Hello, yes for once I updates sooner then expected lol. Thanks for your reviews especially those of Starlite1, Super Spazz Attack, Crazy Psycho Book Freak, Maria Gonzalez, kateg123, starry eyed torchwood lover, shadowxwolf, terriah, Storm-fox8, Kazz the 13th, Perfect Pirate Captain, Lutherian, Itchigo and Pandora of Ithilien. Here's the next part and try not to want to kill me too bad when you've finished reading. pretty please : )


Chapter 12

The night had lasted for what seemed like hours, but ended too quickly. Gwen was the first to awake from the slumber still wrapped in Jack's arms. She turned herself over to look at his still sleeping form.

His face was calm as he slept. It didn't seem troubled and he looked innocent. She leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. To her relief, he didn't stir. She quietly let herself out of the bed and changed into yesterday's clothes. She was sure the rest of the team was bound to notice, but she had nothing to feel guilty about. Nothing had happened. Nothing at all, she thought depressingly, and nothing ever would.

She let herself up to the Hub. It was strange with no one being around. It was nice and calm and the perfect atmosphere to begin the process of her resignation. Her mind was made up. She had formed a plan in her sleep. She couldn't keep doing this anymore.

She walked over to Tosh's computer and pulled up her file. She typed in a few commands, deleted a few things while adding others. When she had first found Torchwood and took over Susie's desk, she had found a bunch of codes Susie had used to delete most of her information. Gwen really should have given them to Tosh to look at, but something told her at the time not to. At the moment she was glad she listened.

Gwen was a lot better with the computer since Jack's return. She wasn't any Toshiko Sato, but she figured out enough and with this kind of technology at her fingertips, it was easy to get around. Tosh had taught her simple things like hacking, bringing up different files, fake identity, covering up CCTV, covering up most recent things done on the computer and such. Ianto, to her surprise, taught her a few lessons on cleaning, planting and covering up situations and files.

"What are you doing?" his voice sounded.

Gwen had heard him the moment he opened the latch. She exited out of her original work and pulled up files on the most recent alien case before he could catch onto her true intentions. She and Jack lived by a motto. It takes a liar to know a liar. She could tell when he was lying as he could tell when she was lying. But there were times when she got around it because she knew how to play him. This was one of those times.

"I'm just looking at the most recently recorded alien activity for the report I'm writing up. I would have done it at my computer, but the charts weren't showing up," she said without even blinking and ever so calmly.

"It's six in the morning. Even Ianto's not in yet."

"Well Ianto didn't sleep in your bed last night, did he?" she mumbled.

"What?" he could just barely make out her words.

Gwen didn't answer. She only hit the print button, grabbing the papers and headed for her own workstation to proceed with the report.

Jack watched her for a few minutes. The night was over and she was making it perfectly clear. There was work to be done. Jack sighed and went over to the computer. She hated him, he thought. Could he blame her? He ruined his friendship with her because he couldn't keep his mouth shut. He had started something he couldn't handle finishing. It was worse than when he and Ianto had broken it off. At least they were still on speaking terms and were still friends. Gwen and he on the other hand, let's just say it was going to be quiet around the Hub for awhile.

Jack pulled up the charts she had been looking through. He brought up the most recent opened documents and files. Nothing suspicious, but he could have sworn…no, she was just upset at him.

He looked at her again as she typed on the computer. He closed his eyes recalling how she felt against him, how soft her lips were and how tingles ran through him as she slid her hand into his. Oh, he had done it many times before, but it felt different. It felt…right and complete. It was then when he finally admitted it to himself how achingly in love with her he was.

He wanted to cry. Last night should have been something for the memories, but it felt like so much more. He wanted so much more. You can't, he told himself, she deserves better than a broken man. She deserved someone to grow old with and someone who could give her all the things she wanted.

It was at times like these when he cursed the Doctor. He was stuck in this existence, barely existing. At least a time lord could eventually die. But he couldn't. He was forced to live on watching people he cared about grow old and die, he would be forced to watch the world progress on, enter several future wars, not that they knew, watch life be ripped apart and then stitched back together. He would be forced to live alone.

"Good morning," Ianto said as he entered the Hub.

Jack glanced at his watch. It was seven all ready? He must've gotten lost in his thoughts. He looked around and noticed Gwen was no longer at her workstation.

"Where's-"

"-I believe she went to the bathroom," Ianto interrupted as he went to his beloved coffee machine and started her up.

Jack nodded as he caught sight of her just coming out of the stalls. He caught her eye and gave her that Jack Harkness stare that said get back to work. She looked back at him giving him a look that could both be interpreted as I understand and Go to hell.

