Chapter Text
It was an unremarkable day, so far at least.
Thus far, Rose had put up with two different angry customers wanting to return sales items for full price credit- a common enough scam that Rose had dealt with it a few dozen times in her seven long years with Henrik's. As manager, she'd made it a point to do what none of her own supervisors had ever done for her over the years, and she stood her ground, always choosing to side with her employees when it was obvious that the customer was being ridiculous or downright hateful- which was more often than not.
It was monotonous, downright dull often, but her loyalty had been well rewarded as she climbed the ranks, and she now made more money working for the posh department store than if she'd followed her other dreams of trying to make a go of art- or even teaching it.
Rose Tyler also made it a point to never be above her beginnings, and was often found on the floor helping rest displays, running registers, even cleaning the bathrooms if the need called for it. She was a very well liked boss, and she enjoyed managing her people. She had eleven employees under her in her section, which was now children's and teen's wear. Three personal shoppers, three stockers, two full time cashiers and two who were cross trained in all areas. She found it to be downright fun, especially when the parents (or more often, nannies) came in looking for a personal shopper. It was genuinely rewarding, helping kids find themselves and clothing they'd actually feel comfortable in while able to express themselves.
It was never unusual for a child to approach her to ask for help. Especially not right after school let out for the day.
It was, however, odd for the child to be alone.
It was a firm tug on her cardigan that had caught Rose off guard, as she was taking a quick inventory in the socks and shoes section.
She'd spun on her heels and found that a young girl, no more than nine or ten was behind here, looking a bit nervous. She was a pretty little thing, bright eyed with high cheekbones, perfect for one of their display models, if her parents were to be open to that sort of thing. Her hair was chestnut brown and a set of perfect french braids and large, uncertain blue eyes partially hidden behind fallen fringe. She was biting at her lip and when Rose's eyes met hers she quickly darted them around, avoiding the eye contact.
"Oh, hey!" Rose spoke sweetly, trying to comfort the clearly uncomfortable child. "Do you need help?"
The girl finally looked back up to Rose and nodded.
"Right then." Rose smiled. "What is it I can help you with? You get separated from your grownup?"
It was a question Rose had learned early on to be careful how she ask, as children could be sensitive if you ask about an adult in their life they didn't have anymore. Heaven knows she had personal experience with that.
The girl shook her head.
"No, I don't have one with me." She confessed.
"Oh!" Rose was a bit taken aback. "Well, that's okay. What can I do for you?"
"I uh-" The girl shifted a bit. "I need help, erm-"
"Are you okay?" Rose was kneeling down to her height now, concerned.
"I need to, erm-"
"Hey. It's okay." Rose promised. "I'm Rose. What's your name?"
"Jenny." She answered with a small smile. "Jenny Noble."
"That is a gorgeous name." Rose grinned. "What can I help you with, Jenny Noble?"
"Well, see. That's the thing. 'S embarrassin'." She mumbled. Rose was taken back slightly upon hearing the girl speaking a little more, she noticed her accent just kissed with the touch of the North.
"I doubt you could need help with something I've not ever dealt with before." Rose assured her. "Come over here with me."
Rose held out her hand, and was surprised when Jenny tentatively took it, so Rose pulled her over to a quiet corner, tucked away from most of the open floor.
"Now then, since we were a bit more alone- can you tell me?" Rose ask gently.
Jenny took a large, deep breath.
"My dad works a lot. Not a lot a lot, but a lot enough. My Aunt Donna is on bed rest- she's having twins, she says she's surpassed an elephant and now she's a whale..." Rose gave a soft laugh at the description of the aunt's pregnancy. "And my gran doesn't 'do shops', an' my dad says not to bother her with it-"
Jenny paused and took another long breath in.
"And I don't have a mum. But I need... I need to erm-"
"Tops or bottoms?" Rose ask, gently interrupting the little girl so she'd not have to face embarrassing herself by saying the word.
"The... The bras." She admitted, her face bright pink. "My dance instructor says we all need to start with them, says its just how this years costumes are, and its just-"
"Yeah, I get it." Rose nodded. "It's okay. I can help you. Believe me, I know it feels like the end of the world now, but its something we all go through eventually. Girl to girl- we have to look out for each other, yeah? No worries, little one."
Jenny gave her a small smile and nodded. Rose reached into her cardigan pocket and took out a tape measurer.
"I need to measure you right around here..." Rose gestured on herself, around her ribs and chest, "But I'll only touch your back. Is that okay? Just take your jacket off for me."
"Yeah, 's fine." Jenny nodded, doing as she was told. Rose moved quickly, thankful the shirt the girl wore wasn't very thick and wouldn't skew the measurements enough to matter. Thumb on the result, Rose lead Jenny across the display floor and into the section needed, sighing a breath of relief when it was found empty.
"Alright. Here is a bit of everything. Take a look around, see if there is anything you think you'd like, or that looks comfy. You can touch the fabric, if you'd like, to see how it feels. When you see one you think you'd like to try, I'll unlock the dressing room and you can go in and try a few on. Does that sound okay?"
