It's winter and cold. Gwen doesn't want to go, but she knows she has to. There have been too deaths linked to the same spot as the most recent rift spike, a spike that came from side of Mount Snowdon.
She asks Jack whether someone else can go, but he gives her those puppy dog eyes and she folds. It makes sense that she should be the one to go as Ianto and Owen are both working on a project, and Tosh is more use to all of them if she is left to work on her own.
Together, Jack and Gwen gather the supplies: cold weather gear, rucksacks filled with essentials like first aid kits and food, and, of course, weapons. It takes only minutes to pack the SUV and for them to hit the road. The ride is quiet and Gwen spends much of it just staring out the window, wondering how Rhys was doing without her.
They reach the mountains sooner than she thinks they would, and she is quick to get out and grab her gear. The air outside the car hits her hard. It's bitter cold and stings her cheeks. A shiver passes through her, and she clutches her arms around her midsection to hold in the little heat left.
Jack locks the SUV and they head out toward a small path in the trees. Jack leads the way, scanner held out in front of him. There is a little snow on the ground, and Jack walks through it with no problem while Gwen walks carefully trying not to slip, but it doesn't take long for Jack to gain a signicant lead. He's beginning to look like a dot in the distance and Gwen tries to step it up to catch him.
Even though she is focused on the ground, she still manages to slip. Losing her footing with a yelp, she slips down the embankment, coming to rest at the bottom with a thud. She tried to move her leg but whimpers in pain. Looking down she can see where her pant leg is bunched up and a stick is pressed against her leg.
She grabs at the bottom of her jeans and pulls the material up further, exposing a large gash. It's not bleeding badly, but the stick was dirty and she knows it could get easily infected.
She hears Jack calling in the distance, and she looks up, quickly pulling her pant leg over the wound. The last thing she wants is to be the reason they don't find this thing that's killing people.
"Gwen, are you all right?" Jack calls, making his way to her.
Gwen forces a smile, brushing her hands off on jeans. "Yeah, I think I'm okay. Just bumped my leg a bit, but no big deal."
Jack purses his lips, looking her over, like he's deciding whether to believe her or to turn around right then and head back. Whatever he sees seems to be enough to convince him she's fine, and he holds out a hand to help her up.
Gwen takes it and lets him help her up. He puts an arm around her waist and steadies her a bit. He looks her over again, his gaze stopping on the crumpled pant leg and the touch of blood there.
He immediately bends down to look at it, but Gwen steps back, putting up a hand to stop him.
"I'm fine, Jack," she says, looking him in the eye. "Really, I'm okay."
He hesitates for a moment but then nods. "If you're sure, but let's take it easy, all right?"
She smiles. "Yeah, let's go find this thing."
They begin their walk again and this time it's a bit slower, and she is thankful for that as her leg is throbbing. If Jack notices her slight limp, he doesn't say anything; instead, he just keeps an arm on her elbow and helps her walk.
They trudge on through the snow until they reach a clearing. The scanner beeps and Jack pauses, looking around.
"We're close," he says, brow furrowed in concentration.
He walks around the clearing, scanner held high.
Gwen shifts her weight from her bad leg and watches him, gun drawn. Jack takes a step toward the edge of the tree line, and then he suddenly disappears with a horrific crash.
"Jack!" Gwen screams, running forward, all the pain in her leg forgotten.
She makes her way to where Jack last stood and looks down. About thirty feet down is Jack, bleeding from his head, body lying on a pile of rocks. He isn't moving and Gwen's chest goes tight. Without thinking, she makes her way over to the side of the hill and begins a slow descent.
She keeps her eyes on Jack as she draws nearer. He isn't breathing.
She grabs a sapling and tries to slide down the final few feet but she slips and lands in a heap on the ground, twisting her back painfully.
She reaches back and touches her sore back, feeling for any damage. When her hand comes away clean, without any blood, she straightens herself out, wincing as she does.
She crawls over to Jack, pain shooting down her legs. "Jack! Jack! You need to wake up!"
She feels like she's talking to herself, and she realizes that she probably is. With the way Jack's neck is twisted and the blood dribbling from his ears, she knows he is dead. And that means she is all alone.
She reaches for her phone only to find the pocket empty. It must have fallen out when she fell.
She shivers and pulls her hands into her sleeves. Her hands are cold and her clothes damp from the melting snow. She sits and watches Jack, waiting for him to breathe, to come back and help her; because whether she wants to admit it or not, she is hurting and needs help. There is no way she is getting out of there without his help.
The pain in her back is really beginning to hurt her and she bites at her lip. The sun is starting to set and Jack still isn't moving, not even a twitch. Her eyes begin to tear and her lip quivers. She thinks of Rhys and of home and of her warm bed. She misses her bed.
Why won't Jack wake up?
