When We Were Young

Chapter 1 – Running Away

Set during the episode 12.09 and 12.09 – The Lost Child. Nikki reveals how big a part Noel Hopkins played towards her becoming a pathologist, and surprisingly a certain male doctor had a hand in it too... Harry/Nikki as teenagers then later on.

Has a bit of an AU feel to it, I was trying to be creative lol

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. Unfortunately. BBC owns it all

Harry looked up from the book he was leafing through as Nikki came into the library. Something was wrong and Harry knew better than to pry, but Nikki seemed willing to talk about it.

"Harry, do you think I'm cynical?" She asked.

Harry surveyed her with affection. "I think it's a miracle you're not more cynical," he said honestly, closing the book and leaning back against the bookcase.

There was a silence, in which Nikki seemed so vulnerable to Harry. He wanted to comfort her, to put his arms around her and tell her everything would be alright, but Nikki's body language clearly told him to stay away and so he let her talk.

"He saved me, you know," she said. "I ran away from school." Harry didn't say anything so she continued. "When my mother died, my dad sent me to a comprehensive in Guildford. I wasn't very happy, I caught a train to London..."

A blonde 15 year old slowly made her way to the front of the queue and smiled shyly at the ticket man. He raised his eyebrows behind the screen and asked Nikki where she was going. "Where you off to, love?" he asked.

Nikki thought quickly. She hadn't thought this far ahead when she left school – all she knew was that she'd been on her way to the canteen for lunch when Ryan Turner, the hunk in the year above her, had nudged his mate and the two of them had looked at her, laughing. Nikki couldn't cope with it; she'd been trying to fit in for 3 weeks and she still hadn't made any friends or even talked to anyone. Everyone thought she was the weird girl from Africa who lived alone with her father and just let her be. So Nikki, not really thinking, just desperate to get away from it all, had walked out of the canteen, out of the school and had ended up in Guildford Station.

She caught sight of the screen behind the ticket guy and noticed the next train arrived in 5 minutes. "Kings Cross, please," she said, handing him some money. "One way."

The ticket guy plugged some numbers into his machine and a few seconds later the ticket popped out. "There you go, love," he said, nodding at her. "Have a safe trip."

Nikki nodded, took her ticket and started to walk towards the platform. Once standing there, waiting for the train, an older man who'd been behind her in the queue came up to her.

"Do you want a sweet?" he asked her.

Nikki stared at him for a moment. "No, thank you," she said politely and walked a way off. She could feel him looking at her but she ignored him and was thankful when the train came.

She entered a half full carriage and sat down by the window. She saw the older man sit across the aisle from her but, not wanting to engage in conversation, she blocked him out of her mind and stared aimlessly out of the window.

Nikki had been on the train for about ten minutes when it made a stop and a few more people came into the carriage. A boy a couple of years older than Nikki surveyed the seats and, seeing a group of four seats with both the window seats taken, one by a middle aged woman with a large pile of files and one by a blonde, sad-looking girl, sat down in the seat next to the blonde. She stared at him for a minute and he smiled at her.

"Hi," he said.

Nikki was surprised. None of the boys at her school had looked twice at her since she started and, always a bit shy, she felt flattered by the attention. So she smiled back at the boy. He was quite nice to look at, too – he had black hair which looked as though it had been cut recently and was wearing jeans and a blue t-shirt, but what Nikki noticed was his eyes. They were so full of expression and Nikki felt herself immediately drawn to them.

"Hey," she said back quietly. The train began to move off again and she and the boy smiled at each other awkwardly.

"Where you going?" asked the boy.

"London, Kings Cross," said Nikki. She paused, waiting for him to say something else but he didn't. So she made conversation. "You?"

"Ah, just the stop before," said the boy, a twinkle starting to form in his eye, a sign to anyone that knew him that this meant he was at ease with his companion. "Interview for University."

Nikki was impressed. "What University?" she asked, sitting up straighter and crossing her legs towards the boy.

The boy tilted his head. "London College of Fashion," he said, putting his hand on his hip in a floppy manner.

"Oh," said Nikki. So that was why he was being nice to her – he wasn't interested in that way.

The boy saw he'd got her by the look on her face. "Just joking," he said, taking his hand down again and turning towards her. "It's an interview for a medical course at UCL. I want to become a doctor."

Nikki smiled, realising he liked a laugh. That was alright, so did she. "Cool," she said. "That sounds fun!"

"What, the interview or the course?" asked the boy.

