New Chaos Chapter
Chaos
Chapter Two
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Torchwood and I’m not making any money from this fic. Any character you don’t recognise from the show, I probably own
Summary: Set after season two. When Owen is supposedly killed for good, he finds himself in a hospital and back to living normality. The problem? His life force is bound to that of a coma patient
Warning(s): Spoilers up to and including the final episode of season two; strong violence; original characters; Alternate Universe
Pairings: Jack/Ianto; Owen/OFC... May eventually become a foursome
Author’s Note: I couldn’t work out if Owen knew about Gray or not, so this is a slight AU in which he does
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The contented feeling Owen had after waking up from his sex-filled dream lasted exactly five minutes... and then he heard Gwen’s voice outside his hospital room.
Briefly, Owen considered the possibility that he’d simply imagined Gwen’s voice. That hope was quickly cut down, though, when he heard Gwen’s voice grow louder as she apparently got closer to the door. He thought about jumping out of the window, but quickly discarded that idea. He was a doctor; he knew that he shouldn’t move and dislodge the IV in his arm.
Should he hide under the blankets? No... That was just a little childish. Looked like there was nothing more to do than just lie there and wait for the inevitable confrontation. Why couldn’t he have stayed asleep for a bit longer? Of course, then he wouldn’t know that Gwen was on her way...
Right before the door opened, Owen settled for assuming quite a nonchalant pose. When Gwen walked into the room, he plastered a fake smile on his face and looked up at her. “Took you long enough to find me.” He saw Rhys as well, but the other man hovered in the background, apparently unwilling to interrupt.
“Owen... you’re alive!” For a moment, Gwen just stared at him, as if she could hardly believe the evidence of her own eyes. Then, abruptly, she hugged him tightly, heedless of the IV in his arm. “I can’t believe it!”
“Hey, careful.” When he felt wetness on his shoulder, Owen realised that Gwen was crying. He felt bad, but didn’t really know how to comfort her. A little awkwardly - particularly with Gwen’s husband there - he put his free arm around her.
“What happened?” Rhys asked.
As Gwen let go of Owen, her face composed once more, he shrugged slightly. “I wish I knew. One moment, I was - you know - and talking to Tosh... And then I suddenly woke up here.” He thought that he’d probably used up all his miracles for one lifetime. “Have you managed to find Jack? Is Tosh okay?”
The glance that Gwen and Rhys exchanged didn’t go unnoticed by Owen. He narrowed his eyes, unable to help the feeling of unease which threatened to overwhelm him. “What aren’t you telling me?” he asked.
“We can’t talk about this now.” Gwen straightened up and took a slight breath. “Rhys, would you call Jack and ask him to come here with Ianto?”
Rhys nodded, and glanced briefly at Owen before leaving the room. Owen was slightly relieved that the man wasn’t asking questions, but he was going to have to think up answers sooner or later. Problem was that right now, he didn’t know what the answers were himself.
At least the presence of the doctor meant that Gwen couldn’t ask any awkward questions until later - when Jack arrived and sealed off the room as Torchwood business. Since it seemed that Gwen hadn’t been expecting him to be alive, Owen figured that meant that Torchwood hadn’t had anything to do with his sudden resurrection - unless, of course, Jack or Tosh had done something without Gwen knowing.
Why hadn’t Gwen told Rhys to make sure that Tosh came as well?
Owen was distracted from his thoughts by a slight pinch in his arm. “Ow,” he said, taken aback by the sudden sensation of pain. He glanced sideways in time to see the doctor withdrawing a needle from the coma patient’s arm.
Sympathetic pain... It was something that Owen had heard of before; but apart from that moment after he’d first woken up, he hadn’t paid any attention to the coma patient at all.
Gwen looked carefully at Owen, and when the doctor finished checking the other patient’s vitals, she spoke to him. “Two of our colleagues should be arriving here shortly. Do you mind just waiting for him? It’s Torchwood business,” she added.
“Oh... Of course. I need to speak to someone anyway.” The doctor walked quickly out of the room.
“You felt that needle going in.” It wasn’t a question.
Instead of replying, Owen went straight to the thing that concerned him the most. “Two colleagues? You’re referring to Jack and Ianto... Where’s Tosh? How is she?”
Gwen looked away, avoiding making eye contact with him. Owen knew that look - it was a look he’d worn himself on various occasions. “What happened?” His voice was calm - calmer than it should have been. He focused on breathing; in and out. It helped in that he wasn’t so tempted to punch the nearest solid object, but did nothing to help the turmoil inside him.
“... Was shot,” Gwen finished.
It was difficult to focus on Gwen through the red haze obscuring his vision, but Owen managed anyway. “Was it Gray?” His voice sounded peculiar - almost strangled.
Reluctantly, Gwen nodded.
“Tell me Jack killed him.” On some level, Owen knew that he wouldn’t have - that the captain wouldn’t have been able to bring himself to take the man’s life. But he could always do it himself. In fact, that would be better. It seemed fitting that he be the one to avenge Tosh.
“Owen... Jack’s not going to let you near him,” Gwen said - just as if she knew what he was thinking.
“Jack doesn’t rule me,” Owen replied. “We killed him once, remember? It was Gray who killed Tosh. It wouldn’t be murder... It would be justice.” His tone was still flat and emotionless, as he planned out exactly what he was going to do. “So long as you don’t tell Jack what’s going to happen, we’ll be fine.”
