Fic: Holding The Baby
Title: Holding The Baby
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Nosy, Ianto, Jack, OC.
Rating: G
Word Count: 1111
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Jack and Ianto’s daughter has just been born, and everyone wants their turn holding her.
Written For: Challenge 329: Hold at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
Head in Ianto’s lap, Nosy gazed adoringly at the new member of the family. This small, pink bundle with its scrunched-up face was the youngling that had been growing inside Jack for the past nine months, causing his body to swell, making him awkward and ungainly.
Nosy had been happy to help Jack when he’d reached the point where he could no longer bend to pick things up, so it had stayed home with its friend while Ianto had gone to work every day. During those last few weeks of Jack’s pregnancy, Nosy had spent a great deal of time getting acquainted with the new life inside Jack, humming to it, and feeling it move. That had been exciting, but now the youngling was finally here, out in the open, where it could be seen and heard and smelled instead of just felt. It was such a wonderful thing, a tiny baby human! Nosy didn’t think it would ever tire of watching the little one. Every movement it made was fascinating.
Jack and Ianto had cooed over their baby, admiring everything about it while Owen cleaned up the mess that had been made taking it out of Jack’s body. Nosy thought that process was a bit inefficient; Fluff budding was far cleaner and neater, and a Fluff didn’t require assistance to detach its young from its body, but humans did things differently, which made sense. Humans weren’t Fluffs and couldn’t be expected to behave like Fluffs. If they did, they wouldn’t be humans.
Once everywhere was cleaned up and Owen had left, Jack and Ianto had cleaned their baby, washing it in a bowl of warm water. That was when Nosy had been told it was a little girl, a female human like Tosh, and Gwen, and Ianto’s sister Rhiannon, although obviously a lot smaller. Humans, it seemed, grew very slowly and unlike Fluffs, were completely helpless at birth, dependent on their parents for everything. It would take years for the baby to grow into a big human, but Flufflets grew slowly too so that at least didn’t seem strange.
The baby made a lot of noises while it was being cleaned, seeming distressed by the wetness of the water and all of the unfamiliar sights, sounds, scents, and sensations she was being subjected to, so Nosy stayed close, humming soothingly, and baby quietened, recognising the comforting sound she had heard so many times while she was inside Jack. When she was clean and dry, Jack and Ianto dressed her in tiny little clothes, and then Jack went to clean himself up and find some fresh clothes Now that he didn’t have a big lump in his middle, the clothes he’d been wearing before the baby was removed would be much too big.
“Take your time,” Ianto told him. “There’s no need to rush. We’ll be fine.”
“You just want to hog the baby,” Jack accused, wavering halfway to the door, obviously torn between wanting a hot shower and staying with his new-born daughter.
“You’ve been carrying her for nine months; it’s about time I got a turn.” Ianto smiled up at his husband. “You can hold her again once you’re clean; you don’t want to mess up her clothes, do you?”
“She’ll be doing that herself soon enough.” Jack leaned over to kiss the baby and his husband. “I love you both. My perfect little family. I won’t be long.” With a final look back from the doorway, Jack left the room, and Nosy joined Ianto and the baby. It hadn’t wanted to intrude too much before, reluctant to get in the way; bonding with a youngling was an important process, but it was only fair to let its human friends bond with their child first. Nosy had known its turn would come, and now seemed to be the right moment.
Ianto welcomed the Fluff, introducing it to the baby, who had no name yet. He took one of the baby’s tiny pink hands and rested it gently on Nosy’s snout, moving it in a stroking motion.
“There, little one, that’s Nosy, your special friend. Nosy’s going to love you and care for you just as much as your daddy and I will. You’ll never have to be alone, and you’ll never have to be afraid. The only monster you’ll ever have under your bed will be this one. It’ll scare all the nasty monsters away.”
“Hummmm,” Nosy agreed. It knew monsters under the bed weren’t a real thing, although being Torchwood, there was always a slim possibility that something monster-like might wind up under someone’s bed, but Nosy would make sure that never happened to this youngling. Its duty was to protect her, watch over her, teach her, and keep her safe. That was a huge responsibility, but a welcome one.
Jack returned, clean and dressed, his hair still damp. “Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. Nosy has just been getting to know its new charge.”
“We really do have to decide on a name for her.” Jack sat down beside Ianto, sliding a finger into the baby’s tiny fist. Miniscule fingers tightened around it and Jack’s breath caught in his throat. “Look, Ianto! She’s holding my finger.”
“I can see that.”
Nosy hummed approval.
The baby opened her eyes, yawned, and closed them again.
“Yes, you sleep.” Jack smiled at his little girl. “You’ve had a very busy day.”
“We should feed her, shouldn’t we?”
“In a little while. She’ll let us know when she’s hungry.” Carefully, Jack eased his finger from the baby’s grip and reached to pick her up.
Ianto relinquished her a little reluctantly. “I can see we’re going to be passing her back and forth for the rest of the day.”
“Probably, but what’s wrong with that? We’re bonding with our daughter. There’s someone else who deserves a turn too though.” Jack turned to Nosy. “Would you like to hold the baby?”
Nosy goggled with excitement. “HUMMM!” Quickly it arranged its coils into a soft, comfy nest, and Jack set the blanket-wrapped bundle of baby in the middle. Carefully, Nosy rearranged the blanket where it had slipped a little, and hummed very softly, flexing its coils to gently rock the baby back and forth, the way both Ianto and Jack had been doing earlier.
“Who needs a nanny?” Jack said with a smile. “We’ve got a Fluff, and that’s so much better. Our daughter’s going to get thoroughly spoiled.”
Leaning over, Ianto kissed Jack. “I’d say that’s pretty much guaranteed.” Picking up his camera, he started to take photographs of Nosy and the baby; this was a moment none of them would ever want to forget.
