As awareness returned to Gwen Cooper, she blinked slowly, wondering why the world seemed to be a hazy, grey blur and why she was hearing dull chimes of bells. After a moment, she realized she was lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling and struggled to sit up. Her vision and hearing clearing, she looked around and saw others in similar conditions. Ianto was sitting up against the side of a desk, rubbing his head, which left him with adorably tousled hair. A splash drew her attention and she turned to see Jack hauling himself out of the water by the base of the tower. Peyton had gotten to his knees by Rhys, who looked a bit disoriented, but was sitting up under his own power.
Gwen was almost afraid to look to the center of the room, where Owen, Tosh and Sage had been in the eye of the mini magic storm. Slowly, she allowed her gaze to scan the area and squawked in surprise.
Owen was sprawled on the floor where he had been sitting, Tosh draped over his chest. When the spell had begun they had both been wearing the same clothes they had worn on the day they died. Now they were both bare as the day they were born.
New hands entered her line of sight as Peyton slid into full medic mode and checked first Tosh, then Owen for a pulse. When he looked up, he grinned, "Strong, steady pulses. That's a good sign. No visible external injuries."
Ianto joined him with pair of blankets and Jack, still shaking off water, stepped over. "Can we move them?"
"Down to the med bay, yes," the doctor said. "I'll be down after I check Sage."
As she struggled upright, Gwen realized she hadn't seen Sage from behind Owen and Tosh's slumped forms. The blond lay sprawled on the floor, her face pale beneath the bruises and cuts she had gathered the night before. Laying on the floor by her side, a wicked knife was still clenched in her right hand. Her left hand rested on the delicate white cotton camisole that covered her upper body. Only it was no longer white. Bright red blood stained her top and, as she watched, the stain was spreading.
Then Peyton was there, wrapping her hand tightly in a tourniquet before checking her vitals. Scowling, he gathered her gently into his arms, just as Jack had with Owen and Ianto with Tosh. Gwen and Rhys followed along, worried for the three unconscious people.
As there was only the one exam bed in the med bay, Peyton had set up a pair of cots earlier. Jack and Ianto placed their two colleagues on the cots while Peyton deposited Sage on the exam bed. It was crowded with the extra beds, but no one wanted to leave.
"Any idea…." Jack began, only to be interrupted as Owen drew a deep breath and opened his eyes.
"Owen!" Three voices chorused together as they pushed toward his bed.
"That was fucked up," Owen muttered, then raised a hand to his neck. "I'm alive! And not in the weird walking dead sense…Why am I naked?"
There was a soft giggle from the other cot and everyone turned to regard Tosh, who laughed, "I'd like to know that myself."
"Make people new bodies and they complain about a lack of clothes," came a weak murmur from Sage, who was barely stirring as Peyton stitched her hand. "There's no pleasing some people."
At that, Gwen sat on the cot beside Tosh and hugged her friend, crying happy tears. Rhys patted her back gently as Jack wrapped an arm around Owen's shoulders to help him sit up and Ianto poked Owen teasingly.
For the first time in weeks things seemed right
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