35

The place was coming to life, the shipments of containers arriving from Boeshane with the Harkness goods inside meant a couple of days of hard graft and more than one stand off as the men settled the house into the beginnings of their home.

The current argument was that weapons room.

"And I will not let it in the fucking house" Ianto said with a finality to his glare.

"It was my Great Grandfather's and it is worth a lot of money, it does not need to be in storage where we have a bloody castle!" Jack flapped his arms and Ianto sighed rolling his eyes.

"OK, compromise"

"OK?" Jack crossed his arms and waited, his face one of total childishness.

"It is a canon."

"Yep" Jack nodded, "Would look great in here or in the main foyer."

"Or on the ramparts, farthest from our wing." Ianto nodded back, "This is a castle, right? A canon? On the wall? Might even get a coat of arms made to hang beneath it over the corner of the outer courtyard. Think of it, a real canon on a real castle. All it needs is flags. Real Old Earth."

Jack's arms dropped as he gaped at Ianto then ran for the stairs not even able to be calm enough to use the elevator like a normal person. Ianto did of course. He stepped out into the third level as Jack slammed through the fire doors and ran to the windows looking into the courtyard below and then across at the farthest corner that looked out over the city.

"WOW!"

"I bet on a good day it would look like we were about to fire on the world" Ianto said softly, "The sound of flags in the breeze, maybe we keep an eye out for one of those suits of armour for the hallway outside the weapons room. Armoury, that's the word. The Armoury."

Jack placed both hands on the glass and then his forehead to look down as he saw movement then saw two men dragging a dead beast towards the shrubbery in the corner that was fenced off, the gate swinging open and he frowned, "What are they doing?"

"Feeding the Panther"

Jack turned to look at him with open confusion.

"The Purr Flower. It is a sprout of the Panther Plant, remember? It must be famished with this place being vacant for so long. We keep it nourished and happy and we have another hidden landmine for anyone sneaking about. They key on smell. We let our children feed the Purrs and we feed the Panther. Mama and babies happy and content. Loyal."

"Won't eat us, but any scent they don't recognise will be noticed." Jack said as he turned to look again, "The kids will be safe?"

"Purr Plants don't eat young, they know the difference. It will soon work out the different scents of the staff and be happy to sun itself with its' young watching out like wee sentinels. Someone thinks they will sneak across and BAM!"

"Still, maybe a grownup corner where she sits, not a hide and seek corner" Jack said softly.

"Already done, see the little fence?" Ianto pointed, "That entire corner has some poisonous or carnivore varieties. I don't want the children down that corner so we are making that the Grup area. They are good kids who are more than excited with Uncle Gray's miniature castle he is building."

"Yeah, that was a surprise to me too" Jack looked down at the castle being constructed beneath the window, a large multicoloured children's pay house shaped like a castle with slide, sand box and monkey bars.

"Seems he likes the idea of a nephew" Ianto grinned, "I see Alice working out sooner or later that this is a toy for him. Lucky Rose remembered to bring the fairy table and chairs as well. That little picnic set really charmed her."

"Awwww, look. Mavis' young are peeking, look" Jack crooned as little gleaming orbs could be seen in the undergrowth, little ones watching the workmen with their glowing eyeballs. "What's the bet tonight there will be little claws feeling everything. Awww."

"They've not had much, they were a hard working family, honest and poor. They have never known this level of comfort, the idea that they could have a bedroom each too much. Poor wee larvae. That reminds me, I have to get those rugs changed for ones that are not so shaggy, catches in their claws when they run on the runner down the hall."

Ianto walked off to change the entire second floor carpets for the little ones and Jack found himself agreeing that it was necessary. After all this was their home too.

Alice had spied them and was crawling into the bushes that began to shake as they wrestled about, a foot escaping, pulled back in and then a wee claw came out to hook her hair ribbon from a branch.

She would come back with a new hairdo to show him soon.

They did love her hair.

Cute wee buggers.