Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Torchwood characters.
A/N: I'd like to thank Madbean for this absolutely amazing idea. I hope it doesn't disappoint. ;)
Gwen's eyes slowly opened and she groaned as her head pounded. Her neck ached and something was gripping her wrists too tight. Her head felt heavy as she lifted it to look at what held her arms out to the sides. When she saw that she'd been chained to a wall, her eyes widened and she frantically looked around the room.
She was in what looked like an old, run-down warehouse. Sunlight beamed in through gaps in the roof and broken windows, revealing the large empty room. No, it wasn't empty. In the centre, she could see a small box. It was bleeping and on the top, there was a display of numbers counting down. An explosive device.
Gwen gasped and tried to yank her arms out of her restraints. Pain shot through her wrists as she struggled. She tried to move her feet but they had also been manacled to the wall.
Breathing heavily, she let her body sag as she thought about how the hell she'd got there.
She remembered being back at the Hub, faintly. Her mind was still fuzzy. The famous Doctor of Jack's had turned up and they actually got to meet him this time. The whole team, apart from Owen who seemed to be missing, had sat in awe as he told them stories of his travels.
They could understand why Jack was so eager to run off with him. Yes they fought monsters like he had, but to actually visit different planets and times...
The thing she remembered the clearest was a particular conversation with the Doctor.
The four team members were sat around the conference table clutching a mug of Ianto's coffee in their hands, while the Doctor sat at the head of the table with a cup of tea.
"So what brings you here Doctor?" Jack asked.
"Can't a Time Lord visit his friends without any particular reason?" The Doctor asked innocently.
"You only ever turn up when there's something wrong." Jack replied. The Doctor scratched the back of his neck and avoided making eye contact with him. Jack nodded and smiled. "So why are you here?"
The Doctor leant forward and clasped his hands on the table. He looked Jack in the eye.
"Owen Harper." He answered.
Gwen's eyes widened as she and Jack glanced at each other.
"How do you know about Owen?" Jack frowned.
"Martha." The Doctor replied. "She called me and -"
"Hey, so Martha gets your number but I don't. How unfair is that?" Jack complained. The Doctor rolled his eyes and Gwen glared at Jack for taking the conversation off on a tangent. "Sorry...carry on Doctor."
"Yes, thank you. So, Martha called and she told me that she'd come to Torchwood Three to work alongside you and your team for a few weeks. She explained everything that happened at the medical facility." Tosh and Gwen glanced at each other sadly before turning back to the Doctor. "While she was here, she...observed, if you like, each of your relationships with Owen. One in particular stood out." He looked into Gwen's eyes and she let out a small gasp. "She asked me...to help."
"Help how? Can you fix him? Can you bring Owen back?" Jack demanded.
"Doctor, please." Gwen said quietly. "Jack has always spoken so highly of you and the stories you've told us...you can do anything. Please help Owen. He means a lot to me – us."
He looked at each team member in turn saving Jack for last. They were all looking back at him, hope and desperation in their eyes.
"Jack, when you were on the TARDIS with Rose, she told you what happened when she tried to bring her dad back. The whole world changed because one man who should have died, didn't. It created a wound in time and the most terrifying of creatures were conjured and they tried to heal the wound by consuming everything in sight." The Doctor told them.
"Are you saying you can't help Owen?" Jack asked. "Is that what will happen if you save him?"
"Rose tried to save Pete by going back in time and changing history." The Doctor replied. "The situation with Owen however..." He looked at them all once again and smiled. "Is different. Owen's death, it's not a fixed point in time. I can help you. Jack, do you remember the first time we met?"
"World War Two." Jack smiled. "You helped return all those gas-masked people back to normal with -"
Jack's eyes widened as realisation hit him.
"With?" The Doctor nodded encouragingly.
"Nanongenes." Jack answered. "Are you saying you can fix Owen with nanogenes?"
"Hang on, what are nanogenes?" Gwen frowned.
"Thousands of tiny sub-atomic robots that are programmed to repair things." The Doctor explained. Everyone except Jack looked at him in confusion. "We'll use humans as an example here to help explain how they work. The nanogenes come across a normal, healthy human and memorise the basics of what they think a human should look like. They then fly off to do what they're programmed to do, repair things. They come across another human, this time with a few cuts and bruises maybe, and then -"
"They repair the cuts and bruises because the template they came across, didn't have them. So to them, they shouldn't be there so the human needs fixing." Tosh finished. "Is that right?"
