1 November 2001
Trisha was incredibly nervous as she stood outside the Williams house once again. As promised, James had called her that morning. His rapid DNA test had proved that Sabrina was her sister. Also as promised, he said that she could meet her sister around 11. She had known the man less than 24 hours and he had kept more promises than most people she knew.
It still seemed too good to be true. No one, not even her own mother, had kept their promises to her. Mum was too devoted to her job to have much time for her. Mostly Mum had just left her to her own devices. Sometimes she wondered why her mother even bothered to have a child.
Her father had left when she was young. He barely saw her after he married Sabrina's mother. Then he had died, leaving her without even those brief visits.
Granddad, her mother's father, had been wonderful. He was always telling her stories of his work with UNIT and his travels with the army. Tragedy had struck her life again, when Granddad had a massive heart attack just ten months after her dad had died. Trisha had been left with a gaping hole in her own heart.
Her life had taught her not to trust people. She had been afraid that Sabrina, after having been adopted, would suffer the same lonely childhood that she had. The opposite seemed to be true here, however.
Last night, after her meeting with James, she had done a little more digging on the Williams family. Everything seemed legitimate. James and Rose had been married in 1980, had Tony in 1981 while living in Norway. In May 1988, they sold their Import/Export Company, Bad Wolf Corporation, and moved to Leadworth. Why they had chosen this tiny little town was beyond her understanding, however.
A little less than a year after the relocation, their second child, Rory, had been born. That had been in February 1989. James was the only science teacher at the very tiny local school. Rose worked part-time as a child psychologist, mostly working with the children who were wards of the state.
In the fall of 1997, they adopted Sabrina after she had been bounced between foster homes. They seemed like the perfect little family, and that was what bothered her the most. Something wasn't right here. Her instincts told her they weren't inherently dangerous people. They were just hiding something. She could feel it.
For the moment, however, she didn't want to risk the cordial relationship that she was forming. So instead of her normal brash approach, of pushing and prodding until she got what she wanted, she would wait, gathering information quietly until she could deduce what was really going on.
Taking a deep breath, she raised a hand and knocked on the door. From inside she heard a woman's voice, Rose she presumed. "Hold on, I'm coming." A moment later the door opened to reveal a petite, very pretty, blonde woman. She looked young. No way could she have been much older than Trisha herself, really, definitely not old enough to have a son in University.
"You must be Trisha. Come in, come in. I'm Rose, by the way. Can I take your coat?" Rose ushered her into the house.
"Thank you," Trisha said, handing over her coat. "It's lovely to meet you, Rose," she replied, swallowing down the lump in her throat. "I really appreciate your generosity in allowing this meeting." It was the truth. The compromise James had offered was much fairer than she had ever expected.
Rose smiled brightly. "It's not a problem. We're glad you're here. I just want you to know, we always intended to help Sabrina find you." She gestured for Trisha to take a seat on the sofa. "We talked to Sabrina this morning. Told her you were in town and would like to meet her. She is very excited to get to know all about you. I think she has a lot of questions."
"I'm not sure that I can give her any, at least not about our father," Trisha said under her breath. "I barely knew him myself."
"Nervous?" Rose asked with a small, knowing smile.
"Just a little." She swallowed down her nerves. Part of her just wanted to run away. What if Sabrina hated her?
Before she could do anything, Rose wrapped her in a hug. "You'll do fine, sweetheart. Are you ready?" She pulled back and Trisha nodded. Rose called for James to bring Sabrina out.
The girl came into the room gripping her father's hand with a big grin on her face.
"Sabrina, this is your sister Trisha." James introduced them. "Trisha, this is Sabrina."
"Hello," Sabrina said shyly.
'Hello." Trisha extended a hand to her sister. Sabrina laughed and threw herself into her sister's arms. The moment was unexpected but not unwelcome and Trisha hugged her tightly. Over Sabrina's shoulder, she mouthed a thank you to James and Rose.
"I think that we should give these two some space," James said, tugging on Rose's hand, trying to pull her back into the kitchen.
"Mummy, can I show Trisha my room? I want to show her the picture I drew in class last week." Sabrina asked, now holding Trisha's hand.
"Of course you can, sweetheart. We'll be in the kitchen if you need us. Oh, and lunch will be ready in an hour." Rose turned and walked into the kitchen, now pulling James behind her as Sabrina dragged Trisha up the stairs.
Back in the kitchen, Rory and Amy were sitting at the kitchen table doing their school work. Rory looked up when his parents entered the room. "So, how did it go? Is Brina talking her ear off nonstop?"
James grinned and sat down next to him. "Oh, I'm sure your sister is talking her ear off by now. Took her upstairs to show her one of her drawings, probably won't stop talking until she shows poor Trisha everything in her room."
