30
"Hey Tig, have you got… ah. Laurie Love" Jack picked the sleeping bub up off Ianto's chest, moving her deftly in his hands to check her nappy before turning to leave and almost mowing down Francine "Fu….dge. Sorry mother Fran."
"Give her to me, the others are fussing for her" she rolled her eyes, taking the baby and leaving the men there with Toshiko who was intensity watching screens.
"Tig, is that… is that my parent's house?" Jack asked with surprise as he caught on to what she was watching.
"Yep"
Jack sat and watched as UNIT stormed the place, guns out and doors getting splattered like kindling wood. His mouth fell open as they encountered a locked door and shot the hinges off with some sort of shotgun, letting the door fall before rampaging through the place.
After what seemed an eternity, they left.
"OK. What the hell was that?" Jack asked.
"That was the result of giving Collette the address for there as where we are. She said herself, she would do anything to protect her baby. From word Go, I've been suspicious of her fella there. Looks like they did a deal, they inform on all of us, they get allowed to leave. Silly fuckers. Like UNIT would ever stand by that agreement. They are as dead as we would be if they find us" Ianto scoffed as he swung in his chair, then rubbed at his face "God I am so tired."
"Really? Birth, fleeing, going back and rescuing a baby… then this… Ianto, those little cat naps are not enough, come on. The babies are asleep. We should be too. Come on, Francine and Tish are on duty now." Jack demanded "And you too Miss Toshi!"
"Yeah, I promised Owen... I just had to see if Ianto had picked it… as per usual. God. Remind me to never bet against him" she smiled in a sad way, as she rose from her chair and turned off the screens "Come on. Sleep sounds divine."
And so… they slept.
.
.
"Wait… say that again?" Owen asked.
"Ianto didn't trust Collette. He felt someone had shopped T3 to UNIT and it was someone in the inside. So, he decided to send her and her fella to the apartment site. Told them we were at two other locations, all split up. Gave my dead parent's address as where we were all going to meet this afternoon and be unified. All the babies together was a rouse he used." Jack calmly said in a slow monotone for not just Owen but Rhys who was slack jawed behind him "As he thought, UNIT stormed my parent's house late this avo, proving they are the leak."
"Oh god, what will happen to them?" Rhys asked.
"Sorry. I can't worry about them, I cannot care. My only concern is for us, my family. Here. The people I love, are close to are all here" Jack said firmly before he felt that drop of gut into ball sack.
They were not all here.
Were they!
.
.
Ianto could have kicked himself once Jack explained why he had entered the laundry to hiss at him while at the same time balking over the nappies Inot was diligently scrubbing.
"We are running out of disposables" Ianto said as he continued to scrub, more anger than determination as he went over things "And… you've not contacted her?"
"No."
"Get one of the burner phones, call her now."
Jack left the room and Ianto threw the scrubbing brush in the soapy water with venom. He thought he had it all covered, thought it was a foolproof plan. How the fuck could he forget that?
How could he forget her?
Bloody Baby Brain!
.
.
Ianto found Jack in the office, talking softly as he tried to placate his enraged ex. "I know… look Luce … sweetie…. Look…. I know …."
Ianto calmly reached out and took the phone, pushing the button to put her on speaker "Hey there Lucia, this is Ianto."
"Ianto! What the hell is going on, I have arseholes in my garden!"
"Oh my, a rare breed. I bet they smell bad too" he crooned, the silence telling as she seemed to consider if she would find that funny or not. He pushed on "So… want fuck them up?"
"How."
"Take Alice to the mall, you know… with the elephant"
"One hour?"
"Yes."
.
.
It was half an hour later at the playground by the sports field, the concrete dinosaur one of Alice's favourite things to clamber on.
"Thank god. I thought I was getting the codes wrong, our little games" Lucia smiled as she saw Ianto get out of the SU, then her smile faded "You're hurt."
"No, I had a C-Section." Ianto said firmly, locking eyes as he reached out and seized her shoulders to steady her "I was pregnant too. Why we hid, why it's so dangerous. I have a child, me and Jack. I grew it, inside me. Those fuckers want to get me, my child. Jack's child. They will use his other child as leverage."
"Why they were following me" she sighed with a large slump in his grip "Good thing I shook them off at the roundabout."
"Good thing you remembered the codes and to cut any time given by half in a time of crisis" Ianto smiled as well "What a clever girl you are, I am so proud. Well done Luce."
"So, what now?" she asked with undisguised glee.
"You're not angry?" Jack asked.
"Are you kidding? This is the most fun I've had in years. All these code words and pretend scenarios we've done over the last few years… I told you this guy here was brilliant at games. Now to find the reason for it, Christ on a Harley, you really do plan for everything. My mother would have loved you."
"She hated me" Jack lamented.
"Exactly."
They all sniggered softly as Alice finally saw them, her screams of delight as she ran for them making the day brighter somehow.
Ianto stepping back as Jack fell to a knee to gather his baby girl into his arms.
The last loose end now sorted.