23

"Well?"

Owen shrugged "Without a microscope I can only assume based on the litmus tests and such but it seems to be some sort of… well…"

"Venom? Acid?"

Owen shrugged again "something not nice. It smells, I put a blade of grass in it and it shriveled up like it was hot, but there is no temperature form it."

"Keep fiddling and please… for me… don't put any on your skin. I have a … wait. Did I hear Clive saying they are killing one of the pigs?" Ianto drummed his fingers "go see him and ask quietly where the kids can't hear, ask for some of the skin to use while it's still warm."

"Yeah, right. Good idea" Owen nodded. Ianto saw alarm in his face for a moment and knew the poor man thought he was going to suggest using it on the live pig first. No. No testing on animals please. Not here.

But if the pig is humanely killed and cut up for food… the skin can be used too right? Pig flesh is close to human. Ianto's tattooist friend told him so, the skin used for novice tattooists to practice on.

Ianto had a theory and he hoped he was wrong but… well… his brain was a little more advanced than he let on and he was a super nerd who loved sci-fi so… he might have more ideas when Owen did that test.

He left Owen to it and wandered across the yard to the Transporter that had both the front doors and the side Troop Exit open. "Hey."

Jack appeared in the doorway of the side door "Hey yourself. You OK?"

"Yeah, I am just going over things in my mind… are we all good to go?" Ianto asked.

"Yep. The rain isn't far away, if we leave in the morning then our wipers will be on. I really want to take as much time as we can, I have no idea what we might find and I want time for any unknown events" Jack nodded happily.

"well… Rhiannon is tearing the place apart still, I get the feeling she is simply spinning her wheels and going nowhere but not willing to look at the world around her just yet" Ianto leaned in for a kiss.

"Huh?"

"Keeping her mind off Johnny."

"Oh, then… why not have a memorial thing or something. Or maybe…. Like… a garden for the kids?" Jack said while fiddling with something and Ianto seized his face, kissing him deeply and then pulling back, before stalking off to see where a memorial garden might fit.

Jack blinked, grinned and went back to fiddling.

.

.

"So… first thing in the morning?" Owen said around his mouthful of food "can I come this time?"

Everyone turned to Martha who looked back with surprise, then snorted "Come on, not like I am gonna pop this out tomorrow. Not even dropped yet. Go on, but if he comes back with only one hand and can't deliver this thing I will be ever so fucking pissed."

Owen hooted, jiggling in his seat "Like a trip to Disneyland"

"Cut it out" Francine slapped the back of his head "Dangerous things should not be made trivial in front of the ones we DON'T want going out there to look on their own!"

Owen looked over at the kids who had already left the table and were playing in the corner of the room, Francine and Clive's house full of toys.

"We need to go over lists" Mark said as he joined the conversation.

"And I am staying behind so I need to know about any animals that you usually care for" Marcus added to Mark.

"I got permission to go…" Mark started to argue, clearly pissy as these two argue over the livestock all the time.

"And I said fine… but I don't know if you changed anything from when I was in charge of the barn!" Marcus said.

"Mark and Marcus. Do you think it's something in the name that makes them pigheaded? They will squabble like this all day if ya let them" Francine laughed "Marcus wanted to go too."

Ianto looked at Jack who seemed to be considering things "Well… if Marcus is staying, which makes sense with the livestock, he can watch over us with the drone too."

Marcus perked up, looking over at the drone that was sitting on the sideboard despite Francine's objections. "Will Owen let me?"

"You can have that one, it's all ready warmed up but the other one is mine" Owen said grandly like it was an exceptional gesture for him and everyone finished up.

Ianto knelt to address his daughter, her face pinched with concern and resembling her dead mother "Sweetie. We will only be gone for while, back before teatime, OK? I will be hot and fed up, you know I am after a hard day. Maybe you can squeeze me some of those oranges so I can have fresh juice. That always calms me down. Something for me to lok forward to, along with your hug."

"You will come back!" she demanded.

"Sweetie, don't I always?"

She smiled and hugged him tightly, then watched him pull on the stab proof vest he always wore, and had been slung over the back of his chair. The army fatigues making him look so strong.

Like she knew he was.