Author's Note: Here we are the final chapter! I just want to say a big thank you to all of you who have reviewed and put this story on favourite and alert. So far this story has received 607 reviews, 221 story alerts and has been added as a favourite by 170 people which is truly amazing. To be honest when I started this story I was going to end it with Jack and Ianto moving in together and never imagined that it would go on to 52 chapters! So thank you for reading and I hope you have enjoyed this story as much as I have done writing it.
Chapter Fifty Two
Jack lay on his side in bed, with his head resting on one hand, as he watched Ianto sleep peacefully; the light coming from the bedside lamp throwing shadows on his face. It had been a long and exciting day; Ianto had finally succumbed to sleep about an hour ago but Jack couldn't rest, even though he had been in labour only that morning. Jack watched as Ianto eyes moved behind his eyelids and wondered what he was dreaming about, was it their future with Elizabeth? Just the thought of his youngest daughter made excitement pool in Jack's stomach; he still couldn't believe that she was finally here.
Jack carefully climbed out of bed and made his way to Elizabeth's cot. He rested his hands on the edge of the cot and smiled down at his sleeping daughter, she had been good as gold, although he expected her to wake soon for another feed. Without realising it Jack began to time his own breathing with Elizabeth's, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest and counting them; when he realised what he was doing Jack silently scolded himself, he would not spend the whole of Elizabeth's life waiting for, and fearing the day, that she would stop breathing. He wouldn't waste his time with her dreading the inevitable, especially not when she was so young. Jack desperately wanted to touch the smooth skin of her cheek, reassure himself that she was here and well, but knew better than to disturb her.
Whilst looking at Elizabeth Jack couldn't help but think of his other daughter and how similar they both looked as babies. Alice hadn't attempted to contact him since he told her that he was pregnant but Jack desperately wanted Elizabeth to know her half-sister and nephew; he also wanted Alice to know that Elizabeth had arrived safely. Jack quietly padded back to his bed and picked up his mobile from the bedside table, taking care not to wake either Elizabeth or Ianto. Jack took a photo of Elizabeth, attached it to a text message and wondered what to write to Alice, after several minutes of worrying and rewriting the text Jack settled for simply typing;
Elizabeth Harkness-Jones was born this morning, happy and healthy. I'd love it if you could meet her. Love, Dad xx
Jack hesitated, staring at the glowing screen before finally pressing send; if he was honest he didn't expect a reply.
-TW-
The next month went by in a flash of late night feeds, visits from Rhiannon and the kids and Martha having to return to London. Before they knew it, Ianto and Jack had settled into a routine with their new arrival and were enjoying every moment.
"Jack!" called Ianto.
Jack groaned from where he was sitting with Tosh at her desk and tried to hide behind a pile of files.
"Jack!" called Ianto again, his voice coming closer as he looked for his partner.
Tosh looked at Jack sternly "it is your turn you know" she said, a smile tugging at her lips.
"But I carried her" moaned Jack.
He jumped as a voice came from behind him "yeah that worked for like a day" Ianto said before thrusting Elizabeth, who was wearing a rather smelly nappy, into Jack's face. "I've done the last three."
At that moment a computer beeped, "sorry Ianto" said Tosh, immediately checking the screen. "Weevil sighting."
Ianto sighed as Jack's face broke into a grin "sorry Yan" he said "Lizzie, next time eh princess?" He bent down to place a quick kiss to the grizzling child's brow and then squeezed Ianto's shoulder before yelling, "come on guys Weevils!"
Ianto said nothing, he knew how much Jack enjoyed being able to go out on missions again and couldn't begrudge him a chance to go outside. Before he knew it he was standing alone in the Hub with a tearful Elizabeth "you're dad's a jammy one eh?" he muttered. "I swear he sets those alarms off when he wants." Ianto sighed heavily "come on then love, let's get you changed and fed."
-TW-
Jack opened his eyes and took in a deep, panicked breath, arms flailing wildly.
"Woah!" said Owen "calm down Jack, we've got them contained."
"What happened?" Jack groaned.
"Weevil was going for a civilian and you and your jugular got in the way, Gwen's retconning her now."
Jack got up from the pavement and grimaced at the blood stains on his shirt, this was the first time he had died in nearly a year and he had almost forgotten how terrifying it was. He rubbed his forehead, trying to ease the headache pounding beneath his temple and wished that Ianto was here, he also really wanted to see Elizabeth.
"Let's go" he said shortly, the need to see his daughter again almost overwhelming him.
-TW-
Ianto carefully eased Elizabeth's head onto his shoulder and rubbed her back gently, after placing an empty bottle on the nearest desk. "You've definitely got your dad's appetite" he murmured as Elizabeth gurgled happily.
