Owen and I were on Weevil watch last night; we picked up a pair of them just outside of the city centre at about 11.00 pm. I was hoping we might have discovered another couple of the further evolved Weevils, but unfortunately these two seemed even more primal and vicious than our usual fiends. I suppose that's the compromise, we get to see the more humanlike species from the future and also the more primitive from the past.

I much prefer dealing with one's like Mable though; these two didn't half put up a fight, Owen and I took quite a battering and to top it all off our 'anti-weevil spray' appears to have lost all effect – thank goodness for sedatives. Ideally we could have done with Gwen and Tosh's help, one Weevil is a two man job and two Weevils needed at least three really. But Tosh had worked all the way through from 8.30 am yesterday, until 4.30 pm this afternoon, our rift monitor, in fact all of our alien detection software is having serious problems and she's been frantically trying to find the solution. And Gwen was still having problems with Rhys; I didn't want to drag her out on a Weevil call now when it might be a pivotal point in their relationship.

So with great difficulty we tackled them by ourselves.

After dropping them off at the vaults, Owen said that both of us deserved a drink so we headed off to the pub. At first I wasn't sure that it was a particularly good idea… I was tired and felt like sleep for the first time in nearly 2 months, I had a split lip from our new Weevils, I am not a big fan of pubs (a dislike which had only been enhanced after the disastrous quiz) and I am most certainly not a big fan of drunken Owen.

But we actually had a really good evening. Actually it was a strangely good evening; there was no banter, no jokes no incessant flirting with bar maids as I had expected from Owen. We just sat and had what can only be described as a heart to heart.

He was still feeling cut up about Diane and was obviously ready to talk about it at last and I was there to listen. He thinks he should have stopped her, that because of him she might have died on the other side of that rift, he'd have rather that she'd just:

"Chucked me and moved up to bloody Scotland or somewhere so at least I would have known that she was alive and have been able to hate her slightly".

Although he's been hurt he can't hate her because he loves her so much and can't bear the thought of hating her whilst she might be out there dead or dying or injured. It was a situation that seemed all too familiar to me for comfort. Except that Diane loved Owen back, she was just scared to admit it to herself. I didn't allow myself to think about myself then though, Owen needed me to be there for him so I was, and I think we have (dare I say it) become closer because of it.

It was a nice walk to work this morning, the sun had just risen but it still felt fresh, with a slightly chilling wind in the air. It's strange how one minute you have the time to notice things like this, and then the next you could be off wrestling with a Weevil or chasing after an Auton.

Anyway… Tosh and Gwen asked us if we'd found anything interesting last night, I was going to say no - they'd only start saying that we should have asked for their help and then end up making me feel guilty all day for not bothering to bother them. But of course Owen had to boast of our 'two man triumph'…

As predicted Tosh started insisting that we should have called her, she didn't get much sleep last night anyway and, similarly, Gwen said that if we had needed back up then she could have got Rhys to understand, that it was silly for us to have attempted it alone. She said the last part whilst glaring at the bruise which had now formed on my lip. I felt foolish and guilty, but Owen just seemed to be acting like he was cock of the walk. Obviously he had got all of his sensitivity out of his system last night.

Tosh still hasn't fixed the problem with our detection equipment, she thought at first that it might be a problem with signal but she's checked it twice and it's at full strength. She then thought it might be to do with our power connections down in the hub, but all other electrical equipment was working fine so it couldn't be that. She's considered everything, from some sort of virus spreading across the system to lose connections with the cabling, but nothing fits.

Things have become even more peculiar this afternoon; the equipment has somehow managed to re-tune itself to the Himalayas and nobody can understand why. All of our weather reports, alien detection reports, radiation reports etc. that we are receiving, are coming in from the mountains.

What's worrying about all of this is that, from these reports, it appears as though there is alien activity (or at least what appears to be alien) occurring there. As far as I'm aware, Asia doesn't have a Torchwood equivalent, and their UNIT department is as large scale as the UK's, so goodness knows how they are dealing with whatever is going on out there, the only silver lining is that the Himalaya's are practically unpopulated.

Gwen decided it would be best for us to let UNIT know of what's going on so that something can be done to prevent whatever it is that has inhabited the mountains escaping in to the surrounding, populated towns.

Brigadier Marsterson came over relatively promptly after our call, he seemed anxious to assess the extent of the situation. Or rather 'check and make sure that we have a clue what we're talking about before we start alerting the Prime Minister' as Gwen thought, she really doesn't like the Brigadier, probably because he doesn't like Torchwood. Never the less, I thought it only polite enough to offer him a hot beverage and a biscuit upon his arrival. I brought through his tea and everybody else's coffees to the conference room along with a packet of chocolate digestives, just as Gwen was helping Tosh to explain what our problem was. Tosh gets so nervous when she has to present anything bless her.

