[fic] Rift Baby
ooc: I'm no longer in oncoming_storms (sadly), but I decided no one will mind if steal one of this week's prompts. Because I'm snowed in and have nothing else to do...
"My sister once told me I'd be a natural at this," Ianto said, without turning around to look at Toshiko. When she didn't answer right away, he sighed and rubbed the screaming baby's back. No change, except that a tiny fist now gripped his shirt sleeve. "Frankly, I think she was willing to say whatever it took to get someone to babysit."
Tosh laughed and moved to stand beside him. "It's a good look for you," she told him quietly, her lips caught in a half-smile.
He rested his cheek against the baby's peach-fuzzy head and, for a moment, let himself smile too. He'd talked about it once with Lisa-- well, 'once' referred to a scare and later, a very tense week of waiting and what-if. She had been angry, and they were so far from ready, but he couldn't say that something about the idea hadn't tugged at his heart. It still did, sometimes, when he imagined life if they had taken that one, unexpectedly pivotal day off work.
A knock at the door to Jack's office startled him, and Ianto wasn't the only one; as he turned his head, he thought the cries only grew louder. "Wow, that kid has lungs," said Jack, with an overly dramatic wince. He held up a plastic bag and shook it from side to side, invitingly. "Formula's here."
Ianto rolled his eyes and starting walking again, just a few steps at a time, hoping to calm the cries. He remembered doing that for David a long time ago. "There's something surreal about this," he said in Jack's direction after a few paces.
"I'll take her," Tosh said, smiling almost shyly. She offered her arms. "No reason why you should be the designated babysitter, right, Ianto?"
"All right." He shifted and handed the girl over to Tosh. He was slow to break contact, though, and he told himself it was because he was overly cautious. Tosh just smiled again, wider, and immediately started to coo softly.
Ianto approached Jack, took the bag from his hand, and slid by him, heading in the direction of the stairs. He was aware of footsteps echoing his own. "Well, this one's new," Jack said as he matched Ianto's stride, greatcoat brushing the backs of Ianto's knees. "Rift baby."
Ianto nodded absently. He was already thinking of what would need to be done once Owen had cleared her. He'd have to ring social services, maybe research private adoption agencies. Tosh could create the baby a history, or if they had to, their 'special ops' cover story could be employed. Orphan found via counter terrorism operation; they'd have to fight to keep that from the news. Though if they gave in, the baby would no doubt be adopted immediately. That might be ideal.
"--exam will find something to explain this," Jack was saying, oblivious to Ianto's wandering attention.
Just as he was about to attempt a reply, Ianto stopped at the bottom of the stairs, surprised to find that Gwen was already there, by the coffee machine, warming a bottle of formula. He glanced down to the bag in his hand, but soon spotted an identical bag empty on the table. Jack and Gwen had certainly gone all out at the grocery, as he could also see an ample supply of nappies.
"Oh," said Gwen, looking over. She lifted the bottle. "Just thought I'd help out. How is she?"
"Still crying." He realized that he could still hear the shrieks; he had, for a moment, thought that the sound had just been burned into his ears. "But you may have gathered that. Just hungry, is what I think."
"God, I hope so," Gwen answered, reaching up to brush aside her fringe. "Rhys' cousin, she has twins. First time we agreed to watch them, she waited til she got to our flat to tell us they had colic."
As she tugged up one of her sleeves, then tested the formula on the inside of her wrist, Ianto couldn't help but observe that she was the natural.
Beside him, Jack sighed a rather unnecessarily massive sigh. "Has my entire staff gone broody?" he asked no one in particular. He looked thoughtful and then, after a pause, added, "You know, I never thought I'd say this, but at least I have Owen."
"You're just jealous, Jack," Gwen said with a big grin. "There's no one left to fawn over you."
Jack pouted and reached out to swat at her shoulder, a playful insulted noise deep in his throat. "What?" she managed to get out through a laugh.
Ianto met her eyes and raised his eyebrows, and she laughed even harder.
"Someone should go rescue Tosh," he suggested, tilting his head toward Jack's office.
