Change for the World -- Family Secrets
Jun. 27th, 2008 02:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gracie_musicaTitle: Family Secrets
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dwtwprompts prompt: "There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it." - George Bernard Shaw.
Date Written: 6/27/08
Rating: PG-13/T
Word Count: 1,118
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Doctor
Spoilers: Torchwood Season 1 & 2, Doctor Who Season 03
Warnings: M-preg
Author's Notes: Two things today! One, I have not ever seen Old School Who. I just fake it really well with what I've gleaned off of Wikipedia, The Doctor Who Wiki, and out of fanfiction. Most of this was taken heavily from the Who wiki, and I'm calling creative license on the rest.
Two, big thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
totally4ryo, whose basically my beta and my fanfic muse. Thank you girlie!
Previous chapters found here.
Cool wetness pressed against his forehead brought Jack back into the present. He let his head loll to one side, moaning a little at the pain the action brought.
"He's coming 'round," Ianto's voice was soft and close by. He felt another wet touch and very carefully opened his eyes. Ianto's face came into view, backlit by the the infirmary's lighting and making him look absolutely divine.
Then the Doctor loomed over his great-grandson's shoulder. There was the very familiar high-pitched whine of the sonic screwdriver, blue LED light crossing across his path of vision. "No obvious damage," the Doctor muttered, straightening and tucking his screwdriver into his jacket pocket. "Of course, he hasn't spoken yet."
Ianto shot the older man a dirty look before turning back to his lover. "How do you feel?" he asked softly, moving the wet cloth down to Jack's exposed throat.
"Confused," Jack replied truthfully.
Ianto took a deep breath and sat back. "Well, that's to be expected. It's not the way I was planning to tell you."
"So you're -- " Jack swallowed on the word pregnant. This wasn't happening. "How?"
"Jack Harkness, if you need a lesson in how babies are made, I swear to all that is considered holy -- " the Doctor began, working himself up into a right rant.
Not that Jack could blame him. He and the older Time Lord had been on better terms when they parted, but knocking up his great-grandson made all their progress vanish like smoke.
"Doctor," Ianto scolded, looking over his shoulder once.
"Well!"
"I mean how is that possible?" Jack clarified, sitting up. The back of his head was still sore, but he could move his head without too much pain now. "I didn't know that male Time Lords could conceive."
The Doctor crossed his arms again, and Ianto reached out and took a hand. "I know. I should have told you, and I'm sorry I didn't now."
"Why didn't you?"
"I didn't think it would ever be an issue."
"Condoms were invented for a reason, Ianto!" Jack argued, wincing at the sudden glare that the Doctor was giving him. Oh, the man may be a pacifist, but Jack could tell he'd love to kill the immortal right about now.
"There's a sort of birth control I can take to control it, it's sort of like the Pill," Ianto explained. "Take it regularly, it's completely effective. I must have skipped, or taken some late." He looked down at their hands, unable to meet Jack's gaze. "You know as well as I do how hard it is to lose track of linear time on the TARDIS."
Jack took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "Okay. Human male pregnancy is possible in the 51st century, but that's because of a lot of genetic meddling in ages past," he said aloud, trying to piece together how this could have happened.
"A long time ago," the Doctor said suddenly, "before Time Lord technology started being invented, something happened to the Time Lords. Legends from Gallifrey said that the leaders of Gallifrey before Rassilon were like priestesses from Earth's ancient Rome and Greece, almost like the Oracles of Delphi. They called themselves the Pythia."
"Mam said that Pythia was a title and a name," Ianto continued. "They ruled like the Oracles, used their psychic powers to foretell the future of Gallifrey. The last Pythia got the wrong vision, so she cursed the race to sterility and killed herself."
"Time Lords, however, laughed it off because they were still reproducing," the Doctor chimed in. "In fewer numbers, but that wasn't such a big deal because we have such long lives. Each generation started having fewer and fewer children. But it started becoming a crisis in my generation."
"What happened?"
"What always happens," the Doctor replied. "The War." He shifted to lean back against the wall, hands in his pockets and one leg crossed over the other. His gaze turned upwards, a trait Jack recognized as this regeneration's contemplative state. "Scientists figured out why female Time Lords couldn't get pregnant. Both parts were there, but the fertilized egg never took. Something was preventing the blastocyst from latching on. So they took volunteers straight out of the Academy, male and female, and came up with a way to create the next generation."