"It is." The Doctor smiled. "Very clever."
"So the nanogenes can heal Owen's gunshot wound?" Gwen asked hopefully.
"Yes. The nanogenes I kept from our time in World War Two now know what humans should look like." The Doctor told them.
"They'll heal the wound...but will they bring him back?" Jack enquired.
"Honestly...I can't be sure but we can try." The Doctor replied.
"Let's do it." Gwen said quickly. "Jack, we have to try."
"We will." Jack nodded. "But you have to prepare for the worst."
"I know. But I have faith in this Doctor of yours Jack." Gwen told him. "If you trust him, so can we. Can't we?" She looked around at Tosh and Ianto determinedly and they nodded back. "Then what are we waiting for? I'll call Owen."
She'd gone off to make the phone call and Owen had told her he was on his way. She had told him he needed to get there urgently but she hadn't said why as she wanted it to be a surprise.
The next thing Gwen remembered, was Tosh's computer had started to beep while they were waiting. Tosh told them that something had come through the rift and she was picking up some sort of energy trace. Jack had sent Gwen out to investigate.
She arrived at the site but everything after that was a mystery. She just remembered pain exploding in the back of her head as something heavy came crashing down on it and then darkness shrouding her.
Gwen looked back up at the explosive device. She still had more than fifteen minutes left.
She started to cry as she realised none of her team members could save her. She had her comms but she couldn't reach to turn them on.
Tears slid down her face as she struggled against her bonds once more.
Footsteps echoed around the warehouse causing her to freeze. Her breath shook as she stared into the darkness, searching for the source.
A shadow passed through each beam of light getting closer and closer and a cold shiver ran down her spine. She gritted her teeth and fought to get out of her bonds, ignoring the pain and the footsteps growing closer. She could feel the manacles cutting into her wrists but she couldn't give up, she couldn't stop fighting.
The footsteps stopped as they stood in front of her. She slowly looked up and gasped.
"Bilis." She whispered. "What are you doing here? What do you want?"
"Revenge on Captain Jack Harkness. For killing my master, Abaddon." He answered. He turned and walked over to the bomb and placed two other devices beside it. When he moved away, Gwen saw that one was a video camera – not one from Earth but it was still quite obvious as to what it was. The other was a screen that she was pretty sure would show them an image of whoever Bilis was going to talk to. "I can't destroy Jack Harkness physically but I can destroy him emotionally. I shall do that by eliminating everything and everyone he loves." He pressed a few buttons on the camera and stepped in front of it. "I want your Captain to witness this."
"You can kill me but that will just make Jack more determined to stop you." Gwen growled. "He will stop you."
"Captain Harkness has tried and failed to stop me in the past." Bilis said nonchalantly. "As you have witnessed I can just slip away through time as easily as -" Bilis disappeared in the blink of an eye. Seconds later, he reappeared beside her. "That. So I'm sorry my dear, but he will fail to stop me again."
He turned his back on her and ignored her as she screamed with rage and fought to get at him.
Owen entered the Hub and ran over to where the others were waiting at the workstations.
"What is it?" He asked. "And why is there a police box parked over the lift?"
"That would be mine." A skinny, brown haired man in a blue suit answered as he stepped forward from behind Jack. "Sorry, it has a habit of landing there."
"Yeah, sorry, who the hell are you?" Owen demanded.
"I'm the Doctor." He said, holding his hand out for him to shake.
Owen's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline as he shook his hand.
"The Doctor? You mean you're not a figment of Jack's imagination?" Owen laughed.
"You didn't believe me?" Jack pouted.
"I did believe you but...no offence, I did start to wonder. You said he saved planets and yet he was never around when things like that Abaddon thing happened." Owen said and turned to the Doctor. "No offence."
"None taken." The Doctor shrugged.
"So...why are you here?" Owen asked.
Just as he was about to answer, an image popped up on Tosh's computer screen. They all turned to look as Bilis' face smirked at them.
"Hello again Captain Harkness and Toshiko, it's so good to see you again." He said.
