Work Text:
Hot Seat
by Lilithangel
http://www.livejournal.com/users/lilithbint
Owen ambled through the Hub with Rose balanced on his hip. The two were the strangest pairing. Nobody had ever seen Owen as the father type and yet the baby adored the young doctor, calming for him before her own parents.
Owen hadn't known what to do with her to start with, looking so awkward that everyone had to hide their smiles and James had to fight the urge to take his daughter back from the uncomfortable hold. Then Rose had grabbed hold of Owen's finger and Owen had melted.
Now whenever James needed a break Owen was the first to volunteer. Rose didn't seem to mind her bassinet being in the autopsy room and Ianto had rigged a plastic shield to protect her from flying alien bits.
"Owen," James arrived dragging a lump of something, "this is all that's left. I'll need full tests run to identify it since Jack decided to test Tosh's new scanner on it. How's my little princess?"
Owen swapped baby for alien lump. "Was the scanner supposed to blow up aliens?"
"No," Tosh replied as the rest of the team walked in dripping with goo. "I'll work on it as soon as I get this stuff off."
"How did James manage to avoid it?" Owen asked recoiling from the smell.
"How does he always manage to avoid goo?" Jack said, "This might help with the autopsy," he added pulling something off his jacket, "I think it's a beak."
"And this might be a toe," Ianto said tossing something at Owen.
"Hey," Owen protested dodging the sticky mess. "You're cleaning that up you know."
"I always clean up after you Owen," Ianto said.
The team dripped their way to the shower rooms as Owen gathered up the alien bits and James cooed to Rose. As soon as the team were gone James followed Owen into the autopsy bay.
"I need you to take some blood off me when you've finished," James said.
"Why, you feeling sick or something?" Owen asked as he bent over the alien flesh. He straightened up at the heavy silence. "What's wrong?" he demanded turning around to face James. "Oh god, you're not..."
"I think I might be," James nodded sheepishly.
"I thought you were going to do something about that?"
"We got busy," James said, "with the Rift and the weddings."
"Don't make excuses," Owen said accusingly, "you promised we wouldn't have to go through this again. Have you told Jack?"
"I want to be certain first."
"Oh god..." Owen dragged his hand through his hair and then grimaced when he realised it was the hand that had been handling the alien lump. "If the test is positive you get to tell everyone else after I take Ianto out for dinner. God... Rose will be walking by the time you give birth again, you'll need to hire a nanny and it's not going to be Ianto."
"Sure, leave me on the hot seat," James grumbled.
"You're the one who's bloody pregnant again," Owen said, rather louder than he anticipated.
There was a clatter from above and they turned to see a stunned Jack standing there. James smiled nervously at him. "It's not confirmed," he said.
"But you're pretty certain," Jack said.
"Would it be that bad?" James said tentatively.
Jack smiled, "It wouldn't be bad at all." They smiled at each other until Rose made her presence known with a grumbling cry.
Owen washed his hands and quickly drew some blood from James. "Go and feed your daughter," he said, "she really doesn't like that green shit by the way," he added absently.
James walked up to where Jack was standing and kissed him. "You're really okay with the possibility?"
"Yes," Jack said, "the first time was a shock and I will miss my sleep, but another piece of us in this world can only be a good thing. Who knows, we might get a boy this time."
"Twentieth century man," James said with a fond smile.
"Fifty first century man," Jack retaliated with another kiss.
"Twenty first century man trying to get past," Ianto said from behind them. "And congratulations in advance."
"How do you know?" Jack said.
"I know everything," Ianto replied, "and James has been off his coffee for a week now."
Owen came up the stairs. "It's positive... Ianto and I are going to dinner," he said, grabbing Ianto on the way past.
"I'll finish the cataloguing tomorrow," Ianto said to James as Owen dragged him off.
"What's positive?" Gwen asked as the girls joined them.
"I'm going to have another baby," James said with an embarrassed smile.
"You promised we wouldn't have to go through that again," Gwen said.
"Congratulations," Tosh said with a smile.
"We're going to need a day-care unit," Gwen said, "There isn't going to be enough room in the autopsy bay."
"I don't know if Owen would be prepared to share Rose anyway," James said with a laugh.
When everyone had left the two men curled up on the sofa together with Rose asleep in her bassinet beside them.
"Did you ever think this would be your life?" James asked Jack as they watched Rose sleep.
"I couldn't have even dreamed this," Jack said, "even when we danced that first night and all I wanted was to stay there forever."
"Keep saying things like that and we could end up with an entire brood," James said, his eyes gleaming.
"I would be happy to have an even dozen, but maybe two is enough?" Jack said nervously.
James laughed softly and kissed him. "Two would be perfect. We may need to consider moving into a house though. We should talk to Owen and Ianto about them taking over our quarters."
"Because we've got to be ready," Jack teased with a laugh.
"Careful mister," James said, "it could be a long nine months if you're not careful."
Jack snorted, "I have no doubt it will be long nine months either way."
"Shut up and kiss me while you can still reach," James said and Jack did just that.
Sometimes in his dreams he thought it couldn't be real, this life of theirs, but he always woke up to find the truth in his husband's arms.
END