Lost and Found _ Chapter Nineteen

Author: Milady Dragon

Author's note: This is the end of this story. We're now heading back to Series Two, and all of those stories are written and will be posted a couple chapters a week. Hope you've enjoyed this.

27 June 5119 (Earth Standard Time)

Dahlnia Prime

Ianto disembarked from the Serpent's Tooth, flanked by Phillip and Anwyn, with Jack at his side. Gwaine was still within the ship, getting the engines settled and speaking to Port Authority, getting the volunteers they'd managed to scrape together in the short time they'd had on Hubworld before they'd left arranged and off to whatever jobs they would have in the restoration.

They'd been lucky that Anwyn and her mate had been so close to Hubworld. Ianto hated travelling by spaceship at the best of times, but having his own daughter and her ship at their disposal made his nervousness a little less. Plus, she had a large and comfortable hold, where he could change into a dragon and sleep. Sometimes he wished he had the ability to sleep well in human form, like his children had somehow gotten.

"Welcome to Dahlnia Prime," the Port Master greeted, stepping up and shaking hands. "Thank you for coming."

Both Ianto and Jack let Phillip take the lead, his being Director of the Institute. "It wasn't even a question of helping," Phillip assured him. "I just wish we were here under better circumstances."

The rescue and repair crews that had arrived before them had done a lot of work on the planet. Power was being restored, and from what Ianto had seen when they'd reached orbit the satellite network that had once covered the entire world was also being replaced with equipment best to handle the sudden change of magnetic flow.

Ianto could feel it against his skin, and he wondered if any of his children had also sensed the change. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it was strange, like fingers tickling under his dermis, making him itchy and wanting to scratch at himself. Intellectually he knew it wouldn't do any good, but it was still a fight to keep his hands at his sides.

"With all the help we've been getting," the Dahlnian answered, "it's not going to be long at all before the planet is up and running without aid. How we're going to thank everyone though…"

"It's not required," Phillip said confidently. "You are a valued ally of the Empire. It's our duty to serve. Our people will disembark shortly. Would you be able to show them where they need to get their instructions from?"

"Absolutely."

"Thank you. Also, could you tell us what berth the Shining Star has been assigned to?"

Once they had that information, the four of them headed off, each of them wanting to check in with family, to make certain every one of them was still fine. Soon enough Phillip would get called away by planetary security about their prisoner, but for now Ianto was certain he would want to find his mate and their family and make sure they were alright. Even though Phillip had spoken with Clint several times over their trip, Ianto knew that just wasn't the same. He felt the same every time he had to be separated from Jack for a long period.

The Shining Star was a large, almost unwieldy looking ship in one of the secured berths near the centre of the port. They had to pass through two security checkpoints before even getting close, and while Ianto approved of the added security a small part of him couldn't help but be irritated. Why couldn't these measures have been taken before his grandson had been shot while protecting their old friend?

No, he couldn't think that way. This world had just gone through a disaster no one could have seen coming, and they'd done the very best they could to make sure things ran as smoothly as possible. It wasn't their fault that the Andralan had put a price on Rhys' head. They'd had no way of knowing that one of their guests would have been targeted by a bounty hunter.

"Ianto," Jack murmured as they approached the ship, "are you alright?"

So much for his famed impassive mask that everyone told him he had, but then Jack had had centuries to learn how to read him. "Just thinking about what had happened here," he answered as they made their way up to the ramp. "Permission to come aboard?" he shouted in order to avoid more of his mate's questioning.

There was silence for a second, and then the unmistakable sounds of running echoed back at them. "Grandtad!" Nicole's voice screamed.

Within seconds, the girl was down the ramp and had thrown herself into Ianto's arms, making the dragon gasp as the breath was driven from his lungs. "You didn't tell us you'd be here this soon!" she exclaimed.

"We just arrived," Ianto laughed, catching his breath as he hugged her tightly. "Now go and say hello to your Dad and Granddad before they both get jealous that you greeted me first."

Nicole pulled away, rolling her twin-pupiled eyes. "Like they have any reason to be like that."

She hugged Jack tightly, laughing as he tugged a strand of her hair in greeting, and then moved to her other father. Phillip huffed happily as Nicole draped herself over her third Dad, kissing his cheek. "Dad's gonna be so glad to see you! Oh, and Nathan too I suppose."

"As long as my trip out wasn't a complete waste of time," he drawled, tone so dry Ianto was surprised the moisture wasn't sucked out of the surrounding atmosphere.

