"Well, you said that when you ask about Torchwood most people point towards the bay," Donovan said, nodding at the CCTV screen.
"Yeah but nobody actually shows up," Jack said, grinning. "He's persistent."
"Been there twenty minutes, now," Ianto said.
"By the Gods, we are not having that conversation again," Miranda snapped.
"What conversation?" Fish asked.
"The one we had before we hired you," Miranda said with an eye roll. "I will admit that Doctor MacDonald's initiative is commendable."
"Wonder why he just didn't call this time," Donovan said, thinking aloud.
"Don't know," Miranda said with a sigh. "Suppose I'll go up and talk to him."
"Well I'm not doing it," Gwen said from her workstation. "Despite what you lot say I'm not the recruitment officer."
"I'm not going to offer him a job, Gwen," Miranda said. "I'm just going to see what the bloody hell he's doing loitering on our front door."
"We should keep an eye on him, Will. Might be good to keep him in mind," Jack said with a shrug.
"Maybe we should both go?" Martha asked.
"Good idea. Let's go, Doctor Jones," Miranda said with a smile.
The two of them hopped up onto the invisible lift and rode it upwards. They stepped out of the perception filter and walked towards the pacing Cameron MacDonald. He looked relieved when he caught sight of both women.
"Good afternoon, Doctor MacDonald," Miranda said, brightly.
"Doctor Ryan… Doctor Jones," Cam said, with a slight nod.
"Doctor MacDonald," Martha said. She grinned, feeling like she was in the middle of some bad medical show.
"What brings you down to the bay?" Miranda asked. "The view is quite stunning."
"That girl's body… it just… It melted! Bodies don't just bloody melt!" Cam exclaimed. His voice had risen and he glanced about.
"A medical anomaly to be sure," Miranda said, tilting her head. "It was good to see you, Doctor MacDonald."
Martha and Miranda looked at each other. Cam wasn't here with new information, he was merely curious about the strangeness going on.
"I asked about you lot round the hospital," he shouted.
"Did you, now?" Martha asked.
"No one wants to say anything," Cam said, shaking his head. "They all say it like it's a curse - Bloody Torchwood."
"Is that why you are here, Doctor MacDonald? To discuss strange goings on and gossip?" Miranda asked.
Cam held out a piece of paper. "The hospital's trying to cover it up as a MRSA outbreak. I protested and they took my patients from me. When I started investigating on my own, they dismissed me. You've got to help!"
The hospital would continue to cooperate whether Cameron MacDonald was the doctor in charge of the cases or not. The fact that the hospital was creating the cover-up story for them was to their advantage. The two women admired Cam's devotion to his patients but there was no reason for them to insist the hospital reinstate him.
"There's nothing we can do, I'm sorry," Martha said.
"Not our department, Doctor MacDonald," Miranda said.
Neither woman had paid attention to the paper Cam was waving at them.
"You don't understand! This is why I flushed my bleeding medical career straight down the cludgie - to get this to you lot," he said, brandishing the paper again. "I stole it from Jake Oliver's chart. He's one of the nurses. He's in a coma. All the staff except for the nurse with the needle puncture are in comas. I don't care about that sodding job. I care about these people! A whole family is dead!"
Miranda took the paper from Cam and read it quickly, Martha looking over her shoulder. "Staph. aureus in the blood cultures? We know that already."
"No! Keep reading!" he said, pointing at the bottom of the page.
Miranda read aloud. "Analysis of a poorly stained sample revealed possible secondary bacteria, rod-like with no stain-uptake…"
"They dismissed it as sample contamination," Cam said.
"Can you get us the sample they used?" Martha asked. "The particular slide?"
"No, I told you, I've been dismissed. Everything is locked away in the hazardous section of the lab," he said, shaking his head. "It's an old report. I nicked it."
"Thank you for your assistance, Doctor MacDonald," Miranda said as she and Martha walked away.
"Hey!" Cam shouted, jogging after them. "Oi! I'm not done here!"
Miranda whispered to Martha who continued to head for the invisible lift. Miranda turned and blocked Cam's path. "Doctor MacDonald, your zeal and compassion are commendable. You clearly care for your patients and I am sorry about your job-"
"I told you already, I don't give a damn about my bleeding job," Cam snapped. "Look, I'm sorry about what I said the last time we met. I don't know who you lot are and I don't give a damn but there's something big on here… something more and I need to know what it is!"
"Go home to Glasgow, Doctor MacDonald," Miranda said, turning. "There is nothing for you here."
Cam grabbed her arm. "Is that your final word on it, Doctor Ryan?"
"That is entirely up to you. Good day," Miranda said, turning towards the invisible lift.
Cam let out a frustrated grunt and punched at the air, angrily. He whirled, his hands on his hips, shaking his head. He turned and started to walk in the direction Miranda had gone with his head down. Bloody insufferable woman…
"Wait a minute there, lass…" he trailed off. Miranda was gone. She's vanished into thin air! He ran back and forth across the Plass looking every which way but her and the other woman had vanished!
Go home to Glasgow… she'd said.
Cameron MacDonald had come back to Cardiff a few years ago hoping to find answers to questions about his own life but he'd found nothing. He'd been in this city for years now and all he'd found was more strange goings on and more questions. Cam heaved out a sigh and decided losing his job was a sign, the final straw maybe. He decided to follow Miranda's advice and head for Glasgow.