Disclaimer- I don't own anything
Setting- Towards the end of Day 5 COE
Gwen was furious. This would make every night this week she couldn't reach Jack. The hub might have been destroyed, the world had almost gone to hell, but that did not mean her loyalty to Torchwood was done. She still had a responsibility, and so did Jack, no matter how much he tried to deny it.
She leaned against the wall next to the door waiting. Any minute now Jack would come around that corner with his latest pull, a sleazy drunken who would be practically tearing at his shirt. There was a time when Gwen wished she could be in that position with Jack, but now she just found it revolting.
She heard laughter coming from the end of the hall and she knew he was here. He turned the corner and this time it was a young blonde with a dangerously low neckline shirt and heavy eye make-up.
"Hey Gwen!" Jack said, leaning on the girl at his side. His voice oozed with the alcohol that was clearly messing with his mind.
"Jack" Gwen said angrily. He paid no attention as he rummaged through his pocket, pulling out his keys.
"Who's your friend Jack?" the girl mumbled as she sucked on his ear lobe.
"Yeah Jack, who's your friend?" Gwen snapped back.
"Oh this is Jamie-Jane-Janie," he replied putting the key in the door.
"Jack." He ignored her. "Jack." Again he ignored her. "Jack!" Now he stopped. "They released his body today."
Jack sobered up immediately. "I know," he said, gravely.
"Jack! Come on!" the girl moaned.
"How about you go home now?" Gwen yelled at the girl. She felt bad, but there were more important things right now than this stranger's feelings. Jack closed his eyes as the girl protested, but she eventually took a hint.
"Well, since now you ruined a potentially good night, how about you come in," Jack growled.
Gwen waited until he closed the door behind her before she turned to face Jack. "I cannot believe you!"
"What?"
"What is wrong with you? Jack, this is the every night this week you have brought home some random person from a bar. And I say home! This isn't even your home, Jack!"
"What are you-"
"It's his home. You don't even have the decency to go to a motel, you have to bring them to his flat!".
"Well it's not like he is going to get any use out of it now is he," Jack snapped back, going to the fridge and grabbing a beer.
"How dare you! After all that he did for you. After all that two have been through."
"That's all in the past now, isn't it?" Jack drained his beer and began walking angrily around the flat.
"Well, I'm glad that it is"
"I don't see what your problem is Gwen. Isn't this the Jack Harkness that you know? The flirtatious, charming guy who can have any pick of the town. The guy that with a snap of his fingers can get someone to bed. Well, this is me Gwen!"
"What would Ianto say if he saw you like this?" She screamed at him.
"He wouldn't say anything!" Jack screamed back with all his force. Jack began to shake. He fell to his knees, bowed his head and buried his face in his hands.
"What are you talking about?" Gwen asked in a softer tone.
"He wouldn't say anything. He would just look at me with those eyes and then look away. He would never say anything because up until the end he thought he meant nothing to me. That we meant nothing," Jack started to tear now.
"Jack that's not true"
"Yes, it is! That time with the phones and I was in a coma, he spoke to me. I heard every word. He said he was just a blimp in time for me. I told him otherwise but he just smiled. Always smiled and it was a beautiful smile, but it never quite reached his eyes. Then when I was holding him... he was so... weak. I could feel his life draining out of him. He told me he loved me...and I...I couldn't do it. It was just three little words. I felt it. Have for a while, but I couldn't. To say it would be to say goodbye. I knew there wasn't much time, but I couldn't bring myself to let go...I should have just told him," he was full crying now.
"Jack." Gwen reached out to touch him but he jumped back. "Jack, listen to me. He knew. He knew what you felt for him. I could see it every time he looked at you and every time you looked at him. No one could miss it. His sister was asking about you. Do you know what that means Jack? That means he told her about you. That you meant that much to him."
"And now he's gone and it's my fault."
"No, it's not, Jack. No, it's not."
Jack finally sank down to the floor and began to wail. Gwen wrapped her arms around him and held him for hours. At the morgue those tears had been a boss crying over his employee. Now it was a man crying over his lover. His screams were so feral and piercing. It continued until Jack fell asleep from exhaustion. Gwen helped move him to bed before leaving the information for the funeral on the counter. She headed home for the rest of the night.
Jack stood alone on the hill near the freshly dug grave. He could barely breathe, his chest hurt so much. The others had long gone, but there he stood. Hours had passed before he turned and began walking. He needed to get out of there. He couldn't stay. He needed to keep moving, because if he stopped, the pain would just hit him again.
