38

"You are not broken" Ianto replied before Ten could, "You are exactly who you are supposed to be. You are Babbit."

A little nod and then a grin as Babbit sat up and regarded his Taddy. "So…I am supposed to be silly sometimes?"

"Isn't Daddy?" Ianto asked, "Those Speedos are so tight I fear one day they will disappear up his bum and never get found, but it's what Daddy does. Every time he goes to the hot tub, out come those pants."

Babbit laughed, throwing his head back and then he regarded Ianto again, "Taddy? When Walter said the cat was going to be stuffed he was being silly right? Lady Emma isn't really gonna be stuffed."

"No hon, he meant as in full because she was eating too much" Ianto said calmly, "Being full is being stuffed. Because something stuffed is packed full of stuffing, right?"

"Ah!" Babbit considered and then leaned into the hug again. "So she was pretty stuffed when she walked funny."

"Exactly, too much food and she waddles like Ton" Ianto laughed as he accepted the giraffe and bonked Babbit on the head with it.

"Do you mind if I talk to your Taddy? You can stay if you want but I really want to ask him a few things, is that OK?" Ten asked and Babbit slid off Ianto's lap to return the giraffe, calmly rearrange the toys.

"So, is he always like that or is he nervous?" Ten asked.

"He is always open and honest, sometimes to the point of rude but he never means any harm" Ianto answered, "He believes in honesty."

"Am I also detecting a wee bit of OCD given how he's arranging my books for me now?" Ten asked with amusement.

"He has a certain way he likes things. I guess I do spoil him as he was such a sickly baby and of the four children, he is the most … delicate" Ianto shrugged, "But I do not apologize for it."

"Good" Ten smiled, "Your child is lovely and I can see that you are trying to make him comfortable in his own skin. He does go by 'he' right?"

"Yes. He has always called himself a boy, but also a Babsy girl. He has a best friend and she is the one he tells us he will marry and have children with. He likes dressing in her clothes, being girly and until the attack, he had long hair with curls at the bottom that was his pride and joy. I believe my child is transgendered and identifies as a girl in a boy's body who likes girls."

"He has never said anything about boys?"

"No. I am gay, as are my parents and my brother. Our sister was straight. Babs does not see it as out of the ordinary. He was raised to believe that we are all entitled to love whomever makes us happy" Ianto said, squirming in his chair. "My stepfather was homophobic and hated …"

Ianto cleared his throat and checked what Babbit was doing then started to talk again, "My mother asked her brother's husband to be a sperm donor, hence me. When she died her husband made my life hell. Then her brother and husband, my natural father, took me. I knew nothing but love from then on."

"Your Step-father was not loving?"

"Not the good kind" Ianto snorted, "I questioned my sexuality for a long time, telling myself not to be a Nancy-boy and I married a girl that made me happy, we had a child but she died. Jack … he … something inside me is …real with him."

"So you let your freak flag fly" Ten smiled and Ianto laughed.

"Yes."

"But you are not Trans?" Ten asked, "And not Babbit's natural father?"

"Babbit was … his mother left him to me." Ianto winced, "I took him and made him mine. My special sweetling. I know his father and there is homosexuality and transgenders in the family past."

"And you are OK with that" Ten said, more as a statement than a question.

"I have four babies, four lovely children and one is determined to be a movie or music star, god help me. One is quietly working his way towards either joining his father in the Heddlu or perhaps something in the scientific community, I let Stephen coast at the moment while he decides. The youngest has DS and enjoys being a little cuddle monster. Babbit wants to be a pirate, he also feels more comfortable in his girlfriend's clothes being pretty. I don't care if he wants to paint himself green and croak. As long as he is loved and feels that."

"Well, he is definitely Trans, that is obvious, he is also a lovely little soul" Ten smiled, "I don't see any problem here. He is well adjusted, loved, happy and confident in his decision to be Babs."

"My homosexuality cannot be used as an excuse to hurt him?" Ianto asked, "To say I made him this way?"

"Baby" Ten laughed, "We were born this way."

Ianto smiled as Babbit came back sporting a tiara from the toy box, mincing as he sang Material Girl with innerving accuracy.

Both men clapped at the end.