Chapter 4

Gwen had turned into quite the mother hen and Jack had little patience for it right now. She had come into his private space to see why he wasn't answering her calls. It wasn't a surprising move considering she'd threatened to do it the past three times this had happened.

There had been weevils to catch and another pterodactyl had been spotted in the previous two months. Not to mention that the base had been having electrical problems they still couldn't seem to fix. They'd been happening for months now, but no one could find exactly what wire or circuit kept shorting. It was beginning to affect their computers.

While Jack felt the rest of the team could have dealt with the situations on their own, Gwen had lectured him several times about how they were new and needed guidance and help and blah, blah, blah. Apparently he was supposed to be on call for their needs, especially because Gwen had her own child to tend to.

Jack had soothed her as best he could without revealing why sometimes he didn't respond to phone calls late at night. His common excuse was that he was becoming a heavy sleeper. He certainly didn't tell her about the alien device lying next to his bed or all the times he'd escaped to the arms of a man alive only in his memories.

She'd accepted his claims with a scowl. It was like she knew he was hiding something but was willing to play along. He'd been smiling more often than when he put Torchwood back together. Jack had gone out with Isaac a few times, had a couple flings with some women or so he'd said. He had a renewed focus on Torchwood and the work they did. Day by day, the ol' Captain Jack was returning. They were good reasons to turn a blind eye to his occasional unreliability. Until tonight, of course, when Mel had to call her because Jack wasn't answering his phone yet again. It had been a rather chaotic night at the Williams residence and the added disturbance from Torchwood had been far from appreciated by mother Gwen.

Her frustration had led her straight to Jack's room, where she discovered him sprawled over his bed with the memory chip stuck to his temple.

He had been ripped out of a very steamy memory to see Gwen standing over him. She didn't wait for him to adjust to reality before giving him what for. Her anger made the events a bit of a blur. He was sure she'd slapped him at least once, but her words were coming out too fast for his mind, still in a memory-haze, to follow.

"Gwen, will you just calm down?" That was the wrong thing to say. Her speech slowed down so he could understand her, but the hostility was tangible.

"Calm down? Jack, you're using alien technology and ignoring the people who care about you, who need you. You know this is wrong," she said still holding the chip between her finger and thumb. Gwen waved it at him accusingly. "How many times do you warn us, Jack? How many times do you say 'Trust me, it's dangerous' and all this time you've been strapping this to yourself?"

"That," he pointed at the device, "doesn't hurt anyone. And it's none of your business what I do on my time."

"Your time? What about Torchwood's time? What about all those nights I've had to leave Rhys caring for a crying baby because you couldn't answer a call and Mel or Andy needed help? What about my time, Jack?"

He rolled his eyes. "I give you plenty of time off to spend with Rhys and your kid—"

"His name is Ianto. Why won't you ever call him that?"

Jack ignored the question, not liking its answer. "I've been more than generous to you and everyone else here. I want a little time to myself and you act like it's a sin."

"This isn't what Ianto would have wanted. You know that. Let me lock this up," she pleaded with him.

"Ianto's dying wish was not to be forgotten so don't tell me what he would have wanted," he said through clenched teeth.

"This thing isn't going to bring him back. You have to let him go."

Jack let out a vicious laugh. "You think I don't know that. He's dead, Gwen and he's never coming back."

"What you're doing—"

"Is my business. No one gets hurt. Nothing bad happens. Why don't I deserve something for everything I put with? You get Rhys and family. Mel has her brother. Andy has what's-her-name. Who do I get?"

The brunette shook her head, tears gathering in her eyes. "You got us, Jack. You always have." She took a step closer, searching for understanding. "You don't need some bloody chip and memories; you have real people who care about you."

"Give me my chip back," Jack said, outstretching his hand.

"No, you don't need this." Gwen turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm.

"You forget I'm your boss. Now I'm ordering you to hand over my property." His grip was slightly tighter than it needed to be to keep her from exiting, but he wanted her to understand the situation. He would only let go when he had the chip.

"Jack," she started to say, but stopped when she saw his expression. There were no words to change his mind, no actions to make him see reason. Gwen looked down at the cause of the problem. The device practically glimmered even in the dark room. It looked so innocent, so harmless, and so hard to break. A tiny square of metal that had made Jack happier these last several months, hadn't it?

"There's always a price," Gwen warned him as she placed the chip in his waiting hand.

"I know," he said while releasing her arm. "I always pay it."