Andromeda Rising: Chapter Fifteen

[amberfocus]

Title:  Andromeda Rising
Series:  Jack's Path, Compatible with Time Eternal
Author:  Amberfocus
Characters/Pairings:  Jack Harkness/Andromeda Harper, Ten/Rose Tyler, Cassi Tyler Harper/Daniel Harper, Dare Tyler/Martha Tyler-Jones, Teganna Tyler, Xanderius Tyler, Marsden Tyler-Jones, Devora Tyler-Jones, Rapheal Harper, Gwen Cooper Williams/Owen Harper
Genre:  Action/Adventure, Romance, fluff, angst, mild smut
Rating:  Adult, R
Beta:  jeprdyfrndly
Summary:  Andromeda Harper, the granddaughter of the Doctor and Rose, has run away from her family, determined to make her own way in the universe.  She and Jack Harkness cross paths and there is no looking back for either of them despite the significant age gap between them.  Unknown to either of them, Andromeda has become the target of an Orion Hunter, a prince who will stop at nothing to claim Andromeda as his very own.  Set during Jack's two years of missing memories.  AU after Doomsday and Torchwood season one.
A/N:  Jack and Andromeda spend the day in London and run into an unexpected person.

Previous chapters:  http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/275070.html

Chapter Fifteen:  London 2002

“And no one’s going to notice you parking a space ship on the roof of Henrik’s?” Andromeda asked.

“It’s got a perception filter. No one will notice it’s there unless they walk right up to it,” Jack assured her with a charming smile. “And even then they won’t realize what it is, only that something’s there. A cargo container or a dumpster or something.”

“What, on the roof? Why would there be a rubbish bin on the roof? Not like the trucks could make it up here.” Andromeda’s tone was disbelieving.

“The mind sees what it wants to see. This is the 21st first century and nobody’s ready. In a couple of years everything changes, alien activity becomes commonplace but for right now, trust me, there’s not a human out there that really wants the inconvenience of seeing a space ship in their lives,” Jack told her.

“Now wait for me. I’ll be back in a few minutes with appropriate clothing.”

“What wrong with what I have on?” Andromeda said, looking down at the gauzy dress she was wearing.

“For one thing, it’s January in London and you’d freeze. For another thing, that dress changes color according to your mood. That sort of thing would be noticed. Plus the design itself is a little futuristic. So just do me a favor and stay on the ship until I get back. Last thing I need is for you to wander off,” Jack said.

“I’m not a child,” Andromeda protested.

“No, you’re not. You’re my wife. And I don’t want to lose you in this city, so just wait for me. I’ll only be a half an hour at the outside.”

“Fine,” she said sticking her lower lip out in a pout. Jack leaned forward and caught that lip between his and smoothed the movement into a lingering kiss. When he pulled away from her a couple of minutes later, she sighed and said, "Fine,” again in a much happier tone.

True to his word Jack was not gone long. He returned with a simple pair of jeans that were slung lower on her hips than she liked when she tried them on. “It was the style,” Jack said when she complained. “Anyway, they look good on you.” The t-shirt he gave her was fitted and didn’t quite meet the jeans. Fortunately he had bought a gorgeous red jumper that she put over it and then handed her a pretty brown leather jacket and a pair of trainers.

Jack had purchased tight blue jeans for himself and a body hugging turquoise shirt that brought out the color of his eyes. He’d found a black leather jacket for himself in the back of his closet.

Suitably attired they made their way down through the department store and onto the street. “We missed Christmas by just a few weeks,” Jack told her.

“Probably a good thing. Gran always says it was over commercialized when she was a kid. She’s from now,” Andromeda said.

“What?”

“My Gran. She was born in 1986. That would make her right around my,” she caught herself, correcting to “sixteen years old right now.”

“You were serious.”

“About what?”

“With all that talk about Gallifrey and being a Time Lady,” Jack said in a low voice.

“Of course, I was serious. Did you think I was lying to you?” Andromeda asked in hurt voice. When he didn’t answer she stopped walking and turned to look at him. “You did. Jack!”

“I’m sorry.”

“You’d know if I was lying,” she told him quietly. “You’d see it in the link. The indigo would turn muddy if I was lying and the sapphire would go the same way if you were.”

“You have to admit, it’s kind of a far-fetched story. I mean, they disappeared out of time and space. No one knows what really happened. They became myth.”

“I know what really happened,” she said. “It’s family history. But I’ll tell you about it another time. We’re supposed to be enjoying our day in London,” she said.

“Come on. There’s some place I want to take you,” Jack told her. They walked along hand in hand watching the hustle and bustle of the crowds surrounding them. After about twenty minutes of walking Jack turned into a little shop. She smiled at the beautiful displays of jewelry.

