Ah, I'm still not 100% sure which route to take, but I think I'm going to take the advice of CakeyxClickx and explore the dark storyline. I might as well, because this particular plot will only work with this story. Hope I've made the right choice :S

Enjoy x

Chapter 13

A short while later, Jenny pulled into her parent's perfectly pristine driveway, her stomach twisting uncomfortably at the thought of what she had to do next. She hated to admit it, but her mother was similar to herself in many respects, and she doubted very much that the woman would pack up her things and leave London with just a feeble excuse as reasoning. She would ask a ton of questions, just as Jenny would if the roles were reversed, and so she doubted whether she'd be able to pull this all off without telling her some sliver of truth.

With a sigh, she turned to Nick. "Do you want to stay in the car again?" she asked, noticing him surveying the house with a less-than-warm expression.

"No, I'll come in with you this time," he replied quietly, pushing the door open.

"Your funeral," she said rather flippantly as she got out herself; Nick and her mother had never gotten on particularly well.

Jenny rang the door bell and stood back beside Nick, fiddling with the sleeve of her blouse nervously. Something about this didn't feel right . . . sending her son away without her. She knew they were doing it to keep him out of harms way, but still . . . it felt like she was abandoning him.

"Are you sure we're doing the right thing?" she whispered to Nick, half-glancing around at him.

"We're doing what we have to," he answered bluntly.

Before she could reply, the door opened in front of them and her mum appeared, looking thoroughly harassed.

"You said you'd only be a couple of hours Jennifer," she snapped immediately before Jenny could so much as greet her. "He's been asking for you over and over again - " she stopped abruptly, her eyes falling on Nick. She surveyed coldly for a few moments before she cleared her throat. "Nicholas," she said curtly, inclining her head slightly.

"Felicity," he nodded back, his tone icy.

"Well now that the formalities are out of the way - " Jenny interjected, but her mother suddenly let out a small gasp.

"Jennifer, what on earth's happened to your neck?" she exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock.

"Oh, um . . ." Jenny stammered, instinctively clapping her hand over her cut and inwardly cursing herself for leaving the scarf she had previously donned in the car.

"You look like you've been sliced!" her mother continued, sounding aghast.

"It's just a cut mum, it's nothing," Jenny replied in the airiest tone she could. "Can we just come in for a minute? We need to talk."

Her mum looked between the two of them suspiciously before reluctantly stepping aside to allow them to pass her. She closed the door behind them and turned, her face furrowed with concern.

"What is it?" she demanded immediately, her eyes studying Jenny's face.

However, before Jenny could think of what to say to possibly explain things, Ben appeared at the top of the gigantic staircase.

"Mummy! Daddy!" he exclaimed happily, sprinting down the stairs as fast as his little legs would allow.

"Benjamin, don't run!" Jenny's mum snapped at him, but he didn't listen.

When he reached the bottom step, he flung himself into Jenny's arms and hugged her tight. "You been gone ages!"

"I'm sorry sweetheart, your dad and I had some things to sort out," Jenny replied into his hair as she hugged him back, a lump rising in her throat.

"What?" he asked, his voice muffled against her chest.

"Nothing for you to worry about," she replied, giving him a quick kiss on the head before she passed him over to Nick. "I just need to speak to your grandmother for a minute. Alone," she added to Nick, who nodded slightly.

"Come on son, come and play in the garden with me," he said to Ben in a false cheery voice as he carried him back out of the front door.

"But I want to stay with mummy!" Ben's voice could be heard saying - maybe he could sense that something wasn't right, and so he was being particularly clingy to Jenny.

"Mummy's just going to be in there . . ." Nick answered gently, before they went out of ear shot.

"Jennifer - what is going on?" her mother pushed, frowning.

Jenny took a deep breath, forcing herself to look up into those cold brown eyes as she spoke. "Right," she began carefully, her brain running overtime to try and think of something she could possibly say to explain things. "This is going to sound insane. But I need you to just hear me out, okay?"

Her mother nodded, looking impatient.

"I - I need you to get Ben out of London," Jenny blurted out.

"What?" she gapped.

"I need you to pack some things up and take him," Jenny repeated. "I want you to drive as far north as you can - "

"Wait a minute," her mum interrupted, holding up her hand to silence her. "What are you babbling about? Why do we need to leave?"

Jenny hesitated for a moment. "You know that I used to work for a secret government facility, don't you?"

"Yes, but I thought you left there a year ago - "

"I did, but something's happened," Jenny replied, trying to gage how much to say. "We were all recalled."

"But - "

"Just listen," Jenny said firmly, lowering her voice incase Ben could hear. "Something . . . something's going to happen in a few days. Something that I don't know if we can stop. And I want Ben - I want you and Ben to get as far away from here as you can. The city's being evacuated tomorrow, but I want you to be long gone by then - "

"What's going to happen?" she demanded, asking the question Jenny was hoping she wouldn't.

