torchwoodinstitute | (no subject)

And of course babies didn't particularly appreciate loud alarms going off in their ears. So tiny little Virginia became an alarm of her own, increasing in volume and pitch when the real alarm died down.

Sasan had never thought he'd be in this position. He usually hated babies. Not a great trait for an Omega to have, but he'd never been as typical as he liked to present himself. Maybe it was actually finding someone he wanted to (eventually) bond with, or just how cute as a button little Ginny usually was, but he had finally been turning around a little. For one thing, he actually wanted to babysit.

Maybe he shouldn't have been doing so here, though. He could've worked on some of his things back at their place, right? Or- right, secret organization. It still seemed like a good idea, right now.

He appeared in the doorway to Jack's office, partially on his way to the conference room (he figured that was the safest place). "See? There's Daddy. Everything's fine," he cooed at Virginia, whose protests quieted down considerably. And then he addressed Jack himself. "Do you know what it is yet?" It could be a blip or people coming back or...something more extreme.

Edited 2016-08-22 12:25 (UTC)

"Hey princess," Jack said, wriggling paw-like fingers at his little girl, though he left her in Sasan's arms despite her wide, blinking blue eyes pretty much demanding that she didn't want to stay with Sasan despite his close he looked to Gabriel. He didn't smell the same, she had decided in her tiny infant brain the first time Sasan had cooed over her crib like a man who might snatch her and run off. She understood. She was cute as a button. No one would blame him.

Of course, it was impossible to get these thoughts and feelings across when her words were mostly babbles but she did try, fat little fingers clutching at the fitted, designer shirt that Sasan wore.

Jack was tossing papers around (Ginny thought that looked fun) and finally came up with something with a code written on it, which he hen pecked into a keyboard.

"Every time someone makes toast, all the alarms go off."

The complaint made Sasan laugh a bit. It was especially easy since the alarms turned off. Ginny settled back into his arms, although she was keeping an eye on her Dad.

"Maybe we should stop using that Periboean toaster, then." A joke, a joke! All their appliances in the kitchen were not alien tech. He thought. ....hmmm. "Wait, we haven't actually been using anything weird for toast, right?" And other offices would have to get on people for eating each other's snacks.

Jack actually pinched the bridge of his nose. "No one respects the 'Do Not Use Archive Artifacts' anymore," he replied and punched up a look at some of the closed circuit televisions in the more public areas of the HUB. Sure enough, there were some pieces of bread running across a counter in a lab. "Trade you?" Jack grinned at Sasan and held his hands out for the suddenly squirming little girl. Her dad had the best hugs, she had decided that a long time ago. Hey. A few months to an infant was literally an eternity!

It wasn't that Jack minded being a hard ass when it came to cracking down on Archive use. He just knew Sasan was better at the pissy finger wagging than he was. Jim and Gabriel were due back soon anyway and Ginny got a kick out of watching Gabriel appear out of no where.

And what child didn't want to have some snuggle time with their mother?

"Seriously?" Sasan asked, as he handed over Ginny. He hardly had a choice- it was amazing how strong this little one had gotten in such a short time. She was getting very adept at squirming. "Is the toast dangerous? And don't even give me that look. If the bread's walking around, I don't know what else it might do, right?"

Sasan had really gotten himself worked up by the time he left, muttering about how he didn't know why anyone would even want to use an alien toaster. As sad as he was (and always seemed to be) to give Ginny up, he did like this part of his job. So even while he complained, he had a spring in his step.

He had nothing on Gabriel, though, who looked downright joyous as he returned from his mission to find his bondmate and daughter waiting for him. "Hi, sweetheart!" he said, placing an oddly-shaped wooden box he'd been carrying with him on the closest table-like surface he could find and immediately wrapping both Ginny and Jack in a hug. He kissed Ginny's forehead tenderly, and nuzzled his face against Jack's throat in greeting. "How've you both been? We got in when we were supposed to, didn't we? We got the Switcher just fine. No problems."

“Just on time.” Everything about Gabriel’s returns brought out the very best smiles on his family’s faces. Jack was always in smiles, Ginny was a little more serious at times, but the moment Gabriel came into view, or better still, pressed in closely, it was as if all of the holidays had come at once. Jack took in a deep breath, as he was always wont to do, and placed a hand at the small of his bondmate’s back. Jim sniffed the air as well and Jack took a moment to point back towards the lab. “Sentient toast,” was all he said, and though Jack didn’t think Ginny knew what ‘sentient’ meant since she was only just started on solid foods, she giggled all the same.

