14. Margaritas

"Cheers!" said Tosh, sipping her margarita. It was strong, but much needed after everything that had happened since Jack's unexpected return. She shivered before taking another sip, and Owen rolled his eyes at her reaction.

"Bottoms up!" He drank half the glass in one go before looking pointedly at Gwen. The other woman appeared troubled.

"Shouldn't we be doing something?" she asked. "Talking to Jack, finding out what happened, where he went, why he left?" She sipped at her drink. "Oh, that's really good."

"That's right, it's good," said Owen with a nod. "And we can get as many as we want, the tab's on Jack. So forget about him and enjoy yourself. We've got twelve hours until we catch up with ourselves, and we may as well make the most of it."

"But where's Jack?" she asked. "Why isn't he here with us? Shouldn't we all be together?"

Tosh took another sip of her drink. "He's around, I'm sure." A glance at Owen told her he was thinking the same thing that she was, although he was probably thinking rude things about it.

"Yeah, celebrating in his own way," Owen snorted. He finished his drink and motioned for another. "Stupid bastard."

"Owen!" Tosh said. "Don't."

"Don't what?" groused Owen. "I didn't say a word."

"And you don't need to. He knows what he's doing." Tosh wasn't quite sure of her words, but she wasn't going to let Owen walk all over her friend.

"Who?" asked Gwen. "Jack?" She frowned. "What do you mean, he knows what he's doing? What's Jack doing?"

"Probably Ianto," Owen snorted, and Tosh glared at him until he stopped laughing. Gwen glanced back and forth between them.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, then glanced around, as if noticing for the first time that two team members were missing. "And where is Ianto?"

Owen gave her a pointed look before jerking his thumb toward the upper floors, and Gwen rolled her eyes. "Oh please, Owen. Ianto's not going to jump into bed with Jack just like that." She paused and finished her drink rather quickly. "Would he?"

"Wouldn't you, if you had the chance?" Owen asked with a smirk. "Half of Cardiff has probably been waiting for him to return."

"Owen!" Gwen gasped, sounding honestly shocked.

"It's true, though, isn't it?" he replied. "And since they're the only two missing, I'd say it's pretty damn likely that Jack is probably in his room, buried deep inside our teaboy."

"Stop it," said Tosh. "It's none of our business, and I doubt that's what they're doing anyway. They're probably only talking."

Owen started on his next drink, heedless of the injury to his side. "Yeah, right. About how we betrayed him, or why Jack left? Oh wait—he left because we betrayed him."

"He left with the Doctor," Tosh said quietly. "We've known that for months, Owen. The Doctor arrived, and Jack ran after him before he left. He said he wanted answers."

"Perfect timing, though wasn't it?" Owen said. "I can't blame him for running off, not after what we did. What I can't figure out is why he came back."

"He said he came back for us," Gwen pointed out. Tosh shook her head over the unsaid implication behind Gwen's words.

"And he said it to Ianto first," she reminded them. "Which is why they're probably talking about it. He was looking right at Ianto, and he sounded sincere."

Gwen made noise of disbelief, then looked at Owen in surprise when he apparently didn't agree.

"You don't believe her, do you?" Gwen asked. "That Jack came back for Ianto? That he's with Ianto right now?"

"Oh, I'm sure Jack's with Ianto right now," Owen replied. "He was practically begging Ianto to talk to him, though teaboy did not look exactly happy about it."

"He's probably confused," said Tosh.

"About what?" asked Gwen. "Whether or not he's—" She cut herself off, biting her lip.

"About whether Jack meant what he said," Tosh replied. Gwen shook her head.

"Jack told me the same thing," she said. "Downstairs by the Weevil cells."

Tosh frowned, wondering what that meant, but Owen rolled his eyes dismissively. "Like he'd come back for you to push him around, call out his leadership, and question everything he does."

"I was in charge of the team while he was gone!" Gwen exclaimed. "I have every right to…to…"

"To what, Gwen?" asked Tosh. "To keep leading the team now that the official and far more experienced leader of Torchwood Three is back? And for the record, you didn't lead the team while Jack was gone. You lead the team on some assignments, like the blowfish, and Owen lead us on others."

"And teaboy ran the whole fucking show behind our backs," Owen muttered, earning surprised looks from both of them. "What? You both know he's saved our arses more times that we probably count, administratively speaking. We'd be up to our eyeballs in paperwork, surrounded by rubbish, and fending off asinine bureaucrats on an hourly basis if it weren't for him."

"Of course we would," said Tosh. "I'm surprised to hear you say it."

Owen finished his second drink and pointed a finger at her. "Don't tell him I said anything." He took a long sip of water before asking for another, stronger drink.

