"Jasmine"
Title: Jasmine
Author: hola_meg_a_cola
Rating: PG
Author’s Notes: I don’t know why I keep doing this to myself. I kept listening to Madame de Pompadour’s theme, which is one of the most heartbreaking tunes in “Doctor Who.” I’ve been so obsessed with Sarah’s departure, mainly because I felt it was so premature. That, and I love Four/Sarah. I did my best to make sure Harry wasn’t a complete idiot, and I’m pleased on how he came out. Also, I’m determined to make this the final sad!Four/Sarah fic I write, since I’m thoroughly depressed now that I’ve finished.
Summary: Post “Hand of Fear.” Harry visits Sarah Jane after her departure from the Doctor. Four/Sarah undertones.
Disclaimer: I don’t own “Doctor Who.” Things would certainly be different if I did, though.
Feedback: Encouraged, as always, all forms: praise, constructive criticism, and yes, I can bear the heat of flames.
-v-
Harry knocked firmly against the wooden door, quietly listening for an answer. He knew he should be at work- there never was a dull moment with UNIT. But as soon as he heard that she returned- Miss Sarah Jane Smith- he knew he needed to visit her. It had been a year since they last saw each other, and her sudden return had compelled him to visit his friend.
However, he became more distressed as no one answered. His hand began pounding at the door when it opened, Sarah Jane holding the edge between her small hands. She smiled widely as Harry adjusted himself; he always made such an effort to look dashing and while sometimes it worked, most of the time it failed.
“You haven’t changed a bit, Harry,” Sarah said softly, stepping from her doorway and hugging Harry warmly. Truth be told, she hadn’t expected a visit from him; maybe in passing, they would chat briefly, but she was truly touched that he came by to see her.
Breaking their embrace, Harry looked at his feet for a moment. “I’ve heard that before,” he admitted grudgingly before looking back at Sarah Jane. “Can I come in?”
Sarah opened her door wider and stepped aside. “You’re always welcome; make yourself at home. I just made myself a cup of tea.” Harry stepped into her apartment, the flowery scent he always identified as Sarah’s perfume consuming him. He looked around the living room, observing the stacks of newspapers scattered everywhere. Some were left open, while others were discarded across the floor.
He frowned, pushing one to the side with his black loafer. “I heard women are supposed to be cleaner than men,” he said offhandedly, walking into the kitchen. Harry let out a long whistle as he saw more papers and magazines sitting there, their pages dog-eared and crinkled.
Sarah Jane walked past him, piling up her papers and placing them on her kitchen counter. “It’s been three years since I’ve been able to sit down and read the paper, Harry,” she stated as she opened her china closet, taking out a delicate white cup and placing a tea bag in it. “I think I deserve a little room for leeway.”
Sitting down, Harry looked back at the young reporter; her hair had grown longer since he last saw her, now long with waves down her back. Her porcelain skin reflected off her violet sundress, which only complimented her. She had definitely become much better looking since Harry last saw her. He gulped quietly. “How long have you been back?”
Sarah grasped the kettle and poured the hot water into the cup, thinking for a moment. “A week at most,” she figured, placing a saucer under the steaming cup. She walked back to her kitchen table and placed it in front of Harry, who thanked her as she drank from her own cup. “Once I got home and showered, I called the Brigadier and asked him to send me articles of the most influential events in the past three years. I can’t believe how much I’ve missed!”
Harry laughed softly while placing sugar in his cup, adding, “Yes, I suppose it’s been an eventful few years.” He sipped it before taking away, as it was much too hot for him. “I’ve been dating this girl, Emily, she’s really fantastic, and um,” he began tentatively, “she watches Coronation Street religiously, and I suppose she could fill you in with all the storylines-”
Sarah Jane roared with laughter, covering her mouth with her hand. “A soap opera, Harry? Me?” She asked through her fits of laughing. From the corner of her eye, she saw Harry’s face flush beat red. Slowly, she calmed her laughter and placed her hand on top of his. “I know what you’re trying to do, Harry, trying to ease me back into civilian life and thank you- thank you so much, but I don’t think I’ve watched Coronation Street a day in my life!” She relaxed as Harry’s blush faded, and he smiled back.
Pulling her hand away, she looked back at the window, streaks of light glimmering through the trees and onto her face. Sarah Jane placed a strand of her dark brown hair behind her ear, her eyes never leaving the window. “Can ask you a serious question?” she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
A dark mood came over Sarah, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Harry. Still, he kept on his grin. “You know me, Sarah- Harry Sullivan, always dull and serious,” he joked, attempting to sip his tea once again.
There was no quick witted response to his comment. Instead, she remained still, almost lifeless. “How did you,” she began, but paused, gathering her thoughts. “How did you know it was your time to leave?”
Pushing his eyebrows together, Harry’s smile faded as he lowered his cup. “Leave what?” He asked, clueless.
Sarah Jane bit her lower lip slightly. “Him.”
Harry opened his mouth, but promptly shut it; he didn’t have a proper answer. He mulled over all his thoughts on the matter, attempting to gather it into one full stream of thought. “Even though I was doing my job by watching the Doctor, and along the way had some fun traveling through time and space, albeit almost getting killed frequently,” he reflected, watching Sarah stare at nothing, “I always knew I wanted to return home, find a girl, and get on with my life. It was after that bit with the Zygons that I realized my journey needed to end.”
She nodded her head slowly, listening to Harry’s statement and sipped from her cup. She breathed in deeply. “So you always knew that you were coming back?”
