Hey guys :D I hope you like this chapter! Thanks for all the support :D
When Rose woke up she was in a dark room lying on a cold concrete floor. She picked herself up off the ground and looked around the almost pitch black room. The only source of light in the room was a small hole in the middle of the roof. It was cold. Everything was cold. The walls felt like they were made out of the same cold concrete as the floor, there was no door that she could tell.
A light flickered on to her left and the dingy room was illuminated. It was circular, almost like she was inside a concrete tank. The door was only just visible in the light. It had no handle and no other indication that it was a door apart from the crease that ran around the shape of it. Clearly it must move in some way, but only from the outside.
As she observed it, the door slid forward and to the side, hydraulic arms supporting it. Rose gaped, she'd known Jimmy must have gotten some money somehow, but how on earth he got hold of a place like this she had no idea. Where even was this place?
Jimmy appeared from behind the door and stepped into the room. He stood there staring at her, taking in her appearance. Only then did Rose look at what she was wearing. She was still in her dress from the night before. The golden fabric was torn slightly, hanging off one shoulder. She frowned, not remembering it being like that before she had been sedated.
"Come" Jimmy ordered and Rose followed him cautiously. Her usual stubbornness was nagging at her, furious with her for just doing as he said, but times had changed and so had she, she was losing that spark of rebelliousness that fuelled the fire within her. Rose Tyler was no longer the independent woman that she had tried so hard to be. Everyone, even heroes, must have their kryptonite, and hers just happened to be Jimmy Stone.
He led her through the dark corridors and into an area that was more brightly lit. It was a warehouse, that much she did know, but why it had a room like the one she'd woken up in was beyond her.
Jimmy turned to her and paused, bring his arm up to check his watch. "You're to stay here for now" he almost growled "Later I will return and then we can discuss how best to punish you".
"Punish me? Punish me for what?" she asked fearfully. 'Pathetic' her own voice inside her head told her 'Honestly? You're like a dog...or maybe you are a dog now, Jimmy's little pet'.
"Someone found out where you were" he stepped closer "Now I don't know when and I don't know how...but I do know that they're never gonna find you, you can count on that".
Rose opened her mouth to retort but was silenced by his hand making sharp contact with her face. Her eyes watered and she sunk to the ground at Jimmy's feet. She curled up, vaguely aware of Jimmy walking away and a door slamming in the distance.
John wandered down the street. Five times he had walked past the club, five. She was in there. Both Matt and Martha had seen her in there and it drove him mad that he couldn't get to her. Why was a place designed for people to get drunk and rub up against each other so hard to get into? The security systems alone in a place like that were ridiculous.
Growling, he turned again and ran straight into someone who had stopped just behind him. He leant down to help the woman up and much to his surprise he saw his older sister looking back up at him.
"John" she gasped "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you".
"It's alright" he nodded "I should've been watching where I was going. So what are you doing around this area of town?"
"Oh Donna told me you'd be here" she looked over at the building across the street "So you really think she's in there?"
Her words shocked John greatly. He'd had no idea that she knew about what was going on, let alone that him and Rose were dating. Of course, Sarah-Jane knew more about losing people then he did. Only a few years after almost all of their family were killed in the fire, her son of only seven years old disappeared. No one knew where he went. Police tried to find him but no one ever could. His name was Luke, and John had loved his little nephew dearly. They never spoke about him to anyone. John hadn't even told Rose because he felt that that was something for Sarah-Jane to tell, if she was feeling strong enough.
John suddenly felt very guilty. He knew that Rose was alive, at least there'd been witnesses anyway, but Sarah-Jane had lost her son and nothing had been done about it in seven years. She never even got to bury him. John liked to hope that he was still alive somewhere in the world and would find his way back to them. Unfortunately it had been far too long for anyone else to share his hopes. He was as Matt described it 'An optimist, a hoper of far flung hopes and a dreamer of improbable dreams' much like Matt liked to think of himself.
He cleared his throat "Yeah, yeah I think she is".
"Good" she gave him a warm smile "I'm so glad you know. Not knowing if she was alive for the rest of your life would have been the hardest thing for you".
"Sarah-Jane" he pulled her into his arms for a hug.
"I guess some things just aren't meant to happen" she sniffed, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.
"You know it's still poss"-
"No" she pulled away to look up at him "Don't do that; don't give me hope like that. I've had seven years of hope and look where it's got me".
"Sarah-Jane, you are one of the strongest women I've ever met" he gave her a strained smile "Please don't let yourself give up".
She pulled him back in for another hug "I'll try John, but it's just so hard".
"I know" he whispered "I know".
When Rose had cried herself out she stood up and took in her surroundings. It seemed Jimmy was getting careless in his watch over her. As far as she could tell, she was alone. Alone in a dark old warehouse.
