5

"I am of the old blood. You knew the moment you saw this pendant that I am of royal blood. I think… I think Mama lied. Her parents did not disown her because she chose my Da. I think… I think my grandparents came here to hide from something... someone. Mama was protected. Hidden and then so was I. They are here now… looking for the bloodline. Looking for me."

"You were just a small child when the Hunt began… so long ago" Jack said as he rubbed Ianto's back and thought some more, both men comfortable in the RV that was their second home "You think… you think they were looking even then? This was something to wake up sleeper agents and alert them to your mother being here on this dirt? I remember your mother… as kids. She was afraid… spooked easily. Her parents were also a little flighty. My Daddy said they left a warzone. A place where two families were trying to control one spot. A war to end all wars... one that lasted for generations."

"Mama never talked about it and her parents disowned…. No. No they didn't. Did they" Ianto sat up and stared at Jack with growing clarity "Me Da… Me Da was supposed to keep us hidden. He took Mama and ran. They had money… they had wealth before the Hunt. Da wasted it all. Jesus. Do you think… do you think he was her bodyguard, supposed to hide her and he … fucking… bastard. Bastard. He got lost in the game. Believed the lie… oh god."

"Ianto, I am confused."

"My grandparents came here for another place, a place of war. They had mama and they gave her to a man they said they did not like, gave him money and expensive things… heirlooms from the bloodline… even though they did not like him? Mama told me about them… in the end delirious and dying she told me of the fine things he took and hid… her parents just let them run... hide and assume another name. It's not Jones ya know... never was. They took that name when they wed. That much I know. Jack… they were hiding. Da was not supposed to get lost in the Hunt. He was supposed to be stronger but he was fickle. Why he had another family all the time… he did not love Mama… he was bound to her … bound by the promise. Now Mama is dead, they know and… they seek me. The old blood… the eyes… he asked about my eyes. The bloodline."

"And that pendant with the crest on it?" Jack asked as he started to understand.

"It is the key. It tells of my right to claim. The Grandson of the Prince Regent… I am the heir to the family … war I guess." Ianto fingered the pendant as he sat back in the bed and sighed "They come seeking me to either silence me… kill me… or try and convince me to take the chair in their name for my family?"

"The Hunt. It was a warning, to mess up veering, cause distraction and chaos." Jack nodded "Easier for them to arrive, infiltrate the locals and start searching. Your father hid you deep… well… they might never have found you but for your father falling victim to the game."

"Believing the lie. Like the one who fell in love with his own reflection… the con that was perpetuated was the con that tricked him in the end." Ianto frowned "Why he kept leaving. Hang on … He did not believe in the Hunt either, misdirection. Lying the game. He led those away… so many left with him… so many died, only him retuning. Da… he was protecting in his own way. Oh god… he did not desert us… he protected us… he did."

"Until Claire fucked it up" Jack pointed out. "And he had to sacrifice her… for the greater good."

Both men sat staring at one another and then Ianto let out a single sob "ME."

"Your Da might never had loved your mother, had another wife and family but… Ianto… he did love you. To come back, to try and keep up the game… he had to love you" Jack reached out to pull Ianto to him again "your Da…he did not abandon you… he stayed away so he did not lead them straight to you once he knew he jig was up."

"Mama encouraged me to go off world… she said the distance would help… said she was OK… she suffered with me gone… she sent me away like her own parents sent her didn't she. Why she was so sad when I came home. It meant she was dying… because she was the reason for me being back here on the planet where she knew they were searching."

"In the end… you cannot run forever. Whatever the destiny is… it is prewritten by the gods… sooner or later your time will come around love" Jack agreed sadly "And I think you are right. Your mother sent you away because she was failing and her strength was too weak to keep shielding herself… her true self in the cosmos… that if they found her… if your father failed … you were still safe."

"Oh god… our son."

Both men felt the chill as they agreed that their child was in danger now.

An heir too.