Chapter Fourteen
For a minute, no one spoke. Finally, Owen opened his mouth. "First things first, Jack, and that's making sure that kid there's alright, even if she will be fine come mornin'."
Jack nodded and carefully picked Trace up before allowing Owen to lead him down to the autopsy bay.
Once they reached the bottom, the medic went to put on gloves while Jack cautiously set the girl down on the table. Jack then brushed some of the short hair out of her face, and sighed, wondering what he had gotten himself into.
Owen, armed with some supplies, turned around and got to work cleaning up the wounds and, at the very least, bandaging them.
Meanwhile, up in the main part of the Hub, the girls went back to their previous tasks, thoroughly distracted, while Ianto headed to the coffee machine knowing everyone was in need of caffeine.
A couple of minutes later, Ianto headed down the steps and set two mugs of the steaming liquid down. He stepped over to where Jack was standing and put his hand on the man's shoulder.
The Captain instantly leaned into the touch and Ianto let him, whispering gently to the older man that there is an empty storage room not too far off the main area that could be cleaned out and used as a room for the girl, provided they get some furniture.
Jack, still staring at the child's face, nodded and quietly replied, "Tomorrow."
After about ten tense minutes, Owen stepped back and said, "Finished. Just gotta sleep off the sedative now." Jack stood up straight and moved to pick Trace up again.
Armed with his daughter, the immortal slowly made his way up to his office, Ianto trailing behind him with his cup of coffee.
With the Welshman's help, Jack managed to get the teenager down into his bunk, where he placed her on his bed and covered her with a blanket.
Vaguely aware of Ianto heading back up the ladder, the Captain just stood there for what felt like hours (but in reality was just a few minutes), watching Trace sleep. His mind could not process what had just taken place and the man had absolutely no clue what would happen once she woke up.
Finally, Jack sighed and headed up the ladder himself, only to be greeted by Ianto and his still-warm coffee. Grabbing the mug, he plopped himself down into his chair and took a long sip, suddenly exhausted.
Ianto gave his leader a minute before answering his unvoiced question. "First thing's first, sir. You must legally become Trace's guardian. To do that, you will have to fill out forms, and please don't groan.
"You will also need to notify her school of the change and of the change of her contact information. I will clean out that storage room, but you will need to get furniture to fill it with. Not to mention the fact that you will have to buy actual food to stock the kitchen with and lay down some ground rules with her."
Jack looked up at his faithful employee and took another sip of the amazing coffee before sarcastically asking, "Anything else?"
Sighing, Ianto once again calmed his boss's nerves. "Sir, you can do this. I know you can. I've watched you survive so many things, not to mention read about many others. She is just a teenage girl. If you could handle everything else thrown at you so far, you can survive this.
"Remember, as mad as she may be, she came to you. Consciously or not, she ended up here at the Hub with you, sir. Whenever things feel overwhelming, just remember that. Don't worry about the school or the room; I will handle those things.
"All you need to do is speak with her, sir, when she wakes up. Just remember that she is a human being with her own feelings and you'll do fine. I know you will, sir."
The immortal sighed before asking how many times he was going to call him sir. Instead of waiting for an answer, Jack sighed again and told the younger man to let the team know they could all go home for the night.
He watched as Ianto shook his head softly and left. Once the Hub was as silent as it could get, he let his head fall to the desk and promptly fell asleep.
The next morning, Jack was rudely awoken by the alarms on the cog door going off. Rubbing his eyes, he made his way out of the office, only to be greeted by the sight of Ianto laden down by a bunch of bags.
Quirking his eyebrow, he asked what all that stuff was. "Food, refrigerated and not, some bottled drinks, and some paper plates and plastic cups and silverware as you are not well-stocked in any of these things," came the Welshman's reply.
"Don't worry, sir, I've got it," Ianto continued sardonically, which caused Jack to jump into action, grabbing a couple of the bags. Relieved of some of the load, Ianto lead his boss into the kitchen.
Once they set the bags down, the younger man made himself busy putting everything in its proper place while his companion watched with a small grin on his face.
Meanwhile, down in Jack's bunker, Trace woke up. Feeling very groggy, she wondered for a minute where the hell she was while rubbing her eyes.
Looking around, her gaze landed on some clothes hanging up on the other side of the tiny room. Recognizing them to be what the Captain always wore, the teenager realized that this must be her father's room, if one could even call it that.
Still a bit groggy, she soon saw the ladder leading up and out. Wanting to be anywhere but here, Trace jumped out of bed before grabbing onto the nearest things to regain her balance. The girl rolled her shoulders, feeling a bit sore, when her eyes caught sight of some slightly bloodied bandages.
Curious, she carefully removed the dressings, only to find soft, smooth skin underneath. Shrugging, she dropped them on the floor and made her way up the ladder. Once she climbed out, Trace almost let out a groan, realizing that she was now in an office.
This place is like a bloody maze, she thought to herself before looking out the window. Seeing the main area of the Hub, and taking note that it was empty, the girl cautiously made her way down the stairs.
When she reached the bottom, Trace heard voices. The first she instantly recognized as Jack's, the other sounded kind of like that well-dressed fellow's. Looking around, she let out a quiet sigh, knowing there was no real escape.
If she remembered correctly, the cog door let off an alarm and the lift only worked with the Captain's wrist strap. After a minute, she made up her mind about what to do: she was going to risk the cog door.
However, as she walked towards it, it ended up opening to reveal a very early Owen.
Owen had decided to go into work early that day because, although he would never admit this to anyone, he was worried about that teenage girl and Jack. So, to see her standing there looking completely fine was a huge relief.
The medic didn't want her to know that he had been worried, so upon looking around to see no one else in the main part, he plastered a smirk on his face. "Does Daddy know you're awake yet?"
He realized he hit a still very sore nerve at the look on the kid's face. It was too late to do anything anyway, as Ianto and Jack chose that moment to leave the kitchen. "He does now," Owen said, causing the girl to whirl around.
That proved to be a bad idea when Trace got dizzy. She brought one hand to her head and flung the other arm out to try and steady herself. All three men moved to help her, but Ianto pulled himself back, choosing to stay out of whatever was to come next.
Jack went to grab the arm that was swinging in the air while Owen took the one at her head and put his other hand on her hip to help balance the girl.
Trace glared at the two and Ianto, deciding he definitely did not want to be a part of this mess, excused himself, saying that he had some calls to make.