Children in Time
Chapter 6
"That's how far I would have fallen! Oh good God!" The brunette that Jack had informed them was named Lynnae looked upwards, her eyes growing wide as she took in the ceiling four stories above them. Her face visibly paled.
"You didn't though," the redhead stated. Samantha, Ianto guessed. She gripped the strap on her backpack, which was flung over her left shoulder. Her right hand found its way to her hip as the woman glanced around the Hub. She could be seen looking at the fountain, her eyes ghosting across the workstations and looking up towards the higher floors.
"All right! Where's our friend?" Lynnae stated as stood up straight, arms stiff at her side.
The raven-haired beauty next to her crossed her arms over her chest and put one foot forward, trying to look at ease, but instead her eyes seemed to bore into each and every one of them. She tossed her head back and her hair flew up, almost like a Fury in waiting.
Ianto finished stirring their coffees and placed the last cup on a large silver tray. He turned around and then navigated away from the little kitchenette to their unofficial office area. He began handing out the regular coffees to Gwen, Tosh, and Jack. Owen would only want some when he was done with the girl. Jack put his cup down on Gwen's desk as he stood next to it.
"We are working on her. Your other friend, David, is with her and my medical officer. Why don't you just wait right over there?" Jack pointed to the brown upholstered settee between the main door and the autopsy bay.
"What happened to her? Why don't you want us to see her?" Lynnae stepped forward, closing the distance between her and Jack rather quickly.
Jack looked down on her smaller stature. "You will see her as soon as my doctor is done. Things would run a lot smoother without a bunch of worried friends in his way. Now sit down." His eyes were growing hard.
"Dr. Harper knows what he's doing. Try and not worry. Calm down," Ianto said as he put the tray down on the square coffee table in front of the brown settee. "I brought some coffee." He then indicated the settee, hoping they would sit down. "I understand how concerned you are, but we are doing everything we can."
Jillian regarded Ianto a moment and then quietly sat down on the edge of the settee. She picked up one of the coffee cups and put a little cream into it from the cream and sugar set Ianto had also placed on the tray. She held the cup between her hands, just staring. Lynnae continued to glare at Jack a moment longer and then abruptly broke away and moved over to the settee, not sitting down, but leaning against the wall next to it.
"Just where are you taking care of Elizabeth?" Samantha asked.
"In our medical bay right over there," Ianto said as he pointed to the staircase that led down into the mini-theatre.
Samantha followed where he pointed and then looked at the wall above the opening. A derisive laugh came out of her mouth. "Cold storage? Sounds more like the morgue." Summarily she looked at Ianto. She then shook her head, mumbling something incoherently, and ambled over to the settee. She plopped down onto the settee, dropping her backpack to the floor and grabbed a nearby coffee cup, holding it on her knee, but not drinking.
"IANTO!" A bellow came from Owen down in autopsy.
Gwen looked up hesitantly and Jack just nodded at Ianto to see what it was. Ianto swiftly moved over to the railing and looked down into the pit. Owen was running around, checking things on the computer monitor on the wall. The group's other friend, David, just sat back on a little stool, holding one of Elizabeth's hands.
"You bellowed?" Ianto said.
Owen looked up at him. Ianto was always impressed with Owen when he went into his doctoring mode. It impressed him how confident he suddenly became throughout, and how much he trusted himself. Also, it was amazing just how focused and brilliant Owen could be then.
"I need you," Owen said.
Ianto raised his left eyebrow. "Pardon me?"
"I need your blood."
"And yet again, pardon?"
Owen heaved out a sigh and gave Ianto an exasperated look. "You have the same blood type as Elizabeth here. She has lost more blood than I can help with. She needs blood, now, I need to do a transfusion. You are a match."
Ianto craned his head and looked back at the trio around the settee. Lynnae had finally picked up one of the coffee cups and took a big swig. She grimaced as she swallowed, and then looked at Ianto, concern evident in her blue eyes. Those worried eyes seemed to draw him in, as if in a dream. He turned back to Owen.
"Fine. I can do that. Will we need help?" Ianto gripped the railing, leaning over it.
"Yes, grab someone." Owen darted back over by the instrument area and began to prep a blood bag.
"Do you need help," Samantha asked, suddenly next to Ianto. "I can take the sight of the blood. Those two are better off not seeing it."
"Oi! Who's that?" Owen looked up at Ianto and Samantha.
"Samantha O'Neill. I'm a friend of Elizabeth. Do you need any help?"
"Actually, yes. Do any of you have the same blood type as her? We are going to need more blood than he can safely provide."
