12

Jack could hear gunfire in the upper level, abandoning his task to head up there towards Ianto and their children with his Webley drawn.

Ianto was coming down the stairs towards him, Yvonne following with the children and Jack fell behind them as they passed to flank and he looked back as they moved towards the parking level behind the theatre.

Ianto felt the bite before the sound registered and he grunted as he was forced against the wall, Yvonne dropping low with the children as another shot hit near her head. Ianto knew he was in trouble, the pain intense as he gasped through the heat flaring down his arm.

Focus.

He struggled to raise his head and look in the direction the shot had come from, seeing the gunman moving closer.

You still have another arm stupid.

Ianto granted, raising his left hand and firing, gaining instant relief as the gunman crumpled and he glanced back to see Jack firing as he shielded the children from the other side.

They were hemmed in, corralled to this corner and trapped.

Shit.

Ianto reached out to calm his daughter who had started to cry, his hand stroking her face as he looked her in the eye, "Focus love. Be calm and focus."

As he spoke he let his hand slide down to the sparkly pin on her dress and he hesitated knowing what this might mean, then he looked over at his little boy, his face mashed into Yvonne's chest as she snarled and fired around him.

Focus.

Ianto took a deep breath and pressed the pin, pinching it together and activating the Emergency Beacon, then he rose to cover his children again.

Ianto began to count in his head, glancing over as Jack reloaded to fire in that direction and he awkwardly raised his injured arm to fire indiscriminately in the direction of more gunfire.

Ianto got to eight when the world exploded with light and sound, his gun immediately dropping as he swung to grab his children and Jack swung with open shock as security in black clothing swarmed the place with the Jones insignia clearly displayed on their flat jackets.

They now moved with deadly calm and they were in the Transporter heading for the house with Ianto calling ahead to alert the staff when Jack finally noticed the blood.

"Babe? Where is that blood coming from?" Jack asked as he looked at the smear on the seat, Ianto turning his head to look at him, then back out the window behind them.

Now Caden is a good little boy, a clever one and it is easy to forget that he is still a baby but the sight of his Taddy's blood was an instant reminder that he was just a wee boy who loved his Taddy as he started to crying, ugly wails as he reached for him.

"It's OK darling" Ianto soothed, letting the boy clamber into his lap even as the pain became almost unbearable with the added weight of the little one, "Taddy's OK. Just a boo-boo. It's OK, Aunty Yvonne saved you for me, it's OK."

Jack swore as he slid across the seats to gather Ianto into his arms, his hand finding the wound and Ianto cried out as Jack applied pressure, now Alice started to cry as she finally realised Ianto was hurt.

"Just a little longer darlings" Yvonne soothed as she watched the landmarks pass, "Nearly home."

As the Transporter flew up the drive flanked by two Jones Industries Security Vehicles the dome shimmered to life, four full sized bugs exploding from the house to challenge those in the vehicles.

"Stand down" Ianto said as he struggled out with Jack's help, "They are with us."

The bugs nodded and moved past the vehicles, the men nervously following to sweep the interior of the dome for intruders and Jack helped Yvonne out and then scooped up their son, "Vonnie, grab Alice, lets get inside."

Mavis was waiting with nervous clicking with two of her older staff-bugs standing beside her and Ianto's pain galvanised them as they ran up the walls to moved with unbelievable speed long the hallways.

As one headed up, the other heded down and soon all knew the family had been attacked, the castle because a swarm as the bugs who lived in the lower levels spewed forth to protect their hive and the men they saw as their gatekeepers.

An attack on the Harkness-Jones family is an attack on their kind.

Yvonne watched with open awe as the bugs moved through the grounds seeking prey. She turned and followed the men to Ianto's' Rumpus Room where Jack lowered him to the sofa despite his complainants that the blood might stain the old leather.

"Stop it, I'll buy you two more" Jack snapped pulling at his shirt as Caden clung to Henry and Kolt, the two friends crowding around him to comfort and protect. Henry let go of his human features to hiss as the strange men moved through the room to check the windows were secure, his loyalty intense.

"Good boy" Ianto huffed through his pain, "Good boy Henry. Shield."

A scream started in the courtyard outside, high pitched and desperate as Jack looked up from his work on the shoulder.

The Panther had found itself some food.

Ianto looked over at Yvonne who rose, a gun still swinging at her hip and she moved to look out at the corner of the courtyard.

"Not mine, not yours" she said sharply, "Red in his clothing."

Ianto let his head fall forward to Jack's shoulder as he let the pain go.

Safe.