ericadawn16 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ericadawn16) wrote2010-05-07 01:09 am
ericadawn16) wrote2010-05-07 01:09 am
Chapter Six: Acceptance
Title: Knocked Up!
Author: Ericadawn16
Prompt: Knocked Up
Character/Pairing(s): Jack/Ianto, Gwen/Rhys, Rhi/Johnny, Ianto/Lisa
Rating:R
Warnings: MPreg, sex, language
Spoilers:Character from COE
Word Count:68,599
Disclaimer for TW and the movie you are using:I own nothing.
Summary:Ianto gets a promotion at work, meets Jack and things are never the same...
Beta: BIG Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
madkatstar_pir8 pirate4evrnavy2 and surreal_44
Author's Notes: This story is very AU. Chapter Five: Confirmation
Chapter Six: Acceptance
"I know..."
"How could this happen?" Jack interrupted again and crossed his arms. Ianto was feeling his confidence leave him.
"I don't know! I'm a bloke and you were wearing a condom!" he complained in a hiss so people wouldn't overhear. He hoped they wouldn't overhear. It would really top off his week to be called into Yvonne's office because he'd caused a public scene.
"No," Jack said in a correcting tone.
"No?" he asked because that could relate to so many things.
"I wasn't," Jack stated and Ianto's jaw dropped.
"You weren't wearing a condom?" he asked which came out in a sort of screech, "Why not?"
"Because you told me not to," he said and if it wasn't a fancy restaurant, Ianto would be punching him in the face right now.
"What are you talking about?" Ianto spat because he remembered making sure that Jack had a condom.
"What am I talking about? You told me not to," Jack retorted as he leaned across the table.
"I did NOT tell you to not wear a condom!" Ianto said with a glare.
"Here’s what happened, okay? I will give you a play-by-play of my memory. I almost had the condom on. It was on the cusp and then you said, 'Just do it, already'" Jack recited with hand gestures.
"I didn’t mean do it without a condom. I mean 'do it' like 'hurry up,'” Ianto complained.
"You're a bloke in the 21st century. I didn't think it was necessary," Jack spoke and Ianto almost stood up to leave.
"Necessary? Pregnancy isn't the only consequence that can happen. How do I know you don't have AIDS? How did you know I didn't?" Ianto asked and smashed his fist on the table.
"I get tested every few months and you smelled fine," Jack replied and Ianto reminded himself, he can't help having brain damage.
"You could have stopped me," Jack retorted and Ianto felt everyone staring at them.
"I was pissed. I couldn't tell obviously," he snapped back at him.
"Even though we were drunk, you couldn't tell that we were bareback?" Jack asked, incredulous.
"You are unbelievable!" Ianto spat, "I'm the one up the duff and you're upset that it wasn't that memorable?"
"Well, I've never gotten a man pregnant before. I was trying not to think about it," he replied., "What do you even want from me? Money? Time? Babysitter?"
Ianto was under the impression in a normal situation that a parent was supposed to be all three. Not that Ianto would know anything about a normal upbringing.
"I made an appointment next week to be checked out and I thought you could come with me," he said in a soft voice.
"So, you haven't seen him yet?" Jack asked.
"No," Ianto admitted.
"So, you don't know if you're pregnant," Jack spoke and Ianto sighed. Denial was a difficult thing.
"Not a hundred percent, no," Ianto agreed, "but we'll have to go to my work for it...can't have just anyone finding out."
"But still, if you're not a hundred percent sure," Jack said, "I bet you're not really pregnant." Then, their first course arrived.
*****************************************************
Ianto stood outside the exam room door. Inside that room, he would find out with absolute certainty one way or another. He sighed and stole a glance at Jack who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. At least he had no problems getting him a visitor pass. Actually, it took a lot less time than normal. He supposed Jack had flirted with him. The door opened and Dr Frobisher appeared. He'd rather have Martha but she was called away on some project the day after helping drive him home.
"Ianto Jones, come on in," he said and nodded toward Jack. Guessing that he wanted an explanation, Ianto told him, "This is Jack. He's coming with me."
