10
After breakfast everyone got dressed… well everyone else. Ianto just had to change his house shoes for outside ones sitting at the back door under the veranda. Yes, of course there is a difference. Yes, there was a correct place under the old comfortable sofa for shoes. DUH! Let's not totally descend into madness here people! And then once they were ready, they ventured outside into the back yard.
"See the trees over there, they go right back to the far river. There is a little walkway with flat pebbles to walk on, well there was, that was so cool. We could take a picnic there one day, spend the afternoon fishing for nothing I particular. There was a table and chairs for that. Taddy used to take the old transistor radio too, we would listen to music and dance" Ianto pointed and then turned, his face lighting up as he looked in the other direction "that there is the Harrington Farm, they have horses and I rode all the time. They have some lovely gentle cows and last time I was there they had gotten some goats, those fainting ones, so cute. I think they still have them given the noise in the background when I rang to say I was coming and I was going to text a shopping list to stock the fridge please."
"You think of everything, don't you" Jack said happily.
"I try to, sometimes I don't quite get there but you don't notice the shortfalls" Ianto replied.
"Hey. You always succeed in my eyes" Jack corrected him "Always."
Ianto smiled and then yelped as Mongo raced past with the boys, running into the long grass with delight as they all yelled and yodelled, barked and fell over. And was laughing and Jake felt freer than in years. Watching his family he knew this was a wakeup call.
It should not have to take a plane crash to tell him his life was going up in flames.
.
.
"I think you need to carry one, I will get the other" Ianto said softly as he rose from the comfortable old chair by the fire. He walked over and gently scooped up Jamie Dee, kissing him lovingly as he adjusted the weight and started for the back rooms. Jack rose to get little Nate.
Soon the two boys, still smelling sweet form the huge bath they had taken after the evening meal, were snuggled in clinging to one another like they had all their lives.
"Look at them, do you think another would fit?" Jack asked softly.
"A little girl would be the apple of their eye. We both know she would rule this household in two seconds flat. They love Toshiko's little one, they adore the ones they manage to get hold of in the street before I can apologize to the poor mother. Yeah, they would be all for it" Ianto said, showing that he had given this some serious thought.
"And work? You are just getting back into it, enjoying it?" Jack asked next.
"I don't' enjoy it as much as I enjoy being a Taddy. I never knew how this would feel and… this is it. Don't get me wrong, I love my work but this makes me feel… needed. Like… worthy. Does that make sense?" Ianto leaned against him and Jack felt the raw love between them.
"Let me take you to bed and show you how worthy you make ME feel mister Harkness-Jones" Jack whispered, kissing him deeply as he held him, scared for a moment that if he let him go he might vanish in a puff of smoke. The moment too raw.
"You talk a good game… but I don't know if you can deliver. I have high standards" Ianto winked, slapping at his arse before taking off for their bedroom and Jack stifled the urge to laugh, wanting to sneak out without waking his little ones.
Cheeky Tiger.
.
.
The next morning breakfast was much the same, but Jamie Dee got a butterfly this time, each large wing was an egg and the fact this meant two eggs had him in raptures. Boy likes eggs. What can ya say?
As Jack and the kids played outside with an old ball Jack had found, Ianto packed that picnic they had talked about and they all set off to see if the old track was still there. Newsflash… it was.
The kids splashed with glee in the shallow side of the river, the deeper side more Mongo's kettle of fish. Jack and Ianto sat in the shade and watched over them, not really tlkaing much, just letting the world turn around them.
When Ianto stood to pack up and leave it startled Jack who had not noticed hoe late the day had got, the camera in the table telling him that Ianto had been taking some photos while he dozed. He had needed that, damn he had needed that. It felt so refreshing to wake to a soft breeze, kids laughing and Ianto softly humming some lullaby he had heard him hum to the babies sometimes.
Just another normal family doing normal family stuff.
Ianto was right.
They needed to not only cleanse their lives, but their souls.
So they might be in sync once more.