Bigger on the inside: Space, Time Travel, Alien Criminals (A Space Time Travel Mystery Book 1)

by Alianna Smith

  “Did aliens eat his brain?” Ewan asked wide-eyed after he’d finished.

  “What on Earth gives you that idea?” Dave asked, looking at his son in horror. He was definitely watching too much TV.

  “Well, that Mickey Smith guy said something about aliens to Lottie,” Ewan said.

  “We don’t know what happened,” Dave explained. “They’ve taken Paul to Torchwood Medical because their equipment and doctor are better than the hospital. He’ll find out what’s wrong with Paul and fix him.” He had no idea where that trust came from, but he didn’t want to question it too much. He needed it, desperately. He needed to be strong for Ewan and Evie. And Paul.

  Just then Rose found him in Ewan’s room with a steaming mug of tea. “I thought you’d like some,” she said softly after she’d rapped her knuckles on the door frame to catch his attention.

  Dave smiled and rose from where he’d been crouching on the floor. “Thank you.”

  “We’ll need to pack a few things,” Rose said. “Paul’s waiting for you at the Priory.”

  “Is he all right?” Ewan asked.

  “Yes, I just talked to Dr Henley on the phone. Your brother’s feeling much better.”

  Dave closed his eyes in relief. He took another fortifying sip. “Well, get your big bag, we’re going to stay overnight to keep Paul company.”

  “Cool!” Ewan cried.

  “I’ll go and help Evie,” Rose offered, laying her hand on his arm.

  “Thanks.”

  “We’ll talk later, yeah?”

  “Aye.”

  Chapter 30

  “Allow me,” Rose said, plucking the car keys from his fingers as he was about to unlock the car. “You’re a wee bit emotional right now, and we have a policy of not allowing people to drive in situations like this.”

  “Can we go with Mickey, Dad?” Ewan asked. Of course he’d spotted the monster of a car parked in the kerb. Rose could see how torn Dave was. He’d want his children with him, but he also didn’t want to deny them this pleasure if it distracted them from worrying about Paul. Dave nodded, and once he had bundled them into the SUV, Evie in her rather incongruous-looking car seat, he slumped into the passenger seat of his own car.

  “They’re not worried about Paul,” he said, tipping his head back against the seat.

  Rose looked at him in surprise. She’d assumed she was the one who could read minds.

  “They trust you completely. To Ewan it’s more like a big game. Aliens. Torchwood. That… car.” He turned his head to look at her.

  “But you don’t trust us,” she stated calmly. It wasn’t anything new. She knew that they’d have to earn Dave’s trust, particularly since she had been evading his question about what she did for a living.

  “The National Heritage Trust?”

  “It’s a real job, and I love doing it. It’s not like we’re repelling alien invasions all day. In fact, our job is mostly boring,” she said. “And most aliens we’re in touch with are actually quite nice. Not a whole lot different from us, they're just ordinary people from other star systems.”

  “You’d know, wouldn’t you.”

  “Dave.”

  “Take me to the Priory. Please.”

  Rose nodded, sensing that he needed to be left alone with his thoughts. It was a lot to take in all at once. She appreciated that, but at the same time she needed to reassure both Dave and herself. When she’d said she wanted to meet his children she’d certainly not intended for it to happen so soon — and not quite in this way. She’d had no idea that his children didn’t share his last name; she should have guessed, though, because he’d told her that he and Rita hadn’t been married.

  And then she realised.

  Lucy’s last name was Morris.

  She’d recently lost her mother.

  Dave had a daughter he considered his although he wasn’t her birth father.

  “Oh my God,” Rose whispered. Luckily, she had to pull up at a traffic light, which gave her a few moments to gather herself. She needed to confirm that his Lucy was the girl she'd been talking to, but now was not the time. Or maybe it was — whatever she revealed to him now would hit him hard, but at least it would put an end to awkward and difficult revelations.

  “What?” Dave had turned to look at her.

  Rose closed her eyes briefly.

  She found she didn’t have it in her to tell him, not in the car. He’d demand a lot of explanations, rightly so, and she wanted to be able to give him her full attention when she discussed this with him.

  “I just realised something,” Rose said, and she flashed him a quick smile.

  “Ah.”

  They lapsed back into silence when she didn’t offer any more information. They didn’t speak a word until she steered the car into the courtyard of the Priory. Mickey’s SUV was already parked there, and Lottie was untangling Evie from the strapping of her car seat. Surprisingly, Ewan stood very still, clutching his overnight bag and staring at the grey stone façade.

  A bundle of nervous energy, Dave bounded out of the car as soon as Rose had stopped.

  “Oh, Dave,” she sighed, pulling the key out of the ignition. She remained in the car to give him some space and watch him with his kids. As soon as Lottie had helped Evie out of the car, she ran to her father to be picked up. Dave shifted her to sit on his hip and kissed her cheek. Ewan joined them and stood very close by his side.

