Home for Christmas (Eternity-verse 7)

[amythest_n_ice]

It’s my birthday (or at least it was yesterday when I started this), and I wanted to do a Christmas fic, so I treated myself *grins*

http://amythest-n-ice.livejournal.com/4312.html
Link to Prt 6 Fear

http://amythest-n-ice.livejournal.com/4767.html
Link to Prt 8 Taken

*********

Ianto sat in the TARDIS kitchen, staring into a lukewarm cup of tea. He heard someone approaching down the hallway outside and turned to see which of the other TARDIS occupants was heading for breakfast. What he saw made him smile, an expression caught by Jack, who grinned at Ianto. A few steps in front of Jack, explaining his slower than normal steps, Bobby toddled along, a fierce expression of concentration on his little face, and one chubby hand using the roundels set into the walls for balance. He finally lost his balance when they reached the kitchen door and he lost the support of the wall, but Jack caught him before he fell on his ass, swinging him up into his arms. Bobby squealed and laughed, wrapping his little arms tightly around Jack's neck.

"Mama." Bobby said. Jack rolled his eyes and kissed the small boy on his head as he plunked him down in his high chair.

"You know Ianto, one of these days, I will figure out which one of you two convinced him to call me mama." Jack said as he turned to start preparing Bobby's breakfast. Ianto smiled faintly, amusement breaking through his distraction for a moment. It had actually been a joint effort between him and the Doctor to get the little boy calling Jack mama. The Doctor was papa, and Ianto was A'no, because the child couldn't say his name. Ianto decided a change in subject might be in order.

"Have you two decided what you're going to do for his first birthday yet?" Ianto asked smiling as Bobby reached out for the small corner of buttered toast Jack offered him while waiting for his cereal to warm up.

"Not yet." Jack said, dropping into a chair opposite Ianto, studying the younger man through dark eyelashes for a moment.

"But it's only 10 days away." Ianto pointed out.

"I know. We'll figure it out. Ianto, when are you going to tell one of us what's wrong?"

"What?" Ianto asked, startled.

"You haven't been yourself for nearly a week now, what's up?"

Ianto sighed and pushed the mug away from himself, leaning back in his chair.

"Do you know what time of year it was when you took me from Earth?"

"Ah, no. I have no idea Ianto, sorry. Why?"

"It was the end of January. I have been with you for eleven months, near enough."

"Which means, it would be nearly Christmas on Earth now."

"Yes. I didn't get to see my parents last Christmas, because Owen was being Owen. He took Gwen away for 'training' otherwise known as a dirty weekend. He allowed Tosh to go visit her family, which left me to watch the hub. And now this year, I'm not even on Earth. They're old Jack, I don't know how many years they might have left, and I miss them." Ianto said, fighting back tears.

"You don't want to leave, do you?" Jack asked.

"No, God no. I love traveling with you guys, and I adore Bobby. I just, wouldn't mind seeing my parents." Ianto said, scrubbing his hands over his face. He felt a hand land on his shoulder as Jack rose to get the dish containing Bobby's cereal, and he looked up into the hazel eyes of the Doctor.

"I never refused to take Rose home to visit her mother, especially not for the holidays. I don't see why I shouldn't extend the same to you." The time lord said.

"Are you serious?" Ianto asked.

"Of course. There's a phone in the console room, on the console. The TARDIS will make sure that the call connects if you just put the number in." 

"Thanks." Ianto said, hurrying out of the room, looking forward to talking to his mother.

"That was nice, I know how much you hated taking Rose to see her mom." Jack said, spooning food into Bobby's mouth. Getting impatient with all the talking going on, Bobby tried to grab the spoon from Jack.

"Its worth it. The TARDIS picks up on it when any of her crew is unhappy." The Doctor said, amused as Bobby gave up trying to get the spoon off Jack and started trying to eat the mush with his fingers. Jack winced and went to grab a pack of wet wipes from the counter, this was likely to get messy. 

"I'll go and make sure that Ianto managed to get his call through OK." The Doctor grinned, scarpering. The last time Bobby had tried to feed himself like this, the mush had ended up pretty much everywhere BUT in his mouth.

