Emily walked out of Jack's office feeling hopeful, a feeling she hadn't felt for so long that she forgot how good it felt. Her temporary euphoria however disappeared quickly when she spotted Gwen and Owen, waiting at the base of the stairs, talking in hushed voices. As soon as they saw her come out, they quietened. They had ambushed her.
"So, uh, Emily," Owen started casually. "Feeling better, I see?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow at her. Gwen stood beside him, feigning innocence.
She scowled as she made her way towards them, brushing past Gwen and throwing her an accusing glance.
"But seriously," Owen grabbed her arm and tugged her back gently. "There's no shame in asking for help..." As he spoke, he moved his other hand to her side, where her broken ribs were, and pressed lightly, expecting her to wince and give in to his doctoring. Instead, she fell to her knees, clutching her sides and let out a whimper. The sharp stabs of pain Owen's prodding had sent through her were as much as she could take.
"Shit-" Owen attempted to grab her as she fell, but she slipped through his grasp and soon rocked back against the railing, her eyes shut tightly and her features twisted in pain. "Emily, I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was that bad..." He put his arms around her shoulders and hoisted her into a standing position, before leaning down and scooping her legs up so that he carried her full weight. He expected her to protest, but instead her hand clasped onto his shirt sleeve, her knuckles pale from straining. Although he didn't know her well, he knew that she must be really suffering to give in so easily.
Gwen had stood back, unsure of what to do. "Owen, is there anything I can-" she began, her voice riddled with worry.
"Emily! What's happened-"
"Owen? Is she ok-?"
The rest of the team began appearing, questioning and fussing loudly.
"Everyone shut up!" He interjected, stopping them all mid-sentence. "She's going to be fine, now please just all keep your distance!" He called rather harshly. He carried her down into the med bay, arms still tightly wrapped around her, but making sure to avoid her ribs. He laid her down gently on the autopsy table, putting a small pillow under her head. Her hand was still clenched onto his shirt, unwilling to let go so he had to pry her fingers loose.
Emily drifted in a state that wasn't quite consciousness, but not as close to unconsciousness as she would have liked. Though she tried not to focus on it, she could still feel the sharp pain radiating through her body. She could hear the others arguing above her, their voices all becoming a blur.
"Emily?" One particular voice, with a strong Londoner accent, pierced through the din. "Emily, can you open your eyes for me?" The voice asked. She recognised that voice, but not the kind, polite tone that accompanied it. A hand tapped lightly against her cheek. "Come on, open your eyes please," The voice pleaded with her. She supposed she had better do what the voice wanted, after all, it sounded kind. She opened her eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the bright lighting. She saw Owen standing over her, looking down at her. "That's it." He praised her. She realised that the kind voice had been Owen. Snarky, rude, Owen. Gwen had said earlier that he took his job very seriously after all. She'd probably get his cheek later on.
Owen lifted each of her eyelids in turn and shone a penlight into her eyes, brow furrowed in concentration as he watched her pupils shrink. Pulling out a stethoscope, he moved it over both sides of her chest, listening to both of her hearts.
All the while, Emily just followed his movements with her eyes, expressionless. She felt exposed, lying there flat on a table whilst Owen worked over her. But she was too weak and in too much pain to complain.
Finally, Owen took out an alien body scanner, sweeping it over her prone form. As the results flashed upon the screen, Owen let out a low whistle.
"What is it?" Jack asked, standing in the area that overlooked the med-bay.
"Her muscle tissue is all inflamed, stomach lining is swollen and the broken ribs are actually beginning to crack apart more... She had to have been in a lot of pain." Owen looked down to where she was laying, still unmoving. "You should have said something." He said, voice slightly scolding.
Emily groaned. "Didn't want to... Appear weak..." She panted, her face screwing up in pain again.
"Okay, it's okay, don't worry about it," Owen soothed, reaching out and grabbing a syringe off a nearby tray. He pulled the cap off the hypodermic needle, injecting the contents quickly into the vein in her arm.
She flinched a little, apparently taken by surprise. "W-what is-" she began, frowning as she watched the plunger of the syringe being depressed.
"Shh..." Owen quietened her. "It's just morphine. It should give you a chance to sleep." He reached out a hand and stroked her hair soothingly as the drug began to take effect. Her eyelids drooped and her breathing slowed, until she dropped into a painless sleep.
"Wow, Owen. I didn't know you were capable of such kindness." Jack said with mock surprise. He had always known Owen was a softie deep down.
"Piss off, Harkness. I can be nice when I want to." Owen grumbled, tossing the needle into a sharps bin.
"Lucky me, I got to see the nice Owen for once." Jack replied cheekily, purposely trying to provoke him.
Owen scowled. "Help me move her into that spare bedroom. She is staying there, I assume?"
Jack nodded as he bounded down the stairs to the med bay. "Not a good first day for her... Then again, no one has a good first day at Torchwood."
She dangled her legs over the small balcony that overlooked her father's workspace, watching him work. She loved watching him tinker with all his inventions.
"So," she asked in a cheerful tone, gazing behind him at the large metal pod he was working on, "What are you making this time?"
Her father, who had been scrutinising the small metal objects he held, looked up at her with a serious expression."Uh... It's just another one of my useless little projects..." He laughed nervously.
She frowned. "Your projects are never useless," she got the impression he was hiding something from her. "What is it? Looks like some kind of space ship."
