m_findlow

Title: Coming into something
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Jack
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 2,416 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for m_findlow's prompt "Any, any, I inherited a cow?" at fic_promptly
Summary: Ianto never expected to get anything from his family.

Ianto frowned as he listened to the voicemail left on his phone.

'Problem?' Jack asked, seeing the quizzical expression on his lover.

'A call from a law firm in Cardiff wanting to see me about a will left by a relative. Apparently I'm one of the beneficiaries listed.'

That intrigued Jack. 'Who is the relative of yours?'

'Never heard of them,' Ianto confessed. Admittedly there were a lot of second and third cousins attached to his family tree that he'd never met, and probably never would. Apart from his Aunt Gracie in Camarthen and a few of his first cousins he saw once every four years when someone died, it had always just been his sister and him. This time he hadn't even been invited on account of a death in the family.

'You could be a secret millionaire, Ianto,' Jack teased.

Ianto scoffed. 'Believe me, I think I'd know if anyone in our family had money.' He wouldn't just know, he'd never hear the end of it. All the cousins would complain about it - how unfair it was that so and so was rolling in it when the rest of them were working two jobs just to pay the mortgage. No one in his family had ever had more than two pence to rub together. It was fortunate for him that they all thought he was in some menial government job. If they knew how much he got paid, it would be his back they'd be sticking their daggers into. Never mind the dangers he faced every day and the atrociously long hours; it was always about the money.

'I have to meet with the lawyers tomorrow. Apparently I missed the first reading of the will so now they're chasing up the remaining beneficiaries.' Strange how he hadn't gotten a single phone call about it from anyone who had his number. Perhaps he had inherited a small fortune, and the extended family were now refusing to speak to him. Dear God, as if his life wasn't complicated enough already.

'Should I get a prenuptial?' Jack joked. 'Half of your new wealth is mine and vice versa?'

'I think we'll all know which of us benefits from that,' Ianto replied. Jack was never going to run out of money even if he spent it hand over fist.

'You want some company?' Jack asked.

'No, I'll be fine.'

Ianto felt nervous, waiting in the reception of the small law firm tucked away in the city centre's financial district. He'd tried running a search on this distant relative of his, but turned up nothing of interest that indicated they had secretly squirelled away a fortune. Poring through their tax returns was more than he could bring himself to do.

'Mr Jones?'

'That's me,' he said, standing up and shaking hands with the polished looking lawyer.

'Thanks for making to the time to come down. We're keep to wrap up Geraint's estate and divest all the bequests as quickly as possible.'

The lawyer sat down behind his desk, indicating Ianto sit down as well before flipping open a thin file and slipping out a single page document.

Ianto frowned at it as it was handed to him. A land title.

'A hundred acres of land in Monmouthshire,' the lawyer said.

'Right...' Ianto said slowly, not sure he quite believed it. 'And how did this come about? I don't even think I know this relative.'

The lawyer looked at him awkwardly. 'Well, apparently in speaking with more immediate family, he was a little bit off his rocker, but not enough for anyone to challenge the will.'

'And he decided to give a hundred acres to someone he doesn't even know?'

'Well, no, not exactly.'

Ah ha, so there was a catch...

'Actually, he gave five acres to each of his most distant relatives, only I've already spoken with each of them and they've all disclaimed their entitlement.'

Ianto raised an eyebrow at the comment. 'All of them?'

'You're the last one we had to get contact details for, so in the event that the other beneficiaries disclaim, you inherit the entirety.'

'What about my sister, Rhiannon Davies? Did she inherit anything?'

'She disclaimed as well. It was through her that we got your details.'

Bloody hell, he thought. She could have at least warned him. She nagged him over the phone about everything else in creation, but let's not mention that some wacky relative wants to bequeath you half of South Wales.

He set the piece of paper back down on the cherry oak desk. 'Um, and what would happen if I disclaimed, assuming that's possible?'

