56
Ianto was asleep, the little man cuddled against him and Jack sat on the edge of the bed where he had slid to in order to pee. He had glanced back and was now unable to move for a moment until his mind had taken a picture for his memory. It was too sweet.
Then he rose and shot to the loo, turning to find Ianto behind him with the same idea "Quick, back before he wakes alone. He will be even more pissy."
Jack snorted and headed back, letting the still sleeping toddler cuddle into him now as the Twins entered to wait patiently for something. Ianto exited the bathroom and glanced at them, then frowned.
"What did you do now?"
"Nothing" their voices said together.
"Bullshit" Ianto huffed "I call a huge pile of steaming bullshit on that. Come on. What did you do? Tell me before I get Hope's version. You know Rosie will never rat you out but she will in a heartbeat even if Dean has not even noticed."
They shared a look that he knew meant they were communing in a creepy way he could not penetrate then Tum spoke in her soft voice "We told Aunty Martha that it is not a boy or a girl in her tum."
"Oh" Ianto sat. "What is it?"
"Both."
"Annnnnd she is upset that it is twins?" Ianto frowned.
"No. It is one."
Ianto stopped moving about and looked at them again "Wait. A hermaphrodite? Are you telling me her baby is both?"
"Like that calf Uncle had to cull. We could not breed it, it was both. Not good" Burn grunted out.
Ianto stared at them for a while, unnerved by this turn of events.
"So. The lambs last season. Three right? A calf and … the five legged kitten." Ianto said to himself as he considered things "Now this. Are you certain? Not just a flutter?"
"No. Hr speaks as wind and whispers but as both"
"You …wait. You can communicate with it?"
"Don't be silly. Of course not. THEY can" Tum rolled her eyes "Rumple sez it's something that happens when time is altered like a ripple."
"Rumple."
"He likes hankies" Burn blurted out, then went silent again and Ianto stared at them, then knew. He knew.
"Mara. You talk to the Mara?" he asked calmly as Jack stopped breathing to listen better "You are telling me the Mara have said this birth defect event is because we altered an event that was fixed?"
"Nothing is fixed" Tum said bravely, then in a softer voice added "Except Dadda's immortality. And now yours. Everything has push and shove. Give and take. The Natural Order demands and when needs are not met…. It takes. Like a glitch or hiccup."
"I hope you didn't explain it like that. I know you seek the right words but your age and teaching fails you right now." Ianto sighed then rose to go search for Martha, finding her in the Doctor's Office with Owen looking at a scan with a deep frown.
"Owen?"
"Too early to tell much, I mean … I see a dick."
"So do I from where I am standing" Ianto growled as he saw her distress. Owen swung and looked at her, then looked apologetic as he blistered about. Ianto considered "The table. We bought back a medical device that scans the entire body. It might be able to separate an image of the baby in true dimension."
"And if they are right? My baby is both sexes?" she asked tearfully.
"Then it will not be the first or last of its kind to be born. Hermaphrodites can live perfectly normal lives" Ianto soothed "and if it's the 'no kids' thing … Christ in an Easter bonnet … you don't think there will be others from your other children to fuss on as a granny? Come on, this is not a disfigurement or impediment. Merely whoever Hr wishes to be."
"Hr. God, you sound like the Doctor" she sniffled, then sighed "you are right. Of course you are. This is a child, nothing wrong. Like red hair or a cleft palette or…."
"Red hair is not something that needs fixing" Ianto scolded "I happen to like redheads. Come now. The hormones do not help. Look … we are all advancing. Evolving, who is to say that this is not part of it? Jack did tell me in his time sexual orientation is more fluid. Had this been in the Old World it would be a shameful thing or a fearful thing to some. We are in the New World now. This is merely a child entering our pack with a new spark of life. Be Hr asexual, multi-sexual, eight limbed or heavens above … a red head."
Martha snorted with mirth.
"Well, let's get this table in here" Owen demanded and Ianto went to seek out his brother. Sean could at least work the hover to bring it to the door. Orange button carefully taped over of course.
It took about an hour of manoeuvring and by then the entire place knew something was wrong with Martha's baby, Ianto growing agitated at the notion that it might be treated as less than any other new life.
Ianto and Jack stood with Mickey as Andy clutched Martha's hand, all of them watching the large wand move up her body to slow and concentrate on her middle as asked, the image appearing in the air above them of a baby curled in the womb, as if torn from her.
"Darker than I thought it would be" Andy whispered "Mickey, looks like you won that race."
"I see Martha's nose" Jack said with delight as the baby turned and gyrated so all aspects could be seen, Owen freezing it as the genitals were clearly on display.
"You're right. I see a vagina and a penis" he said after a moment of looking, Martha knowing full well what she was seeing as well. "We have a Hermaphrodite."
"We have a beautiful little baby" Ianto said softly "Beautiful, lovely and so cute. Look at those little cheeks. What a sweetheart."
"What will we call it?" Mickey choked "Hr?"
"Why not" Ianto turned to look him in the eye "In time Hr will chose if Hr prefers to be boyish or feminine. It may even change according got the mood of the day. Who cares. I would like to wear a dress for my husband one night, just to see if I look pretty in it. Sex is such a small part of a person's worth. You have a two for one deal. Congratulations. All I can say … congratulations on what looks like a perfectly healthy baby in a world where some will never know such joy."
"Yeah" Mickey finally smiled "You're right. I'm over thinking this. This is my child. Son. Daughter. Hr. A gift."
Ianto embraced him as Martha started to gush "Look. Wonderful, Mama's little pout!"
"Yes. Perfect right?" Jack agreed as he saw the next step in evolution taking shape. He glanced at Ianto "did you mean that? A dress?"
Ianto blushed a he coyly shrugged and Jack smiled.
"You could not possibly look any more edible than you do every moment of the day" Jack whispered "In PJs, pants, a dress, an old bathrobe … mud…fur…naked….especially naked works for me."
"Stop it!"