Gwen bashing, also, would anyone be interested if I posted a torchwood crossover with Jeremy Kyle? Please put in the reviews what you think. The next chapter will be uploaded either tonight or tomorrow.

Chapter 14=

Tosh came back from collecting some space junk to discover Jack and Gwen in the middle of a blazing argument with Ianto probably having sought refuge down in the archives. Well, she called it an argument; it was more like Jack just standing there listening to the Welshwoman shout. Normally, the techie would have just left them to it but today she creeped closer, making sure to stay out of Gwen's sight, listening to everything she threw at their immortal captain.

"Do you know how much of a bastard you are Jack?! How could you do that to Ianto after everything?! He was heartbroken when you left him, absolutely in bits and you're cheating on him! And I find you crying and feeling all sorry for yourself! Explain that Jack Harkness!"

Tosh couldn't take it anymore, how could Gwen not see what was wrong with Jack?! He was even thinner than he had been the last time that she had seen him, eyes dull with circles so dark they were almost black; and sickly pallor almost grey with fatigue, "Gwen! Leave him alone!"

"How can you defend him after what he's done Tosh?!" her colleague almost shrieked. Tosh was seriously about to slap Gwen round the face when she saw that somehow Jack had been able to go even more pale and was swaying slightly do she dragged her colleague out of the office for which Jack shot her and grateful look and then promptly disappeared down into his bunker. She caught a glimpse of his emaciated body and wondered how Gwen could be so oblivious, the techie dragged her down to the main part of the hub before starting on her, "What the hell is wrong with you Gwen?!" she demanded angrily.

The Welshwoman took an unconscious step back, never had she seen her friend so angry before but she quickly regained her composure and went into full attack mode, "Me?! Honestly Tosh, how can you even stand to be near him after what he did to Ianto?!"

"And there are two sides to every story Gwen! You used to be a policewoman, you should know that! And you shouldn't have even treated him like that, can't you see the state he's in?!"

"The state I can see that bastard in is one of selfishness and self-pity!"

"I'm talking about his physical state Gwen!"

The Welshwoman was aghast, "Tosh, what in the Lord's name are you talking about? He looked perfectly fine to me!"

The sound of a slap echoed harshly round the hub and Gwen stumbled back, one cheek bright red, "Are you damn well blind Gwen Cooper?!" Tosh shouted, incandescent with rage, "Jack has been sick and getting sicker and sicker ever since he came back and for someone who is so infatuated with him, you sure insist the opposite whenever he gets painted as the bad guy!"

"How dare you Tosh, as your superior, I demand respect!"

"You're nothing more than a spiteful little teenage girl! And when did you start thinking you're my superior? For one, we're all equals on this team, and two, I have much more experience and security clearance than you!"

Before Gwen could retaliate, the cog door rolled open and Owen walked in.

~0~

Owen entered the hub and was immediately torn between laughing and shouting at the scene in front of him. Tosh and Gwen stood in a standoff, Gwen clearly having just been slapped under the embarrassed flush spreading across her face, "I can't leave you alone for five minutes can I?" he grinned.

Tosh shot him a look that said 'shut up and listen if you want to keep your manhood', "It's good timing Owen," she grated out, "Gwen here dragged Jack out, up into the office and promptly tried to burst his eardrums and then started to give me a lecture on just how she is my superior."

"Is Jack ok?" he asked worriedly, really, the immortal should have been under intensive care in a hospital but he wasn't stupid enough to suggest that.

"Oh for goodness sakes," Gwen exploded, "Jack is perfectly fine! You're all making one big fuss over him for nothing! Or am I the only one smart enough to see that?"

Tosh snarled and moved forward to slap her again but own got their first and Gwen quickly found herself pinned to the wall, "Now, you listen to me, PC Cooper," he warned dangerously, "if you can't see how sick Jack is then you really must be blind or just plain stupid. And I suggest that if you want to survive the next year, you change your attitude. Tea boy is being a prick at the moment but Jack didn't cheat on him; he was blackmailed into a relationship where he was raped and tortured and the same goes for when he was away. If all of us weren't such arseholes we would have noticed and done something sooner. Now, when I come back to work in a few weeks, and if it gets back to me that you haven't been on your best behaviour, I'll retcon you- with or without Jack's permission, understand?" she nodded and he released her and she almost ran away up to the kitchen.

Owen turned back to see Tosh staring at him with wide eyes, "Is it all true," she asked slowly, "was Jack actually getting blackmailed into cheating on Ianto?" he nodded and a film of tears covered her eyes, "We all thought he was such a bastard…" Tosh choked out eventually, the enormity of the situation settling in, "He was trying to protect Ianto wasn't he?"

"All of us and all of our families," Owen explained gently, "but Blake lied; he couldn't have done it really. He's being dealt with now, I called someone from UNIT, and the scumbag will never hurt anyone again."

"Oh my God," Tosh said, even closer to tears.

Owen pulled her into a hug, "There are tapes in the SUV, can you unload them whilst I go and talk to Jack? We're leaving soon; I packed my bags on the way back here."

She nodded and left for the garage, wiping her eyes as she went.

