m_findlow

Title: For the best
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Jack
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for Bingo Card Prompt 69 - Baby at fffc
Summary: Ianto comes home to a shocking surprise and a reality check for Jack.

Ianto rubbed a hand over his face as he lugged the small wheeled suitcase in through the door. Thank God he didn't have to do these long haul conferences more than once a year. That was enough pandering, small talk, lumpy beds and bad coffee as he could take. Still, he supposed it was worth it in the long run. Torchwood at least held some credence these days, and it was other people wanting to bend his ear and not the other way around now. Everyone knew that they had resources and technology that could come in handy, but you had to ask nicely.

He heard a sound coming from down the hallway and it made him stop dead in his tracks. He knew he was tired after a long flight but he was sure he must have imagined the sound. Then it came again and he knew he'd heard it - a baby's cry. But what on earth would that sound be doing in their house? He abandoned his suitcase and swept down the hall, around the corner and up the stairs to their bedroom. Lo and behold, there standing just in front of the king size bed he'd been very much looking forward to flopping down into, was Jack, cradling a baby in his arms and bouncing it gently as he paced back and forth, trying to soothe its intermittent cries.

No. No, no, no, no, no, the voice in Ianto's head repeated. This was not happening. 'No,' he said out loud this time, pointing a slightly accusatory, slightly terrified finger at Jack. 'You didn't!' Jack had so often teased Ianto that he'd, at least on one occasion, been pregnant. And then of course there'd been that whole episode where he'd agreed to be a surrogate for some alien queen, letting those who wanted to depose her chase him all over the city, trying to kill the baby Jack was gestating for her, with Ianto as his only protection from their would be assassins. But this? This was too much.

'You can't be,' Ianto said, although it was probably a little late for a statement like that. 'I was gone for two weeks. Two weeks! You did not just get pregnant and give birth to a baby the minute I had my back turned!' he hissed, trying to keep his fury quiet so as not to upset the infant. He blinked and then reality came crashing over him like a tidal wave. 'Oh, God. It's not… It's not mine, is it?'

Jack finally looked up at him from where his gaze had been completely fixated on the tiny bundle in his arms. 'It's not yours,' Jack affirmed. 'It's not even mine. But…'

Ianto closed his eyes. Oh no. Why did there have to be a but? 'But what?'

'She could be,' Jack replied.

She? It was the first time he bothered to look over the edges of the little blanket and see the tiny face inside them. She was so cute, but no. He had to not think about it like that. 'What? I mean, how?' Yes, how was the right question. 'How did you end up with a baby?'

Jack lowered himself onto the edge of the bed, readjusting his hold so that she was more horizontal. 'She came through the rift.'

'The rift?'

'A spike. Stolen from somewhere. I don't know where, I don't know when.'

'Jesus,' Ianto breathed. He was somewhat used to the idea of adults being snatched by the rift and dumped elsewhere, but never an infant, let alone one that looked no more than a few weeks old at most. Her mother must be absolutely frantic.

'I thought we could keep her,' Jack said.

Ianto shook his head. 'No. Jack, we can't. She's just a baby.'

'But she needs someone to look after her. We could do that. I know you'd be a great dad.'

'And what parenting have you done in the last forty years? What parenting have I done?'

'All parents start out knowing nothing,' Jack argued.

Ianto sucked in a deep breath and let it out very slowly. This was madness. They couldn't just suddenly adopt a baby that had come through the rift. Their job was dangerous and often twenty four hours a day. They barely remembered to feed and shower themselves some days. They didn't even have pets for that reason. There was just no way a child was safe in their hands, however well-meaning. 'Jack…'

'Just hold her for a minute,' Jack begged. 'Then you won't be able to say no.'

He knew what Jack was trying to do. As much as he might have wanted to hold her, he knew that his heart would break if he had to give her back. 'It's not right to give such a little one a life of chaos and danger. It's not fair to let her grow up surrounded by that. She needs love and attention and stability.'

'We can do that! She's already loved!'

'I bet you haven't named her yet, have you?'

Jack's expression faltered. 'I was waiting for you.'

'You were waiting for me to say yes, knowing that we couldn't.'

'I…' Jack's head drooped sadly. 'I know you're right, but I just thought… A little girl all our own, Ianto…'

He reached over and brushed a finger against her little pink cheek. 'There are so many couples out there that would be desperate to have a child to love and cherish. She belongs with one of them. Not us. Not now.'

'We could love her and cherish her.'

'We could.' A chance at a family had always felt so completely out of reach for them and here it was presenting itself to them and he was saying no. 'But she has a chance at a normal life. After everything she's been through, doesn't she deserve that?'

Jack bent down and kissed her forehead before leaning heavily against him. 'I'll make some calls in the morning.'