Title: Tears of the Weevil

Summary: Owen's mental state deteriorates and he's convinced there's only one way to 'save' Gwen.

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: Don't own Torchwood, the characters or anything related to the show.

"Why are you doing this to me?" The weevil stood with its back to him, ignoring his questions. "What do you want with Gwen? God damn it! Tell me!" He took hold of its shoulder, spinning it around to face him. The grinning face of Jack Harkness stared back at him.

"She's mine Owen."

He was covered in a cold sweat as he pulled himself to his feet. His damp shirt clung to his back as he walked over to the door. Placing his head on the cool glass he sighed. He was no longer sure what Jack wanted with Gwen, all he knew was that whether it was to murder her or steal her from him, he wouldn't let it happen.

"How the hell did this happen?" Jack barked, staring in astonishment at the hole in the glass wall. "A weevil can't make a dent in one of these things and yet Owen can smash through one?"

"It's a sign of how bad his psychosis is. His need to have Gwen seems to have overshadowed everything else, his brain was obviously so fixed on getting to her that it released the safety limits on how far he could push his body, I doubt he'd even have registered the pain in his fists."

"The log shows the lift was used five minutes ago." Ianto informed them from the doorway.

"Great so we now have a psychotic-Gwen-obsessed Owen running around Cardiff."

"Not exactly." Ianto grunted as Owen appeared behind him and brought his gun down against the back of his head. "Everything I need is right here Jack. Gwen, the weevil and a locked room to keep you the hell away from Gwen."

"Owen!" Jack appealed to him as he closed the door. "How the hell is the weevil going to protect Gwen?" He paused, his hand on the bolt.

"I don't know." He answered honestly. "But it told me it will. I'm sorry Jack, but I can't let you hurt her." He slammed the bolt shut, trapping them inside while he searched for the missing team member.

He found her slumped over her desk, staring at the screen saver of her computer. He watched her for a few minutes before making his move. "Gwen!" He ran to her workstation, feigning being out of breath. "The weevil escaped. You've got to come with me." He grabbed her hand before she could protest and picked up his gun from his desk on the way past.

"Owen? Why are we going this way?" She panted, trying to keep up with his pace. He was frantic and edgy, looking around every few seconds as they ran deep in to the bowls of Torchwood; towards the cells.

"Jack told me to put you in one of the cells to keep you out of that things way." They came to an abrupt halt as they reached one of the many rooms filled with cages for confining aliens. Had she been paying attention to where they'd ran she would have realised which particular room they were going in to. He slammed the door shut behind her. She jumped. Not because of the bang, but what was staring at her. From behind the screen confining it stood the weevil. Safely locked in the cage. "I'm sorry Gwen. It's for your own good." She turned to find him aiming his gun at her. "I don't want him to get you."

"Who?" Her head was spinning. Why was Owen giving her to the thing her was supposedly protecting her from?

"Jack."

Up until then she had refused to accept that he had lost it, and that whatever was going on wasn't weevil or alien induced. Staring at him, she could see the confusion and madness within him. She doubted even he understood his own logic, he just refused to back down from it. Even while being insane he was a stubborn git.

"Let her go Owen." Jack stood in the open doorway with Toshiko and Ianto behind him. Everyone in the room looked to the pistol in his hands. "I don't want to have to shoot you, but there's no way you're letting that weevil out."

A slow, almost manic, grin spread over the younger man's face. "Oh I'm not letting it out Jack." He reached for the controls to open the door. "It wants Gwen inside."

"Owen! Don't you dare open that door!" Jack barked, his gaze dark. Owen shifted his position so that his arm was wrapped around Gwen's waist, his gun pushing slightly in to her abdomen, using her as a human shield.

"I won't let him hurt you." He whimpered in her ear. "I have to save you." She was too scared to respond. She was either about to be shoved in a cage with a weevil or shot if Jack decided to stop Owen before he could open the door. Owen could feel her body against him, tense and shaking. Absently he stroked her cheek, comforting her in a way that suggested he was more than just a recurring one night stand to him. "It'll protect you. It promised." Spinning her around he crushed his lips to hers. The last kiss of a dying man, or woman in her case. The hand not holding the gun slammed against the release button, opening the cell door.

Jack switched from aiming at Owen to the weevil. It stood cautiously in its cage, watching the situation unfold. Something small and metal was shoved in to Gwen's pocket before she was pushed backwards, in to the waiting arms of the weevil. Gwen watched in horror as, almost in slow motion, Jack tried to get to the cage, only to have Owen tackle him to the ground, knocking his pistol from his hand. Ianto and Toshiko moved towards the cage but it was too late. The weevil pulled the object from Gwen's pocket, and holding it flat in its palm, forced her hand on to the top of it. Had it sighed? She could of swore it had let out a sigh of relief.

The green metallic quickly changed to a deep, blood red colour, growing ever lighter as nanoseconds went by. Everyone in the room clamped their eyes shut, except Jack. He forced his eyes to stay open, ignoring the pain of the light blinding him. When the light disappeared in an instant the others opened their eyes again to find Jack slumped on his knees, eyes wide and skin pale. "They just...vanished."

Gwen dropped to her knees as the weevil collapsed to the ground behind her. "Welcome back." She looked up and found Jack grinning at her. She and the weevil were in the middle of the boardroom table.

"What's going on?" Gwen mumbled, her throat dry and her vision still blurry from the light.

"How are you feeling?" He shook his head as Gwen went to answer. "I was talking to him." He pointed behind her. She turned to look at the weevil behind her. The changing weevil.

It lay on its back, spread eagled with its eyes closed, panting as though in pain. It's face contorted in agony and its back arched. It was in pain. Its claws began to retract in to its hands, leaving fingers. Its hair darkened and grew and its flesh paled. Once the transformation was over it slumped back on to the desk, exhausted and nearly unconscious.

"What the hell is going on?"