Jack transferred the girl to her mother as Jim wandered off, not even asking questions. It was so much better not to, he’d found. It would only hurt his head more than it shoulder.

Jack lightly nipped and then licked at Gabriel’s ear, a hello and a happy to see you all at one time, before he turned back to the artifact and lightly picked it up. “Come with me to the Archives? I need to check on that cursed toaster Mitchell and Henry brought back last week.

Gabriel had gotten pretty used to happy homecomings lately. He hadn't been doing anything that looked too dangerous or long of a task, but he'd been happy to get back to working at all. He hadn't known if that was going to work out. Sasan had been so helpful, and Ginny herself was just darling. She hardly ever fussed, and Gabriel was actually a little suspicious about it, she was so easy-going.

His eyebrow popped up when he heard about 'sentient toast', and he laughed when Ginny did. "What a smart girl," he cooed as he took her from Jack. "You know that's silly, huh? Toast shouldn't be like that!" She giggled at him again, this time obviously at the tone of his voice.

Virginia was the light in his life, and Gabriel had never felt more settled than this. In fact, he probably annoyed Jim a bit with how much he talked about her, even if he did apologize afterwards. "All right- let's head to the archives. I will make sure baby hands are kept to themselves." He grinned at Jack. The last time he'd brought Ginny into the archives, she'd managed to nearly swipe a small stick that contained an AI-based computer virus, and Gabriel still didn't know how that happened.

As they walked, Gabriel occasionally bumped his shoulder into Jack's in a quest to be close. "So. Cursed toaster. How cursed are we talking about?"

“I’m going to hope that it’s on the lower end of things. It’s bad enough we had a sentient cup of yogurt for awhile,” Jack pointed out. Mitchell insisted on a funeral for it after it succumbed to old age and mold. Toast couldn’t be that better off. In a few days, it would show signs of mold too and Jack didn’t believe that having another burial was all that healthy. At least the yogurt had been pretty funny. Burned bread was probably, pun only partially intended, very dry.

A little smirk pulled on his face as he slipped his hand into the back of one of Gabriel’s pockets.

“If you’re worried that Ginny is going to start World War III again, maybe a little friendly telekinetic swaddling could be in order…?” He stuck his tongue out at the little girl, who copied him. She was incredibly smart…but most of Jack’s children tended to be. And he was as proud of her as he had been of all of them too. “I’m actually pretty terrified of what she’ll be like when she can walk. Mitchell and Henry will have to babysit her because she’ll destroy Sasan’s apartment.”

Gabriel caught that little smirk on Jack's face, and wondered what was making the amusement bubble up that way. He'd probably thought of a joke involving bread. Regardless, that little look on his face and the hand pulling him closer made Gabriel smile and settle in. They were definitely in a honeymoon period, and Gabriel was milking it for all it was worth.

"I think you're underestimating how tough Sasan can be on people, but- I wouldn't be surprised if we end up having to replace some of Sasan's things. She is not going to stop for anything. Are you, sweetie?" He'd kind of suspected she might be that way, just considering how both he and Jack were about things. He kissed her on the head again and she made more happy-sounding noises. "You doing all right today, Jack? You've been looking tired lately..." He'd noticed those bags under your eyes, mister. It was a little worrying for a guy who was supposed to be a fixed point.

Lying to Gabriel didn't usually work too well. Jack wasn't all about being an open book, but he'd told his bondmate his true name the night their daughter came into this world and that really had to count for something. That made Gabriel only the third person in his very long life that knew who he had been before Jack Harkness with any real detail.

Pointing out his exhaustion did make Jack yawn, starting a chain reaction that made the baby yawn before she curled her head under Gabriel's.

"I'm been sleeping all right-- So I have no idea." Ginny was a good kid. No screaming at all hours of the night and day. Except during alarms. She was so mellow. So easy. "Maybe I have been hanging out in the HUB too long. Next mission I'll take and you stay with the squirt."

Lying to Gabriel might not work too well, but Gabriel was also careful to not push too hard when Jack didn't want to get into something. They both had plenty of time, after all, and Gabriel was willing to wait to learn more about Jack- even if it was a little annoying that Jack seemed to know him in and out already.

So he didn't push the issue of Jack feeling tired, or ask if that had ever happened before to him. No reason to get worried until it turned into something more. He was sure they'd both keep an eye on it. With a small smile, he nodded and said, "Taking a mission to rest up? Never thought I'd see the day." But it was a good idea- it'd tell them if whatever was going on was related to the Hub.

