Emily had been fine in the car on the drive back home but getting her out of the car was another matter entirely. She grizzled and wiggled in Griffin's arms as he got out of the car. She was understandably bad tempered but it also meant that she was extra hard to control.
Jack watched with sympathy as Griffin struggled with Emily before taking over when it was clear that his daughter wasn't going to calm down in her brother's arms. Taking her gently from his son, he rested her on his hip and coaxed her to rest her head against his shoulder.
"Shhh. You're home now. Don't fuss sweetheart" Jack soothed, rocking her gently in his arms as he followed Ianto and the boys up to the front door of the house. He sighed as his daughter still whimpered and kicked at his leg as he got into the house.
"Right madam. Your Daddy is going to take you into your bedroom and get you out of those clothes whilst I run you a nice hot bath then whilst Daddy is washing you, I'm going down to make some dinner and I expect to find you all snuggled up in bed without any tantrums" Ianto told her, his voice all authority.
Emily seemed to recognise Ianto's tone, he had used it with her often enough when she was fussing or just being plain naughty. "K" she replied in a small voice, half smiling as Ianto stroked her hair in response before starting up the stairs with Jack not far behind him with Emily still in his arms. When they reached the top, they went separate directions, Ianto to the bathroom and Jack with Emily to her bedroom.
Ianto gathered what he needed, which consisted of bubble bath, baby shampoo, a sponge, flannel and a big fluffy bath towel for Jack to use when he had finished washing Emily. Kneeling beside the bath, he started to fill the bath with water making sure it was at a comfortable temperature for his child and putting a healthy splodge of bubble bath into the bath then waiting for it to run. It would take time for his daughter to properly recover but as least she was surrounded by people who loved her and would protect her with their lives above all else.
Jack gently sat his daughter down on her bed before heading over to her little cupboard and getting her Winnie the Pooh nightdress out of it. He also got some little bed socks out as well. He and Ianto rarely used them on their daughter at night unless it was an extremely hard and cold winter.
"Come on you. Let's get you out of those clothes shall we? Da will have your nice lovely bath ready in no time" Jack smiled, reaching for Emily's pink nightgown that hung just behind the door before crouching down so he was level to his daughter and starting to gently undress her. Jack held his breath for a few seconds as he felt his anger rise within him at the sight of his daughter's body but he swallowed it back down again, the last thing he wanted to do was let Emily read him wrong and think that he was angry at her.
He couldn't quite shake the feeling that he was a terrible father. Of course, Emily and the boys would never blame him for what happened to her but he blamed himself. Ianto would tell him different though, he knew his lover. He would tell him that it wasn't his fault and that they both didn't see their daughter's kidnapping coming and to stop beating himself up over it. Their was daughter was fine and they would both protect her because that's the sort of parents they were.
"Ok baby. Let's get you in your dressing gown then let's see what Da is doing in the bathroom shall we? I bet he's found your favourite Rubby Ducky" Jack grinned, getting her into her dressing gown and picking her up into his arms and resting her on his hip. He knew that if Owen had ever heard him use the word Rubby Ducky then he wouldn't hear the end of it for weeks.
Walking the short distance to their bathroom, Jack stood in the doorway with his daughter in his arms watching as Ianto checked the temperature of the bath water. By the looks of it, he had overloaded with the bubble bath, the bath was covered in bubbles but he couldn't really see Emily complaining over that.
"All ready for the princess?" Jack asked with a chuckle as Ianto jumped. "Yes, everything is ready for her. I'm going to head down to the kitchen and make the boys some Chicken Melts with chips, do you want some?" Ianto asked as he slowly got to his feet and turned to face Jack and his little one.
"Chicken melt? What's that again?" Jack asked, looking mildly puzzled. "Chicken breast with bacon on top, melted cheese on top of that and the boys probably want BBQ sauce all over it" Ianto replied. "Chicken breast? I would prefer meatballs…ok, ok don't look at me like that Ianto. The chicken melt sounds fine. Tomato soup for this one, then she can sleep" Jack grinned with a wink as he mentioned the meatballs, causing Ianto to sigh and roll his eyes in amusement.
"What did I get myself in for when I agreed to a civil partnership with you hm? Don't answer that, dinner will be in half hour. Gives you time to wash her down and give her hair a wash as well" Ianto told him as he started back down to the kitchen. "Boys! In the kitchen now, I need you to help out in there" he called down, chuckling lightly as he heard Tucker groan somewhere in the hall.
Jack smiled as he watched Ianto disappear down the stairs then hefted his daughter in his arms lightly. "Ok, lets get you out of this shall we?" Jack told his daughter, gently getting her out of her nightgown. He was slightly concerned that his daughter was quiet. She was normally such a vibrant and happy child, her being so quiet and nervous was something that Jack had never seen but then she had been through hell and back and he had to understand that it was going to take time for her to completely recover from the trauma, physically and mentally.
Getting her into the bath, he noticed that she didn't giggle and clap her hands in delight like she usually did when surrounded by thousands of bubbles in the bath but again, it was something to be expected. "Ok, lets get you all clean" Jack spoke softly.
