She appreciated that he had taken a leap of faith when he had showed her the Emptiness Folder. He certainly had shown her more of himself in the beautiful, haunting prints than she had shown him of her at the charity event. They hadn’t known each other very long, but already he had learned how to read her. He deserved to hear her story.
His calm reaction had baffled her. It wasn’t that she had underestimated him, it was just that his willingness to hear her out was unexpected, particularly after she had made the unforgivable mistake of dropping her guard around him. The gift had scared her mother to death when she’d first told her about it. Even Jackie, who had become used to weird things since she’d started travelling with the Doctor, was scared to death by her gift. Dave’s acceptance of her story had been reassuring, but now she wondered if, given time to mull things over, he’d find that she was a freak and not someone he would like to be with.
The urge to call him was powerful but she decided to wait for him to make the next move.
It was only then that she realised that she hadn’t told him that she would love to have him work for the Heritage Trust Fund.
She also wondered how much else she was going to tell him about herself, about Torchwood.
He needs time, Rose thought, give him some time. It was a lot to take in.
As she got ready for bed she found her thoughts returning to the photos in the Emptiness Folder. They were indeed haunting. The empty rooms were very much like him, but he had been surprised when she had told him about the windows and light that were featured in all of them. She had been looking for a way of explaining her feelings for a long time, and when she saw the photos she felt, for the first time since Bad Wolf Bay, that someone understood her. She’d often tried to find a way of describing the loss she felt, but she wasn’t artistic and had always felt at a loss for words when she tried. Gymnastics and dancing had offered an outlet when she was a teenager. Running with the Doctor was much the same, but all that had come to a crashing halt when she fell through the Void.
And now Dave had asked her to work on the project with him.
Excitement, as well as a touch of trepidation, filled her at the idea. This was a very personal project, made to fight their demons. It was going to be very challenging and emotionally exhausting but she knew that she — they — had to do it to overcome their grief. They would be mourning their loss anew but she hoped that embracing life would be a bit easier afterwards. He had said something about his ideas being very daring and she had agreed straight away, without even knowing what he was up to. Daring was what she needed. She needed to push herself to the limit to get back her equilibrium. She trusted him because it would be no less harrowing for him.
-:-
“We’re moving away,” Michelle said, flicking her flaming hair back casually, in the way she knew used to distract him. Dave, however, hadn’t fallen for the gesture in a long time.
“You... what?”
“We’re moving to Belfast. Paul was offered a managing position there,” she said, mildly surprised at his composure. He was amazed by his calm. It was as if the effects of Rose’s confession and the fantastic things she had told him hadn’t worn off yet. He had spent the day mulling things over, and he felt somehow disconnected. She had told him her story so vividly that he felt as if he had been there himself and had only just returned, finding it hard to adjust to real life. Rose had travelled in time and space, in a parallel universe.
Michelle was moving away.
“We?” he asked, focusing on her.
“Tanya and Sam are coming with us. She’s starting college in September.”
Dave felt the air rush out of his lungs and he sat heavily on the kitchen bench. Sam, who had abandoned his game with Evie in the lounge, scrambled towards him and Dave picked him up and sat him on his lap. He needed someone to hold on to as the world came crashing down around him once more. Anna had sounded ominous when she had told him the previous night that Michelle had called, but he hadn’t paid her too much heed because she’d never tried to hide her dislike for his ex-wife, particularly after Rita’s death.
“I’d meant to tell you but then the accident happened,” Michelle said.
Dave just stared at her, not knowing what to say. “That’s...”
“Dave,” she began in that way that told him she was spoiling for a fight. He didn’t want to fight, but he certainly didn’t want to accept her decision without giving her a piece of his mind.
“What happened to Tanya being my child as well?” he asked evenly so as not to upset Sam who had picked up his crayons and started to fill in a clown in his colouring book. “Don’t I get to have a say? What about Sam?” He tightened his hold on the little boy who promptly started to squirm in discomfort. Dave dropped a placating kiss on his grandson’s blond head and loosened his grip around his middle.
“You haven’t really been a part of our lives,” Michelle said.
“It’s not as if I didn’t want to,” he scoffed. After the divorce Michelle would have been happy to have him out of their lives entirely. “I was good enough to be there for Tanya when she was too scared to go to you.” It had been Rita and he that Tanya had turned to when she feared she might be pregnant. She’d been too scared to go to Michelle and she’d moved in with them for a few weeks. He and Tanya had developed a strong bond as they answered her questions about being a parent and supported her.
“Don’t start like this,” Michelle hissed. “I’ve put your needs first since Rita died.”
Dave turned his attention to Sam, picking up some of the crayons that had rolled out of the boy’s reach. He was grateful for Michelle’s help but he should have known that it would come with a price tag. “Is this about getting even?” he asked, briefly looking up. He could see she was about to shout, so he looked at Sam’s clown. “You’ve missed a bit here, Sam,” he said gently. Sam bent over the book and busily filled in the bit in question. “When are you leaving?” Dave asked, watching the crayon move across the paper, inadvertently slipping over the black lines.
