19
It is strange how things work out. How sometimes a deck of cards is reshuffled and the hand dealt is better than you could have hoped for.
Ianto knew it was a terrible way to think, after all his sister was dead and those kids… but wow those kids… were amazing.
Jack… was amazing.
The team had come together in an unexpected way to support him and the kids, to make sure that their futures were secure and that bastard Johnny Davies and his family don't even exist in this world anymore. Not for them, those kids who deserved so much more than an alcoholic murdering bastard for a father.
Ianto was starting to see a future… with Jack.
He found it funny now… not a funny ha-ha but a funny weird, that he was in a better place than before. Imagine, your life is turned upside down by Canary Wharf, then the entire… you know… Cyberwoman thing, then to lose your only sister. Only sibling and now you have two little kids looking at you like you are their everything. Should be scarier I guess but it was not at all scary. More like, nice.
The team was brilliant, Andy was such a star that everyone not only liked working with him but openly argued for him as their partner in the field. Not that Ianto minded that at all, his days safer in the HUB with Toshiko spending more time outside of it doing some more research and clinical stuff she enjoyed.
Who knew, she did not like being the tech one all the time. After all, she IS a trained doctor as well. She and Owen have so much in common, even if she is more of a biologist and pathologist… they are both nerdy Geeks.
God, don't tell them I said that, being a nerd too but… you know what I mean.
The kids have settled into their new life in the new house with new parents… yeah… the first time Mica called out for Jack in the night and called for Daddy was a moment they will not forget. She didn't call Johnny Daddy. He was Da, like Ianto and Rhiannon's own Da. She had clearly been calling Jack 'Daddy Jack' in her head for a while, maybe both kids did when talking together but that night Jack had moved so fast, racing along the hallway in his boxers like her bedroom was on fire to cradle and croon the nightmare away… she had told him she had dreamed her Da had come to kill her like he killer her mama and Daddy had come with his big gun and saved them.
God.
Jack had held her all night, laying scrunched in the bed with her cuddling it all better, as Ianto had paced the living room wishing Johnny alive again, just so he could kill it all better.
David seemed OK, like nothing phased him but Ianto knew it did. David didn't know how to say he was happy, was a little embarrassed and ashamed of the fact he didn't miss his father or really even his mother. Not much, he did miss her sometimes but a cuddle from Ianto… yeah… Taddy Ianto… helped.
Mica adored painting and drawing, often creating vivid pictures that decorated their home. She had a knack for capturing the essence of her dreams and fears in her artwork, a therapeutic outlet encouraged by both Ianto and Jack. Her bond with Jack grew stronger each day as he became her protector and hero, someone she could rely on unconditionally.
David, on the other hand, was more reserved, finding solace in books and puzzles. He loved solving mysteries and often helped Ianto with minor tasks at the Hub, showing a keen interest in the technology and operations. His analytical mind and quiet strength were his coping mechanisms, with Ianto's presence providing the stability he needed.
Gwen and Rhys loved Scotland, her determined ways and use of the Royal Airforce chopper and such making her formidable and the Queen actually seemed to warm to her a little… a little. Of course, each Friday was 'Ianto and Jack' day. High Tea with the Queen who loved watching the men trying to pretend they were just working together and being all professional while at work, the shared looks and Ianto's tongue clucking as he wiped Jack's chin after a cream tart mishap…. Well… lovely.
And so, this is where we leave them.
Better than before, with so much more to do, experience and so much growth ahead.
But you know… it is such a beautiful life.
If you can make it.
.
.
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Thanks for reading. xxxx