Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Torchwood characters, sadly. Wish I did!

A/N: Warning! Rated M for a reason. Don't like, don't read. Simple. You were warned. I would like to apologise for this fic though. Also, for some reason listening to Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse Of The Heart' over and over again helped me write this. I don't know why, even I can't figure out the connection!

After another heated row with Rhys, Gwen was sat in a club with her friends. She deserved a drink after the day she'd had at work. She'd been covered from head to foot in dead Nostrovite and she'd forgotten to put a spare change of clothes in the lockers near the showers. After showering, Ianto had given her some dusty old clothes he'd found while he dry cleaned her own. Stupid comments and jokes from Owen hadn't helped.

Across the way from where Gwen was sitting, there were three girls dancing around poles. However, it was the type where the girls were wearing tight t-shirts and a pair of shorts. Every so often, they'd come down and let three women from the audience take a turn.

"How about us having a go?" Trina asked.

"What? No – no – I can't do that." Gwen gasped.

"Why not? Come on, you came out to have some fun." Trina argued.

"Well..." She sighed.

Trina and Carrie giggled as they pulled Gwen up and over to the poles. The three girls stepped down as the song finished and Gwen, Trina and Carrie climbed up. Gwen started to dance shyly as she looked out at the rest of the club. Glancing at the girls either side of her, she saw them swaying their hips in time to the music.

"Come on Gwen, relax a little." Carrie sighed.

She took a deep breath and let the rhythm of the music take her over. Soon she was smiling and laughing as she danced, the beat pulsing through her. She threw off her jacket when she became too hot and continued to dance.

When the three friends finally climbed down, she felt the thrill and adrenaline burning through her veins.

"See, that was fun." Trina beamed as they made their way back to the bar.

"Yeah it was." She nodded.

She glugged down half her pint as she wiped the sweat from her face. Someone tapped her shoulder and she turned to see a tall, bald man with expensive jewellery standing behind her.

"Sorry to disturb you but I'm Danny Walker, I own a club on the other side of town." He told her, holding out his hand.

She shook it politely but she couldn't help but be confused as to where this conversation was heading.

"Gwen Cooper." She told him.

"Nice to meet you Gwen. Listen, I saw you up there and I have to say, you're quite a professional. Have you done anything like that before?" He asked.

"No that was my first time." She answered truthfully.

"Really? Wow. Well, I'd like to offer you a job at my club. It's a little more...exotic than this place but I assure you it's still very tasteful. My girls are well looked after and they don't do anything they don't want to do." He explained.

"Sorry but I'm not into taking my clothes off for other men in public." She told him.

"Oh no, it's not that sort of place. No, the furthest any of my customers are allowed to go is a private lap dance. Yes, they may wear bikinis but nothing else comes off." He reassured her. "So what do you say?"

He held out his card to her. She looked at it, thinking hard, then glanced at her two friends. They nodded at her in encouragement and grinned. What would Rhys think of her dancing half naked in front of other men? Rhys would -

"Fuck Rhys." She thought after replaying their argument in her head. "He doesn't own me. He can't tell me what to do." Taking the card from Danny, she smiled and nodded. "Yeah ok, I'll take it."

"Great. Pop by tomorrow night and you can meet the rest of the girls and see how things are done. You don't have to start right away, you can take as long as you like to observe and maybe take a few notes." He nodded.

"I'll see you tomorrow. I'll come by after work." She grinned.

"Excellent." He grinned.

Gwen watched him as he walked off and felt an elbow being poked into her side. She looked up at a giggling Trina.

"Look at you, living on the wild side for a change." She laughed. "Good for you."

Gwen thought about what she would tell Rhys when she disappeared every night. She'd just give him the excuse she gave him all the time, work. There was no way she'd tell him about this and there was definitely no chance she'd be telling anyone at work. They'd take the piss out of her for definite, especially Owen.

After leaving the Hub the next night, she pulled Danny's card out of her pocket and read the address of the club. She climbed into her car and drove towards the club.

It wasn't open yet and wouldn't be open for another few hours.

The club was huge with tables spread around with enough space to walk around, even when it was full. On one side there was a bar and on the other was a raised platform with the poles on, four in total. Just behind them, there was a door with a curtain that would be pulled across it so it was no longer visible to the audience and a mirror wall. Gwen presumed this door led to a changing room or some sort of backstage area.

Another door, which Gwen hadn't noticed, opened and Danny stepped out, beaming.

"Hello Gwen. I'm glad you could make it." He smiled.

"Hello Mr Walker." She nodded shyly.

"Please, call me Danny." He told her. "Would you come into my office?"

She stepped past him into the room he'd just come from. It was a fair size, bigger than Jack's, with a desk along the wall on the far side. Danny sat behind it and indicated the chair in front of him. She sat timidly on the edge of the seat.

"It's a nice place." She commented.

"Thank you." He smiled. "Now, I'd just like to discuss what the job entails and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. The club opens around nine and closes at midnight. The girls usually arrive at half seven, eight o'clock to get ready. There's eleven girls at the minute, twelve counting you so you'll be up in groups of four for a set of songs, then you'll change over. If they're not on stage, the others usually work the floor, giving lap dances, that sort of thing. The booths are over by the bar where you take customers for private lap dances, like I said though, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. If you decide to and a customer gets out of hand, just call for George our security guy and he'll deal with them. He'll be standing by the booths to make sure everything's ok. As for pay, you'll earn a hundred a night plus any tips you make. So...any questions?"

