30
The meal last night had been perfectly cooked and the children had all enjoyed watching Ianto fill their lunchboxes with roast beef sandwiches and left over chocolate cupcakes Ianto had made earlier in the day.
The boys walked the twins to school, enjoying the chatter and giggles as they talked about random things. Leaving the twins at the school gates, the boys continued on to their own school.
"When will you leave school?" Tarn asked and CJ shrugged.
"I want to work for Dad and Tad at Torchwood but I need better grades. I would like to be a doctor like Uncle Owen" CJ said.
"Oh, that sounds like a lot of work" Tarn smiled.
"What about you?" CJ asked as he glanced at his love, "What do you want to be?"
"A Taddy" Tarn sighed as he clasped his hands together, "Like your Tad. Kind, loving and efficient."
"Yeah, but Tad has a job too" CJ laughed, "He's Dad's second. Like, his assistant or PA or whatever."
"How would I do that for you, if you are a Doctor?" Tarn huffed, "No. I don't want to be a nurse. I want to be my own person. Just one with babies and babies!"
CJ laughed as he pulled Tarn in for a quick kiss.
"I will love our babies" CJ said seriously, "They will be so well loved that they will be smothered by it."
Tarn giggled and let CJ lead him by the hand into the gates of the high school.
All day, Tarn chewed on the conversation and that afternoon he sought Ianto out in the archives at the hub. CJ had taken him there to get some money off Jack for a book he needed for school and become engrossed in an autopsy with Owen.
"Ianto?" Tarn called as he walked through the stacks.
"Down here love" came a reply and Tarn walked eagerly around the corner … and froze.
It was huge, bright pink and undulated like jelly. Ianto was pressed against the shelving unit with wide eyes that flicked between the being and Tarn.
"Tarn, I dropped my coms while I was running and … er … we need to get Jack" Ianto said calmly but Tarn heard the fear in his voice.
"What do I do?" Tarn whispered. "I'm too scared to leave."
"That box over there, the white on. See it?" Ianto said and Tarn turned to look at it.
"Back on my desk is one just like it, it's what this was contained in. We need to coax it back into the box" Ianto replied.
"It won't hurt you if I leave?" Tarn now saw the small shudders as Ianto tried to keep calm.
"You need to hurry, they take time to think over the option of eating or fleeing."
Tarn gasped at the insinuation that Ianto might get eaten and he ran like a thing possessed.
He snatched the box up and ran back, praying to whomever might care, to spare Ianto.
"Kick it into the mass" Ianto whined, pain on his face as he clutched at his wrist.
"Oh my god, did it get you?" Tarn felt tears threatening as he placed the box on the ground and kicked it into the blob.
It winked, and disappeared.
Ianto slid down the shelves with a soft groan and Tart kicked the box shut, placing several heavy books on it.
"Good boy" Ianto whispered as he slumped into Tarn's arms, "My brave, good boy."
Tarn cried out as Ianto became a dead weight and clumsily pulled out the cell phone, hoping the walkie-talkie function with CJ's would work.
"I have you Ianto" Tarn sobbed, "I have you."