Morning - Cadogan Gardens
It was coming up to five o'clock when Tom opened the door and looked out into the hall. He had expected to find Jack waiting there and was not disappointed. The doctor smiled at Jack wearily.
"You can come in now." Tom stepped to one side and Jack walked into the room, not exactly sure what he would see; he had barely taken it in earlier.
The room was a mirror image of the drawing room on the opposite side of the hall, with generous proportions and a large bay window. It was obviously normally a formal dining room as the table and chairs remained in the room along with a Chippendale sideboard that gleamed in the sunlight just coming through the part drawn curtains. But the furniture had been pushed to one side and a hospital bed was set up close to the window. It contained Owen Harper, lying with eyes closed and IV drips in both arms.
Jack looked at Tom as his colleague, who was introduced as Sarah, changed one of the IVs. "How is he?"
"Weak. He was dehydrated and hypothermic. Four ribs had been broken and one was lying on the right lung but, luckily, had not penetrated it. He has massive bruising to his back and cuts and abrasions to most parts of his body. There's no obvious internal injuries but we're monitoring that, they're not always easy to spot. His shoulders had been subjected to strain – as if he had hung from his arms – but nothing's torn, just swollen." Tom rubbed his hand over tired eyes, "All in all, he's been very lucky."
"Does he need to go to a hospital?"
"No, he's stable. We have all the equipment we need, Captain. If we need anything more we'll tell you. Time, warmth and comfort is what will do him the most good and he'd get that as well here as in a hospital."
"True." Jack was now standing by the bed and looked down at Owen's sleeping form. He look small and fragile, his face pale against the white of the bedding. "What are the drips?"
"Pain killer, anti inflamatories and rehydration. He needs it all for now."
"Sure." Jack turned to look at the two young people. "Thank you, for all you've done. I appreciate it."
Sarah smiled. "We're pleased to be able to help. It's not the first time that we've helped Jane as you've probably realised."
"Won't be the last either," joked Tom before yawning hugely. "Excuse me."
"You ought to get some rest, both of you. I can stay with Owen." Jack wanted the pair out of the room; he needed time to reconnect with Owen and preferred to do that alone. "I can call you if anything changes."
Tom looked at Sarah and shrugged. They could both do with the rest and Jack was a responsible guy. "Okay, we'll crash upstairs. If he wakes, he'll be pretty out of it so don't be surprised," said Tom, moving to the door.
Sarah came to the bed and pulled the bedclothes tidier and checked the IVs once more. "These will be fine for a few hours." Then she joined Tom and they left the room.
Jack pulled up a dining chair next to the bed and sat on it. It was a bit low but he could at least sit and watch Owen as he slept. He put a hand on Owen's, careful not to dislodge any of the tubes, and squeezed.
"You'll be okay, Owen. You're safe now," he said softly, more for his own reassurance than anyone else's.
He had not moved when, half and hour or so later, he heard footsteps on the gravel drive and the doorbell rang. Knowing everyone else in the house was asleep, Jack rose and went to the door. On the doorstep stood the remainder of his team.
"I know you said everything was all right," began Gwen immediately, "but we couldn't just sit in the Hub waiting for news. So we came." Toshiko and Ianto, standing behind her, nodded in agreement. "UNIT are covering in Cardiff."
Jack surveyed them, saw the rumpled clothes, the tired eyes and anxious expressions. "It is so good to see you," he said and hugged Gwen, then Toshiko and finally Ianto. "Come on in but be quiet, everyone else is asleep."
He ushered them into the hall and they hung up jackets and took off their shoes. Then he opened the door to Owen's room and they filed inside. Gwen gasped when she saw how frail the doctor looked and Ianto gulped and hung back. Toshiko went immediately to Owen's side and touched his hand, seeking reassurance that it was him and that he was alive. Jack pushed her into the chair that he been using.
"He looks worse than he is," Jack explained quietly. "He's got broken ribs, sore joints and plenty of bruising, cuts and abrasions but he'll be okay with time and care. He's sedated right now and high on painkillers and one of these," he indicated the IV bags, "is rehydrating him."
Gwen had moved forward and gently stroked Owen's arm before stepping back. "How did you get him out, Jack? We've only got pieces of the puzzle and we want to know the rest." Her demanding gaze was mirrored by Ianto and Toshiko.
"Sure. But talking here may disturb Owen and someone needs to stay with him."
"I'll stay," volunteered Toshiko immediately and the others smiled. "You can fill me in later."
Jack put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Okay. We'll be in the kitchen, that's at the end of the hall. Come get us if Owen wakes or you need anything."
"I will." She turned back to Owen and gently brushed back a stray lock of hair that had fallen over his forehead. Though he had been injured before, she'd never been able to care for him and she seized this opportunity.
The rest of the team left the room quietly and Jack led the way to the kitchen. Ianto saw the coffee machine and offered to make some which Jack and Gwen accepted immediately. They settled at the table and watched Ianto as he found his way round the kitchen as if he used it every day. Soon they had steaming mugs in front of them and, when Ianto had returned from taking one to Toshiko, all three sat and enjoyed the smell and taste of the drink.
"So, Jack. How did you manage it?" asked Gwen.
"It really wasn't much to do with me," he admitted.
He went through all that he had done since leaving Cardiff. The catalogue of events highlighted his own powerlessness in the face of the might of the anti-terrorist authorities but he didn't care. His people, like him, sometimes needed the reminder that Torchwood was not all-powerful. That he, Jack Harkness, was not all-powerful. As he told the story he realised again how much Jane had done for him and wondered whether it might be held against her in the future. He promised himself that he'd monitor the situation.
Finally, after talking for more than fifteen minutes, he wound up by saying, "Once we had the information you and Tosh collected Jane got the wheels in motion. You see, it was only when we were able to show that the facts the authorities had didn't mean Owen was a terrorist, that they meant something entirely different, that the case fell apart. Jane was … amazing. She got the Prime Minister – who's in Australia – out of his meeting and persuaded him to give the order for Owen's release and then she got the Lord Chief Justice himself out of bed to sign the warrant." He shook in head and grinned wryly, "With that kind of top-level backing, they had to release Owen."
"They shouldn't have taken him in the first place!" said Ianto forcefully.
"I know. But given that they did, it's a miracle we got him out so quickly." Jack sipped the last of his almost cold coffee. "It's really hard to prove innocence in these cases, as many people have found, especially in the States."
"There'll be no comeback? I mean, they won't try again, will they?" asked Gwen. She was fiddling with her coffee spoon in her agitation.
"I don't think so," said Jack slowly. When he saw the alarm in her eyes he added, "I mean they won't snatch him again but I wouldn't be surprised if he was monitored. Just to make sure."
"That's not right," put in Ianto.
"No, it's not. Not in Owen's case. But if it helps confirm his innocence, maybe it's better to let them. Frankly, I don't think we could stop them."
"Who's treating Owen? Why's he here and not in a hospital?" Gwen leant back in her chair.
"Two doctors, friends of Jane's. They're sleeping upstairs at the moment. It's better if we keep Owen under wraps for the time being. He's getting all the medical care he needs, I made sure of that."
"Oh, that reminds me." Ianto reached into his pocket and pulled out the Bekaran scanner. "I thought this might come in useful." He placed it on the table.
"Good thinking. I'll show it to Tom later, we can use it to confirm there's no internal injuries."
The three sat in the kitchen and chatted as the sun rose higher in the sky and the streets around started to come to life with people heading off to work.
So the team's back together and Owen's getting better, thank goodness!