Amy leaned over and snatched a notebook from Rory. "When do we get to meet her?"
"Sometime after you finish your studies, Amelia Pond," James said. "Your last essay for my class was a page and a half too short."
"Couldn't help it, Dad. Boring subject, you know. I fell asleep halfway through that lesson," she said, sticking out her tongue.
From the other side of the room, Rose laughed. "Oi, the cheek on you, Missy. Don't know how we put up with you sometimes."
"She's fun, that's why," Rory said defensively, coming to Amy's aid. "Plus, she doesn't get in half the trouble Mels does."
"Too true," Rose agreed. "Where is she, by the way? I thought that the three of you had to work on that project for your English class."
"I called her this morning, Mum." Amy said as she poured over Rory's notebook. "Said she got in a bit of trouble last night, egging houses or something. But she should be here soon, only allowed out because it's here and it's for homework."
Smiling ruefully, James said, "I'll give that girl one thing, she's got spunk. It'll just keep landing her in trouble but I'm not one to throw stones." He took the notebook out of Amelia's hand and carefully appraised the sketches Rory had been doing. "So, what's this then?"
Rory shrugged. "For our English class, we have to do mock-ups of scenes for one of Shakespeare's plays. Ms. Finnegan wants us to work in groups and draw or make a model of a scene from a play."
"We have Midsummer Night's Dream," Amy said, stealing the notebook back and pulling out her pencils to add color to one of the sketches. "We'll finish the diorama when Mels gets here." She paused for a moment. "I think when the Doctor come back I'll ask him to take me to meet Shakespeare."
"You might want to wait until you're a bit older, though. I heard the Bard was a terrible flirt." James said with a laugh, thinking of Martha. Rose groaned at the joke and Rory looked cross at the suggestion that someone might flirt with his Amy.
Just then, the back door slammed open and Mels entered the kitchen. James moved from his seat at the table and Mels mumbled a good morning before taking the newly open seat. The newest arrival was in mid-rant about her foster mother when James went over and wrapped his arms around Rose's waist. "Now if only Tony was home, our little growing nest of domesticity would be complete," he whispered in her ear.
Leaning her head against his chest, she said in a low voice only he could hear, "Who would have thought in that all this would come of what started in that dingy basement? Or that you would ever be domestic, especially in a house with windows and carpets."
"Only for you, my love," he purred in her ear.
Upstairs, Sabrina was happily showing her new big sister her room. Pointing out knickknacks and telling stories of who gave them to her, showing her picture after picture of the family. Trisha had to admit that Tony Williams was a very handsome young man. She wondered which school in London he attended and when she would get to meet him.
Suddenly, Sabrina got very quiet. "I'm sorry I don't remember you or our dad. I barely remember my birth mum. I don't even have any pictures from before I came to live here."
"It's all right." Trisha pulled her into a hug. "I remember you and dad. I even have a picture here of the three of us together." She pulled a photo out of her pocket. It was of her as a ten year old holding Sabrina as a tiny infant while their dad looked on. "You can keep this one if you like. I have a copy at home. And don't be sad that you don't remember. Be happy that we have the rest of our lives to make new memories."
The broad smile now plastered on the younger girl's face made Trisha think. "Sabrina, are you happy here? With the Williams family?"
Her smile grew even wider. "Oh yes, Mummy and Daddy are the best parents I could ever want. They take us to such wonderful places. And Rory and Tony are the best big brothers. Tony takes me for ice cream every time he comes home from school. Oh, and there's Amy, she's like Rory's girlfriend. She's splendid and funny, too. And then there's their friend Mels. She's what Daddy calls a handful. I love it here."
Part of Trisha was so happy that Sabrina had a great family here. Another part of her was crushed that she may never have a big spot in her sister's life. "That's brilliant, Brina. I'm glad you're happy here."
"You can be, too. Mum always says that you can never have too much family. Will you stay here with us, too?" The girl's eyes were hopeful.
It was heartbreaking to tell her the truth. "Oh, sweetheart, I'm sorry. I can't stay here with you all the time. I have a life in London, University, and my mum. But I can come visit you, as often as I can. Plus James said that when you lot come to visit Tony, that I can meet up with you. We can still be family, I just can't stay here."
There was disappointment in her eyes as she nodded. "Can we email? Daddy showed me how on the computer."
"I would love to get emails from you." Trisha smoothed her little sister's hair. "And you can call too, if you want. I gave your dad my mobile number."
"Oh, that would be brilliant. I've never had a sister before, although Amy and I are really close." Sabrina threw herself into another hug.
