Five Go Mad in 1969
Chapter Seven
It was only when Ianto was opening up the chandler's shop that he remembered. The talk he had planned with Jack about Tad returning as a Ghost had, once again, been postponed.
It had been late when they had dropped Gwen and Owen off at their respective homes and driven back to the flat. Jack had left Ianto to get supper while tackling the spare room. He had packed all John's belongings into his kitbag – minus the stash of cocaine which had been flushed down the toilet – and stripped the bed. Over cheese on toast on their knees, shared with Myfanwy who was displeased at being left alone all evening, Jack had coaxed Ianto into talking about the previous evening. Later, Jack had held him close and soothed away the Welshman's lingering anxieties. Too tired for sex, they had gone to sleep in one another's arms until woken by the alarm.
Sitting behind the counter in the shop, Ianto wondered why he hadn't spoken over breakfast. After keeping quiet for so long, he now felt it was urgent to speak up. Why? Probably because of what Mr Sato and Sandra had said at the briefing. Ianto wanted to convince Jack that the Ghosts were harmless before he tackled the rest of the team. He had to do it soon. The jangle of the door bell interrupted his thoughts and he smiled at the customer.
"Morning. How may I help you, sir?"
-ooOoo-
In Penarth, Gwen woke slowly after a good night's sleep and lay planning her day. She had still not spoken to Rhys. He had not been at work yesterday or answering the telephone at home. His boss said Rhys was sick but Gwen didn't believe that, he was probably holed up in the flat nursing his wounds. She needed to go round and talk to him, face him like she had faced Owen. Swinging her legs out of the bed, she sat for a moment then caught sight of herself in the wardrobe mirror. Slowly she stood up staring at her distended stomach.
She was pregnant.
For the next hour she played hide and seek with her parents. First was a dash to the bathroom to relieve the pressure on her bladder. Locking herself in, she examined her 'bump' from every angle or as much as she could see. She looked just like Rhiannon had when carrying David. But how? She hadn't been pregnant yesterday and now she looked like she was going to give birth any moment. But how! Her mind was a whirl. Fretting, she got back to her bedroom without being seen. She needed help but the telephone was downstairs. Gwen stayed in the bedroom, hungry and fretting, and heard her father leave for work. Half an hour later, Mrs Cooper tapped on the door.
"Come in." Gwen was lying on her side in the bed clutching a pillow in front of her.
"Aren't you going to work, love?" Mrs Cooper remained concerned about Gwen but knew better than to pry. She assumed it was pre-wedding jitters although her distress had been extreme.
"Late start today, as I worked last night."
"You keep such strange hours. Still, no need to stay in bed all morning. How about coming with me to the shops?"
Gwen clung tighter to the bedclothes imagining them being whipped from her to reveal her swollen belly. "No, thanks. I'll have a bath in a bit. Be up and dressed when you get back."
"Don't make a mess in the bathroom. And put the wet towels on the radiator to dry." Mrs Cooper picked up some discarded clothes and straightened the curtains. "Toshiko will be back today. You must be looking forward to seeing her again."
"Yes, I am." Gwen was not as sure as she sounded. Toshiko still cared for Owen and would be hurt to find out Gwen had slept with him. As to what she would make of Gwen being pregnant, that was anyone's guess.
"Shall I run the bath for you?"
"No, thanks. I'll have another few minutes."
Eventually Mrs Cooper went downstairs and shortly after was on her way to the shops. Gwen heaved a sigh of relief as she watched her go then dashed downstairs, almost toppling over with the unaccustomed weight she was carrying. It felt like a beer barrel strapped to her front. She dialled the familiar number, drumming her fingers until it was answered. "Ianto, I need help."
"What's wrong?"
"I need a doctor. Get Martin here and –"
"Slow down, Gwen. Are you ill?"
"Yes. Get Martin here now!" she ground out.
"If it's that urgent, Owen is nearer. He's off today and only round the corner." He waited.
"All right, get him! I don't care who it is, just get them here before Mam comes back!"
-ooOoo-
Jack took the Land Rover and headed out to Penarth. He drove fast and arrived only twenty minutes or so after Gwen had called in. What had gone wrong? She had been fine last night. Had she had an allergic reaction to the drugs? He smiled imagining her turned bright green. He parked in the street and walked round to the back of the house, remembering summer days spent playing tennis and just hanging out. Letting himself in, he followed voices upstairs. He stopped in the doorway, his jaw hanging open. This was some allergic reaction!
