The Hidden Lady of Time

Lost and Found

A/N: This is only the first chapter, no others will be posted on this site. I only made this account because another wattpad user had started to post my stories without my permission. If you would like to read the rest of the completed story, please see the external link ;)

~8~ is a scene break.

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who...or I'd be living in Ireland right now and writing nonstop.

~8~

Lost and Found

The members of Torchwood stood around a small table where Ianto was sitting, a red cone hat on his head courtesy of Jack, as they sang 'Happy Birthday' to their beloved Welsh colleague and friend. Ianto, for all his efforts, couldn't keep the faint grin off his face as they did so. He suspected he should have been embarrassed a bit at the show going on, but he'd never really been much for birthday celebrations in the past and decided to take the time to enjoy it from his friends.

He glanced up at the small gathering when something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. He looked over to see a flash of white moving. Before he could even blink it was gone. He frowned as he noticed the singing growing fainter as the image grew stronger. He eyed his friends but none of them seemed to have the slightest clue that there was something wrong. They all just laughed and smiled and stared at him expectantly. He tried to look at his cake but the flicker of white caught his eye again. He looked up to see something trying to push its way through his oblivious friends.

'Help!' it whispered quietly to him, reaching out a hand, a look of complete helplessness on their face.

It was a girl, he could tell as the image grew clearer. She was wearing a white hospital gown and nothing else. She had very dark brown hair, though he couldn't tell if it was natural or from how utterly dirty it looked. It was all sorts of unkempt and tangled. She was pale, no freckles that he could see, but with pale green eyes with a dark green rim around them. Her eyes were what captivated him, they were wild and frightened, begging him to do something, to help her.

But he couldn't move, only stare, as she finally managed to push her way past his friends who were now staring at him in concern.

'Please!' she begged, 'Help me!'

She tripped and fell against the small table that held his cake and he jumped up, shocking himself out of whatever that was.

"Ianto!" Jack half shouted as he reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, "You alright?"

Ianto looked at him for a moment before glancing at the table and then his friends.

The girl was gone.

"I'm fine," he answered, sitting back down, "Just…thought I saw something for a moment…" he shook his head, trying to smile and reassure his friends, but didn't quite manage it. Instead he looked at the single candle flickering on his cake before shutting his eyes and making a wish.

I wish I knew what that was…

~8~

Had the birthday cake incident been the only time he saw the girl, Ianto would have been a very happy man. Unfortunately that was not the case. Ever since that day, his sleep had been plagued with nightmares of the girl, stuck in a small dark room, calling for his help. He'd jumped awake plenty of times since then.

"Do you think I'm crazy?" he asked Jack as they sat by Jack's desk, sipping coffee and tea.

"No," was Jack's simple reply.

Ianto glanced at him, "Feels like I am."

"With all the things we've seen, maybe it really is someone calling out for help."