Chapter thirty-four: Time to say goodbye

"Urggh," Jackie sat up, her head felt as if it were split in two. She felt groggy and her body felt pinched. She sat up to find that she was lying down on a table between the cold storage and the cells. "figures." She mumbles. "I must be much too heavy to move to the comfortable couch." She exhaled deeply and sat up. Her body felt different to her somehow, it had that irritating prickling sensation that one felt when their foot began waking up, except it was all over her body.

The sound of a gunshot from inside the hub brought her back to earth. "Ok." She touched her comms. "Gwen? What's going on?" no response. Frowning, she tried again. "Tosh, Owen, Ianto? Anybody, come in." nothing and her skin began to crawl with a warning. "Ok, so they moved me down here because something is going on upstairs. And," she glanced down at herself. "I've got no weapons. Brilliant!"

She stood up shakily as the blood rushed back to her head and she carefully made her way towards the cellblocks. Slowly, she felt her strength returning to her bit by bit. She made it up to the cells and happened to see Ianto in a cell with a weevil!

"Ianto!" His eyes widened as he realized she was awake now. "What are you doing there?"

"Jackie!" Gwen shouted from another cell. "You need to get out. Now!"

"But what's going-

"It's Gray," she said rapidly. "just like John said. Hurry, you must get out."

She shook her head. "Not without you guys."

"Listen," John said firmly. "Gray said he was gonna take Jack's life, destroy it from the inside out." He turned to her. "Look, I'm not stupid. You're married to Jack, and you're carrying his child?"

"And if I am?" she shifted a shoulder casually.

"Then you need to get out of this city because Gray won't stop until he has his revenge on Jack. You and the child would be the icing on the cake for him."

She bit her lip before stating. "Actually, we're having twins." John rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Yes, we're married." Suddenly, there was a banging sound. She paused and looked around.

"What's that banging?" Ianto asked.

Gwen surmised. "Something's wrong."

"Never mind that," John said. "I've got an idea."

Jackie reached out and a huge smile broke over her face. "It's Jack." all eyes went to her as she shook her head. "I don't know how he did, but he's in cold storage in the morgue."

"Go get him!" Gwen said. "We need him to open these cells anyway! He's got the codes!"

"What else do you think I'm going to do?" she turned on her heel and began moving towards the cold storage. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Yeah," Ianto said dryly. "we'll be fine here…with the weevils."

Jackie waddled along the passageway to the morgue. She felt herself move a little faster as she approached. Up three steps, down another hall and then around another corner. She rounded it to freeze as she saw someone unfamiliar standing there with a gun in his hand. She paused and watched him momentarily.

She'd be lying if she said her heart didn't falter as Gray opened the freezer unit to reveal a very pale jack. "I forgive you." He gasped out.

"How did you survive?" Gray asked, in as firm a demand as his shocked mind could comprehend.

Jack hauled himself upwards and got out of the unit. Their eyes met for a moment and she nodded at him. He turned to Gray and simply said. "I forgive you, Gray." He then turned and walked away from Gray towards her.

"Don't you walk away from me." Jack did so anyway, it broke her heart to see tears filling his eyes as his brother shouted at him. "Don't you walk away from me!"

She stepped towards Jack, took his hand, and fell in step with him. She didn't know what to say, so she just held his hand and followed him as he swiped at his cheek. She kept a wary eye on Gray out of the corner of her eye as they moved along the hall. Gray repeatedly shouted at them to stop.

Jack bore the yells for a time being before spinning around and pointed at Gray, his jaw line firmly set. "I've forgiven you. I gave you absolution. Now do the same for me." Jack requested.

"I prayed for death!" Gray shouted, the agony in his voice garnering some sympathy for him. "Those creatures, the things they did to us. Because of you!" Gray stepped towards them. Jackie would have left, giving the two of them a moment of privacy, had Jack not firmly held onto her hand. "The favorite son," he bit out. "the one who lived, who will always live. The only strength I have is my hatred for you."

Jack stepped towards Gray to hug him, but Gray rebuffed him. "I didn't know." Jack tried to explain to him, but it would only fall on ears made deaf by years of hate and horror. "I didn't realize until it was too late."

"I begrudge you everything." He sneered. "I want to rip it all from you." he looked towards her, his gaze was dead and emotionless, but he directed it back towards Jack. "To leave you screaming in the dark. I will never absolve you." Jackie cried as she bore part of Jack's heartbreak. "All of it, it's your fault."