"I am?" Jack asked even though they had been over this what felt like a thousand times.
"Yes," Ianto confirmed, "Now follow me."
They went into the room that had all the latest medical technology known to Torchwood.
"I'm going to see how this goes if I allow you to wear your underwear. It tends to work in our other cases of male pregnancy," the doctor explained, "unless you'd rather wear the paper robe..."
"No, I prefer my boxers. It's fine," Ianto agreed and he started unbuttoning his suit vest and shirt.
"I could help you with that," Jack suggested.
"No," Ianto spoke with firmness and stripping everything off as fast as he could, "you've done enough."
He slid off his shoes and trousers before explaining, "I took nine pee tests and they were all positive."
"Just get on this and lay back," Frobisher spoke and pat the chair in front of him. Ianto did as he was told and the doctor sat down on a stool beside him. Then, he took a tool similar to an ultrasound but more sophisticated.
"This is going to be cold and you're next," he said to Jack before smiling, "Just kidding."
Jack did a forced laugh before saying, "Don't scare me there."
Frobisher readjusted his glasses and placed the device on his abdomen. He couldn't help flinching because it was cold. Then, a picture appeared on the monitor in the middle of the room and the doctor explained, "There’s the developing cervix. And the uterus that's forming. See that? That dark sac there, that’s the amniotic sac. And right there, in the middle is the embryo. Do you see that flicker? You know what that is? That’s the heartbeat. Yeah, it looks like you are pregnant. About eight or nine weeks, I’d say. Congratulations."
Ianto wasn't sure whether to cry or scream or faint. There was definitely a baby inside him AND he was also growing a uterus and cervix! Did that mean he was going to have a vagina and be some weird hermaphrodite? Jack was just staring his hands to his mouth. Ianto went for the easiest thing to question.
"Why did you say I was eight or nine weeks along? It's only been seven weeks since we had sex," Ianto complained at the pregnancy being farther along than that. Was it going to be one of those things where it all happened in one month?
"The gestation period is based on the female anatomy. It's counted from the date of their last cycle so in your case, we would take how old the foetus is and add two weeks. Just think of it as two less weeks that you'll have to experience," Frobisher told him.
"So, that's it? That's the baby?" he asked and pointed to the weird blob on the screen.
"Yep. Take good care of it. Now the fun part starts. Let me make a picture for you, yeah? That’ll be fun as long as you are discrete about whom you show it to," the doctor said with a smile and he felt tears coming down his face.
"Well, I'll meet you in my office. I'll give you a little alone time, there," Frobisher spoke and exited the room. Ianto hoped all this crying was caused by the hormones. He recalled his sister would blubber a lot during her pregnancies. The tears wouldn't stop coming no matter how he tried to rub them away or take deep breaths. Jack was taking this better than he could have ever imagined despite the stunned look on his face. He was looking at the frozen image on the screen as he clasped a hand on Ianto's shoulder.
*************************************************
Jack sat on the couch in the main room of the house. He hated when this happened. It never got easier. Jack sighed and put his hands on his knees. The housemates did not appear to be taking it well.
"I can't believe you weren't wearing a condom. Who does that?" Mickey asked with annoyance.
"What was the point of you buying that case if you weren't going to use them?" John questioned in the same tone. He wasn't perfect. He knew this and he'd never pretended he was perfect.
"I can't believe you did this. You just ruined everything," Mickey spat and slumped onto a chair.
"Look, the real point is not to get yourself in this position. That’s what you have to realize. You gotta know all the tricks. Like, for example, if you fuck them against a wall, they won't get pregnant. It’s just gravity," John explained before drinking from the beer in his hand.
"Everyone knows that," Mickey agreed.
"What goes up," John said, waving the bottle up before swinging it towards his knee, "must come down."
"I think it's awesome. Gross," Owen spoke with his own beer and a thoughtful expression, "but awesome."
Jack wondered if he was thinking about Katie. He and Owen were the only ones that knew that Owen was once engaged to be married.
"You know what I think he should do? Take care of it," John said.
