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galadriel1010 ([personal profile] galadriel1010) wrote2011-10-26 11:28 am

Timelord!Ianto: To Love 3

Title: Trials of a Timelord
Chapter Title: Ours To Love 3
Challenge/Fest: LongLIveIanto Bingo
Prompt: Baby Shower
Rating: G
Dedication: For [livejournal.com profile] laligin
Summary: The last four months of Jack's pregnancy
Characters: Jack/Ianto and OCs
Contains: Pregnancy.
Disclaimer: Torchwood and its environs, occurrences and persons belong to the BBC. The original characters have disowned me.

Sorry this is so very late. I think I have one left to write and then I'm finished, though!

4 Months
Ianto leaned back on his elbows and watched Jack moving around behind the camera. The studio didn't quite give the impression of a bedroom that it was supposed to, despite the drapes hanging from the partitions, but it was familiar enough to be relaxing. Jack moved the camera to the side and peered at the screen again, raising it on its stand and reaching behind him to adjust the light level. “I need to get some more filters for the lights this afternoon,” he muttered. “Where did you put the ones we got the other day?”

“They're in the storeroom.” He pushed himself up again and fished under the bed for his shoes. “I'll go and fetch them.”

Jack sighed at him, but he let Ianto go to the storeroom that led off the front office to fetch the box of filters. There were three boxes, one for the camera filters, one for the wall light filters and one for the small spot filters. He got the spot filters and the wall light filters and brought them back to the studio, setting them on the bed and taking the lid off to flick through them. Behind him, Jack left the camera and approached the bed, reaching around Ianto to the box so that Ianto was trapped between his arms. “I'm thinking a lilac,” he breathed in Ianto's ear. “Something soft and ethereal.”

His baby bump pressed into Ianto's back, and Ianto reached back with one hand to grip his hip and hold him close. “Your elf kink is showing.”

He yelped when he felt Jack's teeth on the shell of his ear, nipping at it gently. “I have a Welsh kink, not an elf kink,” Jack growled against his neck. His lips curved into a smile and his arms wrapped around Ianto's torso. “Although Legolas was hot.”

“You're so weird.” He pushed Jack away and turned to face him, so that the swell of his belly was between them and Ianto could nuzzle their noses together. “Perving over people who died three thousand years ago...”

“I could go further back,” he offered. “Elizabeth the First, Cartimandua... Cleopatra and Marc Anthony; I wouldn't mind getting between them.”

“Weird,” Ianto repeated. “And you did get between them.”

“Oh yeah.” Jack grinned at him, utterly shameless. “That was a fun mission. We should go back to Egypt.”

“What, to apologise?” He eased Jack away, ignoring his disappointed muttering, and turned back to the filter boxes. “You need to decide what filters you want so that we can go out and get them. Today's the last chance before we open.”

“I know.” Jack reached past him again and pulled out a selection of yellow spot filters, peering through them at the wall. “I'm really glad we came here.”

“Yeah.” Ianto looked around the studio and past the partition to the front office and the gallery where Jack's work was displayed. He'd found a niche, and they could afford to occupy it for a while longer than they'd planned. “Me too.”

X~X~X~X

5 months:
The Ben-Afrai-Iloma celebrated the turning of the seasons like any other planet with a non-vertical axis of rotation and, like everywhere else, the harvest-season festival was a riot of colour and food. Shops and restaurants sold the berry and nut cake that had become the local delicacy, and crowds of children roamed the parks and streets, looking for the seeds and berries that grew in the communal areas. Out in the woods around the lakes, families could be seen with baskets to bring home the spoils of their adventures, and piles of fruit gathered in the bandstands and public halls around the town.

The highlight of the festival was a banquet, held in the biggest communal hall in each town. Long tables filled the hall lengthways from the stage, where musicians, storytellers, dancers and acrobats entertained the revellers, and waiters moves around the hall with platters of seasonal foods and meat cut from the huge roasts on the serving tables. The guests wore broad scarves in bright colours wrapped around their shoulders, over elaborate dresses, suits and tunics.

Ianto hovered by a table in the corner, keeping an eye on Jack's equipment whilst he worked. A children's choir were back for their second performance of the night, so Jack was taking the opportunity to get photos of the over-laden trays on the serving table. The food seemed to shine in the warm lights of the hall, and Ianto's mouth watered at the sight. Jack apparently felt the same, because when he left to return to Jack he was followed by a waiter who brought two plates piled high with a bit of everything from the table.

“I thought you might be getting hungry,” Jack told him, slipping up to Ianto's side and wrapping his free arm around his waist, “so I got them to bring something over for us.”

“I was getting that way,” he agreed. He took the camera from Jack and opened the viewer to look at the pictures he'd taken. “The colours are amazing – they've come out really well.”

“Yeah, I'm glad I took it.” Pressing a hand against his back, Jack groaned and closed his eyes. “But now I need to sit down for a bit.”

