Title: Tell Her
By: Anduria Trianys
Pairing: Owen/Tosh, past Owen/Katie, with background Rhys/Gwen and Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the fictional universes or characters. I'm just borrowing them temporarily for a bit of a laugh.
Summary: Set about a week before 'Something Borrowed'. Owen receives a gift from an unexpected source that opens his eyes.

***

Dr. Owen Harper was feeling grumpy. That had happened a lot since he had died and been brought back to…well, mobility; you couldn't really call it life when you were already dead, could you? He was just like a zombie, really.

"Except that I don't go around eating people's brains," he muttered to himself. "Though, right now, that doesn't seem like a bad thing. Not being able to eat is one of the worst things about being dead. The worst thing, of course, is that I can't have sex and Jack and Ianto are just making things even worse."

He remembered the time he had accidentally spotted the CCTV of his boss and his friend playing naked hide and seek. He had thought that only Jack could turn something like hide and seek into a kinky sex game – until he found out that it was Ianto who had suggested playing it naked in the first place.

That was a memory he wouldn't mind taking Retcon to forget. But, of course, he couldn't; Retcon wasn't going to work on him any more.

To be fair, he was feeling better following his talk with Ianto. The younger man did seem to know what he was going through, even though he didn't say very much. Besides, he was right; after everything that they'd gone through, individually and as a team, it would be stupid to let this beat him. He didn't really resent Jack for bringing him back; it had taken time, but he had eventually understood why his boss had done it.

What was bothering Owen, however, was something that he had said to Ianto; that everyone else seemed to have someone – Gwen had Rhys, Ianto himself had Jack, but Owen…Owen didn't have anyone. Admittedly, even if he did have someone, there wasn't much he could do, but…

"Owen?" Rhys appeared suddenly, startling the doctor out of his wits. He suspected that he would have had a heart attack if his heart had still been beating.

"Hey, Rhys," he said dully. He could barely look at the man, especially since he had once had an affair with his soon-to-be wife. He didn't even know if Rhys knew about that. "How are the plans for the wedding going?"

"Never mind that," said Rhys suddenly. "What about you? You look real down in the dumps; I've never seen you like that before. Fancy a pint?"

"Can't drink," said Owen bitterly. "Can't eat, can't have sex, I can't do anything." He sat down on the pavement, looking disgusted. "When did life turn out to be so complicated, Rhys?" he asked. "I mean, there I was; I had a great job, a beautiful fiancée, everything was going great. Then…in one moment, my life gets turned upside down."

"I know the feeling."

"No, you don't!" spat Owen, glaring at the other man. "You don't know what it's like to see someone you love forget who you are! She was everything to me, but I couldn't help her. I couldn't even see what was wrong until it was too late!" He paused for breath.

"I'm sorry," Rhys couldn't help the words.

But Owen was barely listening. "The doctors said it was a tumour," he said dully. "They wanted to operate. I would have done anything to save her, anything. But they were wrong. It wasn't a tumour." He snorted. "It was an alien. An alien parasite was living in the brain of the woman I loved. To see that, and then to have no memory of it…and to be told that you're just suffering from trauma when you know that you're right," he shook his head. "You don't know what that's like, so don't pretend that you do."

"No," admitted Rhys, after a pause. "I don't. But even though I don't know you very well, I know that Gwen cares about you a great deal. And I want to help you."

"You can't. You can't change the past."

"No, I can't. But I can help you to make the most of the time you have now." Rhys pulled something out of his jacket. "Take this and play it," he said. "And don't waste a second."

Some time later, Owen found himself slumped on a stool turning the CD over in his hands, trying to work out why the hell Rhys had given it to him. Equally confusing were the final words that the other man had spoken before they had parted ways.

"Don't waste a second," he muttered, for what felt like the hundredth time. "She's waited long enough for you; she doesn't deserve to wait any longer."

So, you say you're love's about to end.

You say you can't take no more,

She's out the door,

And you're lookin' for a friend.

"Well," snorted Owen, "it's not like I can get much else in this state, is it?" He scowled contemptuously at the table in front of him.

Who am I to tell you why?

But I'm just curious,

Were you furious?

Or did you swallow your pride,

And look her in the eye and

Tell her that you love her,

Tell her that you need her,

Tell her that you want her to stay.

