Fic: Happy Surprises
Title: Happy Surprises
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Martha.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Set after CoE, but Ianto is alive.
Summary: Jack had thought he was destined always to lose the people he loves, but that was before he met Ianto Jones, who never ceases to surprise him.
Word Count: 1321
Written For: Prompt 193 - Surprise at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
Life is full of surprises, and it’s safe to say Jack has had more than his fair share. As a kid on Boeshane, he loved them, surprises were something to look forward to, usually in the form of treats, or gifts, or being allowed to accompany his dad to work for the day. But that changed the day the aliens raided the settlement his family called home, killing his father, abducting his little brother, and leaving his mother heartbroken, little more than a shell of the happy, loving woman he’d known. That was the day he’d finally grown up, when he’d come to the realisation that not all of the surprises life had in store for him were going to be pleasant or fun.
Over the years that have followed, scattered throughout time and space thanks to his work as a Time Agent and his travels with the Doctor, the surprises have kept coming, some of them good, but most of them things Jack wishes he could have avoided. And yet, he still hasn’t completely lost the optimism of his youth. It’s just that it’s become a bit battered and has lost some of its shine over decades of bad experiences, callous treatment, and the loss of so many people he’s known and loved.
It's fortunate that he’s so resilient, because being immortal, dying repeatedly before being brought back to life by the vortex energy coursing through his body, would be more than enough to break a lesser man. Sometimes, Jack wonders if it’s the healing power of the vortex that keeps him from cracking up, repairing him not just physically but also mentally and emotionally each time he dies. It makes a weird kind of sense.
He's endured countless deaths, horrific torture, almost two thousand years of being buried alive, and so much loss that at times he can’t help but wonder how he still has the ability to fall in love, and yet despite his best intentions, he still does. His heart has been shattered more times than he cares to remember, but even so whenever someone special comes along, he lets them in even knowing the risk he’s taking. By now, his poor old heart should be nothing but a mass of scar tissue considering how many times it’s been torn apart and painstakingly pieced back together again, but somehow it still works, beating steadily in his chest, now and then skipping a beat at the sound of some special person’s voice, a smile, the touch of a hand…
After Lucia left him, taking their baby daughter with her, he’d vowed that he was done with romance for good; all it ever did was hurt him. He’d get what he needed from willing bodies, but he’d never let anyone into his heart again; falling in love simply wasn’t worth the inevitable pain. Well, so much for making promises to himself; he’s never managed to keep them for long, no matter how well-intentioned they might be, and Ianto Jones is a sneaky son of a Welshman, with his sharp suits, orgasmic coffee, and equally delicious accent. There must be a curious kind of magic inherent in Welsh vowels, or perhaps the magic resides in the man himself, because Jack is fairly certain he’s been bewitched, in a subtle and largely benevolent way.
And if falling head over heels for his divine Welshman came as a surprise, everything since then has just upped the ante. A few months ago, Jack might have believed that nothing could ever surprise him again, which just proves that he really needs to stop underestimating the man he loves. Like a magician pulling rabbit after rabbit from a top hat too small to contain even one, Ianto keeps performing unexpected and seemingly impossible miracles, to the point where Jack’s starting to suspect he has a permanent giddy grin on his face.
He'd almost managed to resign himself to the inevitability of losing his lover, probably far sooner than either of them would want, when Ianto performed his first major miracle, somehow managing to infect himself with Jack’s own unique brand of immortality. It had been a bit nerve-racking at first, but the Doctor has since confirmed that young Mr Jones is indeed as much a fixed point in time as Jack is. As surprises go, that was one of the biggest and best Jack had ever been privileged to receive. Then, because he never does anything by halves, Ianto managed an even greater miracle by falling pregnant!
Admittedly, that one has caused a number of complications over the last five months since they discovered the cause of his lover’s constant tiredness and unexpected weight gain. Ianto himself was understandably freaked out, since a regular twenty-first century man isn’t supposed to have the necessary plumbing, but alien tech can do curious things to the unsuspecting, often without anyone noticing… It’s true what they say about sufficiently advanced technology being indistinguishable from magic. According to the Doctor, who they once again had to consult for advice, the extra bits should be harmlessly reabsorbed over the course of a few days once the baby arrives. Speaking of which…
Okay, so Ianto going into labour isn’t really that much of a surprise, they both knew it was going to happen soon, if not quite THIS soon; they’d though they had a couple more weeks. But now the moment has arrived, and Jack can hardly wait to meet their baby!