“I want you to pick out a ring,” he told her. “Any ring you want. Don’t worry about price. I can afford it.”

“Are you sure, Jack?”

“Of course, I’m sure. I want my wife to have a ring.”

Andromeda moved forward and gazed into the glass cases before her. She glanced back at Jack. “What about you?” She asked.

“Pick something out and we’ll see what they have that matches it,” he told her.

The proprietor of the shop came over and stood next to Jack as Andromeda looked through the jewelry cases. “You are looking for an engagement ring for the young lady?” he asked.

“No, a wedding ring,” said Jack. His eyes followed Andromeda’s slow progression throughout the store.

“I have some lovely diamonds over here,” he began but Jack cut him off.

“My wife will have her own ideas. And I doubt they include diamonds.”

He was right. When Andromeda finally settled on a ring it was a one and a half carat, marquise cut, crimson ruby with a twisted silver band. Next to it in the case was a matching emerald cut ruby in a wide, flat silver band. “These, Jack?” Andromeda asked and he moved quickly to her side, one arm wrapping around her waist as he gazed down at her selection.

“Perfect,” he said. “Can we try these on?”

“Certainly, sir.” The old man went behind the counter and removed the desired rings. Jack picked up the marquise and slid it on to the third finger of Andromeda’s left hand.

She smiled up at him, her smile slow and sensuous. “It fits perfectly,” she told him. "Just like we do." She reached down and picked up the man’s ring and slipped it onto his hand. “This one is a little big,” she said.

“That’s okay,” Jack said. “I have something on the sh--.” He caught himself. “Back at home that will make it fit.”

“I can have it sized,” the proprietor said.

“No, they’re fine. We’ll take them.” He handed over a credit card and the proprietor ran it through, asking to see his I.D. Jack handed him a piece of paper that looked blank to Andromeda, but made the other man lift his eyebrows in surprise.

When the transaction was complete and they left the shop, Andromeda wearing her new ring and Jack’s zipped into the inside pocket of his jacket, she asked him about the paper. “What was that you showed the man? It looked like an empty piece of paper to me.”

“It’s psychic paper. It shows a person what they are expecting to see or what I want them to see,” Jack explained.

“How come it looks blank to me?” she asked him.

“Well, you said your dad had second sight, right?”

“Well, he’s a bit telepathic and he sometimes has visions,” Andromeda said. “And of course, Mum has the time gifts.”

“So, it wouldn’t work on someone like you. The psychic field already bends around you naturally. It can’t be bent to mislead you. But it works fine on the deadheads,” Jack said.

“Deadheads?”

“People with no psychic talent whatsoever.”

“Rose!” The screech of a woman brought Andromeda up sharply, and an uneasy shiver worked its way down her spine. “Rose!” The voice was very familiar to her, though she’d only met the woman a few times before she’d died.

“Rose Marion Tyler! You stop this instant!” Andromeda froze.

“What? What is it?” Jack asked.

“Either my grandmother is somewhere behind us in the crowd or my great grandmother has just seen me and mistaken me for Gran,” she explained quickly.

“You didn’t tell me they were from London!”

“I said from now.”

“But not from where!”

“Rose!” Slowly Andromeda turned around to see a pleasantly rumpled woman in her mid to late thirties huffing her way towards them with a murderous look on her face.

“You, young lady, are coming home with me right now,” the woman said grabbing Andromeda by the collar. “Where did you get these clothes? You better not have been shoplifting again, Rose. And what have you done to your hair? I thought we’d decided blonde was not your color. And--.” She broke off, suddenly looking at Jack, who was holding Andromeda’s hand. “Who the hell are you and what are you doing with my daughter?” she demanded. “You’ve got to be close to my age and she’s only sixteen. I could have you arrested, damn pedophile, get your bloody hands off my daughter!” And Jackie rounded on Jack and slapped him soundly.

“Ouch!” Jack said, dropping Andromeda’s hand so he could cover the injured cheek.

“I’m sorry,” said Andromeda in a whisper to Jack.

“Lady, will you let go of my wife, please?” Jack said.

“Your wife? Your wife!” the woman spat.

“Yes, ma’am,” Andromeda said. “I’m his wife. And I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

The woman’s eyes jumped to Andromeda’s face, searching it in detail. Suddenly her face flushed. “Oh, no. I’m so sorry, but you are the spitting image of my daughter Rose.”

“I’d gathered that,” said Andromeda.

The woman turned to Jack. “I’m sorry. I thought…I thought you’d…well, look, can I buy you lunch to make up for it? I was just on my way to the chippie.”

Jack looked appalled by the idea of eating with this crazy woman but Andromeda smiled and politely accepted the offer. A few minutes later they were sitting down across from each other with baskets of steaming fish and chips.

