The Orphan and Her Family

Chapter Twenty-Two

She follows him down the ladder, only to find him sitting on a bed, his head in his hands. "Jack, are you alright."

He runs his palms over his eyes, and meets her gaze, "What are you doing, Sophie?"

"Worrying about my brother." She approaches the bed, and sits beside him, "What's wrong?"

She reaches for his hand, and he grips hers tightly, "Man, I didn't expect this to be this hard."

"You've done this before, right?"

"Yeah. They were this this bad. It's just, John, he deserved better. His son, who even knows if he's alive. Not to mention, I know what it's like to be thrown from your own time."

"When are you from exactly? I know you wear a coat from the 1940's, but you also talk like some one from the future."

"51st century." He holds up the Vortex Manipulator that's attached to his wrist, "Some things happened, this malfunctioned, and I ended up trapped in the 1800's. Lived from then to here."

"So you're a man out of time as well." She wraps her arm around his shoulder, and he leans in.

"Yeah," he sighs. "I just, I need a minute. I'll be alright then."

She pulls away, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to impose, I just thought..." she trails off, standing to leave.

Jack grabs her wrist, "No, uh, you can stay. You're actually a pretty grounding presence."

"Really," she smiles, sitting back down beside him. "I've been called annoying, bratty, ugly, a b*tch, but never grounding before."

He starts, "Who called you ugly? I will literally shoot them."

Sophie chuckles, "Well, if you're gonna murder people, I probably shouldn't tell you."

He grabs her round the waist, and pulls her tight to his side, "Like I said, grounding. Now we should head back out. Things to do."

*Later that Evening*

Throughout the day, Jack shows her around the rest of the Hub, and she gets a good idea of where everything belongs. Eventually, everyone starts to trickle out, and Jack sighs, letting her know that she can head out as well.

Just as she arrives back at her hotel room, her phone starts to ring. She sighs, and flips her mobile open. "Hello?"

"Sophie?" Emma's voice asks.

"Emma, hey, what's wrong?" she asks, as she turns to exit the hotel once again.

"Could you, maybe come here?"

"Already on my way."

***

She walks into the hostel, and hears Emma's voice in the little dining room. She walks into the doorway, and places a hand on Emma's shoulder.

John frowns from his place at the table, as he sets two plates down, "I don't see why she got you involved."

Sophie shrugs, "She was upset."

"She was drinking."

"I only had half a glass," she argues, pleading with Sophie.

"Enough to make a show of yourself. We're not meant to draw attention to ourselves. We're not the same as them. We can't trust anyone."

Sophie sighs, "I don't see anything wrong with it. It's perfectly legal for her to drink. In fact, it sounds like she was making friends." Then she turns to the girl, "Will you be alright now, Emma?"

"Don't worry," John scoffs, "I won't let her out of my sight again."

He pulls out his seat at the table, gestures for Emma to sit down. She crosses her arms, "I don't like liver."

"Sit down, young lady, and be grateful for what you're given."

"And why should I listen to you?" Sophie knows she should say something, but she also feels as if Emma is right. She's been snapped out of her own time, with two random strangers. She places a hand on Emma's arm, and gives it a light squeeze. "Only my dad gets to talk to me like that, and I'm never going to see him again, am I? Or my mum, or my best friend, or my dog. And I miss them. And I hate this filthy, stinking place!" Emma shouts, as tears begin to leak out of her eyes. She rushes out of the room toward her room in the hostel, and Sophie sighs.

She follows her down the hall, knocking lightly at the door, "Emma, may I come in?" She hears a quiet voice say yes, and she enters the room. Emma is sprawled out in her bed, tears trailing down her face. "Hey," she smiles, and sits down on the corner of the bed, "This is a lot. I know how hard it can be to lose everyone special to you."

The girl sits up, tear streaks down her cheeks, "How could you possibly know? It's not as if you were torn from your own time."

Sophie sighs, leaning against the wall, "I, uh, you're right. I haven't been pulled from my own time, but that doesn't mean I don't know what you're going through. She leans her head back against the wall, "I don't normally tell people this, but," she takes a deep breath, "I lost both of my parents when I was just a girl, five years of age. I grew up in a care home." She blinks, trying not to cry. Emma places a hand on her shoulder, "More recently though, I lost my roommate, one of my oldest friends. So, when I say I know it can be hard losing those you love, I'm not joking."

Emma looks at her, pity in her eyes. Sophie shakes her head, and pushes herself back to her feet, "If you want, you can come stay with me for the night. Jack got me a nice hotel room closer to the center of the city."

Emma smiles, and nods, grabbing her bag.

They stop on the walk over to the hotel, and grab some food. Once they reach the room, Sophie tosses her bag onto the bed on the far side of the room. Emma smiles, and sets her bag down on the other bed.