Author's Note: Here we go, the final chapter of this story. I've already got a few ideas for fills, and I am very open to requests. Thank you so much for reading, especially those of you who've reviewed and made me squeak with happiness. Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow morning (for me) for the new chapter of Just A Mistake.
Ianto steered the kids through the crowds towards the baggage console, keeping tight hold of their hands. "Don't wander off," he warned Mirabelle, who was tugging at his arm. "There's too many people around."
"Dad's here," she told him, tugging hard. "Look!"
Sure enough, Jack was standing out of the way of the crowd with a pile of bags, waving to get their attention, so Ianto let Mirabelle and Andrew drag him through the crowd. They both hugged Jack at once. "Heya kids, miss me?" he asked, hugging them back. "How was the flight?"
Andrew grinned and tucked his head under Jack's arm. "I watched Top Gear, and Bell was sick."
"Don't tell tales!" she cried in affront. "I was not sick!"
"She was," Ianto confirmed, brushing her hair back carefully. "But she was okay. Just flight sickness, excitement and two packs of Polo mints."
"I'm sorry," Jack said, not sounding it. "I won't leave you to do flights on your own again."
"You said that last time," he pointed out without rancour, "and there still wasn't a way around it. I can cope. We had fun, didn't we?"
Mirabelle nodded seriously. "I watched the penguin movie. It was funny."
Ianto made a 'don't ask me, not a clue' face and nodded to the bags. "You got everything? Thought you weren't allowed past here?"
"Yeah," Jack picked up the kids' bag before Ianto could. "I waved my ID and told them that you were coming through with two small children, so they gave me a special dispensation."
"How was the conference? And what's the weather like?" Ianto asked, shouldering his own bag and gripping Mirabelle's shoulder to steer her through the crowd. "Found stuff for us to do?"
"Interesting, glorious, and yes," Jack led the way out through security, talking as he went. "The hotel is fantastic, I've been using the pool and the gym every morning and in the evenings when I can. And it's only ten minutes from the beach in one direction and from the centre of town in the other direction. There's a couple of museums that look interesting, and a restaurant I want to take you to."
They were brought to a halt by the queue to get through the last security hurdle, and Ianto used the opportunity to pull Jack close and kiss him again, ignoring Mirabelle's giggles. "I missed you," he told Jack softly. "You're not allowed to go away without me again. I'll come next time, we'll figure something out."
"Yep. Moving again," he pointed out, pulling away from Jack and collecting Mirabelle. "Bell, if you stick to us like glue and don't wander off, I'll take you horse riding, okay?"
Ianto smiled fondly and ushered his family out into the warm California sunshine. They had two weeks here with no responsibilities but those to each other, no worries but the weather, and a hotel suite courtesy of UNIT provided to ensure Jack's attendance at the week long conference that had just finished. He laced his fingers through Jack's and sighed happily. Life was good.