Fractured, Part 4
Title: Fractured
Author: tonjavmoore
Artist: cjharknessgirl
Genre: Crossover with Dr. Who
Pairing(s): Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 20291
Warnings: None
Summary: Season 2, sometime before Reset. While the rest of the team are hunting Weevils, Ianto Jones disappears from the Hub. When the CCTV shows that the Doctor is responsible, what will Jack do?
Donna had been in turns frightened, bewildered, concerned, disappointed and sad. Now, however, she was annoyed. She looked around the table and caught the eye of Ianto Jones. To her surprise, he looked just as annoyed as she felt. Donna felt a sudden kinship as they exchanged looks; they both knew they were looking at a mess that had to be cleaned up. She quirked her lips in almost a smile and saw him nearly smile back. “Right, then,” she said, causing all the other heads to swivel to her. “It’s a royal fuckup, all right. So what do we do about it?”
“Do?” the Doctor echoed faintly, as though he had never heard the word before.
“Yeah, Spaceman, you heard me. What do we do about it? Look around you. No one’s dead, bleeding, or on fire, are they? So you stuffed up. I got that. And it wasn’t a little, ‘oh, no, I forgot where I put that phone number’ thing - more like an ‘I put all our company secrets on the net and it’s gone viral’ kind of thing. I got that, too.” She gave the Doctor’s shoulder a push. “But that’s just what you did. Past tense. Finished. What you need to figure out is what you are going to do now. Don’t waste energy on trying to undo anything. You can’t. But, if you’re half as smart as you think you are, there’s got to be something that you can do.”
Ianto joined in. “You said just now that it’s important for Jack to be here and it’s somehow necessary for me to be immortal as well. And your future self picked this moment in time to make me that way. Why now? Is something about to happen that I needed to be protected from?”
The little one named Toshiko moved. She drew her laptop closer and began typing. “Let me check the Rift predictions. If there’s something big about to come through, it should show up there.”
Captain Jack Harkness had stopped looking like some sort of tragic hero and become human again. He said, “What about the TARDIS? Would she know? Can we ask her?”
The Doctor stared at her and then back at Jack. “It might even be something to do with me. Or with Donna. We need to find out.”
They all stood, even the surly doctor. “We all go,” he said. “I’m not taking the risk of that thing taking off with you, the Captain and Ianto inside it.”
“Will we all fit?” Gwen asked.
Donna grinned. She saw Ianto roll his eyes. Jack went so far as to chuckle. “I see you haven’t read all the reports. Don’t worry about that little thing.”
Ianto and the others stood on the Plas, looking at the small blue police box. It had changed him - changed his life. Why? He couldn’t pretend that there was anything special about him that would cause the Universe to care. He was, truth be told, a rather ordinary man who happened to have an extraordinary lover. Well, that and an extraordinary job. And an extraordinary workplace with an extraordinary pet. The mental catalogue made him blink in surprise. He hadn’t thought of it like that.
The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS and stood back. “I think you should go first, Mr. Jones. After all, it seems you’re the reason we’re all here.”
“Not without me.”
Jack’s tone was so grim that Ianto hid a smile. He had a feeling that Jack was about to lock them together with handcuffs. His determination that they not be separated curled throughout Ianto’s insides with a warm feeling of comfort and safety. “Together then?” Ianto said, glancing at Jack.
“Together.” Jack took his hand. He opened the door and Ianto went inside with him.
The interior glowed with the same light he and Jack saw when they touched now. Mysterious melodies echoed around him while exotically beautiful scents wafted by on a cooling breeze. The very air around him tingled against his face and hands. Through it all he saw a pillar of light and shadow that beckoned him forward. The singing slowly evolved into something he could understand. “Guardian.”
His own voice sounded far away. “What?”
“The first. Born to the Rift storm. Aware of the Moments Passing. Beloved of Vortex Keeper. Balanced. Accepting. Observant. I have named you a Guardian of Time.”
“I don’t understand.”
“My Lord is the Last of the Old. You and My Hero will produce the First of the New. Time will not fracture with Your Line to protect it. Keep Time safe, Guardian Ianto. Love My Hero. Help My Lord. Keep My Doctor-Donna safe for the Rescue. When it is right, we will speak again.”
“Ianto? Ianto?”
He became aware that someone was shaking him. He opened his eyes to see Jack’s concerned face. “Ianto, are you okay? You blanked out there for a minute.”
The room had changed. “I’m… okay,” he told Jack. He looked around and saw that the others were in the room with them. It was an unusual room - walls of gold and blue with a central console that appeared to have been constructed in someone’s garage with materials from rubbish heaps of the last half-century. He took a deep breath. “I think the TARDIS spoke to me.”
“You heard her?” The Doctor came towards them, but halted when Jack pulled Ianto away. “What did she say?”
“You need to sit.” Owen pushed past the Doctor and took hold of Ianto’s wrist. “You’re white. This place got anything that looks like a chair?”
Ianto felt a gentle push at the back of his knees. He sat as Gwen gasped, “Where did that come from?”
“Don’t know, don’t care.” Owen was taking his pulse at his wrist and neck. It was absurd to be fussed over by Owen of all people. How many impossible things had happened in the last day? Ianto was sure that they’d passed ten a few hours ago.
Whatever this was that he was sitting on was large enough for Jack to be beside him, thank goodness. He rested his head on Jack’s shoulder. “She called you ‘My Hero’,” he said. “Just like a melodrama. I swear I saw fluttering eyelashes.”
With a gentle finger, Jack tilted his head so that he could see his face. He was smiling with relief. “She’s a very perceptive ship. Good taste in men, since she obviously likes you, too.”
Ianto took another few deep breaths to get his thoughts in order. “I think, for now, I’d better keep this between Jack and the Doctor. I don’t know if what I’m about to tell affects timelines or not, but there was talk of the future. I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
Donna herded the others down one of the corridors, giving a recalcitrant Owen a shove. The Doctor approached the two men, but stopped when Jack tightened his hold on Ianto and gave an almost feral growl. Ianto hid a smile and raised an inquiring eyebrow at Jack. Jack met his gaze steadily, and then looked back at the Doctor. “That’s close enough,” he told the Time Lord.
The Doctor sat on the floor, respecting Jack’s boundaries. “It isn’t often that the TARDIS speaks directly to anyone except me, Mr. Jones. I’d really like to know what she told you, if that’s all right.”
Nodding, Ianto repeated the strange conversation word for word. They were all silent for a moment before Jack said, “Born to the Rift Storm?”
