Having recognized and accepted his permanent state of being undead, it dawned on Owen early on that eventually, it would just be him and Jack. It might take years, several possibly. But in the end, they would be the last ones standing as the original members of Torchwood Three. Despite understanding the concept in theory, when events began to make the theory into fact, Owen found he wasn't any more ready.
The first is Gwen. Three years into Owen's new life of having no life, Gwen and Tosh go out on a Weevil sighting that at this point is nearly a weekly occurrence. But this particular trio of Weevils is unusually crazed and one manages to knock the former policewoman into a brick wall. Two hours later, after she's taken straight to Emergency, Owen finds out from the doctor on her case that she's slipped into a coma with little hope for recovery.
Her husband Rhys sits by her, refusing to leave. When Jack comes to the hospital to see her, Ianto prefaces the visit by telling Rhys to remain calm and not interrupt. Rhys sucks in a harsh breath to demand how he's supposed to remain calm when his wife is as good as dead. But before he can launch into it, Jack leans over the rails of Gwen's bed and kisses her.
Five minutes later, Gwen's awake. The doctor skeptically and tentatively labels her recovery a miracle.
A week later, Gwen hands in her resignation.
"If it were just me, I'd stay," Gwen later tells Owen. It's just the two of them at a quiet pub, both of them the worse for wear. Gwen, having had to weather the storm of shouting and protests from Jack at her quitting, and Owen, having had to listen to the escalating voices all day. She nurses a pint in her hands while he rips at a wayward cocktail napkin. "I wouldn't leave if I only had me to think about," she says. "But Rhys…"
"It's not like you'd be any safer being a copper," Owen points out.
"It's not the same and you know it."
Owen pensively tosses the half shredded napkin to one side.
"He's my husband, Owen. And we'll be wanting kids one day," Gwen continues. "How am I supposed to raise a family with the job I have now? I'd have to lie to my own children. I'd put them in danger because of what I do."
"Bet you could make it work if you wanted," Owen says, feeling a shade immature, but knowing it was nowhere close to what Jack had displayed.
Gwen fixes him with a look that's at both apologetic and defiant. "Has anyone at Torchwood ever been able?"
Owen can't come up with a single example. So instead he straightens in his seat and leans over to give her a chaste kiss on the cheek. He could still remember how a few years ago, he hadn't even been able to be in the same room with her without having fantasies about what positions and for how long. Now all that attraction and cruel tension were gone and replaced with something Owen realized was worth the grieving he knew he'd go through now that she was leaving.
"I'd ask you name one of your kids after me, but…that would be pointless," he says with a weak smile. Seeing the teary expression on Gwen's face, he quickly amends. "Have a big family. Lots of daughters I can check up on," he adds with a lascivious look. " 'Cause you know when they're all grown, I'll still be as handsome as ever."
Gwen laughs. "Thought nothing was working."
"But I've still got my imagination, Cooper. I've still got my imagination."
The next day, Gwen clears out her work station. Jack stays in his office the entire time, despite Ianto's efforts to draw him out. Gwen's putting the last of her photos in a regulation box when Ianto exits from Jack's silent office. He gives her a wan smile that she returns with accepted defeat. Jack only comes out when she's ready to leave. He'll be seeing her home to Rhys and will administer the retcon to both of them as per his duty as team leader. He stands by, his face impassive while Gwen hugs the remaining members. As Owen embraces her for one last time, he forces himself to silently promise he wouldn't stalk her over the CCTV. That after she exits the cog door, that was going to be it. He would let her go as he would eventually have to let them all go.
But as he watches her leave, Owen knows he wouldn't be able to keep that promise.
Despite four months going by after Gwen's departure, Jack won't hire someone to replace her. Owen complains about being overworked, but he knows his argument doesn't hold as much weight since he personally doesn't have to eat or sleep anymore. Still, he appeals to Jack's humane nature by citing the worn out looks on Tosh and Ianto's faces these days.