"Tell me, you don't want him to get an 'A word'" Owen spoke with a glare at John.
"Yes, I do, and I won’t say it for little Baby Ears over there even though he's a doctor, but it rhymes with shmish-mortion. I’m just saying -- hold on Owen, over your ears -- you should get a ' shmish-mortion ' at the 'shmish-mortion' clinic or wherever you'd go since he's a bloke," John argued but it wasn't a simple thing to do. Jack had been through both before and neither decision was easy to live with.
"Jack, you cannot let these monsters have any part of your child's life. All right, but I'll be here to rear your child," Owen spoke in a serious tone that always made Jack uncomfortable. He knew how to interact with Owen better when he was being an asshole.
"You hear that, Jack? Don't let him near the kid. He wants to rear your child!" John exclaimed and shook his head, "For shame, you could at least wait until him or her's seventeen and legal."
Jack was tired of this. It didn't help anything and he hadn't told them the other thing yet. He stood up and thought about leaving without telling them. They'd find out soon enough.
"Aww, Jack, come on, man," Mickey uttered with a sigh.
"I'm just taking the piss," John stated when Jack made no move to sit back down.
"Oh great, now he's upset," Owen said and Jack had no real choice but to tell them.
"It's not just that," he explained while folding his arms, "Ianto is a normal Twenty-First century male."
"Then, how?" asked Owen as the others looked at him with their mouths agape.
"He works for Torchwood," Jack stated and it was met by groans.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to dip your pen in the company ink?" Owen asked and Jack gave him a glare.
"Look who's talking," he retorted, "and I didn't know. We met at a nightclub and he said he worked for the government, but that could have meant anything."
"So, then what does he think you do?" John asked with a quizzical expression.
"The website," Jack replied and Mickey snorted with laughter so hard that beer came out of his nose.
"Oww," he complained as Owen and John chuckled.
"I'm telling you, Jack, abortion, no good can come from this," John told him. Jack couldn't help frowning at the lack of support. Hopefully, Ianto was having better luck with that.
******************************************************
Ianto picked at his lunch. He knew he should eat especially after throwing up two hours before. However, he couldn't seem to bring the spoon to his lips so he dripped the soup back into the bowl. It also felt like he had stomach cramps which he supposed was understandable when he was growing a fucking uterus.
"Ianto, just take care of it. Take care of it. Move on. What’s going to happen with your career? Or how, how are you going to tell them? They're not going to let you stay a field agent. You'll be on desk duty or returned to your old job," Lisa said before taking a bite of her sandwich with gusto.
"Well, I don't have to tell them for a while if there's something to tell. I have a while before I have to say anything," Ianto spoke and watched the liquid splash together.
"How could you not tell them? They're not even familiar with the concept of privacy. They read our texts, emails, web history...what makes you think they don't know already? Frobisher probably told them," Lisa said and drank more of her diet coke.
"He promised he wouldn't although you're right. I don't trust him, but they haven't called me into their offices yet. I wish Martha were here, but she's not due to be back until next week and I know what I'm doing. I know how to get around their games," Ianto spoke, "and I'm only going to start to show when I'm like, I don't know, six months or something. Seven months."
"Three months," Lisa stated and he frowned; that couldn't be right.
"No," he argued and shook his head.
"Three months, fat in the face, jowls, fat ass," Lisa listed off and finished the last bit of sandwich.
"Rhi didn't get fat that quickly," Ianto spoke and she gave him a look.
"Yes, she did. You just didn't notice because you're her brother and a bloke. The rest of us saw it though," she spoke and he couldn't help feeling his cheeks. They were going to get fat, too?
"You couldn't at least try to be supportive?" he asked with a sigh and she crossed her arms.
"Why? It's not like you're thinking about keeping it," Lisa retorted and her brown eyes widened at his silence, "You're thinking about keeping it?"
"Maybe," he whispered and dropped the spoon into the bowl.
"What? Why? And how could I support this? This is a mistake. This is a big, big mistake. Now think about Janet. You remember what happened with her? She had the same situation as you and she had it taken care of. And you know what? Now she has a real baby," said Lisa, "Ianto, this is not the time."
