Yes Rambleinblue it has been a wee while... OK, for you here is a second chap.

8

Ianto's phone rang and he looked at the screen before answering "Rhi?"

"What?" Ianto spluttered "How did he find you?"

He rubbed his face as he heard his sister tell him that Johnny had made a terrible scene at the school, trying to take the kids form their classes and making the kids all embarrassed. She thinks she may have lost her job. Then in the background he heard his son's voice.

"Put him on, he will only ring me later if you don't" Ianto warned. "Stewie?"

"TAD! I HATE THIS SCHOOL!"

"Mac, come on. You have to give it a chance. This is the third…."

"THEY KNOW NOTHING!"

"Stop shouting at me love" Ianto crooned "Come on. They need time to adjust to you, you know your intelligence shocks them. I know it sucks right now, did I enjoy school? No. Did I need it? Yes."

"Uncle Johnny came and smashed shit up!"

Rhiannon's voice was in the background scolding and Inot knew the eye roll his son gave her would have been epic. This was not a new argument, the boy being a few years older in his head, much as his own Taddy had been at his age and Ianto knew full well how hard it all was.

"Did ya plant him? Or did they burn him?"

Ianto fought off the amusement as he tried to remain stern but knew his son had tickled him now "Burned him love. I think they will scatter his ashes somewhere as he didn't want to be in a hunk of dirt"

"I didn't get to say goodbye. You did place the letter in there for me right?"

"Yes love. Grandy got it and I did not read it. Honest. I slipped it into his pocket for later" Ianto smiled as his son sighed theatrically. "I will be home soon. I have some things to sort out here and then I will come home, OK?"

"And never leave me again?"

"And never ever leave you again" Ianto promised "I love you Stewie."

"I love you too Taddy, even if you left me here with these heathen scum"

Ianto laughed as he listened to his niece and nephew attack their cousin with tickles, Rhiannon struggling for the phone as his life back in Cardiff waited for him. And a lot more crap. Then he looked out the window at the beach again and sighed as theatrically as his son had.

Rip off the band aid again.

"Rhi, I gotta go. Jack is outside staring in at me." He said with annoyance "Looks like the Crazy Train is about to leave the station."

"What will you say?"

"How the fuck should I know sissy" he huffed, ending the call to place his phone in his pocket and stare back at the man who was clearly able to see him too.

Fuck it all.

Ianto opened the door and Jack went to step forward. Ianto held up a hand "Coffee out here, a chat and then you piss off. I do not want you inside here, it's not… I am not ready for that."

"This place has been in the family for three generations!" Jack spluttered.

"And it still is… in a way" Ianto replied, the fourth generation yet to visit. Oh god. He has to get it out. God. He can't hide anymore, running away will not do it now. Franklin can't keep him safe anymore. He can't sell this place, it's McKenzie's now.

Jack sat and waited for Ianto on the pouch, watching the long grass wave in the wind. Ianto returned with coffee for them both and some biscuits. Trust Ianto. So polite. Food for the bastard. Jack found himself smiling as he recognized his favourites on the plate not knowing Ianto had purchased them automatically as they were also Stew's favourite.

"So. Where do we start?"

"Dad sent you money, kept you safe from me." Jack said like it was an accusation.

"Yes. Your father helped me leave you, helped me set up my new life and visited me regularly. No, before you ask and if you ever do I will never speak to you again… we were not lovers. Your father was like a dad to me, he called me son. No, he kept me from you because he loved me, as much as he loved you or Gray." Ianto replied calmly.

"But me and Gray were his sons."

"You were, sure" Ianto said, then he let his head fall back. Do I let it all out? Why not, let's splatter the stew all over the fucking walls shall we? "Gray was not Franklin's though, but he loved him still right?"

The silence lingered as Jack stared at him, then said softly "What?"

"The DNA tests showed you and Gray were half brothers. Franklin was not Gray's father. Franklin always suspected one of your mother's affairs produced him. Franklin was too scared to have Rose tested too, told himself it didn't' matter as she had his mother's smile. Don't throw bloodlines at me" Ianto replied.

Jack stared at him and said again "What?"

"Your mother had many affairs. Why there were separate bedrooms. When he found out about you and I in trouble, when I told him you were unfaithful he told me all about it. His love for you kids kept them together, he didn't want me trapped in a loveless marriage for the sake of the kids too. Each time you hired someone to search for me, he shut it down. He loved coming to my place to be loved, cherished and not put upon for anything. He knew each fortnight with me was a fortnight for your mother to sleep with her bits on the side."

Jack blinked slowly then leaned back in the chair to let his breath out "It makes sense. Why they had separate bedrooms. He was going to divorce her ya know, we found the paperwork."

"I know. We talked about that too. He didn't want to hurt Rose in her final year of college. He was waiting for her to settle into her life and then your mother was toast. Pre-nup ya know. She would have got nothing and she knows it." Ianto laughed softly "His dying was a godsend for her, right? He was generous."

"Don't' talk like that" Jack said with horror, knowing Ianto was right. "You left me. You… I love you and I miss you and… why. Why? Alice?"

"Jack, your father was tired. So tired. He didn't want me to end up with his life. He was right. Alice. He loved her so much, even as she was not really his grandchild. You adopted her and made her so anyway, he gushed about her even as it irked me. He came to my place because he loved being a grandfather, more than anything." Ianto sighed.

"He always told us he was going to the UK to stew" Jack snorted "It was to talk things over with you, like he always did."

"No. It was… he was coming to me sure, but he was also coming to Stew" Ianto agreed knowing it was time to be an adult here "Stew as in Stewart. McKenzie Stewart Harkness-Jones. My son. I called him McKenzie but Frankie called him Stew from the get-go. He chose that part of his name, and begged for the Harkness part too. I gave in as I always did to him. Our son has your name despite me not being good enough for a ring."

Jack sat for a long time not speaking, staring at the long grass.

"You took my child from me?"

"No. I kept my child with me! Clearly you would not have let me keep him, you made that clear. What could I do? Give birth and let you snatch him away for your mother? Or run." Ianto rose from the chair and started to gather the mugs up "and now you know the secret. Now you know what gave your father the greatest joy in the world. His grandson who has his smile, even as Alice has your mother's."

Jack had no answer for that.

He turned his head to stare at the grass some more, the tears at pricking at his eyes a surprise to them both.