4.

Ianto came to on the couch in the main Hub. He was covered by a woollen blanket and somebody had removed his suit jacket and shoes. When he turned his head cautiously, he saw Tosh at her workstation, talking softly and animatedly to Jack who nodded every once in a while. He found Owen and Gwen at Owen's desk, silent. Owen was studying a file and Gwen was reading another one.

Ianto felt strangely excluded, as if he wasn't part of the team anymore. The feeling was similar to how he'd felt in those first few months of his employment when keeping his distance had been important to protect Lisa. By now, though, he'd gotten used to being in the middle of it all, just like everybody else. He looked at Jack for quite a while, until his stare was noticed. Jack's face turned towards him and Ianto noticed how drawn and pale he looked. Ianto had expected something like this, had expected Jack to be mistrustful of the whole situation, but now that the time had come that everybody knew, he felt awkwardly vulnerable. Like a threat he didn't want to pose. Jack put a hand on Tosh's shoulder and then walked over to Ianto slowly, pushing his hands in his trouser pockets. Ianto pulled the blanket higher and tried to relax into the embrace of the old couch, then he folded his hands on his belly and said, "I asked Owen not to tell you."

"So he said," Jack replied.

"I'm sorry," Ianto whispered.

"For not telling me?" Jack asked. "You damn well should be. This isn't exactly a paper cut, Ianto." His voice was sharp and echoed through the cavernous room, drawing the others' attention. Embarrassment heated Ianto's cheeks and he fought the urge to pull the blanket even higher. Jack let out a breath. "If you mean that you're sorry for the pregnancy, no need to be. It's hardly your fault." He looked at Owen. "How long until you can remove it?"

Gwen's eyes widened. "Jack!" She got up from the chair and put the file down.

"Gwen!" he answered just as sharply. "Ianto is pregnant. There's no way this could have happened naturally, so I assume technology. It's a work accident, it happens. We'll take care of it."

Ianto didn't know why he felt tears gather in his eyes at those words.

"You're talking about this like it doesn't mean a thing," Gwen said, her brows furrowed. "As if you'd talk about a splinter or a tumour. Let's call it what it is: abortion. So it's not your decision. It's entirely up to Ianto."

Jack turned to Ianto and raised one eyebrow in challenge. "Well, what do you say? Want to keep whatever it is?"

It was obvious that the question was asked to annoy Gwen and not to get Ianto's opinion, so he ducked his head and avoided Jack's eyes.

Owen cleared his throat. "As I already said, Jack, even with technology involved, it could very well be a human baby. It could be your baby as well as Ianto's."

"And that changes everything?" Jack asked.

Ianto whispered, "Yes." Everyone turned to look at him and he felt even more ashamed, then slightly angry at himself for feeling that way. It was his decision to make … wasn't it? "I need at least a little time to think about what to do."

Owen leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Be reasonable, Jack. Whatever it is, it's in Ianto's body and it looks like a human foetus. The computer's already working on the results of the tests I did while Ianto was unconscious. With a bit of luck, we will have a DNA profile in about an hour." He raised his eyebrows and looked at Ianto. "Even though I strongly recommend an abortion. Your body wouldn't be able to handle the pregnancy. It's starting to show severe signs of giving in already."

Jack's voice was toneless when he replied, "Those cramps are normal." He pressed his lips together for a moment, looking from Owen to Ianto and then back. "Fine. We wait for the results, let's see what we're dealing with." With that, he turned away and headed for his office. The door slammed shut.

Ianto bit his lip. Gwen sighed deeply and smiled at him. "I'm going to talk to him."

Ianto nodded. He knew it wouldn't do for him to go up there. Jack had made it clear that he wouldn't talk to him right now. Ianto had expected that reaction – he'd feared it, but expected it. And it was reasonable from Jack to be mistrustful and careful. So why did it hurt so much?

xxx

"What the hell, Jack?" Gwen asked and slammed the door to his office, shutting the team out of their discussion. Sometimes, she revelled in the opportunity to be able to berate Jack. It was a guilty pleasure, but he treated them like children often enough for her not to feel too bad about it. She knew that he hadn't grown up on this world, in this time, but she always thought that was no excuse for him to get all high and mighty.

