"Welcome to Earth, Jenny."
"Thanks!"
There was something about this girl, this Jenny, that had Aliya taking an instant liking to her. She was just so cheerful, and open, in a way that was very refreshing after spending time with the overly cynical Torchwood group (and yes, Aliya was including herself).
Jack cleared his throat. "Now, we do kind of have this policy for offworlders claiming to come in peace, where we require a physiology scan and for you to answer a few more of our questions."
Jenny looked confused. "Why?"
"Because we don't know if you're telling the truth!" Rex said, like it was obvious.
"But I am!" Jenny paused, then sighed. "You lot are more like soldiers than I thought. I suppose it's fair enough, though."
"We're the only defence Earth really has, so we like to be careful who we let roam free," Gwen said, and just before she finished her sentence, Jack had gotten behind Jenny and clamped some high tech binders on her wrists.
"Oi! I would have come with you!" Jenny protested.
Aliya frowned, holding back the instinct to jump forward and intervene. "Jack, is this really necessary?" He had the decency to shoot both her and Jenny apologetic glances but didn't release the latter.
"Sorry, aliens are getting too good at lying, we can't risk it."
They set up a perception filter to hide the spaceship from anyone who might come looking for it, and piled back into the SUV. Aliya made sure to stick close to the newcomer who clearly wasn't receiving the welcome she had been expecting.
"For what it's worth, I believe you," she told Jenny, who looked at her with relief, "Unfortunately, I don't have much authority here. But I won't let them do anything to you, it should just be a scan."
Jenny grinned despite her predicament. "Thanks. I'm not too worried, I've been in worse situations than this. And anyway, I know I've got nothing to hide."
"I know."
"How?"
Aliya chuckled. "Alright, I don't know, but you just seem...familiar, somehow. It's stupid really, since I know that I've never seen you before."
"Nope, definitely not met you before."
"Well, my name's Aliya," the Time Lady said, almost reaching out her hand for shaking before realising the girl couldn't, and wondering when the human greeting convention had become so normal for her. She settled for patting Jenny on the shoulder instead.
"Nice to meet you, Aliya."
The physiology scan didn't take very long, and while they waited for the results, Jenny was to be interrogated. After reasoning with Jack and the team that as the alien expert it made sense for her to interrogate Jenny so that the girl didn't feel too much as if she were under attack, with surprising support from Marion, Aliya had led Jenny down into one of the interrogation rooms.
"So, you're here to look for your family?" Aliya prompted, and Jenny nodded earnestly.
"Well just my dad really, but yeah, that's the idea."
"Do you know where he is?"
"No, but I think he comes here sometimes. It's a long shot, but..." The blonde girl shrugged, obviously aware of the chances of her success.
Aliya could sympathise. "If it's the only lead you've got, then it's fair enough," she assured her. "But I can't help but be curious about your ship...are you aware that it's about 40 centuries out of its time?"
Jenny grinned. "Yeah, I was wondering if you lot might notice that." A moment later, a thoughtful frown took over her face. "Though I haven't seen many spaceships around, how did you know? You got the time exactly right. How could you know the workmanship of something in the future?"
Elusively, but with a smile, Aliya said, "Everyone has their secrets." She was sure to keep the volume at a level which was low enough that no one watching the security feed would hear it. "Where did you get the ship?"
Jenny's expression was impish. "I stole it." Then she seemed to think about it and corrected herself. "Well I borrowed it, I suppose I'll take it back if I can."
At that, Aliya had to laugh. "You remind me of someone I know."
"Someone good, hopefully?" Jenny joked.
"Someone very good." Aliya gently smiled at the thought of her best friend. "What I really meant was, that did you find that ship in the 21st century, or did you bring it here?"
"I guess I brought it here."
"How?"
"Saved the skin of an old Time Agent, convinced him to part with his vortex manipulator," Jenny explained rather proudly, "But it was old and not as reliable as it could be. I didn't want to risk jumping 40 centuries and 6 galaxies on it, so I wired it into the ship instead."
