Author Notes: Thanks for all the support from everyone. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint, although I warn you, as my standards go, this is mush-central :P

Mild spoilers for Doctor Who's season 4 finale. I wrote this before it was announced Freema wouldn't be reprising her role of Martha next season, despite the earlier suggestions.

Chapter 7

Six long, hard months. Had it really been that long ago? Jack supposed it had. After all, the stars had died and come back to life in that time, Earth had once more almost been wiped from existence, this time along with the rest of the universe. And not only that, Jack's team was once more complete with the new additions of Doctor Martha Jones and Mickey the Idiot. Jack would have to concede he wasn't quite the idiot that they all made him out to be, but never to his face.

Ianto was once more setting a coffee on his boss' desk, but this time, there was no distance between them, no residual animosity. The pieces were being picked up and put back together, at least for his team, and in the end, that was all that mattered to Jack.

But that didn't stop him from remembering. That one shuddering breath back into the world of the living had been one of his worst as he had blinked his way back into his body to feel the floor of the Tardis hum beneath him and see the grim face of the Doctor bending over him.

He had been pulled out of the vacuum of space, and how his body had survived that explosion he would never know. Apparently he truly just was not meant to die. Of course, he had suspected at the time, but it had taken a few choice phrases to actually get the Doctor to abandon him, to let him die with his friends, even if it wasn't permanent.

Even though he knew that true death was a far better outcome for his friends over the centuries than staying in that hell, he still couldn't wipe the unsettling feeling from his mind. Perhaps it was the memory of Owen's eyes, so unlike the man he had known, or Toshiko's voice, too cold to be hers; both had been twisted, both had been undeserving of their fate. All of them had, and almost selfishly, Jack was glad he had not been there long enough to truly see the people all his friends had become.

"Jack!" Martha's clear, strong voice rang up from the main Hub, "I've got Gwen on the line. Apparently it was more than one Weevil – she's had to take Mickey to the hospital."

The word 'hospital' rang a very bad tone in Torchwood, and Jack and Ianto exchanged worried looks as Jack grabbed his coat and Ianto promised to keep things running smoothly while they were gone, "One day, that boy is going to go on an assignment and come back the way he left. How bad is it?"

Martha smiled wryly, "Not too serious from what I can make out; I think Gwen just panicked after last week."

Jack nodded in agreement. Last week had been the first time since his brother and Captain Hart's little incursion when they had almost lost everything again. Of course there had been the big incident with Davros, but the Doctor had been there, and somehow that always made it seem that bit better. They had almost lost Ianto – for a whole hour they had actually thought him to be dead, and it was one of the worst hours of Jack's considerably long life. Thankfully, it had all been an elaborate ruse on the part of the Nasty, and the team had been able to stick together, but Jack knew how the supposed loss of yet another one of her original team members would spur Gwen into overprotective mother-hen mode for at least another month. "Let's go rescue Mickey from her clutches then shall we? Don't throw any big parties while we're away, Ianto! You know I don't like to miss out."

"Wouldn't dream of it, sir." Ianto's dry reply floated after them.

Gwen paced the sterile halls, frantically awaiting the verdict. After what seemed like an age, Mickey finally emerged, clutching his side but seeming otherwise none the worse for wear. "You're walking!" Gwen squawked when she saw him, "Shouldn't you be in a hospital bed or something?"

"Doc says I'll be fine. Just needed a few stitches. Martha can take another look at it when we get back to the Hub."

"She and Jack are already on their way here, and don't give me that look Mickey Smith! I know your version of 'fine'!"

Mickey only barely managed to reign in a grin, holding his palms up to her in a placating gesture, "I know, Gwen. But I promise, I'm fine. It'll take more than a few stitches before Jack can get rid of me."

"Well, I think we'll just check with this 'doctor', shall we? You sure they're qualified?" Gwen pushed past him, and Mickey threw his hands up in defeat as Jack and Martha approached them.

"Will you talk to her? She's completely lost it!" Mickey turned to Martha, pleading.

