3

Hope was leading a small team in the revival of the rose gardens. Those that had not been under glass or covered over were sitting decrepit and sad in the memorial garden and the Tank seemed to look like a dwarf with the amount of snow still surrounding it.

"Come on, we need to dig it all out, I will check for growth and if we need to replace any bulbs that have not made it, it's the time to do it before they all wake up." She explained, kneeling to brush away the area where she knew the little dwarf daffodils were and she was not disappointed, finding little green sprouts. They have survived.

Hope was a lanky eleven year old looking more like fifteen or sixteen with her height and long blonde locks tied back in a messy bun at the nape of her neck. She was beautiful in her messy way, a rare beauty that had a lot of the boys watching her with interest. The only one she pays any real mind to is Owen and Tosh's Ifan of course. Errol, a huge 16 like some DS are is also allowed into the inner circle these days. Ianto watched the way Frank interacted with him as well, although they had come during the winter years, they had all settled and Errol had made himself a firm member of the children's pack. Frank was fond of him, clearly. Hope was too. Ianto had no worries about her becoming a Mam one day, her fussing on the boy clear as he smiled warmly and accepted her huffs and head pats with good grace.

Ianto had noticed the lack of babies as well, there had been so few born these winter months and wondered if that would be a pattern that emerged as well, the spring and summer being the time of grown and the cold winter being a time of hunkering down.

Sort of made sense.

The food replicator was now being used daily, his worries about it running out of juice unfounded as he realized Chrystal was helping, the Chrystal glowing behind in on the wall it was pushed up against showing that she clearly wanted to nurture as well.

Freddy and Kitty were not the only ones starting to be obvious in their romances and with so many of the children now grown into young adults he also knew they had to expand down below as well as release some houses up top. He needed a clear count of who was now remaining below and those who chose to had to release their homes so those who wanted topside existences in the light months could do so. He did not want to build more houses, the domes were still strong but stretching them wider was stupid. For both villages.

Liam is being watched with interest in the hopes that he might show interest in one of the younger girls but Ianto knows it is young Trey that holds his thoughts, the two young men still unsure if it is real and Ianto is giving them space to realize the fact they might be in love. Being Ianto's nephew, there was always a chance that might happen.

There were more boys than girls, this was also something Ianto silently noted and worried about even as he knew in time that would change. Maybe Martha was paving the way there with her two husbands showing a union with three could work, a new world why not a new way of living? Jack did say that in his time it was common for there to be a family pack of several adults all loving, some sharing some not. Even some chaste in the pack.

Not that scary to think about, a wolf's way?

"What are you thinking about?" Jack asked as he settled on the bed on the other side of Pip who was yawning but showing no sign of sleep yet.

"Wolves" Ianto replied, "Their pack orders and their way of life."

"And is it conducive?"

"Yes. Do you find it so my love?"

"Yes" Jack smiled softly "Very much so. I just feel a little sad that it's Wolf and not something like lions where we get to lay around fat and lazy while the lower members catch the gazelle and we have first dibs."

Ianto laughed into his pillow as Pip slowly swiveled his head to stare at his father then say in his little voice "Stoopid. Da girls would kills ya for dat one. Days be da lionesses den."

"You know, I hadn't thought about that" Jack smiled as he stroked the little face so full of old man wisdom today "Lions are sexist aren't they?"

"Yeah. Lazy fuggers"

"Careful old man" Ianto whispered softly as he pulled the child into a clutch "That sounded close to a bad word there. I might have to tickle you if ya do that again."

An epic Jones Eye Roll was the only response as those little grey eyes twinkled with merriment and Jack snuggled in to kiss his son with open affection.

Little old fugger.