58

Pip was in one of his funny moods, pulling faces and flopping like a rag doll while Fay tried to change his trousers for dry ones, the little bugger had been found in the fish pond they had just installed in the Glass House.

"Thank the gods we hadn't added the fish yet. For the love of chocolate, stop squirming" she scolded. Pip answered by farting then roaring with mirth as she glared at him.

"Afon!" Ianto snapped as he watched from the doorway and everyone froze, even the other children milling around "Did you just break wind in the face of one of your elders?"

Pip looked surprised, then chastised as he slumped and let the bottom lip quiver.

"Don't employ the Harkness Lip with me Mister" Ianto knelt and took the child, making him stand as he pulled off the wet dungarees "these are getting too small for you."

Pip's eyes widened with horror as he clutched at them and made a noise of annoyance. "Stop that. You can't fight progress. Didn't you used to say that to me when I didn't want to let go of some old broken toy you were throwing on the fire? Hmmm? Anyway. I think I heard someone was sewing you a new larger pair from your Daddy's Jeans he tore the knee in last month."

Pip let go of the material and made a noise of interest.

"Yes. The washed denim. Will look even more like your old ones than these pairs do" Ianto managed to wrestle the brown corduroy pair on and sat back "I know you don't like cords. Never did but Nainny liked you in this colour."

Pip agreed, his little hands rubbing the fuzzy material with interest "Warm Tadda."

"Yes, it is a warm material. You look nice and dapper too." Ianto kissed his little head "Now. The fish pond?"

"The filter"

"Filter. You wanted to adjust the filter in the bottom?" Ianto asked then snorted "Still not trusting others to get the job done, eh old man?"

Pip pouted, and then nodded as he grabbed at Ianto's' shirt and raised his foot for fresh socks and a little pair of sweet slippers that looked like dogs. He then stomped up and down watching the ears flap and the tongue on the front waggle, laughing at himself as all little ones do.

"Thanks for that Ianto. He is such a little devil" Fay laughed "But such a charmer. I know by the end of the day a little flower or something will appear like a gallant suitor to apologise. Francine calls him a Gent."

"He is a charmer" Ianto agreed.

"Is that from his old self?" she asked with interest "Or the Harkness influence?"

Ianto laughed "Both I think. I remember Poppy bringing Nainny flowers and little carved animals and things by way of apology and Jack does the same... food mostly as it pleases me. Maybe he learnt from him, who can say."

"So … they knew each other from the start?"

"When it all hit the fan Jack and I worked together and were … dabbling. So new we didn't have a name for it. We ran for the farm where my Prepper grandparents were waiting and those early day where Jack and I were starting to find one another maybe Poppy took him under his wing a bit. Jack has had many loves. Wives, husbands even I think. But … he knew from the start that I was something different. He was not my first either. But … he is my forever."

Jack stood in the doorway watching the two talk, Pippy still stomping bout and as Ianto shone while speaking of his love for him and Jack felt that overwhelming desire to hold him. Be with him. Inside him. Part of him. Gods, he loved him.

Ianto looked over at him and lit up the entire room "Cariad!"

"Hey, are my ears burning?" Jack asked with a wide smile, scooping up the baby to kiss his little neck, the toddler squealing as he kicked and struggled in fake annoyance.

"Was just telling Fay that you know how to pick flowers Cariad" Ianto said happily "although … not had any for a while."

"NO!" Jack gasped with horror "How could I be so remiss. Come on Pippy, we need to pick flowers. Now!"

Pip yelled as he kicked both his feet and Jack pulled off the slippers "Yes. Agreed. This is gumboot work ahead old man!"

Jack made a thing of stomping off with a screaming little man under his arm, the sound of the motorbike making Ianto wince as he knew his little one would be on the gas stank with goggles on clinging to the handlebars with glee while Jack took them both beyond the Dome to the wild flower patch in the next dell. The side car no doubt with the twins or Rosie.

"Were they like that too?" Fay laughed.

"Yes. Always up to no good. A wonder they didn't blow the place up sometimes. They loved one another. Poppy thought Jack was the bee's knees, the only one of any of my friends he even saw as good enough. Mind … he did love Owen too. Saw himself in him I think, he was such a cad."

"I will never forget him with the babies when they were doing that silly chicken dance down the main street" Fay laughed "Even had feathers in his hair the kids had collected from the chicken coop. He was so loving. I see it in this one too."

"He is his own self too though. Poppy didn't look at people the way he does. Stare at them and measure them. That's Jack. You will never see him do it, might not know he does it but Jack judges. Sees everything and knows a lot of what people are thinking." Ianto warned "also … that's my temper. I know that too. Poppy didn't have tantrums. I did … still do."

"His own self" she agreed.

Ianto thought again about Martha's baby and wondered if future conversations would be like this about Hr. Or would they all finally see that everyone is unique in their own way.