Hughes Flats; Cardiff, Wales
Friday, November 20, 2020
Yawning, Ianto Jones stepped into the main room. It was early. He headed for the kitchen with Russell following close behind. Jack sat at the small table with both their laptops and from the looks of it, he'd been there most of the night.
"How much coffee have you had?"
Jack looked wired. "A few." He rubbed his face.
"What can't you find?" Ianto headed for the coffee pot. There was enough for a mug left.
"Gordon-Glenn." Jack stood and stretched. "Maxwell's mother is missing. I can't find anyone publicly listed for the company. No bodies yet."
"I couldn't find an active location." Ianto filled his mug.
Jack wandered into the kitchen and leaned on the counter. "Gwen is taking Anwen to the hub before school for a Global search."
"We're going to need more custom monitoring programs." Ianto sipped the dreadful coffee. "The programs Kailen wrote to monitor research projects recruiting people are working. We need one to sort commercial energy usage."
"Are you doing all right?"
"Yeah. I miss Kylia. I miss having Anwen and Trefor at the hub." Ianto figured with the chaos he wouldn't able to volunteer for awhile.
Jack reached out brushed his hand across Ianto's face. "Gwen and Rhys need a date night when things calm down. We could take the kids to the mall. Christmas shopping and pizza."
"You're bribing me with babysitting?" Although it was oddly appealed.
Jack shrugged. "We haven't had a date night in awhile either."
Ianto set his mug down. "I'm still recovering from our last holiday at Roberts' bed-and-breakfast."
"We had fun." Jack laughed.
"Some." The image of Peggy and Pat coming out of the woods was still lodged in his head.
"We could go to the pirate theme restaurant again."
"Without Rex," Ianto stated. "The food was good."
"We could sit with the girls this time."
Ianto rolled his eyes. "You wish."
Jack leaned in and kissed him.
Rhys Williams checked the coffee table for his keys. He'd forgotten to put them in the candy dish on the kitchen counter. He was wondering if they were under something. Then Trefor giggled from the doorway of the room he shared with his sister. "Anwen, where are my keys?"
"Above your head." She peeked out of the room, her face above Trefor's head.
Rhys looked up and his keys were hovering in the air. He grabbed them. "Are you ready for school?"
"Yeah. Mum's taking us early. I need to set-up some Global searches."
"Your brother has a class event this morning." Rhys wondered at times. Without Torchwood, it was the type of conversation a parent had with a teenager. "Rhiannon Davies emailed a reminder."
"I'm just authorizing searches, dad. Trefor will get to school on time." She rested her arm on his head. "One of the parents is doing a presentation on airplanes."
"And a spaceship." Trefor eyes lit up.
"We need to get going." Gwen stepped out of the other doorway.
Rhys walked over to her. "Another long day?"
"I don't know."
He hugged her. "Call if I need to pick up the kids."
Gwen lowered her voice. "We have possible human experimentation and a lot of missing kids."
"I'll get the kids from school."
"Thanks. Talk to Ken."
Which meant check on Dawn. It was a conversation that hadn't managed directly. Gwen had accepted both the affair and the baby better than he could have expected. None one had figured out how to talk about it. Less than two months before Dawn's due date, and he had no idea how birth certificates or support was going to work.
Ken Phillips dodged a flying pillow. At least it wasn't the book on pregnancy this time. Dmitri evaluated Dawn again and said she needed bed rest. Between varying pain and boredom, she didn't care for that idea. He hoped John would get back with the new prenatal vitamins and ice cream soon. Both would make her feel better.
The knock had him checking his watch. John wouldn't be back yet. Hoping it wasn't another problem, Ken answered the door. Rhys looked uneasy. One of the numerous questions couldn't ask. Rhys had been missing for three months and came back with a girlfriend who was more than four months pregnant.
Ken stepped back and motioned Rhys in. "Dawn had a rough night. Vomiting, crying. The pain has gotten worse and Dmitri said there isn't anything she can safely take that's stronger."
Rhys nodded. "Does she need anything?"
"Talk to her. Dmitri wants her to rest. I don't think Dawn will listen to me."
Rhys hesitated. "My wife…"
"If Gwen's concerned, she can ask me. Dawn's in no condition for anything inappropriate."
He nodded and walked across the main room.
Ken headed into the kitchen. He checked the coffee maker. The pot was halfway done. With all of Torchwood busy, he needed it. While he didn't mind sitting with Dawn, she needed more than he could manage at times. From what John said, whatever was happening with Torchwood was bad. Ianto and Dmitri might not be able to help.
When Rhys stepped into the kitchen, he looked worried. "There's something wrong with Dawn."
"Pregnant women get like that."
"Ken, I've known her for two years. That isn't normal."
"Are you sure?" Ken didn't like the sound of that. From his experiences with his sisters, and what he read online, Dawn was having a complicated pregnancy. The attitude could easily have been emotional, hormonal and stress.
"Yeah. You didn't see Gwen pregnant. I have seen hormonal. With Anwen, there were safety concerns and Gwen got really paranoid in the last month."
"Would you call Dmitri? I have his number. I didn't know Dawn before she was pregnant." Ken quickly wrote the number.
Rhys' concern was contagious. Ken knew there were problems. He'd wondered more than once if he should have asked more questions, but he already had trouble coping with what he knew.
"Thank you," Rhys said.
Ken hesitated. "I don't know the personal details. It's none of my business. But Dawn is having a rough time. It could help if she spent time with someone she knew."
"It's complicated."
That was the biggest understatement Ken had ever heard.