24
Hope was panting, her lungs in fire as she struggled with the heavy wheat filled sack. Her clothes stuck to her, the thin yet sturdy frame showing as she snarled up at the sack above her head.
"Keep it high!" Martha roared, watching the girl whose arms were starting to shake with the strength needed to hold this weight above her head for the last four hours. Tish sat lobbing tennis balls at her intermittently, between making noises with a large horn. Tish had popped out early, not even two months along and showing. Martha didn't show like that, something that interested the sisters, not alarming at all as Ianto showed only delight in it. No worries there, jut gonna be a big baby, like his Dadda I guess. Kev was overjoyed.
Of course, Mickey whined that his was probably a little blonde git with weedy features as Andy slapped at him with fake insult. Of course, all their children were loved and they never wondered who the father was of each one Martha provided. They belonged to all of them equally ... as it should be.
Ianto finally found them, sighing as he looked at his sweat drenched daughter "What's going on?"
"Well, the week is up so she is now getting some training" Martha said without blinking. "You had her locked down for a whole week, she was complaining that she had cabin fever so we are giving her a workout."
"I see" Ianto sighed, settling to watch the battle of wills.
Hope was unwilling to give in and Martha was enjoying the battle as well so Ianto sent a warning to Jack hoping he could come sort out the hormones in the air. Jack arrived and gaped, "What the hell?"
"I'm holding an injured person up so the Zs can't get it" Hope panted "I am walking through the woods and the tennis balls are the branches. I have to carry the person to safety."
Jack looked at Ianto "Are you ever going to let her off punishment?"
Ianto gaped.
Hope swung, dropping the 'body' as she felt the anger flaring "Hey! Aunty Martha is training me, not Taddy. Taddy is not punishing me!"
Ianto turned to leave and Jack reached out for him "Sorry, I just thought …"
"Doesn't matter" Ianto pulled his arm back, "You wonder why I sleep as Shangri-La with Pip? Maybe I like the silence from the bond when it is so …. Tight."
"come on!" Jack begged "We have to sort this. The trip to Scotland…"
"Has to wait" Ianto said quickly cutting him off, "Pip is having troubles with his teeth. Will be a week or so before we can start even talking about it. Might be a few months of prep before we go anyway, gonna be about a week away so I can't leave without everything sorted here."
"What? Hang on, we said…"
"Things change. The children come first, you said so yourself. Not just pups, babies too. So … our youngest is getting what he needs to get through this. Don't forget that he is a dual. He needs me now." Ianto huffed and Jack frowned as he saw his own argument thrown back at him.
In typical childish fashion he called after the retreating Wolfling "well, at this rate we won't have another!"
Ianto seemed to stumble, and then swung to glare at him. Not upset like you would think. Furious. He replied calmly "Then I shall revel in what we have. Enjoy your empty fucking bed!"
"Well … that went well" Martha said sagely "Quite a dickhead sometimes, aren't ya Captain Jack?"
"I can't believe you sometimes Dad" Hope snarled "Pip is really sad. He doesn't have Nainny to soothe him, Tadda is doing the best he can and I know you laughed at him the other day, really hurt his little heart that you think Wolfling pups are silly."
"I did not!" Jack said then frowned. Did he? "Well …well … I didn't mean to!"
"Did you say sorry? Yes? Admit you were wrong, since you are sooooo good at that!" Martha said in a childish voice, and then pushed past him as she rubbed her belly "Move. I'm hungry!"
"Me too" Tish rose from the chair so the tennis balls dropped to the ground. She stepped over them and followed her sister "Do you think they will have that BBQ sauce? I want BBQ sauce."
Jack watched them all leave and after a moment or two he went over to retrieve the balls, feeling like the dog here.
"Yes. You are in the dog house."
He knew before he even turned that the twins were there, eerily watching with clasped hands and raised heads. Jack smiled "Hello dumplings."
"We are not dumplings" they said serenely as they turned to go "We are not babies either. We are Wolfling."
Well … that was him told.