Life Goes On – February 4766, Christchurch and March 4766, Hafan
Christchurch
"Ian, do you have a minute?" asked Dana McClure, rounding a corner in the Institute's many corridors and seeing Ianto, in his guise as Ian Williams, emerge from a classroom, his arms full of notepads.
"Yes. What can I do for you?" The two men stood in the corridor, empty now the students had left for the evening.
"I wanted a word about Pieter Hauptman. Can we get Travis to go easy on him?"
Ianto juggled the notepads in his arms, struggling to keep them all from crashing to the floor. "He did hit Ursula."
"I know. Here, let me take some of those for you." Dana reached over and took some of the notepads. "Let's talk as we walk."
"Good idea." They headed for the administration office. "Why do you think Travis should be lenient?"
"Because Ursula Kyotoni is a little troublemaker," said the older man with force. "She goaded Pieter about his attachment to Roland and got what she deserved." He went on to explain in more detail and was still talking when they arrived at Ianto's desk. "The problem is she looks like an angel," Dana concluded.
"I know, and I'm not surprised she started it, but that doesn't excuse Pieter for lashing out. However, I'll mention it to Travis in the morning, before he sees the boy, and suggest he takes a cautious line. Do you want to talk to him too?" Ianto put the notepads down and took the overflow from Dana before locking them away in a cupboard; they were completed examinations.
"Yes. I didn't see the incident, unfortunately, but the other students have told me what happened and I believe them. Just make sure Travis doesn't go in all guns blazing for the lad, he doesn't deserve it."
"Noted." Ianto smiled, pleased that the teachers stood up for their students. "And now, I've had enough for today. Are you on your way home?"
"Uh huh. Is Jim back yet?" Dana stood to one side as Ianto collected up his personal possessions.
"No. I think it'll be tomorrow."
"Sad when someone dies like that. But she reached a good age. A hundred and forty one is pretty good going."
"Indeed. Right, I'm ready."
The two men walked out of the building and parted ten minutes later when their paths diverged. Ianto by-passed the teleport, preferring the twenty minute walk up the hill to his home. As he walked, he thought of Jack, back in Cardiff. He had gone four days earlier when told Annese had been taken ill; she had died late the following day with her grandchildren and Jack with her. Jack had stayed on to attend the funeral and to help clear up her affairs. Ianto had not accompanied him as the Institute was in the middle of assessments and examinations; it had been easier for just one of them to get away. At the time he had thought it was a sensible decision – Jack had the children to support him – but now he was not so sure. In the vidlinks each evening, Jack had seemed more saddened by the events than Ianto had expected him to be and he regretted not being there to comfort him.
Both men were also anxious for Glonnix. She was two years older than Annese and was now having to adjust to life without her companion of many years; not easy at her age. The two women had grown old together and had maintained their independence by supporting one another. Holly had offered to have her at Ogmore, having always liked their one time housekeeper, but, after some consideration, Glonnix had decided to move in with her eldest son despite him living in Cape Town, a city she did not know. She would be leaving Cardiff in a couple of days when arrangements had been finalised.
Opening the front door, Ianto stepped inside the cool house and left his bag on the side. Kicking off his boots, he ignored everything and used the teleport up to the bedroom where he stripped off and walked straight into the shower. It was hot outside and the walk had made him sweaty. Feeling cooler and refreshed, he dressed in casual tunic and trousers and put his clothes away. As he did so, he spotted a tunic of Jack's in the wash that hadn't been there before. With haste, he returned downstairs and walked through to the kitchen. No one was there but through the window he spotted Jack sitting on the patio. Ianto strode out to join him
"Jack, why didn't you let me know you were back?" he asked as he crossed the grass which was dry and brown after the heat of the past few weeks.
"Not been here long. I knew you'd be on your way." Jack stood up and smiled, pleased to see his partner.
"Come here," encouraged Ianto, pulling Jack into an embrace and kissing him soundly. "How are you, cariad?"
"Okay." Jack's arms tightened round Ianto and they stood together for several minutes. Jack pulled back a little, still holding the other man, and looked into the familiar blue eyes which, at that moment, were searching his own. "Well, a bit down maybe."
"I thought you were," tutted Ianto, pushing back a lock of hair that was falling into the other man's eyes. "I should have gone with you."
"You were needed here." After a long, lingering kiss, Jack took Ianto's hand and pulled him to sit beside him at the table that had its permanent home in this corner of the garden.
