16

Jack was entering the room as Ianto sat awkwardly beside a gushing Gray who was still SO grateful to him for getting him out of a jam "Mama, it is none of your business. Let's just say I was in a mess and Ianto helped me out big time. I owe him massive thanks for something OK?"

Jack's mother huffed softly, looking at Ianto with that mild distrust she always wore around him.

Jack sat and placed his phone down by his plate and she struck. Seizing it and slipping it into her lap "Jackson! You know the rules young man. No phones at the table!"

Ianto stared.

"Mama, I just need to screen the calls because…" the phone rang as Jack was talking and his mother looked at him triumphantly as she answered it, then her face changed as Jack sighed and added "..Gwen is being a bitch."

"Jackson, language a the table" Ianto said in a silly voice, so low it ws almost missed but Jack and Gray both started to snigger softly as Jack's father folded done the newspaper to look over his glasses at them.

"Children!"

"Sorry Dad" came the reply from two and Ianto coughed politely then settled once more.

Jack held out his hand and accepted the phone from a thoroughly scandalized mother then said into it "Gwen …piss off… no… I will not… not my problem… not my….Gwen…Gwen you can't tell my mother I am ignoring you because she answered the phone and already knows the lie….Gwen…. piss off."

Jack placed the phone down again with a soft curse of annoyance and Ianto canted his head "Why not just mute her?"

"Can I?"

Ianto held out his hand and Jack handed over the phone, watching as Ianto quickly clicked buttons, then handed it back "There you go Cariad. Her number will show but no ringtone and it will click over to voice mail then delete the message once she hangs up."

"I didn't know you could do that!" Jack said with wonder.

"Why you didn't specialize in technology and communications at Law school!" Ianto scolded gently.

"Didn't have to... you did" Jack shot back and then his grin faded slightly as he placed the phone down again "speaking of law… you been onto the insurance company?"

"Yeah. An assessor will meet us there around lunchtime. Give me time to look first and get a grip so I don't have a girly tantrum in front of him at the state of my house. Well… my large piece of modern art now I guess" Ianto grimaced, and then leaned back as the servant placed down some bacon and eggs "thank you Gibson. Lovely."

"A pleasure Mister Jones, Sir" came the purred reply from the stately man.

"For goodness sake, it's Ianto and you now it is. Jones isn't even my real name… My Da changed it when he wed my horrible step-mother so she could continue her 'family line' or whatever that means. Gross." Ianto shuddered "can you imagine, remarrying and making your kids take the new woman's name. She was his mistress before mama died too. Hate being a Jones. Was going to change it back but… well … Gareth didn't want to as his service record is in Jones and I have to respect that."

"Gareth. Your twin?" Franklin asked tough his newspaper. "A solider? Good lord, you both sound ambitious."

"Yes sir. We are identical and we agreed at an early age that some things are best as a team decision between us. The name is an important one" Ianto said as he loaded his fork.

"So… when we had married you would not have taken my name?" Jack asked.

"You mine?" Ianto shot back.

"How can I if I don't know what it is?" Jack countered with a grin and Ianto tapped his nose.

"Anyway" Ianto said as he pushed the half eaten meal away "I would prefer Mama's name now I think. He is not worried about his name so why would I keep his family name going?"

"Gareth have a view on that?" Jack asked as he pulled the plate over to finish and his mother made a noise of exasperation. "I know Mama, but Ianto does the salt just right."

"What would it be?" Gray asked "Your Mama's family name?"

Ianto turned to him and decided he had nothing to hide. He was not here to please this family or impress them anymore. They always looked down on him, always would. Why worry about it. So he said truthfully "My Mama was the daughter of a man who died when she was young so she ws raised by her father's brother. Her family name is known to you."

"It is?"

"Milner" Ianto said gently "My mother' uncle… who raised her like his own and is like a GrandTad to me. Is Montague Milner."

"Oh my god" Jack's mother said softly with horror as her hands fluttered to her throat and Franklin finally placed his newspaper down to look at the young man fully.

"I knew your mother's father. He died in a pub brawl as I recall. Tried to break up to men fighting. Both friends, he was knifed by accident. Shame, the knife only entered the once. I attended the crime scene. My first real one. I was shocked when I saw him there, knew him around the place. So sad. I was a mere scrap of a thing… not yet twenty meself. Your mother would have been … nine? Ten? Shame. She loved her Daddy." He said shocking the table "The Old Man was beside himself. Loved his little brother. Started a blood feud that lasted years, cost about eighteen lives we can prove."

Ianto sat with a nod of agreement as he was reminded that Jack may be a lawyer but his father was a cop for most of his adult life.

Really on the other side of the lights here.