Aliya couldn't help but be impressed. "How did you know what to do?"
"I figured the ship out months ago, and the manipulator sort of just fit-"
They were at that moment interrupted by Marion, who leaned in around the door. "Jack wants you upstairs. Says that something in the bio scan might be of interest to you."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Aliya raised an eyebrow, only for Marion to shrug and roll her eyes.
"Take it up with him."
"What about Jenny?"
Marion say down in one of the other chairs. "I'll stay with her." She sent what seemed to be a genuine smile at Jenny, who hesitantly returned it.
Aliya hovered between them and the door before nodding and heading up the main Hub, a little surprised at Marion being amiable. When she saw everyone else at their computers and Jack absent, she shot a questioning glance at Esther, who silently indicated to the med bay.
Sure enough, Jack was in there, looking at an image projected against the usually blank stone wall. But the image itself forced her to do a double take.
"Jack, when the hell did you scan me?" She demanded as she eyed the two hearts imprinted on the blank humanoid form.
With a strange grin, he answered, "I didn't."
"I don't understand," Aliya said slowly, somehow feeling that she was about to be hit with a bombshell.
"This scan is Jenny's."
Her mouth fell open and for a moment all she could do was stand and stare at him.
Then she was at the computer, wordlessly flicking through all of the readings. Her eyes skimmed over the DNA, the chemical makeup, the binary vascular system, and the element which the computer couldn't properly measure or even identify, though she knew it to be artron energy. Her own hearts pounded against her rib cage like a pair of drums in her chest.
"That's not possible," she automatically said as she straightened to meet Jack's gaze, which was patient and confident. It was that confidence in his findings that forced her brain into action.
After that, it took less than two seconds for all the random pieces to click into place.
Two hearts. Gallifreyan physiology.
"I had a daughter...Jenny...a generated anomaly...she died, took a bullet for me and didn't regenerate. She wasn't even a day old."
"I'm Jenny."
"I'm looking for my family." - "...well, just my dad, really."
"Well, I suppose I borrowed it, I'll take it back if I can."
She had noticed and commented on the similarities between the two herself, but it had somehow never occurred to her, even though now the more she thought about it, there was something so Doctor about the girl there was no way she could be wrong.
Aliya stood, frozen, hand clapped over her mouth as the gravity of her realisation set in. "She's his daughter."
"Who's daughter?" It was obvious that he knew who she was implying, but didn't want to jump at what she was saying.
Aliya felt a strange manic energy fill her, like she couldn't breathe properly but wanted to run a marathon. A grin sprung up on her face. "His daughter, the Doctor's daughter! He told me about her, how she was grown from just a few cells from his hand. Only, he said that she had died the same day she was born. But...she's alive!"
"Are you sure?" Jack shared her excitement, his mild reservations not able to restrain his grin.
She nodded, laughing giddily. "It does fit perfectly. Because her physiology is undoubtedly Gallifreyan, but it also doesn't quite match up. There's no trace of any regeneration energy in her system, which means that she's never regenerated. But she has two hearts. She's from an older Gallifreyan bloodline, like me, we grow our second heart when we regenerate for the first time, which she hasn't done yet. But being an anomaly generated from progenation of a regenerated Time Lord...that could explain it."
"Well, that's great, isn't it?" Jack asked with a grin and she slowly smiled back, nodding. "I mean, now the universe has three Time Lords instead of two."
Aliya couldn't help but frown at his wording and correct it instantly. "She's not exactly a Time Lord. Gallifreyan, yes, but a Time Lord is someone who looked into the Untempered Schism and saw the Time Vortex itself, someone who studied a code of knowledge and chose a title for themselves. She has Time Lord physiology, but she isn't one, and with Gallifrey gone, she won't ever be."
