BEFORE:
John Noble was supposed to be helping Dame Poisson stop a terrorist threat on her estate. However, her daughter was making it very hard to concentrate. She kept walking around in her black shapely dress and winking at him. Reinette, her name was?
"Hello, my angel," she cooed at him as she swept past with more ice blocks for the sculpture her mother had ordered.
"How do you mean angel?" he shouted after her. "And have you seen this nose and these ears?!"
His mobile rang, and he groaned. He hated that bloody thing. "Yes?" he gritted out.
"Oi, spaceman, is that any way to talk to your favorite sister?" Donna shouted down the line at him.
"I swear you should have been Scottish," he mumbled. "And you're my only sister."
"Yeah, well, we've got the same parents, unlucky for you," she jabbed. "Anyways, it's granddad. Had another of his attacks. I'm at the hospital with him now and he's stable. I'm just telling you to come as soon as you can."
"He's okay?" John demanded, already making his way to his coat and keys.
"I just said that," she sighed. "See you soon."
John rushed to Reinette. "Please tell your mother I've gotta go. Family emergency. I'll be back soon. Just keep the doors locked and the guards on full alert until I've sorted this out."
She nodded. "Of course. I do hope everything is okay."
John gave her a half smile. "Thanks, Miss Poisson."
"It's Reinette, please." She took his hand.
He gave her a small squeeze and raced off.
…..
AFTER:
"I don't know how it's goin' to work with Mr. Noble, Micks," Rose sighed. "He's miserable, which I get, but this...he makes me feel stupid. Like I'm just a chav with no A levels in way over her head."
"You are a chav still," Mickey smirked as Rose smacked him. "You've got just as much right to be there as anyone though, babe. You did your qualifications and your pratice thingie...whatever it was called."
Rose rolled her eyes, but stared moodily at her beer instead of correcting him. "I just don't know what to do."
"What you always do," Mickey reasoned, taking her hand in his. "Be a nurse. Your warm and friendly self. Kill the miserable bugger with kindness."
Rose smiled at him. "Yeah, okay."
….
"Where the hell have you been?" Donna greeted her with the next morning.
Rose glanced down at her watch. She was twenty seconds early, if anything. "Er, sorry?"
"It's fine," she said brusquely, standing aside for Rose to enter the hallway.
"Ignore her!" the older Mr. Noble shouted from further in. "She's just angry at someone else, so she's takin' it out on you!"
Donna grumbled something on her breath. "John is having some...friends over later and I'm just a little on edge that's all."
Mr. Noble scoffed.
"Oi, you!" she barked, and Rose fought the urge to giggle. "Anyways, if you could make some coffee and tea? Just kind of hang back a bit in case he needs something. I just don't think I could bring myself to be there without strangling someone."
"Er, what?" Rose asked.
Donna sighed. "Never mind it now, there's no time to explain. You'll know soon enough. Please and thank you, Miss Tyler."
Rose nodded and turned into crisis mode. She shuffled down the corridor quickly to John's entrance and with a hard knock to which Jack cheerfully called entrance once again, Rose entered with a bright smile on her face.
"How are we today?" she asked.
"Just fine, Miss Tyler," Jack beamed.
"Mean as ever." John scowled.
"Glad to hear it," Rose brushed over his comment and set her stuff down on a kitchen chair. She busied herself with the kettle and the coffee maker as Jack did his final checks for the morning.
"If you need anything, call me Doc, okay?" she heard Jack say. "And don't be afraid to punch someone."
John scoffed, and it made Rose smile just how much like his granddad he was.
"Goodbye, Miss Tyler!" Jack called as he shut the door.
Rose prepared a tray with biscuits and napkins and mugs while she waited. A few hard knocks on the door made her jump a few feet.
"Come in!" John barked.
She turned in curiousity to see who it was that was visiting John.
A very pretty blonde woman was at the door, looking rather sheepish under her snooty facade. By her side was a guy that looked like he had a stick up his arse, fit enough, she supposed, but not her type. Definitely the boarding school type.
"Hello, Johnathan," the woman said.
"Reinette," John greeted.
"I assume you already know Louis?"
"Lord Louis VIII? How could I forget? Your mother was always tryin' to slam him down your throat."
Rose gulped and quickly left the kettle and coffee pot beside the tray as she left the room.
There was obviously some sort of past romantic involvement there, or maybe close freindship, she mused. He knew her mother enough to know about her love life.
"How's Jenny?" he asked.