Samantha thought a moment. "I'm not exactly the same type, but my blood type is compatible with hers. Wait a minute! Jillian has the same blood type! Hey! Jillian, get your ass over here."
Jillian took a sip of her coffee and set down the cup on the little table. "Yes?"
"Don't you have the same blood type as Elizabeth? Didn't I figure out everybody's type for my General Bio class?" Samantha began tapping one foot in a rhythmic pattern as she appeared to think things out.
"Yes, you did. I am the same type," Jillian responded.
"Great! You got two of us, doctor." Samantha took off her black leather coat and began rolling up the sleeves on her purple shirt.
Ianto walked back over by Tosh at her desk and gave her a smile. He undid his tie and took it off, folding it neatly and placed it on the corner of her desk. He then undid his shirt cuffs and exchanged a look with Tosh who smiled back.
"You're doing a good thing Ianto," Tosh stated as she slipped her glasses back on.
"Thanks."
"Tosh, babe, can you help me down here. I could use your expertise from hanging around me all the time," Owen said over the intercom.
Jack walked by Tosh's desk. "Don't worry about it. Finish those scans, I'll help him." Jack paused a moment by Ianto, touching his upper arm. He gave it a quick squeeze and then walked down into the autopsy bay.
Ianto swore he could still feel the heat of Jack's touch on him, flaring on his arm and through the rest of his body. Ianto turned on his heel and headed for Owen's makeshift triage. He motioned for Samantha and Jillian to follow him. The two women followed him as he descended down into the pit of the autopsy bay.
"Listen Owen, I can be as pretty as Tosh can be playing nurse. She has something she needs to finish and I know just as much as her, maybe even a bit more than you expect." Jack stood his ground at the base of the stairs.
"Great, bloody great," Owen muttered as he grabbed up the things he would need. "You! Out," Owen said as he pointed at David using his entire arm to point up the other staircase.
"No way buddy. I am not leaving her side."
"Come on up here pet. Owen knows what he's doing, trust me, he's helped me before." Gwen stood above them on the railing, shooting David her most optimistic smile, trying to smooth over the possible bumps knowing how bad a Weevil attack could be. "I'll sit up here and wait with you and your other friend. We'll have some coffee and let Dr. Harper do his job." She walked halfway down the set of steps Owen had indicated and held out her hand.
David glared at Gwen and then looked at his friends. Finally he relented and started up the stairs, not touching Gwen. She put her hand on his back as he walked past her and led him up by the settee, the two of them disappearing from sight.
Ianto was brought back to the here and now by the sound of furniture being moved as Owen brought over another stool and put it against the wall and the small side table for instruments. Ianto let out a sigh and moved over, rearranging the instruments so they would not be on the edge of the table where they might be knocked over.
"There are not enough chairs or another gurney, so we'll have to improvise. You're lucky that's what I'm good at." Owen picked up a blood bag and attached the tubing. "All right, let's saddle up and take care of this hooley."
Ianto sat down on the stool. A quick laugh emitted from Samantha. Ianto turned to her. She looked like she wanted to laugh more, but one look at Elizabeth silenced any further outbursts.
"What's so funny?" Owen asked as he tied off Ianto's arm, sitting down on a stool in front of the Welshman.
"Sorry, really sorry, it just sounded so surreal." Samantha stated as she sat down on the bottom step of the stairs that led into the pit. "We're in the middle of all this... all this shit and you quote a catchphrase from a Jack Jones novel."
"A Jack Jones novel?" Jack queried as he looked at the girls and then at Owen. Jack stepped over and crouched between Ianto and Owen, holding the next thing Owen would need.
"A series of novels written by Jonathon Tiberius," Jillian supplied as she tucked a piece of hair behind her right ear.
"Crap, that's what they are," Owen said.
"Then why do you read them?" Samantha asked.
"Just because I quoted crap does not mean I read it," Owen quipped as he jabbed the needle into Ianto's arm.
Ianto winced as it poked through his skin and he watched with fascination as the red fluid started coursing through the rubber tube and into the blood bag that Jack hung up on the IV stand. Something about that moment seemed so right.
"I hope you don't take it personally then, knowing your patient reads Jack Jones novels voraciously."
"To each their own," Owen stated. "How are you feeling?" he asked Ianto.
"Fine," Ianto replied.
"Good," Owen said as he clamped off and detached the one blood bag and then attached an empty one to the tubing. He opened up the clamp and held Ianto's arm up on his shoulder as more blood coursed into the second bag. "Thanks," Owen muttered.
"Don't worry," Jack said. "When we're done with this and Elizabeth is feeling better, I'll get us all some tea. All of us." Jack made sure to acknowledge the women and then turned back to Ianto and gave him a wink.