A/N: set at the end of Season 1 Episode 11 ("Combat").
"So," said Jack, shepherding Gwen into the Hub having made sure Owen was safe in hospital and Ianto and Tosh on their way home, "you gonna tell me why, despite me telling you to have the night off, you're in work?" He folded his arms as he looked at Gwen, who huddled down onto the sofa with her chin on her knees. Boxes of pizza on the table; only one slice barely touched.
"I told Rhys. About Owen."
"And?"
"Called me a selfish bitch and fell asleep."
"Fell asleep?" he asked in disbelief.
"More like passed out, I guess."
"Drunk?"
"Not exactly."
He sighed, sat beside her on the sofa, and with one arm round her shoulders pulled her into his side. "Slipped a little Retcon into his nightcap, did you?"
"Maybe?"
He should have been angry at the misuse of the drug, but she looked so broken and lost that he didn't have the heart. "Gwen," he said gently, "drugging your boyfriend is not gonna solve your problems."
"I know." She wiped her eyes with the heels of her hands. "If I'm honest, it feels as though it's already over." She looked down at her hands, glistening with her tears. "I love Rhys, but I'm only really happy here."
"So you came back to the mayhem rather than stay home with your guilt."
"You make it sound as though I'm running away."
"Aren't you?" It was an invitation to probe her own thoughts and actions rather than a challenge, but she still flinched.
"Maybe I am. I felt… trapped. Like I couldn't breathe. I had to get out." She closed her eyes. "I didn't know where else to go."
The forlorn note in her voice made him hug her a little tighter instinctively. "Well, I guess as you're here now, we may as well make the best of it. Any of that pizza going spare? It's been a long night."
"It's gone cold," she warned him.
"And? I'm hungry."
She shrugged. "Help yourself."
He took a slice. "Aren't you having any? Looks as though you'd only just started eating when that text message disturbed you."
"I'm not really hungry."
"Not even to have a slice or two to keep me company?" he coaxed.
She smiled a little despite herself. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing, Jack." She picked up her half-eaten slice of pizza and nibbled half-heartedly.
"Whatever it takes," he replied unrepentantly.
He waited until she'd eaten a few slices before picking up the conversation. "Don't give up on what you have with Rhys just yet. All relationships go through rocky patches."
"I know, but he's more and more resentful about work, and he was furious when he found out about Emma. That it had become so easy for me to lie to him."
Jack stretched out his legs in front of him, considering. "There are ways of being economical with the truth without out-and-out lying to him."
"He still doesn't really understand why I can't tell him what I do."
He turned his head to look at her. "Tell him you've signed the official secrets act."
"But I haven't."
He laughed. "Wait there."
Gwen helped herself to another slice of pizza while she waited for Jack to return from his office. Truth be told, she felt better for having talked to him.
Finally he returned with a piece of paper and a pen. "Sign," he ordered, handing it to her.
She burst out laughing when she read the A4 sheet of paper with a lot of pseudo-legal wording. "Torchwood Official Secrets Act? Is this even legally binding?"
"Oh, yeah. You sign it, I countersign it, you're legally unable to tell him anything," he said, eyes twinkling.
She signed it, and watched as Jack countersigned.
"I'll scan it onto your file later," he said, putting it to one side and reclaiming his place next to her on the sofa. When she leaned against him, head on his shoulder, he eased an arm around her. "Feeling better?" he asked softly, seeing the quiet smile on her face.
"Yeah," she said. "He'll understand about that."
He kissed the top of her head. "Talk to him tomorrow?" She sniffed and nodded. "Promise me you'll talk to him. Not about Owen, necessarily, but about why you can't tell him about work. Don't let it slide, Gwen."
"I'll talk to him. I promise."
"Don't let it drift," he reiterated. "Keep your perspective. Don't let the job consume you like it did with Suzie."
She was silent a moment. "When she came back, Suzie said…"
He cut her off. "There was only one thing I agreed with her on when she came back."
"What's that?"
"That you're better than her." He stroked her arm gently with his thumb. "Forget everything else. Suzie was manipulating you. Don't let whatever she said get to you."
She turned her head to look up at him. "You really think I'm better than her?"
He smiled down at her. "No," he said gently. "I know you are."
