Bring Him Home: Chapter 6
Nov. 10th, 2010 09:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
galadriel1010Title: Bring Him Home
Chapter Title: Chapter 6
Challenge/Fest: Schmoop_bingo (card 3)
Prompt: Kitchen disaster
Rating: G
Dedication:
Summary: One of Jack's missions has gone badly wrong, and Ianto has had to go to be with him, leaving 18-year-old Mica to babysit her young cousins and keep them distracted.
Characters: Mica Davies, Andrew Harkness-Jones, Mirabelle Harkness-Jones, Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, mentions of other canon and non-canon family
Contains: Fluff, family and friendship, cookies, a kitchen disaster, cricket and children.
Disclaimer: Torchwood and its environs, occurrences and persons belong to the BBC. The original characters have disowned me.
Mica studied the instructions on dinner that she'd been left. Somehow, her uncle managed to make even spaghetti bolognaise incomprehensible. Well, she thought that that said spaghetti... “Andrew,” she started, looking over her shoulder at him. “Can you read your tad's handwriting?”
He shook his head, a hint of a smile lighting up his eyes. “Dad says that it's in Welsh.”
She looked back at it and shook her head. “That is not Welsh. I don't know what it is, but it isn't Welsh.”
“Is it English?”
“I'm not entirely sure,” she confessed. She'd already collected the ingredients together on the work surface, so she crumpled the instructions and threw them towards the bin, missing by inches. “It's only spaghetti bolognaise; how hard can it be?”
---
Belle was in the bath, Andrew was keeping Tybalt distracted, and Mica was mopping bolognaise sauce up off the floor when the phone on the secure line rang. She groaned and propped the mop against the freshly scrubbed cooker top and ran to get the phone, which was located in her uncles' snug. It kept ringing whilst she tried to locate it under a pile of Jack's papers, so it was either Ianto or the end of the world – again. Locating it at last, she flopped into Ianto's chair and brushed her hair back to compose herself, just in case it was the Prime Minister or someone important. Not that Ianto wasn't important...
“Hello?” She closed her eyes and hoped...
“Mica, hi,” Ianto greeted her.
“Ianto!” Mica sat upright and beamed. “What news?”
He chuckled and she knew it was good. There was strain in there, but that was to be expected, really. “Are the kids there?”
“Belle's in the bath, I'll take you up,” she told him. “Is himself there?”
“Yeah, I've got him,” Ianto assured her.
“Good, good.” Mica stuck her head around the living room door and smiled at Andrew. “Got your tad on the phone. Conference call in the bathroom.”
He followed her up and sat on the edge of the bath. Belle was unconcerned, except with blowing piles of bubbles at both of them. “Belle, stop it,” Mica chided, looking for the right button on the handset. She found it and pressed it, closing one eye and hoping. “Uncle Ianto?”
“Are we on speaker phone?” he asked.
“Taddy!” Belle nearly bounced out of the bath. “Where are you?”
He laughed down the line. “Give me two seconds kids. There's someone wants to talk to you.”
There was a beep that signalled Ianto going to speaker-phone or their headsets, and then a low, fond chuckle. “How's my gorgeous girl and best boy? And naughty niece,” Jack added.
“Dad!” Andrew's face lit up, and he leaned towards the phone. “Tad found you.”
“Yeah, he did,” Jack agreed, and the edges of his voice softened further, as if he were looking right at Ianto. “Simple process, really. He just had to reverse the polarity on the teleport system.”
“Only Jack would get himself stuck in something so simple,” Ianto teased.
“Are you coming home soon?” Belle asked, wide-eyed and hopeful.
“Soon,” Jack confirmed, and she squealed with happiness. “We're flying home tomorrow, for us, so we should be there to pick you up from school, okay?”
“Don't want to go to school,” she pouted at the phone and splashed in the bath to make her point.
Ianto's laugh was a deep rumble, suggesting that he'd been pushed to the brink of exhaustion. “You have to go to school, carina. We'll go out for dinner in the evening, though.”
She sploshed unhappily, but pouted an, “Okay.”
“You're coming too, right Mica?” Jack asked.
“I'd love to,” she told him. “Thank you.”
“You're always welcome, Mica,” Ianto assured her. “Now... if my clock's right, then it's nearly Belle's bedtime...”
“Oh Taddy...”
“No buts, squirt,” Jack told her with a laugh. “Let us talk to Andrew for a bit, and if you're quick getting ready for bed I'll tell you a story.”
“Okay.” That cheered her up, so Mica passed the phone to Andrew and settled down on the edge of the bath to help Belle wash her hair properly.
---
Nearly an hour later, she collected the phone form Belle's loose hand and pressed a kiss to her forehead. She wedged the phone between her ear and her shoulder to straighten the duvet over her and talk to Jack at the same time. “Your audience is asleep, Jack.”
“The one at this end is too,” he sighed. “I just have this way with words.”
“I won't ask you for a story then,” she teased. “Ianto must be exhausted to be asleep this early.”
“Yeah, he is. It was all a bit of a... well, a fuck up to be honest. They shouldn't have called me out, and I should have been more careful.” He sighed, and Mica leant against the wall between the two bedrooms to hear him out. “We could have got a flight back sooner, but I wanted to make sure he'd got some rest before we did the flight.”
“That's understandable,” she assured him. “You'll be back soon anyway. Going to join the mile high club?”
He laughed. “Been members for years. I should go, before I disturb Ianto.”
“Yeah.” She moved away from the wall and headed downstairs. “Look after him for us.”
“I always will.”
“I know. Love you, Uncle Jack.”
“Love you too, Princess,” he told her. “We'll see you tomorrow. Sleep well.”
“Night night.” She hung up and returned the phone to the snug, then spent the rest of the evening in Jack's chair with her sketchpad, using the photo he kept on his desk as a reference.