"Yeah. 'S good." She nodded, moving slowly around the racks as Rose stood and waited. A few moments later she returned and nodded to Rose, who followed Jenny back to where she'd found something she liked.
They were simple, unpadded sports-bra style training bras. Perfect beginners, like a girl of Jenny's age would need, especially if it needed to go under a dance costume like she was describing. Rose took her one down in each color- pale pink, off white, cream, and heather grey, and she lead her over to the changing station.
"You put them on just like a vest top, alright? No need to show me, just let me know if it feels too tight or too loose in the middle If they fit but the straps are loose, you can put your shirt back on and I can adjust them for you so you can get a feel for them. Yeah?" Rose unlocked the door and held it open. Jenny nodded and thanked Rose, ducking inside and shutting the door softly.
After a few moments of silence, Rose leaned into the door.
"Alright, Jenny?" She called.
"Think 'M stuck." She called back.
"Is it rolled up in the back?" Rose guessed. Jenny gave a confirming huff, and Rose bit back a laugh. "Just tuck your hands in the sides and unroll and pull it down."
"Got it!" Jenny called, a bit of triumph in her voice. "Thank you!"
"Of course." Rose replied happily. "How're you feelin' about them?"
"They're good." She called. "Straps are good."
"Perfect!" Rose called back. She stood and waited for Jenny to change back and she came out, sheepishly handing the garments back over to Rose. "Four enough for now?"
"Yeah, think so." Jenny nodded.
"Great!" Rose smiled, as she once again lead Jenny across the store. She came over to the register, and leaned in to the cashier, Joy, telling her to take a fifteen minute break. The other employee enthusiastically agreed, and Rose sighed into the register. "Are you gonna need help catching a bus, Jenny?" Rose ask, glancing up as she typed on the digital screen.
"No. 'M supposed to be waiting at my dad's office, but I don' always. Told the evidence clerk, Joan..." Jenny rolled her eyes and gagged at the name cartoonishly, making Rose laugh, "That I'd be at the library. Dad's on a call, but he lets me wait at the library sometimes. He can track m'cell, if he's worried. But he'll be a while."
"What does he do? Your dad." Rose asked, interest piqued a bit at the terms she used, like 'evidence clerk' and 'on a call'.
"Chief Inspector for specialized and serial crime." Jenny replied with practiced ease. Obviously she was asked quite a bit.
"Blimey. Bet he is a bit more than busy, yeah?" Rose smiled, trying to put Jenny back at ease. The girl simply nodded. "Does he have an account here? Or your gran, you mentioned..." Rose asked pausing over the keys.
"Right. Erm- Dad does. James Noble." She answered, biting at her lip again.
"James... Noble..." Rose repeated, pretending to plug the information in, but rather typing her own. It was obvious she'd needed the items, but she and her dad were still at a bit of an awkward end about it, and Rose didn't want the sweet little thing to get in trouble when a statement came in the mail he knew nothing about. She simply charged it to her own store account. "Alright, Ms. Noble. You're all set. If you need any exchanges done, feel free to come in and ask anyone on the floor for me, yeah?"
Jenny nodded as Rose came from around the register and gave her a bright smile "Thanks, Rose." She said shyly.
"No worries, I promise." Rose said again. Jenny roughly shoved her shopping bag into her backpack in a comical fashion, and Rose had to smile again. She waved as Jenny started to leave, but is caught off guard when the little girl slammed into her waist in a quick hug.
"Thank you." Jenny said again, and this time Rose doesn't miss the relief in the little girl's voice, now that the whole ordeal is over. With a small returned squeeze, Rose lets her go, making her promise that if she needed anything else, Jenny could come and find her.
Curiosity claimed Rose not long after Jenny had disappeared onto the elevator to the ground floor, most likely off to the library, to complete her cover story. She took out her cellphone and flipped open Instagram.
There were three 'James Noble' profiles in the London area, and the first two Rose clicked were not Jenny's dad, she was sure of that. The first was an older man with clearly bad selfie skills and a love affair with classic cars.
The second was far too young to be Jenny's father, much less to have a career like she'd described. The profile was mostly pictures of bad poses in gym mirrors and health-foods meals.
The third was set to private, and the profile picture was too small to make any real detail out, but it did look like a man and a child around Jenny's age, like it had been a vacation photo and was taken at a distance, in a park somewhere. Rose, unable to help herself, clicked on his followers and found a familiar name from Jenny's stories- Donna Noble.
This profile was not set to private. The woman who owned the profile was very lovely, redheaded, and obviously very pregnant with twins. There were various shots of a maternity shoot posted, sonograms, baby clothes. It was adorable, even if Rose didn't know the woman. She was clearly excited.
Rose continued to innocently cyber stalk, careful not to 'like' anything as she went, until she had made it back a ways to a family holiday of some sort, which Donna had posted several times about, each one with multiple slides. Mostly there were group shots, or pictures with Jenny, another child, and an older man Rose assumed was a grandfather, but there was one slide where the privated 'James Noble' profile was tagged that featured a man grinning up at Jenny, who was on his back, piggyback style.