In the bedroom Gwen was sitting on the bed with Owen kneeling in front of her. He had a stethoscope pressed to her distended stomach which bulged out from between the pink top and black pyjama bottoms. Owen switched to a small scanner then said, "Gwen, you're pregnant. Almost full term."
"Pregnant? That's not possible," she complained. She stood up, pushing Owen aside.
"Ah, Gwen …" Jack was also pushed out of the way as Gwen stalked from the room and went downstairs. He shrugged and followed her, Owen tagging along behind.
In the kitchen she got a large glass of water and drank it down. Until Owen had said she was pregnant she had been able to pretend it wasn't true. It was a dream, one she would wake up from any time now. She pinched herself but nothing changed. She turned to face Jack and Owen.
"Jack, will you tell me what's going on? Owen says I'm pregnant."
"You think?" He grinned, couldn't help himself. Her large belly was in full view pressed against the table.
"What with!" This was worse that an nightmare. As if her life wasn't complicated enough.
"Exobiological insemination," said Owen. He spent a lot of his off-duty time in the Hub helping Martin and becoming familiar with the Torchwood facilities. He also read up on past alien encounters and had learnt a lot. Despite his dislike of babies, he had been fascinated by this form of cross-species insemination.
"That alien last night," said Jack, putting two and two together.
Gwen was having none of it. "It bit me, that's all." A sudden craving hit her. Opening the fridge she took out a large jar of gherkins.
"I've heard of these things happening. Some species pass an egg sac by mouth. A sneaky way of keeping the bloodline going." Jack winced when she bit into the gherkin. He hated the slimy things and couldn't bear to see her eating them with such relish.
Owen tried to be reassuring. "Listen, Gwen, you're going to be fine, I promise. If there was any biological incompatibility you would be dead. Now, according to this scan you're carrying a non-sentient blastopheric mass -"
"A what!" she demanded.
"It's a kind of alien egg. But don't worry, I'm going to look after you. I promise."
"There are procedures for this," said Jack. His initial amusement had faded in the face of her obvious distress.
"You mean this has happened before?"
"You've heard of immaculate conception, haven't you? Well …" He pointed to her belly.
"There's stuff in the archives about it," said Owen. "There have been a few cases over the years so we know what to do. We take you to the Hub and run you through a … bioxenic microtron I think it's called."
"You think!" said Gwen. She finished one gherkin and reached for another.
Jack moved round the table and stopped her, putting the lid back on the jar. "He'll check the details when we get there. Right now, I think we should leave before your mom gets back. Here, put this on." He shrugged out of the greatcoat he always wore even in mid-summer and helped her put it on. It was large enough to cover her completely, bump and all.
"I need some shoes," she said. Picking up the jar of gherkins, she went into the hall and the row of outside footwear. "I can't see my feet," she wailed.
"Let me." Jack bent down and exchanged slippers for shoes.
"I need to write a note or Mam'll worry." Gwen scribbled on the pad by the telephone while Owen locked the back door. "Get my bag, Jack. Okay, ready."
"Let's go," said Jack.
-ooOoo-
Toshiko thoroughly enjoyed the train journey from Cambridge to London. She wouldn't be coming this way again, not regularly, and she sat at the window watching familiar landmarks. The housing estate that she had first seen as a cleared field. Factory chimneys belching out smoke. Glimpses of people in gardens and towns. She was going to miss it all.
At Kings Cross she was met by her grandfather and aunts. They crowded round and made a fuss of her before taking charge of her luggage – two cases and a large trunk – and treated her to lunch at a restaurant close by. After making her promise to visit soon, they took her to Paddington. She hung out of the window and waved until the train pulled out of the station. After such a good lunch, she was tired and missed some of the landmarks as she dozed in a corner seat only rousing properly when the train neared Cardiff. She alighted from near the goods wagon where the luggage had been stowed and was surprised to find Stuart McGregor waiting for her.
"Hi, Mac. Where's Dad?"
"Delayed. His apologies and will I do?" He smiled, thinking how lovely she looked in the shaft of sunlight coming through the station roof.
"Of course." She buried her disappointment and turned to check with the porter who was getting her cases. The trunk had already been unloaded. "It's those two, the brown ones," she said.
"Och, you don't travel light, dae ye?" said Mac. "I'll need a hand to get these to the car," he said to the porter.
In the end it took two porters to manhandle the trunk down the stairs while Mac took the cases. Toshiko followed behind and tipped the porters once the luggage was stowed in the Land Rover. Getting into the front seat, Toshiko looked around at the people coming and going in front of them and up at the Cardiff Arms Park stadium. This was her home now and she was happy to be here.
