Tosh P.O.V
Tosh sat at her workstation wondering if Owen would return once he'd taken Gwen home. The worried glances and the way he held onto Gwen made her think he wouldn't. What she'd seen in those eyes was a look she'd never forget. She'd only seen it a few times since she'd met him. All of them situations where Gwen was involved.
The Hub's rolling door opened and Owen stepped in.
"How is she?" Tosh asked.
"She's sleeping." He told her. She shot him a questioning look and he felt the need to explain. "I mixed in a dash of sedative with the painkillers – only a bit. You know what she's like, she'll go home but she'll get restless and do housework or something when she should be resting. The woman's so stubborn, she won't let me rearrange our date."
He laughed and smiled dreamily. Tosh smiled at him and when he caught her looking, he cleared his throat and turned to his computer.
"She's an amazing woman. She's got a good heart." Toshiko said.
"Yeah she has." Owen nodded.
"She was so confused the other night." Tosh sighed.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"Oh...she came over to my flat to talk about something." She explained.
"What?" He frowned.
"Rhys...and you. I shouldn't be telling you this." Tosh said quickly.
"What did she say about me?" He asked curiously.
"It's not for me to say." Tosh said.
"Ok then if you're not going to answer that, answer this. Would it be a good idea to tell her how I feel about her?" He replied.
"How do you feel about her?" Tosh asked.
"I...I love her." Owen answered.
"You should tell her." She nodded.
"That's what Jack said." He mumbled.
Tosh watched him for the rest of the day. He fidgeted in his seat and tapped on the desk with his fingers. There was not much for them to do in terms of paperwork or research so he was getting restless.
After a while, he got up and went down to the autopsy bay to look for something to do. He reappeared minutes later sighing.
"You're nervous aren't you?" Tosh smirked.
"No – no of course not. What have I got to be nervous about?" He laughed.
"Owen, everything's going to be fine. You've got nothing to worry about, trust me." She smiled.
"Jack said that too." Owen sighed. "But what if she says she doesn't feel the same? I'll look like such an idiot. Maybe I shouldn't say anything."
"You won't look like an idiot because she – you just won't ok." Tosh told him. "I promise it'll all turn out fine."
Jack appeared in the doorway of his office and leant against the door frame.
"Ok guys, I guess you can go home. The world's not ending today so we might as well take advantage of it." Jack told them.
Tosh and Owen turned to leave the Hub as Ianto came up from the archives. She heard the Welshman saying goodbye to Jack before Jack stopped him.
"I think we should get out of here and quick." Owen whispered to Tosh.
"Why?" She frowned.
"Ianto, care to join me in my office?" Jack asked suggestively.
"Oh, right." Tosh said quickly. "Come on." They practically ran out of the Hub to their cars, not wanting to witness more. She smiled at Owen as she climbed into her car. "I hope you have a great night tonight, see you tomorrow."
"Yeah." Owen nodded, his face set in a queasy smile.
She watched him drive off before she did the same.
Sitting at her workstation the next morning, she looked up as the lift started to descend. Owen stepped off it as he reached the bottom.
"So how did it go last night?" She asked.
Owen's face broke into a smile as he joined her.
"You were right. It went amazing." He grinned. "Well...it did until her twat of an ex turned up at her flat last night."
"What happened?" Tosh sighed.
"He turned up drunk and started to have a go at Gwen. Naturally, I stepped up to defend her and...sort of – might have made things worse..." He answered. "I almost had a fight with Rhys."
"Owen." Tosh said, shaking her head.
"Don't. I've already had an earful off Gwen." He said. "She was pretty mad at us both. I apologised though and we're alright now. I'm not sure how she's feeling about him at the moment."
"Where is she?" Tosh asked.
"She's up there." Owen said, gesturing to the street above them. "He text her this morning and asked if they could meet up so he could apologise. She didn't want to go but I talked her into it. I knew if she didn't go today, she'd regret it some time in the future but it'd be too late."
"And getting her to talk to Rhys has nothing to do with the fact that this makes you look good and keeps you in Gwen's good books?" Tosh smirked.
"It's not like that at all." He said innocently.
He turned away but Tosh caught his cheeky grin.
A few minutes later, Gwen descended on the invisible lift. She was smiling so Tosh guessed the talk with Rhys went well.
Owen met her at the bottom and pulled her into a hug.
"Thank you." Gwen smiled.
"For what?" Owen asked.
"For telling me to go." She answered.
