22. Coffee

Andy wasn't sure what he was doing there, why he had even come. He hadn't quite made up his mind about Rhys Williams, and could have let things with Gwen stand as they were. He was still pretty pissed off with her for blowing him off several times over the last week. Yet something niggled in the back of his mind about it all— about Gwen and Torchwood and the case that was mysteriously closed now. He suspected Gwen would never say anything to him about it, but he needed to know.

Nikki Bevan had given him an earful for getting Gwen involved. Andy felt terrible about it, and he wanted to know if it was worth it, if whatever she did with Captain Jack and the Scooby-Doo crew was worth the secrets and lies. Andy wasn't sure if she was allowed to talk to Rhys about her job, but if she did, maybe he could shine a light on it all. Maybe that was why he had called, which was why Andy had reluctantly agreed to meet at a local cafe by the station for coffee.

Quickly shaking hands, they ordered a cup of coffee and waited in awkward silence, eventually finding a table in the corner. Andy wasn't sure what to say; he was well aware Rhys Williams probably liked him about as much as he liked the other man.

"So, how's married life treating you?" he asked, thinking it was as good an opening as any. Rhys looked surprised at first, then nodded, a smile spreading across his face.

"Brilliant," he said.

"Everything you hoped for and more?" Andy asked, not bothering to hide the dry sarcasm. Rhys actually laughed.

"In some ways, yeah," he answered. "Most things haven't changed much, though. We just have a ring on our fingers now." He wiggled his ring finger, and Andy barely refrained from rolling his eyes. He wished he had a quick comeback, but he didn't. Not for that.

"You missed a hell of a ceremony, you know," Rhys said after a moment's pause.

Andy shrugged. "Had to work, sorry."

"Gwen pulled strings to get you the day off," Rhys said, shaking his head. "So, truth, why weren't you there? She missed you, you know. Is it really that thing you have for Gwen?"

Andy opened his mouth to protest, but Rhys waved him off.

"Look, you don't have to answer, only she's not as easy to live with as you'd think, mate. Especially with this Torchwood business."

"That is probably the most intelligent thing you've said in years," Andy muttered under his breath. Expecting Rhys to be angry, instead he glanced up to find the other man grinning at him.

"Torchwood drives you mad too, then? You should have seen them at the wedding, guns out and running after a bloody al…" He covered his mouth and coughed. "Well, you know them. Always causing a scene."

"And never talking about it," Andy replied. He toyed with the lid of his coffee cup. "Sounds like you know more than you're letting on."

"Maybe," Rhys replied, obviously lying. When Andy snorted his skepticism, Rhys held up his hands in defense. "Fine, I know more than I used to. I did marry in, after all. Had to sign the Official Secrets Act and everything."

"Get out," Andy replied, surprised. "It's real, then? The super-secret special ops thing?"

"You have no idea," Rhys murmured. "Highly classified and completely insane."

"Well, I wouldn't know, because no one tells me anything, no matter how much I cover up for them," Andy replied. He sipped at his coffee, the bitterness matching his own. "Damn, I could really use something stronger."

"I heard it was a tough case," Rhys said. "Gwen was pretty cut up last night."

"Oh, is that why we're meeting, so you can pull it out of me instead?" asked Andy. "Because I don't know a thing. She fobbed me off every chance she had, even left me standing on the dock to Flat Holm holding two coffees. Wasted three pounds fifty!"

Rhys blew out a breath. "I thought that might be the case. Look, I'm sorry for whatever she did. I know it can't have been easy."

"You don't have to apologize for her," Andy pointed out. "You only married her. You don't work for Torchwood."

"And I'm damn glad I don't." Andy gave him a skeptical look. "Seriously, Andy. The hours are shit, and Gwen is always coming home upset and injured. She's been bitten and scratched and even shot! You don't want that, trust me."

"Bitten?" asked Andy. Rhys shrugged.

"One of those ugly things they protect us mere mortals from, I guess. Look, I didn't come here to find out anything. I told you, Gwen was upset, and from what she said about things…I'm guessing she probably won't bother to follow up with you."

"So, you're what?" asked Andy. "The Torchwood head doctor? Checking up to make sure I'm not crying in my cups?"

Rhys snorted. "Hardly! I don't know what the hell's going on half the time. But she told me about the boy you were looking for, and that she found him."

Andy leaned forward, hoping to learn more. "Did she tell you what happened to him? Why his mum is so angry now? Because she didn't tell me shit!" He sat back, folding his arms over his chest. "I didn't bring her in to shut me out. I brought her in because once upon a time she cared, and she did everything she could to help. And with that fancy Captain Jack obviously involved, I figured Torchwood knew something, and that Gwen would help. Like she used to."

"And she did!" Rhys exclaimed, then lowered his voice. "She found the boy, didn't she?"

"Then why not tell me what's going on? He was my missing persons case."

"I don't think she can, mate," Rhys said, sounding genuinely regretful.

"Because she's so upset?" Andy scoffed. "Bullshit. She doesn't want to tell me because she's just like the lot of them now. Torchwood. Think they're better than everyone else, swanning around town like they own it. While the rest of us are just trying to protect it."

