The Orphan and Her Family

Chapter Forty

The airmen all gather around at a table, and Sophie mostly tunes them out, until a blonde woman enters the room, and all of the soldier's eyes land on her. The real Captain Harkness sighs, as she steps toward him, "Hello, Jack. I know you're having a night with the men, but I thought I'd look in, if that's all right."

He shrugs, "Yeah. Good to see you."

Tosh walks away from Tim, and Jack and Sophie stand from their respective tables, "I've got what I need. Now all I have to do is find a way to leave a message for the team on something that will last across time."

Jack nods, and the trio turn to exit the bar. Standing in the door is one of the girls that's been dancing all evening. She looks Toshiko up and down, "I haven't seen you three here before. Is she with you?"

George grins, "Nah, she's after Tim. Why else would she let him bore her to death about navigation?"

"Maybe she's a spy," the girl says, glaring at Tosh.

"The Chinese are on our side, aren't they?" Tim asks, while taking Tosh's hand.

"I'm Japanese,"

"You're hardly an ally, then."

Sophie watches the interaction, and glances over at Jack, hoping he'll do something. He sees her eyes on his, and jumps into action, just as the girl demands that Tosh open her bag, "She can't. Her work is top secret. She's a decoder for the Brits."

The Captain walks over as well, placing a hand on Tosh's shoulder, "Without ladies like her, we'd have no way of defending the country." He raises his glass, "To Toshiko."

All of his men immediately follow suit, raising a glass to the woman. Tosh smiles in thanks, and pulls Jack toward the corner where Sophie is, "I need Bilis's camera. Photographs last, don't they?"

Jack nods, "Sure you don't want me to come with you?"

The real Captain Jack looks hurt, "Oh, you can't run out on me. I've just got you a drink."

Toshiko shakes her head, already heading to the exit, "I'm fine. You carry on."

Jack watches as she leaves, then turns to the other Captain, who hands him his drink, "To a fellow captain."

He brings his drink up as well and takes a sip. The Captain leads them to a table, while Sophie walks off, hoping to find more info on Bilis. She walks to the staircase, and takes a seat, studying the readings on her screwdriver. She taps it thoughtfully against the palm of her hand, wracking her brain as to who, or what, Bilis Manger is. She doesn't get much time to herself, as airmen keep walking through.

Just as she starts to piece together who Bilis is, Jack and Captain Harkness burst in. "Hey, her falling for you is hardly my fault," Jack calls after the Captain. "Play it cool in front of your men, but not in front of me. Hey, it's okay to be scared."

"A captain has to keep his head."

Sophie glances up, and sees pain cross Jack's face, "A captain needs to explain the risks, tell his men what to expect."

"So what do I do? Tell 'em I saw a young boy get shot in the eyes mid-flight?" Captain Harkness asks, pain clear on his face.

"I understand," Jack says, taking a step toward the Captain.

"Do you? Did you hear him on the radio yelling for his mom, while the Messerschmitts pumped him full of holes and blew his plane apart? All I can hear on the radio–"

"–is screams," Jack finishes for him. Sophie wants more than anything to go and comfort him, but she knows that Captain Harkness needs him right now. "I went to war when I was a boy. I was with my best friend. We got caught crossing the border over enemy lines. They tortured him, not me, because he was weaker. They made me watch him die. And they let me go."

"Who were they?"

"The worst possible creatures you can imagine," the pain in his voice almost causes Sophie to stand up and hug him, but she forces herself to let Captain Harkness handle the situation, "I persuaded him to join up. I said it would be an adventure. He hadn't lived."

"Have any of us?"

Outside, there are loud explosions. As the alarms start to sound, Jack looks around, and grabs Sophie around the waist.

He pulls her out to the foyer, searching for the other member of their group, concern etched across his face. When the woman appears from the corridor, he grabs her arm. "This way!"

He pulls them out of the room and toward the air raid shelter, as Toshiko says, "I didn't get the first part of the equation in the photo. The rest is outside. If they find it, they'll keep looking, won't they?"

Jack nods, and holds the door to the shelter open. The trio enter the room, where everyone is crowded. Tosh goes into the next room to continue the equation. Jack stands outside the room, keeping an eye on the woman, and on the people in the room. Sophie stand on the other side of the door, arms crossed, leaning her head against the wall.

"Yes. Of course I'm scared," the actual Captain Jack says, not even a centimeter away from Jack.

Jack and the Captain converse quietly. Sophie keeps an eye on Tosh in the room, she also looks out at the room around them, smiling at the KBO spirit of 1940s England.