House of Angels Part Four

[emeraldsnakes]

Part Three



Ianto looked up at the sound of the door opening and smiled when he saw Chuck. The prophet was smiling, with a bounce in his step that meant something good had happened. Probably something to do with The Winchester Gospel, which had been growing increasingly popular ever since the Apocalypse had ended. Ianto was just waiting for the final book to be published. He wondered what kind of reception that would get.

“What can I get for you today Chuck?” Ianto asked as he sat at the bar.

“Just a beer,” Chuck replied. “Though you can tell my beautiful wife I’m here.”

Ianto chuckled as he poured the man his drink, casting a quick eye around the rest of the restaurant. Marcus had arrived a few hours earlier and was eating with Aaron. Rufus had raided the library and was pouring over the book on a few of the lesser known pagan rituals while Dale and his wife Christina had joined tables with Eliot’s group of five. It was a fair crowd, for a Wednesday and he was expecting at least five more Hunters before the night was done.

“I take it the Gospels are doing well?” Ianto asked setting the beer before him.

Chuck nodded, “Do you know the kind of fan mail I’ve been getting? Wincest is still crazy popular but now people seem to think Michael and Lucifer have been jumping bones, that Sam, Dean, Cas and Gabriel are all doing it and that Crowley and Gabriel would be, and I quote ‘a sexy and wicked pair.’”

Ianto gagged. The thought of any type of Wincest disgusted him but Gabe - and technically himself - paired with Crowley? It made his skin crawl and he felt dirty all over just thinking about it. “Next time Chuck, keep that kind of information to yourself will ya?”

Chuck laughed a wicked glint in his eyes. Ianto sent him a glare and went back into the kitchen to talk to Becky.

“Ever thought of putting some kind of muzzle on him?”

“Actually yeah,” Becky replied, completely serious. “Think he’d go for it?”

Ianto had only been joking and wished he’d never asked. “Totally,” he deadpanned and left her to the little fantasy he just knew was forming in her head.

As he headed back out to the front, Jimmy entered the kitchen from the back, coming in from the house. Ianto smiled and pulled him into a kiss, humming happily.

“Hey.”

Jimmy was smiling, “Hey yourself. The kids should be home soon.”

“Want me to keep them occupied while Matthew takes over here so you can get some more work done?”

“I’ve suffered enough paperwork for the day Ian,” Jimmy replied. “We can give the kids a table, make them do their homework and feed them.”

Ianto chuckled, “We’ll be hard pressed to get Jesse to do any work with Marcus here.”

“Yes, but I bet Marcus will convince him.”

“Ooh,” Ianto replied playfully. “Devious. I like it.”

He was pulling Jimmy in for another kiss when Becky crowded their personal space. Ianto sighed and rested his forehead against Jimmy’s. “Yes Becky?”

Becky gave them an apologetic look. “Sorry but, Bobby’s here.”

Ianto and Jimmy shared a concerned look. Bobby rarely ventured from his home now. He’d retired, kept an ear out and passed on information but otherwise had left Hunting. Ianto thanked Becky and went out to meet with Bobby. Jimmy followed but stopped at Chuck.

“Bobby.”

“Still got that Grimoire boy?”

Ianto smiled at the familiarity, “Which one?”

“The one I sent you last month.”

“Yeah, of course. Why?” Ianto poured Bobby a drink.

“I’ve been hearing some rumours of a Hunter nobody’s seen before looking for it. I also heard that he’s admitted to not caring about who he has to kill to get it.”

Ianto nodded as he felt a sinking feeling in his gut. His search would no doubt lead the Hunter here and while Ianto was confident in his own skills he had his family to protect too. How much danger were they in?

“Thanks for the warning Bobby,” Ianto told him gratefully. “You sticking around?”

“Idjit,” Bobby responded. “I want to see these kids of yours.”

Retired Bobby was a Hermit. He’d heard about his and Jimmy’s kids and had spoken to Matthew a few times but he’d never actually met them. Ianto began preparing himself for a crazy night.

. . . . . .

“Strange,” Ianto said as he fell, exhausted onto the bed beside Jimmy.

“Mmm?” Jimmy mumbled, already on his way to sleep as he flung an arm over Ianto and curled into him.

“Feels too much like a Friday.” There was some shifting around as they made themselves comfortable.

Ianto didn’t actually hear Jimmy laugh, but he felt the exhale on his neck and the slight shudder of his body, “Least they finally got to meet Bobby. He’ll spoil them now.”

Ianto snorted, “As opposed to every other Hunter they know?”

Jimmy paused, “You have a point.” He sighed, “They’re all going to end up Hunters aren’t they.”

Ianto closed his eyes. It was his biggest fear, losing his children to that Death Trap. It was entirely their choice and while he would support whatever they chose there was no certainty he’d agree with it. He knew what was out there, do did they, but he’d seen things he never wanted them to see.

“Please,” Ianto said softly. “I can’t think about that.”

“Hell,” Jimmy cursed. “I didn’t mean to, I just… I’m sorry.”

He pulled Ianto closer, pressed a feather light kiss to his shoulder in comfort and apology and fell silent. Before sleep claimed him Ianto linked their fingers together and squeezed gently.

. . . . . .

He was awake and reaching to unlock the second drawer to get the gun before he knew what he was really doing.

“Ianto?” Jimmy murmured.

Ianto blinked, looked around the room before his eyes settled on the nightstand where the alarm for the restaurant was glowing madly.

“Oh shit,” Jimmy said more clearly, coming awake.

“I’ll take care of it,” Ianto told him, more aware as he unlocked the drawer and drew out the glock and clip. Sliding the clip into place he removed the safety then leaned over and gave Jimmy a soft kiss.

“Ianto…”

“I’ll be fine,” Ianto told him. “It’s not supernatural and I’m use to humans and aliens.”

Jimmy’s gaze followed him as he left the room, he could feel the concern radiating off him and he glanced back, hoping his own gaze showed his confidence. He silently moved through the house, down the hallway and descended the stairs. His training as a Torchwood Operative was kicking in hardcore, muscles tense, eyes sharp and his hand griping his gun firmly.

There was no one in the restaurant kitchen, but he expected that and heard the faint shuffling of someone trying to get into the library. There’s a dim light Ianto figures is from a flashlight and it allows him to see the figure of the intruder clearly as he raises his weapon and steps into the room.

“Hand’s up,” Ianto commanded. “Turn around.”

Hands rose, flashlight in one, gun in the other, and Ianto wondered, briefly, what the guy was doing if his hand were otherwise occupied. And Ianto knew guns, knew them a lot better than probably most hunters and he knew that that was no earth weapon. Questions flew threw his mind about why a Hunter from another planet, maybe even the future would want the Grimoire. He hadn’t read it yet, hadn’t read half the book in the library yet and barely knew that they were all supposed to be about.

The Hunter was male, approximately in his mid forties with light brown short hair and dark eyes. Ianto guessed he was shorter than Jimmy though not by much. Ianto was just waiting for him to make the wrong move.

“I see this place is more protected than I originally thought.”

“Shut up,” Ianto ordered. “I want your name, the century you’re from and then I want you to get the hell out of here and never come back.”

The man sighed, “That’s really disappointing because you see I just can’t do that. I’m taking the Grimoire of Maleficarum and there is nothing you can do to stop me.”

“Dad?”

Jesse was standing just a little off to Ianto’s side, blinking tiredly and Ianto felt everything in him just freeze. Jesse was staring at him curiously. Jess was in here. Jesse was in the line of fire!

Ianto realized too late that the Hunter was now in control and his weapon was trained on Jesse.

“No!”

He went for Jesse, pulling him into the kitchen and as he did so he heard a shot. When Ianto felt no pain he immediately thought of the only other person who could have been hit.

“Jesse.” He pushed his son back to arms reach and inspected him. He found no trace of blood.

“Daddy?” Jesse asked softly, eyes full of terror.

Ianto pulled him into a hug, “Shh kiddo, it’s okay.” Ianto whispered but things were far from okay. If neither he nor Jesse had been hit, then the Hunter was still alive, still a threat.

“Stay here,” he ordered.