Ianto moved Elizabeth so she was lying in the crook of his arm and smiled at her, he still couldn't believe that she was here and that he was a father. That he and Jack were fathers. If you'd told him all those years ago when he first joined Torchwood London that this was what his future held he would have laughed. Heck, he would never have believed that he would be in a relationship with a man, let alone have a child with him, let alone with Captain Jack Harkness of all people.
Ianto was hardly aware of the cog wheel rolling as he looked into Elizabeth's wide, blinking eyes and barely glanced up at the arriving team before looking back up again in horror. Jack looked awful, his shirt was ripped and covered in blood and his skin had a greyish tinge to it.
"What happened?" he asked, holding Elizabeth to his chest a little tighter.
Jack didn't answer but just simply wrapped his arms around Ianto, leaving enough space for Elizabeth to be comfortable. Ianto just stood and allowed Jack to ground himself; Tosh, Owen and Gwen watched Jack embrace his family silently, before moving away to give them some privacy. Elizabeth could obviously sense that something was wrong and began to wail.
"Shh princess" soothed Jack, taking Elizabeth from Ianto and rocking her gently, making sure to keep her away from the drying blood on his shirt.
Elizabeth soon stopped crying and Jack looked up from his daughter as he felt a gentle touch against his cheek. "Weevil?" whispered Ianto.
"Yeah" whispered back Jack, "I know it sounds silly but I just had to see you guys..."
Jack's voice trailed off but Ianto needed no further information, he knew what was going through Jack's mind. If he wasn't immortal, if he didn't have this great gift or curse, depending on how you looked at it, he would never have seen his daughter again. It was a fear that Ianto carried constantly now that he was a parent and he could understand Jack's need to hold their child.
After a few moments Ianto whispered "Cariad, why don't you get changed eh? Maybe a shower?"
Jack nodded tiredly and handed Elizabeth back to Ianto, "I won't be long" he promised.
-TW-
Jack wearily climbed down the ladder into his old room and kicked off his boots, before stripping off his shirt and immediately binning it. Jack walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower, giving the water a little time to warm up. He looked in the full length mirror on the bathroom door and winced as he saw the dried blood that covered his neck, no wonder Ianto had looked so shocked when he had walked in. Jack unzipped his trousers and let them and his boxers pool around his feet, as he pulled off his white undershirt. He stroked his midriff lightly, still not used to his flat toned stomach and froze as he realised that his caesarean scar was gone.
Jack tried to blink away tears as he realised that now there was no sign at all that he had ever been pregnant, this was the first time that he had died since giving birth and he hadn't even thought about his body repairing the scar tissue as well as the wound on his neck. He jumped back in surprise as the bathroom door opened and Ianto walked in holding some pills and a glass of water.
Ianto smiled and said "I brought these for your headache."
Jack smiled a wobbly smile and took the pills, swallowing them quickly. "Thanks" he rasped.
"What's wrong?" Ianto asked, immediately realising that something was upsetting his partner.
Jack shrugged half heartedly and said "nothing, I'm just being silly."
Ianto saw Jack rub his waist again and immediately noticed that Jack's scar had gone. "Jack" he whispered, "it doesn't matter."
"It does" said Jack sadly, "my scar showed that I had been pregnant, if I ever..."
Ianto immediately pulled Jack into an embrace and Jack clung onto him. "Oh Jack" he sighed, his breath moving the top of Jack's hair slightly. "You won't need a scar to remember her, you won't forget."
"What if I do?" Jack's voice broke and Ianto just held him tighter "you won't" he promised, rocking Jack slightly "you won't."
After a few moments Ianto pulled away from Jack and kissed him gently. Jack kissed back almost desperately, needing to feel reassured that he was still here and alive. Ianto moved his arms from Jack's naked waist and shrugged off his suit jacket.
"We can't" whispered Jack, pulling back minutely, still so close that his lips moved against Ianto's. "Lizzy."
"Tosh and Owen have taken her for a walk. Gwen's watching the rift" Ianto whispered back "this is the first time we've been alone in weeks Jack, let me make you feel better."
Jack paused for a second, he hated the idea that Elizabeth wasn't with either him or Ianto, he still didn't like to let her out of his sight.
"I know Cariad, I don't like it either" Ianto whispered, brushing his lips against Jack's forehead "but it's only for a little while. We need to get used to this and Tosh volunteered to baby sit."
Jack smiled and wondered not for the first time how Ianto always seemed to know what he was thinking, before kissing him again. Jack's hands reached upwards and tugged at the knot of Ianto's tie before joining Ianto's nimble fingers in undoing the buttons of his shirt.
Within seconds Ianto was as naked and as aroused as Jack and steering him into the shower. Jack tipped his head back with his eyes closed, enjoying the warm water sluicing down his aching body. He only opened his eyes as he felt a flannel touch his neck and he titled his head to the side to allow Ianto to wash away the blood. Jack enjoyed the feeling of Ianto caring for him, soft strong wipes against his skin and sighed happily as Ianto reached for the bottle of shampoo, he loved the feeling of Ianto washing his hair. Ianto's fingers were gentle but strong as they massaged the shampoo into Jack's scalp, washing away the crusted blood he could feel.
