Sci-Fi Big Bang - Children Through Time - Elizabeth's Book
Title: Children Through Time - The Book of Elizabeth
Chapter: 7
Rating: R
Characters: Team Torchwood, Elizabeth Murphy, David Ortiz, OC's
Spoilers: Children of Earth
Disclaimers: I do not own Torchwood or the characters therein, they belong to the BBC and RTD. Any original characters and places are my property.
Author's Notes: The series of events in Children Through Time take place after Children in Time. It is not necessary to read Children in Time but it can be found here.
Special Thanks: To my awesome beta faithharkness, and to my artist laura_guerin, and great cheerleading from knitchick1979, chicago_girl_07 and all the others. It was rough going this time, but we did it.
Chapter 7
It had been a long, hard day. Elizabeth didn’t know if going to see her mother had been the right idea, but at least it had brought some closure. She didn’t know why her sister had said to stay away, her mother had already lost her mind, and acted as if nothing had changed and it was oh so many years ago. Elizabeth shook her head wishing there was something she could do. As far as medical advancements had gotten and still her mother could not be helped.
Punching in the security code for the private penthouse elevator, she slipped off her jacket and held it over her arms as the elevator moved upwards to home. The doors opened and she hung up her jacket. Turning around, she was grabbed around the knees and fell back against the wall.
"Momma's back!" James smiled up at her.
"Don't kill your mother," Tami said, poking her head out of James' bedroom.
"Sorry Momma," James said as he pulled back. He took her by the hand and started pulling her down the hallway. "Grace smiled at me today."
"Grace has smiled before," Elizabeth said automatically.
He tugged on her hand fervently, leading Elizabeth into Grace's bedroom. "But she smiled at me. She knows I'm her big brother. I'll teach her about dragons and everything."
Okay, okay. You're a good boy," Elizabeth said as she looked down on Grace. Seeing the baby awake, she scooped Grace up in her arms and held her close. "How were things today?" she asked Tami, as the girl entered the room as well.
"Everything was good. We didn't go outside like you asked, but maybe next time-"
"Maybe," Elizabeth said as she sauntered out of the bedroom to the kitchen, still holding Grace tight to her. She gave a weak smile to Tami.
Tami was a sweet girl. Mousy brown hair and a little pudgy, but she had the heart of a saint. Tami loved James and Grace as much as anyone could, and Elizabeth knew she could trust them with her. In the kitchen, Tami put on the kettle for Elizabeth.
"Did everything go okay today?" Tami asked. She grabbed a mug for Elizabeth but none for her.
"Okay." Elizabeth broke out of her reverie and looked at Tami. "Why don’t you have some tea?"
"That's okay. I have to meet my husband shortly." Tami smiled and dropped the teabag into the mug.
The intercom on the wall buzzed and Elizabeth looked at it curiously a moment before getting up to answer it. She depressed a small grey button on the side and the voice of Steve, the downstairs security, answered her.
"Ms. Murphy," Steve said.
"Yes," Elizabeth replied, exchanging a look with Tami.
"You said to not let anyone up there who has not been approved by you and Mr. Ortiz," Steve stated.
"Of course," Elizabeth said. Only two people had blanket approval from David and her to be in the building. One was standing next to her and the other was Melissa.
"There is an official looking man wanting to speak with you about Mr. Ortiz," Steve said.
Elizabeth suddenly didn’t feel so well. Something didn't seem right. "I'll be right down. Keep them down there," Elizabeth said and turned off the intercom. She looked at Tami. "I know you need to go and see your husband, but you could stick around until I find out what is going on?"
"Not a problem," Tami replied, taking Grace from Elizabeth's arms.
"Don’t even trust me, unless I give you the security code," Elizabeth stated.
"Number 6-8-2-3-4-7. Got it," Tami said as she turned off the whistling kettle.
Elizabeth hurried to the elevator, catching sight of James just watching her from the kitchen doorway. She gave him a little wave as the doors closed. Her thoughts were all ajumble the entire ride downstairs. As long as Tami didn’t leave the condo, the kids should be safe. As the doors opened, she stepped out and saw a gentleman in a drab olive military uniform.
"Ms. Murphy," the man greeted her in a clipped tone.
"Yes," she said, her voice harsh. "And you are?"
"Major Brent Winfield. I need to speak with in private."
"Right here is good enough."
"In private ma'am." Even his jawline was tense.
"No. You talk to me here, or I go back upstairs, never answering any of your questions." She folded her arms across her chest, standing her ground next to Steve's desk.
Brent's eyes darted back and forth. Finally he stepped up to Elizabeth leaving about an inch between them. "I need you to tell me where Mr. Ortiz is?"
"What do you mean where he is?"