He picked his gun up from where it had apparently fallen. Ianto didn’t remember dropping it but he’d been so concerned over Jesse that it didn’t surprise him. He peered out into the restaurant, but didn’t see anything. The Hunter’s flashlight was shining on the north wall, but there was no sign of the Hunter.

Someone bumped into a chair and cursed. Ianto responded immediately, turned, spotted a silhouette and fired. Twice.

“Whoa! Holy shit Eye-Candy. I don’t want to have any unnecessary holes.” The figure was gone, couched low behind a table.

Ianto blinked, “John?”

“One and only. You going to shoot at me again?”

“Should I?” Ianto asked, but he was already lowering his weapon and John was standing up. Ianto couldn’t see his face, but the way the ex-Time Agent stood made Ianto really believe it was him. He didn’t trust John, but the man had never harmed him.

“You okay?” John asked.

“No,” Ianto snarled. “No I’m not okay. You’re here, my son almost got shot and I screwed up. I don’t want to hear your explanations, not tonight, but I thank you for being here. You clean up this mess and I’ll give you the time of day tomorrow. And don’t bother stealing anything; it has no value to you.”

Ianto turned away from him, flicked the safety on his gun and holstered it in the back of his pants. He picked Jesse up and carried him back into the house. Jesse clung to him, and Ianto clung right back.

His heart was beating wildly. He was scared; he’d almost lost his son, and he was so angry at himself. He was trained for situations like that, trained to respond properly and yet he’d lost focus. It could have been worse, and it would have been all his fault.

“Dad?”

Ianto looked up the stairs. The hallway light was on and Jimmy was standing with the rest of the children at the top. Sara and Claire were like vice grips on his legs. William was in his arms and appeared to be crying. Matthew was standing behind him, his usual teenage bravado completely gone and Ianto felt even more miserable. When they must have been thinking, fearing!

“We’re not hurt guys,” Ianto told them ascending the stairs.

The children relaxed a bit but they were still shaken up. Jimmy remained worried as hell and Ianto tried to reassure him but it was hard to when he couldn’t reassure himself. Jimmy would only truly be reassured when he could hold Ianto, much less than it would take for Ianto.

“Daddy?” Jesse asked looking up at him. “Can I sleep with you and Dad?”

“Sure kiddo,” Ianto replied immediately. He couldn’t let Jesse out of his sight. Not right now.

“Can we too?” Sara asked, looking up at Jimmy.

Jimmy nodded. “Come on guys. Matthew?”

Matthew looked torn and vulnerable and Ianto made the choice for him, hooking an arm around his back and guiding him along. He was glad he and Jimmy had decided to splurge on a king, or having all of them on the bed would have been an even tighter fit. He just hoped no one got hurt. If he remembered correctly, William tended to kick and Sara turned over a lot.

“Ianto,” Jimmy stopped him at the door. Sara and Claire had jumped on the bed and were settling themselves in the center and Matthew was sitting on the edge watching them.

Ianto reached over and cupped one side of his face. “I’m here.”

. . . . . .

Sara’s screaming woke them all up in the morning and had Jimmy, Ianto and even Matthew looking for a weapon. A chorus of yelling ensued till one voice rung above all the others.

“Boy, you sure can pick them Eye-Candy.”

Silence and everyone turned to look at the man at the door. Ianto was the only one glaring, but then, he was the only one who knew John Hart. He didn’t look any different from the last time Ianto had seen him but that had been a long time ago and probably longer for him.

“Hi kids.”

Ianto was out of bed and dragging John down the hall before the others could react.

Jimmy could hear Ianto speaking angrily, English punctuated with a few choice Welsh words. The children were looking at each other confused, except William. He was still sleepy and had curled into Jimmy.

“Dad?” Matthew asked. “Who was that?”

Jimmy didn’t reply. He didn’t know that man but he didn’t like the way he spoke to Ianto and he hoped that Ianto got rid of him. There was something about him that put Jimmy on edge. Maybe it was the way he was standing, or maybe it was the way he had been looking at them and Ianto in particular.

“Dad?” Claire persisted.

Jimmy shook his head. “I’ve never met him. Ianto probably knew him in Cardiff.”

“The alien job?” Jesse asked.

“Yeah,” Jimmy replied. He glanced at clock. “Come on guys. Time to get ready for school.”

“Awww.” “Do we have to?” were the replies he got and he grinned at them all.

“Yes. Now go.”

He scooped William up, knowing his youngest wasn’t awake enough to get started on his own, and waited for them all to start going out of the room ahead of him.

“Jesse?”

“Yea Dad?” Jesse asked.

“No Simon today, okay?”

Jesse nodded and took off to his room.

The morning's routine was greatly subdued. The children were efficient in getting ready for school and unnaturally quiet when they came down for breakfast. If Matthew didn't drive they would have been ready in time to catch the bus which in itself would have been a miracle because they'd never taken the bus. (That was all Chuck's fault. He'd told them a ghost story about a haunted bus and it ruined things forever.)

Jimmy watched them go, prolonged going into Angel House to talk with Ianto and their guest as much as he could but eventually he went in. Ianto was behind the counter, hand hovering over a sigil. Their guest was across from him and laid out on the counter top was a variety of weapons and future technology, more than Jimmy ever thought a person could hide on themselves.

"So, who are you?" Jimmy asked.

"Captain John Hart," the man answered with a hint of pride in his voice.

Jimmy was not impressed, "Yeah, and?"

Captain Hart feigned a hurt look, "You haven't heard of me? I'm hurt Eye Candy."

"You can stop calling my partner that too, or I'll slam Ianto's hand on the sigil myself," Jimmy snapped, feeling an uncontrollable rage build in him.

Hart stared a Jimmy in surprise then lust. "Well, they do say the quiet ones are the most fun."

"That's enough John," Ianto spoke calmly but icily.

"Right uh…" Hart deflated, lost all of his playfulness and his pride and he looked like a scolded child. Jimmy wondered if he was bi-polar. "I'm formerly a 51st Century Time Agent, like Jack Harkness. I'm also a Hunter."

"They still have hunters in the future?" Jimmy asked perplexed.

"Yeah. There are always ghosts and spirits and other pagan entities that need to be dealt with. Hunting will become something like its own Agency and then expand to colonies who settle in central areas to better spread out their Hunts and the chances of backup reaching them when they need it."

"And you were born in one of these colonies?"

Hart nodded. "Planet actually. New Kansas was founded sometime in the 44th Century after Hamilton imploded and it became a home primarily for Hunters. It's the only Hunter's planet but it's not the central planet. That would be Salvation, which is central to the whole galaxy."

"Why?" Ianto asked. He'd relaxed his hand and tugged Jimmy a little closer. Maybe out of comfort, maybe because he still didn't trust Hart not to attack.

"Salvation's home to all the galaxy wide governing bodies." Hart answered. "Shadow Proclamation and the Galactic Order for the general populous, the New Vatican for Christianity and the House of Angels for Hunters."

"Wait, wait, wait," Jimmy interrupted. "'The House of Angels?'"

Hart nodded, "Named after this place. The Elders of the colonies meet there to get drunk, talk about the Hunts to see if they're just random or not and if they aren't then they pool their resources in order to deal with the problem."

"But why? This is just a restaurant."

"It also becomes the most central establishment to Hunters in the 21st Century but I guess you'll figure that out."

Jimmy couldn't wrap his head around that, it was just so unbelievable. Sure, more and more Hunters had started frequenting the restaurant but that didn't mean anything. Did it?

"That's nice John," Ianto told him, "and I thank you for your assistance last night. You can go now."

John looked like he'd been slapped. "What? No! No, I want to stay."

Ianto let out a half laugh, "I don’t think so."

"Please. I think I'm supposed to be here." John wasn't begging, but he looked about read to get down on his knees.

"And what makes you say that?" Ianto demanded. "You're a con artist and a murderer. You tried to kill my entire team."

"Killing Jack was an accident and I will admit that I went a little crazy concerning him. I only meant to wound Doctor Harper, and wound him I did."

"You wanted Gwen to die."

"She was a Demon even without being possessed," Hart argued. "I knew it even if you didn't."

"The Winchester Gospels."

