Day Two {for quitehomoerotic}

[thecopper]

Even though she was a bit tired, and more than a bit overwhelmed, Gwen entered the Hub on her second day of work with a certain amount of unexpected optimism.

Sure, she'd inadvertently unleashed a killer onto the streets of Cardiff but she'd sorted it, hadn't she? And the team had come out unscathed and that Captain Jack Harkness had seemed almost pleased with her. While she wouldn't exactly consider her first day a glowing success, it wasn't an absolute failure, either, she thought proudly.

At least, until she slid into her shiny, new work station and saw the note stuck to her computer screen. And her heart sunk a little, and she sighed.



Her mind reeled with all of the reasons Jack might want to see her so early on her first day. Perhaps he'd changed his mind, decided she wasn't a capable second in command. Worse, maybe he thought she wasn't a good fit for the team. Maybe he was just going to cut her loose, send her back to the police which was a horribly embarrassing thought, if not only for the conversation she'd had with Andy the day before.

Bollocks, she needed to call him. She'd do that later, if she remembered... Speaking of remembering, she'd need to avoid Ianto's coffee until after the meeting, in case the post-it was a scam and Jack intended to retcon her straight away.

Instead, Gwen spent her time coming up with justifications for anything Jack might say to her, and before long it was ten til ten, and she'd had quite enough of sitting around labouring over the meaning behind a sodding note. So with a resigned sigh, she plodded up to Jack's office and stood in the doorway, trying her best to not glower as she stared at him.

"You wanted to see me, Jack?"

Comments

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

It had been an eventful first day for Gwen Cooper, to say the least. Jack wasn't surprised though, and certainly not put off.

Still, it was the morning after the night before, and such as her first day had been, it was all a little rushed. These things happened in Torchwood, however, and Jack thought it would be good to give her something of a talk about her actions on her first day, and of course give her a lot more of the general day to day Torchwood machinations.

"Gwen," he said as she entered his office. He had a pile of paperwork in front of him, spread out like it had been dropped there from a great height. Still, he seemed to know his way around it.

"Shut the door. Sit down. We need to talk about yesterday."

He shifted, straightening himself up a little. "How do you think you did?"

[alien-catcher.livejournal.com]

Oh, God, he's goin' to sack me. Worse, he's goin' to make me spell out the reasons he goin' to sack me. Right before I find out he's gassed the room with retcon and... Shut up, Cooper, just answer the bloody question, yeah?

Holding her breath, Gwen slid the door shut and stood very still, wondering if she stood still long enough he might just forget she was there.

Or not. She might be a bit plain - well, not plain, that wasn't really fair, she thought idly - but she wasn't that forgettable. Unfortunately.

"Listen, Jack, I know I screwed up what with the rock and all of that but I think I made good in the end. I sorted it, didn't I? I feel really bad about all that happened, but it's not as if the damn rock had a warning sign or anythin'. I just really think you should give me another chance before you fire me."

The words spilled out of her mouth and she felt like she was trembling, which pissed her off more than anything else. But if he was planning on firing her, well, she had no intention of going down without a fight.

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

"Wait, wait. Fire you?" Jack looked up at Gwen like she'd suddenly started talking in Swahili, or sprouted an extra head. He was utterly confused.

So he started to laugh. "Gwen I'm not about to fire you. What would I do a thing like that for?" Beat. "Unless there's something you think I ought to know, that is."

He was teasing, of course.

Resting his forearms on his desk, Jack leaned forward, looking over at her with a grin. He couldn't hide the fact he was amused. He hadn't really considered that she might think it was some sort of reprimand. She was an interesting one, Gwen Cooper. She certainly had bite.

"Gwen," he said evenly, "you did yesterday what none of us here could do. And sure, it might have been your fault in the first place. But that was a mistake and you'll learn from it. It won't happen again. But how you dealt with it? Now that's what matters. You cared about that girl. I think we need more of that around here."

[alien-catcher.livejournal.com]

It took Gwen a moment to wrap her head around what Jack was saying to her. It left her a bit speechless as all of the defenses she'd build up in her head - the rebuttals, the reasons, the excuses - fell by the wayside.

Embarrassed, Gwen shifted on her feet, finally building up the nerve to wander closer to his desk. If nothing else, it was better than standing there gasping at air like a dying fish.

