Max was finally done. It had taken him three hours to undo the damage Jacqueline had inflicted in mere seconds. At least Max assumed it had only been seconds. The wrist strap never left Max's wrist and he would hate to think his attention had lapsed for longer than that. Even though he hadn't noticed her sabotage at the time, Max had a pretty good idea exactly what moment she'd disabled the equipment. Served him right for mixing business with pleasure. After his last partner, Max should have known better.
"Finished. Hey Ianto, where's Gwen?" Max had snapped at Gwen after the first twenty minutes of her pacing behind him, glaring at the back of his head. He'd told her he wouldn't be able to work with her in the room. She'd cursed a bit at him first, but eventually left after giving Ianto instructions to shoot Max at the first sign of trouble. Gwen may not have looked it, but she could slip into the persona of hardass commander very easily.
"I believe she went up to Jack's office. You remember the way." Max could feel Ianto's eyes on him as he ascended the staircase. They made an interesting pair, Gwen and Ianto. The first displayed her feelings for the world to see, but denied the emotions buried deepest within her heart. The second kept his feelings hidden from those closest to him, but was more than aware of his true longings and those of everyone else.
When Max entered the room Gwen was sitting in Jack's chair with her back facing the door.
"Testing out the boss' chair?" Gwen didn't turn around to face him.
"Are the repairs finished?" Gwen's voice was distant, as though her mind was somewhere far from the present. It disturbed Max that he couldn't see her face. Not knowing what she was thinking and feeling made him very uneasy.
"Yes. Now we just need to discuss a little strategy about how we want this handled. I thought we could brainstorm a little. Bounce ideas off each other. It would help if we could actually do this face to face." Max spun the chair around and found himself glared at by a pair of red eyes. He was temporarily speechless. Gwen had been crying for Jack. When a time agent's luck finally ran out few people mourned his or her passing. Any family had already said their final goodbyes before the recruits entered the academy. Part of the entry process included a removal of all memories of home. The Time Agency was for life. The memories were taken to starve off the temptation to use the power of the wrist strap for personal reasons. Once active, agents didn't have the opportunity to form attachments with anyone but their partner. Jacqueline proved even those bonds weren't necessarily that strong. Max hadn't expected that someday he would have people who cared about him. Who worried about him, indestructible as he would become. Who loved him.
"He'll be fine Gwen. He immortal remember?"
"That doesn't mean he can't be hurt. He still feels pain."
"Jack is strong. He can handle it."
"What if we can't find him? What if he never comes-" Gwen's breathing became rapid and shallow, like she wasn't getting enough air. Max immediately bend down and scooped her up in his arms. He could feel her tense as he sat down in Jack's chair, holding her close to his chest.
"I know I'm not him, but I'm close. If you shut your eyes you can pretend." After a moment Gwen relaxed in his arms. Max could feel the warm tears being absorbed by his shirt as he rocked her gently and murmured words of comfort. He was relieved to see his efforts were having an effect. Her sobs became softer and softer until at last her breathing returned to its normal pace. Still Gwen didn't try to disengage herself from Max's embrace, and he was in no hurry to move her. This experience had been a revelation to Max. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this close to someone without sex being on the agenda. Comforting Gwen had been foreign, but he'd liked it. Max wouldn't have minded staying like this indefinitely, Jack be damned. He tried to remind himself that whatever happened to Jack would happen to him one day. It didn't help. Then he thought of Gwen and what she would suffer if Jack didn't come back. It was no good. It wasn't his time now. Max would save Jack, if only to return him Gwen. Whether or not the idiot deserved it.