Why did he ever agree to this lunch? It had been a huge mistake.
"Oh, you don't understand," he complained and she moved her chair closer.
"No, I don't," she agreed.
"You could never understand," Ianto said and hated what felt like the start of tears. She took one of his hands with her own.
"Then, help me understand," Lisa begged in a soft voice so that he remembered why he had liked her in the first place.
"You could have a baby whenever you want. You could wait until you're married or you could go to a sperm bank and do it on your own," Ianto explained, "but assuming that they can find some way to reverse this, or at the very least, I can try surgery, I suppose...I don't have that. We tried the dating thing. I don't like sex with women and I doubt there are a lot of men with alien fertility drugs in their system. We would have to get a surrogate and hope that it would take and she wouldn't change her mind at the last minute. We could adopt but that's not a sure thing either which leaves foster parents...for most people. Do you know how many Torchwood employees have been foster parents? None. 'Unstable environment'."
"You did mention kids when we were going out," she agreed, "but I had thought it would happen a lot later."
"Later would be my preference, but what if this is my only chance? I don't want to give up Torchwood. I love it, but who knows what could happen? The next drug could make me infertile entirely or any number of things. I wouldn't be able to live with myself; knowing that I had this chance and gave it up in the hope of something that never happened," he spoke and there was wetness on his cheeks.
"Oh Ianto," Lisa spoke and wrapped her hands around him, "I'm sorry about earlier. I hadn't thought about all of that. What about...you know...the father? Has he said anything?"
"Not really, I told him and he went to the appointment with me," Ianto told her, "He's taking it really well, better than I think I would if I was in his shoes but...he hasn't really said anything one way or the other. I don't know if he's excited or mortified or...what."
"No matter what happens, you have the rest of us; me, Rhi, Gwen and all," said Lisa with a squeeze.
"And no worrying what my parents think," he joked and tried to smile, but they both knew better. His father was dead and his mum was kept in a hospital so she wouldn't kill herself. He wondered what Jack's parents were like.
Chapter Seven: Eight Weeks Along
Author: Ericadawn16
Prompt: Knocked Up
Character/Pairing(s): Jack/Ianto, Gwen/Rhys, Rhi/Johnny, Ianto/Lisa
Rating:R
Warnings: MPreg, sex, language
Spoilers:Character from COE
Word Count:68,599
Disclaimer for TW and the movie you are using:I own nothing.
Summary:Ianto gets a promotion at work, meets Jack and things are never the same...
Beta: BIG Thanks to
madkatstar_pir8 pirate4evrnavy2 and surreal_44Author's Notes: This story is very AU. Chapter Five: Confirmation
Chapter Six: Acceptance
"I know..."
"How could this happen?" Jack interrupted again and crossed his arms. Ianto was feeling his confidence leave him.
"I don't know! I'm a bloke and you were wearing a condom!" he complained in a hiss so people wouldn't overhear. He hoped they wouldn't overhear. It would really top off his week to be called into Yvonne's office because he'd caused a public scene.
"No," Jack said in a correcting tone.
"No?" he asked because that could relate to so many things.
"I wasn't," Jack stated and Ianto's jaw dropped.
"You weren't wearing a condom?" he asked which came out in a sort of screech, "Why not?"
"Because you told me not to," he said and if it wasn't a fancy restaurant, Ianto would be punching him in the face right now.
"What are you talking about?" Ianto spat because he remembered making sure that Jack had a condom.
"What am I talking about? You told me not to," Jack retorted as he leaned across the table.
"I did NOT tell you to not wear a condom!" Ianto said with a glare.
"Here’s what happened, okay? I will give you a play-by-play of my memory. I almost had the condom on. It was on the cusp and then you said, 'Just do it, already'" Jack recited with hand gestures.
"I didn’t mean do it without a condom. I mean 'do it' like 'hurry up,'” Ianto complained.
"You're a bloke in the 21st century. I didn't think it was necessary," Jack spoke and Ianto almost stood up to leave.
