Disclaimer: I do not own anything!
A/N: This is the sequel to "She can't be! She's…" I don't think this one is as good as that one so I'm sorry if it's a little disappointing.
Gwen wandered through the huge rolling door of the Hub, clutching her stomach, the ring on her finger sparkling in the light. She was a week away from giving birth to Rhys' baby and now four months married. Rhys had asked her a week after they found out it was his child.
He had only allowed her to visit the team on the condition that she wasn't allowed to join them on any alien chases.
The Hub looked empty when she entered.
"Jack." She called. "Ianto…Tosh…Owen…anyone?"
When she received no answer, she decided to head over to her old computer. She smiled as she saw her comms unit still lying exactly where she'd left it.
Something beeped down in the autopsy bay, scaring her half to death. She walked warily down to the source of the noise, wishing she still had her gun. A red light on one of the machines was flashing, Owen must have left it on by accident.
As she pressed a button she presumed to be the off button, a scrunched up piece of paper tucked into a corner caught her eyes. Why was it there? Owen was always picky about the autopsy bay being tidy and everything had to be in its rightful place.
Curiosity got the better of her and she picked it up. She saw that it was the paternity test results. Her eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat when she read them. Gwen's, Rhys' and Owen's unique numbers and names were printed on the top. On the bottom it read:
59817632...DNA match found:...58216794
Gwen Cooper...Owen Harper
Four weeks pregnant...Father
No matter how many times she read it and wished the results to change, it still read the same thing.
"Shit." She gasped.
Suddenly, the sirens sounded indicating the team had come back. She quickly stuffed the results in her pocket and went out to meet them.
"Hi Gwen." Tosh said surprised. "How long have you been waiting? I hope we haven't kept you waiting too long."
"No, it's ok. I've only been here a few minutes." She smiled.
"It's great to see you Gwen." Jack beamed and hugged her. He ran his hand across her stomach. "How long now?"
"Just a week left." Gwen replied stroking her stomach.
She glanced over at Owen and noticed he was watching her hand. He quickly looked away and started to help Ianto pull a sedated Weevil through the door and down to the cells.
"Hang on. I've detected some sort of alien technology on him." Tosh said consulting her PDA.
Owen and Ianto placed the Weevil on the floor and Tosh began to scan it.
"Owen, I need to talk to you about something. It's sort of important." Gwen said nervously.
He nodded to her and followed her down to the autopsy bay.
"Is there something wrong?" He asked.
Gwen took the results out of her pocket and handed them to him. He glanced down at the paper in his hand and swallowed.
"Why did you lie to me?" She asked him as calmly as she could.
"Look, you said it yourself, it's better this way." He mumbled.
"Owen, you lied to me about the identity of my baby's father. Rhys thinks this baby is his. When he finds out the truth, it'll crush him. How is it better this way?" She shouted.
"You wanted Rhys to be the father, I know you did."
"I wanted to know the truth." She growled.
"The truth would have hurt you. I didn't want to hurt you." He argued.
Gwen stared at him in shock. She had no idea Owen felt like this.
"What am I supposed to do? Do I tell Rhys?" She whispered.
"Think about it. You were a lot happier when you didn't know the truth. Rhys will feel the same."
"I guess you're right. He's so excited about this baby. I can't take that away from him." She sighed. "But he'll have to know the truth some day."
Owen nodded.
"What about this?" He asked, holding up the results.
"Get rid of them. We can't have Jack finding them, you know what he's like." She told him.
He ripped the piece of paper up and threw the pieces in a beaker. He took a match and lit it. They watched the pieces burn in silence. Gwen cradled her bump and looked at Owen.
"I just want you to know…you were wrong…I was ready to be a father but I know you didn't want me to be. I realise Rhys will be a much better father than I ever would." He whispered.
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She gazed at him in total shock.
"You'll be a great dad." She replied.
Owen smiled gratefully.
"You don't have to lie Gwen." He chuckled.
"I'm not." She answered.
They stood, staring into each other's eyes for a few seconds until Gwen's phone started to ring. She quickly answered it.
"Hey sweetheart." Rhys' voice said.
"Hey, is everything ok?" She asked.
"Yeah it's fine. I hope you haven't been chasing aliens in your condition." He joked.
"You know me, couldn't resist grabbing my gun and chasing after a Weevil. Of course I haven't." She laughed.
"Good. How is everyone?" He asked.
"They're fine." She replied.
"Cool. I'm popping down to the shops to get some stuff in, do you need anything?" He asked.
"No I don't think I do." Gwen said, trying to think.
"Alright, I'll see you later. I love you." He said.
"Love you too." She answered and put the phone down.