"Mr. Ortiz is no longer in the country. No one seems to know his current whereabouts. Neither Mr. Ortiz, nor yourself, are permitted to leave the country. Where is he?"
"I don’t know, have you tried his office?"
"That has already been done. His assistant was rather unaccommodating, even after sending Dr. Graf to speak with her."
Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders. "Then I guess I can be of no help. Sorry."
She started to turn to go when Brent grabbed her the arm. Elizabeth merely looked down at Brent's hand on her as Steve quickly stood up, opening the holster on his weapon. She wrenched her arm away from Brent, taking two steps back.
"Let me just tell you then, Ms. Murphy. A small crop plane crash landed in the forests of Brazil. It had taken off from a small strip in Sao Paolo. All of the occupants died."
"I feel sorry for the poor souls, but what does that have to do with me and David?" Elizabeth stared Brent down.
"Nothing. Just remember, we'll be watching out for you."
"Uh-huh. I think you better leave before Steve here escorts you out." Elizabeth watched as Brent turned on his heel and hurriedly exited the building, not showing a thing on her face. "Thank you Steve," she said as she passed him by and nonchalantly walked into the elevator.
Once the doors closed on her, Elizabeth fell against the back wall of the elevator, trying to hold herself up. It was no use. Her body slid down until she was sitting on the floor. Head falling forward, she buried her face in her hands, trying to keep from crying. Just because some UNIT jerk said that didn’t mean it was true. As the elevator dinged for the penthouse, she pushed herself up the wall, trying to hide the fact that she had been crying.
On the other side of the door, Tami stood there. Elizabeth did not want to deal with Tami, or anyone at the moment. She tried to move around the girl, but Tami blocked her whichever way she went, keeping a hand behind her back. It suddenly dawned on Elizabeth what she had to do.
"Number 6-8-2-3-4-7. Sorry," she rambled at Tami as the girl let her by.
Elizabeth ran for the living room and grabbed Jeanie off a high shelf. Opening the computer, she could hardly wait while it booted up. Finally it did.
"What can I do for you Master?"
"Jeanie, show me any news reports from today about any planes going down around Brazil." Elizabeth found herself praying that Major Winfield had been lying.
"A small plane went down 30 minutes outside of Sao Paolo, Brazil at 1:00pm Chicago time, Sir," Jeanie read off as she pulled up the newswire article.
Elizabeth scanned the article, her heart sinking with each line. There was no way anyone could survive that kind of crash. No way. Elizabeth found herself biting at her knuckles, trying to see a way of survival in the photos, but there was none anyone could find.
"Is everything okay?" Tami asked, standing next to her.
Elizabeth shook her head, but didn’t say anything at first. Finally she found her voice. "You should go. Go home, be with your husband." Elizabeth said as she took Tami's hand, giving it a little squeeze.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," Elizabeth responded, closing the computer and standing up. "Enjoy what you have." She escorted Tami to the front hall and watched as the girl put on a light coat and grabbed her purse.
"If you need anything-"
"I'll let you know. You have tomorrow off as well," Elizabeth said as Tami got into the elevator.
"Thank you," Tami said as the doors closed on her.
Elizabeth typed in the security code and locked down the elevator so no one could get up during the night. She didn’t expect anyone to be coming home that night, or anytime soon. Walking numbly down the hall, she peeked in on Grace who had fallen asleep again. She gave their baby girl a kiss on the head and shut off the nursery light. James was playing "Dragons" in his bedroom, so Elizabeth let him be.
She wandered back to the living room and watched as another storm came ashore from the lake. She didn’t mind the rain, it matched how her heart felt. Elizabeth curled up into a corner of the couch and grabbed the remote, turning off the lights in the room as the lightning zagged across the sky. She didn’t know how long she had just been sitting there, watching the storm when James dragged Duncan behind him and curled up in her lap.
James did not say a word, but leaned his head against her chest. His little hand intertwined with hers. It was slightly sticky, but Elizabeth didn't mind. At some point, their little boy fell asleep, his breath matching hers.
Somehow Elizabeth had finally fallen asleep, and was awoken by her mobile phone going. She looked around for it, and realizing it was still in her pocket, shifted slightly as not to wake James and tugged it from her trousers. She blinked a couple of times as the display read "untraceable." Hesitatingly, Elizabeth answered.
"Hello," she quietly said.
"I can't talk long, we're in the middle of the ocean so they should have a hell of a time tracking this call, but I had to tell you I was all right."
Elizabeth could feel the tears start running down her face. "David?"
"Yes, and someone else wants to say hi."
"What? David? Don't go," Elizabeth said as there was suddenly silence.