Rhys sighed. "Look, I'll tell you what I can, but I can't really explain much, because I don't understand most of it myself, all right?"

"All right," Andy nodded slowly. "But why?"

"Because Torchwood won't," Rhys replied. "And I know what it's like to be in the dark. And because you're a good copper, and a decent bloke."

"I ditched your wedding," Andy said.

"You wouldn't remember it anyway," Rhys told him. "It was a complete fiasco."

"Well, it's you and Gwen, it was bound to be, wasn't it?" Andy replied. He had a mental quota of digs he tried to get in at times like this.

"Very funny," Rhys replied, rolling his eyes. "I meant in the Torchwood sense."

"Torchwood covered up your wedding?" Andy asked, guessing immediately.

"Sure did. Bloody Torchwood." Andy shared a rare grin with Rhys, and half wished he'd gone to see the wedding mucked up. He focused instead on his reason for being there.

"So what's Jonah's story?" asked Andy.

"He was injured," Rhys said slowly. "I don't know exactly what happened, that's one thing I still don't understand, probably never will. Something bad happened to him, though. I know Torchwood tries to stop it when they can, and they try to help people who get hurt."

"And then they cover it up," Andy pointed out.

"They do," Rhys agreed. "Because they have to. Some of the things that Gwen's told me…I don't think the world is ready to know, Andy. They're just trying to protect us, and not only from the monsters."

Andy nodded, thinking about it and reluctantly wondering if Rhys was onto something. "And Nikki? Jonah's mum?"

"Gwen took her to see the boy. He's under Torchwood protection. They're taking care of him because they're the only ones who can." He swallowed. "Gwen said Nikki was furious, and not because her son was injured, but because Gwen told her what had happened, took her to see him. She said Gwen took away her hope."

Andy whistled under his breath. "I bet that didn't go over well with Gwen."

Rhys smiled. "You'd be right. She was devastated. I think it's why Torchwood hides so much, though. If a mum is that upset about knowing what happened to her missing kid, maybe she's better off not knowing anything at all."

"Gwen doesn't believe that, does she?"

"I don't know anymore," Rhys said with an unhappy shrug. "She's different, you know. She's changed. She said you gave her a hard time about it."

"I did," Andy admitted. "Because she wasn't going to help. The old Gwen would have jumped in feet first and done everything she could to find a missing child."

"And the old Gwen would have believed a mother should be with her child, no matter what, but…" Rhys trailed off. "I've seen things, Andy, and I'm starting to understand why sometimes it's better not to know. Maybe it's not that she thinks she's better than us…it's that she's knows more than us. She's seen and done things we can't even conceive of."

Andy shook his head in disappointment. "Bloody hell, you sound like you've been brainwashed with the rest of them. People deserve to know, Rhys. People deserve to know what's happened to their loved ones."

Rhys nodded. "I know, mate. Normally I'd agree, but it's a crazy world out there." He took a sip of coffee before continuing. "Gwen said they're doing everything they can to help Jonah, and to make sure nothing similar happens to anyone else. I think it's tough, though."

"Yes, well breaking up bar fights between drunk hooligans is hard, too," Andy pointed out. "That didn't change her perspective on drinking, did it?"

Rhys shrugged and finished his drink. "I suppose not. Look, I'm just trying to help. Believe me, I know how difficult it is to be half-involved with Torchwood."

"Oh, you know what it's like to be blown off at a crime scene?" asked Andy. "Tossed off the case without a reason? Lied to, used, and ignored—by a friend?"

"In a way," Rhys hedged, looking uncomfortable. "Gwen spent months making up stories about her job, running off at the drop of a hat the moment they called, no matter if we were in the middle of a date! Gone all night, injured, upset for some reason I could only guess at. Sometimes I wonder if she'll ever really tell me everything, official paper work or not."

Andy sighed. "I just wish they'd talk to those of us who help them. We can handle it. Tell her that for me, will you? I can handle it—especially if you can. Because in the end, Gwen and I are both trying to do the same thing—the right thing—for Cardiff."

Andy stood to leave and Rhys joined him. "I'll put in a word for you, Andy," he said, shaking Andy's hand. "You're a good man."

"Yeah, well it takes a better man than me to marry into the madness," Andy replied. "Good luck with that."

"Thanks," Rhys laughed. "Sometimes I definitely need it!"

They left the café and parted ways on the pavement. Andy walked back to the station, thinking about some of the things Rhys had said, and some of the things he hadn't. He thought he understood Torchwood a little better, but it didn't lessen his frustration with Gwen. They really were doing the same job—protecting the people of Cardiff—only from different perspectives, with a different approach, and using different specializations, perhaps. She could trust him, Torchwood could trust him, and he hoped that one day they all would.

Author's Note:
Many thanks to Taamar for several lines in this! I wasn't sure about a Rhys and Andy drabble and she pushed me to it, dropped some lines, and read through it. Any mistakes are my own. Thank you for reading!