AN
Sorry this chapter took soooooooo long to update. I know a lot of you thought this story was dead, but it isn't! ^_^ I wasn't quite sure how to tackled this episode, but I hope you like it anywho.
Sash
X
Chapter Five – Adam.
The ceiling seemed suffocating close. The walls kept moving in on him, squeezing the air out of the room, making him take several deep breaths to calm down his nerves. It had been such a long day Adam had, had them all fooled. Letting them believe that he was real so that he could get into their minds and make them see whatever he wanted them to see. Like Grey.
Wracked with guilt he had let the others sleep on the table in the board room. Adam was still there, in the cells. Pacing frantically in the glass walled room he was starting to get annoyed. Jack could tell. As he saw him on the screen he sighed. Sitting up from his desk Jack stretched and opened the door to step out of the room.
As soon as he entered the main part of the hub his eyes rested on Gwen's workstation. It was a mess as usual, she could never keep things organised like Toshiko or even Owen.
Memories flooded through him and he closed his eyes. Throwing out a hand he steadied himself on her desk. Earlier when he had given each of the team a retcon tablet she had finally said that she loved him. It had sent a strong wave of feeling rushing through him. Suddenly all he wanted to do was protect her, and to tell her that he loved her too. But he had held on to his scruples. Pushing the tablet towards her he had merely given her a reassuring smile before proceeding to the rest of the team.
As she fell asleep he lowered her gently onto the table. Taking the rare moment to touch her face and run a hand softly over her hair. Comforting himself as much as her. There would never be another moment like that, Gwen was going to marry Rhys. Before she had said those words he had decided to let her go, to stop fighting and to allow her the happiness she so deserved.
But now?
He would fight for her.
And he wouldn't stop fighting.
Opening his eyes he steadied his racing heart and crossed the room in a few strides. It was all very well telling himself that he was going to fight for her, but he knew that he wouldn't remember it all in the morning. Grabbing a piece of paper and a pen he scribbled himself a small note and thrust it onto his desk and piled a few papers on the top of it. He didnt want anyone else accidently reading it. Turning he went on his way to see Adam. It was time all this ended now.
Jack couldn't help but think about Gwen, even when he was trying his best to be so serious. The way she had smiled at him, it made his pulse flutter and the corners of his mouth turn upwards into a soft loving smile of his own. There were few people who could pull that smile from him. Gwen was one of them. Reaching the stairs he cluttered down the steps and through the short corridor. Resting a hand against the cell door he hesitated.
Did he really want to do this? Kill Adam and forget what Gwen had told him? Could he actually do that without thinking about it? Snorting he shook his head. Of course he could do that, it was his job after all. There was no way he was about to let his relationship with Gwen get in the way of that. Having Adam around would be too dangerous, way too dangerous. No, he would have to sacrifice what he had learned about Gwen and proceed with the right course of action. The death of Adam.
Still, it was hurting him so much just to fill out this duty. Gwen was like, a breath of fresh air in such a tight atmosphere. The small ray of light in the darkness that he called a life. For years he had denied himself so many things. Along the way he had lost some of his humanity. Gwen was teaching him how to live again and he didn't want her to disappear again. It would be too painful for him to deal with. If he had to go back to that lonely life he lead before TORCHWOOD then he didn't know what he would do.
Sighing he pushed himself up off the wall he had been leaning against and pushed open the cell doors. A weevil snarled at him as he entered but he ignored them as always. Approcahing Adam he thrust his hands into his pockets and pushed Gwen out of his mind.
*********************
"So none of you remember everything?" Jack asked for the hundredth time. About twenty minutes ago he had woken up next to an empty cell. Half sprawled on the floor and half propped up by the wall he was aching all over. When he had made his way to the hub he had found the rest of the team there, arguing furiously about what had happened. Non of them remembered anything from the past few days. Toshiko had searched the surveillance camera's only to find out that the footage was missing, it had been deleted by Jack.
"No Jack!" Gwen sniped. "how many time are you going to ask that?"
"So let me get this right" Jack crossed his arms. "Non of us remember anything?"
"No" Toshiko jumped in quickly. The look on Gwens face was priceless. The welsh woman was absolutely furious. "we just woke up in the conference room and that's about it. All of the data from the past forty eight hours has been erased from the system. We've lost two days"
"A whole two days. Wow…that's harsh" Owen smirked. "at least we don't have friends to worry about"
"speak for yourself" Gwen frowned.
"yeah well. We're all in good health. I've checked and re-checked the blood samples I took from you guys. It looks like we've been retconed. We must have done it to ourselves because no-body could have gotten in here"
"Are we sure about that?" Ianto asked.
"It would make sense" Jack nodded thoughtfully. "If we say figured out some information that we weren't allowed to know? Or maybe we had to forget something in order to save the world. It is possible that we retconed ourselves for a reason like that"
"That would make sense" Toshiko nodded. "but why didn't we leave ourselves a note or a letter?"
"maybe we couldn't" Jack shrugged. "Alright guys. Lets go home and come back to work tomorrow. We've got to figure out what the hell has been going on with us for the past two days and I don't think its going to be easy"
"Right. Night Jack" Toshiko smiled. Switching down her computer quickly she grabbed her bag and headed for the door.
Watching them all head to the door he felt a quiet glow of pride for the entire team, they were so trusting of him but he was really worried. They had retconed themselves…but why? Jack frowned and ran a hand through his hair. Retconing the team was a last resort and he knew he would have been the one to do it. Spinning around on his heel he stormed into his office and slammed the door behind him, he felt so helpless! He was supposed to be the leader and he had no idea what he was supposed to do in this situation
"Are you alright Jack?" Ianto asked.
"I'm fine. What about you Ianto…how are you?"
