Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.
Gwen glanced up at the clock on Owen's bedside table. It was two o'clock in the morning. She sighed and rolled over.
As she closed her eyes, all she could hear in her head was Rhys begging her not to leave him. A tear escaped her eyes and trickled down her face. She felt so guilty about what she'd done to him she hadn't been able to sleep for days.
Owen had his arm wrapped tightly around her and was snoring softly. She slipped out from under it and got out of bed.
Glancing at Owen, she left the bedroom and made her way to the kitchen. She grabbed a glass from the side and got herself a drink of water. She sat down on the sofa and pulled her knees to her chest. She clutched the glass tight as she began to sob. Closing her eyes, she placed her head on her knees.
She felt the glass being tugged from her hands and arms being wrapped around her. Looking up, she saw Owen gazing down at her in concern.
"Gwen, it's ok." He whispered.
"You should've seen the look on his face Owen. He was heartbroken. How could I have done this to him?" She sobbed.
Owen could think of nothing to say, he was rubbish in these situations. Instead, he pulled her onto his lap and kissed the top of her head. She clung onto him like a child and cried into his shoulder. When she looked up at him, Owen saw dark circles under her eyes.
"Come back to bed. You need some sleep." Owen told her.
"I can't. Every time I close my eyes I see his face." She whispered.
"Gwen, you need to get some sleep." He told her firmly, and then he added in a softer tone. "I'm worried about you. Please try, for me."
She nodded silently. He lifted her off the sofa and carried her back to the bedroom. Placing her gently on the bed, he climbed in next to her. He pulled the covers over them as she snuggled up to him. Holding her tight, he stroked her hair and watched her eyes close slowly. Wiping away the trail of tears with his hand, he closed his eyes and drifted off himself.
The next day, as Gwen dressed, she thought of the rest of her things at the flat. Owen had told her she could move in with him but she still hadn't fetched her things yet.
"Owen, after work I think I'm going to go get the rest of my stuff." She told him.
"Do you need me to come with you?" He asked.
"Would you?" She sighed.
"Of course I will." He answered.
"I'll see if he'll be in or not first. I don't think I can see him at the minute." She mumbled.
Owen nodded and smiled reassuringly at her. She grabbed her phone and text Rhys.
"Hey, I'm thinking of collecting
the rest of my stuff l8r. Will
u b in?
Gwen xxx"
She sat down on the edge of the bed and waited anxiously for the reply.
After a few moments, the phone vibrated in her hand.
"No."
The short reply brought tears to her eyes. She knew she didn't deserve it, but she was hoping he might have forgiven her a little.
"Rhys, I'm so sorry. Please
believe me when I say I didn't
mean 2 hurt u. I'm really sorry.
Gwen xxx"
She waited for a reply but she didn't receive one. Owen walked over to her as she placed her phone back in her pocket.
"Is he going to be there?" Owen asked.
"No he's not." She sighed. She stood up and wrapped her arms around Owen's neck. He lifted her face to his and kissed her gently. "Thank you." She whispered.
"What for?" He asked.
"For being there. For putting up with me." She answered.
"I'll always be here for you." He told her.
She kissed him again, this time passionately. His hands twisted in her hair as she ran her hands down his chest.
"Have we got time?" Gwen smiled mischievously.
"I think we might just have enough time." Owen chuckled.
Gwen dragged him eagerly over to the bed and kissed him again. As they fell onto it, Gwen's phone began to ring. She groaned as she pulled it out and glanced at the name.
"Jack." She sighed.
Owen rolled his eyes and stood up. As he walked to the door, Gwen heard him mumble.
"He always rings at the wrong fucking time." He looked over his shoulder at Gwen. "Back in a minute, I just need to…use the bathroom."
Gwen giggled at him as he left and answered the phone.
"What's up Jack?" She asked.
"Where are you? You were supposed to be here an hour ago. You and Owen get your asses down here now. We've had major rift activity." Jack ranted.
"We're sorry Jack. We'll be there as quick as we can." She replied.
"You'd better." He said and put the phone down on her.
Gwen rolled her eyes and went out to the living room. She waited for Owen to come out of the bathroom. When he did, she smiled at him.
"All better?" She asked.
Owen flushed a deep red and nodded slightly.
"Yeah." He mumbled.
"Come on. We're in trouble. We're late and Jack is not happy, apparently there's been some rift activity." She told him.
