Jack stood in the room patiently, his eyes watching the man as he worked. It was amazing really, how he managed to make something out of nothing. Just from a simple drawing and making it extraordinary.
"So this is for who again?" Thomas asked as he put the finishing touches to the dollhouse. It was massive, a twist on a Victorian house with the outside colour having a hint of pink to make it a little more girly for a little girl. Jack had met Thomas a few years back and he had been making toys for his children ever since. He had made Griffin a wooden train, which could either be pulled by its string or pushed around manually for his fourth birthday and he had made Tucker a wooden plane for his sixth birthday. Jack chuckled to himself as he remembered that present, Jack had originally wanted Thomas to make Tucker a wooden clown to play with until Ianto, Gwen and Toshiko had looked at him in horror and declared that clowns were evil and that a more boyish toy would be best suited for his son.
"My daughter. Its for her third birthday" Jack replied proudly. "Ah is your last then? Big age gap between her and your sons. What's her name?" Thomas asked as he worked. Jack chuckled softly, the age gap between Emily and the boys was always mentioned when strangers met them. Truth be told, Jack and Ianto had struggled to conceive after Tucker and it was only eight years later that they had finally managed to get Jack pregnant again. It was probably why Jack had such a difficult pregnancy with her, his body was starting to reject being put through it again at his age. And that was one big age.
"Yeah she's our last one. Me and my partner were trying for a daughter and we weren't giving up until we had one. She's a little angel though, perfect in every way imaginable. But yes, there is a slight age difference but we never had time to actually try for another with our jobs being extremely hectic. Her name is Emily-Rose. Rose is named after one of my friends that we lost years ago. Its in her memory" Jack replied, twisting the truth a little with Rose. He knew that Thomas would just assume that Rose had died when he said lost and in a way it was sort of true, she had 'died' here but lived in another dimension. Last time he had heard anything about her, she had married her human Doctor and was on her second baby.
"Well I'm sorry for your loss. Right, I think we're all finished here. You can take it now or do you want it delivered?" Thomas asked as he took Jack's payment for the dollhouse. "I'll take it myself. It's actually her birthday today but her Auntie is babysitting her whilst we sort out presents and the little tea party we're putting together. I'll be fine carrying it out to the car" Jack explained as he picked it up. It was slightly heavy but it was more awkward to carry than anything else. "Thank you again, I don't know what I'd do without you Thomas. You're an absolute lifesaver!" Jack thanked him, extremely grateful. "Well I'm supposed to be starting my retirement but anything for a dear friend. Anytime Jack and thank you once again for all the help you've given to me in the past. Hope your little one enjoys her birthday" Thomas grinned, moving to the door so he could at least hold it open for the Captain.
Rhiannon had agreed immediately at looking after her niece when her brother had phoned her. She hardly had the boys when they were smaller since Ianto's colleague's husband, Rhys took the most care of them. She had been a little annoyed by that but she had children herself and she understood that Ianto didn't want to put too much on her when she was a mother with her own young to take care of.
She had enjoyed spending the day with her niece however, and had given her the birthday present that she had bought her first thing. Emily seemed to love it. It was a Barbie doll, nothing originally but it had caught Rhiannon's eye when she had been shopping for a birthday present. Johnny had just asked to have his name put on the card, which she was going to do anyway since she had to put her children's names on it as well.
"Johnny? Do you have Em?" Rhiannon called up the stairs as she finished tidying up. Her brother said that he would ring fifteen minutes before picking up Emily but she still wanted to be ready for him and Jack. God, her brother was so bloody lucky! Jack Harkness was gorgeous and between Ianto and him, their children were beautiful.
"Yeah! Just playing with her! Your darling brother rang up to fetch her yet?" Johnny called down, carrying Emily down the stairs in his arms carefully. "Not yet, but he's trying to get things perfect for her birthday. He shouldn't be too long now. He said that he's wrapping up the rest of her presents whilst the rest of the team do alien business, or whatever they do and apparently Jack's sister…I didn't know that he had one is helping Gwen's husband, Rhys to prepare the food and stuff. Though from what Ianto told me in the past, Alice didn't get on with Jack, I guess they made up somewhere down the line. Which is absolutely wonderful don't you think?" Rhiannon asked, as she took Emily from Johnny and placed her on her hip, she was pleased to notice that the little girl was holding her Barbie tightly, like she was afraid that she was going to lose it or if it was going to disappear if she released her grip even just a tiny fraction.
"Yeah since you and Ianto never fall out" Johnny replied as he trudged back upstairs again. "Oh shut it you. We're not perfect siblings but it's nice to see him settle down and be happy. Just stop calling him and Jack queers. Jack is family now and they're raising their children amazingly" Rhiannon pointed out. "Yeah and how does that work? Surrogate mother?" Johnny shouted back down. "Well its got to be isn't it? They're certainly not adopted. You're honestly not suggesting that one of them got pregnant are you? Completely impossible…" she trailed off as her mobile went off.