“My name’s Jackie Tyler,” she said by way of introduction.

“I’m An…” Andromeda stopped for a moment then substituted a similar name, “Andrea. This is my husband Jack.”

“I’m sorry if I’m staring,” Jackie said. “The resemblance between you and my Rose is shocking.” Jackie rummaged around in her purse and pulled out a small packet of photos, slipping one out and passing it across the table to Andromeda.

She picked it up with a smile, looking at the girl with the light brown hair and big brown eyes and a grin that took up half her face. “That was taken just last year,” Jackie said.

Andromeda handed the photograph over to Jack who gave it a cursory glance and then startled. Something poked at the back of his mind but when he tried to follow the thought it dissolved into nothingness. “She does look just like you,” he admitted.

Andromeda nodded, though she always thought Teganna was a closer match to Rose than she was. “I can see why you mistook me.”

“I just can’t get over it,” Jackie said. “Too bad I don’t know where she is right now. I bet she’d get a kick out of meeting you.”

“Could be we’re related,” said Andromeda. Jack’s hand squeezed warningly on her thigh but she pushed on anyway. “My Gran always said that I look similar to her great, great grandmother Prentiss as a girl. She showed me a copy of a drawing that had been done of her.”

“Prentiss?” Jackie said. “That’s my maiden name!”

“Then we must be related,” Andromeda said with a smile. After that, conversation came easily. By the time the meal was through, Andromeda knew that Rose had been threatening to run off for weeks now and Jackie had been afraid Rose had finally moved past threats and onto actually doing it as the girl hadn’t shown her face around home for a couple of days.

Andromeda listened sympathetically while Jackie worried aloud about her daughter. She had to bite her tongue to keep from telling the woman that Rose had dropped out of school and moved in with Jimmy Stone. It wasn’t knowledge she should have and Jackie would know there was more going on if she spilled the truth to her great grandmother.

Instead all she could do was make sympathetic noises. Eventually they parted ways, Andromeda with a phone number and address in her pocket and the promise to call if she and her husband ever made it to London again.

“Can’t say I don’t blame your Gran for running off if that crazy old nutter is her mother,” Jack commented when Jackie was out of earshot.

“Jack Harkness, shame on you! How would you feel if your sixteen year old daughter had…?” Andromeda swallowed and then quickly finished her sentence. “Had just run off and you hadn’t heard from her in days?”

“I suppose it might bother me a bit,” he admitted. “But it's hard to worry about it when I know it all turns out okay. After all, your grandmother is happy and safe now with your granddad, isn't she? Come on. I want to take you on the London Eye,” he said, changing the subject. They walked on in companionable silence. Andromeda was glad she wasn’t expected to make conversation. Her mind kept wandering back to the fact that she’d basically done the same thing to her own mother as Rose had done to Jackie. Run off and shacked up with a man.

She didn’t like to think of the fact that Cassi might be out of her head with worry. She’d promised Gran in her good-bye note that she’d call and she hadn’t even managed to do that. Well, as soon as she got a free moment away from Jack she was going to remedy that and at least call Grandma Rose and roundabout check up on her mother.

That decided, Andromeda was able to relax and enjoy the walk down to the Eye. There was a short wait and then Jack ushered her onboard one of the thirty-two slow moving capsules. They spent the next thirty minutes marveling at the view of the city. The rest of their magical day was spent exploring the city, stopping for a couple of hours in a lovely park. When Jack disappeared to use a public washroom Andromeda pulled out her super phone and made a quick call.

She was surprised that no one answered Gran’s phone. Usually Rose kept it on her at all times and when she didn’t have it, Teganna or Xan did. Of course, her grandparents could be too busy at the moment to answer it. Even with a string of descendants her grandparents still were not too old to still spend time running for their lives. She left a quick message on the TARDIS voice mail saying that she was fine, happy, and having a great time exploring the universe and not to worry about her. She’d check in again in another month.

For a moment an intense wave of homesickness overtook her. She missed her family, despite her anger at her mother’s decision to keep her from having a TARDIS of her own yet. She missed her stubborn little brother Rafe who had always loved her fiercely and would tear apart anyone that threatened his beloved big sister. She missed dancing with Mars in the clubs on Deneb 8 and Divo and gossiping with Teganna about stupid things. She missed her grandparents and she particularly missed her father. She didn’t want to admit that she even missed her misguided mum. But she wasn’t ready to forgive her and she wasn’t ready to go home.

That life was behind her now anyway. She and Jack were life bonded. She couldn’t go back. She was a wife, a very happy wife. And as long as she had Jack she didn’t need anything else.

Ch. 16: