Is anybody out there? Hello, alone [attn: Lynne] cont.

This damned taxi ride could not end soon enough. As soon as the car came to a stop in front of his flat, he threw a handful of money at the driver, and jumped out of the car. He fumbled stupidly with his keys for a moment before thrusting the key into the keyhole. He opened the door and pulled Lynne in with him, closing it hastily behind him. As soon as they were in, he pressed her against the door, kissing her hungrily.

Lynne squinted against the morning sunlight when she woke to the sound of an alarm clock. She'd stayed the night with him, then...that was a bit new. Normally she opted for the walk of shame in the dark. "Please say that you just forgot to turn it off last night and that you don't have to go to work right now..." she mumbled rolling over and pushing her disheveled hair out of her eyes before resting her head against Owen's chest.

Sooner or later she'd have to put on last night's clothes and head home, Lynne knew, but it wasn't as though they'd actually gotten much sleep the night before and the idea of having to wake up enough to look presentable when hailing a cab home this early was appalling at best.

She let her eyes droop shut again and she let out a small yawn, stifling it with the back of her hand before drawing lazy circles on Owen's stomach as she waited for his reply.

God, Owen hated alarm clocks. He turned the damned thing off as quickly as he could. 6 am was way to early in the morning to be awake.

"Please say that you just forgot to turn it off last night and that you don't have to go to work right now..."

Owen smiled to himself as she rested her head on his chest. He rested his hand on her arm and gently kissed her forehead. He heard her stifle a yawn.

"Eh," he replied, "they can wait."

"Eh," he replied, "they can wait."

Lynne smiled a little and opened her eyes when he rested his hand on her arm and kiss her forehead. That, too, felt a bit new from her previous one-nighters, but she sure as hell wasn't complaining. "You're not gonna get in trouble? I don't wanna get you fired," she said, a yawn taking over the latter part of the statement.

She slowly tilted her head up to look at him. "Plus, if you're late isn't your friend from last night going to get her panties in a twist?" she joked before moving to press her lips against his. She might not want a boyfriend, but if she did want one, she'd want Owen.

"You're not gonna get in trouble? I don't wanna get you fired," she said, a yawn taking over the latter part of the statement.

She's cute when she yawns, Owen thought. "Nah, they'll call if it's anything too important."

Lynne lifted her head up to look at him. Those eyes were far more beautiful in the sunlight.

"Plus, if you're late isn't your friend from last night going to get her panties in a twist?" she joked before moving to press her lips against his.

Owen kissed her, much more gently than he had the night before. He stroked his fingers through her hair, smiling at her. "She'll get over it. Yesterday was... A bit of a tough day for her. She's not usually like that." He kissed her again.

"Nah, they'll call if it's anything too important."

Lynne smiled. "Must be nice," she said. "If I was late to my morning job, I'd be packing up my shit and going back to America, because they'd boot me out of there faster than I could say 'oh shit,' I think," she added, giggling a little.

Owen was looking into her eyes. God, he was gorgeous. It was surreal enough that he'd talked to her last night in the bar, but this...the whole thing was just altogether too perfect. Lynne kept thinking it was a dream and she'd wake up any moment now, only to have to go back to work the next night and probably never see Owen again, or worse, see him and he'd never talk to her again.

He ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her.

"She'll get over it. Yesterday was... A bit of a tough day for her. She's not usually like that."

And then he'd kissed her again and it was all just really too good to be true. She pulled away and looked into his eyes. "All right, so...what's your deal? You're a doctor, you live in this amazing place that makes my apartment look like the cockroach motel...you're gorgeous, you fuck like a God, and you cuddle in the morning. There's got to be some serious thing wrong with you that you're not saying," she said, grinning a little and tousling his hair playfully. "Do you, like, wear women's clothes in your off time or, like, moonlight as a porn star or something? Because, no offense, but I kind of figured you more for the wham-bam-thankyouma'am type. Not that I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth," she said, pressing her lips against his again. "But you're too good to be true, so there's got to be something wrong with you to balance it out, right?" She paused. "I mean, we both know I'm not perfect," she admitted crinkling her nose in distaste for her mistakes the previous night.

"I'm not... really sure what to tell you," Owen said after Lynne's speech. This wasn't a lie, either. What was his major flaw? Was it his job? Working for a top secret agency? He saw what it had done to Gwen's relationship with Rhys; nearly tearing them apart, more then once. Gwen had even run to Owen himself for relief. Was it Katie? As much as he hated the thought, Owen hadn't been in a real relationship since she died. Sure, there was Diane, but what was that? A fuck-buddy gone wrong. And even then, he'd tried to kill himself for it. He'd never admit that these were problems, though, he'd just say he hadn't met the right girl, yet.

"Although, um," he added after the long pause, "I did wear my roommate's girlfriend's dress on a dare once in Uni. Not sure if that counts, though." He chuckled at the thought, then wondered what had compelled him to tell her that...

"I'm not... really sure what to tell you,"

Lynne watched as his eyes almost seemed to drift out of focus as he went into thought. She wondered what was running through his mind; if he was mentally compiling a list of personal flaws and trying to think of a way to make them all sound less than whatever they were.

It didn't matter to her, really, because the fact was that when Owen left for work and she headed home, she was sadly fairly certain that that would be the end of that. So whatever his flaws were wouldn't make a difference, really. She suddenly hated the idea of it. Lynne still didn't really know that she wanted a relationship out of this, or anything, but she didn't want to be a notch on the bedpost anymore. She at least wanted to remain on friendly terms.

"Although, um," he added after the long pause, "I did wear my roommate's girlfriend's dress on a dare once in Uni. Not sure if that counts, though."

Lynne laughed. "No, I don't think that counts; I'll let that one slide," she replied, propping herself up on her elbow and pulling the sheets up around herself reflexively. "We could start off the easy way...and ignore the rest," she offered. "Like, okay...are you married? Because that'd be a pretty big flaw for me. Or, you know, girlfriend, fiance..." she paused and added jokingly for good measure, "any crazy stalkers?"

Owen mirrored Lynne's movements, so they were looking at each other.

"I'm not married. No girlfriend, nothing," he smiled, "But I thought the state of my flat might've given that away already. Though, I'm not really sure about stalkers after the way Tosh behaved last night..." he flashed a smile that said he had just done something mean and gotten away with it.

"And you," he said, after another pause, "how are things with your ex?" He hated bringing it up again, but he did quite fancy Lynne and they were on the subject...

"I'm not married. No girlfriend, nothing," he smiled, "But I thought the state of my flat might've given that away already. Though, I'm not really sure about stalkers after the way Tosh behaved last night..." he flashed a smile that said he had just done something mean and gotten away with it.

Lynne couldn't help smiling at little at his expression. It was like a child who'd done something and felt victorious for having not been caught. "You're adorable," she giggled.

"And you," he said, after another pause, "how are things with your ex?"

Lynne hissed in a breath of air between her teeth, pulling a face. "I wouldn't know. Haven't seen or heard from him since he ran off with his office assistant or something and kicked me out of our apartment. When I said he left me, I meant it. I mean left me. High and dry. I'm lucky I have a good friend...I'd have been living in a box with my cat on the streets of Cardiff, and that's not an exaggeration," she sighed.

She paused before going on. "But if you're asking for the same reason I was, well...the answer is you don't have to worry about him coming 'round to try and rough you up or anything. His job is too busy for that kind of bullshit, even if he wanted to. He was never home. Said it was, like, serious business or some shit. UNIT...? Uni..." her voice trailed off and she shrugged. "Whatever it was, he had the most ridiculous uniform in the world and that's saying a lot, since a man in uniform, well..." she winked at him and let the sentence linger. "Whatever, he's a shitbag and I highly doubt if I'll ever see him again, so I really doubt you'll ever have to meet him."

Lynne leaned forward and kissed Owen again, on a whim. "I have to ask..." she whispered, her lips just a hairs breadth from his as she did so. "When we leave - you for work and me for my walk of shame - am I ever going to see you again? I mean, like, at all?"

...Adorable was not a word Owen would use to describe himself. He decided to let it slide, though.

Owen winced slightly when Lynne mentioned UNIT. Glorified Torchwood is all they were. He knew that they'd have the same problems she and her ex had, if they did get together. Gwen and Rhys worked it out though, right? If Gwen could do it, Owen could. He supposed the main question was 'Am I ready for another relationship?' It'd been years, and he was tired of feeling alone...

"When we leave - you for work and me for my walk of shame - am I ever going to see you again? I mean, like, at all?"

He sighed heavily. "I think... I think I'd like it if you did." A smile spread across his lips as he said this.

At that moment, his damned mobile beeped.

"Shit, Jack."

"I think... I think I'd like it if you did."

Lynne smiled. "I would, too," she replied softly.

Owen's mobile beeped and Lynne's expression fell. She couldn't help letting out a sad sigh and dropping back onto Owen's bed, closing her eyes.

"Shit, Jack."

"Nooo..." Lynne whined, grimacing before opening her eyes again. "Guess that's my cue to get off my lazy ass and head home, then, yeah?" she asked as she looked up at him.

"Nooo..." Lynne whined, grimacing before opening her eyes again. "Guess that's my cue to get off my lazy ass and head home, then, yeah?" she asked as she looked up at him.

Owen put the phone down and turned to look at Lynne. He kissed her softly and said "I suppose we should exchange numbers now? Or I could always find you at the bar." He smiled sadly.

He got up and walked towards the bathroom. "I'll be right back, love," he said, before hopping in the shower.

Why did Jack have to ruin everything?

Owen had suggested they swap numbers or that he find her at the bar. There it was. As Owen headed into the bathroom, Lynne let out a sigh and frowned. He'd find her. Sure, he would, she thought, rolling her eyes and climbing out of Owen's bed, gathering her clothes. He might've said he'd see her again, but Lynne wasn't stupid. She knew better.

"I'm gonna go, Owen," she called out, hoping he'd hear her over the running water. Zipping her jeans and pulling her tanktop over her head, Lynne took another look around the flat. She probably wouldn't ever get to see it again, if Owen was anything like every other guy she'd met in Cardiff so far. The thought saddened her a little; she genuinely liked Owen and didn't want to lump him in with The Rest. "I'll...see you," she said, approaching the bathroom and poking her head through the open door. "Thanks for last night."

"Thanks for last night."

Owen grabbed a towel and wrapped it around himself before stepping out of the shower. Lynne had poked her head in the door to say goodbye, he supposed. He walked over to her and smiled.

"I'll see you again, though... probably not tonight... Jack doesn't like it when I don't show up," he added with a smirk. He hugged her and kissed her forehead. "I should probably call for a taxi."

He walked past her and into his bedroom to get dressed.

"I'll see you again, though... probably not tonight... Jack doesn't like it when I don't show up,"

Lynne nodded. "I have to work tomorrow morning, anyway," she said casually. She really honestly had meant for this tryst with Owen to be just what it was, when she'd started. But, now that it was over, something about him made her want to stick around. She supposed she could hold to hope that Owen wasn't just another hit and run, but hoping would probably be useless. Besides, hope only meant disappointment, as far as Lynne was concerned.

He hugged her and kissed her forehead and Lynne felt torn and confused. Was he just really damn good at sending off his one-night stands and she was starting to fall for it, or was he genuinely disappointed that it was time for them to go their separate ways?

"I should probably call for a taxi."

Lynne watched him walk by and she turned to face him, leaning up against the bathroom doorframe. "I...uh, I'm gonna go ahead and...you know...go..." she said awkwardly. "I can walk; it's not that far," she lied. She lived all the way across town; she'd hail a cab once she'd walked a few blocks away from Owen's place. "Listen, don't...you know, feel obligated or anything, okay?" she went on. "I'd like to see you again, but I know the rules of a one-night fling, so...you know where to find me, but if I don't ever see you again, it's been fun."

She pushed herself up again and walked toward him a few steps before changing her mind and making her way sadly toward his front door. She didn't look back and promised herself that she wouldn't unless he asked her to by addressing her.

"I'd like to see you again, but I know the rules of a one-night fling, so...you know where to find me, but if I don't ever see you again, it's been fun."

One night fling. Owen had grown tired of them over the past year or so. He had hoped Lynne wouldn't have to be, but then again, they had so little in common. 'Gwen and Rhys,' Owen thought. Rhys knew about Torchwood now, but they'd been dating for years. Lynne dated someone from UNIT, but, by the sound of it, she didn't know who they were or what they did.

He heard her footsteps walking away. There was a pause before the door opened and quietly shut behind her. Owen cursed himself and continued to get ready for work.