Ianto shrugged. “I wasn’t actually born in the hospital. There was a rather spectacular thunder and lightning storm that night and the ambulance had to stop some distance away from the hospital entrance. The doctor actually delivered me while my mother was on the gurney, before we made it back inside.” He felt his cheeks heat up. “It was something of a joke in my family. My sister would call me blentyn chan'r brythwch to tease me. It means ‘child of the storm’.”
“I’ll bet if we check the records, we’ll find that there was more than a thunderstorm going on,” Jack mused. “Probably the Rift affecting the weather.”
“Do you have any idea what the rest of it means, Doctor?” Ianto asked.
The Doctor started; he’d apparently been deep in thought. “Some of it… Not all. That’s the second time I’ve heard of ‘Doctor-Donna’ and I still don’t know what that is. I presume ‘beloved of the vortex keeper’ is self-explanatory?”
As Ianto looked at Jack, he received one of those rare smiles that held no mockery or projected charm. “Yeah, that one we got,” Jack said, not removing his eyes from Ianto. “She nailed it.”
“Cariad,” Ianto said softly, “you don’t have to…”
“Yes, I do. It’s the truth and I don’t care who knows.”
“Me, too. All of it. Me, too.”
“Good to know.”
“Ahem,” the Doctor said, his face as rosy as Ianto’s felt. “Domestics aside, I’m fairly certain why now was the time that this happened. I’m the last of the Time Lords. There will come a time - er, not too soon, I hope - when circumstances will be such that I won’t be able to regenerate. It seems the TARDIS has made plans for someone to carry on my work. Guardians of Time, she said. And you, Ianto Jones, are the first.”
Ianto’s first reaction would have been to call the notion preposterous, but it was no more preposterous than other things that had happened today. “I’m the first,” he said slowly. “She said my line… but Jack and I are…”
It shouldn’t have been possible, but the Doctor turned even redder. “Your… well… it seems that… sometime soon… relatively soon would be my guess… you two will be parents. Adam and Eve, as it were.”
It was one blow too many. Ianto could not help but laugh. “I get to be Adam,” he said between chortles.
Jack said petulantly, “I am not Eve.”
“One of us has to be and I don’t have the correct bits.”
“Ah, about that…” the Doctor began.
Ianto stopped laughing abruptly. “Wait! Are you implying…?”
Jack chuckled this time. The Doctor nodded. “There are… um… changes in your biology. I can sense it.”
Groaning, Ianto buried his head in Jack’s shoulder. Too much. He couldn’t take another thing. The only thing he could manage to say was a heartfelt, “Oh, God!”
Torchwood Three sat around the conference room table, hanging onto every word their Captain was saying. He smiled at them as he concluded, “…So the TARDIS took it into her own circuits to set the future in motion. Ianto and I are the beginning. We don’t know what will happen next.”
Owen and Martha looked at Ianto, both of them every inch a doctor. “And you’re sure you’re immortal, Ianto?” Owen asked. “Like Jack?”
Jack watched him nod, his expression carefully neutral. “That’s what the TARDIS told me. Between that and the Doctor’s appraisal I’m fairly certain that I am.” His eyes swung to Jack’s and he relaxed. “Please rest assured that I don’t intend to test it anytime soon.”
Jack summoned up a smirk and Ianto gave him one in return. Jack turned his attention to Owen. “He’s not going to get the chance. Light duty for two weeks, you said?”
“At least. And don’t argue,” Owen snapped as Ianto opened his mouth. “You’ve had too many shocks and I want to make sure that you’re on firm ground physically, mentally and emotionally before I let you cover my back in the field.”
Ianto sighed, but made no further protest. Martha leaned forward. “Ianto, I won’t if it upsets you, but I’d like to examine you for the… um… changes the Doctor told you about.”
“Good idea,” Jack agreed quickly.
With a sniff, Ianto said, “You’ll need to examine Jack as well, then.” His eye had a definite twinkle in it now. “For comparison purposes.”
“Hey!” Jack protested. “Okay, okay. You’re right.” He turned to the other members of the team. “Gwen, Tosh, we haven’t heard from you yet.”
Gwen looked between them both. “Is this good for both of you? I mean, you aren’t being forced into anything, right? I’m only asking because I want you both to be happy.”
Ianto reached across and patted her hand. “It’s a little intimidating, but if you strip away all the other things about founding a new race and becoming immortal, then all that the TARDIS told me to do is something I’ve already been doing and have no intention of stopping.”
Jack smiled fondly at her. It hadn’t been easy for Gwen to do away with her fantasies, but she had done it and was stronger for it. “Ianto has the right of it. All that other stuff aside, we’re still together and that won’t change.”
She sat back, convinced. “Well, good,” she said, her grin showing the gap in her teeth. “It’s about time something was stable around here.”
“Just, please, have pity on the rest of us and keep your activities to yourselves during office hours,” Owen pleaded.
Tosh spoke up. “Not on my account.”
“Nor mine,” Gwen chimed in.
“I don’t mind at all,” Martha said. “You’re outnumbered.”
Owen dropped his head dramatically on the table. “Who would have thought I’d be the voice of decency? I’ll need some good brain bleach.”
“We’ll send you out to the pub,” Ianto promised solemnly.
“I’m happy for you,” Tosh said. “Really happy. I think it’s a good thing for you to have each other.” But, being Tosh, she had a question. “I’ve been wondering though, Jack. You’re from the future. Do you know about the Guardians? Or are we making a different future? Isn’t that dangerous?”
Jack was startled. He searched around in his memory. “I heard of them. While I was at the Time Agency, I was told the rumour that the Agency itself had been started by one of them. To handle small ripples in time, while they concerned themselves with larger issues. They weren’t legendary, like Time Lords. It’s just that you couldn’t find anyone who’d had direct contact with them. It was always ‘my second cousin’s friend’s sister’ or ‘my great-great-great uncle’s sister-in-law’s boyfriend’s brother’ or something of the sort. Nobody doubted that they were real - they performed semi-miraculous deeds when lives were at stake - but they didn’t go making public appearances or anything.”
“I guess that means this is what is supposed to happen,” Tosh said, nodding. “That’s reassuring.”
The meeting broke up after that. There didn’t seem to be anything else to say. While Ianto went to the kitchenette to make coffee, Jack went back up to his office. There was piece of paper in the centre of his desk. He sat down and picked it up. The handwriting was Ianto’s. It was headed: Things I Have Learned Today:
Jack loves me.
I won’t stay dead.
I can be with Jack for as long as he wants me.
I can have babies.
Jack won’t ever have to be alone.
The Doctor is all right, but needs a keeper.
The TARDIS is amazing.
