'Careful with that, please.' Sem smirked at the crew member holding one of her bags, adjusted the white gloves she wore in turn at the wrist, then her sunglasses. Her scarf, which she'd wrapped around her blonde tresses, whipped in the ocean breeze from her neck, and John gaped. The cussing wild woman had vanished in a façade of elegance.

He shook his head as he stepped closer and stood beside her on the harbour. 'What's with the getup Sem?'

She turned her face the other way, ostensibly to survey the loading of her luggage onto Her Majesty's Crystal Sailor, their cruise ship. At least that's what they'd told Mam and Dad. 'Just filling a role, boyfie.'

He groaned at the word, and Sem's smile spread wide enough to reveal a glimmer of gold. 'Besides, the man meeting us in Reddingmuirhead thinks I'm a representative from the Yorkshire Police Youth Division.'

'Shh not so loud.' John leaned closer to her. 'Charlie's still watching us.' Behind them and to their left, Charlie stood gaping at the larger than life ships docked in the dark waters, but John noticed her eyes flitting to them every now and then. Of all his family, Charlie was most suspicious of his and Sem's relationship. He wasn't sure exactly what she thought, but he often found her snooping and making snide remarks.

Inwardly John cringed, but he slowly reached his arm around Sem's shoulders and pulled her close. There. The picture of happiness. A happy couple off on a cruise.

'She doesn't suspect shit, John. Trust me. Nobody suspects people of fucking time travel.'

That's the Sem he knew. She slipped her hand around his waist and pulled him closer. Up close he noticed her eyes still sparkled with mischief, and her breath smelled slightly of Guinness and fun. 'Glad to see you haven't gone off your rockers completely Sem. Or' —he shrugged— 'y'know, that you're still the same kind of crazy.'

'We haven't got much time. Natasha is meeting us two blocks away in ten fucking minutes.'

'I know, I know, but the whole point is for them to see us off, okay?' John glanced over his shoulder at his family and smiled acquiescently. 'I think it's working.'

Sem shrugged. Another crewman lugged a particularly heavy red bag up the walkway, sweat beading his forehead, and Sem's crazy smile stretched a bit further.

'And what's with all the bags?'

She kept smiling like she knew something.

'You haven't owned that much shit in centuries, Sem.'

'Had to give them a show of it,' she said. 'Besides, now they think I'm a real girl.' Her eyes flicked to his. 'Wanna know what's in 'em?'

'I suppose clothes would be wrong...'

'Mhmm.'

'Bricks?' John said, watching the poor sweating seaman tug at the bag. His foot slipped, he steadied himself, and with another big heave rolled the bag over the last notch in the walkway. It clanked.

'I'm not cruel, John. It isn't bricks.'

'Three hundred kilos of makeup.'

'Nope.'

'I give up.'

'It's just random shit from the warehouse. Pipes and rubble and shit.' Sem snorted a laugh, and John looked horrified. No wonder the man was struggling so much. 'Now let's get this fucking shit-show over with. That bitch succubus isn't known for patience.'

She turned and strolled to his family, comfortable in sharp, white high heels. 'Mr Finnie, Mrs Finnie, Charlotte.' Sem mussed Charlie's hair and Charlie shrieked. 'Thanks for the send-off. Promise we'll behave.' Her expression said the opposite, and Dad sighed.

'We're glad you and John are gonna have some time alone, Semila.'

'Look after our boy,' Mam said with morbid gravity.

'Mam, I'm not a kid anymore. Relax, we'll be fine.'

Next to Mam Charlie narrowed her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. 'Promise?'

'I promise,' John said. He mussed her hair too, then hugged her tight. She still smelled like candy floss and marshmallows. 'Love you Mam.' He hugged her next.

Dad cleared his throat and shifted from foot to foot.

'You too, old man.' John pulled his father into an embrace and couldn't help the emotion suddenly choking him. Long back Dad had died, and he never quite got over seeing him alive and well.

Dad leaned back, smiling from the heart, and patted his son on the back. 'Have fun my boy,' he said, wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.