"Tell me all about it," encouraged Ianto, moving his chair closer and making sure he kept Jack's hand in both of his.
Jack went over all the details again despite having already related them in their vidlink conversations. As he spoke, he remembered the sight of the frail, elderly Annese in the hospital bed. She had been lucid up until the end and he had had the comfort of being able to speak to her. She had wanted to talk over old times and Jack was the only one of those at her bedside who could join in her memories. As they had done so, he recalled the young woman she had been, so very different from the woman before him. The following day she had passed away, surrounded by family and friends. Toto had arranged the funeral which had been held two days later. It had been well attended with her grandchildren and great grandchildren joined by Jack, Holly, Luke and Minda as well as Glonnix, Konni and Olly Grandew and lots of friends from her years as a teacher and artist. Only Carillys and Hummel were missing, far away on Houstolia. Jack had stayed on to help settle Glonnix and to advise Toto on selling the apartment and disposing of Annese's effects.
Jack had found it a very sad time which had surprised him. He had never felt close to Annese, a private woman, although in recent years they had warmed to one another more. Sitting on the patio for the past hour, he had welcomed the peace and the solitude to analyse his feelings and had decided that it was the link with the past that he was mourning. She had been his granddaughter-in-law for exactly a century and now he had no one who remembered those times.
"Sounds like Toto came up trumps," said Ianto, still holding Jack's hand.
"He's a good man. It was good to see him - and Harriet – again, even in the circumstances. Do you know it's twelve years since we met?"
"Their choice, Jack, their choice. How did Carillys take it?"
"Pretty well. She'd been expecting the news, I think." He had been the one to break the news to her, in a vidlink, and had been reminded of when Tonan – his son and her grandfather – had died and Ianto had done that task for him.
"We're going to have to go and visit her. Make a proper plan to get there, I mean, we can't let the opportunity slip by."
Jack smiled but it did not quite remove the shadows from his eyes. "I'd like that. In a few years, there's no rush."
"As long as we don't forget." Releasing Jack's hand, Ianto looked down at the notepad on the table. He turned it right side up and recognised Demeter and Tyrone's wedding photograph. The whole family was gathered on the steps of the Ogmore house, the happy couple in the middle and Jack and Ianto behind and to the left of them. It was an impressive group with the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well as partners all together in one place. "What are you doing with this?" he asked, looking up at Jack.
"Not sure really."
"Come on, Jack, what are you thinking?" Ianto knew when his partner was avoiding an answer.
Jack looked at the ground and considered his response. He didn't know how to explain himself. Ianto did not rush him, knowing him too well to try that trick. Eventually Jack spoke. "I got it out because … well, because of these." He passed a different notepad, and older one, to Ianto.
Thumbing open the screen, Ianto found another wedding photograph. It showed a newly married couple and a man and a woman. The couple looked happy but the others, one of whom Ianto recognised as Jack, looked ill at ease and uncomfortable. "Who are they?"
"Tonan and Rachel. It was just them, Maia and me. No one else in the family bothered to show up. Not much better in the next one." He gestured to the pad and Ianto thumbed to the next photograph.
"Is that Annese? And Goran? Wow, they look young." Ianto smiled at this second wedding photograph. As well as the bridal couple, there was Tonan and his wife, Jack and another man and woman. They all looked happy in this one.
"Yeah, that's them."
"Why haven't I seen these before?" Ianto looked up at his partner. "Jack?"
"I was … ashamed, I suppose. They show just how bad I am at keeping families together. I mean, compare it to Dem and Ty's." His picked up the first notepad. "They're my grandchildren just like Goran was but they have a much bigger - and closer - family. I kept in touch with Tonan and his sons, more than any of the other families I've had, but it wasn't enough. There were long periods when we didn't meet. Years, more than ten years once."
"I'm sorry."
"What for?" Jack brushed aside the unnecessary apology. "Because of you I have a wonderful family who haven't rejected me because I'm … wrong."
"You are not wrong! You're special," declared Ianto adamantly. "God, that Doctor of yours should never have called you that!"
Jack smiled at Ianto's vehemence and put a hand behind his head, pulling the younger man close enough for a long kiss. "Thank you, love. Thanks for believing in me, for sticking with me and for giving me the most wonderful family a man could ever have." He gestured to the photograph.
