SJ Fic: Taking in Strays Ch. 5 - Shopping Works Up An Appetite? (Sarah Jane/Duplicate 10)
Disclaimer: It all belongs to the Beeb. I'm having fun with Sarah Jane and Handy today. Since Rose seemed to me like the type to decide something wasn't so good once she had it. Sorry to all those Rose fans out there.
Summary: When the human Doctor clone finds his way to her door, Sarah Jane finds she's opening her door to much more than the trouble she expects.
Rating: PG
Authors Note: Okay so here I go full fledged into the SJA type adventure. My apologies for what I stoop to in the beginning of this - but Lis Sladen / Sarah Jane Smith was one of my first 'girl crushes' and I couldn't resist. This part doesn't stop at the traditional stop point for the Part One episode, but it did stop at a good point for my writing. That being said it might break into three parts - I don't know yet though.
"Are you sure you don't want any of this dessert?" Sarah Jane asked as she brought the spoon to her lips, swirling her tongue around it, her eyes drifting shut as her face was transformed with pleasure in the dessert.
At times Oliver's human libido was quite disconcerting. It had no sense of appropriate time and place. As it was he struggled with putting aside Sarah's little show with the spoon to concentrate on the more critical issue. For someone who had complained about the amount of food he'd cooked for breakfast, he was beginning to wonder if like the TARDIS, her tiny frame was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. It seemed terribly strange having watched her through lunch put away an appetizer, main course, in additional to stealing chips off his plate and have dessert. It wasn't quite enough to call it to her attention yet. "No, thank you. I take it that it's good?"
"Heaven," Sarah murmured as she scooped the last bit of chocolate out of the bowl and proceeded to repeat the process of molesting the spoon with her mouth. Once again his libido reminded him that another part of his anatomy would like to replace the spoon and he shifted uncomfortably. He lost himself in watching her only to be drawn out of it by the tinkle of the spoon in the bowl. "I suppose that does it then."
Watching as she reached into her purse for her wallet, Oliver frowned a bit. "I feel a bit of a cad with you paying for everything."
"My kept man. Honestly, considering your age and mine most people in here probably think it's the least I can do." Sarah chuckled, "They probably think I hired you."
"Oy!" Oliver's frown turned into a full on scowl. "There's no reason you need to go hiring anyone."
Sarah couldn't help but smile at him being more offended by what could be their perception of her rather than him. When his arm slid around her waist, she jumped slightly and looked up at him with wide eyes. "What's that about?"
He paused while he considered his answer. "You're my friend, Sarah Jane. One of my best friends." He decided with the track of the conversation that mentioning she was one of his oldest friends wasn't wise. "If I can't cuddle you a bit, who can I?"
A bright wide smile covered her face, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. "You're right."
"Course I am," Oliver said. "And next time is my treat." He enjoyed how Sarah fit against him, almost as though she was made just for him.
"Well if that's going to be the case, we're going to have to find you gainful employment." Sarah teased, "Then you can help with the electric bills. I have no doubt you'll be as hard on them as Luke was." She pulled a bill from her wallet to pay the waiter, then accepted back her change.
"No, no doubt about that at all." He grinned at her as they walked from the café towards her car. From what she'd said it didn't sound as though Sarah Jane had any intention of turning him out after all. "So back home then?"
"Yes," Sarah agreed with a nod, more than a bit thrilled at Oliver calling her house 'home', "As soon as we stop for some petrol."
"You find the station and I'll do the filling," Oliver offered, nearly forgetting about his concerns for the moment.
"Good plan." Sarah slid into the driver's seat and waited for him to join her. They pulled into the station a few minutes later, the pair of them sliding out of the car in unison to carry out their self appointed tasks.
As Oliver filled the car, he patted its side. "You're a good car aren't you? Admittedly, you're not yellow and you're not nearly fast enough." He cocked his head. "Wonder if she'll let me tinker with you then?"
"No, I will not," Sarah said, smiling as she approached the car. "I wasn't certain if you still liked this or not." She held out a bottle of ginger beer.
"Not as much as I used to, but I do remember you don't like it much," Oliver said with a chuckle.
"No, can't stand the stuff still." Sarah shuddered dramatically. "That's why I got myself lemonade and a bag of crisps."
"You're still hungry?" Oliver asked in shock as he watched Sarah slide into the driver's side of the car. "Perhaps you really are like the TARDIS."
"Oh don't be silly, I just have the munchies." Sarah ripped open the bag of crisps, and slipped her hand inside to retrieve one.
