What About Us
What About Us - Chapter 7/22 by LilFerret
Fandom: Torchwood
Summary: Jack and Ianto have worked side by side through all types of challenges. Will this one tear them apart?
Rated: NC17/Adult
Categories: Angst, Romance
Characters/Ship: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
Spoilers: None
Warnings: Graphic Sex, MPreg
Completed: Yes
Word count: 50,700 (This chapter 2,111)
Published: 12/4/12
Author Notes: Written for NaNoWriMo 2012. I will post a chapter a day.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter List: ONE / TWO / THREE / FOUR / FIVE / SIX /SEVEN
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What About Us - Chapter 7
Despite the rocky beginning, their evening ran smoothly after their conversation. As Ianto’s stomach was feeling better they reheated the Chinese food and had a quiet dinner, then watched some evening television before calling it a night. Ianto had thought Jack would leave at that point, as he often did, but instead he stayed the night. There was no sex, as Ianto had meant what he said, but to his surprise Jack never even tried.
They drove into work the next morning and went about their normal ritual. Ianto made the first coffee of the day, still battling himself over whether or not he could have any. He’d not partaken of his favorite beverage since finding out he was pregnant, and it was a constant worry to him that he was doing everything in his power to ensure the safety of a child he wasn’t planning to keep. He told himself it was because the baby needed to be healthy for adoption. He supposed he’d decided against abortion after all.
When Owen arrived Ianto made a mental note to remember to ask him about his options, and find out everything he could about carrying his pregnancy full term. He wasn’t sure Owen was the best person to ask, since no one on the team besides the captain had ever seen a pregnant man, but he did have his years of medical experience and could at least provide him the basics.
After his morning chores were completed Ianto headed down into the archives for a couple hours. He hadn’t been able to do as much lately with his injured arm and unpredictable stomach, and the place was in desperate need of some work. He started with the newest cases and began to file them away, scowling when he saw a few files out of place and realized the archives were being mistreated during his absence.
He was well into some research on a case he’d meant to follow up on previously when he realized he was being watched. Looking up from the various reports spread out before him on the small desk he saw the captain leaning against a cabinet, arms folded and smirk on his face.
“Sir? Something I can assist you with?”
Jack shook his head. “Just thought I’d check in and see how you were doing.”
Ianto smiled. “Everything’s fine, sir. Just catching up on a backlog of work. I thought I’d take advantage of the lull.”
“You coming up for lunch?”
“When it’s time, yes,” Ianto replied. “Any requests?”
Jack pushed off the cabinet and came to stand in front of his desk, hands in pockets. He made quite a presence, without having to say a word. “Owen went off to get pizza. It’s after one, Ianto.”
Looking at his watch -he was now wearing it on the other wrist do to his arm still being in a sling - Ianto’s eyes widened. How had he lost track of so much time? That wasn’t like him.
“Sorry, sir. Did you need me to make more coffee?”
The captain chuckled. “As much as I love your coffee, that isn’t why I came down here. Though, yes, that would be lovely. Are you feeling alright?”
“Actually, yes, surprisingly. No morning sickness today.” He grimaced. “Although, now having said that, I don’t doubt I’ll get it shortly.”
Jack nodded. “Okay. Why don’t you finish up here and come up to join us? They should be back any time now.”
“I will, sir, thank you.”
Jack spun on his heal and headed out of the archives, leaving Ianto to his paperwork. He looked down, sighed, and closed the files he’d been reading. It had waited this long, it could continue to wait.
The cog wheel door rolled open as he made his way upstairs. He smiled and nodded at Owen and headed for the kitchen. After making a fresh round of coffee and adding a couple bottles of water to his tray, Ianto met everyone at the boardroom. They’d taken to leaving the door propped open to make it easier for him, even though he should really be trying to use his other arm more. What he found inside was enough to nearly make him drop everything.
“Surprise!” the others chorused.
Ianto set the tray down carefully and looked around at the pink and blue decorations hanging off of every available surface. There were ribbons, balloons, confetti that would be difficult to clean up, and a large banner proclaimed, “Congratulations!”
He wasn’t sure what to say. There really weren’t any words. Considering the fact that he hadn’t had long to process the pregnancy a party was not something he’d ever expected. And weren’t baby showers supposed to be given toward the end of a pregnancy? They’d only just discovered he was pregnant yesterday. There had to be a bad omen in there somewhere.
“I…wow.”
Gwen hurried forward, taking his hand. “I know this is completely unorthodox Ianto, but, well, so is this baby. We just wanted to let you know that we’re behind you. That you have our full support.”
“How did you all get this arranged?” he asked, looking around again at the decorations.
“The girls planned it yesterday,” Owen said, shrugging. “They sent me to the shops last night to get the cake. Bloody expensive, it was.”
Ianto gave the medic a small smile. His eyes then fell on Jack, who was watching him carefully. “You were gone all day yesterday.”
“Gwen called me last night, told me what she and Tosh were planning.”
He frowned. “The call you took last night during dinner?”
“Yup.”
“You said it was a wrong number.”
Jack smirked. “I lied.”
Ianto sat down at the table, taking in the boxes of pizza, the cake, and the bowl of punch with party cups sitting beside it. They’d really gone all out. Remarkably so, really, as they’d done all of this while he’d been hidden away in the archives.
