21

Jack drove through the scene of the gunfight, the crumpled vehicles making him feel ill, especially the bodies covered in blankets on the said of the road. Many stopped to salute or bow as his vehicle moved past crunching on bullet casings and glass, Jack too busy looking at the state of the car he had been told was indestructible.

"Looks pretty fucking destructible to me!" he said softly and Malcolm turned to look back through the seats at him with genuine shared horror.

"The two vans are armoured vehicles, both with heavy weight in them… they knew what they were doing" Malcolm informed him "Apparently they did not count on Ianto being armed and pissy."

"Any news?"

"No… last text from Owen he was going in to assist with the surgery. He said then that Ianto appeared stable but was still losing blood fast. His main fear was the baby" Malcolm sat back and rubbed his face "Also… the bodies of those not ours… they are Coltor Feign."

"What? We've never had a problem with CF … I mean… we have a truce and their dealings are mostly over the borders from us" Jack was confused now.

"We have a few options to choose from. Could be some mercenaries for hire that were once members… not very like as Coltir Feign is for life. Another is that Ianto was not the target, they were after another diplomatic vehicle, he did not have the flags on. Again, not likely as how many are there in the realm at the moment? The last, not too pleasant thought is that this was the start of a coup and they were assisting another nation trying to take your crown." Malcolm said as he pondered "Killing Ianto and the baby might weaken you. Or they thought they could snatch him not knowing the temper of this dragon."

"But they failed" Jack said with anger "They WILL fail!"

.

.

Ianto was first aware of beeping and he was annoyed as he wondered when Jack had got the new alarm clock. Damn it. He tried to open his eyes but couldn't … they seemed glued shut and he tried to lift a hand to touch them but it was like his limbs were solid concrete.

He panicked as he tried to cry out, move, anything but nothing worked. After a few moments he remembered the accident…. Or whatever… gunfire… he had a gun at some stage right? He had… oh god … BLOB!

"Hey baby" Jack's voice was so far away but Ianto seized on it for guidance, feeling a hand joining his and a soft thumb sweeping his knuckle.

Jack. Oh Jack my love.

"It's OK. It's going to be OK. The baby is little, but fully cooked as Owen puts it. He detached in the womb so… he swallowed some of the fluid and such trying to get out… he breathed in … they have drained his little lungs and are watching him, he seems strong. So far he seems strong."

Ianto wished he could respond, the relief there was raw. Then a brush to the corner of his eye "Don't cry lover. It's going to be OK. You got him here, you got him safe. Owen did the rest and now all you have to do is rest and heal. Come back to me."

Ianto felt the black closing in but he was no longer afraid.

Blob was OK

.

.

.

"It is with extreme sorrow that the Palace announces the death of His Majesty the Righteous King Ifan in the early hours of today as a result of the attack downtown yesterday afternoon. His Majesty passed away in the loving arms of his husband, the Good King Jackson. The new child, a boy, is said to be in a serious but stable condition. There are no further comments at this time."

Malcolm moved from the side of the podium where he had watched the town crier speak and walked silently with the security detail to the car sliding in to look across at the man waiting for him. "Why?"

"They think they won. If not…they might try again and he is vulnerable. Let them think they won, let them crow. Sooner or later they will not be able to help but show themselves thinking Jack weakened by his loss" John explained "Ianto is safe for now, let's keep him that way. The only other marks right now are the children. The two with Her Majesty are safe… leaving Blob. We witch for anything suspicious, any attempt there."

"You think it might come?" Malcolm froze, the gun he was fiddling with forgotten as he gaped at the man he knew was more dangerous than a rattle snake and twice as quick.

"Who knows" John shrugged "but it will not hurt the nation to feel sorry, feel a little remorse even for Ianto's last year or so. Let's see what happened… if we catch the ones responsible then we can say the release was a mistake, the pre-written one just in case read by accident."

"Cheeky" Malcolm sighed, "Come on. I want to check on them."