Chapter sixteen: See the day

"That's where the thing is." Rhys said as he pointed on the blue prints that Tosh had provided him with. "That's the sedatives room. That's where they hang and pack all the meat."

"That's good to know." Owen said with a glance towards Gwen, who was pacing a short distance away from him.

"Yeah, that is good to know," Gwen said tightly. "but he's not driving us in."

"They're expecting me." Rhys reasoned firmly. "You lot can hide in the back of the van."

"What is this, Scooby-Doo?" Gwen shouted. "Absolutely no way is he getting involved!"

"Oh, where was I when you to decided to get involved?" Rhys demanded. "Did you give me a thought?"

"Oh joy," Owen said with a grin. "a domestic."

"Rhys is right. He's our best way in." Jack said firmly. "Stun guns only."

"We've handled bigger than this." Own said, again, watching Gwen out of the corner of his eye. "Why don't we just storm in, guns in the air, and arrest them?"

"Those men aren't organized criminals. If we go in, guns blazing," Jack leaned forward slightly, his leg brushing against hers. "they'll kill the evidence and run."

"I wasn't suggesting blazing," Owen said somewhat lightly. "just waving."

"The last thing we need is a bloodbath." Jack said as he stood up. "Not to mention, Jackie is going to be with us and since the creature is huge, she's going to absorb all that pain."

"Point taken." Owen nodded.

Jackie shook her head. "No one worry about me. The pain is fine, I can deal with it. That poor creature is suffering, what I'm feeling is of little concern."

"Once Rhys has loaded up," Jack said, turning his attention to Gwen. "he can clear. You don't have to come." He pointed out as he pointed at her. "You can stand down."

"It might be better." Tosh said quietly.

"You love him," Jack stated firmly as he pointed at Rhys, holding Gwen's gaze. He dropped his hand as he realized that he was in the same position. "it makes you vulnerable."

"He's not going in there without me." resolve was ringing in Gwen's voice, causing Jackie to smile. Maybe Gwen actually did love Rhys more than she cared to admit.

"That's your decision." Jack stated.

"Yes," Gwen bobbed her head. "it is."

"You both have to live by it."

Rhys and Gwen held each other's gaze as Gwen moved opposite Rhys. "Oh, come on." Rhys coaxed her gently. "You and me, a team."

"Damn it, Rhys!" Gwen shouted. "This is for real. Do you understand that? This is for real. And if you mess up, I will kill you."

"Try to remember," Jackie murmured quietly. "that Rhys isn't like Jack."

"So," Tosh said as she stood up, attempting to change the atmosphere in the room for them. "after we've stun-gunned the workers, we put the creature out of its misery."

"No." Jack said with a shake of his head as he sat back down. "We're gonna save it." Jackie gasped as a smile broke over her face. "Stabilize it, wait for the Rift to open and send it back."

"Guess who'll have to look after it in the meantime." Ianto murmured quietly, obviously seeing his days to spend time with Meryl slipping away.

"I'll take care of it." Jackie volunteered.

"Tell me, exactly," Tosh asked Jack. "how are we going to use it to arm ourselves against the future?"

"We can always hide behind it." Owen muttered, almost earning a smile from Jackie.

"Why shouldn't we save it?" Jack questioned. "Because it's an alien? It needs our protection."

"You didn't hear its cry." Rhys said soberly with a shake of his head. "Heartbreaking."

"I felt it," Jackie said quietly. "it was in hell."

Owen inhaled before stating. "Jack, it's growing."

"Well, we'll find a way to stop it mutating. We are doing this." Jack said firmly as he stood up out of his chair to glower at everyone. "That's an order."

"Fine." Owen said in resignation as he stood up from his chair.

"I'll stock up on plankton." Ianto said cheerfully.

Jackie stood up as everyone, except for Gwen and Rhys, left the room. "So," Gwen said quietly. "you do have a heart.

Jack offered no comment, but Jackie did as she kissed his cheek. "Whatever made you think that he didn't?"

"We see enough death." Jack said to Gwen before he shoved his hands in his pockets and moved to leave the conference room. "Jackie, with me."

"Always." She shoved her hands in her pockets and sidled out after him. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as she purposefully bumped her body against him. "I can't wait for tomorrow to be over with."

"Do you want to stand down?" He asked. "You don't need to go to the warehouse with us."

"True, but I don't want to go, I need to go. Do you really think that loving someone make you vulnerable?" the words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them. Jack paused to look down at her. "Do I make you vulnerable?"

"You made me vulnerable to your charms the moment we met." He stated. "However, in a battle situation, no, you don't make me vulnerable. I do worry about your level of pain, but I am comforted by the fact that you do have some alien powers to protect you. Gwen and Rhys, they're both human and their humanity makes them vulnerable."

"I'm part human too." She reminded him.

"And believe me; I appreciate that part of you. What I'm saying that Gwen and Rhys are very more likely to be sidetracked with their concern for each other and might not see the danger until it's too late." He exhaled and tugged her against him. "It's against Torchwood regulations to have anyone outside of torchwood to even know about Torchwood."

