A few weeks had gone by, Rose trying to adjust to having someone who wanted to play the role of her dad, since she'd managed quite well without one all her life. Jackie was settling in at the salon, Rose sometimes waiting for her at lunchtime when they'd grab a sandwich and find somewhere to sit down and Alec was trying to get used to spending the summer going to his aunt's instead of being at home with his mum, who had been a totally different person when his dad wasn't there.

He'd often wondered why they argued, it never seemed to be over him or anything in particular and now, his dad was totally different, trying to be both parents to him but he'd seen some of his friends change in the last few months, their attitudes towards things in general and he was scared he would become like them as their parents had divorced or separated. He couldn't talk to his dad though but his aunt knew there was something wrong.

She sat opposite him one day when he was thinking about a story he was writing.

"Alec, I know there's something wrong. Can you tell me?" she asked.

Alec shook his head.

"Then why don't you write it in one of your stories? Why don't you write about the last time you went on holiday before you lost your mum?" she suggested.

"I can't Auntie Mary, they argued all the time. I had to go sit under the cliffs so I couldn't hear them," he replied sadly.

"Where was it you went again?" his aunt smiled, feeling sorry for her nephew.

"Somewhere down south, Dorset I think dad said. I'd rather not think about it."

"Alec, you have to remember the good times, that's how we get over the loss of someone we loved. Write a happy story then. What exactly do you write about, you never say anything," she asked him.

"Mostly about that TV programme I like, I pretend I'm him and have adventures," Alec admitted.

Only his two best friends knew why he carried his notebook around with him and never let anyone catch him writing in it when he got an idea.

His aunt smiled back. "There's nothing wrong with dreaming of being an adventurer Alec, maybe just not one with a blue box that's a time machine eh? Sure they're not about John? Don't let me put you off though, if it takes your mind off things. Not doing anything today?" she asked since they'd just had lunch.

"I might go to the library, see if that book I wanted has been returned," he replied, putting his notebook away.

His aunt watched him. She felt really sorry for him and there was no sign his cousin Peter was coming back, it seemed he was having difficulty leaving. Peter's older brother John though, who was away travelling around the world on one of his fact-finding missions for his research was tall, thin (no matter how much she tried to fatten him up) and always wore a blue suit with brown stripes and a purple t-shirt underneath and red or black Converse trainers on his feet. She had despaired at him but being in his early twenties, he had the girls following him everywhere, especially when he flicked his out of control hair.

She had constantly tried to get John to have it cut on his visits home, his last one being for Alec's mother's funeral when he'd tried to cheer young Alec up for a few days before he'd gone back to travelling. It was then she and Alec's dad had noticed Alec was growing to look more like his older cousin in appearance, unlike Peter. She thought no wonder Alec wrote stories about travelling, he would look forward to hearing about them when John got back.

"Alec, why don't I try calling Peter and ask him when he's coming home?" she asked him.

Alec nodded and got up. "I wish John would come home, he makes me laugh. I'll be back in an hour or so, unless you want me to stay out longer?" he asked.

"I want no such thing Alec, I told your dad I would look after you during the holidays. You can go out or stay in as much as you want. I can make the spare room tidy, if you'd like some time on your own? I'll ask your uncle to put everything in the loft and we'll get you a single bed and things, would you like that?"

Alec hadn't wanted to impose on his aunt.

"Yeah, thanks, if it's not any trouble?" he replied.

"Of course it's no trouble, I'll get him to sort it over the weekend. You go to the library then, you never know, you might make some more friends there?"

Alec had thought nothing else about the blonde girl he'd seen a few weeks ago. She may not even have gone back in but there again, she could have borrowed the book he'd wanted. Rose wasn't there when he arrived though, her mother had left her a list of things she wanted doing, including a trip to a new supermarket that had opened nearby and had thought it would save some money.

One thing Jackie Tyler had not got over since their arrival in the town was everything was cheaper than in London, she had a regular job and Bob had just received a promotion so she could afford to shop locally. It was just her not being able to let old habits go.