“I’m not sure what to say,” he admitted, swallowing the lump in his throat. “Thank you.”
Gwen kissed him on the cheek and Tosh and Jack just smiled at him. Owen offered a, “Sure, whatever.”
Luckily his friends took pity on him and didn’t make a fuss. Gwen began dishing up the pizza while Tosh passed out the coffees and gave Ianto a cup of fruit punch. As they ate they discussed their current cases, the weather, their personal lives, but not the baby. He was beyond thankful for that, as all this party had served to do was make him even more confused.
“Rhys and I are going to a friend’s wedding this weekend,” said Gwen, casually. “I’m hoping it might give him a few ideas.”
“Might send him packing, is more like it,” groused Owen, mouth full of pizza.
“Owen!” scolded Tosh.
“What?”
Gwen laughed. “Oh no, not Rhys. No, he’s a good man, he is. He’ll propose, I know he will. Eventually.”
“He needs to make an honest woman out of you, Gwen Cooper,” said Jack, winking.
Gwen threw a wadded up paper napkin at him, glaring playfully. “Somebody has to.”
If Ianto were the jealous type he’d think they were flirting. Well, no, he knew they were flirting. But he’d come to expect that with Jack. He flirted with anyone and anything if it was gorgeous enough, as Tosh had said to them all when Gwen first started. But he knew that Jack was his, so it didn’t upset him. Besides, Gwen didn’t have anything to offer the man anyway.
Ianto chastised himself. Where the hell had that come from? He was getting catty and it wasn’t like him. He figured it must be the hormones.
Their lunch was long and leisurely but eventually had to come to an end. They’d all had a generous piece of cake to finish off their meals and the rest would be put away for leftovers.
“Are you sure you don’t want to take some home?” he asked the others, surprised when they shook their heads.
“It’s your cake, Ianto,” Tosh replied, patting his arm.
“Besides,” said Gwen, “we can always have more later. As long as the cravings don’t kick in and you finish it all.”
Ianto’s eyes widened as she grinned at him, and then he laughed. A nice, long laugh. He didn’t see himself getting the same cravings as women did, but then, he’d only been pregnant a couple weeks. Time would tell.
Jack helped him clean up but they left the decorations for now. He’d not been so sure about the party to begin with, but he found he did like the festivity of it. And if they were tempting fate by throwing him a party so soon, well, what did it matter in the long run? It wasn’t as if he was considering keeping the child anyway.
Owen had been thoughtful enough to request a personal vegetarian pizza with their order, and Ianto brought it down to their guest with the customary bowl of water. He set the tray down and opened the cell, then slid the tray inside. He watched as the Raspotahn eagerly tucked in. While the alien loved its spinach and broccoli, and more recently fruits and nuts, Ianto had found that as long as no meat was present, everything else was fair game. He’d even considered trying pasta, though that meant more preparation and he wasn’t looking to add more work for himself.
“We’re going to have a baby,” he told the creature, watching it savor a bite of the pizza. It looked at him, cocking its head, as if listening. “Jack and me, I mean. But we’re not going to keep it.”
The alien put down the pizza, moving to the glass barrier between them and putting its hand up to touch it. Ianto raised his eyebrows, lifting his own hand in a similar gesture. The creature began tilting its head one way and then the other. He realized that must be its way of trying to assess a situation. A moment later it backed away from the glass with sad eyes and sat back down, picking up the discarded food.
Ianto stepped away from the glass himself. “It’ll be lovely to give the gift of a child to a family that really wants one,” he explained, watching the Raspotahn eat. “We just wouldn’t be able to take care of it here in the Hub.”
He spent the next few minutes in silence, just watching, until the alien was finished with its meal. He removed the tray and left the vaults, depositing everything in the kitchen before heading up to the tourist office. He hadn’t been manning the little shop lately and it was badly in need of a good cleaning.
While he worked he thought about his situation. He might not be a traditionalist, but he’d certainly never considered having a child before he was married. The man might have committed to being in a monogamous relationship with him, but there was no real security in it. They weren’t legally bound to each other. And with Jack, that simply wasn’t a possibility. Maybe it had been back when Jack had been married the first time, but Ianto knew the captain was waiting for something, just biding his time here on Earth. And why shouldn’t he? He was a long way and a long time from where he belonged. As soon as he found whatever he was waiting for he’d be gone. Ianto could feel it in his bones. And that wasn’t fair to a child.
Ianto put his dust cloth down, rubbing his face. Who was he kidding? It wasn’t as if he’d live long enough to raise a child anyway. He knew the statistics. The probability that he’d even live to see his thirtieth birthday was so low he’d never place bets. Life just didn’t work that way at Torchwood. You were there one day, and gone shortly thereafter. It was what you signed up for when you joined.
He’d once thought about having a family with Lisa. They’d even talked about it a few times, over dinner, or even while lying in bed at night. Two point five kids. Wasn’t that the norm? He’d read that somewhere. And they would have been happy. He knew that. But it wouldn’t have changed the fact that death would have found them. It just happened a little bit sooner for Lisa than he would have ever imagined.
Shaking those morose thoughts from his mind Ianto picked up the cloth once more and began dusting the shelves with determination. He really did need to remember to speak with Owen.
Chapter 8
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