Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales
Ianto Jones carried Michael toward his office. With Jack in London, Ianto didn't want to go back the flat. There were security concerns, but it wasn't home without Jack.
Ianto's mobile rang. He quickly found it. The screen said Gwen. Although unrealistic, a part of him hope it was Jack saying he was coming home. "Hey."
"Hey." She sounded mentally tired. "Send me the shopping lists. I'm back in Cardiff."
That was good at least. "Give me a few minutes."
"Yeah." Gwen hesitated. "How's the kid situation?"
Ianto suspected she meant hers. "They're with John and Ken in my office." Pause. "Trefor needs friends his own age and Anwen has more minions." He stopped outside of range of the automated door. "Do you need personal time?"
"With my kids."
The advantage of managing the hub. Ianto was able to spend time with Michael. "Have a family night. Three adults can handle two little kids."
"Yeah."
The call ended with pleasantries.
Ianto entered his office. Celeste sat on Anwen's lap behind a desktop on John's desk. The girl was talking to someone in French. John had a mini maintenance bot open on his workbench. Bobby sat in the flight simulator. Trefor was trying to explain how it worked.
Ken turned. "They needed something to do."
"No." Trefor sounded frustrated, motioning at something on the screen. "You have to watch that."
Ken lowered his voice and motioned Ianto toward his desk. "Bobby was stressed. He's old enough to understand he's been relocated. More than once. Because he's difficult."
The simulated plane crashed again.
"Let me show you," Trefor said. The boys moved.
Ianto kissed the top of Michael's head. "We're better equipped for kids."
Ken nodded. "John said they need punching bags."
"Did he explain the anger issues?" Ianto knew the basics. Luc, Bobby's half brother, was incredibly strong and needed a specially designed punching bag in a reinforced gym to redirect his anger.
"Somewhat." Ken's expression and tone said he didn't understand.
"They have a genetic predisposition to supernatural rage."
"Comparable to what John went through when he developed the ability to teleport?"
Ianto didn't know to explain. He didn't understand what he went through. "Comparable safety concerns. Celeste's father can teleport. Bobby's half brother used a manifestation of his rage to hold off US and Canadian military groups in Nova Scotia." Even after his own experiences it difficult to process.
That took Ken a moment. "Rather than blue energy, it's red."
"Yeah."
Ken realized, "The girl John identified in the tunnel."
Ianto nodded. "Bobby hasn't had extreme behavior since he met Celeste. He gets frustrated and angry like any kid. But not the extreme aggression." He hoped the ancients leaving helped.
Celeste swears loudly at her father in French. The tone not the words was obvious.
"How much English does she understand?" Ken asked after a moment.
"If she learns as fast as her father thinks she does, she understands us." Ianto's immediate concern was they didn't understand her.
Dream
By request, John Hart recreated the memory of Winthrop Harbor for a shared-dream. The memory made him uneasy. There wasn't much that scared him. Between the Time Agency and Torchwood, he had faced typical fears and his own instability. A psychotic plant shouldn't have a lasting effect.
His Anwen appeared much as she had in life. She even chose the clothes she would have worn if she physically went to investigate a case. That was Torchwood. It was a life-long devotion for most. No matter what happened, they couldn't shut it off. When bad things happened, they shook it off and kept working.
"Since when do you judge people for being obsessive?" Anwen crouched down looking at the ground.
John walked over and set a hand on her shoulder. "Why are we here?"
"I spoke to Keara. This sounded familiar." She stood.
"You gave yourself away trying to reprogram the network?"
Anwen set a hand on his. "She already suspected."
"What?"
"There was a situation like this in Chile after I joined Torchwood officially. I saw pictures. I don't remember parasites. But a shipwreck off the coast of a national park was salvaged. The crew shipwrecked. Crazy behavior. Jack went because there was a suspected contagion." Anwen shook her head. "I don't remember the specifics. It wasn't my case. But I remember a PR problem caused by violating a victim's religious beliefs. Jack incinerated the shipwreck, salvage ship, all the bodies and everything biological for a sizable area. He then sent in maintenance bots to irradiate the soil." Pause. "It took years to repair the ecological damage."
"Did he mention a terraforming probe or a trash planet?"
Anwen turned toward John. "Both."
He needed to look up the Global files. That extreme a response suggested something they hadn't seen yet.
"I need to go with you on investigations."
John didn't want to risk anything happening to her. "Darling…"
"You would have known sooner."
"I can't lose you again." He set his forehead against hers.
After a moment, she tilted her head and kissed him. The dream shifted around them to her flat at future Torchwood London.
"John," young Anwen's worried voice intruded. "Wake up."
Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales
When John entered the rifle range, he found Anwen sitting with her back to the partial wall between the entryway and the range. A loud thud shook the reinforced room.
"Which one?" He asked quietly, assuming it had to be one of the Sarkisians.
She motioned with her hand for him to get down. "Bobby," she whispered. "He's jealous." She sympathized. "Celeste's dad is worried. About her. The general sent all of her stuff. Most of their stuff he designed for her."
John crouched next to Anwen as another thud sounded. He wondered what the kid was hitting.
"With Uncle Jack worried about Trefor, he has lots of cool stuff."
Thud.
"Luc doesn't talk to him?"
"Eryn does some. Bobby's not old enough to understand his brother is busy and stressed." Anwen held out her hands. "It's different for Luc than Jerard."
Thud.
His Anwen injected, The boy needs a dad.
"He likes to build stuff," the younger Anwen said. "You taught me how to repair maintenance bots."
No one else would suggest he try parenting. He had no idea what to do.
Talk to him. You conquered your demons. You can help him fight his.