[Hello, again. Well there's a simple reason for this update. I feel like hell, seriously I have a head ache, a blocked nose sore lips and throat and one of my ears is really hurting, anyway, best way to cure my blues is *drum roll* reviews. I figured if I gave you double the stuff to talk about I might get double the reviews…]

Sparkling angel I believe
You were my saviour in my time of need.
Blinded by faith I couldn't hear
All the whispers, the warnings so clear.
Within Temptation- Angels

Combat: part 2

They arrived back at the hub in good time and Owen was already at his desk waiting. 'I'm meeting him tonight. Club I think. And I think Winter should come.'

Jack glanced at her as she put her sword and sharpening kit on Toshiko's desk, 'Any reason.'

'He asked about her, seemed a bit suspicious.' Owen replied.

Jack turned to Winter, 'Nemo? You ok with that.'

'Sure, I could do with a drink.'

Jack nodded then motioned to Ianto, 'Get her something suitable, she can't go to a club looking like that.'

Ianto pulled her into a storage room where he had kept the various outfits she had paraded around in earlier. He frowned and pulled a few items out before approaching her. She held her hands out but he kept a tight hold on the things.

'Ianto, it'll be a lot easier to put them on if you let me have them.'

He deliberated for a second then thrust them into her arms reluctantly and left her to change. She pulled the clothes on and hobbled out of the room, sneaking through the hub into Jack's office where the mirror still stood.

'I really hope I don't have to fight anyone in this thing,' she grumbled, tugging on the black lacy fabric over the short, tight green dress and then burying her hands in her hair to fluff it up a bit more and hide as much of her exposed décolletage as possible.

A low wolf whistle from the door made her jump. She span around to see Ianto and Owen carrying a sedated Janet out towards the SUV. Jack and Tosh turned to look at her and Tosh's eyes went wide before she quickly turned to follow the path the two men had taken.

Jack approached her steadily, circling like a stalking lion and then smiling, 'He doesn't stand a chance.'

She smiled nervously and he handed her a phone. 'And where the hell am I meant to keep this?' she asked him.

He just grinned and gently pulled one cup of her bra away from the skin half an inch then slid the phone in. She sucked in a breath, suddenly very hot and very aware of how close he was standing to her. Going with her gut instinct to play it off she batted his hands away and flicked her hair over her shoulder as she stalked out to find Owen and get out to the club. Jack watched her go smiling until a thought struck him. He grabbed something from his desk and raced after them calling out, 'Nemo! Nemo!'

Only to just catch the squealing of tyres as Owen's car raced away from the car park, 'You forgot your gun. Damn.'

TTT

They entered the bar looking every bit a couple. His arm by his side holding the car keys and one of hers hook through it as she whispered in his ear. What the people didn't know is that while she was grinning she was whispering warnings at him. 'And don't call me 'your Mrs', if you call me 'your Mrs' I swear I'll set maffanwy on you.'

He led her over to a table and introduced her to Mr lynch, 'Soph this is Mark Lynch, Mark this is Sophie my wife.'

The tall, dark man got up and shook her hand but not, she noticed, before giving her a lingering once over. She smiled warmly and sat down next to Owen crossing her legs tightly.

'Can I get you anything?' He stared straight at her and she glanced away, looking at Owen.

'Oh, I wouldn't say no, what about you sweetheart?'

He made their orders and Mark wandered off to the bar.

Owen leaned over and murmured, 'Loosen up will you, if your legs were clenched any tighter your bones'll snap.'

She held back a forceful glare and settled back onto the sofa as Mark returned and the men began discussing business. Owen rested his hand on her leg possessively and she glanced around the bar trying to pick up little traits of the other girls around her. Suddenly Owen put down his drink and swore under his breath. For a moment she thought their cover had been blown and she looked up to see some men approach the table.

'Have we got a problem here boys?' Mark asked.

Owen seemed to recognise them and Winter could see this kicking off. Reached for her sword and nearly kicked her when she remembered where she was. What was she supposed to use, her fists?

'Not with you,' the man replied.

Owen got up, 'Come on then. Let's get it over with.'

Winter leapt to her feat as Owen was sent flying back with a well place punch to the face. She figured she shouldn't just be sitting around like a diva so she got up and grabbed the nearest guys shirt, catching him off his guard and bringing her knee up to connect with his groin. Mark kicked him away and gave her an impressed nod as she turned and grabbed her drink downing the rest of it while Owen floored the bloke he'd been tackling.

