Perfection

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, more's the pity.

Author's note: This is a one-shot from my Wizard and Deathless Universe, which I wrote for Cliche Bingo on the Long Live Ianto comm on Livejournal. I hadn't revisited this universe in a while, and it felt good to come back to it. Made me realize how much I missed it! It takes place some time in the future after Ways of Light and Darkness.

I do need to warn you all though, there is MPreg in this story.

He walked the perimeter, cuffs of his trousers slipping along the twine that marked the boundary of what would, some day, be their first home.

Ianto Jones, the Wizard-at-Large of the United Kingdom, muttered the Protection spell under his breath as he paced, his wand dancing in the air as he drew the runes before him. Golden lines formed, holding their patterns despite the breeze, glittering brightly in the morning sunlight.

He came to where the cornerstone would be set; a deep pit dug into the earth, and Ianto took a small pouch from his pocket, pulling open the drawstring to reveal the items within: a river-smoothed pebble, a hunk of charcoal, a handful of black dirt, and a clear crystal all went into the walls of the pit, adding a blessing to Water, Fire, Earth, and Air into the magic he was weaving. When the cornerstone itself arrived onsite, Ianto would make more blessings upon it, wanting it to be able to sustain the structure that would rest upon it for millennia to come.

The wizard began his walk once more, adding a Serenity spell to the Protection one he was weaving. He wanted this home to be a haven, for himself and Jack and their family, a place where they could live and not worry about anything with bad intent invading their personal space. He joined the two spells with a third, a basic Strengthening, to make the ground firm under where the structure would be built.

He made the circuit of the layout, and when he was back at the beginning he said a single Word of Power, binding the spells together and setting them into the ground that the foundation would be. He could See the magic as it found its place, and the casting was perfect.

"Well done."

Ianto turned, smiling at his lover. Jack Harkness stood by the horses, his blue shirt rolled up his forearms, one hand resting on his ever-present sword. "Thank you," he answered, giving a little mock bow.

Jack looked around, his eyes squinting in the bright light. "This place is perfect."

Ianto had to agree. They'd been given a land grant by Their Majesties, for services rendered the kingdom, and both had decided to claim this space an hours' travel outside of Gateway. Ianto had been a bit surprised; Jack didn't particularly care for the place, since this was where he'd been made Deathless, but he'd been the one to suggest moving there. Jack had claimed to have made his peace with it, and had said that he wanted to be near their 'family'. Ianto had been more than happy to agree.

He slid his wand into its sheath at his waist, then ambled over to Jack, slotting himself against his lover's side. Jack put his arms around him, one hand resting on his stomach almost protectively. Ianto looked out over the empty space that would someday be their house, and sighed contentedly.

Even though there was nothing there but bare earth, it already felt like home.

They'd decided on a house that was a combination of brick and stone, and Ianto peered over the plans carefully, matching up what he and Jack had designed with the framed-out skeleton of what would be a two-story home.

"They're doing a good job," Daffyd said.

Ianto glanced up, and noticed that his 'cousin' looked mildly amused. "Yes, they are," Ianto answered, a little too sharply. His eyes went back to the plans, frowning. "They have the study windows blocked out incorrectly. I'll need to speak to the master builder about that."

"I'm sure there was a good reason," Daffyd replied, the amusement now sounding in his voice as well.

Ianto decided to ignore it. "I'll want to cast the wards at dawn."

"Actually, you might want to wait two days, when the moon is full dark. That's the optimum time to cast the wards you want."

Ianto considered, then nodded. Daffyd had a point, even though he didn't really want to delay. He was a bit angry about it, but didn't want to take it out on him.

It didn't help that Daffyd kept giving him looks.

"What?" he demanded.

"Oh, nothing," Daffyd said, trying very hard to hide his feelings.

"Yes, it's something."

At that, Daffyd laughed. "I'm sorry, but…I had no idea that a man would suffer from pregnancy hormones."