"What is it this time?" He moaned.
"He didn't tell me. Come on, I'll drive." Gwen said, grabbing her keys and jacket.
Owen followed her out of his flat and to her car.
When they entered the Hub, Jack glared angrily at them.
"About time." He snapped.
"Jack, we're sorry." Owen apologised.
"Whatever. Listen, some alien transportation device fell through the rift and crash landed. There were a few casualties. Gwen, go help Tosh with the cover story. Owen, we managed to get the alien from the ship, it didn't survive. I need you to do an autopsy on it and find out what it is and what happened to it." Jack instructed.
Gwen nodded and set to work.
"Jack. Can I have a word?" Owen asked.
"Owen, I really don't have time for this." Jack sighed.
"Please, it's important. It's about Gwen." He told Jack.
Jack frowned and glanced over at Gwen. He nodded at Owen and walked into his office. Owen followed him as Gwen watched them in confusion. He closed the door behind him and turned to Jack who was sitting at his desk.
"What is it?" Jack asked.
"I know today isn't a good day but could you please take it easy on her. She's really messed up right now about the whole Rhys thing and I'm worried about her." Owen admitted.
"Fine, but Gwen knows better than to let it affect her work." Jack told him.
"I know but…it breaks my heart to see her like this. She hasn't been sleeping or eating properly and…"
Owen sighed and looked out at Gwen. He could feel the tears building up in his eyes. He wiped them away quickly but not before Jack saw them.
"She'll be ok. She's a tough cookie. Just be there for her all you can. If you help her through this, she'll be back to normal soon." Jack reassured him.
"I hope so." He nodded.
Jack watched him leave the office.
As Owen made his way down to the autopsy bay, Gwen looked at him with questioning eyes. He nodded at her and carried on. Gwen stared after him. After a few moments, she turned back to her work.
It was late when they managed to clean up the mess of the accident. Owen had just sent the alien corpse down to cold storage when he heard footsteps above him.
"Hey. Are you ready to go?" Gwen asked.
"Yeah. I'm done." Owen sighed in relief.
He looked up at her and saw her leaning on the railings above him.
"What was that about earlier?" She frowned.
"What was what about?" Owen shrugged.
"With Jack. What did you want to talk to him about?"
"Nothing. It doesn't matter." Owen said.
"Oh…ok…right well…come on. I still need to go get my stuff from my…Rhys' flat." She mumbled.
"I can get it for you if you don't want to go." Owen said as he made his way up to her.
"No, no it's fine. I'll go…thanks for the offer though." She smiled weakly.
He took her hand and squeezed it gently.
As they made their way to Gwen's car, Owen took the keys from her.
"Let me drive." He said.
"No, I'm fine I'll drive." She protested.
"I'm driving." Owen insisted.
She looked into his eyes and sighed. Owen held the passenger side door open for her and she got in moodily. Owen chuckled as he sat shut the door. She crossed her arms and turned away from him as he got in the drivers seat.
As they drove closer to Gwen's old flat, she began to fidget. Owen watched her out of the corner of his eye. His hand was on the gear stick when she grabbed it and held onto it tightly. He pulled over and reached across the seats towards her. She leant her head on his shoulder and kept hold of his hand.
"I'm sorry." She whispered.
"What are you saying sorry for?" Owen frowned.
"For being silly. I'm being stupid. It's just –"
"Gwen, you're not being stupid, you're just upset. If you didn't act like this I'd be worried. I'm going to be right there next to you ok, you'll be fine." He told her. She nodded and he kissed her gently on her lips. "When we get back, we can finish what we started this morning if you want." He winked.
She giggled and nodded. Placing one last kiss on his lips, she sat back in her seat. Owen pulled off again and drove to Gwen's flat.
Gwen took a deep breath as they parked outside. There were no lights in the window meaning that Rhys was probably out like he'd said. They got out the car and Gwen held onto Owen's hand again.
"Here we go." She whispered and took a deep breath.
"Are you sure you want to do this now?" Owen asked.
"Yes." She answered determinedly.
Gwen let them in with the key she still had. She looked around the flat. Rhys had taken down all the photos of him and Gwen. She felt herself crying again and her legs gave way. Owen grabbed her around the waist to support her and held her tightly at his side.
"I knew this would be too much. Gwen, go back to the car, I'll get your stuff." He said.
