25

Ianto entered the waterfall to find a gun in his face and he laughed softly as he took it from her and let her fall into his arms, weeping with relief.

"It's OK. It's over" he assured her "The bad men are gone and Jack is gone. It's all OK."

"Can we go home? Rye is hungry" David asked.

"Come on… let's go." Then excited the waterfall to find Spirit waiting at the water's edge, moving to stand knee deep watching them and Ianto bowed to the beautiful creature then said softy '"Thank you for tonight. All that was done by so many food souls. Thank you."

The stag seemed to consider than and nodded just once, almost a bow back before turning and leaping from the water to the bank, then three more age leaps and it was moving in the darkness of the trees.

"My god" Lucia said shakily "What a night."

"Hot showers, hot food and a snuggle in the big bed" Ianto said sternly to everyone "Come on."

The walked back and they all took note that Ianto did not take them back via the path, rather walked several feet from it in the long grass. Lucia felt something in the air and looked at the man leading them home, his head held high and his hair wet, gleaming in the moonlight. As the kids saw Jack in the light of the outside light they ran to him with yells of joy and she stepped closer to Ianto.

"What happened?"

"Men came to take the children at the behest of a vapid bitch who will get her throat cut if she is not careful. We took them down and secured the house" Ianto said like he was explaining the plot to some movie they were watching "Now we return home and settle back into our life."

"And June?"

"Not my problem" Ianto turned to look at her "Not my problem at all."

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June heard someone outside and she took a deep breath before opening the door to let them in, then she found herself airborne slamming against the back wall of the room and pined to it with her feet off the ground, the hand to her thorax that of a decidedly larger woman than the one she had dealt with some short time previously.

Minnie ws snarling, her lips peeled back to show rather dangerous looking teeth, her stature over seven feet tall and her hair was wild in the half light. June clutched the woman's wrists as she tried to struggle and then something else entered the room, shifting in the light and she knew she was wetting herself, releasing her bowels and she relaxed as she now knew this must be some weird dream. This cannot be real. A dream.

The Big Foot took the woman from his little sister, looking into her eyes before moving towards the door and crouching to get out into the yard where he began shaking her violently in his grasp.

Minnie watched her big brother as he pondered his prey and then started to walk towards the mountain, home.

With a sigh Minnie stated to shrink to her more human self, letting go of the anger from the visit that had informed her of the heinous acts of this woman.

Minnie was only a half- breed, able to live in the realm of man but seriously… When push came to shove... she was the mountain!

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Lucia was in the large bed with all three children in with her and Myfanwy laying cross the foot of the bed like a sentry, the baby in Ianto's arms asleep as he headed from the room across to his own and slid into Jack's arms. Neither of them would sleep the remainder of this night, continent to snuggle and watch their son slumber in their arms.

"Ianto…"

"I can't explain it. Not in a way that makes sense" Ianto whispered as he stroked the baby's face "This mountain is… alive. IT is magic. When threatened it… reacts? I don't know. I do not question. It has decided we are of its elk too so tonight it defended its own. I don't want to ever question it, or fear it OK? Right now… our children are safe… we are safe and the world outside will still turn."

Jack nodded as he leaned in to Ianto's embrace, the baby in his arms sniffling against his chest and he concentrated his entire being on Ianto and their shared heartbeat.

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Paul stood for a long time staring at the mountain before he got into his Prowler to drive home. It had been many years since the Mountain had reacted to anything, the legends told of a great many mythical things hiding in its shadow but tonight… tonight Paul had seen wondrous things. Scary as hell things but … he felt no fear.

It was his mountain too.

Paul nodded as he got into the Prowler and started to crawl long the driveway for home, making a mental note to get that car towed in the morning and issue a release that some idiots went drunk fishing on the river and most likely drowned.

Or maybe… hunting where they should not hunt …. Eaten by wolves or something.

He snorted softly at that last thought.