~0~

Owen slid down the ladder to the bunker under Jack's office to find him sitting against the wall, pale and shaking, "What did that bitch do?!" he demanded angrily, then paused mid rant, "Jack?" he asked approaching the immortal who had shrunk back in fear at the medic's anger.

"Ianto hates me, Ianto hates me, I'm wrong." Jack mumbled.

"No you're not, idiot, you're just different is all."

"'S not easy even just looking at you Jack, 'cuz you're wrong."

It dawned on Owen that Jack was quoting the Doctor and immediately wished that the time lord was there so that he could punch him, hard, "Jack? Come on mate, come back." A few more minutes of gentle coaching and Jack was huddled in his great coat on the bed, watching Owen chuck his things haphazardly into a duffel bag, "I spoke to the Brigadier, why didn't you tell me that you collapsed?"

"Didn't seem important, Ianto looked after me, Blake injected me with some poison thing," Jack's blue orbs met his, "he won't let me go. I don't deserve to go, I'm wrong."

And suddenly all Owen could see was a frightened little boy; he was reminded of medical school and being taught about 'beaten down woman syndrome'. The example most used was the concentration camps of world war two and some of the Jews had been through so much that if the door was open they wouldn't escape, "Jack," he started, "Ianto was never at risk, Blake lied to you."

"But… he said…" the former time agent trailed off, trying to understand what he had just been told.

The medic watched as his expression changed from confused to fearful then to something unreadable and attempted to take his mind off it, "This is where we're going to be staying for the next few weeks." He said, throwing a travel guide down on the bed next to him.

"A cottage? But, Owen, you hate the countryside."

Owen rolled his eyes, "You really have to start putting yourself first, ya know?"

"Sorry," came the sullen response. A pause, then, "what did you do to Blake?"

Owen thought it was quite a strange questioned but answered it anyhow, "Assaulted him then took his CCTV footage and handed him over to UNIT"

"You have the tapes of what happened on the Valiant?!" the medic nodded, unnerved by the clarity that had suddenly entered Jack's eyes that was soon replaced by panic, "No-one can see them," he mumbled, "they can't, Owen, they'll see everything' see how wrong and dirty and disgusting I am, Owen…"

"Calm down!" Owen shouted, gripping hold of his shoulders and shaking him slightly.

"Owen… my head hurts, please, Owen, make it stop, make it stop hurting." Jack whimpered painfully.

"Sshh." He soothed, pulling the elder into a hug.

"Owen, make it stop, please."

"I can't, as much as I want to, Jack, I can't."

"Ianto hates me," the immortal sobbed despondently, the grouchy medic gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze before continuing to pack.

~0~

Half an hour later and Owen had called Gwen and Tosh into the conference room, Jack had already disappeared down to the garage and Ianto had gone home early, "What do you want now Owen?" Gwen sighed. Tosh merely stared resolutely at the table top, she had seen some of the labels written on the tapes by Blake and was wondering how she would react to the actual recordings.

"Shut ya mouth Gwen!" he snapped, "Now, me and Jack are going to be away for a few weeks and for that time we've both agreed that Ianto will take charge of torchwood until we get back."

"Hold on!" came the voice of the irate Welshwoman, "I'm Jack's second in command! Why is Ianto getting put in charge, he's in no fit state after what Jack did to him, poor dear."

Tosh let out a snort of disbelief and left the room, shaking her head, "Ianto kept us afloat and sorted out your messes when Jack left before, and where did you get the stupid idea that you were second in command?!" Owen asked her.

"I was hired to replace Suzie and she was second in command, duh."

"No Gwen, you're not second in command. If anyone is, it should be Tosh; she's worked here the longest after all. And just because Ianto worked in London before coming here doesn't mean that he has got the same status as you- quite the opposite in fact."

"But-"she started before Owen cut her off.

"No! Jesus Christ, Gwen, you haven't even noticed how sick Jack is!"

"Will you quit this already, he is perfectly fine!" she yelled back at him

"YES HE IS!" Owen exploded, "An average male weighs about 10 stone Gwen, Jack must weigh six, maximum! These past few days he has been feverish, dizzy, nauseous and vomiting; or did you fail to notice the smell of puke when you dragged him out to bollock him?! He said that he cheated on Ianto but what Ianto doesn't know is that in fact, Jack has been being blackmailed into having a relationship with a guy because otherwise he threatened to kill the entire team and all of our families! He's been raped, tortured, had his mind raped by an alien repeatedly, the list goes on! You don't believe me? I brought back hundreds of tapes in the SUV, go and watch a couple, they might shock you out of whatever stupid fucking fantasy world you're currently living in!"

"But he's immortal." She said, confused.

"Dying still hurts Gwen! Ianto told me once that after some deaths, Jack's in pain for days after but he hides it, just so that he can keep up a sense of normality for selfish bitches like you! We four are the biggest fuck holes in Cardiff for not noticing something was wrong sooner. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off. Hopefully I won't be seeing you in a few weeks." Owen stalked off as Gwen stared after him in shock.

By the time the medic had reached Tosh's workstation, he had calmed down considerably and pulled the techie into a tight hug, "I'll try to get Ianto to understand." She mumbled into his shoulder.

"If Gwen annoys you just reintroduce het to Janet." He smirked.

"See you soon."

"Yeah." Then he left for the garage without looking back.