A/N: This is just a few scribblings I've been working on. As always, they're mostly not mine.

Sal Taylor was staring out at the bay, a slight frown upon her face. She was standing at the railing on the edge of the pier, wind whipping at her dress. As Sal pulled her coat tighter around herself, she shivered slightly. Even in summer, Cardiff was cold.

A young man walked up and stood next to Sal. "Hey."

Sal jumped slightly, startled. She snapped her head around to look at the intruder, and relaxed. "Oh, it's you."

The man rolled his eyes. "No need to sound so excited."

Embarrassed, Sal blushed. "Sorry. It's just I wasn't quite expecting anyone to be out here."

"Yeah, well, this is Cardiff. Weird shit happens. Like, for example, people standing outside in five degree weather in the middle of the night." The young man grinned at Sal, a the corners of his eyes crinkling mischievously.

Sal didn't return the smile. Instead, she turned back to the ocean. The events of the last few hours were still too fresh in her mind to look her friend in the eye.

The man's grin faded as he studied his companion. She looked worn and fragile, her shoulders slumped out of her normally impeccable posture. Her wavy red hair had fell from it's neat bun and was now all mussed and frizzy from the wind and the rain. "Hey," he said softly, resting a hand on her shoulder, "you alright?"

Sal snorted derisively. "Oh, peachy keen."

The man gripped her shoulder. "Don't give me that." He spun Sal around to face him, his free hand cupping her chin and bringing her face up so he could look her in the eye. "You saw some sick shit go down today. You can't just keep all that inside you."

The fragile young woman did her best to avoid her friend's gaze. "No. Owen, I just..." she trailed off, biting her lip. She began to tremble slightly. "It was just so terrible." Sal's voice cracked, and any semblance of composure she had been clinging to went out the window.

"I know, love. I know." Owen pulled his friend into a hug, stroking her soft hair. He had been in her place once. His third day on the job there had been an explosion on the Severn Bridge, some sort of alien car bomb. It had vaporized the immediate victims, but those further away were stripped of all their skin. He had seen some horrible things while working in the A&E, but that bomb had beat them all.

Sal's began crying in earnest now, sobs wracking her small frame. Her tears were soaking Owen's jacket, but he didn't seem to mind. He just held her until her tears stopped, and Sal let him. She had only known the man for a few weeks, but they had become fast friends. He was the one who gave her the grand tour on her first day, who had shown her the ropes. He was the one who took her out for a drink after her first alien encounter, and the one who defended her when she screwed up.

When Sal's sobs finally subsided, she pulled back from Owen's embrace. She began wiping the tears off her face with her sleeve, but Owen stopped her. He pulled a hanky from his jacket pocket and wiped her face, then put it over her nose.

"Blow." He ordered, as if Sal was a small child.

She obeyed, and Owen crumpled the dirty tissue and threw it in a nearby bin. "God, that was embarrassing." The young woman buried her face in her hands.

"Not at all. Jack did that for me, my first breakdown."

Sal giggled at the thought of their tough Captain acting like a concerned father. "No! He's so..." she struggled for the right adjective.

"Detached? Yeah. I was pretty surprised. But he can be quite sweet, when he's in the mood."

"Hm." Sal returned to staring at the ocean, biting her lip again. "Owen?"

"Yeah, babes?" The older man looked down at his friends' uncertain face.

"Would you..." Sal trailed off uncertainly, then cleared her throat and began again. "Would you walk me to me car?"

Owen smiled warmly, a rare look for him. "Of course. Can't have you getting eaten by a weevil or nothing."

Sal smiled. "Thanks. It's just, I don't really know the city that well still, and, you know..."

Owen chuckled. "No need to explain. I completely understand." He offered his arm out to her, like a gentleman in the old movies.

Sal smiled and took it, and the pair began walking back towards the street.

As the walked, Owen started up the conversation again. "So, I've been meaning to ask. Is Sal short for anything? It's kind of a weird name." He realized he sounded a bit rude and hurriedly added "Not in a bad way or anything, just in a you-don't-hear-that-often kind of way."

The woman grinned at her friend's fluster. "No offense taken. But yeah, it's short for Salinda."

Owen raised an eyebrow.

Sal smiled crookedly. "Yeah, I know. My parents were weird. And I guess that could be shortened to Sally, but no one ever called me that, so I just kind of stuck with Sal- it's what my older brother used to call me when we were little."

"Ah. But your name is seriously Salinda?"

"Unfortunately."

"Is it a family name? Cause I can't see anyone naming their kid 'Salinda' just out of the blue."

Sal led the pair around the corner. "Well, my mum had this thing for this old film star, and her name was Sarah, but my da wanted me named after his grandmother, Linda, so they just stuck the two together and got Salinda."

"No offense, but that's nutters." Owen shook his head, greatly amused.

"Yeah, I know." Sal stopped at her car, a silver hatchback.

Owen snorted. "That is such a girly car."

"Hey!" Sal protested. "It's a really good car. Everything fits in the Fit." Sal patted her car affectionately.

Owen rolled his eyes. "I bet it has a name, too."

"Actually, it doesn't yet. But now that you mention it, maybe I'll start calling it Owen." Sal smiled at her workmate and unlocked the doors.

"Shut up." Owen grinned at the younger woman.

"You're just jealous." Sal threw her bag in the backseat and opened the driver's door.

"Yeah, that's it." Owen chuckled, then sobered up. "You'll be okay?"

Sal shrugged resignedly, looking at the ground. "I've got to do, haven't I? It's the job." She exhaled slowly, then looked up at Owen. "Thank you."

"Anytime." Owen reached out and pulled her into a hug. "Anytime." He repeated, kissing her on top of her head.