Gabriel settled Ginny under his chin and tickled her cheek with a free hand. She opened one eye to look at it, then let it blink closed again. "Mommy's got you, Ginny," Gabriel cooed at her. As they walked, she let out a quiet sigh. Gabriel kissed her head and looked up at Jack. Ginny almost never slept during the day, as far as they'd noticed. This was kind of unprecedented. "Maybe I won't need the TK for her, after all," he murmured, rather pleased.

"If you knew what it takes to keep this place up and running, you'd never ask that," Jack grinned, watching his family cuddle out of the corner of his eye. He was so proud of them. He loved his little girl and he was fiercely loyal to Gabriel. He wasn't quite sure where on the love scale that fell yet, despite everything that had happened, because bonding before love sort of muddled that up. He told Gabriel he loved him regularly and while it was never a lie, he still wasn't so sure. In a century or two or ten, it would be different of course. Love was something that grew for Jack.

He just happened to love Ginny as she grew inside of her mom. Her little arms hung around Gabriel's slim form, one little pink shoe half falling off. Jack made sure to lightly pull it off now before it could fall and Sasan could freak out over a scuff Mark.

Speaking of-- "Sas is a great babysitter. I don't know how he wears her out, but he does. For an Omega that says he hates the idea of bonding and having kids, he really has taken a liking to Gin. How was Jim during the mission?"

Jack slipped the shoe into his pocket as they walked.

The first time Jack had told Gabriel he loved him, Gabe was just all sorts of ecstatic. Everything tended to be all or nothing about things- before he'd heard the words, he'd assumed that he'd messed everything up for everyone with that one lie, that Jack would grow to resent him, and neither of them would ever be happy. And things were still in the very beginning stages, and could turn sour decades and centuries into the future- he knew that logically, but emotionally everything was settled. They loved each other, and they'd never be alone again.

And once Ginny was born, of course their focus was almost purely on her. She made Gabriel feel complete in a way he never even imagined. It didn't hurt that Ginny was perfect, either. And of course, every parent thought that, but Gabriel knew it was true for his little Virginia. She was going to be absolutely the opposite of her namesake, he could already tell.

"I think I annoyed Jim with my baby stories," he replied, his voice a low rumble in an attempt to keep Ginny sleeping. Warm, sleeping babies were the best. He pulled off Ginny's other shoe gently with telekinesis and put it in Jack's pocket with the other. "But he seems...better. From what I can tell, anyway. You know I'm bad at reading him." Mostly because Jim probably still hated his guts, but whatever.

"I think Sasan's changed his mind on the whole bonding thing. But until he's got kids of his own, we can take advantage of the free babysitting." Gabriel smirked slightly. "Although maybe we'll want to send a gift basket when I start getting heats again. John told you about keeping me off of suppressants, right?"

Jim had been in his office the day before he and Gabriel set off to their last mission, trying to poke around about maybe getting some time off. Jim never asked for time off save for a day or two here or there to go with Sasan to London or New York for little shopping trips. He mentioned briefly the idea of taking something to work out his nullifiers, which would invariably make him impossible to be around until he managed to regulate himself. Jim hadn't experienced what it was like to be a full Alpha in over ten years. The process was not going to be fun.

He wanted to go to a clinic. Or rather, he mentioned a personal trip to Manchester where Jack knew there was a clinic and he had agreed immediately. It put Gabriel out of commission anyway since they were paired up for missions. Not that Gabriel couldn't go with JC or Henry from time to time, but they all had their niches and their partners and why mess up dynamics?

He was about to fill Gabriel in on Jim's little side trip when he brought up his own suppressants. Or lack there of.

"So invest in contraception is what you're telling me?" Jack grinned. The next few heats likely wouldn't result in pregnancy since Gabriel had just had Ginny but Jack wasn't sure if he was ready for two rug rats. One was wearing him out!

"Somehow I figured you wouldn't have a problem with that," Gabriel said, grinning back. He'd taken up a few of Jack's mannerisms since they bonded. He smiled a lot more, especially now that the pregnancy (and all the associated universe-hopping) was done with. Gabriel didn't think this was a bad change. "But he told me my heats might be a bit irregular until my body stops expecting suppressants all the time. While I'm sure you're up for it, I'm just hoping Sasan wouldn't be overwhelmed."

