Chap 26
It had been a quiet evening, Ianto going back to bed as soon as they had finished their meal with Jack promising he had Walt and Noah sorted.
Walter had flown through his bath as he wanted to watch his new Minion Movie in bed, God that franchise was a money spinner for sure. Jack held Noah as Walter did his reading homework and Walter showed Noah his mad skills as he read aloud. Then Jack held Noah out so Walter could get a goodnight kiss and Walter lovingly stroked his little brother's head before settling.
Filling the little baby bath was a sweet memory. Melly had bathed in one the same. Now another fresh, innocent life depended on his strong grip. Jack was surprised at how much he relished this time he had missed with Walter.
The bath oil was scented lightly with lavender to encourage sleepy babies and Jack inhaled it deeply as he undressed the protesting Noah. Funny, he hated getting undressed for the bath and then hated getting out to be dressed again. Jack had the feeling this was going to be a strong willed little boy and with the two of them as his parents he was going to be opinionated as well. He was perfect!
Jack enjoyed bathing the wee mite, the intense stare from the little man was so sweet. Afterwards, when he was warm, dry and eagerly drinking his bottle the stare had continued.
Did he know they were upset?
Jack whispered that he loved him and everything was OK. The slow blink was maybe an acknowledgement? Who knew how babies thought? Wouldn't it be nice if we could understand them?
The eyeballing had been a surprise as Melly had been happy to close her eyes and enjoy, but this little guy wanted to drink in as much of you as he could. Jack wondered if this was due to the time he had spent alone in the hospital where as Melissa had been held from the moment she was born. He craved touch.
Jack knew the day would come when they would have to tell him that his mother had abandoned him and hoped by then he had forgiven her enough to be loving when he spoke of her. He had no doubt Ianto would be a mess and it would fall to him to deal with any anger that may surface.
Poor Ianto loved his boys so much that even the thought of disappointing or upsetting them left him physically ill. Jack had tried to bring up the future discussion several times and realised Ianto would never be ready to tell Noah he wasn't wanted, even for a moment in his life.
A final change after the obligatory filling of the nappy to show the distain for the clean clothes which also meant a fresh onesie. After a soft sigh and display of horror, Jack fake scolded without any malice and Noah gave him the knowing look that told him he knew Jack was his willing slave.
Jack had gone to bed after Noah's last feed to find Ianto laying still and silent. He knew he was still awake but slid in and gently spooned without speaking, hoping everything would look better in the morning.
Jack hadn't felt or heard the night-time feed and when he woke from the alarm, Ianto was already up and dressing their wee rabbit.
Jack felt it prudent to let Ianto process. No longer upset, Ianto was now pensive and frowning softly into space.
Ianto had taken the time to examine the new area, once Jack had taken Walter to school.
Noah had enjoyed his morning attentions and was snoring softly in his tiny bassinette in their bedroom where it was dark and cool. Ianto placed the baby monitor on the edge of the main deck and took a few steps over to look at the extension.
The hot tub was the model he had wanted when he and Jack had first discussed the possibility of one, and the pool was large enough for everyone to enjoy. The decking had been stained to match the rest of the back deck and the whole thing looked both expensive and thoughtful.
He thought back to his reaction and felt badly. His family has raised him better than that. It had just been such a long day and he was so tired, it had been too much. He now saw the thoughtfulness and love that had gone into it, especially for Walter who dearly loved water.
He would thank Gray later, once he was sure the roses were OK. As Ianto collected the fertilizer and such for the roses he thought about Gray. The black sheep. Like him.
Lisa's rose looked fine, a little dented but the new growth was on good shape. He moved on to his baby girl's delicate miniature bush that has been nestled next to Lisa's. He pulled the smaller pot around so they were together again and knelt to test the moisture of the dirt with his fingers.
As the heat of the day kicked in he began weeding the small garden around the pagoda. If the roses were going here they would need a larger area. With that in mind he went to get his spade.
NB: Walter's "pool party" one-shot covers what happens when Ianto decides to test the pool, let's just say John want one too.