m-findlow.livejournal.com

Title: Rock a bye, baby
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Torchwood team
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 3,246 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for Challenge 173 - Rock
Summary: The team have their hands full with their latest rift find

The car pulled up on the outskirts of the wetlands. The sky was overcast and looked like it was threatening to rain down on them at a moment's notice.

'Hopefully we can find whatever it is before the rain sweeps in,' Jack said, jumping out of the car. 'Tosh, whereabouts were the readings coming from?'

'Somewhere a bit closer to the water's edge,'  she said, consulting her PDA and pointing a distance off towards the bay.

'Should have brought wellingtons,' Ianto muttered, not fancying traipsing around the wetlands.

They were built up in some places and quite firm underfoot, but there were plenty of patches of unexpected bogginess that you could quickly break an ankle in, or fall right in altogether, finding yourself up to your elbows in brackish water.

Jack took the lead, the rest of the team fearful of being consumed by a random pool of water, and testing the ground in front of him with his boot and placing his weight on it. The others followed closely behind, with Tosh providing some basic directions to the location. It was all well and good though to say they should head twenty yards west, but when there was a fifteen foot stretch of black water and reeds blocking their way, it became more like aimlessly wandering around a maze. Eventually though, they managed to get close enough to the spot where the rift energy traces were most concentrated.

'Okay people, spread out and start looking,' Jack said, brushing aside some tall grasses in front of him. 'Tosh says it's small, so it could be easily hidden.'

'Or underwater,' Owen moped.

They spread out, gingerly padding through the stagnant pools and the tall grasses looking for patches of firm earth to put their feet on, and all the while trying to search for the object which was according to the level of rift energy, probably no bigger than a soccer ball.

In the end, Tosh was the one who raised a cry, declaring she'd found it.

'It's alive!'

At the announcement that their quarry was living, they all rushed over to where she was, stumbling a few times along the way trying for a more direct route.

Tosh was keeping an eye on it when Jack arrived, knowing that they shouldn't touch anything until he got there to offer his knowledge on whether it was safe to approach. Aliens came in all shapes and sizes, and relative cuteness had nothing to do with deadly potential.

'It looks like an infant, Jack,' she said, having observed it from a yard or two away. It was facing away from her, but it was clearly both alien and alive, a light shade of purple, and about the size of a human infant. There was a small bobbly tail poking out at the back, and on top of its head were two long antennae which also had bobbles on the end of them, each also fluffy and purple.

'Aw,' Gwen cooed. 'It's so cute,' she said, observing the tiny little paws in place of hands and feet.

Jack stepped over and inspected it more closely.

'Doesn't look injured.' He reached over a hand and turned it over to be sure. At the touch it woke up from whatever sleep it had been in and began to cry, letting out the most ear piercing scream any of them had ever heard, causing them all to quickly slap their hands over their ears.

'Bloody hell!' Owen yelled. 'That kids got one hell of a set of lungs on it.'

The crying continued, and none of them were able to uncover their ears without feeling like their heads were going to explode and their ears bleed. As if to prove the point, Owen tried to get close enough to reach for the baby, before he yelped out in pain, his eardrum bursting, cupping it painfully.

'Everyone keep your ears covered!' Jack yelled.

They retreated a considerable distance before risking uncovering their ears.

'Now what?' Gwen asked.

'What?' Owen yelled.

'He's burst an eardrum,' Ianto said.

'I can't hear you. I think I've burst my eardrum,' Owen yelled.

'So glad we got a proper medical opinion,' Ianto replied, rolling his eyes.

The baby continued to cry and they could still hear its awful wails.

'We can't just leave it there,' Gwen said.

'Agreed, but how to get close enough without us all needing hearing aids for the next three weeks?' Jack asked.

'Stopping it crying would be a good start,' Ianto added.

'And how do you suggest we do that?' Jack said.

It took a good twenty minutes to trudge their way back to the SUV. Ianto rifled through their various medical supplies, and found a couple of sets of foam earplugs.

