Title: Baby Names
Fandom: Torchwood
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack, Meriel, Nosy, Twins.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1103
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: The twins have arrived, but there’s a slight problem.
Content Notes: None needed.
Written For: Challenge 423: Amnesty 70, using Challenge 206: Name.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
A/N: Set in the Nosy-Verse.



Gazing at their newborn twins, swaddled in blankets and snoozing contentedly in their cribs, Ianto couldn’t help but smile. Soon enough they’d be awake, demanding to be fed, or changed, or both, but right now they were perfect little angels, one girl and one boy, the latest additions to the Harkness-Jones clan. Barely an hour old, and they’d already completely stolen the hearts of the rest of their family, the way babies had a habit of doing. There was just one problem, and it made him frown.

“What’s wrong?” Jack asked, coming back from enjoying a long, hot, luxurious shower, now he had his usual body back and was free to indulge. “That’s not a deliriously happy new father look.”

“I’m not a new father, I’ve been a Tad getting on for eight years now.”

“But now you’re Tad to three instead of one. You don’t seem as happy about it as you were when I went for my shower and left you alone with them.”

Ianto could have told Jack he was hardly alone with their three children, and the family Fluff, but he didn’t want his husband to accuse him of splitting hairs. “It’s not that. Of course I’m happy, they’re wonderful, and I’m so glad they’re finally here.”

“Not as glad as I am.”

“Granted, I wasn’t the one who had to deal with them kicking hell out of my insides, but I made my own sacrifices.”

“You did, and I’m beyond grateful for the way you took over at the Hub, and put up with my weird cravings. Especially over the last few months.”

“Well, I was at least partially responsible for the condition you were in.”

“Yes you were.” Jack grinned at his husband. “And despite the discomfort, I have no regrets, but judging by the frown, I’m not so sure about you.”

“No regrets. I’m nervous about trying to care for two babies at once, but no matter how difficult it might get, I don’t regret having them. It’s just…” Ianto trailed off, his frown deepening.

“Just what?” Sometimes, as the old Boeshanian simile went, getting the truth out of Ianto was like trying to prise a grellick out of its shell, a frustrating and near impossible task.

“Why does naming babies have to be so hard?”

Jack’s eyebrows shot up; that was unexpected. “I didn’t know it was. Didn’t we already choose their names before they were born?”

“Yes, we did, but be honest, Jack. Does our son look like a Gethin?”

Jack put aside the towel he’d been using to dry his hair and gazed into the cribs. “Uh… which is which?”

“The one with the tuft of hair poking out from under his hat is the boy.”

“Ah, okay.” Jack leaned closer, peering into the tiny, scrunched up face. “No, you’re right; definitely not a Gethin.” He turned his attention to their daughter. “And she doesn’t look like a Lowri either.”

“I know.” Ianto almost pouted. “We spent months going over names, picking the perfect ones, only to find they don’t suit our babies. The same thing happened with Meriel.”

Their oldest daughter, who had been listening intently to the conversation, cut in with a question of her own. “What was I going to be called then?”

“Delyth,” both her fathers said at the same time.

Ianto smiled down at her. “As soon as we saw your beautiful blue eyes though, we knew it was totally the wrong name.”

“I’m glad you changed it. I like Meriel much better.”

“So do we,” Ianto agreed. He turned to look at his newborn daughter. “Delyth doesn’t suit this little one either.”

“Great, so now we have two babies and no names.” Jack sighed. “We can’t just call them baby girl and baby boy for the rest of their lives.”

Ianto chuckled. “Well, we could, but I think they’d object once they were old enough to understand.”

Jack mock glared at his husband. “Funny guy. Okay, if we’re not going to use the names we picked, we’ll need to come up with new ones. Ideas, anyone?”

“Not Owen, or anything that sounds like it,” Ianto said firmly. “That would get confusing.”

“Good point. No variations on Gwen either, and nothing starting with M because we’ve already got one of those in the family. There are twenty-six letters in the alphabet, plenty to choose from; we don’t need two kids with the same initials.”

“Well, if you’re going to be picky,” Ianto teased.

“I carried them, I get to veto anything I don’t like.”

“Fair enough, as long as Meriel and I can do the same.”

“And Nosy!” Meriel insisted.

Ianto nodded. “And Nosy. It should get a say too.”

The next half an hour was spent going over lists of names, crossing some off, adding others, looking at the twins, and changing their minds yet again.

“They’re not identical, so they shouldn’t have matching names,” Ianto insisted.

“But we don’t want something they’ll have trouble spelling,” Jack added.

More names were discarded.

“J and G are sort of the same, but not,” Meriel said.

“That’s a good idea,” Ianto told his daughter. “One name starting with G and one with J; similar, because they’re twins, but not too much alike.”

“That narrows it down,” Jack agreed.

“The boy is NOT going to be Jack junior.”

“Spoilsport.” Jack grinned. “Okay, G for the boy, and J for the girl.”

“But still not Gethin.” Ianto pulled a face. “I wasn’t keen on that anyway; I only agreed because you liked it so much.”

“Fine, there are plenty of other names starting with G. Griffin, Glyn, Geralt, Gawain, Garth, Gareth…”

“Gareth. Yes, I like that.” Ianto looked at his son. “He could be a Gareth. It means something like ‘gentle’, or ‘civilised’. I’ve come across both definitions.”

“That would give our boy something positive to live up to. Okay, Gareth it is. Now, what about our baby girl?”

Meriel had her nose in a book of baby names. “Julia, or Jemina, or Jessica… No, Jenna! I like that one.”

“HUM!” Nosy agreed.

Jack and Ianto looked at each other, then at their youngest, born a few minutes after her twin. She had one eye open, as though wondering if someone had called her name.

“I think she likes it,” Jack said. “Jenna it is.”

Ianto sat back with a satisfied smile. “Problem solved. It just goes to show what can be achieved when we all work together.”

Jack grinned, lifting his eldest daughter onto his lap, something he hadn’t been able to do in months. “We make a great team.”


The End