Ianto sat up in bed and watched Jack sleep. He was too worried to get any sleep. He wanted to call the Doctor, but at the same time he was worried how the Doctor would take being called on about such a thing. It wasn't life threatening...by any means, but Jack had worried himself to sleep and now here was Ianto, biting his nails to stubs in his worry over the captain. This wasn't healthy and they needed to figure it out.
Looking down at Jack as the man slept, Ianto made up his mind and with a kiss to Jack's forehead he stood and left the room. Flipping Jack's phone open he looked through the numbers until he found the one he'd been looking for and dialed it.
Putting the phone to his ear he waited, biting at his thumb nail vicious until the Doctor answered.
"Ianto, to what can I attribute this sudden call after...what's it been...three...four months?" The Doctor asked.
"It's been three days Doctor." Ianto said.
"Maybe for you, it's been months for me. I've been to seven different galaxies, three different times, and I've already visited your son on his first birthday."
Ianto smiled. "What's he look like?"
"Spoilers. Now, what can I do for you?"
"Something's happened with Jack and we're worried...him more than me and if you could come and help us understand it...that'd be great." Ianto said, not really getting his hopes up.
"I'd love nothing more. I could do with a break. I'm bringing a friend by the name of Donna. She's a friend." The doctor explained and Ianto chuckled.
"When can I expect you?"
"Well I'm not partial to breaking your home so I'll be about soon-ish...I can't guarantee much."
"I'll put on some tea." Ianto said, hanging up the phone and setting the kettle to boil.
Once the kettle was set on the stove Ianto made his way to their room. It was five in the morning so Jack wouldn't be too happy to be woken, but he'd be happy to see the Doctor and besides, they had the day off so they could sleep later.
"Cariad?" Ianto said, trying to wake Jack gently.
"Five more minutes." Jack mumbled, pulling the covers over his face to block out the hall light.
"The Doctor's on his way with someone named Donna." Ianto explained watching Jack peek his head out from the blanket.
"Why's the Doctor coming?" Jack asked, confused.
"I phoned him. Up you get, I've put tea on."
Jack grumbled but sat up in bed and tried to tame his hair without leaving the bed. Failing that, he stood and padded into the bathroom with a frown. He would love nothing more than to sleep but the Doctor was coming and he had so much to ask about...things that were worrying him badly.
Taking a quick shower and throwing on some sweats and a t-shirt, Jack settled his hair, brushed his teeth and made his way into the living room and smiled as Ianto handed him a cup of tea.
"You are an angel." Jack said, placing a kiss to Ianto's waiting lips.
"I am?" Ianto asked.
"You are." Jack confirmed with another kiss.
Things were about to get serious when knocking made them fly apart.
"Come in then." Ianto said, turning to make two more cups for their guests.
"What happened to John...I forgot to ask." Jack asked, opening the door for the Doctor, who hadn't yet come in.
"Dead." Ianto said, going back to his business of making tea. Tea he was good at, conversations on dead people...not so much.
Jack nodded and looked over at the Doctor who was smiling brightly with a small box in hand.
"Doctor." Jack addressed.
"Jack, I brought cookies, oh and Donna. Donna, this is Jack and that one in the kitchen is Ianto. Ianto, Jack, this is Donna." The Doctor introduced.
"Good to meet you. Get in, you're letting the heat out." Ianto called from the kitchen and the others laughed.
"It's nice to meet you." Jack said, letting them in and having them take a seat on the couch.
"So what's this I hear about worrisome circumstances?" The Doctor asked, grabbing the offered tea and taking a sip. "This is marvelous."
"Thank you." Ianto said, taking a seat on the loveseat next to Jack, who was still working on his own tea.
"No, he's right. It's really good." Donna said marveling at the taste.
"I've had quite a bit of practice." Ianto said smiling at the compliments.
"So, tell me what's going on." The Doctor said, placing his cup on the coffee table.
"I was shot, twice, and repeatedly cut into and the wounds healed instantaneously...so fast, in fact, that I didn't even have time to die..." Jack explained the worry over the situation clearly present.
"Wait...what's this about being shot and living..." Donna asked, looking at the doctor.
"Jack and Ianto are a fixed point in time, neither is able to die, well they can die, they just come back...something with rose, long ago, I'll explain later." The Doctor said, bidding Jack to continue.
"How long will this happen? How is it happening? Why didn't it happen when you removed the aboriri...What if it's dangerous...What if it makes me able to die later..."
"Okay once question at a time...or I could just explain. Your body is on overdrive now that the pregnancy isn't threatened..."
"PREGNANCY?" Donna shouted, getting the Doctor's attention.
"Donna, please. I'll explain later..."
"No, go ahead. It's never been explained to me." Ianto said, grabbing a cookie and picking at it, not really hungry.