Jack lifted an eyebrow at how adamantly she had spoken. "Well whatever she is, you're the closest thing she has to a kinswoman."
"I am her kinswoman. And since she's obviously no longer a threat, we can take those binders off of her and let her either go on her way or stay with me." Aliya could already feel her maternal instinct rising within her as she thought about the girl in the lower levels.
"If she's the Doctor's daughter, she's welcome here," he agreed, "Might as well tell her the good news."
Practically running, Aliya dashed back to where Jenny was and found the blonde girl deep in discussion with Marion about other worlds. What was surprising was how raptly the latter was listening. Aliya hovered in the doorway and listened to Jenny recount one of her adventures with a passion that only her father could rival.
Perhaps...if she couldn't be around the Doctor, she could spend some time with his daughter.
Meanwhile, Marion was making earnest and curious inquiries until she realised that there was another person back in the room. Once she did, she quickly stood up and held herself in her usual proud way. "She's got some good stories," the dark haired woman said with a smirk before looking back at the blonde girl, "See you around, Princess." Smiling at Jenny, she walked out.
Aliya watched her go. "Princess?" She asked Jenny with amusement, and the girl just shrugged good-naturedly. "It's weird; she actually seems to like you. She doesn't really like anyone, and those are her own words."
"Really?" Jenny seemed genuinely surprised. "She was really nice."
"Well, nice is not a word I've seen applied to her before." The older of the two leant back against the door. "You know it's lucky that we took that scan. We might have let you walk out of here and have never seen you again."
"I don't understand," Jenny said, looking worried.
Stretching out her hand, Aliya offered her fellow Gallifreyan a gentle smile. "Don't worry, it's nothing bad. Quite the opposite. Come on, I want you to come outside with me so that we can talk without them watching."
"Why?"
"Because I know exactly who you are, and I want to help you."
Once they had ignored the stares of everyone in the Hub and taken the lift up to the Roald Dahl Pass, the two blondes walked to the wharf in silence until Jenny couldn't hold in her questions any longer. First she had been treated with suspicion, and now something in her biology scan had made them change their minds? Did they know about Time Lords? Did they know her dad? Could they help her find him?
"If you know who I am, does that mean you know my-"
"Father, yes," said the woman, Aliya, nodding.
Excitement began to build in Jenny's chest. Someone who knew her father, finally. After three years of searching and hearing all kinds of stories, some good and some immensely troubling, she had found a solid link. She could find him.
"How do you know him?"
A wry smile played on Aliya's lips. "He's...well...he's my best friend."
"Wait, really? That's great, though, isn't it? That means you know where he is!" Jenny grinned, only to falter when the other woman's expression became slightly bashful.
"Jenny, your dad didn't tell me much about you - mostly because he thinks you're dead and therefore doesn't like talking about it," she explained with a sigh. "He's lost a lot of people, I learnt a long time ago to not ask questions about people from his past."
The information wasn't surprising for Jenny, considering all that had happened on Messaline, her father hardly would have left her behind if he had thought she were alive. It didn't make it easier to hear, though.
"But I got the gist that you two only really knew each other for less than a day," Aliya continued.
"Two or three hours actually," Jenny admitted.
"That only reinforces my point," Aliya said, sighing, "Because there's something you have to understand about him. He's the Doctor -" Jenny didn't quite get why her father's peculiar name needed the emphasis she gave it, but was used to it after hearing so many stories told about him in the 61st century, "-which means that he's wonderful, and a hero." Her eyes were full of affection as she spoke, only for them to mellow out a little. "But he's a traveller in the fourth - and fifth - dimension. And pretty much the most difficult person in the universe in the universe to pin down."
"The fourth and fifth dimension...time and space, right? People knew a bit about it in the 61st century but I could just tell that they didn't really ..." Jenny trailed off and shrugged. Unexpectedly, the older woman laughed.