Rose entered the new supermarket, warily and took a plastic shopping basket but she'd smiled when it was the same name as one that had opened nearby before they had moved. For thirteen though, she did look older and got away with not being questioned by any of the staff as if she should be shopping on her own.

She was glad though that Bob was out all day, she'd still wondered why they would talk quietly in the kitchen and why they were being so secretive then it dawned on her as she got back from the supermarket. Why hadn't she seen it? She bet they were planning on getting married and Bob adopting her, that was the only explanation. She waited for her mother coming home, having started preparing tea though why she never got the credit, she didn't know.

She could only assume her mother wanted Bob to think her cooking skills had improved. Well just wait, if they were planning on getting married, she would conveniently forget to make the meal preparations and Bob would see he was wrong. It had only been a few weeks and she missed her friends, hanging around with them and maybe getting Mickey into bother with his boss now and then, not enough to make him lose his job though.

She and her friends found it easy to wind up Mickey, it was sometimes just too easy but when he'd started hanging around with Jimmy Stone, she'd tried to avoid the pair of them. She jumped as the door opened and her mother shouted her.

"Hello sweetheart, had a good day?" her mother asked her, looking on the kitchen counter.

"Mum, are you and Bob getting married?" she came straight out and asked.

"What? Where did ya get that idea from Rose?" her mother wanted to know. "No, we haven't even talked about getting engaged, we'd tell ya if we were. Honestly Rose, I don't know where you get your ideas from, you don't even hang around with Shareen any more, I could understand it then, her mother had a different bloke every week."

Rose thought her mother had a cheek to say that before she'd met Bob. Now she wished things had stayed like that and Bob had remained here and never taken over the job on their estate.

"Mum, what about all the things I'm expected to do when I start school?" Rose asked her.

"We don't expect ya to do everything Rose," her mother replied as she put the prepared meal in the oven. "Bob thought it would be good practice for ya to do things on ya own, I agreed with him."

Rose thought how much her mother had changed in the time she'd known Bob.

"Anyway, what makes ya think we're getting married? Do ya think he wants ya to start calling him 'dad'?"

The thought had crossed Rose's mind.

"I don't know Mum, maybe? It's taking some getting used to just living with him," was all she could reply.

"Well we're here to stay Rose so ya better had get used to it. For the first time since your dad died, I found someone who doesn't just want me as a friend or just the odd date. You're too young to understand that."

"I'm thirteen Mum, I've seen what my friend's parents are like. Anyway, I was thinking about spending some time in the library, if I pass that test, I'll have to catch up. When will ya get to know?" she asked.

"Soon I hope, we'll have to get ya a uniform. They said if ya didn't pass, the education authority would allocate you another school, hopefully nearby. I never realised that ya would need to get a bus, sorry. Bob made it sound like it was close by."

Rose thought trust him to get it wrong and just why did she have to pass a test to be allowed in the school, a posh one at that?

"So from Monday, can I get some time to myself?" Rose asked.

"I expect so, it's just working in a salon all day now, I don't get time to sit down and chat like I used to. I'll stay a while longer then see about starting out on my own again but my boss won't like it if I steal her clients."

Rose didn't think she would. Still, it wasn't fair all this had been put on her when she didn't even want to be here. The Friday morning though, a letter came for her mother, with a stamp of the grammar school across the top and she knew her fate had been decided. There were only just over two weeks before the term started and it would be a rush to get the uniform and she'd been warned short skirts were not acceptable so she couldn't even get away with her old one, if the school colour still included grey.

She knew they wore blue blazers and blue jumpers and she just hoped her mother wouldn't pull her out at the last minute if she couldn't afford the recommended uniform shop. Her mother finally got home, Rose having returned a book to the library and seen the boy from the other week, whom she noticed hanging around the 'Just returned' books the librarian had taken a pile of and placed on the trolley.

She wondered if he went to the grammar school then?

