26.2 What women want.
It had been something she hated to admit to herself but the day she stood packing her things up from the apartment she had once shared with Rhys, Gwen had known the answer to the question she had rolled around in her head, words she had said to Jack on the day of his return.
“Well, no-one else will have me?”
Rhys, perfect Rhys who’d had no clue about the other part of her life until he stumbled upon it my accident, a man she loved but wasn’t in love with, at least not in the way she had been. Perfect little Rhys who wanted her when no one else had, or had wanted her for more than a quick shag and space fill, he was everything she had once wanted. Not just a shag. That’s what she had been to Owen, just a person to conquer and the guilt she felt was deep but she couldn’t stop herself from being with him. It actually took Owen falling for Diane for everything to change, for her it was the start where she realised that there were feelings for him and him being with Diane actually hurt. It was something that pushed her closer Rhys and to marrying him.
He was safe and he wanted her where no one else would.
Not Jack, and not Owen.
Gwen had a connection with Jack that made her feel for him but it wasn’t like the one she had with Owen. They fought and they snapped, they laughed and teased, and there were times when they both could be there for one another and there were times when the told the other exactly what they wanted to hear, no matter now harsh it was. But it was when Owen had been shot and died that Gwen felt like she’d had the wind knocked out of her, sure she covered it up while she was with everyone but the moment she was alone the tears and fears came. Owen was gone and it was all over and done with. But when Jack found that other glove and brought Owen back as nothing but a walking corpse, Gwen didn’t know how to react to him. He was having a hard time and they talked. No shouting, no fighting, no teasing, they talked and they listened. They got close.
Then it all changed again, Owen was alive after fighting death and he was a different person. A night in the pub talking ended up with the both of them reconnecting and going back to his and having sex more than once. But what surprised Gwen was that the guilt she felt the next morning didn’t rip into her too deeply, yes she had cheated on Rhys, the man she was going to marry, but that didn’t seem to upset her. Once more Gwen was back to having her head filled with thoughts of her and Owen and the fun times they had together. Life with Rhys was safe, easy and in one word, dull. There was no effort from either of them in their relationship and most nights she got home he was either in bed or down the pub. They began to spend increasingly longer amounts of time together, finding any moment they could to brush their hands against one another, to be alone in one another’s company to steal a kiss. Anything and everything they could to just have a few moments together while at work. Then Owen had asked her out on a date and he’d blown her away. Some how Owen had known exactly what to do to make this evening special, the dress and shoes, the car, the pier, the picnic, dancing. All of it under a clear moonlit night, and the next morning there was no denying what course of action Gwen needed to take.
And she did.
Packing her things she left the apartment she had shared with Rhys and in her mind she told herself that someone else did want her, maybe she’d have some form of chance being with someone she wanted as much as Rhys wanted her. As much as she wanted…
Patient’s Name: Gwen Cooper
Fandom: Torchwood
Partner: Owen Harper always_got_time
Word count: 604
“Well, no-one else will have me?”
Rhys, perfect Rhys who’d had no clue about the other part of her life until he stumbled upon it my accident, a man she loved but wasn’t in love with, at least not in the way she had been. Perfect little Rhys who wanted her when no one else had, or had wanted her for more than a quick shag and space fill, he was everything she had once wanted. Not just a shag. That’s what she had been to Owen, just a person to conquer and the guilt she felt was deep but she couldn’t stop herself from being with him. It actually took Owen falling for Diane for everything to change, for her it was the start where she realised that there were feelings for him and him being with Diane actually hurt. It was something that pushed her closer Rhys and to marrying him.
He was safe and he wanted her where no one else would.
Not Jack, and not Owen.
Gwen had a connection with Jack that made her feel for him but it wasn’t like the one she had with Owen. They fought and they snapped, they laughed and teased, and there were times when they both could be there for one another and there were times when the told the other exactly what they wanted to hear, no matter now harsh it was. But it was when Owen had been shot and died that Gwen felt like she’d had the wind knocked out of her, sure she covered it up while she was with everyone but the moment she was alone the tears and fears came. Owen was gone and it was all over and done with. But when Jack found that other glove and brought Owen back as nothing but a walking corpse, Gwen didn’t know how to react to him. He was having a hard time and they talked. No shouting, no fighting, no teasing, they talked and they listened. They got close.
Then it all changed again, Owen was alive after fighting death and he was a different person. A night in the pub talking ended up with the both of them reconnecting and going back to his and having sex more than once. But what surprised Gwen was that the guilt she felt the next morning didn’t rip into her too deeply, yes she had cheated on Rhys, the man she was going to marry, but that didn’t seem to upset her. Once more Gwen was back to having her head filled with thoughts of her and Owen and the fun times they had together. Life with Rhys was safe, easy and in one word, dull. There was no effort from either of them in their relationship and most nights she got home he was either in bed or down the pub. They began to spend increasingly longer amounts of time together, finding any moment they could to brush their hands against one another, to be alone in one another’s company to steal a kiss. Anything and everything they could to just have a few moments together while at work. Then Owen had asked her out on a date and he’d blown her away. Some how Owen had known exactly what to do to make this evening special, the dress and shoes, the car, the pier, the picnic, dancing. All of it under a clear moonlit night, and the next morning there was no denying what course of action Gwen needed to take.
And she did.
Packing her things she left the apartment she had shared with Rhys and in her mind she told herself that someone else did want her, maybe she’d have some form of chance being with someone she wanted as much as Rhys wanted her. As much as she wanted…
Patient’s Name: Gwen Cooper
Fandom: Torchwood
Partner: Owen Harper always_got_time
Word count: 604