"Well...I haven't really got any experience dancing with poles or...giving lap dances..." She hesitated.

"Oh don't worry about that. I'm sure one of our girls will help you out." He smiled reassuringly.

They chatted until they heard the door of the club open. Danny smiled as a girl popped her head into the office.

"Hey Danny, just wanted to let you know I'm here." She told him.

"Ok. Brianna, I'd like to introduce you to someone." He said. The girl stepped into the office and her eyes fell on Gwen. Gwen felt her own eyes pop out of their sockets as she looked at her. She had blonde, wavy hair that fell about her face and big, sparkling blue eyes. Her chest bulged underneath her tight t-shirt that clung to her slim figure. The girl's mouth was curled up in a smile, a genuine warm smile that reached her eyes. "Brianna, this is Gwen our new arrival. Gwen this is Brianna."

"Nice to meet you." Bree smiled.

"Yeah, it's great to meet you too." Gwen replied.

"Bree, why don't you take our new addition to the dressing room and get to know each other a bit better." Danny suggested.

"Great idea. Come on honey, I'll show you where it is." Bree nodded, holding out her hand.

Gwen took it and stood up. She was led out of the office to the door she'd seen earlier.

"So Danny. He seems like a nice guy." Gwen said.

"Yeah, he's great. He really looks after us you know, not like some of the guys I've worked for. They look at you like pieces of meat that they just want to ravish but Danny treats us with respect." She told Gwen.

The dressing room was long and along the length of the two opposite walls were dressing tables. Each girl had their own section. Make-up containers and hairspray cans filled the surfaces of each one. All the mirrors had lights around them, casting a warm glow into the room. Along the wall with the door, there was a window which from the other side Gwen realised, was the wall mirror she'd seen.

"Wow." Gwen smiled.

"Like I said, he looks after us." Bree shrugged. "Something tells me you haven't done this before."

"No, I haven't." Gwen told her.

"I'll be happy to teach you a few things. Hey, I've got the rest of this week off from my day job, do you think you'll be able to come in? We can come in when the club is empty and practice if you like. Danny won't mind, he lets us do it all the time." She suggested.

"Erm...yeah sure, I can make it." Gwen nodded.

"Great. Oh, you'll need to bring shorts or something to change into otherwise you'll slip straight off the pole. I'll take you shopping after your lessons to get some...work clothes." Bree grinned.

"Ok, thanks." Gwen smiled.

"No problem. If you have any problems or anything, just ask one of us. We'll all be glad to help." Bree told her. "So do you have a boyfriend?"

"Yeah, Rhys." Gwen answered.

"What does he think about this?" She asked.

"He...doesn't know. I haven't told him." Gwen explained.

"Oh, the 'you don't own me so I'll do whatever I like' thing." She laughed. Gwen nodded in embarrassment. "Don't worry honey, we've all been through that."

"So does your boyfriend not know what you're doing?" Gwen asked.

"Oh he knows. I told him right before I dumped him." She said matter of factly. "He was just too controlling." Gwen didn't know what to say and was relieved when a group of young girls entered the dressing room. Brianna took Gwen's hand and smiled at the girls. "Hey guys, this is our new arrival, Gwen. Gwen this is Sylvie, Hope, Maggie, Britney and Sarah. The others will be here later." Bree said.

Some of the girls greeted her with smiles like Brianna had, the others gave her a quick hug. Gwen was shocked at the reception.

"You were expecting snobby, stuck up bitches who think they're it." Sylvie grinned. Catching the look on Gwen's face, she hugged her again. "It's ok. Most people do expect us to be like that given the job we do. This place is different from the others though. We have a boss that actually respects us so we tend to be a lot nicer to him. Plus, he treats us equally so we don't get jealous when we have a new arrival. We're like one big happy family."

"So Newbie." Oh great, being the new girl once again automatically earned her the nickname she'd just managed to shake off at Torchwood. "Are you dancing tonight or just watching?" The girl named Britney asked.

"I'm just watching. I'm not very experienced at this sort of thing." She told them.

The rest of the girls arrived and she was introduced to all of them. How the hell was she supposed to remember all these names?

As they got changed, Gwen's eyes widened at the scraps of material they produced from the drawers of their section of the dressing table.

Then the stiletto's came out. She'd worn heels before but these were a lot higher than she'd ever worn before and she wondered how the girls managed to dance around in those.

She watched as the girls transformed themselves from cuddly kittens to seductress tigers. The air soon became clouded with hairspray and she tried her hardest not to choke.

She hardly recognised Brianna when she walked over to her. Her hair had been poofed up and a thick layer of make-up applied to her face. Her sparkling blue eyes were outlined in thick black eye-liner, really drawing out the blue.

"You look worried." Bree said.

"I was just doing this for a bit of fun. I had no idea how much work this would be." She gasped.

"You'll be fine. You get used to it honestly. Listen, I'll teach you everything you need to know in a week and you'll pick it up easily." Bree reassured her. "Hey, there's one guy you haven't met yet. He should be here by now so I'll take you to go see him. Come on."

She was pulled out of the dressing room and back over to Danny's office. Without even knocking, Bree opened the door and walked in.

"Hello girls. Everything ok?" Danny asked.

Gwen just wanted to push Bree behind her and cover her up but no one seemed to be bothered about how she was dressed. Danny's eyes didn't wander as she expected them to, he really did treat his girls with respect.

Sitting in front of the desk was another man. He too seemed unbothered by a half naked, full chested woman in the room.

"I just brought Gwen to meet George." Bree told them.