Jack went into his office and took a seat in his chair. He didn't sleep with her last night. He couldn't bring himself to try to. He only asked her to stay. This was so not like him and that was when he finally admitted it to himself that he was in love with her. If only he would allow himself to admit it to her.

Ianto sighed as he entered with Jack's coffee. Jack was watching as Gwen was making a phone call to who knows who.

"You're going to lose her."

Jack was taken aback by Ianto's statement and looked at the younger man with questioning eyes.

"Jack, you're playing with her heart. One day she's just going to get so fed up with it and walk out."

"Thank you for the coffee," Jack stated making it firmly clear to Ianto the conversation was not open for discussion.

Jack hated the idea of her leaving him. How angry had he gotten when she threatened to after the whole meat encounter and that was on her own terms. Even if they had never spoken again at least she was here, right now in the Hub with him.

Tosh came in about an hour after Ianto soon followed by Owen. The day was pretty calm save for two rouge weevils that were brought in, but other then that, the day seemed to carry on quietly.

"Here are those files," Gwen said as she came into his office later that evening.

"Thank you," he told, "And for last night to."

They hadn't spoken the entire day. There seemed to be an unsaid tension that both parties were choking on. The rest of the team took it as normal seeing how they weren't speaking before though Tosh did question Gwen a little who wasn't as open as the day before. Maybe they thought it was just awkwardness. Gwen didn't seem angry, more like saddened really. Jack was thoughtful, but the team just basically ignored it.

Gwen looked at him and nodded, "It's getting late. Do you think I can go home now?"

Jack nodded and she turned towards the door, "Goodbye, Jack."

"You mean goodnight," Jack stated as she made for the door.

She gave a slight nod and closed the door behind her. Jack stared after her. Something didn't feel right. It reminded him of the way Susie, had acted before trying to run. She only ended up shooting herself in the head.

Jack looked through the files Gwen handed him. Normally he'd leave them for later, but he just wanted to see them over. All of her reports were done, fine, but then the last one caught his attention. He opened the file and he felt his heart stop at what he was reading next. The title read the resignation of Gwen Elizabeth Cooper and on the bottom was the signature of the prime minister relieving her of her duty.

"Gwen!' he yelled as he ran out the door.

Jack leaned over the railing, but she was already gone. He grabbed his great coat preparing to head out.

"Jack, what happened?" Tosh called.

There was fear, anger, desperation, worry, a mix of emotions playing across his features.

"Tosh, I want you to trace Gwen's signal."

"Why?"

"Just do it," he said leaning over her.

Tosh brought up her tracker program and pressed a few buttons. When it didn't come up, she pressed even more buttons. And when that didn't work she tried typing in even more commands.

"Jack, have you been messing around with the tracker program?" Tosh asked.

"Bring up Gwen's file."

Tosh typed in a few more commands and opened up a few more documents only to find them locked. She tried hacking in only to find it blocked. This type of thing didn't happen to her. By this time Ianto and Owen were becoming quite intrigued that Tosh was failing to do this.

"It's a simple lock and hack and I…this looks like the type Susie used to erase all traces of herself," Tosh stated, "But how-"

She was cut off as Jack thrust a paper towards her. Tosh read it, her eyes widening.

"Gwen quit?"

"That hasn't been signed by an official Torchwood officer and she is still owned by me. Tosh I want her found. She's not as computer experienced as Susie was and I trust you can break 

through whatever you can. In the mean time I'm going to look at her flat. Ianto, check to see if she spoke with relatives or friends in the past forty-eight hours. Owen I want you to take out some blood samples and do a blood trace, if Tosh can't get through."

"Problem, Jack," Owen called from the autopsy room, "There are no blood samples of Gwen. Geese, when someone wants to leave you, they make sure to do it properly don't they?"

Jack glared in his direction, "Tosh trace her car, her cell phone-"

"-Don't bother with the cell phone. She left it here."

"Bank accounts."

"Been signed and cleared," Tosh called.

"Jack, maybe if she wants to go you should let her go. It's not like she's going to tell anyone anyways and it's her choice no matter how much we'll miss her. Is there any reason why should would leave in the first place?" Ianto asked.

Jack looked at Ianto when the sudden conversation from before came flooding back to him. Jack took the resignation from Tosh and looked it over. Where the signature was required for a Torchwood officer, he could have sworn there was none, but Ianto's signature stood firm.

"You knew about this," he looked at Ianto.

"She said she was going to tell you herself when the time was right. I tried to warn you in your office, but you weren't having any of it."

Jack's anger only deepened, "Do a search for a face match on CCTV then. I don't care, just find her. She's not getting away. I refuse to let her go."