'Should protect us from the worst of it, and leave our hands free,' he said, handing them out.

Armed with the earplugs from the car, Jack ventured back to the spot where the crying baby was, with the rest of them in tow, just in case things went pear shaped. Even with the plugs, the crying was ear splitting and he could feel his head beginning to ache. He scooped up the child in his arms, still crying. At least it had been fortunate enough to land on a patch that was semi soft, and protected from the elements by a swathe of long grasses. There was a nearby nest that had once belonged to some of the wetland's resident waterfowl, but had since been abandoned, no doubt due to the noise from the infant's cries.

'Sshh,' he shushed over and over, but still it wouldn't stop. He tried swaying slightly from left to right and back again, gently rocking and finally the child began to settle, its cries fading into a soft gurgling  before looking sleepy. He returned to the others with the baby in arms.

'How did you get it to stop crying?' Ianto asked, dumbfounded.

'Just used some of my amazing charm,' he grinned.

He passed the baby over to Gwen and she flinched back slightly.

'You want me to hold it?'

'It's a little hard to drive and hold a baby.'

'Why me?'

'Good to see those maternal instincts kicking in,' Owen yelled. He shouldn't have yelled because as soon as he did, the baby woke and starting crying again.

'Good one,' Ianto said, feeling a migraine coming on, sticking his fingers in his ears, pressing the plugs in deeper.

'What?' Owen yelled.

'Shut him up,' Jack said, 'any by that I mean Owen.'

Gwen looked down at the screaming child, panicked. The ear plugs were providing very little protection. She nervously jiggled the babe up and down, begging it to stop but it was no use. She quickly thrust it into Ianto's arms in a panic. Ianto was hardly better placed to try and stop its cries.

'Trying rocking it,' Jack yelled over the screams.

Ianto did what Jack said, and eventually the cries died down once again.

'It likes being rocked,' Jack stated.

'That does seem to be the trick,' Ianto agreed, trying to remain calm. He felt much more at ease against a raging weevil.

'What?' Owen said.

Jack clipped him around the back of the head. 'Now if we could only figure out how to shut Owen up.'

The car trip back to the hub was a tense affair, with everyone praying that the child wouldn't wake on the way home. Out in the middle of nowhere its cries might go by unnoticed, but if it started up in the car, they were going to have to get out and become a public spectacle.

'Just keep rocking,' Jack instructed.

'Why me?' Ianto complained. 'I nearly dropped my niece the first time someone gave her to me to hold.'

'It's happy tucked up in your arms. And who wouldn't be?' Jack meant it as a compliment, but Ianto was feeling far from confident about his own abilities. He began shifting his gaze across to Gwen who was steadfastly refusing to meet it. She'd thought she'd be all clucky and mothering, but faced with the reality, she realised she was far from ready for kids. Well, aliens ones at least.

By some miracle the tiny tyke stayed snoozing the whole way, just so long as Ianto kept up the rocking motion, which was helped by the general motion of the car itself.

Back at the hub,  Tosh was more than happy to take the baby from Ianto who looked glad to be relieved of rocking duties.

'Just keep it swaying,' Jack warned, slipping a pair of plugs in her ears whilst she kept a hold of the baby. 'It's cries will probably short circuit half the computers in here, not to mention what it might do to the glass and mirrors covering the water tower. I once dated an opera singer. Couldn't keep a piece of crockery whole for more than five minutes. The cleaning up all the time was a nightmare, and glass was expensive back in those days.'

'But it's so cute,' Tosh said, staring down at the creature sleeping peacefully.

'You know the rules, Tosh. It's cute and cuddly until someone loses a hand. In this case I think we'll be okay, so long as we can keep it quiet.'

'Right, well no one is going to be able to keep that up long term,' Ianto said, 'unless we're all going to take turns. I'm off to the shops to find a rocking cradle.'

'I'll come with you,' Jack eagerly replied, bounding after him.