"Ianto?" she asked as she answered the phone. "Hey Rhi, I'm on my way now. Jack just phoned me to say he has Emily's big present and is going back to the house to help Alice and Rhys out. The boys should be helping out by now as well. They sneaked off to play football earlier" Ianto chuckled. "Alright Yan. I'll see you in a little while" Rhiannon replied before saying her goodbye and hanging up. "Alright you, let's get your shoes back on so your Da can take you back home" she smiled at Emily as she sat on the sofa with her and started to put her little shoes on her feet.
Jack was grateful to find Griffin and Tucker at the front door when he arrived back home. He had phoned Ianto and hopefully the Welshman could talk Rhiannon into coming along to the birthday party as well. It would be the icing on the cake at making his daughter's birthday extra special.
"Hey you two. Come and help me out with your sister's present. Alice still inside?" Jack asked as he opened the back of the car and started to get the dollhouse out. He and Alice were finally getting along, even though Alice insisted that it was only for the children that she was doing it but she seemed more happier since Jack had let her get more involved in his and the children's lives.
"Yeah, she's just getting the mini sausage rolls out. They look brilliant! Shame Stephen couldn't make it, I wanted to play on the Nintendo Wii with him but Alice said he had college commitments so couldn't make it. He bought Emily a present though" Griffin replied as he started to help out with the dollhouse, Tucker not too far behind him.
His boys had grown up extremely well. Sharing the looks of both him and Ianto. He wasn't surprised when Griffin got the most looks from teenage girls, Griffin had grown up handsome and he was only fifteen years old. Tucker was ten and still a little bit young to gain female admirers but his looks were starting to come through as well.
"Getting a little too enthusiastic about mini sausage rolls there Griff and yes I knew about Stephen being unable to make it. His exams are coming up and his revising has to come first. Careful, Griffin…Tucker help please! I don't want your brother doing his back in" Jack explained before looking to his other son to actually move and help them. Between all of them, they managed to get the dollhouse inside and into the spare room.
When they emerged, Jack went straight to the kitchen to check on Alice and Rhys. They had done an amazing job whilst he had been out. Enough food for everyone and the living room had changed from its normal living room status to a world of balloons, banners and silly string.
"Did you do everything by yourselves? I'm impressed" Jack asked with a grin as he leant against the nearest kitchen station. "No, we had the boys in the living room blowing up balloons and other things. Gave them something to do whilst we worked in the kitchen. Also kept them from stealing the food" Rhys replied as he put tin foil over a fresh batch of cheese sandwiches.
"You got my boys to actually help out? Ok, now I'm doubly impressed" Jack chuckled. "Well they were moaning about wanting to go to the shooting range at the Hub and practice with the guns but we said no. Plus they really need the permission from you and Ianto to go down there, preferably with your supervision. You do go down with them don't you?" Alice asked, raising an eyebrow at her father.
"I do. Ianto has offered to in the past but if one of them is badly off target, I'll come back if they accidentally shoot me. Can't say that about Ianto" Jack replied. "I still think its wrong that you told them about you being unable to die. They shouldn't know that Dad" Alice told him, sounding very disapproving of her father. Which probably wasn't anything new.
"Alice, you promised that you would let it go. They're fine with it and this is Emily's day, so don't spoil it. I thought we got past this" Jack sighed. "I know I did, I just worry about the children" Alice replied. "Griffin isn't a child anymore, he's sixteen in a few months. He's a teenager and Tucker isn't too far behind" Jack argued before taking a deep steadying breath. "Anyway, do you need any help in here?" he asked, glancing around for something to do.
"Thought you were picking up Emily?" Rhys asked surprised. "I was originally but Thomas rang to say that he had almost finished the dollhouse. So me and Ianto decided that it would be better if I collected Emily's main present since I'm good friends with Thomas and he would pick up Emily from his sister's and drag Rhiannon back with him" Jack explained.
"Dad, you can open the packet of crisps and throw them into a bowl" Alice suddenly shouted at him, making him jump slightly. "You asked if we wanted help. You can help by doing that. Where's the boys?" she asked.
"Here. We were just finishing off the balloons and Tucker thought it would be fun to burst a few. There's enough for Emily to play with though. What do want us for?" Griffin replied, coming into the kitchen. "Can you help your Uncle Rhys with putting foil over the food bowls please? Last thing we need are flies deciding to become residents to them" Alice asked them as she put the finishing touches to the birthday cake.
"Sure, cause that's a lovely image" Tucker smirked, taking some foil off Rhys and starting to wrap it over the sausage rolls as Griffin took the sandwich trays. "Isn't this a bit too much? We're not going to have the entire city of Cardiff in here" Griffin asked with a chuckle. "Well we can use the leftovers kids, no worries" Jack replied, pulling his phone out as he felt it vibrate against him. "Ianto's on his way with Emily and Rhiannon. Let's get these in the living room" he informed everyone, starting to feel slightly nervous in case something went wrong but yet excited at seeing his daughter's face when she arrived.