"Chicken." Jack called after him with a laugh.

Ianto leaned against the console, listening to the phone ringing at the other end of the line. The receiver was finally picked up, and he closed his eyes as he heard his mother's voice, backed by Christmas carols on the radio.

"Hello, Jones residence." She called cheerfully.

"Hello mam." He said quietly.

"Ianto? Oh my God Ianto, is that you?"

"Yes mam, its me."

"Where have you been Ianto? That Londoner you used to work with in Cardiff came and told us you had gone missing, been abducted."

"No. He tried to hurt some friends of mine, so I left with them. I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner, but I wasn't sure it would be safe. You haven't heard from them recently have you, or seen them?"

"Not since they came to give us the news. Why?"

"My friends have said they'll bring me to see you for Christmas, but I don't want to risk it if they have been hanging around."

"No, no sign of them. You're coming home Ianto?" She asked hopefully.

"Just for Christmas mam. I missed you, so they're swinging back that way on their travels, so I can come and see you."

"OK, so how many of you should I be expecting?"

"What? I'm not sure they'll want to impose...."

"Nonsense. If they're going out of their way to bring you to see us, they can't be left all alone at Christmas. How many Ianto?"

"Two men other than myself and a year old baby." Ianto sighed, knowing when he was beaten.

"And when should we expect you to be arriving?" She asked.

Ianto realized the Doctor had come up behind him, and asked his mother to hold on for a second while he asked.

"Some time tomorrow mam." He said when the Doctor had answered him. She said she would have everything ready for them, and they said their goodbyes so she could have time to prepare for their arrival.

"She insisted that you, Jack and Bobby should come with me to stay for Christmas." Ianto said apologetically.

"I gathered. Don't worry Ianto, I can't guarantee Bobby's cooperation, or Jack's, but I'll be on my best behavior." The Doctor grinned.

"Its not you all I'm worried about, it's my sisters. They're nosey like you wouldn't believe." Ianto said with an eye roll.

"Well, they're only human. Curiosity is what got the first apes out of the trees." The Doctor laughed. Ianto rolled his eyes again, and glared at the older man.

"Any chance of stopping off somewhere so that I can get some gifts for them?"

"On Earth or not?"

"As long as whatever I buy isn't going to turn around and try to invade the Earth, or eat any of my family, I don't mind." Ianto said.

The next day, Ianto led the others up the snowy path to his parent’s neat farmhouse on the edge of the Brecon Beacons. Ianto and the Doctor carried the bags holding the gifts Ianto had picked up for his family on Ilesha V, and Jack walked behind them, Bobby in his arms bundled up in the warmest coat he had, looking down at the snow in fascination. He began wriggling to get down, wanting to explore this strange white stuff covering the ground, and Jack grinned and crouched down to grab a handful of snow, rising again and holding it close to Bobby as Ianto knocked on the door. Bobby reached out a hand to grab the snow, laughing at the cold, and the strange melty texture. He brought it too his mouth, and tasted it, then pulled a face and dropped it.

"No huh? Snow, can you say snow Bobby?" Jack asked him, not noticing that a medium height, sturdy woman had opened the front door, hugged Ianto hard, and was grinning at him and Bobby over Ianto's shoulder.

"No!" Bobby said, and Jack was unsure if it was a negative, as he had just learned that word, and it was a new favorite, or if it was actually an attempt to mimic the word 'snow'.

Slowly becoming aware that he was being watched, Jack blushed and looked at the small group in the doorway.

"Mam, this is Jack Harkness, Dr. Smith's partner, and their son, Bobby." Ianto said, grinning at Jack.

"Call me Angharad, Mr. Harkness." She said, smiling brightly at him.

"Jack. please."

"Jack. Come away in all of you, it's freezing out here, far too cold for a little one." She said, ushering them all in.

The living room sported a large, real Christmas tree in a stout red pot, decorated with more enthusiasm than style, and  as he knelt to put his parcels under the tree, Ianto could see the line where the adults had taken over when the kids hadn't been able to reach any higher.