"Understand it? Of course not, they're only human," she said smugly.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Jenny knew that she herself wasn't human, but she'd never seen that as a reason for her to be more or less than them or anyone else. Yet this woman's tone suggested that humans were...inferior?
"Humans will never be able to do anything more than scratch the surface of comprehending anything greater than three dimensions." Aliya gave a tiny shrug. Jenny opened her mouth, but before her question could be released, she was interrupted. "And the reason that the concept is easier for you is because you're Gallifreyan."
"Is that my species?" Aliya nodded. "But my dad said he was a Time Lord."
"Time Lords are Gallifreyans, though not all Gallifreyans are Time Lords," Aliya explained, "You didn't go through any of the rituals that make one a Time Lord, but you are the daughter of one, so you are a Gallifreyan with Time Lord physiology. A would-be Time Lord."
"So which are you?"
"I'm a Time Lord. Well, Time Lady."
Jenny felt a little disappointed. Being different to her father and this woman who was his friend wasn't something she liked the idea of, not when they had been the only two people she was remotely similar to in the universe as far as she knew. "So we're not the same?"
As if knowing exactly what she was thinking, Aliya's expression softened and she reached out to put her hands on Jenny's shoulders. "We're the same in all the ways that matter."
Reassured, Jenny smiled hopefully. "So will you help me find my dad?" The older woman's face dropped a little as she slowly shook her head.
"I have absolutely no idea where he is," she began, and then gave Jenny a tight smile, "But he's coming back here to pick me up after - well, at some point. We just have to be patient."
"But how long will that take?"
"With him, it could be two days or half a year. But I talked to Jack and he said that you're welcome to stay here as long as you like. Torchwood could use another alien expert."
Jenny felt a new ripple of confusion. "Why would he trust me? He didn't look like he did before."
Aliya chuckled. "He knows the Doctor too. Which means he knows that no child of the Doctor's would have any intentions of harming anyone. Not unless it was under extreme circumstances, anyway."
A soldier would never assume something like that, Jenny's military voice told her, but it's nice to meet some people who are trusting. They're like Dad. They believe in me.
"And could you teach me?" Jenny asked bashfully. "About...our people? Your planet?"
"Gallifrey," Aliya said pointedly, smiling, "You were lucky to not have to grow up there."
The blonde girl frowned a little. "But you make it sound like something to be proud of."
A shadow crossed Aliya's face. "It may have bred some incredible individuals, like your father, but Gallifrey was corrupt, and vain, and in many ways was at fault for its own demise," she said darkly, and for the first time, Jenny saw a trace of the enormous age which she had once seen in her father. How long did Gallifreyans live for, if their eyes held so much?
"My dad said that they all died in a war."
"Same difference."
Confusion and horror rose in Jenny's chest. "I don't understand, how can you talk about your own people dying like you're happy about it?!"
"Happy?" Aliya bitterly laughed, eyes smouldering with indignance, "Collectively, they were pompous arseholes who were blinded by their own magnificence and were so terrified of the weakness of emotional attachments that they shamed anyone who dared have them. Lord knows they weren't particularly kind to me. I have no love for them. But...individually they were my family and my friends, and I can't stop mourning them." Her fingers touched her temples thoughtfully, as though she could hear them talking to her in her head.
Jenny felt sympathy for her older counterpart. "It must be hard. Not to mention confusing."
Aliya cracked a smile at that. "You can say that again. Just believe me when I say that you are lucky. You missed being screwed up by the whole thing, and you get to grow up away from their stupid society."
"You seem to be doing okay. Defending this planet and all," Jenny reminded, and succeeded in getting a proper smile out of Aliya.
"I suppose so," she laughed, "Just trying to be useful as a way to kill time. And Jack is good company. I...need more human friends. Well, more friends, period."
"Yeah, about Jack." Jenny was completely unsure what kind of answer she was going to get, but forced herself to ask the question which had been nagging at her since she had initially met the Torchwood team. "What's wrong with him? And the other blonde? They're just so..."