After showing him our monitors and their readings for the last 12 hours, he was convinced that something needed to be done about it, convinced that we were right. I could just see the hint of a smug grin creeping onto the corners of Gwen's mouth After a final cup of tea and 2 more biscuits (he'd already had 4!) he resolved to take copies of the reports back to the UNIT base with him and talk to one of his senior officers about organising to send out a troop to control the situation. That UNIT would take over from us now and we could go back to 'saving the world' he added sarcastically.

We all felt a bit miffed that we'd been thrown off the case, Jack wouldn't have let it happen, he would have put up more of a fight to hold on to it, but to be honest I think we're a little bit too intimidated by UNIT to make any sort of challenge against them.

As it turns out, we got our mission back without any confrontation whatsoever, Brigadier Masterson rang us back only half an hour after leaving to inform us that Lieutenant General Williams had wanted Torchwood to handle things. That he thought we were most suitable for the case as we had the most experience with other worldly beings and technology. The sound of distaste and bitterness in his voice when he told me this message made it hard for me to control me laughter, he obviously felt like he had been taken down a peg or two.

So it looks like we're off to the Himalayas! It should be better than our last Torchwood trip as, although we are camping again, we are only going after extra-terrestrials not cannibals. I think… I'm still nervous though, we have no idea what we're going up against. There's no human technology out there which is why it was so odd for us to be picking up readings from that area, it also meant that we couldn't get any recordings of our creature(s?) before we left so we literally could be setting off to face anything.

But beneath all of this anxiety, I feel just a little excited. I thought I would never have that feeling, of sheer exhilaration in the face of extreme danger. I always thought it was unnatural to see the look of excitement in the team's eyes when facing a great peril, but I understand it now, now that I am one of them.

It's almost 10.00 pm and Gwen has just turned up to my apartment in a complete state; things are over between her and Rhys. She told him about us being sent off to the Himalayas and he just flipped. Said it was

"The last straw"

That this was getting "bloody ridiculous now"

"Special-ops were just taking the piss".

He said that he was fed up with being treated as second best, that he'd had to put up with more than enough crap, and that if she went on this trip then it was over. He wanted her to make a choice – him or Torchwood. And Gwen picked Torchwood.

I'm not sure what I would have done in her position, the person you love or the job you love? For me I suppose it's sort of the same thing… or at least it was… But ultimately, how could anyone ever just walk away from all of this? She's broken through the powers of retcon before, and doubtless would be able to do it again if she did chose to leave, and having to live knowing that all of this adventure was carrying on without you would be unbearable.

I think she's worried about the choice she's made, I've tucked her into bed in my spare room now, but I bet she's still awake, just lying there mulling over her thoughts and agonising her mind.

She arrived at mine about 2 hours ago; I started off making a joke about how she even knew where I lived, how nothing was ever kept secret with Torchwood. But then I saw the look of sheer misery on her face and her red eyes and tear stained cheeks and stopped trying to be funny.

I didn't know what had happened, or how to make it right so I just led her to my kitchen and pulled her in to a tight hug while she cried on my shoulders. Then she explained what had happened, I still didn't really know what to say, so I just told her that no matter what had happened she was unharmed and safe, and that all of us love her and will help her get through everything. I made her a cup of coffee –decaf – and sat with her while she continued to pour out everything she was thinking. A fair bit of crying and another cup later, I told her that she should get some rest and showed her into the guest room.

She tried to insist that she would be fine just to go home to her Parent's, that she needed to get a few more things for when we head out to the Himalayas tomorrow, and that she didn't want to be a burden. But there was no way I was letting her drive in such a state, and so I offered to finish pick up whatever she needed for tomorrow. Reluctantly, she agreed and thanked me.

There aren't many places open at gone 10.00 pm at night, but there is a 24hr Tesco about fifteen minutes away which should stock everything that Gwen and I need. I hope she feels even just a little better in the morning; I wouldn't want her coming away with us only to be regretting what she has done and hating herself for the entire trip.

Quite often, I think of Gwen as resilient and strong, and whilst she is both of these, she is also so fragile and sensitive. If she is feeling well enough to come with us (and trust me I will not pressure her in to coming if she's not, quite the opposite in fact) then I will make sure that Owen is nice to her. He isn't intentionally cruel, but his occasional quips about her relationship with Rhys or about their past affair really won't help anything at the moment.

I feel a little guilty, because even with Gwen so upset at the moment, I am still rather excited for tomorrow – the Himalayas here we come!