Daughter of Torchwood

Sarah Jane Smith

I'm working with my own made-up timeline for this book; the only real pinpoint I'm sticking with is Jack going off with the Doctor and Marta at the end of Torchwood series 1.

"Morning!" Starla's voice rang out through the Hub, bright and full of energy. She practically skipped toward the centre of the floor, balancing a large box, "I brought breakfast!" She set the box of fresh, warm morning pastries on the coffee table with a flourish.

"Are you trying to steal my job?" Ianto asked, already reaching for a napkin.

"Never," Starla smiled innocently, "You're the coffee master, Ianto. You bring us food all the time, so I thought on this occasion, I'd handle the morning run."

"Well, I'm certainly not complaining," Owen muttered, already digging into the box and snagging a chocolate croissant.

Jack leaned back in his office chair, watching her with a sharp, intrigued grin. He stood up and wandered over to join them, "You're very chirpy, Star. Does this have anything to do with our phone call last week?"

"What's this?" Tosh asked, her interest piqued, "What happened last week?"

"I had a call on Tuesday," Jack explained, eyes dancing with curiosity, "She said she had so much to tell me about her weekend and her first few days back at school, but she refused to give me any details over the phone. Very mysterious."

"Does it have to do with a boy?" Gwen teased, giving Starla a knowing wink.

"It did, actually. Well, partly," Starla said, enjoying the immediate look of protective concern that flashed across both Jack and Owen's faces, "But it's not like that. I'm guessing you lot saw all those people last weekend? The ones walking around like zombies with bottles of Bubble Shock in their hands?"

The atmosphere in the Hub shifted instantly. "Yes," Tosh said, her expression turning professional. She tapped a few keys, bringing up CCTV footage from the previous Saturday on the main monitors, "We tried to get information on it and intervene, but the whole thing seemed to be over as quickly as it started. Bubble Shock was removed from the shelves by Monday morning."

"That," Starla said, leaning against the railings, "would be partly my doing. I can give you a full debrief if you want."

Jack's face turned serious. He didn't need to be told twice. "Everyone, meeting room. Now."

Once they were settled around the large table upstairs, Tosh set a voice recorder in the centre. "Start from the beginning, Star," Jack instructed, leaning forward with his chin in his hand.

Starla took a breath, "First of all... do you know a woman named Sarah Jane Smith?"

A massive, nostalgic grin broke across Jack's face, "Yeah. I know the name. She was a companion of the Doctor's, though I've never had the pleasure of meeting her personally. Why?"

"She said you'd probably know of her," Starla said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, "Turns out, she's one of my neighbours." She recalled her first encounter just days ago.

------

A few days earlier, Starla had noticed more new neighbours moving in as she watched a heavy removal van park precariously on the side of the road, since the terraced houses had no driveways.

Getting out of the car, Starla spotted a girl around her age with dark hair talking to an older man, 

"Hey," she greeted, leaning into her friendly yet curious side, "You're the new neighbours?"

"Yeah, I'm Maria," the girl smiled.

"I'm Starla, I live..."

"Always nice to meet the neighbours," Eliza interrupted, stepping forward to shake Maria's dad's hand, "I'm Eliza May. It's just me and my daughter, Starla."