[Torchwood] "Fatherhood-To-Be" (PG-13)
Author's Note: Written for 
comment_fic's Any, any, "To become a parent is to choose to forever have your heart walking around outside your body.". Featuring Ianto and his sister Rhiannon, implied Jack/Ianto and veiled references to mpreg. Part of the "Never Doing That Again??" series.
"Rhi, can we talk face to face? There's something important that I need to tell you," Ianto had said, over the phone. The urgency in his tone had prompted her to meet with him later that very day, in a park where they often met when they needed to talk, a place where they'd been having important talks since they were kids.
"I'm going to be a father," Ianto said, his cheeks turning pink, as they sat across from each other at a picnic table.
Well, that was a surprise: his worried tone had made her wonder if the news was something dire. "Congratulations! So... are you and your feller adoptin'?" she asked.
"No, it's... the child is mine, partly," Ianto replied, hesitating, awkward. Understandable: he'd always been so shy about personal things, it came as no surprise that he'd be falling over his words, trying to tell her about something as big as this.
She reached out and covered her brother's hand, pressing it gently. "No wonder you're blushin'," she said. "Does he know? How's he feel about it?"
"Yes, oh... yes, he knows all about it: he's a bit perplexed, but I suppose anyone would be in this situation," Ianto replied, hesitant, holding something back. She supposed it was none of her business what her brother did with whom, behind closed doors, but she suspected something, she just wasn't sure what.
"Is the mother someone you know?" she asked, dropping her voice to a whisper.
"Yes, he... Jack, he's fine with it: was a bit shocked when he found out, but he's adjusting," Ianto said. "He's had a family, so he's... no stranger to raising children. But I'm... I don't know where to start."
"She's keeping the baby, then?"
He nodded. "We're taking care of it... him or her, whichever."
"Big job, taking care of a child. But if he's had experience, I'm sure you'll do well. But it's a wonderful thing, seein' a little piece o' yerself runnin' about."
"Is that how it feels, being a parent, having a child?"
She smiled at him, nodding. "For all the trouble that Micha and David give me, I wouldn't give them away, even if someone offered to get 'em off my hands. Not an easy thing to say when they're fightin' or David's soaked his sheets, but when all's said and done, they're m' pride an' joy. They're a bit o' me and Johnny runnin' about, something we made."
Ianto's shoulders looked less tense. She reached out and patted his arm, giving him a reassuring smile. "You'll do fine: you've a good heart and a kind soul. What a child needs most: a father that loves 'em. And if yer man loves you as much as he seems to, you'll make a good family."
"Thanks, Rhi. It means a lot."
"Don't look so glum: you'll be fine. You'll have yer days when your kid will drive you nuts, but they'll do something or say something that makes it all worth the trouble."
Ianto managed to crack a smile of his own, visibly breathing easier. She still noted something in his eyes, as if he had more to say, but she wouldn't press him, not now, not till he was ready to share it.
comment_fic's Any, any, "To become a parent is to choose to forever have your heart walking around outside your body.". Featuring Ianto and his sister Rhiannon, implied Jack/Ianto and veiled references to mpreg. Part of the "Never Doing That Again??" series.
"Rhi, can we talk face to face? There's something important that I need to tell you," Ianto had said, over the phone. The urgency in his tone had prompted her to meet with him later that very day, in a park where they often met when they needed to talk, a place where they'd been having important talks since they were kids.
"I'm going to be a father," Ianto said, his cheeks turning pink, as they sat across from each other at a picnic table.
Well, that was a surprise: his worried tone had made her wonder if the news was something dire. "Congratulations! So... are you and your feller adoptin'?" she asked.
"No, it's... the child is mine, partly," Ianto replied, hesitating, awkward. Understandable: he'd always been so shy about personal things, it came as no surprise that he'd be falling over his words, trying to tell her about something as big as this.
She reached out and covered her brother's hand, pressing it gently. "No wonder you're blushin'," she said. "Does he know? How's he feel about it?"
"Yes, oh... yes, he knows all about it: he's a bit perplexed, but I suppose anyone would be in this situation," Ianto replied, hesitant, holding something back. She supposed it was none of her business what her brother did with whom, behind closed doors, but she suspected something, she just wasn't sure what.
"Is the mother someone you know?" she asked, dropping her voice to a whisper.
"Yes, he... Jack, he's fine with it: was a bit shocked when he found out, but he's adjusting," Ianto said. "He's had a family, so he's... no stranger to raising children. But I'm... I don't know where to start."
"She's keeping the baby, then?"
He nodded. "We're taking care of it... him or her, whichever."
"Big job, taking care of a child. But if he's had experience, I'm sure you'll do well. But it's a wonderful thing, seein' a little piece o' yerself runnin' about."
"Is that how it feels, being a parent, having a child?"
She smiled at him, nodding. "For all the trouble that Micha and David give me, I wouldn't give them away, even if someone offered to get 'em off my hands. Not an easy thing to say when they're fightin' or David's soaked his sheets, but when all's said and done, they're m' pride an' joy. They're a bit o' me and Johnny runnin' about, something we made."
Ianto's shoulders looked less tense. She reached out and patted his arm, giving him a reassuring smile. "You'll do fine: you've a good heart and a kind soul. What a child needs most: a father that loves 'em. And if yer man loves you as much as he seems to, you'll make a good family."
"Thanks, Rhi. It means a lot."
"Don't look so glum: you'll be fine. You'll have yer days when your kid will drive you nuts, but they'll do something or say something that makes it all worth the trouble."
Ianto managed to crack a smile of his own, visibly breathing easier. She still noted something in his eyes, as if he had more to say, but she wouldn't press him, not now, not till he was ready to share it.