The lawyer looked like he was at least prepared for the prospect. 'Then the land would be assumed by the Crown.'

'Or I could keep it and sell it,' he said, thinking out aloud.

'It's not particularly arable land, and there are some mining rights attached. You'd have a hard job disposing of it. And I'm being frank about that.'

'I appreciate it. So, my other option is to just let it sit there.'

'There's one other thing.'

Oh, yes, please, Ianto thought. Because things can't get any more bizarre.

'There's also a cow on the land.'

'One cow? Not a herd?'

'I mentioned he was a little eccentric, didn't I?'

Yes, he'd have to be a Jones. They were all mad, himself included. I capture aliens for a living, he felt like saying. What's owning one cow?

'I inherited a cow?'

'It came with part of the land that was disclaimed. There is a small homestead as well, though I understand it's been out of use for some time. A local farmer has been caring for the livestock as a favour to Geraint.'

Of course it was. Ianto ran a hand over his face. 'Um, okay. So a hundred acres and a cow that I can't sell.'

'More or less.'

'And when do I have to decide what to do, assuming I can still disclaim?'

The lawyer frowned, but sympathised. Any of them could have been the last poor unfortunate soul to wind up with it, and it was this young bloke. He'd disclaim the entitlement, that much was certain. 'I can give you a few days, but we really need to wrap things up by the end of the week.'

'Okay, I'll be sure to let you know.'

He got back in the car and sat there for a while. What the hell was he supposed to do with a bunch of land that couldn't be sold, and couldn't be farmed? He cursed his family for having dumped this on him. None of them wanted a bar of it. Why should he? None of them were getting Christmas cards this year, and as for his sister...

He shoved the address into his GPS and then rang Jack.

'How's my millionaire?'

'Wanting to know if you have anything planned this afternoon.'

'Why? Are you treating me out to the finest restaurant in Cardiff? Or is it a trip to Paris on your new Lear jet?'

'Well, it is a trip,' he said, keeping his cards close for now.

Jack must have laughed the entire way, making jokes about Ianto being Farmer Jones with his one cow.

'I haven't even accepted it, Jack,' Ianto kept repeating. 'Who's got time to look after a rural property?'

'You could always bring the cow back to the hub,' Jack suggested. 'You could milk it. We could have fresh milk every day. And butter, cream, pancakes, waffles...'

'Yes, I'm sure it and Janet would get on marvelously.'

As the GPS pinged and informed him they'd arrived, he turned off the gravelly track and up alongside a rickety old gate. It was padlocked and chained, but since no one was going to consider it trespassing, he climbed over it and down the other side, Jack following after him. They clambered across the lush green grass, heading for the top of the closest hill, so that they could get a better lay of the land.

'Real coal country around here,' Jack said, lumbering up beside Ianto.

'Yep. It's certainly lacking in long flat spaces for farming,' he agreed.

Once they reached the top of the hill, they stood there and stared out at the vista. Ianto checked his maps on his phone, knowing that everything within eyesight was part of the allotment.

'It's quite pretty,' Ianto said, admiring the lush green valleys that undulated up and down towards the horizon.

'Nice place for a quiet little cottage to get away from it all,' Jack agreed. 'A shame you're gonna disclaim it all and let some politicians in Whitehall figure out what to do with it.'

Ianto sighed. 'Jack, there's just no way I could keep it. Even if he was a bit mad, it's too much. It'd just become overgrown and wild.'

Jack shrugged. 'I could think of worse things to happen to the Welsh countryside.'

That much was true. Up here it was windy and wild, with moody grey skies that cast shadow and light over the valleys. If he'd been a hermit, this might be just the kind of place he'd like to retire. No one would ever find him up here. It was fanciful thinking. Another life and another time.

'Suppose we should head back,' he said. 'I think I've seen enough.'

'What about your cow?' Jack asked.

