The Truth in Time (Reunited Au) - Chapter 5 - A Painful Shopping Trip
It wasn't long before Rose was called back to work, but before she went she promised her mum a shopping trip with the kids. She owed her that much after all the things she did for her these past years, and it only seemed right since she would be leaving Janie with her during the week.
That would be the hardest part. Leaving her daughter behind for 14 hours or more and not being able to say good morning or good night. Though she would still be there at night if she needed her and on the weekends when there wasn't a mission…
Well, best not think about it now.
It was Sunday and the Tyler women were taking their children out for a day, leaving cranky old Pete behind to do paperwork in his stuffy metallic office. Janie and Rose were already loaded up in the car, Jackie struggling to get the two year old Tony to hold still long enough to buckle in. Janie sat in the middle so both women could attend to her if need be, though Rose couldn't do much while driving, and Tony was not happy with that. His little hands flying out to fight with her causing quite the ruckus and driving Jackie mad.
When they were finally loaded, Rose pulled out and set off for the city, watching the busy flow of zeppelins above. They had been a of travel standard here, this universe was a little bit more steam punk in comparison.
The drive had been fairly uneventful, filled with the sounds of children's movies and Jackie chattering to Rose about the local gossip from the ladies at the golf club. When they pulled into a parking garage near Bluewater Shopping Centre in London Tony was fully asleep and Janie was sitting quietly in her seat watching the movie. Rose pulled two strollers out of the back and set the children in them for her mum. "Alright, mum where to first?" She honestly didn't care, she was too busy paying attention to her daughter, but she had to ask so they could be done with the day. "Well I think we should just head to Bluewater. We can stop in on anything interesting on the walk there." Rose sighed lightly, it was going to be a long day. "Walking it all then?" Jackie nodded and set off with Tony leaving Rose laughing slightly with Janie.
By the end of their very long day of shopping Janie had fallen asleep and Tony had found himself busied with three brand new toys that Jackie had bought him to keep him quiet. The sun was just starting to set when they made it back to the car. Jackie put Tony in right away and started loading the car while Rose eased Janie awake on her shoulder. As Jackie finished Janie had woken and pointed down to a flower shop. "Mum, take the car down and drive around the block a few times. Janie wants to go see the flower shop it won't take long." Jackie reluctantly got in the drivers' seat and started the car. Very promptly Tony started throwing a fit about something. Rose couldn't hear what, but the view was hilarious from outside the car. Janie tugged on her shirt slightly reminding Rose to start down to the flowers. She found an elevator and took it down. When she reached ground level however she was a bit surprised by what she saw… Glass breaking. Everywhere. They were back.
Autons. "What the he-…" Before she could finish her question she had to dodge a car. It was coming straight at them, the driver had been shot by an Auton. Rose ran across the street, holding Janie to her chest tightly. She looked for any alley that might shield her long enough to get a zeppelin down from Torchwood. Jackie knew to take the car straight to a Torchwood hub even if Rose and Janie were not with her, so she didn't have to worry about them. She quickly spotted what she remembered to be as an abandoned office building and quickly made her way into the small dark places to get there as quickly as possible. If she could reach the top a zeppelin could reach them and take them to safety while the tac team found and neutralized the main threat.
When she reached the building she realized she was far too tired to go much farther. Dodging living plastic that was shooting at you, running from it, and trying to carry a small child on your chest all while having a mild panic attack from the memories flooding your mind was not easy, even for someone this well trained. Rose hid Janie behind a large dumpster, telling her to be as quiet as possible, and ran around the building searching for an entrance. She quickly found a loose window leading to a primary basement level. She kicked the window in causing it to fall to the ground and shatter. She cringed at the sound before taking off to retrieve Janie.
Once she gathered Janie in her arms and brushed her off she took off back for the window in the back of the building. Unfortunately, she instantly spotted a problem and that problem had spotted her. An Auton had strayed from the street and had spotted her. She took off as fast as she could, but was too slow. The Auton fired at her and hit her right shoulder causing her to stumble and hit her knees. "Bad day to wear shorts." She muttered to herself. She stayed upright and slid around the corner, setting Janie down and pulling out her gun with her left hand. She hated it, but Pete made her learn and carry it for times like these and for that she was grateful. She peeked around the corner to see the Auton gaining quickly and fired three shots. The first hitting the hand that contained the gun hopefully disabling it. The second and third hitting the shoulder and leg joints of the plastic creature knocking them out of socket and making it land on the ground.
That would give her just enough time to get them both inside the building and let it get distracted by something else after pulling together.
She put the gun back in its holster underneath her jacket and picked up Janie with her left arm running for the window. She placed Janie on the ground next to the window, "Alright baby, momma's gonna slide in there and then pull you down with me okay?" Janie nodded and watched Rose slide her legs through and carefully drop to the ground. It was obvious Janie was very scared, but there was nothing that could be done right then. She reached for Janie and she pulled her down against her chest, quickly taking in her surroundings and sliding down against the cold wall. A mouse scrambled across into a shadowed corner squeaking four times. Tears threatened as Janie curled closely into Rose, pulling on her shirt. Rose sobbed lightly once from the mixture of things that had happened. Not only did her entire arm burn and feel like it was being ripped apart as the blood soaked her shirt and jacket, but she was also trying to get over the panic attack that had invaded her system from the memories of her first encounter with these creatures and the man she loved.. The man she would never see again after watching him die over and over again. Then there was the fact that her daughter's life had been threatened. That was the worst fear of any mother.
At least they were safe for now...
(Well, my wonderful readers here it is. Thanks to all who read, it does make my day a little better! Please enjoy this one, I don't have time to say much more at the moment. But, please read and rate, and show me to my error. I would appreciate it! Love, Bad-Panda-K)