Daughter of Torchwood

Martha Jones

"Evening," Starla said, hurrying into the autopsy room where the rest of the team, minus Ianto, were already gathered. She had only just arrived in Cardiff for the May half-term holiday, but the Hub never stayed quiet for long: "Who's the dead guy?"

A naked man lay on the autopsy table, the clinical lights reflecting off his pale skin. Owen was already positioned at the table's edge, his tools laid out. Jack stood on the upper walkway, leaning his elbows against the metal railings that overlooked the lowered workstation. Tosh was beside him, mirroring his posture as they stared down at the body. Gwen leaned against the railings a few feet away, her chin resting on her hand as she watched Owen work.

Jack offered a half-smile, reaching out to wrap one arm around Starla's shoulders in a brief side-hug. "Documents on the body identify the victim as Meredith Roberts," he answered.

"No obvious signs of violence," Owen noted, his voice echoing slightly in the tiled space as he began his external examination.

Gwen shifted her weight against the railing, looking down at the corpse. "Wasn't a Weevil then?" she tossed out, already dismissing the usual suspect.

"Give me a chance," Owen snapped, looking up at her from the floor below, "I've only just started."

The crackle of the intercom broke the tension. Ianto's voice filled the room: "Jack, your VIP visitor is here."

Jack straightened up immediately and ran out of the autopsy room, leaving the others to trail curiously after him toward the main floor.

The heavy grind of the cog door alarm began to echo through the Hub. Jack stood waiting as the massive door rotated open. "Suddenly, in an underground mortuary, on a wet night in Cardiff, I hear the song of a nightingale," he announced with his trademark flair.

Martha Jones walked in, with Ianto following closely behind. "Miss Martha Jones," Jack grinned, his eyes lighting up.

Martha beamed, looking genuinely pleased to see him. She set her briefcase and handbag down on a nearby desk and hurried forward to pull Jack into a tight hug. "Oh, it's good to see you both again," she said, pulling back to give Starla an equally warm embrace.

Grinning, Jack turned to the rest of the group to perform the introductions. "Toshiko, Owen, Gwen, Ianto." Ianto raised a polite hand from the back, and Jack finished with a flourish, "Team, meet Martha."

"Just a casual visit or...?" Owen enquired, leaning back against a workstation.

Martha didn't miss a beat. She picked her things back up and looked toward the medical bay, "I'm here to complete your post-mortem." She turned and headed straight into the autopsy room with the confidence of someone who knew exactly where she was going.

"Dr Jones is from UNIT," Jack explained to the slightly stunned silence.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sorry," Gwen muttered, catching up to Jack as the rest of the team followed Martha back to the body, "I get a bit confused. Which one's UNIT?"

"Intelligence, military, cute red caps," Jack whispered as they walked, "The acceptable face of intelligence gathering on aliens. We're more ad hoc, but better looking."

Back in the autopsy room, Martha was already pulling on a lab coat and snapping on a pair of latex gloves. "I identified a pattern from UNIT's data on sudden deaths. Toxic shock," she explained, "Nothing to link the victims, different ages, sexes, ethnic origins, occupations. But there was a statistically significant concentration in South Wales."

Jack leaned back against the railings of the upper walkway again, watching her work, "Come on, Martha, be honest. You just came all this way to see me."