Ianto couldn't have been happier when both Nathan and Nicole had accepted Phillip so easily as their father's mate. He'd been a bit concerned at first, but then he'd heard that both of them had been trying to set Clint up in order to find his mate – with some judicious help from their other biological father, who Clint was still on good terms with – and that had allayed his fears.

It had also helped that Halam Vir had actually made a special trip to Hubworld in order to personally vet Clint's choice in mates. At the time Vir had claimed that Clint had had taste bad enough to hook up with him, and that there was no telling who he'd managed to get involved with this time.

Ianto quite liked Vir. The dragon was happy that he'd managed to keep up with the twins even while he was out gallivanting around the Twelve Galaxies, doing his own thing. Vir called what he did procurement, but the dragon had the impression that it was closer to what Cadi did than any sort of official job.

He was also well aware that Phillip had misused Torchwood resources and had run a background check on Vir, even if he didn't share the results with anyone.

No matter how Ianto and Jack had attempted to bribe him. The man was impervious to any sort of bribery, including the family kind.

There had been cake involved, too. Phillip had managed to remain unmoved by the idea of sweets, which was almost unheard of.

"Come on up," Nicole invited, taking her Dad's hand and tugging him up the ramp. Ianto and Jack traded amused glances and then they and Anwyn followed as the girl went on, "You're just in time. Nathan was released from hospital today and we've all just got him settled in. He still can't shapeshift, and it's starting to bug him. You know how he is."

Ianto did. Nathan's dragon form was so completely different from any of the family's that he was often self-conscious when he couldn't shift. It didn't help that everyone told him he didn't have anything to be worried about, but beneath his grandson's breezy exterior he was really quite shy about his dragon form.

Perhaps one day they'd all be able to get through to him, but for now Ianto would simply keep on accepting Nathan for who he was…his grandson, and a member of their family. It didn't matter at all what he looked like.

Besides, personally Ianto thought it was wonderful that not all of them had the 'traditional' dragon shape. It was beautiful to him.

Nicole led them down the main corridor, toward the rear of the ship where Ianto knew Morgan kept the special 'dragon room'. Every vessel owned by their family had one, and Ianto was well aware of why…it was officially for his comfort, as he didn't like sleeping in his human form. It was a weakness that all of his children and grandchildren didn't have, and there were times when he was just a wee bit jealous because of it.

She was chattering away at Phillip, who wore an expression of pleased surprise. It had also been a shock to him when Clint's children had accepted him so easily, and there were times when Phillip was still bemused by it all.

At the end of the corridor was a set of stairs, and they all went down and through, and into the large chamber that would have been a storage hold but had been transformed into a makeshift dragon's lair, with all sorts of pillows and blankets, as well as what Morgan kept as her own personal hoard.

Everyone was gathered there, including several members of Morgan's band. In the time Nathan had been touring with them, he'd managed to win every single one of them over.

He took after his Granddad in that respect, well-endowed with the Harkness charm.

Ianto spotted Rhys immediately. He couldn't help the smile that broke out and threatened to dislodge his ears. His old friend looked tired, but that was only expected after everything he'd gone through. He wasn't quite the same as he remembered, but then that was to be expected; his memory was good, but even he could forget things.

Rhys saw him and Jack as well. He'd been sitting on a small sofa with Orgala, one of the band members whose skin tone was managing to clash with the yellowish fabric of the cushions, when their eyes met. Rhys stood, shaking his head as his own smile lit up his face. "Ianto Jones!" he exclaimed happily, moving to meet him halfway. "And you had to bring Himself with you!"

"I can't believe you're still alive." Once Rhys was in range, he grabbed his friend by the shoulder and tugged him into a rough embrace. Jack didn't wait for them to finish; he wrapped his arms around both of them tightly, as if afraid to let them go.

It truly was Rhys. Ianto could sense it, that small bit of magic that had been in his teammate yet had been too deep for him to call upon to use. That day came back to him: the Rift alarming; Toshiko calling a negative spike; the team mobilising. They hadn't even realised it had been Rhys taken until nearly an hour later, when he hadn't been answering his phone. Then the discarded bags of food had been found out on Bute Street…

Seeing Rhys there, in the future, in the presence of Ianto's own family, was like a sudden balm to his soul. He and Jack had lost so many in the thousands of years they'd been alive, and to get one back…it was a miracle, and for the first time the dragon was grateful for that damned Rift that had spewed so much chaos all over Cardiff. It had brought his friend back to him, when he should have been long dead.

The embrace lasted a long time, but Ianto didn't care. It was Rhys, one of the first people he'd trusted outside Torchwood to see him as he truly was. He wasn't at all surprised to notice that his cheeks were damp. "You are a sight for ancient eyes," he murmured.