John cleared his own throat of the damn emotion and nodded. Together he and Sem boarded the cruise liner, then turned at the guardrail to wave at his family.

'Five minutes left,' Sem mumbled through her teeth. Dad and Mom turned to go, holding hands, but Charlie lingered a moment longer. John blew her a kiss, she smiled, then she too walked off. As soon as she'd rounded the corner, John and Sem shared a look, then headed back down the gangplank before the ship left with them actually on board. They rushed to the spot where Natasha was meeting them, and John glanced periodically over his shoulder to make sure Charlie wasn't following them.

'Relax John, they didn't see shit.'

'Yeah, you're right. I just...'

'What.' She stopped dead.

'Just hope they'll be safe. Remember last time?'

'They'll be fine John. That's why we're leaving, remember?'

'Yeah.' He stuffed his hands in his pockets.

'Don't look so sullen, John, they'll be right as rain.' She punched his shoulder. 'Man up fuckwad.'

He couldn't help smiling. 'Gonna show your wings now?'

Her smile faltered. 'Nah. Not with Natasha.' She left it at that.

He wondered why but didn't say anything further. As soon as he spotted Natasha, John felt a strange mix of relief and panic. This was it. He was leaving Yorkshire behind, leaving his family and going off chasing killers. He should have been used to it, but the strange cops that'd stopped them disconcerted him, and leaving his family was harder than he'd thought it would be. He never wanted to lose them again.

As they neared Natasha, John ran a critical eye over the succubus. There was something about her full lips, so luscious and suggestive. Something about the curves of her, and the way her tight red dress accentuated all the good bits. He couldn't sense any allure wafting off her "like stink off a skunk," as Sem had put it, but he could imagine how she'd be attractive to a lot of men. Sem said the succubus twisted men's minds with this alluring magic, but he felt nothing.

'Semmy,' Natasha purred. In her hand, a thin cigarette wafted smoke into the air.

'Natasha, glad you didn't ditch us.'

'Ditch you?' She looked stung. 'I'd never ditch you two, Sem.' She looked at John. 'Wouldn't miss this for the world.' An unreadable expression crossed her face. She sighed and stubbed out the cigarette, crushing it under red heels as high as Sem's white ones. 'John needs my help, so here I am. Let's get down to training.'

'It'll have to be on the go,' Sem said. 'We're heading to small town Scotland. Council of Ten's in one hour's time, and I got...a message...'

The succubus tilted her head. 'Message?'

'Yeah, something's not right. I was actually hoping you'd come with us. I've arranged our accommodation with one of the prison guards there, he thinks I'm a big head in the cops.'

Natasha and Semila laughed at the same time.

'We need to get out of Yorkshire,' John said. 'After what happened yesterday with those freaky cops...'

'I get it,' Natasha said, 'but why Scotland?'

'Part of the mission,' Sem said. 'John and I will need to travel back in time while we're there too. Some fucking weird shit going on, we need to get to the bottom of it.'

Natasha nodded once. 'Then I'm in. We taking your car or mine?'

A bleep sounded from a crimson Porsche parked on the curb just behind them. Sem looked at it, cocked an eyebrow, and huffed. 'Mine's better.'

John rolled his eyes. He sure as fuck wasn't getting back in a car with Semila. 'No car, Sem.'

Sem grimaced but nodded gamely. 'No cars. You just don't want me driving.'

He wanted to turn to Natasha and say the same, but Sem beat him to it. 'If we aren't going in mine, then we aren't going in hers.'

'Yep,' John said, 'but I did load your Morgan onto the train we're headed to now. So when we're in middle-of-nowhere'sville you can go bat shit.'

She beamed and clapped his shoulder too hard. 'How sweet! How fucking gentlemanly of you John.'

Natasha just groaned. "Train? That stinking pipe of human waste? Seriously?'

'It'll take us to Polmont Station in four hours flat.'

'Could be there in two, if you'd...' Sem's mumbles drifted as she turned and started walking up the street. 'Let's go then,' she called back. 'Times a' wastin'.'