Her shivers have become violent, bone rattling shakes and she pulls herself into a tight ball, resting her cheek on her knees. The pain from her back has become her only companion; as long as she feels it she knows she's still alive, but she can't help wonder how much longer that will be. Night is setting in and the air is growing even colder.
As the sun dips below the horizon, she closes her eyes and prays that this won't be the last sunset she sees.
She wakes sometime later and it's dark and incredibly cold. She can see her breath in the moonlight and wonders how long she slept. She feels hot and achy. Her instincts are telling her to open her jacket and cool down but she knows this is a bad idea. Something doesn't seem right.
She goes to adjust the position of her legs and gasps in pain. It's not her back anymore but her leg. It feels tight and hot and wrong. Something is very wrong.
A groan catches her attention, and she turns to see Jack lift his head. He pushes himself up, a big Harkness grin on his face, but it falls when his eyes catch sight of Gwen.
He jumps down and is quickly at her side. "Gwen? What happened? Are you hurt?"
She blinks at him, trying to get the question straight in her mind, but can't, so instead she just says, "Hey, Jack."
He brushes his fingers over her forehead and then pauses, pressing his palm to her head. "You're hot."
Gwen raises her brow. "You never stop do you?"
Jack's face is all seriousness and concern. "No, you're running a fever. Are you hurt anywhere?'
"I fell trying to get to you, but I only twisted my back, nothing else."
He purses his lips and then presses his fingers to her neck, taking her pulse. "It's a bit fast."
"I think I'm fine, just sore. Can we get out of her now before we freeze to death. Not all of us come back from that you know."
Jack nods and slips an arm under her shoulders, lifting her up. "Easy now."
Gwen puts her weight on her bad leg and then falls back in pain. "Ahhh! Hurts."
Jack catches her under the arms and lowers her back down. "What is it, Gwen?"
"My leg," Gwen says, motioning to her injured limb. "It's my leg. I almost forgot. It was only a scrape though, nothing too bad."
Jack kneels down and pushes her pant leg up, his face goes tight and he swallows. "This is bad Gwen, this couldn't have happened coming to find me. It's too infected."
"I did it when we first left the car, when I slipped."
"Why didn't you say something?"
"I didn't want to slow you down."
Jack shakes his head. "Okay, this needs attention now, and there is no way you're walking out on that."
Gwen suddenly feels overly emotional, and tears well in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I screwed everything up, Jack."
He cups her cheek. "Shhh, it's okay. None of this is your fault. Now, just try to relax. I'm going to go up the hill a bit and see if I can get a signal."
A shiver wracks her body and Jack notices. "Here," Jack says, slipping off his coat. "Take this." He lays the coat over her and tucks it in. "I don't need it."
"Thank you."
Jack gives her a wide smile and then disappears up into the trees, he returns a few minutes later looking triumphant. "Help is on its way. Got a hold of Owen and he gave me some instructions too. I need to keep you warm and still until he gets here."
Gwen sighs in relief and closes her eyes. That sounds easy enough. She is so tired all she wants to do is sleep.
"Oh no you don't," Jack says from beside her. "No sleeping, not yet, okay?'
"I'm tired."
"I know, but you need to stay awake for a little while longer."
Gwen shivers and Jack sighs. He reaches behind her and lifts her up gently. "I'm going to sit behind you so you can lean on me, help warm you up a bit."
She nods and tries to lean forward to let Jack in behind her, but the movement makes both her leg and back flare in pain. She whimpers and squeezes her eyes shut.
"Easy, Gwen, let me do the work."
Jack's body is warm and soft and makes her sigh in relief. It feels good on her aching body. He wraps his arms around her and she snuggles back against him.
Her eyelids feel heavy, and she hears Jack calling her name, but she can't seem to pull herself from the sleepy haze. She just wants to sleep, if only for a moment.
She drifts off to the sound of Jack's voice. He's shouting her name; it almost sounds like he's crying.
She wakes to the dull beeping of monitors and whispered voices. She slowly opens her eyes and looks around the room. The lights have been dimmed and but she can tell she's in a hospital. She tries to think back to the last thing she can remember but all she can recall is snow and blood and Jack not waking. She can't remember how she got there.
A hand squeezes her own and she looks down and smiles. Rhys is there holding her hand. He has dark circles under his eyes but he smiles and looks relieved.
"Hey there, sweetheart," he says. "About time you joined us."
Gwen smiles and squeezes his hand back. "How did I get here?"
"Jack called for help. The team was able to get you guys out of there, but you were pretty banged up. That was two days ago."
Gwen's eyes go wide. "Two days?"
Rhys frowns. "Yeah, that leg of yours was pretty infected, got into your blood. Thankfully Owen was able to stabilize you on the way to the hospital. We've all been really worried. Jack paced the hall until the nurse threw him out."
"And you've been here this whole time?" Gwen asks.
Rhys smiles wanly. "Of course, where else would I be?"
Yawning, Gwen closes her eyes and drifts back off to sleep, knowing that she has her friends and family there to take care of her.