59
The afternoon crept in and Ianto was humming as he did the housework, Monday always a dusting day and he had the TV on as background noise for Ton.
As his baby slept he pondered how annoyed Jack would be to enter and find him carrying the boy around and the comments about his back so he sat on the sofa and started to arrange to cushions to release the pack.
'At this time we can confirm there are three officers down and the standoff continues in downtown Cardiff.'
Ianto's' hands froze as he looked up at the TV screen, the breaking news bulletin showing prone bodies laying on a grass verge in front of a building.
Ianto knew the uniform, he had peeled it off a weary Jack enough times to know at a glance that it was SWAT.
He became still, his spine a block of ice and his bowels seemed to shrink to nothing as he stared at the screen, a close up on one of the prone SWAT members showed a hand scrabbling in the grass, covered in blood and dirt as it seemed to move without thought.
The signet ring glinted.
Ianto clutched his baby as a wail started to build in his throat and he swallowed it down, frantically trying to find a calm place as the little boy shifted in his lap and mumbled in his sleep.
Finally, Ianto could move and he released the pack, settling a little boy in the cushions and he pulled the cuddly blanket over him for good measure then stood as he struggled from the rest of the pack.
Stay calm sweetheart.
"Yeah, I'm trying Lisa" he whispered into the room.
Ianto scrubbed at his face and took deep breaths as he stepped closer to the screen and watched as the hand was shown again.
Moving.
Alive.
Right?
Ianto picked up the phone and called Gene, relieved when he picked up straight away.
"Hey little Bro, what's up?"
"Turn on the TV" Ianto whispered, "Channel three."
He listened to scrabbling and Idris's deep voice filtering through as he told Gene where the remote was and asked if he was coming back to bed.
Ah gods, he had interrupted a bit of afternoon delight.
For some reason this was something to focus on and Ianto found himself apologizing for being cock-block and Idris' booming laughter told him he was on speaker phone.
"What am I … shit. Is that here?" Gene asked.
"Wait for it." Ianto said with a calm he didn't know he had, "Wait, it's on a loop and …there. There hand."
"Yeah?" Gene said softly, "Shit, is that SWAT? Yan?"
"That hand" Ianto couldn't say it, it was stuck in his throat as he watched the hand scrabbling and he turned away, looking at Bert sunning himself instead.
"Jesus" Idris was speaking now, "Skiddy, it's me. Get the boys together, there's something going down downtown, I want Intel, now!"
"Ianto?" Gene's voice was quiet as Idris spoke overtop on his own phone, "Baby. Is that Jack's team."
"That hand" Ianto repeated then cursed himself for sounding dense, "Gennie. It's Jack's hand."
The silence seemed the stretch and Ianto broke it with a sob. It startled him so much that he jumped, then realized it had come from him.
"Stay there!" Idris was speaking and Ianto focused, hearing the authority, "Don't you get in that Spaceship, do you hear me Sweetie? You wait there and we will come for you. Don't you dare try to drive!"
"The boys" Ianto whispered.
Oh gods, how was he going to tell the boys.
"I'm calling Taddy, you stay there!" Gene said and Ianto settled on the sofa as he listened to them hurriedly dress, never taking the phone off speaker, never leaving him.
It was a strange comfort that they did that.
Even hearing the car doors slam and Idris on another line, Gene talking softly as he reassured him that they were almost there, it was OK.
Strange comfort.
