m_findlow: (Default)
[personal profile] m_findlow

Title: Small packages
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Gwen
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,532 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for [livejournal.com profile] fffc May Special Daily Challenge - May 25th - Great small things (Jodi Picoults)
Summary: Gwen makes her first visit to the newly expanded household of the Harkness-Joneses

'Gwen Cooper, you have no idea how good it is to speak to another person over the age of four weeks,' Jack said, grinning broadly as he opened the door to let her in. She'd been itching to visit ever since they'd come home, eager to meet the three little bundles of joy that had come into that world against all odds.

'Hey, what am I? Chopped liver?' came the comment from Ianto, shuffling behind him down the hall with a baby in his arms, identical to Jack.

'You don't count, babe,' Jack said. 'Besides, half of your mutterings lately are indecipherable anyway.'

'Only because you wait until I'm half asleep to want to start a conversation.' It was Jack's way of getting around things he knew Ianto would say no to, waiting until it was his turn to take a nap.

Gwen rolled her eyes at their banter and stepped inside, pecking Ianto on the cheek. 'How are you, sweetheart?'

'Fine. Jez was over last week for a checkup. Everything appears to be back to normal.' For that he was immensely glad. Having his body rearrange itself to enable him to give birth was not something he wanted permanently. Jack had assured him that his body would heal itself, though he hadn't believed  it until Jez had given him the all clear. Physically, you'd never know that a month ago he'd been fit to bursting. The end result however was well worth it. And having his internal plumbing back to normal was better still.

'We miss you already,' she said.

'Don't lie,' Jack replied. 'You miss his coffee and my charming matinee idol looks.'

'You're right,' she said. 'We don't miss the rest one bit. Now, hand over the baby, Jack,' she said, making her request clear and unambiguous.

'Who died and made you boss of everything?' he whined.

'I did,' Ianto replied, remembering the appointment with no small amount of bitterness. It had nothing to do with Gwen, but everything to do with Jack's forcing of his hand, making him step down as leader. In hindsight, he was probably right to do so. If he'd thought he could just carry on in his normal capacity right up until his due date, he'd been kidding himself. It was no ordinary pregnancy by any stretch of the imagination, so he shouldn't treat it like one. It was all well and good that they'd practically had to shove Gwen out the door before she gave birth right there in the hub, but he wasn't a fan of receiving a dose of his own medicine. Still, he was glad for the time off now, for both of them, so that they could properly welcome these three little impossible bundles into their lives. The last few days had been so exhausting but joyous that he was beginning to wonder if he shouldn't leave Gwen in charge permanently and just stay home. Being a full time Dad was less nerve-wracking than he thought and much more fulfilling.

Jack pouted and reluctantly handed over the tiny thing in his arms, watching Gwen's face light up. She spotted the face he pulled at her.

'Stop sulking, Jack. You've got three babies and there's only two of you. You can't cuddle all three at once.'

'Not for lack of trying,' Ianto replied, holding his other daughter close as they made their way back into the living room, taking a seat. 'Jack will happily sit on the sofa with one in each arm. He'd have all three but I won't let him.' They were rarely without at least one attached to them, caught in a neverending cycle of feeding, cuddling and nappy changing. Tiring as it had been, it had also been the best four weeks of their lives. After a few months they might change their minds, but for now, everything was new and wonderful.

Gwen played with the tiny fingers as they formed a fist around her finger. 'She's even smaller than Anwen was,' she said, watching Jack as he collected their baby son from his cot and cradled him before sitting back down next to her. Thomas was fast asleep in Jack's embrace.

'How do you tell them apart?' Gwen asked.

'We just do,' Jack said, not able to explain how he could pick the ever so subtle differences between the three newborns. It was something innate, that only a dad could know.

'Rule number one,' Ianto replied. 'Never leave more than one of them undressed at any given time. That makes life a whole lot easier. Jack wanted to draw on them with permanent marker as a backup.'

'Hey, it was a good idea.'

'Only you wanted to number them one, two and three. I don't know why we'd bother naming them after that.'

'Are they identical?' Gwen asked, unable to tell the one she was holding from the one in Ianto's arms, with matching little caps on their heads, one in the palest shade of violet, the other a blushing baby pink.

'Jez doesn't think so, but only time will tell, I guess,' Jack replied. 'They have the world's best looking parents, so it probably doesn't matter.'

Sian began to gurgle and pull angry little faces in Gwen's arms. 'I think someone's hungry,' she said, knowing that expression all too well.

'I'll fetch her a bottle,' Ianto said, trying to get up at the same time as keep hold of the baby girl against his chest.

'No, that's okay. I've got it. You two stay here.' She efficiently stood up and made her way to the kitchen, pulling a pre-prepared bottle of formula from the fridge and setting it in the bottle warmer, bouncing Sian up and down and cooing at her to keep her distracted from thoughts of food until it was ready.

Jack watched her the whole time. 'I sometimes forget that she knows a lot more about this than we do,' he said to Ianto.

'They definitely didn't cover any of this in those books,' Ianto agreed. Parenting was very much a learn as you go process, and they were both learning a lot.

Gwen soon returned with baby and bottle, happily suckling away at it.

'You're such a pro,' Jack beamed.

'Trust me,' she said, 'I was as ignorant as the next person when we first brought Anwen home. She'd cry and wouldn't stop and I'd be at my wits end trying to calm her. Then Rhys would just wander in, pick her up and she'd stop. It was infuriating. I thought I must have been the world's worst mum because I couldn't even stop my baby crying.'

'That was Eleri the other night. Jack was in a panic that she'd run out of air before she stopped crying, and then with no prompting whatsoever she just stopped and started gurgling happily as if nothing at all was wrong,' Ianto replied, cuddling her a little bit closer, dropping a tender kiss on her head as he readjusted the blanket around her.

'You didn't have to change her, though,' Jack complained. 'I know perfectly well now why she stopped crying and was so pleased with herself afterwards.' That was something he hadn't gotten used to yet. Ianto seemed to be immune to the smell, something Jack had read about in a book, where mothers somehow didn't notice the odor as much. It was all tangled up in genetics supposedly, though Jack even with his fifty-first century knowhow hadn't fathomed it.   

Gwen took in the surrounds as the baby gently fed against her chest, rhythmically sucking on the bottle's teat. She'd forgotten how soothing a sound it was. The house wasn't as pristine as it usually was, but it was still remarkably neat and ordered, far more than her own house had even been. At least she and Rhys had outnumbered the babies in their house. She had no idea how Jack and Ianto were managing it. They both looked so contented and happy, rather than tired haggard like she'd felt. Perhaps she and Rhys might consider adding a brother or sister for Anwen. Just seeing how delighted and in love these two were made her want to do it all over again.

'I'm really happy for you both,' she said. 'I don't think I've ever seen two people so happy. I'll bet you never imagined life would turn out like this.'

'They do say great things come in small packages,' Jack agreed. 'I can't explain it, but there's just something about having children. You know I love Ianto to bits, but nows its like I feel,'

'Complete,' Ianto finished for him, knowing exactly how he felt. It was the thing they hadn't known they'd been missing from their lives. They loved Anwen, and Ianto's niece and nephew, but having not one, but three of their own children, was like they'd finally closed the circle on the lives.

'So, no plans at this stage for more?' Gwen teased.

Jack just laughed. 'Whatever the universe has planned for us only it knows.' He suspected though that if he accidentally got Ianto pregnant again any time soon he wasn't going to live very long.

This account has disabled anonymous posting.
If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting

July 2025

S M T W T F S
  1234 5
678 9101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Most Popular Tags