"None of that means Ianto is upstairs with Jack right now," Gwen said.

"I think I saw them heading toward the restaurant," Tosh told them reluctantly. "Jack has a lot of explaining to do, after all."

"Exactly!" Gwen exclaimed. "So why isn't he here with us? Explaining?"

"Because he owes it to Ianto first," Tosh said.

"So he can get in his pants," Owen replied.

Gwen looked annoyed, and Tosh grew angry. "Owen! You're despicable!"

"But I'm right, aren't I?" he demanded. He turned to Gwen with a smirk. "He's going to shag his way into Ianto's good graces again, and that drives you mad, doesn't it?"

"I..I…" Gwen stuttered. "Of course not! I feel bad for Ianto, letting Jack use him like that."

"I bet you'd love to let him use you like—"

Gwen's hand flew across the table and smacked Owen hard across the face. Tosh gasped, but Owen laughed as he held a hand up to his cheek.

"The truth hurts, sweetheart, but here's some more: it'll never happen."

"The thing with Ianto?" Gwen scoffed. "Of course not. Ianto's not his type."

"Neither are you," said Owen. Before Gwen could open her mouth, Tosh jumped in.

"I think it could happen with Ianto," she said, earning yet another eye roll from Owen and a glare from Gwen. "Ianto supports Jack more than any of us. He's probably listening to Jack right now, and he's not yelling at him, questioning him, or demanding answers. He's listening, understanding, accepting. And he'll forgive Jack too, because Jack forgave him. He believes in Jack."

"So do we!" Gwen said. "That's not Ianto's job. We all do that for Jack." Tosh shook her head, thinking of how little Gwen seemed to believe in Jack at times, to really trust him, but Owen spoke first.

"No, me and you just piss him off," Owen said, nodding in agreement. "I think Tosh might be right, though I still feel sorry for Ianto."

"It could be good for him," Tosh said. "He needs to be needed, wants to be wanted."

"We all want to be wanted, Tosh," Gwen said. Tosh ignored her.

"Jack needs someone to be there for him, and he wants Ianto. It's as simple as that."

"It's fucked up, is what it is," said Owen, and this time Gwen agreed with the doctor.

"Look, whatever it is," said Tosh, "it's none of our business. Ianto knows what he's doing. If anything happens, then I hope it works out."

"This time," Owen snorted. "As long as he doesn't settle for being a part-time shag again."

"I didn't know you cared," said Tosh.

"I don't," he snapped. "But I do think he deserves better, believe it or not."

"Better than Jack?" Gwen asked.

"Better than Jack using him for a quick and easy shag in the archives," Owen replied. He shrugged, clearly uncomfortable. "Ianto's a good bloke who's been through a lot, that's all."

"Maybe we should talk to him," Gwen said, though she sounded uncertain. "To Ianto."

"I think you're the last person to talk to him about Jack," said Owen.

"Fuck you, Owen," Gwen said, but she sounded tired of the argument now.

"Been there, done that," Owen grinned. "I'm done with that life. New leaf and all that."

"Right," Gwen replied skeptically. She sighed, finished her drink, and stood up. "I'm going to find Jack. He owes all of us an explanation, not only Ianto."

"Gwen, leave him alone," Owen said wearily. "Have another drink, get a massage, whatever. Jack's made his choice. It's up to Ianto now."

Gwen stared at him for so long Tosh wasn't sure what to say or do. Finally, Gwen simply turned and left the bar. Tosh sighed and had another drink.

"How's your side?" she asked quietly. Owen grinned.

"Painkillers and alcohol? I can't feel a damn thing. How's your face?"

"Better, thanks. Do you think she's going to do anything rash?" she asked. Owen's grin disappeared immediately.

"I don't know. But you know what? If she does…I think Ianto can handle it just fine."

Tosh shook her head in amazement. "You do like him, I knew it!"

"I respect his ability to take her out with a single, well-aimed shot of biting sarcasm. He's had a lot of practice these last few months, and I only wish I could be there to see it."

She held up her glass for another toast. "To Torchwood," she said. "Messed up on every level."

"You never know Tosh," said Owen. "Maybe things will work out for Jack and Ianto…maybe it'll work out for all of us this time."

She nodded, though she hoped he was talking about more than just Jack and Ianto. Because while she had every confidence that the two men knew what they were getting into, and that it would be a good thing for them both, it was the rest of them she sometimes worried about.

Author's Note:

I hope to write a short scene/drabble for each episode of the second series now, but I can't promise how frequent the updates will be. I wrote this one ages ago and have finished the next, with plans for the rest, so hopefully chapters won't be too far apart. Thank you and enjoy!