AN: Because I want to work on something light hearted. My others are supposed to be light hearted, but they've been trying desperately to take an angsty turn [Anyone's Fantasy may be allowed to go there, Seven Dates to Save the World shouldn't.] Anywho, enjoy, because I like torturing Ianto with adorableness. 3

Disclaimer: I don't own any of them, sadly.

The last thing Ianto expected to hear upon walking into the Hub in the late morning was the sound of young children squabbling. He'd been sent home at four a.m. by Jack, who'd found him still working on paperwork down in the archives. A taxi home [because Jack had decided he was far too tired to drive safely] followed by six hours of sleep had done him the world of good, and he'd thought he was ready to deal with anything once getting back to the Hub. But now he wasn't quite so sure.

"Jack, what happened?" Ianto asked sternly, frowning at the four small children lined up in front of him, all of who were looking mildly guilty.

"I was looking at some alien tech." Jack told him, arms crossed defiantly, and adorably. "I pressed something on accident, then we were all little." Jack frowned. "Then Owen shouteded at me." Ianto sighed, closing his eyes for a short moment before trying to speak. It wasn't, he reflected, to strangest thing he'd arrived at work to find.

"Right. Jack you need to show me what it was you were looking at. Tosh, will you be able to explain to me how to use the computers to run some scans on it?" Tosh nodded, wandering across to her workstation and beginning the task of hauling herself into her chair. "Owen, go down to the medical bay and run some tests on yourself and Gwen, see what you can find out." Ianto lifted Jack from the ground and carried the toddler up to Jack's office to look for the alien tech he'd been 'looking' at.

It didn't take them long to find, abandoned on the floor of the office and still beeping quietly. Ianto lifted it carefully, making sure he didn't accidentally push anything, as Jack had done. It looked innocent, not at all dangerous. That said, much of the alien technology that they found didn't look like it could do anyone any harm and could demolish Cardiff within thirty seconds if they weren't careful.

Downstairs Ianto passed the small item to Tosh, who showed him where to put it to begin the scans on it before instructing him to leave for an hour while the machine ran through its processes. Quite aware that the noise in the Hub would prevent him from getting any paperwork done and being unable to escape to the archives, Ianto fed Janet and Myfanwy before settling on the Hub's main sofa where he could keep an eye on the whole place and the four toddlers running around. Tosh, Owen and Gwen were playing hide and seek [suitably ignoring Ianto's warnings to be careful] and Jack had wandered off as soon as Ianto had put him down.

Still tired from the late night before, it wasn't long before Ianto found himself slowly nodding off to sleep. He was awoken by a very unimpressed Owen poking his leg as he tried to clamber onto the sofa. He pulled the young boy up to sit next to him. The glare didn't waver.

"You made Jack sad." Owen finally stated. "He's in his office. If you make someone sad you should say sorry." He informed Ianto before sliding off the sofa and wandering off.

Back outside Jack's office, Ianto knocked gently on the door. Something he never would've done had Jack been an adult. A sniff came from the room before Jack replied.

"Go 'way." Ianto pushed the door open anyway. Jack was sitting in his chair, wrapped in his greatcoat. It was far too large for him now, more a blanket than a coat. The young boy's face was read and blotchy, his lower lip trembled when he saw Ianto.

"I said go 'way."

"Jack, what's wrong?" Ianto asked, not quite sure how to deal with an emotionally fragile child, it didn't come in Torchwood training. Jack sniffed again.

"You're angry. You think it's my fault we're all little." He turned away from Ianto, small fists scrubbing his face furiously. "It was an accident, and I don't like it when you're angry."

Crossing the room, Ianto scooped the younger Jack up into a hug. "Jack, I'm not angry, just a little tired. I know it's not your fault, alien tech is unpredictable. Now, let's go find the others, there's an alarm going off downstairs." Jack buried his head into Ianto's shoulder, snuggling into his hug and nodding. On his way out of the room, Ianto picked up the coat and wrapped it around the young boy to keep him warm and comfortable.

The alarm was a call from the police to a crime scene that they'd sensed something odd with. Ianto had arrived, told his team mates to behave while he went to talk to the police, and left them strapped into the children's seats he'd found in the garage where they kept the SUV. He had no idea why Jack would keep children's seats near the SUV, and was just glad that they'd been prepared.

"Where's the rest of the team?" Andy asked as he led Ianto towards the suspect piece of metal that they'd found.

"They're otherwise engage-" Ianto was cut off by the SUV alarm going off in the background. He turned to see Jack's head sticking out of the window. On seeing he had Ianto's attention Jack waved and shouted.

"Look Ianto, I'm driving!" Ianto muttered darkly under his breath, eyes daring any of the police to laugh or comment as he headed back towards the SUV to collect his team mates.

"If anyone says a word, I swear they'll find Janet in their office tomorrow morning." Not that any of them would know who Janet was, but it made Ianto feel better to leave the threat hanging over them as he headed towards the car.