Summary: A retelling of Torchwood as if Gwen was the coffee girl and Ianto was the newbie. Jack/Gwen Spoilers for pretty much all of series.
AN
Sooo… If anyone wants to beta my stories, please PM me! Also, if you review, please don't complain about the pairing. It said on the summary it was Jack/Gwen, so if you don't like it, don't read it.
Oh, and please tell me what's wrong with it if you don't like it, and I'll try to fix it.
Gwen carefully placed Toshiko's coffee down on her desk.
"Thanks, Gwen," Tosh said distractedly. Gwen smiled wanly and headed back to her coffee machine. Ever since Rhys had died at Canary Wharf, she felt like she was living a shadow of her old life. Ianto Jones, the new guy, sat nervously at his desk. Gwen didn't know what to think of this baby-faced man. All she knew about him was he had a girlfriend name Lisa, he used to be a police officer, and he liked his coffee with four creams and no sugar.
Today, Toshiko was wearing a new necklace. Gwen noticed things like this. No one really talked to her, so all she did was notice what was different.
Gwen put Ianto's coffee on his desk. There felt like there was no point in living anymore. No point. Rhys was gone, gone forever. If only he had had a relatively painless death, but turning into a Cyberman was agony. Toshiko looked up and briefly met Gwen's gaze. Her eyes widened and she looked down. Gwen thought no more of it.
She hadn't expected Toshiko to take a mind reading necklace. Tosh had a lonely life, Gwen knew. She had been recruited from prison for building a sonic modulater. Jack had been impressed with her tech skills. Gwen wondered briefly what she had heard. Probably that Owen and Ianto were having an affair. Gwen had thought it was obvious. They flirted a lot and seemed to glance at each other when they thought no one was looking. Owen would shag anyone, even a man, apparently.
"Oi, Tea-Girl! Could ya get us some coffee!?" Owen shouted. Gwen silently stood up from the stool she was sitting on and walked over her coffee machine, pouring Torchwood's medic a cup. Owen didn't thank her, just turned back to his computer. Head down, she strolled as inconspinciously as possible toward the Archive Room, her salvation. Unfortunately, instead of the empty long lines of shelves she was hoping for, Jack stood there. Captain Jack Harkness. Now, he was one ever-constant mystery. Who was he? What was he? He was kind and loving, sometimes hard and bitter. Sometimes he would talk about the Doctor; sometimes he wouldn't talk at all. Gwen couldn't deny that she loved him. It wasn't very much, but only because she refused to let herself fall for this man. He would think of her as just shag and nothing more.
"Ignore Owen. He's a twat." Gwen smiled as cheerfully as she could muster. Jack saw right through it. He pulled her into a hug. Gwen held tight, pretending that he loved her. Pretending that it wasn't too dangerous to love him. All too soon he pulled away from her arms. She blinked, and stood back.
"Well, I've must go make sure Owen isn't doing anything destructive," he said. He smiled at her, and she pretended that it was for her. His great coat billowed out behind as he walked away.
"I really like that coat!" She called. He laughed. Smiling, she walked along the Archive Room, until she got to 49-R, Drawer Seven. She opened it and pulled out the folder. Inside was information about Rhys Williams, age 29. There were pictures of him, smiling. She picked up her favorite. It was of her and Rhys in front of the bay. The sun was shining down on the water, shimmering. She was leaning back into Rhys, and his arms were around her waist. She couldn't help it, a sob escaped her. She held the picture closer as tears streamed down her face. God, she missed him. She wiped at her tears and prepared for another long, lonely day at Torchwood.
"So... Who was the last person you snogged?" Ianto asked the team as they sat around the table in the Hub. Tosh blushed.
"Owen," she said, glancing at him, with longing in her gaze. Ianto smiled at her enchoruagingly.
"Ianto," Owen said casually. Tosh's face fell and she glanced down at her pizza.
"Lisa," Ianto said.
"Well... Mine was Owen," Jack said, winking. Everyone looked a bit surprised. Gwen came in and cleared their plates, making sure they were finished.
"Well? Gwen, who was the last one you snogged?" Gwen didn't look up.
"Rhys," she said softly. A darkness seemed to bear down on the room as Gwen left, her feet almost silent.