Ianto had changed his daughter into her brand new party dress before setting off in the car with Emily and Rhiannon. He had taken the family Audi and Jack had taken the SUV, which Ianto had not been happy about. That was the Torchwood vehicle and not supposed to be used for little errands but Jack had explained the size of the dollhouse and that he would have less trouble getting it in the back of the SUV since it was bigger even though it had taken Jack about five minutes to actually persuade Ianto into letting him take it.
Rhiannon smiled as she watched the sleeping child in her baby seat. Emily's fingers were in her mouth and she was deeply asleep. "Is everything ready?" she whispered, not quite able to take her eyes off her sleeping niece. Ianto had stopped the car to check on the reply to his text. "According to Jack's text then yes. Typical that my daughter has fallen asleep in the car though, suppose the little nap would be good for her though. Give her more energy for the party. You haven't fed her have you?" Ianto asked suddenly.
"Ianto, do you not know me at all? I've only given her cheese and crackers and a carton of Ribena. She will be hungry enough for her party food" she replied with a roll of her eyes. She loved her brother but sometimes she could strangle him for his organisation of everything.
"That's good. She loves the Barbie you've bought her" he noted as he stopped at traffic lights. In Emily's free hand she was holding the Barbie close to her, using it as a security blanket.
"I was worried that she wouldn't. Where have you been anyway? I know Jack went to get the dollhouse that you've bought between you but what you been doing?" Rhiannon asked.
"I had to pick up her dress from the shops, then I had to gather other stuff from the supermarket. I've been going backwards and forwards to the house and the shops, including in that I had to get some more coffee beans" Ianto replied as he indicated left.
"You and your coffee. You are a wonder Ianto Jones but I have to admit that you've had a knack of making a brilliant coffee since you were a teenager, what is your secret?" Rhiannon commented. "Oh no, Jack doesn't even know my secret on how I make his coffee taste amazing so I'm not going to be telling you Rhi" Ianto chuckled. "But I'm your sister. Your family" Rhiannon protested. "Yes and Jack is now my family, my civil partner. I might pass the recipe onto the kids eventually, when they're old enough to really appreciate good coffee but otherwise its staying a secret" Ianto replied with a cheeky grin.
"Griffin is a teenager, he should be ready for the recipe don't you think?" Rhiannon pointed out, smiling at her brother's expression. "Yes but he still doesn't appreciate good coffee. He'll get the recipe when he turns 21. I think that's fair enough. Right, we're here. Use your key to get in and I'll wake up Emily and hope she doesn't get too grumpy at me. She hates being woken up when she's in a deep sleep. Takes after Jack there when he does occasionally sleep that is" Ianto chuckled.
Ianto had managed to wake up his daughter without too much trouble, she looked around her sleepily as she was carried into the living room, though she was quickly brought around by the loud Happy Birthday from everyone in the room and then being transferred from her Da to her Daddy who she clung onto.
"Happy birthday baby!" Jack grinned, as he let her take in the surroundings. She clapped her hands together in delight as she spotted the balloons. "Mine?" she asked her father a little shyly which surprised Jack. She wasn't a shy child, she was quite confident but then she was the centre of attention all of a sudden and it was bound to be a little overwhelming.
"Yes they're yours. Do you want to play with them or play with your birthday present?" Jack asked, secretly hoping that she wanted to play with her main present but then a three year old could easily accept empty boxes and balloons as a birthday present, they were quite easy to please. "Present! Please Daddy!" Emily replied, looking at him with wide eyes. At that moment, Jack wouldn't' have refused his daughter anything. She was so incredibly cute!
"Ok then. Let's go into the spare room then and you can play with your birthday present" Jack told her, carrying her towards the room and aware that Ianto was not far behind, he wanted to see their daughter's face too. When he placed her gently on the floor and gave her a gentle push to get her moving, Jack and Ianto couldn't have wished for a more positive reaction. She squealed in delight as she spotted the dollhouse and ran to it, landing a little hard on her knees which caused Jack to become concerned Daddy Jack but relaxed when Ianto rested a hand on his shoulder, in her excitement Emily hadn't hardly felt the pain of the fall and there was no need for Jack to check on her. If she had hurt herself, everyone in the house and probably the street would have known about it. Their daughter had a pair of lungs on her and no mistake about it.
"Do you like it baban?" Ianto asked, as he watched their daughter explore the giant dollhouse, her face full of wonderment. "Yep! Love it! Thank you Daddy and Da!" she beamed, getting off the floor and rushing at them for a hug and kiss. "I'm glad you like baby. Now I'll let you play with it for a little while then you're going back in the living room, can't have a party without the birthday girl can we?" he chuckled. "Ok" Emily agreed but pouted slightly, bounding back over to play with the dollhouse. Jack and Ianto shared a look with each other, they had definitely made their daughter's birthday extra special.