A/N: To all my reviewers, thank you. I hope you enjoy this installment as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's one of my longer chapters, so I hope it keeps your interest. I'm happy with it so...it's not nearly as depressing as the other chapters, it ends on a really good note.
Reviews are very appreciated. Now ON WITH THE STORY.
Hugs and such.
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Jack had sobbed himself into exhaustion but still refused to sleep and so with a defeated sigh the Doctor had sedated him, wanting the man to get some form of rest as his body healed from the birth. Ianto hadn't stopped looking at his son, Saben James Harkness-Jones, they'd decided, and his face was wet with tears.
He'd been wrong on his first assumption of the baby. Saben was 11 inches long and weighed a measly pound and a half. His eyes were covered – being as under developed as they were – a breathing and feeding tube shoved in his mouth and nose, a blood pressure cuff on his tiny little arm and a hat on his tiny little head. He looked so weak and fragile just lying there, whimpering for someone to cuddle him and make the ouchies go away and the sight broke the Welshman's heart.
His comm beeped and Ianto wiped at his face before answering.
"Yes?" He asked, voice breaking.
"The pizza was tainted." Tosh said simply, not knowing what else she could say to make everything okay.
"With what?" Ianto asked, not surprised by the findings.
"Unknown substance. I'll keep running tests to see if I can identify it. How are things?" She asked, worry gnawing at her insides.
"They're both alive." Ianto said, not really knowing what else there was TO say. Jack and Saben were both alive, but Saben was far from okay.
"Everything will be okay Ianto. The Doctor won't let anything happen. Owen's coming by, he just called, and he'll help where he can." Tosh said hoping to put Ianto's mind at ease.
"I'm going to call my family, they're going to want to be here for Jack and Saben. I want you to keep Gwen close, I'll be out soon to deal with her."
"Okay, I won't alert her to anything." Tosh said before closing the comm line.
Ianto sighed as tears pricked his eyes. He was so tired of crying as he looked at his fragile son. Grabbing his phone he called Rhiannon, knowing Efa would probably be visiting her, seeing as how it was Sunday and they had Sunday dinner every week.
"Ianto, good of you to call." Rhiannon said, answering the phone cheerily.
"Hi Rhiannon." Ianto said, trying so hard to keep his voice steady.
"What's the matter Ianto?" Rhiannon asked worried.
"Jack went into labor and the baby was born early and he's so tiny Rhi...I don't know what to do..." Ianto said, losing the battle and sobbing into the phone.
"Ianto, love, where are you lot, mam and I will be there soon. Johnny can watch the kids." Rhiannon asked, running about getting ready.
"I'm at the hub..." Ianto said, giving his sister the address.
"We'll be there soon. Talk to mam until we get there."
"I'll let you in." Ianto said, standing and looking at the Doctor, who was sitting and waiting for Jack to wake.
"I've got this Ianto, you go bring your family here. You need the support." The Doctor said and Ianto nodded as the phone was handed over to Efa.
"Ianto, love, we're on our way. Everything will be okay. We'll prey for him." Efa said and though Ianto no longer believed in religion, he was grateful to his mam for what she was able to do.
"It'll be ten minutes Ianto, we'll be there in ten minutes. Talk to me cariad, say something." Efa prompted and Ianto sobbed.
"I'm scared." Ianto admitted, leaving the TARDIS and heading to the tourist office. It wasn't a long walk but he was dragging his feet. Tosh watched Ianto walk out of the TARDIS and make his way to the hub door and her heart ached for his pain. Ianto looked so defeated as he slowly walked away, talking to someone on the phone and sobbing his heart out. She wished there was something she could do.
Ianto made it to the tourist office just as Owen ran in.
"Oi, where are they?" Owen asked, having been filled in by Tosh not too long ago.
"In the TARDIS...please help him." Ianto begged as he watched Owen run. He didn't need directions, he'd find that blasted blue box if it was the last thing he did.
"We're here Ianto." Efa said, handing up the phone and Ianto sighed and waited. It couldn't take them that long to park and come in.
"Ianto?" Rhiannon called, walking into the office and seeing her brother, head hung down and small sobs wracking his body. It killed her to see him like this.
"Oh darling." Efa said, running over and hugging her son close. Ianto buried his face in her neck and wept. He couldn't bring himself to talk as Efa rubbed his back soothingly.
