Wedding Bells

Jack had apparently survived being left alone with Johnny and the kids. They all seemed quite taken with him, and Rhiannon felt a little better now that Jack had passed this "test". Still, she felt obliged to put the fear of God, or at least of her, in him. She moved closer to Jack and looked him straight in the eyes. "Before we start talking about who's invited to the wedding, there's one thing we need to get clear, Jack. If you ever do anything to hurt Ianto, if you ever even think of breaking his heart, what I'll do to you will make you wish you could die. Do we understand each other?"

"Absolutely," replied Jack, who then looked over at Johnny expectantly.

"I'd threaten you too but, really, she's the one you need to worry about, especially when it comes to him," Johnny said pointing at his brother-in-law. Jack laughed. This wasn't exactly the first time he'd been given this kind of "threat" by a family member of someone he loved. It wasn't quite the same as the other times, though. Jack had already hurt Ianto enough in the short time they had been together. He would do anything to make sure that never happened again.

"Now that's over with, let's get on with the guest list," said Rhiannon as she scrounged up a pen and some paper. "There's not much family on our side, and I can handle anyone else who ought to be invited. You can stop rolling your eyes at me, Ianto Jones. What I need to know is what friends the two of you want invited and any family that Jack wants invited. I can send the invitations out to anyone one this planet and in this time period, anyone else I'll give the invitation to you and you can figure out how to get it to them. Start talking."

Jack and Ianto looked at each other and tried to think of everyone they would want. "Well, there's my daughter Alice and my grandson Steven, they're local," said Jack.

"There's Gwen and Rhys," added Ianto. "And we can't forget Lois, after all she's done."

"We need to invite Andy," said Jack.

"He didn't even go to Gwen's wedding, and he's known her longer. Why would he come to ours?"

"I don't think he has any unresolved feelings toward you that would make him stay home," Jack said with a grin.

"He might, you never know," Ianto laughed. "We need to invite Martha and her husband, and I suppose you'll want to invite the Doctor."

"Yeah, of course you never know what he'll look like or who he'll bring with him. Or what kind of trouble will follow, for that matter. Though, usually he will fix whatever problem he attracts. We'll have to count him as potentially up to four people. You never know how many companions he has at any given moment. How about John?"

"You want to invite John? Isn't that asking for trouble?"

"Who's John?" Rhiannon demanded.

"Jack's heavily armed, psychopathic, homicidal ex."

"There will be no guns at the wedding", Rhiannon stated.

Jack laughed. "You won't be able to keep them out, unless you want to make everyone go through a metal detector. We're better off letting all the professionals stay armed. And as for John, he did help me get what I needed to bring back you. Besides he'd be pissed off if we didn't invite him, and a lack of an invitation has never stopped him from going places before. It's better to just invite him."

"Can we at least limit his arsenal and/or his drinking?" begged Ianto. Rhiannon and Johnny looked at each other in disbelief. And they thought they knew some tough people.

"I'll see what I can do," replied Jack. "Maybe we can get the Doctor to keep an eye on him, if he manages to come that is. That reminds me, we need to add Sarah Jane and Luke. After that mess with the Daleks, they seem like family now. Of course, if we have any new members of Torchwood by then, they'll need to be invited too."

"Speaking of which," started Ianto a bit nervously, "I've been thinking about how hard it's been to find appropriate personnel and I have an idea that may broaden the applicant pool a bit."

"Okay," said Jack who was very curious, "what's your idea?"

"Well, seeing as there have been a number of aliens over the years who somehow got stranded here but were able to be assimilated into society, it seems to me that some of them might be interested in working for Torchwood. They would definitely have unique knowledge and skills, and they wouldn't be shocked by everything. Since Earth is their home now, why not let them help defend her? You always said you wanted to change Torchwood. Isn't it about time Torchwood wasn't human-only?"

"That's actually a good idea. I can't believe I never thought of that. Old habits, I suppose, but how did you know about the assimilated aliens? I did that on my own, that wasn't part of Torchwood."

Ianto smiled. "I've told you Jack, I know everything."

Jack laughed. "So it would seem. Well now I know why I hired you."

"I thought it was because I looked good in a suit."

"And out of it," Jack said with a leer.

"Jack! There are children present!" Ianto's face was turning bright red.

"They've heard worse," said Johnny.

Ianto turned to his sister. "See what you've done? Now he's not going to hold back at all. I hope you're happy."

"Very much so," Rhiannon said with a smile.

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Later that evening, when Jack and Ianto were in a hotel room getting ready for bed, Ianto said "I wonder who will win."

"What are you talking about?" asked Jack.

"The fight between my sister and Gwen over who's planning this wedding. Now normally I'd bet Rhiannon against anybody, but Gwen is trained and she has a gun."

"Hmm," said Jack with a grin, "You're right; it's too close to call. It's a good thing we're staying out of it."

"There's only one thing I need for that day."

"What's that?"

"You."

"There's nothing in the entire universe that could keep me away."

"I'll hold you to that."

"Speaking of which," Jack said with a certain look on his face, "there's something I want to hold you to."

Ianto just laughed and got under the covers.

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Miraculously, Gwen and Rhiannon managed to come to an agreement regarding wedding planning without any bloodshed. True to her word, Rhiannon found a local church willing to host the ceremony. Lois did her part by making sure all the necessary paper work was filled out and filed. Contrary to popular belief and as Lois well knew, Jack did officially exist. That information was considered top secret, however, and was not allowed to be made public. Lois made sure to get everything she needed from the appropriate government officials to make sure the marriage (well, civil partnership) was legal.

Both Ianto's niece and nephew as well as Jack's grandson were part of the wedding party. Rhiannon stood up for Ianto, while Alice stood up for Jack. The doctor did make it to the wedding with a new companion and in his 11th incarnation. John, while remaining heavily armed, mostly behaved himself and seemed genuinely happy for the couple. (Though he may have just been imagining being in bed with both of them.)

The reception ended up being something of a neighborhood event. Many of the parents remembered how Gwen had tried to save their children from the government and the 456. Both Gwen and Rhiannon made sure they also knew how much both Jack and Ianto had done and sacrificed to protect their families. They all wanted to show their appreciation by attending the blessed event.

It wasn't a dignified affair by any means. There were cheers and cat calls during Jack and Ianto's first kiss. But a good time was had by all, and there was a genuine feeling of family among the varied guests. It was more than Jack and Ianto could have hoped for. Well, that and the stunning realization that the only aliens at the wedding were actually invited guests. That in itself seemed something of a miracle for a Torchwood wedding.

There was even a surprise wedding gift from the local youth. They were presented with the Torchwood SUV at the reception. It had been fully decorated for the occasion. Jack and Ianto were both touched by the gesture. They had both spent so long working in anonymity with Torchwood without any recognition for what they and the others had done to protect the people of Earth. Things really had changed. Not only did people know who they were and some of what they did, they had welcomed them into their community and their families. It was just one small spot out of the entire planet, but it was more than they had ever expected. Maybe not everyone on Earth was ready but these people, the ones the government had written off, were and it made all the difference.