28

Ianto could not sleep, even if the others were trying to. The babies would still not settle and it was starting to get grating. Janet was whimpering as she nuzzled against one of the bundles in the large crib, all the babies tighter. This seemed to calm them a bit, being together.

"Are you sure?" Ianto asked as he stood by the chair Toshiko was sitting in.

"You can't produce enough milk, I have it in spades. I know you want to go and at least burry that baby, even if you need to leave the other bodies as they are in case UNIT are checking the scene now and then… just… get it done" she replied sadly. "I can't stand the thought of that little one just… left there to rot."

"I will be as fast as I can, but I have to go, if only to see what they took and what they left behind" Ianto promised "Before daylight, I will be back."

WE will be back" Jack corrected Ianto as he walked into t room on leather riding gear, a leather Jacket in his hand for Ianto as well, a little too big but would do.

Mickey handed over the leys to the motorbike knowing as well as they did that this was the fasted mode of transport, capable of going off-road if needed to evade a pursuer. Watching Jack hand the leys to Ianto might have surprised some of them, bot not those who really knew him. This that did knew Ianto liked bikes. Speed!

.

.

The manhole cover moved slightly in the courtyard behind the barn.

Ianto was first to exit the hole, hopping up to look around as he stepped to one side to allow Jack to exit the same way, both men now moving with purpose, the weapons in their hands held with safeties off.

Ianto reached the huddle of the family, kneeling gingerly to look into the arms of the woman, hoping to see that the baby at least died fast. He hopes it's face was not turned his way so he did not have to see it's death mask.

Jack was standing guard, his weapon up as he swept the courtyard with his heart pounding. They were so exposed, too exposed and he wanted Ianto to hurry up and get that little body out of there for burial. He stood by the dead soldier and kept glancing down at the throat of the man. It looked torn out, not cut. God, had wild animals already been at the corpses? He hissed "Pull it out for fucksake."

It was with a sift grunt that Ianto finally did so, the moonlight the only source of guidance as Jack used his night vision as best he could, swinging the gun around with increased alarm "Tig. I feel nervous."

"Me too… let's go" Ianto agreed as he rose and placed the little bindle inside the jacket, zipping it up again snugly "Let's boogie."

It was not until Jack found himself on the front of the bike with Ianto climbing on behind him that it occurred to him that the body of the baby seemed to be coming with them.

Good.

They can bury it at their new home, let it be close to everyone and be loved, mourned. Right? And it means less for UNIT when they finally realize they left behind some fucking proof of what this was.

Jack kept expecting a tail, in the end going off-road to careen along in the storm water drains that ran parallel to the road, then along some train tracks for a while. Thank god he knew this area so well, had done some tactical maneuvers here while in the military. Of course Ianto knew this place it better but he wanted to hold that little body. Makes sense.

They made it back home before the first birdcall, Ianto shooting from the bike to race inside while Jack was still getting his helmet off and by the time Jack wandered in he could hear the babies all screaming their heads off. Then an eerie silence. He walked into the main room to find that little girl they had just recovered for burial on the floor with them as Owen checked her over with shaking hands and declaring her dehydrated, ravenous and unharmed… what? What?

"Ianto?"

"On the way back... maybe the smell of my breast milk, as inadequate is it is, was enough to revive her. I think when her mother fell on her it sort of knocked her out or stunned her little self. They thought her dead. Didn't fucking check, just riddled the bodies with bullets but each one missed the baby" Ianto explained with his hands still shaking "I felt her move against my chest and… Christ on a cross."

"Poor little mite" Owen muttered as he checked her over again, not quite able to believe she was still alive.

"Laurie, was it Laurie they called her?" Toshiko asked him softly "Holly and Laurie?"

"Yeah, they did" Owen sat back on his heels and looked up at Ianto who was hovering with wide eyes and hands clasped tightly together. "She's fine. Hungry, a little nappy rash but… no broken bones, no lasting damage. Well… apart from both parents dead that is."

"GUYS?" Martha yelled from the other room "Movement on the sensors at the compound!"

Ianto quickly scooped up the bub and placed her to his breast, glad that he hadn't fed his son before leaving. They went to watch the screens as UNIT poured over the area, just like they thought they would, hoped they wouldn't and had prepared for anyway. It took about five minutes of watching the men move around and get comfortable for Jack and Ianto to nod to one another and both raise their cell phones at the same time, making a phone call.

The loud noise was muted their end but the heavy metal music sure did rouse the UNIT soldiers who all raced into a huddle like they were scared kids, this not something they were trained for… especially with the growling low snarl of dogs that seemed to swirl around the place, even if there were no signs of dogs. Like phantoms or still hiding, waiting to attack.

"Now… that's mean" Owen snorted with mirth. "You think they've had enough yet?"

"No" Jack snarled as he watched one of the soldiers kick the corpse of one of their friends. He pushed another button and the wreak of two cars that had formed a weird sort of garden sculpture behind the solders suddenly exploded into the air, out into space, pushing like a mushroom cloud across the ground as the car carcases flew up into the air, soon joined by the bodies of UNIT soldiers.

As the dust settled and the new disaster movie style images stayed on screen that now showed dead or those dying in agony proved Jack knew how to place maximum impacting charges.

Ianto turned to face Jack and Jack waited or the reprimand for killing everyone like a fucking maniac.

"No Jack… it's not enough at all." Ianto said shakily, "I would like to take a flamethrower to them, meself."

Both men stood tall and proud, after all they had not been the ones who declared war.

But they would not surrender.