Jack won’t let the Doctor touch me and I’m rather glad about it.
Donna Noble could very likely take over the world if she wanted to.
Jack really does love me.
“I really do, you know,” Jack said quietly. He had felt rather than heard the presence of Ianto at the door. “Love you.”
“That makes us even then.” The cups and tray were lowered to the desk and Ianto turned Jack’s chair to face him. “I really do as well.”
The kiss they shared finished the discussion without words.
The Doctor looked across the console at his Companion. “So you’re sticking around then?”
Donna crossed her arms and gave him the raised-eyebrow glare. “Of course I am. Especially now that I’ve seen what a right mess you can get yourself into without me. You know, you really suck at people skills, Spaceman.”
“I do,” the Doctor sighed. “I just didn’t realize I’d have to fracture the Universe to find out.”
Donna came around the console and gave him a light punch in the shoulder. “Just so you know now.”
“I’ll not lose touch with them again. Jack told me his Torchwood was different and it is. I think that maybe we could use his help from time to time.”
“You won’t hear me complain about having two gorgeous men on board, even if they’d rather look at each other than me.”
The Doctor felt like laughing for the first time in a long time. “Thank you, Donna, for staying and keeping me from doing myself in.”
She laughed, too. “That’s what we Companions are for, right? To keep you from fracturing the Universe by a major stuff-up? It’s our job.”
“And I hope you’ll keep on doing it. No matter where or when.”
Amy and Rory stood together at the side of the Med Bay table. They’d returned the room to its previous condition as best as they could remember. At Rory’s nod, Amy leaned closer to the Doctor and said, “Wake up, won’t you?”
The Doctor’s eyes popped open comically wide. “Hel-lo! What am I doing in here?” He sat up and patted himself down. “Nothing seems to be missing.”
Amy smiled and gave his arm a gentle squeeze. “You were sleeping under the console. Rory and I moved you in here.” It was what the Doctor had instructed her to say if he awoke with questions.
“Was I? How very odd of me.” The Doctor stretched with bone-cracking thoroughness and hopped down. He did a few squats with his arms out straight. “How long?”
“A few hours,” Rory said with a grin. It wasn’t actually a lie, since seventy-plus still counted as a “few” in all of Time. “Gave us a bit of a scare you did. You thrashed around a bit and talked about people in your sleep.”
“Well, that’s peculiar. I don’t talk in my sleep.” He switched to jumping jacks. “At least not that I know of. Don’t hear myself anyway. But then, I wouldn’t if I were asleep, would I?”
Amy just managed to stop herself from asking if any of the people he slept with had ever mentioned it. Even her insatiable curiosity would not start down that road. God knew where it would lead. “Rory occasionally talks in his sleep, but he never makes any sense. Mostly about sheep.”
“I grew up on a farm, remember? Lots of sheep about.”
The Doctor finished his routine with a few knee bends. “There, that’s better. What did I say about whom?”
This was a sticky point. Amy breathed in and out once. She took the Doctor’s arm to lead him out of the Med Bay. It would probably be better if she didn’t, but she couldn’t help herself. “You said something about a man named Jack. And another man, Ianto Jones.” She crossed her fingers that it would be all right.
For a fleeting moment, the Doctor looked confused and Amy was afraid she might have blown it. Abruptly, the expression vanished to be replaced with a sunny smile. “Well, that explains the sleeping then. Always need sleep when I visit them. They must have a new crop.” He hurried to the console and started jabbing at buttons.
“Who are they?” Rory asked. Amy thought the casual tone sounded a bit forced, but the Doctor didn’t look up.
“Old friends. Very old friends.” He turned a dial. “I mean, I’ve known them for a long time. But they are also old, or would be, if they didn’t look the same all the time. It’s hard to call them old, but they are. Jack is older than Ianto. Or at least, he’s lived longer. I think. He was born after, but he didn’t stay there. Hard to explain, really.”
“Doctor…” Amy growled.
“Oh, sorry. Doing it again, am I?”
“Yes. Slow down and talk sense.”
“All right. Oh, there, she’s got them. Yes, four this time. I need to go visit.” He did some more button-pushing, lifted a lever, and flipped a row of toggles. “Next stop, Remandrin IV, 2406 or thereabouts in your years. Where was I?”
“You were going to tell us about Jack and Ianto Jones,” Amy prompted, hoping he wouldn’t lose track this time. The names were all she had to go on. That and that they were old but not really. Somehow.
“Ah. Yes. Jack and Ianto.” The Doctor rubbed his hands together. “I met Jack first and accidentally made him immortal. Well, I didn’t, but the TARDIS did. Only it wasn’t an accident, but I didn’t know that. And then Ianto, because Jack couldn’t do this alone. It was all very dramatic, but it was important to the future. They save the Universe with me every now and then. Sometimes they do it on their own. But, really, they don’t like travelling as much as I do. They can’t travel on the TARDIS when one of them is expecting anyway. The old girl wouldn’t let them off if they had a baby here.”
“Whoa!” Amy held up a hand. “Expecting? Like pregnant? Aren’t they both men?”
Rory cleared his throat and Amy glared at him. She’d forgotten to ask him about the procedure on Ianto. Oblivious, the Doctor prattled on, “Different rules. I’ll explain it all later if you really want to know…”
Ianto enjoyed this time of day. The sun would set in an hour and the air would become too cool to sit outside comfortably, but now the temperature was perfect. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine he was back in Wales, sitting in the swing in his grandmother’s garden, dreaming of a very different future than the one he had. He smiled as a familiar warmth settled beside him and set the swing rocking a bit more vigorously than it had been.
“Trying to make me seasick?” he asked.
Jack’s low chuckle sent the requisite shots of desire down his spine. “Just taking a break until the Monster Squad is let loose. As we don’t have time for any ‘real’ fun, I thought we might make out on the porch.”
Turning obligingly, Ianto slid his arms around his partner’s waist. “Never get enough of that,” he agreed.
Being otherwise occupied, he didn’t feel the wind pick up, but the noise was unmistakable. He and Jack pulled away with identical groans. Jack sighed, “He always has such lousy timing.”
“I wish he’d call first,” Ianto agreed, looking into the garden. At least the TARDIS was materializing away from the flowers they had so lovingly planted. Once, she had come down on a rose bush that they had carefully nurtured all the way from Earth and was still being extra careful by way of apology.
The door opened and the Doctor emerged. He must have regenerated - he looked nothing at all like his former self. Ianto had a faint feeling of déjà vu - he had seen this man sometime, somewhere in his past. He locked the thought away for further study later. He needed all of his faculties to deal with a Doctorial visit.