"It's also against Torchwood regulations to have a relationship with anyone not of your own species." Jackie pointed out as Gwen and Rhys went by them. She shifted a bit closer to allow them room to pass by. "And you married one."

Jack's brows rose. "I don't remember that one."

She chuckled. "Well, you didn't write them, you can't remember every rule. Just look up the word relationship under Torchwood and you'll find it. I just needed some information to discuss this with you. After all, everyone here can't go around and spend their lives lying to one person that matters most." At that moment, Jackie caught Tosh's eye. "Excuse me; I need to talk to Tosh for a moment."

He nodded. "Alright." They walked down the steps together. Jack gave her hand a fond squeeze before heading in the opposite direction. "I'll be in the office."

She smirked. "Do I hear a suggestion at the end of that sentence?"

Jack wiggled his brows at her. "What do you think?"

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Go finish reading your book." She approached Tosh and sat down beside her. "Hey." Tosh smiled uneasily. "Look, I'm a bit sorry about blurting that out. No one wants to be ordered to go on a date."

"Not really." Tosh exhaled deeply and turned to Jackie. "But maybe…he just needed a bit of a nudge."

"Both of you did." Tosh looked up questioningly. "He needed one to help him realize that there is more to you than he knows. And you," she said softly. "if it doesn't go well, it'll help you learn to let him go."

Tosh nodded her head. "Maybe." She glanced up and looked over to see Gwen and Rhys sitting on a couch talking to each other. "You and Gwen, made it possible for us to realize that is possible to have a relationship, even a marriage, around Torchwood."

"Relationship, yes, marriage," Jackie tilted her head to the side. "I wouldn't go using Jack and mine as an example. After all, we both work for Torchwood, it's all we have."

"Well, Gwen and your family."

Jackie exhaled. "Gwen is my sister and I'll always hold her very dearly in my heart but, we're not as close as we used to be. And my parents…well, my mother despises Jack and my father never truly says much to me anymore. I used to be really close to him then, he changed towards me. He's like somebody I used to know. That's why….I was so upset when Jack left me. Because, he'd felt that pain multiple times and I never thought he'd inflict it on me. I understand his reasons for leaving better now."

Tosh nodded. "It worked out very well for you two in the end."

Jackie chuckled and nodded. "It certainly did, didn't it?"

Jackie?" Jack called loudly from the doorway to his office. "In my office, right now."

"Yes Sir." Jackie stood up from her spot opposite Tosh and smiled. "Just relax and have fun when you two go out. He might just realize what you missed. If you need to borrow any of my clothes, feel free to ask."

"Thank you." Tosh smiled as her eyes darted towards Jack's office. "You better go see what Jack wants."

Jackie snorted and rolls her eyes. "Isn't it obvious?"

Tosh blushed and hissed. "At this time of day?"

"According to Jack, this is what couples who can't go on honeymoon's do." She bit her lip. "It's my first marriage, so, I'm assuming he's right."

"You do realize," Tosh said. "that you can tell him no."

"Yeah." Jackie exhaled before smirking. "But then I'd miss out on all the fun." Tosh shook her head as Jackie headed towards Jack's office. He was standing there with his hands on his hips. "Sorry, I was talking to Tosh. What is it?" Jackie questioned as she approached him. "An explanation of your behavior towards Rhys, or are we rearranging the rule Torchwood has about relationships?" his response was to pull her against him. "Jack, we just," he silenced her with a kiss and she mumbled against his mouth as his hands moved to her waist. His lips then moved to her neck, the spot right below her ear always drove her crazy. "Oh, whatever!"

The following morning, Jack, Rhys and Jackie were dropped off at Rhys's office by the other half of the crew, to take care of the proper procedures to signing out a truck. Jack looked totally wounded that Rhys was given coffee and Danish almost immediately upon entering the office. Then the bad people called Rhys to confirm that he was coming. Then all three of them piled into the front seat. Jackie was scrunched between the two men, but she was sitting mostly in Jack's lap.

The sound of Rhys chewing his Danish was almost enough to make her poor stomach consider losing the soda she'd had that day. Or, was her stomach jittery because of Jack's hand that kept stroking her leg? His hand moved higher up to her hip and she grabbed his hand and shot him a warning look.

"Why her?" Rhys questioned Jack, finally breaking the silence. "Out of all the women you could have chosen."

"She chose us." Jack stated. "Kind of stumbled upon us."

"So did I." Rhys stuck the last bit of his Danish in his mouth. "Doubt you'll be asking me to join."

"We needed someone with police skills." Jack emphasized.

Rhys didn't even seem convince. "Could have chosen anyone. Did you ever think about us? You know, me, her parents, people who love her, who want her safe?

"No," Jack stated firmly. "I'm sorry. We needed her."

Jackie rolled her eyes. "You are so clinical at times Jack."

