Jack carefully, and finally, finished cleaning.
How Ianto did it so quickly Jack could never work out. Jack always seemed to make more mess first, and then he cleaned that up before he got to the actual mess. Thankfully, Ianto's panicked helping had actually helped. Jack put the dripping blotter paper into a bin bag before attempting to mop and then wipe the floor.
As he had just finished Gwen and Tosh game back, with about eight bags worth of shopping, stuffed almost to bursting.
"How much did you get?" Jack asked.
"Well, we saw some other bits we might need and some things were so cute," Gwen said. She pulled out a pair of boots, a smaller approximation of Jack's boots. Jack rolled his eyes, that was all he needed, Ianto sending everyone broody. His eye roll finished with him glancing at Ianto who giggled at the expression he pulled. The little boy had shifted in the protective warmth of Jack's coat, sitting up and eyeing the scene with interest.
"And I got this," Toshiko extracted a twelve inch high, grey, fat and fluffy teddy bear. Ianto watched her warily as she crouched close to him and held out the teddy bear. He glanced at the teddy, a frown slowly forming on his face, before he looked back up at Toshiko.
"What the hell does he need that for?" Owen asked.
"Comfort," Toshiko said, her eyes were fixed on Ianto.
"I thought that was what Jack was for," Owen said. Gwen and Jack glared at him. Jack kept his short as he glanced back at Toshiko and Ianto, watching Ianto's reaction and Toshiko's sudden decisiveness. Jack knew there was something between the two of them, some level of understanding that had occurred. He noticed it developing not long after the disaster that had been Mary.
At the time Jack had Ianto under observation anyway - due to what happened with Lisa - but whatever Toshiko had seen in Ianto's mind had caused something to change in their relationship. Ianto had not even looked perturbed by the idea that Toshiko has seen into his head, and in fact he had been kind to her in the aftermath. There had been several long conversations between the pair of them, which had given Jack a shifting feeling of jealousy.
Which meant now, Toshiko seemed to know something that the rest of them didn't.
"If you haven't got anything nice to say don't say anything at all," Gwen told Owen tartly. Owen rolled his eyes but they rested back on Ianto as everyone watched his reaction to the teddy and Toshiko. Very tentatively he reached out and touched it.
"His name's Barney," Toshiko said to Ianto, with some level of subtle emphasis. Toshiko moved to place it in his lap and Ianto took a firmer hold.
The piece of highly sophisticated 45th century technology was roughly discarded to be replaced by the simple fluffy comfort toy. The little round object Jack had given Ianto slid down the side of the chair as he wrapped his arms around the teddy bear. As he hugged it he looked at everybody over its head. For a moment all that was visible was his nose, huge eyes and still well ruffled hair.
He sat like that for a moment, kicking his legs under Jack's coat. Toshiko stood up and backed off, obviously soothed by Ianto's calm acceptance of her present. He moved the teddy bear and rested his chin on its head, squashing the newly introduced Barney a little.
"Thank you," he said.
"You're welcome." Toshiko smiled at him. Ianto's face slid back down to hide in Barney's furry head and he kept his arms clamped around the grey torso.
"Thanks Tosh," Jack said actually grateful, realising it might actually ease Ianto's need to cling to him. He wondered if Toshiko knew that. It was a little hard to do much of anything with a small child attached. She gave a tentative smile back. Ianto's eyes watched everyone warily. Jack looked at the bags. Gwen had placed the little boots on his desk.
"I think we got everything to his size. Toshiko used the computer's imaging software to make an educated guess. I think we could have bought the whole shop."
"Are you quite sure you didn't?" Jack asked.
Gwen glared at him.
"We didn't just get clothes, if we have him like this overnight he's going to need pyjamas, we got three sets of them…"
Owen rolled his eyes again, groaned and shifted his shoulder off the doorframe to go back to the autopsy room. Jack felt rather inclined to follow him, but he instead had to endure Gwen's excitement at shopping for kids clothes.
"What we don't use can go to charity or something," she said seeing the expression on his face.
"Plus we had to get a few other kids things, plastic cups for a start… I wouldn't trust him with one of those heavy coffee mugs," Toshiko added.
"He's not going to be like this for long," Jack said firmly. From the way they were talking they were assuming this was long term. Gwen looked up at him as he stood up, pushing the bucket and mop aside.
"Jack, whatever has happened to him, we are going to have to work it out, and there is no guarantees, you know that. And like you said we are going to have to be careful analysing the thing that did this. Trust me we will use a lot of this stuff… and okay…" she paused looking a little embarrassed. "… some of it was a little self indulgent but Jack, everything's so cute!"