If he was, they'd hire a heat sitter, but....the thought of leaving Ginny with a stranger made Gabriel curl his arms around her a little more. Her head tilted to the other side, and she made a quiet, sleepy noise of protest before settling back in against his chest. A tiny hand reached out in the air, fingertips outstretched for something to touch, and Gabriel gave her his thumb. She gripped it with a fierceness that only babies learning motor control seemed to manage. She probably wouldn't be giving that thumb up for awhile.

"We have a Hub full of agents, Gabe. There's no way we can't find someone to watch out little Princess. But that means we should ground you anyway. I don't want you off with a potential peak while Jim is getting his own groove back." It was extremely rare for bonded Omegas to signal to Alphas but Jim had been out of the game for over a decade and who knew what hormones might happen. Look at what they did to Gabriel's relationship with Mohinder after all.

Jack banished the thought and held open the door for his family to usher themselves into the Archives. He headed down a particular aisle and sighed at the dust around a rectangle on a shelf.

"I pay these people. Going out to get a toaster from the mall can't be that much of a hassle can it?" Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. "Actually on second thought, we should interview sitters."

"Jim's 'getting his groove back,' is he? I'd better keep away for awhile, anyway." Better safe than sorry, really. And Gabriel knew that he'd be 'grounded' once Jack knew about the irregularity. That was okay. He got a chance to get out there a little. While he loved Ginny and every moment he spent with her, he somehow figured that none of them would ultimately do well with being stuck in any one particular place for too long. And it felt good being useful again, not just a big, pregnant blob in near-constant jeopardy.

The telltale signs of a 'borrowed' toaster made Gabriel smirk. "Maybe we'd find a sitter that doesn't automatically fall back on using the cursed objects. I hope Sasan's really laying into them." His eyebrow quirked up. "So what is the toaster doing? Burning souls into the bread? Possessing it?" He wasn't even sure what to guess.

The rift alarm starting going off again, immediately waking up Ginny. She blinked up at him with worried eyes. "Aw, damn," Gabriel muttered quietly, then kissed her head. "No worries, princess. You're safe with us." She squeezed his thumb and made a couple sniffly noises. She didn't like the loud thing.

Jack clamped his hands down over Ginny's little ears, halfway through explaining that the toaster actually transfers personality from the person that hits the depressor into whatever is being toasted. Not exactly a soul transference because it doesn't hurt the person using the toaster, but one can imagine having a copy of oneself suddenly waking up as toast being more than a little frightening.

The interns were probably laughing at the wildly attempting to escape toast, having no idea the terror they were causing them.

Or the nightmares they would have of these moments for the next few weeks. Served them right.

"Go to the office and I'll go see whose coming back unscheduled. Call Sasan while you're up there and tell him to use his wagging finger technique. And to pull the plug!"

Jack didn't get all the way through the explanation, but Gabriel could extrapolate to its conclusion. Whenever Mitchell and Henry went out, they almost always brought back something horrifying, so he supposed he shouldn't be surprised. The question left on his mind was why anyone would make a toaster do that.

Of course, that wasn't the major concern at the moment. He had to make sure Ginny stayed safe, and protect her ears. He nodded at Jack as he adjusted the little girl in his arms, pulling one side of her head up against his chest. "I'll let him know," he acknowledged, before making his way back to the office.

Despite his assurances to little Ginny, Gabriel was on high alert. Bad things tended to come from unexpected rift alarms. If anyone had the gall to try and threaten his girl, they would die, screaming. ....like the toast.

The alarm was only Mitchell and Henry returning two days ahead of schedule, Mitchell covered in blood soot and Henry holding a child's coloring book that could cause the user to teleport themselves to a different dimension, usually filled with whatever bizarre scene was depicted on the page once it was finished.

Jack sent them both to be cleaned up, not even asking where the soot had come from since he was suddenly being overrun with burned bread and bagels tumbling down the stairs. John Watson and some of the new techs were right behind them, Sasan chasing after them, and so Jack went into the lab to clean up their mess and take the toaster away for placement deep into the Archives.

Destroying toast that looked as if they were weeping wasn't pleasant. At all.

He thought about getting the butter for a moment because that would server the soon to be dreamers right but ended up just crushing what he could find instead and trashing them.

Gabriel saw a good chunk of the 'festivities' from the window of the office, and was glad that it wasn't anything serious. He wouldn't be asking Mitchell about work anytime soon, though, that was for sure (actually, that was generally a good idea, with Henry and Mitchell). Sasan seemed to be in fine form today, dramatically waving his arms around every time Gabriel saw him.