George jumped out of his seat and held his hand out to her. He was huge, taller than anyone she knew and very broad shouldered. Her hand was lost in his as she shook it. His whole body screamed 'mess with these girls and it may just be the last thing you do.' He looked his part alright.

"Hi." Gwen said shyly.

"Don't worry about George. He may look big and scary but he's a teddy bear really." Bree smiled.

She walked over to George and pinched his cheeks. He blushed and smiled shyly as she wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled into his chest. He patted her awkwardly on the back and Gwen couldn't help but smile. She wondered if he had a wife of his own. His warm personality told her he'd make a loving husband and a wonderful father.

"So what do you think so far?" Danny asked.

"Well, everyone's so welcoming and the girls have been very helpful. I look forward to working here." She told him.

"You're being nice. Come on, tell me honestly what you think." He smiled.

"No, I like it. I'm a bit nervous but I can't wait to get started." She grinned.

"The atmosphere changes a little when the customers start to arrive." Bree admitted. "Not all the guys that come here treat us like Danny and George do. They see us more as objects to be honest. When you start giving lap dances, always make sure you stay in control of the situation or things can get scary."

"And that's where I come in." George said proudly. "I'm here to protect you girls. Just call me and I'll toss the bastard out by his ear. You're in safe hands with me."

"Come on, the club's about to open." Bree said, leading Gwen back to the changing room. "George is right you know. He'll look out for you, we all will. We know what it's like to come into this job. We all look after each other here."

Bree found Gwen a spot where she'd be able to see the girls as they danced and left her to do some last minute preparation.

As the club started to fill up, Gwen began to wonder if she'd got enough courage to go through with this. Chasing deadly aliens, she could handle, but dancing around half naked on a pole was totally different.

The music started and the first set of girls prowled onto the stage. She took in the pouty, seductive faces they were making as they reached for their poles, and tried to copy them. Catching her reflection in one of the mirrors, she stopped quickly and sighed.

She watched the girls sliding up and down their poles with swift, graceful movements. Would she be able to move like that?

When one of the girls, Bree she noticed, got on her hands and knees, she gasped as she let a handful of men slip a few notes into the top of her stocking. Bree stood up and blew them a coy kiss.

Gwen couldn't believe half the things she was seeing. Sure she was up for a little foreplay and the odd role playing but that was in her own flat and behind closed doors. Well...sometimes Owen's flat – but it was still done in private.

By the end of the set of songs, Gwen's eyebrows had disappeared into her hair and her mouth set in a permanent 'oh'. Bree came back to check on her and giggled when she saw her.

"I – I – can't do that." Gwen gasped.

"Sure you can. Look, we all doubted we could do this when we first started. You've got to relax and you've got to believe you can do this. I'll help you through it all I promise. Just think about it and if you still want to do it, meet me here at ten tomorrow morning." She told Gwen. "This time next week, you'll be dancing up there loving every minute of it. Right, I'm going back out there, I promised a guy I'd give him a lap dance. Do you want to come with to see how it's done? I'm sure he won't mind."

"No, no I'm alright here thanks. Maybe tomorrow night." Gwen answered.

"Ok then. If this is too much for you, you don't have to stay." She smiled gently.

"No, I'm going to stick this out. If I want to do this, I've got to get comfortable with it." She said. Bree nodded and went to walk away. "Bree, I'll be here tomorrow."

Bree grinned and stuck her thumbs up at Gwen.

"Good for you. Oh, I can't wait to teach you everything." Bree beamed excitedly.

Gwen giggled and turned back to watch the next set of girls. She began to tap her feet to the beat of the music. Looking around, she made sure she was alone before standing up and taking off her jacket. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and let the music flow through her. Her hips began to move in small circles and she ran her hands up her body. She experimented with dips and slow ripples of her stomach. A small smile spread across her face as she finally relaxed and just let her body move with the music.

When she opened her eyes, she gasped and felt herself blush a deep shade of red. Sylvie was stood in the doorway, watching her curiously.

"I was just – erm – I was -" She stammered.

"Hey, it's ok." Sylvie giggled. "You've actually got some great moves. You just need a little more practice and loosen those hips a little. I'm sure Brianna will help you with that. I could show you a few things if you want."

"Erm...I'm ok. Thanks anyway though." She nodded.

The next morning, Gwen woke up with a smile. She couldn't wait for her lessons with Brianna. She was finally going to do something wild and exciting with her life. Torchwood was both of those things but this was so much different, a totally different kind of wild and exciting.

Grabbing her phone, she dialled Ianto's number. If she called Jack, he'd know she was lying and she'd never get away with this.

"Good morning Gwen." Ianto's cheerful voice said over the phone.

How was he so chipper this early in the morning?

"Ianto." Gwen croaked. "Listen, I'm not going to be able to make it in today. I think I've caught something so I'm not going to be able to come in for at least a week."

"Ok, I'll let Jack know. What is it you've got?" Ianto asked.

"I don't know. My head's pounding and I feel like shit." She lied.

"Do you want me to send Owen over?" He asked.

"No." She shouted. "I mean, it could be contagious. We don't want two team members down."

"Oh-kay. Well, I hope you get better soon. See you when you get better." He said.

"Cheers Ianto, see you soon." She sighed.

Putting the phone down, she climbed out of bed and got herself ready. She grabbed a pair of shorts that were crumpled at the bottom of the drawer and shoved them into her bag. She'd change into them when she got there.

As she left the bedroom, she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Where are you off to today?" Rhys asked, moodily.

