or it's paperwork, or some sort of political crap or something else! Something always keeps one or both of us from being with the kids."

Her eyes flicked to Jack without her conscious awareness, but Jack suddenly got the feeling he and the others were on that list of things getting in the way. The warmth in the kitchen seemed to flee as he set his mug down, not wanting it anymore. Michaela did not notice, silently fuming as she was at the counter. Then she swallowed hard, looked at the ceiling for a moment and seemed to get herself together, letting out a heavy sigh, turning to Jack.

"What would you like for breakfast?"

Jack shrugged, "I'm not very hungry right now."

"You sure?"

Jack nodded. "I'll grab something later."

Michaela shrugged and pulled her dressing gown close again. Jack got to his feet to leave, when the lights in the kitchen flickered several times. While Jack just looked up in confusion, Michaela's head snapped up and she took several steps forward, looking around in alarm.

"What the hell?"

She ran to the monitor on the wall which Jack had only so far seen her use to answer the bell at the gate. But now she was tapping the screen, which obeyed her first three taps and then went dead.

"Shit, shit, shit!" she hissed and ran out the door. Jack followed her as she ran up the stairs, her dressing gown billowing behind her like she was in some sort of 1920's movie and rushed into her bedroom. Jack was inside before he knew what he was doing, and came to a halt. It felt… wrong to be in here without an invitation. That did not seem to bother Michaela as she shook Ianto awake. "Ianto, Ianto wake up. The power's gone out in the house."

Jack watched her thinking she was maybe over reacting. But Ianto was up like a shot… and he was in his underwear. If Jack thought he had looked good before in the suits and waistcoats as an older man, in just his boxers… oh yes!

"What? Are you sure?"

Michaela reached over and flicked the lamp switch next to the bed. Nothing happened. Ianto looked up for all of two seconds, then swore.

"Fuck. Ok, I'll call Torchwood, you round up the kids."

Michaela nodded and ran out of the room. Ianto grabbed a pair of trousers and pulled them on. As he zipped them up, he said,

"Jack?"

"Yup?"

"Quit drooling and go get the others."

"Yup!"

Jack hurried out the door and it was only as he was knocking on Gwen's door that he realised he had jumped to obey Ianto's order. That was new.

He gathered the team up and they followed the kids as Michaela led them downstairs.

"What's going on?" he asked Michaela.

"I don't know, but the house is directly connected to Torchwood's power grid which is separate from the rest of the city's power. The power only goes out if something's really wrong." Michaela passed a groggy Quinn to Leeza who accepted him without protest and Archer held Christoffer tight as he pulled Erin along with him.

"Where are we going?"

"The garage, if we need to leave we'll be able to get everyone out quickly."

The garage was dark, but Michaela pulled out a battery powered lamp from under a table and turned it on. She gave it to Gwen to hold and asked,

"Right, which of you four are the best driver?"

"Me!" said Owen at once, "I can drive as fast as I need to, but unlike Jack I still have a fear of death."

"Then you're our designated driver." Michaela unlocked the mini-bus and Toshi helped her pull the doors open. Michaela tossed the keys to Owen, "Only load up if you have to leave."

Owen nodded, running around to check the driver's seat, making sure it was all familiar and adjusted to his size.

"Mummy, where's daddy?" Taran was white as a sheet and tried to cling to Michaela.

"He's coming leanbh, please don't hold on to me right now." Michaela gently pushed him away as she went to a sealed cupboard and keyed in a numeric code. It opened at once, revealing weapons. Jack watched as she quickly assembled two handguns and set them down, before doing another two. Ianto came running in, now in a t-shirt, and picked up the guns.

"Torchwood's on its way." He put one of the guns in the back of his trousers and the other he picked up and set to ready.

"Everything's good there?"

Ianto nodded, "It's something here, not there."

If it were possible, Michaela looked even more pissed. She was still in her silky night dress and dressing gown, but as she loaded the gun, Jack knew anything that came at her would probably not last.

"Any idea what?" she asked. Ianto shook his head.

"Mum what's going on?" asked Archer anxiously.

Michaela and Ianto looked at each other, but before they could answer, a piercing shriek rolled through the house. At first Jack flinched from the noise itself, but then he realised it was a word.

Or rather a name.

"IANTOOOOOOOO!"

Jack lowered his hands from his ears in time to hear Michaela say,

"That thing is in my house?" to Ianto, who looked partly angry, partly contrite.

"I never thought she would come here." he muttered. Michaela glared at him for a long moment, then strode past him, gun at the ready. "'kaela!" Ianto chased after her and grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "We don't have to kill her."

Michaela looked at him like he was nuts. She did not bother replying to him, only said,

"Kids, I want you to listen to Auntie Gwen and Toshiko and Uncle Owen and Jack. If we give the order, they'll take you out of the house. Leeza, you know the way to Torchwood, so you guide Owen, ok?"

Leeza nodded, not arguing with her mum. Michaela picked up a small comm. device and tossed it to Jack,

"Keep that on, but if you think we're gone too long-"

"IANTOOOOOO!"

"-take our children and go." Michaela finished without missing a beat. Jack, his estimation of this woman rising a little, nodded. "Ianto, let's go."

Ianto looked reluctant but nodded, pulling on the safety of his gun.

"Mummy!" wailed Christoffer as the two left the garage and shut the door behind them. Jack swallowed hard and looked around at all the children, most of whom were white with fear, still in their pyjamas and looking at him and the others for protection. Toshi was stony faced as she broke from the group and went to the weapons cupboard.

"What are you doing?" asked Toshiko, running over to her as she started to assemble a handgun.