“Hi, Doc!” Jack called. “Better not be an emergency. You know our deal.”
“Just a visit,” the Doctor assured them, standing aside to let a red-haired young woman and a slight young man follow him out.
Once again that feeling of familiarity swept over Ianto. He frowned, but locked that thought away as well. As an Immortal, his eidetic memory could be a bit of a nuisance at times. He had learned how to deal with it as best he could. Now, he stood up and linked hands with Jack. “Welcome,” he said, with a bit more formality than Jack.
As they came up the stairs to the porch, Jack gave a whistle. “New look? I approve.”
Ianto gave a bit of an eye-roll. Jack was Jack. The Doctor blushed. “I’ve been trying for months to figure out just what I’ve been missing,” he said sarcastically. “At long last I’ve found it. Jack Harkness has approved the appearance of the new me. My life is complete.”
“What can I say? I think bow ties are cool. You could never pull off a Windsor knot like Good-looking here can, so you’re better off not trying. And who are these lovely people?”
“These are my Companions, Amy and Rory.”
Jack reached for Amy’s hand to kiss it even as he stepped smoothly between the Doctor and Ianto. Ianto couldn’t help smirking. Even though three hundred years had passed, his husband still preferred to keep the Doctor out of touching distance. Ianto found it incredibly endearing, and, his inner voice added, rather hot. He offered his hand to Rory. “Nice to meet you,” he said.
He was surprised to find Rory looking him over closely, not as one man attracted by another’s looks, but more like a physician examining a patient. He raised an eyebrow and a slight flush coloured the young man’s cheeks, but he didn’t look away. “You seem to be in good health,” he said with a nod.
“Yes, thanks.” What an odd thing to say. But, the Doctor rarely took on ordinary people as Companions. “And yourself?”
“Oh.” The flush darkened a little, but the gaze didn’t waver. “Can’t complain. Lots of exercise.”
“Running,” Jack agreed. “There’s always a lot of running when you travel in the TARDIS.”
“I’ll say,” Amy agreed fervently.
“Have a seat, won’t you?” Ianto waved them into chairs. He, Jack, and the children spent a lot of time outside, so there was plenty of seating. “Our little heathens will be out here at any moment and it’s safer to meet them sitting down so that you can’t be knocked over.”
“Is that why you’re here, Doc?” Jack asked. “Inspecting the next generation?”
“Well, that, and to see how you’re getting on. This seems a nice little place. Bit out of the way though.”
“Nicer for the kids,” Jack said. “Quiet colony with a very clean history. No natives on this planet and almost no terraforming was needed.”
“What do you do here?” Amy asked.
Ianto could see that she was brimming with curiosity, though he couldn’t understand why. This wasn’t a very exciting place, not like the usual places the TARDIS went to. “We’re in the… entertainment business,” he said carefully.
“Stop being so modest, Ianto,” Jack chided. He turned to the Doctor. “This planet has a variety of very lovely scenery and is consequently popular for historical vid-makers. Ianto’s company specializes in reproducing the correct landmarks and set pieces for them. He’s very good and in high demand. Pays special attention to detail. I work for him as muscle.” He flexed his impressive biceps.
Ianto might have punched him, but at that point the door opened and the children tumbled (there was really no other word for it) out of the house. They swarmed onto the swing with their parents, barely noticing the others. After a promiscuous exchange of hugs and kisses, Jack and Ianto introduced them to their guests. “This is Sam,” Jack said, indicating the oldest, who looked exactly what Ianto imagined Jack must have looked like when he was that age. “He’s seven.”
Jack continued, “And this little lady is Diamond.” The girl made them a charming curtsy. The little diva knew exactly what effect that had on the adults. She had more toys now than the other three combined. All of Jack’s natural charisma seemed to have manifested itself in their first daughter. After three sets of children who were all boys, Diamond had seemed like a miracle.
“And just when I thought I might win the ‘Daddy of the Year’ award for producing our pretty girl,” Jack went on, “Ianto outdoes me with this matched set of boys.”
“Replace ‘outdoes’ with ‘barely survives’ and you’ll be closer to the truth.” Ianto grinned down at his twins. “Jack was going through a green phase at the time, so this is Forrest and this is Kelly.”
Sam stepped closer to Amy and said solemnly, “You have very pretty hair, Miss Amy. May I touch it?”
“Yes, of course,” she said, obviously delighted.
The Doctor groaned. “Lock up your sons and daughters. Jack and Ianto, if you keep having children like this, I’m not sure the Universe will survive the excess of adorability.”
Diamond with her built-in radar had selected the Doctor as the leader of the group. She would, Ianto thought. Using all her five-year-old wiles on him, she asked, “Will you take us for a ride on your ship, sir? Taddy and Daddy have told us all about her.”
Jack rescued his old friend. “We’ve had this discussion, baby. Not until you’re older.” Diamond tried a pouty trembling lip and sad tears in her eyes, but Jack remained unmoved. “Don’t bother,” he told her. “I’m immune.”
As Ianto expected, this ritual response brought out Diamond’s smile. “You’re not a moon. You’re a Daddy.”
The twins shrieked with laughter, nearly causing Rory to drop them. Sam rolled his eyes in perfect imitation of his Taddy. Ianto considered that the Doctor might be right to be worried about the adorability tolerance of the Universe.
“I tell you what,” the Doctor said. “Why don’t you four take Amy and Rory on a tour before it gets dark and I’ll let you see the inside of the TARDIS tomorrow morning?”
Ianto stiffened and he felt Jack do so as well. The children dragged the Companions into the house. When they were out of earshot, Ianto said, “What is it, Doctor?”
“It’s starting.”
“The mutation?” Jack said.
“Yes.” The Doctor sighed. “I knew it couldn’t be long. The TARDIS needs to see them, Jack, Ianto.”
Jack and Ianto exchanged looks. They had known since Ianto had been changed that it would show up some day. Like any parents, though, they were afraid of what it might mean. Ianto finally spoke. “What will she do?”
“Nothing, really. Just take readings. They are normal healthy children, the same as your others. The only difference you may notice is that they will be more attuned to Time itself. It will take three or four generations to allow the mutation to evolve to the point that the Guardianship will manifest itself. It will be time to return then. For now, raise them as the loving parents you are. Try not to worry about this. It’s barely the beginning.”
Jack turned to Ianto. “We can do this. We’re not fractured. Together.”
Ianto knew he was right. They could do it. It would be a long road, but they would face it. In the fading light, he could just make out the golden glow around their joined hands. “You’re right, Cariad. Together.”