"Wrong? Unnatural?" Aliya guessed, and when Jenny answered in the affirmative, she nodded understandingly. Did she almost seem...proud?
"I couldn't explain it, but it's like I didn't even want to look at them, they just felt off," Jenny said earnestly.
"It's because you're time-sensitive. Due to several incidents I won't go into, mostly because I don't really know the details or want to, they're immortal. Truly immortal. That makes them a fixed point in time. That's never supposed to happen, not to a person. And we can sense it, just how wrong they are," Aliya explained with a sigh, "But trust me, it gets easier. It doesn't really bother me now, you just have to adjust and remind yourself to focus on the person instead."
"Being Gallifreyan seems complicated," Jenny said, grinning, "But I'm loving it."
"Good, because it's only going to get worse."
Once they returned, Jack was all too happy to accept Jenny as another addition of sorts to the team. They spent half an hour setting up fake documents for Jenny the same way they had for Aliya, and soon Alison Holmes had an official assistant in the form of Jenny Smith.
"If you're half as good as your dad, you'll be fine, Jenny," Jack assured her with a grin.
"Thanks." Jenny grinned back at him, and felt herself getting rather excited at the prospect of spending time working towards the greater good while getting to spend time with two people who knew her father very well. What could be better?
"So you're sticking around?"
Upon hearing Marion's voice when they returned to the centre of the Hub, both Aliya and Jenny started and spun around to find the medical doctor eyeing them with what appeared to be amusement.
"Yeah, I am," Jenny said, smiling a little, "That alright?"
"As long as you don't get in my way too much." The words were typical of Marion but - to Aliya's surprise - she was actually smiling at Jenny.
"I'll try not to. I think I'll mostly be in Aliya's way anyway."
"Jenny!"
At Jack's call, the young blonde gave a little wave and raced off. Once she was gone, Aliya glanced at Marion and narrowed her eyes.
"Look, I don't know what your game is, but I won't have you building Jenny up just so that you can pull her down," Aliya told her fiercely, already protective over her friend's daughter.
Marion's pleasant demeanour had vanished along with Jenny and was replaced with a cruel smirk. "You might find it hard to believe, Alibear-" The blonde glared at the nickname, "-but I actually like her. I have no intention of pulling her down or doing anything like that."
"You don't like anyone," Aliya argued indignantly, "You told me so yourself."
"Perhaps you're just jealous that she has my respect and you don't, and might I add that this attempt to argue with me is not helping your case in the slightest." The smirk on the human's face made Aliya draw herself up to her full height, her Time Lord pride inflating. Unfortunately, the other woman still had several inches on her.
"You know nothing about me, Marion. I don't need the opinion of someone so lacking in personal substance that she delights in being awful to the people around her, because it changes nothing about who I am," she spat. "I've done nothing to you, you have no reason to dislike me so much-"
Marion's expression darkened. "Firstly, I don't need a reason other than that you're pathetic and annoying and oh so fucking sanctimonious. And secondly, you know nothing about me, or anything." She stormed off back to the medbay, and as she did so, Aliya felt her shoulders deflate along with her good mood.
With a heavy sigh, Aliya sat at her desk and got back to her work in an attempt to block negative thoughts out.
"River! River! I made a thing!"
River Song looked up from her magazine to see her husband bounding into sight like an overexcited puppy. In his hands was a contraption that looked like...well she really couldn't come up with anything remotely similar.
"Lovely, sweetie," she said encouragingly, and then frowned a little, "But what does it actually do?"
He frowned at that, and scratched his cheek thoughtfully with his free hand. "Well, er, I dunno...why does it have to do anything?" His voice became defensive. "It doesn't have to do anything! Don't ruin my thing, River!" He pouted, and she had to sigh and shake her head at him. After opening her mouth to argue with him, she changed her mind and instead just went back to her magazine. His gaze could be felt, and she waited until he put down the contraption into her beach bag and sat down next to her.