"Jennifer is fine. She is with my mother right now. I did not think it wise for her to be here for this. She will be here in a few days as usual."
"Well, at least you haven't poisoned her against me, Poisson."
Rose gasped. That was the famous Reinette Poisson? Her family was practically royalty, and John had had a child with her? Maybe even married her?
"No one is trying to poison her against you, Johnathan. You do that well enough yourself," Reinette said coldly.
"What is it that you wanted?" John asked. "I know better than a social call."
She sighed. "You are right. I wanted to let you know, Louis and I, we are engaged."
"I see."
"We all know this is for the best," Louis said.
"What about Jenny?"
"You can still see Jennifer, of course, Johnathan, that will not change. But, well, I think it will be nice for her to have a constant father figure in her life."
"I'm not constant enough," John said flatly.
"Right, well, I did not come here to fight. We should be off. Busy day."
"Shaggin'," John spit out.
"Look, mate," Louis began.
"I'm not your mate," he said vehemently. "Get. Out."
Rose heard the door close a few moments later with a slam. She tentatively peeked her head around the corner. "Everything alright?"
John stared at the door a few moments later before he wheeled around to face her. "Why wouldn't it be?"
She shrugged. "Dunno. Just thought-"
"Well, whatever you thought, don't." John rolled himself into his bedroom and parked next to the window, staring moodily into the garden.
"'Kay," Rose said shakily, busying herself with cleaning up the uneaten treats and untouched cutlery. "Did you need a paracetamol?" she called.
There was no reply.
….
"She really had the nerve to tell him that?" Amy asked later while they were out shopping.
"Yep," Rose replied. "I couldn't believe it."
"What a bitch," Amy said. "First she leaves him after his accident and takes his kid, and now she expects him to be fine she's trying to introuduce a new father figure?"
"That's exactly what I gathered," Rose said. "I wish I could have done somethin' but he just glared out the window the rest of the day. Wouldn't even eat his lunch or dinner."
"Maybe he's on strike," Amy said, "like that time that we boycotted eating pub food because Shareen had that lad that snubbed her."
Rose laughed. "I'm sure this is a little different."
"Fine. What about this?" She held up a golden sundress for her inspection.
"Only if I get to wear my keds with it," she answered.
"Deal," Amy said with a roll of her eyes. "But you know you're not wearing keds to my wedding."
Rose sighed. "I bet Rory will."
"Rory will not!" she exclaimed. "On pain of death."
Rose laughed. "Now, that I believe."
Amy smacked her playfully. "Oi, you, let's finish up in here, Rory's almost off shift."
…..
Rose was greeted the next morning by the sound of a wheelchair crashing. She rushed to the scene of the sound, to find John had tipped himself out with the chair on it's side, wheel spinning.
"Okay," she said calmly. "I'll be there to help in a second."
She quickly grabbed the para ladder from the corner of the living room and rushed to the bedroom. She unfolded the device and grabbed John by the belt loop to sit him on the first step.
"Where's Jack?" she asked.
"Sent him home," he said crossly. "Said you'd be here any minute and he was tired."
"And how'd you do this?" Rose asked.
"Leaned over too far to grab my mobile," he grumbled. "Hate that thing."
Rose smiled. "Not a tech person then."
"No."
Rose grabbed his loop again to help him move up the ladder to the level of his chair to transfer.
"You've got this," she encouraged.
"I'm not a child," he groused.
"Fine," she said. As soon as he was settled back in his chair, she threw his mobile at him. "Might have been important."
She settled into her book at the counter as usual while she waited for something else to come her way.
"Hello, sunshine," she heard John say. "Did you miss me?"
Must be his daughter, she mused. The only person he wasn't cross with.
"Of course I'm lookin' forward to my best girl's visit!" he exclaimed. "It's been too long since I've had Jenny hugs."
"How's your mum?"
"No, that's not it at all. I promise I'll always be here."
Rose smiled.
…
"Er...Miss Tyler." John cleared his throat. He had wheeled out into the main area.
She looked up from her book, surprised. "Yes?"
"I want to...do somethin' with my little girl when she's here. What do you think we could do?" he asked.
"Well, what does she like to do?" she asked.
"She loves animals," he said decisively. "But I can't take her to the zoo. It's too hot for me right now with my-"
"Aquarium?" she asked. "The London one is brilliant! Air conditioned for most bits."
"Aquarium," John said thoughtfully. "Yes, that might work."