Year of the Cat - Chapter 9
Title: Year of the Cat - Chapter 9
Characters: Jack/Ianto, Gwen, Martha, other canon, some OC
Rating: say M for language and later situations
Spoilers: includes info up to end of season 2. (and some for Finding Nemo - Candy said I should warn ya!)
Disclaimer: Don't own - but wish I did...Author's Note: There are some mega formatting issues with this journal, so I apologize for anything that goes all wonky. I would love to do summaries of the chapters, but I feel like that gives too much away - but this one is focused on Jack and Ianto and there is another bit of the dream. That having been said, I want to thank the the trio once again! candybree, mrsalemp, and thrace_adams.
“Ianto?” Jack called as he walked through the door, not sure what to expect. What he found made him laugh. Ianto was on the couch, his arm draped lazily across the child's shoulder. Both were fast asleep as the menu for 'Finding Nemo' played. Jack carefully took off his coat and hung it before taking off his shoes.
Ianto had already eaten and fed Henry, the mess that was still in the kitchen proved that. Jack got himself an apple from the refrigerator and went to sit beside them, turning the movie on to watch it himself.
Ianto woke to the sound of Jack sniffling. “What is it?” He asked groggily, not awake enough to understand who was making the noise yet. “Why are you crying?” Ianto looked down at Henry, but saw that the boy was still asleep.
“I can't help it,” Jack whispered. “This is sad.” He put his head on Ianto's shoulder. “All he wanted was to have a home and then - everything...everything fell apart.” Jack sucked in a breath of realization. “Oh God, Yan -” Jack pulled away to look at Ianto's face. “That's you.”
Ianto shook his head. “Jack, you haven't even seen the rest of the movie.”
“I don't know if I want to - I thought this was supposed to be a kid's movie anyway. You let Henry watch this?”
Ianto laughed. “He loves the turtles.”
“There are turtles? Where can turtles possibly fit in in this? I mean, look, there's the baby fish - and his fin is all - well, wonky. He could get hurt if he goes out like that! I don't see any turtles in this part...” Jack was rambling the reasons that the story Ianto was telling him was flawed.
“Jack,” Ianto put a finger to Jack's lips. “It's fine. And because I know that it will upset you if you don't know he's okay, I am going to tell you the quick version.” He waited for Jack to stop trying to talk around his finger before continuing. “The 'baby fish' as you called him is named Nemo - it's him they have to find...”
“See? I told you! He could get hurt out there! I mean...right, shutting up and listening now.”
“Yes, he gets lost, but they don't give up trying to find him. And he has lots of adventures and meets lots of friends along the way - like Dory - she's my favorite. Sometimes it seems like he'll be lost forever, but he's not. They find him.” Ianto assured Jack simply. “Just watch.”
“They don't stop looking?” Jack asked, looking into Ianto's eyes.
“Nope.” Ianto shook his head slowly, not breaking eye contact. “And they never will. No matter how many times you watch it.”
Jack laughed a little. “How many times have you seen it?”
“Three today.” Ianto looked down at Henry. “But if you are asking me about overall - I can't tell you. I lost count at a hundred.”
Jack was a bit surprised by that. “Is this your favorite Disney movie?”
“No, it was Tosh's. We watched it every night when you were gone. To remind us.” He was quiet for a moment. “My favorite Disney movie is '101 Dalmatians'.”
“Seriously?” Jack chuckled.
“What one would you have thought? Cinderella?” Ianto playfully poked at Jack.
“Well, you know, he was a pretty charming prince...” Jack poked back, causing Ianto to jump and Henry to squirm.
“Jack!” Ianto whispered loudly. “Let me put him down and then I'll heat your dinner.”
Jack pouted. “I'll have a Ianto.”
“No, Jack, not really in the mood. Had a rough day.” Ianto shifted Henry to his lap.
“I know what would make it better.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“Jack,” Ianto pushed up using the arm of the couch and disappeared down the hall as Jack watched him. “And quit watching me walk away.”