"Yes. And I'm supposed to be here because of the Chronicles of Grace."

Jimmy was going to hurt Chuck in some of the worst ways possible. The Gospels were supposed to be it for the recovering alcoholic Prophet, and here John was telling them that there were more, but written about Ianto and him. Scratch that, he was going to kill Chuck. It was bad enough him marital fuck up had been aired out for the whole of space and time to read but now the rest of his life?

Chuck confirmed Hart's story and was very quick to inform them that he wasn't getting regular visions, just flashes every month or so. Ianto grilled him on the visions but Chuck hadn't seen anything related to Demons, Angels, ghosts or gods. That was good, for now but if Chuck couldn't see everything then they really had no guarantee that nothing was going to happen.

It was about that time that John pointed out the high probability of something else coming for the Grimoire when the contractor realized his guy had failed.

"Did you know to come here because of the Chronicles?" Jimmy asked.

Hart shook his head, "I never read them, wasn't allowed. Any child born to a Hunter's colony who would live the majority of their lives in the 51st Century was denied the privilege to ensure the integrity of the timeline. I ended up here tracking that man actually. He used to be a Time Agent and carried out he orders to destroy the Agency himself.

"So he was a traitor?"

"And more, but you don't want to know the details."

Ianto tugged Jimmy into the house after that to discuss their options. He buried his face in Jimmy's neck first and Jimmy held him, waiting for him to open up. He knew it all boiled down to Hart, probably even more specifically to Hart killing Jack.

"I don't trust him," Ianto told him, Welsh accent thick with emotion.

"I know," Jimmy replied hugging Ianto tighter.

"Except I can't deny the very valid point he makes. He could be useful." Ianto sighed, "I don’t know what to do."

Jimmy thought about it, thought about their options and how they could get everything they wanted out of this. "We let him stay on probationary conditions. If in the event he violated one of the conditions or gives us any reason to question out trust in him then we reserve every right to throw him out."

Ianto "hmmed" into his neck, "Love you."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Captain John Hart turned out to be extremely useful. He knew nearly every Enochian Sigil by heart and taught them how to reproduce the properties of the Colt and Ruby's Knife to fit any weapon. He looked over the protective wards, modified a few of them and explained why, then modified the alien tech protecting them as well.

He was incredibly smart, a genius even, compared to their understandings. It made Jimmy wonder if the Time Agency had been structured like the Military. They had no real information to go on. Jack had barely said two words about it to Ianto and John refused to say anything at all. It begged the question of whether or not they really wanted to know.

"Is that normal?" John came into the office one day, foregoing his usual polite knowing and looking like a freaked out teenager.

"Is what normal?" Jimmy countered, wondering where Ianto was.

"Becky. She's talking about something called Fan fiction."

"Oh," Jimmy nodded in understanding. "Yeah, that's very normal."

John’s face coloured unpleasantly, "This was so not in the books."

John initially kept his distance from the children, and he made that easier by learning the ropes of the restaurant and helping out there as well. As time passed by though, Jimmy could see the barrier breaking down and while it wasn't the greatest thing that could happen, it certainly wasn't the worst.

Ianto was still puzzled over why John was different towards them.

"I've already told you. You're famous."

Ianto snorted, "And Chuck's a Prophet yet you treat us far more reverently than the Angels treat him. What aren't you telling us?"

"Maybe it's something we aren't supposed to know," Jimmy tried to fill the tense silence that had followed. John was set on keeping his secret but Ianto was determined to get it out of him.

"I don't think so," Ianto replied. "He would already have told us. I've been around Jack long enough to know when a Time Agent is avoiding something because it's quote unquote awkward or it's to preserve timelines. This is awkward."

Jimmy smirked. He really loved it when Ianto got all authoritative like that. Too bad John was here.

"It's not awkward for me," John said annoyed. "It's awesome. I'm more concerned about how you'll take it."

"Take what?" Ianto demanded.

John just shook his head and made his retread. Ianto fucked Jimmy that night. It was rougher than usual but Ianto used his authoritative voice punctuated by a lot of Welsh.

Jimmy figured it out during Christmas. He doesn’t know how he does it. Christmas was Hell with a capital "H" with Amelia and her parents - her parents of all people - showing up because apparently Ed and Nadine wanted to see Claire for the Holidays. Amelia didn't even have the decency to warn him, the fucking self righteous bitch.

Jimmy had never felt truly accepted by Amelia's parents before but the way they looked at him and the way they treated Ianto and his family had pissed him off. They looked down on him as if he was what was wrong with the world and he was sure that if Amelia and the Courts hadn't given him custody of Claire they'd try and take her.

The only reason he'd put up with it was for Claire's sake.

That hadn't stopped John from being flamboyant. He hit on Chuck and Becky more heavily than usual and started to flirt blatantly with Ianto and Jimmy.

It hadn't stopped Jesse from commanding a few well placed 'mishaps.' Lights flickered, floorboards creaked, and some of their possessions went missing. It was the kind of stuff that made a person paranoid.

It hadn't stopped William from fleeing a room every time they entered. He'd only stay if he was sitting between both Ianto and Jimmy.

Matthew and Sara had been the opposite. They were polite and courteous and Jimmy could see his former in-laws wondering when the other shoe would drop. It didn't and Jimmy thinks they're brilliant because he knows how much that messed with Ed's and Nadine's minds.

He figured it out at the end. Amelia and her parents were leaving and though it had only been three days it had felt like forever. Jimmy's a hundred percent sure a visit like that is never going to happen again and while Amelia and her parents hug Claire good bye he watched his family observe them with glee. That's when he noticed it.

John is standing beside Matthew. He's taller but Jimmy can see it and it hits him like a punch to the gut.

He thinks Ianto will feel it like a kick to the balls.

"You look like him," Jimmy once New Years had passed and the kids had gone back to school.

"Uh, what?" Both John and Ianto were confused.

"Matthew. You look like Matthew, John."

John pales and glances at Ianto nervously but Ianto is focused on Jimmy like he thinks Jimmy might be crazy.

"They look nothing alike," Ianto stated the fact vehemently.

"You stand them side by side and they do," Jimmy replied calmly. "The hair colour is a bit off and there's a minor variant to their facial structure but they're definitely related."

"I'm not listening to this shit," Ianto exclaimed. "What the fuck Jimmy?"

"Hey!" Jimmy snapped. He didn't like the ugly feeling he got from being sworn at like that by Ianto. "You wanted to know what John was hiding. This is it."

Ianto turned to John, livid, "Is he right? Are you descended from Matthew?"

John nodded, "And William. Their lines merge some time round the 35th Century."

"Aww no, this can't be happening," Ianto ran both hands over his face and head.

"Ianto," Jimmy tried to sooth, "It's not that bad."

He briefly wonders about that but he's not lying. It doesn't bother him as much as it probably would have when they first met John.

"Not that bad?" Ianto countered darkly. "He's a fucking murderer."

"Well I'm sorry I'm not the perfect son!" John yelled, startling them both. "I'm sorry my father cared more about the integrity of the family name than raising his son even though he had all the time in the universe for his daughter. Do you know what it's like to be ignored, to be given the bare minimum of training even though you know you're supposed to be getting the best? The only person who paid any attention to me was my professor and he taught me so well I could ward this place while reciting the Gospels in my sleep."

"John, I…" Ianto was lost for words, stunned by John's outburst and admission.

"When the Time Agency started recruiting I packed what little I treasured and enlisted. They trained me and I was at the top of my class in almost everything. When I started going on assignments they paired me with Sal - Jack. We were the wild cards, the ones they couldn't control because no one in their right minds holds something over Hunters and Jack had no family ties left. We worked really well together until he let me to die on Downsli Minor. He defected from the Agency a month later. I was a lone agent after that and I will admit a lot of my problems stemmed from that time. Everything you've said Ianto Jones is nothing I haven't hears before but I never thought I'd have to hear it from you."

John avoided looking at them as he started to leave.

"John. John wait."

Ianto caught John round the waist and pulled him into a hug. They spoke quiet words to each other, words Jimmy didn't have to hear to understand because he knew what Ianto was feeling. John had finally showed them what he looked like without all the masks in place. While they still didn't trust him completely he had made a big step in rectifying that.

