44

"So… shit" Gwen said as she sat at the table with her cuppa, watching the poor woman on the floor with one of the red headed kids colouring-in.

"Yeah. We went through her stuff and found her passport and some money. Jack is beside himself with anger but I feel a little numb to be honest. From what I can work out, her mother died and her step-father packed her up and drove her here, dumped her at the bridge and told her to go inside and play, and then drove off" Ianto nodded.

Gwen's face drained of colour as she stared at him "What?"

"Yeah. She's twenty three with what seems to be the mental age of six? Seven? I have sent out a mass-email to all my contacts in the hopes that one of them recognizes her. Poor little bugger. She is confused, was here for at least one night out in the dark and she does not understand that he had abandoned her. She thinks it is like… a summer camp or something." Ianto shook his head sadly.

"Bastard" Gwen snarled.

"Well, he will be a sorry bastard when we find him" Jack said as he landed in a chair and the woman looked up from her colouring-in to light up and rush for his lap. Jack grunted as she landed and then smiled as he cuddled her and she sighed heavily as he said "Hello princess."

"Well, I shall put out feelers too" she rose and accepted the photocopies of paperwork Ianto had found in her suitcase, such as it was.

He did not tell her not to worry, he already had many feelers out too... many Hoodlum eyeballs on the problem and come hell or high water, that stepfather would come to rue the day he treated his beloved daughter like a unwanted puppy.

The new problem was what to do with her. Angel was throwing glances over now and then which told Ianto that she was more than slightly jealous of all the Daddy Jack cuddles happening over there and really another one in the house might be a bit much. If she got it in her head to try Ton's lap there might be a murder in paradise.

Time to ask around and see who might like a boarder/child of their own. He knew there would likely be a Biddy who would love to have someone to fuss over that did not yell 'Tallyho' and drive off once the cookies were gone.

Dawn needed another mama.

Fast.