She didn't object. She pulled herself out of Owen's arms and placed the key on the table. He watched her leave the flat and he could hear her sobbing as she made her way back to the car.
When he heard a car door slam, he set to work. He looked around for something to put her belongings in but couldn't find anything. In the end, he grabbed some bin bags out of a cupboard. He went into the bedroom and began to empty Gwen's clothes from the wardrobe and put them in a bag.
When he finished in the bedroom, he went round the rest of the flat and collected Gwen's things.
Gwen sat in the car, sobbing. Her face was in her hands when she noticed a shadow at the window beside her. The car door opened.
"Gwen?" A voice asked.
Her head snapped up and she looked at the man standing in front of her.
"Rhys." She breathed.
"Are you…I'd better go." He mumbled.
"No don't go." She said quickly.
Launching herself out of the car, she threw her arms around his neck. He stood stiff at first before wrapping his arms around her.
"I thought you'd be gone by now." He whispered. "I was hoping to catch you."
"Rhys, I am so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I…I'm sorry." She sobbed.
"I know. I'm sorry too." He said. "Gwen, I love you. Come back to me. Please, Gwen."
"Rhys…I can't…it wouldn't be fair to you." She whispered.
"I know, you love this other guy too." He mumbled.
She nodded and then froze. Looking quickly up at the flat, she remembered that Owen was still in there. Rhys followed her gaze and his expression turned cold. He stormed past her and into the building.
"Rhys. Rhys, don't do anything stupid, please." She shouted after him.
She ran after him, hoping she wouldn't be too late.
Owen heard Gwen shouting and froze. He listened to the loud footsteps getting closer. Turning towards the door, he saw Rhys storm in and charge towards him.
"You've got a nerve coming in here." Rhys growled.
"I'm doing this for Gwen. It was tearing her apart just being in here." Owen argued.
Gwen ran in through the door and placed herself between them.
"Rhys please. I asked him to do this for me. It's my fault he's here. Don't blame him." Gwen begged.
"Don't blame him? He fucking stole you from me." Rhys shouted.
"She's not an object." Owen spat.
Rhys went to hit Owen as Owen stepped towards him. Gwen caught Rhys' arm and put her hand on Owen's chest. They looked at her and saw the tears streaming down her face.
"Please…don't." She sobbed.
Rhys lowered his arm and looked away. Owen picked up the bags.
"I'll take these out to the car." He said to Gwen.
She nodded at him and watched him leave. Rhys sat on the sofa and placed his face in his hands. Gwen sat down next to him.
"Rhys, I'm so sorry for bringing him here. I shouldn't have done it." She told him.
"It's ok, I understand why you did it. It's just…I can't help but see him as the man who took you away from me. Are you happy with him Gwen?"
He looked into her eyes. She was silent for a second before she answered.
"Yes." She whispered.
"As long as you're happy…I'm always here for you. If things don't work out with…him, I'll always be here."
"I couldn't do that to you Rhys. It wouldn't be right." Gwen told him.
Rhys turned his head and looked away. Gwen reached up and turned his face back to her.
"You'd better go, he'll be waiting for you." Rhys mumbled.
Gwen nodded sadly. She started to stand up but she looked back at Rhys and saw him watching her with tears in his eyes. She sat back down and took his face in her hands. Wiping away his tears with her thumbs, she kissed him gently. When she broke away, she held his hand and squeezed it gently.
"I'll always love you." She whispered.
"Then why go?" Rhys asked.
"Because…I don't love you enough. You deserve more." She answered.
"Do you really love this guy?"
"Yes."
"We can still be friends, can't we?"
"Of course we can." Gwen smiled.
She hugged him tight and stood up.
As she left the flat, she felt so much better than she had before.
Owen was waiting in the car for her. She got in and smiled at him.
"Everything ok?" He asked.
"It's fine." She nodded.
He started to drive away. As he did, Gwen took one last look at the flat and saw Rhys staring out at them.
When they reached Owen's flat, Gwen helped him carry her things up.
"Welcome home." He smiled.
"Home." She repeated.
"You don't have to stay here…you know…if you don't want to…I just thought…"
Gwen silenced him by putting her hand on his mouth.
"Of course I do. I love you." She told him.
"I love you too." He replied.
Gwen kissed him and smiled.
"So…we going to finish what we started this morning or not?" She asked.
Owen grabbed her hand and led her to the bedroom. Their bedroom. She smiled at the thought.