"I'm making sure if something comes for us I have a weapon to send them running." Toshi informed her coldly. Toshiko shook her head and said,

"Your parents trusted us to look after you."

"You've been out of the loop for twenty years! I bet you've never used a modern gun, have you? But Torin and Elisa taught me how to use one from the time I was ten."

"Without telling mum or dad." Eoin put in.

"So? At least I'm being useful." Toshi held the gun up, barrel pointing at the floor, ready to use.

"Toshi, mum and dad'll handle it!" Aiden piped up, his voice quivering a little. "Won't they?" he asked, looking at Jack. Jack paused for a moment, then nodded,

"Kid, your parents have beaten the odds. Not many people can claim to have survived twenty four years in Torchwood. I doubt this will be any problem for them."

Aiden nodded, as if Jack had spoken the word of God, "See Toshi! They'll be fine."

"Dad'll take care of it." muttered Leeza, holding Quinn on her hip.

"Not if mum gets there first." said Archer, "Didn't you see how pissed she was?"

"You swore!" yelped Taran, "Not 'pose to swear."

"Taran, not now." Archer pulled Taran to him, as if a tight hug would shut the five year old up.

"Look you lot, just be quiet and let the grownups handle this." said Owen brazenly.

"Yes, please be quiet, we need to keep an ear out for your parents." said Gwen, pressing a finger to her lips. The oldest four glared at her, not appreciating the childish gesture, but remained quiet. Jacque looked around anxiously, tugged on Eoin's sleeve and made frantic signs. Eoin squeezed his shoulder and made signs to him, which seemed to reassure him a little.

Jack gave himself a shake, realising he needed to behave like Ianto would expect him to, and took the gun from Toshi, who looked fit to kick him, but made no noise. The gun felt familiar enough in his hands as he hurried to the door into the kitchen and, making a shushing gesture to the children again, opened the door a centimetre, to hear better. There was no sound in the dark house, no footsteps, no voices, nothing to suggest that anything was happening. Jack had never considered silence a good thing in times like these.

He considered going after the two, but he knew that with so many children, they would need four protectors at least.

Then –

Bang!

Several children screamed as the gunshot rang through the house.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Mummy!" wailed Christoffer, clinging to Archer who had gone white.

"Dad!" wailed Deva, the loudest noise Jack had heard her make yet. Jacque made a horrible noise that conveyed his panic as he looked around at the others and picked up their reaction. Jack pushed the door open further and held his weapon ready, shifting to block the door as he heard footsteps heading this way.

"Kids!"

Jack relaxed his arms as Michaela and Ianto came running into the kitchen, both covered in what looked like blue poster paint but must have been alien blood. He jumped aside and let the two into the garage just as the lights in the kitchen flickered on.

The kids rushed at their parents but Ianto held up a hand to make them wait until he and Michaela had disassembled the weapons and put them away. As soon as that was done they embraced their children and reassured them that everything was fine.

"What was it? Was it a Weevil?"

"Don't be stupid, a Weevil can't turn off the power. Was it a Slitheen?"

As the kids vied to figure out what their parents had encountered, Michaela took Christoffer from Archer and knelt down in front of them.

"Calm down kids. It was an alien we encountered a few years ago, and we unfortunately had to shoot it."

"It was a bad alien!"

"It was… a dangerous alien." Michaela said diplomatically. Ianto's jaw set but he nodded. Jack watched his expression as Leeza huddled against him and he held her, Deva and Quinn tight. He still had his gun in his hand and since the other two were occupied, he slipped out and made his way upstairs.

The alien was in the hall, lying face down on the floor. It was white, and long, with tendrils of something that might have been hair, might have been tentacles coming from its head. As Jack approached it he did not think the alien looked very dangerous… it seemed rather sad. What had it wanted? Had Ianto and Michaela bothered to try and find out?

"She fell in love with Ianto."

Jack jumped and turned around. Michaela had somehow snuck up behind him, arms across her chest as she walked slowly past Jack and along the alien.

"Her species latches on to a mate and never lets go. She decided Ianto was her mate and she would have him no matter what. We were able to get rid of her without harming her before, Ianto always felt bad about it, like it was his fault –maybe it was, he never told me how she came to this conclusion. But she would come back, stalking him through Torchwood, and since her species generates a magnetic field which interferes with electricity, it really screwed with our systems."

Michaela inhaled deeply and rested her hand on her abdomen, her eyes narrowing,

"She attacked me, tried to… 'get me out of the picture'. I was pregnant with Jacque at the time, I nearly lost him… she's the reason he's deaf, caused by oxygen depletion. I told Ianto if she ever came near our children I would not hesitate to shoot her."

She looked at Jack, her green eyes daring him to condemn her. Jack, however, understood exactly what she was talking about. He also had a distinct impression she was warning him of what she was willing to do to protect her family. Why she felt the need to warn him was a bit baffling… unless she was warning him about how far she would go to keep Ianto.

Jack's back stiffened and he nodded, jaw set. Michaela nodded, turning away.

"I'm going to go change. Torin and Dotty will be here in a minute to clean that up."

She went into her and Ianto's bedroom and Jack stood, rooted to the spot, a cold dread spreading inside him. All those strange looks, all those furtive glances and angry glares when she found them with Ianto and the children…

No clear specific job at Torchwood, no real reason why Ianto would ever have fallen for her… a cold warning to Jack about not getting too close.

Jack's stomach turned as he realised the reason Ianto had been so cheerful about his life, why these kids were so perfect.

They were all pawns, and Michaela was the player.

She was the one behind everything, she had to be.

Jack's hands clenched into fists.

Whatever this game was, he would not let her win.