Gabriel, meanwhile, took the time to soothe Ginny. Hopefully, he could send some of those calming waves to Jack, as well, while he took care of the messy task no one else wanted to do.

When it felt like the worst of it was over with, Gabriel appeared in the doorway of the kitchen with a giggling Ginny. She still had a death grip on his thumb, but her other hand was 'patting' everything she could reach- which was mostly Gabe himself. "Figured you could use a smiling face," he said to Jack, looking rather tired as he smiled himself. "Everything settled?" He held up his (briefly) free hand for a moment, indicating he could help with telekinesis if not.

"I just destroyed a loaf of bread with the memories, thoughts and feelings of the people in this lab--" Jack couldn't help but grin. "So yeah actually. I feel pretty good. Everything is all right. Sasan can tell everyone off and how about we take a little siesta? What do you think, Gin? Nap time? Let Mommy's finger go? No? How about you let Daddy hold you?"

He put out his large hands and the girl immediately wriggled her hands for him, her grin matching his right down to the dimples.

"There we go. Mommy can use his hands again." He put Gin in one arm and wrapped the other around his bondmate. "I'm thinking soak in the tub and foot massage?"

Jack have great foot massages!

Jack sure did. Gabriel was half-convinced it was a superpower, and one Gabriel was going to have to learn. Jack deserved good foot massages himself, after all.

Gabriel groaned happily at the suggestion, as if he were already in the tub. "That sounds fantastic," he said, leaning into Jack's side. It was time for a break, wasn't it? And looking at the dimples on display here, the smiling faces of his family- it was a little too much for him. Gabriel smiled with a brilliance rarely seen, leaning his head on Jack's shoulder and wrapping his now-free arm around Jack.

"You both make me so happy." He leaned forward and kissed Ginny on the head. She made a 'blat' noise at him and patted his face, before going back to resolutely hugging Daddy. She was definitely awake now. "I hope you know."

There was no way Jack couldn't, honestly, but it still bore saying out loud. Especially since the bond came as something of an accident, and had caused them all to lose Mohinder- it was important Jack knew exactly how Gabriel felt about them. He wouldn't give this up for anything.

A foot rub. Some play time with Ginny. Dinner of take out Chinese-- Life was so normal. Jack had missed normal for a really long time.

Trying to get a sitter was, however, an effort in futility. Sasan had his trip planned with Jim, Kaylee looked like she was going to pass out from holding her breath, Watson was already overworked. JC was just too weird (sorry but he was).

So it was either a normal, non-Torchwood person or... Well, he could ask Henry and Mitchell. Gabriel might have some qualms about a guy that saw ghosts and a vampire sitting for them for an overnight getaway though, so he brought it up to Gabriel the next afternoon while Ginny napped in her bouncey chair.

Ah, well. Sasan had to get back to his own life eventually, Gabriel supposed. They'd honestly gotten lucky that he'd been so enthusiastic about Ginny in the first place. He thought about maybe calling the getaway off for now, but he thought Jack could really use a little rest. And yes, he knew that was a silly thing to think of Jack, but he still felt like it was true. Ginny could be pretty tough on dear old daddy.

And to be honest, Gabriel could use a break, too.

Still, the current options weren't great. He frowned in thought as he stared at his little princess. "I wouldn't mind Henry, but I think we should find someone outside Torchwood we can trust. If I end up getting a heat while Torchwood's in crisis mode, I don't want watching her to put more agents out of commission." That probably wouldn't be a concern once his hormones evened out a little more and he was cleared for suppressants again, but who knew how long that would be? "We could treat the overnight as a sort of audition?"

Mixing Torchwood and non-Torchwood things didn't tend to work very well, but this wouldn't be an often-utilized thing. Maybe it'd be okay.

Getting a sitter outside of Torchwood was as easy as joining a reputable website, looking through a list of candidates (mostly young Omegas and Beta females), and sending an email. Jack was present, but he let Gabriel do the selecting.

The first person to respond was twenty, in college getting her degree in early childhood education and was a female Beta. She looked nice enough and the website scored her well on punctuality, infant care, and over night sitting jobs. She had an excellent list of other site users who left her the best reviews.

Jack was fine with it.

The young woman, Natalie, came by the apartment two days later. Jack answered the door with Ginny in his arms and brought their new sitter inside so that Gabriel could read her the riot act. Jack left money for a pizza, pulled Gabriel away from his third goodbye and got him in the car.