"Just give me something for him to wear would you."
Gwen and Tosh put the bags down and rummaged, whispering between themselves. Jack sighed and reached down to extract Ianto from where he was bundled up in his coat. Again he lifted him up and put him on his hip. Ianto's hand again reached to grip his braces but this time his other hand clung onto Barney, holding him tightly by the arm. Ianto and Jack watched the two women rummage.
"What about those jeans?" Toshiko asked Gwen. "And we had that long sleeved tee-shirt to go with it."
"And we've got to put him in that hoodie top, he'll look really cute."
"He looked really cute when he was his original size," Jack pointed out.
Both women paused and looked at him and then at Ianto, now only in his far too large shirt. Jack saw them both go extremely gooey eyed. Then the rummaging continued.
"Where are those socks, they're thick enough to wear with those boots. It will stop them rubbing," Toshiko said.
"I don't think he's going to be walking very much for the moment," Gwen said. She stood up and left Toshiko sorting out the clothes into a neat pile.
"I bought some coffee for the machine and some extra milk to warm up for Ianto. We'll get everything ready if you want to sort him out."
Jack nodded, he took the pile of clothes, with the little boots neatly placed on top with his left arm. Ianto looked at everything curiously. Jack tightened it against it side to make sure nothing dislodged.
"I'll take him to the wash room and clean him up a bit first."
Gwen dived back into one of the bags and produced a soft cloth, some baby wash and baby lotion. She added it to the growing pile of stuff wedged in Jack's left arm and looked triumphant.
"See, I told you we'd use it."
"We won't be long," Jack said.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Jack ended up being about forty-five minutes. He hadn't taken into account cleaning up and dressing a small child that wouldn't stay still. He hadn't planned to make washing him a long job but he had noticed Ianto's feet were a bit sticky, probably from the puddle under the desk.
It had been a rather surreal encounter. He had washed Ianto many times and usually with a good deal of fun involved. This one was just stressful. He had sat him on the side by the sink and while it filled with warm water Jack had taken off the grubby shirt and given him a wipe over with the cloth and Ianto had refused to stay still.
At the beginning he had refused to put down Barney, and then he had become interested in looking at his own reflection. Jack, for one brief moment, had wondered if Ianto, the grown up Ianto, had actually been able to see himself. For those few seconds Ianto had stayed still, staring at what he saw. Then Jack realised Ianto hadn't connected with his grown up side at all as he decided to lick the mirror where someone, probably Owen, had sprayed toothpaste on it.
"Oi, no!" Jack said firmly. He picked Ianto up to dry him off. It was like trying to wrestle a snake; Ianto refused to stop wriggling. As Jack had just put him down temporarily to get the clothes in order, the door had opened a crack.
"Are you all right?"
"Fine, Gwen. I'm fine."
Jack knew as he heard it, he didn't sound fine, he sounded harassed. Ianto turned on the counter to look at him, blue eyes a little wide.
"Are you sure? You've been twenty-five minutes."
"Look just wait for me, we'll be there soon."
The door closed again and Jack took a deep breath before he picked Ianto up, standing him up on the counter, then he reached for the clothes.
By the time he was carefully putting Ianto into the hoodie top he was almost at screaming pitch. Ianto, in a way, had tried to help. But his helping really didn't help. What Jack needed was for him to sit still. He had always thought he was quite good at dressing and undressing people, but his skill lay in the undressing part and encompassed grown-ups. Small children did not fit his usual remit.
"There we go," Jack sighed as he straightened up Ianto's sleeves, settled the hood on his back and fastened the zip at the front. He fiddled under the hoodie's cuffs to make sure the long sleeves of the tee-shirt underneath hadn't ridden up and then he sat Ianto on the side in a dry patch and pushed the boots onto his feet. As Jack tied one lace Ianto brought up his other leg and tried himself. He wound the lace around with great concentration and then as he held out his foot to admire his work the lace flopped apart again. Ianto gave a murmur of disappointment.
"Here," Jack said, relieved that the whole thing was over. He smiled at Ianto and patted his head, running his fingers through his hair a little to tidy it up before he tied up the lace that Ianto hadn't managed. Jack noticed that now he had finished Ianto was sitting still.
"I don't think you're up to that yet," Jack said and he knotted it up. Looking up in the mirror he idly straightened himself up; how he had managed to get suds in his hair he wasn't entirely sure, but he brushed the clump out, neatened himself up a little and then picked up Ianto. Again as he settled him Ianto reached to hold his braces and then as Jack turned Ianto whimpered and waved his other hand.