Owen sighed. There was a reason that he didn't listen to romantic songs often; they reminded him too much of Katie. He still felt bitter about the way she died and he knew that this sometimes came out in his manner, especially towards Ianto before Jack had left. He knew it wasn't fair, but…well, Jack had seemed to have a connection with Ianto from the start and it just seemed like hurting him was a way of hurting Jack, in a way. It didn't make sense, he knew that, but then again hardly anything did in this world.

But as he prepared himself for the usual wash of sadness that her memory would always bring, he found, to his surprise, that it wasn't there. He didn't even see her at her worst, with the confused and troubled look that he always seemed to remember, but instead she was smiling and happy, her golden hair flying at her shoulders as she laughed.

Owen smiled as he remembered that moment, one winter when they'd been surprised with a trip to Switzerland by one of his colleagues shortly after he'd proposed. That had been one of the happiest moments of their lives together.

Reassure her with a kiss.

She may never know, unless you

Show her what you're feelin'

Tell her you're believin'

Even though it's hard to say.

'Cos she needs to know you're thinkin' of her,

So open up and tell her that you love her.

Suddenly, the scene in Owen's mind started to change. Instead of dancing towards him, Katie suddenly started to move away from him. She was still smiling, but it was at something behind him. Her face shimmered with joy as she seemed to look at him, as if she knew exactly where he was. She spoke, her voice sounding distant and quiet, but still with the familiar laughter to it.

"Love again, Owen," she whispered. "Don't make her wait. Tell her."

She gave him a last smile and then, as she slipped away, drew his attention to what was behind her…or rather, who was behind her.

Brother I've been right where you are now

And my heart was broke,

'Cos I never spoke

Those healing words out loud.

There she stood, her dark hair floating around her shoulders and her large brown eyes alight with a soft and simple smile. He could see Jack and Ianto standing further back, Ianto smiling softly as Jack played with his hair and kissed his forehead.

And yet, his attention was captivated by her. She looked shy, but calm and beautiful as she stepped forwards, her eyes never leaving his face. He wasn't sure what it was that made her so…she didn't look any different to the way she usually did when he saw her.

He was dragged suddenly back to the present by the next lines of the song.

But I've learned my lesson well.

And now, every night,

Before I close my eyes,

I look at my woman and

I ask myself, did you

Tell her that you love her?

Tell her that you need her,

Tell her that you want her to stay.

Reassure her with a kiss.

Somewhere, in the dark recesses of his mind, he heard Katie's voice again. He couldn't see the scene any more, but he could hear her smile in her words.

"Don't let go when you've got what you've been looking for right now. Let her know, Owen. There's no shame in feeling what you're feeling. Let me go and embrace her. It's the right thing to do, and you know it."

Owen shuddered. If he'd had any tears in him, he knew they would have fallen then – and he would not have stopped them from falling. All these years, he had never truly grieved for Katie, never cried for her – never let her go. And now…now that he was ready to cry for her, he couldn't.

But he was moving on…his heart was healing…it had been for a while…he just hadn't realised it until now. He didn't feel pain for Katie any more – he had moved on. He knew he wouldn't forget her, but that didn't matter. You didn't have to forget someone just because you were falling in love with someone else…

She may never know, unless you

Show her what you're feelin'

Tell her you're believin'

Even though it's hard to say.

'Cos she needs to know you're thinkin' of her,

So open up and tell her that you love her.

By now, Owen was surprising himself by actually singing along with the words. He knew exactly what he had to do now. It was only a pity that he had waited for so long. But now he had his chance to make up for his mistakes and put things right.

Tell her that you love her.

Tell her that you love her,

Tell her that you need her,

Tell her that you want her to stay.

Reassure her with a kiss.

She may never know, unless you

Show her what you're feelin'

Tell her you're believin'

Even though it's hard to say.

"It is hard to say," Owen whispered. "I know that. But the results are worth it."

'Cos she needs to know you're thinkin' of her,

So open up and tell her that you love her.

Tell her that you love her.

When he turned the music off, Owen smiled properly for the first time since he had died. He suddenly knew what he had to do – what he should have done a long time ago. Rhys had been right; she had waited long enough and suffered enough. And even though he knew he could never give her what she deserved, the least he could do was tell her.

And so, a week later, Dr. Owen Harper took a deep breath and summoned every ounce of his courage as he walked to the woman at the table. He waited for her to look up at him before he finally managed to speak.

"You ready to see that dead man dance, Tosh?"

***