“Don’t tell Jack what?” the captain asked, walking into the room.
Owen shot Gwen a warning look before turning his attention to Jack. “Well, you know... What a fine specimen of manhood you are. Your ego’s big enough already. Hello, Ianto,” he added, spotting the final member of Torchwood behind Jack. For some reason, the joking note in his voice fell flat.
Jack didn’t look too convinced, but apparently decided not to press the subject. Or maybe he just thought that Owen looked too ill to cause any problems. “What happened?”
“Haven’t a clue. One moment, I was dead; the next, I was here - and being resuscitated.” Owen frowned. “Doctors these days. They always insist on saving you, even when you don’t want to be saved.” When Gwen cleared her throat, Owen added, “Oh, and I seem to have some weird thing going on with the coma patient in the next bed. I felt it when she was being given an injection.” Owen shifted his position slightly to look at the woman, and was abruptly reminded of the person in his dreams. If he imagined her without the wires - and looking much healthier - then it was the same person.
Was he really desperate enough to dream of having sex with someone who was in a coma?
While Jack studied Owen as if he were a particularly interesting specimen, Ianto walked over to the coma patient. For a few moments, the only sound in the room was that of the monitors beeping. Then, Jack spoke to Ianto. “We’re going to need to collect samples from her.”
“Do you think she’s an alien?” Ianto asked. Without waiting for a reply, he took out one of the medical kits and began collecting blood and tissue samples.
As he did so, Owen felt a twinge wherever the needle went in. And when Ianto plucked a few strands of hair from the woman’s head, Owen felt like his own hair had been pulled out.
Jack took all of this in while answering Ianto’s question. “An alien who bonds herself to a human in order to survive... You’d think she would be a little more original.”
“Why me?” Owen asked.
“Maybe she just thinks you’re particularly difficult to kill,” Ianto suggested.
“I wonder how long she’s been in a coma for,” Jack mused, and glanced at Owen.
“Don’t look at me. She only became interesting when I realised what happened to her affected me.” And, of course, when he’d realised she was the same woman he’d dreamed of having sex with - but since that was more likely to be wish fulfilment than anything else... “So where’s Gray?” he asked as casually as he could.
“Do you really think I’m going to tell you that?” Jack looked at him pointedly.
“Listening outside doors, captain? I wouldn’t have thought that was your style.” Despite himself, Owen couldn’t keep the note of bitterness out of his voice.
“Don’t start, Owen,” Jack warned. “And don’t make the mistake of thinking that I don’t care about Tosh. But killing Gray isn’t the answer. It’s not going to bring her back.”
“Maybe not - but avenging her death will make me feel better,” Owen muttered. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t tell me.” He was sure he’d be able to easily find where Gray was, since freezing was really the only way Jack could deal with people he was reluctant to kill.
“Owen, we all talked about this,” Gwen said quietly. “None of us are happy with the decision... But it’s not our place to kill someone in cold blood.”
Owen glared at Jack, ignoring the way the monitor’s beeping sped up. “So let me get this straight. If an alien turns into a murderer, we kill them. But if it’s a person, all we do is give them a slap on the wrist and freeze them?” He shook his head. “I’m so glad to be part of an organisation like Torchwood.”
“It’s not that simple, Owen.”
“No, I’ll tell you what’s simple.” Owen glared at Jack and ignored Gwen. “Gray’s a part of your past, so you won’t kill him. You’re a fool, Jack.”
In the silence which followed, the coma patient’s monitor increased its beeping, matching speed with Owen’s.
“You should be careful, Owen,” Jack said quietly. “Until we understand exactly what’s going on here, you need to keep better control over your emotions.”
Owen’s eyes narrowed, and he just about managed to avoid exploding. As long as he remained calm, though, he had more of a chance to find out where Gray was.
“Does she have any family?” Gwen asked, stepping over to the coma patient’s side. She glanced at Jack. “Maybe we could take her back and run some tests...” Her voice trailed off, and for a moment or two, she just looked sad.
“Because it’s not like we have the resident genius anymore,” Owen said quietly in the silence. “But since I’m still a doctor, I can run the tests.”
“They’re hardly going to release her just to you, though.” Ianto then spoke to Jack. “I’ll go and find out if she has any family who might object to her being moved.” Without waiting for a reply, he quickly left the room.
“Why don’t you go and see how Rhys is doing?”
Jack was obviously dismissing Gwen, and she clearly knew it. “I think Rhys will be all right on his own at the moment.”
“I want to talk to Owen alone,” Jack said bluntly.
For a few moments, Gwen looked like she wanted to refuse. Then, slowly, she nodded. “It’s good to see you, Owen.” She quietly let herself out of the room.
“So is now the time you decide to retcon me?” Owen wasn’t able to keep the bitterness out of his tone.
“Now why would I do that?” Jack raised his eyebrows. “There’s been too much going on to worry about you when you’re clearly not up to misbehaving.” Despite the apparent light-heartedness of his tone, there was a faint look of sadness in the captain’s eyes.
Owen nodded slightly, and then frowned as a thought occurred to him. “So how did Gwen know where I was?”
End of Chapter Two