Chapter Four

Gwen Cooper had watched Jack Harkness and his writing partner closely as they mingled with people at her party; she had wanted to meet with them to hear what they had for her so far and to give them a deadline. What they had produced for her had been good and she could incorporate her own style within the song, but she needed more, and she needed it quickly. She was glad that she had Jack Harkness writing for her, she had really enjoyed both him and his music when she had been younger, and his music was still one of her guilty pleasures. That didn't mean though that if he didn't deliver the goods for her that she wouldn't go elsewhere, her album was almost finished, she just needed this one song, and she had several different artists working on a song for her. She had to admit though, that of all that she had heard so far that the collaboration of Hack Harkness and Ianto Jones had produced the best effort so far, and that she really wanted Jack to come through for her. She could just picture the two of them together on stage singing the song that he had put together for her. It would need remixing a bit for her style, but she was sure that Andy, her manager, could have that done easily, he knew all the right people after all.

She'd watched as they mingled and she could tell that although Jack seemed to be enjoying himself that Ianto wasn't having such a good time, he looked awkward, as though he didn't fit in, and to be honest he didn't. He stuck out a bit like a sore thumb, but this had to be is first party of this type so she could overlook his awkwardness, she was sure that he would fit in better at her album launch, even if she had to get Toshiko to work with him beforehand. She had heard that Jack's agent was a miracle worker from Andy, the other man had even recommended the woman if she didn't want to work with him, but the woman was very selective with her clients, and only actually had the one; Jack.

Gwen had surreptitiously kept an eye on the two men throughout the rest of the party, while enjoying herself thoroughly, it wasn't that often that she got to just enjoy herself. She was after all a really busy person, trying to change the world, or the teenage world, one song at a time. It was something that she enjoyed doing, she loved her music and her fans, but at times it was good just to step back even if only for the one night and let loose. At least with this party she had only invited people she knew, celebrity or otherwise, and had completely banned the press, this party was just for fun, and maybe a little business, but that couldn't be helped. She had given Jack and Ianto her orders for the song just before they left and informed them that she would be waiting for them to provide her with a complete demo of the song before she left to go to the studio the next evening. She knew that it wasn't much time, only a few hours really, but she had every confidence that the two men could do it, even if they weren't completely happy about it.

It was obvious to her that Ianto wasn't exactly happy with the changes that she wanted to make to the track, he was obviously someone who liked to keep the integrity of a piece by staying true to how it was written, but both she and her music were all about interpretation, and she wasn't about to change because some novice songwriter wanted his lyrics to be presented in a certain way. She had wondered if they would come through for her in the end, the fact that Jack seemed quite willing to allow her to remix their work when Ianto wasn't, but the other man was an artist as well, he knew the need for interpretation in their line of work, he would convince Ianto, she was positive of it.

Meeting with Jack that evening had been eye opening, he had come alone to meet her, but he wasn't completely focused on their meeting and she knew that something must have happened between him and Ianto as the other man had neglected to come with him. The song was finished though and it would fit in perfectly on her album, even as it was, that wasn't to say that she wasn't going to remix it to fit with her style, maybe she would have two copies of the song. As she listened to it she picked Jack's vocals out easily, but she had been surprised that Ianto had not been singing her part of the vocals, but then again, she didn't know if the other man could actually sing, instead Toshiko had sung the other parts of the song.

It didn't really matter to Gwen anyway, as far as she was concerned Ianto had played his part and was now surplus to requirements, she didn't need him for anything else she had the song, Jack was the one she needed now. He still had to record the song with her, and she wasn't going to allow him to back out of it. She didn't think that he would though, she knew as well as he did that this was his only real chance of becoming known again anytime soon. She wouldn't be completely happy about the fact that he was riding on her coattails a bit, but he would also be bringing another market to her music, the elder generation that remembered Torchwood fondly, and Jack in particular.

Gwen made sure that Jack was made aware of all the details for all the coming appearances and things that he needed to do. Her manager Andy was really thorough about these things, liaising with Toshiko almost seamlessly to make sure that their schedules worked with each other. Jack would record with her the next day in the studio and in two nights time he would get up on stage with her and sing the duet in front of her biggest concert audience yet to promote the launch of her new album. She left after making sure that he had the details, she had things to do before she met with him the next day, and she needed to make sure that she got her beauty sleep.