Ianto glared at him, resting one hand on the barely-there bump. "And you gathered that from my dissatisfaction with the window placement?"

"No, Jack warned me before he had to leave for Haven. He said I should watch what I say, or else risk getting my head bitten off."

"I see." Ianto felt his irritation fade, to be replaced by hurt. Had that been why Jack had accepted the assignment to Haven?

Something must have shown in his face, because Daffyd lost his smile, and the other Wizard put his hand on his shoulder in comfort. "I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong. Jack didn't want to go, but he had little choice since King Rory had requested it."

Of course Ianto knew that. But still…he missed Jack. They'd officially retired from field work when the pregnancy spell had proved to work, and to have him have to leave again, even though His Majesty had been apologetic and Ianto had understood why he'd asked for Jack…

"He'll be back as soon as he can…maybe even after the hormones have worn off!"

Ianto laughed, he couldn't help it. "Or maybe they never will…"

"Gods forbid," Daffyd joined in the laughter. "Just how many are you planning on having?"

"Next time, it's Jack's turn."

Sadness passed over Daffyd's face, and Ianto immediately felt guilty about his words. "I'm sorry." Daffyd had given them the spell; it had been his intention to use it with his own, other timeline version of Jack. But that was impossible now, even though Ianto knew that they were able to spend time together, courtesy of the Deep Magic. It just wasn't the same, and he couldn't even imagine his life without Jack Harkness in it.

"Don't be. I'm just happy for you both. Besides, I get to play the doting uncle…cousin…whatever, and spoil them rotten then send them back home."

"Actually, Jack and I…we were hoping that you'd be our child's Guardian. We can't think of anyone else better for the job."

Tears appeared in Daffyd's eyes, so much like Ianto's own. "I'd be honored. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, I have to go and speak to a certain master builder about why my windows aren't in the places I want them."

Daffyd laughed, the melancholy gone now. "I feel sorry for him, being at the mercy of hormones!"

Ianto snorted, pointing a finger at him. "Shut it!"

The storm hit out of nowhere.

Ianto watched it from within his quarters at the Wizard school, as it blew across the plain, rain rattling the windows and gusts of wind making strange, moaning sounds as it whipped around the tower. He thought about the half-completed home, hoping that there wouldn't be too much damage, that the spells he'd been laying into the stone and mortar would hold against the forces of nature. If not, then so much time would have been lost, and the work wouldn't be done as they'd planned.

Myfanwy butted her head against his hip; he glanced down at the dragon, and she hummed a question, feeling her own concern at his emotional state through their empathic link. He smiled down at her, sending her silent thanks for the comfort she offered. He'd been feeling lonely lately, with Jack still gone; but he'd received a letter from him, and he'd hoped to be back in a couple of weeks.

After that, Ianto wasn't going to let him go anywhere.

A knock on his door drew his attention from the raging storm. "Enter," he called, turning his back to the thundering rain.

The door opened, and Donna entered, carrying a tray, the familiar cloud of tiny green dragons accompanying her. "Daffyd sent me up, to make sure you weren't brooding," she said, setting the tray down on the small table near the sofa.

One of the hive-mind dragons landed on Ianto's shoulder; he felt another rest in his hair. Donna had been a gods' send in the years she'd been with the school, and Ianto quite honestly adored her. "I'd say he knows me too well…"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, so he should. Anyway, I brought tea and some of those little cakes you like. I figure you'd be a bit peckish, since you're eating for two now and all."

Ianto chuckled. "You're not old enough to be my mother, Donna."

"Maybe not physically, but both you and Daffyd need someone to look after them. You especially, since Captain Gorgeous is down in Haven. Can't have you doing anything stupid, now can I?"

"Don't worry, I'm not about to." He went to the table, his stomach telling him that, yes, he was a bit hungry.

Donna fed him tea and cake, while they watched as Myfanwy chased the little Ood dragons around the room, laughing at their antics. The woman would never become a powerful Wizard, since she didn't really apply herself to it, but she was magical enough in how she practically ran the school on her own.

