A.N. This is a short sequel to Unpleasant or Extraordinary. It is not the promised sequel; I'll still give you that but I felt the need to write this first. If you haven't read Unpleasant or Extraordinary… shame on you! But you should be just fine besides that, this prelude might be a little confusing but after that most everything takes place in an alternate universe so… you should be just fine. Ianto will think about his son a lot but I'm sure you're clever enough to figure it out. Of course if you want to go read Unpleasant Or Extraordinary, I will not stand in your way. Love ya all lots!

The next chapter in Moment in Time should be up soon.

Two Way Road

Prelude

By Wildfire

Ianto turned the object in his hand over again. It had a soft glow about it whenever he picked it up; not a golden glow or a white glow or even some ominous dark glow… It just glowed in a way he couldn't even begin to explain. The object was oval in shape, but that was the only constant thing that could be said about it. It had no defining color; sometimes Ianto was sure it was black, other times gray or maybe even a dark purple. Sometimes it was as smooth as an egg; other times it felt as rough as gravel. The object seemed to be in constant flux, but the odd thing was he had never seen the object ACTUALLY change. When he picked it up it never felt different, it was only from his notes that he knew it was smooth once; his own memories seemed to brush over the thought.

He gave a small sigh as he set the object down again. The glowing stopped.

"Tad?" Jordan called from the doorway.

Ianto looked up, grinning at the small boy, Jordan was getting taller, his neck almost seemed longer, and he was starting to look less like a toddler and more like a little boy. "Yes, Jordan?"

"Papa says he wants to go home. Now." He said it in a way that Ianto could almost hear the capitalization of 'now'. "He says to pack up, you can resume studying tomorrow. He's hungry. Right now."

Ianto grinned and carefully put the object away jotting down a few final notes. Jordan waited impatiently at the door, trying to tap his foot like Jack would. His coordination was a little off though, so it looked more like little stomps. Still, given that he had a three year old body he was doing remarkably well. Ianto wondered if he'd have to start thinking of him as a four year old soon - he really didn't look like a toddler anymore.

He walked over to Jordan taking his hand and started back to the main room of the Hub.

"Tad? Can I get a 2.0 GameBoy Exclusive? Papa said to ask you," Jordan said with a grin. "I want the blue one."

"I don't think you need one, you already have the GameBoy and we only bought it a year ago."

"Yeah, a year ago would be the point Tad! And it's a 1.8! That means two systems have come out since then! Papa says we have the money so there's no reason not to get it," he argued.

"Just because we have the money doesn't mean we need to spend the money. Will the games you have now be compatible with the new system?"

"No, the new games are way cooler! But you can buy a converter so you can play the old games, or you can re-buy them for the new system. It's recommended you re-buy them so you get the best play action. To help they even discount the older games, so they're now more affordable." Clearly Jordan had been practicing his spiel, but Ianto wasn't impressed.

"Oh, how nice of them to discount something I've already purchased," he said flatly.

"But this is the NEW system, it's better Tad!" Jordan protested.

"I don't think it's that different. I'll think about it, Jordan," Ianto said firmly.

"Argh! That's so unfair, by the time you decide it's OK, another new system will be out!" Jordan stomped his foot.

"Jordan," Ianto said in a way his son knew was a warning.

Jordan settled down and glared fiercely at the ground in mutinous silence.

Jack suddenly appeared in front of them and clapped his hands. "Who's hungry?"

Jordan immediately let go of his tad's hand and ran to Jack instead.

Ianto let out a soft sigh. Sometimes he was sure his son preferred Jack's company; he hated always being the bad guy, but he didn't want Jordan to grow up spoilt either. Jack on the other hand, seemed to have no problem with spoiling the boy rotten. It was no wonder that Jordan preferred him.

~~**TW**~~

Ianto once more found himself down in the archives, trying to figure out the smooth oval object. It was green today, but then he couldn't really recall it ever not being green. If he checked his notes he knew that it had once been rough and black, but his brain refused to remember it as such.

Jordan had been harassing him for two days straight now for the new gaming system. Ianto was starting to wish Jordan was more like normal three year olds that had very limited attention spans. He threw a fit and argued like a 5 or 6 year old; there was just no reasoning with him.

Ianto glared at the object in his hand, as if it could magically solve all his issues. Was it really so bad that he wished he could be somewhere where he didn't have any responsibilities? Where people took care of him and his biggest worry was when he'd be able to get Jack aside for a private moment. It didn't seem like to much to ask for.

"TAD!" Jordan came running in waving his gaming system and looking far too pleased. "My GameBoy 1.8 broke!"

Letting out a deep groan Ianto set his object down again. "Bring it here. "

Jordan looked like he was almost skipping as he came over and showed Ianto the GameBoy. Ianto pressed the 'on' button, but nothing happened. He turned it over, and opened the back. He replaced the batteries and turned it on. "There you go."

Jordan scowled at it. "The new version wouldn't just die like this!"

"It runs off batteries just like this one does, therefore it will," Ianto said flatly turning back to his work.

"But they're BETTER batteries!"

"They're the exact same batteries Jordan. If anything, the new system will be more advanced and end up needing more batteries to run." He kept his voice even as he turned the object over in his hand again and again. Why was he still staring at it? What was so fascinating about it?

"TAD! You're not listening!" Jordan threw the GameBoy onto the ground.

"Jordan! We do not treat our possessions like that! If it's broken I can promise you, you won't be getting a new one for a long time. Pick it up and then you can go stand in the corner in a time out."

"I HATE YOU!" Jordan screamed, snatching up the game system, "PAPA would get it for me! YOU just want to make everyone BORING like you!"

Ianto slammed his hand down onto the desk, realizing only a second too late that he was still holding the alien object. The artefact exploded like an over ripe melon, a bright golden juice coating Ianto's hand. It started to burn immediately, the juice and the sensation spreading up his arm. He let out a scream as the burning intensified; he could feel it searing into his very soul. The pain was horrific, but what was worse was he knew Jordan was in the room. What had he just released? Would it harm his son when it was done with him? He attempted to scream at Jordan to run and get out of the room, but he had no idea if anything he said were actual words and he couldn't focus enough to know if Jordan was still right there in front him.

The bright golden goo engulfed his face and his world went dark.

Please send me a review to let me know what you think, they make me very happy. ^_^