A/N:

I lied, but not on purpose; I had so many things going the yesterday that I almost (ok, totally) forgot about Gwen…

I realize it doesn't specifically advance the plot, but a little introspection on Gwen's part just feels right…

Thank you again for reading and reviewing and I appreciate the warm response that the new story has gotten too... I doubt anything else will be updated for 5 or 6 days. The next chapter really is Henry arriving in Cardiff, I've started writing it.

Chapter Fourteen: Desk Duty

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"You have syrup… right… there…" Jack kissed the syrup drip off Ianto's chin despite the younger man's protests.

"Your dads are gross!" One of the boys made a sour face. "Just like my parents," he added with a disgusted whine.

The others giggled; Jason was looked mortified.

"All right, enough," Ella shooed Jason and his friends out of the room. They'd long since finished their pancakes and had been stacking their dishes into the sink under her direction when Jack and Ianto had finally arrived downstairs for breakfast.

Jason lingered a little behind his friends; although he shot his father a dark, clearly humiliated look over the kissing, there was something else on his mind, too.

"What's up, buddy?" Jack asked him when it became clear Jason was hanging back, seemingly waiting for something.

Giving him an uncertain look, Jason asked if he was working late today.

"I'm not sure. Why?"

"Paulie and Bert invited me to a football game…"

"You can go," Jack told him.

"I want you to come too."

Jack sighed, glancing briefly at Ianto. "Something came up at work the other night. I'm not sure how much free time I'm going to have until I fix it."

Although he seemed to be trying to hide it, Jason was obviously hurt.

"Hey… we'll go to a football game sometime, I promise," Jack told him.

His son faced him with large sorrowful eyes and ran out of the room.

"Jack…" Ianto began.

"I can't put this ahead of last night."

"This is why we do what we do, remember?" his tone was sharper than he'd intended it to be. "There's no point to putting our lives on the line ever day if we don't get to enjoy the things in this world we're supposed to be protecting."

Jack looked at him, as surprised by the younger man's words as he was by his tone.

"You made Gwen promise not to let go of her life. You said the same thing to me once, too. I have never known you to be a hypocrite, Jack." He got up from the table, taking both of their empty dishes to the sink.

Jack stood too, but before he could speak, Ianto did, not looking over his shoulder. "I'd like Gwen's help with Dafydd."

The Captain stuffed his hands into his pockets and sagged against the counter near the sink. "I'm not letting her go out in the field again, not in her condition."

"That isn't what I had in mind."

Jack shot him an inquisitive look.

"I need her to help me piece together Dafydd's movements over the last few months," he explained. "I know something happened to change him. I want to know what."

"All right," Jack nodded. He pulled one hand out of his pocket and laid it on the younger man's arm. "We ok?"

"I'm not angry with you," Ianto shut off the water and turned to fully face the other man. "I just don't want you giving up on what's important to you, either. We both know what Torchwood can do to someone. You're not immune. Jason will only be a kid once. After that, it's gone."

"Believe me, I know that," he slid his hand down the younger man's arm until he had hold of his hand. Jack rubbed his thumb over Ianto's wedding ring. "I promise, I'll hire some new people. We'll…we're going to make this work. Jason isn't the only person I want more time with."

The Welshman's only answer was a soft kiss to his partner's lips and the suggestion that they'd better hurry if they wanted to beat rush hour traffic.

……………………………………………………………………

Gwen was aware that all eyes were on her when she came into the Hub. She found herself wondering whose stupid idea it had been to have an alarm sound every time the cog door rolled aside, anyway.

She gave them her best cheerful greeting.

"He's in his office," Ianto told her simply. "Would you like a coffee?"

"Tea… please… Thank you, Ianto," she added in a quiet tone, suspecting that Jack had told him about her situation.

She glanced at the others; it was obvious they knew something was going on, but she wasn't sure if Jack had told them anything. She wouldn't put it past him… but it wasn't really like Jack to go telling secrets either.

They might just be wondering why she hadn't been in yesterday, because Jack would never think to cover for her with something like 'oh, Gwen? She's a bit under the weather…'

No, Jack wouldn't say a word and would avoid the question if asked, which would only give rise to more questions…

With a sigh, Gwen trudged into the Captain's office wondering if he was going to have a little white pill waiting for her.

Jack surprised her by standing up as soon as she walked in. He never stood for her.

"Have a seat," he indicated his chair; it was the only chair in the office.

"Jack…" she protested. She was pregnant, not infirmed.

"Sit. That's an order."

With another sigh, she obeyed.

"How're you feeling?" he asked before she could say anything.

"I spent most of last night throwing up. Rhys's mother keeps telling me how I shouldn't be throwing up yet, I'm less than a month along, it must all be in my head," she told him with a glower that was presumably meant for Mrs. Williams. "My Mam just says it's normal and to eat crackers and I'll be right as rain in a tick," she grumbled. "I ate a whole box of crackers last night. All I did was throw up crackers!"

Jack chuckled softly, "I spent nine months throwing up with Jason." He perched on the edge of his desk, facing her. "Crackers don't help that much but the throwing up is normal."

She looked up at him, surprise playing on her features.

"You really think I made up that whole being pregnant story?" He asked her.

"Well… you're a man… " she finished that last word with just enough of a lilt to make it almost a question.

