Fic: Family Matters 2/7
TITLE: Family Matters 2/7
AUTHOR: Erin Giles
RATING: PG (for swearing)
SUMMARY: Ianto asks for a personal day which Jack grants him, but the betrayal of Lisa is still fresh in his mind and he has to find out what Ianto's hiding. Jack doesn't expect to get drawn into Ianto's family and Ianto's heart though. Set from Jack's POV.
PAIRINGS/CHARACTERS: Jack/Ianto, Team, OCs
DISCLAIMER: Torchwood is property of the BBC.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Again apologies for the spam if you've already read this story. I am editing it as I go along though.
| Part 1 |
It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning and Jack found himself blinking at the sun through the slates in Ianto’s living room blinds that he realised he had fallen asleep. He found Ianto curled into him, face half buried in his left shoulder, eyes still puffy and red from tears both shed and unshed. As a shadow flicked across them both he suddenly realised what had woken him.
Rhiannon was stood in the doorway, drowned in a pair of pyjamas that quite blatantly weren’t hers. She smiled at Jack and beckoned him to follow her before her eyes glanced back at her brother.
Jack repositioned Ianto, lowering his head gently onto one of the couch cushions and pulling the throw from the back of the sofa to cover him. He seemed to curl up further into the couch, frowning at the sudden loss of warmth until Jack removed his great-coat and spread that over Ianto as well.
Jack found Rhiannon in the kitchen filling the kettle.
“Coffee?” Rhiannon asked, not looking round at him. Jack couldn’t help but smile; apparently it was a Jones’ family trait.
“Please,” he said softly, pulling two mugs from the drying rack and bringing them over to her by the kettle.
“Thanks for staying last night,” Rhiannon said turning to regard Jack. “I don’t think I could have got him to sleep otherwise.” She sighed as she pulled the coffee packet down from the top shelf of the cupboard, “I don’t think he’s slept since last Wednesday. He did all the organising as well, wouldn’t let me or Bryn do anything, said we we’re having the wake at his, the service at the church Mam used to go to when she was a kid and her ashes were to be scattered in the Bay.” The kettle boiled and Rhiannon reached out a hand for it, “Course we haven’t done that yet. Think he wants to wait until Megan comes back from Australia, not that she ever will mind. Milk?” Rhiannon questioned, crossing to the fridge. Jack nodded in reply.
“How many of you Jones’ are there then? Or is it a never ending list?” Jack asked lightly as he watched Rhiannon, hands shaking, pour milk into both cups.
“Just the four of us. Megan’s the oldest, left for Australia pretty much as soon as she could walk, never got on with Dad, none of us did really, still don’t if I’m honest but Sunday lunch is Sunday lunch.” Rhiannon sighed as she returned to the fridge with the milk. “Bryn was next along. She lives in London, long term boyfriend but married to her job more than him.” Rhiannon picked up her coffee, cradling it in her hands, watching Jack as he did the same.
“Then came me; lucky number 3. I could never leave Wales, live in Cardiff with my husband and my little boy Finn, and then last but by no means least my baby brother Ianto.” She stared into her coffee for a long moment; so long in fact Jack was sure she had forgotten he was there.
“Mum was so happy when he was born. So happy to finally have a little boy who she could call ‘Mummy’s little boy’ and by god was he. Me and Bryn used to be so jealous of him when he was a baby, used to get preferential treatment off of Mam; always first choice of the lollipops or bedtime stories.” She smiled at some distant memory, “On his fourth birthday I tried to leave him in Marks and Spencer with another woman with three kids, my reasoning being that if she had three already she surely wouldn’t notice an extra one, and likewise Mam wouldn’t notice one missing. I felt so guilty later on when Mam was laying into Ianto for running away I told her what I had done. I swear I didn’t sit down for a week.” She let out a short sharp laugh and Jack found himself smiling at this snippet of information, something Jack would never have known about Ianto, something he had never taken the time to find out about Ianto.
“I think that was the day that Ianto started looking to me as his big sister,” she said solemnly, taking another drink of her coffee before changing the subject.
“I presume you’re the mysterious Jack that Ianto keeps prattling on about whenever I get him on the phone long enough to talk about him,” Rhiannon said, eyeing Jack almost suspiciously.
“I’m surprised he talks about me,” Jack replied, genuinely surprised. He had never realised he was a talking point in Ianto’s life.
“Well he talks round the subject of you, mentions random things about you and only mentions you by name on occasion. You’re the only thing he talks about at his work though.” Rhiannon took a sip of her coffee, her eyes still on Jack, “He didn’t mention Lisa until he brought her home one weekend.”