“We should get married!” The thought pops into his head out of nowhere, but it feels so right that Jack doesn’t hesitate in saying it aloud.
“What?”
Jack has never heard Ianto actually squeak before. It’s adorable, and his already impossibly giddy grin grows wider in response. “Well, we should, don’t you think? We’re about to become parents.”
“I’m in labour, and that strikes you as the perfect moment to propose?”
Jack almost laughs out loud; seems this time he’s the one managing to surprise Ianto.
“Just a thought. I mean, we don’t have to do it right this minute…”
“I should think not! I’m a bit busy at present, and you should be too!”
“Right, right.” Jack nods agreement so hard that he goes a bit dizzy for a moment, then pulls himself together and helps his lover out of the car. Martha is waiting in the rebuilt Hub’s new, state-of-the-art medical suite to perform the caesarean, because even with the correct internal plumbing to accommodate a pregnancy there are some things a male body just isn’t equipped for. “We can discuss plans for the wedding later,” he says as he helps Ianto waddle towards the delivery room.
“I didn’t even say yes yet!” Ianto points out peevishly.
“You will though.” Jack is absolutely sure of that.
“I expect a proper proposal first, just not right now!”
A little over an hour later, with Jack cradling their little bundle of joy, and Ianto’s incision already mostly healed, Jack tries broaching the subject again.
“Would now be a good time?”
“Huh?” Ianto drags his attention from the baby in Jack’s arms, still amazed that he’s somehow grown a whole new human inside him. Women do it all the time, but still… This is a first for him. “A good time for what?”
Jack grins, sliding carefully out of the chair and lowering himself to one knee. “Ianto Jones, will you do me the honour of becoming my husband and make me the happiest man in the universe?”
Ianto rolls his eyes in exasperation. “Yes, twpsyn. Now hand me our son. I haven’t had a proper look at him yet.”
Beaming with happiness, Jack settles the baby into his soon-to-be husband’s arms, wondering what other wonderful surprises might be in store for them as their future together unfolds. It’s hard to imagine anything ever topping this, and yet he wouldn’t want to bet against it, not where Ianto Jones is concerned.
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Martha.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Set after CoE, but Ianto is alive.
Summary: Jack had thought he was destined always to lose the people he loves, but that was before he met Ianto Jones, who never ceases to surprise him.
Word Count: 1321
Written For: Prompt 193 - Surprise at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
Life is full of surprises, and it’s safe to say Jack has had more than his fair share. As a kid on Boeshane, he loved them, surprises were something to look forward to, usually in the form of treats, or gifts, or being allowed to accompany his dad to work for the day. But that changed the day the aliens raided the settlement his family called home, killing his father, abducting his little brother, and leaving his mother heartbroken, little more than a shell of the happy, loving woman he’d known. That was the day he’d finally grown up, when he’d come to the realisation that not all of the surprises life had in store for him were going to be pleasant or fun.
Over the years that have followed, scattered throughout time and space thanks to his work as a Time Agent and his travels with the Doctor, the surprises have kept coming, some of them good, but most of them things Jack wishes he could have avoided. And yet, he still hasn’t completely lost the optimism of his youth. It’s just that it’s become a bit battered and has lost some of its shine over decades of bad experiences, callous treatment, and the loss of so many people he’s known and loved.
It's fortunate that he’s so resilient, because being immortal, dying repeatedly before being brought back to life by the vortex energy coursing through his body, would be more than enough to break a lesser man. Sometimes, Jack wonders if it’s the healing power of the vortex that keeps him from cracking up, repairing him not just physically but also mentally and emotionally each time he dies. It makes a weird kind of sense.
He's endured countless deaths, horrific torture, almost two thousand years of being buried alive, and so much loss that at times he can’t help but wonder how he still has the ability to fall in love, and yet despite his best intentions, he still does. His heart has been shattered more times than he cares to remember, but even so whenever someone special comes along, he lets them in even knowing the risk he’s taking. By now, his poor old heart should be nothing but a mass of scar tissue considering how many times it’s been torn apart and painstakingly pieced back together again, but somehow it still works, beating steadily in his chest, now and then skipping a beat at the sound of some special person’s voice, a smile, the touch of a hand…
After Lucia left him, taking their baby daughter with her, he’d vowed that he was done with romance for good; all it ever did was hurt him. He’d get what he needed from willing bodies, but he’d never let anyone into his heart again; falling in love simply wasn’t worth the inevitable pain. Well, so much for making promises to himself; he’s never managed to keep them for long, no matter how well-intentioned they might be, and Ianto Jones is a sneaky son of a Welshman, with his sharp suits, orgasmic coffee, and equally delicious accent. There must be a curious kind of magic inherent in Welsh vowels, or perhaps the magic resides in the man himself, because Jack is fairly certain he’s been bewitched, in a subtle and largely benevolent way.
