Poker face

Jack had been running through some old papers he still needed to fill out, when his phone rang. "Yes?"

"Jack, I need a favour."

Jack couldn't hide his surprised expression. It wasn't everyday that Torchwood three's sourpuss doctor called him and asked for a favour. "I'm all ears."

Owen sighed on the other end. "I'm at the police station. Could you come down and work your magic for me?"

"Owen did you get arrested again" Jack laughed, remembering when Owen had gotten so completely and utterly drunk he had flashed a woman who just happened to be a police officer.

"No…." Jack noticed how tired Owen sounded, "It's my mother."

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, if you could just get down here, that would be great. They won't drop the charges and I…"

"It's fine, Owen, I'll be there soon."

Owen felt like banging his head against the wall. Repeatedly! He hadn't been in this situation for almost a decade now; picking up his drunk and disorientated mother was something in the past for him, and of course the one night that moron Andy calls him, he's left all his ID's on his desk at the hub. Calling Jack was really his only choice; his mother was too frail so sit through a trial and Jack was the only person he knew who could make the charges disappear.

Owen had broken off contact with her when he was seventeen, deciding that working two jobs to support himself was better than staying with her and her man of the week. Their relationship had always been strained, she had been a drunk for as long as he could remember and the men she brought home was worse than she was. Growing up she had been absent and bordering on mean when she finally was present and Owen had been left on his own.

"So, what's going on?"Owen almost fell of the bench he had been placed on by an officer. He had been so engrossed in his own strain of thought that he hadn't even noticed Jack had sat down next to him.

"Picked her up for shoplifting. She resisted arrest and ended up here, crazy old bat."

"What's she doing in Cardiff?"

"Looking for me, apparently." Owen sighed. "I really don't want to drag you into this, but she is not lucid enough to spend time in jail."

Jack nodded. "I'll talk to them and work my magic. How are you holding up?"

"Bit shocked, I suppose. Can't really figure out how she got my address. Last I heard her sister put her in a home."

"Do you want to talk to her?"

"No, I've called Theresa, her sister, and arranged transport back."

"You sure? It's been a long time, Owen. Maybe it's time to make amends?" Jack, being the all-knowing leader of Torchwood, knew pretty much all there was to know about his employees, including their pasts and family relations.

"Or not. I have nothing to say to her."

"If you insist" Jack said and rose from the bench. Owen watched him talk in a hushed tone with one of the officers and saw him slide an ID across the desk. Whatever it said (Jack had about ten to choose from), it worked and a few minutes later, Tallulah Harper was led into the open waiting room. The officer leading her looked around and in a loud voice yelled: "Dr. Harper, is there a dr. Harper here?"

Owen sighed. He was just supposed to help her get out and arrange for her transport back home, not actually talk to her. He noticed that she looked around with eager eyes, probably not even recognizing her own son. It had been many years, nine years, almost, so he really couldn't blame her for it. He reluctantly rose to his feet. "Yes, fine, I'm here. Do I need to sign something?"

Jack joined him a moment later. "It's all taken care of, you can send her home without worry."

"Thanks Jack" Owen said, feeling uncomfortable under his mother's scrutinizing stare.

"Owen, is that really you?"

"Yes, hello mother" he greeted in a flat tone. "Let's get you home, shall we?"

"Are you a doctor?"

"Yes."

"Oh Owen that's wonderful. So you help people, make them better."

"Something like that" Owen mumbled. "Come along, you're free to go. I've talked to your sister and she is waiting for you."

"But I don't want to go, I want to stay here with my son." She gently touched his cheek, "I've missed you so much. And here you are, a real doctor. Who would've thought?"

"Certainly not me" Owen said and started to walk her outside. He noticed that Jack had brought the jeep.

"Need a lift?"

Owen nodded. "Yeah, thanks."

"Don't mention it. Where to?"

"Train station."

"But I don't want to go. Owen, we need to talk…"

"No, trust me, we really don't" Owen said and buckled her seatbelt in the back of the car.

"Are you still with that lovely girl?"

"No, her brain exploded" Owen said in a rather detached voice.

"Oh… Listen Owen, I know I wasn't the best mum, but I tried my best, I really did. And you were such an independent child…"

"It doesn't matter, not anymore. Theresa will be waiting for you at the station."

"Will you come visit? I'll tell the others about my soon, the doctor. They'll be so jealous. Will you come visit me, at the home?"

Jack looked at Owen. He knew how hard this was and Owen had always been reluctant to talk about feelings or anything personal like that. Jack could remember the young man he had met before Owen joined Torchwood. Despite the unhappy situation with his fiancé, Jack saw a happy and brilliant young man with a thirst for life and love. The loss of Katie had been devastating and Owen had build solid walls around him, pushing people away and not one for long-term anything. Sadly, that which made him less human also made him a perfect candidate for a place on the Torchwood team.

"Yeah, I'll come some day. I'll arrange it with aunt Theresa" Owen said. Jack knew it was a lie, but it seemed to greatly cheer up his mother and he had a feeling she was already so far gone that she wouldn't even remember this in a few days.

They had just dropped off Tallulah when Jack's phone rang and before he could even say something a high-pitched voice greeted him and someone laughed in the background before the phone shuffled and another voice greeted him and told him to meet them at a bar and then the signal was dead.

"Odd" Jack said with a smile. "I think Rose and Gwen just booty-called me."

