When I returned down the metal floors to the center of the building, I could hear loud talking. I watched as the doctor man, Owen, threw something over his computer monitors to Gwen. Toshiko sat at the desk she had before, typing away silently with her glasses atop her nose. Ianto stood as professionally as ever, pouring coffee into a mug from a table. I stared around to look for the one man I was at least slightly familiar with, Jack, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"If you're looking for Jack, he went out," Ianto approached me with a smile. "He'll be back soon. He said to tell you that you can just wait around and find something to do, and that he wants to show you something when he gets back."
My head nodded as I backed off the tiniest bit. "Thanks."
"Have you eaten yet, sweetie?" The black-haired woman gave me a wide smile and a nod. "We've brought some biscuits, if you'd like."
The woman's pale hand reached out to extend a couple of biscuits to me. I hesitated before taking one from her hands with a nod. "Uhm, thanks."
I retreated back down the open hallway to the room I had been staying in. I held the biscuit in my mouth as I slowly shut the door, then sat on the bed again. A deep sigh left my mouth as I leaned my head against the wall behind me. I stared down at the glass floor, and I could see the lights in the hallway underneath shining brightly on the empty walls.
I couldn't find it in me to leave the room throughout the day. There was a small alarm clock near the wall that told me it was nearly two in the afternoon, but I still had only left the bedroom once. I had finished off the drawing I had made of Captain Jack Harkness, and I let it sit in front of my crossed legs on the mattress.
It wasn't until nearly three that the bedroom door opened. A man in a long army jacket and heavy boots stepped right on through. Jack sauntered up close to me with a smile and hands in his pockets. "Heard you've been hiding in here all day. Having fun staring at walls?"
"Tons."
Jack swung side-to-side a little as he leaned forward. One hand pointed to the drawing of him I had made in the sketchbook. "Oh, who's this sexy guy?"
A small smile reached my lips as Jack's hand retracted back to his jacket. He leaned back on his heels with a little nod. "So, ready to come out of here for a while? Maybe say hi to the other people running this place? I've got something I wanna show you."
"Okay," I breathed out softly. I pulled my legs out from under me as I stood, and Jack was already on his way out.
The man's boots echoed gently on the grated floors as he paraded down to the center of the building again. I slowly followed, hands hiding in the pockets of my jacket. I could see Gwen and Toshiko at their computers, but the other two men had disappeared.
"I usually do this at night," Jack called a little louder than necessary. I could tell he liked having a little flare of drama. "It makes it... Mmmmm," he hummed, circling his hands as if searching for a word, "A little more mysterious and cool. But this'll do! Stand here, please. Inside the square."
I hesitated before I pulled my feet right next to Jack's, just inside a small square-shaped cut in the grated floor. Jack reminded me a little of Willy Wonka from the old children's book- always amused and dramatic, but a little twisted. I could only hope he didn't have tiny orange men hiding that would come out and sing on a moment's notice.
The ground shook. A tiny gasp caught in my throat. The cut-out square trembled, and I felt it begin to lift up. My knees buckled a little as the platform shook. I held to Jack's sleeve quickly as the floor beneath us grew farther and farther away. I heard a chuckle come from the man's throat. He still stood straight up, and he placed one hand on my back. I shivered at the sudden touch, then stared straight up. As Jack's hand slowly retreated again, I could see the ceiling opening up.
When the platform reached up to the roof, the sun burned my eyes. I squinted to see, and I blinked several times as I stared around. We were insanely high up on a narrow tower. The roof was shaped like a small semicircle, and the entire surface reflected off the light. I could see the sidewalk several meters below, and the people passing by just looked like tiny lines. I could just barely make out any faces.
"Welcome to the top of the Torchwood building," Jack tilted his head up in the air with a smile. "Only visible part of the headquarters."
I realized I was still holding tightly to the captain's sleeve, and quickly let go. I swallowed hard as my eyes fell over the entire view. "Can nearly see all of Cardiff. Can even see the hospital from here."
The wind whipped my hair back and forth, sticking it to my mouth. I brushed the strands away as I turned back to Jack, watching the sky behind him. The wind brushed his hair and his jacket like a dramatic action movie, and he nodded at me with the small grin of his. I turned back to the city again, pacing slowly in the same few meters of room as I stared down.
"See that woman over there? One in the purple." Jack pointed down the a walking figure on the sidewalk. I nodded, watching her walk away from the building. "Walks by here everyday, comes from the pizza place down the street from work."
I wasn't sure why Jack had told me about a stranger he saw on the sidewalk far below us, but I nodded. The captain then pointed to a tiny figure sitting on the bench. It looked like a child. "See him? That's Alex. He's quiet, but he'll eventually talk to you if you're nice to him. He waits right on that bench everyday for over an hour so his mom can pick him up from school after she works." Jack's finger swung around to an alleyway. "That guy sitting with his blanket? That's Samuel, been trying to get a job for years, but a lot of folks around here don't like employees who don't have an address. Been doing better, though." Jack's hand moved again across the street near a massive fountain. "That woman sitting on the railing there, talking to a man. She works at the mental hospital you were in. She busted her ass for years to become a doctor there."
I nodded once more. "Why are you telling me about some strangers I don't know?"
Jack went silent now, staring up at the wide horizon. His chest rose as he took a deep inhale of the cold air, and his shoulders relaxed. I watched the man as he paused for a long minute before speaking again.
"You asked why I took you here, to show you these things."
I didn't offer anything but a small nod at Jack in reply.
"All these people here, they all have lives," he declared. "They all go through good things and bad things, stupid as that sounds," he shrugged. "But they still keep going, still move on. Nothing much ever strips them of their entire life, forces them to change forever."
Even though I had known Jack Harkness for a short time, I had never seen him act serious like this. It was a new look for the captain. He gave off an odd, almost wise vibe now.
"These things. Things like these aliens," he continued. "They force you to change. Your entire life is flipped when you deal with them all the time. Especially when nobody believes you, or if you don't even have a real family to begin with. It strips you of your power, makes you vulnerable, makes people think you're crazy. Even when you meet other people who know about these aliens, these creatures..." Jack shook his head. "You can still feel alone in it all. " He trailed off again, and his head turned just enough to stare me in the eyes. His voice remained soft, still as he finished. "Nobody should have to deal with that."
Air pushed out my chest in a silent sigh. I stared back down at the ground far down below, running my tongue over my teeth. Jack wasn't at all wrong about what he said, and I was a perfect example of it. But I still wasn't sure how to reply.
"So, you just claim the insanity they label you as," I shook my head absentmindedly, remembering our old conversation last night.
"To keep yourself from actually going crazy, you do whatever you can."
My head tilted back up, and I squinted in the sunlight to look at the captain once more. "You're different, Jack. Even from the others of your team, something's different about you. You just... know."
Jack smiled again, but it was only a trace of his trademark grin. "I get that a lot. Usually takes people a bit longer to decide that, I have to say."
I watched the man as he stared at me, and his smile grew. He nodded at me, and I could still see some type of knowing look on his face. It was like he could relate to me somehow, and I could feel it.
"Now," In just that word, Jack's voice grew back to his usual tone. "Ianto tells me you haven't eaten much today. How about pizza?"