I do not own Torchwood or any of its Characters/Settings.
It all belongs to the BBC.

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Enjoy ~~

SIX MONTHS LATER~

The ebony horizon was littered with tiny flecks of white light from the streets below. The moon was full, casting eerie shadows upon the ground. The breeze rustled through the trees and carried itself across the damp grass of the hill. The young woman stumbled up the hill, her arms wrapped tightly around herself to shield her skin from the cold wind. Her green-hazel eyes lit up when she saw the silhouette standing proudly, only a few metres away from her, on the top of the hill. Her green shirt pulled tightly over the large mound of her stomach; she was pregnant, at least six months gone. Her clumsy legs struggled on the few more metres and the urgency to see the man was burning inside of her.

Stopping a metre from him, she let a small smile drift over her features. It was enough for a greeting; nothing else seemed fitting. They'd gone from seeing each other every day to being apart for six months. It was confusing and the young woman had no idea where she fitted in the man's life. They'd been through so much together and she didn't know if it mattered anymore.

The man returned her smile, albeit only fleetingly. He'd become a shadow of his former self. The confident, sexy and alluring man had skittered away and was now replaced by a tired and emotionally drained shell. His shoulders slumped slightly but it could not be noticed beneath his thick, blue Army regulation coat. His hand slid into his pockets and his eyes drifted across the woman in front of him. Oh, how the Torchwood team had disintegrated; it was only loosely held together with Captain Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper.

"How are you?" Gwen didn't really know what to say; surely it was best just to start off with pleasantries. However, she didn't need to ask; how he felt was written all over his face.

"I'm existing." Jack replied, his tone defeatist. He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly; he didn't know what she wanted him to say. "You?"

"Fine, fine. I'm fine." Gwen stuttered out. The atmosphere between them was horrific and it gnawed away at her. All she wanted to do was take him in her arms and hold him, and tell him that it was going to be okay. She wanted to tell him that they'd get through it, and that she would always be there for him. Somehow she resisted, mainly because she knew she couldn't. "So… what now?"

The question had been playing on her mind ever since the world had been saved again. The Hub was no more, Ianto was dead and it seemed that a part of Jack had died with him. Gwen wanted to know whether there was any hope and whether Torchwood could be salvaged. And even though she asked the question, she got the feeling that not even Jack, her leader and the man she loved, could answer her plea.

"I leave." Jack replied instantaneously. His tone was dead and when Gwen looked into his eyes, she found that they were the same. Jack had given up on the fight because he had nothing left to fight for. "I need a new start, a new planet, a new life. A new beginning."

"You can't keep running, Jack." Gwen snapped. She couldn't deal with this, she needed support but she'd told Rhys to stay at home. She'd thought that she could cope and that she could convince Jack to snap out of it and make him realise that he was needed.

"I can't stay here, it's ruined." His eyes began to water as his mind returned to the moment of apocalypse. He'd gone to extortionate measures; he'd sacrificed his own grandson, his flesh and blood, for the rest of the world. Ianto was dead, Torchwood was finished and his daughter was repulsed by him; he had nothing left.

"It's not your fault." Gwen began to tear up herself, the tears refusing to break their flood barriers as she was determined not to falter. She was married with a child on the way; there was no use in declaring her love for a broken man. She couldn't have him. "Y – You saved millions. Millions of children are alive because of you."

"It's not enough." He retorted. "You don't know what it's like to carry this. Once again, I put the good of the world before my family. Steven, Ianto… They're all dead because of me. It's not enough. I've got nothing worth staying for!" The anger in his voice was incredible; Gwen could feel it rocketing through her very being, she could see how distraught he was and yet, she couldn't do anything to comfort him. "I have to leave, I have to run."

Gwen nodded solemnly as if she agreed with him. Her tears rolled down her cheeks, the situation they were in finally striking at her core. "Whfat about me?" She whispered; however, just loud enough for Jack to hear. She began to shake her head before she forced herself to meet his eyes. "What – about – me? You saved me, Jack. You can stay here, you can back with me."

"No. No, you've got Rhys and you've got the baby." Jack shook his head and stepped closer, but only by a fraction. "I've lived this life too long… it's time to start another one. You'll be fine; you'll be so busy when the baby comes. You won't even know I'm gone."

"Don't be stupid." Gwen battled through her tears, the freezing air biting at her face. "Promise me you'll come back. Please." She exclaimed, moving closer in a bid to close the gap between them.

Jack shook his head, and lowered his eyes to the ground. He didn't know what to say to her; if everything went well, if he built himself a new life, why would he ever want to come back to this one?

"Look at me, look at me."Gwen ordered as she finally closed the gap between them; her hands found themselves on top of his. She wanted to be held in his arms and to feel safe, but it was too much to ask now. All she wanted was a promise. "Promise! I won't let you go if you don't, Jack."

With all his strength and all his courage, he couldn't say and he didn't want to lie to her. It wasn't fair of him. "I can't." Exhaling deeply, he enveloped her in his arms and embraced her deeply. Hurriedly, she returned the embrace, clutching at the back of his head, her fingers running through his hair. Gwen could stay like this forever; she would let him hold her forever.

"Please don't leave me." She gushed, her hand running up and down his back, the other holding onto the back of his neck. Jack held her tightly, but slowly uncovered the transportation device strapped to his wrist. "You can't keep running, Jack." She repeated, clutching at him for dear life.

Jack quickly pressed the button on the watch-like gadget and squeezed her petite frame once more. "I can and I will." He whispered into her ear before a light began to emanate from the sky. The bright, blue light beamed down from the darkness and found Jack and Gwen. His device had sent out a homing signal to the nearest spaceship; he didn't know where he was going and it felt good.

Breaking the embrace, Gwen stumbled back and her eyes widened to see Jack's body overwhelmed by the fluorescence. "Goodbye, Gwen." He said simply and disappeared before her eyes.

"Goodbye." She said limply and dropped to her knees, a shuddering sob escaping her lips.

Title of Chapter:
Credit to Whitney Houston - Run to You