Ever since their fight a few nights ago, he'd been sleeping on the sofa and they'd barely spoken or even looked at each other.

"Out." She answered simply and slammed the door behind her as she left the flat.

When she reached the club, Brianna was waiting for her. She was leaning against the wall with her hands in the pockets of her shorts, she'd dressed for the session already. Gwen noticed she looked a little tired, not exactly surprising after what time they'd all left last night. Even when she looked rough she looked like a model. Gwen was envious.

"Hey you came." Bree smiled. "I got a little worried that you'd bail out."

"I thought I would but...I'm really excited about this." Gwen admitted.

"Awesome. Come on, let's get started." She grinned.

Bree let them into the club with the keys Danny had entrusted her with. The inside looked strange bathed in sunlight from the windows. She'd only seen it in the evenings when the sun had gone down. It was almost transformed into a totally different place.

"I'll be back in a minute. I've just got to get changed." Gwen said, patting her bag.

"Yeah sure, you'll need the keys to unlock the dressing room door." Bree replied, handing her the keys. When Gwen returned minutes later, Bree wolf whistled and smirked. "Wow, you've got some great legs. Nice arse too."

"Erm...thanks." Gwen blushed.

"Ok, show me what you've got." Bree told her.

"Excuse me?" Gwen laughed.

"Show me what moves you've got so I can see what we need to work on." She explained. Gwen stepped hesitantly to one of the poles. "No, you don't need to use the pole just yet. We'll move on to that in a bit."

"Ok." Gwen nodded and took a deep breath.

She felt a lot more comfortable when she thought she was alone in the dressing room. Bree pressed a button on the clubs sound system and the music started to play. She remembered how fun it was to dance in front of all those people the other night and felt herself ease up a little.

Once again her hips began to sway and she rippled her stomach a few times.

"Yeah that's good." Bree nodded encouragingly. "Try this though." Bree stepped up behind Gwen and placed her hands on the brunette's hips. She guided them in figures of eight then let Gwen take over. "There you go. See you're a natural."

Bree stood next to her and began to dance with her. She showed Gwen a few moves and grinned as she copied them perfectly.

"This feels so weird but it's fun." Gwen giggled.

The song ended and Bree pressed pause.

"You've got the dance moves down perfectly. I think you'll be fine with that, just keep practising when you have a spare moment. Let's move on to the poles. First you need to warm up properly. If you don't stretch before hand, you could get seriously hurt. I was off for almost two weeks because I pulled all the muscles in my leg from not stretching properly before I went on. Right, hold onto the pole." Bree instructed. Gwen grabbed the pole in both hands and nodded. "Now lift your leg up behind you and stretch it up as far as you can." Gwen did as she was told and felt a slight pull in her muscles as she did so. Her legs were pretty toned after running after aliens all day and she was a little flexible, so she was able to lift her leg quite high. She felt Bree push her leg further and groaned as her muscles stretched to their limit. "Sorry, but the more you stretch the better it'll be. Ok, other leg." Gwen dropped her leg back to the floor and lifted the other one. Once again, Brianna stretched her leg to its limit. "The more you use the poles, the easier it is to stretch and you won't have to do it as hard as you are now."

"Thank God." Gwen said through gritted teeth.

Brianna laughed as she let go of Gwen's leg.

She put Gwen through a few more painful stretches before hitting play on the stereo again.

"How brave are you feeling?" Brianna asked.

"I'm feeling pretty adventurous I think." She answered.

"Good because these moves I'm going to show you are pretty complicated so you need to be confident before you try them. They may look easy but you need a lot of strength to do them. Although, with your legs, I don't think that's going to be a problem." Bree grinned. Gwen watched her climb up the pole elegantly and wrap her legs around it. "We'll start with a simple slide." Brianna loosened the grip she had with her legs and gracefully slid down her pole, landing lightly on her feet. "Ok your turn." Gwen took the pole next to Brianna's in her hands and copied Brianna. She wasn't as graceful but she still managed it. "That was good but not perfect. You also looked a little scared. You need to look confident otherwise it's not going to be convincing and the audience will just look right past you. Go on, try again." Gwen kept trying until she did it effortlessly. "Now we're going to put a spin with it." She told her. Once again, Brianna climbed to the top of her pole. She let go with one hand and leant out to the side. Pointing the opposite leg straight ahead, she wrapped the other around the pole and slid down, twirling around the pole and landing on her feet. "You feeling brave enough to try it?"

"Yeah, I think so." Gwen nodded.

She conquered this move quicker than the first one.

With her confidence growing at every trick she accomplished, Brianna decided to step it up. At the top of her pole, she let go with both hands and flipped upside down, keeping a strong grip with her legs. She gripped the pole in her hands above her head and slid down until she was in a hand stand. Letting go with her legs, she flipped herself back over until she was standing.

Gwen stood frozen and in shock.

"Go on, try it. You can do it Gwen. You've done amazing so far." Brianna encouraged her.

Gwen gulped before stepping up. She felt herself shaking as she built up the courage to let go. Squeezing her eyes shut, she clamped her legs tightly around the pole.

"Oh God. Oh God." She muttered as she let go and copied Brianna's moves. The next thing she knew, she was stood back on the floor in front of her pole. She looked at it wide-eyed. "Oh my God. I did it."

Brianna squealed and clapped her hands excitedly.

"Gwen that was amazing. You've picked up more in a day than any of us did when we first started and you don't have any previous experience. You really are a natural." Bree beamed. She checked her watch and raised her eyebrows. "And you've lasted longer than any of us on our first day. We've been at this for almost four hours."

