Sorry guys, this chapter gave me a lot of problems, but it's done now. I haven't read through it, so there may be errors, but it's done and I'm moving on.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER 5

Ianto was still hugging a crying child when Jack got back. He looked up at the Doctor and Amy and asked, "Is that-?"

"Yeah. That's the Doctor. He's changed again. And that's Amy. How is he?"

"Not great. If we can't get him calmed down soon, Owen will have to sedate him. We need to get him some pain killers. The readings are off the charts."

The pause in the rhythmic shushing and back rubbing caused Hayden to burry himself even deeper into Ianto's jacket and choke out through the tears, "I-I'm s-so s-sorry, T-Tad. I-I kn-know that I-I sh-should b-be str-stronger. I-I c-can do b-better."

"What do you mean, Little One? You're not doing anything wrong."

"No," the Doctor said. "No, he thinks he's disappointing you by crying. You don't want him to cry, so when he does, he feels like he's failing you. Basic Tenza instinct."

Ianto looked down at Hayden, shocked. "No, Hayden. You're not doing anything wrong. You're allowed to cry. It's normal."

The Doctor approached the table and looked at the two people there. He took out his sonic screwdriver and waved it around them. "Yes. His psychic abilities are way above normal. He's also got your DNA."

"Owen already told us that," Jack interjected.

"Hmm… yes, I'd say you're probably right. Seems like a Tenza. That's not all, though. There's an odd build-up of—" he hit his sonic screwdriver with his left hand, "radiation. And a bit more psionic ability than I'd expect."

"What type of radiation?" Jack sounded worried and angry for being kept in the dark, even for a few seconds,

"An obscure form. I've never dealt with it myself."

"What's it called!?"

"I don't remember!" The Doctor and Jack stood breathing deeply and staring at each other for several beats. "It's harmless. I'm not sure what it's doing, though."

"If you don't know what it's doing, then how do you know it's harmless?"

"I just do." The glaring contest resumed. "Amy, go back to the TARDIS."

"What?"

"This isn't an adventure. There's nothing for you to do on this one. Just go back to the TARDIS and…kiss Rory." She gave him a look. "Just go. If you can help, I'll come and get you." She huffed quite a bit, but finally turned away from the clump of people and headed back down to the archives. "Tell me everything. Where and how did you find him? What did your research dig up on him? Who were his parents and what happened to them? I need to know, in detail, everything that's happened since you found him. Everything. When did you say Martha would be here?"

"Tomorrow morning," Owen cut in. Jack looked up to see Owen, Gwen, and Tosh all watching from above.

"Maybe you should move to the conference room, Jack. I think you can handle most of it. We really need to get Hayden some pain medication." Jack nodded and pointed up towards the room. He gave Ianto's hand a quick squeeze before he followed the Doctor up.

oooo

Ianto Jones looked down at his son and frowned. Hayden was still wrapped up in his arms, breathing shakily, and all Ianto could see was the smooth dark hair on the top and back of the boy's head. It had curled to form two little ringlets near the nape of the neck on the right. The young man hugged the child tighter and started to do the math. He soon realized that he'd still been in university when Hayden was born. He'd just barely turned twenty, if Owen's estimates were correct. How was he going to explain having a six-year-old son to his sister? What about his mam? He didn't talk to her much, but she'd want to know that she had a grandson. And how in the world would he explain just finding out about Hayden now? Possible explanations ran through his head and none of them seemed good enough.

He started to hum a lullaby tune he remembered from somewhere and he reached up a hand to touch the perfect hair. He played his fingers through it, turning it over and twisting it gently, hoping that the indirect physical contact would help to calm Hayden down better than just the hug. Sure enough, the boy's breathing soon started to even out a bit. Ianto leaned back to see the boy's face and brushed the long fringe away from the dark blue eyes. He smiled as he looked into the brilliant orbs that were no longer leaking tears. The smile soon turned to a contemplative frown, though, as he noticed a piece of bright green remaining amongst the blue. A thin green line went through one of the irises, the colors contrasting uniquely. Ianto started scanning for other oddities then, and found a lock of rusty-colored hair tucked behind one ear. He pondered this as he continued to hum, wondering if they were just genetic anomalies and if other children had similar inconsistencies. He really wasn't sure.

Hayden was almost completely relaxed in his lap then, and he was almost sure he'd fallen asleep. Owen had most likely made the same assumption, because he pushed up Hayden's sleeve and inserted a syringe into the upper arm. He pulled it out and set it aside, then helped Ianto lower the sleeping form back down onto the table. "Just a general relaxant mixed up with a hell of a lot of pain-killers. You okay, Tea-boy?"

"Yeah. It's just…how will I break it to my sister that I've got a six-year-old son?" Owen chuckled and started to walk away. Ianto stopped him. "Owen, how long do you think he'll sleep?"

"Not a clue."

"Could I at least move him to a bed? This table's damned uncomfortable."

"No. I need him where I can keep an eye on him."

"Right." He tapped his comm. "Tosh?"

"What's up, Ianto?"

"Could you come down here and sit with Hayden? I think Jack might need me upstairs."

"Right, no problem."

