A/N:

Many thanks to those who have given me such lovely reviews on this one.... and to everyone who simply continues to read it. Reviews are fantastic, but just having it read it wonderful, too.

Also, I have a question for those of you in the UK. For a new story I'm working on (with loads of Jack and Ianto and almost nothing else but!) I'm looking for any old campy British science fiction show to use as a reference in conversation, something preferably from the 70's or earlier, that paints a picture of the future with jet packs and gold lamet jump suits. (The conversation in question currently references the Jetson's, but that's an American show.) Thanks in advance!

Chapter Eight: Questions, Answers, Love and Life

"Stop acting as if life is a rehearsal. Live this day as if it were your last. The past is over and gone. The future is not guaranteed."

Wayne Dyer

"I… I need… a few minutes," Sara stammered into her phone. She needed more than a few minutes. It felt like it might take her an entire lifetime to process what had just happened… Gil had uprooted himself and moved. Temporarily. Three or four months or however long a semester was.

But he was here. In Cardiff. For her.

He was quiet a moment on his end of the line, but then seemed to accept her need for time to process the situation. "Call me…?"

"Soon," she promised.

She hung up the phone Jack got to her. "I'm sorry," Sara said the first words that came to mind.

"Just tell me what's going on."

She almost laughed; she didn't know what was going on. "Have you ever had something happen that was so far out of left field you never saw it coming?"

His smile was kind. "Lots of times."

"I haven't. Not like this. I mean… some people you just think you have all figured out and then…" she was shaking. Then they go and do something so unexpected you don't know how to react…

Jack eased one arm around her shoulders and guided her over to a bench to sit down before she fell over. As they walked, Sara began to talk. It was a little disjointed at first, but he put together what had happened. He understood why she was so rattled she'd practically run out of the Hub. Kneeling down in front of her, he took both of his hands in hers. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"

She looked down at him, startled. "I have a job to finish."

Jack smirked, "I think me and Mickey Mouse can handle it. Besides, Bobby's on his way in… apparently we made the news again." He told her, just barely managing to stifle his irritation. 'Torchwood going after our children' wasn't the kind of news story he wanted to hear on the radio.

"I'll see if I can get them to yank the story…"

"Let Gwen handle that," he said. She had just come back to work full time after fifteen weeks of maternity leave – after almost having had the baby right there in the Hub, when he decided to come out into the big bright world a couple of weeks ahead of schedule. Both Bobby and Jack had been there, although the Captain was relatively certain she was happier about the medic than him. They had gotten her to hospital without incident and with plenty of time for Rhys to be there for the birth of his son. Rhys Junior, or RJ to his aunties and uncles at Torchwood.

Now that she was back, Gwen would be on modified desk duty for the better part of the next year, serving strictly as informational and tech support, monitoring the CCTV system while the team was in the field and helping coordinate with the police when necessary. Unless it was an emergency, her day began at nine and ended at four; her week was Monday through Friday.

Not that Jack hadn't called her in a couple of times because aliens didn't keep banker's hours. This week, however, had been quiet except for a major, decidedly non-terrestrial, energy spike in the morning. It wasn't the rift and nothing had landed… just the same, it didn't take long to track down the 'kid' Jack was currently holding in custody. Even if he was just a sight-seer, he had no business poking around a level five planet.

"Go deal with what you have to," Jack repeated to Sara. "The rest of us can handle this." There had been a time when he would never have condoned putting one's personal life first from any of his team… maybe, he reckoned, that was because he hadn't had a personal life of his own in so long he'd forgotten how important it was to hang onto the things that really were important. Friends. Family. A life outside the Hub.

Reluctantly Sara gave in; she hated leaving them in the middle of it, but realistically she knew she would have a hard time concentrating and Jack was right, this wasn't anything he and Mickey couldn't handle. She wasn't exactly well known for her people skills and even though the kid was probably an alien, she doubted she was the one they wanted doing the interview… interrogation. "I'll have my mobile on if you need me," she promised.

"Likewise."

She gave him a look.

Jack flashed one of those wry little smiles of his. "If this guy gives you any trouble…"

Sara chuckled, "I think I can handle it."

"All right," he grinned at her. "But call us if you need anything." He stood up, hauling her to his feet with him. "I can always put the kid on ice for a few hours and come get you if you need me."

Sara nodded her thanks; they both knew she wasn't going to call, but it was good to know that she could.

…………………………………………………………………

Instead of walking to the car park, Sara headed towards the boardwalk. It was a perfect summer afternoon… her stomach reminded her that she'd missed lunch. She ignored it, turning her gaze towards the bay and smiling to herself as she remembered her dip earlier.

Finally, she pulled out her mobile and asked Gil to meet her at a café she remembered near the University campus.