"Necessary? Pregnancy isn't the only consequence that can happen. How do I know you don't have AIDS? How did you know I didn't?" Ianto asked and smashed his fist on the table.
"I get tested every few months and you smelled fine," Jack replied and Ianto reminded himself, he can't help having brain damage.
"You could have stopped me," Jack retorted and Ianto felt everyone staring at them.
"I was pissed. I couldn't tell obviously," he snapped back at him.
"Even though we were drunk, you couldn't tell that we were bareback?" Jack asked, incredulous.
"You are unbelievable!" Ianto spat, "I'm the one up the duff and you're upset that it wasn't that memorable?"
"Well, I've never gotten a man pregnant before. I was trying not to think about it," he replied., "What do you even want from me? Money? Time? Babysitter?"
Ianto was under the impression in a normal situation that a parent was supposed to be all three. Not that Ianto would know anything about a normal upbringing.
"I made an appointment next week to be checked out and I thought you could come with me," he said in a soft voice.
"So, you haven't seen him yet?" Jack asked.
"No," Ianto admitted.
"So, you don't know if you're pregnant," Jack spoke and Ianto sighed. Denial was a difficult thing.
"Not a hundred percent, no," Ianto agreed, "but we'll have to go to my work for it...can't have just anyone finding out."
"But still, if you're not a hundred percent sure," Jack said, "I bet you're not really pregnant." Then, their first course arrived.
*****************************************************
Ianto stood outside the exam room door. Inside that room, he would find out with absolute certainty one way or another. He sighed and stole a glance at Jack who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. At least he had no problems getting him a visitor pass. Actually, it took a lot less time than normal. He supposed Jack had flirted with him. The door opened and Dr Frobisher appeared. He'd rather have Martha but she was called away on some project the day after helping drive him home.
"Ianto Jones, come on in," he said and nodded toward Jack. Guessing that he wanted an explanation, Ianto told him, "This is Jack. He's coming with me."
"I am?" Jack asked even though they had been over this what felt like a thousand times.
"Yes," Ianto confirmed, "Now follow me."
They went into the room that had all the latest medical technology known to Torchwood.
"I'm going to see how this goes if I allow you to wear your underwear. It tends to work in our other cases of male pregnancy," the doctor explained, "unless you'd rather wear the paper robe..."
"No, I prefer my boxers. It's fine," Ianto agreed and he started unbuttoning his suit vest and shirt.
"I could help you with that," Jack suggested.
"No," Ianto spoke with firmness and stripping everything off as fast as he could, "you've done enough."
He slid off his shoes and trousers before explaining, "I took nine pee tests and they were all positive."
"Just get on this and lay back," Frobisher spoke and pat the chair in front of him. Ianto did as he was told and the doctor sat down on a stool beside him. Then, he took a tool similar to an ultrasound but more sophisticated.
"This is going to be cold and you're next," he said to Jack before smiling, "Just kidding."
Jack did a forced laugh before saying, "Don't scare me there."
Frobisher readjusted his glasses and placed the device on his abdomen. He couldn't help flinching because it was cold. Then, a picture appeared on the monitor in the middle of the room and the doctor explained, "There’s the developing cervix. And the uterus that's forming. See that? That dark sac there, that’s the amniotic sac. And right there, in the middle is the embryo. Do you see that flicker? You know what that is? That’s the heartbeat. Yeah, it looks like you are pregnant. About eight or nine weeks, I’d say. Congratulations."
Ianto wasn't sure whether to cry or scream or faint. There was definitely a baby inside him AND he was also growing a uterus and cervix! Did that mean he was going to have a vagina and be some weird hermaphrodite? Jack was just staring his hands to his mouth. Ianto went for the easiest thing to question.
"Why did you say I was eight or nine weeks along? It's only been seven weeks since we had sex," Ianto complained at the pregnancy being farther along than that. Was it going to be one of those things where it all happened in one month?
"The gestation period is based on the female anatomy. It's counted from the date of their last cycle so in your case, we would take how old the foetus is and add two weeks. Just think of it as two less weeks that you'll have to experience," Frobisher told him.
