26
They needed a real fire engine, something that would actually save a house, not just let it implode.
This was debated at length as Ianto leaned back and sighed, rubbing his face.
"What about that North Kensington Station near London?" Billy asked as everyone turned to look at him, "I used to love going there as a little boy, I remember my father letting me climb on one of the engines."
"Billy, that's too close to London" Ianto said sternly but Billy didn't want to back down.
"There are three stations in the Kensington borough alone Tad, Come on!" Billy whined, "It would be easy to scope them out, find a small working engine and bring it home. You said yourself that it was getting harder to travel the roads, if we wait another winter London might be cut off all together."
"We can only hope" Ianto huffed, then sighed as Pip spoke up.
"If we can go that far, we can go into the GBDCC as well, right?" she asked, leaning over the table, "The Great Britain Disease Control Centre is just another half hour drive from …"
Ianto slammed his hand down on the table as he rose, his bark filling the room and making everyone jump, including Jack.
"NO!" he roared, swinging to storm off as Billy huffed and slumped in his chair.
"But … it's so close" Pip said softly as she sank into her chair as well, "So close."
"Tad's just being irrational" Billy grumbled.
"He's just being your Tad!" Jack replied as he ran after his angry mate.
Pip was left looking at Billy as everyone else filed out.
"My mother is going to die down there. Alone" she said softly as he stared back at her.
"I'm not a child" Billy pointed out.
"I can see that" she agreed, "Marley is quite taken with you. You will be a great leader one day. I hope your Tad lets you."
Billy pursed his lips together as he considered that remark.
.
.
.
.
The rest of the day passed with some discussions amongst the men-folk, the women leaving them to it as they had their own discussions about hormones, stubborn arses and heads needing to be knocked together.
The evening meal was in silence, apart from the children who were blissfully unaware of a problem brewing.
After the meal Billy, Travis and Liam had Paige and Marley follow them out to the barn where they spoke quietly for a while, then Travis came back to the table.
"Uncle Jack?"
Jack looked up with a raised eyebrow.
"Can we take the girls with us to see Myf tomorrow?" Travis asked calmly, making sure not to look at his Uncle Ianto, "I thought we could take a picnic lunch and the girls wanted to take some flower bulbs from the garden of Myf's homestead before winter."
"Maybe … not all day mind, but I don't see why you can't go for a while, be back for afternoon muster" Jack shrugged, also ignoring Ianto's soft huff of interruption.
After Travis left Jack turned to Ianto and gently placed a hand over the one fisted on the table.
"Babe, I know you want to keep them safe but it' just to Myf's place and they are champing at the bit to show off for those girls" Jack crooned, "Nothing happened from the other compound. Maybe this will be enough to get the Recon bug out of their heads because we know they will scavenge the place."
"I just … I have a feeling" Ianto said sullenly pulling his hand back, "I wish you had discussed it before giving permission."
"They're my family too" Jack said calmly, trying not to rise to the bait, "Ianto. You're being unreasonable. We can't suddenly stop them from going on their little jaunts; we already agreed that were allowed. Besides, you were not the one asked. This was not your decision, it was mine and I said yes."
Ianto sighed and nodded as he knew Jack was right. He was being a bit smothering lately and it was annoying the kids. "I'll try to stop fluffing but ... this feeling …"
"I know babe" Jack smiled as he rose and followed everyone out into the day.
Ianto continued to chew on it and that night he didn't sleep well.
Next morning he was told that he had missed the children. Already gone with their picnic hamper jam packed with goodies and an excited gleam in their eyes.
He still worried about five of them off on their own, but knew Travis and Billy were trustworthy.
Right?
It was just after lunch and he had wandered into the transport barn to look at the latest idea for a fire engine, watching as Rhys and Mickey yelled at each other over an old water tank.
Then he looked over the ATVs, frowned and did a double take.
"Mickey?" Ianto asked calmly, "Which vehicle did the kids take?"
"They took the Prowler" he said, motioning at the recon side of the shed and Ianto felt himself cool as if a chill was in the warm afternoon air.
"The Prowler?" he asked with apprehension.
"That large ATV with shielding, you know" Mickey was grinning as he turned to face Ianto, "The miniature version of Rolling Thunder."
Mickey's smile faded as Ianto stared at him.
"The kids have been working on it for weeks, they wanted to give it a trial run with the girls safe inside, what are you looking at me like that for?"
Ianto was running as he touched the Bluetooth, "Tosh? You there."
"She's having an afternoon class on preserving peaches or some shit" Owen replied down the coms, "What's up Mister Wolf?"
"I want a head count, bring the muster forward" Ianto demanded and Owen grunted.
"I don't know how" he admitted, "Tosh never showed me."
"Use the dome schematics" Ianto puffed, "Look at the icons down the edge of the screen for a red eye, infrared."
"Yep" clicking was heard then, "Ha! Got it, I know this but ah … compiling."
Ianto slammed into the main house where Jack was braiding Hope's hair and they jumped as he bore down on them.
"Shit" Owen huffed in Ianto's ear.
"Is the count down?" Ianto demanded "How much? Should be five heat signatures down to account for the kids off in the ATV.'
The silence was unnerving and Ianto knew even before Owen admitted what he was holding back.
"Seven down, there's two extra missing"
Ianto didn't have to ask.
He knew.
Pip and Morris.
And he knew they were all heading for more than just the homestead.