And then John ruined the moment by planting a big one on Ianto. Jimmy smiled as Ianto had a freak out. Everything was good.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The question came out of the blue. Jimmy doesn’t know why, they believed in Heaven and Hell and everything in between, but it did. It didn't come from Claire either. Jimmy would have expected that, it was something she'd been use to before coming to live with him and Ianto.

They were sitting around the table for supper. John was manning the restaurant, Becky was probably humming in the kitchen and Chuck was there for backup. The days they got to spend the night together as a family were becoming something they did almost once a week, thanks to John's insistence.

"Dad," Sara said when there was a lull in the table talk. "Why don't we go to church?"

Jimmy looked at her in surprise while everyone else went completely silent. Claire was interested, she wanted answers too but had never felt like she could ask the question. The other kids were just mildly curious while Ianto's expression was closed off. The question was obviously all Jimmy's to deal with.

"Why do you ask?"

"Amie said that if we believe in God then we have to go to Church because it's what we're supposed to do," Sara replied. "Are we not going to be allowed into Heaven because we don't go to church?"

Jimmy shook his head. He could see this clearly upset her and, with everything his kids had been through he'd never thought that church would upset them. "No Sara, we're not going to Hell."

"Then why would Amie say that?" Sara demanded, voice raising a little, signaling that she was becoming more upset.

"For Christians it's their way of staying faithful. Regular people don't talk to Angels. Regular people haven't actually met God and so they stick together in order to maintain their faith. They don't know what we do."

"Can't we tell them?" Sara asked, looking between him and Ianto hopefully.

Jimmy shook his head, "Sweetie, no one's going to believe us, not unless they actually see if for themselves. No one has that simple kind of faith anymore, there are too many bad people out there lying about it then being found out."

"If we show them?"

"Then it would defeat the purpose of having faith."

Sara scowled, "That's stupid. How are people supposed to have faith in something if they don't know it's there?"

"But it is, Sara," Jimmy argued softly. "You only have to look around you to know. God made humanity, the Earth, the Universe, everything. We've evolved enough to understand what makes us who we are, but essentially it all goes back to God creating it."

"Oh." Sara was quite for several moments, contemplating her food. "I've never been to church. What's it like?"

"You've never been to church?" Matthew asked surprised. "Not even on like, Christmas or Easter or something?"

"No," Sara replied indignantly. "Why would I have?"

"Some families go on special occasions only, out of tradition." Jimmy told her quickly, lest an argument start up. "I can take you on Sunday, if you'd like to go."

"Really? Sure."

Jimmy addressed the others, "If anyone else would like to come, you're welcome to."

Sunday came around, and it turned out everyone was going to church. Jimmy quite suspected Ianto had something to do with getting the boys to agree to go, since none of them had shown any interest the previous days. They didn't look like they'd been coerced though, so Jimmy wondered exactly what Ianto had said to them. He'd find out later.

Auburn had two churches, the Presbyterian and the Methodist. Neither were the same denomination that Jimmy had grown up in, and then attended with Amelia but he could live with it. It was St. Andrews Presbyterian they were going to be attending, the church that Amie's family attended so that at least Sara knew one kid her age that went.

The church was relatively new, probably twenty years old, but the community had been around for over a hundred. It was modern styled with a large front hall to mill around in, hang your coat up, check your mail and visit before the service stated. Eight stairs led up to the level the sanctuary was on, a spacious area with two isles of cushioned pews long enough to fit up to twelve people. The pulpit was raised on a podium to the left side, and on the right was the choir loft. In the center, obscured by nothing was a cross, mounted outwards and with a soft back light. Along the wall to the right side of the pulpit was a door which Jimmy assumed led to a hallway connecting the Sunday school rooms, the choir room and the office.

Sara and Amie found each other almost immediately, and Amie's parents came to greet them. They were pretty open minded for a small community; Jimmy liked that about them. Amie's dad Roger Beck was the local chiropractor and her mom, Eva, was a nurse in Topeka. They were one of the more wealthy families in the area and one of the nicest.

"Amie tells us this is Sara's first church service," Eva commented, eyeing the chattering girls. Jimmy felt like he was being judged even though he knew he wasn't, and he sort of wished he had someone to distract him. Ianto had William and it seemed like Matthew, Claire and Jesse were discussing something.

"Not everyone believes." Jimmy told her.

"You do, yet you've never brought them before."

"Churches don't exactly accept people like Ianto and I," Jimmy replied. "And my faith in God and in the church has been tried too many times recently."

"I understand, I really do. I hope you find this place welcoming. We're a little more liberal than most churches." Eva smiled. "Maybe you'll get your faith back."

Jimmy looked around the church quickly, "Maybe."

The problem was Jimmy didn't think that he and Ianto would be coming back. There were maybe only a handful of churches really accepting of homosexuals and he knew that the Presbyterian Church wasn't among them. The denomination was known for being one of the more conservative churches, even if some of its members were not.

"Matthew Granger," Jimmy heard a male voice say surprised. "Never thought I'd see the day you stepped into a church."

Jimmy turned, the whole family turned like a united front, and he saw a teen he didn't recognize.

"Evan Rush, you stupid tosser," Matthew replied, lips curled into a snarl.

William snickered and Jimmy gave Ianto an annoyed look, "And you said they wouldn't pick up your slang."

Ianto gave him a sheepish look, "It's not like I use it much around them."

"What'd you just call me?" Evan demanded, taking a step forward.

A hand slapped down on Evan's shoulder belonging to a man Jimmy assumed was his father. "Not in church, Evan. Let's go."

He led his son away, but not before giving them all a look. Out of the corner of his eye Jimmy saw both William and Jesse stick their tongues out and he wanted to laugh, but he knew he shouldn't. For a long time they thought none of the children would really be able to get along and this display just shows how far they've come.

"I think we should find ourselves a place to sit," Ianto commented.

They found an empty pew near the back and spread out, Matthew at one end, then Jesse, Claire, Jimmy in the middle, and Sara, William then Ianto at the other end.

"Recognize anyone?" Jimmy asked the kids, looking around.

Each of the kids had a few really close friends, and as far as he knew none of them but Amie went to church. But then, Jimmy and Ianto hadn't really met the kids’ friends. With the Hunters around often, and magical objects and books in abundance, they usually had the kids go over to their friends homes.

"Other than that idiot?" Matthew mumbled in reply.

"How come you don't like him?" Jesse asked curiously. Jimmy wanted to know the same thing. He hadn't heard of Matthew having a problem with any of his classmates, but maybe there wasn't an actual problem. Maybe Evan just rubbed Matthew the wrong way.

"I just don't," Matthew said with a scowl.

Something nudged him and Jimmy turned the other way to see Ianto give him a look. Jimmy frowned, not getting it. Ianto rolled his eyes and motioned him forward.

"It sounds like he has a crush."

Jimmy raised an eyebrow, "You can't be serious."

Ianto sighed, "Come on, don't you remember your first male crush? Mine was exactly like this."

"That's way too cliché," Jimmy argued.

"Wanna bet?" Ianto countered with a wicked glint in his eyes.

Jimmy smirked, "We'll discuss the terms tonight."

"Did you guys just bet over Matthew's love life?" Sara asked.

"Hush Sara," Jimmy said quickly, glancing at the older three children to see if they'd heard anything. Thankfully, they seemed to be in their own little world.

"Not a word of this to anyone else," Jimmy said softly. "Same goes for you," he added looking at William.

William grinned, "Okay Dad."

Jimmy had a feeling that eventually, Jesse and Claire would know too. Nothing stayed secret in their family for long unless everyone agreed it would.

It was a good service; Jimmy thought that when everything had finished. It was a balance between modern and traditional with a bit of a heavier lean on the traditional side, but Jimmy thought that it gave a good representation of what church was generally like. At approximately half way through, the minister came down from the pulpit and invited the children up for a story before sending them out to Sunday School. Claire, Jesse and Sara went, but William refused and Matthew was beyond the age limit.