"So, that's it? That's the baby?" he asked and pointed to the weird blob on the screen.
"Yep. Take good care of it. Now the fun part starts. Let me make a picture for you, yeah? That’ll be fun as long as you are discrete about whom you show it to," the doctor said with a smile and he felt tears coming down his face.
"Well, I'll meet you in my office. I'll give you a little alone time, there," Frobisher spoke and exited the room. Ianto hoped all this crying was caused by the hormones. He recalled his sister would blubber a lot during her pregnancies. The tears wouldn't stop coming no matter how he tried to rub them away or take deep breaths. Jack was taking this better than he could have ever imagined despite the stunned look on his face. He was looking at the frozen image on the screen as he clasped a hand on Ianto's shoulder.
*************************************************
Jack sat on the couch in the main room of the house. He hated when this happened. It never got easier. Jack sighed and put his hands on his knees. The housemates did not appear to be taking it well.
"I can't believe you weren't wearing a condom. Who does that?" Mickey asked with annoyance.
"What was the point of you buying that case if you weren't going to use them?" John questioned in the same tone. He wasn't perfect. He knew this and he'd never pretended he was perfect.
"I can't believe you did this. You just ruined everything," Mickey spat and slumped onto a chair.
"Look, the real point is not to get yourself in this position. That’s what you have to realize. You gotta know all the tricks. Like, for example, if you fuck them against a wall, they won't get pregnant. It’s just gravity," John explained before drinking from the beer in his hand.
"Everyone knows that," Mickey agreed.
"What goes up," John said, waving the bottle up before swinging it towards his knee, "must come down."
"I think it's awesome. Gross," Owen spoke with his own beer and a thoughtful expression, "but awesome."
Jack wondered if he was thinking about Katie. He and Owen were the only ones that knew that Owen was once engaged to be married.
"You know what I think he should do? Take care of it," John said.
"Tell me, you don't want him to get an 'A word'" Owen spoke with a glare at John.
"Yes, I do, and I won’t say it for little Baby Ears over there even though he's a doctor, but it rhymes with shmish-mortion. I’m just saying -- hold on Owen, over your ears -- you should get a ' shmish-mortion ' at the 'shmish-mortion' clinic or wherever you'd go since he's a bloke," John argued but it wasn't a simple thing to do. Jack had been through both before and neither decision was easy to live with.
"Jack, you cannot let these monsters have any part of your child's life. All right, but I'll be here to rear your child," Owen spoke in a serious tone that always made Jack uncomfortable. He knew how to interact with Owen better when he was being an asshole.
"You hear that, Jack? Don't let him near the kid. He wants to rear your child!" John exclaimed and shook his head, "For shame, you could at least wait until him or her's seventeen and legal."
Jack was tired of this. It didn't help anything and he hadn't told them the other thing yet. He stood up and thought about leaving without telling them. They'd find out soon enough.
"Aww, Jack, come on, man," Mickey uttered with a sigh.
"I'm just taking the piss," John stated when Jack made no move to sit back down.
"Oh great, now he's upset," Owen said and Jack had no real choice but to tell them.
"It's not just that," he explained while folding his arms, "Ianto is a normal Twenty-First century male."
"Then, how?" asked Owen as the others looked at him with their mouths agape.
"He works for Torchwood," Jack stated and it was met by groans.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to dip your pen in the company ink?" Owen asked and Jack gave him a glare.
"Look who's talking," he retorted, "and I didn't know. We met at a nightclub and he said he worked for the government, but that could have meant anything."
"So, then what does he think you do?" John asked with a quizzical expression.
"The website," Jack replied and Mickey snorted with laughter so hard that beer came out of his nose.
"Oww," he complained as Owen and John chuckled.
"I'm telling you, Jack, abortion, no good can come from this," John told him. Jack couldn't help frowning at the lack of support. Hopefully, Ianto was having better luck with that.