Tosh made her way down into the lower room and took her place by the table. She shot Ianto a smile as he went up the stairs.

oooo

Ianto jogged over to his coffee machine and made up three mugs. He dropped one off with a grateful Tosh and continued up to the room where Jack was conversing with his Doctor. Ianto could help the little surge of jealousy he felt at the thought or mention of the alien. All of time and space was certainly much more than the tea-boy/archivist had to offer and there was undeniable proof that if the Doctor offered to take him away, Jack would go. He had gone. Still, despite the dislike of the man on principle, Ianto knew that he had access to a lot more information than they did and if he was willing to share something that could help Hayden, he certainly wasn't going to sabotage that.

He pushed the door open with his shoulder and saw a smile followed by a frown then another smile flash across Jack's face. He slid Jack's mug down onto the table in front of him and turned to the alien. "Coffee?"

The Doctor shook his head, so Ianto took a sip from the mug himself before sinking into a chair and shoving the liquid to the side. Sensing Jack's worry, he gave a brief explanation. "Hayden's fine. I've discovered some things I'm slightly curious about, but he's fine. I wanted to know what you two are up here talking about."

Jack brushed a hand against his shoulder to draw his attention. "What things?"

"It's not really anything—just things that made me curious. There's a sliver of bright green in one of his eyes and a lock of dark, coppery hair behind one ear. He didn't have red hair before, and he didn't get it from either of us."

Jack shot a concerned look to the Doctor, who answered.

"Hmm, could be some residual effect of his previous DNA. It might not have been completely erased. There's not a lot of data to go on. I've never heard of a tenza being adopted a second time. Also, without the original foster parents' DNA, we have nothing to compare it against. Have your doctor test the DNA from the red hair against that of the brown. That could tell us something. I wouldn't worry about it, though. Not until it gives us reason to."

Jack didn't look very reassured.

"Martha will be here soon, Sir. I'm sure he'll be fine. She'll know what to do." He forced a half-smile at that, but turned right back to the Doctor, serious expression back in place.

"How long can you stay?"

The Doctor frowned, straightening his bow tie. "The Ponds are set up in the TARDIS. They can hold for a while. I can stay as long as you need me, Jack."

"Right, I'll go tell Owen to test the hair then." Ianto rose from his seat, snagging his mug on his way up. Jack immediately stood up too.

"I'm coming, Ianto."

The group of three descended from the conference room in relative silence, the Doctor muttering to himself about things and Jack's hand placed comfortingly on Ianto's shoulder. It was a comfort for both of them.

When they reached the medical bay-it felt like they were spending much too much time there-Jack's hand slid down to Ianto's waist and he reached to hold it in place, momentarily leaning into his captain for support before straightening again and addressing Owen. "How is he?"

The doctor didn't even look up from his computer. "Hovering won't help. He's still asleep."

Ianto took a deep breath, only tensing up more as Jack gave him a squeeze. Finally, he gathered the words. "What are you working on?"

"Fuck, Ianto, I'm doing tests! I'm analyzing results! I haven't worked this hard or this much since med-school and certainly not on something this important. It would all go much easier if you would stop hovering and distracting and interrupting!"

Bracing himself for the yelling that would come from his next request, he opened his moth to speak. He stopped though, when Jack squeezed his waist again and their eyes met. It was instantly understood that Jack would handle it and Ianto nearly melted from relief. He slid out of his lover's arms and shot Hayden one last look before leaving the bay in search of Tosh.

oooo

"Ianto says Hayden's got different colored hair. I need you to test it to see if there are any differences."

Owen's cursing could be heard all across the hub.

"Nevermind, Owen. Go home."

"I'll get Rory," the Doctor murmured as he scurried off back down to the archives to his TARDIS.

Setting down in Owen's abandoned chair, Jack looked through what the doctor had had up on the screen. He understood a lot of it, but other bits didn't make any sense. Rubbing his face in frustration, he rolled backwards from the desk and waited for the Doctor to return from whatever he'd gone to do. He didn't know what he was supposed to be feeling and what he was feeling, he couldn't make heads or tails of. He'd found out he was a father before, but never like this. This was different.

Captain Jack looked up to see the Doctor run down the steps, followed by a young man with a large nose in rather plain clothing and Amy in tow. Jack shot him an inquiring look. "This is Rory," the Doctor said. "Rory, that's Captain Jack. Don't talk to him-he'll try to flirt with you."

To his credit, the young man didn't question it too much.

"Now," the Doctor continued, "that's Hayden, there. He's got a bit of ginger hair, according to Ianto."

"And he's a Tenza, like the boy with the cupboard and the dolls and the rhymes?"

"Yes, only this one's been adopted twice. Isn't it exciting?" He clapped his hands together and twirled around, but at the looks he was receiving from his companions, he sobered up. "No, perhaps not quite that exciting. Now, we need you to take two hair samples and compare them."

"Doctor, I'm a nurse. I didn't specialize in insanely advanced technology. I don't know what any of this stuff is!"

"I can walk you through most of it," Jack piped up. "Just walk me through what you're trying to do."

Reluctantly, Rory nodded and Amy went to sit on the stairs. The Doctor soon got bored hovering over Jack and Rory and went to join her, where they proceeded to talk in low voices.

oooo

In another part of the hub, Ianto was sitting close to Tosh, trying very hard not to let his emotions get the best of him.

And there it is. Reviews? Pretty please?

Thanks for reading!

-MP