Trisha's heart swelled as she returned the hug. "How about we head downstairs, yeah? Your mum said lunch would be ready soon. Is she a good cook?" Apprehension took over again. She had never been comfortable around groups of people. She was much better with one-on-one interaction.
"She's a fair cook, I guess. Dad is loads better, took cooking lesson in France in the eighteen…" Sabrina caught herself about to say the eighteen hundreds but she recovered. "I mean in the eighties. Sometime before Rory was born, I suspect. In fairness, though, he's a rubbish baker, and Mum makes the best scones." With her almost limitless energy, she bounded down the stairs. Trisha followed in her wake.
Back in the kitchen, lunch was ready. Rory, Mels, and Amy were helping set the table, while Rose pulled a shepherd's pie from the oven. "Ah, great, you two are back," James said as Trisha and Sabrina entered. "How are things going?" He directed the question to Trisha but Sabrina answered.
"She's brilliant, Daddy. She told me a couple stories about growing up in London, sounds amazing. Mummy's stories about London are completely different. And she gave me this." Sabrina handed him the picture of the two of them with their father.
Trisha bit her lip, wondering if she had overstepped a boundary by giving her the picture. They hadn't discussed if she would be permitted to give Sabrina things, especially things of such a personal nature.
Once again, he surprised her. A small grin formed on his lips as he studied the photo. "Is this you two and your dad, then?" he asked, not in an accusatory way, as he took the picture gently from Sabrina.
"I'm sorry, I should have asked first." Trisha reached out to take the picture back.
James pulled it out of her grasp. "No, no, it's fine."
"Sabrina, love, how about we get a frame for this tomorrow? You can put on your nightstand." Rose had come over to take a look. "For now, we can put it here for safekeeping." Rose took the picture from James and walked across the room. Trisha was half afraid she was going to stuff the picture in the drawer, never to see the light of day again.
"Right, this needs place of honor, yeah?" Rose asked Sabrina as she pulled a magnet off the fridge. "Here, do you think?" Rose pointed at a spot in the middle of the door." After Sabrina nodded, Rose placed the photo there. "Where are our manners?" she asked, turning back to the assembled group. "Trisha, this is our son Rory, and his friends Amelia Pond and Melody Jones. Everyone, this is Patricia."
They exchanged hellos before sitting down to lunch. Trisha found herself at more at ease with the family then she had thought possible. Not completely comfortable, though.
It was easy to see how much love they felt for each other. And not just between James, Rose and Rory. Sabrina, Amy and Mels seemed to be an integral part of the family as well.
For Trisha, the day passed far too quickly and yet not quickly enough. Everyone was warm and welcoming. They tried to include her in the conversation. For most people it would have been a perfect afternoon. It was almost too much for her; the walls around her heart were too thick to truly be comfortable here. Part of her was still bracing for a fight that would never come, waiting for someone to let her down.
It didn't happen. No one told her she couldn't stay or that once again what she wanted most was just out of her reach. Soon, she found herself needing to leave, both for the safety of her own feelings and so she could make the last train home.
Tonight she had to return to London. Tomorrow she had to return to classes and her normal life. Hopefully, it would now include phone calls and emails from her sister. James and Rose promised to ring her when they came to town to visit Tony in a few weeks.
This was the type of family she had always craved, but had never experienced. And even though they were hiding something and honestly seemed too good to be true, she wanted nothing more than to fit in with them. It was almost as if some invisible force was guiding her here.
"So, I'll have Sabrina call in a few days and I'm sure she'll email in the meantime." Rose had walked her to the door and retrieved her coat. "If you need anything, sweetheart, just call."
"You're too kind, Rose. Thank you again." Trisha fought to keep a tear from sliding down her cheek. "I'm so sorry I threatened to take you to court and fight to take her away from you. She belongs here, I see that now. Your family is wonderful."
Looking her directly in the eye, Rose said, "You're forgiven; don't think anything of it anymore. We are all products of our experiences. And I can tell yours have been rough." She hugged her again. Trisha didn't think she had ever been hugged so much in a single day before. "Besides, you're part of the family too, now. So try and plan part of your holiday break here. If you can, I mean."
"Thank you." The errant tear broke free and slid down Trisha's face. "You have no idea how much that means to me."
As she walked out the door and down the street, Trisha smiled genuinely. A few days ago, she had been preparing herself for a battle that would inevitably end in heartbreak. Either taking her sister from the family she had known for years or her being cut out of Sabrina's life, again. This seemed like it would turn out so much better. They would both get the best of both worlds. And it seemed as if Sabrina's adopted family would be the ones to bring down the protective walls Trisha had built around her heart. Less than 24 hours around this wonderful, maybe too perfect family, and they had already started to crack.