Her 'husband' looked up and nodded in thanks to Mark. Winter was immediately by his side with a napkin wiping the blood from his face. Mark approached them and motioned to the bouncers heading through the crowd. They exited the bar quickly and Mark turned to them.

'Seeing as we didn't get to finish our drinks let's get back to mine and have a beer.'

Owen nodded shortly and unlocked the car. Opening the door for Winter to slide in before tailing Mark closely so as not to lose him in the dark.

'What the hell happened there?' She yelled as soon as they were off.

'What 'you banging on about now.'

'Do you normally walk into clubs and get attacked or is it just that one.'

'We had a run in yesterday it's no big deal.'

'No big deal! You know how crap I am in a fight and I'm bloody unarmed.'

'You didn't have to get involved.'

'What could I do, just sit around sipping my drink and ignore that my 'husband' is engaged in some crazy brawl in the middle of the bar.'

'Look we're here now. With any luck we'll get in find out what the hell is going on and then get out. I can send you home with a headache if you want.'

'And leave you on your own? After what just happened I'm not letting you out of my site you git.' She opened the car door and plastered on a face smile. Linking hands with him as they ascended into Marks flat.

TTT

With a little hinting from Owen, Winter excused herself to the bathroom and listened while they talked. When she figured it was safe she re-entered the room, stole Owen's beer from the table and kissed him on the corner of his mouth chastely before heading over to examine Mark's CD collection. Nothing good, just a lot of white boy rap/metal.

'Ask yourself, what's the point of your life?' Winter heard the scraping of the chair as Owen sat down.

'Mark mate. I only came here for a beer.'

Winter returned to the table and sat on top of it out of habit. At the last second she caught herself and crossed her legs onto the chair, taking a sip from Owen's beer before handing it back.

'There's so much more, if you know where to look.'

Although it wasn't in her nature to be left out of conversations, Mark appeared to be coming clean without her help so Winter kept her mouth shut as they talked.

'Is that right.'

'It's closer than you think. Something's coming, out there, in the darkness. Something is coming.'

They talked a little longer sometime with input from Winter, others she kept silent. Finally, Owen left to use the toilet and Mark and Winter were left alone.

'See anything you like?' Mark asked her suggestively and she raised an eyebrow, 'In my CD collection.'

She smiled knowingly and grabbed Owen's bottle again, returning to the rack. 'It's not really my sort.'

She felt him come up behind her and place his hands on her hips. Fighting the urge to turn around and slap him she reached up and took the top record from the shelves. 'But I guess I could be converted.'

She turned and saw Owen slip into a room on the second floor and it wasn't the bathroom. Mark kept his eyes on her but shook his head.

'Does your husband fool anyone with that spy act he's got going up there.'

She looked shocked but he just laughed, 'Come on, I want to show you something, just keep quiet. Winter followed him quietly and he slid an arm around her waist, his hand resting on her backside. He led her into the room and smacked her quietly forward. She rounded the corner and gasped. Owen span around gun in hand to see Mark and Winter stood next to him. 'Told you there was more to see.'

Owen put the gun away sheepishly, 'Oh, Mark mate, I'm really sorry I couldn't resist the padlock.'

They all looked at the weevil, chained to the ceiling. Blood seeped from wounds on its head and it moved painfully.

'So what do you think?' Mark asked.

Winter looked on at Owen's bemused expression.

'What is it?' Owen asked.

'No idea,' Mark told them,' don't get too close though, vicious bastard.'

'Where'd you get it from?' Winter whispered.

Owen covertly patted the table next to him and Winter took the hint sitting down next to some baseball bats.

'Found one on the street. It took five of us to bring it in. Other than that I haven't got a clue.' He approached the weevil steadily, holding a bat under it's chin. 'Scientific experiment gone wrong, nuclear victim, one of the lad's even reckons it's an alien,'

Winter chuckled at the irony. Mark seemed to enjoy being funny, he turned and gave her a sly smile, 'You want to know what I think?'

'Yeah go on.'

'I think it's us,' Winter snorted. He looked up at her and she backtracked.

'There's no way I'm turning into that thing,' she sneered at the weevil and Mark chuckled darkly.

'In a thousand years time this will be us. This is what we become when all we have left is our rage.'

'Not exactly a comforting thought,' Owen remarked.

'Give it a smack.'

Owen looked up at him, 'You what?'

'Punch it.'

'Why?'

'It's what it's there for.'