"What? You're kidding me." Gwen gasped.

"Nope. You're not late for anything are you? Is there anything you need to get back to?" Bree asked.

Gwen thought about Rhys. It was now two o'clock in the afternoon. She usually had lunch with Rhys around half twelve, even when they fought like they had the other night they still went. She made Jack let her go so she could make it every day. The only time she missed it was when she was in a situation she couldn't get out of and she usually called to tell him.

Right now though, she couldn't care less. Frankly, she'd had enough of their fights and she was finally having more fun than she'd had in a long time.

"Nope. Nothing important." Gwen answered.

God, how bad had their relationship got that now she wasn't bothered about spending time with her own boyfriend? She didn't even feel guilty about this thought.

"Are you ok?" Bree asked, concerned.

"Yeah. I think...I think something's just ended." Gwen said.

"What's ended?" Bree frowned.

"My relationship." Gwen answered.

"Oh Gwen I'm so sorry. Do you want to leave this for now?" Brianna asked, placing her hand on Gwen's shoulder.

"No, no it's fine. Let's carry on." Gwen said determinedly.

"Are you sure?" Bree hesitated.

"Yeah, come on. Right, so what's the next move?" Gwen asked, changing the subject.

They worked until six that evening. Gwen knew she'd regret it in the morning and she felt guilty for taking up so much of Brianna's time. She only had two hours until she had to get ready before the club opened.

"Ok, so we'll just work on fine tuning those moves and then we'll move onto lap dances later on in the week." Brianna told her as they both dismounted from their poles.

"Yeah ok." Gwen nodded.

Truth be told, Gwen knew she'd be fine with the pole dancing after some practising, but she was a little hesitant about dancing in someone's lap.

Her stomach growled with hunger and Gwen blushed a deep shade of red. After skipping breakfast that morning and not stopping to have anything to eat, she was starving.

"Come on, let's go get something to eat." Bree giggled.

Gwen grabbed her things, not bothering to change out of her shorts, it was a warm night in Cardiff for once so there was no need.

As they walked, Bree hooked her arm through Gwen's. The blonde was an inch or so smaller than Gwen.

"Where are we going?" Gwen asked curiously.

"There's this great little place just down in the bay. It's not too expensive and it's just so cute." Bree smiled.

"The bay?" She almost shouted.

Shit. Someone from work was bound to see her. Oh God, please if anyone saw her, please don't let it be Jack or Owen. They'd tease her for life.

"Yes, do you know it?" Bree asked. Gwen shook her head. "Oh. Hey, this is a perfect opportunity to practice your sexy walk. Obviously when I take you shopping we'll have to get heels and you'll need to practice in those. For now though, we'll make do. Wiggle those hips girl."

Brianna slowed down slightly as she began to sway her hips. Gwen fell into step and did the same, both earning a few stares from passing men.

She jumped nervously every time she spotted any short haired brunet males or men in long coats. She could have sworn she'd seen Tosh, Jack and Owen running down one of the side streets after what looked like a Weevil.

"Please don't let them have seen me." She thought.

By the end of the night, Gwen was exhausted.

After a hard days training and staying back to watch the girls at work again, she walked into her flat in relief. Rhys came out of the living room and stood glaring at her, his arms folded.

"Where the hell have you been?" He demanded.

"Rhys, we'll talk in the morning. I'm knackered." She sighed.

"I'm not surprised. Two nights in a row you've not been back until God knows what time in the morning." He argued. His eyes slid down her bare legs and back up to her dishevelled hair. "Why are you wearing those? You weren't wearing those earlier."

"If you haven't realised, it's a hot day today. I got too hot in my jeans at work so I got changed alright." She lied and went to move into the bedroom.

"Oh yeah. So you weren't flashing your legs at some tosser at work?" He asked sarcastically.

"What?" She shouted. "Is that what you think of me Rhys? Do you really -" She let out a scream of frustration and threw her hands in the air. "I can't do this any more."

"Do what?" He demanded.

"Rhys, all we've done these past couple of weeks – months even, is shout and scream at each other. I can't take any more, I've had enough. It's over." She told him.

Rhys stood shocked for a few moments before scowling and nodding.

"Yeah. Yes it is." He spat and stormed out of the flat.

Gwen slammed the bedroom door behind her and collapsed onto her bed sighing. She drifted into a well earned and much deserved sleep without bothering to change.

As she expected, her muscles ached the next morning but she couldn't wait for her next lesson. She'd treat herself to a hot, relaxing bath to soothe her aching muscles later.

By the end of the week, Gwen had managed to put together a few moves into a little routine. She'd also bought many bikinis, stilettos to match each outfit and almost a whole make-up counter.

As she was practising in a pair of heels and some shorts, Bree had a surprise for her.

"I've asked the girls to come in early tonight. I want you to do a little performance for them. You're confident enough now to dance in front of me so now's the time for a bigger audience." Bree told her. "What do you think?"

"I think I'm ready." Gwen nodded, smiling.

The girls arrived and sat in the audience.

"It's so weird sitting down here and not being up there." Sylvie giggled.

Brianna hit play on the sound system and Gwen walked out to her pole, hips swaying and lips pouting. The girls cheered and wolf whistled as she danced.

At the end of it, they crowded around her and pulled her into a group hug.

"That was brilliant Gwen." Britney grinned.

"Bree was right, you really are a natural." Sarah nodded.