Then, softly, over the mobile came a voice Elizabeth had not heard in ages. "Beth? It's me, Jillian."
Chapter: 7
Rating: R
Characters: Team Torchwood, Elizabeth Murphy, David Ortiz, OC's
Spoilers: Children of Earth
Disclaimers: I do not own Torchwood or the characters therein, they belong to the BBC and RTD. Any original characters and places are my property.
Author's Notes: The series of events in Children Through Time take place after Children in Time. It is not necessary to read Children in Time but it can be found here.
Special Thanks: To my awesome beta faithharkness, and to my artist laura_guerin, and great cheerleading from knitchick1979, chicago_girl_07 and all the others. It was rough going this time, but we did it.
Chapter 7
It had been a long, hard day. Elizabeth didn’t know if going to see her mother had been the right idea, but at least it had brought some closure. She didn’t know why her sister had said to stay away, her mother had already lost her mind, and acted as if nothing had changed and it was oh so many years ago. Elizabeth shook her head wishing there was something she could do. As far as medical advancements had gotten and still her mother could not be helped.
Punching in the security code for the private penthouse elevator, she slipped off her jacket and held it over her arms as the elevator moved upwards to home. The doors opened and she hung up her jacket. Turning around, she was grabbed around the knees and fell back against the wall.
"Momma's back!" James smiled up at her.
"Don't kill your mother," Tami said, poking her head out of James' bedroom.
"Sorry Momma," James said as he pulled back. He took her by the hand and started pulling her down the hallway. "Grace smiled at me today."
"Grace has smiled before," Elizabeth said automatically.
He tugged on her hand fervently, leading Elizabeth into Grace's bedroom. "But she smiled at me. She knows I'm her big brother. I'll teach her about dragons and everything."
Okay, okay. You're a good boy," Elizabeth said as she looked down on Grace. Seeing the baby awake, she scooped Grace up in her arms and held her close. "How were things today?" she asked Tami, as the girl entered the room as well.
"Everything was good. We didn't go outside like you asked, but maybe next time-"
"Maybe," Elizabeth said as she sauntered out of the bedroom to the kitchen, still holding Grace tight to her. She gave a weak smile to Tami.
Tami was a sweet girl. Mousy brown hair and a little pudgy, but she had the heart of a saint. Tami loved James and Grace as much as anyone could, and Elizabeth knew she could trust them with her. In the kitchen, Tami put on the kettle for Elizabeth.
"Did everything go okay today?" Tami asked. She grabbed a mug for Elizabeth but none for her.
"Okay." Elizabeth broke out of her reverie and looked at Tami. "Why don’t you have some tea?"
"That's okay. I have to meet my husband shortly." Tami smiled and dropped the teabag into the mug.
The intercom on the wall buzzed and Elizabeth looked at it curiously a moment before getting up to answer it. She depressed a small grey button on the side and the voice of Steve, the downstairs security, answered her.
"Ms. Murphy," Steve said.
"Yes," Elizabeth replied, exchanging a look with Tami.
"You said to not let anyone up there who has not been approved by you and Mr. Ortiz," Steve stated.
"Of course," Elizabeth said. Only two people had blanket approval from David and her to be in the building. One was standing next to her and the other was Melissa.
"There is an official looking man wanting to speak with you about Mr. Ortiz," Steve said.
Elizabeth suddenly didn’t feel so well. Something didn't seem right. "I'll be right down. Keep them down there," Elizabeth said and turned off the intercom. She looked at Tami. "I know you need to go and see your husband, but you could stick around until I find out what is going on?"
"Not a problem," Tami replied, taking Grace from Elizabeth's arms.
"Don’t even trust me, unless I give you the security code," Elizabeth stated.
"Number 6-8-2-3-4-7. Got it," Tami said as she turned off the whistling kettle.
Elizabeth hurried to the elevator, catching sight of James just watching her from the kitchen doorway. She gave him a little wave as the doors closed. Her thoughts were all ajumble the entire ride downstairs. As long as Tami didn’t leave the condo, the kids should be safe. As the doors opened, she stepped out and saw a gentleman in a drab olive military uniform.
"Ms. Murphy," the man greeted her in a clipped tone.
"Yes," she said, her voice harsh. "And you are?"
"Major Brent Winfield. I need to speak with in private."
"Right here is good enough."
"In private ma'am." Even his jawline was tense.
"No. You talk to me here, or I go back upstairs, never answering any of your questions." She folded her arms across her chest, standing her ground next to Steve's desk.
Brent's eyes darted back and forth. Finally he stepped up to Elizabeth leaving about an inch between them. "I need you to tell me where Mr. Ortiz is?"
"What do you mean where he is?"
