DISCLAIMER: None of it is mine. Characters, places, etc, and the scene in Chapter 3 all belong to the BBC.
Once the five of them had loaded into the car, they sat in silence for a large portion of the journey. Jack was driving, being the only person who hadn't been there when the others were caught and almost forced to watch Ianto being killed in front of them. The shock was a little too much for anyone else to even consider it.
Ianto himself was sat in the passenger's seat, his elbow resting on the side, his eyes gazing out at the evening sky. He was troubled, that much was clear by his expression.
Gwen was sat behind him, her hand wrapped protectively around her side and over the gunshot wound. Her head was rested on Owen's shoulder, her eyes partially closed, attempting the block out the pain of her side. She had told the medics from the ambulances to get screwed and refused to let them look at the wound – a decision she was beginning to regret.
Owen kept glancing at Gwen, unable to keep the slight worry from his features. When they'd driven about half way home, he'd slipped his arm around her, letting her rest against him. The action had not gone unnoticed by any of the others, but everyone remained silent.
Toshiko was sat beside Owen, curled up as best she could in the car seat, her head resting back against the headrest and her eyes closed; her deep breathing signalling sleep. A slight frown was on her features, though, and she shifted every now and then.
When they'd almost reached the hub, Jack told Owen to wake Tosh; which he did, gently shaking her shoulder. She woke with a slight startle at his touch, and sat up to listen to what Jack had to say. Gwen too fully opened her eyes, but didn't shift her position.
"I'm not expecting you back in tomorrow. Have a couple of days rest, yeah?" Pausing as each of them murmured a response, he spoke again; "We'll go back to the hub now, get everyone cleaned up. Don't worry about getting home… I'll drop you off. Don't want any of you driving." His reason was unspoken but they all knew.
Pulling the SUV into its usual spot, he opened the door and moved to help Toshiko out. Gwen opened her door, wincing as the movements caused pain to shoot through her side. But she gritted her teeth and bore it, slowly climbing out, leaning onto the car door as she did so. Ianto offered his hand to help her, and she accepted it, slowly using it to help move herself out of the way for Owen to climb out and shut the door. Then he wrapped his arm around her and helped her into the hub and to the medical room.
With Toshiko's help, Gwen removed her coat and carefully took off her shirt. The dried blood had stuck it to her skin, and she curled her hands into fists and closed her eyes as Toshiko carefully peeled it away. There was no point in pretending it didn't hurt.
Once the shirt was off, she laid down on the medical table, allowing Owen to clean and re-dress the wound, giving her some painkillers as he did so. While he worked, he remained silent and serious, his eyes not once wandering from the bloody mess before him. Tosh had left to change and dress into some clean clothes that were always kept for just this reason; clothes with blood stains never went down well if someone saw you.
Having finished dressing the wound, Owen's eyes strayed and he took in her toned stomach and bust before raising his eyes to meet hers. He gave her his usual cocky grin, and she smiled back, taking his offered hand to swing round and get down from the table. Tosh brought her another shirt, which she quickly slipped over her head before leaving to wash her face and hands.
Owen watched her leave before doing the same.
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A little while later, everyone piled back into the SUV, cleaned up and looking a little less gruesome than before. The seating arrangement was the same as before; Owen and Gwen sat close, but this time Owen's arms remained by his sides and Gwen's head was rested against the headrest. The others saw the glances they shared, but everyone remained silent.
Jack drove to Toshiko's first, dropping her out right outside her house. He watched her enter and shut the door, giving a little wave goodbye, before he drove away. Next was Gwen's; Ianto and Jack both noticed how she brushed against Owen just a little, both noticed the silent stare they shared before she shut the door and walked away.
Next was Owen; he quickly departed, muttering a quick goodbye to Jack and Ianto before he jogged to the door and let himself in.
Jack had to ask Ianto where he lived, then; before now he's just been the secretary; the one who, to put it in Ianto's own words, just cleaned up the shit; no questions asked. But today he was part of the team, and Jack knows that it will haunt him for longer than he'll let on.
There was silence as he drove to Ianto's flat, and Jack realised how little they had talked since setting off back from the countryside. Eyes were telling more than words ever could. Amazement that there had been no aliens after all; shock at the horror, at the sheer disgust that human beings were capable of such terror.
With a sigh, Jack watched Ianto leave, entering the block of flats and beginning his climb up the stairs. Then he turned the SUV around and started his drive back to the hub, where a long night of silence and lonely sleeplessness awaited him.
