Thank you to my reviewers: xBadxRomancesx, obssesivelyfanaticcgw09, filmgrl13, Severen18, M. Cullen Hightopp (you have no idea how much that first sentence made me smile!) and I LOVE JACK ATLAS

Please excuse any silly mistakes. I have just written this, it's half nine in the evening and I have just come back from the first performance of our school play, so I am very tired :)

Chapter Nine

Oh dear.

Oh dear.

Oh dear.

What was I going to do?

Ben, Nellie and I just stood there silently, barely moving. I don't know who it was, because our hands were clasped around each other's, but either Nellie or I started shaking.

Mrs Lovett was just, well, staring at us. At me. It was kinda weird.

My eyes darted to Sweeney anxiously. He too was staring at us – me.

"We never thought we'd see you again, love." Mrs Lovett suddenly murmured.

"Excuse me?" I asked warily.

"Oh Joey, do you not remember?"

"J-Joey?" I stammered. "No, no, I'm not Joey!"

"Who are you, then?" Sweeney demanded. "And who are they?" He gestured towards Nellie, who instantly cowered away, and Ben, who stood staring at Sweeney with a defiant glare.

"I know this is going to sound a little odd but…" I hesitated, playing with my locket. "My name is Amy, Amy Hope, and I'm Joey's daughter."

"Joey has children?" Mrs Lovett inquired, gently tilting her head to the side.

"Y-yes…"

Sweeney's dark eyes narrowed as he stared at me, and I couldn't help but notice his hand twitched towards his belt.

Oh crap.

"Who are you?" Sweeney asked quietly.

"I'm Amy. I'm Joey's daughter." I insisted.

"Who are you?" He demanded, suddenly lunging forwards and grabbing my shoulders.

"Mr T!"

"Amy!"

"Get off her!"

Both of us ignored Mrs Lovett and my siblings as he held onto my shoulders with an iron like grip, his eyes boring into mine. I gazed up at him silently, waiting.

"How do I know you are telling the truth?" He asked in a low voice, so only I heard. Ben and Nellie were watching anxiously, while Mrs Lovett chewed her bottom lip.

"I can prove it," I told him, my voice just as low. "Here."

Reaching up with shaking hands, I carefully undid the clasp and held it out. It shone brightly, despite it being so dark.

Sweeney looked at me, and then at the locket. His gaze remained on it for a while, his hand reaching out hesitantly.

Without saying a word, I took his hand, surprisingly warm, and dropped the locket into it, allowing him to have a proper look.

His eyes flickered to mine briefly, as if asking for permission, which I granted with a slight nod. Behind me, Nellie burst into tears and grabbed my arm, pulling me back.

With Ben's hand on my shoulder and Nellie's arm around my waist, I could only stand and watch as Sweeney undid the locket and opened it. Behind him, Mrs Lovett stood, glancing over his arm.

A small smile appeared on her face as she gazed down at it thoughtfully.

"What about the note?" She asked suddenly.

"Oh, here."

Pulling it out of my pocket, I unfolded the paper to make sure the ink hadn't run. Amazingly enough, it was still intact and perfectly readable.

Mrs Lovett gently took it from me, her eyes scanning the note. Sweeney also glanced at it, and then back at the locket.

"Mr T…" Mrs Lovett said hesitantly. "Mr T, I think she's telling the truth."

"Why are you here?" Sweeney asked, his eyes not moving from the locket.

"Well, I," I paused and glanced at Ben and Nellie. "We – our Mum has gone missing. We need your help."

"Missing?"

I nodded. "Erm…our Dad and Granddad…" My voice trailed off as I swallowed, blinking back the tears that sprung to my eyes. Ben gently squeezed my shoulder.

"Our Dad and our Granddad were recently murdered. Both were found in this shop with their throats slit," He announced boldly, his voice not wavering at all. "Mum suffered a breakdown and was admitted into hospital, which is when we ended up here."

"This shop you say, love?" Mrs Lovett asked, frowning.

"Yes, but…in the future," I explained awkwardly. "In our time, your future, our Granddad owned this shop…erm…I think that's how you met Mum?"

Mrs Lovett nodded, a smile growing on her face.

"Oh yes, deary, I remember it."

I couldn't help smiling back. "She told me all about it when I was younger."

"All of it?"

My eyes turned to Sweeney, who was now staring at me with a large frown, his eyebrows pulling together.

"Well…most of it."

Sweeney relaxed only slightly, and then turned back to the locket.

"So…are you going to help us?" Nellie asked, finally speaking. Her voice shook and was slightly hoarse, but her usual sassy tone was merging in.

"Help you, deary?" Mrs Lovett inquired politely.

"Yeah, y'know, finding Mum."

"How do you know she's here?"

"She has to be," This time, I spoke. "Why else would we be here? If she were in our time, you would probably come to us."

"Oh no, Amy, me old legs ain't what they used to be. I can't 'andle all that time travelling stuff." Mrs Lovett told me, shaking her head. I couldn't help giggling.

"Well, it's only simple logic, really." I said with a small shrug.

"Simple logic?" Nellie hissed. "Amz, if this were simple logic, neither we nor Mum would be here in the first place!"

I stared up at Nellie, my eyes meeting hers.

"You know, Nellie, you're not always right."

Nellie made a face at me before looking up at Ben for help. He shrugged.

"I agree with Amy. It's mad, but it's logical."

I grinned triumphantly and then turned to Mrs Lovett.

"Well, since we know your names, you should know ours!" I announced. "I'm Amy. This is Eleanor," I gestured towards Nellie. "But we call her Nellie. And this is Benjamin," I grinned up at Ben. "Otherwise known as Ben, because he is too cool for a full name."

Ben chuckled as he ruffled my hair.

"You have to watch Amy sometimes," He warned. "Her tongue gets a bit carried away."

To prove a point, I stuck said tongue out at my brother and waggled it around.

"It's lovely to meet you two," Mrs Lovett said with a smile and a nod. "You can all call me Mrs Lovett, and, of course, this is Mr T."

"I pity the fool." Nellie murmured from behind me, making me giggle. Mrs Lovett looking at me inquiringly made me giggle even more.

"Just ignore them." Ben said, shaking his head.

"Right…well, how's about the three of sit down and we'll get you something nice to eat? You look starved to death!"

Grinning, we sat down in one of the booths. All three of us were still dripping wet and freezing, but happy.

As Mrs Lovett prepared some food for us, something suddenly popped into my mind.

"Hey, aren't you two meant to be dead?"