Rhys managed to wriggle out of the paired embrace, and Ianto noticed he was crying as well, although the smile was just as bright. "You have no idea how relieved I was when I found out I was in the future, because it meant that you and Jack were still here." His eyes darted between the two of them, and Ianto couldn't help but grin happily.

He didn't have to look at Jack to know that his expression was just the same as Ianto's.

There was a faint clearing of a throat, and Rhys laughed. "Okay, I was glad to hear that Phil and Clint were here, too."

The Director of Torchwood was standing there, looking innocent. "I didn't say anything."

"And I call bullshit." Rhys hugged him as well, and despite the mortified expression on the man's face Ianto could tell Phillip was also very glad to see Rhys as well.

Phillip grasped Rhys' shoulder and said, "Welcome to the fifty-second century."

Rhys nodded, acknowledging the greeting. Then he turned toward Anwyn, who was looking at it all with a suspiciously sappy smile. "And this must be the Anwyn I keep hearing about."

Anwyn snorted, although the smile didn't vanish. "If it's from this group," she waved a hand toward the rest of her family, "then I wouldn't trust a thing they say."

"Oh, come on!" Clint called from where he was sitting next to Nathan.

That brought out the laughter in everyone, Rhys included, who looked as if he wasn't entirely sure what he was doing there.

"Rhys," Ianto said softly as Phillip went to join his mate and their children, accompanied by Anwyn, "you're more than welcome to be here…you know that, don't you?"

His friend seemed pensive, but he nodded. "It's just…okay, yeah, I do feel a bit of an outsider, but everyone's been like I've always been here and not that I've just cropped up days ago like the bad relative who only shows up when they want money or when they're hiding from the coppers…"

Jack shook his head, smirking. "Well, if you wanted money you've certainly gone to a lot of trouble for it, and if the coppers had been after you I'm not sure Andy would've danced at your wake…"

"Bloody hell!" he exclaimed, looking completely gobsmacked. "And I missed that? You don't have pictures, do you?"

"No we do not," the dragon chided, elbowing his mate in the ribs. "But it was spectacular." His smile turned sad. "He and Deborah named their first son after you."

"That poor kid…"

Ianto punched him in the shoulder gently. "You were missed, you big oaf."

Rhys actually blushed a little; the tips of his ears turned pink. "I'm just glad the damned Rift didn't spit me out in a time where I didn't know anyone."

"So am I." Ianto rested a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"And I think," Jack added, "once we get everything finished here, we go home. How does that sound?"

Under his hand Rhys' shoulder fell slightly, indicating his relief at what Ianto had just said. He was surprised by it, but then Rhys had been through so much in the last several days it was only sense that he might not have been so sure of his welcome. However, knowing his children and grandchildren as he did they would have made certain to let Rhys know that he was family, so this might have just been confirmation to his friend.

"You both still living in that valley of yours?" Rhys asked.

"Of course we are," Ianto confirmed. He met Rhys' eyes squarely, needing to know if he was alright. Of course they couldn't go straight back to Ddraig Llyn, because Rhys would have to get checked first by the best medical equipment Torchwood had to offer, but yes…Rhys had a place there, amongst family that he had yet to meet. "And you have to know that Jack and I want you there. We have you back, Rhys Williams, and you're not getting away from us again."

"Gonna keep me on a leash, then?" Rhys teased, eyes glittering.

Jack opened his mouth to comment on that, but Ianto elbowed him again. "If that's what it takes," he responded lightly. He couldn't put into words just how glad he was to see Rhys once more, after not knowing what had happened to him after the Rift event. To have him back was a blessing, one that he didn't intend to squander.

"I always thought I might look good in a collar," Rhys said, amused.

"I'm sure we can find one around somewhere that will fit you," Jack managed to say before Ianto could silence him again.

Ianto laughed at Rhys' horrified expression. "You are coming home with us, Rhys, and you are going to meet the rest of our family and live the rest of your life the way you want to. Jack and I and your family are going to prepare you for the fifty-second century and then you have a choice to make. And, no matter what you decide, you have our complete support. Is that clear?"

"Yeah, boss. It's perfectly clear."

Ianto couldn't express how wonderful it felt to hear his old friend call him that, although he was never going to admit it.

Rhys would get through this, of that Ianto was absolutely sure. His friend was strong, and resilient, and would make an excellent addition to the family.

"Good," Ianto said. "Now, let's go and see to Nathan, and we'll see about getting you home. Home with us."

Fin