"Where is everyone else?" Ianto asked as his mother took all their coats and hung them up.

"It's Christmas eve Ianto, they all went to the rink in town for the show."

"Of course, sorry." Ianto said. He watched as Jack carried Bobby over to the tree, pointing out the lights, tinsel, baubles and the angel on the top.

"There should still be some chocolates on the tree, up near the top where the children can't reach." Angharad said, reaching in among the branches and pulling a foil wrapped treat out, offering it to the boy. Bobby shyly ducked his head, and she smiled and handed it to Jack instead.

"They're adorable at that age." She said.

"Thanks." He said, for both the sweet, and the compliment. He knelt down and set Bobby on the carpet, unwrapping the chocolate and breaking a bit off, offering it to Bobby. He reached out and took it, putting it in his mouth, sucking on it. He grinned in delight at the taste, and reached out to Jack for more. Jack obliged, breaking off another bit for him.

"So, mam, anything I can help with?" Ianto asked.

"Nope, everything is ready for dinner tonight, and breakfast, dinner and tea tomorrow as well. You just sit down, and brace yourself for when the others get back. They were delighted that they were going to see their little brother this Christmas, and meet his friends too." 

"Oh God, is it too late to leave, Doctor?" Ianto groaned.

"Far too late." The Doctor grinned.

"So, do you not have overnight bags with you?" Angharad asked.

"Ah no, we thought you might be a bit crowded here." Ianto said.

"Where are you staying then? I didn't see a car out there."

"Our transport isn't far from here, we just decided that it would be a nice walk." The Doctor said.

"You're not planning on running off with my Ianto again just yet, are you?" She asked.

"No, we'll be here until after boxing day, but then we'll have to be on our way." He promised her.

"Oh well, that's better than we got even when he lived in Cardiff, and that's just down the road." She sighed.

"Mama." Bobby's exclamation made them all turn, startled, and they saw Jack slumped on the floor.

"I'll get some water." Angharad said, hurrying for the kitchen as the Doctor and Ianto hurried to where Jack lay. Ianto scooped up Bobby, comforting him as he got distressed by Jack not answering him.

"I think he just fainted." The Doctor said as Jack started to stir under his hands. He took the glass of water Angharad handed him, and he propped Jack against his shoulder and helped him to sip from the glass.

"What happened?" Jack asked, opening dazed eyes.

"You tell me." The Doctor said firmly.

"Uhm, Bobby finished his sweet, I was standing up, and then I felt dizzy."

"You fainted." The Doctor said.

"Probably just coming in from the cold to the heat, then standing up too fast." Angharad said briskly, taking the empty glass out to the kitchen to refill it. Ianto saw a look pass between the two men as the Doctor helped Jack onto the sofa, and the Doctor placed a hand on Jack's stomach, his eyebrow raising questioningly, Jack shrugged, tilting his head to indicate he had no answer to the question.

"You think Jack's pregnant, don't you?" He asked very quietly.

"It's a possibility. The only other times I've seen him faint was the first twelve weeks or so he was pregnant with Bobby." The Doctor replied equally quietly, but it wasn't quiet enough, as Angharad Jones had come back into the room.

"Ianto, where exactly were you when you phoned me?" She asked, surprisingly calmly.

"I'm not sure, exactly. Not around here." He said.

"So when the people you used to work with claimed you were abducted, the missing words were, by aliens?"

"I wasn't abducted." Ianto said.

"And the by aliens part." 

"Yes and no. Jack is human." The Doctor said quietly.

"A possibly pregnant human male, who has already given birth to one child?"

"Two actually, but I lost one at a few months old, a very long time ago." Jack said calmly, meeting her eyes.

"All right, who is little Bobby's other parent?"

"The Doctor." Ianto replied.

"And you are an alien?"

"Yes."

"How noticeably not human is Bobby?" 

"Enough that someone with medical training would be able to tell that something was wrong fairly quickly."