Next chapter
Chapter Title: Chapter 6
Challenge/Fest: Schmoop_bingo (card 3)
Prompt: Kitchen disaster
Rating: G
Dedication:
Summary: One of Jack's missions has gone badly wrong, and Ianto has had to go to be with him, leaving 18-year-old Mica to babysit her young cousins and keep them distracted.
Characters: Mica Davies, Andrew Harkness-Jones, Mirabelle Harkness-Jones, Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, mentions of other canon and non-canon family
Contains: Fluff, family and friendship, cookies, a kitchen disaster, cricket and children.
Disclaimer: Torchwood and its environs, occurrences and persons belong to the BBC. The original characters have disowned me.
Mica studied the instructions on dinner that she'd been left. Somehow, her uncle managed to make even spaghetti bolognaise incomprehensible. Well, she thought that that said spaghetti... “Andrew,” she started, looking over her shoulder at him. “Can you read your tad's handwriting?”
He shook his head, a hint of a smile lighting up his eyes. “Dad says that it's in Welsh.”
She looked back at it and shook her head. “That is not Welsh. I don't know what it is, but it isn't Welsh.”
“Is it English?”
“I'm not entirely sure,” she confessed. She'd already collected the ingredients together on the work surface, so she crumpled the instructions and threw them towards the bin, missing by inches. “It's only spaghetti bolognaise; how hard can it be?”
---
Belle was in the bath, Andrew was keeping Tybalt distracted, and Mica was mopping bolognaise sauce up off the floor when the phone on the secure line rang. She groaned and propped the mop against the freshly scrubbed cooker top and ran to get the phone, which was located in her uncles' snug. It kept ringing whilst she tried to locate it under a pile of Jack's papers, so it was either Ianto or the end of the world – again. Locating it at last, she flopped into Ianto's chair and brushed her hair back to compose herself, just in case it was the Prime Minister or someone important. Not that Ianto wasn't important...
“Hello?” She closed her eyes and hoped...
“Mica, hi,” Ianto greeted her.
“Ianto!” Mica sat upright and beamed. “What news?”
He chuckled and she knew it was good. There was strain in there, but that was to be expected, really. “Are the kids there?”
“Belle's in the bath, I'll take you up,” she told him. “Is himself there?”
“Yeah, I've got him,” Ianto assured her.
“Good, good.” Mica stuck her head around the living room door and smiled at Andrew. “Got your tad on the phone. Conference call in the bathroom.”
He followed her up and sat on the edge of the bath. Belle was unconcerned, except with blowing piles of bubbles at both of them. “Belle, stop it,” Mica chided, looking for the right button on the handset. She found it and pressed it, closing one eye and hoping. “Uncle Ianto?”
“Are we on speaker phone?” he asked.
“Taddy!” Belle nearly bounced out of the bath. “Where are you?”
He laughed down the line. “Give me two seconds kids. There's someone wants to talk to you.”
There was a beep that signalled Ianto going to speaker-phone or their headsets, and then a low, fond chuckle. “How's my gorgeous girl and best boy? And naughty niece,” Jack added.
“Dad!” Andrew's face lit up, and he leaned towards the phone. “Tad found you.”
“Yeah, he did,” Jack agreed, and the edges of his voice softened further, as if he were looking right at Ianto. “Simple process, really. He just had to reverse the polarity on the teleport system.”
“Only Jack would get himself stuck in something so simple,” Ianto teased.
“Are you coming home soon?” Belle asked, wide-eyed and hopeful.
“Soon,” Jack confirmed, and she squealed with happiness. “We're flying home tomorrow, for us, so we should be there to pick you up from school, okay?”
“Don't want to go to school,” she pouted at the phone and splashed in the bath to make her point.
Ianto's laugh was a deep rumble, suggesting that he'd been pushed to the brink of exhaustion. “You have to go to school, carina. We'll go out for dinner in the evening, though.”
She sploshed unhappily, but pouted an, “Okay.”
“You're coming too, right Mica?” Jack asked.
“I'd love to,” she told him. “Thank you.”
“You're always welcome, Mica,” Ianto assured her. “Now... if my clock's right, then it's nearly Belle's bedtime...”
“Oh Taddy...”
“No buts, squirt,” Jack told her with a laugh. “Let us talk to Andrew for a bit, and if you're quick getting ready for bed I'll tell you a story.”
“Okay.” That cheered her up, so Mica passed the phone to Andrew and settled down on the edge of the bath to help Belle wash her hair properly.
---
Nearly an hour later, she collected the phone form Belle's loose hand and pressed a kiss to her forehead. She wedged the phone between her ear and her shoulder to straighten the duvet over her and talk to Jack at the same time. “Your audience is asleep, Jack.”
“The one at this end is too,” he sighed. “I just have this way with words.”
“I won't ask you for a story then,” she teased. “Ianto must be exhausted to be asleep this early.”
“Yeah, he is. It was all a bit of a... well, a fuck up to be honest. They shouldn't have called me out, and I should have been more careful.” He sighed, and Mica leant against the wall between the two bedrooms to hear him out. “We could have got a flight back sooner, but I wanted to make sure he'd got some rest before we did the flight.”
“That's understandable,” she assured him. “You'll be back soon anyway. Going to join the mile high club?”
He laughed. “Been members for years. I should go, before I disturb Ianto.”
“Yeah.” She moved away from the wall and headed downstairs. “Look after him for us.”
“I always will.”
“I know. Love you, Uncle Jack.”
“Love you too, Princess,” he told her. “We'll see you tomorrow. Sleep well.”
“Night night.” She hung up and returned the phone to the snug, then spent the rest of the evening in Jack's chair with her sketchpad, using the photo he kept on his desk as a reference.
Next chapter