"You're welcome," replied Ianto lightly, with a smile. "But they wouldn't be the fine people they are without you, so don't give me all the credit."
"But it is yours." Jack ran a finger down the other man's cheek. "You are special, Ianto Jones. You have the knack for making people into families and for keeping them together. I'd never have known our grandchildren without you around to make it possible."
Ianto found it hard to speak and contented himself with smiling. It hurt to think of Jack alone all those years, those millennia, between his – Ianto's – first death and being cloned. And no matter how science progressed, eventually Ianto would die again when his final cloned body gave out and his brain scan and DNA were too corrupted to be moved to another. Jack would be alone again for millennia and millennia and millennia. There was nothing Ianto could do about that, short of finding a way to become immortal himself which was hardly likely, but it pained him nonetheless.
"Let's go inside," Ianto said finally. "I know just how to welcome you home."
"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" smirked Jack.
"I may well be." Ianto laughed, wanting to dispel the thoughts of death and loneliness. "But you're going to have to catch me first." With that he was off across the garden with Jack hot on his heels.
It was later, much later, when Ianto remembered the notepads and went back to the patio to retrieve them.
Hafan
The weather was hot for late summer and the older children were outside all day. Cousins Brook and Jared, at thirteen, after some suspicion of one another as they rarely met, were inseparable after two days on the island and on this day had gone off shortly after breakfast. No one expected to see them again before the next meal. Naomi, at almost eleven, was content to have Cassiopeia, only six, follow her around and join in the games she devised that always involved a lot of shrieking. At eight and a half, Dayton did not fit easily with either pair and tended to hang around his parents or great-grandparents. At the moment he was down at the boathouse with Jack and Solli, helping to paint the small dinghy. The baby, Symon, only sixteen months old, was constantly under foot as he explored his surroundings and everyone was more than happy to pick him up and cuddle him whenever they came across him.
Ianto stood on the patio watching the girls' running around the garden with a delighted smile on his face. Having six of his great-grandchildren here at once was a delight. They were here for a week of their spring break and were relishing the unseasonal – to them – sunshine. Ianto was glad to have the house full as Jack needed the distraction. He had been subdued since Annese's death five weeks earlier, not as bad as after Tonan's death or after his resignation from Torchwood, but it was so unlike his normal demeanour that Ianto had been trying to keep the older man occupied. This mini get-together had been a last minute idea but it was working out well.
"Grandtad, could you keep an eye on this one for me?"
He turned to see Demeter coming out of the kitchen, a struggling Symon in her arms. The boy took after Minda, his grandmother, and Ianto held out his arms immediately. "Of course."
"Thanks." Handing Symon over she sighed in relief; she loved her son to bits but he was a handful. "I'm going to get dressed now. I don't usually slop around like this at ten o'clock in the morning!"
"You don't need to bother for us, sweetheart, you know that. We're just delighted to have you here. And this little one." He tickled Symon who giggled and squirmed. "Cassie's having fun."
"So I see … and hear!" She smiled indulgently at her daughter running around. "Having Naomi here has been a godsend. They get on so well together."
Tyrone was a junior architect in an established Cardiff firm while Demeter had put her career on hold to raise the children herself. They lived in the family's Cardiff apartment with Minda during the week and spent the weekends in Luke and Bruce's house at Ogmore, which had been christened Ogmore Two but changed to Oggy by Cassiopeia. Now everyone called it that. As Holly often had Jonty's children to stay at weekends, Cassiopeia and Naomi had grown up together.
"Jonty and Carenza deserved a break." Ianto put Symon down on the ground where he tottered around; the pool and other dangerous places were cordoned off by force fields so he could not harm himself. "And I don't think Aunt Holly could have coped with her and Jared right now, her big book launch is tomorrow." Holly had been happy to look after fifteen year old Ruth who could be dragooned in to help but the younger ones were too much of a tie.
"We saw the book before we left Ogmore, it's another winner in my opinion. But I can't hang around or I'll never get dressed." She went off to the large guest bedroom which she was sharing with Tyrone and Symon. In the room next to them were the two girls, with Jared and Brook in the last one. The other guests – Newlyn, Solli, Tik and Dayton - were in one of the guest houses.