“Are you okay?” Ianto put the camera aside quickly and guided Jack into a chair next to the table. “Do you need me to do anything?”

“Shift your offspring off my kidney,” Jack groused, but he smiled down at Ianto, who had crouched in front of him. “I'm fine. I just need to be off my feet for a bit.”

“Okay.” Ianto took one of the plates and set it down next to Jack. “Get something to eat as well.” Jack gave him a patient smile and stretched his legs out in front of himself, nibbling at the fruit and cheese on the plate. Next to the table, Ianto picked at the other plate, then cleaned his fingers in the basin and dried them before he started checking through the filters. “What do you want this time?” he asked. “You've got the acrobats coming up soon.”

“Then put me the gold filter on the mid-focus lens. I'll hover at the edge of the stage.” Jack rotated his ankles and got to his feet again, just as Ianto finished putting the right lens on his camera and turned to hold it out to him. “Thanks.” He leaned in and kissed Ianto as he took the camera from him. “I won't be long. Eat something whilst I'm gone, okay?”

“Sure.” He smiled at Jack's retreating back and sat in the seat he'd just vacated to eat and watch him work.

X~X~X~X

6 Months
The estate agent let them into the third and final house of the day and led the way through the entrance hall into the living area. “This is another long-term rental contract like the last one, but it's more compact than that one; better if you're not planning to expand your family any further,” he suggested. “In here, as you can see, you have a kitchen area at that end, and you can then have a dining area in the middle and a living area at this end, as the current occupants have, or you can use one of the larger rooms across the hall as a living room if you don't need it.”

They crossed the space onto the raised wooden floor that marked the kitchen area. “Over here you've got a dual processor and delivery transmat,” he explained, showing them how it opened. “And you've also got the traditional fridge and an oven, if you want to cook for yourselves.”

“I love this kitchen,” Jack breathed, running his fingers along the edge of the stone work surface. It was finely grained and dark blue in colour, shot through with seams of gold. Wooden chopping boards that were easy to replace were set into the counter, and there were two built-in knife blocks. He bent down to look in one of the cupboards, which had white doors with pale blue decorations, and his voice echoed around it. “And these cupboards are bigger on the inside.”

Ianto sighed and left the sideboard to hover next to Jack before he tried to get up and remembered that he couldn't. “I like this room as an entertaining space,” he agreed, offering Jack his hand a moment before he asked for help. “It's big enough to be flexible, small enough to be intimate.”

The estate agent smiled at them and nodded. “You could even move in soon enough to have your baby shower in here. It would be a good first party.”

“We could.” Ianto cast around to change the subject quickly and his gaze settled on a photo on the wall. “Could you show us the studio-office?”

“Of course.” He led them back out into the hall, past the bedrooms, and into a bright, clean studio space. The walls were white and covered with sketches done by one of the current residents, and the room was dominated by two large desks that sat catty-corner to each other. Bookcases lined one wall, with a sofa facing them, and, at the touch of a button, two of the walls cleared to reveal a stunning vista down the rugged coast and out over the ocean.

Ianto heard Jack gasp, and had to agree. Jack's hands were reaching for the camera he'd left at the villa as he stepped up to the glass. “We'll take it.”

“The wall in the master bedroom also clears to provide a view of the ocean,” the agent told them. “It really is in the perfect location.”

“I meant it,” Ianto interrupted, sparing him a glance over his shoulder. “We'll take it, as soon as we can.” He reached out for Jack's hand, pulling him back to the conversation. “Our contract at the villa expires at the end of next month, and we'd like to move in here before that.”

The agent beamed and brushed his skirt down in a smug gesture. “I'm sure you'll love living here. We can make an appointment for you to arrange your moving date and sign the contract this Fartha.”

He nodded and turned to smile at Jack. “That sounds perfect.”

X~X~X~X

7 Months
Jack sat back in the reclined chair, hands resting on his abdomen, and chatted with a group of their guests. A waitress drifted over to him and gave him a fresh glass of the mixed berry juice he'd been drinking constantly for a week, laughing at something he told her. After she returned to the kitchen area, Jack looked around the room and caught Ianto's eye, tilting his head in a 'come hither' movement. Grinning, Ianto did as he was bid, and went to lean on the back of Jack's chair. “How are you enjoying being the centre of attention, then?”

“Baby is the centre of attention, not me,” he protested. “I am merely the juice and food delivery device.”

“Is that a 'feed me, Ianto'?”

Jack reached out and caught his wrist before he could go. “Baby wants a kiss, first.”

“Idiot.” He bent down and obliged anyway, caressing Jack's face after he pulled away. “Are you holding up alright?”

“I'll need to sleep soon,” he admitted with a wry smile. “I'm just so tired these days.”

“I know you are.” Ianto kissed his forehead and straightened up. “I'll start wrapping things up, then we can get you to bed. People can congregate on the terrace if they want to help us eat the last of the food.”

