Her lungs were burning and her side was hurting her so badly. She paused, just for a second as she looked at the screen of the PDA that she had, the dot was still moving. She rolled her eyes upwards as she continued to run after the dot. She could see the person she was chasing now, a young boy, couldn't be older than 14, however he had something that didn't belong to him. She looked briefly behind, wondering where her friend had gotten to. She had taken off way ahead of him and had proven to him that she was faster. She turned back as she closed the gap on the boy and could now hear his breathing. She reached out, and just barely touched him. She pushed herself a bit more, against the screams of pain from all of her muscles she reached out again, this time grabbing the boy and causing him to fall.
"I don't want to hurt you, just give me what you have taken and you can go." She said in a gentle voice. The boy reached into his pocket and gave her a small stone and then he picked himself up and ran off. She looked at the stone in her hand as it shone. She could hear panting and footsteps coming towards her as she turned and saw her friend.
"When did you get fit?" he asked her.
"I've had a lot of time on my hands." She said, not mentioning the reason why, it was still too painful for her. She held out her hand and gave him the stone. "Here, this is what he had." She told him as she sat down, still feeling the burning in her muscles. She closed her eyes and allowed her breathing to calm as she felt warmth to her left. She knew that he had joined her and could hear him doing the same as her.
He ran as fast as he could to see where she had gone. He let out a silent curse as he looked down at the PDA to see where the dot was and how far behind he was. He cursed again at himself for letting himself get so unfit after everything that had been happening in the hub and then the pain that he was feeling. His legs screamed out as he ran faster and faster, all the time thinking of her, wondering if she was okay. He caught up with her after a few minutes, surprised at how fast she had run after the person. He could see that the boy had already gone; that didn't matter as he knew that she now had what they were after.
"When did you get fit?" he asked her.
"I've had a lot of time on my hands." She said, he could see that there was something that she wasn't telling him, but he let it slide for the moment. "Here, this is what he had." She said to him as she gave him the stone and sat down on the floor resting after the run and he looked at the stone in his hand. The silence grew between them, and he was starting to feel the pain in his legs so he joined her on the ground. She had her eyes closed as they both concentrated on getting their breathe back from the chase. The adrenaline was pumping through his body; he knew that she was having the same reaction. The heat exchanged bodies, from his, to hers and visa versa.
Time passed, seconds ticking by, one minute turned into five, which turned into ten and then fifteen. She opened her eyes and looked at him as he held the stone in his hand.
"What is it?" she asked.
"A wish maker if I am not mistaken. What the rumor is that if two people wish for the same thing, something that their heart truly desires, and then it will come true." He explained. "Want to try it?" he asked.
"This is unlike you, I mean alien tech and you are only 80% sure of what it is and you want to test it out on the both of us, is that safe?" she asked as he handed her the stone.
"If what I am thinking of is true, then for us, it could be better than safe." He said to her. "Hold this. Oh and Gwen, just to tell you, I know…" He said silently "and I will always be here for you."
"Thanks Jack." She whispered as she closed her eyes and felt Jack's hand on top of hers and the stone.
Gwen felt warmth surge through her body, she knew what her heart desired, she just hoped that…
Jack felt warmth surge through his body, he knew what his heart desired, he just hoped that…
The warmth faded and they opened their eyes and looked at each other. The stone had stopped shining and went dull. Gwen looked at Jack, she didn't feel any different and she didn't look any different either. She looked at the stone and then put it in Jack's hand and stood up.
"So, did your wish come true?" he asked her as she began to walk around a bit.
"How would I know, like you said, the other person had to be wishing the same thing as me." She replied. "That's a point, how do I find out if you were wishing the same?" she asked him. Jack shrugged.
"You will know, the stone will let us both know." He said as they began to walk back to the SUV.
The night passed as Gwen spent her time in the hub. She knew that spending her time in the hub helped her stop thinking about everything that has happened to her in the past few days. She could hear Jack's voice in the back of her head "remember to hold on to it" but she knew that it wouldn't happen and that it would break down… she was right. She left Rhys, her connection to the real world, away from Torchwood, it wasn't strong enough. She went down a few floors, pass the cells into a training room that they had and started to punch the punching bag that hang in the corner, allowing her fears, and pain to be expressed and released in every punch before another emotion took over and she stopped and hugged the punch bag for comfort as her silent sobs filled the room.
The night passed as it always for Jack as the hub fell silent, except the humming of the computers in the background. It was just Gwen at her computer, and then she went away. Jack saw from the camera that she was in the training room a few levels down in the hub. He saw the whole scene unfold the fears and pain being taken out on the punching bag before sadness engulfed her. It tore at his heart to see her like that, he knew, somehow that he was the one who told her to hold on, to keep it but at the end of everything, Torchwood takes over. It was then that something wiped over him, he knew this feeling, the wish maker was working and he now knew that she had wanted the same as him.
Gwen huddled in the corner, wanting to just curl away, feeling that no one wanted and that no one needed her. A feeling came over her for a second, something she had never felt before and even before she could grab onto it, it had passed. She pulled her legs up to her chest, hoping that making her smaller would make her invisible. Her jogging pants were soft against her cheek and she closed her eyes and buried her head into her lap as the softness of her pants takes her somewhere else. She heard footsteps, and she knew who it was, there was no one in the hub. The footsteps grew louder until she knew that he was standing in front of her. She could tell by the sound of the material from his trousers that he was bending down, and then the touch of his warm hand as he ran his fingers through her hair. He bent down to her and whispered "it was there, the feeling. Even though it was just for a second it made you feel…"
"Wanted, but then it went before I could hold onto it." She finished Jack's sentence as she began to open her eyes and look at him. "Jack… you wished for…"
"The same thing you did. To be wanted by you." He took her hand and helped her stand up. "Why do you want to hide in the corner Gwen, you should be out lightening the room with your smile." He said as he raised his hand and touched her cheek. Gwen looked at him as he looked down at her. "Never hide yourself in the dark, as I need you to light up the darkness inside me." He said to her as he moved his head down and kissed her gently on the lips.
In the hub on Jack's desk, a stone that could grant wishes to the two people who touched it glowed. It knew that finally, they had found each other.
The end