The Guardian [5/5]
Title: The Guardian (part 5 of 5)
Author: Madam Backslash
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Assume spoilage for everything up to and including Children of Earth
Cast: This part: Mica Davies, Jack, OCs
Pairing/s: Canon
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters and am not making money out of them
Notes: All hail my best friend, heart-sister and beta reader estoile. Without her, this quite literally would not have been written.
2034 CE
Mica Davies walked through the open field to the edge of the trees with her son on one hip and holding her daughter's hand.
"Put the flowers by the stone so he can see them, Anwen. Yes, that's right, just there. Rhodri, if I put you down, you have to stay with us. No running off."
Seven-year-old Anwen looked up at her mother with the serious brown eyes that ran in her father's family. Her father, Morgan Davidson, was standing a little way off, watching on, but wanting to give Mica and the children some privacy.
Mica put Rhodri down, and the three-year-old held his mother's hand as if his life depended on it.
Anwen sat on the grass and pulled up some daisies to make a daisy chain. After a few seconds, Mica joined her, asking Rhodri if he would like to sit on her lap. He said yes, and curled up with his arms around her.
"Why do we come here, Mam?" Rhodri asked, watching his sister split daisy stems to link the flowers together.
"Because this place is special to me and my family, and I want it to be special to you, too. A place where you can get some peace when it feels like the whole world is going mad."
"But why here? There's just daisies and trees. No roses and no dogs. Just trees," Rhodri said, sounding disappointed.
Mica sighed and pushed her dark wavy hair back from her forehead. Gathering Rhodri up in her arms, she asked "Do you want me to tell you the story of why this place is so special?"
"It's a good story," Anwen said, looking at her brother with an enigmatic half-smile. "You'll like it."
Mica smiled at Anwen, and then brushed a loose curl back from Rhodri's forehead.
"When I was a little girl, bigger than you, but not as big as your sister, some monsters came down out of the sky and said they wanted to take away a lot of children from around the world. They said that if we didn't let them take the children, they would kill everybody on Earth. Everybody, no exceptions. No humans left at all!
"Everybody was really scared, so they said the monsters could have the children, including me and your Uncle David." Rhodri gasped in horror. "Yeah, scared like that. A few people decided this was wrong, so fought to save the children. Mam-gu Davies hid us and a lot of our friends from the people who wanted to take us to the monsters while Tad-cu and some of his friends fought them off. Tad-cu Davidson had come to make sure we were safe, and he joined in to help, too. I was so proud."
Rhodri listened intently, seeing a whole new side of his grandparents.
"One of the people who was working trying to get us free died when the monsters fought back against them. His name was Ianto Jones, and he was my uncle."
Rhodri frowned, thoughtfully, then looked up at his mother. "But that's a sad story."
"No, not really," Mica said, smiling.
"But you were chased by bad guys and your uncle died. That's a sad story," Rhodri reiterated, giving his mother a resolute look that reminded her so much of Ianto that it made her heart ache.
"It's not sad, because even though he died, the people he was working with found a way to beat the monsters. They went away and will never come back, which means they are never going to be a threat to any children any more.
"And it's not sad because my uncle Ianto is dead, but he's still here. Both your grandmothers -- my mum, Ianto's sister, and your daddy's Mam Llinos, who was Ianto's friend when he was growing up, campaigned to have him buried here in his favourite spot, where he always used to come when he wanted peace and to feel protected. Let me show you his stone, look." Mica put Rhodri down and stood up. Taking his mother's hand, Rhodri allowed himself to be led the short distance to the flat stone that Anwen had put her flowers on.
The stone itself was a simple thing, with the inscription
IANTO JONES
1983 - 2009
GUARDIAN
and a knotwork border.
"Your uncle Ianto is under here?" Rhodri asked, looking intently at the black stone.
"Yup."
"Hello, Uncle Ianto!" Rhodri called, waving his free hand. "Thank you for looking after my mum and my uncle David!"
"And now you know he's here, he can look after you, too."
"We can all look after each other," said Anwen, who had come up to join them, holding Mica's other hand.
"Yeah," Morgan added, coming up to complete the family gathering.
"We can all look after each other."
2109 CE
It had been a beautiful summer day, sun beating down, dogs barking happily as they played with their families in the grass, a just-cool-enough breeze blowing through the trees.
The tall dark-haired man walked through the clearing as the sun began to set, throwing long shadows across his face.
He stopped when he came to the simple monument -- a black stone set in the ground with some writing and a decorative border. People had left offerings by the stone -- flowers, mostly. Some had put small stones on the larger one. Toys. A model Harwoods lorry. A small windmill, like the kind you find at fairs.
The man stood silently for a long moment, looking at the stone and the gifts that had been left.
He crouched down and dug a small hole in the earth beside the stone, using a pocket knife and his fingers. He put his hand into his trouser pocket and pulled out a pair of silver cufflinks in the shape of Spitfires, holding them in his fist briefly before placing them in the hole and filling it in.
He brushed his fingers over the name inscribed on the stone.
"I told you I'd remember you. That you weren't just a blip in time. Happy birthday, Ianto Jones. See you in another hundred years."
Then he stood up, staying silent for another long moment, before turning and walking away across the twilit grass.
