Myfanwy's sullen screeches bounced off the thick metal walls of the hub, accentuating the lifeless silence within the Torchwood Institute. Above the large area in which the pterodactyl's lonely cries could be heard, a transparent room hung in the air, proudly held high like a King above his people, like a rare diamond hanging from a thread of gold. Inside of this royal room sat a man wearing a blue shirt and red braces, who at first glance seemed to merely be cradling his drink - however on closer inspection his smiling sapphire blue eyes seemed to be lost in thought and hold a great loneliness in their depths. Captain Jack Harkness; a man who despite his inability to die, rarely felt truly alive, those precious moments in which he felt all of the amazing, beautiful and terrifying emotions that a human should feel - she was there. She, the love of his immortal life, who was to be married that day.

Jack sighed morosely as he watched the amber contents of his glass swirl around, each droplet dancing with his or her partner mockingly in front of his eyes; his grip on the glass tightened with emotion in effort not to think of her; and tears glazed his eyes momentarily, making his lake-blue eyes dull to a park pond grey. Seconds later he gave up and threw the contents to the back of his throat, pursing his lips and smiling grimly as the liquid burned the lining of his throat. Bathing in the satisfying pain from the alcohol, which steered his thoughts away from Gwen, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes listening to Ianto's soft update on the wedding. The wedding that he was invited to, the wedding which he hated with passion and the wedding in which he would lose the woman he loved, forever. Jack bit back a sob and ran his shaking hands through his unruly hair, stopping and clenching the hair at the back of his head in frustration.

He groaned in pure unhappiness then started pacing his office, thrusting his hands into his trouser pockets, unaware that he was being watched. After a few minutes the additional presence had obviously gotten bored of watching the Captain wear away the wooden flooring and cleared his throat, alerting Jack to his audience. Jack froze mid-step, his hand automatically hovering over his gun and his eyes snapped up to see a familiar face. The legs that accompanied the familiar face made a move to step towards Jack but tripped over one another instead, throwing the rest of the body to the floor. A tall, thin man with thoroughly tossed hair was now sweeping away the imaginary dust that had attatched itself to his brown suede trench coat when he fell. Normally Jack would have been tempted to comment on the man's ridiculously messy hair and embarrassing entrance, but today he seemed to lack any sense of humour; though it didn't stop him from feeling the warm glow that filled him as he recognised the handsome man who once again stood in his doorway.

"Doctor." Jack smiled, the happiness fighting to reach his eyes.

"Jack," The Doctor frowned, analysing Jacks strange behaviour. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." The answer was immediate, causing the lie to be noticed.

"Jack..." The Doctor chided gently, looking at him over his thick-rimmed glasses. The Doctor straightened up and pushed Jack into his chair, taking the seat opposite him so that he could look him in the eyes.

There was something about the Doctor that you just couldn't say no to, so Jack explained.

"Gwen; one of my team, is getting married today. Right now actually."

Jack chuckled dryly whereas the Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't you be there?"

Jack quickly averted his eyes for a moment.

"Someone needed to guard the hub so-" Jack winced at the Doctors pointed look and said in resignation. "Because it would hurt too much."

When the Doctor motioned for him to explain Jack covered his face with his hands and mumbled something that the Doctor thought to be "Mike loves Cher", though it seemed unlikely, for Cher and Mike weren't supposed to have the affair for another 4 years... Just to make sure, he asked Jack to repeat himself, which led Jack to stand up, pace and explain.

"When I first met Gwen I immediately felt connected to her. Her smile, her eyes, her laugh, her hair, her personality, her voice..." Jack smiled as he trailed off. "And without any rational reasons I invited her to Torchwood. A year later she brought me back to life a while after my death with one kiss, I could feel her in the darkness..."

Here Jack trailed off, seemingly lost in his own world, giving the Doctor time to silently ponder over his words, how she had brought him back to life like that...he hadn't hear of that happening since Gallifr-

"... the connection had grown to the point that when I travelled with you it physically ached. When I returned it was obvious that she had also felt something, but this time there was no need to push her away because she was engaged. I tried so hard to be happy for her but I just couldn't... I can't".

The Doctor sighed, massaging his head with his fingertips. 'He must have said 'I love her' before!!! not 'Mike loves Cher'...Why do humans always have to ramble on and ON! His first explanation was in three words, and it was just as effective!' Anyway... Back to the problem at hand. Boy loves girl. Girl loves boy. Girl does die. Boy doesn't die...

"It's like a love triangle with Death!" The Doctor quietly appreciated.

"You love her?"

Jack nodded.

"You want to keep her safe and hold her for as long as you can?"

Jack nodded wearily.

"Tell her."

Jack rolled his eyes and was thinking of whether a wall or a gun would be more effective at knocking him out when Owen's voice vibrated painfully in his right ear; loud enough for Jack to wince and the Doctor to raise an eyebrow.

"She said no! Gwen! The bride of Torchwood just did a bloody runner! It's brilliant, bloody fantastic! Now this my friends is why I dogo to weddings! Wish i'd of had a camer-" Owen stopped ranting and you could here him getting scolded by someone, making Jack and the Doctor chuckle.

Jack turned the volume on his comm. down then exchanged hopeful glances with the Doctor, both of which were tinged with worry.

"Owen."

Jack cleared his throat and repeated himself when he failed to stop arguing with the woman he'd just been scolded by.

"Where's she gone?"

The Doctor didn't catch the reply, and was about to ask when an alarm shattered the relative silence of the hub. Jack grabbed his faithful coat and ran to check the computer. The Doctor followed and listened to Jack mutter under his breath as he watched the screen.

"Rift activity... not normal... shouldn't have... looks like... hmm... no... Tyndall.."

The doctor studied the screen over his 'smart glasses'.

"GWEN!" Jack exclaimed in horror. He spun around to face the Doctor, face grim. "You will stay here. Grab a comm. from my desk and wait for the explanation, then you will help me and my team."

Without letting the Doctor reply, Jack spun on his heel, giving his aged military coat a dramatic flare, and strode out of the door.

The Doctor gaped for a while before retrieving a comm. from the desk and taking a seat in front of the computer screen like Jack had said, putting the comm. on in time to hear Jack's explanation for his hasty exit.

"-unusual rift activity down Tyndall. That's where Gwen is, or should be." The worry was evident in his voice. "Tosh, Owen, Ianto send the guests home and get back to the hub. Doctor, meet the team. And re-" He heard the SUV screech to a stop and a car door slam shut.

There was silence until Jack whispered one terrifying word.

"Daleks."

The was a pained scream, then the signal went dead.