"Alright kids! Tonight's the night. Don't ever let it be said, Torchwood doesn't know how to give. Everyone ready?" Jack bellowed.
He was waiting for them outside his office door. Everyone had left to get change into their formal attire. Ianto and Owen occupied the changing rooms near the showers while the girls utilized one of the overnight rooms to change. Jack had slid down to his sleeping quarters to prepare himself. He couldn't wait to see what his team looked like completely done up.
The first to emerge was Gwen in a long red gown, with and empire waist held in place by thin shimmering straps on each shoulder. Her hair was in ringlets around her face and down her shoulders covering up some of what the plunging neckline of the dress revealed.
Jack wolf whistled. "You look gorgeous! That boyfriend of yours is going to be busy fighting them off tonight." He said with a laugh.
"Yes well we both volunteered so I'm sure I'll be just as busy. He looked very dashing when he was trying on the tux for me last night."
"Is that why you were late this morning?" He teased
Just as she was about to answer she lost her train of thought as Ianto emerged from the changing rooms, followed by Owen. "Ianto… I… Wow, you look amazing." She said in disbelief.
"Hey, what am I, invisible? Don't I get a compliment?" Owen grumbled.
"Yes Owen, you look hot." Jack said not taking his eyes off of Ianto. Tonight was going to be harder than he imagined, with the Welshman looking like a very edible version of James Bond. He let his gaze follow the length of his body before returning it back to Ianto's eyes. "You look good Ianto."
"Thank you sir, I am to please." The young man responded with a smirk. As he too appreciated the sight before him, Jack was out of his regular dated clothing and in a black tuxedo of his own.
"Sorry I took so long! I was having problems with one of my heels, all ready to go now." Tosh exclaimed as she entered the center of the hub. She walked straight to her workstation to grab her PDA, made sure the monitoring program she had linked to it was still working properly before she placed it in her clutch bag. Turning around to start heading out she stopped short noticing everyone's eyes on her making her blush profusely.
After much deliberation and Ianto's expert opinion they had chosen together a knee length emerald green dress. It was elegant with a modest square neckline and delicate straps but the selling point of the dress was the back or lack there of that plunged down to her waist.
Jack was the first to break the silence "My beautiful Toshiko, you're going to break someone's heart tonight." He said smiling. "Close your mouth Owen."
Owen coughed to cover up his gawking. "You...um… you clean up good Tosh." He grunted then headed towards the cog door. "Can we go now?"
When they arrived at the dance hall the group found their table and settled to start their dinner before the auction. Whispers and mutterings were all around as they drew the attention of the other attendees. Gwen went in search of Rhys who she had volunteered to help set up the hall. After finding him and sitting at his table for dinner she returned to her fellow team members.
"Everything is almost ready. Here are your number badges; this is how you will be identified for the actual bidding. We will be called up on the stage one at a time then you walk to the end of the stage and back. Once everyone has been on the stage, the bidding book will be passed around and we will be free to enjoy ourselves, dance and mingle. At the end of the night the total amount raised for the charity will be announced as well as the volunteer who got the highest bid." Gwen sighed after her long winded explanation. "Any questions?"
"What if an ugly bird wins my bid, do I still have to go through with it?" Owen asked. Still not happy about the previous week's turn of events where after much pestering from Gwen, Jack ordered them all to volunteer.
"We are all doing this, so ugly or not you will go through with it." Jack ordered, giving him a stern glare.
Just then the slow contemporary music that the DJ had been playing during dinner stopped and the announcer stepped up to the microphone to ask all volunteers to side of the stage.
"You heard 'em. It's now or never." Jack exclaimed with a happy smile. He rose from his chair and made sure Owen followed before heading to that stage with the rest of the volunteers, twenty in total, he counted.
One by one each volunteer was asked up on the stage and each strut their stuff. Some looking like they had definitely practiced their runway walk. The affair was full of laughter, cheers and wolf whistles all in good fun. Some were louder than others especially at some of the volunteers who put special moves into their walk.
Owen was the first of their group to be called up. He pretended he was on the pull and tried to not to look too stiff as he made his across the stage. Jack and Gwen whistled and cheered until he got off the stage.
"Now that wasn't too bad was it?" Jack asked him as Owen passed him by as he headed as far away from the stage as possible.
"Whatever, I need drink." He grumbled and headed over to order himself a double.
After him Rhys was called and Gwen enjoyed slapping his rear when she herself began her turn to strut towards the other side of the stage. Following her Ianto did his best James Bond imitation and even did a half turn as he put his hands in his pockets at the end of the stage, he then winked at the crowd before heading back. The crowd cheered and applauded.
'Oh yes, Ianto was definitely going to make it difficult to win the bid', Jack thought as he watched Toshiko take her turn on the stage to a lot of cheers and whistles. When his turn came up he decided to be subdued. He didn't really care much for who won him; all that mattered to him was being the highest bidder for Ianto. He was monogamous to his young lover and now with the sudden pang of jealousy he was also apparently possessive. A trait he never thought he would ever posses. He was a 51st century man but apparently after being stuck in this time and its customs for over a century, he seemed to be going native.