……………………………………………………..

He stood up as she came in the door. Her expression was difficult to read, but she smiled when she saw him. When she got to the table, she leaned in brushed his lips with hers; it was a light kiss, but he returned it warmly, laying his hands on her arms. "You look good."

Sara chuckled. "Thanks. I probably looked better before going swimming in my clothes."

He gave her a quizzical look as he came around to pull out a chair for her.

"Remember Mickey Smith?" she asked, still smiling.

"The one you said wanted to – quote – 'hook up' with you?"

She nodded. "He pushed me into the Bay."

Gil gave her an incredulous look. "I take it this isn't unusual?" she didn't sound the least bit perturbed.

"Not for Mickey. I think he must have been the class clown when he was a kid. He ended up going in too," she added. "He's probably still moaning about his shoes getting water logged. I keep an extra pair in my locker," she said with a smug little look. She knew Mickey only kept a change of clothes, not shoes.

"So… what did you your job was?"

"I really can't talk about it, Gil," she told him honestly. If he was going to be living here… if they were going to… they were going to see each other, weren't they?

"Can you tell me why you can't talk about it?"

"I work for Torchwood," she said, just as the waitress appeared. The girl paled a little. Sara cleared her throat and asked for a cup of coffee and a few minutes to look at the menu.

"What was that about?" asked her when the waitress had gone to get their drinks.

"We made the news again this morning." She was surprised Jack wasn't having cats over it. Or maybe he was, he just hadn't let her in on his ire.

It wasn't just that the entire team ordered pizza and made dinner reservations in the name Torchwood, the police knew them… knew to call them when something 'hinkey' happened. People were noticing them. People craved information.

"So what does Torchwood do?" he asked, his tone still neutral.

"I can't get into it. It's classified, Gil," she explained the only way she knew how. "I will never, ever be able to tell you what I do. You need to understand that up front if… if this is really going somewhere…?" try as she might, she couldn't make that sound like anything but a question.

"I'd like it to. I still want to marry you, Sara. That never changed."

She was grateful for the arrival of their coffees. She broke eye contact with him to fix hers and to think about exactly how she should respond, how she could respond, to something like that. "Could… could we just start by getting to know each other again? It's been a year… not counting that weekend three months ago. A lot of things have changed in my life."

If her response surprised him, it didn't show.

"Do you still love me?" was all he wanted to know.

She answered without hesitation. "Yes."

Gil reached over and took her hand across the table. "Than I'm willing to start wherever you want me to," he said in a sincere tone.

She let him hold her hand; she held on in return. It felt good… it had always felt so good being with him. There had been a time when she thought moments like this were all she needed to get through anything… but they weren't. Being with him, the prospect of marrying him, hadn't been enough to keep her in Las Vegas. She wondered if it would be enough to keep him in Cardiff.

"Why are you here, Gil? And… please don't say it's because here I am or because you knew I wasn't coming back… I want a real answer. I think I deserve it."

"I missed you. I… " he took a breath and let it out again, slowly, trying to sort out what he wanted to say. What he needed to say so she would understand why he had come.

Instead of speaking, however, he spent a good long while staring out the window at the people coming and going on the street. Most of them were students. He wondered if he would see any of them in his classroom… he wondered what he really thought he was doing here… but then he looked at those brown eyes sitting across from him and he knew exactly what he was doing. What he hoped to accomplish.

He turned his gaze to the woman sitting across from him, waiting patiently for an answer. Laying his emotions bare on the table for others to see wasn't something he was good at. He appreciated that she was patient with him; that she had been patient with him for so long… through so much. He had taken advantage of that. Of the depth and breath of her affection for him.

"I realized I made a mistake," he said at last. "A lot of mistakes. I can't change the past. I can't unsay what I said or undo what I did. I can ask your forgiveness. I can ask you for the opportunity to make things right… but in my experience actions speak louder than words. That's why I'm here."

She swallowed but her throat remained tight… she swallowed again. "I meant what I said about my job. I work insane hours. I'm always on call. I can never come home and tell you about my day. You're going to have to trust me…" he was going to have to trust her about everything.

"I have always trusted you."

She nodded. She believed that. "I'd like you to meet Jack… the rest of the team. They're not just my co-workers. They're my friends. They're this huge part of my life. That's not going to change," she warned.

"I wouldn't want it to. You made concessions for me, Sara. I'm willing to do the same for you."

She smiled. It had been hard to tell if he'd ever noticed how many compromises she made. "All right. I'm not sure about tonight, but I'd like to start with dinner with my boss and his partner." Because if Gil could make it through a couple of hours with Jack, meeting the rest of the team should be easy… she hoped.