******************************************************
Ianto picked at his lunch. He knew he should eat especially after throwing up two hours before. However, he couldn't seem to bring the spoon to his lips so he dripped the soup back into the bowl. It also felt like he had stomach cramps which he supposed was understandable when he was growing a fucking uterus.
"Ianto, just take care of it. Take care of it. Move on. What’s going to happen with your career? Or how, how are you going to tell them? They're not going to let you stay a field agent. You'll be on desk duty or returned to your old job," Lisa said before taking a bite of her sandwich with gusto.
"Well, I don't have to tell them for a while if there's something to tell. I have a while before I have to say anything," Ianto spoke and watched the liquid splash together.
"How could you not tell them? They're not even familiar with the concept of privacy. They read our texts, emails, web history...what makes you think they don't know already? Frobisher probably told them," Lisa said and drank more of her diet coke.
"He promised he wouldn't although you're right. I don't trust him, but they haven't called me into their offices yet. I wish Martha were here, but she's not due to be back until next week and I know what I'm doing. I know how to get around their games," Ianto spoke, "and I'm only going to start to show when I'm like, I don't know, six months or something. Seven months."
"Three months," Lisa stated and he frowned; that couldn't be right.
"No," he argued and shook his head.
"Three months, fat in the face, jowls, fat ass," Lisa listed off and finished the last bit of sandwich.
"Rhi didn't get fat that quickly," Ianto spoke and she gave him a look.
"Yes, she did. You just didn't notice because you're her brother and a bloke. The rest of us saw it though," she spoke and he couldn't help feeling his cheeks. They were going to get fat, too?
"You couldn't at least try to be supportive?" he asked with a sigh and she crossed her arms.
"Why? It's not like you're thinking about keeping it," Lisa retorted and her brown eyes widened at his silence, "You're thinking about keeping it?"
"Maybe," he whispered and dropped the spoon into the bowl.
"What? Why? And how could I support this? This is a mistake. This is a big, big mistake. Now think about Janet. You remember what happened with her? She had the same situation as you and she had it taken care of. And you know what? Now she has a real baby," said Lisa, "Ianto, this is not the time."
Why did he ever agree to this lunch? It had been a huge mistake.
"Oh, you don't understand," he complained and she moved her chair closer.
"No, I don't," she agreed.
"You could never understand," Ianto said and hated what felt like the start of tears. She took one of his hands with her own.
"Then, help me understand," Lisa begged in a soft voice so that he remembered why he had liked her in the first place.
"You could have a baby whenever you want. You could wait until you're married or you could go to a sperm bank and do it on your own," Ianto explained, "but assuming that they can find some way to reverse this, or at the very least, I can try surgery, I suppose...I don't have that. We tried the dating thing. I don't like sex with women and I doubt there are a lot of men with alien fertility drugs in their system. We would have to get a surrogate and hope that it would take and she wouldn't change her mind at the last minute. We could adopt but that's not a sure thing either which leaves foster parents...for most people. Do you know how many Torchwood employees have been foster parents? None. 'Unstable environment'."
"You did mention kids when we were going out," she agreed, "but I had thought it would happen a lot later."
"Later would be my preference, but what if this is my only chance? I don't want to give up Torchwood. I love it, but who knows what could happen? The next drug could make me infertile entirely or any number of things. I wouldn't be able to live with myself; knowing that I had this chance and gave it up in the hope of something that never happened," he spoke and there was wetness on his cheeks.
"Oh Ianto," Lisa spoke and wrapped her hands around him, "I'm sorry about earlier. I hadn't thought about all of that. What about...you know...the father? Has he said anything?"
"Not really, I told him and he went to the appointment with me," Ianto told her, "He's taking it really well, better than I think I would if I was in his shoes but...he hasn't really said anything one way or the other. I don't know if he's excited or mortified or...what."
"No matter what happens, you have the rest of us; me, Rhi, Gwen and all," said Lisa with a squeeze.
"And no worrying what my parents think," he joked and tried to smile, but they both knew better. His father was dead and his mum was kept in a hospital so she wouldn't kill herself. He wondered what Jack's parents were like.
Chapter Seven: Eight Weeks Along