--4--

Jack walked softly through the Hub. He enjoyed the silence when everyone had gone home. It was one of the reasons he lived here, cut off from the rest of the world. The other was, of course, that someone had to be here, with so many aliens in the cells, inmates at H.M.P Torchwood.

There was one more tonight.

He looked down at the baby in his arms. She gazed up at him with large brown eyes.

Still not asleep…

He jiggled her some more and wandered through the board room. The Rift readings were still scrolling across the main screen and he stopped to stare at them.

His mind pulled him back at few hours, to Tosh explaining her interpretation of the various spikes on the graph, spouting long words about the physics of Time and Space and Jack had seen from the faces of the others in the room that she'd long since lost them.

"Think of the Rift like a leaky roof," he had told them. "Most of the time, it just drips. Sometimes when it rains heavy, lots of water comes through."

"Such as when the Rift is most active." Tosh had put in. Jack could tell that somewhere under all that professionalism she was a little annoyed at having Jack take over.

"And this…" Jack had gestured to the readings, "is like someone stuffed a whole wad paper in the hole. It'll stop the rain getting in for now but as some point, they'll be too much water behind it and…" he had made a splashing motion with his hands.

"We all get wet." Gwen had added helpfully.

"We need to trace whatever it is that's blocking it." He had told them. "And stop it. Before Cardiff gets drenched."

Tosh had then reeled off on how they could trace it and what sort of equipment could be adapted into a portable version of the computers monitoring the Rift.

It was Gwen was asked the question they were probably all thinking. "Do you think it's Emma?"

"That's a possibility." Jack admitted. "Owen, have you learned anything else about her?"

"Well she's definitely ours. I did a DNA test and the results are a bit weird, but the genes are from us."

There was a heavy silence.

"Which is ironic really," Owen continued. "12 years of safe sex and I still end up lumbered with a kid."

"Anything else?"

The doctor had shaken his head. "Nah. Couple of tests'll have to wait 'til she's bigger."

"We might not have that luxury."

"I know."

Conversation had then turned to the possibilities of their failing to find the cause and how it might affect Cardiff. Safest option might be mass evacuation, but that would take time.

Emma wiggled and made a little noise of annoyance, bringing him back to the here and now and Jack took the hint and started walking her again.

His steps took him back through the Hub, so still and empty now that he could hear the trickle of water beneath his feet.

The baby still didn't sleep.

Gwen lay awake. Rhys snored softly at her side, completely unaware.

He had noticed there was something wrong when she got back home, but she'd told him it was just the combination of a headache and a really long day. He accepted her explanation so readily.

He always did.

She told herself she was sparing his feelings, because if he knew about Emma, about a baby that was the nearest thing to being Gwen's daughter, he would want to see her.

He would want to be part of her life.

And he would want to be here, with them.

Gwen wasn't ready for that. She didn't want a glimpse into everything she'd lost and everything she now couldn't have because of Torchwood.

About 6 months into her relationship with Rhys she had fallen pregnant. Rhys had been stunned, but when the shock had worn off, he'd began making plans – Gwen would have to give up that silly idea about becoming a copper and he'd leave college and go to work for his mates dad. They'd get married and apply for a council house and while they waited for one, they could live with his parents.

It had just been too much.

So Gwen had told the first ever lie she'd ever told Rhys – that her pregnancy had just been a false-alarm and she'd quietly gone for an abortion without his knowing.

She often wondered, if she hadn't have been so deceitful back then at the beginning, she wouldn't be so easy with lying to Rhys now. But she rarely regretted it.

Only sometimes.

Like now…

Gwen turned onto her side, facing away from Rhys and cried.

Owen flopped back onto the bed, hair still dripping from the shower. He'd spent a good half hour under the steaming streams of water and yet he could still smell it on his skin.

Baby stink.

It reminded him of his first year as a medical student and this single mum he'd dated. God she'd been gorgeous, but even after she'd put on the expensive perfume he gave her, he could still smell that peculiarly sweet mix of baby-vomit, breast-fed baby-poo, baby powder and curdled milk that had clung to her skin.

Bloody off-putting, it was.

He sniffed himself again, just to be sure.

He could still smell it. And he hadn't a hope of getting some kip while he did.

He opened the drawer in his bedside cabinet, pushed aside the packets of condoms, the bottle of Astroglide and the medical journal he was reading to pull out his prescription pad.

He was going to get some sleep tonight. Even if he had to prescribe himself some Tamazipam to do it.

Ianto took Jack's coffee into his office and put it on his desk. Jack didn't look up to offer any surprise that Ianto was here so early or any thanks, not that Ianto was expecting any. He never did.

But that didn't mean it wouldn't be nice to hear, once in a while.

Jack reached out to take the coffee. The motion pulled the cuff of his shirt up, revealing his wrist strap. It was blinking now, in Morse code.

Dot, dot, dot, dash, dash, dash, dot, dot, dot… over and over again.

SOS.

Jack caught Ianto's gaze and covered the signal.

"You haven't told the others, have you?"

Jack gave no reply. He simply returned to his writing.

Ianto paused a moment, aware of the travel cot pushed against one wall. From the odd snuffles coming from inside, he guessed the baby was awake. He wanted to look at her, but couldn't bear the thought of making her cry.

"She's got your cheekbones." Jack said.

Ianto straightened.

Jack got up and came over. "You've got great cheekbones."

He took Ianto's face in his hands and gently began kissing along the delicate structure he'd just admired.

Even before the stopwatch came out, Ianto had forgotten all about the SOS.

TBC

Is anyone still reading??