RP for twmagdalena

[damnfinecoffee]

"Gwen," Something in Rhys' tone stopped Ianto from walking in just then. This wasn't a conversation he was supposed to be hearing. He should have left then, and he knew it. He didn't though, just waiting outside where he couldn't help but overhear what Rhys was saying. "Gwen, think about it, think about our future, about the last month and

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[twmagdalena]

"Hello, gorgeous," Gwen looked up at the sound of footfall, and the relief in her eyes that it's not her husband come back to underscore his point is palpable. "You're a sight for sore eyes!"

She'd not been awake too long and after very emotional visits from Jack and Rhys, it was genuinely good to see Ianto. He was a good bloke, an excellent friend, and unlikely to be a pain in the arse.

[damnfinecoffee]

"You've been in here too long," he joked, taking the next to her bed. "I don't think I remember the last time your were this pleased to see me."

He almost brought up what he'd overheard there and then, but decided against it. It was really none of his business, and he doubted that Gwen would be happy to have him pressuring her as well. She really had looked relieved when she'd seen it was him, and he couldn't help but suspect that some of that came from the fact he was (relatively) neutral territory when it came to Rhys' views on Torchwood. If he'd ever come up in arguments concerning Torchwood before, he'd have been genuinely surprised. As far as he could tell, all Rhys' problems with Torchwood eventually led back to Jack. Or at least that was how Rhys seemed to perceive things.

[twmagdalena]

"Absolutely. Have you come to help me bust out?" She adjusts her bed up so she can talk to him with greater ease. "No? Pity." A smile plays on her lips. "Tell me everything I've missed. I want to hear all of it."

[damnfinecoffee]

He ignores the busting out comment, all too aware that if anyone could talk him into it, Gwen would probably be that person. Besides that, she'd already decided to give him what sounded like an impossible task. He wasn't even sure he could remember everything that had happened off the top of his head, and he'd left his diary in the Hub.

"Everything's a lot, Gwen. Besides, I'm sure Jack and Martha have already filled you in on a lot of it. What've they told you, so I don't end up telling you again."

[twmagdalena]

"Jack mentioned that you boys have had UNIT babysitting you a bit while I've been out of commission -- sorry about that, by the way," she makes a sheepish face. "Um..."

She thought about what they'd been saying, what she'd already been caught up on. "Oh! Jack told me that the Newport blip wasn't aliens at all!" A deep-fat fryer on the blink had, in fact, been the story she'd been told. The two boys bursting in on the chippy, guns waving. She was sorry she'd missed it.

"How've you been? Jack looked rough: I can't imagine he's been going easy on you."

[damnfinecoffee]

"Well, it's not exactly ideal, but it has been easier with UNIT around. Better work load, anyway."

He can't help but wince at that particular memory. Not only is it embarrassing it happened, but he's from Newport himself. He knows the story will find its way around, but he can't help but be a little concerned someone he knows will trace it back to him. It's unlikely, he knows, but it still worries him.

He tries to turn the wince into a response to her latter comment, mostly succeeding. "Oh, he hasn't. You'd better come back soon. He's unbearable at the best of times. Not sure why I put up with him, really."

[twmagdalena]

She huffs out a soft laugh: his droll sense of humour is precisely what she needs on a day like today. Ooh, that and his coffee. Maybe he'll bring her a travel mug next time, if she asks nicely.

"I bet he's just been impossible to the UNIT crew, poor things."

[damnfinecoffee]

He grins, shaking his head. "The UNIT crew are smarter than he gives them credit for. They stay out of his way unless they have to. They worked out UNIT aren't exactly his favourite organisation within the first few hours, I think."

He might bring her coffee, if she asks. He knows how she doesn't want to be here, and if he can make her experience any better then he will.

[twmagdalena]

"When Jack's cranky," Gwen half-smiles, "most people are smarter than he gives them credit for. Good on them, though, for not letting him drive them away. And good on you for helping them out, if I'm reading between the lines right." She tilts her head, and her grin turns cheeky: "Have you missed me, then?" she teases.

[damnfinecoffee]

"We both have. It's not the same without having you around," his response is more serious than he intended it to be, and the question he knows he should be avoiding his out before he can really help it.

"Are you coming back?"

[twmagdalena]

Gwen looks startled that he'd ask that, at first. But she's not stupid. The fact that he overheard her conversation with Rhys isn't hard to figure out, not with that coming out of seemingly-nowhere.

"You heard," she asks, although it's not a question, holding out her hand for his own.

[damnfinecoffee]

He looks down, squeezing her hand apologetically before holding it more loosely. "Sorry."

He hadn't meant to overhear. He really hadn't. But that doesn't make it any better. Not really. He could've avoided hearing most of it if he'd just walked away. Of course, he hadn't, and now he'd brought it up despite telling himself he wouldn't.

[twmagdalena]

Gwen sighs. "Well, he wasn't exactly quiet, I suppose. It's not your fault."

It's just awkward. She's going to have to tell Jack now, lest Ianto tip him off. (And she wouldn't blame him for doing so -- this is the sort of thing that is pretty much Jack's business.)

[damnfinecoffee]

"He wasn't. But I knew he was going to say something important. Private. I could've gone out of hearing range, at least."

The thought of telling Jack hasn't even occurred to him. He's overheard something he shouldn't have, and that's bad enough. If she does leave, she'll have to tell him anyway. There's no need to worry him, or put any more pressure on her than there already is.

[twmagdalena]

"I don't want to quit," she promises, shaking her head. "And I'm damned if I'm going to leave you two this short-staffed." Half a smile. "I'm sure Rhys'll understand that, at least."

In theory. Probably not though.

[damnfinecoffee]

"I think we'd probably be forced to hire from UNIT if you did."

That would probably be funnier if it weren't true. But he's trying. And he is relieved that she doesn't want to, even if he isn't quite convinced Rhys will understand. It can't be easy being married to a Torchwood employee, and if has sympathy for Rhys in that matter, if nothing else.