14
Jack saw a few problems in his near future, Gwen being one of them.
He knew Tosh would set up the fake ID no problem and Ianto seemed to be adapting but the real problem was that Jack knew there was no way to prove that his affection was for Ianto … not the new body.
He had pondered this all night, worrying about how to approach it as Ianto slept in the bedroom and he roamed his house.
Sarah was everywhere.
He would stop and marvel at a piece of china or tat, remembering her hands holding it, dusting it. Some pieces he even remembered bringing home to her, wrapped in newspaper so she could crow over it. More and more he saw Ianto in that role, his wife's ghost seemed to fade into the shadows as Jack started to see that he had made a tactical error in not doing this sooner.
Had they already been in this house before the accident, Ianto would not question.
Jack knew that now, she would.
He could only hope that she would take it in her stride as she was trying to do with everything else at the moment.
A noise had him turning and he saw a vision in one of his old shirts, rubbing her eyes against the morning light as she shuffled to the kitchen.
Damn, no slippers.
He removed a piece of paper and scribbled it down, not trusting his brain at the moment, flummoxed as it was. After a moment's thought, he added bathrobe to the list and followed her into the kitchen.
"Did you get any sleep sweetie?"
"A little. The dust was annoying me. Almost like white noise, the thought of so much dust" she shuddered in true Ianto fashion, then turned to face him.
"A Cleaning Bee? I'm sure the g … Tosh and Owen won't mind giving a bit of help, we could entice them with a meal?" Jack said hopefully and Ianto shrugged.
Never a morning person, this one.
Jack settled in the kitchen chair and watched Ianto move about, then rose and collected his coat, returning to offer it, "You're cold."
"Oh" Ianto blinked, then smiled, "Thank you Cariad. I never thought of a house coat or robe,"
"A lot to remember, to take in" Jack agreed, returning to his chair and watching the coat sway around those impossibly fine ankles.
"I need so much, god, I thought I had everything but then I reach for something and realize it was overlooked" Ianto turned again, this time with a downturned mouth, "Will I turn back? Am I stuck like this?"
"Is it so bad?" Jack leered with his usual thoughtless flair, "I know I'm not complaining."
Ianto turned back to the bench and he caught up to his words. Shit.
"I loved you. I admit that toned body of yours helped, it helped a lot that we fit together so well, but this is better than being transformed into an alien race. Right? You could have woken as anything. You are still human, still Ianto."
Ianto had stopped moving as she listened and turned with a plate of scrambled eggs on toast, placing it down.
"I guess, I didn't consider that possibility. God, horrible to think I might have woken as another species" she got her own plate and sat.
"We need more food too, what we snatched from the hub last night is not gonna cut it. I'm afraid to look in the pantry and that icebox has to go. I need this place livable for the foreseeable future" Ianto said after a few mouthfuls and Jack nodded.
He hoped it would be for more than the foreseeable future.
Whether Ianto changed back or not, he hopes this would become home.
For both of them.