"Well, maybe if you didn't get yourself into situations like this once a week, she might not react as badly." Jack pointed out with a smirk.

Nevertheless, he followed Gwen in, with Martha and an incredibly embarrassed Mickey trailing after him. True to form, Gwen was giving the young intern a proper grilling, only receiving unsure stammers in return.

But then her rant was cut short by a rueful voice approaching them from behind, "Well, maybe if Torchwood took better care of its employees they wouldn't end up here so often. The amount of accident forms you sign must be off the scale – bet the Government loves you."

Everyone froze at the familiar tone, all except Mickey, who had clearly already met the man and saw nothing to be surprised about.

Owen Harper was standing, leaning against the doorframe in the white coat of a Llandough Hospital doctor, arms folded, a mocking smile gracing his face. "Oh my God." Gwen couldn't form words, she just stared, until she finally broke free of her trance and made to step forwards, only to have Jack hold her back. He shot Martha an unspoken order, and the doctor nodded, forcibly removing her two colleagues from the room; Gwen was only so compliant from the shock.

Jack stood there, watching the smaller man regard him with clear eyes, completely unfazed, "Robert, they need you down in A&E." Owen nodded to the young doctor, who seemed relieved to get away from the tension. When it appeared Jack was going nowhere, Owen shrugged, and began gathering together some forms, handing it to Jack, "Have fun with that, and hand them into the front desk on your way out. Even Torchwood has to do paperwork. Your guy will be fine; I've heard you have a doctor on staff, so just get them to check him over every so often, and the stitches should dissolve once they've done their bit."

Jack still couldn't form a sentence, only able to follow Owen with an unwavering gaze. Finally, the doctor seemed to get annoyed, "Look mate, just try and keep yourselves out of here for a while, yeah? You lot are creepy enough as it is. Now, if you excuse me, people to save, nurses to annoy."

Owen made to push past Jack, an act that finally triggered a response, causing Jack to reach out and grab his arm. The doctor froze, but didn't react any other way, just looked at Jack, and then pointedly at his arm. Jack grinned disarmingly, letting go, "I didn't catch your name?"

"Doctor Owen Harper."

"Jack! Jack will you just stop! Jack!" Gwen yelled after him as they entered the Hub. She hadn't stopped since he had forced her to leave the hospital without Owen.

He turned around, "What? What would you have me do, Gwen? He didn't know us!"

"But it was him! You said so yourself, he had the same name! I don't know how, Jack, but that was Owen, we have to go back!"

Ianto emerged, sidling up to Jack and resting a hand on his shoulder. Martha had called ahead to explain what had happened, "Sir. You're going to want to take a look at this."

Ianto's voice was the quietest, and yet, it cut through all the tension. He led them over to Mickey's workstation, the one that had once belonged to Tosh. On the screen was a personnel profile from the hospital; Owen's. "According to this, Owen Harper was never a member of Torchwood. He spent most of his medical career in various London hospitals, until approximately six months ago, when he transferred here."

"That doesn't make any sense." Martha frowned, bending to look at the screen.

"That's not all." Ianto pulled up another screen, "Alex Ford, exemplary member of the British Armed Forces, posted all over, until in February 2000, he took up tenure at the base here. Mary Wiseman, medic from Oxford, transferred here, also February 2000. There are three more with the same date, all Torchwood personnel, all killed by Torchwood Three's officer Alex Ford on the turn of the Millennium. I've already started going back further, sir. All of them, one month after their recorded day of death at Torchwood, moved from their lives all around the country to take up a position in Cardiff."

"One month?" Gwen asked, "Why one month?"

Jack sighed, "Because it was one month after Owen and Tosh died that we destroyed that place."

After that realisation, the only thing on Torchwood's mind was to find out the truth. They kept going backwards, as far as records would allow, accounting for almost all of Torchwood Three's personnel since Jack had joined them. Suzie was nowhere to be found; Jack suspected it was because she was shot beforehand, and decided not to dwell too much. Unfortunately, also amongst the small number they couldn't account for was Toshiko, and it was driving Gwen mad. It had been over a week now, and she as juggling visiting Owen at the hospital without him noticing – and without Jack's permission – and desperately searching for any sign of Tosh's continued survival.

