The Orphan and Her Family

Chapter Forty-Two

By the time the team is sure Jack is okay, and they all leave the Hub, it's too late in the day for Sophie to go home.

Jack had offered to let her sleep in his bed, but she opted for the bunks, wanting some time to herself.

The next morning, Sophie wakes up to a loud ringing from her mobile. Groggily, she grabs the device. "Hello?" she answers, swiping any remains of sleep from her eyes.

The thick Scottish brogue of the Time Lord filters through the line, "Care to explain what's happening right now?"

"What?" she asks. She flips her feet over the side of the bed, and places them onto the cold floor, "I don't even know what you're talking about."

"Turn on the news."

She grumbles something under her breath, and climbs to her feet. She pads out of the bunk room, and into the main section of the Hub. She boots up a computer, and turns on the news. There are reports of alien attacks on almost every major city. She sighs deeply, and presses the phone back to her ear, "To be honest, Doc, I've got absolutely no clue."

"I did a scan, and everything is leading back to Cardiff, most specifically the rift. What's going on there?"

"Okay, first of all, how the actual f*ck do you know I'm at the Hub, secondly, I have no bl**dy clue, and third, if you're so concerned, why don't you go and investigate it yourself?"

He sighs deeply, "I can't go and check it out. I made a promise that I would stay here and watch the vault for a thousand years. That means I can't go out and investigate these invasions."

She flips to a different station, which once again just speaks of 'the end of days'. "Look, I don't know what all this is about, but I do know that Torchwood will investigate. I'll try to keep you updated on everything."

"Alright, Lynny, but be careful, please."

She smiles, and hits the end call button. She flicks off the computer, and scales the staircase to Jack's office. Without knocking, she pushes the door open, and finds the Captain doing paperwork. "Hey, Jack," she greets.

His head snaps up, and he sets his pen aside, "Hey, kiddo. You're up early."

"Yeah, turn on the news."

He raises an eyebrow, but obediently turns his computer to the news website, and sees all about the invasions. Sighing deeply, Jack grabs his phone and calls up the team.

***

The team arrives shortly thereafter, and they all gather into the main area of the Hub, everyone except Jack. Ianto, almost as soon as he arrives, pulls out his Bible, "'And I heard but did not understand, and I said, Master, what is the End of all these things? And he said, go, Daniel, for the things are closed up and sealed until the end of time.' Daniel twelve, verse ten."

Gwen snorts, "Sounds a bit close for comfort."

Owen is crouching by the creepy hand that's inside the jar, the one machine Sophie has avoided in all of her trips to Torchwood. "This machine's on the blink. Keeps losing power." He stands up and walks to the computers, "Sorry, don't let me stop your portents of doom. Or have you finished?"

"No, plenty more where that came from," the Welshman states. "Abaddon, the Great Devourer, who'll lead the world into shadow."

At that moment, Jack enters the room, and rolls his eyes, "Yeah, thanks, Ianto. I can do without the superstition. You people love any story that denies the randomness of existence."

"Wow," Sophie says, hopping off the desk she was sitting on, "I'm making a great effort not to be insulted. Anyway, you should know better than most, that most legends and stories have a basis somewhere. I mean, the Doctor has met Satan, or 'the Beast of the pit', and UNIT has files about a dæmon named Azal that attacked in the early seventies."

Ianto turns, and gives her a thankful nod, "Okay, I've been fielding calls all morning. The government, UNIT, the CIA. Half the Western world and a good proportion of the Eastern are all asking the same question. Is this anything to do with us?"

"And is it?" Gwen asks.

Sophie steps forward, "I have it on good authority that every single attack, invasion, and time distortion can be traced back to Cardiff, specifically the rift?"

"And whose authority is this?" Owen asks, crossing his arms.

"I've run a profile on every reported temporal anomaly and tracked any physical or temporal pattern," Tosh says, drawing the Hubs attention. They watch her screen, as red lines lead from all of the different anomalies, and they all lead right back to the Hub.

"Like I said," Sophie states, leaning against Jack's shoulder.

"The cracks in time trace back here to the Rift. This city, this Hub, is the centre. What you're seeing around the world are ripples and aftershocks," Jack states. He turns, and glares at Owen, "The Rift is splintering because of you."

"What?" Owen asks, incredulously.

"You opened the Rift without knowing what you were doing. You've caused the temporal cracks to widen. Time is seeping through."

"If it wasn't for me, you three'd still be in the 1940s," he nods at Jack, Tosh, and Sophie, "So are we going to sit around crying into our lattes, or are we gonna do something about it?"

Jack turns away from the doctor, "Bring those who've fallen through time back here, into the vaults."

"And do what with them?" Owen snarks, crossing his arms.

Jack glances over at Sophie, and makes an annoyed face. She giggles, as he turns back to face the doctor, "We'll deal with phase one first, then I'll tell you about phase two."

"You can't control time," Owen grumbles, "You can't send them back. What are you gonna do?"

Sophie takes a deep breath, "I'm sure we'll think of something. This isn't the end of the world, trust me. That doesn't happen till the year five point five slash apple slash twenty-six. There's still plenty of time till then, about five billion years to be precise."

The Torchwood team blink at her, confused. She shrugs, and turns to one of the screens as it starts to beep. "Priority one attendance at the hospital," Ianto reads, "Mortality rates gone through the roof. They're sealing off the area and designating a hot zone."

Owen sighs, "I'll go."

Jack nods, "Tosh, go with him."

Owen rolls his eyes, "No thanks, I'm fine on my own."

"And you'll be even better with me alongside," the tech states, pulling her coat on, "Shut up and come on."

As soon as the doctor and tech are gone, Gwen turns on Jack, "Did you have to pick on him in public like that?"

Jack raises an eyebrow, and leans against one of the desks, "All of our actions have consequences."

"And all your staff have feelings, Jack. Even Owen."

Jack snorts, and turns away from her, "Well, you would know."

"He brought you back. Would you rather be stuck in World War II?"

Sophie shrugs, as she walks up beside the Captain, "Yeah, probably."

Gwen grumbles, but doesn't say any more, her mobile ringing.