Daughter of Torchwood

Cosmo

The morning air in Cardiff was crisp, prompting Starla to skip the bus in favour of the walk from Gran Mavis's house to the Bay. She was taking her usual shortcut through the narrow back alleys when a frantic rattling sound caught her attention.

She froze. The alley was a canyon of brick and shadow, and the scuffling behind a cluster of overflowing bins sounded suspiciously large. Her hand instinctively dove into her bag, fingers curling around a canister of pepper spray.

"Torchwood training, Starla. Don't be a victim," she whispered to herself.

She edged closer, using the toe of her boot to nudge a heavy plastic bin aside. She immediately relaxed, her hand dropping the pepper spray as her heart melted.

"Oh, hello," she breathed, crouching down.

Tucked between a crate and a wall was a German Shepherd puppy. He looked to be about ten weeks old, his oversized paws caked in grime and his coat dull from the streets. He was too busy snout-deep in a discarded crisp packet to care about her, his little tail tucked between his legs.

"Hungry, aren't you?" Starla reached into her bag and pulled out the ham sandwich she'd packed for lunch. She tore off small pieces of ham, tossing them toward him. The pup froze, sniffed the air, and then lunged for the meat. Within a minute, he was eating directly from her palm, his pink tongue tickling her fingers.

She gently lifted him, checking for a collar or an ID tag. Nothing. "Are you lost, buddy? I can't imagine anyone would abandon you, but if they have, rest assured, I'll deal with them personally."

She scanned the surrounding area for anyone who might own him, but the alley was dead silent. "Come on then," She let him playfully nip at her sleeve as she stood up, "Let's take you to the Hub. We'll see if we can find your owner."

Before heading underground, she made a quick detour to a nearby shop, loading up on puppy kibble, treats, and a sturdy tug-rope toy.

She slipped into the Tourist Information Centre, grateful that Ianto wasn't currently manning the front desk. She hurried to the secret entrance and descended into the Hub.

As she stepped onto the main platform, Gwen was coming out of Jack's office. She stopped dead, her jaw dropping. "Oh my god," Gwen breathed, her eyes widening as they landed on the bundle of fluff in Starla's arms.

"What is it?" Jack's voice echoed from his office. He stepped out, followed by Owen and Tosh.

The silence that followed was broken only by Owen's bark of laughter, "You're not serious!"

"Starla," Jack started, his jaw dropping in a way that mimicked Gwen's, though a flicker of genuine amusement danced in his eyes.

Tosh, however, was already enchanted. She stepped forward, scratching the pup behind his velvet-soft ears, "Is he lost? Look at how dirty he is."

"Guys, this is Buddy," Starla announced, hoisting the pup a little higher, "I found him scrounging by some bins on the way in. No collar, no tags. He's either lost or someone dumped him. Hopefully the latter, so I can keep him."

"No," Jack said, leaning against the railing with a half-smile, "Because you are absolutely not keeping him."

"Why not?" Starla looked at him, her face falling, "He could be Torchwood's sniffer dog! It would give me something to do." Things had been quiet since the chaos of Gwen's wedding two weeks ago, and Starla was feeling the restless itch of boredom. She widened her eyes, giving Jack the most devastating puppy-dog look she could muster, "Please, Dad?"

Jack sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he looked at the rest of the team for backup. He found none; even Ianto, who had just appeared from the kitchen, was already fussing over the dog's paws.