Jack snorted and went into the kitchen to get something to drink. He looked at the dish on the stove and saw it was still half-full of the lasagna that Ianto had made for dinner. He had only tasted it on one other occasion, but he remembered it was worth waiting for again. He was dishing some up to put in the microwave when Ianto reappeared, putting his arms around Jack from behind.
“How was it?” He asked the back of Jack's neck.
“I should be asking you.” Jack twisted to look at him. “After that call this morning - what happened?”
Ianto sighed and buried his face. “He was eating worms.”
“Eating...”
“Worms. Yes.”
Jack made a face, even though Ianto couldn't see him. “I'm so sorry.”
“Turns out they do that.” Ianto informed him. “Some mother at the park helped me out. Asked all sorts of questions.”
“Questions?” Jack raised an eyebrow. “Ianto Jones! That woman was hitting on you...”
“No.” Ianto looked scared for a moment. “All she did was help me out. She even gave me her number in case I had any more questions.”
Jack laughed and nodded. “She was.”
“No - I mean, she asked me if I was alone - where his mother was. When I told her his mother was gone...” He thought for the first time about what had happened and look stricken.
Jack laughed a bit harder as he turned in Ianto's arms. “And who wouldn't? You're dead sexy!”
“Oh, stop.” Ianto tried to look away, but Jack caught his face in his hands.
“You are, Ianto.” Jack hated that he had to be reminded. “Don't make me do the baby-talking.”
“Okay, okay. Anything but the baby-talking and calling me 'bunny-wunny'...” Ianto smiled and leaned forward to brush his lips on Jack's. “Now, let's get you fed.”
“Tease.” Jack mock-pouted as Ianto pushed him into a seat and handed him a bottle of water.
“Only if I don't intend to follow through later.” Ianto put Jack's plate in front of him.
Jack inhaled deeply.“What about Henry?”
Ianto looked as if he hadn't thought of that yet.“I suppose we could wheel the playpen into the office.” He looked at the ceiling for inspiration. “Which reminds me - would you be angry if we changed that to a bedroom? I'm not really comfortable with a baby in our room all the time.”
“Sure, no problem.” Jack took his first bite and let the flavors hit him. “Order a bed and whatever else and we can do that this weekend.”
Ianto sat with his own bottle of water. “Before or after we get back from my parent's house?”
Jack stopped chewing. “Uh, this is the first I've heard about going there at all.”
“Oh, yeah, Mam called.” Ianto smiled weakly. “They're having the twins' birthday this weekend. She said to tell you if we aren't there that she will 'be forced to employ former tactics'? Don't know what that means, but she said that you would.” He drank his water.
Jack's eyes grew wide and he swallowed. “We should leave mid-day Friday and come back on Sunday.”
“Wow, no fight about this?” Ianto was slightly concerned.
Jack shook his head. “Mam said.”
“Jack, you can tell her no.”
“You tell her no then. Not me.”
“You're afraid of Mam,” Ianto teased.
“Not that - just...I know mothers.” He shuddered briefly at a memory. “We need to get the girls something. Order that too.” He shoveled another bite into his mouth.
“Yes, sir.” Ianto knew he had already done that earlier, when he had ordered the furniture for Henry's room.
Jack finished his lasagna before talking again. “Ianto?”
“Yes?” The Welshman was brought out of his thoughts on how to arrange the former office.
“If you don't want to go, we don't have to.” Jack stood to put his plate in the sink with the others.
Ianto looked up at him as he passed him. “Why wouldn't I want to?”
“Henry.” Jack wiped his hands on the dishtowel that sat on the counter.
“Oh.”
“How are you going to explain him?”
“Uh - Fostering, Jack. Couples do it all the time.”
“Right. Forgot. Sometimes the truth is the easiest.”
“Are you okay?”
Jack was standing behind him, idly rubbing his shoulders, not applying enough pressure to be doing anything more than showing Ianto he was there. “I don't know what it is, maybe it's not knowing what is going on with Louann Heshel. It doesn't seem right that we can't get any leads on her disappearance - or what happened to Henry's dad. Things aren't fitting together right. And you aren't there.”