Jack stopped with the coffee mug half-way to his lips, meeting Rhiannon’s steady gaze that said everything.
“He means a lot to me,” Jack said softly in reply, and all Rhiannon did was nod.
At that point a dazed looking Ianto shuffled into the kitchen, hair stuck up in odd places, his feet dragging on the linoleum floor as he rubbed at the sleep in his eyes.
“What time is it?” he mumbled, blinking into the bright window ledge, trying to see the clock face there.
“It’s only half seven,” Rhiannon said as she moved towards the kettle to refill it. Ianto gazed blearily at Jack for a moment before looking away and turning to head out the kitchen again.
“I need to open the tourist office.”
“It can stay closed today,” Jack said as his arm snaked out to catch Ianto’s hand in his. Ianto tried to pull free, but Jack was pulling him in the opposite direction towards him.
“Hey, it can stay closed today,” Jack repeated, lifting Ianto’s chin so he was looking into those baby blue eyes that were still bloodshot and tired.
“But-” Ianto tried to protest.
“No buts,” Jack interrupted, giving Ianto’s hand a squeeze.
The doorbell sounded, causing Ianto to start, but Jack kept a hold of him as Rhiannon moved away from the now boiling kettle.
“That’ll be Chris with Finn,” Rhiannon said as she moved out of the kitchen, leaving Ianto and Jack to stare at each other silently.
“Jack I need to go into work, I can’t, I don’t want to stay here and, things need to be done,” Ianto whispered in an attempt to get away from the situation. He didn’t want to spend the day at home with his sister wallowing in self pity. If he went to work he could get away from everything, detach from his family, detach from everything.
“Things need to be done here. You’re going to have the day off, and so am I,” Jack said, looking pointedly at Ianto. A toddler’s voice cut off Ianto’s rebuke.
“Uncy Yan!” Tubby arms were pulling at the bottom of Ianto’s trousers, begging to be lifted up. Ianto obliged, pulling his nephew into his arms as Jack moved away to the kettle.
“How’s my favourite nephew?” Ianto asked through a smile that did not spread to his eyes. Jack watched out of the corner of his eye as he made Ianto a cup of coffee, while Ianto reached into his pocket.
“Did you not wash behind your ears again this morning?” Ianto mocked, reaching behind the boy’s right ear and producing a shiny fifty pence piece out of thin air. Jack couldn’t help but smile as the young boy's eyes lit up, taking the pro-offered money from Ianto with greedy hands.
“Wow,” was all the boy said as Ianto put him back down on the floor watching as Rhiannon appeared back at the kitchen door.
“Mam, look what Uncy Yan found behind my ear,” he said, holding the money up to her. Rhiannon gave a long suffering sigh.
“And what do you say?”
“Thank you,” the boy said absentmindedly, still staring at his prize in wonder. “Can I go watch ‘toons?” Finn didn’t even wait for a reply before he was toddling towards the living room.
“Not too loud Finn,” Rhiannon called as she moved into the kitchen, picking up her dirty mug.
“You shouldn’t spoil him you know, Ianto.”
“Someone’s got to help him save up for his own train,” Ianto replied as he took the mug Jack was now offering him, holding it between his hands to warm him. As if on queue the Thomas the Tank Engine theme tune sounded from the living room at a blaring volume. Rhiannon sighed as she moved out the kitchen.
“Not so loud Finlay,” she called as she went.
“He wants to be a train driver when he grows up.” Ianto explained to Jack between sips of coffee where he was stood, arms folded as he lent against the work surface. “Chris and Ria want to take him to Aberystwyth this summer and take him on the Vale of Rheidol Railway.” There was a trace of jealously in Ianto’s voice.
“You should go with them,” Jack said suddenly. Ianto turned to regard Jack letting out a soft laugh,
“I’m serious Ianto, take some time off and spend it with your family,” Jack said, straightening a bit as he moved towards Ianto.
“I said to Gwen when she started not to let the job consume her, to be normal, have a life. Now I’m telling you that Ianto. You’ve seen too much of this job,” Jack was right beside Ianto now, a hand reaching up to cradle his cheek. “You’ve got eyes too old for someone so young.” Ianto blinked, fresh tears threatening to fall.
Before Jack could close the distance between them Ianto was putting his coffee cup in the sink and excusing himself. Jack followed him out into the hall and watched him disappear up the stairs. He thought about following for a moment, before Rhiannon joined him in the hall, gazing up the stairs too.
“You wouldn’t mind giving Finn a hand setting up his train set would you Jack?” Rhiannon asked, seeing Jack into the living room before she set off upstairs after her brother.