"Genetic manipulation so a male could carry a child," Jack said. Made sense. Time Lords could have easily come up with the technology within a generation.
"It wasn't ordered, but most of us did it," the Doctor said. "It was sort of like Earth's in-vitro. They'd modify our genetics, install an artificial womb as well as a fertilized egg, and cross their fingers."
"And you did that?" Jack asked, amazed.
"Once," the Doctor agreed. "My oldest daughter, Ianto's grandmother. I came in later in the experiment, they managed to modify it for females a few years later, my wife carried the rest of our children."
"That's awfully sexist," Jack teased a little, trying to break the ice.
"It's sensible," the Doctor snapped back. "Women are designed to bear children. Most anesthesia suspends a Time Lord's ability to regenerate, so most didn't opt for it and lost a regeneration when they died from the pain. You could kill my great-grandson, Harkness, do not make a joke about this."
"Cesarean sections are common on Earth, I'm sure things will go fine," Ianto reassured him.
"Okay, wait. So if women went back to having babies, how can Ianto be pregnant?"
"The genetic mutation passed down to the next generations," Ianto said. "Both male and female Time Lords can bear children. Great-grandfather probably couldn't do it without some help, but I'm perfectly capable by myself."
"Along with help, obviously," the Doctor deadpanned.
"How far along?" Jack asked.
"About a month, maybe a month and a half," Ianto replied, his free hand going to touch his own stomach instinctively. "Not very long. Nausea onsets quicker for us than humans."
"Time Lord gestation is one Earth year," the Doctor added, sensing Jack's next question. "Takes a bit longer for everything to make. Ianto's half human and on his first regeneration, so it's possible that the gestation will be cut by a month or two."
Jack nodded, watching Ianto intently. The young Time Lord was stroking his stomach absently with his thumb as the Doctor spoke. There was no question that Ianto wanted it, and Jack couldn't bear to take something so important away from him. Hell, they were going to be propagating an almost extinct species. It was almost exciting.
But the only thing running through Jack's mind was 'What the hell are we going to do with a kid in Torchwood?'
dwtwprompts prompt: "There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it." - George Bernard Shaw.Date Written: 6/27/08
Rating: PG-13/T
Word Count: 1,118
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Doctor
Spoilers: Torchwood Season 1 & 2, Doctor Who Season 03
Warnings: M-preg
Author's Notes: Two things today! One, I have not ever seen Old School Who. I just fake it really well with what I've gleaned off of Wikipedia, The Doctor Who Wiki, and out of fanfiction. Most of this was taken heavily from the Who wiki, and I'm calling creative license on the rest.
Two, big thanks to
totally4ryo, whose basically my beta and my fanfic muse. Thank you girlie!Previous chapters found here.
Cool wetness pressed against his forehead brought Jack back into the present. He let his head loll to one side, moaning a little at the pain the action brought.
"He's coming 'round," Ianto's voice was soft and close by. He felt another wet touch and very carefully opened his eyes. Ianto's face came into view, backlit by the the infirmary's lighting and making him look absolutely divine.
Then the Doctor loomed over his great-grandson's shoulder. There was the very familiar high-pitched whine of the sonic screwdriver, blue LED light crossing across his path of vision. "No obvious damage," the Doctor muttered, straightening and tucking his screwdriver into his jacket pocket. "Of course, he hasn't spoken yet."
Ianto shot the older man a dirty look before turning back to his lover. "How do you feel?" he asked softly, moving the wet cloth down to Jack's exposed throat.
"Confused," Jack replied truthfully.
Ianto took a deep breath and sat back. "Well, that's to be expected. It's not the way I was planning to tell you."
"So you're -- " Jack swallowed on the word pregnant. This wasn't happening. "How?"
"Jack Harkness, if you need a lesson in how babies are made, I swear to all that is considered holy -- " the Doctor began, working himself up into a right rant.
Not that Jack could blame him. He and the older Time Lord had been on better terms when they parted, but knocking up his great-grandson made all their progress vanish like smoke.
"Doctor," Ianto scolded, looking over his shoulder once.
"Well!"