Harry scratched his head. “Well, yes. I mean, we are Earthlings; we belong here. Where else would be spend our lives?” He explained, letting the words spill out of his mouth.
Sarah smiled weakly. “The TARDIS,” she said, almost amused by herself.
Suddenly regretting his previous comments, Harry looked down as his tea, his mouth forming a small ‘O.’ He sipped his drink, feeling like a complete idiot; in fact, compared with the Doctor, he always felt incompetent. How was he supposed to respond to that?
“I had to leave.”
Harry perked up as he heard Sarah speak, almost dropping his cup. “I’m sorry,” he said, making sure he didn’t spill anything on his good clothing, “What was that?”
The saddest smile Harry ever saw appeared on Sarah Jane’s pristine face, clenching at his heart. “The Doctor received the call from Gallifrey, and needed to go home. Apparently, I did, too.” She finally looked back at him, the same heartbreaking smile still spread across her face.
Harry blinked, registering her words. “Gallifrey, the Doctor’s home planet? I thought you wanted to go?”
“I did,” Sarah replied when her eyes lit up. “I still do! I want to go so badly, Harry, more than anywhere else in the universe!” Her hand was holding his again, this time gripping it tightly. Her big brown eyes were shining brilliantly, and her translucent skin was practically glowing.
There was a pregnant pause in the kitchen, as Harry was left speechless. Finally, he managed to find his voice, daring to ask, “Why, then, why didn’t you go?”
The radiant glow that had brightened Sarah Jane faded slowly, as she released Harry’s hand. She looked down as her cup of tea mindlessly. “Humans aren’t allowed,” she explained, her voice void of any emotion, “So he dumped me back home. Well, Aberdeen.”
Harry raised his eyebrows. “What about it?”
Sarah looked back up at him, twisting her mouth. “He left me in Aberdeen, exactly 928 kilometres from where we’re sitting.”
It was Harry’s turn to laugh now, and he couldn’t help but laugh loudly. He saw the pain in Sarah Jane’s face, and attempted to stop, but found himself unable. “I’m sorry, Sarah,” he managed to state through his bits of howling, “But I can’t imagine anything less from the Doctor.”
From her pained face emerged a bleak smile. “That was the first thing I thought of, too,” she admitted, picking up her tea and sipping it. Placing it back on its saucer, Sarah looked back at Harry. “I wasn’t ready to leave; it wasn’t my time.”
Harry nodded his head, mixing his spoon in his cup. “Well, did you have any idea of when that would have been?”
Sarah ran her hand through her soft waves. “Is ‘never’ an acceptable answer?”
Harry sighed loudly and leaned against the table. He crossed his arms, looking directly at Sarah. “He’s an alien, Sarah, and he’s got his own alien world and alien people. Did you ever consider that maybe he’d be returning to them someday?”
She remained silent, clearly thinking about Harry’s words. “Well, I had sort of hoped he’d bring me along,” she confessed, pursing her lips. “Some part of me still believes he’s coming back, picking me up after he’s done with his business on Gallifrey and we’ll be back to fighting Sontarans and robots in no time!”
Finishing his tea, Harry held the empty cup in his hand, gently rotating it. “I don’t know what the Doctor will do- who does, really- but in the mean time, old girl, just carry on. Go back to taking down nasty politicians, saving Siamese children, and while you’re at it, get a dog. The Doctor will know where to find you,” he suggested innocently.
A smile- no, Harry was sure it was a smirk- flashed across Sarah Jane’s face. This satisfied him enough. He looked at his watch, then back at Sarah. “Well, I need to be off. I’m skipping work for you, Miss Smith, but I should at least try to keep my job.”
Sarah crinkled her nose. “Call me ‘old girl’ one more time, Harry Sullivan…” she warned before smiling brightly. Both friends stood up and embraced each other, hugging the other tightly. Sarah looked up toward him. “I’ll walk you out.”
Scrunching up his face, he shook his head. “No, it’s quite all right; I think I can manage. Now, are you sure you don’t need anything else?”
She placed a hand at his shoulder, still smiling. “I’ll be just fine,” she answered coyly, “so go on back to your job, your little Emily, and Coronation Street.”
He laughed one last time, and broke their hug. “I’ll visit again,” Harry stated, before catching one last whiff of Sarah Jane’s perfume, the flowery one that was floating around her flat. “That scent you’re wearing- what is it?” He finally asked.
Placing her wrist to her nose, Sarah smelled it and sighed dreamily. “Jasmine- Midnight Jasmine to be precise,” she said, “The Doctor and I were in southern France via 1884 and during the course of our trip, he managed to figure out that I like the scent and surprised me with some.”
Nodding, Harry stepped toward the threshold of the kitchen. “Take care of yourself, Sarah,” he offered and walked into the living room. However, before he reached her front door, he looked back at his friend: she was holding the empty tea cups in her hands, gazing out the window as the orange glow of the afternoon sun highlighting her elegant form. The sad disposition had returned, and caused Harry to look away.
Walking out of the flat, he almost slammed the door shut. Harry had seen widows with more life than Sarah. He and the Doctor never had got along in the best manner, but if he were to see that manic grinned loony again, he’d make sure to give him a good sock in the face; he had no idea what he’d done to Sarah Jane. Harry hoped the Doctor was as broken up as Sarah, but he had read the files at UNIT; there were many others before her that he never mentioned or seemed to care about, so Sarah seemed no different.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, Harry walked down the corridor of the building, and back to UNIT.
-v-
Fin.