Chapter 9

*RING RING*

All three of them jumped, Tosh letting out a small scream as the sound of Ianto's mobile echoed out into the hub. When they looked back at the screen, the lists and screens of Toshiko's data were back. There was no evidence of the eerie conversation that had just taken place.

Ianto glanced down at the screen, then cautiously answered it, visibly relaxing when Jacks American accent came through the speaker. Owen rolled his eyes and wondered back over to his own work station as if nothing had happened.

"What do you mean the med bay, whats happened? Are you ok? Is Gwen ok?" Ianto's tone made the others look up.

"Was it the same thing as before?...Right ok, yep, bye!" Ianto rang off. "Owen, Jack says to get the medical bay ready, they're bringing Rhys in."

"What, Rhys is dead?" Toshiko sounded worried

"No, I don't think so. Jack just said he'd been attacked at their flat and they need to bring him in quickly. And that we were to make him comfortable"

Owen rolled his eyes at this last part, but walked off to get his area prepared for the new arrival.

"Did he say if Gwen is ok? She must be so upset" Tosh as always thinking of her friend.

"Jack said she was fine, but you know him, that probably just means that she's not physically hurt. I guess we'll know more when they arrive."

Toshiko didn't look overly convinced, but turned back to her workstation all the same and continued scanning for any leads or information on whatever this thing was. Images flickered past on Ianto's computer as it scanned for unusual movements or people trying to enter the building.

"Do you...do you think that, whatever it is, was really in here?" Ianto jumped slightly at Tosh's voice. They had been working in silence for a number of minutes now, and he had been lost in thought and watching the videos for anything unusual.

"What do you mean?"

"It said in the message, I'm looking at you right now. It wanted us to look around at it. The only way that could have been true or possible would have been for it to have been in here with us" Tosh tried and failed to keep the nervous edge out of her voice as she spoke.

"No" Ianto said firmly, keeping his eyes fixed on the screen in front of him. Tosh looked over, surprised at the sudden certainty in Ianto.

"But she said..."

"I said no!" Tosh was taken aback at this, Ianto rarely raised his voice at anything. He was always the calm and gentle one, always there with a cup of coffee and a small smile. Now though, his stance seemed rigid, and his hand was tightly gripping the computer mouse so she could see the whites of his knuckles.

"She...It can't have been here" he continued in more normal tones. "If it had, the hub would have picked it up when it entered and raised the alarm. Or at least the camera's would have picked something up. As it is, I've found nothing out of the ordinary coming near the hub."

Tosh looked away, unconvinced. Clearly this thing had affected Ianto more than he was letting on, but she wasn't about to push the matter. She wasn't feeling so confident about it all herself.

A loud clatter and the sound of Owen swearing reached their ears, and Tosh couldn't help but smile. Typical Owen, even in the middle of the end of the world he'd still be the same old Owen. Her smile faded a little as she also remembered that the same old Owen she was thinking about was also the one who never even noticed her.

Finally after what seemed like hours to the Torchwood crew, the wailed, the lights flashed and the cog-like door to the hub smoothly rolled open. Jack swept through it, coat billowing behind it. Owen secretly believed that Jack had somehow configured it to do that just for the effect.

"Owen, we need a stretcher out here now! We need to get Rhys inside." The two men grabbed the makeshift bed between them and ran out of the door once more, returning minutes later with Gwen and the still form of Rhys.

"Oh my..." Toshiko put her hand to her mouth as she saw Gwens fiancé being carried past. Owen and Jack were talking quickly in low voices, Owen gaining as much information about the attack as he could. Both Tosh and Ianto followed behind the small procession, stopping at the top of the small flight of stairs leading down into Owen's Laboratory/medical area. Jack gently detached Gwen's hand from Rhys', and carefully led her back up to where the others were standing.

Tosh took her friends arm and gently led her away from the scene, talking to her calmly. Down below them Owen had instantly set to work, preparing scans and setting out his equipment. Ianto looked over at Jack watching the scene below.

"Its the same thing isn't it." Ianto said quietly, "The same thing that was in here, the same thing that attacked Tosh."

"We don't know that for certain, it could be a number of things. Maybe Rhys just...hit his head or something" Jack tried to sound reassuring, but Ianto knew him well enough by now to recognise the slight waver in his voice that meant he didn't believe his own words.