"Thanks guys." Gwen smiled shyly.

It was her last night observing and Gwen was sat in her usual spot. Just before the club closed, Danny came onto the stage.

"Good evening gentlemen, I have an exciting announcement for you all. Next week, standing on this stage, will be a new beautiful young lady. Make sure you're here to see her perform for the first time. I promise you, she's a sensation." He announced.

The club erupted into loud cheers and applauds.

Oh great, that's all she needed. Now everyone would be expecting her to be some amazing, exotic dancer. All eyes would be on her and she was scared of being a disappointment.

When Gwen returned to work on Monday, after supposedly being ill, she was a nervous wreck. That night would be her first night performing.

"Are you ok?" Jack asked as he watched her fiddling with things from her desk.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Still feeling a bit ill that's all." She told him, not meeting his eyes. "Jack, I need to leave around half seven, is that ok?"

"I guess so. The rift's been pretty quiet today." He shrugged.

"Thanks." She said.

As he walked off to his office, Owen sat at his desk next to her.

Ever since their affair, there was a strong sexual tension between them and since he'd learned of her split with Rhys, it had grown even stronger.

Her eyes closed as she felt the heat of his body next to hers, his musky scent washing over her.

"You feeling better?" He asked.

She shook herself out of her thoughts and turned towards him.

"Yeah a lot better thanks." She nodded, then added truthfully. "I'm aching a bit though."

Without any warning, Owen began to massage her shoulders. It felt so good. She shivered as she felt goosebumps appearing all over and his breath on the back of her neck.

"Your muscles are a bit tight. Been doing any strenuous activities?" He joked. Gwen began to panic at the thought of him finding out what she'd been doing. "You're very tense too."

"I'm just stressed, you know with the whole Rhys thing." She lied. "Owen this feels amazing, thank you."

"You're very welcome. Now, I recommend when you get home, you take a hot, relaxing bath. Maybe light a few candles, some bubbles..." His voice drifted off and his hands paused on her shoulders. Gwen turned her head to peek at him. His eyes were glazed over and staring straight ahead. He shook his head and cleared his throat. "There, your muscles have relaxed a little. I...erm...have work to be doing."

His hands disappeared from her shoulders and Gwen turned to see him facing away from her. The side of his face she could see was tinged pink.

She left the Hub that night and made her way to the club.

When she got there, George, Danny, Brianna and a few other girls had already arrived. Making her way over to her dressing table, she felt her heartbeat quicken.

"This is it." She whispered to her reflection.

She opened her drawer containing the outfits she'd bought and picked out the deep purple one. She'd changed and fastened up her purple stiletto's and was staring at the make-up in front of her when Bree looked over. Her dressing table was next to hers and on the other side of Gwen's was Sylvie's.

"Need a hand?" Bree asked.

"Please, I just don't know where to start." Gwen sighed.

"I'll do your make-up don't worry." Brianna smiled.

"I'll do hair." Sylvie said excitedly as she over heard the conversation.

Gwen smiled at both girls as they got to work.

When they'd finished, Gwen hardly recognised her own reflection. Her eyes were rimmed with thick black eye-liner and lilac eye shadow, her cheeks tinged bronze with blusher and her lips painted light pink. Sylvie had curled her hair into tight ringlets that fell around her face.

For the first time in ages, she felt more feminine. Working at Torchwood meant there wasn't much point wearing any make-up or doing your hair, it would just get ruined whilst chasing after aliens.

"Wow." She gasped.

"Hang on. Close your eyes." Sylvie said.

Gwen did as she was told as Sylvie sprayed huge amounts of hairspray onto her hair. When Gwen opened her eyes again, she was lost in a cloud of it.

"What do you think?" Brianna asked.

"Is that really me?" Gwen laughed. "Wow, thanks girls."

Brianna grinned at her through the mirror.

Gwen was up in the third set of songs. She didn't want to go first or last and she'd asked Brianna, Sylvie and Britney to go up with her. Hopefully, with Bree and the others up there with her, they'd draw some of the attention from Gwen.

She was wrong. As Gwen prowled onto the stage, all eyes fell on her. Swallowing her nerves, Gwen started to sway her hips and tapping her heel as the music coursed through her.

Soon, she forgot about the audience and she imagined it was just her dancing to an empty room. Hands reached for her as she knelt on the floor. She allowed a few to put money in her stocking and glared at those whose hands wandered. Her set of songs ended and she climbed down from her pole and walked out into the audience.

On her first week, she decided not to give lap dances. When she felt comfortable enough, then she'd do it.

She waited in the dressing room until it was her turn to go up again. The adrenaline pumped through her veins and she felt a thrill she hadn't felt in a long time.

"You're a hit Gwen." Brianna grinned as they changed back into their clothes at the end of the night. "We hardly got a look in with you on stage. How did it feel?"

"It was amazing. I've never felt so alive." She told Bree excitedly.

Weeks later, Gwen was applying her own make-up dressed in a red number and heels with straps that wound up and around her legs. Some of the girls came back in from their turn on stage.

"That brunet guy's back, you know the one who always looks uncomfortable being here. When I asked him if he wanted a dance, he turned me down. He said he was only here because one of his mates kept telling him about our new friend." Maggie told Sarah as she grinned at Gwen. "He came so his friend would shut up."

"Oh Gwen, looks like you've impressed." Sarah teased. "Go out there and knock this guy dead. He doesn't come here too often but when he does, he never looks comfortable about it."

"Then I make it my mission to impress him and break him down." Gwen said, wiggling her eyebrows.

