14
"Owen, I could hear Toshiko's voice on the radio. Is she OK?" Ianto asked as he watched Owen checking over Emma. "I don't see her here."
"Yeah, she stayed behind on the boat. We have a heavily pregnant mother about to pop and one of us had to stay. I pulled the misogynist's card and said it was safer for her to stay behind. She pretended to be insulted and shit, but secretly she was relieved. This place haunts her a bit, all these kids. Won't last, the Uglies are getting stronger and more fucking clever by the day. They will not listen, they think they have a fighting chance but I don't give them more than another six months on the outside."
"From bats and sticks to knives" Ianto agreed "a matter of time before one remembers what a gun can do."
"My sentiments exactly Watson" Owen said, then paused "Hang on. Would I be Doctor Holmes or you? They were both doctors."
"I would wear the hat better" Ianto replied like this was a normal conversion "And as Watson, you would get blown up and miraculously survive more. Besides, I can see you with a limp and a snazzy cane to smack people's ankles with."
"Yeah" Owen went back to the little one and gave the sign for 'Hungry' which got the 'yes' response.
"So, all the different signs and you chose ASL?" Owen asked as he straightened up and smiled at the little one.
"Easiest to learn" Ianto agreed, reaching for her "Welsh or UK does not have the same ease. And I know this one from our own training."
"Like you don't speak them all" Owen said as he turned to face him "Come on. You taught her this way for him. This is the only one he ever learnt, ever uses with us in a tense situation and is fluent in. You tight your child ASL because you really hoped that one day Jack would want to converse with her too."
"Fuck off Fuckface" Ianto said, his hands clasped around the little one whose eyes flicked between them, then a little teethy grin as she pointed a finger at Owen and signed 'face' twice in a row.
"She thinks you are calling me something weird-face?" Owen asked with amusement. "Is she asking you what the word is? She heard it, right?"
"So far I have resisted the urge to sign in the other word… only a matter of time." Ianto sighed with an eye roll.
"With him around… she's gonna learn that soon enough" Owen roared with mirth "And she's not deaf, just mute. Gonna be a spitfire. So damned cute with those curls, like a halo around her face."
"Mica had hair like… ah. Damn." Ianto said softly, holding the baby tight "Sorry. So. What's the plan here?"
"We came back with some ammo and shit to trade for some livestock and shit. We load up, get the few remaining villagers wanting to vote themselves off the island, as it were and we take off" Owen shrugged. "We hope to find them still alive next time too but… whatever. We did our best and got what we need. Like Jack says, we can't save them all, best make sure we save ourselves."
"And the livestock I see? How big is this fucking boat?" Ianto asked as a cow wandered past being led towards the trading area now.
"It's a luxury Cruiser. You know, the Stargazing one that sails all around Wales and Scotland coastlines, stargazing at night and such? A week long cruise of luxury? Up the 250 people comfortable housed with four decks. One for cabins, one for food and entertainment, one with the gym shit and medical areas and such, then the top deck with the pool and…"
"Pool?"
Owen laughed "Yeah. This is Jack. Crazy Jumping Jack Flash, you think he would get us a boring boat? He got us a BOAT!"
And the livestock?"
"An island near where we have her anchored. As we move her we will either leave some people to tend the stock or take them with. There are two families happy to get off the big bitch now they know they don't have sea legs. The idea of being farmers appeals and the island have a caretaker's cottage and homestead for the rich fuckers who owned the island. Since they are not using it, the livestock are going to have a lovely big private island all to themselves. Like it is one of Richard Branson's ones he forgot he even had."
"A cruise ship" Ianto repeated "Water, water everywhere and not an Ugly to fight."
"Exactly, he thought it through." Owen said "We were so proud, gave him a gold star there."
"How many people?"
"Fifty three so far, today will push the numbers up. We talked about filling her to capacity with survivors but then… the more people, the more supplies needed, the more work and it is dangerous each time we hit shore to search for them." Gwen entered the conversation.
"If we scout out a couple more islands and create a chain we can visit regularly with supplies, bartering and such, we can offload some as we get more" Ianto suggested.
"Jack's idea exactly" Owen smiled "You are still in sync."
"Nice to know" Ianto looked over at the man in question. Jack was deep in conversation with a woman who was holding out a live chicken like it was an offering.
He could do a boat.
Yeah.
Captain Jack Harkness, pirate of the Welsh Isles… yeah. Ianto could follow him.
Anywhere.