A particularly loud growl of thunder had Ianto looking back toward the window, just in time to be nearly blinded by the lightning that strobed across the darkness. "This storm makes me nervous too," Donna said, taking a sip of her own tea. "I was talking to John, and he says he can't remember one like it. It's got Tardis completely in a tizzy. I swear, that dragon is the biggest bundle of nerves in the entire school. The kids themselves are loving it."

Ianto rolled his eyes, the white spots fading from his vision. "They would. I remember the storms in Cardiff. My sister and I would go out and play in them, and it would drive our mother insane. She kept saying we were going to get struck by lightning or get blown away…" He wondered what his mother would think of Jack, and of his pregnancy.

"No sense at all," Donna scoffed. "Really, I wonder where the common sense has disappeared to."

"The gods only know," Ianto chuckled.

"Everything's gonna be all right, you know."

Ianto smiled. "Yes, I know."

And he did.

The second story was going up, and Ianto shielded his eyes as the masons worked, the white of the mortar glowing against the rich red of the brick. He'd done the blessing on the upper floor before they'd begun, and had been taken to task by Jack for climbing the ladder to get up there. Ianto had simply rolled his eyes and told his worried lover that he wasn't made of spun glass.

He'd be going back up soon, in order to lay even more protective spells on what would be the baby's nursery.

"It's looking grand," John Smith said, coming to stand beside him.

Ianto nodded. "They're really doing a good job, I do admit."

"No," the older Wizard said, "I mean the spells you've laid on it." He squinted. "Is that an anti-Fire spell?"

"It is." While the house would be mostly brick and stone, Ianto had wanted to make sure that fire couldn't catch in the wooden beams, and the books and furniture. "What brings you out here?"

"Oh, simple curiosity. Just wanted to see what you've been up to."

"Translation: you wanted to check up on me, and make sure I wasn't doing anything silly."

"Well," the former Doctor said, bouncing on the balls of his feet, hands in the pockets of his trousers, "there is that."

"I suppose Jack told you about me climbing the ladder then?"

"He was quite bothered by it, although I don't personally see a problem. You know what you can and can't do, and you're only…how many months? Three? Four?"

"Almost five."

"Everything going to be done in time?"

"If it all goes to schedule, yes. I really want to have the baby in our home."

"I do notice that you're missing some spells on the upper level. Planning on going back up to cast them later?"

Ianto's eyes narrowed. Despite John's comment about Ianto knowing what he was capable of, that sounded like a 'Jack' question to him. "Yes, as soon as they get the walls up. I want to add some more Protection spells, as well as Serenity, Strength, and Binding."

"Makes sense. Have you thought about Silence as well? For privacy's sake, of course. You wouldn't want the kids knowing what you and Jack are up to." His dark eyes were teasing.

Ianto cursed inwardly. "No, I haven't. I'll definitely add it."

"If you need any help…"

Oh yes, Jack had certainly gotten to him, and it irritated Ianto.

But hey, who was he to turn down free help?

"Heights don't bother you, do they?"

"The sofa goes over there," Ianto directed Jack and Daffyd, who both held an end and were looking for direction.

The house had been finished three days ago, with the painters covering the plaster on the interior walls, and the carpet layers and tile setters finishing their work after. The furniture had started to arrive that morning, and it had been a busy time getting everything set to how he and Jack had decided.

Everyone who Ianto considered family had turned up; even his brother-in-law Johnny, who considered manual labor against his personal religion. Rhiannon herself was out in the kitchen, putting things away and gossiping with Donna and Suzie…and Owen Harper, of all people.

Ianto had had to banish all the dragons to the outside at one point; it was almost too crowded with all the help that had come, and after one too many Ood had almost been trampled underfoot and Pilgrim had accidentally tripped Jack down the stairs – luckily, he hadn't been killed, that would have been a really bad omen – he'd finally insisted that each and every dragon go and play in the yard. He hadn't realized how many there'd been, until they were all congregated in one place, and it brought home just how much had changed since he'd come into his own heritage.