She looked around to see that Owen had disappeared to the main area of the Hub, he felt uncomfortable being there while she was on the phone to Rhys.
She left the autopsy bay and went up to the others.
The rift managed to behave that day, giving Gwen time to catch up with the others.
When it was time to go, she gave them each a hug.
"It's been great to see you Gwen." Tosh smiled. "Good luck with the baby."
"Thanks Tosh. I've missed this place so much. I can't wait to get back to work." She laughed. "Promise me you'll visit often."
Her eyes lingered on Owen and he nodded slightly.
"Of course we will." Jack smiled.
She gave them all one last hug and left the Hub. Jack looked over at Owen, he was staring after Gwen. When Owen caught Jack looking, he quickly went back down to the autopsy bay. Jack frowned in confusion.
A week later, at two in the morning, Gwen woke up with a start. A sharp pain in her stomach had woken her. She sat up and clutched her stomach as she felt another one.
"Rhys…Rhys wake up." She whispered, shaking him.
"Mmmm…what?" He mumbled with his eyes still closed.
"It's time." She said.
"Ok." He mumbled.
"Rhys, fucking get up. The baby's coming now." She shouted.
Rhys sat up quickly and looked down at Gwen's hands clutching her stomach. He shot out of bed and grabbed Gwen's hospital bag. She pushed herself out of bed and put on her robe. Rhys grabbed his jacket and put his arm around her, supporting her as they made their way to the car.
As they drove, Gwen had another contraction causing her to groan in pain.
"Are you ok?" Rhys panicked.
"I'm fine, it was just a contraction." She gasped. "Just get me to the hospital. I am not having this baby in a car."
Rhys put his foot down and sped off to the hospital, praying that tonight would not be the night he was stopped for speeding.
When they reached the hospital, Gwen was taken up to the maternity ward by some doctors. Rhys stayed outside and phoned both their parents.
When he went inside to Gwen, she was being seen to by a midwife.
"You're three centimetres dilated already. I don't think you've got long left now." The midwife smiled.
"God I hope not. This is incredibly painful." She laughed, gasping for breath.
The midwife left the room. Rhys sat down in the chair next to her bed and took her hand.
"I've rang our parents, they're on the way." He told her.
"Ok. I hope my mum and Brenda can get along for once." She sighed.
"They will. Babies do strange things to people." He laughed.
Gwen smiled and shook her head at him.
An hour later, she was in the delivery room. Gripping Rhys' hand tightly, she pushed as the midwife instructed her.
"I can see the head." The midwife told them.
"Breath Gwen. Come on, you can do it." Rhys encouraged her.
"Just get it out of me." Gwen yelled out in pain as she pushed again. "Owen fucking Harper, I'm going to kill you for this." She screamed.
"What? What's Owen got to do with this?" Rhys demanded.
"Rhys, this is not the time." She shouted.
Rhys' expression became suspicious but he tried to put it behind him as she began to push again.
With one last push, the sound of a baby crying filled the room. Gwen collapsed back on the bed, panting and exhausted.
"It's a baby boy." The midwife said proudly.
She cut the umbilical cord and wrapped the baby in a blanket. She handed him to Gwen who smiled sleepily down at the little bundle. Rhys smiled proudly and placed his arm around Gwen.
"He's beautiful." She whispered.
"Have you thought of a name?" The midwife asked.
Gwen looked up at Rhys.
"Yeah, we decided on Edward for a boy." He replied. "Edward Taylor Williams."
Gwen shifted a little on the bed and looked away from him. When she felt Rhys staring at her, she smiled up at him and looked down at the now sleeping baby.
The doctors wheeled Gwen into a private room. Rhys was hoping to talk to Gwen but she and Edward were surrounded by their parents.
When they left, Gwen was exhausted. Rhys sat with the baby in his arms, watching her sleep. The doctors came in to make sure everything was ok and told Rhys that they would be fine to go home tomorrow.
Rhys kissed Edward's head and placed him in his incubator. Gwen's eyes fluttered open. She smiled as she saw Rhys with Edward.
"My boys." She whispered.
Rhys looked up at her and smiled. He went over to sit next to her on her bed. She sat up and placed her head on his shoulder.
"Did you have a good sleep?" He asked.
"It wasn't too bad. These beds aren't too comfy." She sighed.
"At least you can go home soon." He laughed.
"I can't wait." She laughed. "I can't believe we're parents Rhys."
They both looked over at the sleeping Edward. Rhys kissed the top of Gwen's head and hugged her tight.
"I know, it's bloody brilliant. The new house should be ready soon too."
"Yeah." She smiled.
She kissed him on his lips and hugged him.
