Chapter 14

Then next day Tosh was at her computer, Owen was going through some medical files, Ianto was mopping and jack was in his office. Gwen hadn't arrived yet but no one was really bothered by this as it wasn't surprising when one of them was late.

But when two hours had passed since the given late time Ianto started to get worried. He'd had phoned Gwen but she wasn't picking up. Finally deciding to do something he walked to where rest of the team were and said, "Does anyone know why Gwen isn't here yet?"

They all shook their heads, "She's probably doing something with Rhys. I mean she hasn't seen him for a long time" said Tosh. Jack tried not feel guilty as he knew that that was because of him. Tosh tried Gwen again and sighed, "She's not picking up."

No one wanted to admit it but they were all concerned by now. Even Owen. They tried to immerse themselves in their work thinking that Gwen would walk through the door any moment but it didn't happen. Ianto had made at least four rounds of coffee already.

Finally not being able to sit still he said, "Jack we should go check on her just in case." Jack nodded, "Get in the SUV all of you." There was a lot of scrabbling as they all quickly grabbed their jackets and coats before rushing out. Jumping into the vehicle Jack was soon driving at break neck speed.

Tosh kept getting thrown into Owen's lap. Finally she decided to just stay there as there really was no point moving if she would just end up back in the same place. Owen seemed to think the same thing as he held her close. "If we die I am blaming Jack" he whispered to her and she smiled.

"You drive sometimes like this too you know." He just shrugged. Shaking her head she smiled at him as Jack made another fast turn. "Let's just hope no one else apart from us has to suffer because of your driving" said Ianto holding onto his seat for dear life. Jack just rolled his eyes, "Don't worry. I'm skilled at this kind of stuff. I could drive blindfolded like this without anyone getting hurt."

No one said anything. It was either because they didn't know whether to believe him or not or because they were all silently praying to remain alive at the end of this. "Why did Gwen have to live so far away?" thought Tosh. Finally the car came to a stop. Jack was the only one who got out as the others were too busy shaking.

He walked round the other way and helped Ianto out first before opening the other door. His eyebrows went up when he saw the way Owen and Tosh were sitting squashed together. Tosh was about to explain but then decided against. She settled for giving him a smile and holding out a hand. Grinning he took it gently and helped her out.

He turned to Owen, "Would you like me to help you out as well?" he asked. "That's alright. I'm fine, thanks" said Owen getting out on his own. They followed Ianto and Tosh who were already running up the stairs. When there reached Gwen's door, Tosh knocked gently. They waited for a minute or two before knocking again.

Ianto pressed his ear to the door but he couldn't hear anything. "There's no sound from inside" he said worriedly. "Maybe they've gone out" said Tosh trying to keep the mood happy but even she didn't believe herself. "What do we do now?" asked Owen. "There's only one thing we can do" said Jack, "We break down the door."

Nodding Ianto pushed his sleeves up before using all of his weight to bang on the door. Jack pulled Tosh to the side as Owen helped Ianto too. Tosh was only acutely aware of the fact that they were standing very close and he was still touching her.

"It won't budge" said Ianto panting. "Give us a hand Jack" said Owen. Jack left Tosh and together on the count of three the three men used all of their weight to bash against the door. It didn't even move. Suddenly Tosh saw something the others hadn't seen.

"Um… guys" she said hesitantly. They all turned towards her. "The handle's bent which means the door was unlocked all along" she said in a rush. As one the three men looked at the door handle and indeed it was bent down. They just stared at it incredulously in silence.

Finally Owen swore and said, "Great we could have just gone through the door and not wasted our time or cause ourselves injury all along." Shaking his head he grabbed the handle and pushed the door open.

They walked and met with a shocking sight.