43

Time was moving faster or so it seemed. Two months turned into six… then seven.

The baby was active, meaning like it or not Jack was active too. Ianto had tried to be proactive as well, singing to the bump, massaging it and trying a few techniques he had read in the books… of course he researched this… but the baby was determined to be active from 3am to nearly 5am every fucking morning.

This was a concern for several facts with the largest one being that when born, the stinker might keep up this decision of rioting so early. Finally Jack had snapped, demanding Ianto stop touching him and stomping from the bed to run a hot bath in the hopes the water might soothe the shithead back to sleep.

By the time he registered how he had acted, Emma was awake and banging her little toy on the kiddie gate like a prisoner in the cell banging his metal cup on the bars. Jesus, had he shouted? Jack left the bath running and went to apologise only to see the front door swinging shut.

He left him?

Jack was gobsmacked as he stood there, then a voice softly said "Don't let that overflow now Cariad."

Jack swung to find Ianto behind him with a bottle in his hand, something Emma had grown out of but was clearly going to be a bribe tactic now as the little one on his hp struggled to try and wrestle it from him.

"I heard the door and…"

"Let the dogs out"

"Dogs? Oh right… the dog that likes to watch her sleep. Right. Roger. Did Matilda go with him?" Jack said, and then remembered the bath, racing to turn it off and seeing that he had used a copious amount of their precious hot water. "Shit."

Ianto entered the bathroom with wide eyes "Oh god, you didn't. Oh thank god."

"No… look how much I used. It will not reheat with the solar panels in time for your morning shower now. Damn it, sorry love." Jack grimaced.

"Doesn't matter" came that frustrating reply as Ianto turned to leave, then said over his shoulder "Plenty at the office."

Oh.

Jack got into the water and was trying to find a comfortable position when Ianto returned and sighed "Lean forward a bit, I have a pillow here for you."

A pillow? Oh. It was a bath pillow, waterproof and squishy. Lovely. Felt good, a second one placed on the edge as well.

"You really need a little table here the same level as the bath so you can have a few things on it. Water is the only thing to really soothe him at the moment" Ianto muttered as he moved around Jack "I will leave the pillow on this chair so if you want to roll on your side it can go under bump. He is getting big."

"Yeah, two more months" Jack smiled as he felt hands stroking his hair back off his face.

"It's gone fast. You know… sometimes it feels like it was just a moment ago that this all happened and other times it feels like it was always this way. Weird huh?" Ianto asked.

Jack hummed softly and Ianto smiled, going to check their little girl had drifted of to sleep with the dreaded now empty bottle firmly clasped in her hands like she knew her Taddy might come and try to swipe it back.

Ianto then went to call the dogs back in the close the door and saw the light on across the way at Owen and Toshiko's. He hesitated and pondered this. She was not due for another couple of weeks right?

Ianto walked through the house to find Jack drying himself and they used sign language like talking might wake the hopefully sleeping bub. Jack settled in the bed and Ianto checked he was covered and warm, then headed over to see if things were ok, the fact he was in a dressing gown and slippers not mattering to him. They were used to him walking around like that sometimes, like an old man seeking his paper in the bushes or something. An absent minded genius.

Ianto was their worrier after all.

He was about to rap on the door when he heard soft laughter and he moved to look in the large windows of the living room. Owen was making up the cot as Toshiko sat watching, her hand rubbing her bump. Ah. She has the same problem as them?

Same time every morning, was it the same for her or just an anomaly that it had happened this morning. Had something woken the bubs somehow? Was there something upsetting them? Or was it all just a coincidence.

Ianto slipped into the bed and cuddled against his man and found a little body in there muttering as she pushed at him to move his arm to a better position. Little shit. Must have made Jack get up to let her out of her room, the kiddie gate the last thing he had made sure was up as she was doing this too often. And Jack gave in every damned time.

Four in the bed was too much, even if one was unborn.

Ianto did not want another argument about the kids but knew it was coming as Jack refuses to say no to her over anything. Ianto's calm and stern 'no' starting to get him a tantrum in return as she raced off to Jack who would overrule him instantly.

They had to sort this out before the bub comes, get this parenting thing down pat.

Ianto tried to stop chewing over things he had no control over and as he was string to drift off it happened again. That random thought.

Had something woken the bubs?

Now he was gonna lie there and thinking of all the things that made a noise in the night that might have startled the two unborn babies awake, something they could hear in the womb.

Damn it.

He was never going to sleep now.