He was sitting in his chair, his head in his hands and his shoulders hunched. Gwen fought against feeling sympathy. Right this moment, Ianto deserved it more. Jack looked up from his desk. "I know. I was a bit too harsh."

"You were a monster, Jack," Gwen said. She put her hands on her hips and softened her approach. "Listen, this is difficult and I get that you need time, but Ianto's the one who's having the worst of it. He needs your support right now. Whatever he decides-"

"Whatever he decides?" Jack asked incredulously. "Gwen, there's nothing to decide. This shouldn't have happened."

"But it did."

"It's not our baby."

"What if it is?" Gwen asked.

Silence slammed into the office. There it was, the elephant in the room. Gwen had read the things Owen had gathered about human male pregnancy since he'd first diagnosed Ianto. She'd seen images of scans. They looked like Ianto's. They were quite possibly talking about a human baby. Jack and Ianto's child.

Jack rubbed his forehead. He looked tortured and tired and all the things she didn't want him to be, but she couldn't back down now. "I never would have taken you for the kind of guy who forces a person they love to abort – not matter if it's a woman or a man."

"I can't do this right now."

Gwen noticed that he didn't say anything about her referring to Ianto as the person he loved. That gave her a small spark of hope. "You have to do this right now. There's no way you can just push this discussion back until further notice. It's happening now. And you heard what Owen said. Ianto's three months along. The pregnancy is putting a strain on his body." She leaned against the desk. "You said it's normal, though? These … cramps?"

"They're normal for male pregnancy in my time." He thinned his lips. "In my time. I have no idea, actually, if Ianto can carry that baby to term … if it's human." He sighed and closed his eyes. "I can't believe he's considering it."

"All risks aside," Gwen said, "would that be so bad?"

Jack didn't answer. He just stared at his desk.

Gwen continued, "Because if he wants to do this and have this baby, then we should support him."

Jack looked at her sharply. "I don't want a baby." He snorted. "We're not even … there's nothing between us. Nothing that could give a baby a stable life."

"You wouldn't be the first couple that raises kids without being together."

Jack looked at her solemnly. "I've learned my lesson, Gwen. I don't want a family. Of any kind."

xxx

Gwen had left Jack's office with an uneasy glance in Ianto's direction. He hadn't really expected her to make any headway. Jack had told Ianto many things about his life, not minding any questions heading his way … except when it was about family. Ianto didn't know anything at all about Jack's parents, if he had siblings. He didn't know if Jack had any children. Of course, Jack had been here for a very long time. It was almost impossible that he'd avoided having a child all this time. But he wouldn't talk about it and after he'd asked the first time, Ianto could tell that questions like that weren't allowed. That, of course, didn't bode well for him.

It took at least another hour for Jack to come out of his office again. Ianto, at Owen's insistence, spent the time resting while the others worked. Owen had left in a hurry for the archives about half an hour ago, turning down Ianto's offer to help him find whatever he was looking for. Ianto feared for his neat organization but he didn't have the energy to follow Owen. Tosh had found one file on the transmitter Jack had told them about and was busy writing a detection program that would enable them to catch the regular transmissions an active Golem sent to his kind and track it back to its origin. That way, she hoped to be able to find a Golem on the move before anybody could be harmed. Gwen was busy reading up on male pregnancy and encouraging Ianto to eat.

Ianto had been napping, feeling exhausted – physically and emotionally – so Jack's sudden appearance beside the couch startled him.

Jack said, "I'd like to talk to you. Alone." And then, "In private."

Ianto knew that Jack wasn't talking about sending Gwen and Tosh away. 'In private' meant that he wanted to be away from the team and away from CCTV audio – his office had CCTV installed, but there was no audio feed. Ianto nodded and sat up slowly. "Your office?"

Jack nodded curtly. Then, as if he'd hesitated, he offered Ianto a hand. "Can you walk?"

"I feel better," Ianto answered and let Jack help him to his feet. "Not dizzy anymore. The pain's gone." To his surprise, Jack didn't let go of his hand while he led him to his office. Jack kicked the door shut while Ianto settled in a chair he'd pulled in front of Jack's desk.

