There had been a rift alert at 3am in the morning and the Torchwood team were now investigating the location. By Tosh's estimates, something had come through. So they were armed and ready for whatever had come through.
"Maybe we should split up, might be wiser" Owen suggested. "And faster" Ianto agreed. Jack glanced at the two men and nodded in agreement. Ianto had only been on field duty for a few months but he was getting along nicely after Jack had given him proper training, it didn't stop him from worrying about the young Welshman though.
"Ok. Tosh and Gwen, you take that side and me, Ianto and Owen will take this side. Need any help, contact us on the comms" Jack ordered. Everyone clear on their jobs, they split up.
Gwen and Tosh had been looking for about ten minutes when they both heard a rustling nearby in one of the bushes. "I'll get it out" Gwen whispered, pulling out her gun and starting to edge towards the bush with Tosh close behind.
"Be careful Gwen, whatever came through could be dangerous. Maybe we should get the others" Tosh advised, glancing around her a little nervously before shaking it off and becoming professional again. She was Torchwood, she couldn't be afraid.
Gwen nodded and moved around the bush, pointing her gun at the spot. "Alright! Out you come! We're not going to hurt you" she spoke clearly and calmly until she noticed what exactly had come through the rift and she gasped in surprise and shock.
"Oh my god! Tosh!" Gwen exclaimed before crouching down and moving a branch from the bush out of the way and spoke in a more gentler and kinder tone. "Hello. It's alright, we promise we're not going to hurt you. Aren't you the adorable one? Come on now" she soothed.
"What is it? A small animal…oh!" Tosh asked before stopping in her own surprise. Gwen looked up and gave her a small smile before pulling the frightened child into her arms. "She looks about four and she's not human. We need to get her back to the Hub where it's warm and check her over, feed her…." Gwen told her colleague as she rocked the shivering child gently.
"What makes you say she isn't human Gwen?" Tosh asked intrigued. Gwen careful not to make any sudden movements though the little one had settled against her, did the tiniest of gestures. "Her eyes, they just changed from a brown to a blue. Now normal children can't do that last time I looked" she chuckled lightly.
Tosh brought her hand to her comms and frowned as the child whimpered. "Oh no, its ok sweetheart. I'm just getting help. We're not scary, well Uncle Owen might be…just calm down. Shh." Tosh said quietly, soothingly. It was amazing how one small child could bring out the maternal instincts in both women, now they just hoped that the men would be calmer and not scare the child half to death, she looked like she was going to shatter into a thousand pieces anyway.
"Jack? You need to get here right away. Just try and not be too noisy. What we found is a little scared of loud noises" Tosh told him, nodding at Gwen as she moved her hand away from her comms. "They're on their way".
The men stood there not quite sure how to react when they saw the little girl. "We'll just throw her back through it" Owen suggested, gaining a glare from both girls and oddly, Jack.
"We're not throwing her back through it! She's an orphan, I'm going to take her back to my flat and look after her. I found her so she's my responsibility" Gwen told them. A tone that said that she had already reached a decision and that she wasn't going back on it. She was going to take care of the little alien girl.
"Gwen, I know you've grown attached. She is very cute but she's not human. You don't know how to take care of her and her family could be waiting for her on the other side. We can't keep her and how would you explain her to Rhys?" Jack sighed, trying to reason with the Welshwoman.
"As well as the obvious point of we can't have a child roaming around the Hub. Its too dangerous" Ianto joined in who had been very quiet at that point.
"I know that and I take full responsibility of Melody. Yes, I've named her, can't keep her calling her little girl can we?" Gwen started, giving Jack a look as he raised both eyebrows before continuing. "Rhys will be fine with it. Plus he loves children and to the whole her having family, what if they're dead or if they abandoned her. I'm not taking that chance, discussion closed!" she finished, standing up with the small child and heading towards the SUV.
"Ok, you win. We'll take her back to the Hub, get Owen to check her over, feed her and then you can take her back to yours after you've spoken to Rhys" Jack allowed. "Sit at the back Gwen! Last thing we need is her going through the windscreen" Owen added. "Guess we're installing a car seat?" Ianto asked Jack with an amused expression. "We'll see! I still think it's a bad idea" Jack shot back at his young lover.