"I mean how is that possible?" Jack clarified, sitting up. The back of his head was still sore, but he could move his head without too much pain now. "I didn't know that male Time Lords could conceive."
The Doctor crossed his arms again, and Ianto reached out and took a hand. "I know. I should have told you, and I'm sorry I didn't now."
"Why didn't you?"
"I didn't think it would ever be an issue."
"Condoms were invented for a reason, Ianto!" Jack argued, wincing at the sudden glare that the Doctor was giving him. Oh, the man may be a pacifist, but Jack could tell he'd love to kill the immortal right about now.
"There's a sort of birth control I can take to control it, it's sort of like the Pill," Ianto explained. "Take it regularly, it's completely effective. I must have skipped, or taken some late." He looked down at their hands, unable to meet Jack's gaze. "You know as well as I do how hard it is to lose track of linear time on the TARDIS."
Jack took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "Okay. Human male pregnancy is possible in the 51st century, but that's because of a lot of genetic meddling in ages past," he said aloud, trying to piece together how this could have happened.
"A long time ago," the Doctor said suddenly, "before Time Lord technology started being invented, something happened to the Time Lords. Legends from Gallifrey said that the leaders of Gallifrey before Rassilon were like priestesses from Earth's ancient Rome and Greece, almost like the Oracles of Delphi. They called themselves the Pythia."
"Mam said that Pythia was a title and a name," Ianto continued. "They ruled like the Oracles, used their psychic powers to foretell the future of Gallifrey. The last Pythia got the wrong vision, so she cursed the race to sterility and killed herself."
"Time Lords, however, laughed it off because they were still reproducing," the Doctor chimed in. "In fewer numbers, but that wasn't such a big deal because we have such long lives. Each generation started having fewer and fewer children. But it started becoming a crisis in my generation."
"What happened?"
"What always happens," the Doctor replied. "The War." He shifted to lean back against the wall, hands in his pockets and one leg crossed over the other. His gaze turned upwards, a trait Jack recognized as this regeneration's contemplative state. "Scientists figured out why female Time Lords couldn't get pregnant. Both parts were there, but the fertilized egg never took. Something was preventing the blastocyst from latching on. So they took volunteers straight out of the Academy, male and female, and came up with a way to create the next generation."
"Genetic manipulation so a male could carry a child," Jack said. Made sense. Time Lords could have easily come up with the technology within a generation.
"It wasn't ordered, but most of us did it," the Doctor said. "It was sort of like Earth's in-vitro. They'd modify our genetics, install an artificial womb as well as a fertilized egg, and cross their fingers."
"And you did that?" Jack asked, amazed.
"Once," the Doctor agreed. "My oldest daughter, Ianto's grandmother. I came in later in the experiment, they managed to modify it for females a few years later, my wife carried the rest of our children."
"That's awfully sexist," Jack teased a little, trying to break the ice.
"It's sensible," the Doctor snapped back. "Women are designed to bear children. Most anesthesia suspends a Time Lord's ability to regenerate, so most didn't opt for it and lost a regeneration when they died from the pain. You could kill my great-grandson, Harkness, do not make a joke about this."
"Cesarean sections are common on Earth, I'm sure things will go fine," Ianto reassured him.
"Okay, wait. So if women went back to having babies, how can Ianto be pregnant?"
"The genetic mutation passed down to the next generations," Ianto said. "Both male and female Time Lords can bear children. Great-grandfather probably couldn't do it without some help, but I'm perfectly capable by myself."
"Along with help, obviously," the Doctor deadpanned.
"How far along?" Jack asked.
"About a month, maybe a month and a half," Ianto replied, his free hand going to touch his own stomach instinctively. "Not very long. Nausea onsets quicker for us than humans."
"Time Lord gestation is one Earth year," the Doctor added, sensing Jack's next question. "Takes a bit longer for everything to make. Ianto's half human and on his first regeneration, so it's possible that the gestation will be cut by a month or two."
Jack nodded, watching Ianto intently. The young Time Lord was stroking his stomach absently with his thumb as the Doctor spoke. There was no question that Ianto wanted it, and Jack couldn't bear to take something so important away from him. Hell, they were going to be propagating an almost extinct species. It was almost exciting.
But the only thing running through Jack's mind was 'What the hell are we going to do with a kid in Torchwood?'
