A moment later, Ianto's head popped out from between the beaded strings as he looked with annoyance towards the door. "We're closed," he said loudly. Rhys rapped at the window again.
Muttering loudly about people who couldn't read the sign, Ianto came out from behind the counter and walked over to the door. Unlocking it, he opened it to chastise whomever it was who was banging on the window. Whatever it had been he had been about to say died unspoken as he took in the image of Rhys with a short blue girl standing at his side.
"Hullo Rhys, what are you doing here?" He asked. Rhys looked at the girl by his side and then back at Ianto.
"Can we come in?" He asked. He still kept his voice low so as not to scare the girl by his side. Ianto started, caught by his apparent rudeness in not inviting them in.
"Of course, I apologize. Please come inside," he said as he stood back and let the two enter. He closed the door behind him and locked it, this time pulling the shade closed on the window. When he turned, he saw that the blue alien girl was staring about the room her head cocked to one side as she took in everything around her.
"Is Gwen here?" Rhys asked, turning to look at his wife's team mate. Ianto shook his head.
"No, she's out on assignment. Who's your friend?" Ianto asked. The girl turned her head at the sound of his voice and looked at him curiously.
"Dunno, just found her being picked on by a bunch of bullies down by the shop," Rhys said. "I figured that you lot would know how to help her. It doesn't look like she speaks the language, so I assume she came through the rift." He sighed. He hadn't thought past getting her to Torchwood. Surely they would know who and what she was and would be able to help.
Ianto looked at her before taking a step closer to her. She looked at him without blinking. "Hello," he said with a smile. She smiled back. He looked back at Rhys. "She hasn't spoken?"
"Not a peep," the other man said. "I got her here because she was hungry, so I lured her into the car with some chips. She's probably still hungry, poor thing."
"Let's get her downstairs. Maybe Jack may recognize her species," Ianto said. He carefully walked around the alien girl before reaching under the counter and pressing a button. She stepped back as the wall retracted before moving curiously towards the opening. He hoped he didn't live to regret this. It wouldn't be the first time they took some alien race as being innocuous only to find it was a front for something far more sinister. Still, he would rather opt on the side of optimism than pessimism. He stepped through the opening and gestured to her.
The girl looked at Rhys before looking at Ianto. Seeing Rhys nod and head towards the opening she moved, taking tentative steps in the other man's direction. Once he was sure she was going to follow he walked down the hallway towards the lift, Rhys and the girl following behind him. He tapped the com in his ear.
"Jack? We have a visitor." Ianto said softly, not wanting to startle the girl as she stepped into the lift behind him.
"Is he cute?" Jack drawled. Ianto shook his head in exasperation.
"She and yes, she's cute. And much too young for you," Ianto admonished. He pushed a button and the lift closed. The girl stumbled a little as the motion brought the car downwards. Rhys steadied her and smiled at her in reassurance. Once they got to the bottom Ianto led the way through the cog door and into the Hub. The girl ducked down at the flashing lights and sirens and the two men had to work at calming her down.
Jack stood on a landing as he watched their arrival. When the girl looked about in wonder she stopped when she saw him standing above them. He had a big grin on his face. Taking the stairs two at a time he stopped when he was just a few feet away from them.
"Rhys, it's a pleasure as always," Jack said, his eyes going from the girl's face to Rhys' as he noticed her reaching out to the other man. "Looks like you have a new friend."
"Yeah, found her over by a market near my office. She had attracted a crowd and a bunch of bullies, so I thought it best that I bring her to the one place that might be able to help her. Do you recognize her?"
"Not her specifically, but her species, yeah," Jack said. He sat down on a stool so that he wasn't looming over her. "She's a Crespallion."
At the sound of her species name she turned her head and looked at him. She spoke for the first time, in what sounded like an incomprehensible set of consonants to Rhys. Jack opened his mouth and responded in the same language. She smiled and bowed to him. He bowed back and grinned.
"You know how to speak her language?" Rhys asked, amazed.
"Not exactly,"Jack said. "I can understand her, and she me because I was on the TARDIS and she gets inside your head when you travel inside her. One of the byproducts of that is being able to understand alien languages." He spoke another phrase to the girl before gesturing to himself and saying his name. He raised a brow at her and she pattered something back at him.
"Woah, that's a bit of a mouthful! How about if I just call you Jaella?" He said. He repeated the last part of his phrase in her language. She smiled and nodded. He pointed towards Rhys who was still standing next to her. "Rhys," he said and followed it up with something in her language. She nodded. Then he pointed at Ianto and said his name, again with the same phrase. "Ianto, somewhere in the vaults we have a translator. If she's going to be here a while we may want to find it. I'm not going to be able to translate everything for her."
