9

"So… half the known assets?" Owen asked.

"Yeah, they tried to offer less than a third of what I was supposed to know about and I pointed out the other accounts she didn't' know I had on her. Her face" Ianto laughed happily "she was spewing on it. Yep. Almost two million dollars, daddy cut the cheque to get rid of me. You could see he was physically ill with it all. His own divorce in the works."

"So … we gonna see her again?" Jack wondered out loud as he lifted the spoon to fed the little boy who was having a crappy day. Jack had arriving back from checking Ianto was not followed to find Owen pleading to the tyke who had refused to eat and was now eating for Jack with glee.

"We were going to stop for a meal but thought we might get takeaway food for all of us" Ianto said as he placed the bags of Chinese down, then added the two boxes of pizza.

"Christ! A veritable feast!" Owen said with glee as Toshiko went to get some plates.

"A celebration" Ianto said happily "she is in so much strife right now, apparently the man she has been sleeping with is the son-in-law of the CEO who didn't want the marriage of his daughter to go up in smoke so…Lisa is a gonners. No job."

"Shit, she lived for that job!" Toshiko said around a mouthful of pizza "Wow."

Yeah. Well … she has a lovely apartment to sulk in" Ianto shrugged, not really caring as he watched Jack take a mouthful of noodles and then suck the rest in decadently. Such a pig. Such a child. Ianto grinned at him.

"I have never felt so .. liberated. We eat what we want, when we want … I never saw how much she controlled us. All the time, even when she was not there. Seeing her there… I didn't even know her" Ianto said as he accepted a mouthful from Jack's chopsticks and hummed.

Toshiko froze, the slice of pizza halfway to her mouth as she watched the sharing of food and Owen in his usual way continued to eat like nothing was happening.

"So… what now?" she asked slowly.

"Now… we sit back and gloat for a while" Jack said around his food "And the little man gets a bath. Look at that. A noodle hat, clever!"

Ianto turned and gaped at the child who had tipped the bowl of food onto his head and looked quite pleased with himself as the sauce ran down his face.

"Come on" Jack laughed as he rose to help with the boy "That was an original thought."

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Ianto knew it was Stephanie and he raised a hand to wave as she saw him and she lit up as she hurried across the crowded restaurant to him "Hello Ianto love."

"Hey Stehp. Glad to see you understood the weird instructions" Ianto said as he helped pull her chair out for her and she settled with glee as he then poured her some champagne. She then reached for the water glass instead "I hear you are on the final lap? Hard to believe it's been two months since we found our spines."

"Yes, that chequered flag is waving and he is on three wheels!" she giggled "He's fucked. The best part is that he doesn't know that she is not the only one preggers."

"No!"

"Yes, six months now. I was going to say at my party but when you gave me that ring and envelope… I knew something was happening. He thinks we are done but then ... my lawyer is going to wait and do a paternity test then go him for the baby's rights."

"Ouch" Ianto grimaced, then laughed despite himself "that is extra dark!"

"Yes, almost black" she said, flicking back her blonde locks "You and I were the minorities, our white skin such an affront when the entire time they were the ones who had to reflect on their sins."

"Well … serves them right!"

"And I do not know how to thank you" she reached for his hand "Thank you for saving me from that, for helping me find a new life."

"Don't be silly" Ianto patted her hand with his other hand, the ring she knew he had purchased for her there pride of place "Like you said, we had to stick tighter."

"How is he?"

"Henry?"

Ianto looked through his lashes then made a leering face ad she snorted with mirth. He whispered "Let's just say.. the first kisses have turned to first cuddles… gropes and a frantic hand job on the sofa that left us jazzed in our pants like kids."

"OH MY!" she laughed happily "Well done. He is lovely. She suspects, and rants about the house ... he doesn't care"

"So you are still there?"

"Possession is part of the claim. I furnished it, designed everything … so technically it is my house, purchased when we married and I kept the wedding card from him telling me this ws 'my new home' so I am not moving out. He is in the guest quarters trying to hold on but I see him moving out in a few weeks. I have a cousin coming to pretend to be my 'pool boy' for a while with some topless pool cleaning and such to let him see I have moved on."

"Oh, that is a good one. I need to do that with Jack ... only... he would need to be a window washer for that apartment she is sulking in. Rub himself on the glass… no… bad idea. He would want to do it naked."

She roared with mirth as she watched Ianto become someone she only saw rarely in private, now openly happy and sweet.

They both found their feet and knew for sure….

No shame on them.