Coincidence, or maybe someone's influence, the Minister spoke on Faith with a focus on the faith of the church. He reminded the congregation about Paul's teachings, pointing out also that, while sometimes things might appear righteous, it wasn't always. There would forever be people - false prophets - twisting the words of God and trying to lead His people astray.

"Mr. Novak. Mr. Jones. This is quite the surprise." Reverend Harrison greeted them at the sanctuary entrance.

"But?" Ianto prompted.

Jimmy had an eye on Matthew, who was glowering in Evan Rush's direction. Maybe…? No, no way did he have a crush on the other teen. Ianto was not winning this one.

"No buts here Mr. Jones. I may not support your way of life but you and your partner have what appears to be a healthy relationship and a stability that all children need when growing up."

"Thank you." Ianto said surprised. "You're honestly the last person I expected to hear that from."

The Reverend chuckled, "I'm glad I can still surprise people. Don't want to lose my touch."

Jimmy looked at the man at that, "Is it just me, or did he just sound like Gabriel?"

"Yea," Ianto replied slowly with a tilt of his head. "Weird."

"Excuse me?" the Reverend asked perplexed.

"My apologies," Ianto said, a slight blush creeping up his neck that made Jimmy smirk just a little. "A friend of ours who now lives overseas is quite the practical joker. You reminded us of him just then."

Jimmy stumbled and grabbed onto Ianto to steady himself when someone suddenly barreled into the back of his legs.

"Uh, that -!" Matthew snarled and took off.

Jimmy looked down at the munchkin holding on his legs, giving him a too innocent smile, then up at his quickly disappearing oldest son. "Crap."

"Dad look," Sara joined them, holding up something for Ianto to see.

"Crap," Jimmy said again.

. . . . . .

"Get changed," Ianto ordered voice hard and Jimmy gave the accompanying glare. "You can start doing the inventory for the restaurant."

"Aw come on dad!" Matthew protested. "You know how useless that job is."

"Now."

Matthew hesitated, probably thinking about protesting, but after a moment he stomped his way up the stairs like an angry five year old.

"How was it?" Becky asked poking her head in.

"Oh, fine," Ianto answered casually as the other kids also went up to get changed. "Up until Matthew got in a fight."

"He got into a fight?" Becky was amazed, as amazed as both Ianto and Jimmy were angry. "Why?"

"Hell if I know, but he'll be doing the inventory today. And nothing else."

Becky nodded as Matthew came back down, feet pounding on the stairs then floor. "I'll let John know?"

"Please do," Ianto began pulling items from the fridge and cupboards randomly. Pickles, peanuts, butter, a banana.

Jimmy frowned and shook his head, "Ianto."

"Do you want me to whip something up?" Becky asked.

Ianto sighed and spread his hands out on the counter top, "Please."

Becky nodded and left quickly, giving Jimmy a significant look. She wanted him to make everything better because he was the only one available who could. Except that Jimmy didn't think that it could ever be made better. They were still fighting the issues of being left by Sam and Dean.

It was kind of pathetic really. He'd lost lovers before, lost Amelia but it was Dean fucking Winchester who made him feel like the world was going to end. Ianto was just as hurt, if not more. They made quite the pair. Jimmy hated that he was so weak.

"Hey," he said softly pulling Ianto into his arms. Ianto was unresponsive but compliant.

"It'll blow over."

"Except that now we're not only gay parents, we can't raise our children either."

"That's not true."

"Matthew was out of control today Jim. He could have seriously hurt that other boy; he might have if we hadn't gotten there in time. I taught him how to fight like that Jim."

"I know Ianto, but you can't blame yourself for his actions. He made his choice and he's going to live with the consequences."

"Not like us though."

"Don't think like that," Jimmy snapped, hating where Ianto's thoughts were headed but knowing that his own had a foot on that train too.

Ianto sighed, "It all just seemed to be going right, you know? The sermon might as well have been for us, the people weren't openly scornful of our relationship and the kids liked it. Sara and Claire what to go back."

Jimmy nodded, "I don't mind taking them."

"Except until you can't stand it anymore?" Ianto asked, looking up at him.

Jimmy shrugged, "I can deal with it Ianto."

"We can trade off. You take one Sunday, I'll take the next. I wouldn't mind going back either."

Jimmy looked over as they heard someone coming down the stairs.

"What's for lunch?" Claire asked. "Oh, and Jesse's using his powers again."

"Why?" Ianto asked alarmed, leaving Jimmy's arms.

Claire shrugged, "He's re-enacting the fight between Matthew and Evan. Its…kind of funny."

Jimmy grinned. Jesse had this weird knack for using his powers to create miniatures and reenacting scenes. He did the commentary to them and it was usually outrageous. It was one of the situations they preferred Jesse use his powers in. It wasn't dangerous and it allowed him to learn to control them.

"Becky's got lunch coming." Jimmy told her. "Why don't you help Ianto set the table? I'll go break up the party."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Matthew hated Evan Rush.

It wasn't all the hard to understand why, either. Evan practically ruled Washburn Rural High School, though if pressed Matthew would admit that he might be over exaggerating that. Maybe just their grade, but he had all the girls from all the grades falling over themselves for him because they thought he was 'hot'.

Matthew rolled his eyes. Evan might as well start up his own cult following. What made it worse? The bastard didn't even realize it. He was a genuinely nice guy, from what Matthew could see but he knew it all had to be an act. No one was honestly that nice. It was all just so damn frustrating.

There wasn't a day that went by that Matthew didn't see him, didn't have to interact with him in some way, whether it be in the parking lot, in class or in the cafeteria. If he had a choice he'd like to never see Evan again.

"Hey dude, what's up?" Andrew swung an arm around his shoulders. "When are you actually gunna ditch the little siblings and get here on time?"

Matthew rolled his eyes, knowing his best friend was just kidding. He actually quite liked Matthew's siblings; though Matthew had a suspicious feeling there was something more than simple when it came to Claire.

"Maybe when you get a life."

"Ooo, harsh man. Harsh."

Matthew laughed, closed his locker and the two of them headed to homeroom. They joined Katie and Courtney on the way.

Andrew was a few inches taller than him, with a thin, tooth pick like build a mop of brown curls and glasses. Katie was a small girl but she had a wicked arm. She had long blond hair she usually wore up in one elaborated do or another, honey coloured eyes set in a round face and she wore a dark hoodie with non-descript jeans. Courtney, her boyfriend, had short blond hair and blue eyes and a face of soft angles and curves. He used to get teased often about his feminine features until Matthew came along and beat the crap out of anyone who dared to say anything.

"I hear we've got a different Sub for History the rest of the week," Courtney informed them. He grinned at Matthew, "Apparently Evan has already made an impression."

Matthew scowled, "Son of a bitch."

"Language, Mr. Granger."

"Sorry Mrs. Foss," Matthew replied immediately. She always seemed to be around when he was swearing, like she had some kind of sixth sense for it. Foss was one of the older teachers at the school, close to retirement but scary as hell. Very few people disobeyed her. Matthew thought himself fortunate that he didn't have her for any classes this semester.

"One day she's going to make good on her threat to put you in detention for the rest of high school," Katie told him.

Matthew shrugged, "I'm pretty sure that's not possible."

History was scheduled as the second class of the day and was one of Matthew's favourites. Mr. Connors, their regular teacher, had taken two weeks to have surgery and recover leaving them with two subs, a week for each. Their first Sub had been Ms. Wright who was in her mid forties, wore badly done makeup, atrocious perfume and had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to teach them. This new sub was entirely different. He was her exact opposite, mid thirties, wild blond hair, and the body of a man who worked out every day and richly tanned skin. He had a fashion sense too and was, in short, hot.

"So," Mr. Arsanious said suddenly loud after taking the attendance, causing most of the students to jump, Matthew included. "According to my instructions this week we'll be learning Mythology. To be more specific we'll be mainly focusing on the European Myths and how they affected the day to day lives of those who worshiped them. You also have a project."

Matthew smiled. There was no way he'd be getting anything less than a hundred and fifty percent on this.

"Now, this is a group project, between two persons to be presented on Friday. Why on Friday when your teacher won't even be here, you ask?" he grinned at them, "I'll be taping it. Yes?"

