Secret Santa: Reflections and Revelations
Summary: Part of the Secret Santa Universe. Set 47 years after the original. Kerenza makes a life changing discovery and needs her whole family to help.
Disclaimer: Torchwood and Doctor Who are the property of the BBC, RTD and SM. However, Addiena, Kerenza, Rebecca, Daniel, Ethan, Milo, Lottie, Thea, Toby, Connor, Frankie, Suzanna, Ffion, Erin, Elis, Leah, Nancy and anyone else you don't recognise are mine.
Jack and Ianto's kids' ages: Addiena= 45, Kerenza= 40, Daniel and Rebecca = 38, Milo= 14, Thea and Toby = 10
Daniel and John's kids' ages: Ethan= 16, Lottie=11
Addiena and Connor's kid's age: Suzanna=5
Rebecca and Emily's adopted kids' ages: Ffion = 10, Erin and Elis = 7
Sitting on the bathroom floor, staring at the little stick on the bath-side, Kerenza Harkness-Jones didn't know what to do.
She had never really found anyone that she wanted to pursue anything with. With most of her partners, both male and female, she hadn't bothered to learn anything about them except their names. Some of them she didn't even know that. With the burden of immortality hanging over her head, she had never considered letting someone in only to lose them. Yes, her siblings had taken the chance and been rewarded by extending their partners lives but she couldn't do it herself. She didn't think her heart could take it. Plus, it wasn't certain if her siblings were completely immortal, but she was. How would she cope building a life with someone and living with the memories? Truth is, she couldn't, so she protected herself by not letting anyone get close.
It had all changed the day she met Marc. It had been a whirlwind romance, only lasting a couple of months, but it had been the most meaningful relationship she had ever had outside of her family. She knew where he lived, his job, his family and how he liked his eggs on a Sunday morning. He was everything that she could ever want in a partner, but she feared letting him get closer. Now it appeared she had no choice. She knew that she could raise the baby herself, plenty of women did, and were great at it, but she didn't want her child to hate her in the future for not giving their father a chance, especially if they found out that he wanted children. He had told her as much one rainy night as they curled up in his bed.
"I love the rain. Always have, even as a child. I hope my kids like the rain. I'd love to be a father one day. I'd love a big family… Do you want kids? I never asked."
The question had thrown her. She remembered mumbling, "I guess. One day," but she had not really ever considered it. Guess she had to think of it now. Did she want this? She needed to sort out her thoughts. She needed her sister… Addiena always knew what to do.
Xxxx
Taking a deep breath, Kerenza knocked on the door. Standing there waiting, she wondered what Addiena would think. She didn't have the time to contemplate before the door opened and the older women invited her in. She followed her sister into the living room, waving at her niece at the top of the stairs as she went.
As she sat on the sofa, her anxiety overwhelmed her. Yes, it was only her sister that she would be talking to, but she couldn't help but think that her reaction wasn't going to be a positive one. Luckily, Addiena stopped her dwelling on it too long by saying,
"So, what's wrong?"
"Who said anything was wrong?" she replied timidly.
"Kerenza, you're here on a Sunday morning looking like you haven't slept properly. If there isn't anything wrong, I'd be very surprised."
"Fine… I'm… I'm… pregnant," the younger woman mumbled, before blurting out, "and I don't know if I should tell the father."
"Oh wow! Ok. Err… You sure?"
Kerenza nodded. She had expected that question. A few years ago, Addiena had a phantom pregnancy. She still didn't quite understand how Addiena had all the symptoms of pregnancy without actually being pregnant. They had found out when she had her 8 week scan and found no baby. The doctors had assumed that when it wasn't visible at 6 weeks, the pregnancy was not far enough along to see. After waiting another couple of weeks, Addiena and Connor were given the upsetting news that there was no baby, and there may never have been. Kerenza guessed that Addiena must have been so desperate to have another child that her body reacted. She knew her situation was not like that. She had never seen herself as a mother before today. She was happy in her role as auntie and big sister for now. God, what was she going to tell her Dad and Tad, or her other siblings? She was shook from her thoughts when Addiena cleared her throat.