It made him feel proud of everything they'd accomplished.

He ran a hand over his pronounced stomach. Ianto had been forbidden to lift anything, and while it bothered him not to be helping decorate his own home, he could understand it. His personal physician, Tom Milligan, was frankly scared spitless at a male pregnancy, and was most likely overcompensating, but Ianto figured that, at seven months, he could afford to take it easy. Besides, Tom had Martha to back him up, and the Swear Sword was a very scary woman on her own, let alone teamed with Jack as well.

The house had taken longer than normal to construct, but Ianto knew he was to blame for that. He'd had the builders stop several times in order to lay spells within the materials being used, and it had slowed up construction just a bit. But, he was pleased with the result; he could feel the magic surrounding him, comforting him, and knew it had all been worth it.

"How's that?" Jack asked, as he and Daffyd both straightened up from setting the sofa in place.

Ianto smiled. "That's perfect."

The entire house was perfect.

It was home.

It was during the first snow that Ianto knew it was time.

He'd gone to bed, his back hurting all day, and when he'd tried to get up after a particularly unrestful nap a sharp pain had alerted him to the fact that he and Jack were about to become parents.

Jack sent Myfanwy to fetch Master Tom, who arrived so quickly Ianto wondered if he'd somehow teleported there. He'd quickly given Ianto enough herbs to knock him for a loop, then prepared to remove the child.

Ianto didn't remember much about the birth, but that proved just how good those herbs were. One moment he was being settled back onto the pillows Jack had stuffed behind his head; the next, he heard the very loud squalling of a decidedly unhappy infant.

"Congratulations," Tom said, grinning widely, "it's a girl."

Ianto wasn't even aware that he was crying, when Tom wrapped their little girl in a blanket and presented her to Jack, who took her with such an expression of awe and love that the Wizard felt his heart melt. "I can't believe it," his lover said, his voice cracking. "We have a girl."

Jack sat down on the bed next to Ianto, settling the baby onto the Wizard's chest. Ianto didn't pay any attention to what Tom was doing; he only had eyes for the tiny infant lying in his arms, a shock of dark hair poking up from underneath the blanket.

They'd done this.

He and Jack had created this life, with the help of a spell that shouldn't exist.

Jack pressed a kiss to his temple. "I'm going to let in the hoards," he teased, getting up. "We have quite a crowd downstairs. Are you up for it?"

Ianto nodded. "They're family. Let them come and meet the newest member."

By the time Jack returned, Tom had finished closing the wound and cleaning up after the birth. Ianto left him to it, mesmerized by the miracle he held in his arms, as she snuffled and went to sleep.

They filed into the room quietly, led by Daffyd who immediately began to cry even as he was smiling happily. Rhiannon followed, then everyone else: John, Donna, Suzie, Toshiko, Owen, Tommy, Martha…all the people who had touched his and Jack's lives in such special ways. He laughed as Myfanwy pushed her way in, to clamber up onto the bed and to lay down beside her Wizard, her green eyes shining happily as she looked protectively down at the sleeping baby, crooning a quiet song that sounded very much like a lullaby.

"What's her name?" Daffyd asked, wiping his tears away.

Ianto glanced at Jack, who had taken up his place on the bed once more, his own eyes looking down at their child.

Jack looked back at him, smiling. "Look outside, and say her name."

Ianto did, and watched the snow falling in heavy flakes against the window. He laughed, knowing exactly what Jack was saying.

He turned back to his family. "Her name is Eirlys," he announced. "Eirlys Harkness Jones. Our Snowflake."

Jack laughed as well. "Perfect. That's perfect."

Ianto's eyes turned back to Eirlys, snuggled warmly within her blanket.

Their child…their first child, born in their first home.

It was, indeed, perfect.