A/N This chapter is dedicated to ca choel who has followed the story so far, and is based around what she has been asking for. I also want to thank Jazzieperson.
Tosh woke up to the sound of Jack's snoring and instantly blushed, feeling ridiculous about her breakdown yesterday. Slowly she sat up, waiting for the aches and pains but they seemed dull. The Captain's eyes flickered open, obviously aware of her stirring.
"Nope, you lay back down." He pushed her back gently and she just rolled her eyes. A nurse came in then and Jack nodded to the door and mouthed five minutes. Tosh nodded, smiling as if her stupid outburst hadn't occurred yesterday. He went straight to Ianto's room and was unsurprised to find no change. Jack shook his head sadly, and kissed Ianto lightly on the lips. Somewhere deep inside him he realised he had done it in a Prince like gesture, to wake up Snow White and laughed at his wistfulness. Next he quickly peeked in on Gwen; she too was exactly the same. The doctor had told him last night, that she was still under sedation and they'd remove that today, she should wake up, she should be fine. Jack was beginning to hate the word should, because it didn't mean it happened that way. It just gave false hope. Finally he crept through the door of Owen's room and found what he had expected, the doctor lying there unmoving. He sat down on the edge of the bed sighing deeply as he did so. "Sorry Owen. It's all my fault. I should have got to you, I should have protected you. And I didn't. That's my job, and I failed." He stared at Owen's predicament then, it was similar to Ianto's and Gwen's. All the machines looked the same to Jack at least. Wires were going in and out of Owen's body, a tube going up his nose to keep him breathing. Jack didn't like the idea that Owen couldn't breathe for himself, he was usually so infuriatingly self reliant that it scared him. Jack heaved himself to his feet, feeling as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders and then he realised that it was. Well at least the weight of Cardiff. Nobody had been watching the rift, but he couldn't break the promise he had made to Toshiko. Making sure no one was looking through the little window in the door; he gave unit a call and explained his predicament. He also explained how if they came in there all military guns blazing the rift would be the last thing they had to worry about.
"Should you be on that in here?" The voice dripped sarcasm and Jack instinctively looked out of the door, before realising that the voice had come from the opposite direction. He revolved to stare at Owen, who was lying in bed, the wire that had been helping him breathe displaced. His head was slightly elevated so that he could see Jack more clearly. Jack dropped the phone and began to splutter excuses; until it clicked that he didn't actually need to. Some more incoherent sentences left his lips.
"I didn't hear you wake up." He finally managed to blurt. Jack took a huge breath to regain composure and then managed the first realistic smile anyone had seen in days. "Took your time didn't you?" Owen grinned back, gazing around the room, although his eyes flickered over Jack they never seemed to be able to settle on him for very long. After a while he started to remove wires, muttering to himself about how many bloody chemicals they'd pumped into him. Carefully, he sat up fully, and then twisted to the edge of the bed and got to his feet. He walked wobbling slightly, over to the heart monitor and switched it off, so that he could take off his final set of wires. "Will you stay with Tosh, she gets uncomfortable if she's left alone and Gwen and Ianto haven't woken up yet?" Owen just nodded, as he rooted through the cupboard beside the bed, picking up his dirty clothes and putting them back on.
"Didn't you think to bring us more clothes?" There was a genuine note of irritation in Owen's voice, as he belted his jeans and walked back to Jack now remarkably steady on his feet.
"I've been on a constant vigil." Jack explained Owen's face remained unimpressed. Trust him to be concerned about vanity. Owen followed Jack out of the room.
"Pity you weren't on a constant vigil, for insane ex lovers." The mumble was barely audible and Jack was unsure if he'd heard right, so he didn't press it. Owen had been through enough lately. Someone shouted at them as they walked the few metres down the corridor and they both sighed in aggravation as a rather fat nurse, with greying hair and red cheeks demanded why Owen was out of bed. Jack went to show her his I.D, but she refused to leave it, ordering them to give her answers. "Look Lady, you do a wonderful job okay, but I'm a doctor and I think I know when I'm okay to get up and move around. So shut the hell up and let me go see my friend, before I get you locked up for harassment. We can do that Jack can't we?" Owen inquired very seriously, but he still didn't look in the Captain's eyes.
"We can do it." Jack assured. The women impossibly went redder and then stormed away. They walked into Tosh's room, and found her alone. She was curled into a ball, still on the bed, but as close to the wall as she could get. As soon as they entered however she relaxed her pose, but they both saw her frightened eyes.
"Owen, you're okay." The relief was strong in her voice, and he naturally went to her, taking her hand in his.
"Of course I'm alright, did you think a bit of electricity would hurt me?" His arrogant tone sent thrills through her, it was the only confirmation she needed that the person she loved the most was fine. They talked rapidly then, discussing injuries and what happened to them when they were alone with John. Jack slipped out unnoticed. He was worried, not only for the people still sleeping but for the members of his team who sat talking avidly, because although they hadn't noticed it about each other. They were different and he wondered if he'd ever get his old team back. Exhaling noisily he went to sit with Ianto, feeling more troubled than he had twenty-four hours earlier.
The man followed her wherever she ran, he wouldn't ever stop. And now to top it all off she was lost, in the maze of corridors. His footsteps had disappeared, but that just made her heart beat faster. Where was he? Where was she? She didn't dare call out for help, in case he was the one that heard. In fact she hardly breathed, as she tiptoed on the concrete. It felt like the walls were getting closer together, determined to create her tomb. If he didn't kill her the world would. She could hear humourless laughter but couldn't make out a direction. It seemed to come from everywhere, from the walls themselves. And then she tripped and when she got up, she was staring into the face of a monster. "No." She whispered and then he pushed her. She was falling, endless falling; she didn't think she would ever stop. But then she hit the floor, pain seared through every inch of her body. A beeping sound pierced her head; it was all she could hear. Why wouldn't it stop? Make it stop! It was dark now, but still that noise. All around her pure black, but it seemed to be getting deeper, swallowing her, but she didn't care, because at least the pain would stop. Wouldn't it? And that noise would end too. Oh god she hoped so.