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Nosy, Ianto, Jack, OC.
Rating: G
Word Count: 1111
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Jack and Ianto’s daughter has just been born, and everyone wants their turn holding her.
Written For: Challenge 329: Hold at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
Head in Ianto’s lap, Nosy gazed adoringly at the new member of the family. This small, pink bundle with its scrunched-up face was the youngling that had been growing inside Jack for the past nine months, causing his body to swell, making him awkward and ungainly.
Nosy had been happy to help Jack when he’d reached the point where he could no longer bend to pick things up, so it had stayed home with its friend while Ianto had gone to work every day. During those last few weeks of Jack’s pregnancy, Nosy had spent a great deal of time getting acquainted with the new life inside Jack, humming to it, and feeling it move. That had been exciting, but now the youngling was finally here, out in the open, where it could be seen and heard and smelled instead of just felt. It was such a wonderful thing, a tiny baby human! Nosy didn’t think it would ever tire of watching the little one. Every movement it made was fascinating.
Jack and Ianto had cooed over their baby, admiring everything about it while Owen cleaned up the mess that had been made taking it out of Jack’s body. Nosy thought that process was a bit inefficient; Fluff budding was far cleaner and neater, and a Fluff didn’t require assistance to detach its young from its body, but humans did things differently, which made sense. Humans weren’t Fluffs and couldn’t be expected to behave like Fluffs. If they did, they wouldn’t be humans.
Once everywhere was cleaned up and Owen had left, Jack and Ianto had cleaned their baby, washing it in a bowl of warm water. That was when Nosy had been told it was a little girl, a female human like Tosh, and Gwen, and Ianto’s sister Rhiannon, although obviously a lot smaller. Humans, it seemed, grew very slowly and unlike Fluffs, were completely helpless at birth, dependent on their parents for everything. It would take years for the baby to grow into a big human, but Flufflets grew slowly too so that at least didn’t seem strange.
The baby made a lot of noises while it was being cleaned, seeming distressed by the wetness of the water and all of the unfamiliar sights, sounds, scents, and sensations she was being subjected to, so Nosy stayed close, humming soothingly, and baby quietened, recognising the comforting sound she had heard so many times while she was inside Jack. When she was clean and dry, Jack and Ianto dressed her in tiny little clothes, and then Jack went to clean himself up and find some fresh clothes Now that he didn’t have a big lump in his middle, the clothes he’d been wearing before the baby was removed would be much too big.
“Take your time,” Ianto told him. “There’s no need to rush. We’ll be fine.”
“You just want to hog the baby,” Jack accused, wavering halfway to the door, obviously torn between wanting a hot shower and staying with his new-born daughter.
“You’ve been carrying her for nine months; it’s about time I got a turn.” Ianto smiled up at his husband. “You can hold her again once you’re clean; you don’t want to mess up her clothes, do you?”
“She’ll be doing that herself soon enough.” Jack leaned over to kiss the baby and his husband. “I love you both. My perfect little family. I won’t be long.” With a final look back from the doorway, Jack left the room, and Nosy joined Ianto and the baby. It hadn’t wanted to intrude too much before, reluctant to get in the way; bonding with a youngling was an important process, but it was only fair to let its human friends bond with their child first. Nosy had known its turn would come, and now seemed to be the right moment.
Ianto welcomed the Fluff, introducing it to the baby, who had no name yet. He took one of the baby’s tiny pink hands and rested it gently on Nosy’s snout, moving it in a stroking motion.
“There, little one, that’s Nosy, your special friend. Nosy’s going to love you and care for you just as much as your daddy and I will. You’ll never have to be alone, and you’ll never have to be afraid. The only monster you’ll ever have under your bed will be this one. It’ll scare all the nasty monsters away.”
“Hummmm,” Nosy agreed. It knew monsters under the bed weren’t a real thing, although being Torchwood, there was always a slim possibility that something monster-like might wind up under someone’s bed, but Nosy would make sure that never happened to this youngling. Its duty was to protect her, watch over her, teach her, and keep her safe. That was a huge responsibility, but a welcome one.
Jack returned, clean and dressed, his hair still damp. “Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. Nosy has just been getting to know its new charge.”
“We really do have to decide on a name for her.” Jack sat down beside Ianto, sliding a finger into the baby’s tiny fist. Miniscule fingers tightened around it and Jack’s breath caught in his throat. “Look, Ianto! She’s holding my finger.”
“I can see that.”
Nosy hummed approval.
The baby opened her eyes, yawned, and closed them again.
“Yes, you sleep.” Jack smiled at his little girl. “You’ve had a very busy day.”
“We should feed her, shouldn’t we?”
“In a little while. She’ll let us know when she’s hungry.” Carefully, Jack eased his finger from the baby’s grip and reached to pick her up.
Ianto relinquished her a little reluctantly. “I can see we’re going to be passing her back and forth for the rest of the day.”
“Probably, but what’s wrong with that? We’re bonding with our daughter. There’s someone else who deserves a turn too though.” Jack turned to Nosy. “Would you like to hold the baby?”
Nosy goggled with excitement. “HUMMM!” Quickly it arranged its coils into a soft, comfy nest, and Jack set the blanket-wrapped bundle of baby in the middle. Carefully, Nosy rearranged the blanket where it had slipped a little, and hummed very softly, flexing its coils to gently rock the baby back and forth, the way both Ianto and Jack had been doing earlier.
“Who needs a nanny?” Jack said with a smile. “We’ve got a Fluff, and that’s so much better. Our daughter’s going to get thoroughly spoiled.”
Leaning over, Ianto kissed Jack. “I’d say that’s pretty much guaranteed.” Picking up his camera, he started to take photographs of Nosy and the baby; this was a moment none of them would ever want to forget.
The End