A/N: set towards the end of Season 1 Episode 2 ('Day One'), when Jack and Gwen have returned Carys to her father.
"Retcon?" asked Jack as he unlocked the SUV.
"In the mugs of tea I made for them before we left," Gwen replied, getting into the passenger seat.
He shot her a grin. "Good; no need for another visit."
As he set off back to the Hub, she asked, "She'll be okay, won't she?"
"Carys? Yeah. Might be a bit wobbly for a day or so, but she's young. She'll bounce back."
Gwen bit her lip nervously. "Are you going to Retcon me again?" She yelped as he swerved, a look of shock on his face.
"Why the hell would I do that?" he asked, astonished.
"I mean… I just… this all happened because I screwed up. I thought… I might be out on my ear."
To her surprise, he started laughing. "Oh, Gwen… really, I'm sorry. I shouldn't laugh. Listen, we all make mistakes, me included. Remind me to tell you some day about how I nearly re-wrote the DNA of the whole human race to have an integral gas mask and ask consistently if you were its mummy. And no, that's not a joke."
To his relief, she giggled. "How did you do that?"
"Doing something not dissimilar to what you did," he said ruefully. "Parked a piece of space junk that I thought was harmless. Didn't realise it contained nanogenes - subatomic robots used by a race of aliens to heal people, even reanimate them - they escaped, first human they came across was a dead kid wearing a gas mask. They thought that was the norm for humans, and replicated it across everyone they came across. Terrifying."
"What happened?" she asked, eyes wide.
"Friend of mine found the boy's mother, her DNA was recognised as dominant, and rewrote everything back again. But it could all have ended very differently." He grinned at her. "So until you've nearly wiped out the human race, your fuck-up's got nothing on mine."
She laughed. "That actually makes me feel so much better."
He chuckled. "Good. I'd be grateful if you didn't mention that incident to the others, though. Owen in particular would probably never let me hear the end of it."
She sighed. "I don't think Owen likes me very much."
"Don't think you're special… Owen doesn't like anyone very much, himself included." He shot a sideways glance her way. "Give as good as you get, but let me know if he gets out of line, and I'll have a word. Though if Tosh catches him at it, she'll stick up for you - she had a rough time when she was the new girl, so she's likely to be sympathetic."
"She's been lovely."
"She's a sweetheart. She's the longest-standing member of the team, now Suzie's gone, and is still the least cynical. And Ianto is ever-professional, so you'll never know whether he likes you or not."
"How long has he been in the team?"
"Only about six months. So yes, Owen has middle child syndrome."
"Figures." She was silent for a while. "What would have happened if the portable cell hadn't worked?"
"It did work, so why worry?"
She shrugged. "I just want to know."
He slowed for a red light, and took the opportunity to look at her steadily for a moment. "I'd have found another way of stopping it. Do you really think I'd stand by and let that happen to you?" When she didn't answer, he sighed. "You really did think I was going to let you take the fall for it, didn't you?" She bit her lip, and looked out of the window. "Oh, Gwen… what am I going to do with you?" he asked rhetorically with a shake of his head.
Shifting back into gear as the lights started to change, he focused on the road again. "You'll get used to the way I operate in time," he said conversationally as he pulled away.
"So… you're not firing me, then?"
"I thought we'd already covered that? No, I'm not. Just because your first day was a rollercoaster doesn't mean you don't deserve a second chance. Learn from your mistakes, move on, keep showing up. You'll get there." He shifted up a gear. "Besides, your detective work was nothing short of brilliant. How come you were still only a police constable?"
"I'd never tried for anything more."
"Why not?" he persisted.
She shrugged. "I'd been thinking of going for desk sergeant."
"Desk sergeant. Is that the limit of your ambition?" he asked, changing up into third gear.
"I didn't say I'd stay there indefinitely," she replied with a small smile. "But you have to work your way up through the ranks."
"Suppose. Just seems such a waste of your talent."
"Isn't that why I'm with Torchwood?"
He chuckled. "Yes, it is, and don't you forget it." He shot her a teasing grin. "You're a valued member of the team, Gwen Cooper. You did good today. Don't let one mistake detract from that."
She sighed. "My mistake cost several lives."
"And the work you put in saved many more," he countered. "That thing could have ruptured on impact, or when we were taking samples. Would that have been your fault?"
"No," she admitted.
"Do you think I'd have blamed the others if that thing had escaped when they were taking samples?"
"…No," she said finally.
"Right. Because they were doing their job. And accidents happen."
"I guess."
"Besides, Owen was being a jerk and deserved to have the chisel thrown at him. And taking the sample with it would have had the same effect anyway, most likely. So, really… get over it, Gwen. Owen's just being an obnoxious prick."
"Is he like that with everyone?"
"Yeah, me included. Don't take it to heart. For all he's a snarky bastard, he'd still take a hit for you if push came to shove." He parked the SUV in the Torchwood parking bay. His eyebrows rose as Gwen followed him into the Hub rather than going to her car. "Not going home?"
"Not yet, there's some stuff I want to do first."
"Fine, but don't be too long. I will be checking up on you."
He shook his head with a smile as she headed off ahead of him. As first days went, it could have been worse.