"Barney!" Ianto said.
Jack turned back to Barney, who had been tucked onto the towel rail and had managed to avoid all the hassle. With his head tilted slightly to one side Barney managed to look moderately smug.
"Oh no, mustn't forget Barney," Jack said. He handed it to Ianto who took a firm grip of one of Barney's ears and they went to find the others.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxX
The others had settled in the conference room. Gwen was distributing coffees, their second. They all looked up as Jack came down the corridor carrying Ianto. Ianto had settled his head on Jack's shoulder and changed his grip on Barney putting his arm around his torso to hold onto him. Barney's arms and legs stuck out, waggling slightly as Jack came down the corridor. As he reached the threshold of the room he was aware of everyone gaping at him, Owen in amusement, Toshiko in sympathy and Gwen a little bit of both.
Jack knew he was flushed with exertion and frustration. His shirt was damp across the front in small dark patches across the navy blue and his hair also flopped onto his forehead where it was wet. Ianto, in comparison, looked positively serene and angelic. Jack watched Toshiko and Gwen look him up and down, seeing the tiny boots on his feet, the neat little hoodie top and Barney clutched close. Jack stayed still for one minute to allow the 'awww cute' factor to settle. Then he moved forward.
"Well," Owen said to Jack, grinning broadly. "I think you have been superseded as the best dressed member of the Torchwood team."
Ianto raised his head at Owen's voice and he looked around the room with interest.
"I think Ianto was always in the running for that title," Gwen said trying, unsuccessfully, not to snigger.
"Okay, Little Ianto is cute, Grown-Up Jack feels a little harassed. You've had time to put something good together."
"Not coffee," Owen said, eyeing Gwen's battle with the coffee machine with wary amusement. Gwen glared at him and then turned to Jack.
"We could have helped with him. There's no point in embarrassing yourself over that."
Jack looked at Gwen. "I think we need to keep the dressing, upsets and embarrassing toilet incidents to being dealt with by one person. Ianto is going to be an adult, who may remember this, soon enough."
Gwen flinched but nodded. She had to concede that. Ianto probably didn't want all of his colleagues seeing him, in certain situations. Jack moved to the side of the table, to the chair on the right of his.
"Shove up, Owen."
"Why? I always sit here."
"Get out of the way," Jack ordered. Owen glared at him, Ianto watched, looking puzzled but as Owen pushed back the chair and got up to move one seat down Jack deposited Ianto into the seat, settling him before dropping down into his own seat. Ianto glanced around again, before turning his head, resting his chin on Barney, to settle his gaze on Jack.
Gwen put his coffee in front of him.
"Not the usual standard."
"I don't care," Jack said. He sipped it and slapped his tongue against the roof of his mouth. The coffee wasn't bad, it was good. Gwen had done a fairly reasonable job of it. What Ianto did just defied normality. Now, it was trapped somewhere in a child's brain.
"I got him milk, I warmed it. It seems about right." Gwen took an experimental sip. Ianto looked up. He hadn't had anything since… Jack thought… at least three hours… two of them as a child. Gwen held out the cup, Ianto stretched for it, still trying to hold Barney. Jack reached over and tugged on Barney's ear, Ianto frowned and tightened his grip.
"You can't hold Barney and your drink. Barney can sit on the table."
Ianto slowly released his grip. Jack put Barney on the table and Gwen gave Ianto the milk making sure he was holding it in both hands before she let go of the plastic cup.
"It's one that is meant to stop drips and spills so it should be all right," she said. "We bought the best one we could find."
She was right, Jack thought as he watched Ianto, they couldn't trust him with the large coffee cups. He had no grip and the enamel pieces were way too heavy for him. That would have been a disaster. Ianto stared at the cup for a moment before taking a tentative sip through the soft straw in the lid, and then he started to drink enthusiastically.
Jack settled Barney, sitting him down on the table. However, his stuffing had been shifted around inside him, so as Jack put him down he tilted backwards. He sat like that for a while before slowly, and rather drunkenly, tipping even further backwards, until he keeled over onto his back. His stuffed legs and arms stuck up in the air, flopping a little on landing. Jack watched his progress and started to laugh as he watched it.
Ianto stopped drinking his milk to look at Jack in shock. He gave a bright smile, realising Jack was happy and then he went back to drinking his milk.
