Tempered by Love

Chapter 40 The Long Way Round

Artwork found at http://www.deviantart.com/art/Ten-and-Rose-329893867

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She didn't know why she took the long way home, but when Rose drove away from the cemetery she found herself driving the narrow Highland road around the edge of Loch Leven. The mountains surrounding the village shimmered in the sunlight. If she weren't pregnant, she would be tempted to do her own bit of abseiling. She drove past the Village welcome center. Daniel had taken her and the kids the weekend before. He'd said the place was laid out like a clachan. She smiled at the way Robbie had explained that the word meant village. Now that she'd adjusted to calling the north home, she'd finally begun to enjoy its beauty.

The road east led to Kinlochleven. Her mobile buzzed just as she reached the tiny village, snapping her back to the reality of the day. Her tongue peeked at the corner of her smile when she hit the connection on the dash. "What?" she said.

"By now, you could have driven to Glesca," Daniel teased.

"I just couldn't stop, I am rounding the loch now. Did you know the mountains reflect on the surface of the water?"

"Em -- yeah." He chuckled. "You gonna stand me up?" he asked.

Rose grinned. His love brushed against her mind like a gentle kiss. "Might," she teased.

"Well, you should know, your mum is here and she's already fussin', so if you're plannin' to run off, now would be the time."

She eased the car off to the side of the road and made a U-turn as her mother's voice drifted across the connection. "Bring the TARDIS and the kids and we could pick a star."

Overtop of Daniel's chuckle she heard Jackie yelling to come home. "Be there in a few," she answered with an audible groan.

Traffic picked up on the way back. This time she skirted GlenCoe and drove on to Drochaid Rù Beag Road. The first time she's made this drive in the dark she seethed in rage, prepared to hate it's twists and turns. Now it filled her with more peace than she'd felt in years. Rose turned first onto Bohenie and then the lane leading to the house. When she parked next to a Torchwood SUV, Angus' Land Rover and Mrs Webb's little sedan, she knew finally, after years of struggling to find her place, she'd come home. She walked in and inhaled the aroma of Addie's baking. Voices drifted from the kitchen. She stopped short when Tony tore down the stairs on a full run across the lounge. "Hi."

"Hi, sis, Mum's narked," Tony yelled.

"Thanks, where's -- right," she muttered when he disappeared into the kitchen. The twins were nowhere in sight, no doubt removed to the nursery, avoiding an inevitable meltdown. Hey, I'm home, she whispered through her bond. Daniel's immediate presence brushed against her mind. It wasn't so much words as a comfortable warm grin inside her mind's eye. In the last three weeks, the feeling had grown to a comfortable constancy that ebbed and flowed depending on their proximity to each other.

Rose dropped the keys on the table and headed for the sanctuary of the upstairs bathroom. She was on the third step when she saw her mother on the landing, blocking her way. The old glare pinched her brow, her hands planted on her hips, and Rose felt like she was fifteen again, sneaking in after a date. Then, she'd resented the way her mother's disappointed gaze judged every inch of her. Now, she hated it.

"You didn't like the tops I sent?" Jackie sneered as she stepped on the riser and started down.

Rose stepped back and waited. "Mum, when have you ever known me to wear anything with flowers? Why did you even buy flowered tops?"