35

It was not raining but had been and was going to again. This seemed to be good enough for everyone, the Drone also high to keep an eye out. Ianto was not so sure but this was not his rodeo. He wanted to get things done, get this all up and running and then settled in as the winter was so damned close.

They were currently in the front yard of a homestead that was between the Outpost and the Firehouse he actually wanted to go to. But not for the reason they thought. But he did not voice his real reason, which would just gross some of them out and overly excite Owen who was already damned excited to be along for the ride. He needed to get to the firehouse to check on something that he hoped he was wrong about.

"Are you OK?" Toshiko asked softly.

"I don't know" Ianto replied honestly "I feel sort of… disconnected. Like… this is not real."

Toshiko stepped in front of him and frowned "Are you feeling faint? Dizzy?"

"No, no, nothing like that. It's… maybe it's just the sadness of what this is. It's not real. Ya know? All these lives, all those people. Those Buggers have desecrated the place, why bother with the spores to kill what is left? Why are they being so damned … thorough." Ianto sighed.

"I know. I feel that too. I keep hoping to find someone waiting to greet us but each time we find an empty place it tells me how lucky we are to have the compound. They have not got us." She agreed.

"The driveway is not obvious. The side road off the main road…. Huh." Ianto stopped talking and stared at her as she tried to work out where his mind was going and finally her eyes widened, making him grin.

"We don't need a road with the Transporter" she said after a beat "we could get rid of the driveway, cover it with grass and… they would never turn from the main road. Right?"

"Yeah!" Ianto grinned "We need to find some grass seed or maybe just cut up some sod?"

"Oh my god… this could be bigger than the moat and wall" she laughed.

Ianto nodded and then said softly "don't speak. Let me. OWEN!"

"Hey" Owen stuck his head out a window "what's up partner?"

"I was wondering… you know how those bugs are keeping to main roads and then looking for the turn offs?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you see one for here from up there? How they know to turn?"

Owen squinted down the driveway and then yelled down "Letter box and everything. Yeah. Hey, that's pretty obvious, like an 'enter here' thing. Hey… do you think if we take away our letterboxes for the compound and hide the driveway they might not know we are there?"

Ianto leaned back and stared up at Owen "You think?"

"YEAH! We could get some grass seed or… or maybe we can cut some of the lawn from here since it's nice and soggy, just cover the start of the driveway so it disappears."

"Don't we need it though?" Ianto said as Tosh placed a hand over her mouth, amazed at how easy he was making it.

"The Transporter and the motorbikes don't need one" Jack joined in from the barn door "We can drive across country from any point from the road, hey Owen… good work man!"

Everyone clapped as Owen looked pleased with himself, then took off while Toshiko was shaking her head with wonder. Ianto then headed over to Jack and pulled him inside the barn, moving over behind some bales of hay.

"Hey" Jack said softly.

"Yes, it is hay" Ianto agreed and Jack laughed at his snark.

Then Ianto stepped in close and hugged Jack, placing his head on Jack's shoulder and breathing him in deeply. Jack knew Ianto would tell him in due time, so he wrapped his arms around him and held him tightly. They stood for a while just wrapped around one another, breathing.

Then Ianto pulled back "thanks. Needed that."

"I love you" Jack whispered, his hand stroking Ianto's' cheek.

"I love you too" Ianto let his face shift to lean into the hand, "I need you."

"Always" Jack assured him "I will always be right here."

Then they kissed and Ianto stepped back "Sorry. Had the heebie-jeebies. You know how it gets. Like we are in a graveyard or something."

"There were kids here. The swing set and the toys still in the sandpit" Jack turned to look towards the door "Maybe it might be nice to take them for ours? I mean… so it might have a use?"

"Yeah."

"Nice of you to give Owen the grass idea for the driveway" Jack said as he knelt over "Look, we have some grass seeds here, some nice ones. If we cut the sod from the front yard and take it back, then sow seeds as well, it will help it all to cover over before the snows come and cover everything."

"I don't like it here. I want to go home." Ianto said after a while of moving tools about on the workbench.

"The firehouse…"

"Will be there tomorrow. Next week. Whenever. I just… want to go home. I have a weird feeling and I don't like it. We are too exposed and I don't feel safe" Ianto was now facing Jack, "I am …. Hell… I feel scared. Maybe it's all catching up with me, I don't know."

"You. Scared" Jack snorted, then his face changed as he saw that Ianto was being serious "Hey. Hey. OK, whatever you want sweets. OK? It's OK. We… we will cut up the sod and say it needs to get back to the driveway as it will dry up otherwise."

Jack picked up a large trowel and went to start cutting as Ianto took a moment to take a deep breath, his eyes falling on a large tool for moving the hay bales. A large nasty hook.

For some reason he felt better holding it… so he did.