Matthew turned his head. Macy was asking a question. "Then what's the point?"

Mr. Arsanious gave an exaggerated scoff, "What the point? I read last week's notes missy, your teacher is going to have to go over it again with you and we don't want to have to waste any more of his time now, do we."

He gave her a look and Macy nodded mutely.

"Alright then. We'll do a quick brief of the assignments; I'll assign partners and start on the Babylonians."

"You're assigning partners?" Courtney blurted out as the sheets started to be passed around.

"Yup," Mr. Arsanious replied with a huge grin Matthew didn't like the looks of. "Let's see, here we go. Uh, blah blah blah, 'This assignment is to be done in pairs. I leave it to you to decide whether or not the students are allowed to choose their own partners or you do it yourself. However, if you decide to assign partners I advise you to' - and this is the good part guys -'to not pair Valerie Wilson with Ashleigh Decker or Matthew Granger with Evan Rush.'"

Mr. Arsanious looked up at them. "Well then, let’s see what Fate has in store for you."

Fate was making everyone its bitch. Mr. Arsanious divided the class into two. He instructed one group to stand while the others wrote their names on a piece of paper and threw into a hat. Mr. Arsanious then produced a second hat, already containing the names of each of the designated Pagan Gods and went around to the standing students to have them pull out a slip from each hat.

So far, no one was exactly happy with who they had to work with. But that was the game of chance and when the hats came round to him Matthew prayed for good luck. He was a little unsettled by the look he was getting from the teacher. There was something off about him, something that Matthew couldn't quite place.

Enki.

That was his Pagan God. He couldn't say for sure what the origins were, but he was pretty sure it wasn't Egyptian or Greek. Ianto would probably know better than Jimmy and might even help him find a good book in the library.

He drew a slip of paper from the other hat, opened it up slowly - "Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me!"

. . . . . .

"Matthew!"

Matthew barely reacted, just scowled deeply and continued to walk to his locker. He ignored the looks his friends were giving him and shooting over their shoulders and refused to talk about it.

"Matt," Katie started.

"No," Matthew snapped.

He can't believe he pulled Evan's name from the hat. Of all the people he didn't want to work with he had to be given the biggest idiot of them all. He'd tried to get out of it, but Mr. Arsanious was a sadistic bastard and smiled the entire time he told Matthew that there was nothing he could do about it.

"We need to talk."

Matthew ignored Evan in favour of gathering what he needed for the rest of the day; his keys and cheap, little-ass cell phone that really couldn't do anything except call home or his siblings. He couldn’t have a real phone till he was in his final year and able to prove that he could keep his marks up. The only reason he had a phone in the first place was because he drove.

"I said we need to talk, Granger!"

Andrew, Courtney and Katie all took a couple of steps back.

"Then talk, Rush, cause I got nothing to say to you."

"Mr. Arsanious isn't giving us any time to work on this project in class which means we have to do it after school." Evan paused. "At one of our homes."

Matthew slammed his locker closed and turned to glare at Evan, "I'm not an idiot."

"Could have fooled me," Evan scowled, crossed his arm. "When are you free?"

Matthew sighed. Someone up there hated him right now. Maybe Gabriel was playing a trick on him. Ianto had been saying recently that he was surprised Gabriel had stayed in Heaven for so long before needing to escape. That asshole. "Wednesday and Thursday."

Evan wasn't happy with that. "Why not tomorrow?"

"I have to work. John's away for a few more days, Sara and William have to go to Topeka, Jesse and Dad had to take a direct flight to Cardiff on Saturday and won’t be back till Wednesday and Claire isn't allowed to serve in the restaurant yet. Why can’t you do Wednesday?"

"I just can't," Evan replied, his eyes daring Matthew to push it. Matthew really wanted to.

"Then Thursday it is. My place. 4:30. Come into the restaurant."

Evan blocked him when he tried to leave, "Your place?"

Matthew crossed his arms. If only he could imitate the Angel Stare. "Yeah. It's non-negotiable and if we're not done by supper and you feel icky about eating at the table of two gay men, Becky is an excellent cook and you can eat in the restaurant. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to pick up my siblings."

He waved his keys in front of Evan's face until the other teen moved and made a beeline for the stairwell. Asshole.

. . . . . .

Matthew didn't like that Evan was unknowingly getting a sneak peek into his family's personal affairs. One wrong look at something and he'd be in it, caught in a world filled with mostly death and misery. Matthew didn't wish that on anyone, least of all Evan. The Supernatural twisted people and darkened their souls in ways that could never be undone. Matthew may not like Evan, but the last thing he wanted was to be the cause of Evan's downward spiral.

"This is stupid."

"I like stupid things," John said joining him at the counter. "They're usually the most fun."

Matthew smiled. His Dads didn't like John, barely tolerated him most of the time but knew he was useful to have around. John respected them greatly though, practically fell on his face every time his dads got really angry, and he did anything for Matthew and his siblings. Matthew didn't know why, but it couldn't be just because he'd grown up on the Winchester Gospels. It was something more than that.

"Not that kind of stupid," Matthew replied. "I'm actually researching a Pagan God for history class."

"Score." John smiled. "I see an 'A' in your future."

"Sure, cept it's with partners. Mine should be here soon," Matthew grumbled, laying the two books he'd chosen side by side.

John tilted his head to get a better look at the titles, "Babylonian. Hmmm, which god?"

"Enki."

John frowned, "Interesting. He's not their supreme god but he's pretty high up there."

Matthew stared at him, "What is it?"

"Nothing," John answered too quickly, and then added, "I don’t know. I've never been allowed access to the books written after the Winchester Gospels -"

"Winchester Gospels?" Evan's voice startled them. "What are those?"

Matthew cursed under his breath. What an awesome time for him to join them.

John shifted to give Evan a very suggestive eye rake. "You're not one of the usuals. Lot more filled out than the tooth pick and more manly than the pretty boy. What's your name?"

"Evan Rush."

"Not. A. Word." Matthew growled at the gleam that suddenly flashed in John's eyes.

John smirked, gave him a shrug of so called innocence and headed to the other side of the counter where Becky had come out.

"Is he always like that?" Evan asked, looking at John in shock.

Matthew smirked, "Yup. That's Captain John Hart. If you weren't under aged he'd start seducing you right now."

The gob smacked stuttering look on Evan's face was priceless. "You can't be serious. Does he…" Evan shifted uncomfortably.

"Hit on me?" Evan nodded and Matthew shook his head. "No. He knows that if he even thinks about it Dad would smite him. Besides, he's been working on getting into bed with Chuck and Becky. Becky's all for it but Chuck's a little more reluctant."

Evan was speechless, probably a little disgusted and Matthew decided that, as fun as this was, they should leave the culture of the 51st Century alone and do their work. He held out one of the books to Evan.

"What's this?" Evan asked bewildered, taking it carefully.

"Really? It's a book moron. And research," Matthew replied, picking up the second and walking towards one of the booths.

"But I thought -" Evan followed him. "Can't we just use the net?"

Matthew rolled his eyes, "You only do research on the internet if you have credible websites and most pertaining to Pagan lore aren't. We're not looking at the ones that are because dad's forbidden it."

"Why?"

Matthew grimaced. "They just are. Now," he slapped a paper down before Evan, "these are the parts you'll be looking up. I skimmed the contents so everything should be in there."

Matthew opened his own book and added as an afterthought, "And if you damage that I'll kill you myself. It's old, incredibly rare and the owner was very reluctant to loan it out, especially to you since you don't get it. Be careful."

They worked silently, taking down all the relevant information. Matthew didn't want to analyze the comfortable feeling he felt working alongside Evan. He was studious, wasn't asking questions Matthew knew he couldn't answer truthfully and it was nice. It was almost as if they were friends but he quashed that thought. Whatever he and Even were, they would never be friends.

There wasn't much activity in the restaurant while they worked. Chuck came in for his daily dose of coffee and visit. A few others came in as well and one lone Hunter Matthew didn't recognize. He was definitely a Hunter. He had a Hunter's look about him, the hard eyes, the well worn clothes, and the trusty handgun hidden away but not well enough because Matthew had seen enough hidden weapons to know how to spot the signs. Only John could hide a weapon well enough he couldn't spot it.

