The Trick Is To Keep Breathing 14/?

[missthingsplace]

AU: When it all changes: Life, Love and Family in Torchwood.
Title: The Trick Is To Keep Breathing 14/?
Author: missthingsplace
Parings/characters: Jack/Ianto, Gwen/Rhys, Andy, My OC's: Caden, Eloise, Dylan, Jenni, Claire, Chloe, Damien, Ianto's family.
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or any of the characters ... unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while.
Summary: The Twins, Caden and Eloise are now 19 and working for Torchwood, a case comes up that would be perfect for them but their parents are reluctant to let them work on the field, especially Jack ... will his fear be founded?
Spoilers: Probably not, but you never know ...
Warnings: Mentions of abuse but no details.
Rating: NC17 for the series.

 

Eloise woke up abruptly at the sound of someone knocking hard on her door while yelling her her to wake up. She dragged her sleepy self out of bed and after throwing on her jeans and a jumper she unlocked the door and came face to face with a very upset Sandra.

“It's Lottie,” Sandra told her, “I went to check on her this morning, to see if she was feeling better and all of her stuff is missing and her she … she's gone Eloise!”

“Have you told Jane?” Eloise asked, taking her gently by the arm and leading her into the room to sit on the bed.

“Yes, of course!” Sandra replied, almost at a yell, “Jane said that she decided late last night that she didn't want to be here anymore … I don't believe her Ellie, can I call you Ellie? There is no way she left of her own accord? I mean, you barely know her but … well, no, something is off!”

“Okay, one, you can call me Ellie,” Eloise told her gently, “and two, you need to calm down, this won't help any of us find her. Have you spoken to Jamie?”

“No, I came straight to you,” she answered, “after I went to bed last night, before this even happened I had what you and Caden had said going around in my mind, that something might be going on here with the missing kids and now … now Lottie is gone.”

At that point Caden and Jamie appeared at the door.

“Is it true?” Caden asked, “Lottie is gone?”

“Yeah and I for one don't believe she went of her own accord!” Sandra replied, finally giving into the tears she had been holding back.

“Okay, well, we can't go in your room,” Caden grumbled, “is there anywhere private we can go?”

“Yep, the laundry room,” Jamie informed them, “no-one does the laundry until after breakfast is over and cleaned up.”

“Lead the way,” Caden instructed and they all followed, Eloise with a comforting arm around her new friend.

They ducked into the laundry room, closed the door and sat themselves at the sorting table at the far end of the room.

“Are you sure we won't be found in here?” Caden asked.

“Not if we're quick,” Jamie replied, “we need to be out as soon as possible or they will wonder why we are not at breakfast and will come looking for us.”

“Right, Sandra, has Lottie ever said that she was unhappy and was thinking of leaving? Ever?” Eloise asked her.

“No, never, compared to her home life this was heaven,” she answered. “he dad was … abusive in many way and her mum, she drank and never intervened.”

“Okay, we can rule her running away then, for sure,” Eloise stated. “I think our thoughts were right, this place has something to do with the missing kids and then turning us so damaged.”

The other three nodded in unison.

“But what can we do? We're just kids?” Sandra said sadly, “it's not like we are the Scooby Gang?”

“We can't tell her the truth of who we are,” Caden sent silently to his sister.

“No,” she replied instantly. “but we need to give them hope.”

“Maybe not,” Eloise said out loud, “but there is nothing to stop us snooping around.”

“We might get caught,” Jamie said, feeling a little nervous. “I don't want to get kicked out if nothing suspicious comes up.”

“We'll just have to be careful then,” Caden replied. “right, we need to go and make an appearance at breakfast.”

“Okay,” Sandra agreed, finally having calmed down and they exited the laundry room and made their way to the dining hall where breakfast was in full swing and collected some food before taking a seat at their normal table.

“Okay, can I have a little quiet please?” Jane's voice rang out across the room. “Now, you may have heard that Lottie left us last night, she left of her own accord and is perfectly fine so please don't worry about her.”

“Sure,” Eloise muttered under her breath.

Jane left as quickly as she had appeared and the volume in the room began to rise again with talk of Lottie and her leaving.

“We need to let our dads know,” Eloise sent to her brother, “I'm going to make my excuses,”

“Yes, the sooner the better,” Caden sent back, agreeing with his twin.

“I'll be back in a minute,” Eloise told them, rising from the table, “I just need to pop to the loo.”

They all just nodded and she headed straight to the toilets, checking it was empty before locking herself into a cubicle and activating her comm.

“Dad, Da? Are you there?” She asked.

“Hey, everything okay?” Ianto voice came to her.

“No, one of the girls has vanished,” Eloise informed him, “they are saying she left of her won accord last night but we have reason the believe that's not the case.”

“Are you sure?” Jack interjected.

“Ninety nine point nine percent positive,” she answered. “one of the other girls I have become friendly with told me that she was badly abused at home and would have never left here.”

“Right, we'll be right there,” Jack stated.

“No Dad,” Eloise signed, “You're doing it again, there is no physical proof. We are going to do some snooping and see if we can find anything, when we do then you come in guns blazing. Right?”

“But ...” Jack began but got cut off by his husband.

“She has a point Jack, there may not be anything at the actual hostel but perhaps they can find some kind of evidence to where they take the kids,” Ianto said. “if we blunder in now and there is nothing to find we will be back to square one and they will probably just abandon the hostel and start something new up else where and you will be very careful, won't you Eloise? You and your brother? We need to know we can trust you to be the adults you are?”

“Yes Da, I promise we can see this through,” she said trying to reassure both of her fathers.

“Right, I'll deal with your dad ...” Ianto started.

“Hey ...” Jack huffed.

“Just keep in touch and us informed, okay?”

“Of course Da,” she told him. “I have to go or they will think something is wrong.”

“Okay, go and be … Nancy Drew,” Ianto told her, unable to stop the small chuckle that came with it.

“By Da, dad, see you soon, I hope,” Eloise said before cutting the comm and hoped that her dad wasn't worrying too much about their well being while making her way back to the dining room, filling Caden in along the way.

TBC