Gwen stared out the window of her bus seat. She couldn't remember the last time she took public transportation. She never use to like it, but something about it tonight was comfortable. The steady sound of the shaking bus as the engine ran, the sound of people climbing in and finding seats. Someone had a radio and she could hear The Beatles "Yesterday" playing softly.

Her breath fogged the window as she pulled the black hoodie more closely around herself. Her suitcase was securely locked overhead, the night was cool, and as far as she was concerned no one knew where she was.

Did he even know by now? How long before he found her resignation in the large folders and reports she had handed him and Ianto's betrayal?

She sighed. She never thought she'd end up like this. Like Susie. On the run and scared, but she couldn't keep doing this. It was her only option. If she had quit the proper way she'd be left having a big brood with Jack, she would have been retconned and forgotten all about Jack, Rhys 

and aliens and she didn't want that. It wasn't like she would tell anyone, but that was Torchwood regulations.

She had left her flat behind taking only a few of her belongings. She couldn't take her car because she knew Jack would mostly likely have it traced, nor her cell phone or any piece of technology that could be traced. She even had a few of her blood samples to keep him from doing a blood trace.

She had her records concealed using Susie's way and gave herself a new identity. Gwen Casey. She had the right papers to get into the right places and even took one of Jack's psychic paper. Oh yes, she knew about that one.

"Now leaving for London," the bus driver called.

She kept telling herself she was doing the right thing. If she didn't leave now, she'd only end up heartbroken and alone. She needed to be as far away from Captain Jack Harkness as possible.

As the bus started up, she didn't realize she was breathing heavily. She was leaving her beloved Cardiff for other places. She was leaving Jack and her heart broke a little. But if she stayed it would have broken even more, wouldn't it. At least this gave her a chance to move on with her life.


"Try freckle face," Owen suggested.

"Why on earth would she make a password that obvious and that ridiculous," Ianto asked.

Tosh was having trouble hacking into the system of Gwen's records. Every time she tried to do so a virus began to download onto the computer's main frame in response. They ended up trying to guess at the password using their knowledge.

"Try Rhys Williams," Ianto offered.

Tosh typed it in, only to have the access denied screen pop up.

"This is ridiculous. It can be anything and if Gwen really didn't want to be found she would have made it something completely random like shoes, socks, James Blunt or pickles. It would be something we'd least suspect."

"Try water lilies," said Jack into the comm.

"What?"

"They're her favorite kind of flower," said Jack into the comm.

She typed it in only to have the access denied screen pop up again.

"Why can't you just break the code Tosh? I thought you were the computer expert," Owen started.

"Yes and do you know how humiliating it is to have a coworker who didn't even know what HTML meant until you told her so show you up," Tosh yelled.

"She had to have help. Ianto you must have-"

"No, all I did was sign her release. I explained to her the Torchwood protocols about quitting before I signed for her release and she understood fully that she would be retconned and any evidence of Torchwood would be erased from her files and life. She planned this when she asked me. She knew and she didn't want to forget nor be found," Ianto explained, "I bet she isn't even walking around under the identity of Gwen Cooper anymore."

"What about CCTV?"

"Oh, you mean that 24, 983 results that popped up. She did something so we can't directly track her appearance," Tosh stated in frustration.

"Jack, have you found anything at the flat?"Ianto asked into the comm..

Jack stood around looking at the desolate apartment. Everything was in order. Even the drawers and closets still held some of her clothes. She must've already had a suitcase packed in case a situation arose where she would have to leave.

He couldn't believe that he drove her to this. That he could break her down so completely that she would run away from him. He had done the same to Susie. The only differences were she was not suicidal, she hadn't murdered anyone because of a glove and he was in love with her.

He looked around some more. He looked in the kitchen looking for anything. Maybe she left a note. He looked on the counter and there laid an envelope with his name on it. He sat on her sofa and began to read.

She explained her reasons for leaving. She couldn't just stand by and let him keep her on a leash. She couldn't just ignore this ache she had for him. When Rhys was alive, she had him. She loved him and she could see herself growing old with him. And then after he died she found she was more vulnerable with him around and found herself falling more and more for him each day. The last four days were the greatest and worst of her life and she needed to move on. She ended her letter telling him she loved him and goodbye.

Jack didn't realize until after he had finished reading that his eyes were wet.

"Jack," Tosh called into the comm.

"Let her go," was all he said.

If this was what she wanted this was what she was going to get.

"What?"

"Get back to work. I believe there are still reports that need to be filed, a weevil corpse that needs to be opened up and a vacancy that needs to be quickly filled.

"So, you're just giving up?" Owen asked in disbelief.

Silent tears rolled down his cheeks as he simply answered with a broken voice, "Owen, forget it. It's over."