Author: tonjavmoore
Artist: cjharknessgirl
Genre: Crossover with Dr. Who
Pairing(s): Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 20291
Warnings: None
Summary: Season 2, sometime before Reset. While the rest of the team are hunting Weevils, Ianto Jones disappears from the Hub. When the CCTV shows that the Doctor is responsible, what will Jack do?
Donna had been in turns frightened, bewildered, concerned, disappointed and sad. Now, however, she was annoyed. She looked around the table and caught the eye of Ianto Jones. To her surprise, he looked just as annoyed as she felt. Donna felt a sudden kinship as they exchanged looks; they both knew they were looking at a mess that had to be cleaned up. She quirked her lips in almost a smile and saw him nearly smile back. “Right, then,” she said, causing all the other heads to swivel to her. “It’s a royal fuckup, all right. So what do we do about it?”
“Do?” the Doctor echoed faintly, as though he had never heard the word before.
“Yeah, Spaceman, you heard me. What do we do about it? Look around you. No one’s dead, bleeding, or on fire, are they? So you stuffed up. I got that. And it wasn’t a little, ‘oh, no, I forgot where I put that phone number’ thing - more like an ‘I put all our company secrets on the net and it’s gone viral’ kind of thing. I got that, too.” She gave the Doctor’s shoulder a push. “But that’s just what you did. Past tense. Finished. What you need to figure out is what you are going to do now. Don’t waste energy on trying to undo anything. You can’t. But, if you’re half as smart as you think you are, there’s got to be something that you can do.”
Ianto joined in. “You said just now that it’s important for Jack to be here and it’s somehow necessary for me to be immortal as well. And your future self picked this moment in time to make me that way. Why now? Is something about to happen that I needed to be protected from?”
The little one named Toshiko moved. She drew her laptop closer and began typing. “Let me check the Rift predictions. If there’s something big about to come through, it should show up there.”
Captain Jack Harkness had stopped looking like some sort of tragic hero and become human again. He said, “What about the TARDIS? Would she know? Can we ask her?”
The Doctor stared at her and then back at Jack. “It might even be something to do with me. Or with Donna. We need to find out.”
They all stood, even the surly doctor. “We all go,” he said. “I’m not taking the risk of that thing taking off with you, the Captain and Ianto inside it.”
“Will we all fit?” Gwen asked.
Donna grinned. She saw Ianto roll his eyes. Jack went so far as to chuckle. “I see you haven’t read all the reports. Don’t worry about that little thing.”
Ianto and the others stood on the Plas, looking at the small blue police box. It had changed him - changed his life. Why? He couldn’t pretend that there was anything special about him that would cause the Universe to care. He was, truth be told, a rather ordinary man who happened to have an extraordinary lover. Well, that and an extraordinary job. And an extraordinary workplace with an extraordinary pet. The mental catalogue made him blink in surprise. He hadn’t thought of it like that.
The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS and stood back. “I think you should go first, Mr. Jones. After all, it seems you’re the reason we’re all here.”
“Not without me.”
Jack’s tone was so grim that Ianto hid a smile. He had a feeling that Jack was about to lock them together with handcuffs. His determination that they not be separated curled throughout Ianto’s insides with a warm feeling of comfort and safety. “Together then?” Ianto said, glancing at Jack.
“Together.” Jack took his hand. He opened the door and Ianto went inside with him.
The interior glowed with the same light he and Jack saw when they touched now. Mysterious melodies echoed around him while exotically beautiful scents wafted by on a cooling breeze. The very air around him tingled against his face and hands. Through it all he saw a pillar of light and shadow that beckoned him forward. The singing slowly evolved into something he could understand. “Guardian.”
His own voice sounded far away. “What?”
“The first. Born to the Rift storm. Aware of the Moments Passing. Beloved of Vortex Keeper. Balanced. Accepting. Observant. I have named you a Guardian of Time.”
“I don’t understand.”
“My Lord is the Last of the Old. You and My Hero will produce the First of the New. Time will not fracture with Your Line to protect it. Keep Time safe, Guardian Ianto. Love My Hero. Help My Lord. Keep My Doctor-Donna safe for the Rescue. When it is right, we will speak again.”
“Ianto? Ianto?”
He became aware that someone was shaking him. He opened his eyes to see Jack’s concerned face. “Ianto, are you okay? You blanked out there for a minute.”
The room had changed. “I’m… okay,” he told Jack. He looked around and saw that the others were in the room with them. It was an unusual room - walls of gold and blue with a central console that appeared to have been constructed in someone’s garage with materials from rubbish heaps of the last half-century. He took a deep breath. “I think the TARDIS spoke to me.”
“You heard her?” The Doctor came towards them, but halted when Jack pulled Ianto away. “What did she say?”
“You need to sit.” Owen pushed past the Doctor and took hold of Ianto’s wrist. “You’re white. This place got anything that looks like a chair?”
Ianto felt a gentle push at the back of his knees. He sat as Gwen gasped, “Where did that come from?”
“Don’t know, don’t care.” Owen was taking his pulse at his wrist and neck. It was absurd to be fussed over by Owen of all people. How many impossible things had happened in the last day? Ianto was sure that they’d passed ten a few hours ago.
Whatever this was that he was sitting on was large enough for Jack to be beside him, thank goodness. He rested his head on Jack’s shoulder. “She called you ‘My Hero’,” he said. “Just like a melodrama. I swear I saw fluttering eyelashes.”
With a gentle finger, Jack tilted his head so that he could see his face. He was smiling with relief. “She’s a very perceptive ship. Good taste in men, since she obviously likes you, too.”
Ianto took another few deep breaths to get his thoughts in order. “I think, for now, I’d better keep this between Jack and the Doctor. I don’t know if what I’m about to tell affects timelines or not, but there was talk of the future. I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
Donna herded the others down one of the corridors, giving a recalcitrant Owen a shove. The Doctor approached the two men, but stopped when Jack tightened his hold on Ianto and gave an almost feral growl. Ianto hid a smile and raised an inquiring eyebrow at Jack. Jack met his gaze steadily, and then looked back at the Doctor. “That’s close enough,” he told the Time Lord.
The Doctor sat on the floor, respecting Jack’s boundaries. “It isn’t often that the TARDIS speaks directly to anyone except me, Mr. Jones. I’d really like to know what she told you, if that’s all right.”
Nodding, Ianto repeated the strange conversation word for word. They were all silent for a moment before Jack said, “Born to the Rift Storm?”
