29

Jack was heading back towards the hub after a retrieval with Owen, the piece of rift junk barely worth the gas it took to get it.

"Jack?" the coms crackled as Ianto came on and Jack looked at Owen with surprise, knowing Ianto was at home today with a little boy who had been grizzly.

"Sweetling?" Jack replied, "Everything OK? His Temperature still OK?"

"Yes Cariad, I still believe it's a tooth" Ianto replied softly, "I was wondering what you were doing at the moment."

"Ah, me and Owen are heading back from a retrieval" Jack answered with a soft smile as he heard soft babbling in the background that was unmistakably wee Heath.

"Hold on" Ianto said then more crackling and then…

"Da? Gofferting Da un drffff!"

"Heath?" Jack's face lit up and he coasted to the side of the road, "Baby? Did you say Da? Say Daddy."

"Da."

"Daddy."

"No."

Owen started to laugh slapping at his thigh as Jack grinned, "Listen here young man. I am your father!"

"Silly Dada!"

"Oh my wee star" Jack crooned, "What is my Heathy bummykins doing today?"

"Drifffffffff"

Crackling and Ianto came back on, "We really need two coms now he's starting to talk, little bugger tried to bite me. Definitely teething!"

Jack snorted as Owen sniggered, "What's he trying to say?"

"Drifting Cariad" Ianto replied, "He wants you to come home so he can show you a trick he learned in his wee car. I told you letting him watch those Fast and Furious movies with you would give him ideas. Been doing it all morning."

"I'll be fifteen minutes" Jack said , just have to drop…."

"Oi! I wanna see too!" Owen groused and Jack nodded, "Make that five minutes love."

They entered the house and Jack called out, Ianto's reply telling them he was in the main room. They walked in to find the furniture rearranged and some packing boxes set up. Heath looked over and screamed with excitement, flapping his hands at his Taddy and Ianto stepped back as he declared it ready.

"What is this?" Jack asked with interest.

"His route" Ianto said calmly, "He was most insistent. Put alot of time into it, practiced until I was allowed to watch. The toys are people. Pedestrians. The black monkey seems to be a bad guy because no matter where I put him Heath runs him down with malice."

"Ahhhhhhhh" Owen gushed, "Wee man has a wee race track."

"I am sure that if the plush toys had a say it would be more like 'ARGGGHHHHHH' Owen" Ianto replied and they all smiled as Heath waited then he slapped his hands on the horn to show his impatience.

"Yes darling, Daddy is super excited to watch" Jack said as Ianto led them to the middle of the room.

"He wants us to sit on the table, I know it's unsanitary but I will make an allowance this time. We put our feet up so we have a view 360 of his wee display." Ianto said and they kicked their shoes under, then climbed in the sofa cushions Ianto had put up on the dining table, then they waited.

"OK chickie" Ianto called out, "Ready when you are."

It started with a yodel as the little boy stood upright, his arms out like he was talking then he sat down and his arms went straight out as if about to conduct music.

Ianto gripped Jacks' arm as Owen got to all fours, his face full of glee, "Go Heathy."

Heath took off, his wee feet pounding on the wooden floor as he shot along, dodging 'pedestrians' and then he came to the first corner and he screamed as he drifted around it, slamming into the edge of the chair and laughing gleefully as he took off again, another weird scream as he took the next corner.

"That's the brakes" Ianto whispered so Owen understood, "The screeching is it's tires and brakes in his wee mind."

Then he saw the monkey and his wee face contorted with rage and a battle cry erupted, sounding more like a cat being run over but in his wee mind he sounded mighty as he bore down, the soft toy going under the wheels and then his feet and he drifted into the sofa as his little feet continued to stomp the monkey now stuck under the wheels and then he kicked it back and ran over it with the back wheels, a triumphant scream with a wee fist raised in victory, then off again, more weird screams and slamming.

Finally came the wall of empty cardboard boxes.

"Oh I hate this part, see his wee eye poked out every tine" Ianto whimpered as Heath slammed into the wall and the boxes came down over him, the wee car bursting through to come full circle and stop, the baby now breathless as he laughed and slapped the horn like a manic.

"THAT WAS EPIC!" Owen screamed as he leapt off the table to dance around the car. "YOU ARE A NATURAL!"

Heath preened as he looked coyly at his uncle and Owen scooped him from the car to dance with him in his arms, "You are awesome."

Jack looked a the carnage and then at Owen's phone still recording where he had dropped it on the table as he leapt off.

After a cuppa and some kisses the two men headed back to the base where the others watched the recording on the big screen, Owen's screams of delight matching his nephew's.

"He has his father's driving style for sure" Rhys sniggered as Jack preened.

"He needs a real car" Andy pointed out, "A proper little battery operated one."

Jack swung to look at him with surprise, "Say again?"