Ianto sighed and placed his hands on top of Jack's, stilling them. “I can't be there. I need to be here right now. Henry is just getting settled in. To change something on him again so soon in so few days might be damaging for him.”
“Wow. You've been doing your research.” He bent to kiss Ianto on the head. “Not that I would expect anything less from you.”
“You put too much faith in me sometimes, I fear.” Ianto sighed, pressing the palms of his hands into his eyes and rubbing before collapsing on the table.
Jack rubbed small circles on Ianto's back. “Sorry about today. We'll get a day nanny as soon as possible.”
“Yesterday?” Ianto looked up at Jack with his best imitation of beagle-eyes. “Is that too soon for you?”
“As soon as I can, Yan, I promise.” Jack smiled back down at him.
Ianto's head went back down with an audible 'thunk'. “Don't you have a time traveling friend somewhere?”
“That's a gross misuse of the technology.”
“No it isn't.”
“Ianto.”
“You're right. And I know that this has to be done slowly. But, honestly, it reminds me of something Mam used to say when she got mad at us.”
“What was that?”
“That raising us was like being pecked to death by a duck.”
Jack laughed and helped Ianto to his feet. “Come on. You need sleep.”
“A truer statement has never been said.” He let Jack lead him down the hall. “Except maybe the thing about the pecking duck...”
“You're punchy.” Jack kissed him on the nose as he pulled him towards the bed.
Ianto braced himself as his knees hit the mattress. “Jack, stop.”
Jack pushed forward. “I can move the playpen.”
Ianto put his hands on Jack's chest and pushed. “Won't do any good.”
Jack stood, confused. “And why not?”
“Because Henry is on the bed.”
“Let me guess.” Jack ran a hand over his face. “If you move him he wakes up?”
Ianto nodded slowly. “Sorry - he wouldn't go down in the playpen.”
Jack smiled. “No, I was going to go and do the dishes anyway. You go ahead and get some sleep. I won't be long.”
Ianto drew Jack close and kissed him. “I love you.”
“You better.” Jack kissed him on the nose again before leaving the room.
**--**--**
The dishes done, Jack sank into the couch, glancing at his watch. He figured he would finish the movie - he had to know how the turtles fit in. But he never found out. Only a few more minutes into it, he dozed off.
"Where are you from, stranger?" Her voice was a coarse whisper.
“I suppose I should be the one asking that,” Jack gasped out as her rough tongue lapped at the tender skin.
“Does it really matter?” She placed a small nip where she had been licking. “We don't even know each other's real names...”
Jack moaned out his response. “True.” He sat back and let her lap at the sweat that was on his body, listening to the noise in her throat deepen and spread to her chest. He supposed, with her appearance and all, that it was an advanced form of purring. No matter what it was, all he was thinking about was how it would feel once her chest was pressed to his.
The soft noises she was making were driving him absolutely mad. He put his arms around her and pulled her to full knee-height. “Hessa.” He whispered the name she had told him to call her into her velvet ear.
“Yes?” She asked back, her ear twitching as it came into contact with his lips. “What do you need from me, Kaget? All you have to do is ask.”
“You.”
“You need me?” She put a lightly furred hand around the back of his neck and pulled him closer, brushing her whiskers on his face one more time, making him shiver. Jack could do nothing but nod mutely. “How much do you need me?”
“A lot,” Jack managed to get out after a moment. They were so close, it should have been easy to just lean forward and catch her lips, but something stopped him. “So much.”
Hessa grinned, closing the gap so that Jack could feel her breath hot on his lips. “Enough to help me?”
“Yes.” Jack should have known better; his training had specifically warned him about this type of situation. “Anything you need.”
She licked his lips before leaning back again, leaving Jack panting. “I like that.” She stood and crossed the room to get the bag she had been carrying. She brought it back to where Jack sat and straddled his lap as she sat to rummage in the bag.
