As with all of my Torchwood FanFiction, this has also been posted on TorchwoodForum.
This is an AU fic; set after the end of Series 2, but before the Children of Earth series. In this fic, Martha Jones and Mickey Smith joined the Torchwood team after helping the Doctor defeat the Daleks in 'Journey's End'.
The year 2009
Gwen stormed into the hub, past Ianto, Martha and Mikey and straight into Jack's office. She slammed the door closed behind her and closed the blinds.
"Gwen, wha-"
"Shut up, Harkness!" she yelled, slamming her hands on the desk.
Jack swallowed, standing up so he was level with her. Boy, he loved it when she was mad...there was something so...sexy about it. Gwen started pacing around the room, talking as she did so.
"So, you get a call from the police that they've found a strange alien, a vicious thing which already killed two of their officers...you call in Ianto, Martha, even Mikey, but you don't call me. I stay in the hub, sound asleep. You go to the scene of crime, Martha gets attacked and you get killed putting the thing in the back of the SUV. Then, you drive back here, and you get killed again putting the alien in the cells. Still, you don't call me. I'm still asleep in the hub. You run all the tests on the alien, and, when you find a way to sedate it, then you decide to wake me."
Jack nodded.
"Yeah. So?"
Gwen slammed her hands on the desk again.
"SO WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU CALL ME???"
Jack grinned, earning him a slap from Gwen.
"I didn't know you'd be so...passionate about it."
"What is it, Jack? Don't you want me in the team any more? Is that it?" Gwen grabbed the box of RetCon pills from the side, taking one out. "Should I just take this now, save you the hassle of doing it later?"
Gwen raised the pill to her lips, but Jack sprang around and knocked it out of her hands before she could do anything.
"Why wouldn't I want you in the team?"
"You tell me, Jack. You tell me why you can pick and choose which missions I do or do not get involved in."
"I..." Jack stopped, sitting back down.
"No, come on Jack. Tell me. TELL ME!!"
Gwen sat opposite Jack, watching him with curiosity as he placed his head in his hands. She hadn't seen him like this for a long time. She placed her hands on his wrists gently.
"Please. Talk to me."
"Gwen, you know how guilty I feel about Tosh and Owen...how much I feel responsible for their deaths." Gwen swallowed. "You know how much I beat myself up over it. Death follows me around, Gwen. I can't stop it. I have to watch as everyone I know, everyone I love, they die, and I can't do anything about it. I have to pick myself up and carry on, because I can never join them. I can never die with them. I have to live on, alone. I've already lost half of my team. I wanted to show them a new world. I wanted to show them all the great things the Universe has to offer, but instead, I just got them killed."
"Jack," Gwen began.
"Don't tell me it's not ny fault, Gwen. I signed them up, I let them put their lives in danger."
"They knew the risks when they joined, Jack. And so do I. I knew the risks before I joined. I saw what the job does to people; what it did to Suzie. We all know the risks, Jack. You can't keep blaming yourself. We are all willing to sarifice ourselves for the greater good, Jack."
"It shouldn't have to be that way though, Gwen. You shouldn't have to put your life on the line. No matter how much I try to protect you all, I can never seem to put myself in your places. I can never seem to take the danger away. I've already lost Tosh and Owen. I don't want to lose you as well."
Jack looked up into Gwen's eyes.
"The reason I didn't call you in is that I couldn't bare to put you in danger. I couldn't bare it if I lost you, Gwen."
"Jack," Gwen took his hands in hers. "You can't do this every time a dangerous case comes up. With a team member down, you're putting the rest of the team in even more danger."
"I know that, Gwen, but," Jack held up her left hand, followed by his. "These rings mean 'till death do us part'. But I don't want to part from you. These rings, they mean that I'm supposed to protect you. I'm supposed to protect you with my life. I'm not supposed to put you in harm's way, not if I can help it."
"But you shouldn't put the others in more danger just to save me. I know what these rings mean, Jack. And I know that you'd do everything you could to save me. I know that. But we can't keep operating like this. You can't keep jepordising the missions just because I'm your wife."
"How would I be able to carry on if I lost you? How could I live each day knowing that there could have been a way to save you?"
Gwen kissed his fingers softly.
"I know it's going to be different now that we're together, but we have to try and remain professional. The others all know why you didn't call me for the mission, and if you keep refusing to bring me along, they're going to notice and they'll stop coming when you call. I need to be able to work properly. And even if something does happen,"
"Gwen..."
"Even if something does happen, you can live on. You'll have all of our memories. You'll be able to cope, because that's what you do. You'll be able to carry on because you'll know how much I loved you."
Gwen pulled him to his feet, still holding onto his hands.
"I'm alive, here and now. Let's make the most of however much time we have left together. It might be days, weeks, months. It might even be years, Jack. No one knows what's going to happen to them. But no matter how long we have left, I just want you to know that I will always love you. Make each day we have together count. Yeah?"
Jack smiled, nodding and pulling Gwen towards him.
"Make each day count."
Jack kissed her deeply, wrapping his arms around her, keeping her pressed to him. She kissed him back, toying with his wedding ring with one hand, the other in his hair. Jack groaned, pulling out of the kiss as Ianto's voice rang over the speaker.
"Jack, we have unusual Rift activity in the Eastern Suburbs."
Gwen stepped back from Jack, pulling on her coat.
"Live together, die alone, right?"
"Jack nodded, grabbing his coat and opening the door.
"After you, Mrs Harkness."
Gwen smiled, pinching his butt on the way out.
"We'll start 'making it count' when we get back tonight," Jack whispered in her ear.
**
The year five billion and fifty-three
The Doctor and Martha Jones looked on as the Face of Boe died right before them. The Doctor shed a tear.
"Goodbye, old friend."
Jack opened his eyes. His vision was cloudy, but he could see a bright light, welcoming him. He blinked, and found himself in a meadow. He looked around, and saw a figure walking towards him. Looking down at himself, he could see that he was dressed in his 1940s style clothing; his trench coat, braces, white undershirt and blue shirt. The figure was getting clearer now, and Jack smiled, walking towards it. She was dressed just as she had been on the day she died. She didn't look disfigured and mutilated, as she had done the last time he had seen her. She was beautiful, more beautiful than ever. He took her into his arms and kissed her deeply, a kiss which had been long overdue.
"I've waited here for a long time," Gwen noted.
"I'm here now, my love. And I believe we have a lot of catching up to do."
Gwen smiled, pulling him down to the ground.
"We never did get to start 'making it count', did we?"
They embraced, kissing each other with need and urgency. They had a lot of time to make up. Five billion years to make up for. And this time, there was no one to interrupt them.
Please give me your thoughts!