Winter looked at the Weevil and couldn't help but feel bad for it. It was chained up to a wall, probably with nothing to eat for at least a week. It looked beaten and tired. She'd never like the look of the Torchwood cells but they must be heaven compared to this nightmare. She watched Mark beat it and gripped the table tightly, trying desperately not to pull him away from the poor bleeding creature but when she heard him mention the SUV she brought her mind back to the conversation.

'I don't know what you mean.' Owen told him.

'The man in the big coat with the little Asian girl I was watching, nice website by the way, koodos to whoever did that, although jellied eels not sure that was your greatest idea.' Owen laughed.

'I wasn't that bad.'

'So who's she then? The receptionist?' He nodded to Winter as though she was garden furniture.

'In your dreams,' she growled.

He smiled at her but something behind it was dark, almost feral, 'As for your acting,' he turned back to Owen as Winter slid off the desk and pulled off the wedding band that had been annoying her all night, 'it was rubbish. Whoever, you are you've royally fucked up my plans. Didn't want all this getting out.'

Winter wondered whether this had been a good idea after all. Could she text Jack for help or would he see.

'What about Dan Hodges, what about his wife and kid?' Owen asked.

'I'm not responsible for people's life choices. Now, why did you lot take the body? Why didn't you go to the cops?'

Winter's mouth dropped as Owen let his anger out on the police and then agreed to come along with Mark. He handed her his car keys but she thrust them back at him.

'No chance, Jack would kill me and I... I'm probably over the limit.' Owen rolled his eyes and they all got into Marks car. Winter pulled her phone out but Owen took it off her and stuffed it into his pocket. Suddenly she didn't feel safe at all.

TTT

Owen didn't give her a second look as they exited the car and made their way through the doors of the building. Everywhere she went she was being pushed and shoved. If Jack was here, or Ianto they would be standing by her but Owen just sped up as they walked into, what seemed to be, the lions den.

All around her in the side rooms, men fought each other. It seemed to be getting pretty heated in some of them. Owen stopped to question Mark but Winter was still getting pushed around and grabbed at. She used a burst of energy to push through the crowd and caught up with her partner. He didn't acknowledge her existence just carried on walking the way Mark was heading. They arrived in a large room with a balcony running all the way around it. The men roared as the countdown finished and she looked down to see something she would never be able to dream up. A man was standing in a locked cage. With a weevil. Her eyes widened as the surrounding men cheered him on and he smirked as the weevil attempted to escape. It hit her like a bolt of lightning. It didn't want to fight. It wanted to run away. To hide. Her hand went to her mouth and she turned away from the disgusting scene.

'Too much Sam?' Mark yelled over at her and she glared at him.

'You're sick.' she seethed, 'that creature isn't alive so you can have a bit of sport with it.'

'It attacked us first,' he responded.

'It doesn't understand!' she shouted back.

'Oi Winter!' Owen yelled as he watched the fight, 'put a sock in it.'

She opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish and Mark smirked. He yelled over his shoulder and two big men appeared from watching the fight.

'This young lady doesn't like all the fighting, perhaps you can find another way to entertain her.'

Winter looked desperately over at Owen but he wasn't paying attention, he was deep in thought. They escorted her away from the weevil and down some steps to the ground floor. In a small room they threw her into the corner their jackets came off and she looked around like a panicked deer, for an exit.

Suddenly a mighty roar erupted from the outside. The men looked around and she took her chance heading out the side door and straight into the cage room. She watched as Owen launched himself through the double doors and yelled for them to open the cage doors. She faught through the crowds of large sweaty men, elbowing, twisting arms and stamping her heels on their feet until she broke through to the cage and ran over to him pleading.

'Owen! Owen! What the hell are you doing? Owen don't go in there! Don't...'

He lashed out and pushed her out of the way. She tumbled back on her heels and ended up sitting on the floor. The entire building erupted in cheers and laughter and her eyes brimmed with tears at the fear and embarrassment coursing through her body. Before she could get up one of the burly men had lifted her to her feet and held her back as Owen entered the cage.

Suddenly Jack burst through the opposite doors and fired two shots. The room went mad and the man backed off, still gripping her arms tightly. As Gwen raced around the cage to get to Owen, Jack followed heading straight for her. He pointed the gun and in a deadly whisper spoke, 'Get your hands off of her.'

The man loosened his grip and she wrenched herself free then raced over to the cage and through the doors. The weevil was moving towards Gwen as she attempted to drag Owen out and Winter panicked, throwing her hands up in front of her. The weevil paused growling. She really looked at it and gasped, 'Janet?'