"I'll take a turn?" Ianto nodded, and though it really wasn't his permission to give, she made to leave. On her way out, Gwen caught Jack's arm, and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. "You have more hair," she told him in a conspiratorial whisper, "but I still think she's cuter."
As Gwen disappeared, Jack turned to Ianto, who had busied himself with unpacking and sorting the bags. "She meant to say better hair, right?"
Ianto couldn't help himself, and he laughed.
Jack faltered--ever so slightly, but Ianto noticed. "Didn't she?"
At that point, Ianto pulled a tiny plush giraffe, striped pink and black, out of the bag, and it was Jack's turn to laugh.
He placed the giraffe on the counter beside him. Next to it, he laid a rattle shaped like a pink airplane, a stars-and-moon mobile, and a stuffed dragon wearing a t-shirt version of the Welsh flag. When Jack saw this last, he reached over and picked it up. "Gwen," he said, fondly. Then, "Listen. Do you hear that?"
Ianto stopped. He listened.
Silence. Gwen was not only a natural, he thought; she was also a miracle worker.
A moment passed, and he heard footsteps. "Thank Christ," came Owen's voice, from where he had come out from the autopsy bay. "You finally found the off switch. I thought I was going to have to shoot myself again just for the peace and quiet."
Jack looked between him and Ianto. "Hell of a headache, though," he said. "Now, do you have something to report, Dr. Harper, or did you miss me?"
"Results of the kid's blood tests just finished processing."
Ianto pursed his lips, thinking, and then posed the one question that had been worrying him-- all of them, really-- from the start: "Is she human?"
"One hundred percent," Owen said, and then he paused to flip through his notes. For some reason Ianto felt a surge of relief. An alien baby would pose more complications than they were ready for. "Healthy, too. Which I already told you lot, but I suppose now it's official. She's sporting a couple of unfamiliar protein markers, but nothing she hasn't had since birth."
"Ah," Jack mused. "She's from the future."
"Right," said Owen. "And now that you know that, I am going to go change my shirt. I knew there was a good reason I never went into pediatrics."
Ianto Jones
Torchwood
1200 words
"My sister once told me I'd be a natural at this," Ianto said, without turning around to look at Toshiko. When she didn't answer right away, he sighed and rubbed the screaming baby's back. No change, except that a tiny fist now gripped his shirt sleeve. "Frankly, I think she was willing to say whatever it took to get someone to babysit."
Tosh laughed and moved to stand beside him. "It's a good look for you," she told him quietly, her lips caught in a half-smile.
He rested his cheek against the baby's peach-fuzzy head and, for a moment, let himself smile too. He'd talked about it once with Lisa-- well, 'once' referred to a scare and later, a very tense week of waiting and what-if. She had been angry, and they were so far from ready, but he couldn't say that something about the idea hadn't tugged at his heart. It still did, sometimes, when he imagined life if they had taken that one, unexpectedly pivotal day off work.
A knock at the door to Jack's office startled him, and Ianto wasn't the only one; as he turned his head, he thought the cries only grew louder. "Wow, that kid has lungs," said Jack, with an overly dramatic wince. He held up a plastic bag and shook it from side to side, invitingly. "Formula's here."
Ianto rolled his eyes and starting walking again, just a few steps at a time, hoping to calm the cries. He remembered doing that for David a long time ago. "There's something surreal about this," he said in Jack's direction after a few paces.
"I'll take her," Tosh said, smiling almost shyly. She offered her arms. "No reason why you should be the designated babysitter, right, Ianto?"
"All right." He shifted and handed the girl over to Tosh. He was slow to break contact, though, and he told himself it was because he was overly cautious. Tosh just smiled again, wider, and immediately started to coo softly.
Ianto approached Jack, took the bag from his hand, and slid by him, heading in the direction of the stairs. He was aware of footsteps echoing his own. "Well, this one's new," Jack said as he matched Ianto's stride, greatcoat brushing the backs of Ianto's knees. "Rift baby."
