Trading Places

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Chapter 12

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The start of things to come

Gwen collected the last of her belongings up from Abby's spare room and packed them back into her bag. She would be sorry to leave this place; two weeks was nowhere near enough time to fully experience it. Before arriving here, she had expectations of what it would be like. There was no way it could compare to Torchwood, she'd thought. Well, a mere couple of weeks had changed all of that; she had seen things here she never thought she would and she had a new best friend in Abby. Given the chance, she would come back here in a heartbeat. She would have liked to stay for a while longer but at the moment that wasn't possible. Connor and Becker needed to come home, which meant that she needed to get back to Torchwood.

"So, all packed?" Danny asked.

She turned; he was leaning in the doorway, one shoulder resting against the doorframe. OK, so maybe the creatures and the friends she'd made here wouldn't be the only thing she'd miss. Danny smiled and strolled into the room, gathering her up into his arms and pressing a kiss to her lips.

"You know, it's only a few hours' drive from here to Cardiff," he said.

Gwen smiled back at him. "So it is. Does that mean that we'll be seeing each other again soon?"

"Oh, definitely. I am just dying to see this underground base you guys have and the aliens and stuff," he told her. At her offended glare, he laughed. "Of course, the best thing about it will be my tour guide."

"Good answer," she said.

Gwen said her goodbyes and promised to keep in touch with Abby before getting into her car to set off on the drive home.

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Abby was waiting anxiously at Becker's flat when their car pulled up at the kerb. She had been sitting there for the past half hour, ever since Connor had called to say that they had reached the city limits. When the door opened and Connor got out, she was on her feet, going to give him a tight hug. She glanced across at Becker as he got out of the passenger side and went to give him the same greeting.

"How are you feeling?"

Becker smiled. "I was fine this morning but after a few hours of Connor's driving…"

"I'm a perfectly good driver!"

"Yeah, I'll remind you of that the next time you take a corner on two wheels," he said.

Abby laughed. "I am so glad to have you two back."

She hung around for a while, wanting to hear all about Torchwood and what they'd been up to. Just as the two men had been doing, she very purposefully avoided mentioning Becker's illness. Connor had already told Lester that he wouldn't be back until the morning and Abby was going to bring the pets over then as well.

Becker had insisted on celebrating their homecoming by going out to Connor's favourite Chinese restaurant. Although Connor had argued that he should still be taking it easy.

"I'm not going to run a marathon," he said, "just go out to eat."

Connor had to agree, secretly glad that Becker seemed more like his old self again. He had been slightly withdrawn since his release from the hospital but tonight he was all smiles and energy.

They got a table and ordered, although Becker had to forgo anything alcoholic due to the medication he was still taking. Connor kept glancing up as he ate, seeing a thoughtful look on his boyfriend's face. Something was on his mind but whatever it was, Becker didn't look as though it was anything bad, just distracting.

"OK, what's the matter?" he finally asked as they finished their meal and the waitress arrived to take away their plates. "Something's bugging you, I can see it."

Becker fiddled with the napkin in his hands for a moment before looking up to meet Connor's eyes.

"I've been thinking," he began. "Don't go back to Lester's place tomorrow. Stay with me."

Connor's eyes widened. "Are you asking me to move in with you?" he asked in disbelief.

"See, I knew it was a stupid idea," Becker said quietly, his gaze falling to the table again. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"I'd love to." He reached out to Becker, grasping his hand on the table. "I was surprised, but it was good surprise, not bad surprise."

Connor waited until they were out of the restaurant before grabbing Becker and kissing him hard. He just couldn't stop smiling; Becker actually wanted him to move in. They walked back to the taxi rank nearby hand in hand, Connor still having to convince himself that he had heard correctly.

"You promise not to go off me if I leave stuff in the wrong places?" he asked. "Lester always yells at me for being messy.

Becker grinned. "I promise."

"And you're not going to get mad at Sid and Nancy? They're really sweet most of the time."

"Connor, I knew that you were a slob with two uncontrollable creatures as pets before I asked you to move in," Becker said with a sigh. "Nothing they, or you, can do is going to make me love you any less."

They got into a taxi and gave the driver directions back to Becker's home. Once they were indoors, Becker handed Connor a phone.

"Go on, call her," he said. "I can see that you want to."

He was right. Connor wanted to tell Abby his news, excited and wanting to tell everyone, but Abby first. He dialled her number.

"Hi Abbs, it's me. No, everything's fine." He paused, before telling her, "You know when you drop off Sid and Nancy tomorrow? Well, can you bring them to Becker's flat instead of Lester's…"

Sitting on a stool at the kitchen counter, near to where Connor leaned, Becker could hear Abby's squeal of delight even from five feet away. He wondered briefly what he was letting himself in for, what with Connor's pets, the expected constant visits and calls from Abby, the reaction from his soldiers and the anomaly team, not to mention Connor's self-confessed bad habits. The conclusion he came to was that he didn't care.

The past week had made him see that he had to go for what he wanted and not wait around, and what he wanted was Connor to be there beside him when he woke up every morning. Connor hung up the phone and turned to flash him a huge grin, before coming closer to give him a kiss.

No, life didn't get much better than this.

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The End

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I'd just like to say thanks to everyone who has reviewed or added this fic as a favourite etc. I really do appreciate it- it's nice to know you've been enjoying it.

I'm saying this is the end but you never know…