37
They had finished lunch, eaten outside on the tables that had recently held their arsenal and Ianto was helping his grandmother and Alice clear away the plates when Ifan wandered off.
They finished clearing the tables and the women sent Ianto out of the kitchen, so he went back to Jack.
Anna watched as Ianto hurried back to his side and smiled, shaking her head as she likened it to a moth and a flame, wondering if each man knew how deeply they might burn.
She passed her husband in the doorway, she going in with the tablecloth she was folding and him coming out, a bundle in his hands.
They paused and kissed gently, then continued to their set tasks.
Ifan placed the bundle down and unrolled the old leather, revealing two Bowie knives.
Each had its own leg strap and Ianto was the first to squeal like a girl shown a diamond ring.
Sean followed with equal amazement, his more tempered because he had seen one on this Grandfather's leg each hunting season and hadn't been as blood lusted as his brother.
Ifan solemnly presented each one to the brothers and Ianto showed Jack with open glee.
The rest of the day was spent with knife skill being taught, Jack impressed with the skill shown by both boys as well as Gwen. She seemed to be a natural, blaming it on darts in the pub.
Now they had their team sorted for the Recon.
Jack, Ianto, Sean, Gwen and Rhys wold go. Gwen could drive the SUV back while each man takes an RV, that's assuming the bloody things go.
Ianto had regained his mojo and was helping Gwen choose some small throwing blades.
"But what do I do when they're gone?" she asked as she stroked the blades, "I can't exactly ask for them back."
"Poppy makes them!" Ianto shrugged, "Has a wee forge made out of an acetylene torch. Like a brassier pit but so damn hot, Poppy can turn out a whole batch."
"And metal?" Jack was listening now.
"Enough old cars about the property. Bonnets can be cut up, sharpened and off we go!" Ianto explained, "Come see, he makes all his own tools."
Like an old blacksmith's forge, the area was blackened and scorched where Ifan had fired up his forge and Jack touched the burnt ground with reverence. Metallurgy was an art form, trust Ifan to be an artist.
Should have known, Ianto had to get his exacting ways from someone. His father was a bloody scientist for godsake, goes to show you can't trust a fake CV!
Jack tried to hide his mirth and he wandered over to the children who were playing with barn kittens. Stephen and Mica were happy to have another playmate and Jack was enjoying the interactions with children who were acting their ages.
Jack watched from a distance as Ianto regained his footing within the group and frowned as he noticed how careful he seemed to be around Owen.
Something happened there, that day and they still had to clear that away.
.
.
.
That evening the moonshine came out again, this time Ianto didn't imbibe.
Instead, Ianto went back into the house to spend the evening with the kids. Both children were excited to have his attention and he coloured in with them, then watched a movie.
Ianto had started worrying about the power source at the lake and knew the RVs would not be the only thing needed, solar panels would be a must and power saving devices.
The children needed their entertainment and Tosh really needed to stay hooked into Mainframe which was still able to give them satellite and CCTV.
He also wondered if they could set up some form of surveillance system so they could see any unwelcome visitors coming, be they Z or human. Decided to talk to Jack about it, he settled to watch the children as they started to fall asleep in his arms.
Jack entered to find tree munchkins fast asleep on the bed and he hadn't the heart to wake them, so he covered them with an old quilt and settled on the single bed to wait for the morning and the chance to watch them wake.
.
.
.
Jack agreed with Ianto and immediately went to Tosh as Ianto tried to hold him back. Once Jack had talked to her he went in search of Ianto to find out why he had reacted like that.
When Ianto hesitantly told him that Owen was jealous of his standing within the group, Jack was stunned.
"But this is your family home, you are obviously a prepper and have knowledge to share." Jack was gobsmacked, "I don't get where he's coming from."
"Maybe it's because everyone is looking at me" Ianto shrugged, "Owen liked being a senior team member, it's not like he has a lot else to do. Torchwood was his life."
"So you think he's looking for purpose?" Jack surmised and Ianto shrugged again.
Jack went in search of Owen and found him drinking moonshine while staring at the silo which again housed the weevil.
"Ever thought of teaching her to walk on a leash?" Jack began and Owen swung around to look at him with surprise as he had dreaded a talk of another nature, "If she smells Zs, it might be nice to have an early warning system. I think she's too far from the house to help us at night, if we can work out a closer solution, she might really make a difference. Any ideas?"
Owen started striding back and forth as he thought and Jack quietly left, knowing Owen had his purpose now and would stop at nothing to prove his worth.
Poor Owen, Jack thought as he walked, they don't realise. They don't see the abandoned boy who seeks not just reassurance of his place but assurance of his worth. He had almost cost them an important member, would try hard to fix it.
Jack hoped he wouldn't forget Owen again. For all his mess, he knew Owen was sorry.
He found Ianto with his Grandfather out at the forge, they seemed to be building something.
Jack walked around it and was shocked to see it was some sort of cow catcher for the SUV.
"The Zs slam against the bars and roll sideways, instead of underneath where they can get caught in the wheels." Ianto explained patiently as Jack ran his fingers over the brilliant welds, "Lightweight so it shouldn't affect fuel consumption too much and still strong enough to hit a grouping."
"So this is to protect Gwen when the SUV is already reinforced enough to hit a brick wall head on without buckling?" Jack asked and Ianto smiled.
"See?" he turned to his Poppy, "I told you Jack would get it. Yes Jack, this is for Gwen."
"So she feels as invincible as she already is!" Jack grinned and they all laughed before Ianto lowered the welder's mask and resumed his work.
"When are ya going?" Ifan asked as he walked with Jack towards the house.
"A day or so, while everyone is still excited about the idea" Jack answered and Ifan nodded.
"And our boy?"
"Has his head back in the game" Jack agreed, "ready to roll and shake off his feelings of inadequacy."