"I told you you wouldn't regret it." He shrugged.
"I love you." She sighed happily as she pulled him into a kiss. Toshiko tried to avert her eyes but she couldn't help but watch the couple. When they pulled away, Gwen looked up and spotted Tosh watching them. "Oh God, I'm so sorry. I didn't -"
"What are you saying sorry for? It's not like I haven't seen people kissing before." Tosh laughed.
"Yeah but..." Gwen said, glancing at Owen.
"It's fine, honestly." Tosh told her, smiling reassuringly.
"Ok." Gwen nodded, though she took a step away from Owen.
She shook her head and sighed.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
If anyone had told Toshiko that she'd get over her feelings for Owen, she would have shook her head. So if someone had told her that she'd be standing in Gwen and Owen's new home almost two years later, getting ready to put on a bridesmaids dress for their wedding, she'd have laughed in their face and asked if they'd hit their head.
Yet here she was, standing in the guest bedroom in front of the mirror as she pulled on her bridesmaids dress.
"Toshiko dear, the hairdresser is here to do your hair." Gwen's mother shouted through the door.
"I'm almost done." Tosh called back.
"Ok. They've set up in the kitchen." Mary told her.
They'd hired two people to do Gwen's and her bridesmaids' hair. That way it would take less time to get through everyone.
She straightened out her dress and checked herself in the mirror before leaving the room.
Gwen was already sat in a chair in her robe, a slightly frightened expression on her face. Tosh recalled what had happened last night at Gwen's hen party.
Gwen downed her third pint and went to put her glass down. Her hand was shaking and her eyes were wide.
"Are you ok?" Tosh asked.
"Fine, fine. Why wouldn't I be? I'm getting married in the morning – best day of my life. Why should I be anything but ok?" Gwen laughed, a little hysterically. Toshiko raised her eyebrows and looked at the empty glass in front of her. "It's my hen night. I'm allowed to drink."
Tosh reached across and placed her hand over Gwen's.
"Gwen, it's ok to be a little nervous. Everyone gets pre-wedding nerves. But I promise, everything's going to be fine." Toshiko told her.
"I'm not nervous." Gwen said quickly.
Tosh sat back in her chair and sighed.
"Your dress is all set out for you to get into once you've had your hair done." Gwen's mum told her.
"Oh...right, yes." Gwen nodded.
Tosh watched out of the corner of her eye as Gwen played with a piece of tissue in her hands. She was shaking worse than she was the night before.
Once the hairdressers had done their job, Toshiko went to help Gwen into her dress. As she straightened herself out, she heard Gwen muttering to herself.
"Gwen?" Tosh asked. Gwen continued on as if she hadn't heard her. "Gwen!"
Gwen spun around and looked at her like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
"Sorry." Gwen said.
"Are you sure you're ok?" Tosh asked.
"Yes." She nodded. "Listen, I'm just going to get myself a drink of water. I'll – er – I'll be back in a minute."
Tosh listened to Gwen's footsteps down the stairs.
A few seconds later, she heard the front door open and close then the sound of a car engine and tires squealing. Tosh ran down the stairs and out into the garden.
"Shit." She mumbled.
Gwen's mum came out and stood beside her.
"What's happened?" Mary asked.
"Gwen's car's gone. She's done a runner." Tosh answered. Mary gasped beside her as the younger woman pulled out her phone. She dialled Jack's number and waited for him to answer. The guys had stayed at Ianto's last night. When he answered, she didn't wait for him to say anything. "Jack, we've got a situation. Gwen's disappeared."
"What do you mean disappeared? As in just vanished off the face of the Earth?" Jack joked.
"No. I mean disappeared as in she's got in her car and drove off at full speed." Tosh answered seriously.
"Oh. Do you know where she could've gone? Why she left?" Jack asked.
"No, I don't know anything. She was nervous last night and this morning but she said she was fine. I guess she was lying." Tosh told him.
"Ok, meet me at the Hub, we'll go look for her. Ianto can stay here with Owen and stall him." Jack instructed.
"Ok." Tosh nodded and ended the call. She turned back to Gwen's mum who had her hand over her mouth, looking around worriedly. "Mrs Cooper, I'm going out to find her. Take my number, if you hear anything, call me. I'll do like wise. I know Gwen's home number, I'll call on that. Keep the phone line clear ok."
Mary nodded and took Toshiko's number. The Japanese woman ran off down the street to her car.
Never would she have imagined herself in this situation.