Ianto nodded absently. He was already thinking of what would need to be done once Owen had cleared her. He'd have to ring social services, maybe research private adoption agencies. Tosh could create the baby a history, or if they had to, their 'special ops' cover story could be employed. Orphan found via counter terrorism operation; they'd have to fight to keep that from the news. Though if they gave in, the baby would no doubt be adopted immediately. That might be ideal.
"--exam will find something to explain this," Jack was saying, oblivious to Ianto's wandering attention.
Just as he was about to attempt a reply, Ianto stopped at the bottom of the stairs, surprised to find that Gwen was already there, by the coffee machine, warming a bottle of formula. He glanced down to the bag in his hand, but soon spotted an identical bag empty on the table. Jack and Gwen had certainly gone all out at the grocery, as he could also see an ample supply of nappies.
"Oh," said Gwen, looking over. She lifted the bottle. "Just thought I'd help out. How is she?"
"Still crying." He realized that he could still hear the shrieks; he had, for a moment, thought that the sound had just been burned into his ears. "But you may have gathered that. Just hungry, is what I think."
"God, I hope so," Gwen answered, reaching up to brush aside her fringe. "Rhys' cousin, she has twins. First time we agreed to watch them, she waited til she got to our flat to tell us they had colic."
As she tugged up one of her sleeves, then tested the formula on the inside of her wrist, Ianto couldn't help but observe that she was the natural.
Beside him, Jack sighed a rather unnecessarily massive sigh. "Has my entire staff gone broody?" he asked no one in particular. He looked thoughtful and then, after a pause, added, "You know, I never thought I'd say this, but at least I have Owen."
"You're just jealous, Jack," Gwen said with a big grin. "There's no one left to fawn over you."
Jack pouted and reached out to swat at her shoulder, a playful insulted noise deep in his throat. "What?" she managed to get out through a laugh.
Ianto met her eyes and raised his eyebrows, and she laughed even harder.
"Someone should go rescue Tosh," he suggested, tilting his head toward Jack's office.
"I'll take a turn?" Ianto nodded, and though it really wasn't his permission to give, she made to leave. On her way out, Gwen caught Jack's arm, and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. "You have more hair," she told him in a conspiratorial whisper, "but I still think she's cuter."
As Gwen disappeared, Jack turned to Ianto, who had busied himself with unpacking and sorting the bags. "She meant to say better hair, right?"
Ianto couldn't help himself, and he laughed.
Jack faltered--ever so slightly, but Ianto noticed. "Didn't she?"
At that point, Ianto pulled a tiny plush giraffe, striped pink and black, out of the bag, and it was Jack's turn to laugh.
He placed the giraffe on the counter beside him. Next to it, he laid a rattle shaped like a pink airplane, a stars-and-moon mobile, and a stuffed dragon wearing a t-shirt version of the Welsh flag. When Jack saw this last, he reached over and picked it up. "Gwen," he said, fondly. Then, "Listen. Do you hear that?"
Ianto stopped. He listened.
Silence. Gwen was not only a natural, he thought; she was also a miracle worker.
A moment passed, and he heard footsteps. "Thank Christ," came Owen's voice, from where he had come out from the autopsy bay. "You finally found the off switch. I thought I was going to have to shoot myself again just for the peace and quiet."
Jack looked between him and Ianto. "Hell of a headache, though," he said. "Now, do you have something to report, Dr. Harper, or did you miss me?"
"Results of the kid's blood tests just finished processing."
Ianto pursed his lips, thinking, and then posed the one question that had been worrying him-- all of them, really-- from the start: "Is she human?"
"One hundred percent," Owen said, and then he paused to flip through his notes. For some reason Ianto felt a surge of relief. An alien baby would pose more complications than they were ready for. "Healthy, too. Which I already told you lot, but I suppose now it's official. She's sporting a couple of unfamiliar protein markers, but nothing she hasn't had since birth."
"Ah," Jack mused. "She's from the future."
"Right," said Owen. "And now that you know that, I am going to go change my shirt. I knew there was a good reason I never went into pediatrics."
Ianto Jones
Torchwood
1200 words