Jack watched as she bit her lip and threw things to the floor that were not the item she was looking for. Once or twice, she looked down at him and smiled, wiggling a bit on his lap as she did so. He thought it was unfair how much she was breaking the rules and how she was making him do the same. He caught her wrist in his hand and pushed her sleeve up, looking for anything that would indicate that she was in the same line of work and attempting to play him for the fool he was acting - but he found nothing, only a downy fur-covered wrist that he nipped at playfully.
Hessa sucked in her own breath then, letting her eyes meet his. “Okay, Kaget, I need that back, otherwise I won't be able to find this 'trinket' that I need to show you.”
Jack reluctantly let go, but drew his arms around her waist and wondered about what was under the dress she wore. He couldn't feel anything that felt like a tail, but the way she was sitting, it was possible that it was just small. He was lost in that the thought that she may be more feline than human when she held a small piece of plastic under his nose.
“Hello??Hessa to extremely hot human who is grinding his hips into me while fully clothed,” she spoke.
“Huh?” Jack took the item she was offering and flipped it over and over in his hand before holding it in the sunlight. “What does this have on it?” He knew an info-chip when he saw it.
“This,” she pointed to his palm, “was why they were chasing us.”
“Yeah, I get that. But what is it?”
“An info-chip.”
“Hessa.” Jack was suddenly as serious as he could be with an attractive member of any species sitting on his lap. “I need to know what this is to help you.”
She sighed heavily and readjusted herself on his lap, making sure to do it for a little longer than necessary. “Well, Kaget, to tell you that, I have to tell you the rest of the story. Are you sure you want to know that?”
Jack tried to concentrate, he really did, but she was quite the looker. “Yeah.”
She shook her head in pity for the man. “It's all the info on my race. My brother and I were traveling here from our home planet when-”
“Which one would that be?” Jack inclined his head.
The question confused her.“Brother?”
“No, home planet.”
She panicked, but hoped he didn't see her.“You first.”
“Fine.” Jack put his hand on her hips to ease her back a bit. It was hard to lie to a woman who had you at an advantage, but he managed. “Earth.”
“Orig 5. Happy?” She tried to readjust, but Jack held her firmly, rubbing his thumbs in circles.
“Very.” He slipped easily into interrogation mode. “And where is your brother? Lurking in the shadows waiting to slit my throat?”
She looked away from him at the floor. “He died when our ship crashed. I lost everything that day!” Before Jack could apologize, she was out the door. He had no choice but to follow her. Running, he saw a scrap of the fabric of her dress as she turned the corner.
Jack startled awake to find Ianto standing above him. “Are you okay, Jack?” He scooted Jack to join him on the couch. “You were whimpering.”
“Yeah, I...” Jack looked around the room. “I was having a dream, that's all.”
“You've been having a lot of dreams lately.” Ianto reached to put his hand on the back of Jack's neck and thought he felt the other man shudder. “Are you okay?”
Jack reached back to cover Ianto's hand. “Yeah, I'm fine.”
“Honest?”
“Yes, Yan, don't worry about me. They aren't nightmares,” Jack insisted, pulling Ianto as close to him as he could. “Why were you out here anyway? Why aren't you asleep?”
“Thirsty,” Ianto told his chest. “Got up to get water and heard you. You ready for bed?”
“Another night with a baby between us?” Jack felt Ianto nod. “It's almost real life in here.” He pulled Ianto up to kiss him, holding the man's face. “I love you.”
“Come on,” Ianto stood and pulled Jack to his feet. “I get lonely with no one to steal my covers. But take off that damn watch, Last time you wore it to bed, you got it caught in my hair.”
Jack set the watch on the bureau as he watched Ianto shuffle Henry back into the middle of the bed. Something about the way he moved with the boy so naturally made Jack a bit teary-eyed.
“Something wrong?” Ianto asked him when he caught Jack watching him.
“Nothing at all,” Jack said as he slid into bed and patted the child between them before drifting off to a dreamless sleep.