The girls collapsed into giggles and Gwen put on her best seductive face as she walked out on her turn.

She scanned the audience, looking to see if she could find this guy. She almost tripped over when her eyes fell on a familiar face. Owen was sat, pint in his hand, staring straight back at her in shock.

Ever a professional, she pretended as if she hadn't seen him and grasped the pole in her hands. All the while she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her and the pole with it. She wanted to cover her half naked body and run for the hills. He'd seen her naked before but up here she felt even more exposed.

She slid down her pole in a complicated and graceful spiral, trying to keep her gaze away from Owen. Turning her attention to the men standing around her, she blew them a playful kiss and walked around the pole.

After getting over her original shock at Owen being there, for some reason, she wanted to impress him. She was aware of his eyes on her the whole time as she did her upside-down slide down the pole. Locking her eyes with his, she stuck out her chest and backside as she rippled against the cold metal behind her. She ran one of her hands through her hair and let the other dance across her stomach as she wound her hips in a figure of eight. Owen's drink went untouched as he watched her intently.

At the end of her set of songs, she stepped down and accepted a lap dance request from one of her admirers. She led him straight past Owen and shot him a saucy wink and a smirk causing him to almost drop his drink.

The next morning before work at the Hub, Gwen was nervous. What was Owen going to say to her? How would he act? Would he tell the others about it?

When she entered the Hub, Owen stared at her. Neither knew what to say and Gwen had to walk away.

She made her way up to the boardroom and groaned inwardly as she found Jack there.

"Hey Gwen. You must be psychic, I was just about to call you all up for a team meeting." Jack smiled.

"Yeah psychic." She smiled half-heartedly.

Great.

The rest of the team arrived. Owen and Ianto came in chatting.

"So did you go to that club last night?" Ianto asked.

Gwen stiffened in her chair as she waited for Owen's answer.

"Erm...yeah. I went to shut him up. They're not usually my kind of place really and he's always trying to get me to go. He told me about this new brunette to try and persuade me. He prefers the blonde with the big tits but me..." Owen looked at Gwen as he lowered himself into the chair opposite her. "I actually quite like the brunette."

She felt her face redden as she looked away from him.

"Really. What was she like?" Ianto enquired.

"She was an amazing dancer. Great legs." Owen grinned, still looking at Gwen.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and was grateful when Tosh interrupted them.

"Ok, enough of what Owen got up to last night. Can we get on with what we actually came up here for?" Tosh asked.

"Thanks Tosh." Jack nodded.

He started his briefing but Gwen didn't hear any of it. She kept glancing up at Owen when she felt him watching her. She stretched her legs out under the table just as Owen did the same. Their legs brushed against each other and they froze, staring into each other's eyes as they felt a spark from where they touched.

When the meeting finished, Gwen hung back to get some time alone. Owen however, stood behind the rest of the team as if waiting for his turn to get through the door.

When Ianto disappeared, Owen closed the door behind him and turned back to Gwen. She stood up quickly and pretended to look out at the rest of the Hub. Owen walked up behind her.

"So when did you start dancing?" He asked.

Gwen didn't need to look at him to see the smirk that would be on his face.

"A few weeks ago." She shrugged.

"Did you just wake up one day with the desire to do it?" He laughed.

"No actually. I was out with my friends and I got offered the job. Yes I do enjoy it before you ask, not that it's any of your business." She told him, getting defensive.

"I think it's good you've found something you enjoy doing." He said genuinely. "I wasn't joking you know. You were amazing up there and you looked like you were having fun. You don't have to worry either, I'm not going to tell anyone."

She glanced at him over her shoulder and smiled slightly.

"Thank you." She said quietly.

He turned to leave the room and called over his shoulder.

"Gwen, I look forward to seeing you again tonight."

She stared wide-eyed at his back as he left the room. After a few seconds she smirked. Well if that's how he wanted to play it...

Every night she noticed Owen getting closer and closer to her pole as she danced and every night she tried harder and harder to dance as best as she could, throwing him playful glances here and there.

One night, she was dressed in her most revealing costume yet. The tiniest pieces of material barely covered her chest and lower regions. It was black with diamontes on the straps which fastened around the neck. She'd ran the straighteners through her hair, not doing anything particularly special with it. She'd also opted for the minimal make-up look, just applying eye-liner and a little eye-shadow and blush. Tonight, she chose to go on in the last group to make Owen wait for her. She knew how to play games too.

Her time came and she sauntered onto the stage. At first she couldn't see him and her heart dropped a little but then she spotted him standing in the front row in front of her pole. At the top of her pole, she winked at him and let go with her legs, letting them stretch as far into the splits as she could go. Then she slid back down into a standing position, facing her pole. Spreading her legs slightly, she bent over to touch the floor before running her hands up her legs and torso as she stood up straight. Looking over her shoulder, she wiggled her eyebrows at the audience. Gwen dropped to her knees and crawled to the edge of the stage. Sitting up on her knees, she ran her hands through her hair and threw her head back. Running her hands over her curves, she looked back over her audience. She allowed them to place notes at her hip in her G-string as she crawled around. She stopped in front of Owen and he held his hand up, producing a note. She nodded slightly and smirked as he placed it in her G-string.

Her set finished and she walked off the stage. Brianna came up to her, giggling.

"I think you've finally broken him. Well done babe." She grinned.

Gwen nodded and smiled.