"Right, keep him away from Bronwyn then. She passed her nursing exams a few months ago, and she's practicing on anyone who'll sit still long enough." Angharad said firmly.

"Uh, if you don't mind me saying mam, you're taking this very well." Ianto said in confusion.

"Oh Ianto, do you really think I fell for the excuses they put about after those metal things invaded London a couple of years back? I knew what sort of people you were working for, that you were trying to keep people like us safe. Don't tell any of the others though. They were happier to believe the excuses, rather than think that there might be other life out there." She shrugged.

"Oh Ianto, I like your mom, she's like you." Jack said, cuddling Bobby close when Ianto passed him back after he started squirming to get to Jack.

"Mama." Bobby sighed, settling in with his head resting on Jack's chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"What are you going to tell the others about him calling Jack mam?" She asked.

"Almost the truth. When Bobby was starting to talk, we got him calling Jack mama, he never calls him anything else now. We just tell them Bobby was only a few weeks old when he was adopted." Ianto shrugged.

"Fair enough. I'm going to put the tea on, they'll be back from town soon." Angharad said, vanishing back into the kitchen.

"We'll check you out tonight when we get back to the TARDIS, see for sure if Bobby is getting a little brother or sister." The Doctor said, sitting beside Jack and leaning over to kiss him lightly. Ianto sat on the other side of Jack and they settled into comfortable silence, Bobby drifting to sleep against Jack's chest.

The silence was shattered half an hour later when a door slammed open, and a babble of voices and stamping feet rushed in. Bobby jerked awake, startled, and started to cry. Angharad bustled out of the kitchen as Jack tried to settle him down again, and glared the group of people into silence.

"Now see what you did. He was good as gold, taking a little nap, and you burst in here like a bunch of hellions and upset him. Poor baby, being woken up by you rabble. Try to keep it to a dull roar until I'm ready to dish up dinner." She scolded them, leaving them all looking shame-faced. Angharard headed over to where Jack was still trying to quiet a fractious Bobby and smiled.

"Why don't you bring him into the kitchen, away from this rabble, and we'll see if we can't find him a little treat to make up for having his sleep spoiled." Jack followed her into the kitchen, and slid into the chair she waved him into.

"There, gets him away from that noisy bunch, and both of you away from the inquisition that I'm sure your other half and Ianto are facing right about now." She said, handing Bobby a chunk of banana that she had been chopping into a fruit salad. He still looked shy, but this time he accepted it from her hand. He grinned as he bit into his favorite fruit, and settled his head onto Jack's shoulder to enjoy it.

"I think he actually likes that more than chocolate." She said in amusement.

"You could be right. Comes from the other side of the family I think. The Doctor has a bit of a banana fixation, or at least he used to. Blew up one of my favorite factories and replaced it with a banana grove." Jack grinned, remembering that conversation with the earlier regeneration of his mate. Angharad grinned in response, putting the finished desert into the fridge and starting to pull out warmed plates to dish the dinner onto, and a collection of colorful plastic plates for the various children.

"Will he eat what we're eating?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'll just mash it for him, thanks." Jack said.

Bobby finished his banana and wrapped his sticky hand in Jack's shirt, settling his hand back on his shoulder, his eyes starting to drift shut.

"Hey, don't go back to sleep now, it's almost time for dinner." Jack said, stroking light hair back from the child's forehead.

Ianto came in then, and looked at them.

"I think Bronwyn and Cerys may have been reincarnated from the Spanish Inquisition. Is there anything at all I can do mam?"

"Make sure Cerys brought the highchair in and put it at the table, I don't think the little imp is going to last much longer, and we should get him fed before he fades out."

"Yes mam." Ianto said, ducking out again.

By the time they left that night, Jack was as tired as Bobby. Bobby was sprawled, fast asleep in Ianto's arms, and Jack was leaning very heavily into the Doctor's support, barely awake. In the end, the Doctor adjusted his arm around Jack's back, swept the other arm under his knees, and cradled him against his chest.

"'M sorry." Jack mumbled, his head coming to rest in the crook of the Doctor's neck.

