5

Despite Ianto's fears, Faith did not seem to feel jealous or slighted by the visiting baby. In fact, she was as smitten as Jack now she had finally truly noticed that it was pretty.

Well, she called him pretty. She wanted to hold him, tantrumed when told no and Ianto rolled his eyes as Jack overruled Ianto and let her sit on the sofa with cushions all around her, the baby in her lap so she could help give him his bottle.

Those pale green eyes staring up at her seemed to tell her something as she babbled back in baby-talk that Ianto had thought she had grown out of. This worried him.

Then they settled to try and get some sleep, Alexander snuffling and upset. Ianto drifted off to sleep to the soft beside light of his husband and those deep soft tones of a lullaby.

.

.

Ianto woke to the shrill sound of the phone by the bed, sitting up and reaching for it as his alarm went off as well and Jack cursed as he reached for the baby that was instantly awake too.

"Fuck… sorry" Ianto muttered as he slid from the bed to rush out to the living room to take the call, listen as the automated machine told him there was a roof groaning under the weight of snow.

Ianto rolled out of there with a kiss and a warm bottle offered to the baby, stopping to touch the little one's head gently before taking off. Poor wee mite. Not used to all the noise as his mama probably slept lie the dead each night with him in her tum.

Still no word on her.

Ianto worried about that too.

The school gymnasium was old and fucking stupidly patched together. They managed to get the worst of the snow off, lay tarps so any more snow would slide off neatly to the ground and then a scant three hours later, they rolled home.

As the others staggered off to their homes Ianot headed to his, satisfied with a job well done.

He entered the house as quietly as he could, still buzzed from the call. He sat on the bed and took off his clothed, rolling into the bed to settle and look at his gorgeous slumbering husband, that arm thrown back and the mouth open. The soft snore of a man with no troubles.

Ianto then looked past him to the little crib on the other side of the bed and he sat up, leaning over Jack to look down and find two little pale green orbs staring back silently.

Shit.

He had been so fucking quiet.

Jack was so tired, had been fussing all day and then the late night alarm, Ianto felt sorry for them and so he got up and gathered the baby from the crib and moved to change his little nappy and then offer another bottle in the hopes the little one might fall asleep again.

Ianto then settled the rocking chair in the corner of the room by the still there changing table, rocking gently with the little boy in his arms. The little fella was not hungry, preferring to spend the time staring back at Ianto like he had the world on his tiny shoulders, thinking about ways to stop global worming or solve the plastic pollution in the seas or something. This amused Ianto who found himself chuckling as he stroked a tiny cheek and watched a milky smile evolve.

"Ah, someone's got a tummy full of gas huh?" Ianto crooned, "Sure you're not a Harkness-Jones? Hmmmm? Full of hot air?"

Ianto gathered the bub to his shoulder and expertly burped him, the loud sound like a tuba blast in the room and Ianto giggled some more as he now rocked on his feet with the baby on his chest, little hands holding his shirt and the soft breath of a newborn on his neck as finally the baby found peace.

Peace.

Christmas coming, a time of peace and good will and all that jazz, right?

Ianto sat for a long time with Sparky asleep in his arm and he watched the dawn creeping around the bottom of the curtains the next morning with something else starting to become clear in the morning light.

Ianto rose and placed the baby in its crib, covering him and tucking him carefully before creeping from the room to leave them asleep, then stepping aside as a tiny little human staggered past with her nappy hair in all directions, her sleep cap gone somewhere in the night. He turned in the doorway and watched his daughter clamber up the bed using the little Cat Step Jack saw at a garage sale and got for their 'Kitties' like he didn't know their daughter would be expert at using it in no time to get on the bed.

As Faith snuggled into the bed with her daddy and then sighed deeply before drifting back off to sleep, Ianto knew he was looking at something that seemed… right.

Meant to be.

He made some early phone calls waking folks and generally being an arsehole to get what he wanted, knowing that if he used title and rank in those phone calls, spoke with authority and said a lot of 'this is what we are going to do' comments instead of 'maybe we could' ones that he would hopefully get what he wanted.

And he did.

By the time a little cry was alerting those in the bed to a little soldier wailing for a change and feed Ianto was calling to make sure the roads were now open and the Childs Services officers could get through with the new paperwork in their folder.

Duncan was a lovely man and he was more than happy to pull some strings here and there.

By the time Jack wandered from the bathroom with a newly showered baby… yeah he showered with him… only way after the morning explosion apparently… Faith was at her play table with her breakfast and a teddy bear of two and there were people at the table with papers strewn around.

"Whatcha doing gorgeous?" Jack asked, making sure he was boxers on before leering at them. He stepped around the little gir who was running from the room with a teddy bear being held by it's foot.

"Sign this" Ianto demanded, pointing to a spot and Jack did so as Ianto took the baby and continued to dry him with the fluffy towel.

"Where's my princess?" Jack asked after he had signed more papers for some reason.

"Changing her clothes because Teddy sez this is NOT a pink day now. Apparently she wants blue to match Sparky's little jumpsuit you laid out" Ianto answered as he pointed to another sheet "and initial here… here… here."

Jack did as he was told and retrieved the baby before leaving the table to go dress him in the cute little blue jumpsuit that had NEVER been Faith's.

Ianto saw the people out and placed the papers in the folder, then sat back at the table. Jack had not even noticed the Child Service IDs around those people's necks or what he was signing. It would be later that he would sit and randomly pick up the folder to flick through with a mild interest only to find that they had just agreed to foster Sparky for the time being.

Spit out the coffee.

Scream and punch the air.

Ianto watched from the living room rocking chair with his little ones in his lap, both adorning one another as he watched his husband melt down with glee.

He was not worried anymore.