"I think so too." She replied. She left Brianna and quickly went back to the dressing room to put the tips she'd made in her drawer. Then she came back out and walked over behind Owen. He hadn't noticed her coming and almost jumped when she breathed in his ear. "You look a little lonely here sweetheart, let me help you out."

She grabbed the front of his shirt and led him over to the private booths, exaggerating the movement of her hips as she walked.

"First dance of the night?" George asked as she passed him.

"Yep, my first one." She nodded.

"Well don't forget to shout if you need me." George told her as he shot a warning glare at Owen.

"Oh I don't think we'll have any problems with this one." She smirked and led Owen over to the furthest booth.

They were fair sized rooms with deep purple walls and lighting to create an atmosphere. The music from the main area of the club was played into the booths through small speakers in each corner but it was a lot quieter.

Gwen pushed Owen into the chair in the middle and closed the door.

"You don't have to do this." His voice wobbled as she walked behind him.

She bent over, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Oh but I want to." She whispered in his ear.

His breathing hitched as she ran her hands down his chest, her hair tickling the side of his face and neck. Stepping in front of him, she nudged his legs open with her knee. Placing her heel between his legs, she held onto the back of his chair either side of his head. She saw his adam's apple bob as he looked down at her chest. His eyes widened as she turned her back to him and she sat in his lap. She ground against his legs and moved her hips in small circles as she pressed her back into him. She suddenly turned herself so she was facing him as she straddled him. Her green eyes were sparkling as she looked into his chocolate ones. Picking up her rhythm again, she let her head fall back as she ran her hands over her chest and stomach. She looked back at him and pressed her chest into his, bringing her heat over his groin. She raised her eyebrow as she felt the bulge in his jeans. Owen's hands were held awkwardly at his sides and he wondered what he was meant to do with them. Gwen never took her eyes from his as she took them in hers and placed them on her thighs. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she sped up the movement of her hips and pressed down harder against him. She groaned as his hands started to wander over her.

"Do you let the other guys touch you like this?" He asked.

"No. Only you." She whispered truthfully.

He had to admit, if she would have said yes he would have been insanely jealous. For some reason he didn't want anyone but him to touch her. Their lips were centimetres apart and Gwen closed her eyes as she forced herself away. Instead, she rested her head on his shoulder and locked her fingers in his hair. His lips brushed her shoulder, placing kisses here and there as his hand slid millimetres from her heat. She hadn't expected it to get this far. She only intended to get him a little excited. Never had she planned to be panting in his lap wanting more herself.

Just as Owen slipped the fabric away from her centre, a knock sounded from the door.

"Gwen are you ok in there? You've been in there for a while." George called.

Gwen sat up dazed. Listening to the song playing, she realised that two sets of songs had passed. They'd been in there for almost half an hour. Where the hell had all that time gone?

"I'm fine George." She called back, praying he wouldn't hear the shaking in her voice.

She waited for the sound of his footsteps to disappear back to his post on the other side of the booths before looking at Owen. Quickly standing up, she straightened herself out.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to -"

Owen was cut off by Gwen's finger on his lips.

"It wasn't your fault." She told him. Bending down, she placed a kiss on his forehead, her lips lingering for a few seconds. "Meet me outside the club at closing time."

Owen watched as she left the booth. He lifted his hand to touch the place Gwen had kissed before following her.

Gwen made her way back into the dressing room and sat down, looking at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was flushed and her make-up smudged. She grabbed a face wipe and wiped it off. It felt cool against her burning skin. She couldn't go back out tonight. What had just happened with Owen left her head scrambled and confused, not a good idea when climbing a pole in heels. She'd been inches away from kissing him and she wished that she'd let it happen. She knew though, that if they had, George would have found them doing a lot more and they'd be in big trouble.

Brianna came into the room, looking for her in concern.

"Gwen are you ok? George said you were with that guy for a long time and when you came out, you were acting strange. Did he do something to you? Did he hurt you Gwen?" She demanded.

"No, he didn't do anything wrong." Gwen answered. Looking at her friend, she decided to tell her the truth. "Bree, that guy I was with, his name's Owen. I work with him. We even had a bloody affair. Tonight I...took him for a dance and...one thing led to another. It was my fault. I just didn't expect things to get so complicated."

Brianna walked over and sat in the chair beside Gwen. She took Gwen's hand in hers and smiled.

"Gwen, I think you like this guy." She said.

"Me? Like Owen?" She laughed.

"Well he never takes his eyes off of you and I've seen the way you look at him. Tell me, when you're alone with him, how do you feel?" Bree asked.

"Well, there's this tension between us. We never really know what to say to each other when it happens. We just sort of...stare at each other. Sometimes though, it's comfortable and it feels nice." She admitted. "I just thought it was because of what happened between us."

"And what do you think now after all this?" Bree smiled.

"I think you're right." She nodded.

Brianna left her to her thoughts while she got dressed.

As the club closed for the night, Gwen left to meet Owen outside. He was leaning against the wall, waiting. They looked into each other's eyes. Neither of them needed to say anything to confirm that they'd been thinking about each other.

Owen stepped up and cupped her face in his hands and lifted it to place a gentle kiss on her lips. The kiss deepened as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"We've got to get a pole installed in my flat." He said eventually. "I think I have a new favourite colour too."

"A new favourite colour?" She frowned.

"Yes. It's most definitely black now." He smirked.

She smirked back and pulled the neck of her t-shirt out of the way, revealing the strap of the bikini top.

"Thought I'd just leave it on." She said. "Come on, we never got to finish that dance."

He grinned as she led the way to her flat.