=> Part 3
AUTHOR: Erin Giles
RATING: PG (for swearing)
SUMMARY: Ianto asks for a personal day which Jack grants him, but the betrayal of Lisa is still fresh in his mind and he has to find out what Ianto's hiding. Jack doesn't expect to get drawn into Ianto's family and Ianto's heart though. Set from Jack's POV.
PAIRINGS/CHARACTERS: Jack/Ianto, Team, OCs
DISCLAIMER: Torchwood is property of the BBC.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Again apologies for the spam if you've already read this story. I am editing it as I go along though.
| Part 1 |
It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning and Jack found himself blinking at the sun through the slates in Ianto’s living room blinds that he realised he had fallen asleep. He found Ianto curled into him, face half buried in his left shoulder, eyes still puffy and red from tears both shed and unshed. As a shadow flicked across them both he suddenly realised what had woken him.
Rhiannon was stood in the doorway, drowned in a pair of pyjamas that quite blatantly weren’t hers. She smiled at Jack and beckoned him to follow her before her eyes glanced back at her brother.
Jack repositioned Ianto, lowering his head gently onto one of the couch cushions and pulling the throw from the back of the sofa to cover him. He seemed to curl up further into the couch, frowning at the sudden loss of warmth until Jack removed his great-coat and spread that over Ianto as well.
Jack found Rhiannon in the kitchen filling the kettle.
“Coffee?” Rhiannon asked, not looking round at him. Jack couldn’t help but smile; apparently it was a Jones’ family trait.
“Please,” he said softly, pulling two mugs from the drying rack and bringing them over to her by the kettle.
“Thanks for staying last night,” Rhiannon said turning to regard Jack. “I don’t think I could have got him to sleep otherwise.” She sighed as she pulled the coffee packet down from the top shelf of the cupboard, “I don’t think he’s slept since last Wednesday. He did all the organising as well, wouldn’t let me or Bryn do anything, said we we’re having the wake at his, the service at the church Mam used to go to when she was a kid and her ashes were to be scattered in the Bay.” The kettle boiled and Rhiannon reached out a hand for it, “Course we haven’t done that yet. Think he wants to wait until Megan comes back from Australia, not that she ever will mind. Milk?” Rhiannon questioned, crossing to the fridge. Jack nodded in reply.
“How many of you Jones’ are there then? Or is it a never ending list?” Jack asked lightly as he watched Rhiannon, hands shaking, pour milk into both cups.
“Just the four of us. Megan’s the oldest, left for Australia pretty much as soon as she could walk, never got on with Dad, none of us did really, still don’t if I’m honest but Sunday lunch is Sunday lunch.” Rhiannon sighed as she returned to the fridge with the milk. “Bryn was next along. She lives in London, long term boyfriend but married to her job more than him.” Rhiannon picked up her coffee, cradling it in her hands, watching Jack as he did the same.
“Then came me; lucky number 3. I could never leave Wales, live in Cardiff with my husband and my little boy Finn, and then last but by no means least my baby brother Ianto.” She stared into her coffee for a long moment; so long in fact Jack was sure she had forgotten he was there.
“Mum was so happy when he was born. So happy to finally have a little boy who she could call ‘Mummy’s little boy’ and by god was he. Me and Bryn used to be so jealous of him when he was a baby, used to get preferential treatment off of Mam; always first choice of the lollipops or bedtime stories.” She smiled at some distant memory, “On his fourth birthday I tried to leave him in Marks and Spencer with another woman with three kids, my reasoning being that if she had three already she surely wouldn’t notice an extra one, and likewise Mam wouldn’t notice one missing. I felt so guilty later on when Mam was laying into Ianto for running away I told her what I had done. I swear I didn’t sit down for a week.” She let out a short sharp laugh and Jack found himself smiling at this snippet of information, something Jack would never have known about Ianto, something he had never taken the time to find out about Ianto.
“I think that was the day that Ianto started looking to me as his big sister,” she said solemnly, taking another drink of her coffee before changing the subject.
“I presume you’re the mysterious Jack that Ianto keeps prattling on about whenever I get him on the phone long enough to talk about him,” Rhiannon said, eyeing Jack almost suspiciously.
“I’m surprised he talks about me,” Jack replied, genuinely surprised. He had never realised he was a talking point in Ianto’s life.
“Well he talks round the subject of you, mentions random things about you and only mentions you by name on occasion. You’re the only thing he talks about at his work though.” Rhiannon took a sip of her coffee, her eyes still on Jack, “He didn’t mention Lisa until he brought her home one weekend.”