"What's the emergency?" she asked as they eased into the traffic.
"You'll no' believe this one," he said with a laugh. "I'm tae take you to the Hub, if you're nae too tired."
"Dad needs me? Of course, no problem. But what is it?"
"You'll have tae see it tae believe it."
-ooOoo-
Gwen was unbearable. Martin had poked and prodded her and confirmed Owen's diagnosis. She was carrying an alien egg and had all the side effects: a constant need to pee, back ache, food cravings, swollen ankles and unstable hormones. As the day progressed she became increasingly fractious and nothing satisfied for long. Tears flowed at the drop of a hat and she was short-tempered with everyone. She ate three jars of gherkins until they made her sick. She wanted her mother but that was impossible.
The team tried their best but their patience soon wore thin. Suzie got exasperated quickly and went back to work. Sandra lasted longer but she too was grateful to return to her desk. Jack had some success, sitting chatting with Gwen for over an hour until needed for a Rift alert. Mac kept his distance - emotional women were not his strong suit – jumping at the chance to collect Toshiko. Ianto calmed Gwen eventually and got her to lie on the couch with her feet raised.
"This is what we're looking for." Owen showed Ianto and Mr Sato the picture of the bioxenic microtron. It was huge. "Says it's on level three."
"No it's not. I've gone all over that level and I couldn't miss that," said Ianto.
Mr Sato looked thoughtful. "We do have one, I know. My predecessor showed it to me once but we have not used it in years."
Ianto was checking the file. "Says it weighs over two tons so it has to be in the lower levels or it would fall through the floor. Shall I take a look?"
"We both will. Owen, stay here and watch Gwen."
"When are you going to get rid of this thing?" asked Gwen petulantly. It had been hours and she was sick of being enormous.
"Soon as we can. Just got to find the microtron." Owen smiled reassuringly wishing Martin was still around but he had a clinic to run. "This is it." He showed her the picture.
"Bit big to lose," she said sarkily.
"The Hub's a big place."
"I need to pee again." She waited. "Well, help me up!"
He pulled her upright. Any regrets about the end of their affair had vanished. She was ungainly and awkward and dressed in a voluminous boiler suit with the legs and sleeves rolled up. He watched as she waddled to the stairs, hand in the small of her back, and sighed.
"Less of that, young man!" said Sandra once Gwen was out of earshot. "She's scared, can't you see that? How would you feel with some alien inside you?"
"I'm doing my best."
"Well try harder! After what you two have been up to, it's the least you can do." It hadn't taken long for Sandra to divine Gwen and Owen had been playing around.
"Yes, ma'am."
He sat on the couch and read through the procedures for removing the egg one more time. It seemed simple enough all things considered, provided they could find the machine. And assuming it was in working order. If it hadn't been used for years, what kind of state would it be in?
"Hello, love. Come here." Sandra was on her feet and hugging Toshiko. "Congratulations."
"Thanks." She turned to Owen and wondered where the black eye had come from. "Hello."
"Am I glad to see you," he said. He gave her a friendly hug.
"Mac says there's some kind of emergency." She looked around but everything looked as always.
"And here it comes."
She followed his gaze to the stairs which Gwen was negotiating carefully. She stared, speechless.
Having to concentrate on keeping her balance, Gwen didn't see Toshiko until she reached the bottom. "Tosh, thank God you're here." She held out her arms and burst into tears.
"What happened?" Toshiko hugged her friend, very aware of the bump between them.
"It's an alien. I've got an alien growing inside me!" wailed Gwen.
The story came out in snatches but eventually Toshiko had a clear idea of what had happened. She sat on the couch with Gwen leaning against her as Owen explained the planned procedure. Amazed by what had happened, she comforted Gwen as best she could and read up on the bioxenic mictrotron. The rest of the team eventually joined the group in the work area: Jack and Suzie returning from the alert and finally Mr Sato and Ianto from their search of the lower levels.
"It is on level five," said Mr Sato. "Unfortunately at some point the power supply was cut off and it is completely dead."
"What! Am I going to be stuck like this?" cried Gwen.
"Just for a little while longer. We have reconnected it but it will take some time to charge up. Overnight at least." Gwen began to cry in earnest.
"Gwen can't go home, sir," said Jack.
"She'll have to come to us. It's the only option," said Ianto. The quiet night in he and Jack had planned was now to be spent looking after an hormonal Gwen. He sighed with regret.
Next time, Rhys makes a move ...