"Hush, go to sleep, we'll check you out in the morning." The Doctor whispered, and Jack obeyed, falling asleep in his lover’s arms.

Ianto was making himself a coffee early the next morning, as his mother had insisted that they should all be back for breakfast. The Doctor came in with Bobby and got him a sippy cup of milk.

"Jack not up yet?" Ianto asked, starting a pot of tea too, for the Doctor.

"No, I'll wake him in a while. When is your mum expecting us?"

"About an hour. If you want to cry off, I can tell her Jack wasn't feeling well."

"No, thats fine Ianto, I'll let him sleep a little longer, then wake him in time to leave. I can do the scan later." The Doctor shrugged, taking the cup of tea that Ianto handed him in one hand and mopping up a minor milk spillage on Bobby's face with the other.

Jack put Bobby down as they reached the path to the farmhouse this time, and let him walk, holding onto his hands to balance him. Bobby laughed and kicked at the snow, sending it dusting out ahead of him. They reached the door and Cerys opened it, a furry santa hat parked on her head and a big grin on her face.

"Merry Christmas. Come on in, the kids have already started breakfast, desperate to get to their presents." She said, ushering them in.

"Ah good, you're here. Come on, breakfast is ready." Angharad said, poking her head out of the kitchen. Jack broke away from the others, and headed to the kitchen, where Angharad smiled at him.

"Morning dear, any news?" She asked.

"Not yet. We haven't had chance to check. Can I heat some cereal up for Bobby somewhere?"

"Of course. There's a microwave over beside the fridge, if that's ok?" 

"Perfect, thanks." Jack said, taking the bowl she gave him. starting to prepare Bobby's breakfast.

They were soon all crowded around the large dining table again, tucking into the large cooked breakfast, Jack mostly ignoring his as he spooned warm mush into Bobby's mouth. He looked up as the Doctor took the small spoon off him.

"I'll do it. Eat your breakfast." He told his lover, taking over feeding their baby.

"Thanks." Jack said, tucking into his food.

As soon as everyone had finished eating, the kids started pestering to be allowed to open their gifts.

"Just one before dinner, you know that." Ianto's father, Huw, scolded them as he headed to the tree to fish one gift out for each child. He handed a squidgy, brightly colored parcel to Bobby, and the boy looked at it in confusion. Big blue eyes took in the way the other kids were tearing the bright wrapping off their gifts, and he copied them, tearing away the wrapping to reveal a soft brown teddy bear with shiny eyes and silky fur. Bobby squealed and buried his face in the soft fur, clutching the bear tightly to his chest. 

"Thank you." Jack said to Ianto's parents, catching the names on the tag.

"You're welcome." Angharad smiled.

"Right, I hope everyone has their skates. I checked this morning and the lake has been cleared for skating." Huw said, rubbing his hands. The kids yelled in excitement, and there was a charge for the stairs to get into outdoor clothes and find skates.

"Ianto, your skates are still upstairs, in the top of the hall cupboard." Huw told him.

"Really? Thanks." Ianto said, heading up to find his skates.

They all treked over the fields, heading for the lake on the very edge of the national park land. There were already people skating on the ice when they got there, and everyone started pulling their skates on and headed out onto the ice.

"Shame you don't have skates with you." Angharad said as she set down her basket of thermos flasks and packets of sandwiches.

"Actually, I probably do have some somewhere. But, I think I also have a sledge. Bobby might enjoy that. Our transport isn't far from here, we could go and have a look, and take the opportunity to run that scan while we're there." The Doctor said.

"So, what you're really saying is you have a space ship parked nearby." She grinned at him.

"Yup." The Doctor grinned back.

"I'll watch Bobby for a little while if you want to go and look for that sledge." Angharad said.

"Thanks." The Doctor said as they headed off in the direction of the TARDIS.

When they came back half an hour later, the Doctor was pulling a sledge behind him, a proper old one made of wood with steel shoes on the runners, and his other arm was around Jack's waist. He deposited Jack beside Angharad with a grin, swept Bobby up in the arm that had been around Jack and headed for the nearest hill with his son and the sledge.