Jack sat in his own chair and leaned back, one of his hands going to his face, his fingers pinching his lower lip thoughtfully. "Let's talk hypothetics. Because it's pretty obvious that – should that baby not be human – we will remove it immediately. Are we on the same page on that?"

Ianto nodded. "Yes."

"Alright. So in my time, men can carry babies to term. The cramps you're experiencing are part of the process. Male pregnancy is possible but not easy for humans. Your body needs to adapt and make room and it's not built for that kind of thing – not like a woman's body. So male pregnancy comes with a lot of problems: these cramps will only get worse before they get better around the sixth month in. Exhaustion is normal, and I'm talking extreme exhaustion. And then there are the not so bad side effects like increased appetite. These are things that men from the 51st century have to expect when they're expecting. Provided they get proper healthcare, they have no problems giving birth." He sighed deeply. "But you're from the 20th century. Your body isn't that well able to adapt. You could have internal bleeding, lose the baby or have a heart attack." He took a deep breath. "Hypothetics: let's say that baby's human – will you try and carry it to term?"

Ianto swallowed and rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache build. "There's no way to be sure that I can't do it?"

"No, there isn't. We have Owen and maybe Martha to help, the knowledge about alien technology. What we haven't got is proper healthcare for cases like you and the fact that your body's not equipped to handle this. You could make it or not. There's no way to know."

Ianto leaned forwards. "Hypothetics: that baby's human and I carry it to term and we're both fine … what will happen then?"

Jack crossed his arms and took a deep breath. His eyes remained steadily on Ianto as if he was forcing himself not to look away. "I have two female agents, Ianto. I'm not against anyone starting a family. You'd keep your job as an archivist, same pay, but you would of course only get field assignments if it's absolutely necessary. Should it become necessary, Torchwood will pay for childcare, a nanny or something similar. There's no problem with you taking days off to be with the child."

"That's nice but not what I was talking about. I know the rules," Ianto said. He found that he didn't have the same amount of strength Jack was showing and ducked his head to not have to look at him. "What if it's yours?"

"I can't do this, Ianto."

"So what … you'd deny its existence?" Ianto looked up at Jack again, angry beyond belief.

"We wouldn't move in together to start a happy family."

"I never asked you to," Ianto replied. "Stop turning me into a love-sick idiot!"

Jack frowned, irritation clearly getting the better of him. "I wasn't implying-"

The door burst open and Owen breezed in. "Right, we've got a problem."

The frustration Jack had held on to during the talk seemed to have found the perfect target. He snapped, "You're interrupting an important conversation."

Owen didn't seem fazed. "Yeah, well, maybe you want to have all the facts before you decide what to do."

Ianto turned around to Owen. "Which are?" He didn't know what to hope for. He didn't know what he wanted it to be.

Owen cleared his throat and focused his eyes on Ianto. "DNA matches up: it's Jack's baby." Silence settled in the office, then Owen added, "Well, it's got the combined genes of both of you to be precise. Absolutely magnificent from a scientific point of view – I'd like to know how that's been done."

Jack growled, "Me too."

Ianto didn't dare to look at him. He was too preoccupied with his own feelings on the matter to care about Jack's at the moment. Or rather he was too preoccupied with the lack of feelings on his side. Shouldn't he feel something? Or was it just shock?

"I might have an answer," Owen continued. "Peralta."

Ianto closed his eyes. Somehow, he'd already suspected. Jack slamming his fist on the desk made Ianto jump. "I knew it."

"Yes, you did," Owen answered. "I read up on his transplant technique for regenerative medicine. I found something very interesting. Among other things, his studies were about how to become independent from organ donators. He invented a neat little technique. Evolutionary. Genius, I might even say."

"Owen," Jack snapped.