"Jack, he says he wants to destroy you by killing everyone you love." They heard Gwen shout. "Don't let him get to you. You have to stop him."
"Gwen? What have you done with her?" Jack shouted.
"Take a look for yourself." He answered and stepped to the side.
Everyone gasped as they saw Gwen chained to the wall, a small box just to the side of the camera.
"Shit. Jack, that's a bomb." Owen shouted.
"If you wish to save her, I'd hurry up. She's not got long left." Bilis said as he stepped back in front of the camera.
The Hub's sirens sounded and Jack looked up as the rolling door started to open. Owen was running towards it.
"Where are you going?" Jack called.
"We have to save her." He shouted. "Tosh, give me directions over the comms."
"Owen, wait. I'll go." Jack shouted back. It was too late, he'd already run out. "If he gets hurt, we'll never be able to get him back. I should have gone, not him."
"Don't worry Jack, I'm on it." The Doctor told him and ran out after Owen.
Minutes later, the team heard the strange whirring sound of the TARDIS and a strong wind whipped around the Hub.
"I hope he gets to them in time." Jack muttered as he looked up towards the street above.
Bilis turned towards Gwen and smiled.
"I must bid you farewell my dear." He said and disappeared.
Gwen looked at the bomb and started to sob. She only had ten minutes now and she knew it had taken longer than that to get from the Hub to the warehouse – if she was even at the same warehouse she'd started at.
Her thoughts turned to Owen and the tears started to come faster. She'd turned down Rhys' proposal and ended her relationship with him because she knew she was in love with Owen – not that she'd admit it to anyone. She knew he didn't feel the same and they always seemed to be at each other's throats. Yet she loved him anyway.
Now Owen had the chance to live again and she hoped he'd find someone, be happy.
Her eyes closed as she thought about all the moments she'd shared with Owen. Every kiss, every caress ran through her mind.
Her imagination was starting to run wild with her as she thought she could actually feel his lips on hers. She even felt his cool hands cupping her face.
"Gwen, look at me." A voice whispered before their lips pressed back onto hers.
Gwen's eyes snapped open and she looked straight into the chocolate brown eyes of Owen Harper. She gasped and stared at him wide-eyed as he pulled away.
"Owen, how did you -? What are you doing here?" She asked.
"I came to save you." He answered.
"No. Owen, you have to get out of here." Gwen protested. He turned to look at the explosive device. Two minutes left. "Get out, Owen."
"I'm not letting you die." Owen told her as he turned back and tried to prise open her manacles.
"Please listen to me." She begged. "You have to leave. Just go."
"No." He growled.
"Owen, you've got another chance to live. If you go now, the Doctor can bring you back." She shouted.
"What?" He gasped.
"The Doctor. He has these things – nanogenes. They can heal you." She explained. "Please Owen, go."
"What good would my life be without you?" He growled, looking straight into her eyes.
It was her turn to gasp.
"What?" She whispered.
Owen glanced over his shoulder at the bomb. Just under a minute left. He turned back to Gwen, knowing he wouldn't be able to get her free.
"I'm not leaving here without you." He turned his back on her and shielded her with his body. "Maybe my body will somehow protect you from the blast. You could still walk away from this."
"No, Owen. Please go." She sobbed.
"I told you, my life wouldn't be worth living if you weren't in it." He said. He turned his head to look at her over his shoulder. "I love you Gwen Cooper." She gasped as he turned back and closed his eyes, waiting for the explosion. There were fifteen seconds left. As Owen counted down in his head, a strong wind suddenly whipped around him and a strange noise grew louder and louder. He frowned as he opened his eyes. The blue police box he'd seen parked in front of the water tower was slowly materialising in front of his eyes. "What the fuck's going on?"
"It's the Doctor." Gwen answered, breathing a sigh of relief.
A huge grin appeared on her face as the TARDIS came into view and the doors were flung open.
"Come on." The Doctor shouted. He grabbed Owen's arm and pulled him inside. He pulled his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and pointed it at the manacles around Gwen's wrists and ankles. They sprang open and she fell forward, clutching her sore wrists. "Get in. Come on."
He grabbed her around the waist and dragged her into the TARDIS.
Jack and Ianto breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the TARDIS de-materialise just as the building exploded and the video footage turned to static.