Ianto sat on the ground and played with Symon. He was usually a well behaved boy but he had boundless energy and got into lots of mischief. As he sat there, Ianto thought about Jonty and Carenza who were taking a much needed vacation alone. The two had grown apart over recent years, as their interests had diverged, and this was make or break time to see if they wanted to continue their marriage. For the sake of the children, Ianto hoped they would find a way to stay together.
"Hey there."
Ianto looked up in surprise as a shadow feel over him. "Newlyn, I didn't hear you!"
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." The tall, willowy auburn haired woman – forty four the month before – smiled down at her grandtad. "Tik and I are going to do the round the island walk, thought we'd take the girls with us." She gestured towards the garden where Tik – Newlyn's female partner – was chatting to the girls. "Would you like to come?"
"No thanks, sweetheart, I'm on babysitting duty." He smiled at Symon who was balancing against Newlyn's legs and getting her trousers dirty.
"He can come too. Can't you, gorgeous?" She bent and lifted him into the air in one graceful movement, settling him on her hip.
With a successful career and a stable if unconventional family life, Newlyn was assured and confident. She continued to perform in concert halls around the world but for no more than two months a year, preferring to spend the rest of her time in the recording studio where she was much in demand. Under Tik's expert guidance as her manager, Newlyn was a well respected musician who could pick and choose what she did or did not want to take on. At present she wanted to be with her two sons, Brook and Dayton; when they were older she would perform live more often.
"No, I think I'll stay here," said Ianto, standing up and wiping off the seat of his trousers. "I can start on a meal for whenever you and the boat painters get back."
She laughed, a deep gurgle that reminded Ianto of her mother. "Solli's useless. I predict now that he and Dayton'll be covered in paint by the time they've finished."
"That's half the fun," laughed Ianto. "They'll scrub clean. You go and enjoy your walk." He took the baby and watched her stride away to join the others. He waved before they turned away and then put the wriggling Symon back on the ground.
"Where are they off?" asked Tyrone, coming out of the kitchen with a half eaten apple in his hand.
"The walk round the island. I'm sure they'd be happy if you want to join them." He watched at the baby tottered to his father's side.
"Dada!" said Symon. He was only just starting to make recognisable sounds and this and 'Mama' were as far as he had got. The boy balanced with a hand on Tyron's bare knee – he was wearing shorts – and smiled up at him.
"No thanks, I want a lazy day." He bent and stroked Symon's hair but did not pick him up seeing that the boy preferred to be on his own two feet. "Can I be really cheeky and ask for a mug of your wonderful coffee, Grandtad?" His smile matched that of his son's.
"No problem, long as you keep an eye on mischief here."
"Oh, I think I can do that. Thanks. Now, what do you want to do, trouble?" He hunkered down and reached for a toy dog lying on the ground amid other toys.
When Ianto returned Symon was trying very hard to catch a ball that was rolling along the ground. It was fitted with sensors that made it move as soon the baby got close so poor Symon would never succeed. Tyron and Demeter, now fully dressed, were sitting in chairs watching him. This was a family unit that Ianto fully expected to last. He left Tyrone his coffee and then went down to the boathouse, some refreshments for the workers in a bag in one hand. The walk was all downhill to the bay and quite steep in parts, so he stuck to the path and steps. Nearing the boathouse, he saw the upturned dinghy and the three painters. As Newlyn had predicted, two of them had as much paint on themselves as was on the boat.
"Refreshments," said Ianto, holding up the bag as he got closer.
"Knew there was a reason I kept you around," said Jack, putting down his paint pot. "Dayton, let me have your brush." The boy handed it over.
"We've done a lot, haven't we, Gramps?" he said proudly. Ianto winced as the boy rubbed his paint covered hands down the sides of his shorts.
"Yep. Time for a drink, Solli." Jack smiled at Newlyn's male partner, a lanky man in his late thirties with deep brown eyes that dominated his face. He was currently on his back almost underneath the dinghy.
"Have you brought one for me, Grandtad?" asked Dayton, standing close as Ianto unpacked his bag. "And are there any cookies 'cos I'm really hungry. Painting's hard work."
"I think there may be one, if you've been doing a good job. Has he, Jack?" From the paint on him – and in his hair, Ianto noticed – he should have done.
"An exemplary job. I think he's earned two cookies." Jack tousled the boy's hair and rested a hand on his shoulder. "And I need three because I've worked even harder."
"Help yourselves," said Ianto, handing the opened container to Jack. After finding out their preferences, he poured juice for Dayton and Solli and coffee for Jack and himself. "So, let's see what you've done."
