The Orphan and Her Family

Chapter One

*One Week Later*

The last thing Sophie expected was a knock at her front door. She climbs off the couch, setting her tea cup on the end table. Standing at the door, and preparing to knock again, is one Captain Jack Harkness.

"Jack? Why are you here? Not that you can't visit or anything, it's a nice surprise, but why are you here?"

"I need your help."

"Okay?" she says, stepping aside.

The captain enters her flat, and she can't help but feel a little nervous as to what he could need. He makes his way to the sofa, "I heard about your roommate, and I am so, so sorry. I want you to know that I wouldn't bother you if I had another choice."

Sophie forces the thoughts of Morgan from her mind, tentatively taking a seat next to Jack, "What do you need?"

Jack sighs, dropping his head into his hands, "I have this party that I have to go to. I need a plus one, too many unknown variables to go alone. I would ask Ianto, but it's his sister's birthday, and she's already suspicious of him. Gwen and Rhys are out on a date night, and normally that wouldn't bother me, but she's been run ragged for the last two weeks. Tosh is with her family, one of her relatives is on their deathbed, and I can't ask her to miss that."

"What about Owen? Couldn't you take him?"

Jack laughs, resting his head against the wall, "No chance. Not to mention that this is a tough week for Owen. So, will you be my plus one?"

Sophie smirks at him. She knows that this will be a good distraction to keep her mind off of recent events in her life. "After such a charming and thoughtful invitation, how could I refuse."

He smirks over at her, "Thanks, Soph, really. Look, if you need, I can get you a dress for this soiree. It's in a couple hours."

"I should have what I need. You can feel free to use the bathroom to change. Unless, y'know, World War II chic is the dress code."

He smiles, "No, it's black tie, actually."

"Oh, that's too bad. Well, as nice as the great coat looks on you, looks like it's gonna have to be hung up for the night."

*Later that evening*

Jack walks out into the living area of the flat, only to find Sophie standing near the door. Her dress is a modest a-line style, falling just above her knees. The collar is a slight v-neck, and the sleeves are loose, falling to the middle of her forearm. She's putting in hoop earrings when she spots Jack.

"You look lovely," he comments, seeing a pair of heels thrown haphazardly near her feet. He fumbles with his bowtie. Sophie rolls her eyes, walking over to him. She quickly ties the tie, and straightens it.

Turning away, she grabs her heels, quickly slipping them onto her feet, adding a good three inches to her height. "Shall we?" she asks, smiling at him. He immediately links his arm with hers. She grabs her clutch off the sofa, and the duo exit the building. As they make their way to the car park, Sophie asks, "So this party, what exactly is it?"

"It's going to change what it means to be human."

"That's...vague, but sounds like a mystery, with a bit of adventure tossed in." The Captain leads her to a SUV with the name TORCHWOOD stamped to the side. "You're really good at this whole top secret thing, aren't you."

"Oh, shut up." He smirks, opening the passenger door for her, before jogging to the other side.

*Arriving*

Jack parks a block away, and the two walk arm and arm to the party. As they enter Sophie can see Jack surveying the room. "So this is more than just a party."

"I think you had already guessed that?"

"Well, yeah. So, what are we looking for?"

Jack looks back at her, "I'm looking for anything alien. You are going to have fun. Mingle, see if you can't get anything out of the staff. You're sweet, and pretty. Go for the young guys, they'll tell you what they know."

"Oh, I see. I'm the eye candy to weasel information out of people."

He just shakes his hand, flipping open his Vortex Manipulator and making his way down a corridor. She makes her way toward the ball room, seeing men and women mingling about, staff carrying trays with finger food around.

She carefully enters the room, wading through the crowds to the center of the room. There's a large device that Sophie doesn't even try to understand what its purpose is. As she heads for one of the waiters, a very familiar voice can be heard. Her head snaps to the voice, seeing the Doctor clutching a load of nibbles in his hand while talking to Martha, and who she assumes is Martha's sister. She moves away from his eyesight, walking to one of the staff members in the corner.

"Hi," she greets the man. He looks toward her, his eyes lighting up when they meet hers.

"Hello, miss...."

"McCoy, but you can call me Sophie. I was wondering if maybe you could tell me something about what's going to happen tonight. See I was hoping to impress one of my friends by sounding knowledgeable in all of this. They believe I'm some sort of scientist, which I am, but astronomy is unfortunately not as helpful as mechanical engineering. Do you think it might be possible...?" she asks, her hand making its way to the man's bicep.

"William, Sophie. I really shouldn't tell you..."

"Oh, please, it would mean the absolute world to me."

He looks around making sure no one is listening, before leaning toward her, "Professor Lazarus is planning on changing what it means to be human."

"I heard that phrase before, may I ask what exactly it means?"

"I really shouldn't say, but it won't matter soon anyway. Professor Lazarus intends to use that device to de-age himself. I wish I could tell you more, but I'm afraid I don't know how it works."

"That's alright, thank you very much for your help, William. My friends will be very impressed."

She turns to leave, but the man calls after her, "Sophie, may I have your number?"

She smiles at the man, "Ask me again later, and we shall see."

She walks away, only to bump into Jack who is scanning the device, "What have you found?" he asks.

"It seems this Professor intends to use this to reverse the aging process."

Jack, who had been half listening, suddenly spins, dropping his arms at his sides, "What? How?"

"William wasn't sure how it works, unfortunately."

Jack's eyebrows raise, "William, eh?"

She smacks his chest, "Hush, you. Anything alien about this device then? Do you even know what it is?"

He smirks at her, "Sonic micro-field manipulator, other than that, I don't know for sure, but definitely nothing alien. Which is worse, because that means this is pure human bullsh*t."

"And that's the worst type of bullsh*t, isn't it?"

He just gives a light nod, as suddenly people begin to applaud all over the room. Jack turns to see an old man walking into the room, and he grabs Sophie's arm, pulling her back around to the front of the machine.