Alec had thought it was worth his while going back to see if the book he wanted had been returned and he'd been rewarded when the female librarian had wheeled a small trolley piled with books, sorted them out and he'd been the first to spot it. He had seen the blonde girl across the other side of the library and wondered if she'd been the one to return it?

Rose was waiting anxiously as her mother checked her other mail, making Rose wait. The letter was finally opened, quite a thick one Rose thought but it could have been the thickness of the posh paper she supposed. Then she saw there were two other sheets her mother held separately.

"Rose, sweetheart, you didn't quite pass the test," her mother announced, Rose thinking why all the sheets of paper then? "You did get a high enough score to qualify for an assisted place though, they have to take so many, it's the law here. They've sent a list of clothes and equipment you'll need and a grant towards the cost. Well try to look pleased love."

Rose was trying her best but at the words 'didn't pass' she thought now she'd have to see what other school she'd been offered, which could be ten times worse than the one she'd been at.

"We'll go into town tomorrow and find the best place to get your uniform, there's a list of places that take the grants, then we'll get the rest of the stuff ya need. Aren't you excited love?" she asked, forgetting putting dinner in the oven and Rose hoping it wouldn't be ready when Bob got home.

It would serve him right for dragging them both up here. She thought her mother would opt for the cheapest uniform store and get as much as she could out of it for the money. She knew her mother was used to a tight budget and that would never change.

Alec was also having to go with his dad the next day to get anything that needed replacing, since he seemed to find his blazer sleeves were a little short and his aunt had tried her best with it using her sewing machine.

"Sorry Alec," his aunt had apologized that morning. "I just can't do anything with it, tell your dad. I have some good news for you though, well two lots. Peter's staying where he is for now, he got a part-time job and he's staying with one of his friends but John's coming home for a visit, before you go back to school. That should cheer you up?" she asked him.

Alec thought maybe it just would, he could get some ideas for his time-travelling adventures. The next day, Alec and Rose had arrived at different shops to look for uniforms though Alec wondered why he hadn't been taken to the department store where his friends went, it wasn't like the clothes lasted any longer. His dad though had said that was where parents who got a grant shopped and since he could afford to pay for it, they should not get anything from there in case someone who needed it more than Alec couldn't get their size.

Alec wondered if it wasn't something else though, maybe it was because his mother had frowned at the 'discount' clothes store as she called it and she didn't want any of the other mothers she had in her circle see her shopping there. His mother didn't appear to be stuck-up but he didn't know how she was with the mothers of his friends, whose parents all had good jobs. Had she considered his dad's job as good? He was just a supervisor at the postal depot but had now taken a different job to get better hours.

As Rose managed to get as much as her mother said they were allowed, she'd made sure she had a spare jumper, just in case but had hated trying the blazer on, it being the most expensive item and her mother frowning she had to put her own money towards it.

"That had better last you Rose," her mother warned her as they went down the escalator to the ground floor to find the shoe department, something else she was going to have to pay for.

"Mum, we could come back for the shoes and the gym shoes," Rose tried to insist.

"I'm not coming back just for those," her mother replied. "Bob was so pleased you got in there. Do ya wanna know why he insisted you went there?"

Rose wasn't that fussed about knowing but her mother would tell her anyway.

"He didn't want to let on he used to go there, he was trying to play it down by pretending he didn't know much about it."

Rose bet he did not. It was easy for him to fool her mother, who usually saw through any deception but Bob had her good and proper on that score. If he'd convinced her mother about that, what else had he convinced her of? She'd never listen to a bad word against him, there was no use trying to convince her of anything. Rose was sure he was hiding something but maybe she was just being paranoid?

Soon, the next weekend was looming and it was back to school on the Tuesday, which Rose thought was a bit odd to say the least. She got everything else she needed on the Saturday, her mother opting to buy things in the market and Rose was trying to pretend she wasn't with her mother and hoping anyone she met at school hadn't seen them going in.

She spent the Monday in the library again, just reading a few things she may need, Alec was with his friend Jamie at the other end but Jamie had seen Rose.