"The course, of course," grinned Nikki. "I don't envy you the interview!"

The boy smiled flirtatiously at her. "Oh, I'm not worried, I'll just impress them with my good looks and charm..."

Nikki burst into laughter and poked him shyly in the ribs. He poked her back and they began to talk – nothing too personal, though, just about the weather, the train, London – things that bonded them together, without sharing too much detail with someone they barely knew.

"I'm the next stop," said the boy eventually, starting to gather up his gum wrappers.

Nikki leaned back. "Right," she said, looking at him.

The boy seemed to understand. "Can I get your number?" he asked.

Nikki considered. What had she got to lose? "Alright," she said. She looked at the woman opposite her for a moment. When the woman looked up she said, "Sorry, could I borrow your pen for a second please?"

The woman handed her the pen and Nikki picked up the last gum wrapper. She scribbled down her number, folded the piece of paper up then gave it to the boy, handing the woman back her pen. As the train came to a halt, the boy stood up and looked at Nikki, a mischievous look in his eye.

"We'll talk?" asked Nikki, trying to sound nonchalant.

The boy's mouth twitched. "Maybe, maybe not," he said and, without looking back, left the train.

Nikki watched him walk down the platform to the exit before they train moved off again. It had been nice, to finally chat to someone her own age who didn't laugh and point when they saw her. Or was it? She still wanted to get away, where no one would find her. She just had to get away from her father and the bloody comprehensive and its snotty head, Mr Noel Hopkins. Hopefully she'd find somewhere in London to stay and that would be that.

However, as the train drew into Kings Cross, Nikki realised how vulnerable she was. She cautiously stood up and the older man, who'd been sitting opposite her and the boy the whole journey, rubbed her arm. "Need a hand?" he asked.

Nikki nodded gratefully. She wasn't naive, she knew (subconsciously at least) what he wanted, but it was so nice to have someone care about her that she accepted his help. She followed him out of the train and along the platform to where there was a little cafe with chairs and tables outside. The man put her bag down by one of the tables and pulled out a chair for her to sit on, which she accepted.

"You can call me Paul," he said, a grin on his face. "Do you want a coffee?"

Coffee sounded great to Nikki, who hadn't had anything since breakfast. "Could I have a sandwich too?" she asked quietly.

Paul rubbed her arm again. "Of course you can. Now, you stay here and I'll be back out in a minute." He disappeared into the cafe and Nikki shivered, partly from cold but mostly from fear. She was alone in a city she barely knew and she'd better stick close to Paul. He seemed nice enough and he'd protect her.

Paul came back out carrying a tray, on which there was two large mugs of coffee, a plate of sandwiches, two packets of crisps and a large slice of chocolate cake. "Dig in, sweetheart!" he said.

As they ate, Nikki found herself growing uneasy. This man was being very kind to her, but whenever he started to make a move she asked for more food or drink. She couldn't explain it, but she had a feeling she should stay right where she was for as long as possible.

Eventually though, Paul stood up and handed her her bag. "Come on, let's go back to my place," he said. He walked up the platform and Nikki was just about to follow him when she saw a man step off the just-arrived train, look up and down hurriedly and run towards her in relief when he saw her. It was Mr Hopkins, her head teacher.

"Nikki Alexander!" he called out to her. Nikki saw him and the fears she'd been holding back since she left the school caught up with her. The minute Noel put his arm around her she started to weep.

Noel started to talk. "When you didn't turn up for register I called the police," he said soothingly. "They said somebody had reported a young girl with a dodgy-looking older man in that cafe there." He pointed towards the cafe where Nikki and Paul had been sitting. "When they described you, I got straight on the train."

Nikki's sobs began to subside and she sniffed and looked up at him. "Thank you," she said in a small voice.

Noel guided her to a bench. "Alright then? We're going to get you back to school, you're going to promise me nothing like this will ever happen again and then you're going to go home to your father. He's really worried about you, Miss Alexander."

Nikki groaned inwardly. "I bet he is," she said sarcastically. Noel didn't ask so she didn't expand. "Let's face the music then."

During the train ride back to Guildford, Nikki didn't say anything. She'd set out wanting to punish everyone, including her dad, and now she was the one who'd been punished. Life was a funny thing. All thoughts of the boy she'd met forgotten, she nodded off to sleep in Mr Hopkins' arms and didn't even wake until they were back at the school. Then she went home to her dad.

Okay, first chapter! What did you think? The boy will make an appearance in the next chapter so keep reading – hope you're enjoying it!