"Gwen…what was that about in the delivery room?" He asked.
"What was what about?" She asked, smiling nervously.
"You said you were going to kill Owen for something. What were you talking about?" He asked again.
"Oh that…erm…Rhys, I should have told you when I found out. I'm so sorry please forgive me…Edward's not your son…he's Owen's." She mumbled.
"What? Why didn't you tell me?" He shouted.
"I only just found out myself. I am so, so sorry." She said.
"But the results said -"
"Owen lied. Remember we never saw the actual results. He didn't show us." She interrupted.
"Why?" He shouted.
"He thought he was doing what was best. You would do the same if you were in that situation. Rhys, please forgive him." She pleaded.
"I could kill that bastard." He sighed.
"That makes two of us." She laughed.
"Gwen, this isn't the time for jokes." He said.
"Sorry." She mumbled. "So…what are you going to do?"
"I promised I'd still love him as my own…and I will."
Gwen looked up into Rhys' eyes and kissed him.
"Thank you." She whispered.
Gwen and Rhys returned to their flat, Edward asleep in Gwen's arms. She passed him to Rhys while she rang Jack.
As she waited for Jack to pick up the phone, she watched Rhys smiling down at Edward. His little eyes opened and he began to cry. Rhys shushed him and rocked him gently. Gwen smiled at them.
"Hey Gwen." Jack's voice said in her ear.
"Hey Jack. We've just got back from the hospital with -"
"You had the baby?" Jack's voice asked excitedly.
"Yeah, God was it painful. It was worth it though, our little Ed-"
"Boy or girl?" Jack interrupted.
"Let me finish my sentences." She laughed.
"Sorry." He chuckled.
"We have a baby boy named Edward Taylor." She said proudly.
She heard Jack telling the others. She heard Tosh and Ianto cheering and congratulating her, but she couldn't hear the one person she wanted to speak to most.
She walked into her room so Rhys wouldn't hear her.
"That's great Gwen." Jack said.
"It's bloody amazing. Is Owen there?" She asked.
"Yeah, hang on."
She heard him shout Owen's name and a few seconds later, the phone was handed over.
"Hey Gwen. Congratulations." Owen mumbled.
"Thanks Owen. Erm…yesterday at the hospital I kind of said something stupid and…Rhys knows." She sighed.
"Oh. How did he take it?" Owen asked nervously.
"He wasn't too happy at first but…he promised he'd still be there for us."
"Good, good. So what was it you said?" He asked, relieved.
"I believe it was something along the lines of, Owen fucking Harper I'm going to kill you for this." She laughed.
Owen chuckled on the other end.
"Well, I'm sorry for causing you so much pain." He laughed.
"Do you want to see him?" She asked.
"Yeah, of course I do. If that's ok with Rhys." Owen answered.
"Rhys will be fine. It'll be hard for him at first but I'm sure you'd do the same for him and I think he knows that." Gwen reassured him.
"Yeah, I would…if we were in that situation."
"Gwen, you have to see this. Edward's pulling the funniest faces." Rhys called.
"I'd better go. I'll bring Edward over tomorrow. Give everybody my love." She told him.
"I will. See you tomorrow." Owen replied.
"Bye." She said and put the phone down. "I love you." She mumbled.
"Gwen quick, you're going to miss it." Rhys called.
She walked out into the living room and sat next to him on the sofa. Edward's face was scrunched up and his bottom lip was sticking out. She laughed and stroked his face with her finger. Edward opened his eyes and looked up at Gwen. He grabbed onto her finger and she beamed down at him.
"Hey sweetie." She whispered to him. "Rhys, I'm going to take him down to the Hub tomorrow so the team can meet him."
"No Gwen. I'm not having him around all that alien stuff." Rhys told her.
"He'll be perfectly safe. I won't let him out of my sight for one second." She argued.
"No. We both know it's not safe. You'd only been there three months and you got shot. He's not going to the Hub." He answered.
"That was different. We weren't even in the Hub when that happened, we were out in the Brecon Beacons." She pointed out.
"No and if Jack's got any sense, he'll say no too." Rhys said.
"Fine. I won't take him to the Hub. I'll ask them to come here instead." She replied.
"Ok, that's fine. Sorry Gwen but I just don't think he should be down there just yet."
"Yeah, I guess he is too young." She sighed.
Gwen grabbed her phone again and text Owen.
"Rhys won't let me bring Edward 2 the Hub.
Can u come 2 mine instead?
Gwen xxx"
A few seconds later, Owen replied.
"That's fine. We'll b there around 1.
C u 2mo
Owen xxx
"They'll be here at one." Gwen told Rhys.