'What are we supposed to do?' Gwen cried, worried that they were being left in charge of a deadly siren.

'Find out what kind of species it is, and how to care for it.'

'What?' Owen yelled. 'I can't hear you. My eardrum is burst.'

'And send Owen home before he kills us all. Otherwise I might kill him.'

Back in the car, Ianto slipped into the drivers seat before Jack could argue. It wasn't as if he'd know the first directions for a store that sold baby goods anyway.

'Did you see the look on Gwen's face when you told her to stay behind and babysit?' Ianto asked.

'You can talk,' Jack laughed. 'You exited stage left pretty quick yourself.'

'I, had things to do,' Ianto replied awkwardly, getting defensive. 'You weren't far behind.'

'Yes, but that's only because I don't want to be around when it decides it's hungry, and cuddling doesn't cut the mustard anymore.'

'I'm guessing baby formula might not work?'

'We'll buy some just in case.'

Ianto guided the car gently around the city streets. He caught a smirk on Jack's face out of the corner of his eye.

'What?'

'I was just thinking how much you moddycoddle Myfanwy, like she's your baby, but when faced with a real one you go to pieces.'

'I did not go to pieces,' he huffed. 'If a recall correctly, I was the one who cuddled it all the way home.'

'You didn't look like you were enjoying it,' Jack teased. 'I thought you'd like kids.'

'I could. Maybe. If, you know, it wasn't alien,' he stumbled over his words, not sure where Jack was going with this.

'Holding a newborn in you arms, there's nothing more amazing and incredible in the whole universe,' Jack said,  staring wistfully out the window.

It seemed like he was remembering something. He'd never mentioned kids, but Ianto supposed that in all his years, with his promiscuity and tendency to fall in love easily, that perhaps he had fathered children somewhere along the line. That lead him to a whole raft of unanswered questions. If they existed, did they look like him, what had happened to them, did Jack ever see them? Did he have a whole other family that Ianto knew nothing about. So many questions and so few answers. Maybe one day Jack would tell him. Then again, Jack kept a lot to himself about things he'd done in the past, so he didn't feel overly hopeful that Jack might reveal anything further.

At the store, Jack was equally proficient in helping to acquire the essentials, including a cradle that had an automated rocking feature, and some basic supplies. With luck, they wouldn't be caring for it long term, though they still ended up with an entire car full of gear, and the shop assistant didn't spare Ianto's blushes, commenting on what a lovely couple they made and how exciting it must be to be adopting. Jack did little to persuade her otherwise, which infuriated and embarrassed him even more.

Back at the hub, it was surprisingly quiet. Jack had half expected to return to utter chaos, sure that the baby would have woken by now, its cries shattering anything in its path. Tosh had fashioned a sling made out of a bed sheet hung up between two support poles forming a miniature hammock, and the baby was tucked up inside whilst she gently pushed it from side to side, keeping the swaying motion going with very little effort.

'Why didn't we think of that?' Jack said. 'You're a genius Tosh. A born mum.'

She blushed at Jack's praises. She'd never given motherhood much thought, but the little furry creature was just immediately endearing. Then again, she hadn't borne witness to its vocal abilities unlike the rest of them.

'Good news is Gwen found out what species it is.'

'Do tell,' Jack said, interest piqued.

Gwen looked pleased to have been able to contribute, despite her reticence to offer her maternal skills, telling them all about the Grymflox who live on a planet that has a thick atmosphere and low gravity.  

'It's why the baby was so upset, we think, because the gravity here stopped it from moving about easily. That's why it likes the rocking motion so much, and also why it's so loud.'

'The noise doesn't penetrate the thick atmosphere well,' Tosh added, 'so everything has to be extra loud to be heard.'

'What about diet?' Ianto asked. 'What do they eat?'

'It should be okay. They're pretty similar to humans in most respects.'

'Except for being mauve with fluffy antennae and a tail,' Gwen pointed out.

'Yep.'

'What about trying to send it home?' Jack asked.