Part Four
Master List
Author: Madam Backslash
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Assume spoilage for everything up to and including Children of Earth
Cast: This part: Mica Davies, Jack, OCs
Pairing/s: Canon
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters and am not making money out of them
Notes: All hail my best friend, heart-sister and beta reader estoile. Without her, this quite literally would not have been written.
2034 CE
Mica Davies walked through the open field to the edge of the trees with her son on one hip and holding her daughter's hand.
"Put the flowers by the stone so he can see them, Anwen. Yes, that's right, just there. Rhodri, if I put you down, you have to stay with us. No running off."
Seven-year-old Anwen looked up at her mother with the serious brown eyes that ran in her father's family. Her father, Morgan Davidson, was standing a little way off, watching on, but wanting to give Mica and the children some privacy.
Mica put Rhodri down, and the three-year-old held his mother's hand as if his life depended on it.
Anwen sat on the grass and pulled up some daisies to make a daisy chain. After a few seconds, Mica joined her, asking Rhodri if he would like to sit on her lap. He said yes, and curled up with his arms around her.
"Why do we come here, Mam?" Rhodri asked, watching his sister split daisy stems to link the flowers together.
"Because this place is special to me and my family, and I want it to be special to you, too. A place where you can get some peace when it feels like the whole world is going mad."
"But why here? There's just daisies and trees. No roses and no dogs. Just trees," Rhodri said, sounding disappointed.
Mica sighed and pushed her dark wavy hair back from her forehead. Gathering Rhodri up in her arms, she asked "Do you want me to tell you the story of why this place is so special?"
"It's a good story," Anwen said, looking at her brother with an enigmatic half-smile. "You'll like it."
Mica smiled at Anwen, and then brushed a loose curl back from Rhodri's forehead.
"When I was a little girl, bigger than you, but not as big as your sister, some monsters came down out of the sky and said they wanted to take away a lot of children from around the world. They said that if we didn't let them take the children, they would kill everybody on Earth. Everybody, no exceptions. No humans left at all!
"Everybody was really scared, so they said the monsters could have the children, including me and your Uncle David." Rhodri gasped in horror. "Yeah, scared like that. A few people decided this was wrong, so fought to save the children. Mam-gu Davies hid us and a lot of our friends from the people who wanted to take us to the monsters while Tad-cu and some of his friends fought them off. Tad-cu Davidson had come to make sure we were safe, and he joined in to help, too. I was so proud."
Rhodri listened intently, seeing a whole new side of his grandparents.
"One of the people who was working trying to get us free died when the monsters fought back against them. His name was Ianto Jones, and he was my uncle."
Rhodri frowned, thoughtfully, then looked up at his mother. "But that's a sad story."
"No, not really," Mica said, smiling.
"But you were chased by bad guys and your uncle died. That's a sad story," Rhodri reiterated, giving his mother a resolute look that reminded her so much of Ianto that it made her heart ache.
"It's not sad, because even though he died, the people he was working with found a way to beat the monsters. They went away and will never come back, which means they are never going to be a threat to any children any more.
"And it's not sad because my uncle Ianto is dead, but he's still here. Both your grandmothers -- my mum, Ianto's sister, and your daddy's Mam Llinos, who was Ianto's friend when he was growing up, campaigned to have him buried here in his favourite spot, where he always used to come when he wanted peace and to feel protected. Let me show you his stone, look." Mica put Rhodri down and stood up. Taking his mother's hand, Rhodri allowed himself to be led the short distance to the flat stone that Anwen had put her flowers on.
The stone itself was a simple thing, with the inscription
IANTO JONES
1983 - 2009
GUARDIAN
and a knotwork border.
"Your uncle Ianto is under here?" Rhodri asked, looking intently at the black stone.
"Yup."
"Hello, Uncle Ianto!" Rhodri called, waving his free hand. "Thank you for looking after my mum and my uncle David!"
"And now you know he's here, he can look after you, too."
"We can all look after each other," said Anwen, who had come up to join them, holding Mica's other hand.
"Yeah," Morgan added, coming up to complete the family gathering.
"We can all look after each other."
2109 CE
It had been a beautiful summer day, sun beating down, dogs barking happily as they played with their families in the grass, a just-cool-enough breeze blowing through the trees.
The tall dark-haired man walked through the clearing as the sun began to set, throwing long shadows across his face.
He stopped when he came to the simple monument -- a black stone set in the ground with some writing and a decorative border. People had left offerings by the stone -- flowers, mostly. Some had put small stones on the larger one. Toys. A model Harwoods lorry. A small windmill, like the kind you find at fairs.
The man stood silently for a long moment, looking at the stone and the gifts that had been left.
He crouched down and dug a small hole in the earth beside the stone, using a pocket knife and his fingers. He put his hand into his trouser pocket and pulled out a pair of silver cufflinks in the shape of Spitfires, holding them in his fist briefly before placing them in the hole and filling it in.
He brushed his fingers over the name inscribed on the stone.
"I told you I'd remember you. That you weren't just a blip in time. Happy birthday, Ianto Jones. See you in another hundred years."
Then he stood up, staying silent for another long moment, before turning and walking away across the twilit grass.
Part Four
Master List