Before Owen could answer his own phone started to ring and a somewhat nervous voice introduced itself. Again the signal died before an answer. "Lucky you, I only got Tosh" Owen said.

"So, up for a drink?""Yeah I think I need to forget this night."

"Are you quite done now" Gwen asked.

"Think so" Rose replied but made no attempt to move.

"Cone on you two. A party in the loo is just…. Well, it's a really weird party" Tosh said and yanked Gwen out of the booth. "You two, blondie."

"Yeah yeah I'm coming. I think I'm gonna start my very own lonely hearts club. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"It sounds sad" Gwen said. "Can I join?"

"You're not lonely" Tosh said and almost staggered to the floor as Gwen and Rose tumbled into her. "I'm lonely. I should join!"

"Is at a lonely hearts club if there's more than one" Rose asked as they finally sat down in their booth.

"It's not really a club if it's just you" Gwen explained.

"Yeah, but it's not really lonely if there's more than me" Rose countered.

"I think we need more beer" Tosh said and left the booth to order them another round.

"Hello ladies" Jack said and slid into the booth next to Gwen. "Rose, you look positively glowing…"

"I threw up" Rose said.

"Yes I heard. Where's Tosh?"

"Getting more beer" Gwen said. "I've missed you. Not you though" she said and gave Owen a dirty look as he sat down next to Rose.

"That's nice Gwen" he said. "Where's Rhys?"

"Shut up twat!"

"Children, play nice" Jack intervened.

"Oh hello" Tosh said and sat down next to Owen. "This is nice."

"More like crowded. Grab a chair, will you?" Tosh looked crestfallen but did as he told her. The bartender came down with their beverages and Jack ordered another round for all of them.

"No more vodka" Rose mumbled. "Vodka bad!"

"She's not gonna spew on me, is she" Owen asked.

"No, she chugged it all up earlier" Gwen said.

"Such a charmer, our little Rose" Jack laughed. "I take it this little arrangement had nothing to do with a certain time traveller leaving you behind?"

"He's just a stupid pinstriped Backstreet Boy" Rose said. "And he broke my heart. Is there any more vodka?"

"I think you've had enough vodka for now, Rosie" Jack said.

"Oh lighten up Jack. She's just had her heart broken and trampled on by the love of her life. She's a sad pathetic girl right now, look at her, it's awful…"

"Gwen please stop defending me" Rose said and kicked her under the table.

"Where's Ianto" Tosh asked.

"He didn't want to come. And he found my text highly inappropriate" Gwen said and mimicked Ianto.

"He's been acting really weird lately" Tosh said. "Is something wrong?"

"It's probably just that time of the month" Owen said and received a slap and a kick under the table.

"Do you think he'll ever come back" Rose asked, sounding somewhat pitiful.

"Sure he will. Lot's of trouble in Cardiff to take care of. And that nice Martha Martha Jones left behind her phone number, so we can always call."

"Give me" Rose yelled and lunged forward, as Jack dangled the piece of paper in front of her.

"No way am I letting you call him in this state" Jack said and leaned back in his seat. "It's for emergencies only!"

"This is an emergency" Rose pleated.

"I hardly think you chugging down vodka and then projectile vomiting afterwards is classified as an emergency" Jack said. "We'll talk later." Rose didn't answer.

"We should dance" Gwen said and almost pushed Jack out of the booth. "Come on, Captain Jack Harkness, dance with me!"

"She's gonna regret that in the morning" Rose said and took a picture with her phone. "Come on doctor sourpuss. If I can't have the real deal, I can at least dance with this doctor" Rose said and gave Owen a push to get him to move out of the booth. "You too, Tosh."

They were a weird mass of bodies moving around on the small square on the floor reserved for dancing. Jack and Gwen were moving completely in sync, Rose was swaying slightly to the music, Tosh was awkwardly moving up and down and Owen flat out refused to do any sort of dancing, although he did like to watch Rose.

"That guy over there is watching Rose" Jack whispered in Gwen's ear.

It almost sent chills down her spine, having him so close, but she turned to look anyway. Jack was right, in the darkest corner of a bar, a man was staring intently at Rose, apparently trying to squeeze the life out of his glass of alcohol. "Do you know him?"

"No" Jack answered, again oh so close. It was almost intoxicating.

"Maybe we should ask Rose" she suggested.

"Maybe we should?"

"Or maybe we should just go back to your place?"

Rose liked dancing, even though what Owen did could scarcely be described as such. Not like the Doctor had danced with her, but right now it didn't matter; she let the vodka do the talking (and dancing) tonight and she really just wanted to have fun right now. She knew drinking was a bad idea, but again it didn't matter right now. Just like it didn't matter that her heart truly was broken, perhaps beyond repair. The Doctor might come back, but it wouldn't be for her, it would because there was some sort of end-of-the-world-catastrophe or something like that, not because he missed her and wanted her with him. But she didn't want to be that girl, the girl that waited forever for the love of her life to come back. Not anymore. She could barely believe she was relieving this nightmare again, that the Doctor had abandoned her again (although this time it stung so infinitely more, because he had done it voluntary), and she was left to pick up the scattered pieces of her life yet again.

So instead of wallowing forever on a situation she had no control over, she just let go and moved to the music. She would put on her best poker face and hopefully, come time, it would be enough to convince even herself that everything was fine.

A/N: I truly appreciate all feedback (although flames probably will make me cry). So please leave a review and tell me what you think