'We can't just shove it back through the rift and hope for the best,' Ianto replied, catching himself out, gently curling a finger around one of the antennae. It was quite cute.

'I'm not suggesting that, but it must have a mother somewhere that's frantic right now. Getting it home needs to be a priority.'

Tosh had more good news on that front. 'We found a locator chip embedded in its foot. It's been transmitting a strong signal since we got back to the hub, and we identified a ping.'

'A ping?' Jack asked, raising his eyebrows.

'A responding signal. Wherever it was transmitting to, it got a response.'

'So we think mum knows where it is now?'

'We should know soon enough.'

A few hours flew by, and then a whole day, with no response from anyone coming to pick up their newest adoptee. Tosh confirmed that the transponder had pinged several more times, and each at closer intervals than before, so whatever was coming for it, must have been getting closer.

'It could be light years away if it has to get here by ship,' Tosh said.

'Okay, well until then it looks like we're staying here around the clock until it does,' Jack replied. 'At least we know how to keep it happy and fed for now.'

'Gives a whole new meaning to rock around the clock,' Ianto smirked.

A few days went by and soon they'd all come to find a soft spot for their newest guest. It only cried once or twice and on each occasion it was easily soothed by having someone pick it up and swaying it gently in their arms before settling it back in the rocking cot. Owen had returned the next day and given it a full medical exam to ensure that its trip through the rift hadn't caused any damage, and that it wasn't in any way hurt or sick. Jack made sure to warn him not to raise his voice even though he was hard of hearing and a little bit off balance on account of his ear.

'I'm not an idiot, you know,' Owen muttered.

'Could've fooled me.'

Even Gwen was caught pulling it out of the cot every now and then to give it a cuddle. Now that they knew how to keep it content it wasn't nearly so scary. All the same, they kept a pair of ear plugs handy in their pockets just in case it should decide to break out into a tantrum for no reason whatsoever. Jack also discovered that trying to make silly faces at it only resulting in making it giggle, which was equally loud and ear piercing, so that was quickly put to an end.

A week later and there was a signal received by their systems, warning of a ship entering their solar system. Normally it would have thrown up alarm bells, but the signal matched the same pings that had been recieved by the Grymflox's transponder, so they knew what to expect.

Mum turned out to be Dad, and a very relieved one at that to have his little son safely back in his arms.

'They float away all the time,' he told them, 'with the low gravity and all. That's why they're chipped at such a young age, but usually they don't stray more than a mile or so away, before we catch up with them.'

Jack explained about the rift and how there must have been a tear that he slipped through.

Dad was very grateful indeed to all of them for taking such good care of him, wrapping him tightly up in his arms. At the sight of his dad, his antennae began twitching wildly, and dad twitched back. It seemed that they were communicating using signals, which dad explained was actually more efficient than trying to use sound.

It was a shame to finally have to say goodbye, all of them having grown quite attached and in doting parent mode after a week of caring for their charge,

'I'm really gonna miss that little guy,' Owen said.

'You're full of surprises, Owen,' Jack laughed. 'Who'd have though you'd be the one to say that.'

'I have to admit,' Gwen added, 'it was pretty daunting at the start, but I guess all parents just have to learn what to do as they go along. Me and Rhys, we'll we'd talked about kids and I'd though we were ready, but then I wasn't so sure after all. After this though, well,  I think we'll be just fine.'

'It has been nice having a little one around the hub,' Tosh added. 'Everything seemed so much brighter and happier, and everyone was like the world's most protective parent.'

'I think we'll stick to pets,' Ianto said, exchanging glances with Jack. 'Taking care of Jack is more than handful enough for me.'

'Hey, I'm low maintenance,' Jack argued. 'Coffee and sex. That's all I need.'

'Overshare,' Owen complained, covering his ears again. 'Plus, I don't even wanna think about you two with kids,  God help them.'

'One day, maybe,' Jack mused.

Ianto really hoped Jack was joking about that one.