Chapter Eighteen

The bed was big and inviting, he put his bags down near the wardrobe and wandered over to it sinking down into the softness of the sheets. All Jack wanted to do was climb in and go to sleep, he wasn't used to driving long distances and the trip from Cardiff to the Southwest of London had really taken it out of him. What made matters worse was that Ianto hadn't been able to do the drive down with him and wouldn't be able to meet up with him until after training. Jack glanced at his watch seeing that it was later than he realised. He had an hour or so before Ianto would be here

"I need to get showered" he mumbled to himself as he kicked off his shoes. Jack lay back for a moment and fought back a yawn.

Something stroked his cheek and then he felt the buttons of his shirt being undone, he opened his eyes sleepily and saw Ianto leaning over him

"Hey, cariad, I didn't mean to wake you" smiled the Welshman "Just thought you'd be comfier out of those clothes"

"What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here for another hour"

"Jack, it's half ten. You fell asleep" explained Ianto as he helped Jack out of his shirt then unfastened his trousers sliding them down and off

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Jack looked round sleepily before turning back to watch Ianto folding his clothes and laying them on a chair

"Don't worry about it. It was a long drive and I'm just grateful that you're here" Ianto told him as he folded back the blankets and helped Jack into bed.

"So tired, Ianto, will you stay with me?"

"You didn't have to ask. I'm not leaving, I came here to stay the night with you" he smiled affectionately at his lover before he stripped down to his shorts and climbed in "I wanted to wake up with you in my arms, I always play better that way"

Jack slid closer so Ianto could wrap his arms around him, the American nuzzled sleepily against his neck making content noises

"Love you"

"I love you, too" replied Ianto but Jack was already asleep.

Jack woke up first the next morning, Ianto was lying next to him with one arm slung protectively over his lover's stomach as if he would disappear any minute. Jack blinked, clearing the sleep and stroked the arm holding him close to Ianto's side. The Welshman snuffled in his sleep and that arm tightened it's grip practically pulling Jack under him.

"Ianto" he whispered, putting more pressure in the arm stroking

"Uhn" Ianto groaned, tugging his boyfriend closer and humped his morning erection against him.

"Morning" chuckled Jack. Ianto groaned again and tried to bury his head under the pillow "Ah, no. None of that... you have to get up and go to training"

"Don't wanna" pouted Ianto "Wanna stay in bed with you"

"I know, I want you to stay here too but the sooner you go the sooner you can come back and I promise we'll spend the rest of the afternoon in bed"

"That's one hell of an incentive Mr Harkness" Ianto told him, as his humping increased "But I'm not convinced that's what we'll be doing when I come back. I need a taster"

"Taster is it?" Jack whispered huskily before their mouths met. Ianto's phone broke the mood as it started buzzing it's way over the bedside cabinet, he groaned before breaking away to answer it

"Jones"

"Ianto, it's... it's me. Toshiko... I'm sorry to call you this early but I didn't know who else to call. I went to the club but they said you weren't there, Gwen told me that you're in London"

"Yeah, I am. I'm playing away... sorry to be so direct but you just woke me up and you know what I'm like in the mornings, what do you want Tosh?"

"I need to talk to you when you come back. John and I..." she trailed off, Ianto sat up all too aware that Jack was watching him

"What's wrong? What happened?" he asked with a bit more sympathy and compassion than before "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not. I'm pregnant Ianto and I can't tell John... I know that he thinks it's too soon for children but I don't want to get rid of it"

"It's okay, it is a bit out of the blue since we haven't really spoken since we broke up but have you told John that you're pregnant?"

"I can't... he's on patrol in Islamabad and it's difficult getting in touch with him. I don't want to tell him over the phone" she told him, he could tell that she'd been crying

"When's he coming back?" Ianto inquired. Jack was sitting up now, listening to Ianto's side of the conversation

"He's got another three months out there before he comes home. I'm already two months gone" she explained

"Then you need to tell him as soon as possible. Anything could happen out there and he might like it that you're going to have a child together"

"You think so?"

"Yes, I do. When I come back, do you want me to meet up with you for lunch?" he asked, he could hear her nodding over the phone

"I'd like that. I have missed you Ianto... Gwen sometimes tells me what you're up to and how you're doing. She said you'd moved in with someone but she won't tell me who it is, are you happy?" she inquired. Ianto turned to look at Jack and smiled

"I'm happy, never thought it'd be like this, but yeah I'm very happy" Jack grinned back and kissed his favourite spot on Ianto's shoulder

"That's good... I'm sorry for how things ended, I've always felt guilty for it and I really did love you despite what I did"

"I know you did" he agreed with her "Look, I have to go get ready for training. Call me later on and we'll talk about meeting up"

"Okay, good luck with the game today"

"Thanks, bye" he rung off then put his phone down on the bedside cabinet

"So, Mr Jones, you're happy" Jack stated as he leaned down and kissed that same spot again

"Very" he replied as he lay back down tugging Jack down with him.