"You finished?" She smiled at him, and a moment later he smiled back and shuffled closer to nuzzle against her side.
"Sorry, you know how it is, new contraptions, quite exciting." He grinned his childish grin again and at that she had to shut the magazine and lean on his shoulder.
"Yes, sweetie, I know," River assured him affectionately, "Believe me, I'm respecting the thing." At that he paused and looked down at her curiously.
"You haven't done the Byzantium yet, have you?" He asked, and she blankly shook her head.
"No, why?"
The Doctor smiled and let himself privately enjoy the irony of what she had said in relation of what he had once said - would say to her. "No reason."
His wife merely hummed contently and let the two of them lie back on the warm sand. They were in the Bahamas, or was it Hawaii? He couldn't remember, and it wasn't as if it particularly mattered. He was on a beautiful beach with his equally beautiful and bikini-clad wife. What could be better?
Several weeks later, when he met up with her on Selderon, they were taken in by the local authority for indecent exposure.
"This is all your fault," the Doctor grumbled, doing his best to be cross.
"How is it my fault?"
"Because you decided that the local forest was as good a place as any for a quick shag!"
River threw her magnificent head of hair back and laughed heartily at that. "I didn't hear you complaining, sweetie, on the contrary you seemed to very much agree with me after a bit of persuasion."
He frowned. "Yes, exactly, persuasion!" He pointed his finger at her accusingly. "You…you coerced me into this!"
"Oh really?" She lifted an eyebrow and slowly made her way towards him.
Seeing the way that her golden curls of hair caught the light as she passed the cell window, he gulped. "Yes. But it was still, er, very nice. Before we were interrupted."
River chuckled and sat in his lap, kissing him softly. Despite knowing that they weren't in the best place for romantic interludes, he let his hands loose themselves in her hair as he pulled her to him and kissed her back.
Jenny had very quickly taken to Captain Jack Harkness. Never in her three years of her life had she met somebody with his charisma, except for perhaps her father. But even then, the Doctor lacked Jack's flirtatious charm, being her father and all.
Although, Jack didn't flirt with her as much as he flirted with everyone else he met and interacted with. Mostly because he seemed to get more entertainment out of flirting with Aliya.
When she asked the Time Lady about it, she got the answer, "Jack doesn't flirt with you too much because he knows how much the Doctor would tear into him for it if he found out. I'm a safer bet, and closer to his age too. You are only three, after all."
Jenny puffed her chest out a little. "I'm not a child! I'll have you know I've done a lot of flirting in those three years, thanks."
"Compared to me and Jack, everyone here is a child, so don't take it personally," Aliya told her gently. "Now do you want to analyse the genetic make-up of a Whifferdill or not?"
And of course, she did.
"Try again," Aliya said patiently, and the blonde girl nodded before frowning in concentration.
"Hello, my name is Jenny," she said in slow, hesitant, but correct Gallifreyan, and Aliya grinned and clapped her hands.
"Good job, you just need speed and confidence, but that will come with time."
"It just sounds silly, because I am speaking in Gallifreyan, but then I just say 'Jenny'…it's not a very Gallifreyan name," Jenny sighed, and the other woman frowned for a moment, her racing thoughts almost audible.
"Hmm. I suppose I could give you a Gallifreyan name. I'm just not sure it's my place. That sort of thing really does fall to family, I should wait and let the Doctor do it," she said, and Jenny tried not to let her disappointment show. "Or...do you want one now?"
"I mean, yeah? It would be nice."
"Alright, well, it can always just be temporary, the Doctor can pick something different if he likes," Aliya said, biting her lip. "Now, you were called Jenny because of your being an anomaly, right? You were different, and a surprise to even exist?"
"I suppose, yeah," Jenny said unsurely.
"Then…Vismayari," Aliya murmured, and then looked at Jenny with bright, proud eyes. "How do you like that?"