When Gwen got home, she sat on the couch and stared into space. There next to nothing left worth to live for. The only thing she looked forward to was Jack's smile in the morning. She made her decision; it wasn't hard. There was such a long list of cons and such a short list of pros. She squeezed her eyes shut and picked up the pills. Gwen stared into the mirror before writing down the letter she had rehearsed in her head so many times before. The words came easily, an apology, a declaration of love, an explanation. So easy, and yet each word was so impossible to write. Her apartment was clean, so the letter was clearly visible to anyone who came in. The only things she would miss was her sister, Rhiannon, and Jack. She pressed the pills against her lips, but before she swallowed she picked up her phone and dialed a number.
"Hey, Gwen!" The American accent rang out. Gwen closed her eyes.
"Goodbye," she said, and ended the call. Jack stared down at the phone. He'd been out catching a Weevil when she called. Suddenly, a horrible feeling of dread bore down on him. He spun the car in reverse and sped toward Gwen's apartment. He ran up the stairs two at a time, his coat swishing out behind him. He practically broke the door down. He saw the cool gray envelop on the coffee table and sprinted toward it, ripped it open and read it as he frantically searched each room. They all were empty, and he flung the bathroom door open. Gwen was curled up in the corner, her head in her hands. A pill bottle was next to her, two crumpled pictures in her fists. One was of her and Rhys by the bay, and one was of her and Jack laughing in the Hub. She had scrawled across the Rhys one, Goodbye, and across Jack's one, I love you. She sobbed brokenly into her arms, looking fragile. Without a second thought, he strolled forward and held her tightly against his chest. She clung to him, her shoulders shaking.
"Shh..." he soothed, burying his lips in her hair. She shook like a leaf as she cried, the tears making little wet spots againt his RAF coat. Not long after, she pulled away and wiped her eyes. Jack watched cautiously while she stood up and washed her face, pulling her hair back.
"Thanks," she said, her voice hoarse. He didn't say anything.
"Don't do that again," he said. He pulled her close again.
"Why?" She explained the loneliness and the pain and the worthlessness of her life. When she was done, Jack held her even tighter. Gwen hoped he didn't ask about the picture, or the letter. Or, more specifically, the declaration of love to him. He stayed with her through the night, and held her.
The next day at the Hub Owen noticed that Gwen and Jack seemed a lot more… intimate. Not necessarily shagging intimate, but more... feely emotional intimate. The whole team noticed it, though Ianto especially.
"God, why don't they just shag already?" Owen burst out. Tosh just shrugged.
"So... I can think of a lot of things to do with a stopwatch," Gwen said suggestively. Jack winked, and said, "Meet me in my office in ten minutes!"
'I'll time you!" She called as he sprinted up the stairs. Exactly ten minutes later, Jack had came into the office, his face expectant. He saw Gwen lounging on his desk. He grinned widely.
"I like your outfit... But it would look better on my floor," he hinted. Gwen glared at him before bursting out laughing.
"Don't ever say that again!" She ordered. He nodded obediently. She smiled and stepped closer to him. He gulped and leant forward, pressing his lips to hers. The next morning Gwen lay on her side and stared at the wall. This was a mistake, she shouldn't have done this. He would just use for sex and drop her just like so many others before her.
"Gwen?" She jumped, and turned to see Jack's blue eyes looking into her's.
"You okay?" He asked, looking concerned. Gwen snapped.
"No! No, I am not alright! You can't just shag me and leave me! I won't be able to take it! I lost Rhys and I'll lose you and-"
"Gwen, listen to me! He cut in. She stopped mid rant.
"I won't leave you, you're not like anyone else... I love you..."
Gwen beamed and threw herself into his arms.
"I love you, too!" She said. Jack smiled into her hair.
"Well, you might like to believe you're different, but you're just another shag to him, Gwen!" Gwen glared at him. Owen was a twat a lot of the time - what did Tosh see him?- but this was playing on her insecure side. She was afraid of Jack leaving her. "Shut the fuck up, Owen!" She shouted. He just glared at her.
"We're opening the Rift!"