And if falling head over heels for his divine Welshman came as a surprise, everything since then has just upped the ante. A few months ago, Jack might have believed that nothing could ever surprise him again, which just proves that he really needs to stop underestimating the man he loves. Like a magician pulling rabbit after rabbit from a top hat too small to contain even one, Ianto keeps performing unexpected and seemingly impossible miracles, to the point where Jack’s starting to suspect he has a permanent giddy grin on his face.
He'd almost managed to resign himself to the inevitability of losing his lover, probably far sooner than either of them would want, when Ianto performed his first major miracle, somehow managing to infect himself with Jack’s own unique brand of immortality. It had been a bit nerve-racking at first, but the Doctor has since confirmed that young Mr Jones is indeed as much a fixed point in time as Jack is. As surprises go, that was one of the biggest and best Jack had ever been privileged to receive. Then, because he never does anything by halves, Ianto managed an even greater miracle by falling pregnant!
Admittedly, that one has caused a number of complications over the last five months since they discovered the cause of his lover’s constant tiredness and unexpected weight gain. Ianto himself was understandably freaked out, since a regular twenty-first century man isn’t supposed to have the necessary plumbing, but alien tech can do curious things to the unsuspecting, often without anyone noticing… It’s true what they say about sufficiently advanced technology being indistinguishable from magic. According to the Doctor, who they once again had to consult for advice, the extra bits should be harmlessly reabsorbed over the course of a few days once the baby arrives. Speaking of which…
Okay, so Ianto going into labour isn’t really that much of a surprise, they both knew it was going to happen soon, if not quite THIS soon; they’d though they had a couple more weeks. But now the moment has arrived, and Jack can hardly wait to meet their baby!
“We should get married!” The thought pops into his head out of nowhere, but it feels so right that Jack doesn’t hesitate in saying it aloud.
“What?”
Jack has never heard Ianto actually squeak before. It’s adorable, and his already impossibly giddy grin grows wider in response. “Well, we should, don’t you think? We’re about to become parents.”
“I’m in labour, and that strikes you as the perfect moment to propose?”
Jack almost laughs out loud; seems this time he’s the one managing to surprise Ianto.
“Just a thought. I mean, we don’t have to do it right this minute…”
“I should think not! I’m a bit busy at present, and you should be too!”
“Right, right.” Jack nods agreement so hard that he goes a bit dizzy for a moment, then pulls himself together and helps his lover out of the car. Martha is waiting in the rebuilt Hub’s new, state-of-the-art medical suite to perform the caesarean, because even with the correct internal plumbing to accommodate a pregnancy there are some things a male body just isn’t equipped for. “We can discuss plans for the wedding later,” he says as he helps Ianto waddle towards the delivery room.
“I didn’t even say yes yet!” Ianto points out peevishly.
“You will though.” Jack is absolutely sure of that.
“I expect a proper proposal first, just not right now!”
A little over an hour later, with Jack cradling their little bundle of joy, and Ianto’s incision already mostly healed, Jack tries broaching the subject again.
“Would now be a good time?”
“Huh?” Ianto drags his attention from the baby in Jack’s arms, still amazed that he’s somehow grown a whole new human inside him. Women do it all the time, but still… This is a first for him. “A good time for what?”
Jack grins, sliding carefully out of the chair and lowering himself to one knee. “Ianto Jones, will you do me the honour of becoming my husband and make me the happiest man in the universe?”
Ianto rolls his eyes in exasperation. “Yes, twpsyn. Now hand me our son. I haven’t had a proper look at him yet.”
Beaming with happiness, Jack settles the baby into his soon-to-be husband’s arms, wondering what other wonderful surprises might be in store for them as their future together unfolds. It’s hard to imagine anything ever topping this, and yet he wouldn’t want to bet against it, not where Ianto Jones is concerned.
The End