He sighed and placed the metal objects down on the table. "Always seeking the truth, aren't you," he smiled sadly.
A knot of worry settled itself in her gut. "Is something going on? Dad? Why won't you tell me!?" Fear and concern lined her features, her eyes widening as she looked at him questionably.
His expression changed, mirroring his daughter's fear. "There's something you should probably know," he began, voice shaking slightly.
A sick feeling began rising in her stomach. "Well?" She asked quietly. Her father began talking again, but she couldn't hear him. She strained her ears, desperately trying to listen. But the room was fading. Her father seemed suddenly distant. "Dad!" Her voice rose to a scream. She reached out in front of her, groping the air, trying to grab him, but he was too far away. "No! Come back!" She cried, thrashing about.
Cool hands grabbed her wrists and pinned them against her body. "Woah,woah, easy there, it's okay," a voice sounded. She fought against the hands. She couldn't see anything now and her fear was mounting. "Emily," the voice sounded stern this time. "Emily, open your eyes! It's just a dream! Your fine! Your safe!" The voice was almost yelling now. If she could just...
Suddenly, the world came spinning back. Emily bolted upright, gasping. Owen flinched back, releasing her wrists and giving her room. "Back with me now?" He panted, looking relieved. She blinked at him. "You gave me a scare, then. You wouldn't wake up."
"Where am I?" She asked, not recognising the room or bed she was in. She struggled to keep the fear out of her voice.
"One of the spare rooms in the hub. It's yours now," he added. "Are you okay? You know it was just a dream, right?" He asked, moving forward to take her wrist and feel her pulse.
"But it wasn't," she just barely whispered. He glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. "When I came here," she began, "the escape pod. The journey was dangerous. I lost most of the memories from a few days back-" her voice broke, and a sob shook her body.
"And they're staring to come back now." He finished her sentence, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly.
She nodded, a stray tear slipping down her cheek.
He sighed, studying her as she quickly wiped the tear away. "Do you want to go back to sleep?" He asked.
"No!" She couldn't go back to that place again. She struggled to scramble out of the bed, pausing when she felt something pull at her arm. She looked down and eyed the IV, tugging painfully at a vein. She reached over to pull it out, but Owen grabbed her hand, stopping her.
"Maybe you shouldn't get up just yet." He suggested, though his tone sounded rather firm.
She glared at him. "What is this, anyway?" She asked, looking down at the IV. "I don't like drugs..." She mumbled.
"You wouldn't eat, so I had to feed you intravenously. Don't worry, you can go back to solid food soon enough." He added, seeing the disproving glare she threw him. "How's the pain anyway? Need more painkillers?" He asked, looking over at a clock.
Her expression hardened. She hated people fussing over her. "No, I'm fine."
"Okay, so it's time for more," he said, getting up and opening a draw next to the bed.
"No, what- I said no-" she grumbled.
"I fell for that once before, but you can't fool me twice," he said pulling out a small bottle of pills. "Come on, I'll let you get up if you have some."
Crap. He was good. "Bribing the patient to take drugs? Haven't heard that tactic before." She said, raising her eyebrows at him.
"Works a charm. I have worked in children's wards before. Turns out, you're not the only one, a lot of kids hate doctors." He said as he handed her two pills and a glass of water.
"I'm not a kid..." She grumbled, accepting the painkillers. As reluctant as she may be to accept help, her ribs were staring to really burn again. She'd rather take something for it than end up collapsing again like last time.
"No, of course you're not..." He replied, winking at her. Her mouth twitched into a smile. "See, I'm also got good at that. Making kids- I mean teenagers- smile."
She laughed a little. "You're not bad." She nodded in approval. It was surreal to be laughing. About five minutes ago she had been shaking with fear. Owen really was good.
*****************************************
"So, where are all the others?" Emily asked as she stepped out into the main part of the hub, noticing it to be devoid of the workers.
"Uh, routine alien artefact collection. Although, Ianto's up at the tourists' office." Owen replied as he followed her out.
"Tourists' office?" She asked, eyebrows arching up in surprise.
"Yeah, the entrance to the hub is fronted by a tourists' office. Ianto works up there occasionally to make it seem authentic." Owen replied. He walked over to his desk and began typing something up on his computer. "Oh, uh, he wanted you to go up and see him once you woke up," Owen said as he looked up at her from his work. "Think he has to take you shopping or something." When she looked at him questioningly, he just shrugged and went back to working.
She made her way up the tourists' office, stopping briefly to allow the large cog wheel doors at the entrance of the hub to roll out of place. The tourists' office was a small room at the end of a flight of stairs and a long corridor. There were stands of brochures and advertisements for the city of Cardiff lining the walls, a counter with a computer behind it and a doorway with hanging beads that led to a back room. It was exactly how you'd expect a tourists' office to look.
As Emily walked out into the office, Ianto emerged from the back room, swiping the beads out of the way. "Ah, Emily. Are you okay now?" He asked, smiling politely.
"Fine, thanks. Uh, Owen told me-" she began.
"Oh yes, now that you're staying, you'll need clothes and things of your own. If you're feeling up to it, I can take you shopping." He cocked his head to one side, questioning her.
"Uh, yeah, that'd be great. Thank you." She replied, looking surprised. They were all being so nice to her. "But, I don't have any money or anything-"
"Not a worry. I have plastic, courtesy of Torchwood," he held up a small plastic card and winked. "Just let me get my keys."