"This is what you are going to do," Addiena began calmly, "You are going to wait until it is certain that you are pregnant before contacting the father. You don't want to get his hopes up or disrupt his life if it is a false positive. Next, you are going to talk to Dad and Tad and work out the best way to bring him into Torchwood if he wants to be involved. I don't think there is any way he can be a part of the baby's life without meeting us all… unless you want to share custody and keep him completely separate from all of us. It's up to you, but it may be difficult to hide your entire family and your job from someone who will always be in your life.
"I guess I should see what he says about the baby first before I make any decisions."
Xxxx
The next few weeks passed in a blur as Kerenza contemplated her next move. Eventually, after some nudging from her sister to make a choice, she finally decided to take things a step at a time, the first of which was to confirm she was really pregnant. Hence Kerenza and, surprisingly, Jack were sat in the waiting room at the hospital. She couldn't believe Addiena had let it slip to her parents that she was pregnant. She wasn't angry at her sister's throwaway comment to the couple, but the two men had been hounding her for details ever since, especially her Dad who had begged her to let him be included today. She would have liked her Tad to be there too, but with him looking younger than her he had politely declined. Jack, however, was excited enough to compensate for her missing parent, animatedly chatting about getting a new addition to the family.
They were not waiting long before being called in to see the doctor.
"Hi Doc. I'm Jack Harkness-Jones, Kerenza's Dad. Nice to meet you," Jack smiled widely, shaking the young man's hand.
"Hello… So Kerenza… let's find out if you are pregnant, shall we?"
She sighed as the doctor began his examination and asked her lots of awkward questions. She probably shouldn't have brought her Dad for this. Maybe it would have been better to ask Rebecca or Daniel, or even Emily her sister-in-law. She didn't think of it when Addiena said she was busy. Anyone would have been less embarrassing than this. She would've even preferred John, at least he would probably be making her laugh right now. She could just imagine the jokes and innuendos he would be coming up with. To be honest he would probably tease about her answers, or pass them onto her little brother for them both to tease her about later. Regardless, it would be less embarrassing than having your Dad know details about your sex life.
After several questions, the medic readied the scanner. She smiled as the picture came on the screen, albeit a bit difficult for her to make out. She would never admit it to anyone, but there were tears in her eyes as she saw her baby on the monitor. It had all suddenly become real. It was happening. She needed to tell Marc.
Xxxx
Tracking the man down was a lot easier than she had anticipated. All she had to do was go to his house and break the news to the unsuspecting man. She was so nervous that she couldn't go alone, so had called on Rebecca to persuade her to help. She needed the moral support and Rebecca was fiercely loyal despite her being younger. Maybe it was the teacher in her that made her the best in the family for help and encouragement.
Arriving at the house, she took a deep breath and squeezed her sister's hand.
"You got this!"
Nodding, Kerenza walked up the drive and rang the bell. The sisters waited with bated breath, Kerenza's nerves duplicating with every second. Finally, the door swung open.
"Kerenza…? And who's this?" the tall man, who Rebecca assumed was Marc, asked, offering his hand to shake hers.
"My sister Rebecca… I need to talk to you about something important. May I come in?"
He nodded and stepped aside, inviting the women across the threshold, shutting the door behind them with a firm click.
"Living room's through there. I'll make us some tea."
As he walked away Kerenza whispered, "Can I drink tea?"
"I think so. They say you can have one cup of coffee a day, so a tea should be fine."
When the man returned with the drinks, he carefully set up the placemats and proceeded to take a seat himself. Rebecca smiled, thinking the man was very much like her Tad, offering guests tea or coffee, regardless of the reason they were there, and making them feel welcome.
"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you again?"
Taking one look at her sister, and getting an encouraging hand gesture in return, Kerenza began, "Well… The thing is…" She stopped, took a breath, grabbed her handbag and pulled out the photo of the scan. "Here."
The women watched as a mixture of emotions passed on the man's face… puzzlement, disbelief, excitement, doubt…
"You sure it's mine?"
"Absolutely. I haven't been with anybody since we were together or for a couple of months before you. It's impossible for it to be anyone else's, I'm not far enough along."
A choked sob emitted from the man as he got up and pulled her into a hug, kissing her passionately.
"This is the best news I have ever been given! I'm assuming I can be a part of its life seeing as you're telling me."