"And you say you aren't like your sister." At Jackie's indignant look, he explained. "On Gwen's first day of work, she told me off for being too clinical.

"She doesn't hold back, mind."

"Hmm," Jack said as he nuzzled her forehead. "stubborn as hell."

"Tell me about it." Jackie turned her head to the side to see Rhys smiling; his head obviously full of Gwen. "Yeah, she's an amazing girl. I'm a lucky man, Jack."

"Yeah," Jack's hand slid a bit higher, causing her to jump. "you said it."

She glowered at him as he smirked at her before looking out the window. "I just wish you were a bit uglier." Jackie howled with laughter at Jack's indignant look at Rhys's words and her reaction. "You're not gay by any chance, are you?

Jackie struggled to contain her laughter. "Don't worry Rhys, Jack's married… to me."

"Bloody hell." Rhys's eyes bulged. "Really?"

"Yes! We've been married a little more than two months."

"Well, congratulations! How'd you two meet? And what did he say to get you to marry him?"

Jack chuckled as he placed his hand on her arm. "We were out chasing a suspect when she saw Gwen and approached her."

"I'll never forget the first time I saw Jack." She drummed her fingers on his hand. "He came running up the street, coat flying, out of breath and his hair was a mess. Looked like he came straight out of a World War 2 movie."

"Hey," he said indignantly. "I'd been running. I, however, didn't get a really good look at you at first because you had your back to me."

"Then you grabbed my hand and spun me around when I went to touch that time travel piece."

"I was irritated at first," he confessed. "then, you just spin around, eyes blazing and you held my gaze. A great first impression by the way, instantly causing my attraction to you, especially when you resisted all flirting on my part. It took a while for me to figure out that you weren't interested in my outward appearance but the man inside. And then," Jack said dramatically. "you had to go and play hard to get."

"I wasn't playing hard to get!" she stated firmly. "I just wasn't interested in you at that time."

"Oh, come on!" Jack whined as Rhys laughed. "Why wouldn't you be interested in me? Why wouldn't anyone be interested in me?"

"I just wasn't interested in a relationship with you. But then…Lisa electrocuted you and I realized that…I had feelings for you and I almost lost you." she ran her fingers over his hand like a piano. "And then you had to go and freak me out by that pity kiss!"

"Hey, it wasn't pity!" She glowered at him and Jack chose to rephrase his sentence. "True, you did look miserable, but I'd been trying to figure out what your lips tasted like since technically, our first kiss happened when I was unconscious!"

"It was not a kiss!" She protested as Rhys laughed at them. "It was CPR!"

"So you claim."

"You'd been electrocuted and were unconscious. It was not a kiss!"

"Have it your way. But the first time, we really kissed would be when we were in the office and I asked you to start a relationship." Jackie nodded her head in agreement. "I had actually made a decision after I took your first kiss. I was going to be your first in everything."

She smirked. "And that's exactly what happened Captain. You got exactly what you set out for. Make certain you hold onto it."

Rhys backed the van into the deserted warehouse to pick up the rest of the team. Gwen comes to the van door and hands him a paper bag. "I brought you a Danish, your favorite." Jack's expression turns wounded. "I know what you're like on an empty stomach."

Rhys smiles at Jack as he places the Danish on the dash. "Cheers."

Jackie shakes with laughter as Jack gets out of the car. "Oh," she pats Jack's face as he turns to face her as she gets out of the car. "Oh, the poor baby."

"Stop it." Jack says with a roll of his eyes.

"Hey," she purred as she leaned forward, cupping Jack's face in her hands before kissing him deeply. "There's your sugar for the morning."

He swats her hip as she got out of the car. "I'd like another strong dose of that tonight."

"Granted." She shakes her head as she shoves a few strands of Jack's hair back in place before heading towards the back of the van.

As they rounded the corner, they found Gwen and Rhys breaking out of an embrace. Rhys swallowed hard before clearing his throat. "Now, stop fussing and get in the back of the van. Go on."

Jack lifted her up into the car before climbing up into the back of the van. She went for the back left hand corner of the van and Jack sat down right beside her as Rhys closed the doors, got back into the van and began driving away. Everyone pulled out their flashlights and a set of blue prints. After everyone had examined the blueprints thoroughly and checked their weapons, they were two minutes away from the warehouse. Rhys's office was about ten to fifteen minutes away from the warehouse.

"Ok," Jack said as he clapped his hands together. "let's start with the planning people."

"I'll prepare an antidote of ketamine," Owen said. "so we can start weaning it off."

"Gwen, Jackie, and I will take the main area." Jack said. "Tosh, Owen and Ianto, cover the corridors and the small rooms." Jack glanced at Gwen, as if he could finally sense Gwen's anxiety. "You okay?"

"What do you think?" she questioned.

"He'll be fine." Owen assured Gwen. "He's a good bloke."

The car began to slow down and Jack nodded his head as he switched off his flashlight. "Let's go."