Rhys had gone with Owen, Gwen was starting back at work today and since he had the day off he thought why not, the Londoner was nervous about this. He'd filled in the paperwork and gotten basic approval and now he was being interviewed for his suitable to foster.

"Mr Harper..." Sandra Pellingham glanced back and forth between the two men, one of them was carrying a toddler

"That's me" said the shorter of the two. She shook his hand "I hope you don't mind, I was a bit nervous so I brought a friend of mine along with me"

"That's fine. Nice to meet you, I'm Sandra"

"Rhys, Rhys Williams and this little guy is my son Gethin" he nodded down at his little boy. If Jack hadn't of helped them have Gethin then they would have looked into fostering and adoption; he had some basic understanding of how the system worked. They all sat down in the chairs dotted around the colourful yet messy office

"Your paperwork is good and we don't really have any qualms about you fostering but it says here that your wife recently passed away. We feel that this lost may be clouding your decision"

"Miss Pellingham, Sandra, yes I did loose Katie not too long ago and we were looking to have children and I won't deny that my decision isn't based on that. I was looking forard to being a father and I believe that I can still offer that to a child here regardless"

"Okay, well we'll give you a trial period and see how you do. If it doesn't work out then maybe you should rethink your options"

"Thank you, thank you!" he pumped her hand fiercely, she smiled at his grattitude and exuberance

"Don't thank me yet, looking after a child is hard work"

"Heh, you got that right" snorted Rhys as he stared down at his son, he looked up startled unaware that he'd spoken aloud. Sandra was smirking at someone him, it was nice to find someone who understood.

"Right, as I was saying. A child is hard work, a lot of the children here have family situations where their parents are unable or unwilling to look after them, the case I'm assigning to you is Tommy Flanagan. His mother was sectioned not too long ago; she claimed that it was the forties and she put him on a train on his own. Luckily one of the station masters spotted him before the train left"

"That's terrible, was he alright?" asked Owen, Sandra's smile grew... she had a feeling these two would get along really well.

"He was fine... I think he was too young to understand. I'll be right back"

Owen sat there waiting for her to return and it felt like he was holding his breath, Rhys watched him... overall he and Owen hadn't really known each other long, certainly not as long as Jack had, but he knew that Owen would make a good father.

Thomas E. Flanagan was playing with the other kids in the large room when Sandra came up and crouched down next to him "Tommy, there's someone here to see you"

"Is it me ma?"

"She's still not well, I'm afraid, no there's a man here who wants to meet you. His name is Owen and he's really looking forward to meeting you"

"Owen? Why's he want to meet me?"

"Well, you're going to stay with him for a while. A social worker will go with you to make sure that it's okay and then if it is you might stay with him for a little longer"

"But why do I have to stay with him? Why can't I stay here while my ma is in hospital"

"Because this is a foster home, Tommy, we only have a set amount of space and people who can't have children sometimes foster children who don't have parents"

"But I do have a parent! I have my ma!" protested Tommy using a child's logic

"I know but she can't look after you right now"

"Okay" he sighed, he put his crayon down and bowed his head "Do I have to call him da?"

"Not if you don't want to. Want to come and meet him?"

"Okay" he continued, rather dejectedly as he took her hand and let her pull him off the chair. She walked hand in hand with him back to her office.

Owen felt all breathe leave him as the door opened and Sandra came in with a small blonde haired boy who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there

"H-Hello" mumbled Owen as he looked down at the kid, for some reason all he could think of was that this was Katie's son! He had similar features to her and the blonde hair... "I'm Owen"

"I'm Tommy. You're my new da, then?" he said when he looked up. The guy didn't look too bad, looked like he had a lot of money. Owen glanced at Sandra who just shrugged

"If you want me to be"

"Never had a da before... it was just me and ma" replied Tommy "So I have to go and live with you"

"You don't have to, if you don't want to. It's up to you" explained Owen as he slid off his chair and knelt down

"I think it might be okay. It's so crowded here and I guess it would be nice to stay with you while my ma is not well"

"Really?" smiled Owen feeling overjoyed

"Yeah" Tommy smiled shyly at Owen's reaction.