When that doesn't work, he calls an unofficial meeting between himself, Ianto and Tosh at the pub again to appeal to Ianto's powers of persuasion.
"Talk to him," he orders the Welshman. "Get him to hire someone."
"I've already talked to him about it," Ianto replies, tiredly. "He just needs some time to get used to idea."
"It's been four months!" Owen snaps.
The three are huddled at a table by the corner. While Ianto and Tosh nurse their drinks, Owen keeps his hands busy by flipping beer mats from the edge of table and catching them one-handed.
"It's not that much more work than what we had before when Jack left," Tosh points out.
"Yeah, only then we had four active agents," Owen argues. "I can't even go with the three of you on half the field missions we get. We're one and a half man short."
"Jack was always afraid that Gwen'd choose Rhys over Torchwood one day," Ianto states, his face neutral. "And it's happened. He'll snap out of it eventually. We just have to wait it out."
"Look, as impressive as your coffee making talents are, let's face it," Owen says. "The best skill you've got going is your ability to sway Jack. Now's the time to use it. He has to get over it that Gwen's not coming back."
Ianto gives him a wry look that's heavily laced with bitterness. "I'm touched at your faith in my abilities, Owen. But no one can make Jack do what he doesn't want to."
"You were able to convince him to adjust the budget for the new computer hard drives," Tosh offers in hopes of instilling some confidence in him.
Owen stares at her incredulously and Tosh fiddles awkwardly with the stem of her wine glass. "What? Just trying to help," she mutters.
"It's not the same thing," Ianto replies. "It never was when it came to Gwen," he adds.
Owen's certain Jack's been keeping tabs on Gwen since her departure. He can't really confront him about it since he's done pretty much the same during his spare time. He's seen footage of her, happy, smiling and content in her new life. Or rather, her old life when the most she ever knew about aliens was what she saw on "The X-Files." More than once Owen had the urge to orchestrate a chance meeting with her. An innocent bumping into her shoulder. A casual asking of the time. Anything, just to see if maybe perhaps...But all such thoughts he works hard to kill so he could move on and he wishes Jack would do the same.
"Just take one for the bloody team and withhold sex until he sees reason," Owen demands. "Don't look at me like that, you know it'd work."
"Owen, just wait it out," Ianto says with some finality.
The defeatist attitude in Ianto's tone takes the wind out of Owen's sails. "Fine," he grumbles. "It's going to take one of us losing an arm before he comes around. And you just know it's gonna be me with my shit luck."
Owen's wrong on both counts, however, and Jack's belated wake up call comes in the form of Ianto being killed while the four of them are out on the field.
It's another set of sleeper agents and by the time Owen manages to blow the attacker's head off, his blade-like arm has already gone completely through Ianto's chest, exiting out his back. He's dead before Owen can even organize in his head what he has to do to stop the bleeding. The arm is so deeply embedded, Owen can't remove it unless he can bring himself to put a foot on Ianto's shoulder to get some leverage to yank it out.
He can't.
Instead, he activates his Bluetooth and hesitates, dreading it, but forces himself to talk.
"Jack. Ianto's dead."
When doesn't he hear a reply, he thinks it's the calm before the storm. But then Tosh's shaking voice comes in. "Jack's been killed. The other two sleeper agents are dead, though. But it's only been a minute at most since he got…I don't know when he's going to wake up and…" She's babbling a little, trying to relay information while taking in the information given to her. It all starts to cross somewhere in the middle and Owen can hear her fighting not to sob.
"Tosh? Tosh, listen to me," Owen cuts in. He tries to find a balance between being firm and not being a completely heartless bastard. To his surprise, he actually succeeds. "We need to get back to the Hub with both of them. Can you get Jack in the SUV? You're nearer to it than I am."
"Yes," Tosh answers, quietly. Owen can hear the sounds of scraping and the shudders and hitches in her breathing and knows she's already doing as he's asked. "I'll drive to where you are," she says, anticipating his next request.