"That girl's back Alec," his friend nudged him. "Go say hello to her. My older brother may beat you to it if you're not careful, she looks older than us."

"I expect anyone looks older than us," Alec disagreed. "Your older brother goes to college this year."

"Yeah, lucky him. What happened to your cousin?"

"He stayed there, he never came back for the summer but John came back, he should have come back last week but he got delayed. I won't see much of him but we went around yesterday."

John Smith had arrived back home on the Saturday before and hired a car at the airport. His mother greeted him and told him Alec had been disappointed at his delay.

"Sorry Mum, you know how it is?" John grinned as he planted his holdall on the kitchen table. "How has he coped without his mum?"

"John, you don't have to put on that English voice with me you know?" she scolded him.

"I only do it when I'm abroad, sorry. Otherwise no-one would understand me, would they? Should I go round and see Alec?" he asked.

"They're coming round tomorrow, go say hello to your dad, he's in the garden shed. Shame you didn't come back the other week, we did the spare room out for Alec so he'd feel at home."

"Aw, that's nice Mum, I bet he liked that?" John grinned.

"Your hair has got wilder," his mother reminded him. "How did you cope with it in that heat?"

"It wasn't that hot where I was, I didn't go anywhere exotic Mum. Is Alec still writing his stories?"

"Yes and I know what they're about now John. He's not writing about that TV programme, he's pretending to be you."

John looked surprised. "I did wonder sometimes but I didn't want to brag," he smiled, flicking his hair and stubbing his Converse shoe on the chair leg, getting him another scowl from his mother.

"You knew what he was writing about?" she asked him.

"He asked me not to say anything, he told me after his mum's funeral. I promised him I wouldn't, after he was already upset."

So while Alec and his dad went for their visit, John took Alec out into the garden and they sat on the garden swing.

"So Cous, looking forward to going back to school?" he asked Alec, who was hoping now he was getting older his hair wouldn't get that wild so maybe he should get it cut?

"Yeah, I expect they'll be new kids in my class and in the first year, I don't envy them," Alec admitted.

"How's the stories then, still basing them on me?" John grinned.

"You wish," Alec laughed.

"Aw come on Alec, admit it, that programme is just that you know? At least I've really travelled, just not in time."

"Yes you have, what about through time zones?" Alec insisted.

John scratched his head, making Alec smile. John didn't mind his young cousin made fun of his choice of making a living, doing research for any travel company who would employ him after he tried to make a good impression.

"Weeell, you got me there Cous," John laughed, patting Alec's shoulder. "Your aunt doesn't like me using an English accent."

"I like it," Alec smiled. "How long are you staying?"

"I don't know Alec, I can stay for a while, I'll have to convince another travel company they need my services. So, got a girlfriend yet?" John teased him.

"Promise not to say anything?" Alec asked quietly. John nodded. "Can I trust you?"

"Alec Hardy, I'm surprised at you," John pretended to be shocked. "Who else can you trust? My younger brother's not here in case you'd not noticed? You'd trust him over me?"

"I trusted you when I was six John, you told my aunt I wanted to be a writer."

"Alec, you were six, then when you were nine, you were writing stories on scraps of paper. Still want to be a writer?" John asked him.

"I don't know, maybe not? I think I might want to join the police?"

"The actual police or the band?" John joked. "Sorry. That's very commendable Alec. No-one ever told you how your mum died so quickly, right?" Alec nodded. "Your dad will tell you when you get older but she didn't want to leave you Alec, you do know that?"

Alec nodded again. "Yeah, I know John, it was just really hard, losing her."

John tried to change the subject.

"So, you never finished why you wanted me to promise not to say anything. You have got a secret girlfriend?"

"Not exactly John. I keep seeing this girl in the library but I don't know her from school. Jamie thinks she goes to another one," Alec admitted.

"Do you want to find out who she is?" John asked him.

Alec wasn't sure and he had no-one else to go to for advice, certainly not his friends.

A/N: Alec's cousin John is based on the clone Doctor, in case you've not already guessed!