This time, Gray was emotionally moved, he had a tear in his eye. Jack saw that and moved to embrace Gray, who thankfully this time, didn't rebuff him. Jackie stepped away and moved further up the corridor to give them some privacy.

"I'm sorry." Jackie looked up just as Jack suffocates Gray with a handkerchief. Gray struggled briefly, but Jack was stronger. Jack didn't kill him, just rendered him unconscious. It broke her heart to see Jack cry as he rocked the limp body of his younger brother back and forth. " I know. I know, Gray." Tears filled her eyes and she turned and walked away from Jack. "Don't leave." She paused and turned towards him as he repeated. "Don't leave me." she nodded and walked towards him, placing her hand on his shaking shoulders. "What do I do?"

Loathe to say so, she knew they had to remain professional. "We must go Jack. The world is in trouble." She said soothingly as she ran the back of her hand down his cheek wiping the tears away from his dirty cheeks. "We get out of danger, then, we deal with matters of the heart."

He exhaled and nodded. "Yeah. You're right." He stood up and pulled her into a hug, absorbing her warmth. "I survived, because I had someone to survive for."

She tilted her head up and placed several light kisses on his jaw line. Jack's grip on her tightened as he inhaled the scent of her hair deeply. She allowed him these few moments of pleasure before gently pulling away. "Come on flyboy. We've got to get Gwen, John and Ianto out of the holding cells."

He nodded. "Right." He took her hand and she moved into a brisk walk by his side. She felt him glance at her. "Are you alright? You're not hurt are you?"

"No Jack. I feel very, very pumped up right now. Full of energy." He smiled at her as they headed towards the cellblock. That loud shrieking happened again. this time, Jackie reacted fast enough to create a protective bubble around her and Jack. her brows arched as she gazed at herself. "Wow. I haven't…been able to create one this fast in a while."

He nodded. "I noticed." His eyes narrowed and he touched her face. "You're…glowing."

"I am?"

"Yeah…golden."

"I do feel a little different." She shrugged. "We'll have Owen run some tests on me later."

He nodded and they made their way to the back route of the cellblock. Gwen was the first to notice them. "Jack?" Gwen shouted as Jack opened the cells. The door opened and Gwen launched herself into Jack's arms. "Oh, thank God."

"We thought we'd lost you." Ianto said as he stepped forward to embrace Jack as well.

"Never." Jack assured them. "Never."

"Quite a queue for the hugs." John said dryly.

"Always has been," Jack said with a cheeky smirk. "always will be."

She rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it. But," Jackie stepped forward. "we can't have you feeling left out." That said Jackie cupped John's face in her hands and gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. He stared at her and touched his mouth in wonder as she drew back. "That's for helping my husband make his way back me and ensuring that he'll be present for the birth of our babies."

"Wow, no wonder Jack keeps you around." He arches his brow approvingly. "That's one hell of a kisser you got there Jack."

Jack chuckled. "You got a friendly peck, you'll never taste the full kiss." He arches as brow at her. "She knocks the earth off its axis every time."

"I believe you. Listen," John said slowly. "Gray's in the Hub.

"I know." Jack said quickly. "It's done."

"Tosh?" Jackie tried her comms again. "Can you come in please? We've got Jack with us again." she frowned. "It must be something with my comms. I can't get anybody." She reached out and gasped as she felt pain flow through her abdomen and suddenly over her body. The pain over her body vanished abruptly but the pain in her abdomen remained. She looked up at Jack. "It's Tosh, she's hurt, bad."

Her words spurned everyone into running towards the hall. Jackie managed to grab a hold of Ianto's arm and they gently sprinted towards the hub. Jack made it to the hub first, he paused for a moment. "Toshiko?"the concern in his voice caused everyone to hurry. Jack then shouted in panic. "Toshiko!" He turned and ran into the autopsy room. Jackie gasped as she saw the trail of blood. She pulled away from Ianto and hurried down the stairs. "Gwen," Jack bellowed. "I need help down here."

She rounded the corner to see Tosh was on the floor, blooding oozing from a wound in her abdomen. Jack pulled Tosh into his arms into a sitting position. Gwen made it down beside Tosh with a tray full of painkillers. Jackie knelt down beside her.

"The nuclear plant at Turnmill." Ianto gasped out, his eyes rooted to the screen in horror. "Owen's there."

