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Phil Ford. Skypoint

(Torchwood – 8)

ONE

Gwen Williams.

That was going to take some getting used to.

It had been a little over two weeks now. They had been away. Ten days in Cuba. It was the rainy season, and it had rained every day, but not one drop had mattered. And she had been Gwen Williams all that time, but holidays – especially honeymoons – are not the real world. It was like a game out there.

But now she was back.

Cardiff, the real world. Or what passed for it these days.

Mrs Williams.

Whoa! Some things you got used to, like living on a rift in time and space, aliens stalking the sewers that would tear your throat out as easily as look at you, others that got you pregnant on your hen night with a bite …

But some things she thought she’d just never get used to.

The estate agent had called her ‘Mrs Williams’ when he met them in the lobby.

Mr and Mrs Williams.

It felt strange, but nice.

But twenty minutes later, when that same estate agent vanished into thin air, that was something Gwen Williams née Cooper felt more than qualified to handle.

TWO

Rhys was glowing as she came through the door. He was standing behind the kitchen counter wearing a smile so wide he could’ve been modelling for a Warner Brothers cartoon. It had been their first day back at work, and the smile could have just been that newlywed joy of seeing her again after their first ten hours apart since the wedding ceremony. On the other hand, Rhys and Gwen might have shared the same name for only about a fortnight, but they had shared this one-bedroom flat and a lot more besides for the last four years. This wasn’t just Rhys’s glad-to-see-you smile, this was his I-can’t-wait-to-tell-you full beam.

‘Good day?’ he asked.

‘Not bad. Bit of a Weevil hunt out Splott-way, but it was just the one and it had a limp. ’

The first time she had come across one of the sewer-dwelling aliens had been in a corridor of the Royal Cardiff Infirmary.

She had thought it was some guy in a Halloween mask complete with five-centimetre fangs. It had then proceeded to use them to all but take the head off some poor bastard that had got in its way. But back then – little more than a year ago – she had just been a green police constable. These days the most remarkable thing about a Weevil was that this one had a limp? Yes, welcome back to the real world. Welcome back to Cardiff.

Then Rhys was kissing Gwen. And whatever it was that he was burning to tell her, he had also missed her.

‘At least you’re home on time. That’s a good start. ’

‘I told Jack I had to get back to make sure I had my old man’s tea on,’ she joked.

Rhys didn’t notice. His excitement was taking over.

‘Never mind tea. We’ll eat out afterwards. ’

‘After what?’

But Rhys was already grabbing his coat. ‘We’ll go to one of the restaurants on the Bay. It won’t be far. ’

‘Far from where?’

‘You’ll see. We’ve got an appointment at half-six. ’

Gwen shook her head and followed him out through the door. Rhys loved delivering surprises. It was one of the things she loved about him. The biggest surprise of all had been how he had put up with everything she had brought to their relationship since she’d seen that Weevil in the hospital corridor and run into Jack Harkness for the first time. And that was why she loved Rhys most of all. Because he loved her, would do anything for her, and accepted so much that no other man ever could.