"She'll be getting out of detention, soon," said Ianto, pulling back from his lover - his husband, actually, in everyone's eyes but the government's, and as soon as that was legal they'd fix that. He straightened his tie. "Can't leave her at school anymore."
Jack sighed. "Tease," he said, putting the car back in gear.
"Yes, I'm horrible," said Ianto, grinning at Jack as he fixed his hair. "Learned from the best."
"Oh, ha ha," said Jack, grinning back. "I'll get you, when we get home. Oh, there they are," he said, laying on the horn.
Melody huffed at them, and Jack smirked; he knew she was irritated that she always honked the horn when they drove up to the school.
"Mr. Jones," shouted Amelia as they stepped out of the car. "Can Melody come to Ellen's slumber party on Saturday?"
"I don't see why not," said Ianto. "Hello Amelia, Rory."
"Hello," said Rory. Amelia just grinned, smugly, at Melody.
"C'mon, Mels," said Jack. "Let's get home, and you can tell me what you did this time."
She hopped into the back seat - Rory waved goodbye, but Melody didn't look back. She never did. "Why did you say I could go?"
"It'll be fun," said Jack.
"It'll be stupid," said Melody.
"It'll be good for you," said Ianto. "You should spend time with kids your own age, Melody, and not just Amelia."
"They aren't my age."
"You're pretending to be theirs. I'm not saying you need to play with dolls and ponies all the time, but you do need to make an effort."
Melody sighed. So did Jack. "I know it's tough, kiddo. Just... things'll get better. Tough it out, okay?"
"You're not even my real dad," she said grumpily, which was always the signal that the conversation was over. Ianto thought that he and Jack might have won this one. "What do you even do at a slumber party?"
"Play games," said Ianto. "Do each other's hair. Tell stories, mostly. Do you know any stories?"
Melody shook her head.
"I've got a few I don't mind sharing," Jack said. "Once upon a time there was a girl named Rose Tyler and a boy called Jack, and they were best friends..."