"Yeah... Really?" she muttered, her eyes widening briefly as she examined him. "Well, you know, it's part of the job. Carin' and all that. I've seen a lot of things on the beat - nothing like what happened to Carys, mind - but enough to know that even you lot..." she paused, remembering what Jack had told her in the SUV. "What we are here to do is protect people. If we forget what it's like to be human then what's the point of it?"

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

Jack looked up at Gwen, watching her with a thinly veiled amusement.

"You quite finished?" he asked when she finally stopped talking, smirking slightly as he watched her. He paused a moment then, there was a difference in his eyes at the thought of forgetting what it was to be human. He had, perhaps, and that wasn't altogether a pleasant thought.

"Sit down," he said again.

"You done telling me how to do my job now? Because --forgive me if I'm wrong-- I thought I'd called you here to talk about you doing yours."

[alien-catcher.livejournal.com]

Gwen gave the tiniest of shrugs, but instead of sitting down, she leaned casually against the side of Jack's desk, examining the chaotic pile of paperwork and wondering, for the millionth time, what she had managed to get herself into.

"Well if you want an answer then, well, I don't think I did half bad. A bit brilliant, actually, if we're goin' on what you were sayin'." She shot him a smug smile. "There some appraisal questionnaire I need to fill out? Some little Torchwood check boxes to look at?"

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

Jack leaned back in his chair as she perched herself close. He watched her, one eyebrow lifted, and his expression still entirely amused.

"Do you want there to be?" he asked. "Because I'm sure that could be arranged."

He smirked as he watched her. And for a long moment that was all he was doing; watching her.

"Pass." he said finally. "You need one. Can't expect someone to let you in every day."

He shifted back and pulled open his draw, lifting from it a clear bag with a collection of paperwork in it. "Birth certificate, dental and medical records --hope you got those earaches cleared up, nasty stuff--, work attendance and appraisal history, I think I've even got a few school reports around here."

He looked up at her. "Anything else I should know?"

[alien-catcher.livejournal.com]

Gawking, Gwen snatched the bag from his hand and took a look at the contents, shaking her head and staring at him somewhere between awe and annoyance.

"Jack Harkness," she almost spat, but not without a tone of teasing in her voice. "I spent days followin' up on you, searchin' high and low and all anyone can tell me is that you don't actually exist. And you have my bloody birth certificate."

She dangled it back in front of him, raising her eyebrows. "You're missin' a few things. My favourite colour is red. I love bowling and red wine and Big Brother. I'm great a laundry, rubbish and the washing up and steak pies make me a bit sick." She shook the bag for emphasis, narrowing her eyes playfully. "Don't think you have my life in an evidence bag, Jack. You don't know me any better than I know you."

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

Slowly, Jack stood up from his chair. He took a step over towards Gwen and then another, well within her personal space, just an inch or two from her.

He glanced down, looking at her, and when he spoke his voice was an octave or two lower.

Reaching out, he took hold of the bag, pulling it from her hand and away, effectively pulling her hand along with it.

"You sure about that?" he asked, smiling knowingly.

[alien-catcher.livejournal.com]

Any smart retort was swallowed by her inability to take a substantial breath. He was close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off of his skin, and she closed her eyes long enough to force air into her lungs.

"Yes," she croaked after a moment, gazing up at him, and there was a part of her that felt like that was a lie. She'd only known him a few days, but she felt like she'd met him long before she'd looked down at him from that building. "Now, Captain Harkness, what, exactly, are you intending to appraise in this meeting?"

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

Jack's smirk grew. He had a confidence about him, and he simply knew when he was on top... so to speak.

He leaned in closer, towards her ear, and he whispered. "Bank details." His voice sultry and low.

But then he grinned, pulled back, and like a click of his fingers the moment was gone. He took a step back, and his voice returned to normal. "That is if you expect to get paid, of course. We need your fingerprints, blood sample, urine sample and tissue sample. I'll get Owen to take those this afternoon."

[alien-catcher.livejournal.com]

Gwen reeled, trying to catch her breath without making it too obvious that Jack had snatched it from her in that moment.

She cleared her throat and positioned herself to turn away from him, trying to seem casual and unshaken by how close he had just been. She felt a bit cold.

"Shame you don't have all of it in that little baggie of yours," she remarked. "I'll get Owen the samples. But he best be willing to take my word on some of it... He's not comin' into the loo with me, Jack."