He took a couple of paces to the side of the dinghy. One side was hardly touched, it had been cleaned off but as yet only had its first base coat of white paint. The other side was almost complete having a white top coat with a thick red stripe around the upper edge.
"I've been doing the white paint," said Dayton, having quickly swallowed his mouthful of cookie.
"Me too," put in Solli in his laconic drawl. "I don't think Jack trusts us with the red." He smiled lazily as he said this.
Jack smiled and said, "Red is my favourite colour."
This enigmatic statement was greeted with laughter. They all knew he wanted to ensure a decent finish. The four of them chatted as they drank and ate. Ianto was considering returning to the house when shouts from nearby attracted his attention and he looked up to see Naomi and Cassiopeia careering down the slope in their direction.
"Gramps, Grandtad, come quick," puffed Naomi, out of breath from her run. "There's something in the water." She had taken Jack's hand and was tugging him.
"It's treasure," added Cassiopeia, wide eyed and grinning with excitement.
"Treasure!" Dayton thrust his juice mug into Ianto's hands and was off. "Show me." He and the girl ran back towards the cliffs where the figures of Tik and Newlyn could just be seen. The women waved, beckoning them.
"Better go and see what this is all about," said Jack, snagging another cookie before letting Naomi drag him off. Ianto and Solli went with them and they all climbed up the path to join the round the island walk on the cliffs.
"Gramps, it's out there," said Newlyn, pointing down to the cove below them. "We got half way down but thought we'd better come back and tell you before we carried on."
Jack looked down to the cove, some fifty metres below the path. It took a moment but then he saw the strange object bobbing around about ten metres or so out to sea. He scrutinised it but couldn't make head nor tails of it. "Ianto, any ideas?" he asked, moving along the path as it started the descent to the cove.
"No, I don't recognise it."
With him and Jack in the lead, the little group walked on. The children were excited and ran around them, speculating wildly about the 'treasure'. As they reached the beach, Ianto found himself thinking of treasure too. The object, whatever it was, had the same shape and size as pirates' chests of his youth.
"Will it come ashore?" asked Tik, staring at the unexpected thing while also restraining Dayton who about to run into the sea.
"No, tide's going out," replied Jack absent-mindedly. With sudden decision, he turned and grinned at them all. "Only one way to find out what it is." He kicked off his shoes and removed his tunic, dropping it to the sand, and strode into the water wearing just his shorts.
"Can I come, Gramps?" asked Dayton, struggling out of Tik's hold. He had taken a couple of paces before Newlyn caught him and stopped him.
"Stay here. You too, girls."
"Should I go and help?" asked Solli, looking round at Ianto.
"No. Let's see what it is first." He had picked up Jack's discarded clothes and placed them on a rock, weighing the tunic down with the shoes. He took off his own shoes and put them on the same rock before rolling up his trouser legs and walking to the water's edge.
"Let's paddle!" cried Naomi and in no time she had her shoes off and was standing with Ianto as the waves lapped at her ankles. Dayton and Cassiopeia needed no encouragement and they were soon doing exactly the same, giggling at the feel of the water and the way the sand shifted under their feet.
Ianto watched Jack as he swam out to the object. He was a strong swimmer and the cove was protected by a headland so he was in no danger. The Welshman saw Jack reach the object which looked more and more like an old-fashioned chest. It was a dark colour – brown or dark blue perhaps – and parts of it caught the sunlight and flashed. Ianto thought it might be metal. After swimming round it and diving down to look underneath it, Jack started pushing the object back to shore. This was harder work and Ianto and Solli waded our further into the warm water until they were almost up to their waists and helped drag it onto the beach. The children couldn't wait to examine it and were pressing forward between the adults, hands reaching out to touch it. Their eyes were round as they tried to take in every detail and decide what it was.
"Out of the way, kids," said Ianto. "Let's look at it properly."
"Is it really treasure, Grandtad?" asked Cassiopeia, her face aglow. "Like in the stories?"
"I don't know, sweetheart. Any ideas, Jack?" he asked his partner.
Jack was on his knees beside the chest, for that's what it was. It was about a metre high, the same wide and one a half metres long. It was still difficult to tell the colour for sure but it appeared to be brown. There was metal strapping around the chest and a large hasp and lock. He tried the lock but it was either well fastened or the seawater had corroded it: it wouldn't budge.