Jack stopped with the coffee mug half-way to his lips, meeting Rhiannon’s steady gaze that said everything.
“He means a lot to me,” Jack said softly in reply, and all Rhiannon did was nod.
At that point a dazed looking Ianto shuffled into the kitchen, hair stuck up in odd places, his feet dragging on the linoleum floor as he rubbed at the sleep in his eyes.
“What time is it?” he mumbled, blinking into the bright window ledge, trying to see the clock face there.
“It’s only half seven,” Rhiannon said as she moved towards the kettle to refill it. Ianto gazed blearily at Jack for a moment before looking away and turning to head out the kitchen again.
“I need to open the tourist office.”
“It can stay closed today,” Jack said as his arm snaked out to catch Ianto’s hand in his. Ianto tried to pull free, but Jack was pulling him in the opposite direction towards him.
“Hey, it can stay closed today,” Jack repeated, lifting Ianto’s chin so he was looking into those baby blue eyes that were still bloodshot and tired.
“But-” Ianto tried to protest.
“No buts,” Jack interrupted, giving Ianto’s hand a squeeze.
The doorbell sounded, causing Ianto to start, but Jack kept a hold of him as Rhiannon moved away from the now boiling kettle.
“That’ll be Chris with Finn,” Rhiannon said as she moved out of the kitchen, leaving Ianto and Jack to stare at each other silently.
“Jack I need to go into work, I can’t, I don’t want to stay here and, things need to be done,” Ianto whispered in an attempt to get away from the situation. He didn’t want to spend the day at home with his sister wallowing in self pity. If he went to work he could get away from everything, detach from his family, detach from everything.
“Things need to be done here. You’re going to have the day off, and so am I,” Jack said, looking pointedly at Ianto. A toddler’s voice cut off Ianto’s rebuke.
“Uncy Yan!” Tubby arms were pulling at the bottom of Ianto’s trousers, begging to be lifted up. Ianto obliged, pulling his nephew into his arms as Jack moved away to the kettle.
“How’s my favourite nephew?” Ianto asked through a smile that did not spread to his eyes. Jack watched out of the corner of his eye as he made Ianto a cup of coffee, while Ianto reached into his pocket.
“Did you not wash behind your ears again this morning?” Ianto mocked, reaching behind the boy’s right ear and producing a shiny fifty pence piece out of thin air. Jack couldn’t help but smile as the young boy's eyes lit up, taking the pro-offered money from Ianto with greedy hands.
“Wow,” was all the boy said as Ianto put him back down on the floor watching as Rhiannon appeared back at the kitchen door.
“Mam, look what Uncy Yan found behind my ear,” he said, holding the money up to her. Rhiannon gave a long suffering sigh.
“And what do you say?”
“Thank you,” the boy said absentmindedly, still staring at his prize in wonder. “Can I go watch ‘toons?” Finn didn’t even wait for a reply before he was toddling towards the living room.
“Not too loud Finn,” Rhiannon called as she moved into the kitchen, picking up her dirty mug.
“You shouldn’t spoil him you know, Ianto.”
“Someone’s got to help him save up for his own train,” Ianto replied as he took the mug Jack was now offering him, holding it between his hands to warm him. As if on queue the Thomas the Tank Engine theme tune sounded from the living room at a blaring volume. Rhiannon sighed as she moved out the kitchen.
“Not so loud Finlay,” she called as she went.
“He wants to be a train driver when he grows up.” Ianto explained to Jack between sips of coffee where he was stood, arms folded as he lent against the work surface. “Chris and Ria want to take him to Aberystwyth this summer and take him on the Vale of Rheidol Railway.” There was a trace of jealously in Ianto’s voice.
“You should go with them,” Jack said suddenly. Ianto turned to regard Jack letting out a soft laugh,
“I’m serious Ianto, take some time off and spend it with your family,” Jack said, straightening a bit as he moved towards Ianto.
“I said to Gwen when she started not to let the job consume her, to be normal, have a life. Now I’m telling you that Ianto. You’ve seen too much of this job,” Jack was right beside Ianto now, a hand reaching up to cradle his cheek. “You’ve got eyes too old for someone so young.” Ianto blinked, fresh tears threatening to fall.
Before Jack could close the distance between them Ianto was putting his coffee cup in the sink and excusing himself. Jack followed him out into the hall and watched him disappear up the stairs. He thought about following for a moment, before Rhiannon joined him in the hall, gazing up the stairs too.
“You wouldn’t mind giving Finn a hand setting up his train set would you Jack?” Rhiannon asked, seeing Jack into the living room before she set off upstairs after her brother.
=> Part 3