He left Jack in the chair and went in search of the catering staff he'd hired to keep his mind off the party and on Jack's upcoming surgery. Most of the food had been eaten and the drink drunk, which drew his attention to the crates of miniature bottles and the stack of hexagonal boxes which had been tucked away on a table at the back. As the other tables had been consolidated and cleared, the gifts had been moved forwards, ready for the end of the party.

Ianto picked up Jack's biggest pan – it was made from a metal like blue copper and had to live on the counter-top because it was so big – and bounced the back of a spoon off it twice. It rang like a bell, and cut through the conversation so that everyone turned to him. “The time has come, I'm afraid. Thank you all for joining us today, for the gifts and the cakes and the advice, and for that bottle of wine that Jack's really looking forwards to being allowed to drink. You're all welcome to stay and finish off the food, but Jack needs to go to bed, so...” he turned back to the table and picked up the first crate of bottles. “We'd like to give you these, and a small gift to eat sooner if you want to.”

People drifted over to him to collect their gifts, thank him for a lovely time and wish them well. Baby showers were one of the traditions that had been adapted in the baby-centric society, held at seven months for male carriers and eight months for female carriers, as an opportunity for the parents' friends to wish them luck and offer advice before the delivery. The parents, in return, gave gifts of small bottles of local wine for their friends to celebrate the baby's birth as soon as they heard the news.

It took about half an hour for Ianto to get around everyone, and then he left the staff tidying away and went to collect Jack. His eyes were drooping, and he looked up at Ianto from his chair with a slow smile. “Now can I go to bed?”

“You can.” Ianto kissed him quickly and then helped him to his feet. They called out farewells to the last few who were lingering in the dining area, mostly around the remainder of the buffet, and crossed the hall to their bedroom. He turned the window-wall opaque again and helped Jack to settle into bed, choosing to lie down next to him on top of the duvet as long as there were other people in the house. “Not long now,” he whispered half to Jack and half to their child, running his fingers along the hidden swell of Jack's belly. “Hard to imagine.”

Jack caught Ianto's hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it and then resting his cheek on it, trapping it against the pillow. “I'm glad we did this.”

X~X~X~X

Eight Months
Ianto pressed his fingers against his eyes until he saw stars and gave a heavy sigh. The clock on the wall beeped to indicate another quarter hour. Quiet footsteps moved away from him down the hall. A baby wailed in the distance. The door creaked open and Ianto raised his head. “Nurse?”

“Ianto.” Her smile was tired but brilliant. “They're waiting for you.”

He was on his feet in an instant, covering the space between his chair and Jack's side without conscious thought. Jack's doctor was there but anything he said sailed over Ianto's head, because he was aware only of Jack's grin and the bundle of blankets in the nurse's arms. “Oh...”

“Nothing to it, I told you.” Jack patted the bed beside him and reached out to take the baby. “Come and say hello.”

“She's beautiful,” he whispered, perching on the bed next to Jack. “So tiny...”

“Gendering.”

“Telepathic,” Ianto reminded him. He kissed his cheek and reached over to pull the soft white blanket down a little more. “My angels.”

Jack gave him a blinding grin. “Sop.”

Next chapter

[identity profile] milady-dragon.livejournal.com 2011-10-26 12:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Yay! So glad to see this, I've missed this universe.

This was just so sweet! The boys, and their little girl...*sigh* I do have to say I laughed at that last line, though.

Sorry to see this universe to be over, I've enjoyed every minute of it. :)

[identity profile] fiwen1010.livejournal.com 2011-10-27 02:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you :D I've missed writing it. It's good to get back to the fluff
Might be asking for a new card soon... hopefully. We'll see how it goes
Gxxx

[identity profile] littleni.livejournal.com 2011-10-26 01:57 pm (UTC)(link)
AWWWWW
I am such a sap for Mpreg, I will miss this verse its been great reading!

[identity profile] fiwen1010.livejournal.com 2011-10-27 02:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Mpreg is the best thing ever (apart from chocolate) Glad you liked it :D
Rxxx

[identity profile] idamus.livejournal.com 2011-10-28 03:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Any chance of getting this series as a PDF when you're done? I'm never going to catch up online, but with some Kindle help I just might make it

[identity profile] fiwen1010.livejournal.com 2011-10-28 07:47 pm (UTC)(link)
I'll be crossposting it all to AO3, so I think it'll be downloadable as a PDF from there? If it isn't, you'll have to talk me through making one lol.

[identity profile] idamus.livejournal.com 2011-10-28 08:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Oooh, I love AO3, I can get the proper Kindle format instead of converting PDFs, will you let me/us know when it's up? I'm not a member over there

[identity profile] fiwen1010.livejournal.com 2011-10-28 10:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Sure :) I need to sort it all out one day, but that one day never seems to arrive X)