From what Rose could see, his hair and eyes matched Jenny's exactly, and he also sported high cheekbones, his showing off the chiseled masculine features Jenny obviously lacked.
Rose had started to keep looking. She'd not meant to scroll so far, but Jenny had mentioned she didn't have a mum, and the girl's father was clearly gorgeous.
The sound of the normal cashier returning from the break Rose had sent her own startled her so much she'd nearly dropped her phone. In a rush she swiped completely out of the app, embarrassed she'd been caught.
"You good, boss?" The younger girl asked, laughing a bit as Rose's face flushed to nearly the same shade as her name.
"Yep, nope. Fine." She covered, as she shoved the phone in her pocket. "I'm just gonna go finish up payroll, yeah?"
Rose ducked away, face still on fire, completely unaware she'd accidentally 'liked' the only picture she'd managed to find of Jenny and her father online.
Jenny ducked into the office, unseen by any of the other officers on duty. She had a stack of hastily chosen books tucked under her arm, more for appearance than for the enjoyment of reading them. There were a couple she genuinely thought might be worth reading, but Jenny just needed to look like she'd been at the library the entire time.
She tucked herself down into the oversized desk chair, the cushion of leather wrapping her in a feeling of safety as she cracked open one of her chosen reads, one of the less interesting ones. The longer it looked like she'd been there, the better, so she skipped a chapter or two in and slouched just as she heard boots coming down the hallway.
"Well, if it isn't the stars in my sky." Her father greeted with a grin, shrugging his own battered leather coat off, hanging it on the hook behind the door. He then removed his shoulder holster and hung it on the hook just below. "Hope you've not been here too terrible long."
"Nah." She hummed, not bothering to move from his chair. Her father moved over and tugged at one of her braids, then moved the chair by the wheels out of the way. He knelt down at the desk and began to log on to his office desk top. "Busy today, then?"
"Had to take an entire accounting firm's inventory for evidence. So- paperwork out me ears..." He responded, already typing rapidly.
"At least there's plenty of room, yeah?" She joked from behind her book. He turned and gave her a mock stern look before laughing.
"You're very clever. Just be glad I had the foresight to not pass them to you..." He snarked, returning to his typing. "I'm going to send these files home, and I can do the rest of the report after dinner. Ten minutes, tops."
"Mhmm. So you've said before." Jenny hummed from the chair. Knowing she wasn't wrong, her father decided not to answer the comment.
"Doctor?" A knock sounded from the door. "You still here?"
"Door is open, innit?" He growled back. "Whatcha need Jack?"
"Uncle Jack!" Jenny squealed, jumping from the chair in one swift motion. She landed in the arms of the uniformed officer leaning on the door. "Its been forever!"
"Its been a week." Doctor Noble reminded her with a roll of his eyes from his computer.
"But I'm your favorite, huh, Jen?" He said, putting her down, giving her nose a boop. He pulled a candy from his pocket and sneakily handed it over to Jenny, who immediately popped it in her mouth.
"I was going to see if you wanted everything in lock up now, or if you wanted the on call IT to come in and get started." Jack said, resuming his work task.
"No reason to call anyone in away from their families this evenin'," He replied, shutting his own computer down. "Nobody died, lot isn't hardly walking off tonight. Joan is cataloging it."
"Fair enough. I'll go finish locking down." Jack called, ducking out the door.
"Bye Uncle Jack!" Jenny called after him.
"Later, Princess!" Jack yelled back down the hall.
Jenny returned to the office chair, sitting on the edge, spinning a bit before turning back, not ever letting the chair fully turn.
"Hey, Dad?" She said after a moment.
"Hmm?" He hummed, flipping through a file before dropping it in his open shoulder bag. "Yes ma'am?"
"What's for tea?" She ask, continuing to fidget.
"Have something in mind?" He ask, leaning on the desk. "I know it's a bit later than normal. I'm sorry. I was going to cook, I swear."
"Ah, 'S fine." She smiled. "I was smellin' fish and chips on the way here, smelled awful good..."
Doctor Noble looked his daughter over, her eyes swelling in her signature 'please' face. He shook his head, smiling, even in defeat.
"Yeah, alright. The lady gets her fish n' chips, then." He sighed. "Worn me down, you have."
"It's really not hard." Jenny grinned.
"Clearly. Come on, then, wee one. Home we go." He picked up her back pack and slung it onto his shoulder over top his own bag. "Miles to go before we sleep..."
"That your way of saying I can't wait until tomorrow to do my homework?" Jenny groaned.
"Ah, clever one." He also booped her nose in the fashion of Jack. "If I have to do mine, you've got to do yours."
"I guess that's fair..." Jenny sighed, following him out the office door. "Better take Grandad and Aunt Donna some too. Uncle Lee is still out of town."
"Always on top of things, my girl." He tugged a braid again. "Come on, then. Tell your ol' dad all about your day..."