"Don't sign off, Tosh," Owen says, quickly. "Keep talking to me." He looks back down at Ianto's body and swallows down bile he's hallucinating is actually there. "Keep talking until I see you," he whispers.
Later, when Jack returns from the dead, they're all back at the Hub and Owen, again has to break the news about Ianto. To make things worse, he now has to watch Jack's face this time when he tells him.
"Owen, you're being paranoid," Tosh says.
"No, I'm not. Jack didn't even like me all that much and he brought me back for the lousy code to the morgue. You think he's not going to try something with Ianto?"
"That wasn't why he brought you back and you know it," Tosh argues.
The two are sitting by Owen's station way past closing. As they talk, their eyes are on the monitor that's feeding them the footage from the CCTV they have rigged up in the morgue. Any guilt Owen feels about spying on Jack while the older man stands by Ianto's laid out corpse is overridden by his desire to not see history repeat itself.
"Both gloves were destroyed," Tosh points out.
"If anyone can find a second set, it's Jack," Owen says, not taking his eyes off the screen. "Wouldn't want Teaboy stealing my undead thunder," he adds. Any acerbic tone he's going for is compromised by the heaviness of his voice. He crosses his arms defiantly at the awkwardness he feels as he watches Jack silently grip Ianto's hand, pressing it to his chest. Jack looks old, as if his body's trying to take on the years that Ianto will now never have.
Tosh starts in her chair when Jack's strained voice comes through the speakers. "Gone 36 hours, six minutes and counting," he whispers to Ianto's body.
"Turn off the sound!" Tosh snaps. Not giving Owen a chance, she leans over and punches a button to mute it. "You can watch him all you want, but give him some privacy."
Owen continues to stare as Jack's lips move. If he tries hard enough, he could probably read them, but he can't bring himself to make the effort. Next to him, Tosh gazes at a point past his shoulder.
"I feel like we should tell Gwen what's happened," Tosh finally murmurs. "They were friends."
"What're we supposed to tell her exactly?" Owen asks, despite knowing Tosh was only senselessly ruminating. "We wish to inform you a person you're not supposed to know about has been killed by an alien you're not supposed to know about?"
"You can be a real bastard sometimes, Owen. Do you know that?" Tosh says with less rancor and more defeat.
"One of us has to be," Owen replies.
Later, long after Tosh goes home, Jack finally comes upstairs and Owen corners him in his office.
He makes Jack promise not to even consider finding a way to bring Ianto back.
"No gloves, no special edition Dogon eye, no…" he hesitates. "No special doctors."
"I won't."
"Swear it. Swear it on the lives of Gwen's unborn kids."
For a second, he's sure Jack's going to punch him, giving him a permanent broken jaw. But Jack only bites out the oath. Then and only then, Owen goes home.
It takes close to two weeks to pack up all of Ianto's belongings from his apartment to have them be placed in one of Torchwood's storage garages. Both Owen and Tosh know everything would go faster if Jack wouldn't insist of doing it himself. He justifies it with something about the security of possibly sensitive information, as if Ianto's tea kettle might somehow divulge the codes to Torchwood's doors.
They try to juggle their work as best they can on the days Jack's out of the Hub for hours over at Ianto's. They keep any comments to themselves about the general inefficiency of what Jack's doing, letting him hide his grief from them behind walls of fake protocol. Tosh, however, finally snaps one day when Jack neutrally states he won't be boarding up everything into storage as he's found some things he feels might be a danger if it falls into the wrong hands.
"For god's sake, Jack!" she shouts. "If you want to hold onto something of Ianto's just say that's what you're doing! Don't make it about a security issue!"