Michelle took a deep breath. “A week from today.”
His anger subsided and gave way to a sinking feeling. Since Rita’s death his family had started to slip through his fingers. Lucy seemed as if she could barely tolerate life in this house. She let him know more often than not that he wasn’t her real father. Instead, she was dreaming of a life in the elegant Edinburgh town house with her rich and successful father. Now he learned that his eldest daughter and his grandson were leaving him as well. He kissed Sam again, then lifted him to sit on his hip as he rose. “I think you’d better go now,” he said, his chest tight. “I have an appointment.”
He handed Sam over to Michelle.
“That’s all you have to say?”
“What do you want me to say? Drop to my knees, begging you not to leave?” he asked dejectedly.
“Well, good luck is customary, I believe. Or goodbye.”
“Goodbye then,” he said, squaring his jaw, pushing his hands into his pockets.
Michelle just stared at him, and Sam looked from her to him and back in bewilderment.
That was when Evie joined them to see where Sam had gone, and she looked askance at them when she realised that Michelle and Sam were ready to leave. “Say bye to Sam and Michelle,” Dave instructed her with false cheer. Evie did as she was told, and when he closed the door behind his ex-wife and grandson he bent to pick up Evie. He needed a cuddle right now, and Evie, sensing his need, wrapped her arms around him.
“Did you fight with Michelle?” she asked.
“Aye, a bit,” he sighed, kissing her cheek. “What say we see what’s for dinner?”
“All right,” she said, planting a wet kiss on his cheek. If only she’d always stay like this, he thought wistfully as he carried her to the counter where he sat her down so she could see what was in the fridge.
The children were more than a bit shaken by the news of Tanya and Sam moving to Belfast. Dave was glad that
he had waited until after dinner to tell them. He was sure that they wouldn’t have eaten a single bite if he’d told them before. Although Tanya didn’t live with them they considered her their big sister, even Ewan who had always made it a point to let Lucy know she was only his half-sister. So it was much to Dave's surprise that Ewan turned to him first to offer him comfort after he had done the dishes. It was Paul’s turn to dry them, so Ewan came to find him in the lounge where he was sat at the piano, trailing his fingers over the keys, his lap full of cuddly toys.
“Dad?”
“Aye?” he looked up, braving himself for Ewan’s needs. Ewan wrapped his arms around him and hugged him close. The toys tumbled to the floor as Dave returned the gesture, and he noticed after a while that Ewan was shaking ever so slightly. Ewan had never showed his feelings after he had cried in the teachers’ lounge the day Rita had died. Instead, he had been careless when playing and had even hurt his ankle. Dave had been shocked when he had realised that his boy sought physical pain to feel something different for a change, but of course Ewan hadn’t admitted to it.
“Is Lucy going to leave us as well?” Ewan asked eventually, loosening his grip around him but not quite ready to let go.
Dave sighed. Trust Ewan to find a sore spot. “I’m not sure. She might though.”
“I want Mum,” Ewan whispered close to sobbing. “I miss her all the time.”
“I know,” Dave said, pulling him towards him, but Ewan resisted. It was hard not to take this personally, not when he felt like the world’s shittiest father for allowing his children to drift away from him. Coming to him had been a huge step for Ewan. Of all his children, he was the most inaccessible one. “It’s okay to miss her. I miss her every day. If it gets too much just tell me, right?”
Ewan leaned against the armrest of the sofa and ducked his head. He was still sniffling but he wouldn’t accept any physical comfort. “Yeah,” he said softly.
“What time’s that game of yours against Stirling?” Dave asked.
“At six,” he replied.
“Right,” Dave said, making a mental note to leave the studio early enough the next day. It occurred to him then that he’d have to take Evie and Paul to the game because he could hardly ask Anna and Robin to babysit for him again. He’d have to find a way of taking care of the children when he was at work. Although he had the luxury of setting the time for appointments he knew there was a limit to what he could ask of clients. If he were to accept gigs like the charity event or the photo shoots for the Heritage Trust Fund he’d need someone to look after the children. He was already asking too much of Anna and Robin. He rubbed his hands over his eyes.
“Can I watch a film?” Ewan asked.
“No, not tonight,” Dave said. “I want you to keep reading your book.” Rita had made him keep a reading diary to counterbalance his obsession with football. It was hard to ask Ewan to do that now, it felt unfair, but he realised a couple of weeks ago that he needed to keep the children’s routine as stable as possible, and he couldn’t give up on it so quickly. The routine reassured them and gave them something to anchor themselves to — he knew it helped him.
Ewan grumbled but he went upstairs without really protesting. Dave sighed and bent to pick up the stuffed animals he had dropped earlier.