"I knew he could do it." Jack grinned.
Tosh sat looking at the screen in stunned silence. The team had been watching anxiously as they waited to see if the Doctor would get to them in time and had seen everything – including Owen's declaration of love for Gwen. She couldn't say she was surprised. The two had become very close, especially after the Brecon incident and even more so after his death. It was just surprising to hear Owen say he loved anyone out-loud. It wasn't in his nature.
Gwen and Owen looked around the TARDIS in awe.
"It's..." Owen whispered.
"Bigger on the inside?" The Doctor suggested.
"Yeah." Owen nodded. "It's huge."
"It's beautiful." Gwen smiled.
"Thank you. I think so too." The Doctor grinned. "Now, we'd better get you two back to the Hub."
The Doctor put on his glasses as he pressed buttons and switches on the TARDIS console. The central column began to rise and fall as they took off. He looked up at Gwen and Owen and noticed they were staring lovingly at each other. He walked away into another room of the TARDIS to give them some privacy.
"Owen, did you...did you mean what you said?" Gwen asked quietly. "Or was it just...last kiss for the condemned like last time. You know, a kiss and an 'I love you' before we die just for the sake of it, it didn't mean anything."
Owen stepped up to her and took her hands in his.
"Gwen, I meant every word of it." He told her. "I love you."
"Owen...I love you too." She smiled.
"I just wish things were different, you know? I wish I could feel your hands in mine." He sighed, holding their entwined fingers up and ran his thumb over the back of her hand. "I wish I could feel your lips when I kiss you."
"But you can." She told him. "I told you, the Doctor can heal you. That's why he came here in the first place. Martha told him about you and he's come to help you."
"You mean, you really meant that?" He asked.
"Yes." She answered.
"I just thought you were trying to get me to leave." He replied. "I didn't think...I'm going to live again?"
"We can't be certain." The Doctor's voice said. He'd returned to the console room after they'd landed, both events going unnoticed by the two. "The nanogenes can heal the wound but I don't know if they can bring you back."
"Will I still be like this if it doesn't work? Dead but still...moving." Owen asked.
"If it doesn't work...then no. There's an energy inside you keeping you alive, an energy that shouldn't be there. The nanogenes will remove that energy and you will die." The Doctor answered.
"But there's still a possibility that you could come back, that you could live again." Gwen said. "We have to try. Don't we?"
She looked up at Owen, a pleading look in her eyes.
He thought about it. If it worked, he'd be alive, free to eat and drink and do all the things he loved, free to be with Gwen. But if it didn't, he'd be back in the darkness with whatever it was that was hiding there and he'd never see Gwen again.
He sighed as he weighed his options before looking back into her eyes. There was a glimmer of hope and he couldn't let that go. He nodded and looked up at the Doctor.
"Yeah. I want to try." He said.
Gwen smiled and pulled him into a hug.
"Then I'll call Jack and the others up. They'll probably want to be here too." The Doctor said.
For the first time, Gwen and Owen realised the TARDIS had fallen quiet and the central column had stopped moving. They looked up at the screen and saw that they had landed in front of the water tower.
Minutes later, the rest of the team joined them in the TARDIS. Jack smiled at the familiar surroundings as Tosh and Ianto looked around in wonderment.
"Are you sure about this Owen?" Jack asked.
Owen looked at Gwen and smiled before turning back to Jack.
"I'm sure." He nodded.
"Then I need you all to stand back." The Doctor said.
Jack, Tosh and Ianto stepped away as the Doctor had asked. Gwen squeezed Owen's hand before kissing him and stepping away reluctantly. Jack put his arm around her as she watched Owen anxiously.
"It's going to work, I promise." He reassured her.
"I hope so." She sighed.
The Doctor clicked his fingers and his hands were immediately surrounded by tiny, golden lights. He waved his hands towards Owen and the nanogenes moved to surround Owen's form.
Owen closed his eyes as he felt a tingling sensation all over his body.
"Ok, this feels weird." He muttered.
The others watched with bated breath. Gwen clutched Jack's coat and he held her tighter to comfort her.
Owen suddenly gasped and his eyes flew open before they snapped shut again and he collapsed to the floor. The nanogenes surrounding Owen faded from view.
A/N: I did try to to make the chapter as long as I could! ;)