Right, after a long needed break away from the world, Ive found my way back into my writing. I should really apologise for my absence, but it was needed if I was to keep writing. Spending a while in Cardiff and visiting friends has really pulled me out of the whirlwind of depression I was being sucked into, which was having dire effects on my writing. But, the time away has done wonders for the little plot bunnies. And for those who read my 'Better than Immortal Life' fic, there is a short sequel in the works (and I emphasises the word short; I wasn't sure about doing a sequel, but by the response I got and a few little ideas, it will be just one more glance into that world). Now as it has been a long time since I wrote this, here's a little refresher:
Previously: Gwen and Ianto have switched bodies, thanks to a device found with an alien. Martha Jones has arrived to help the team discover more about this alien, whilst a creature stalks Cardiff with the intention of breaking into Torchwood.
All seemed quiet in the Hub; Martha was still down in the autopsy bay, Jack and Ianto had retreated down to the archives in the hope of trying to uncover anything that would help them identify their bounty hunter and Gwen was fiddling with the keys of her keyboard, trying to keep herself occupied. She looked over her shoulder at her husband, who was engrossed in an old magazine Owen had brought in once to keep himself sane during the nights he no longer could sleep through. It had lain dormant on the table for such a long time, the page Owen had last read folded over so he could return to it later. But he never had. Gwen couldn't help but shudder at the thought and almost pounced on Rhys to snatch the item from his grasp. Every now and then, an item of Tosh's she had missed when packing away her things or a post it note left by Owen on the billboard would set her off into a fresh wave of tears and she would have to slip away from the others. She wasn't going to let them see her like that, she had to be strong.
'You alright, love?' Gwen hadn't even noticed that Rhys had left the magazine and was now focused on her. Her previous thoughts melted away as she smiled back at Rhys and turned back to her screen. She heard him move behind her as Rhys pulled up a chair and sat down next to her at the desk. 'Bloody hell, that make any sense to you?' Rhys looked in a mix of awe and confusion at the numbers and equations that were whizzing past on the screen, several of them making patterns against the blue desktop wallpaper.
'Not really,' Gwen admitted as she turned to face Rhys. 'I just wait until it flashes the answer. I'm the beauty, not the brains.' She laughed nervously at that comment and felt deflated when Rhys gave a nervous smile and drew his gaze away from her. He wasn't okay with this. Hell, she wasn't even okay with this. Her mind brought up the images of the morning, how Rhys had held her close after they had finished their little argument. I don't want to lose you to that place...I just wanted you to know that I'll be here for you to come home to. She wanted him to hold her again, reassure her that he would always be there for her. She reached out to touch his arm and hated feeling the tremor of uncertainty running up Rhys' arm. 'Why don't you go home? I could murder one of your spaghetti specials.'
'What and miss all the action?' Rhys joked as he reached up to pat Gwen's hand before he stood up. Gwen's hand fell back into her lap and she couldn't help but sigh at the apparent rejection.
'Well, let me ask Jack if he needs me anymore and then maybe we can go home together.' She stood up and smiled at Rhys, hoping for some kind of reaction from him, hoping for him to give her his cheeky grin and hold out his arms. It was easy to say that Gwen's expectations were definitely too great.
'Sure thing,' Rhys said as he picked up his coffee mug and headed down to the coffee machine, not even giving her a quick glance and leaving her alone. Gwen couldn't help but wring her hands as she took a deep breath to steady herself. It just wasn't fair; Jack and Ianto seemed to be carrying on as normal, so why couldn't Rhys do the same? She remembered how Rhys seemed absolutely fine when Ianto had come round for dinner during his first time as a woman. Sure, Rhys had been slightly taken aback, but after the initial shock he had chatted away to Ianto for most of the night. Taking another deep breath, she turned and headed down to the Archives. Maybe if she asked Jack, she could take Rhys home and maybe even cook for him, maybe even with a bottle of wine and watching their favourite film. Not that Gwen was after a romantic evening as that was never going to happen, but maybe just a night of normality. Surely they were both capable of that.
*****
'Your curse will be mine.' Ianto had now dismissed the file in his hand as a thought from the previous night played over and over in his head. He was unaware that Jack had been pulled away from his rummage in a nearby filing cabinet by his words. The Captain now looked straight at his lover with a quizzical expression.
'What was that?' Jack had several files in his hand as he walked up to Ianto, placing them down on a table which was threatening to buckle under the amount of files, paperwork and many different alien items the two of them had accumulated in their search for a profile on their alien corpse upstairs.
'Before you shot it, it said that your curse would be his. As he attacked you over me, it only falls to reason he was attempting to use his little party box on you.'
'Seems that way, yeah.' Jack tried to turn away and end the conversation. He had already worked out what the alien had meant the night they found it. The thought had been bugging him the entire time. Who would ever want to have his curse? Jack held his breath as he waited for Ianto to push further, try to dig deeper into the mind of Captain Jack Harkness, but it never came. Instead, he felt a small hand on his back as it slowly rubbed circles through the material of his coat, his actions much louder and more meaningful than any words that could have been spoken. Jack closed his eyes for just a moment and for the first time for a while, he felt serine and at peace with his partner. They fitted together so well, Jack didn't consider the implications of his actions as he turned round to face Ianto and drew him into a deep kiss.
Neither of them were aware of the figure standing behind them, watching their actions with a mixture of sadness and horror.
*****
Gwen felt violently sick as the tears leaked from her eyes. How could they do that? Had they not heard her enter the room? Sure, she had seen them that way before, but this was different. Captain Jack Harkness was kissing her body, slipping his arms around her small waist and Gwen wasn't the one in the driving seat. All Gwen Cooper could do was fall apart. She ran out of the Archives, past the conference room and down into the changing rooms. Flinging herself into the nearest toilet cubicle, she fell to her knees and retched, feeling the bile burning her throat. Her hands were shaking as she tried to grip onto the edge of the toilet seat and a cold sweat was breaking across her forehead.
It was all too surreal; the many times she had dreamt of Jack being with her, undressing her, making love to her. She loved Rhys, she really did. He was the man she went home to every night and cuddled under the covers with in bed. He was the man she wanted to be with forever, to grow old if Torchwood allowed her and to become the old couple who sat on a bench and watched the world go by. Three years ago, her life was going that way. Three years ago, the world of Torchwood was like a distant cloud hovering over the streets of Cardiff, far away from their small little flat. Now, it came through their front door, followed them almost everywhere and so did a certain Captain Jack Harkness, the man who couldn't die and would live forever, watching the stars burn out and die. Who wouldn't fall in love with a man like that?
Still shaking, she managed to finally stand up and walk to the sink to splash water on her face, hoping that the cold water would snap her senses back into reality. But seeing Ianto's image being reflected in the mirror was too much for the young woman and as the red mist of anger began to cloud her thoughts, she plunged her fist forward into the mirror, shattering the image of the young Welshman into a thousand pieces. She wasn't even aware of the crimson blood slipping through her fingers as she struggled to calm her breathing. She had to, because the only thought swirling deep in Gwen's mind was revenge.
Thanks guys for reading, I shall be posting the next chapter tomorrow as I shall be doing much drinking on the weekend when I support Wales in the Six Nations Match on Saturday.