"I can't do anything but watch him suffer." Ianto said, trying so hard to reign in his tears.
"Oh love, he'll be okay." Rhiannon said, hugging her brother from behind, offering him as much support as he needed.
"We best go. I don't want Jack waking up on his own." Ianto said, wiping at his face and leading the way down to the hub, Rhiannon and Efa following close behind.
There would probably have been some gawking from Rhiannon and Efa about the size and the fantastic surroundings, including the pterodactyl, but they were on a mission as they followed Ianto towards the strange looking blue police box that sat literally in the center of the hub.
Opening the doors, Ianto led his family in and watched their eyes widen as they took in the size of the ship and he had to smile a bit. The TARDIS was indeed bigger on the inside.
"Come on." Ianto said, not allowing them much time to acclimate to the situation. He wanted to be with Jack and Saben, and he knew that Jack would need their support when he woke up.
Making their to the medical bay, Ianto opened the door and sighed in relief, Jack hadn't woken yet. Looking around he noticed Owen was gently assessing Saben's condition and taking blood samples, making sure to keep the baby as content as possible.
"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner." Owen said, discreetly wiping the tears from his eyes.
"It's okay...there was nothing you could have done to prevent this." Ianto said, watching as Owen continued to assess the situation, hoping to be of some use.
Rhiannon and Efa walked over to the incubator and their hearts shattered as they looked down at the baby hooked up to so many different devices...the poor fella's diapers were way to big on him, it hurt them to see Ianto's son in such a condition.
"What caused this?" Rhiannon asked, knowing early labor was absolutely unheard of in their family and she was willing to bet her last pound that it was unheard of when Jack had come from.
"Tainted pizza...we haven't identified the substance, but I'll bet my last breath that Gwen had something to do with it." Ianto said, petting Jack's hair calmly.
Rhiannon nodded and looked around the room for a chair. Finding one, she moved it towards the incubator and took a seat. She didn't care about anything other than helping this little boy to fight on and to survive this terrible fate.
"Hello darling one. I remember when your tad had to go to hospital and how scared your grandmam had been when she realized...your tad was desperately sick, he was three and he had pneumonia. He was weak and couldn't even eat at one point, but he fought through and he grew and he became a wonderful man and if you've inherited even half that strength, I know you'll get through this. I know you'll grow and be happy. I just know it." Rhiannon said, blinking away tears and smiling at the little baby on the other end of the glass.
Ianto smiled through his tears as he looked down at Jack, who was groaning and waking up. He had no idea how Jack would be when he woke, he knew that the older man had been inconsolable before he was sedated, he had no idea what he was going to be like now.
"Yan?" Jack asked, opening his eyes and looking around.
Efa made her way towards Jack and grabbed one of his hands, smiling through her tears.
"Jack, darling, you've made one beautiful child with my Ianto here." Efa said, leaning down and kissing Jack's forehead. Jack was a bit shocked because last he'd checked Efa wasn't completely fond of him.
"I thought you hated me!" Jack said and Efa chuckled.
"Never. I can't hate someone my son loves so fiercely." Efa said squeezing Jack's hand reassuringly.
"How's Saben?" Jack asked, tears brimming at his eyes as he remembered.
"He's well. He'll pull through, just you wait." Ianto said, continuing to pet Jack's hair to keep him calm.
Jack calmed a bit and closed his eyes, willing the tears away. It wouldn't do to cry on his son's birthday. Today was supposed to be a day of joy and laughter and happiness, not depression and tears.
"Do you know what caused this?" Jack asked and Ianto's face darkened.
"Yes, the pizza was tainted...we're assuming it was Gwen." Ianto said and Jack immediately frowned.
"Hand me my pants." Jack demanded and watched Ianto do as he was asked. Slipping the pants on (under the cover of the sheet, not wanting to flash his in-laws, ) Jack stood.
"I'll be right back." Jack said, kissing Ianto sweetly before glancing back at Saben, who looked to be sleeping.
With a deep breath Jack stormed out of the TARDIS and into the hub. Looking at Tosh he had to smile. That woman was hard at work trying to identify a substance that could take her weeks to figure out, and she wasn't budging. Occasionally she would direct a glance over to Gwen, who looked dead asleep, but otherwise she would be fast at work.
"Tosh, go see the baby." Jack said and watched Tosh run over to him and hug him close.