He raised his eyebrows at her; Ianto stepped into the office with two mugs just in time to have Jack ask him if he was really a man.

"Erm… the last time I checked you were, Sir. And that was less than…" he set down both mugs and glanced at his watch, "two hours ago. Should I even inquire as to why you're asking?"

Jack picked up his cup and took an experimental sip. It was perfect, as always. "Gwen was wondering," he said in a casual tone.

Gwen blushed.

"Is this an office poll, then, or is it just Jack you're interested in?" Ianto replied in a dry tone that made her cheeks redden to almost the same shade as that UNIT cap Jack loved so much.

"I didn't mean… I just… "

Still chuckling merrily, Jack drank some more of his coffee.

Ianto cleared his throat and made his exit. Another second and he would have burst out laughing too, although he supposed he should have a little more sympathy for Gwen. Jack could be utterly impossible sometimes.

The Welsh woman tried to cover up her embarrassment by taking a sip of her tea. A new thought occurred to her and she put it down, giving the milky brown liquid a disdainful look.

If Jack was going to sack her, she wouldn't put it past him to get Ianto to help by retconning her tea. He had been awfully quick to offer her something…

"Relax, Gwen," Jack seemed to know exactly what she was thinking. "It's not drugged."

She gave him another long look.

"I'm not going to fire you."

She swallowed, but the cold lump of dread refused to leave her throat. "Why did you call me in, then?"

"We have to talk about this… about you."

"What's to talk about, Jack? I'm bloody pregnant."

He set down his cup and let his gaze settle fully on her. "You could have gotten somebody hurt – maybe even killed – the other night."

"You can't know that."

"Yes. I can. Do you think you're the only woman who's ever worked for Torchwood who ended up pregnant?"

She looked up at him with, big brown eyes widening in astonishment. "What? You mean…?"

"There's a reason why it is standard procedure to quit, take the retcon. Have a normal life. Family and Torchwood don't mix Gwen. You've said it yourself. We don't have a maternity plan…"

"But you said…and what about you…? You've a family now… "

He cut her off, "It doesn't matter about me. What does matter is that I don't want to lose you."

She felt the lump in her throat melting, "Do you really mean that?"

"Look, if you want to quit…"

"I don't! Jack, please, I love this job. I'm sorry about the other night; I thought I could handle it. If I'd any idea that I couldn't, I would have told you. I'd only just taken the pregnancy test that morning and… and I wasn't sure how to tell you. I hadn't even told Rhys yet."

"I take it you have?"

She nodded, sipping at her tea a little. She wasn't sure what kind it was, but it was perfect. Leave it to Ianto to really know everything, even what will make me feel better.

"I told him yesterday," she said aloud. "Rhys was so happy, too," she didn't quite look up at Jack. She couldn't, although she wasn't sure why not. "You should've seen his face," she forced a smile. "I can't think the last time he was so happy."

"Why am I getting the feeling you're not happy about being pregnant?" Jack asked in a gentle tone.

"I am," she tried to sound more convincing. "Really I am, Jack. This just isn't how I'd planned it."

"Are… " he set his cup back down on his desk, "I assume you're planning on…"

She met his gaze quickly. "Oh, Jack, no, I couldn't. Rhys wants children. I have to do this for him. It's not the way I would have planned it, but it's happened, so… make the best of it, right?"

"I'm just saying that it's your body and whatever you decide you know we'll be here for you. I'll be here for you," he leant forward and laid a hand on her shoulder.

Gwen took it, twining her fingers into his. "Thank you. But I want this to, I really do. I just wish… I wish things had gone differently is all." She let her cheek rest against their hands for a moment that even she realized was selfish. But it was just one moment, it didn't mean anything and it couldn't hurt anything either. She had Rhys, he had Ianto and really, if anything had ever happened between them, it would have been an unmitigated disaster and she knew it.

She looked back up at him, forcing a tight little smile. "So what now?"

"I meant what I said about you not going into the field."

"I can handle it, Jack…"

His expression was enough to silence her.

"How long?"

"At least until the baby's born. After that… " he shrugged. "We can talk about it when the time comes."

"Please don't tell me you're going to turn me into the coffee girl …" her cheeks reddened again. "I mean… not that… there's nothing… I mean it's not that Ianto's job isn't important… or that he's just… I meant… "

He chuckled, "I promised him I wouldn't let you near his coffee machine."

She gave a sigh of relief… the expression soured quickly. "Wait a minute! Why doesn't he want me near his machine?"

"In case you haven't noticed, he's a little on the possessive side," he said, gently easing his hand back from her grasp.

Gwen found herself suddenly not able to look Jack in the eye again.

She drank some more tea, her mind slipping back to the incident at her wedding, when she'd thought it was Jack talking to her but really it had been the Nostrovite. The things she'd almost said…

Not that she didn't love Rhys. Not that she didn't love Ianto or Ianto and Jack together. She couldn't think of a better couple and she'd been prepared to slap sense into Jack on more than one occasion for the way he treated the younger man. But sometimes I wonder what would have happened if we'd all made different choices, she admitted to herself.

"So what am I supposed to be doing if I'm not allowed in the field or near the coffee machine, then?"

"I'm sure I can come up with something useful for you to do," he flashed a lascivious grin. "In the meantime, Ianto needs your help with something," he added before she could respond.