DIARY OF A HALF HUMAN TIME LORD

Chapter Twenty Four

For the rest of the day, Rose stayed away from her stepfather, afraid she might punch him in the face if she got too close. After everything that happened between Jonathon and him, she shouldn't have been surprised that he was spying on her but it still hurt her heart to know he had done that, especially since he seemed to have called a truce with her lover. She wondered if her real father was ever that big a bastard. Her mother had called him lazy and a hopeless dreamer whose get rich quick schemes never seemed to work but she never said he was cruel to her or a complete prick. Then again, Rose figured that her real dad never had to deal with people from other universes getting dumped in his lap.

Rose sat at her desk and tried to do some paperwork but she couldn't keep her mind on her work. She gave up after three hours of trying to concentrate and clocked out early. She decided she'd go back to Jonathon's flat and wait for him to come home. Then she figured the two of them could go to the hospital and see Suzanne. She put on her leather jacket as she left her office and headed towards the lift.

While she was doing that, Pete sat in his office and fumed. Louise, the receptionist had rang him and told him that Rose had clocked out early and was heading home. He figured she might do that and asked Louise to notify him if that happened while he silently thought about his options. He was considering having someone go to Jonathon's workplace and arrest him, bringing him back to Torchwood so the Doctor would be forced to enter the building. Part of the reason was Pete was still furious over what the Doctor did and he wanted to give the Time Lord a piece of his mind but there was also the possibility that the Doctor could be useful to Torchwood. He knew that Torchwood had developed several ways to control minds, both internally and externally, and he was considering enslaving both him and his clone and making them a part of the research and development team.

But even as he considered it, he knew it would be risky. The Doctor was an accomplished escape artist and he knew if he got free of Torchwood's mind control that he would be getting his revenge and he would be at the top of the Doctor's revenge list. He also realized that he was angry at the moment and was conjuring up revenge fantasies aimed at both the Time Lord and his clone but still…

"The Doctor said it was risky coming over here," Pete said to himself. "What if he gets stuck here and never gets back to his universe? Why shouldn't Torchwood take advantage of his knowledge and expertise? He could help us defend Earth and perhaps that would persuade Jonathon to come and work for us as well. Perhaps we wouldn't need to brainwash them."

He snorted softly.

"Who am I kidding?" Pete muttered. "Both he and Jonathon would have to be dragged in here kicking and screaming before they willingly went to work for us. Still…wouldn't hurt to have Jonathon brought in and confined so he'd have to come here. I still want to give the little bleeder a piece of my mind and let him know how I feel."

Deciding on that course of action, he picked up his phone and dialed an in-house number.

Jonathon slumped down in one of the metal chairs in the break room and let out a sigh of relief. It was his lunch break but he really didn't fell like eating. He just wanted to rest his feet and get his second wind for the second half of the work day. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back as he let the cold air from the overhead air conditioning cool his face and body.

Then suddenly, Claudia ran into the room.

"Jonathon, there's some policemen out front. They're asking for you," she said to him.

Jonathon's eyes snapped open.

"Police?" he said, his heart racing. "What do they want?"

"Dunno, but I have a feeling it's not good. They said they need to speak with you now."

Jonathon tried to calm himself as he got up and followed Claudia out of the break room. By the time he got up to the front, his coworkers and boss were all standing around and the customers in the shop were staring at the two policemen and talking amongst themselves. Jonathon put on a calm appearance even though his heart was still racing and walked up to the policemen.

"May I help you?" he asked them. Fo

"Mister Smith, we want you to come with us," one of the policemen said.

"What for?" Jonathon said.

"You're under arrest, sir," the policeman said coolly. "For unlawful entry of the Torchwood Institute and illegal use of their equipment. Come with us quietly or we'll have to use force."

"Jonathon, what're they on about?" Claudia said, coming up beside her friend.

"Sir, I advise you come quietly with us and answer a few questions back at the police station," the other policeman said.

Jonathon nodded. He avoided everyone's eyes, his face beet red as the policeman put his hands behind his back and handcuffed them. He stared down at the floor, feeling everyone's eyes on him as he allowed the police to lead him out of the shop and into their waiting squad car. Once he was sitting in the back, the policeman shut the door, took one look at the crowd gathered at the windows and doors inside the shop and got into the passenger side of the car. Jonathon lifted his head and saw his coworkers standing at the window before the squad car drove away from the curb.

Meanwhile, Rose was sitting on the sofa in Jonathon's flat playing with Boots while she watched the television. The kitten was romping around her legs, batting at her fingers as she waved them at the kitten. She gasped when Boots managed to get hold of her middle finger and bite down on it.

"Oi, puss cat, not so rough," Rose said as she pet the kitten. "I need my fingers for other things, yeah?"

She looked down when her mobile rang. She pushed Boots off her leg and stood up while she fished it out of her trouser pocket.

"Hello?" she said when she answered it.

"Rose, it's Claudia."

Rose frowned when she heard Claudia's shaky voice. She felt her stomach sinking as she swallowed hard.

"What's wrong? Is it Suzanne?" she asked.

"No, it's Jonathon. He's been arrested."

Rose's legs turned to rubber and she slowly sank down to the sofa.

"What happened?" she finally managed to say while she dreaded what the explanation would be.

When Claudia finished telling her what happened, Rose thanked her, ended the call and fought back her anger as she stood up and searched for the phone book so she could phone the police.

"You better not have something to do with this, Pete," she muttered to herself as she searched. "Or so help me God, I'll put my foot so far up your arse they'll have to surgically remove it to separate us."

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