"That's fine." Rhys nodded.
Edward began to cry and he gripped Gwen's finger tighter.
"I think he's hungry." Gwen said.
Rhys passed Edward to Gwen and got up to prepare a bottle for him. She rocked him gently and smiled at him. Rhys passed the bottle to Gwen and sat down next to her. He placed his arm around her shoulder and she snuggled into him. They both watched Edward drink from the bottle hungrily.
The next day, at around eleven, Gwen was beginning to get restless. She was excited about the team meeting Edward but also nervous about Rhys meeting Owen again.
"Gwen sit down. They're not going to be here for another two hours." Rhys sighed as Gwen got up for the tenth time to check out the window.
"I know. I just thought I heard the SUV pull up, they might have come early." She mumbled.
Rhys shook his head at her and laughed.
For the next couple of hours, he tried to keep her occupied by talking about the new house. They would be moving in exactly a week that day. It seemed to work as she began talking excitedly about the nursery for Edward.
She jumped out of her skin when the phone on the wall buzzed. She ran over to it and picked it up.
"Hello." She said.
"Gwen it's us. Let us in." Tosh's voice said excitedly.
She put the phone down and pressed the button to let them in.
A few seconds later, they were knocking at the door. She opened it and was immediately jumped on by Tosh. Jack grabbed them both in a bear hug. Gwen stumbled under the weight. Ianto and Owen followed them in shaking their heads.
"Congratulations." Jack beamed.
"Where is he?" Tosh asked, looking around the living room.
A cry came from the monitor on the table.
"He was asleep in the bedroom. Rhys, go get him will you while I make everyone a drink." Gwen smiled.
Rhys nodded and went to fetch him. Gwen glanced at Owen and saw that he was staring at the doorway Rhys had just left through.
As she made the drinks, Tosh squealed indicating Rhys had come back with Edward.
"Can I hold him?" Tosh asked.
"Sure." Rhys nodded.
He placed Edward in her arms and went and stood with Gwen. Gwen giggled as Tosh began making baby noises.
Everyone had their turn holding Edward, Owen went last. He gazed down at the bundle in his arms, hardly believing that this was his child, his son. Edward gazed up at him inquisitively.
"We put Harper on the birth certificate. I felt it was the right thing to do." Gwen told him.
Jack, Ianto and Tosh stared from Gwen to Owen and back in complete shock.
"Harper? Why does Edward have Owen's surname?" Tosh asked.
"Well…Tosh don't you remember me and Owen…Edward's sort of…Owen's child." Gwen said, glancing at Rhys who clenched his fist and took a deep breath.
"What? When did you..?" She asked confused.
"Tosh, I'll explain later." Jack told her.
"You knew?"
"Not about the baby being Owen's." Jack answered.
"How come you…hang on. Jack did you retcon me?" She demanded.
"This isn't the time, we'll discuss it later." He answered.
"Were you in on this too, Ianto fucking Jones?" She shouted, standing up and turning to him.
Ianto glanced at Jack nervously.
"I had no idea he did it. I swear Tosh." He told her.
"Sure you didn't. Jack tells you everything for a quick shag in his office." Tosh shouted.
"Tosh! We'll talk later. I think it's best we drop it for now." Jack said firmly.
Tosh huffed and sat back down. She ignored him completely for the rest of the visit.
"Well…erm…yeah, so we decided you had the right to be as much involved in Edward's life as we are." Gwen said, steering the conversation back to the original topic and pretending that what just happened was a figment of her imagination.
"Thank you." Owen nodded gratefully.
He smiled at Gwen which she returned, unnoticed by Rhys. Tosh's rift monitor began to bleep in her pocket. She took it out and checked it.
"We have major rift activity. Something's come through near the dock. We should check this out." She said.
"Come on." Jack nodded. "It was great meeting little Edward. See you soon."
Gwen hugged each of them goodbye. Owen was reluctant to hand Edward over and leave. He passed him to Gwen and had to be pulled away by Ianto.
She heard the SUV drive off and she longed to go with them. It had been so long since she'd last chased an alien through the streets of Cardiff. Rhys saw her gazing out the window and put his arm around her.
"I know you miss it but isn't this worth it? We have a family now. You'll be able to go back soon." Rhys whispered.
"Yeah." She sighed and looked down at Edward. "But it's definitely worth it."
She suddenly had a vision of herself, standing as she was now with Edward in her arms gazing out of the window. But instead of Rhys stood there, it was Owen who had his arm wrapped around her waist. She shook her head to get rid of it. She was with Rhys and she loved him dearly and nothing in the world could change that…but it still didn't stop her loving Owen…