Ianto shrugged. “I wasn’t actually born in the hospital. There was a rather spectacular thunder and lightning storm that night and the ambulance had to stop some distance away from the hospital entrance. The doctor actually delivered me while my mother was on the gurney, before we made it back inside.” He felt his cheeks heat up. “It was something of a joke in my family. My sister would call me blentyn chan'r brythwch to tease me. It means ‘child of the storm’.”
“I’ll bet if we check the records, we’ll find that there was more than a thunderstorm going on,” Jack mused. “Probably the Rift affecting the weather.”
“Do you have any idea what the rest of it means, Doctor?” Ianto asked.
The Doctor started; he’d apparently been deep in thought. “Some of it… Not all. That’s the second time I’ve heard of ‘Doctor-Donna’ and I still don’t know what that is. I presume ‘beloved of the vortex keeper’ is self-explanatory?”
As Ianto looked at Jack, he received one of those rare smiles that held no mockery or projected charm. “Yeah, that one we got,” Jack said, not removing his eyes from Ianto. “She nailed it.”
“Cariad,” Ianto said softly, “you don’t have to…”
“Yes, I do. It’s the truth and I don’t care who knows.”
“Me, too. All of it. Me, too.”
“Good to know.”
“Ahem,” the Doctor said, his face as rosy as Ianto’s felt. “Domestics aside, I’m fairly certain why now was the time that this happened. I’m the last of the Time Lords. There will come a time - er, not too soon, I hope - when circumstances will be such that I won’t be able to regenerate. It seems the TARDIS has made plans for someone to carry on my work. Guardians of Time, she said. And you, Ianto Jones, are the first.”
Ianto’s first reaction would have been to call the notion preposterous, but it was no more preposterous than other things that had happened today. “I’m the first,” he said slowly. “She said my line… but Jack and I are…”
It shouldn’t have been possible, but the Doctor turned even redder. “Your… well… it seems that… sometime soon… relatively soon would be my guess… you two will be parents. Adam and Eve, as it were.”
It was one blow too many. Ianto could not help but laugh. “I get to be Adam,” he said between chortles.
Jack said petulantly, “I am not Eve.”
“One of us has to be and I don’t have the correct bits.”
“Ah, about that…” the Doctor began.
Ianto stopped laughing abruptly. “Wait! Are you implying…?”
Jack chuckled this time. The Doctor nodded. “There are… um… changes in your biology. I can sense it.”
Groaning, Ianto buried his head in Jack’s shoulder. Too much. He couldn’t take another thing. The only thing he could manage to say was a heartfelt, “Oh, God!”
Torchwood Three sat around the conference room table, hanging onto every word their Captain was saying. He smiled at them as he concluded, “…So the TARDIS took it into her own circuits to set the future in motion. Ianto and I are the beginning. We don’t know what will happen next.”
Owen and Martha looked at Ianto, both of them every inch a doctor. “And you’re sure you’re immortal, Ianto?” Owen asked. “Like Jack?”
Jack watched him nod, his expression carefully neutral. “That’s what the TARDIS told me. Between that and the Doctor’s appraisal I’m fairly certain that I am.” His eyes swung to Jack’s and he relaxed. “Please rest assured that I don’t intend to test it anytime soon.”
Jack summoned up a smirk and Ianto gave him one in return. Jack turned his attention to Owen. “He’s not going to get the chance. Light duty for two weeks, you said?”
“At least. And don’t argue,” Owen snapped as Ianto opened his mouth. “You’ve had too many shocks and I want to make sure that you’re on firm ground physically, mentally and emotionally before I let you cover my back in the field.”
Ianto sighed, but made no further protest. Martha leaned forward. “Ianto, I won’t if it upsets you, but I’d like to examine you for the… um… changes the Doctor told you about.”
“Good idea,” Jack agreed quickly.
With a sniff, Ianto said, “You’ll need to examine Jack as well, then.” His eye had a definite twinkle in it now. “For comparison purposes.”
“Hey!” Jack protested. “Okay, okay. You’re right.” He turned to the other members of the team. “Gwen, Tosh, we haven’t heard from you yet.”
Gwen looked between them both. “Is this good for both of you? I mean, you aren’t being forced into anything, right? I’m only asking because I want you both to be happy.”
Ianto reached across and patted her hand. “It’s a little intimidating, but if you strip away all the other things about founding a new race and becoming immortal, then all that the TARDIS told me to do is something I’ve already been doing and have no intention of stopping.”
Jack smiled fondly at her. It hadn’t been easy for Gwen to do away with her fantasies, but she had done it and was stronger for it. “Ianto has the right of it. All that other stuff aside, we’re still together and that won’t change.”
She sat back, convinced. “Well, good,” she said, her grin showing the gap in her teeth. “It’s about time something was stable around here.”
“Just, please, have pity on the rest of us and keep your activities to yourselves during office hours,” Owen pleaded.
Tosh spoke up. “Not on my account.”
“Nor mine,” Gwen chimed in.
“I don’t mind at all,” Martha said. “You’re outnumbered.”
Owen dropped his head dramatically on the table. “Who would have thought I’d be the voice of decency? I’ll need some good brain bleach.”
“We’ll send you out to the pub,” Ianto promised solemnly.
“I’m happy for you,” Tosh said. “Really happy. I think it’s a good thing for you to have each other.” But, being Tosh, she had a question. “I’ve been wondering though, Jack. You’re from the future. Do you know about the Guardians? Or are we making a different future? Isn’t that dangerous?”
Jack was startled. He searched around in his memory. “I heard of them. While I was at the Time Agency, I was told the rumour that the Agency itself had been started by one of them. To handle small ripples in time, while they concerned themselves with larger issues. They weren’t legendary, like Time Lords. It’s just that you couldn’t find anyone who’d had direct contact with them. It was always ‘my second cousin’s friend’s sister’ or ‘my great-great-great uncle’s sister-in-law’s boyfriend’s brother’ or something of the sort. Nobody doubted that they were real - they performed semi-miraculous deeds when lives were at stake - but they didn’t go making public appearances or anything.”
“I guess that means this is what is supposed to happen,” Tosh said, nodding. “That’s reassuring.”
The meeting broke up after that. There didn’t seem to be anything else to say. While Ianto went to the kitchenette to make coffee, Jack went back up to his office. There was piece of paper in the centre of his desk. He sat down and picked it up. The handwriting was Ianto’s. It was headed: Things I Have Learned Today:
Jack loves me.
I won’t stay dead.
I can be with Jack for as long as he wants me.
I can have babies.
Jack won’t ever have to be alone.
The Doctor is all right, but needs a keeper.
The TARDIS is amazing.