Its shoulders seemed to loosen just a little bit and so Winter made a gentle chuffing noise. Janet blinked and cocked her head, chuffing back ever so quietly. She sensed Jack behind her trying to help Gwen get Owen out of the cage. They pulled him from the wreckage and Winter started to back away. 'We're going to take you home,' she whispered as she backed up. 'No more pain.' A hand closed around her upper arm slowly, pulling her backwards but tensed in case Janet moved. She made it through the door and closed it. Turning to see Jack watching the last of the men flee the building. They walked a little further from the door and she scanned the room for Owen, finding him on the floor by Gwen. She didn't see Mark enter the cage behind her, nor did she see him ripped to shreds, but she heard it and that was enough.

Jack and Gwen crowded on either side of Owen. Winter stepped closer and looked down on him. Her anger bubbling close to the surface would have to be saved for another day. She looked at him blankly as his eyes rolled back into his head and callously dropped his car keys onto his chest. Jack and Gwen looked up in surprise as she just walked out of the building to go and sit in the SUV.

TTT

When they asked if she wanted to see Owen, she refused. Gwen offered to take her later but she refused. Jack told her he was coming back to work the next day and she shrugged and left the room. It wasn't exactly difficult to tell she was angry with him.

He walked in eight days after the attack, his arm in a sling and his face bruised and blackened. Jack nodded in welcome, Gwen and Toshiko smiled at him and Ianto brought him some coffee. Winter sat on the sofa and refused to look at him.

'What? No welcome back quip,' he asked standing a few feet away.

She sighed and put down the book she had been pretending to read and finally looked up. He gave her a lopsided grin and she looked away he took a step forward. 'Look, I'm...'

She held up a hand to stop him right there and slowly pushed herself up off the sofa then pulled her hand back and punched him squarely on the jaw. He stumbled back towards his desk. Jack walked over to put an arm in front of Winter. She waved it away and snarled, 'You left me. You just waltzed off with that moron and let me trail behind. You would have had no clue if I'd disappeared.'

By now she could feel that she was so angry she was going to start crying so she balled her fists and dug the nails into her palms, 'You let them take me away and when I managed to get back by some fucking miracle you literally smack me to the fucking floor! I was scared Owen. I was scared and alone in there. And you know what scared me most Owen. You. I'm starting to wish that Weevil had killed you.'

She turned on her heel and stormed from the room slamming her door. Pip crept over to his hammock from his seat on the bed, sensing her bad mood and she flung herself onto her bed, screaming into her pillow in anger.

After half an hour of constant sobbing her tear subsided and she heard a knock at her door. She didn't answer. They went away but returned half an hour later. And every half hour on the dot until midnight when she finally opened the door. Jack took one look at her in a giant t-shirt and underwear and pulled her into his arms. He kicked the door shut and lay down with her for a while.

'This doesn't excuse what he did, but you have to know that Owen's not right at the moment. He's changing.'

'Into what?' Winter commented quietly.

Jack sighed and squeezed her tighter, 'I'm not sure yet.' He looked down at her and cocked his head quizzically.

'What is it?' She asked, 'is it more makes up, damn stuff takes an age to get off.'

'No, you just, you remind me of someone I knew, with your hair like that.'

'Who?'

'A girl. Do you have a fox t-shirt?'

She raised an eyebrow and looked over at her wardrobe. 'Yeah, I bought one a week ago, why?'

He fingered a lock of hair and pushed it behind her ear.

'Nothing. Get some sleep. You're safe.'

She was tired after so much crying so smiled lazily and snuggled into his chest, relishing in the softness.

'I'm sorry I said I wished Owen was dead. I didn't mean it.'

Jack nodded, 'He knows that.'

She looked up, 'How did he react?'

Jack laughed and kissed her forehead as she drifted off to sleep.

…

'Something along the lines of, 'Fuck, she's strong.'

…

[Right, I'm tired now so I'm off, hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow. Reviews are like neurofen and a warm bed so the more I get of them the better I'll feel.]

[Sonotalady: man you're quick. As always I'm happy to take some criticism, I mean, after all you're the one reading it :) looking back I can see what you mean and I always thought there was something the matter with that chapter but I needed a way to get her inside the building because I needed some strain between Owen and Winter. Combat is hard because it's so perfect by itself and the team are hardly in at. But when they are in it they aren't doing anything interesting. I had the same problem with 'sleeper'. Hopefully it will be back to what you like soon :D thanks for the review.]