Jack, on the other hand, had taken a rather different approach, and it was this rather cool, distant reaction of his that spurred Martha to finally confront him. Jack smiled weakly, "I just can't figure it out. I mean, they died."

"It's not like that's ever stopped you, Jack." Martha commented as she sat on the other side of his desk.

Jack laughed humourlessly, "Very true. It's just, this shouldn't be possible. They were obviously sent back via the Rift. I don't know – maybe because I was there? I mean, I was the reason that damned planet existed in the first place. But then, they clearly don't remember Torchwood. It's like they've just taken up on the lives they would have had, all converging on the Rift." He pinched the bridge of his nose, "The Doctor would know."

"Yes, he would." Martha conceded, "But he's not here, is he? You need to stop wondering, and start acting."

"Is that an order, Doctor Jones?" Jack raised an eyebrow at her.

"No." She rose, smiling softly, "Just a friend's advice. And here's another piece – talk to Gwen."

A knock on his doorframe drew their attention. Jack pulled on a grin, "Speak and she shall appear!"

Gwen's smile was lighting up her whole face, "Jack, Ianto's found Tosh!"

She didn't leave any time to explain, only turning and running down the steps, grabbing her coat on the way. Jack exchanged a bewildered look with Martha before setting off at a run after her. Mickey folded his arms, "You think this means they'll finally let go?"

Martha smiled as she came down to stand beside him, "Hopefully."

"So, you gonna tell me where we're going?" Jack swung himself into the SUV next to Gwen just before she sped off.

"Llandough Hospital. Ianto's there."

"Wait, I thought that's where Owen is. We don't need to go there Gwen, he doesn't know us. I'd like to keep it that way."

Gwen threw her boss a dirty look. In her heart, she knew Owen deserved a second chance at a life without Torchwood, but that didn't stop her from knowing how the man they had lost three times over was so close, and yet might as well be a million miles away.

The drive was not a long one, especially at the speeds Gwen was taking them. So much for being a responsible driver. They got out onto Cardiff's rainy dark streets. It was winter, and so the night had drawn in long ago. Ianto was standing, leaning against a concrete bollard. He smiled as they approached. "So, Ianto, wanna let us in on your mysterious discovery?"

The quiet Welshman shrugged, "Owen's coming off his shift."

"I still don't see..." Gwen trailed off. A couple had emerged from the lit up revolving doors of the hospital. The man had his arm around the woman's waist as he hoisted his backpack over one shoulder. She was chattering away to him, too far away from them to make out the exact words, and he was smiling in response, despite an obviously tiring last shift.

Ianto's smile widened, "Owen and Toshiko Harper. Newly married as of three weeks ago. They met six months ago at the hospital when Tosh was being treated for a broken arm which she couldn't remember getting, and Owen, being the professional he is, asked her out on a date. Friends and family describe their relationship as whirlwind, as if they've known each other for years rather than months." He stressed his voice in the way only Ianto could.

"They got married." Jack stated the obvious, "Well I'll be...she changed her name!" Both he and Gwen seemed to be shocked into paralysis.

Ianto cleared his throat, "If that will be all, sir, I'll be getting back to the Hub. Paperwork won't file itself."

Jack nodded, grinning, spontaneously throwing an arm around Ianto as they walked back towards one of the parked SUVs. Gwen followed, finally able to let it rest.

Because it was true. However much they might dearly love to be a part of their friends' new lives, they knew Owen and Tosh were better off as they were. By far safer, and most definitely happier.

Death had tried to cheat against the Life it had so hated.

But that Life had come right around and hit Death in the face.

And when that rarest of occurrences happens, to Torchwood of all the unluckiest of people, who was Jack to deny it?

FIN

Author Notes: All done! Complete mush, but after the depressiveness of the rest of the story, I thought the characters (and you!) deserved a break. I'd love to hear your final thoughts, and thanks again for reading!