"Well?" Angharad asked.

"Yes, I am pregnant. Nearly fifteen weeks as far as we could tell from the scan, so at a guess, you were right on the reason I fainted yesterday. The change in temperature, coupled with standing up too fast." Jack grinned at her. She leaned over and kissed his cold cheek lightly.

"Congratulations." She said.

"Thank you." Jack said as Ianto skated to a stop in front of them.

"Are you flirting with my mam Jack?" He asked with a smile.

"Nope, I just got some good news. I'm just over three months pregnant." Jack grinned. Ianto grinned back, leaning over and hugging Jack.

"I'm so pleased for you." He said.

"Thanks Ianto." Jack said.

They had a great break with Ianto's family, and they were all grinning when they kidnapped Angharad on boxing day, before they were due to leave.

"What's going on?" She asked as they led her toward the blue police box sitting in the lee of a hill.

"We thought you might like to see where Ianto is living now." Jack said, grinning over at the Doctor, who bounced a giggling Bobby lightly.

"You're letting me see your spaceship?" She asked as Jack slipped his key into the door of the police box and ushered her inside. She looked around the console room, her mouth open in shock.

"Good lord." Was all she managed to say.

"This is the TARDIS." The Doctor said, gesturing around the cavernous console room.

"It's amazing." She breathed.

"Yes, she is." Ianto agreed. Angharad kissed her son lightly on his cheek, and ruffled his hair.

"Don't leave it too long to visit, all of you. I want to see the new baby when he or she is born." She said, also kissing the others on the cheek. The Doctor handed her a folded piece of paper.

"If you need to contact Ianto for any reason, this number will get you through to us. If you have an itemized bill, it will only show up as a local call, the TARDIS will tap into your local exchange when you call." 

"Thank you." She said, slipping the paper into her pocket.

She stepped outside, and watched in amazement as the blue box vanished in a maelstrom of noise and blown snow, and the only trace that was left very soon was a square depression in the snow.

"So, where to now?" Ianto asked, sitting on the seat to the side of the console, Bobby curled on his lap.

"We thought we might take Bobby to Disney World for his first birthday." The Doctor grinned.

"What, in America?" Ianto asked.

"No, Disney World, the amusement planet in the Alpha Centauri system."

"They bought a PLANET?" Ianto squeaked.

"Oh, several, but Alpha Centauri was the first one, and it's still the best." The Doctor said, setting in a few co-ordinates to take them into the vortex.

"We have a few days to look at the maps, and sort out the bookings for the rides and things, then, off we go." The Doctor said enthusiastically. 

Ianto shook his head, stunned. They were going to a planet owned by disney, then he grinned. He loved his life.

Comments

[taffimai.livejournal.com]

First: Happy birthday!!!

Second; I love this 'verse. So much lovely fluff and h/c.

[amythest-n-ice.livejournal.com]

Item 1) Thank you! *grins* getting old now, a fact which was announced on local radio by my mum *frowns*

Item 2) I'm glad you like this little universe, I enjoy writing them. You'll be pleased to know that Home for Christmas is now completed.

[k1mono.livejournal.com]

Another gift for us, you made us wait and it was worth it

Loved the Bobby moments and Ianto's mum well what can I say she certainly can't be fooled and is wonderfully accepting.

So Jack is up the duff again ( giggle, ) gotta love how Ianto and number 10 managed to get Bobby to call Jack "Mama".

Are we going to see Time Baby number 2?

[miss-zedem.livejournal.com]

I've been offline for a couple of days, so I'm playing catch up, but I just had to let you know how much I'm loving this! Bobby is adorable, I love Ianto's mam, and whee! Jack's pregnant again! *bounces*

[adafrog.livejournal.com]

OMG, I can't believe I missed these middle ones. Loved it. And I totally adore a planet bought by Disney. *snort*

[amythest-n-ice.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it.
lol, planet disney, I'll have a ticket to there, when they do it (as they are bound to do, sooner or later, *snicker*)

[adafrog.livejournal.com]

lol I wouldn't be surprised.