"fine sir" Ianto nodded. "Sir…why do you think you retconed us?"
"Why would you think it was me?" Jack asked cheekily.
"It's protocol sir" Ianto smirked back at him.
Jack laughed and nodded. Sitting down at his desk he sighed heavily. "To be totally honest with you Ianto, I have no idea. Retconing the team is protocol under very specific circumstances. I dread to think whats been going on down here. Something bad must have happened for me to do this"
"Coffee sir?" Ianto suddenly asked.
"I could certainly use one" Jack replied and yawning at the same time.
"Coming up" Ianto nodded his head once.
As he left the office Jack dropped back into his seat and pushed a hand through his hair. Something was bothering him. It wasn't to do with the Retcon situation, he had a strange feeling that he had forgotten something extremely important. Something that was putting dread in the pit of his stomach. What was it!
"Jack?"
Jack sat straighter in his seat and peered at the doorway. Gwen was stood uncertainly on the threshold. In her hand was a mobile phone, she was fiddling with it absent mindedly. The worry on her face was clear for all to see.
"What is it?" he asked. "Whats wrong?"
"I just called Rhys" she said a little uncertainly. "I asked him if he knew what had been happening these past two days"
"And?"
"well, he said I've lost my memory twice now" she wa\lked forward. "He said the last time I forgot who he was"
"You forgot who Rhys was?" Jack frowned. "Like that would ever happen"
"but it did Jack" she leant on his desk. "I don't know whats been going on, but I'd forgotten him Jack. What could make me forget him? It scares me to think someone could do this to us."
"What else did he say?"
"Apparently you brought someone to our apartment. A man who he'd never seen before. You said he was one of our team mates"
"It had to be Owen or Ianto then" Jack shook his head.
"Jack, you introduced Rhys to Owen and Ianto when he came to the hub. Besides none of them have dark blonde hair"
"Okay wait a minute. I'm confused now"
"Rhys said you brought this man to my apartment Jack. You brought a total stranger to where I live!"
"Don't be angry at me Gwen" he said calmly. "I can't remember any of this. If I brought someone then he must have been a friend"
"But you said he was 'with us' at least that's what Rhys said"
"And you believe him?"
"of course I do!" Gwen scowled darkly. "What kind of question is that?"
Jack sighed and nodded apologetically. "I suppose this man could have been the person who broke into the hub. Its quite possible. Any of us could have brought him in with us"
"We wouldn't be that stupid Jack" she laughed.
"No, but he could have easily tampered with our memory"
"People can do that?"
"Aliens can" Jack shrugged. "There are lot of different species who are shape shifters. Or it could have been an abstract essence, it's a type of alien, they take the form of whatever life is on a particular planet"
"What would it want with us?" she asked.
"We're on the rift Gwen" he chuckled. "I think that's more than enough reason for an alien to try and sneak in here"
"So, it re-arranged our memory to make us think it was part of the team?" she asked, making sure that she had got what he was saying right.
"Could be" he nodded. "But that's only one possibility out of thousands"
"So it could have been anything?"
"Yep" he grinned.
"this isn't a joke" Gwen scowled again. "It could have killed one of us"
"But it didn't"
"But-"
"It didn't" Jack replied more firmly. "Now, go home. Talk to Rhys have dinner, do whatever it is you guys do. Just try and relax, nothing else is going to break in here. Believe me. We've had our share for a few days"
"hmm" Gwen shook her head. "See you later"
"Yep"
As she closed the door he looked down at his desk. There were papers everywhere, documents that shouldn't even be out on his desk. Someone had rifled through his drawers and the safe. Pushing his doubts aside he began clearing it all up. What had broken in here? What had been powerful enough to cause such a threat that Jack had, had to take extreme measures to make sure it was forgotten?
Pausing he looked at the paper in his hand. His writing was clear on the front, he had written his own name on a folded piece of paper. Intrigues he unfolded it. The crinkling of the paper seemed remarkably loud in the office. The sound vibrated off the walls, causing it to sound ten times louder.
Jack,
Security measure have been taken. You and your team have lost two days, it is crucial none of you remember what happened. Howver just remember this one thing, Gwen loves you, you can remember that.
Jack Harkness.
Jack stared at the paper as though he couldn't understand the language. It seemed absurd that he would write a letter to himself, but here it was. Not only that, but he had written a letter to himself saying that Gwen loved him. What was going on?
As he folded the paper again and put it in the drawer, he realised something. The dread that had settled in his stomach since he had woken up in the cells had vanished. It was replaced by an elated feeling that tingled throughout his entire body.
Suddenly, without explanation, he understood. Gwen had told him she loved him. Jack couldn't remember when or under what circumstances, but she had. He wouldn't lie to himself about something so serious.
"Jack?"
The said man jumped in his seat. Ianto was stood in front of his desk holding a steaming mug of coffee. He had unbuttoned the top half of his shirt and his tie was dangling out of his pocket.
"Thanks Ianto" Jack said gratefully taking the mug.
"Do you want me to stay with you tonight?" asked Ianto hopefully. It had been a while since Jack had come back to him after his argument with Gwen. Now that things had simmered down between the two of them, Jack had been finding comfort in Ianto. Not that Ianto minded, he was loving every second of it.
"Not tonight Ianto" smiled Jack. "Not tonight"
As Jack's voice trailed off Ianto nodded. Giving one final hopeful glance at Jack he shut the door. It didn't pass by unnoticed that Jack's eyes were shining with a new light. It hadn't slipped past Ianto, that he was smiling that smile. The one he used when he and Gwen were talking to each other.
Grabbing his Jacket Ianto stared at the closed door. Maybe, just maybe…it was time for him to give up on Jack. For a while at least.