"I think it's credits," said Dayton, stroking the top of the chest. "Lots and lot of credits and we'll all be rich."
"Or jewels," put in Naomi, picturing herself draped in rubies and emeralds and sapphires and diamonds. "They'd make us rich as well as being beautiful."
"I think you're rich enough, Naomi," said Newlyn with a laugh. "Any joy, Gramps?"
"No. It's not going to open without some work."
"We're going to need some anti-gravs, aren't we?" said Ianto. "I'll go and get the ones in the workshop."
"We may be able to heft it between us," replied Jack, "if you'll give us a hand, Solli."
"We can help too," protested Newlyn. "Tik and I can take a turn."
"Okay," laughed Jack. "Let's try to move it anyway, it'll save a journey if we can. Ianto, you get the other end. Kids, out of the way."
The two men lifted the chest without difficulty and began walking off the beach. Tik picked up their discarded shoes and Jack's tunic while Newlyn made sure the children put their shoes back on. Solli led the way, pushing any moveable obstructions off the path. Climbing the path was not easy as the chest was awkward and it was hard to share the weight. When they crested the top, they were both breathing hard and ready to put it down. The children danced around, enjoying speculating on what the chest might contain. When Dayton suggested it might be a dead body the girls shrieked and threw their hands up in horror.
After a quick chat, Jack went off to the boathouse to make all secure there and Cassiopeia went with him, proud to be asked to bring back the refreshment things. Newlyn insisted it was their turn to carry the chest so she and Tik took one end and Solli the other and started up the slope to the house. They were getting on quite well when Jack re-joined them, Cassiopeia at his side, and relieved the women. Ianto had gone on to the house with his and Jack's shoes to look out the toolkit and bring it up to the front veranda. It took all four adults to heave the chest up the front steps and they were all pleased to dump it down.
Ianto was waiting for them along with Tyrone and Demeter who had heard the excited chatter of the children. Symon looked on with interest from his mother's arms, sucking his thumb. Jack opened the toolkit and took out a scanner. He was reluctant to open the box without knowing what was inside first; he doubted it would be dangerous, but it might be something better kept away from the children.
"What is it, Gramps, what is it?" pressed Dayton, trying to peer over Jack's arm at the screen and only managing to jog his gramps' arm.
"Careful," scolded Solli, placing a restraining hand on his son's shoulder. "We'll find out soon enough."
Jack smiled; the contents were not dangerous. "Doesn't look like treasure, kids," he told them, putting down the scanner and reaching for a laser.
He expertly used it to cut through the lock. Then, pausing dramatically, he lifted the lid of the chest. There was a collective intake of breath from the children as they looked inside, pushing one another to make room. The adults were as interested and they crowded round to look in too. What they saw was a pile of clothes, protected from the elements by a waterproof membrane. The children let out their breath with a dissatisfied, "Ohhh."
"Is that all it is, just clothes?" complained Naomi. She reached in and turned over the jacket on top. As she did so, the plain blue cloth was transformed into a sparkling kaleidoscope of colours. "Wow!" She dropped the jacket and it reverted to plain blue.
"I've seen that before," said Tyrone. "We had some entertainers at a private function in the restaurant, years ago, and their clothes were like that." He had picked up the jacket and was turning the sparkling thing around in his hands. "How does it do that? They wouldn't tell me when I asked."
"It's magic," said an awed Cassiopeia. She had picked up a shirt and that had turned from plain white to sparkling stripes in different shades of green.
Solli laughed. He was a designer and had worked with textiles as well as other materials and knew their properties. "Magic? Hardly, it's – "
Ianto put a hand on his arm before he could continue. "That's right, kids, it's magic." He looked pointedly at Solli, trying to impress on him the joy the kids were getting from not knowing the precise chemical reaction that caused the effect. "But these must belong to someone. Is there a name or address, Jack?"
"Can't see one. Maybe there's something under the clothes." He turned to the children. "Let's unpack the chest, very carefully, and put these things – tidily! – on the table. Naomi, pull it a bit closer. We'll search and see what we can find."