Kerenza nodded, stunned into silence. It was going a lot better than she had expected until he dropped a bombshell…
"Can we…? I mean, will you…? Can we raise it together? You could move in here with me, there's plenty of room, and I could convert the study into a nursery and…"
"Easy insta-dad," Rebecca cut in, seeing her sister at a loss for words. "There are a few family issues that will need ironing out before Kerenza makes any decisions. She'll keep you posted. We have to go. Thanks for the tea. Not as good as our Tad's but it will do."
And with that, Rebecca took her big sister by the hand and led her out of the house.
"Why don't you come for tea tonight? Em's cooking so there's bound to be enough, and it'll actually be edible, unlike if it was me cooking. My culinary expertise extends to fish fingers or chicken nuggets and chips."
Kerenza laughed. "I'd love to, but I need to speak to Tad about Marc and Torchwood. I mean he is an IT Technician so he could be useful to have around… or freelance. I don't know… I just know he won't want to wait long for an answer."
"Ok. Good luck."
Xxxx
Ianto had been rushed off his feet all day. He had been on his own all morning with the new recruits. It had been a few weeks since the Doctor had turned up at the Hub, supporting a new female form, with Alexis and Bradley in tow. The two men, both ex-military, were thick as thieves after serving together. The Doctor accidently stumbled upon the pair when she parked the TARDIS in the middle of their shooting range. Luckily, no one else was around at the time to cause too much alarm but they had begun talking and were soon recruited. Ianto had spent any spare time training them on the protocols and procedures for handling artifacts and was pleased with their progress. It had been a busy morning, but he enjoyed passing on his knowledge. He had left them in the shooting range, for a bit of a wind down, so he could make a start on training the other new recruit Rowena.
He had decided that, while they were hiring again, he needed some help to fix the archives. Ever since he had been at Torchwood Three, he had been trying to organise the space better and catalogue everything onto the system. It was a labyrinth down there, with almost every room of the several floors filled with artifacts and documentation collected since its founding in the 1880's. Needless to say, he was nowhere near finished. He needed someone to lessen the burden so had created the post of Junior Archivist. The young woman had come recommended by Connor. They had met when Suzanna had become best friends with her little sister Sophie and had been invited for tea. The 24 year old was at home with her parents complaining about her not being able to get a job and he figured that she could possibly fill the position at Torchwood. After getting Ianto's approval of course, he had returned the next day and offered her the job.
"Rowena, ready for lesson 2?"
"Ready when you are boss."
He was just about to leave the room, rolling his eyes in amusement, when an ecstatic Jack returned from Kerenza's scan, and proceeded to inform him of every little detail, loudly and repeatedly. As much as he loved his husband, and was excited about having another grandchild to love, he was not in the right frame of mind to listen to the older man go on and on. It was draining the last of his energy to watch his exaggerated movements and keep up with his rapid speech. When Daniel and John arrived an hour later, he couldn't resist giving his son a hug.
"I am so glad you're here. Your father has gone baby mad. Can you keep him busy for a bit while I do some archive training with Rowena… Thank you."
John smirked as he watched the young woman happily follow the immortal. She had no idea that she was in for hours of learning how to alphabetically order artifacts and file them in the correct places. He mentally wished her well.
An hour or so later, the cog door opened and Kerenza was revealed.
"Dad. Can I talk to you and Tad?"
"Sure. Why don't we go in the office?" As he made his way up the stairs, he called his husband,
"What is it Jack? I'm just training Rowena, can it wait?"
"Kerenza's here. She wants to talk to both of us. You know I wouldn't want to interrupt your training sessions if it wasn't something important."
"I know cariad, sorry. Be up soon."
Xxxx
It had been a long haul, but the trio had eventually settled on a plan of action. Ianto and Jack had agreed to hire Marc as a permanent staff member, or on a freelance contract, providing he agreed to keep Torchwood secrets. They had been looking for someone who could potentially run the systems like Toshiko did. Although no one would ever replace the Japanese woman or match up to her skills with technology, they did need someone who had specific training. Ianto had tried, having helped Tosh in the past, but he wasn't anywhere near the desired level. He hoped someone like Marc, trained in computer programming and maintenance, would be exactly what they needed.
"I'll talk to him first before I give you any definite answer."
