51

Ianto drove to the nearest McDonalds and went through the drive-thru then drove to where they could sit and eat while watching the birds swooping in the bay.

Ton had been crying softly with confusion and hurt feelings but seeing the golden arches had helped, then he had heard the order and his heart had soared again as his Taddy got the 'make it better' order and once parked he had clambered up through the seats for a cuddle in the front seat, Taddy wiping his face and crooning as he kissed him and held him tight until he whispered that the food was cool enough now.

Yum!

Ton's tears had dried up with Taddy's love and the food was good too, tucking into his happy meal with gusto and polishing it off, then reaching for the bag he knew would have extra nuggets and chippies just for him.

He smeared the chips in the dipping sauce and hummed happily, closing his eyes as his belly felt happy too.

Ianto sat in stony silence for a long time just watching the gulls, then he turned to Ton.

"It was wrong to break the Telly, you know that right?" he asked softly.

"I was playing the game and swung the net to catch the butterfly and the strap on the control thing broke" Ton explained calmly, knowing his Taddy would listen because he understood Ton had to talk too and he didn't yell in his face like Uncle Gene making it too hard to think, "It went into the air and hit the telly. I said sorry and I said I had pocket monies to pay but uncle Genie was so mad and he yelled really big, and shaked me like this…"

Ton grabbed his own forearms and growled while shaking back and forth, "Then he smacked really hard and my legs still hurt. It stings."

Ianto looked down and could see the red still there as Ton rolled on the seat to show him, the hand prints stark on the pale Jones skin.

"Well, what you did was an accident but still a bad thing. Saying sorry and wanting to fix it was the right thing to do. Uncle Gene should not have hit you. He knows I will buy another to fix the problem and you would have been told not to pay the game at their house anymore, you know the bloody Wii gets you carried away and I warned him too."

"I always play that one" Ton pouted, "They only got that game and it's baby."

"Well, then you never play it again" Ianto said simply, "Problem solved."

Ton sighed and sucked at his milkshake as Ianto got out of the SUV to walk to the front and lean back against the grill, Ton knowing this meant he could too and he was soon running up and down chasing the birds and flapping his arms as he laughed, the smacking forgotten.

Not by Ianto though.

Now he had calmed his baby and got the story he was slowly coming to the boil. The thought of Gene slapping him was going over and over in his head as he watched Ton run and could see it was more than one strike by the marks on his little legs, it had been an angry flailing.

Damn. This complicated things no end but…oh well.

Ianto pushed off the SUV and called out to his baby that it was time to go and a happy little boy with a face full of love and delight ran to his with arms outstretched, Ianto catching him and cuddling him with kisses all over his face before helping him into the seat in the back.

"Tadda?" Ton asked as he pulled Dory Fish in for a quick squeeze, "Will Uncle Gene get mads and smacky again?"

"No" Ianto said flatly as he kissed his child and then retreated to walk around to the driver's door, "Uncle Gene will never discipline you again."

No.

If he truly felt that way about Ton then he could go fuck himself.

His son came first, foremost and always!

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Posting early as I will be travelling tomorrow and will be out of internet range xxx