Life in Slow Motion

Chloe Steele had been the Torchwood Medic for a few months. This, plus three years working at Torchwood Glasgow, meant there were very few occasions that left her without words.

This was one of those rare occasions.

She had had her assumptions since her first day. Since before her first day. She had caught a few glimpses of the pair while helping patch up Cardiff as part of the team sent down by Glasgow. Chloe wasn't sure what she'd done to catch Jack's attention, but she was grateful he'd persuaded her to transfer.

Once she'd had a cup of Ianto's coffee Chloe knew she'd never be able to live off Starbucks again.

It was obvious there was a connection between the pair; but how secure and how deep it was she was uncertain.

They flirted at work- but Jack flirted with everybody. Yet there was a clear affection between the pair; one that they seemed to share with no one else.

If anybody else noticed the looks that passed between them, or the fact that their hands seemed to touch just a tad too long than was appropriate when handing over a coffee cup - they didn't mention it.

Not wanting to intrude, she had not worked up the courage to approach the subject with anybody. Gwen could probably answer her questions, but she did not how to bring up the subject without looking like some sort of obsessive stalker.

The scene in front of her finally answered all of her questions.

Everybody knew Torchwood Cardiff were different to all of the other branches.

Torchwood One had been the flagship, the public face of Torchwood. The original, the one from which each other branch was born. Two in Glasgow were the loyal sons. Taking the good parts of One and making them better, while discarding the bad parts.

Nothing much was known about Four. One minute they were there and the next they had gone. They had kept themselves to themselves anyway, so they weren't overly missed.

Torchwood Three were the renegades. Cutting themselves off from Torchwood One entirely. They corresponded with the other branches purely on a need to know basis. Yet they were the closest of the groups. They weren't a team; they were a family.

They were legendary over in Glasgow. Stories about the enigmatic, American Captain leading his band of merry men. Everybody wanted to move to Cardiff, but nobody was ever sure how to apply for a job. Direct transfer requests were always refused.

Since Jack had taken over, Cardiff was the only branch to never have a single member of staff resign. Nobody ever quit. They were taken.

Chloe remembered meeting Jack once before when he came up to Glasgow with a little, Japanese woman.

She later found out, this was the person whose responsibilities she took over. Nobody ever said replaced, always another variation of the word, as if they still sometimes believed it was all a nightmare, expecting to wake up at any minute.

The deaths of Tosh and Owen had hit the three remaining members hard. The after-effects could still be seen months later. Two mugs hung up in the kitchen that were never touched; there were a pot of badges in the Information Centre that were never sold. Pictures of the pair were still around the Hub.

Jack had a photo of every team he'd ever lead stored in a tin in the bottom draw of his desk; Tosh and Owen were in nearly all of them. Ianto had one of the pair hung in his locker, the one that had originally been attached to Tosh's fridge. He hadn't been able to bring himself to put it in storage.

Gwen had a picture framed on her desk that had been taken on a team camping trip a few weeks before they had died. Chloe had asked about it one night when they were all working late, having spent most of the day rounding up a couple of giant, alien squirrels that had crash-landed in a pond in the middle of one of the Cardiff garden centres.

They both noticed Ianto head up to Jack's office, shutting the door behind him. Neither of them commented on the lone tear that had run down his face before he'd left.

Rhys, who had been invited along to try to get to know Gwen's colleagues a bit better, had taken it. Gwen was in the forefront of the photo, the main focus of the image, but it was the scene behind her that made this one of Gwen's favourite team pictures. Owen had grabbed Tosh and was swinging her in the air, both of them squealing with delight. For the first time ever, Jack and Ianto had lost a game of charades.

The pair were sat side by side in shock.

Every time she saw the picture, Gwen smiled. She could still see the immediate aftermath of Jack and Ianto's defeat. The two of them sat squabbling over the result while Tosh and Owen danced around the two of them singing "We Beat Jack and Ianto." Repeatedly.

Owen had still been humming it when he'd gone to bed.

Jack and Ianto's debate over who had lost them the game had finally subsided with Jack pouncing on Ianto and tickling him until he screamed. Tosh and Owen still dancing around them.

Chloe still felt a little on the outside at times, though they tried to include her in all their discussions and after-hours outings. She was like a cousin who was invited to all the birthday parties but was still unsure which toys she could and couldn't play with.

This was the first time since she had first arrived in Cardiff that she had seen either Jack or Ianto relax- truly relax. Ianto had earlier shed his suit jacket and tie, both of which were lying on the chair next to Gwen's desk. The top two buttons of his dark red shirt were open, as were Jack's; revealing the white t-shirt he wore underneath.

Both had their eyes closed as they moved slowly in time to the music, coming from an old gamma-phone that had been set up on Gwen's desk. She didn't know the song. It was the sort of thing that reminded Chloe of her Grandmother, who had taught her to dance ballroom and jive when she visited her during the school holidays when she was a little girl.

Chloe stood transfixed, frozen to the spot as she watched them dance.

Ianto had one arm resting lightly on Jack's shoulder. The other was placed on Jack's chest, who had covered Ianto's hand with one of his own. His other was resting on Ianto's back, pulling their bodies as close together as possible.

The lights had been lowered to just a dim glow. She suspected they had used Jack's wrist strap - she had never seen a dimmer switch on the walls.

Jack had a small smile on his face, one she had never seen before. She had seen the patented, bright, toothy grin that he used for everything from flirting with the local police force to reassuring people who had had a run-in with a Weevil. She had even seen the little glances and smiles Jack and Ianto shared when they thought nobody was looking.

This was one of complete and utter contentment.

She couldn't see Ianto's face as it was buried in Jack's shoulder. However, she was willing to bet that Ianto wore an identical expression.

Jack sighed and opened his eyes, before turning his head and pressing a kiss into Ianto's hair. They never stopped dancing.

She was not meant to see this. Nobody else was supposed to see this. This was for Jack and Ianto's eyes only.

Chloe crept back towards the autopsy room where she had earlier been dissecting a Weevil. They had obviously forgotten she was there, or assumed she had left with Gwen, earlier in the evening.

She smiled as she retreated. She hadn't known them very long but she was happy that, despite all they'd gone through in the last months, they both had somebody to cling on too.

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