1
Jack was half listening to the banter as the team argued about the lunch.
"I don't know why we can't get sushi now and then" Suzie huffed, squealing as the SUV drifted around a corner and Jack turned to point out that Tosh actually didn't like sushi when Suzie barked a warning.
Jack saw the large dog moments before the SUV ploughed into it and he was cursing as he applied the brake. Owen was already out, running back as the mutt struggled to get to the verge, obviously in great pain as it whimpered and panted with fear.
"Easy boy, calm down" Owen said softly, crouching as he noted the leg it was dragging at an unusual angle as it tried to evade them.
"Owen?"
"Broken leg, or pelvis." Owen shrugged, "Looks like a stray. Christ it's big."
Suzie sighed and drew her sidearm, pointing it at the dog's skull and Jack told her to put it away.
"Owen, you were just complaining that you only had Janet to play with" Jack huffed, "This can be a test subject. Fix it!"
Owen fussed with the tarp as Jack carefully lifted the animal into the back of the SUV and Owen administered a mild sedative to calm it, it's panting lessening as it stopped panicking. Jack drove silently now, his face serene, apart for the clenching of his jaw warning Suzie in the passenger seat that he was unhappy with what had happened.
Once they got to the hub Owen was surprised to find their grim Captain lifting the animal again, carrying it carefully to the med-bay as he spoke softly to it.
"Owen knows what he's doing, he's just a bit grumpy" he was saying softly, "Please be calm and remember that you are in a strange place, at a strange time. Be calm."
The creature seemed to study him for a few moments then settle on the table for Owen to get closer and Jack turned to him before moving aside, "Be careful. His jaws are more powerful than a standard dog and he is more intelligent than one too."
Owen halted as he spun to stare at Jack, "Oi! Are you telling me this is not a dog?"
"I'm telling you that it is a creature that resembles a dog" Jack sighed, "I've not seen one in a long time. They don't usually come out before dark. The witching hour is when they are most active. They are ancient and powerful. This guy though …he's …ill or something. Just …just show a little respect. His intelligence is higher than you think. He is fully aware of you and what you are doing, and saying. They understand English."
"So …they are not?" Owen fished.
"The last ones I met spoke Welsh." Jack snorted, "They were about three hundred years old, elders of their pack and we had to have an interpreter as my Welsh sucks. I did pick up 'cute' and 'arse' though. Those words I did recognise."
The creature huffed softly and Owen turned back to regard it.
"Right then. I'm Owen and I know you need a name so we'll have to pick one for you!" Owen told it, "First let's get you cleaned up so I can so some real work. You're fucking filthy."
Owen was gentler than Jack had expected and he helped the doctor wash the creature and dry its fur which was not a matt black like first thought but actually charcoal with shots of silver like tiger stripes.
"Well, that's pretty" Owen grinned, "A tiger."
"Pinstripes" Jack whispered as his hands smoothed over the fur, "I would never have picked you for a pinstripe kinda guy. Nice. This splash of red under your chin a red tie?"
The creature drew his head back and stared at Jack for a while, then snorted as it watched Owen reach out with clippers, a growl starting.
"I have to shave the area, you need a cast and …"
"Owen. You can't take his fur" Jack warned, "They are particular about that. Can you just bandage before you cast?"
"It's gonna itch like a bitch!" Owen snorted then balked as two piercingly storm-grey eyes bored into him with teeth now displayed with peeled back teeth framing them.
"He wasn't calling you a bitch, he was referring to the itch you will suffer" Jack laughed softly, "You are easily ruffled."
The creature settled as Owen gently wrapped the leg and then looked into its face, "Well. If you can understand you need to know that this is gonna hurt, I need to manipulate the leg. It's not gonna be perfect but it will bring it into line before I apply the cast. OK?"
Owen waited for some sign but the creature continued to stare silently back, so he nodded to Jack who gently embraced the large creature as Owen yanked and apart from a yelp, there was no reaction.
Owen used a bright pink cast, covering the limp from hip to paw, then as it hardened he pulled the bandage at either end down over it so the edges would be soft. Another scan to show the bone was in place still, then Owen nodded happily.
"There ya go bud" he said softly, "A few days and we'll check how it's going."
"Right, come on" Jack lifted the creature with a soft groan, "Let's find you somewhere to rest."
"I have a cell ready" Suzie called over the railing and Jack looked up, screwing his face up.
"I was thinking of the hothouse" he called back, "They like warmth."
And so he found himself in bedding made of duvets and blankets under a table in a hothouse full of exotic plants.
In Torchwood.
Again.
Ianto was terrified.
