St. David's Dewi Sant Mall; Cardiff, Wales

Monday, September 16, 2019

John Hart felt ridiculous.

Late morning at the mall meant stay-at-home moms and childcare providers. A young girl peaked at him from around her mother's legs. He waved and she smiled shyly. The contemporary business clothes meant he blended and if anyone asked, he could explain why he wasn't at a job during any part of the day. Shopping for a child's present felt even stranger. After everything he'd experienced, being intimidated by a Disney store was embarrassing.

Ken eyed him as he walked into the store. His friend was even attractive in an Easter egg purple polo shirt, name tag, and black trousers.

"Can I help you?" Ken's eyes said he wasn't happy to see him at work. Or maybe he wasn't happy to see him at all.

"My friend's niece is sick. I need to find a get-well present."

"How old?" He sounded skeptical.

"Ten. She likes horses."

"Unicorns? Pegasus?"

He couldn't remember if she liked fantasy horses. "Arabians. Mustangs."

"Wrong store." He walked over to the counter and wrote something down. He named a nearby stores. "They have realistic figurines and videos about horseback riding."

John lowered his voice to a whisper. "Any suggestions where I might find a ride?"

"I'm at work."

John wondered what the problem was. Ken wasn't in the closet, and he wasn't making a scene. "Thanks."

Outside the store, he read the note. It recommended a store, and had two quick messages. No personal conversations at work. You didn't call me back.

John added a quick reminder to his phone. He hadn't called Ken back because he felt guilty. Then he forgot. The guilt was as ridiculous as feeling apprehensive about walking through a mall. He'd proposed less than two months ago, but the woman he loved was gone. She wouldn't have had a problem with him moving on, and wouldn't have expected him to wait.

Finding the store added to the stress. He was obligated to a child whose mother hated him. A simple present risked her wrath. He couldn't explain any of it to Ken which didn't help. He selected an Arabian figurine and a Clydesdale video. Gwen wouldn't approve. The idea of leaving it for Anwen to find so Jack could explain it appealed. John smiled at that.

Blodau Glas Academy

Anwen Williams entered school happy to be back. Another sick day and she was wondering if the side effects would ever go away. Wynne and Teleri walked over as she stowed her backpack. As expected, Wynne gave her a hug and Teleri eyed her.

"What's wrong this time?" Teleri was skeptical. She couldn't blame her friend. She'd been sick off and on since the ship in the Rift situation and all she could tell anyone was bad headaches. Which was true. But a ten year-old with headaches that bad sounded questionable. Especially since it was a new problem.

"I took your advice and listened to that new CD. I had a migraine all weekend."

"Are you all right?" Wynne asked.

"Yep." Eventually.

Teleri crossed her arms. "You'd tell us if you were skipping school."

"Yep."

A weird feeling started as she talked to them. At first, she wondered if it was another side effect. When she walked toward the water fountain, her wrist strap vibrated. Which she guessed meant contaminated water. No one looked sick. She tried checking it in the bathroom but the results didn't make sense. If she understood what it tried to tell her, and it was bad, she would contacted Uncle Jack for help. If she made the call, and was wrong, she'd not only look stupid, she would have wasted a lot of time. Jack might evacuate the school.

Frustrated, she realized she'd forgotten a book. She returned to her locker. The bell rang. She was late. Annoyed, she turned, intending to head to class. Another student was still in the hallway halfway down. He staggered and fell. Anwen ran. With no one looking, she crouched down next to him and opened her wrist strap. "Medical scan boy." She didn't know if that would work. She'd seen Jack use his except most of what he did was manual.

"Needs immediate medical attention."

"John Hart."

"Hey."

"I am next to a boy having trouble breathing. I think its an allergy. His neck and face are swollen. Can you tell?"

"Remote medscan range." Pause. "He's having a life-threatening allergy. Check his pockets for an injector pen or a syringe of some kind."

Anwen padded his pockets. After witnessing a heart attack at the mall last year, she'd asked her mother about basic first aid. They'd taken a class together. The information was coming back. "I have to inject his thigh?"

"Yeah. Through his pants."

"Its working."

"Get help. He needs an ambulance. The medication might wear off."

A door down the hall opened as she was closing her wrist strap. She yelled. Mrs. Sagona the librarian came running. Anwen quickly explained what happened.

"How did you know?"

"My mom works in law enforcement. Swollen face, swollen neck." Anwen realized at that moment she would have acted faster without having an option to ask for help.

Torchwood Three; Cardiff Wales

Gwen Cooper wondered at her life sometimes. Sitting in the conference room reviewing police reports was a relief. She needed something, anything, less stressful than her sick daughter and cranky husband. The mundane reports ranged helped. But added nothing to their investigation into Moss-Probert. With the witnesses smuggled out of the country by necessity, and the captors killed, they needed new information.

Jack stepped into the doorway with Ianto standing behind him. "Andy Davidson called."

Gwen looked up from her laptop. "Andy called you?"

"You told him Anwen was sick again on Saturday. He didn't if she was feeling better."

"When are we leaving?" She shut down her computer.

"Now."

Gwen's mobile rang as she followed Jack out. She wondered if Andy was calling until she checked the screen. It was her daughter's school. Her heart started racing. "Hello."

"Mrs. Williams?"

"Yes."

"I'm Jilly Whitley the school nurse at Blodau Glas. Your daughter is okay, but she had a rough morning." She explained. "Anwen insists she's okay. I think someone should pick her up."

"I need a bit to make arrangements."

"She's here in the nurse's office."

"Thank you."

Jack asked. "What happened?"

Gwen explained.

"I can go to the school," Ianto offered.

"Are you sure?" She'd asked him to babysit too many times already.

"Yep."

Jack lowered his voice. "He's afraid of field work."

"You can take my car. I'll call the school back."