8
"Wow" Lucia said as she looked around at the house "This is… your idea of a cabin?"
"You know… I said the same thing" Ianto laughed as he placed the leather jackets on a coat rack. "Four bedrooms upstairs as well as a huge pull-out bed out here in the living room and the cute bunk room behind the stairs that I put another bed in as I loved waking up to the water."
The place was a bomb site, the cupboards swinging open and food, pates, bowls and such all over the floor. Christ, they had not been exaggerating.
"Tad, there is a huge bed upstairs, two other normal ones and a single one but…"
"It's OK Ali. There is some down here as well, come look at the sofa bed in the loving room as well as under the stairs, there is another room. I think your Poppy and Gamma need that big bedroom, your aunty can have the other upstairs room next to them and the third one can be for Tosh and Owen. Uncle Gray can have the single. Then down here, the pull-out couch for you kids and your mama." Ianto called back.
"Mama? Can I share with you in the middle? Steven drools!"
"HEY!" the little boy roared "TADDA SHE SAID…"
"Inside voice please" Ianto said firmly "And you might need to share with Daddy or me if you two are going to fight."
Jack felt the sting but knew it made sense; he was not going to be in the bed they had made love in once upon a time. No. He was delegated to the Water bedroom's sofa with their son. Able to see Ianto asleep in that gorgeous bed and know it was not his anymore. He deserved it.
.
.
"Ianto…"
"Yes Alice" Ianto sighed saddened that things had calmed enough for her to remember that she hated him now.
"That bed is huge, can't you and Daddy share along with Steven? Come on… I can have my own bed with mama then." She huffed.
"No ears as per usual eh? Poppy and Gamma in the master, Toshiko and Owen in the other double room, Rose in third one with Gray in the single. Then down here me and Daddy will be in the Water Room and you share with your mama in the living room. If it makes you feel any better your brother wants to be in the water room with me and your father so… you and your mama have the living room pull out to yourselves. OK?"
She made a noise of annoyance even though she had got what she wanted and she stomped off. God.
Ianto glanced over at Jack, then left the room, left the house and walked to the jetty, standing there watching the mist rising on the water. God it was so ethereal and… like nothing bad had ever happened.
"Ianto…" Jack began to talk as he followed him and then the world shifted, Jack staggering as the entire place seemed to shake like a wet dog, Ianto simply… disappeared over the edge into the water.
"IANTO!" Jack screamed running along the boards and about to leap in when soft laughter made him stop, finding Ianto there in the water fully clothed and clearly frozen as he held out a hand to be lifted out.
"Fuck, that's cold." Ianto huffed then headed back inside leaving Jack out there looking around with wonder as the world suddenly came alive, the silence beforehand and not even been noticed but now the sound of nature was almost deafening.
Fuck.
.
.
Jack entered the water room to find Steven asleep on the sofa snoring softly as Ianto gently covered him with a blanket and straightened up to look over at him "Well … we can build a pillow wall I guess."
"Well, wouldn't want to molest you" Jack felt belligerent now and to his surprise Ianto giggled. It was faint, soft but … there. He was fucking with him?
"Look, extreme problems mean… extreme solutions and I think for a few nights we can... well… cohabit. But I am not thawing over what happened and with your mother in the house I am definitely NOT going to be all sweetness and light."
"Got it, no rainbow unicorn farts from you" Jack said, something that always got a blinding smile during their marriage and the flash of pain on Ianto's face hurt more than Jack thought it would.
Christ, he had fucked up there.
But maybe there was the chance, the slim chance he had been begging for to fight for him.
Fight for the family he fucked up so damned royally.