Torchwood and Doctor Who both belong to the BBC, sadly D; I'm so jealous. Enjoy this chapter though, it doesn't get really good until at least the next one, though.
The Torchwood team had felt very empty the last few months. There were only the three of them now - Ianto had left the team when he found a girlfriend, Flora. She had been a part of Torchwood for a brief few months before deciding that she prefered to see the world in all it's innocence. They'd respected her for that – the whole team. She had made the decision knowing the concequences and she'd stood by it. She'd asked for it, not living up to everyone's expectations. In the short time she had been there, though, she'd had quite an affect on Ianto. He was pretty sure he'd fallen in love with her and when she left, he was broken for the next few weeks. He didn't try to hide it. He couldn't come back to the hub at all at first, and when he came back for the first time he realised that this wasn't the same without her and after losing his previous girlfriend to the cybermen, he wasn't willing to lose her. He begged not to be retconned and eventually, the team agreed. Gwen could never do that to him, anyway plus it defeated the point – he wanted to find Flora, to get her to like him like she did all over again. And so, he left Torchwood one night and didn't return. He said his goodbyes to the team and they didn't see him again – he wanted a fresh start. The last the team heard he was engaged to her, and they were happy for him. It was while Jack was away that this had all happened. He'd left his team behind – without so much as a goodbye, an explaination. She was curious as to what had happened to him. She was unbelievably curious about anything so it was killing her not knowing where he was. Gwen was glad he'd left though, in a way. Ianto had had the opportunity to find someone who wouldn't let him down – he'd found happiness. Gwen hadn't, though. She'd split from Rhys. She knew she couldn't marry him but then when her world was turned upside down, when Jack left, he also left her to reevaluate her entire life and more particularly, her love life. She had been so hurt by Jack but she also saw that she didn't love Rhys as much as she'd loved Jack so she attempted to stay on good terms with Rhys and to a certain extent, she'd managed it. They spoke when they met, but that was about it and she was happy with just that. Jack had told her to hold onto that part of her life but Jack had left her and she could make her own decisions. She realised that that was her only argument for staying with Rhys and so, they'd seperated. She'd spoke to Tosh about it and Tosh was quite shocked at the calm in her voice when she told her that she'd expected it to happen for a long time. Owen and Tosh still hadn't managed to get together despite Gwen's determination that they would. She didn't really want to push them though. Every time she came up with the idea it reminded her that it was something Jack would do and it seemed to reopen the whole inside her that didn't seem to be there when she wasn't thinking about him so she never got even as far as planning a way to get them together, never mind carrying it out.
The morning had started uneventfully. Gwen had begun staying at the hub, at least until she'd found her own place and then Tosh had promised she'd set up a program for if there was rift activity during the night. Jack was normally there to sort that out. She sighed at the thought. His office had been locked up and stayed like that since he left. Gwen took to going up to the roof at night, when she was alone, purely to think. To think of the memory of Captain Jack Harkness. He'd meant everything to her and he'd left her. Despite all the sadness she'd suffered though, things weren't all doom and gloom. The team were close now and when Jack left she seemed to have been appointed leader without either asking for it or anyone officially telling her. It just sort of... happened. When there were cases they were investigating, everything got run through her. When the other members of the team had joined Torchwood, they'd wanted to look like they already understood everything about how the team worked whereas Gwen's curiosity always took over. She asked questions, and lots of them and she understood things a lot better for it and this was her opinion on why she'd been appointed 'leader'. That morning she'd woken up in the hub with a full nights sleep, the rift alarm hadn't gone off once. She double checked the alarm to make sure she'd not missed anything, got showered and dressed and found herself in the main part of the hub making coffee to Ianto's perfect instructions he'd laminated and put up by the coffee maker for them. He had Tosh's ready for when she arrived only a few minutes later, right on time. Owen arrived only half an hour later, shockingly early for him and made his own coffee.
They lounged around working on reports and filing for the next two or three hours until everything was officially finished. In so long, they hadn't had any time where everything that needed to be done was done. It just seemed to be a never ending pile but for once there was literally nothing to do. They decided to celebrate, praying for no rift alarms to spoil their enjoyment of the free time. They broke out the wine and beer and had only a glass each, which was shockingly responsible and then put it away again and took to playing card games and not knowing what to do in the quiet, they even tidied up. The rift alarm still hadn't gone off and it still hadn't at ten thirty that night when Owen and Tosh had already gone to their respective homes. It was quiet again the following day with only one or two rift activities until it got to 12.30 when UNIT called. Normally, Gwen would have fobbed them off with excuses why they couldn't help them but they were bored and agreed for once. They were send the details and sat in the meeting room, reading through. It was a club that UNIT suspected where getting their money from illegitimate ways which as first sounded like a police job but the illegal ways were apparently alien related. UNIT had no evidence and wanted an insider. Owen went in first, earpiece in and asked about any jobs they had going. He was told by a young girl that the only vaccancies they had were for dancers like herself and she didn't really think it was his "thing". She was probably right but he couldn't resist a bit of flirting with her. She was wearing an all in one lacy underwear-think, suspenders and fishnet stockings and he was a guy. As soon as he started flirting Tosh took her earpiece out and Gwen could see she was a little... put out. He soon stopped flirting though and after getting to the boss he was told the same again, despite his good efforts of persuasion, considering it was Owen.
He left, getting into the SUV and then talking to them again. "I'm sorry, I tried. One of you's gonna have to go in." Tosh gave her a terrified look immediately. Plus, she would need to be there with the computers. Gwen knew it'd have to be her without anyone telling her which Owen decided to anyway, just to make sure she was aware. Gwen went down to the club, filled with shame and embarassment that she was doing this. They'd called UNIT and said they were too busy but had been talked back into it because UNIT were swamped. Gwen was sent to the boss and after he looked at her pervertedly for most of the interview she left with her job secured. She started the following night after making Tosh promise to turn off any and all CCTV that Owen could get his hands on. At two in the morning, she got back, sent the pair home, wrote her report on the zilch evidence they'd found and eventually, got into the shower. She had hated the job. She didn't even want to think about it. It made her feel ill for guys to look at her but it also brought her alive a little that she could at least make some guys feel something for her, even if only for that night. She didn't sleep with anyone though, she couldn't and wouldn't, it was just nice to know that she could do that now. Her self esteem went out of the window when Jack left. Her rock had left. She'd thought he'd always be there for her – her immortal man. The following night she got dressed in her clothes, if you could call them that and wrapped herself up in her coat. Owen and Tosh had had the day off since they were working all night so she had a bit of time to herself. While the place was quiet, and Owen and Tosh weren't making assumtions she did what she did late at night when she thought of Jack – she went to the roof. She shivered in the cold but ignored it and went over to the edge where she sat down, hanging her legs over the edge. Her silhouette showed against the night sky and all the neon lights from Cardiff below.