"Sealed in." Tosh gasped out. "Rerouted the blast." Jackie gripped her hand tightly as Tosh's head turned towards Jack. "I couldn't save him."

"Oh Tosh." Jackie wiped at a swipe of blood on Tosh's brow. Tosh's eyes grew distant and slightly glazed over. "Tosh, stay with us, ok?"

"Tosh? There you go, darling." Gwen gave her an injection. However, judging by the paleness of her face, there was nothing to be done. "Talk to me now, come on. Hey, Tosh."

Jackie inhaled, preparing to try to heal Tosh as she had with that woman Claire. But when she placed her hands on Tosh, she felt the life leave her. Jackie shook her head. "No, dear God no." sobs began bubbling out of her. "No! not Tosh! No!"

Everyone cried that night. They cried for Tosh and Owen. They cried for the life together that the two of them were supposed to live together that would never come to be.

She felt like hell. She and Jack had spent most of the night wide-awake spending silent tears. Her eyes were red, her skin was blotchy and no amount of makeup could repair the lines of despair around her face.

She remembered first meeting Tosh and Owen. It seemed like such a short time ago. She and Tosh had bonded instantly, Owen, it had taken a while. But in the end, they all needed each other. She remembered so many happy moments with them; the quiet moments when everyone had their tea breaks. And now, it was over, they were gone.

Jackie came to stand in the doorway to the autopsy room where Jack and John were saying their goodbyes. Jack had wanted privacy while he laid his brother to rest in a unit for a few hundred years, to give his exhausted body time to rest and heal itself. She wasn't sure if Gray could wake up in many years and be a different man, but they'd lost so many people and Gray was the only relative that Jack had.

"A lot of this planet I haven't seen." John looks around the room casually. "You like it so much, thought I might take a look." He shot her a telling smirk. "See if there's any more where your wife came from."

Jack turned to see her, smiling fondly at her. "Trust me, they don't make them like that anymore."

"Maybe," he smiled faintly. "see you around. I'm sorry for your losses." John shakes Jack's hand and turns towards her. "And you, it was a pleasure, however brief a time."

She nodded. "Thanks." And with that, John turned and walked out of the autopsy room. Jack looked up at her and walked slowly up towards her.

He exhaled with a glance upwards. "It's time to say goodbye, isn't it?"

She noted that her mind that turned on 'Time to say goodbye' by Lauren Aquilana. She sighed as he placed his hands on her folded arms. "I guess so."

Jack kissed her forehead and moved back into the main room. Ianto was solemnly deleting Owen's profile from the system. Jackie inhaled and went towards Tosh's computer while Jack went to Owen's desk and began packing away his personal items. Jackie began picking up Tosh's items as her eyes filled with tears. Gwen brought her a small packing case and began helping her put the items away. Gwen picked up the familiar purple glasses and put them in the case. Jackie pulled them out and held onto them, unwilling to put them aside.

Okay. The sound of Tosh's voice from Ianto's screen caused all of them to jump in attention. They all scurried towards Ianto's station to view Tosh's final message. She held her breath as she gripped the glasses tight in her hands. So, if you're seeing this, I guess it means, I'm, well, dead. Hope it was impressive. Not crossing the road or an incident with a toaster. She smiled faintly as Jack let out a faint laugh, as he placed his hands on her growing stomach. I just wanted to say, it's okay. It really is. Jack, you saved me. she gripped his hand as he inhaled sharply. You showed me all the wonders of the universe and all those possibilities, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Thank you. Jackie…you were a friend, when, I had none. Jackie covered her mouth as tears began flowing harder. And Owen… I love you so. I love all of you. And…I hope I did good.

And with that, Tosh ended the message. Jackie inhaled deeply and blinked back the tears. "Now," Jack said with a tear still in his voice. "we carry on."

"I don't think I can," Gwen whispered brokenly. "not after this."

"You can." Jack assured her as he wrapped an arm around Gwen and her in embrace. Jackie reached up and placed her hand on Ianto's shoulder. "We all can. The end is where we start from."

"Goodbye, may seem forever." Jackie said quietly. "Farewell, is like the end, but in my heart's a memory, and there, you'll always be."

Jack nodded in agreement with an exhale. He broke the hold that all of them were sharing and sighs. "We've said our goodbyes now. So, let us carry on."

This was a hard chapter to write, but I hope I did good. On a more cheery note...we have a visitor in the next chapter!