"Mr. Ortiz is no longer in the country. No one seems to know his current whereabouts. Neither Mr. Ortiz, nor yourself, are permitted to leave the country. Where is he?"
"I don’t know, have you tried his office?"
"That has already been done. His assistant was rather unaccommodating, even after sending Dr. Graf to speak with her."
Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders. "Then I guess I can be of no help. Sorry."
She started to turn to go when Brent grabbed her the arm. Elizabeth merely looked down at Brent's hand on her as Steve quickly stood up, opening the holster on his weapon. She wrenched her arm away from Brent, taking two steps back.
"Let me just tell you then, Ms. Murphy. A small crop plane crash landed in the forests of Brazil. It had taken off from a small strip in Sao Paolo. All of the occupants died."
"I feel sorry for the poor souls, but what does that have to do with me and David?" Elizabeth stared Brent down.
"Nothing. Just remember, we'll be watching out for you."
"Uh-huh. I think you better leave before Steve here escorts you out." Elizabeth watched as Brent turned on his heel and hurriedly exited the building, not showing a thing on her face. "Thank you Steve," she said as she passed him by and nonchalantly walked into the elevator.
Once the doors closed on her, Elizabeth fell against the back wall of the elevator, trying to hold herself up. It was no use. Her body slid down until she was sitting on the floor. Head falling forward, she buried her face in her hands, trying to keep from crying. Just because some UNIT jerk said that didn’t mean it was true. As the elevator dinged for the penthouse, she pushed herself up the wall, trying to hide the fact that she had been crying.
On the other side of the door, Tami stood there. Elizabeth did not want to deal with Tami, or anyone at the moment. She tried to move around the girl, but Tami blocked her whichever way she went, keeping a hand behind her back. It suddenly dawned on Elizabeth what she had to do.
"Number 6-8-2-3-4-7. Sorry," she rambled at Tami as the girl let her by.
Elizabeth ran for the living room and grabbed Jeanie off a high shelf. Opening the computer, she could hardly wait while it booted up. Finally it did.
"What can I do for you Master?"
"Jeanie, show me any news reports from today about any planes going down around Brazil." Elizabeth found herself praying that Major Winfield had been lying.
"A small plane went down 30 minutes outside of Sao Paolo, Brazil at 1:00pm Chicago time, Sir," Jeanie read off as she pulled up the newswire article.
Elizabeth scanned the article, her heart sinking with each line. There was no way anyone could survive that kind of crash. No way. Elizabeth found herself biting at her knuckles, trying to see a way of survival in the photos, but there was none anyone could find.
"Is everything okay?" Tami asked, standing next to her.
Elizabeth shook her head, but didn’t say anything at first. Finally she found her voice. "You should go. Go home, be with your husband." Elizabeth said as she took Tami's hand, giving it a little squeeze.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," Elizabeth responded, closing the computer and standing up. "Enjoy what you have." She escorted Tami to the front hall and watched as the girl put on a light coat and grabbed her purse.
"If you need anything-"
"I'll let you know. You have tomorrow off as well," Elizabeth said as Tami got into the elevator.
"Thank you," Tami said as the doors closed on her.
Elizabeth typed in the security code and locked down the elevator so no one could get up during the night. She didn’t expect anyone to be coming home that night, or anytime soon. Walking numbly down the hall, she peeked in on Grace who had fallen asleep again. She gave their baby girl a kiss on the head and shut off the nursery light. James was playing "Dragons" in his bedroom, so Elizabeth let him be.
She wandered back to the living room and watched as another storm came ashore from the lake. She didn’t mind the rain, it matched how her heart felt. Elizabeth curled up into a corner of the couch and grabbed the remote, turning off the lights in the room as the lightning zagged across the sky. She didn’t know how long she had just been sitting there, watching the storm when James dragged Duncan behind him and curled up in her lap.
James did not say a word, but leaned his head against her chest. His little hand intertwined with hers. It was slightly sticky, but Elizabeth didn't mind. At some point, their little boy fell asleep, his breath matching hers.
Somehow Elizabeth had finally fallen asleep, and was awoken by her mobile phone going. She looked around for it, and realizing it was still in her pocket, shifted slightly as not to wake James and tugged it from her trousers. She blinked a couple of times as the display read "untraceable." Hesitatingly, Elizabeth answered.
"Hello," she quietly said.
"I can't talk long, we're in the middle of the ocean so they should have a hell of a time tracking this call, but I had to tell you I was all right."
Elizabeth could feel the tears start running down her face. "David?"
"Yes, and someone else wants to say hi."
"What? David? Don't go," Elizabeth said as there was suddenly silence.
Then, softly, over the mobile came a voice Elizabeth had not heard in ages. "Beth? It's me, Jillian."