Hey people! I've decided to be merciful and keep updating with or without reviews; because this story is eating me alive! I would like to thank Specialfracine from the bottom of my heart for reviewing the whole wopping two chapters! (yay you!)

I won't be updating anytime in the next few days, so be warned. I may or may not update when I get back from Washington, but it's iffy. School has a way of throwing kinks in stories. I know for sure that I will be updating in two weeks. That is guaranteed.

Also, I realized I didn't give this story a time set, so I'm going to set the time... about a little after Cyberwoman. So, while there is no mention of the main cast dieing besides Suzie, this story will stay on track with the episodes. Are we all clear? Good! On with the story!

Starling

Chapter three

"Starling? Like the bird?" Gwen asked sweetly. The girl nodded.

"I like birds." She informed them happily, "They can fly. And they make music. They're very comforting." Her gaze was being drawn away again, towards something in the main hub.

"Starling? What are you looking for?" Gwen tried to call her attention back, but Starling was already wandering off. Her heavy boots clunked loudly across the tiles. There was a quick glance between everyone on the team before they all made for the door.

Starling now stood in front of Tosh's work station, totally engrossed with the standard Torchwood screen saver. She was open mouthed with awe as the 'T' turned slowly across the screen. Her thin fingers were hovering in front of the screen, like she wanted to touch it, but was afraid to break it. Tosh rushed forward through her team to her work station.

"What's this?" Starling asked loudly, then started when Tosh spoke from beside her.

"This is a computer." Tosh explained. Starling let her fingers fall to her side. She looked back to the Asian woman with curious eyes.

"What are they used for?" Starling whispered in awe.

"They're used to store information and that kind of thing." Tosh floundered for an explanation. She didn't really know how to explain a computer. She was so used to having everyone understand what the machines were used for. Starling's expression was still awestruck when she looked back to the screen though, so Tosh allowed herself a moment of pride in her explanation skills.

Starling's attention was again diverted as Jack passed into his office. She moved to follow, and Tosh let her. The small girl followed the captain with an absent way about her. She was looking with avid interest at her surroundings. Taking in the strangeness of them. The flashing lights and moving screens were amazing to her. Even in her extensive travels she had never seen anything quite like it.

Jack glanced behind him, assessing Starling's reactions to the Hub.

He thought they were the same as anybody's from the 1900's. While he was still skeptical about her being all human, he was willing to bet that she really was from an earlier time. The accent and reactions were too close to not be. He wondered if she was possibly a visitor to earth that got stuck in the early 1900's. Perhaps a child of the visitor that fell through the rift?

Jack shrugged mentally and sat at his desk, well aware that his shadow was now standing behind him.

"You have lots of strange machines here." Starling informed him, "Toshiko said the flat box things are computers. She had four of them on her desk. Why does she need so many?" Jack looked up, into the child's intelligent eyes.

"Tosh needs all of the computers to make sure that everything is safe. She monitors the Rift to make sure nothing falls out without us knowing." Jack explained. Starling's eyes looked back out to the generator in the center of the Hub.

"You said I fell out of a rift in space and time." She said slowly, "But what I remember is I walked into a Gap."

"A Gap?" Jack's voice was pleasantly skeptical, but still earned him a red eyed glare.

"Yes. A Gap of the In Between. They are like a portal of sorts. I'm not insane." Starling's tone was defensive, insulted, "I was trying to get to…" She trailed off, her face scrunching cutely. She scrambled through her memory. "Oh yes. I was trying to get to The City of Mirror."

Jack just stared. Gap of the In Between? What in the world was a Gap of the In Between? That definitely wasn't human. And the City of Mirror? That wasn't in America for sure.

"Stop looking at me like that! I'm trying to tell you where I came from! If you keep looking at me like I'm missing my marbles; I'll leave and you'll never know." As Starling said this, she took the tone of one used to giving orders and threats. Her chin tilted regally, and her eyes narrowed slightly. Her previously doll-like innocence was suddenly turned into a sharp eyed angry commander.

Jack was a little worried when he realized that he was a little scared of that expression.

"Fine. Calm down. So where are you from?" Jack asked pleasantly. Starling's angry commander look had yet to fade away. When she spoke, there was a note of cold anger.

"New York. But I ran away with the Circus." There was a note of sarcasm.

"The circus huh? How did that go for you?" Jack asked, amused.

"Surprisingly well." Starling's eyes wandered over the room. She drifted to the coat rack and stroked Jack's RAF coat, "This is a nice coat." She said happily, pulling it down and wrapping it around her shoulders. The vast majority of the thick fabric was pooling around her feet.

Ianto came through the door, a tray of coffee balanced on his palm. He threw a confused glance at the mass of RAF coat beside the door and set the Jack's coffee in front of him.

"What are you doing Starling?" The Welshman asked in a way that made it obvious that he worked with children often.

Starling's pale face appeared from the folds of the coat, "This is a nice coat, isn't it? It's blue. I like it. Can I have it?"

"Sorry, kiddo. No can do. Why don't you go talk to Gwen for a little while, hmm?" Ianto chuckled. Starling's eyes lit up.

"Sure!" With that, the bipolar child dropped the coat and pranced out of Jack's office. Ianto set the trey down and bent to pick up the coat.

"Since when were you good with kids?" Jack cried incredulously.

"I baby sit for my sister." Ianto shrugged, "Did you learn anything? Or did she just go through your office?"

Jack only now noticed that throughout their bizarre conversation, Starling had been going through anything that wasn't locked or in the desk itself. The surface of his desk was totally messed up, with papers flung madly all over it; and all his various knickknacks were overturned and put in the wrong places. The filing cabinets were open and showed signs of being gone through.

"You know, I'm not sure. I think she got more out of this than I did." Jack let his head fall into his palms in weary defeat.

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