(Untitled)

[ffyddlon]

It's been weeks now since she's found out about her biological son and Gwen's still reeling. Investigating Kate Freelander's string of thefts helped to keep the worst of it at bay because she was busy but now, with nothing to do, her idle mind wanders to that little boy more often than Gwen likes. She doesn't feel any pull to be a parent. That's

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[curiously_cora]

There was one out of breath Welsh woman. There was one excitable puppy bounding over to greet her. There was one British teen sat on the beach not smoking. And by not smoking we of course mean she was smoking and glaring at the world.

Bobo barked at the new human, running around in circles around her excitedly.

"Bobo, come here." Coraline yelled, coughing through the smoke. Smoking was definitely gross.

[ffyddlon]

Gwen kneels to pet the puppy before looking up and seeing the teenage girl smoking. She's hardly one to judge, she tried it at that age, but it's still not something that she, as an adult, can really condone.

"Should you be doing that? You're a little young to be making bad choices."

[curiously_cora]

"How do you know I'm young? I could be forty three or eight million," Coraline said coughing through the cigarette. It burned and it was horrible but she was still going to keep trying it. "I could be anything."

[ffyddlon]

"Well, you look young," Gwen corrects. The girl's right about that, there's nothing to say she's not over a hundred in a small girl's body. "Anyway, it's not good for you even if you are of age. Nothing appealing about smoking that I've ever found."

[1000_cranes]

Charlie still runs in the morning. Ianto prefers it when she's out in the first light, when it's cooler, when there's not as much chance of her falling victim to the heat. So she runs, in her sneakers on the boardwalk, or, like this morning, barefoot on the wet sand. When she sees Gwen, she stops, but she doesn't stop moving altogether. She slows.

"Gwen honey?"

[ffyddlon]

Charlie startles her and Gwen's not really sure why - she knows Charlie's a runner too. She manages a smile and lifts a hand.

"I'm fine. Just...pushed myself a little too hard for a bit there, need to find my lungs again."

[1000_cranes]

"Keep movin'," says Charlie, nudging her with her elbow. "But gently. It'll stop you cramping up." She bends, stretching.

[ffyddlon]

"If only that worked for things other than running," Gwen says wryly, taking Charlie's advice and jogging lightly in place in order to keep her heart rate up.

"Thanks, Charlie. For...everything. I don't say it enough."

[coffee_sir]

The thing about having a child was that one never really slept. Cadi managed to sleep through the night now, or at least more often than not, but she was up early, demanding to start the day at an hour Ianto had hoped he'd seen the last of in Cardiff. But there wasn't anything to be done for it other than to climb out of bed and get to work.

They were on their walk now, him and both dogs, which was a great deal of exercise for Bill and Banon, chasing each other, chasing the surf, attacking bits of seaweed and driftwood that ended up on shore. Ianto strolled along in their wake, at ease, and gave Gwen a smile as he approached her. "This is why I don't believe in exercise. You look like you're dying," he observed, as kindly as possible.

[ffyddlon]

"Might be preferable to this place," Gwen says dryly but there's no bite to it. No matter what, she's choosing life, even if life is fucked up and complicated at the moment.

"Need help with the dogs, there? I could wrangle one of them."

[coffee_sir]

"Oh, they'll be fine," Ianto assured her. "Years on this island and they haven't gotten into any real trouble yet. Just crabs."

He walked to Gwen's side, a bit of concern seeping through now that he'd had his little laugh. "Really though, sure you're not pushing too hard?"

[ffyddlon]

"I need it," Gwen says, wondering if Ianto knows what this feels like. Probably not, he was actually there for the birth of his child, so far as she knows.

"I just have a lot to think about lately. It's...a lot to process, sometimes, and I can't think if I push this hard."

[odunham]

Olivia had been doing some running of her own, but she'd already stopped by the rec center for a shower and change, now choosing to spend some time on the beach doing something that seemed entirely foreign: relaxing.

She'd spread out a towel, collected a few forensic books (she was unwilling to let her skills get rusty no matter that the biggest crime so far on the island was simple petty theft), and twenty minutes later, was glad for the distraction Gwen provided when she caught sight of her running down the beach.

"Good run?" Olivia was already up on her feet and walking over to Gwen, brushing sand off her shorts and shirt, making sure none of it got into the bun she'd curled her hair into.

[ffyddlon]

"Long run," Gwen says, managing a smile for Olivia. No matter what she's got up in her head, it's no reason not to talk to a friend and Olivia is one of the few Gwen has on the island that didn't know her the last time.

"But good. Feels good to push myself even if this place is supposed to be a holiday."

[odunham]

"I tried getting into the vacation spirit myself," Olivia said, turning to gesture at her little setup, wry smile on her face when she turned back to Gwen. "But I don't think my mind's up for it."

[ffyddlon]

"Me either."

Gwen wonders if she should confide in Olivia. Olivia seems to suspect the island as much as she does, if not more, and if there was anyone she wanted to trust this to, it was her or Kate.

"Have you ever found something out about your past that you don't remember? I was here before, or a version of me anyway, and I keep finding things out that I just don't know how to react to."

[dr_robchase]

Chase had heard. The Doctor had told him practically the day of, but he was busy and he was scared and both those things, when combined together, meant that he wasn't exactly chasing Gwen down to talk about it. Eventually, though, he knew that he couldn't put it off forever and had to make the first step. It was utter chance that he found her, that morning, because he'd meant to head straight for the church in a roundabout way (to get a hold of his thoughts).

Better then than never, he supposed. "Gwen," he said gently. "Are you okay?"

[ffyddlon]

"Depends on the definition of okay," Gwen says shakily. She's not upset at Rob or the Doctor, they both have their reasons for keeping things from her and telling her things when it was time, but it's just...hard.

"I feel like I'm running and running and I can't find the end of the road, you know? I don't know what to do with what I feel."

[dr_robchase]

Chase took in a deep breath, unsure if he ought to confront the issue or leave it to dangle in the dark as he'd been doing for so long. In the end, he felt almost like he just needed to let it be -- but that was safe and cowardly and he was trying to be better than that these days. "I know I'm not exactly unbiased, but I am a fairly good listener."

[ffyddlon]

"I feel guilty, somehow. As if I should feel some tie to him and I don't. It feels unnatural," Gwen admits. "And I don't like feeling that way about, well, me. I'm glad I know, don't get me wrong, but I just don't know what I'm supposed to be feeling."