8

"I think I need to have a word with Tannr. I need to explain the way our kind…"

"I think you need to pull your head out of your arse if you think there is any chance of her having a bond with him now she has openly declared intent towards you! I will NOT have her as a sister-wife. Just getting that out of the way!" Ianto said, and then sighed as he rubbed his face. The conversation starting out with him gently warning Jack of her ways only to find she had been in his ear about Ianto's jealousy of her 'girliness' and Jack was ready for a fight.

"Oh don't be stupid!"

"Did you just call me stupid?" Ianto asked with shock "Jack? You do know she is deliberately…"

"She told me you would try and get me to make her leave. Ianto she is scared, she has never been alone and she is not sure about Tannr." Jack said sternly "As her Brother-in-law I feel I have to protect her and…"

"And there goes Tannr" Ianto groaned as he looked out the window "looks like phase one is complete. He is carrying his bags."

"What?" Jack said with shock, moving to watch him leave with surprise.

"Well… when she decides she is sick of playing nice with the kids we will have two little ones without an adult of their kind to help them learn to become. Great." Ianto turned from the window and walked into the wardrobe to start getting ready for bed.

"What are you doing … go after him!" Jack said with a wave of his hand.

"You are the one who insulted him and let him know you didn't think he was good enough for a bonding. Did you not hear the shouting before?" Ianto re-entered the room and started to climb into the bed. "Clearly she has told him she is not interested now. Burned that bridge."

"What… what are you doing? We've not eaten tea yet!"

"I am not hungry. My tummy is playing up with all this unrest. The kids are fed and getting ready for bed, so am I. I am going to pull the covers over my head and hope tomorrow she is in a better frame of mind and no longer trying to seduce you so she might join the Hive." Ianto said, and then did just that.

Jack stood there with open confusion "You… you are sulking?"

"No. Just tired"

Jack snorted and left the room "Well I am hungry and I intend to eat with Elizabeth then."

"Fine."

.

.

Elizabeth sat staring at him as he went through the events and then she asked "So… she flashed her knickers and when he tried to stop her you scolded and insulted him, then took her inside like she was a child in need of a cuddle? Then she told him to shove off, she's had a better offer?"

"What? No."

"Ianto told me she had this childlike little voice when she was trying to get her own way. Did she use that? Big eyes and a little child's voice?" Elizabeth asked.

Jack sat then and frowned "Ah, I .. I don't … I don't think so. No."

"So did she apologize to Tannr for that? You know they are chaste and when courting nether of them can show any flesh other than neck up and wrist out right? Not even bare feet" she said with annoyance "Tell me she was at least wearing some long pants under the skirts?"

Jack sat there, then said slowly "Ah... lacy red panties."

"Oh Jack. The stories he told of her when they were kids. She was devious and deceitful. Remember she was told by their father that she could not marry that man and she ran away with him then contacted her father once they were married and demanded her dowry. Remember? Two of the other sisters lost potential bondings because she seduced then discarded them. Before that as she seduced and tried to take all the potential men? They had to go outside the village to find suitors? Ianto didn't want her here because of her ways. For Godsake. Tell me she is at least in the end wing still, not in with the kids. She wanted a twin. Ianto did not want her with them alone, you know she will try to slide in any way she can to have a son."

Jack sat there feeling a little silly now and he rose to go check on the kids and mull things over.

.

.

She was in there curled up on one of the day beds like she was a lost soul with no home to go to, her coat rolled up under her head for a pillow. Jack stood looking down at her and reached for a blanket to pull over her. How can he scold her, she is just a child herself.

Awkward.

He left her to sleep.

.

.

"Jack, do you have a moment?" Toshiko asked as she saw him passing their wing door.

"Not you too. Going to scold me for letting her stay too?" Jack sighed.

"No, just come look at this" she replied then clicked a button for the main screen to flicker and then show CCTV feed. It was the kids' room. Jack watched Sophia as she slapped Joy and scolded her for crying, and then shoved her towards the bedrooms, turning towards the door and then race for the day bed.

Then take a few minutes arranging her skirts and laying down to look asleep, then sit up and remove her jacket, look at the door and then settle again.

Jack enters.

Jack leaves.

She sits up and gets off the day bed, then goes over to the children's fridge to open it and start eating some of the food in there, ignoring the obviously crying baby in the next room. Jack watched as the Nanny rushed to the baby and picked her up.

She tried to give her to Sophia only to get waved away with a screwed up face to show that Sophia thought the baby disgusting.

"You see?" Toshiko said after it was finished "I didn't have to say a thing. Did i?"

Jack groaned as he went to ask Ianto what to do.

Some days he is such a fucktard, isn't he?