Natural Disaster 1/?
Disclaimer:- Don't own them just borrowing!
Episode:- None
Pairing:- little bits of Jean/James and of Robbie/Laura but only near the very end!
Rating:- M
Achieve:- http(:/) . /group/rebeccafrontlewisffarchive/
Summary:- There was another crash and the carriage began to tilt spilling them, their drinks and everyone else in the carriage crashing toward the windows with a loud squeal of train breaks and a chorus of panicked screams.
Author's Note:- In answer to Beth's challenge involving a transport failure and character death. Rated for language and graphic scenes as they say on TV. ***Character death warning*** so if you don't like that stay clear otherwise enjoy and reviews would be lovely!
"I get that we're supposed to be showing the more ecologically aware side of policing but remind me again why that means I have to travel 200 miles in the middle of winter on a train?" James sighed as Robbie rolled his eyes and Laura smiled at the exasperated groan that Jean gave as she set her e-reader and leaned across the table.
"Because you and Robbie seriously overspent on millage last month traipsing all over the country looking for a suspect who if you recall turned out to be living ten minutes from the station. Thanks to that I've had the chief constable in my ear about petrol consumption and CO2 emissions and how we're supposed to be reducing both!" She snapped as Robbie glared at his sergeant wondering why the hell he'd decided to get into it all again. They'd already had to sit through a cringe worthy half hour lecture when she'd realised they would have to get to the forensic policing conference by public transport and he didn't need to hear it again especially in front of Laura who seemed to be finding the whole thing way too funny for his liking. "So frankly I would rather be in a nice comfortable car with a heater I had some control over instead of freezing to death on the coldest day of the year in a drafty train carriage but there's damn all we can do about it! Maybe next time you'll think to look a little closer to home before you go gallivanting around the country on a whim."
"We didn't know he was…." James began before quickly shutting up as she looked at him again like at any moment she might kill him and returning to what she was reading putting in the small set of earphones and blocking them all out completely.
"What the hell did you have to do that for?" Robbie whispered glaring at James as he shrugged.
"It's 6am, it's fucking freezing, I've had one cup of shitty train station coffee and I'm suffering from nicotine deprivation already and we're not even half an hour into our journey. This is a joke." James replied squashing the polystyrene cup in front of him and looking at the information card on the table in front of him to see what time the buffet car opened. "None of us want to even go to this bloody conference including her why didn't she just save the department the money it's going to cost to attend the thing and put us up in a crappy travel lodge."
"Why don't we see if we can find you another cup of coffee?" Laura smiled feeling that the tension around the table was getting a little too close to breaking point. She had always been planning on taking the train to the conference and when she'd suggested to Jean that maybe it would get the chief constable off her back if they did the same she'd thought it would be fun. Now she was beginning to realise she couldn't have been more wrong.
"Can you bring me one too and James maybe a cup and something nice as a peace offering might make the rest of their journey a little more bearable for all of us." Robbie smiled nodding at where Jean sat her earphones still in having abandoned her e-reader and resting her head back on the chair closing her eyes.
"Yeah good idea." James agreed following Laura along the carriage in the direction of the buffet car.
"It's like looking out at a Siberian winter." Laura sighed as they joined the queue of other travellers. The snow banked on either side of the train was making the landscape a blinding shade of white that meant it was hard to pick out how far along their journey they might be since all the houses and landmarks looked the same. "I know you're all a bit pissed off about travelling by train but I'm pretty sure it's safer in this weather."
"How do you work that one out?" James laughed shaking his head sceptically. "Nice clear motorways. Half the journey time, the possibility of the occasional smoke break and descent coffee, not to mention as Jean said at least we'd have some control over the temperature in the car."
"Yeah motorways are great but we would have to go off them the closer we got to Durham and somehow I don't think it'll be as nice and full of clear roads there. I hate driving in the frost and snow this heavy is even worse that's why I was planning on taking the train anyway. Much safer." Laura replied as they finally reached the top of the queue. "Four coffee's please and….."
"No wait make that three coffees and one hot chocolate and one of those apricot Danish's." James interrupted pointing at the tray of pastries on the counter as Laura rolled her eyes. "What? Jean likes hot chocolate and apricot Danish is her favourite, Robbie said do something and I'm doing something."
"Yeah that's why you're doing it. Cause Robbie told you to." Laura laughed lifting the tray of drinks and heading back toward their carriage as he paid.
"We're back do you think she's asleep." James asked quietly as they sat down at the table and Jean appeared not to have moved since they left.
"No "she" is very much away and that peace offering he suggested you bring me better be a good one." Jean smiled opening her eyes and nodding her approval as he set the hot chocolate and Danish in front of her. "Didn't you bring anyone else a pastry?"
"I hadn't pissed them off." James smiled
"that could change." Robbie replied rolling his eyes and sipping his coffee.
"Look I was just saying to James this doesn't have to be horrible. Ok we're on a train but it doesn't have to be awful." Laura said confidently looking around as 3 sets of sceptical eyes looked back at her. "And it's safer."
"Safer?" Jean asked glancing from Robbie to James. "How can it…"
"Don't ask, it's all to do with snow and driving." James laughed about to continue when a loud bang caused them all to jump.
"What the hell was that?" Robbie said quietly rising off his seat to see what was going on just as there was another crash and the carriage began to tilt spilling them, their drinks and everyone else in the carriage crashing toward the windows with a loud squeal of train breaks and a chorus of panicked screams.