When Ianto was done, Jack took the flannel and began to wash Ianto's body, gradually moving lower until he was on his knees. Ianto looked down at Jack and gave an encouraging smile, they had had no time to be intimate since Elizabeth was born and Ianto almost came on the spot as he felt Jack's lips wrap around him.
"Jack" he groaned, his hand sliding into Jack's wet hair.
Jack hummed in approval and Ianto's eyes rolled back as the vibrations nearly sent him mad. His head snapped back up as Jack stopped.
"Jack?" panted Ianto.
Jack grinned and simply said "lube."
Ianto's hand flailed wildly as he tried to locate the tube of lube hidden behind the bottles of shower gel and shampoo. He finally located it and handed it back down to Jack who quickly resumed licking and sucking Ianto.
Jack held Ianto to the cold tiled wall with one hand on his hip, whilst the other hand encouraged Ianto to spread his legs slightly. Soon Ianto was panting as Jack teased him mercilessly with first one finger and then two. Jack could sense that Ianto was close and pulled away from the young man, quickly standing up and kissing his partner.
Ianto kissed back desperately, they hadn't had sex in a month and Jack certainly hadn't been able to do what he was obviously planning in a long time due to the pregnancy. Ianto couldn't wait to feel Jack inside of him and Jack couldn't wait to be inside of Ianto.
Ianto moved so that his back was facing Jack and leant against the shower wall with his hands placed shoulder width apart. Jack took a moment to admire the sight before him and chuckled as Ianto wiggled his backside cheekily. Jack smacked Ianto's arse lightly and grabbed the bottle of lube again before carefully sinking into Ianto.
Both men groaned simultaneously, they had missed this and it took a few seconds for Jack to remember than he needed to move. Jack set a punishing pace, his hips snapping forward as Ianto thrust backwards, this wasn't going to last long, both men had missed the other too much.
"Jack!" gasped Ianto as Jack nudged against his prostate and Jack grinned before nipping softly at Ianto's shoulder.
Jack tried to hold off as long as he could but soon his vision was tunnelling, he slipped one hand from Ianto's hip around to his cock and began to stroke him in time with his thrusts.
"Ianto" groaned Jack and that was all Ianto needed before he came, his semen spilling over Jack's fist and his muscles contracting around Jack's cock.
"God, Jack!" panted Ianto as his orgasm spread through him. Seconds later Jack shouted hoarsely as his climax ripped through his body and he dropped his head heavily onto Ianto's shoulder.
Ianto turned around lazily and kissed Jack softly "mmm, missed that" he mumbled.
Jack smiled and said "me too."
-TW-
Much later that night Jack and Ianto were at home and lying on their bed, playing with Elizabeth who was lying in between them; both men were feeling extremely content as they watched Elizabeth gurgle and kick her legs out.
Jack groaned as a loud beep signalled his mobile going off and prayed that it wasn't another Weevil or rift alert, he wanted to spend the evening with Ianto and Elizabeth. Ianto raised an eyebrow in enquiry and laid on his back, lifting Elizabeth up and pulled silly faces at her. Elizabeth just stared back at him oddly.
"You know she won't laugh 'til she's about three months or so" said Jack smiling at his partner before rolling off of the bed in search of his phone.
"I know" sighed Ianto laying Elizabeth back down "doesn't hurt to try. 'Cause you're going to be a clever one aren't you sweetie?" he cooed whilst playing with Elizabeth's fingers.
Jack picked up his phone and fondly shook his head at his partner before glancing at his screen; his heart froze for a second as he saw that it was a text from Alice. He quickly clicked open, the text simply read 'Congratulations, Elizabeth is a beautiful name' and it made Jack smile; it had taken a while and wasn't much, but it was definitely a start. He settled back down onto the bed, Elizabeth lying between him and Ianto and smiled as his youngest child grabbed his finger and gurgled happily.
Ianto looked at his partner "everything all right?" he asked. Jack nodded and Ianto just smiled back.
Jack caught Ianto's gaze and whispered "thank you."
"What for?" asked Ianto confused.
"This... everything" Jack replied softly.
Ianto smiled and whispered back "I love you."
"I love you too" replied Jack, the two men leant towards each other and shared a soft kiss.
Soon their attention was recaptured by their baby and Jack couldn't help but sigh contentedly as he watched Ianto play with Elizabeth. This young man represented so much, who would have thought all those months ago when they had started this that they would have a proper relationship. Jack smiled again in happiness; that was what summed them up then, they had a proper relationship and now they were much more.
They were a proper family.