Alone in the cells except for two Weevils and the new alien, Jack sat on a small stool and studied the newest creature. It sat quietly and stared him out.
"What are you?" Jack whispered. "Come on Violet, tell me what you are. Where are you from?"
He could see a pain in its eyes, as though Violet had experienced a life of neglect. He knelt closer to the glass.
"You're scared, aren't you?"
Violet studied him, head cocked to one side. It let out a small moan, almost in agreement. Jack smiled.
"Well, you're safe here, Vi."
"Oh, my God, you didn't actually name it Violet, did you?" Becky appeared from the doorway and sat behind Jack, who leant back against her and smiled.
"I thought Pansy was too sissy" he grinned. Becky laughed as he got up and pulled her to her feet. "But just look in her eyes and tell me what you think." he continued. Becky bent down and did so.
"She looks…she looks so sad. Like she's terrified of everything that's going on around her." She paused. "Hang on, did I just refer to her as a she? We don't even know if it's male or female." Becky shook her head exasperatedly.
"You don't think she's a she?"
"I don't know!" Becky followed Jack out of the cells and let him lead her down a few corridors she had not seen since joining the Torchwood team. They entered a door that led to a room that looked almost like a tunnel. There was a table at one end, where Gwen was setting out a selection of guns and weapons. She smiled as she saw them walk through.
"All yours" she said, handing them each a pair of safety goggles before walking away. "I'll leave you to it. You'll enjoy this, Becky." She gave them a cheery wave and left the room.
"What's all this about?" Becky asked curiously as Jack strapped a pair of earmuffs over her head and checked the goggles covered the sides of her face.
"I hope you don't have to use these, but you need to be prepared" Jack explained, raising his voice slightly as he put on his own earmuffs. "I'm going to train you how to use different types of gun."
"Wow…I don't…wow!" Becky started to laugh in disbelief. "Can I just do one thing first?"
Jack nodded and watched as she took a folded picture from her jeans pocket and stabbed it to the head of one of the targets with a hair grip she pulled out from under her earmuffs. Tucking the loose hair behind her ear, she then turned to Jack and grinned.
"Picture of an ex" she said, answering Jack's unasked question. "First he cheated, then he got my fifteen year old sister pregnant. She was eight months gone when she…well, I hate that bastard anyway. This should be fun." She smiled.
"You know, you do frighten me just a little bit." Jack laughed and handed her the smallest pistol. He stood behind her as she faced the target side-on and supported her wrist in one of his strong hands. He placed his other hand on her shoulder and showed her how to aim properly.
"Now breathe…and gently pull the trigger when you're ready."
Becky exhaled slowly and fired the gun. She squealed when she realised she had managed to shoot the picture with her very first shot.
"That felt…amazing!" She laughed and performed a celebratory twirl. Jack grinned and handed her the next gun. As they worked their way through to the last weapon, Becky couldn't help but notice Jack was moving closer to her as he showed her the correct way to handle the guns. She could feel his warm breath tickle the back of her neck and his hand was placed lightly on her waist as he guided her body to the right angle for each revolver.
"Woah!" he suddenly exclaimed, grabbing her gun-wielding hand as he realised she wasn't gripping it tightly enough. Startled by his sudden movement, Becky accidentally pulled the trigger and dropped the gun. The bullet shot above the target and ricocheted off the ceiling back towards them. Jack pulled Becky aside as it whistled towards her and gripped her tightly from behind as it hit the table next to them. She stared at the spot the bullet hit and grasped Jack's hands tightly as he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the back of her head.
"I think that's enough training for today, don't you?" he commented weakly. "You almost…I mean, you could have…"
"Died?"
"Yeah." Jack's grip on her waist tightened as he pulled her a little closer towards him. Becky took a deep breath and twisted her head to look him in the eye.
"Thanks Jack. If it wasn't for you I would have died."
"If it weren't for me you wouldn't have been in that position anyway" Jack said, his voice shaking slightly. He turned her around and gave her a proper hug before letting her go. She went to take the picture back off the target and laughed at the now battered face it portrayed. Jack looked at it over her shoulder.
"Well, we now know not to mess with you" he laughed. Becky giggled.
"I think it's a masterpiece, don't you?"
Jack smiled and took it out of Becky's grasp. He pinned it back to the target.
"I think we should leave it there. Little memento?"
Becky laughed and nodded. She removed her goggles and earmuffs and swept her hair back from her face, smiling as she realised Jack was watching her. He removed his own eye and ear protection and took her hand, leading her back to the centre of the Hub, where Owen was waiting next to the body of the man Jack had taken the black cube from. He looked up as they entered.
"How did the training go?" he asked. Jack and Becky looked at each other and smiled.
"Great!" Becky started to laugh. Owen raised his eyebrows.
"What's the verdict on our guy then?" Jack queried. Owen smiled a little as he spoke.
"Definitely dead. That cube messed with his brain though. I think he must have got addicted to it. But other than that, nothing out of the ordinary."
Jack nodded as Becky leant picked up the wallet lying on the table.
"Peter Jackson" she read as she flicked it open. "25 years old, pictures of his girlfriend by the looks of it…he had a girlfriend?"
Jack took the picture from Becky and looked at it. He raised his eyebrows.
"OK, what the hell did she see in him? She's a good looking gal."
Owen shrugged as Becky gave Jack a stern look. He raised his hands in protest.
"I only said she was attractive!"
Becky laughed and put the wallet down. Owen jumped as David Walliams' voice suddenly screamed from Peter's trouser pocket.
"I'm a lady!"
"God that was an awful impression" Tosh called from the computer station. "Was that you, Owen?"
"No it bloody wasn't!" Owen shouted back as both Becky and Jack burst into fits of laughter. "It's a text on Jackson's phone." He reached for the mobile and read out the text. "Babes, made huge mistake when broke up, would like to come over tonight, that OK?"
"I'm guessing that's the girlfriend?" Becky asked.
"Someone called Sarah, I'm guessing it was an ex-girlfriend." Owen replied. "Should we text back?"
"And say what? Sorry to tell you, your ex died from alien technology addiction?" Becky raised her eyebrows and Jack smirked.
"I would just ignore it, Owen. She'll think he doesn't care, she'll cry for a bit, then move on" he said.
"Rather insensitive" Becky noted. "But, I suppose, if the other option is breaking her already broken heart, then it might be the best thing to do." Owen nodded in agreement as Becky sighed. Jack put his arm around her.
"Hey, nobody said this job was an easy one."
"No, just dangerous and life-threatening." Becky laughed. Jack smiled and squeezed her shoulder.
"Still. Life doesn't stop just because a few hearts get broken along the way. Life needs to be lived, otherwise-"
"It doesn't have a point" Becky finished. Jack nodded.
"You're catching on" he grinned.