"Ok sweetheart, but take this, just in case he reacts badly," replied Jack, handing her retcon. "I hope you won't need it."
"Me too."
As they watched her leave the office Jack turned to his husband. He smiled slightly at Ianto, siting in the chair beside the empty one their daughter had just vacated. When he received a curt smile in return and asked,
"Have I done something to piss you off? You've been off with me since I got back from the scan and I want to know why."
Ianto sighed as he rose from his chair. He made his way over and sat himself in Jack's lap, wrapping his arms around his neck. Almost instantly, Jack's arms wrapped around his partner's waist.
"I'm sorry, cariad. It's been a long day. It's no excuse..."
"What can I do to help? I could do the next interviews, take off some of the pressure? I don't want you burning out on me," Jack suggested, kissing Ianto lightly on the temple.
"Thanks Jack. That would help."
"I love you, Ianto. So very much."
"And I love you too Jack," Ianto replied, leaning in for a tender, love-filled kiss, cementing their eternal bond.
xxx
As she left the office, Kerenza called over to her brother, "Can you come with me to speak to Marc? I need to retcon him if it goes badly and I don't think I can do it myself."
Daniel agreed and the pair headed off.
It was less daunting doing this walk a second time Kerenza thought, especially with her brother by her side. When the older man opened the door to the pair, he excitedly greeted Kerenza before asking,
"Your brother, I presume?"
"One of them, yes."
Again, the pair were invited in and offered a drink. Once all the beverages were handed out Kerenza took a deep breath and began,
"I need you to promise me that you will try not to freak out by what I'm about to tell you."
"That sounds ominous, but ok."
"Good. I would like to raise the baby with you, but I need some assurances first…"
Marc grinned and began gushing "thank you" at her.
"I need to tell you some things about me and my family before I can trust you… Firstly, I have two Dads and both Daniel and Rebecca are gay. I'm hoping that's not a problem for you."
"Absolutely not," he assured her. Kerenza sighed in relief. She knew that the man was going to be ok, but having him confirm it gave her a bit of reassurance to carry on. Looking at her brother, smiling back at her, she took a breath and continued.
"Secondly, my parents run Torchwood and have done so together for the past 47 years, my Dad was running it alone before that."
"But, that must make them around 90 years old. How is that possible?"
"If I tell you, you cannot tell anyone, and I mean it. If you can't keep this secret, then I can't have this baby with you. I'm sorry to make this ultimatum but my family's lives are at stake."
The man got up and sat himself on the sofa next to Kerenza, holding her hand.
"I promise that I will not tell a soul."
"Ok. Long before my parents met, my Dad used to travel around with my Uncle, well Auntie now I guess, and something happened to him that made him immortal. After waiting for around 200 years for the Doctor to return and fix it, he met my Tad…"
Kerenza stopped and nervously met the other man's eyes, trying to judge how he was feeling. He gave her a reassuring smile and she continued. She told him about how Jack had made Ianto immortal too and that he is from the future. She filled him in on how her Dad can have children and that her Tad was able to carry her… She also informed him that all the male members of the family carry the same gene that can make them able to carry children.
The woman wished she didn't have to tell him all this, but she didn't want him to freak out later if they had a son. She hated spilling her family secrets to someone who she hadn't known very long, but she didn't have a lot of options if she wanted him in her baby's life. It would be awful if he found out some time in the future and caused problems. She could see herself falling for him and it would hurt if he found out later and reacted badly. It would break her heart if she had to retcon him after having fallen completely. To be honest, it would hurt if she had to retcon him now, she was already starting to feel a deeper connection to the older man.
"… and because of that we all have varying levels of the vortex in us too. Only I have been proven to be immortal."
"My GOD! So you'll watch both me and our child grow old and die while you live on?"
"Maybe… You see, my Dad's love for my Tad made him become immortal. John and Connor, Daniel and Addiena's husbands have the vortex in them and so does Emily, Rebecca's wife. We haven't tested the kids yet, but we are assuming that they have it too. It is possible that because I am fully immortal, I may be able to share it with you and our child… if you want that of course."
"I guess family barbecues are out of the question then?"
"Not completely, but my parents will probably never be able to meet yours… Also, my parents said that if you want to be with me and raise the baby together, you can come and work for Torchwood."
