Chapter Twenty:

I walked through the cemetery at a steady pace, avoiding as many of the graves as I possibly could until I came across the one I was looking for. I tried to come here often, but with all that had happened recently, there hadn't been time. To make up I had arrived with a huge bunch of flowers and in my favourite black vest top and black jeans.

I placed the flowers by the gravestone and sat next to them. I know it's seen as rude but I just wanted to be close to him and it's the only way I did. After sitting there for five minutes, just thinking, I decided it was time to talk.

"Hiya Owen. I'm sorry I haven't been to talk to you for the past few days, or however long it's been. I've been really busy. I brought you some flowers by the way."

I stopped talking to the empty grave, not because I'd run out of words but because I could hear exactly what he was saying in my head and I loved talking to him as though he was still alive.
"I don't do flowers Sophie and you know I don't" he said to me.

"I know you don't but I keep getting strange looks from people. They think I'm strange talking to a headstone and not bringing any flowers."

"Fine!" I could almost see how pissed off he looked when he was beaten by a girl. "So what's been going on in Sophie Land then?"

"Well Jack and I took back Torchwood and we brought back Ianto. But Gwen hates me and some aliens called the 456 want to abduct her kids and myself? What do I do Owen? I love Torchwood but I don't want to be just another employee who died for the cause."

"Sophie..." he sighed as he always did at this point of our conversations.

"I know I'm more than just another employee of Torchwood but what do you know? I'm sat on an empty grave talking to you when you're actually in a power plant kind of... You died for the stupid cause and I don't want to be like you." I knew that I looked mad but I didn't care. My phone rang. It was Jack.

"Not now I'm busy." I said.

"Sophie you have an hour to get to the old Hub. We think that that is where the 456 will arrive."
"I don't care I'm busy" I replied.

"Sophie, you have an hour and that's an order." Jack hung up on me before I could argue with him.
"I've gotta go." I got up and walked to my car with tears in my eyes.

I rocked up at the old Hub with seconds of my hour to spare. I was still upset as I walked up to Jack.
"Where've you been Sophie? It's been practically an hour, and why are you dressed in black?"
I glared back at him. "Well you see Jack; I was at Owen's grave because, unlike your darling Ianto, he's dead!"

"I'm sorry Sophie. You should have said."

"You didn't give me time." I told him although I had softened towards him. He just hadn't thought to ask and something was obviously getting at him. "What's up?"

"We've had another message; apparently they will rise from the ashes of the Earth." He told me. "How are you getting on with the plan to stop them?"

"Umm, alright. I just need to run a few things past Ianto, is that okay?" I asked. I looked over at Ianto who was walking around where the Hub had once stood tall and proud. I took in the sight of the passers by giving us funny looks. "I take it as we're waiting for Gwen."

"Yeah, she's the one who knows what they said, they went through I.J. Again. Needless to say she's not happy."

"She's never happy Jack. It just seems that she's even less happy when I'm around, so therefore I think I'm going to discuss with Ianto."

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Gwen walked up to me and I knew what she was going to say before she said it. "We're doing our best Gwen. We can't do everything. We've got to prepare for the impending arrival of the 456 and this arrival seems to be imminent." I told her before she'd even opened her mouth.

"Fine Jack, but I want in on this. I mean it is my children they're after. I want to be the one that stops them." The look of utter determination reminded me of why Gwen had been recruited into Torchwood.

I passed Ianto the sheet of paper. "So anyway if you follow what it says on there, to the letter mind, I only have to focus on the more complicated parts of the equation. If we enter the code right we should come across the piercing scream of an alien. I'm hoping that the pitch is similar to that of the children of Earth."

"Okay so what you're saying is 'Ianto you do the simple bit and I'll do all the hard work.'"
"Dead right Ianto. Now we just have to figure out what to do if it all goes tits up."