As he sponged her gently, Jack looked at his daughter carefully but remained quiet as he continued washing her down gently. "Am I safe now daddy?" Emily asked quietly, making Jack start. "Of course you are baby. Me and Da are going to make sure that you're never hurt again. There's no need to be frightened" Jack soothed.
"Promise?" Emily asked, her eyes full of tears making Jack's heart break. "I promise. Da promises too. You know we love you sweetheart. Your brothers do as well. Now don't get upset, I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. Do you want to sleep in mine and Da's bed tonight?" Jack asked, smiling as Emily nodded.
"Ok, you can sleep with us tonight. Now let's get your hair done. Pink or Yellow shampoo?" Jack asked as he picked up the bottles. "Pink!" Emily told him, sounding a little more like her usual self. As Jack gently wet her hair and started to lather the shampoo into her hair, he felt Emily start to relax under his touch. "Good girl. Daddy's here. You're safe now" he soothed.
When he had got her dry and settled in his and Ianto's bed, he called to Ianto as he heard his familiar tread on the stairs to let him know where they were.
"Does make sense that you've moved her in here. Was going to suggest it since there may be nightmares tonight" Ianto smiled, as he gave Jack his dinner and Emily hers. "There we go. Now you two eat up and I'll fetch your plates after I've fed the boys and myself".
Emily eyed Jack's dinner hungrily, then gave a murmur of disappointment as she looked at hers in comparison. "Now don't start young lady. Uncle Owen said that you have to keep on soup. Your Daddy's dinner is gonna be a bit too much for you I'm afraid. Don't want you being sick" Ianto sighed.
"Surely one chip won't hurt her?" Jack asked, feeling bad for his daughter who looked completely miserable at that point. She had been through enough and Jack wasn't ready to deny her anything at that moment. If she wanted the moon and stars, he would have got them for her straightaway, just to make her feel better and to be happy.
"I'll phone Owen. I'm not risking it Jack. I feel bad not giving her a proper meal but I have to listen to Owen's orders. He's a brilliant medic and he's proved to be a great uncle as well" Ianto replied, pulling his mobile out and dialling Owen's number. "I'll see what he says".
Jack nodded in appreciation and cuddled his daughter close to him, well the best that he could balancing a plate and a bowl with one hand even if they were on a tray. "Come on now, don't look at me like that. We don't want you being sick baby. We'll see what Uncle Owen says. He's only trying to make you well sweetheart" he explained.
Ianto rolled his eyes as Owen answered on the first ring, he had obviously had the mobile on him so if there was any emergency, he was ready. "What's wrong?" Owen asked on full alert. "Nothing, I just wanted to ask your medical advice on something. Emily is turning her nose up at her soup and is about to pounce on Jack's dinner. What do you think?" Ianto asked.
"Well I wouldn't recommend it but if she's causing a little fuss then try her. Not too much though. Though what is it and more importantly who bloody cooked it?" Owen asked, causing Ianto to chuckle softly. Owen was all too aware of Jack's cooking. "Chicken melt and chips and I cooked it with a little help from the boys but they only really got the stuff out and grated the cheese which is pretty much basic cooking" Ianto replied.
"Ok, that's alright then. I don't know why I give you bloody medical advice since you both go against it anyway. Thought you would be a bit more careful since its your young but go ahead" Owen grumbled. "Owen!" Ianto warned. "Most is that she'll be sick but if she turns for the worse, ring me straightaway and I'll head over. Don't even think about it, just ring me" Owen told him seriously before cutting off. "Thanks Owen" Ianto thanked him before hanging up himself and looked to Jack and Emily. "He allowed it but not too much which I pretty much expected him to say" he informed them.
"Yay!" Emily grinned, reaching over and stealing one of Jack's chips. "Oi! Uncle Owen allowed it but I didn't, cheeky little monkey" Jack laughed, tweaking her nose as she ate his chip. Ianto smiled as he watched his daughter steal another chip off Jack's plate, before turning intending to go downstairs and serve up for the rest of the family but stopped when he heard Jack's voice saying him name. "Yes?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"When you've finished down there. Get the boys on washing up duty. One can scrub, the other can dry and you can have a wash and then get into bed with us. I don't want you overdoing it. You're hurt too" Jack told him, his tone one not to be argued with.
"Yes but a shower would be quicker Jack" Ianto argued anyway. "Yes but the pressure is weird, I need to get the shower looked at. It could open stitches. Do what you're told for once" Jack smirked. "Yes, I'm sure the pressure is strong enough to tear open strong stitches. I wasn't aware that I was getting a shower in a tidal wave but alright, if it would stop you nagging like a woman" Ianto teased.
"I don't nag like a woman Ianto Harkess-Jones. Just go do it! I'll finish feeding this one and hopefully have her sleeping by the time you get up here again" Jack pouted. As he watched Ianto leave, he smiled to himself as he let his gaze flicker briefly to Ianto's bum then brought his attention to Emily, continuing to get her fed so he could get her to have a nice long comfortable sleep where she felt safe.