  Rose averted her eyes. She was torn between offering her love the support he needed and maintaining the professional distance she needed to do her job. Add to that the fact that his children didn’t know who she was and the mess the potential to become the perfect storm. It would be impossible to pretend that Dave and she weren’t in love with each other. The only decent way out of this would be to give up the case — how she hated that word — to Mickey so she could be there for Dave.

  She wasn’t so sure, however, if that gesture would be welcome. The silence in the car had been strained after he had made it quite clear that Torchwood terrified him. And then there was the small matter of telling him about Lucy and her involvement with the Institute. The best thing to do would be to just tell him, and as soon as possible.

  Eventually, she got out of the car and joined Mickey, Dave and the children at the entrance; they had been waiting for her. She held out the car keys for Dave, not realising that he couldn’t take them because he was holding his little daughter. Flushing, she slid the keys into her own pocket.

  “I’d like to see Paul now, please,” Dave said softly. His voice sounded weary and full of grief. Her heart broke, and, unable to speak, she preceded them into the foyer of the Institute and towards the elevator that would take them down to the clinic.

  “Let’s talk to Dominic first,” Rose said when the doors slid open onto the foyer of the clinic. The decorators had taken great care to make the vaults look bright, and if not exactly airy, to at least trick people into assuming that this part of the building was not underground.

  Dominic came striding towards them, and he did a brief double-take when he recognised Dave. “Hello, Dave,” Dominic said, and, turning towards the children, “And you must be Evie and Ewan?”

  “Dad? Do you know him? Dad?” Ewan asked, looking in confusion from Dominic to Dave.

  “Yes, we’ve met before,” Dave said, looking cautiously at Rose for guidance. She shook her head slightly to let him know that the children still didn’t know who she was.

  “This is Lottie,” Rose said, gesturing at the young woman. “She’s the au pair.”

  “There’s a family room right over there. Make yourselves at home. There’s tea and some biscuits, I believe,” Dominic said. “May I borrow your Dad for a bit?”

  Evie nodded reluctantly and Dave let her down with a hug and a kiss. It was painfully obvious how reluctant both of them — and Ewan — were to let go of each other. “I’ll come and get you as soon as possible,” Dave promised.

  Dominic led them to his office which overloo
ked the river bank. They sat in the comfortable armchairs by the French windows. Dave sat reluctantly, the need to see his son almost overwhelming. The tension that radiated off him was palpable, and Rose wondered what would happen if he vented his fury.

  “Frankie is with Paul at the moment,” Dominic began. “She’s the nurse who looked after him when he was brought into A&E. The two of them get on quite well.”

  Dave nodded, his patience running thin.

  “Paul collapsed at choir practice. The conductor had noticed that he was very pale, but when he asked him, Paul insisted he was all right,” Dominic began.

  “I shouldn’t have let him go,” Dave said. “He felt under the weather this morning.”

  “If he’d stayed at home, he’d have collapsed there. It wouldn’t have changed anything. Whatever’s in his system has had enough time to make him properly ill,” Dominic said.

  “And what is in his system?”

  “Dr Noble did a lumbar puncture. We do this to test for meningitis.”

  “I know! I know that already!” Dave said in a strained voice.

  “Then I suppose you also know that the result was inconclusive,” Dominic continued. “I’m afraid I’ll have to repeat the test in a couple of hours, and we’ll have to treat you and the rest of the family. Just as a precaution.”

  Dave closed his eyes and leaned back. The room was silent while he gathered his thoughts. “Of course. But Dr Noble also said something about the cut?”

  “Yes, about that,” Dominic said. “It appears the cut in his palm healed so quickly and well that you can’t even tell it was ever there. Which is why Dr Noble alerted me.”

  “Well, he got the cut playing footie in the park,” Dave replied, clearly confused now. His brow was so deeply furrowed that Rose wanted to smooth with her thumb. She so wanted to sit beside him and hold his hand, but she doubted he'd appreciate the gesture at the moment. They definitely needed to talk, and soon.

  “On Wednesday, if I’m not mistaken?”

  Dave confirmed this with a nod.

  “Wounds like this don’t heal that fast, Dave. Not even paper cuts. ”

  “What are you implying? That my son is some kind of freak?”

  “Not unless he has a history of healing himself that quickly,” Dominic said, but Dave only glared at him. “I want to find out more about the cut, and that’s why I need Ewan’s help.”

  Dave’s eyes widened in alarm.

  “Paul was so drowsy that I didn’t want to bother him with the questions.”

  “So it’s about the cut now? Why do you want to treat us for meningitis?” Dave asked, his frown deepening.

  “Because the symptoms are there and meningitis is a serious illness. I just want to be sure.”

  “What about that cut then?”

  “Ideally, we’d need to find the object on which he cut himself.”

  “And then you’ll be able to come up with a treatment?” Dave concluded. He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “Tell me, is this… Is he… going to die?”

  Rose looked, shocked, from Dave to Dominic.

  “I can’t say.”