He started carefully unpacking the clothes with the children's willing help. After a while, Newlyn and Tik decided to go back to their walk and Solli joined them as the boat painting had been put on hold. Ianto went in to start on lunch and Demeter went with him, taking a restless Symon with her. Tyrone pulled up a chair and stayed on the veranda, intrigued by the chest. About half an hour later, the chest had been unpacked completely. The clothes were plied neatly on the table and some of the chairs and comprised adult and children's garments, some plain and some of the sparkly material. There were also elaborately decorated shoes and hats with feathers.
Cassiopeia was itching to try on one particular hat – a broad brimmed affair with two large, blue feathers – but didn't quite dare with both her father and great-grandfather there. Instead she stroked the feathers, loving the delicate feel of them. Tyrone, well aware of what his daughter was doing, took pity on her and put the hat on her head, pleased when it adjusted size automatically to fit her. She beamed at him and turned her head this way and that to show it off. That started it. In moments, Dayton had swapped his shoes for a pair of yellow and green ones with curled up toes and Naomi had put on a fur trimmed jacket over her tunic. They laughed and preened themselves, amused at the sight they made.
"Be careful with those," warned Tyrone before the children got carried away. "They're not yours. Any indication of the owner, Gramps?"
"Nothing at all. I think they must be theatrical costumes, they're too gaudy for anything else." Jack got up from his knees and took a spare chair. "My, you look pretty, Cassie." He grinned at her and she did a twirl, just for him.
"Have there been any troupes around? Mind you, how would it come to be in the sea."
"I don't know of any. I suppose there might have been some on one of the islands." He was thinking specifically of the neighbouring resort island but did not say so as he did not want to let slip any indication about their location. "I'll send a message to the authorities, see if anyone's reported the chest missing." He got up and went into the house.
"Can we play with them?" asked Dayton, trying on a jacket to match his shoes. "'Til the owner shows up?" He looked with pleading eyes at Tyrone. "We'll be ever so careful, won't we?"
"Yes, Daddy, we will. Please let us," said Cassiopeia. She stood at his knee, the feathers of her hat brushing against his face.
"Oh please," added Naomi.
With the children all looking at him expectantly, pressing close against him, Tyrone wanted to be strong and say no but he was putty in their hands. "You can try them on if you are very careful. But you mustn't damage them."
The children squealed with excitement and started looking through the clothes. They were mostly careful but the thrill of trying on the extravagantly coloured and decorated garments, so different from their own carried them away and it wasn't long before items were strewn all around. Jack returned to the scene and took it in an instant.
"Stop!" he said loudly. The three children froze, even Tyrone quelled at the authoritative tone. "What are you doing?"
Naomi gulped, looked at her cousins, and decided that as the oldest she should reply. "We were … playing, Gramps. We're being careful." Her voice was low and had a hint of a quaver in it.
"I see." Jack tapped his foot on the veranda and looked at them hard. "Well I hope you haven't taken all the good stuff. What am I going to wear?"
It took them a moment to realise what he had said and even then it was the wide grin that told them he was teasing. They giggled and laughed as the tension was released and set about rummaging through the garments for something for him to wear. Initially, the selection was quite conservative but when he started trying on dresses they realised he really was up for some fun. Tyrone relaxed too, forgot his adult dignity and joined in, reassured when Jack told him the chest had been lost months before and the owners did not want it back.
The sound of laughter reached Ianto in the kitchen and he put the meal preparations to one side to wander back through the house to see what was going on. He found all five of them dressed up and walking up and down the veranda as Jack gave a commentary of their ensembles as if it was a fashion show. Ianto stayed in the doorway observing them and smiling at Jack's comments. This was what he had wanted, Jack at his most outrageous having fun with his family. The shadow cast over him since Annese's death had gone, at least for the present, and Ianto knew that the more often that happened then the quicker Jack would come out of his depression. He slid away, unnoticed, back to the kitchen.
Lunch was a buffet on the patio and it seemed everyone was wearing something from the 'dressing up box' as it had been dubbed by Drayton. Ianto now sported a small red hat that Jack had said reminded of a certain UNIT cap, and Demeter and the other adults – returning from their walk – had been similarly styled by the children. Jared and Brook appeared when the meal was underway and were disappointed to have missed out on the discovery of the chest. They hesitated before deciding that their thirteen year old dignity would not be dented by joining in the dressing up. The only one to 'escape' the fun was Symon, fast asleep in his cot.
At the end of the meal, Ianto arranged everyone in a group, children in the front, and took a photograph, using the timer so he could be in it himself. That photograph had pride of place on the shelves in the living room for many years.