Jack won’t let the Doctor touch me and I’m rather glad about it.
Donna Noble could very likely take over the world if she wanted to.
Jack really does love me.
“I really do, you know,” Jack said quietly. He had felt rather than heard the presence of Ianto at the door. “Love you.”
“That makes us even then.” The cups and tray were lowered to the desk and Ianto turned Jack’s chair to face him. “I really do as well.”
The kiss they shared finished the discussion without words.
The Doctor looked across the console at his Companion. “So you’re sticking around then?”
Donna crossed her arms and gave him the raised-eyebrow glare. “Of course I am. Especially now that I’ve seen what a right mess you can get yourself into without me. You know, you really suck at people skills, Spaceman.”
“I do,” the Doctor sighed. “I just didn’t realize I’d have to fracture the Universe to find out.”
Donna came around the console and gave him a light punch in the shoulder. “Just so you know now.”
“I’ll not lose touch with them again. Jack told me his Torchwood was different and it is. I think that maybe we could use his help from time to time.”
“You won’t hear me complain about having two gorgeous men on board, even if they’d rather look at each other than me.”
The Doctor felt like laughing for the first time in a long time. “Thank you, Donna, for staying and keeping me from doing myself in.”
She laughed, too. “That’s what we Companions are for, right? To keep you from fracturing the Universe by a major stuff-up? It’s our job.”
“And I hope you’ll keep on doing it. No matter where or when.”
Amy and Rory stood together at the side of the Med Bay table. They’d returned the room to its previous condition as best as they could remember. At Rory’s nod, Amy leaned closer to the Doctor and said, “Wake up, won’t you?”
The Doctor’s eyes popped open comically wide. “Hel-lo! What am I doing in here?” He sat up and patted himself down. “Nothing seems to be missing.”
Amy smiled and gave his arm a gentle squeeze. “You were sleeping under the console. Rory and I moved you in here.” It was what the Doctor had instructed her to say if he awoke with questions.
“Was I? How very odd of me.” The Doctor stretched with bone-cracking thoroughness and hopped down. He did a few squats with his arms out straight. “How long?”
“A few hours,” Rory said with a grin. It wasn’t actually a lie, since seventy-plus still counted as a “few” in all of Time. “Gave us a bit of a scare you did. You thrashed around a bit and talked about people in your sleep.”
“Well, that’s peculiar. I don’t talk in my sleep.” He switched to jumping jacks. “At least not that I know of. Don’t hear myself anyway. But then, I wouldn’t if I were asleep, would I?”
Amy just managed to stop herself from asking if any of the people he slept with had ever mentioned it. Even her insatiable curiosity would not start down that road. God knew where it would lead. “Rory occasionally talks in his sleep, but he never makes any sense. Mostly about sheep.”
“I grew up on a farm, remember? Lots of sheep about.”
The Doctor finished his routine with a few knee bends. “There, that’s better. What did I say about whom?”
This was a sticky point. Amy breathed in and out once. She took the Doctor’s arm to lead him out of the Med Bay. It would probably be better if she didn’t, but she couldn’t help herself. “You said something about a man named Jack. And another man, Ianto Jones.” She crossed her fingers that it would be all right.
For a fleeting moment, the Doctor looked confused and Amy was afraid she might have blown it. Abruptly, the expression vanished to be replaced with a sunny smile. “Well, that explains the sleeping then. Always need sleep when I visit them. They must have a new crop.” He hurried to the console and started jabbing at buttons.
“Who are they?” Rory asked. Amy thought the casual tone sounded a bit forced, but the Doctor didn’t look up.
“Old friends. Very old friends.” He turned a dial. “I mean, I’ve known them for a long time. But they are also old, or would be, if they didn’t look the same all the time. It’s hard to call them old, but they are. Jack is older than Ianto. Or at least, he’s lived longer. I think. He was born after, but he didn’t stay there. Hard to explain, really.”
“Doctor…” Amy growled.
“Oh, sorry. Doing it again, am I?”
“Yes. Slow down and talk sense.”
“All right. Oh, there, she’s got them. Yes, four this time. I need to go visit.” He did some more button-pushing, lifted a lever, and flipped a row of toggles. “Next stop, Remandrin IV, 2406 or thereabouts in your years. Where was I?”
“You were going to tell us about Jack and Ianto Jones,” Amy prompted, hoping he wouldn’t lose track this time. The names were all she had to go on. That and that they were old but not really. Somehow.
“Ah. Yes. Jack and Ianto.” The Doctor rubbed his hands together. “I met Jack first and accidentally made him immortal. Well, I didn’t, but the TARDIS did. Only it wasn’t an accident, but I didn’t know that. And then Ianto, because Jack couldn’t do this alone. It was all very dramatic, but it was important to the future. They save the Universe with me every now and then. Sometimes they do it on their own. But, really, they don’t like travelling as much as I do. They can’t travel on the TARDIS when one of them is expecting anyway. The old girl wouldn’t let them off if they had a baby here.”
“Whoa!” Amy held up a hand. “Expecting? Like pregnant? Aren’t they both men?”
Rory cleared his throat and Amy glared at him. She’d forgotten to ask him about the procedure on Ianto. Oblivious, the Doctor prattled on, “Different rules. I’ll explain it all later if you really want to know…”
Ianto enjoyed this time of day. The sun would set in an hour and the air would become too cool to sit outside comfortably, but now the temperature was perfect. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine he was back in Wales, sitting in the swing in his grandmother’s garden, dreaming of a very different future than the one he had. He smiled as a familiar warmth settled beside him and set the swing rocking a bit more vigorously than it had been.
“Trying to make me seasick?” he asked.
Jack’s low chuckle sent the requisite shots of desire down his spine. “Just taking a break until the Monster Squad is let loose. As we don’t have time for any ‘real’ fun, I thought we might make out on the porch.”
Turning obligingly, Ianto slid his arms around his partner’s waist. “Never get enough of that,” he agreed.
Being otherwise occupied, he didn’t feel the wind pick up, but the noise was unmistakable. He and Jack pulled away with identical groans. Jack sighed, “He always has such lousy timing.”
“I wish he’d call first,” Ianto agreed, looking into the garden. At least the TARDIS was materializing away from the flowers they had so lovingly planted. Once, she had come down on a rose bush that they had carefully nurtured all the way from Earth and was still being extra careful by way of apology.
The door opened and the Doctor emerged. He must have regenerated - he looked nothing at all like his former self. Ianto had a faint feeling of déjà vu - he had seen this man sometime, somewhere in his past. He locked the thought away for further study later. He needed all of his faculties to deal with a Doctorial visit.