'Probably somewhere out there,' he said. He was sure the cow lived in a shed nearby the homestead, but that was speculation on his part. He didn't really want to see the homestead. He had a feeling that he'd fall in love with its quaint nature, even if it was run down, which would only make it all that much harder to tell the lawyer he didn't want it. If any of his cousins had come up here, they might not have been so quick to let it go, but then they were at least being practical. Ianto was sure he was the most practical of the lot of them, so the decision was final.

Back at the hub, he busied himself with the backlog of work that he'd missed from the morning spent at the lawyers, and the afternoon he'd frittered away taking Jack on a road trip. He didn't give the property another thought. It was best to not dwell on it, since he'd made up his mind, and blessedly Jack had done nothing to talk him out of it. He'd go down there tomorrow and finalise matters, disclaiming all entitlement and drawing a line under it.

As he waited in the lawyer's reception once more, he was interrupted by a text message on his phone.

"That fecking bird of yours bit me again," came the text from Owen. "Next time, I'm tranquilizing it."

Ianto grinned at the text. Owen refused to postpone Myfanwy's regular checkup simply because Ianto wasn't there to babysit her through Owen's poking and prodding. He got what he deserved for his gruff bedside manner, refusing to reward her with gentle pats and the odd fish. It didn't help that she'd been stuck inside for days, unable to go out flying on account of an annual yachting event that had the bay filled full of boats, television crews and spectators. Someone was bound to see her, and probably more than a few someone's. It wasn't worth the risk, so they'd kept her indoors, though it irritated her not be able to stretch her wings properly. She'd made a nuisance of herself inside the hub as retribution. It was a shame they didn't have anywhere else she could go that was big enough to fly around.

'Mr Jones?' The lawyer's voice called out.

He went in and sat down.

'You've made your decision? I've got the disclaimer papers here.'

'I'm keeping it,' Ianto blurted out.

'Really?' The lawyer looked genuinely stunned.

'Yes.'

'Right, er, okay. Um, so I just need to have you sign the title transfer, then,' he said, reaching for a second file which he hadn't expected to need, the papers prepared just in case by some overzealous junior associate. Ianto could feel the lawyer's eyes on him the entire time as he penned his signature on the forms. He must have decided that Ianto was equally as eccentric as the distant relation who'd bequeathed the land to him. Perhaps he was.

'That's it?' he asked.

'That's it,' the lawyer confirmed. 'I'll lodge these today and give you the keys.'

There was a spring in his step as he entered Jack's office, tray of coffee and chocolate biscuits in hand.

'You look like you've got a weight off your shoulders,' Jack commented.

'I do.'

'I kinda wished I'd been able to talk you into keeping it.' He'd been thinking about the place ever since they'd left. It was just so tranquil and green. Nothing like the home he'd grown up in, but all the same it had an earthy homeliness about it that he couldn't shake, like it was somewhere he could relax and feel free. It might have been somewhere he and Ianto could go to escape the madness of their lives every now and then.

'That's okay,' Ianto said. 'I brought you a present, though.'

Jack sat up straighter in his chair. 'You did?' He loved surprises, and Ianto's surprises were always the best kind.

Ianto held out a set of keys and a piece of paper

'What's this?'

'Title to a hundred acres of Welsh countryside. And one cow.'

If the lawyer had been stunned, it was nothing compared to the expression on Jack's face. 'You didn't disclaim?'

'Nope. I realised that what Torchwood really needs is a big space where aliens can live freely and without fear of being discovered. What better place than miles of green hills in the middle of nowhere? It can be our very own Torchwood sanctuary.'

'Ianto, that's... Brilliant.'

'I don't know why I didn't think of sooner, but better late than never, hey?'

Jack toyed with the keys in his hands, already feeling the scent of that fresh mountain air filling his nostrils. 'So, does this mean we have an excuse to go up there and spend some time together? I mean, I'm assuming the place will take some work to get it ready, and there's a lot of countryside to explore.'

Ianto smiled. 'I think it may require several trips, and a few overnight stays,' he agreed. 'But someone has to do it.'