"It's called a nano ball. It consists of nanogenes, which can be programmed to do whatever you want. They can be used to repair skin tissue and the like. Now, the nano ball is made up from millions of them. You just plant it into the body and it grows into whatever organ it is programmed for, but it uses the body to get the bloodtype just right to reduce the danger of the body rejecting the organ to 3%. In only a few months, you have a fully functioning organ grown right inside you. Minimum invasive surgery, since the size of the nano ball you insert fits into a pipette. I guess he used a nano ball to give Ianto an uterus. Apparently, Peralta didn't only implant the uterus but also made it ready for use by using somatic-cell nuclear transfer ..." He paused when they just looked at him quizzically. "In a nutshell, he used cloning methods, creating an egg with the genes of one of you and using the other's sperm. The rest, as they say, is history. It's what he did with those UNIT soldiers. Just a bit more refined."

"And you didn't see it? You examined him after I got worried about Peralta. What, were you just lazy?" Jack asked.

"I was unable to see it because it was tiny. It only grew when the foetus started to." He sighed deeply. "So Ianto's pregnant with your baby, Jack. It's human. It's healthy, at the moment." He crossed his arms. "Now what?"

xxx

It didn't take long for Jack's angry call to Leslie to show some results. Leslie actually seemed to be rather shocked himself about what Peralta had done and after he'd called in some favours and pressed some charges in Torchwood's name, UNIT was arresting Peralta and having him put on a plane to Cardiff.

The time until he arrived was filled with research, several phone calls to Martha and three visits to the archives, just to emerge with several boxes full of files on male pregnancy originating from UNIT and the Torchwood branches. Gwen signed herself up to be Owen's research assistant and while they worked through the files, Tosh worked on the detection program for the Golems and Jack split his attention between both. Ianto kept himself isolated from all of them. He'd told them that he was going to go and get some sleep in the guest quarters, but the CCTV showed Jack that he kept tossing and turning, only nodding off for half an hour at the most before waking up again. Jack caught himself thinking that he should get Ianto back on the couch, back into their midst … but he couldn't. Ianto hadn't given them an answer and that meant that he was at least considering trying to carry the baby and Jack couldn't handle that, yet. Maybe he would never be able to. He'd had family before. Several times, even. One didn't enjoy life on Earth for several decades and not end up with a child – by accident or on purpose. But it had never worked out. Partners outside of Torchwood couldn't be part of Jack's life because they didn't know about his immortality. And partners who knew – he'd had three children with three female agents – always told him that they understood, but in the end … they never had. They'd quit Torchwood because they were unable to see Jack anymore or they'd run away for the same reason. It hurt, a lot. Even today. And Jack didn't think he would be able to ever bear that pain again. To fall in love with the thought of having a family, a place he really belonged … just to have it snatched away. It was easier to deny himself from the start. And since Ianto could never be just Ianto but would always be a father, would have that child as part of his life … Jack had to deny himself.

He stood by with his arms crossed and his face grim when two UNIT soldiers brought Peralta through the cogwheel door and proceeded to follow Gwen's lead down to the conference room. Behind them, Martha Jones entered the Hub, her dark eyes seeking out Jack immediately. She fell into his arms and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"This is insane," she said. "He admitted to it during the flight. We've got it on record and everything."

"I hope you're going to make him regret what he did this time. UNIT has been awfully nice to him in the past."

"Believe me, he got a warning last time. This time, I will personally see to it that the matter won't be dropped."

Jack nodded gratefully and smiled at her. It was a relief to have her here. He loved his team, but Martha was just different. She'd been there through the whole horrible year that Earth had been in the Master's hands. She was one of the very few people on Earth who still remembered. She and Jack would share this experience, this bond, until the end of their days. Just as they shared their unrequited love for the Doctor.

Jack whispered, "Thanks for coming."

Martha's features softened. "No problem. I just don't know what I can do to help. I brought all of Peralta's files on his past experiments and on the nano balls but other than that ..."

"We'll need your help to keep UNIT off our backs. Leslie called me. They insist on having someone here because Peralta used their materials so Ianto's baby is practically partly their experiment. I'd rather have you here as an official than someone I don't know. This is bad enough as it is and after Peralta, I don't trust anyone from UNIT but you."

"I'm flattered," she answered and then, after a pause, asked, "How's Ianto?"

"Confused. Confused and pregnant with my baby … and I think he'll want to keep it."