"I can't say," Jenny replied apologetically. "But it could be really bad mum, and I've got to stay and try and help. But I can't do that if I don't know that Ben's safe."

"Is it terrorists?" her mum questioned in a hushed voice.

"In - in a way . . ." Jenny lied.

"And you just expect me to leave here now knowing that you're going to be risking your life?"

"You have to mum," Jenny said in a strained voice. "Because if you stay here, you and Ben are in grave danger. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"

Her mother fell silent for a moment, her stern expression not quite masking the fear behind her eyes. "Yes," she spoke eventually. "But what about everyone else - "

"They're being evacuated tomorrow," Jenny repeated patiently. "And you mustn't say anything before then or it'll cause a panic - "

"Chris - " she began, obviously worried about Jenny's brother.

"You can go and get him, but no one else," she said firmly. "Drive to his now, and tell him - tell him whatever you have to to get him in the car."

"And after that? Where should we go?"

"Just keep driving North," Jenny answered. "Go as far as you can tonight and then stay in a hotel and continue again first thing tomorrow."

"But - "

"Mother," Jenny snapped. "There is no 'buts' here. You have to do it, because if you don't, there's a high likelihood that you'll all be killed."

Jenny helped her mum pack some things together quickly and load them into the car, and then she ran and retrieved Ben's things from the boot of her own vehicle.

"Are you sure this is all necessary?" her mother demanded, as Jenny flung the bags hap-hazardly in the back seat.

"If I didn't think it was necessary, I wouldn't be asking you to go," Jenny snapped.

"So you're certain that your organisations information is accurate?" she pushed as she fixed Ben's booster seat. "It's not just based on some lunatic's theory?"

"Do you really want to take that chance with your grandson's life?" Jenny bit back, her words prodding at the sensitive issue that yes - that's indeed what they were doing in following Helen's research.

Her mother fell silent, biting her lip as she watched Jenny stuff another bag into the already overflowing boot.

"Come with us," she said as Jenny straightened up.

"What?"

"Come with us," she repeated more forcefully, her eyes pleading.

"I can't," Jenny replied immediately, everting her gaze from her mum's face. "I'm needed here."

"Jennifer, I can't go without knowing you're safe too - "

"I'll be fine," Jenny replied, not knowing if she was speaking the truth or not. "But I have to stay and help Nick and the others."

"I'm sure Nicholas wants you to leave as well - "

"Well it's not his decision," Jenny snapped, feeling her blood pressure creep up. "I've got a duty to help stop this thing - "

"You have a duty to your son!" her mother argued, approaching her slowly. "How can you call yourself a good mother when you're not the one getting him to safety."

"I'm doing this to protect my son!" Jenny retorted hotly, feeling stung by her words. "And anyway, lets not pretend that you were the doting mother yourself - "

Nick cleared him throat as he approached with Ben in his arms, forcing Jenny into silence.

"We all set?" he asked as he reached them.

"Yes," Jenny replied immediately, holding out her hands to Ben. "Just discussing a few last minute details."

Nick squeezed Ben slightly and planted a kiss on his head before handing him over.

"Where are we going mummy?" Ben asked as she scooped him into her arms, looking at her questioningly with his big blue eyes.

Feeling a horrible burning sensation of guilt, she cupped the side of his face and ensured that she was smiling. "Well, you are going to go with your grandmother. You're going to go on a little adventure with her, does that sound like fun?"

"But I wanna stay with you," he said, clinging to her tighter. He must have know by the atmosphere that something was very wrong.

"You can't darling," she said softly, hating herself. "Your dad and I have some work to do. But you're going to go on a fun little trip with your nan and uncle Chris."

"Please let me stay with you," he begged, his little voice breaking. "I promise I'll be good - "

Jenny's chest convulsed and she squeezed her eyes shut as she pulled him closer and kissed his forehead. Then, she turned handed him over to her mother in one swift motion.

"Just . . . just take him," she said, her voice cracking as she tried to hold back the tears.

She made to turn away, but her mother grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Jennifer . . ." she began, but she stopped, her expression looking pained. "Be careful," she breathed eventually.

Jenny nodded, and pulled her hand out of her mothers, turning and walking back to the car where Nick was waiting for her.

"Mummy!" Ben shouted after her, his voice sounding sad and desperate. "Mummy, please take me with you!"

Jenny put her hand to her mouth to contain a sob as his words cut into her like a knife. But she kept walking until she had reached the car. Forcing herself not to look around, she slid into the passengers seat.

"Jenny - " Nick began, his voice laced with sympathy and support.

"Don't Nick - just drive," she cut him off, looking down at her hands on her lap, knowing that if she was forced to talk about it, she'd break down.