"I…" The blonde girl was unsure. "I don't know. What does it mean?"
"Vismaya is a surprise, one that was thought to not be possible…and your grandmother was called Mariakanelyari, so it seems fitting for you to have a bit of her name," she explained with a nostalgic smile.
"My grandmother? So, Dad's mum? Did you know her?"
Aliya nodded. "She was your father's mother and a great friend and role model of mine. If you want to keep the name, though don't feel that you have to, you should be proud to share even a small part of the name of such a great woman."
"No, I like it. It seems…right. Vismayari," Jenny repeated the name and enjoyed how it felt flowing from her tongue. It resonated in her a little. "Thanks."
"I'll probably shorten it to Maya when we're talking in Gallifreyan, if you're not opposed to nicknames."
"No, that sounds good." Jenny grinned at her father's best friend and felt very glad that she had been lucky enough to find her. "Vismayari it is."
"What are they even doing?!"
Rex, as per usual when discussing anything to do with Aliya, was irritated, much to Esther's exasperation. But she wagered that the strong mutual dislike between Rex and Aliya was not something going to fixed easily - or indeed ever.
"Why does it concern you, Matheson?" Marion drawled as she and Gwen appeared next to the coffee machine they were standing around. It was a perfect spot to spy on the workstations, which was what they were doing, as Aliya and Jenny were sitting there, heads together and deep in discussion.
"Because I don't trust her."
Gwen's eyes widened. "Really, Rex?" She asked with mock surprise. "I never knew that." Esther and Marion laughed, for the Welshwoman's accent made the comment all the more amusing.
"Yeah, Rex, she may not like you either, but I'm pretty sure she at least trusts you a bit," Esther put in, but Rex just rolled his eyes.
"Do I look like I care what she thinks?"
"You actually seem to care a lot about what she is thinking about," Marion just smirked when he turned his glare onto her.
"I don't think I asked your opinion, Narke," he snapped.
She leaned in towards him, seizing him up for a moment before smiling antagonistically again. "Does anyone ever?" She asked, and with that turned away and started to make herself some coffee. Rex left out of apparent frustration, heading back to his desk.
After a slightly awkward silence, Gwen said, "Well I think it's nice that they're getting along so well. Alison, she's always been a little detached, you know? Except with Jack. But not with Jenny."
"I still don't think I'm entirely sure who this Jenny girl is," Esther mused as she shifted her gaze back to the other two blondes, who had once again gotten deep back into a discussion the others couldn't hear.
"A daughter of a mutual friend, Jack said," Gwen told her, "He's never been helpful with specifics. Unless it's..." She trailed off, as if something occurred to her. Although she looked somewhat enlightened, she quickly shut it off and acted as though nothing had changed. "But she must be good if she's being let in at her age."
"And Marion actually likes her," Esther said, still not quite believing it.
"You make it sound so surprising." Marion had appeared behind them again, and she gave them a rare grin. "I don't hate everybody, you know."
"No, you're just indifferent about everybody."
"Not everybody," Marion seemed surprisingly sincere as she spoke, glancing at Esther and holding her gaze, "Not you. I like you. I like Gwen. And now I like Jenny too."
Esther wasn't sure she had heard correctly and could only stare. "Wait, you like me?"
Marion's eyebrow lifted. "Is it really so hard to believe?"
"Uh...yeah, a little."
Marion's lips twitched, and she laughed to herself and walked away, towards the entrance to the lower levels. Esther and Gwen stared after her, still processing the new information. Something else occurred to Esther.
"Wait, does this mean that she doesn't like Jack?" She and Gwen shared confused looks. "Who doesn't like Jack?"
Both of them stared after their teammate, before Gwen shrugged and grinned. "Fancy that," she said, sounding pleasantly surprised and not half proud, "Somebody who doesn't like Jack likes us. How's that for a new development?"
Esther just laughed. "Well, when you put it like that, yeah. Go us, I guess."
