8

Ianto was pleased to find everyone enjoying the food, the left over roast meat will be great to make some meat and relish sandwiches for Jack tomorrow while he sits in his office squishing things and watching their son out the window. Sparrow came most afternoons to visit the little one, sometimes with another child Jack did not know… neither did Ianto who calmly fed them all without comment as Jack had not yet noted that the child was a different one each day. Slowly but surely, Sparrow was bringing all the kids down to meet Rye… and Ianto.

As far as Ianto knows, Jack has typed out three chapters…lost everything as he did not remember Ianto's repeated reminders to back-up an then the rewrite was only two chapters as he thought he had overdone it the first time.

No one asked about Jack's 'work' s Ianto had carefully warned them that it had not been a productive day, instead the conversation more about the newbies in town and the meeting next week about the dam and the locals wanting some reassurances about the campsite the hippies had started to build.

"I can tell you one thing" Paul said, pointing with his knife in way Ianto did not like but said nothing as this was a guest "If I see one more placard wielding stranger I may shoot someone."

"Pa!"

"I mean it Bonnie. I am a law man, I am authorized to use deadly force if necessary and I can kill all the scumbags!" Paul warned "I may have to for the betterment of my mental health too!"

"Ah… now I can concur" Gray chipped in "That is a serious health issue these days. We have to protect our mental health."

Bonnie slapped at him "Stop encouraging him!"

Their laughter filled the room as Ianto settled back to warm himself with the happiness of family.

Felt damned good.

.

.

.

Later as Ianto was settling his little boy into the bed a snuffle beast latched onto his shirt and looked up at him with wide yes, their pale blue boring into Ianto's "Is it coming?"

He spoke so clearly, without any childlike innocence to his face that Ianto was stuck for a moment then heard himself reply just as calmly "Yes. It is coming childe."

Ianto sat on the edge of the bed for a long time, going over that weird moment.

What the hell was that?

.

.

.

Ianto lay in the darkness staring into space, then he felt the urge to check the kids… the dog… the guests…ah … Paul was awake in the living room, sitting on the sofa doing up his boot laces as Ianto padded into the room to look at him silently. Paul didn't notice him at first. After all, it was near two in the morning and the rest of the world was asleep... Except for the poor town sheriff woken by his cell phone to reports of a problem at the dam and those damned protesters who seem to take it in shifts to cause problems. Finally he felt something and looked up to find the white apparition staring at him.

"Ianto!" he rose to face him "some of those new protesters, the new wave that arrived this week … they are crawling over the dam and the night shift can't keep them off it. Apparently they can't keep a headcount and… are you ok?"

"No." Ianto said softly "Paul … it's too late. The die is cast."

"Ianto?" Paul reached out but seemed hesitant to touch him "Ianto… what is wrong?"

"Paul … don't go. We need to go in the other direction" Ianto said softly as he turned towards the back door "We need to get everyone up, we need to move."

Paul was confused, then his phone rang again and he picked up as Ianto started to run up the stairs "Yeah?"

Ianto had roused the children and Gray was coming down the stairs with Bonnie, everyone confused as Ianto hurried them along. Jack was carrying a still sleepy child "Ianto? What the hell?"

"It's coming" Rye said to his Daddy with wide eyes "Can you hear it? The big bad monster is coming to eat us!"

"Boots, not shoes. Good strong boots, we are climbing up the mountain" Ianto said as he wrestled Mica into a warm coat.

"Tadda, you are acting crazy" the little girl complained and then Paul made a strange noise in his throat, dropping the phone to grab for his daughter.

"Bonnie love, come on. We have to go. It's the dam, those missing men have been found and they have explosives with them. Nigel is scared that some have been placed already." Paul said as he started to push his daughter towards the back door "Ianto's right. Christ, its' gonna go isn't it.

Ianto looked at Paul and said in a faraway voice "It already has begun."