She slowly made her way towards the first door she saw. It was locked just like she had predicted. It was a safe bet that every other door leading outside would be as well. Her shoulders slumped and she made her way back over to the lit up area of the enormous room. Something in the corner of the room caught her eye and she slowly made her way over. She found an empty shipping container; well at least it appeared to be empty. In the shadows she could see the remnants of a makeshift bed, wrappers from chocolate bars scrunched beneath her feet.
From the evidence she had she could gather that someone lived there, or had lived there previously, but who would? What desperate soul would live in such a place voluntarily? Sure it was shelter, but a place like that would be cold and lonely.
A hand on her shoulder made her jump and let out a shriek. She turned to see the shadow of a person in front of her. The figure was too small to be a man, and when he spoke her suspicions were confirmed.
"What are you doing here?" he hissed "Honestly, why would you come here?"
"I'm sorry" she frowned "I think I should be asking you the same question. How old are you anyway?"
"I'm fourteen" he sighed "Look, I don't want any trouble; I'm in more than enough of that already".
"Me either believe me kid, but I guess we're both a little jeopardy-friendly. Come on out of here so we can chat". Rose watched as the boy nodded and cautiously stepped out into the light. She followed closely behind him and turned to take in his appearance. He was skinny, about mid-height and his hair and eyes were both a strangely familiar shade of brown.
He looked at her awkwardly "I'm Luke, by the way", he held out his hand for her to shake.
Rose grinned and took it "I'm Rose, nice to meet you. It's nice to meet someone who doesn't want to beat me up".
"I know the feeling" he smiled back and Rose couldn't help but notice a scar on his cheek and various bruises on his arms from previous injuries.
"So Luke" Rose sat down on the edge of the container and sighed "What brings you to this place?"
"Well I'm hiding out at the moment" he yawned and sat down beside her "I had a family once. A great mum, awesome aunt and uncle, grandparents, friends. All of that's gone now though".
"What happened?" Rose asked quietly.
He swallowed "Big accident, I was only five at the time. Killed most of my family including my grandparents and my uncle's wife".
"I'm sorry" Rose patted him awkwardly on the shoulder.
"Yeah well" he let out a puff of air "When I was seven I was taken away, stolen by these people. Apparently they'd always wanted a son and couldn't resist taking me since they saw me for the first time. Unfortunately they weren't very nice to me, though that might have had something to do with the fact that I just wanted to go home to my real mother".
"Wow" Rose blinked "So you've just been running away since?"
"Yeah pretty much" he shrugged "I managed to escape sometime last year. I tried tracking down my family, but I couldn't find out much with 'them' hot on my heels".
"Well if we manage to get out of here I'll help you" she smiled down at him "I've got some people I need to see as well".
"Why are you here?" he frowned at her dress "No offence but you don't really look like you're dressed for a place like this".
Rose glanced down at her golden dress and laughed "My uh boyfriend -ex-boyfriend has been holding me hostage. You see, all these years ago I saw him murder my best friend and since then he'd been threatening me. I was moving on with my life though, I had two great jobs, a house, and a boyfriend that I loved very much. Jimmy couldn't have that though; he ruined it over three months ago. Ran both of us down with his car, I woke up a prisoner and my boyfriend didn't wake up at all until three months later in hospital".
The young boy stared at her "Wow".
"Yeah" Rose nodded "So on that note" she stood up "You wouldn't be able to tell me a way out of here would you? Jimmy will be coming back soon and with your help we can be gone before he even suspects a thing".
"You're keen" Luke laughed.
"Well yeah" Rose grinned at him "I'm about to get my life back. Both of us are" she added after seeing the look of longing on his face.
"Alright I'll help you" Luke nodded "But first I need to get my bag" he rushed over to one of the other shipping containers and emerged moments later with a worn backpack slung over his shoulder "Don't go anywhere without it" he patted it fondly.
"Alright so where do we go?" asked Rose, kicking off her heels and throwing them into a dark corner.
"Up there" he pointed upwards to a window that was half-open. If that wasn't fun enough, this exact window was about three metres off the ground.
"Well that's handy" Rose couldn't help but comment.
Luke rolled his eyes "No one ever thinks that these windows can be an escape route, but..." he ventured into the darkness and appeared moments later with a tall ladder in his hands "they never bother to check if there's a ladder in this place".
"Right then" Rose grinned "Clever".
"Very" Luke agreed, setting the ladder against the wall and stepping back "Ladies first".
"Thank you" she placed her foot on the first rung and started to climb. When she reached the top she soon discovered that there was no way down. Bracing herself for the impact, she leapt out of the window, but when she hit the ground her legs buckled beneath her and one of her ankles gave in. She rolled on the ground in pain as Luke, having had more practice, landed easily and rushed to her side.
"Rose! Rose, are you ok?"
Rose whimpered in pain "I think my ankle's twisted, Luke".
"I'll help you" he wrapped one of her arms around his neck and pulled her up with surprising strength for someone of his size.
"Thank you" she responded breathlessly as they made their way down the road. It then occurred to Rose that she had no clue where they were going, but Luke seemed to know and for the time being that was good enough for her.
