19

Ianto considered and then did one of the few things he never thought he would do. He came clean to Yvonne. He sat in his office as Caden danced outside in the hallway with some bugs and his human friend who was getting ready to go home. Yvonne sat so still and silent it was like she had shut down, the Terminator theme coming out again as Ianto struggled not to show amusement at her form on internal assessing.

"His family were poor, we don't know how they got the money to be in Boeshane, a benefactor from somewhere. The rest of the family are scattered to the settlements, too poor to afford the star-flight needed to bring them to safer harbours." Yvonne finally said, watching Jack enter with the child in question under his arm. "I have ordered a trace of the money but so far we have nothing to go on, no idea who had bankrolled their entry. Why? You thinking Caden is involved somehow? He's not even born at this stage, by Pete, she was barely with child when they entered the… what?"

Ianto had stood, his book he was fiddling with thumping on the floor as he stared at her, then turned to Jack, "What were we talking about earlier?"

"A dog for Alice?" Jack said and the little gasp told them Caden was listening so Ianto smiled and leaned over.

"Go on then, you go tell her" he crooned and the little boy took off, his wee toddler legs pumping as a bug scuttled after him with equal glee.

Ianto looked at Jack, "No, the other thing. The Rose thing?"

"Another baby?" Jack said with surprise and Yvonne gasped this time. Her hands clasping together as she looked at them with her own glee.

"Think about it Cariad" Ianto said softly, "They had no money, they had to escape the settlements and the Strangles. Suddenly she is with child, they have money and even as she was dying she was begging for the baby to be saved. She never asked about her other son. Her husband died with their only born child?"

"You don't think he was theirs" Jack said slowly as he started to get it, "You think she was a surrogate? They smuggled the baby in? Maybe the 'Husband' was the handler? The child with them might not have even been hers either."

"Yes, like the drug mules" Ianto nodded, "We know he is not human, not completely right? Whatever he is, someone else knows it and now he is a threat to their little operation. They couldn't' retrieve the evidence so…"

"They eliminate it" Jack huffed, "By Pete, you're right. Shit. Vonnie?"

"Sounds plausible" she nodded as she rubbed her hand across her mouth, the distasteful thought of Caden's origins angering her, "We need more tests. We need to know what our little dumpling is made of, the best way to protect him now is to have knowledge. Knowledge is power."

"Yes, please look into what you can under the Torchwood Umbrella Yvonne. There might be other children, there might be other mules that entered at the same time" Ianto nodded his agreement, "Whatever he was, he is ours now and we will fight to keep him safe. Whatever the cost."

"It makes sense, more sense now that they were out in the storm" Jack said as he leaned against an occasional table and looked at the books stacked there, "We did wonder why they hadn't taken shelter, a young child out there in that chaos."

"They were using it as a diversion, running from their handler maybe? Or the 'Handler/Husband' was trying to help her?" Ianto said, then swung to Yvonne who was nodding. "Were they being pursued?"

"Already thinking that too, we need to know who else died with or near them" she answered "This goes back further than we first thought."

"Caden's DNA is the first key to unlocking this" Ianto said with growing confidence, "Henry will confuse them, we take him out for some quick jaunts so they think we are not on to them, then we set a trap."

"Mavis and Aria OK with this?" Jack asked, then jumped as clicking alerted him to two large bugs in the doorway as Mavis and her sister agreed that this was the best idea.

"Right, well we have a Parental Evening to prepare for Pete save us" Ianto sighed, "Alice will be excited with the promise of the puppy and this evening. Yvonne, staying over? You still have your things in the Gold Room. Maybe it will help convince her to stay home when we need to use Henry for the next few days. No doubt she would give him away, not being able to stop from giggling at him. I dare not explain what is happening or her mothering will make it impossible to solve this."

"She does have her Taddy's heart" Jack smiled as he placed a hand on Ianto's shoulder, "You have raised her so well, made me so proud. I am blessed."

"Oh Cariad, to please that whinging little rat faced bastard and his Japanese goddess you … and I will be forever grateful that we loved them enough to humour them" Ianto stepped into his arms and let him hold him gently, his shoulder going to be a real bugbear during the black tie event.

Damn it.

Jack's lips on the shell of his ear did help though.

But a few more kisses might help.

For medical reasons.

Honest.