  Dave looked at Dominic in horror. “How…?”

  “I’ll treat Paul for meningitis. He presents typical symptoms, but there must be something else in his system that’s responsible for making the lumbar puncture inconclusive,” Dominic explained.

  “Oh God,” Dave whispered, his frown replaced by paleness. “I take it we’ll have to get a lumbar puncture as well?”

  “No. You’ll get some antibiotics, but I’d like you to stay overnight. Also for Paul’s comfort,” Dominic explained.

  Dave relaxed slightly, nodding.

  Dominic stood. “I’ll need to talk to Ewan now, if that’s okay. I’d like you to be there.”

  “Can we wait five minutes? There’s something we need to discuss,” Rose asked.

  Dominic nodded and left his office.

  “Five minutes?” Dave asked. “So that’s all we need, eh?”

  “Cynicism doesn’t become you, Dave,” Rose said softly.

  “Well, how would you feel if you were me? The person you love turns out to be a secret agent and drags you and your family to the underground medical facility of a shadowy organisation with blood and tears on their hands,” he blurted.

  Rose took a deep breath. She ignored the pain in his voice and focused on how she could help him. “I’ll leave the case to Mickey so I can be just Rose for you if you want.”

  He stared at her. “You’re the second one today who refers to Paul as a case.”

  “Do you really want to discuss semantics, Dave?” Rose asked, trying to remain calm. “I’m here to help you, and I can do that as a secret agent of a shadowy organisation with blood and tears on their hands, or as the woman who loves you and supports you, no matter what. It’s your decision.”

  “The kids don’t know, and I can’t spring this on them now as well,” Dave said. “Are you any good?”

  “The best,” Rose answered, trying to ignore the hurt at his rejection of her support as his lover. But he was right, of course.

  Although Dave nodded, it was obvious that he didn’t really trust her or Dominic. Rose hoped that they’d earn their spurs, but what was more, she hoped that Dave would eventually come to terms with the job she was doing.

  “We should go to Ewan,” Rose said, rising.

  “You’ll be there?”

  “It’ll save time in case he tells us something important about the park. I’ll put together a team and we’ll go and see what we can find out,” Rose said.

  “So time is of the essence?”

  “It always is,” Rose said. “Don’t… Just trust us. We’re good at this.”

  Dave sighed. “What choice do I have, eh?”

  -:-

  In the end, Mickey and Rose had bundled Ewan into the SUV and driven to the park where he and Paul had played to give them the exact location. Dave would have liked to go with them, but he needed to be there for Paul; besides, Ewan had perked up at the prospect of being able to help his big brother.

  He still couldn’t quite grasp what had happened. It wasn’t until he’d sat in the sunny office of the shadowy organisation that he had taken a deep breath and decided to invest all his power and strength in his family. They needed him most now. He had been very tempted to accept Rose’s offer; he couldn’t tell what giving up her leadership would have meant to her, and he didn’t want to dwell on it because right at that moment he thought he didn’t know her at all. Better to focus fully on his children.

  What shook him most was the uncertainty of it all. He’d wanted to rage at Dominic for all the questions their conversation had raised rather than answered, but something told him that Dominic was as frustrated as he and doing his best. Rose had been right. He had no choice but to trust Torchwood.

  He tried not to dwell on the Institute too much either. The stories he had heard had made him sick with fear, and part of him had written it off as urban legends. Metal men that offered people an upgrade to rid them of emotions, of individuality. Uggsomegauts appeared as well, the stuff the horror stories of his childhood were made of. Requisitioning the Priory for the purposes of The National Heritage Trust.

  Dave laughed. He was working for The National Heritage Trust — did that mean that he was working for Torchwood itself as well, unknowingly cataloguing sites of paranormal or alien activity?

  What did that imply about Paul’s illness? Was it just… a strange case — there was that word again — or were aliens involved? A new mutation of whatever it was that caused meningitis? It must be that. Please let it be that.

  He had no idea where that left Rose and him. That was something that he could wonder about later.

  Frankie, the nurse, offered him a minuscule paper cup with a pill in it and a glass of water. “The antibiotics,” she explained. She was a tall, angular woman with short blonde hair and warm blue eyes. Dave felt she was the only person in the Priory he
could trust. She gave Lottie and Evie a cup and glass as well, and after he and Lottie had each taken their pill, Evie took hers as well. It occurred to Dave that Rose might need to take one as well, considering how… Well.

  “Dave?” Lottie asked, her voice small.

  “Yes?”

  “I’m… I feel responsible for this.”

  He frowned. “Why?”

  “If we’d had the cut looked at by a doctor,” Lottie began.

  “It’d probably have healed just as fast,” Dave said, although too had wondered if maybe that would have made a difference. But he still trusted Lottie’s first aid skills, and he doubted he’d have taken Paul to a doctor even if Lottie hadn't been around. “The what-if game won’t change anything. Don’t beat yourself up, Lottie. You did your best, and I’m grateful to you for that.”