"I'm sorry." Tosh said and Jack shook his head.
"Nothing to be sorry for. Go on, go look at him, I'll be in in a minute." Jack said and Tosh nodded before booking it towards the TARDIS, she had been waiting patiently for them to allow her in. She was so curious about the baby and so happy. Nothing could sour her mood right now.
Jack stalked over to Gwen and looked down at her sleeping form. Oh how he wanted to murder her but he wasn't going to do that just yet. Grabbing her hair he pulled her up and watched her struggle and scream as he forced her towards the TARDIS. Her eyes were filling with tears at the pain in her scalp but he wasn't going to stop and consider her pain. She didn't deserve sympathy.
Taking her into the TARDIS and towards the medical bay, he was silent, which made Gwen's worry worse. She was being pulled by her hair towards a glass container and the only thing that worried her was Jack's silence.
Pushing her towards the incubator Jack shoved her face onto the top of the glass container, making sure she got a good view of the infant struggling to stay alive.
"Look at him." Jack said, malice and hatred colored his words as he watched Gwen close her eyes to the image.
"Look at what your selfish attitude did to this poor defenseless baby." Jack said, keeping his voice down as not to disturb Saben's sleep.
"I...I'm..." Gwen started but was cut off by Jack.
"I can't forgive this." Jack said, tears brimming his eyes. "Look at what you've done."
The Doctor stood up at this and looked at Gwen, shocked at what she'd been capable of.
"You almost killed an infant." The Doctor said, eyes narrow and hate filled. "Even I can't forgive this."
The others gathered around, just took in the scene. Tosh and Owen knew she was a horrible person, but Rhiannon and Efa couldn't believe that one person could be responsible for something like this.
"I would like nothing more than to kill you." Jack said, pulling her hair hard enough to tilt her head back. He wanted to look at the fear on her face as he spoke.
"Please..." Gwen said, tears falling down her face.
"No!" Jack said, seeing the fear on Gwen's face as she realized that she'd finally crossed a line that she couldn't uncross.
"You go ahead and take in what you've done and tell me if you honestly believe you deserve forgiveness for this." Jack said, voice low and dangerous.
Gwen righted herself when Jack finally let go of her hair and she looked down at the little boy in the incubator and her heart clenched. No matter her problems, they were right. This was one instance where she didn't deserve forgiveness. This little boy was suffering because of her and the reality of the situation had finally dawned on her. She had done something so horrid, so unforgivable and it repulsed even her.
"Whatever we do will be too good for you. We can't let something like this happen again." Jack said turning to Owen.
"I need you and Tosh to go scouting for people. We're going to need a bigger team and I trust the two of you to find good, dependable people to help. We're going to need another medic, two more people for field work, another technician and another archivist. You have two days." Jack said and Tosh and Owen nodded. They had no idea how they were going to find five people in two days, but they would do their best.
"If it helps, I have the names of three people that might be of interest." Rhiannon said taking the others by surprise.
"Who are they?" Tosh asked.
"I'll write down their names and such, pay them a visit." Rhiannon said, avoiding the question.
Tosh and Owen nodded, grabbing the piece of paper from Rhiannon and leaving to do as they were asked. They would find everyone they needed and hopefully be back in time for dinner.
"As for you!" Efa said, turning vengeful eyes to Gwen. "There's a special kind of hell for people like you, and I hope you burn in it."
"I'm..."
"Don't even bother." Ianto said, grabbing her roughly by the arm. "You're going to be placed with Janet. Prey she's not hungry." And with that he dragged out a kicking and screaming Gwen, who was begging for forgiveness.
"Who's Janet?" The Doctor asked, looking at Jack expectantly.
"Our weevil." Jack answered, looking down at his son with a soft smile on his face. Even hooked up to all these machines, he was gorgeous.
"That's cruel." The Doctor said, walking over to the door.
"Look at my son and tell me again how cruel you think it is."
The Doctor sighed and took his seat. This was not his retribution to have and they'd given her more than enough chances, maybe this one time he could turn a blind eye. The TARDIS hummed her approval to the Doctor's choice. If he had tried to leave she'd have locked the door. She was responsible to keep this baby healthy until such a time that he could go home with his parents, she would not allow that woman's continued existence.
"Once upon a time," Jack began, smiling down at his son who wiggled about with happiness at hearing his dad's voice.