John spoke to the Hunter in low tones, cautioning him to the rules of the House and more importantly the gun rule. Matthew didn't have to imagine the look that would come across the Hunter's face at that because he'd seen it many times. Despite being the most protected place in the world the Hunters were always reluctant to hand the guns over when Matthew and his siblings were around for more than a short period of time.

"You kids want something to drink? A snack?" John leaned on a vacant chair eyes full of the lingering anger that showed just how much he hated dealing with the Hunters new to Angel House.

"I'll take a coke," Matthew told him. "But I don’t think a snack's a good idea. Dad's probably preparing supper by now."

"Hmmm," John replied and looked at Evan.

"What all do you have?"

Matthew shrugged, "Mostly coke products, Dr. Pepper cause Jesse love it, OJ, Fruit Punch, milk, coffee and tea."

"Oh um, Sprite?"

"Sure things kids."

"Ok, what did I miss?" Evan asked once John had left.

Matthew frowned, "What do you mean?"

"John. He's not," Evan hesitated with a blush, "flirting."

Matthew blinked, "You like being hit on by him?" That couldn't be right.

Even went as red as a fire engine. "Not it’s…I don’t - I'm not." Evan ducked his head. "That's not what I meant."

"Right," Matthew said dragging out the “I”.

It was apparently possible for Evan to turn even redder, "I actually expected him to flirt. Wait; don't take that the wrong way. I mean, you spoke of him as if he always said something with a bit of innuendo to it and that seemed off."

Matthew narrowed his eyes at Evan, seeing him in a new light. "You are strangely perceptive."

He didn't like it, didn't like that Evan just might be able to pick up on the family secret without even having to stumble on something supernatural. There were less direct clues everywhere, if he got enough and puzzled over them enough it was possible.

Evan frowned at him, "What?"

"Nothing. How far are you?"

Evan looked down at his paper, "On the second last one. You?"

"The last, but it requires the most information. We'll probably end up having to finish this after dinner."

Evan nodded, "I’m okay with that, but it's going to be a lot to type up for the power point."

Matthew smirked, "Our scanner does the work for us, converting all script into editable text."

"Seriously? I didn't think that was possible.”

"Dad's former job saw some really high-tech shit." Matthew told him as John came back with their drinks. There was a scowl on his face and he kept shooting sour looks over at the Hunter. Normally Ianto would be in here by now smoothing over ruffled feathers with coffee but they'd designated tonight as the family dinner and John never went back on that unless it was an emergency. "Special Ops though, so I don’t think you'll ever see it for commercial use. Thanks John."

"Hmmm," was John's response.

"Your family is very strange."

Matthew tended to agree and when Sara came in to announce supper only to stare dumbfounded at Evan before racing back into the house screaming "Oh my god guess who's here!" Matthew figured things were just going to get weirder.

"That's the second time someone's been surprised to see me," Evan said as Matthew led him to the house. "Didn't they know I was coming?"

Matthew blushed. "Uh, kinda? I just said I had a group project and that we'd be working here. They probably assumed you were Andrew."

Evan removed his shoes inside the door. They could hear a fight going on, Matthew figured Sara and Jesse, and sure enough he was right. But the fight was dying down as Jimmy had stepped in and was giving them the Angel Stare.

"Holy crap, Sara was right," Claire was the first to say anything. "How come I didn't know about this? We go to the same school; it should have been the biggest news. 'Evan and Matthew forced to work together. Will they survive?'"

"Shut up Claire," Matthew snapped.

"Shut up Claire," Claire mocked, rolling her eyes dramatically.

"Children," was Ianto's level toned command as he brought the rice out and put it on the table. "Let's not make a spectacle of ourselves."

. . . . . .

Evan was confused, had been since Matthew's second week at school and out of the blue he hated Evan. They'd been friendly that first week. Evan had showed him around, got him use to the differences of a rural school versus a city school and things had been fine. Then Monday rolled around and it was like Evan was the worse person in the world.

He'd never been used like that before and it really hurt. He'd though that they were going to be friends.

Today was no different. When they'd been alone Matthew had been nice, almost as if the last two years hadn't happened. Then they'd gone into the house for dinner and Matthew was acting like he always did.

He just couldn't understand why. Nothing negative had happened between them, nothing that he could remember and every time he tried to talk to Matthew about it he got rebuffed. Matthew ignored him, cursed at him, insulted him at every chance he got. It was another thing he hadn't been use to.

He liked Matthew's family. Despite all having been adopted they acted like he expected. They bickered, argued, complained and they laughed and he loved it. Evan was an only child; he didn't have any of this at home. His parents were never loud and they expected him to follow suit.

He especially liked Matthew's Dads. There was just something about them he couldn’t explain, something that made them seem like more that simple men. Ianto and Jimmy are both very calm, very loving and though he didn’t know why, he believed they were very dangerous.

They sit quietly when Matthew blows up at Jesse for poking fun - again - at the fact that they've been stuck together for a project. They do nothing when Matthew storms out of the room and up the stairs, slamming the door to his bedroom.

"I'm sorry you had to bear witness to that Evan," Ianto told him calmly after several minutes of silence. "Do you mind me asking what exactly is wrong between the two of you?"

Evan ducked his head, "I'm sorry, but I don't know."

He glanced at Ianto then at Jimmy, but Jimmy wasn't paying attention. He was giving his children the same look he'd been giving them before supper had started. It was scary.

"Matthew doesn't like you because he thinks you're a hypocrite." Jesse said.

"What's a hypocrite?" Sara asked.

Jesse shrugged, "I dunno, but Matt does. I guess that's all that really matters."

"Jesse, we've talked about his," Ianto said sternly.

"I know," Jesse replied, eyes downcast. "But sometimes I just can't help myself."

"Nevertheless you'll apologize to your brother."

Evan thinks that Matthew's family is more than a little weird. They'd said grace in what he thinks might be Latin but could also be something completely different. It's not like he's had a lot of experience with foreign languages.

The conversation surrounding Jesse's knowledge is odd as well. Ianto had acted as if Jesse had done something wrong, but how could he have. He'd probably been talking to Matthew about it. It wasn't like he could read minds.

When Matthew didn't return by the end of dinner Evan was given directions on how to find his bedroom on the upper level. He found Matthew lying on his bed, hands tucked behind his head.

"What the hell, don't you have any manners?" Matthew flipped as soon as he entered. "God, you're such an annoyance."

"Oh screw you," Evan snapped. "I'm sick and tired of you raging on me for something I don't even know I did!"

Matthew snorted, "You're such a liar. You prance around the school, putting on this act, making people think that you're God's gift to this town. Let me tell you something: a couple of years ago God didn't even care that you existed."

Matthew snorted, "And who the hell are you trying to fool? You expect me to believe, that after what I've seen you do, you enjoyed being with my family for dinner? You're one of the biggest homophobes I know!"

"Where the fuck did you get that idea?" Evan cried.

"I saw you," Matthew rushed at him, slammed him against the wall and pinned him.

Evan tried to take a deep, calming breath to keep himself from freaking out but Matthew was too close and he was terrified. Matthew could fight, he'd been on the opposing end and he knew that he would have ended up looking a lot worse that first time if Ianto hadn't shown up. How likely was it that Ianto would step in this time if Matthew started to kick is ass? Would he hear them?

"I saw you," Matthew said again. "I saw you and your friends and Riley. You were bullying Courtney, calling him a fag and hitting him."

Evan remembered that day clearly. Riley had been a little more wild than normal and while Evan hadn't seen it, ran head long into Courtney. That seemed to have set Riley off and he lashed out at Courtney, hitting him hard enough to knock him down. He continued, called him a fag, and much worse. Some of the group laughed, a couple even joined in on the verbal assault. Evan did nothing.

"I didn't touch him."

"But you didn't stop it either!" Matthew snapped. "You just stood there."

"I know." Evan slumped, defeated.

Guess I know why he hates me, Evan thought. It was a stupid reason too. He liked Courtney, they got along perfectly fine and Courtney had forgiven him.

"How many times have you stood by and watched your friends beat people up?" Matthew snarled.