"Can I think about that? I do want to be with you, and meet your family, but I do enjoy my job."
"I understand. You could be freelance, if you like, but I need your assurance that you won't tell a soul about us and Torchwood. I dread to think what people would do if they found out my Tad is nearly 90 and looks like he's in his late 20s."
Marc assured her that he wouldn't say anything, so Daniel left the pair alone to discuss the baby.
Xxxx
The next morning Ianto and Jack were in the office, going through the applications for the remaining posts they needed to fill. They had decided to sit on the sofa in the corner, so that they could spread out the papers on the coffee table. However, after working for an hour, it was proving quite impossible as there quite a few options to choose from. Also, Jack was trying his best to make his workaholic husband take a break in their bunker downstairs by stroking his finger up and down the Welshman's trousers and kissing the side of his neck.
"Jack, we are never going to get anywhere if you continue to distract me…!"
"But I'm bored," Jack interrupted, "please Ianto, 5 minutes."
"As tempting as that may be, we do need to decide on at least one person today. I promise that we can have a break when we choose our first new recruit."
"But that could be ages," Jack pouted, turning himself to climb into his husband's lap. Too quick to comprehend what was happening, Ianto found himself flat across the sofa, arms pinned above his head, and his mouth claimed in a passionate kiss. As the kiss continued the Welshman could do nothing but submit to the older immortal. When they parted Jack smirked and panted, "Now how about rethinking that break?"
"Fine, you win. Give me 15 more minutes and then we'll have a break. I really want to choose at least one candidate today and if we stop, we'll never return."
"We would…"
"We wouldn't Jack and you know it."
Jack beamed, remembering a few times that they had taken a break that had morphed into a whole afternoon. It wasn't his fault that his husband was just too irresistible. Ianto noted his partner's dazed look and rolled his eyes before getting back to work.
The pair worked together seamlessly for the next few minutes as if they were both extensions of each other. A skill that had been honed from decades of working side by side. Ianto would pick up a file, read it to Jack and decide together if they were good enough to investigate further.
It had been a bit of a free for all selection process with everyone at Torchwood given the option to put candidates forward. As well as needing general field operatives, Torchwood could do with another medic or two to help Connor and a new computer specialist. Ideally, they would like a police liaison too but that was proving to be a challenge. They doubted that the Doctor would make another unannounced visit to bring them more candidates.
They were currently looking at the details for Luka Adamski, a potential field agent recommended by Alexis and Bradley, when the noise of the cog door opening flooded the Hub. No longer than 5 minutes later Kerenza and Marc were sitting in the office coffee in hand, decaf for Kerenza of course, and were going through the details of Marc working as a freelance operative.
"Welcome to the Torchwood family," Ianto welcomed as Jack leaned into his husband's side and whispered, "So much for my promised break."
9 months later
"For the love of all that is holy get this thing out of me!" Kerenza screamed as Connor and Maisie, one of the new hires, proceeded to set up equipment to deliver the newest Torchwood baby.
It had been a hectic few months for Kerenza and Marc as they prepared for their new arrival. After a lot of talks and organisation the couple had moved in together. On top of that, Marc had spent a number of occasions working at Torchwood, helping with everything from cataloguing data to surveillance.
"Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Maisie asked, receiving a death glare from Kerenza. Being new, Maisie didn't have any experience with delivering babies and was clearly a bit panicked. Connor on the other hand, having delivered a number of the Harkness-Jones children, either alone or with his mentor Owen, was calmly talking through the process, and directing Marc and Kerenza on what to do. Seeing her superior so on the ball, the younger medic soon relaxed.
It didn't take long for the new family member to enter the world. Looking down at her son, Kerenza had never felt so complete. Seeing the man she loved holding her little boy brought her so much joy, she hoped that she would never forget the feeling.
Looking up she noticed her siblings and her parents waiting at the top of the stairs. She smiled tiredly, remembering all the times that she had been the one waiting up there. She could see the impatience on their faces.
"Do you want to tell them, honey?" she said to her partner, giving the man a gentle pat on the arm. Beaming, Marc gave the little bundle a kiss on the forehead before taking him up the stairs towards the waiting Harkness-Jones family members.
"Guys… Meet my son, Colby Harrison. Colby, meet your family little man."