57
Ianto was kneeling in a vegetable patch weeding as Jack stood watching and after a while he crouched down and Ianto knew whatever he wanted to talk about he wanted it quiet so he stopped weeding and settled to listen.
"I have been thinking about Martha" Jack said as he fought with the words "The baby."
"Yes?"
"Well … I don't know" Jack looked at the carrots and played with their fuzzy little heads then sighed "The first Dome. We set that up with Tosh playing interface with Mainframe. I mean .. you and I did most of the grunt work. The second Dome for Fallback … Martha spearheaded that as we were both fussing on other things. I mean we helped but … she did most of the construction and handling of the crystals and things."
Ianto was still unsure where this was going and canted his head.
"Each spring, we check the Dome integrity. I do the one here and you the one there. This spring it was Martha who went because of Pip's clinginess." Jack paused and Ianto felt a frown starting as he tried to get what Jack was struggling with then it all came out in a flood "Was it radiation? My body absorbs and shucks it off without me even knowing. I mean … it wouldn't matter. Not to me. Or probably you but this Spring Martha did it. I mean .. the baby. Did we do that? Letting her do the Dome reset, did that cause this? A mutation due to the Radon bursts from the crystals? Did we …could we have… I mean…"
Ianto sighed "Cariad. Look at me."
Jack looked up forlornly.
"Could we have saved Alice's baby from the scalpel?" Ianto asked "If only we knew?"
Jack blinked.
"What did we agree about the 'Could'a Would'a' effect?" Ianto said softly "hmmm? It is what it is. Looking for blame or reason will not fix what has happened. Like making sure Alice's next one had all the help we could, if you feel that in some way contributed to this, which by the way I don't … then next Spring only you and I will handle them. Yes?"
Jack nodded, plucking at a plant.
"Marigold."
"hmmmm?"
"Cariad, that's a marigold. We leave those as the bees like them" Ianto explained "Look at me."
Jack looked up, this time with more conviction.
"I love you. It's OK. This could have been from travelling with the Doctor, one of her eggs already damaged from something out there and this time it was a crap shoot that it was the egg to become … or maybe she ate contaminated food while on the run and it's only now at the point where it's coming out. Maybe the Mara did it to be shits or … or … like Owen said. It's a phenomenon that happens." Ianto spoke calmly throughout the conversation "The more we worry the harder it is for everyone to accept that this is going to be OK. Martha is going to have a healthy baby, regardless of sex. Ok? We saw that. That is worth noting."
"Tish is getting scanned too, they are all wanting to be checked out now" Jack stopped killing the plants "Except Marley."
"Clicker. Gods knows how she would even scan" Ianto shrugged "I do not feel any mothers will have a problem. This is a natural thing that has simply happened and we need to suck it up and accept it as we would any birth defect or evolutionary change. For Martha's sake we need to be confident. After all … our kids are not exactly normal either."
"Case in point … the twins."
"I know, I saw them at the breakfast table and intend talking to them about using the salt and pepper shakers for battle. I know. They never knew about Daleks, I will explain that it seemed poor taste. They will listen, be interested and then let it go."
"Tosh is working on the body cam footage for the movie night. She wanted to know about some voice over stuff, for the doco." Jack frowned "I don't have time."
"Kitty?" Ianto looked up from his patch "She is coming along nicely. Maybe she would be a good choice? See if she wants to do it with Dean and Billy. With Freddy needing to hear what everyone sees, she is good at describing things for him. A natural commentator."
"Good idea" Jack lit up "Barty does have a lovely voice."
Ianto laughed softly as Jack again used the childhood nickname he had given her and only he still used. Ianto also knew the girl loved Jack and found this endearment such a touching thing as she neared a time when she needed a father figure more in her life.
"All these babies coming" Jack sighed as he rose, brushing down his pants "I wonder if there is going to be room?"
"Always for one more" Ianto said happily as he felt the sun's warmth in his bones "there will always be room for one more my beloved."
Jack smiled down at him and whispered "Especially if it is a pup from you my Holdfast."
Ianto watched Jack wander off in search of Kitty and hummed softly to himself with delight.
Yes.
It was time for another.