16

Ianto led Jack to a room with a huge four poster bed, the room full of wooden furniture that was clearly ancient and considered antique. Gorgeous. Ianto placed his go-bag on the bed and then sat on it, string out the window.

"Wow, we are pretty high up here" Jack commented softly, moving to the window to look out over the gardens below, picking out his daughter amongst the other kids as she had a red ribbon in her hair. "Three stories… if not for the elevator I might be in trouble when coming in sloshed."

"Yeah"

Jack turned to face him and saw for the first time how exhausted he was "Hey. You OK?"

"Stuffed" Ianto sighed, flopping back to lay and stare at the ceiling now. "Bugger, I see a crack in the plaster up there."

Jack dropped his bag onto the floor and climbed onto the bed next to Ianto, laying there to look up and agree that there was a small hairline crack indeed.

They were both asleep within minutes.

Hands clasped.

.

.

Jack woke to the bed empty beside him, the crack mocking him and the light in the room dull. How long had he been asleep? He sat up and looked around the room, surprised to find his go-bag gone. He sat up and was about to panic slightly when he saw his side of the bed.

Ianto had unpacked his things, made this side of the bed his… oh… oh… wow. Ianto had unpacked him in this room with him.

No conversation, no asking just… right. Yes.

Jack waked to the wardrobe and opened it, finding not only his clothes but others that were clearly not Ianto's style. Were, shockingly just what he liked. Fuck. Even in his sizes. He was not kidding, he really had seen him in his life, had sort of… thought him to life.

He was a manifestation of this man's desire?

And he felt so grateful.

.

.

The living room was heaving with life, kids talking loudly all at once, the adults also talking loudly while trying to stop the kids from making noise and in the middle of it all was Ianto with a bored look on his face like there was nothing happening, too busy talking to the little boy who stood on the coffee tale to be face to face with his father.

It was clearly an argument. And it was also clear that Ianto's son was his child with the softly creamy coffee coloured skin in opposition to the white milky skin of his parent.

Jack walked over, picking his footfalls amongst the toys, kids and…. Is that a rabbit? Jack go to the middle of the room and now could hear the argument.

"but I don't see why I have to!"

"Because that is the best way to do it and I said so" Ianto replied to the child.

"But the girls share and…."

"And this is a strange house with noises in the night that might scare the others. If you boys share together, then it's kinder to one who might be scared and doesn't want to admit it. You know this house, you can be their calming influence."

Lisbon sucked his cheeks in and seemed to consider, then with a sigh he said "OK then. Sure… but we should all be together then. I want the playroom."

"And what do you suggest is the best reason for that?" Ianto asked like they were two adults discussing a strategy.

"We pull lot of mattresses in there, we make up our beds and watch TV on the wall projector thingee. We can have a blanket fort area and scatter the toys wherever we want, then… we are all together like a huge sleepover but for longer. The bunker was boring, and we had to go to separate rooms at night. If we could be together this would be more like a sleepover."

Jack was stunned at both the polite and concise way the boy spoke and the sense he made. Intelligent. Ianto and… Jack wondered what Lisa had been like. To have been a match for Ianto she must have been strong.

"She was a dancer" Ianto said, turning to look at him "Her legs were like…. Amazing. She moved with grace, even crossing the room was like some sort of dance move, I was transfixed. Beautiful, strong willed and loudly spoken. She was bossy, pushy and so quick to see things. She was a good match, but she always knew that she was not you."

Jack had nothing to say, the sudden inclusion in the conversation he had been having in his head shocking enough, like he had heard his internal question but the straight forward way he answered him, in front of the child as well, left Jack silent.

Then Lisbon turned to look at him and reached out, Jack automatically reaching out to take the hand and help the child off the table. "Thank you Daddy Jack."

Awwwwww.

Jack watched the boy walk over to the other kids, then watched the conversation taking place with hands, words and… yah… there is was. Wow. Telepathic as well.

Jack hoped the fact they were connecting so young would make things easier for them as time went on, make them safer and easier to hide.

For now they only had themselves to rely on.

For Mankind is a Fucktard.