63

Ton was giving dance lessons and all the kids were listening intently as he told them how important limbering up is. The yard was littered with towels, pillows and plates of food … yes. Lake House Rules remember?

Ianto was trying got ignore them all while weeding as Hawk toddled over and patted his leg for an 'up' as he was clearly not enjoying the sun. Ianto agreed lifting his son and walking the small distance ot the patio and the lovely swing seat with umbrella waiting for them, settling to let Hawk drink greedily from his iced tea still sitting there.

"Hey Tad" Curtis sat and reached out, wiping Hawk's chin with his finger then absently wiping it on his jeans as he sat back "Walt about?"

"With Jack, something about the boat motor" Ianto replied softly "Think he wants some advice from a fellow dickhead."

Curtis snorted softly as the raw affection in Ianto's voice showed he loved his dickhead very much. Curtis whispered "Walt is considering giving up the show. Or angling for a movie deal instead of weekly epis. Like … working on it for three or four months and the rest of the year for other things."

"Like family?"

"Yeah. He thinks they will either replace him on the show or agree movies make more money" Cutis nodded.

"They might replace him. Not the first time a lead has been replaced without a blink … still. That's a hell of an offer" Ianto leaned back "He might regret it though. He loves that character. To give him up might rankle. Also … if replaced, another actor will get the fame on his coattails."

Curtis looked at Ianto with surprise as he hadn't' expected this response. "So … he should keep doing it?"

"No, but don't do the ultimatum thing. Some get their back up and out of spite will shut it down rather than compromising. I've seen it before. Look at a few other programs that moved to moive format … the Firefly/Serenity franchise is a good one. Look around, get some stats to show the shows that were growing stale and started to wane in the public eye flourished with movies once a year instead. Get numbers. They like numbers. Point out the budget would not have to be bigger too … one big blow out instead of weekly salaries all season." Ianto rose and said as he placed Hawk on a hip "Talk to Bruce too. A movie might mean a cameo from him as he could never swing it for the series. That would be a slam dunk. Walt and Bruce as …well … father and son? Shake it up. Offer an interracial family. Walter's character talks of his father but I was introduced as a different character. Imagine … a gorgeous black woman and Bruce Willis entering the scene as his parents. The fans would go into hysterics."

"Oh my god!" Curtis breathed with wonder "that would be….wow. You really should write fiction. I would read novels from you with glee."

"actually … I am writing one. A sci-fi where the hero wears a wonderful coat and the second in command is secretly lusting for him but unsure how to tell him" Ianto sighed softly "Sort of like a sci-fi western with hover bikes instead of horses. Might throw zombie or werewolf style aliens in there somewhere for a near death admission"

"Bullshit!" Curtis spluttered "Can I get first read of the drafts?"

Ianto winked and was gone, Curtis sitting back to consider the ideas Ianto had left hinging there. Bruce would know how to move forward, they should have talked to him too. Right. Yes.

Thanks Taddy.