Owen declared. Gwen saw Jack look furious, but she followed Owen. She had too, it would save everyone. Couldn't Jack see that?
"Wake up! Wake up," she whispered to Jack lifeless form. He was stretched out on the morgue table, his face white. She pressed her face to his neck, her tears only briefly warming his cold skin. After three days, she accepted that he couldn't - or wouldn't - come back. Her whole frame shaking, she stood and started toward the entrance when his voice rang out behind him.
"Thank you."
Gwen rushed back and kissed him hard, wishing she could never let him go. They walked back into the main part of the Hub, their hands entwined.
"I'll be right back," Gwen told him. She walked into the next room, gathering papers when a strange sound filled the room. She turned and ran back to Jack, but there was paper all over the floor, and no Jack.
Two months later, Gwen sat in the Archive Room, holding a picture of Jack close to her, her tears spoiling the image. She heard footsteps behind her, but couldn't bring herself to care. Suddenly, Ianto's arm was wrapped around her.
"I miss him," Gwen whispered brokenly.
"I know, cariad. I know," Ianto said back, and held her tighter. She wished she could carry out what she had wanted to do before Jack saved her. But she felt as if she had to be there, just in case. Just in case Jack came back.
Just in case he needed her.
"Did you miss me?" Gwen felt her heart soar as the American accent filled the room. Hardly daring to believe it was him, she turned slowly. His tall frame was silloutted by the dim lighting. A deep, dark anger was filling her up. She wanted to hug him and kiss him and punch him.
"It was the thought of coming home to you that kept me fighting," he whispered. His hand danced down her arm until he found her hand and held it close to him. Gwen looked up at him as their lips met. They walked through the tall office building.
"So, when this is all over, how would you feel about dinner? Maybe a movie..." Jack trailed off.
"Where were you?" She asked, keeping her voice neutrol. Unfortunately, Jack had alway been able to see right through her.
"It was... It was my Doctor." Gwen couldn't help it, a small gasp escaped her. He had told a enough about the Doctor to understand how great that was for Jack.
"Oh. Well... All right. Yeah, I'd like that."
Jack beamed at her.
"You should see them together," Owen told Ianto one day.
"It's like they're perfectly in sync. Like, he moves, she automatically corrects herself so she perfectly fits him. She's his equal, and I might make fun of it, but God, it's just so beautiful. I want someone like that.
"They work together perfectly, and so obvious that they're practically made for each other. She's the only one who can calm him down, and it's the same for her." Ianto wanted to point out that Toshiko did almost all of that for Owen.
"Oh. Blimey.." Jack and Gwen looked up to see Ianto staring at them. Well, Jack was shirtless, and she was only in her bra. Ianto backed away, looking slightly traumatized. "Wanna join us? There's always room for one more," Jack said. Gwen stared at him scolding.
"Jack," she began. Jack silenced her in a kiss.
Jack held Tosh close to him as she gasped, trying to fight back the darkness. Her shirt was covered in blood. She stared into Jack's eyes as her's went blank.
"Where's Owen?" Jack demanded.
"He got trapped in when he stopped the nuclear meltdown," Ianto said quietly. Gwen sobbed silently into Jack's shoulder, her head buried in his neck. Jack opened his other arm and Ianto fell into it. They held each other tightly. Jack pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads.
"Gwen... I loved you so long now, and... Well, will you marry me?" Gwen shrieked and threw herself into Jack's arms. It had been six months since Owen and Toshiko. "Of course! I love you, and I will marry you!" Jack laughed as she started to babble about weddings.
"I'm back!" Gwen looked up from where she had been talking to Lisa and Ianto. She grinned and high fived Jack as his great coat swished around him. Life wasn't exactly pleasant when the remnants of the Torchwood team were on the run from the goverment and they were huddled around a fire while the 456 threatened Earth. Yet, she was here with Jack, and everything was always better when they were together.
"I love you," Gwen choked out. The disease was so painful. She wished it wasn't so terribly painful. "I love you, too," Jack said, tears falling from his eyes. "In a thousand years... You'll forget me." Gwen said. Jack shook his head. "Yes... You'll meet someone else, and you'll forget me." "No.. Never," Jack whispered. "Remember me..." Gwen said.
Always.