Gwen had dropped Tosh and Owen off in front of Owen's building, trying not to smile too noticeably as he gently carried her to her chair, and wheeled her into the building. A quick phonecall to Rhys had informed him of the events of the day.
"Gwen, It's nearly 8 o'clock in the morning. Are you not even going to try to make it home?" The Welshwoman had sighed, It was hard to believe that so much had happened since the previous afternoon.
"I can't I've been out all night, and I'm the only one left to take care of the HUB." She heard a sharp intake of breath over the line.
"What about that indestructible bloke? You're Captain Jack Sparrow." Gwen shook her head, Rhys never liked Jack, and couldn't help himself from ragging on him now.
"He's in a coma, along with Ianto, laying in the Cardiff city hospital."
"Shit! Gwen, bloody hell! What the hell happened!" The Welshwoman sighed pulling into the garage of the HUB.
"It's a long story that I barely understand. Tosh was shot, so-" Rhys screamed, there was the sound of a chair clattering in the background.
"Tosh! Blimey Gwen! I'm so sorry! I know you and her were real close and-" The Welshwoman smiled.
"She isn't dead you twat." There was a sigh of relief.
"Oh thank god for that. So was it just a flesh wound then?"
"She'd say so, but she took one through the thigh, and another in her hip. Won't be able to walk right for a while. Owen took her home to take care of her while things were in a state of relative peace. I'm at the HUB to tie up some loose ends, and then its to the hospital. Someone needs to be there for Jack when he wakes up and sees that Ianto is down for the count." Gwen heard her husband shout something indistinct and the shuffling of papers.
"I'll go for now. The ladies here can hold the fort for now. You just do what you have to do with the paper work and then grab a few winks. I can watch over the boys and call you if anything changes." The Welshwoman clutched a hand over her heart. It was things like this that reminded her of exactly why she married the man.
"You don't have to do that." There was a smile in her husband's voice when next he spoke.
"Yea I do. Now, off you get. I'll be at the hospital if you need me."
"Alright then. Love you."
"Live you too Gwen." The line went dead and the Welshwoman tapped her phone top her lip for a moment, wondering exactly what she had done to deserve such a man. A sharp tapping on the window of the SUV drew her back to the present. Gwen jolted forward, drawing her gun and spun to the window, only to find one of the police officers she had forgotten about standing just outside her door.
"Umm, PC Cooper?" Came the man's muffled call. Gwen let out a sigh. Opening her door, and sending the poor man staggering back a few steps, she got out of the SUV.
"Sorry about all that. A few of my colleagues were in need of some help." The man just blinked at her.
"Err. We are all waiting for your orders of release." Gwen blinked a few times, and then groaned inwardly. How much RETCONN will this take to erase. She smiled warmly at him, gesturing to the lift.
"Let me just get you all something to drink first." The officer nodded, and followed her into the HUB. There was Glib, sitting beside Fall on the floor, one tentacle resting on the other creature, while a few others placed damp cloths onto his skin. Good. At least Glib can take care of that much. The other officers were sitting on the couch, hands in their laps and eyes half closed with exhaustion.
"Alright boys. Let me give you all a little pick me up and then I'll let you on your way. You lot look like you can barely stand, let alone drive all the way home." The officer behind her seemed to want to protest, but one glance at his colleagues told him otherwise. Gwen pulled three extra-strength RETCONN dosed bottles if water from their cabinet, and handed them each in turn to the men around her. They each drank the whole of the bottle, and she could already see that they wouldn't be able to drive back. With a bit of concern, she goaded them each to the police cruiser that they had arrived in, hastily scrawling a note to explain the events of the previous night for when they awoke. Taking the wheel of the cruiser, she drove them halfway to the station, and got out of the car, pushing one of the men into the driver's seat. One of the men behind her shuffled a bit in his sleep, falling onto the man beside him, both of their heads resting on the other's. Gwen had to stifle her laugh before climbing out of the car. Thirty paces and a taxi ride later, she was back at the HUB. There was an elderly woman at the tourist office door, her hands clasping a small basket infront of her, and her red cloak drawn tight around her thin shoulders.
"Can I help you ma'am?" Gwen asked, concerned that the woman hadn't notice that the shop was closed.
"Do you work here dear?" She hitched her thumb over to the door, and Gwen noticed that the woman had a near militant bearing.
"Yes ma'am, but I'm afraid we're going to be closed for a while. A few of us have landed themselves in the hospital. A look of horror crossed the woman's face.
"It wasn't Mr. Jones was it? Or Ms. Sato?" Ok, now Gwen was worried. This woman knew Torchwood. And she knew were they were.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Gwen demanded, her voice hardening threateningly.
"Gertrude Mayweather. My wife sent me over here with a basket of goods for Mr. Jones and Mr. Harkness. They seemed to enjoy her cooking the other night and I-" That clicked. This was the Mrs. Mayweather that had hosted Jack and Ianto's first date.
"Oh, forgive me ma'am I didn't recognize you. Please, come in. it's far too cold to be out talking out here." The woman smiled softly.
"I only came to drop this off. Gwen frowned.
"I'm afraid Ianto and Jack won't be able to enjoy anything for a while." This really got the woman's attention.
"Oh no, They are the ones in the hospital aren't they. Was it a car accident? Or did someone unsavory get ahold of them." Gwen looked the woman over once more. She seemed protective.
"Work accident. They both ended up in the hospital last night. They-they haven't woken up yet." They woman simply nodded.
"Bloody Torchwood. Even in my day you people kept getting yourselves into more trouble than you could handle. Gwen nodded.
"You weren't Torchwood, were you?" The elderly woman laughed sadly.
"No, I was in the Army for a time, and i did a brief stint with UNIT, but there wasn't really much use for a woman in the ranks after the war. Tell me, do you think that it would be alright for me to go and visit them?" The Welshwoman smiled.
"Of course! I have a feeling that they would both love to know that you came in. And tell the missus that her thank you for them. I know Ianto would want that." Gertrude smiled softly.
"Well then, I guess that i had better phone Olive and let her know where I'm headed." Gwen smiled to dismiss her, then stopped.
"Wait, how did you know where to find Ianto?" The elderly woman gathered herself up and turned to Gwen fully, stepping just a fraction closer and lowering her tone.
"For a secret organization, you aren't very secret. It was easy enough to figure that wherever Ianto went to work, Torchwood would be nearby. Since I'm friends with his Mam and she said that he worked here, it wasn't that hard to piece it together. Now, dear, I really do need to go. I'll just put this in the room when i visit them. It'll do no good in there." She pointed to the tourist office and walked away. No goodbye, no dismissal, just walking away. The whole thing was so bizarre and abrupt that Gwen had half convinced herself of imagining the whole meeting.