"It will be fine. You can call in two hours to ease your mind." First time mothers were always a wreck leaving their kids with strangers.

Gabriel spent what was probably a ridiculous amount of time researching sitters online. It helped that money wasn't a restraint, but Jack was right- it was so hard to leave his little girl with someone new. As the night approached, he grew more and more anxious about it, even though Natalie was every bit the sitter he'd hoped for. Or she seemed to be, anyway.

Gabriel tried to hide his worry (outwardly, anyway), but even that was a little rough. During parts of the day, one could hear a low rumble emanating from him as he walked by.

After exhaustively going through everything Ginny liked and didn't like, he finally said goodbye for real, and then they were on their way. He squirmed in the car until Jack reassured him. "I'm being silly, aren't I?" he said, shaking his head at himself. "Natalie seems like a good choice. I'm sure it'll be fine." That didn't mean he wouldn't call in two hours, as Jack suggested. It would make him feel better.

Like with a lot of things relating to Ginny, Jack seemed a natural with this. That probably came from having done it a number of times before, throughout the years.

"So," he asked with a smile. "Is this a night-on-the-town sort of night, or is it a night where we don't leave the hotel room?"

"Can't we have both?" Jack asked with a sheen in his eyes as he gently held the omega's hand and kissed his knuckles. "We do need to eat."

Eat. Drink. Not have to worry about a child-- they were waiting on dessert at a fancy restaurant Sasan had told Jack was the current best in Cardiff when Gabriel went off to check on Ginny and the sitter. Natalie sounded tired in the phone but assured Gabriel thst everything was going just fine. She and Ginny were playing with blocks and she would take her up to bathe her in half an hour.

She was a sweet girl. She even asked how Gabriel's evening was going and put him on the phone with Ginny to coo at for a moment.

Sasan didn't take long before he knew this city like the back of his hand, Gabriel noticed. He was always the one to go to, if one wanted to know what was the absolute best. The dinner was amazing, and Gabriel settled into comfortable conversation with Jack as their dinner went on.

But yes, he was still going to make that phone call. And it was just what he should've known. They were having a good time, and Natalie was wonderful, already. He assured her that they were having a lovely evening, and spent probably too much time 'reassuring Ginny'- she didn't need to be reassured at all, from the sound of it. She giggled and babbled back.

When he got back to the table, he felt a little embarrassed. But this was his little girl, okay? He was fiercely protective of his new, wonderful family. "Ginny and Natalie say hi," he told Jack. "Everything sounded fine. She was having fun."

And Gabriel had a 'volcanic brownie sundae' coming to him, so suffice it to say he was having fun, too. His mind drifted away from Ginny as the giant plate of sugar arrived. It looked like it was meant for five people, which meant Gabriel...well, he'd have to go slow with it. And maybe he'd share with Jack, some.

Just happy to watch Gabriel tackle the mounds of sugary, chocolatey dessert, Jack couldn't keep the smile from his face. Gone was any shred of regret from what had happened on that mission last year. He might have broken up an engagement and gotten a family without really wanting another, but the result had been a contentment he hadn't known in a long time.

They had a little wine and since Gabriel was now completely filled with volcanic fudge, brownie and ice cream, they skipped the dancing and just walked hand in hand along a brightly lit street with lights curled around the branches of trees.

"Gabe, I have a question to ask," Jack said as they stood alone in a garden lit by fireflies at the rear entrance of the boutique hotel that Sasan had also recommended. With a flourish of his greatcoat, Jack took a knee and offered Gabriel a ring.

They were bond mates. They had a child. Marriage didn't mean as much to Alphas and Omegas as it did to Betas but... Call Jack a romantic.

Oh. Oh. For some reason, Gabriel hadn't even thought about this being a possibility. He'd thought they might get married someday, maybe even several decades in the future. When Jack wanted. Gabriel had tried to rush things so quickly at first that he put on the brakes hard once they'd talked that out.

And here Jack was, on one knee with a ring.

Tears clouded his vision as he smiled wide at the man. This spot was beautiful. Everything was perfect. "You don't even have to ask it," Gabriel said, reaching out carefully to take the ring. "You know the answer already." And if not, everything in his eyes said yes.

Of course bonding was more important than marriage to non-Betas. But for two who had rather accidentally bonded, this was- well, it was furthering the commitment. It was thoughtful. And it was certainly romantic, a trait that Jack and Gabriel both shared. And they would share it until the end of time itself. Gabriel felt the weight of that settle in further, and it was possibly the most wonderful thing he'd ever felt.