It takes Jack a few moments before he can scrounge up a cold glare. The expression on his face just before, Owen finds horrible to look at. "I'm not-"
"Yes, you are! You are!" Tosh bowls over him, exhaustion from work and her own grief making her voice sound nearly shrill. When Owen unconsciously reaches out and touches her arm, however, her anger dissipates as quickly as it came. With a sigh, she looks away from Jack, her expression resentful. "I'm going home," she states. "Do whatever you want. You always have, anyway," she mutters.
After Ianto, there's no question that replacements are needed. A week after his items are put into storage, Jack hires two new team members.
An Indian woman named Nisha Modi, who sports a posh accent and a recent degree from Cambridge is brought in to take over the archives. Owen thinks her painfully young, but she's clever and her photographic memory allows her to memorize the old filing system within a couple of days.
Gwen's replacement comes as a recommend from UNIT. His name is improbably Lewis Gravani, a transplanted Londoner with a British mother and an Italian father. He has an optimistic, enthusiastic approach to most things that's reminiscent of Gwen and it causes Owen to more or less think him a git on spot. Especially since one of the things Lewis does enthusiastically is pursue Tosh.
Unlike the rest of the team before who easily adapted to the shortened moniker, Lewis will only call her 'Toshiko,' stating with mild surprise that 'Tosh' is a slang term for 'rubbish' and she's anything but. Owen isn't sure if he hates him because he's a living, breathing, able to shag man or because he's a living, breathing, able to shag man who seems keen on shagging Tosh, specifically. But it's not like discerning between the two will change anything so Owen chooses not to and be content with just hating Lewis.
He resolutely ignores the signs that Lewis' feelings toward Tosh seem to be genuine. Just as he ignores the conflicted look he sometimes catches on Tosh's face when she's unable to hold back a laugh at something Lewis says to her.
Owen's feelings toward Lewis aside, it takes the new members about a month to settle in. And for awhile, Owen loses himself to the consistency of work Torchwood has to offer him. The five of them settle into a pattern and while it's of a different kind than it was with Gwen and Ianto, it's still comforting.
And then one day, Owen comes to the Hub and finds Jack gone.
The four of them wait until at least noon and six calls that go straight to voicemail before they start ransacking his office and private room downstairs. All his clothes are still there, save for the ones they saw him wearing the day before and his greatcoat. Nothing is out of place in his office. Jack had simply left again, taking nothing with him other than the items already on his person.
They gather in the conference room, debating on what to do. Tosh generously supposes that maybe Jack's been taken by someone against his will. Before anyone can support or denounce the theory, the communicator at the table sounds.
"It's for you, Owen," Nisha reads off the screen. "It's from UNIT."
When the call's put through, the recognizable voice of Martha Jones sounds through the speakers. "Owen."
"Where is he?!" Owen demands, making the educating guess.
"He had me make a call last night," Martha replies, her normally confident voice now sounding painfully apologetic.
"Call who?" Tosh asks.
There's a pause. "The Doctor."
The two words cast a pall over Owen and Tosh who exchange glances from across the table. Owen has to control himself to not slam a fist down on the communicator and risk broken fingers.
"He left a letter I'm forwarding to you now," Martha continues. "He's made you head of Torchwood Three, effective immediately." She hesitates when only silence greets this news. "Owen…he made me promise not to contact you until he was gone."
Gripping the edge of the table, Owen hangs his head, wishing it was possible for him to take a cleansing breath. Instead, he stares at the grain of the table before lifting his face up to see three pairs of eyes staring back at him. Only Tosh's face looks as hurt as he feels. Straightening up, Owen replies grimly to the communicator.
"Martha?"
"Yeah?"
"If you hear from Jack," he says. "If he gets in touch with you at all, tell him thanks for the promotion. And tell him he can go to hell and stay there. If he tries to crawl his way back in here, I'll lock him up in the vaults and have Gravani shoot him in the head once every hour on the hour."
"Owen…"
"He's not welcome back," he cuts her off. "Thanks. That's it."
There's a pause before Martha says sadly, "I'm sorry."
TBC