Later, after he had put the children to bed, he sank onto the sofa, his sketchpad on his knees. He reviewed the sketches he had done the previous night. Rose would never agree to this, and he wouldn’t blame her. She was naked in most of the sketches. Dave blushed when he realised that one might reduce this to his physical attraction to her. While it was there, quite undeniably, it wasn’t what had guided his pencil. The feeling of emptiness came with vulnerability. There was nothing like bare skin to represent vulnerability, and while he still liked his ideas he wondered if maybe he could come up with a better metaphor — and a way that wouldn’t scare Rose off immediately. Maybe he could just hint at nakedness; sometimes less was more. Perhaps he’d even find a way of getting the idea of her being a low-level telepath across.
Of all the things she had told him, this fact had thrown him most. He had felt her, which was why he had trusted her to tell the truth. But it also came with an ugly thought. He knew he was prone to being manipulated. Michelle had taken advantage of him, and even Rita had done it. Rose seemed to know human nature very well; what if she had picked up on this character trait and had ensured, by accidentally slipping into his mind, that he would believe her?
He snapped the book shut around the pencil and tossed it onto the seat beside him. He had to admit that he wasn’t sure he would have believed her so readily if it hadn’t been for that mental touch. But even if she hadn’t lost control he knew he would believe her. The story about the dimension cannon explained why he had found her in the street that night, and her grief over the Doctor was real. No one could act that well, not even a Sean McDonald, who had won three successive Oscars. Her reaction had been genuine. And if he was honest with himself, he just didn’t think that Rose was the kind of woman to manipulate people.
Ashamed of himself, he bent his head and squeezed his eyes shut. He was such a mess.
He picked up his sketchbook but he was unable to concentrate. In a parallel universe his twin was a powerful alien being with two hearts who had time and the universe at his fingertips. Rose had travelled with him until the Cybermen and the Daleks had put an end to it and she had ended up in his universe, thanks to Peter Tyler’s quick thinking. He had saved her life. Until then she had never appeared in the media. It all made perfect sense, and his shame made his ears burn as he realised that she had been completely honest with him.
She hadn’t told him how she had become a telepath. How did she control it? Why hadn’t they connected the night when he had found her? Did she receive training in how to control her thoughts or had the Doctor just left her to it? Was there a way he could keep her out of his thoughts?
She already had stolen his heart. There was no denying it now.
Was he betraying Rita by falling for Rose so hard and so fast?
Chapter 13
“I owe you lunch. Or dinner. Whatever you prefer,” Dominic said without preamble as Rose answered the call.
“You do?” she asked, dumbstruck. She recognised his distinctive, deep voice immediately. She hated being caught unawares, and for a moment she was afraid her temper would flare.
“We were quite rudely interrupted, and I am sorry for that,” Dominic said.
“It comes with the job, so don’t worry,” Rose replied.
“Speaking of which, I suppose I owe you an answer as well,” he said, his voice a low purr. “But that’s best discussed in person. Are you free tomorrow, for lunch?”
Of course she was. Since they weren’t officially in business yet, and most of the red tape had been dealt with, all they needed to arrange was for the construction workers to move in, some of which were Torchwood’s own anyway. “Yes, I am,” Rose said.
They arranged to meet at Tony’s; she made it a point not to go where she’d met Dave the first time. The waitress had been awkward, and besides... meeting Dave there had been a personal thing. Tony’s offered the chance to go to the Priory afterwards to discuss the infirmary. If Dominic accepted their offer.
The next day Dominic greeted Rose with an awkward kiss to the cheek. Bertie, the owner, gave them the table in the corner where she and the boys had sat before. He already considered them regulars and offered them all the privileges that came with that status, including his absolute discretion. Warm bread, olive oil and a bottle of water appeared on their table along with the daily specials menu.
“I have a couple of questions before I give you my answer,” Dominic said after Bertie had taken their order.
“Fire away,” Rose said. Dominic was going to say yes, no matter her answers. She’d felt it when he’d kissed her. Sometimes she was really grateful for the TARDIS’s gift, but she needed to learn how to control it better. The doors of her mind n
eeded a good lock, and she’d have to teach Dave how to close doors on her — if they ever got that far, that was. Mickey and Jake had mastered the skill of shutting her out quite well.
“I can’t work by myself. I need a nurse, and maybe a lab rat. You’d benefit from a professional lab rat,” he said.
Her father’s words came to mind; the more locals who worked in the Priory the better. “We’d need to clear them first, but basically, we’d assumed you’d want to recommend staff,” Rose said, pouring some of the thick green oil onto a slice of bread. The bread wasn’t salted and so the flavour of the rich oil was at its best as it washed over her tongue.
“I’d like to examine each of you myself. I need to get to know you as patients. The better I know you, the better I’ll be able to help you, particularly since you have some... unique abilities,” Dominic said.
Bigger on the inside: Space, Time Travel, Alien Criminals (A Space Time Travel Mystery Book 1) Page 13
