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Chapter 13 - Church (Happy Part Three (I know!))

In the end, the driver got us to my house in just under two hours, so he got his extra pay. Jodie, even though I tried to communicate to her I didn't want him to know as well, told the driver all she knew about the situation. When we got there, he wished us luck and offered us a lift back, which I quickly declined, deciding that he had done enough.

There were already three police cars parked outside, their sirens blaring. I could just see a policewoman talking to Tom, Natalie and Harry. Tom had his arm around them both, and poor Natalie was crying, holding Flopsy. This was the most broken I'd seen them since our parents left.

Jodie took my hand in hers and squeezed it tightly. She then kissed it softly, still looking straight ahead at the house. I at her in utter surprise, my mouth wide open.

'I...' I started to find the words, but she hushed me.

'Not right now. Come on, your sister's more important.' she said, smiling. She sounded just like the Doctor, putting others way before herself. I forced myself to return a weaker version of her smile, and lead the way over to my family.

When we came over, Tom gaped at Jodie. 'Wait...you're her...from Doc..'

'Yes, she is, Tom. That doesn't matter now.' I said with some new-found confidence I had gained from Jodie's hand kiss. 'Ta.' she whispered in my ear.

I turned quickly to the policewoman. 'Have you got any information on her? Oh, sorry, I don't know your name.'

'PC Pond, pleased to meet you. As you may know, an electric scooter, a rucksack, six snack bars and a large water bottle have been taken from the property. Your daughter seems as though she's planning to go a long way from home.'

'Daughter?' Jodie asked. Her voice sounded a tiny bit disappointed. I shook my head. 'I'll explain later.' I replied.

'It also appears,' continued PC Pond. 'She's taken a tent with her.'

'A tent?!' Tom and I chorused. 'She's seven!'

'We've searched playgrounds, schools, and shops in the North and West of Ealing and haven't found anything. No one had seen her anywhere.'

'So basically nothing.' choked Natalie suddenly. I grabbed her hand in my other one to let her know I was there.

'But,' the PC Pond perked up a bit. 'When we asked the tube station at Ealing if they had seen Olivia, they confirmed they had seen a girl of her description, getting on the 7pm train for Kensington.'

'Why on Earth would she be going to Kensington? Unless.....Tom did we ever tell her where Mum and Dad got married?'

'Yeah, yeah I think we did. But she was only five. She couldn't've remembered that!'

'She obviously has though.'

PC Pond whipped out her notebook and pen. 'If I may ask, ma'am, where were your parents married?'

'St Stephen's Church, Gloucester Road.'

'Okay. We'll spilt the five of you between two cars...'

'I'm staying with Y/N.' said Jodie. 'And I'm staying with my...er....kids and er...husband.' I added. My family seemed okay, but Jodie gave me another look.

'I'll explain on the way, okay?' She nodded.

'I'll sit on the floor.' Harry volunteered. 'That way we can all be in the car together.'

'Alright then. I'll drive you. Come on, my cars over here.'

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We sat Natalie and Harry to the right, me in the middle then Jodie to the left with Tom at the front and we didn't let go of each other's hands until we got there. On the way I also told Jodie everything.

'Our parents abandoned us during their honeymoon when Liv was only one, so she only knows Tom and I as parents. As we're both adults, everyone assumes us the parents, especially with Liv calling us 'Mum and Dad' Sometimes it's hard to go along with it, but we'll get there.' I explained.

Jodie completely understood, which I was grateful for. 'You're a really strong family, I can tell, so I'm so happy I've met Y/N so I can get to know you all too!' she grinned. I thought I sensed a slightly different meaning to what the others may have caught, but I barely gave it a second chance.

They decided to park the cars around the corner so the sirens and lights didn't scare poor Livs away. I convinced Tom to let Jodie come with us, mainly because I needed her for support, but I didn't tell him that.

We quietly opened the church door and, sure enough, there she was. Her bright pink princess pop-up tent was up, her in it, with her two dolls. Around her, wrappers, Harry's scooter and my water bottle were positioned for some sort of ceremony. We could just hear her talking for both dolls.

'Eva Smith, do you want Fred L/N to be your husband?'

'Yes!'

'Fred L/N, do you want Eva Smith to be your wife?'

'Yes!'

'Goody! Then you're both married! Yaaay!' Livs fell about laughing with the dolls.

It was a wedding. Oh my god, she was officiating our parents wedding.

Harry sniffed. Natalie burst into tears again and hugged Harry. The memories weren't far back enough for them to not be emotional.

Livs must've heard us, because she sharply looked up with wide eyes. She ran to us, yelling. 'Tommeee, Nataleee, Harreee, Y/Neee!'

She wasn't calling us Mum and Dad anymore. We hugged her, too happy to actually cry.

A/N: Apologies for lack of Jodie in this chapter! The next part will be on Sunday, on its own (because I'm now usually gonna be updating in pairs).