Chapter Four
Gwen pulled off her facemask and climbed out of the water. It was lucky for her that she managed to find this air pocket and then the rock jutting out up above the waterline with its small shelf.
Taking a deep breath, Gwen checked her air supply; 5 minutes left.
'Bloody hell!' she thought. 'What have I done!'
"Okay," she said out loud. "Think Cooper. They'll be looking for you." A slight smile crossed her lips at the very thought. "They won't stop until they find you."
Leaning back against the cave wall, Gwen waited.
Checking her divers watch, Gwen calculated that she'd been sitting on the ledge for over two hours. She started to shiver as the cave became colder. All she could think about was Rhys.
While Jack was gone for the year that never was, Rhys had proposed to her and she'd accepted. When Jack returned, she'd felt a pang of regret, until she saw the way Jack looked at Ianto and Ianto at Jack.
No, Rhys was the one for her.
TWTWTW
"It'll be dark in 4 hours," said Owen. "We need to find her!" He turned to look at Ianto. "How did you lose her? Did she swim off? Did you try and follow Jack? What?"
Just then, Tosh and Jack came down from his office.
"Leave Ianto alone, Owen," said Jack angrily.
"That's it, protect your office shag!"
"That's enough!" admonished Jack. "It was my fault. You wanna blame someone, blame me!"
Owen threw his hands up. "Arh!"
TWTWTW
Putting her facemask back on, Gwen got back into the water. If she wanted to get out of this alive, she'd have to save herself.
Diving, Gwen kicked as hard as she could and made her way out of the cave. It was dark and Gwen had to feel her way out. Once in the open water, she kicked for the surface.
As she gasped for air, Gwen spied the light on the buoy and headed for it.
The sky was a pink colour and the air smelt of rain.
Gwen wasn't sure how long she'd clung to the buoy or when she lost consciousness, but then she opened her eyes, she was lying on a gurney in Accident and Emergency.
TWTWTW
Almost twelve hours after Gwen disappeared, Jack got a phone call from the police to say that Gwen had been picked up by a fishing boat and was at the hospital. He moved to the platform outside his office and looked down.
"They've found Gwen! She's alive and well at the hospital."
Owen punched the air and then hugged Tosh. Ianto was curled into a fetal position on the couch. Jack wasn't sure if he was awake or sleeping. Going down to sit on the coffee table, Jack touched the younger man's face.
"They found Gwen," he said once Ianto opened his eyes.
The younger man's hair was damp with sweat.
"It'll be okay. You'll see." Jack told him.
"I know."
TBC