While they continued down the road in silence, Rose thought about just how lucky she had been that Luke had picked that precise warehouse. She was going home. Home. The mere thought of it filled her eyes with tears. The past few months when she had dreamt of home she hadn't pictured her little house or her mother's apartment on the estate. No, she had pictured John's house, the pair of them lying on the lounge together watching movies, him reading to her in the study, her bringing him tea whilst he studied constellations with his telescope. That was the life she dreamt about and that was the life she could now have.
When Luke suddenly stopped, Rose was forced out of her daydream and looked over to where a car was stopped ahead of them. They were close to the road, but Rose was sure they were covered enough by the darkness so as not to be seen. Dread grew inside her as two figures got out of the car. Was it Jimmy? Had he discovered her absence and come to collect her?
"Rose, stay back" Luke murmured "They're not after you".
That was when Rose realised who these people were. They wanted Luke; though for what purpose she did not know. Her instincts automatically took over and she stepped in front of Luke, wincing as she put weight on her injured ankle.
"Out of the way lady" said a sickeningly sweet voice "We only want our baby back".
"How did you find me?" Luke spat at them, from where Rose was keeping him behind her.
"We're your parents, darling" said the same voice "I'm your mother, you know that".
"No you're not" Luke hissed "Rose is going to help me find my real mum again!"
"Oh darling" the woman laughed darkly "I'm afraid she's not".
It seemed like it all happened in seconds. One moment Rose was concentrating on Luke, then a sharp pain in her abdomen made her stagger sidewards and fall to the ground. From her position she could see the man dragging Luke away as he kicked and screamed. The woman was still standing over her, a smile on her face.
"You have to learn not to get involved dearie" she tutted. In the darkness Rose could see the woman's foot rise up off the ground, feel an agonising pain in the side of her head, then...nothing. Everything was once again black around her.
White, everything was white. Her eyelids were heavy as she tried desperately to open them. Where was she?! She tried to sit up, but it was like a barrier was preventing her from doing so. As she lay back down in defeat she wondered just how long it was going to take before she died. Was the light leaking through her eyelids from a torch?
It was like she was swimming in a world between conscious and unconscious. The air above the water was where she had to stay if she wanted to remain awake, but if she fell beneath the surface she was scared she would never wake up again.
"Miss" an unfamiliar voice was calling to her. She hesitated, not sure if she should answer.
"I'm here" she managed, her voice hoarse.
"Welcome back" the same voice said.
"Back from where? Where have I been?"
"We were hoping you could tell us that" the voice sounded closer and Rose decided to make one last effort at trying to open her eyes.
They opened a lot easier this time and she could see that she was in a hospital bed. A kind looking man was watching her as she sat up in confusion.
"Just keep calm" he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder "You've been through a lot. Despite your injuries from last night" he said flipping open a folder "You've got an enormous amount of partially healed wounds. You're going to have to have a cast on your left hand due to some bone fractures.
What happened to you?" he asked gently "Do you remember?"
"I...I..." Rose stammered, trying desperately to remember "The last thing I remember was my mother coming over to my new house. I'd just bought it and we were celebrating".
"You can't remember anything since?" he asked and she shook her head.
"What happened to me? How long has it been since I got that house?"
"It's been nearly twelve months" he said gently "You suffered from a blow to the head and it caused you to lose your memory of...well, I guess the last twelve months".
She looked at him with terrified eyes "What have I been doing for twelve months?!"
"Calm down, please Miss" the Doctor gestured for her to lie back down, and she did which surprised both of them.
"My name is Rose" she said softly "Please tell me what happened to me?"
He nodded "Well, since you got here we've discovered that you have sedatives in your system. Those, as well as the blow to the head are what is causing your amnesia. We're searching for your family right now, Rose".
"Doctor, will my memories ever come back? What if something really important happened and I can't remember?" she asked earnestly.
"We are hoping that your memories will return, but for now we are just going to make sure that you're safe and with your family. Your brain will heal, but it needs time, time to rest and recuperate".
"I know where to go. Can I just go to my mum's now?"
"I'm afraid we need to wait for her to come and get you herself" the Doctor said sadly, standing up "I have things to do, but I'll come back and see you before you're discharged".
Rose nodded and sat up again in bed. Waiting until he had rounded the corner, she slipped out of bed and made her way down the hall. Hardly anyone even seemed to notice her as she made her way down the corridor, her hospital gown acting as handy camouflage.
Once she had made it out the door she started in the direction of the Powell Estate. Did her mother know what had happened to her? How long had it been since she had seen her mother? These were questions she was determined to get the answers to. She may not have known what had happened in the last twelve months, but she did know that there was a fire of determination inside her. The feeling of it was like hot water in winter, and for some reason she felt as though she had missed it, as though her independence had disappeared over the last few months and was finally back where it belonged.
Am I evil? :P Sorry I couldn't resist it once the idea hit me. Also I know that Luke's character might not be exactly right, but I haven't watched The Sarah-Jane adventures before :/ Anyway please let me know what you thought of it! :D