"Let me finish off this paperwork and I'll get Julie to come down, she'll be handling your case" she buzzed for Julie then finished off the paperwork on her desk while Owen and Tommy spoke quietly.

"Does he live with you too?" asked Tommy nodding at Rhys

"Nope, I'm Rhys and this little guy is my son Gethin" he replied, Tommy crept quietly over to the sleeping baby in Rhys's arms

"So, are you my Uncle?" he inquired as he glanced briefly at Rhys before turning his attention back to the baby.

"Um well... I s'pose"

"Cool" smiled Tommy "Will I have my own room?"

"Of course. I redecorated it from the nursery... I didn't know what you'd like so tomorrow we can go and pick out some posters to put on the walls"

"I like Ben10 and ma used to let me watch South Park"

"Both equally good" grinned Owen, making Tommy smile

"Do you have a job? Ma didn't have a job but the lady next door with all the cats had one"

"I'm an editor, I work for a company that has a lot of people who write books and I read through them, make sure that any mistakes are fixed and help them if they get stuck"

"How many people write the books?"

"Lots and lots"

"Wow. That's cool" Tommy gasped in amazement. Julie had come down and Sandra handed her a file for initial assessment, she would see how Owen was with Tommy when they got home.

"I've got your things all packed up, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, Owen seems cool" nodded Tommy. Owen held out his hand nervously and Tommy grasped it feeling just as nervous about being liked.

He'd lost count of how many games he'd been to but this one had to be the most aggressive, not even the match against New Zealand had been this intense! Gwen and Rhys had been right about the fans being so determined for their team to win; they were as nearly as active as the players themselves. Jack watched his lover running up and down the pitch; he'd never been so proud and had never been so worried... Ianto was giving his all, anyone could see it and the players of the opposing team were doing their best to pretty much take him out. It was far more than the regular brutality, they were deliberately out to hurt one another. Wales was giving as good as they got but England were playing really dirty. All Jack wanted to do was stop the game altogether! He wanted it to stop so they'd stop hurting Ianto.

The fans around him were screaming for blood and all he could do was watch; since he and Ianto became boyfriends' Jack had gone out of his way to be supportive. The thing was, even though the Welshman loved his job, Ianto hated the stigma that came with being a professional rugby player. A lot of the people that Ianto met or knew just assumed he was stupid because of that profession, Jack knew he wasn't because he'd gotten the chance to see past that. He'd grown to hate those so-called friends treating that wonderfully intelligent guy like that because they were damaging his self esteem. Ianto was starting to believe that he was stupid and that he was less than other people because of it.

"Come on, Ianto!" cried Jack hoping his voice would carry over the noise, that some how Ianto would hear him.

"I don't know why you're cheering on that poof!" someone shouted down his ear, Jack turned to see a stocky guy standing there with a woollen hat covering what little hair he had left

"Excuse me?"

"Jones, number 10. He's bender... it makes me sick! It's those fags that let down the whole team! He's not even trying! Bet his arse is too sore!" continued the man standing to his right. Jack looked down at Ianto, tracking him as he ran red-faced down the pitch... the Welshman had trained just as much as the other team members if not more! Ianto hadn't gone into London for the pre-game party with his friends from the team because he wanted to be well rested for today. Well, that and he wasn't really interested in the usual ogling that was bound to be a requirement for said party.

"He doesn't take it up the arse" he couldn't help but blurt and instantly regretted it when the man's eyes narrowed suspiciously

"And how the hell do you know that?" he hissed. Jack knew it was a bad idea but he'd riled himself up with how the English rugby team were treating his partner and now this ungrateful bastard who was supposed to be supporting Ianto's team was hurling abuse had really gotten to him.

"I know because I'm his boyfriend" Jack snapped angrily. The man's scowl deepened twisting his face into an ugly mask

"You're that fag's fuck toy? You're the reason he's letting the team down?"

"He's not letting them down you neanderthal! Look at him! He's-" Jack didn't get a chance to say anything else because the man decided to be offended over the neanderthal comment and punched Jack square in the jaw splitting his lip. Jack fell back into the person standing next to him, stunned for a moment before he dived at his attacker throwing his arms around the man's middle and knocking the wind out of him. It was amazing how quickly things got out of hand, before Jack knew it a lot of people around his were fighting and shoving.

Several stewards were racing up the steps to try and stop the riot. Jack wriggled away from the man who threw the first punch but one of the stewards grabbed him and escorted him down the steps; the match had come to a temporary standstill and Ianto felt such worry when he saw that Jack was one of the rioters being taken away and there was a lot of blood on his face.

TBC...