Toshiko smiling as well reached across the table. She took hold of Barney and sat him back up. Shifting him around a little she plumped him slightly, pushing his stuffing about; moving him so he was sat a little forward, almost hunched at the shoulders and his head tilted to the side. As she let him go her hand hovered behind him waiting for him to drop back again, but he stayed where he was and she sat back in her chair.
"Thanks," Jack said, while Ianto regarded the scene intently.
Toshiko looked at Jack and smiled. There was something in her eyes, a happiness as she looked from Ianto to Jack but it was counter-balanced by something else. Something so terribly hurtful Jack wanted to know why she thought buying Barney was a good idea. How had she so instinctively known that?
Jack, however, wasn't about to question her motives, not in the middle of the crisis they had. Whatever she knew about Ianto, was not his to understand. Toshiko had helped and for the moment all Jack could be was grateful.
"So? Where are we?" He asked as he got back to the matter in hand.
"We'd know more if I could examine him," Owen said. Jack raised his eyebrows.
"Go ahead."
Owen stood up, picking the scanner he planned to use on Ianto. All of them looked to Ianto as he squeaked and scrabbled away, climbing over the arm of the chair, almost tipping over to he landed head first on the floor. Almost, Jack thought as he lunged forward to grab Ianto, clinging around his waist and slowly lifting him to stand him on the table. Owen rescued the plastic mug from the floor.
"Don't do that!" Jack took Ianto by the waist and held him steady. "It's okay," Jack said kissing Ianto lightly on the top of his head. "Stand there."
Ianto whimpered as Owen moved forward with the scanner. Ianto's nice, new, cute, boots scraped against the table top squeaking slightly as the two materials met. Jack shook him gently and squeezed where he gripped Ianto around his waist.
"Oi stop it, I'm here, Owen's not going to hurt you."
Ianto still squirmed a little as Owen used the device and ran the green light from the top of Ianto's head down to his feet. Then he turned away and started to use the PDA to transfer the data to the main Torchwood computer.
"All done," Jack said. He lifted Ianto again and sat back down, putting Ianto into his lap, thinking that he might feel a little more secure there. "Silly."
Ianto looked up at Jack and then leant over to drop his head against Jack's collarbone. Then Ianto lifted his head again and stretched his hand out for Jack's coffee cup.
"No, I don't think you are having that," Jack said.
"Here, hang on," Toshiko rose from her chair and reached over to pick up Ianto's discarded mug and she handed it to Jack who shook the cup lightly and then lifted the lid to find it almost empty.
"Gwen, could you…?"
"Sure," said Gwen, getting up to take the cup and refill it.
"He is a little dehydrated," Owen commented. "Milk is probably the best thing for him, and he needs to eat, we've got some doughnuts… although I'm not entirely sure about the sugar."
"It's fine," Jack said. "Is there anything else?"
"Okay," Owen looked at his reading as Gwen gave Ianto his milk and Toshiko put two doughnuts on a plate and put them in front of Jack. Ianto eyed them with interest, and without even looking away from Owen Jack automatically reached to help Ianto with the cup.
"He's three years, five months, seven days, two hours, eighteen minutes and thirty seven seconds old," Owen said. "I've got his DNA on the database, and correspond with his last sample, taken two months ago, that's what I get. He literally has been youthenised."
"And that device did that?" Jack asked. Owen pressed a button and bought up the CCTV footage. As it played out Toshiko commentated.
"Yes, the light beam came from it as Ianto just walked up to it. It wasn't doing anything until… all the readings were null."
"Had anyone crossed the path where the beam came before him?"
"Yes," Gwen said.
"Had Ianto touched it much?"
During the conversation, Ianto stopped drinking and tried to put the cup back on the table. Without breaking his sentence or even looking down Jack took the cup and put it on the table. He broke off a bit of doughnut and passed it to Ianto. He took it and slowly started to chew on it.
"No, he brought it up but that was it. I touched it the most," Toshiko said.
"Okay, so we can rule out a DNA transfer. That thing has been down there fifteen years, Ianto hasn't touched it before now."
"No, the crate I pulled it out of was sealed, and covered in cobwebs," Toshiko said. "He had no direct physical contact with it."
"Until the moment he picked it up to take it away." Owen froze the footage and backed it up slightly.
"Or he was in close range at the time. I don't think he had actually got his hand on it just then" Gwen said tilting her head as she peered at the screen.
"Right," Jack said. "What was the time delay from the last test before it 'zapped'"
"Seven minutes, ten seconds," Toshiko said.
Jack calculated that in his head by an entirely different clock. "So maybe whatever we did powered it, perhaps."
"And then, when it had a target it… zapped." Gwen said.