“Hi, Doc!” Jack called. “Better not be an emergency. You know our deal.”
“Just a visit,” the Doctor assured them, standing aside to let a red-haired young woman and a slight young man follow him out.
Once again that feeling of familiarity swept over Ianto. He frowned, but locked that thought away as well. As an Immortal, his eidetic memory could be a bit of a nuisance at times. He had learned how to deal with it as best he could. Now, he stood up and linked hands with Jack. “Welcome,” he said, with a bit more formality than Jack.
As they came up the stairs to the porch, Jack gave a whistle. “New look? I approve.”
Ianto gave a bit of an eye-roll. Jack was Jack. The Doctor blushed. “I’ve been trying for months to figure out just what I’ve been missing,” he said sarcastically. “At long last I’ve found it. Jack Harkness has approved the appearance of the new me. My life is complete.”
“What can I say? I think bow ties are cool. You could never pull off a Windsor knot like Good-looking here can, so you’re better off not trying. And who are these lovely people?”
“These are my Companions, Amy and Rory.”
Jack reached for Amy’s hand to kiss it even as he stepped smoothly between the Doctor and Ianto. Ianto couldn’t help smirking. Even though three hundred years had passed, his husband still preferred to keep the Doctor out of touching distance. Ianto found it incredibly endearing, and, his inner voice added, rather hot. He offered his hand to Rory. “Nice to meet you,” he said.
He was surprised to find Rory looking him over closely, not as one man attracted by another’s looks, but more like a physician examining a patient. He raised an eyebrow and a slight flush coloured the young man’s cheeks, but he didn’t look away. “You seem to be in good health,” he said with a nod.
“Yes, thanks.” What an odd thing to say. But, the Doctor rarely took on ordinary people as Companions. “And yourself?”
“Oh.” The flush darkened a little, but the gaze didn’t waver. “Can’t complain. Lots of exercise.”
“Running,” Jack agreed. “There’s always a lot of running when you travel in the TARDIS.”
“I’ll say,” Amy agreed fervently.
“Have a seat, won’t you?” Ianto waved them into chairs. He, Jack, and the children spent a lot of time outside, so there was plenty of seating. “Our little heathens will be out here at any moment and it’s safer to meet them sitting down so that you can’t be knocked over.”
“Is that why you’re here, Doc?” Jack asked. “Inspecting the next generation?”
“Well, that, and to see how you’re getting on. This seems a nice little place. Bit out of the way though.”
“Nicer for the kids,” Jack said. “Quiet colony with a very clean history. No natives on this planet and almost no terraforming was needed.”
“What do you do here?” Amy asked.
Ianto could see that she was brimming with curiosity, though he couldn’t understand why. This wasn’t a very exciting place, not like the usual places the TARDIS went to. “We’re in the… entertainment business,” he said carefully.
“Stop being so modest, Ianto,” Jack chided. He turned to the Doctor. “This planet has a variety of very lovely scenery and is consequently popular for historical vid-makers. Ianto’s company specializes in reproducing the correct landmarks and set pieces for them. He’s very good and in high demand. Pays special attention to detail. I work for him as muscle.” He flexed his impressive biceps.
Ianto might have punched him, but at that point the door opened and the children tumbled (there was really no other word for it) out of the house. They swarmed onto the swing with their parents, barely noticing the others. After a promiscuous exchange of hugs and kisses, Jack and Ianto introduced them to their guests. “This is Sam,” Jack said, indicating the oldest, who looked exactly what Ianto imagined Jack must have looked like when he was that age. “He’s seven.”
Jack continued, “And this little lady is Diamond.” The girl made them a charming curtsy. The little diva knew exactly what effect that had on the adults. She had more toys now than the other three combined. All of Jack’s natural charisma seemed to have manifested itself in their first daughter. After three sets of children who were all boys, Diamond had seemed like a miracle.
“And just when I thought I might win the ‘Daddy of the Year’ award for producing our pretty girl,” Jack went on, “Ianto outdoes me with this matched set of boys.”
“Replace ‘outdoes’ with ‘barely survives’ and you’ll be closer to the truth.” Ianto grinned down at his twins. “Jack was going through a green phase at the time, so this is Forrest and this is Kelly.”
Sam stepped closer to Amy and said solemnly, “You have very pretty hair, Miss Amy. May I touch it?”
“Yes, of course,” she said, obviously delighted.
The Doctor groaned. “Lock up your sons and daughters. Jack and Ianto, if you keep having children like this, I’m not sure the Universe will survive the excess of adorability.”
Diamond with her built-in radar had selected the Doctor as the leader of the group. She would, Ianto thought. Using all her five-year-old wiles on him, she asked, “Will you take us for a ride on your ship, sir? Taddy and Daddy have told us all about her.”
Jack rescued his old friend. “We’ve had this discussion, baby. Not until you’re older.” Diamond tried a pouty trembling lip and sad tears in her eyes, but Jack remained unmoved. “Don’t bother,” he told her. “I’m immune.”
As Ianto expected, this ritual response brought out Diamond’s smile. “You’re not a moon. You’re a Daddy.”
The twins shrieked with laughter, nearly causing Rory to drop them. Sam rolled his eyes in perfect imitation of his Taddy. Ianto considered that the Doctor might be right to be worried about the adorability tolerance of the Universe.
“I tell you what,” the Doctor said. “Why don’t you four take Amy and Rory on a tour before it gets dark and I’ll let you see the inside of the TARDIS tomorrow morning?”
Ianto stiffened and he felt Jack do so as well. The children dragged the Companions into the house. When they were out of earshot, Ianto said, “What is it, Doctor?”
“It’s starting.”
“The mutation?” Jack said.
“Yes.” The Doctor sighed. “I knew it couldn’t be long. The TARDIS needs to see them, Jack, Ianto.”
Jack and Ianto exchanged looks. They had known since Ianto had been changed that it would show up some day. Like any parents, though, they were afraid of what it might mean. Ianto finally spoke. “What will she do?”
“Nothing, really. Just take readings. They are normal healthy children, the same as your others. The only difference you may notice is that they will be more attuned to Time itself. It will take three or four generations to allow the mutation to evolve to the point that the Guardianship will manifest itself. It will be time to return then. For now, raise them as the loving parents you are. Try not to worry about this. It’s barely the beginning.”
Jack turned to Ianto. “We can do this. We’re not fractured. Together.”
Ianto knew he was right. They could do it. It would be a long road, but they would face it. In the fading light, he could just make out the golden glow around their joined hands. “You’re right, Cariad. Together.”