"In the 31st century the one child law was put into effect all over earth and selected abortions ran hell all over the planet. Males started to outnumber females quite a bit. Every culture valued the males more than females and the population was dwindling to extinction. Instead of keeping the females around, the scientists came up with a means of impregnating the men to help boost the population and the changes they made to the males stuck through generations. This was done at the genetic level, it wasn't an implanted uterus...they'd toyed with that idea but people were still choosing to keep the male children and the female population was still suffering, so they made it permanent. Something that could be passed down from parent to child, and by the 51st century it was a common occurrence."
"Hell of a rant Doctor." Donna said.
"That's the gist of it though." Jack said looking at Ianto to see if he had any lingering questions.
"That's unthinkable." Ianto said, anger evident in his face. "What should it matter if they're boy or girl? Shouldn't you love your child regardless?"
"Not everyone thinks like us Ianto. There are people in China and India that already practice selective abortions and infanticide just to have a son." Jack explained and Ianto looked saddened by this.
"But what did those babies ever do to them?"
"Humans aren't all good Ianto."
"As a whole they are wonderful, brilliant and good at heart...but there are those who are horrid...some I wish didn't exist." The Doctor explained and Ianto sighed.
"So...who's pregnant." Donna asked, looking at Jack and Ianto.
"That would be me." Jack said smiling at the look Donna gave him.
"Congratulations..." Donna said, sounding awkward.
"Thank you."
"Now onto your concern. The instant healing will last until your son is born, then your body will revert back to it's original state, meaning you'll die, gasp awake and so on. As to why...well your body knows the pregnancy is viable so the energy is keeping him safe. Your pregnancy wasn't viable when I removed the aboriri, only when the aboriri was gone was your pregnancy considered viable by your body." The Doctor explained.
"So can the baby get hurt?" Ianto asked.
"No. His body will do everything it can to preserve the baby's safety. Nothing can hurt him as long as he eats and sleeps."
"That should be easy enough." Jack said, smiling and taking another sip of his cooling tea.
"Thank you for everything." Ianto said, looking pointedly at the Doctor.
"It's the least I could do." The Doctor said.
"Oh and that cot you gave us is beautiful. It's in storage right now, since we're looking for a house to move into, but it is absolutely gorgeous...where did you get it?" Ianto asked, curious.
"It was mine." The Doctor said, full of meaning. It could have either been his when he was young, or his for the children he used to have, they would never know.
"Well, best be going." The Doctor said standing.
"But you barely just got here." Jack pointed out and the Doctor shrugged.
"Things to do, people to see, places to explore. I never stick around. Gets boring really."
"I don't know how to take that, but stop by when you can yes?"
"I can't, but I will."
Jack and Ianto bid farewell to the Doctor and Donna, who still looked awkward around the couple, and looked at each other, happiness written all over their faces. Their son was going to be okay, and as a parent, you can't hope for much more than that.
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It'd been three weeks since the Doctor had come by and Jack and Ianto had finally gone house shopping before it became too apparent that Jack was pregnant. They'd looked daily for a week with no luck and finally they found one that seemed to fit the bill.
"How about this one? It's got four bedrooms, three baths, the biggest kitchen I've ever seen and it's within our price range." Ianto said, looking at the laundry room and marveling at the size.
"It's gorgeous." Jack admitted, walking from one room to the other and smiling happily at having found what they were looking for.
"So, are you willing to bid?" The agent asked, walking over to them.
Jack's phone rang as he was about to answer, holding a finger up he answered the call.
"Harkness."
"Jack, you're late for your checkup." Owen said and Jack sighed.
"I'll be by in fifteen minutes." Jack said hanging up the phone and turning to the agent. "If Ianto has no problems with it, I'm happy with this place."
"Then we'll bid...while we have you, I have a flat I need to sell." Ianto said.
"Come by my office in the morning and we can draw up the papers to begin selling your flat." The agent said, smiling kindly at Ianto.
"Alright, let us know if our bid gets accepted."
"No problem."
Jack and Ianto took their leave, smiling brightly at the house that could very well become theirs. Jack had insisted on a four bedroom, just in case, and Ianto was happy to oblige. He wasn't going to say no to more kids...he was just worried about how he was going to break this news to his sister and mam. They had every right to know about the changes in his life. Jack was going to be a part of his family for as long as they were both alive and while Rhiannon and his mam were alive, they deserved to see them and know the truth. They had earned the right.
"Want to meet the family?" Ianto asked, once they were in the SUV.
"I would love to." Jack said.
"Okay, I'll set it up...we need to be honest with them...about everything."
"Yeah." Jack sounded unsure.
"They'll understand...and if they don't they'll have no part in our family." Ianto said, adamant.
"Okay, we can tell them."