"I think we have another new word for the Torchwood vocabulary. The only icky thing we've had so far is Ianto's little accident under your desk."
"Hey," Jack warned.
Owen raised his hands. "I like the words, they are very apt, and I don't care where they came from."
"Try this one…"
"No swearing," Jack said before Gwen could finish her sentence. Ianto watched them all with wide eyes. Jack broke off another snippet of doughnut and gave it to him. Gwen watched them, looked down at her own half-eaten doughnut and then pushed it away.
"Are you all right?" Owen asked. "It's rare for you to not indulge."
"I'm just starting to realise how much junk we all actually eat. We probably shouldn't give him that much sugar."
Jack looked down at Ianto. His fingers were covered in sugar from the doughnut and he was chewing the last little piece before he started to lick his fingers.
"He's had milk though? Milk's good, right?"
"Very," Owen agreed with Jack. "Especially since he's a bit dehydrated, it's very good for a hangover."
"What baring does that have on it?!" Jack snapped.
"Not only does it rehydrate, there's lots of good stuff in it. Besides kids are meant to drink milk aren't they?" Owen asked.
They all looked at each other, then at Ianto who ate some more doughnut. Jack glanced down at the top of Ianto's head.
"That's what I assume from watching adverts anyway," Owen concluded. Gwen sniggered.
"So, what else do we know?" Jack asked. "About the device, not our childcare skills, which are, quite clearly, limited."
"Can I scan him again?" Owen asked.
"Why?"
"I'll tell you when I've scanned him."
"Come on, stand up again."
Ianto tried to reach for more of the doughnut as Jack lifted him up to stand on the table again. The little boy whined and wriggled, only stopping when he saw the green light of the scanner again. Jack pulled Ianto back onto his lap as Owen finished. Ianto stretched out his hands.
"Barney!"
Jack reached for Barney and passed him to Ianto. Ianto held Barney out to Owen.
"Barney!" Ianto said again. Owen looked up.
"What?"
Ianto leant forward and sat Barney down on the edge of the table and he looked at Owen.
"I think he wants you to scan Barney," Toshiko said.
"Oh for Gods sake we're not…" Owen stopped as he received a hard stare from Jack.
"Just change the setting and indulge him, please."
Owen rolled his eyes but did as he was told. He altered the setting and while three grown ups watched Ianto's second scan run across the large screen, Owen and Ianto watched Barney being scanned. Ianto looked up at Owen expectantly.
"Okay, Barney is just over a year old, his insides are made of a polyester fibre. His outside is made of the same stuff. All new material. His eyes and nose are stitched in and no nasty sharp bits to jump out at you."
Ianto grinned up at Owen happily. Owen found himself smiling back as Ianto hefted Barney back again. For one brief moment, Owen wondered what Ianto was possibly looking for. He got no real answer. Ianto sat back, cuddled into Jack and pulled Barney close to him now he had also been scanned.
"Owen?"
"Okay, Ianto is now three years, five months, seven days, two hours, thirty-one minutes and fifty-seven seconds old."
"So?" Jack asked as Owen checked his watch and then lifted the stopwatch from the table pressing the button to stop it. Ianto looked at the stopwatch and then glared at Owen in outrage. No one noticed, they were all too busy looking at Owen and as Ianto sat forward, his expression mutinous Jack automatically tightened his grip, as he felt Ianto's weight shift and after a second's consideration Ianto snuggled back against Jack.
"So, he's ageing at a normal rate. Whatever has happened it has taken him back to that time, to that physical age, not the mental age entirely but obviously his processes are limited now. And he's aging, in twenty or so years time he'll be his real age again."
"We are not waiting that long," Jack said.
"Can I make my point?" Owen snapped. Jack glared at him but sat back. Ianto's hand gripped onto his shirt and sat watching them carefully. He nodded at Owen.
"He's aging normally, everything about him is normal, he's Ianto. Whatever zapped him just regressed him, therefore all we need to do is examine the device, see if we can work out how it powered up, and fired and then reverse it. If it does this kind of thing I can possibly guess that it might have a rewind switch but to look into that, I have to look at it. I'm the best person for this."
"Why?" Gwen asked.
"I don't age, I dare say being dead I don't go backwards either. If it flashes up then I doubt I will suffer any effect. However, if we just keep the combination of tests that we did out of what we do now the situation shouldn't recreate. But that is the key point I think. The build up of a combination of energy from the scans. Somehow I think we programmed the thing, charged it up and 'zap'."
"So all we need to do literally, is unzap," Toshiko said.
"Easier said, than probably done," Jack said.