Evan resented that, "Just that once, and I haven't been friends with any of them since."

Matthew's grip on his arms tightened, "Oh sure, like I really believe that."

"What do you want me to say Matthew? There was nothing I could do to stop Riley. I'm not a fighter like you and you took care of him pretty well a week later." Evan sighed. "Why do I even bother? I have done nothing to you and yet you judge me on one single choice I've made. I can't believe I still want to be your friend."

Silence and Evan wondered if Matthew was going to let him go or not. He wouldn't rush it either way. Both options gave him something he wanted.

"God, this is so annoying," Matthew breathed.

Evan closed his eyes and waited for the next assault but as fingers released his arms they didn't pull away but rather travelled up and became tangled in his hair. What came next was fierce and demanding. It was a clashing of lips, teeth and tongue of such raw emotion and energy that it melted Evan's brain and when it stopped all he wanted was more.

"Oooo, this is so messed up."

Evan blinked.

He was on the floor and Matthew was on the bed again, face buried in his pillow and moaning. Evan wanted him moaning for a different reason.

If he was honest with himself, and he really felt like he should be after that kiss, he'd been crushing on Matthew for a long time. This was his secret, his darkest desire. It went against his family and his faith but he could live with that. He'd dealt with his body's attractions long enough to know that here was no hope of him ever being hetero, so why even try? What was the point of denying himself? (Except maybe not openly. He wasn't trying to get his head cut off here.)

"Why?"

Matthew's head lifted and he looked at Evan for a moment before getting up and heading for the door. "We should get our work done."

. . . . . .

"Why have we ended up at your locker again?" Evan gasped, pulling Matthew closer to gain more of that friction he craved.

Matthew grinned against his lips and angled his hips down. He loved doing this, sneaking away with Evan during their Lunch break to do whatever they could get away with. It was all the physical contact they had and Matthew lived for it every day.

They hadn't worked out their differences, not with words at least but that first kiss seemed to have dissolved everything though they were the only ones aware of it. Matthew still ignored or glared at Evan whenever they were in the same room but here was a distinct lack of swearing.

"Cause no one ever comes up here."

He pulled back from Evan marginally when the other teen turned his face away. "What's wrong?"

"It's just," Evan refused to meet Matthew's eyes. "We're not supposed to be up here and if we get caught then everyone's going to find out and I’m not…"

Evan trailed off and Matthew stepped back. They hadn't talked about this, it's been a week and they've barely said anything - certainly nothing about their relationship. They hadn't really taken the time to either though maybe now they should have.

"You're not what? Gay?"

Evan snorted, "I'm not out you idiot. Unlike you I don't have two awesome dads to fall back on when the shit hits the fan."

"Did you just swear?" Matthew asked stunned.

Evan groaned and rolled his eyes, "That's not important here Matt."

Matthew grinned, "You swore."

He giggled, not that he would ever admit that later, but he did and he leaned in to capture Evan's mouth. It was quick, he didn't want to piss Evan off and ruin everything.

"I promise I'll try my best to keep my hands to myself," Matthew told him, giving him what he thought was his best innocent face.

Evan nodded, "We should probably, you know, talk this weekend or something."

"My place then. Awesome dads and all," Matthew grinned. "We can close my door and no one will interrupt us."

"We'll be talking Matt."

"I know, but we'll need the privacy after too," Matthew chuckled.

Evan rolled his eyes but he was smiling like he agreed with everything Matthew was saying.

The bell rang and after a quick kiss Evan headed to his own locker. The next day they were back in the same position but their kisses were more exploratory and less needy. They were slow and languid and Matthew paid more attention to their surrounding than he had been before.

"This is nice," Matthew started their conversation that weekend.

And it was. He had Evan's body pinned under him on his bed and though they'd done nothing more than kiss and run their hands over each other, they didn't need to.

Evan chuckled, "You're crazy."

"Then you must be as well," Matthew grinned.

He shifted his weight off Evan to lie beside him and Evan turned so that he was on his side and facing Matthew.

"So," Matthew said after a few moments of awkward silence. "Us."

Evan blushed. "Yeah, us."

"What was it you wanted to talk about?"

"Can we not be public about our relationship? I mean, I just don't want everyone to know we're dating, we can definitely let people know you no longer hate me."

"Is this because of your parents?"

Evan nodded, "They won't understand. They're not like the Parkers, they won't actively speak out against homosexuality but they hate it. I've heard them talking and sometimes it scares me."

Matthew pulled his close, "I don't care who knows and I don't care who doesn't know, though I must warn you, it's impossible for anything to be kept secret in this house for long."

"It won't get back to my parents? Or my Uncle?" Evan asked hesitantly.

"Who's your Uncle?"

"Reverend Harrison. He's my mom's brother."

"Oh." Matthew didn't know the Reverend had any family in the area. It was probably a good thing he didn't go to church unless his sisters had something special going on. "My family knows how to keep a secret."

When Evan left that night neither of them noticed the victorious look on Ianto's face as he gazed at Jimmy or the snickers coming from Matthew's siblings.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

They were running low on coffee, in both the house and the restaurant. They were running low on a bunch of other items too but the coffee was the most important. Jimmy was in the office working on the books, which seemed to be all he ever did now that it was getting into the summer months and actual tourists had decided that Angel House was a good place to stop in. Ianto's ability to make the world's greatest coffee didn't help either. Even the town's residences preferred to use the place as their go-to for coffee.

"I'm telling Dad!" he heard Sara yell.

"Sara, no!" Claire screamed and Jimmy looked up at that. Usually the girls kept each other's secrets and it was Jesse spilling the beans. He wondered what was up.

Sara screamed again, something fell and Jimmy was out of his chair instantly. Ianto was with Jesse and William in Topeka for the boy's doctor's appointments and he couldn't trust John to break up the fight. He would, more likely, encourage it.

"Get off me stupid. I'm telling Dad." Sara said angrily, fighting Claire who had her trapped in a tangle of arms, legs and hair.

"Claire, Sara, break apart. Now." Jimmy ordered.

"Aww, cat fight's over." John said coming in from the restaurant. "Everything alright kids?"

"No," Claire snarled. "Sara's being a -"

"Claire." Jimmy interrupted her warningly. "Now, what is going on?"

"Claire has a boyfriend," Sara said at hyper speed, dashing away from her sister in case Claire retaliated.

"Ooo!" John replied interested. "Is he cute?"

"Ewie," Sara exclaimed. "Uncle John that's gross."

That made Jimmy laugh, though he cut himself off quickly when he saw the look Claire was giving him. He cleared his throat, "Do I know this boy?"

Claire blushed and looked down, "Andy."

"Andy?" Jimmy asked slowly. "Matthew's friend Andy?"

Claire nodded, "Sara wasn't supposed to say anything."

Jimmy could understand why. She was surrounded by a household of overprotective men and probably thought she had to protect Andy from them. He wondered how long this particularly relationship had been going on.

"I think we're going to have to meet this boy," John declared. "Properly."

There was no confusion about what properly meant. John had almost done the same to Evan after Ianto discovered him and Matthew making out. The fall out hadn't been pretty and Evan wasn't seen at the house for a month.

Claire's eyes widened, "No Uncle John you can't. He'll never speak to me again." She turned to Jimmy, "Dad!"

Jimmy shook his head, "Nothing is going to happen, for now. Ianto and I have to talk first but we will be setting some ground rules."

"Come on Dad, we're not going to do anything stupid," Claire protested.

"Never the less, there will be rules."

"But Dad -"

"Claire," he cut her off sternly.

Claire sighed, "Fine."

She headed for the stairs, Sara following close behind.

"Oh, and girls?" he gave them one of the lesser Angel Stares when they turned back to him. "I'll let it slide this time, but you know how Ianto and I feel about name calling."

"Yes Dad," they replied in unison.

"Awww," John drawled once the girls had gone up, "they're growing up. I wonder what Jesse will be like when he gets a girlfriend."

Jimmy pretended he didn't hear that. Jesse still didn't have complete control over his powers. He doesn’t want to think about what kinds of problems puberty and girls would add. He really doesn't.

Part Five