Oliver moved to the passenger side and slid back inside, opening his bottle of ginger beer and taking a drink but never taking his eyes off of Sarah as she consumed the bag of crisps and a bag of jelly babies, not bothering to offer him a single one, before polishing off a Cadbury chocolate treat. By the time they reached Bannerman Road, Oliver's concern had grown to outright worry.
Another distraction sat in the driveway with three teenagers leaning against it talking. A bright yellow VW Beetle. "Luke!" Sarah Jane called out as she came out of her car and made a bee-line for her son.
"Mum," Luke wrapped his mother in a hug. "K-9 and I decided to come up for the weekend."
"Oh, I like this car." Oliver was fascinated. He was half inside the driver's side window, inspecting the dashboard curiously.
"Mum had it redone for me to take to Oxford." Luke looked at Oliver curiously, then at threw his mother a questioning glance. "I thought you all said the Doctor had changed."
"I have apparently, but haven't met up with him yet. Probably won't be pleased to see me either," Oliver said from within the car. "But that's the other me. The Time Lord me. I'm the human me."
"He can explain it to you." Sarah shook her head and smiled. "I'm going to go in and make us all a proper tea then."
"Mum, don't set the place on fire, please." Luke looked after her in concern.
"I managed on my own for better than thirty years, Luke Smith, and I've managed since you went off to Oxford," Sarah huffed. "A couple of incidents in the kitchen doesn't make me incompetent."
"The colour is brilliant," Oliver interjected. "I mean really brilliant." He ran his hands along the car's hood appreciatively.
"I should have known. From stroking bits of the TARDIS to stroking a car." Sarah shook her head. "It must be a man thing." She squeezed Luke's shoulder. "Go ahead and show him your car, Luke. Oliver is going to be staying with us."
"Oliver?" Luke looked even more confused.
"Yeah, she means me," Oliver acknowledged. "That's the name I picked." He watched as Sarah went into the house.
"It's always been that colour. Even when Mum was driving it." Luke said, moving to Oliver's side.
"Well your mum always did have brilliant taste." Oliver pulled himself out of the window of the Beetle and looked towards the house once more. "All right you lot, with me. We need to get everything out of the car."
Luke looked at Clyde and Rani, but the three of them didn't question, instead just following Oliver to Sarah's car. "What's the matter, Doctor?" Clyde asked, taking in the concern in Oliver's face.
"Sarah's the matter. Since we went to lunch, she hasn't stopped eating or thinking about eating," Oliver said as he began to pull the bags out of the car, putting them into the teen's arms.
Clyde shrugged. "What's the matter with that? She always eats like a bird. Don't see how she doesn't waste away to nothing."
"You mean she doesn't eat like a teenage boy," Rani rolled her eyes. "Course she's not going to. She looks amazing, she doesn't need to eat more."
"Like Rani said," Oliver nodded and scooped up the refuse from Sarah's junk food eating spree.
"She ate that?" Luke's brow furrowed and Oliver nodded. "That's not like Mum," the younger man agreed. "Mr. Smith?"
"I was thinking K-9, but why not, might as well avail myself of all the amenities." Oliver followed the youngsters in the door and towards the stairs, until he noticed Sarah's cardigan hanging near the door and back tracked long enough to grab it. They all trotted up to the attic and looked at Oliver expectantly as they stood in front of the Xylok's home in the wall. "Right then," he cocked his head. "Abra-cadabra? Hocus pocus? Expecto Patronus? Olly olly oxen free? No?" He sighed, "You'd think it would be something less… demeaning." He took a deep breath. "Mr. Smith, I need you."
Clyde, Rani and Luke all grinned at one another as the alien super computer made its appearance with typical fanfare. "Hello," the computer paused. "You are not Sarah Jane."
"And thank Rassilon for that." Oliver shook his head.
"You are not Gallifreyan," Mr. Smith added.
"Yes, yes. Well aware." Oliver sighed then continued on at ninety miles an hour. "All right I'm just going to explain this once. The Doctor had a meta-crisis. Donna Noble and, well, I suppose, I got caught up in it too. I was a hand that had been cut off from the Doctor some time ago. I grew out of the meta-crisis but since Donna was human, I ended up being a human version of the Doctor with just a little Gallifreyan thrown into the mix, although not enough to really make much of a difference." He paused for breath. "So is that all clear?"
It was obvious by the look on Luke's face that it wasn't, but he was willing to take some things on faith, since his mum was letting the human Doctor stay here with her.
Oliver continued, "Excellent, now Sarah Jane and I went shopping..."
Rani cut him off. "You look really good, by the way, Doctor." Rani grinned. "Very dishy."
"You think so?" Oliver looked down at himself. "I let Sarah dress me, so," he turned towards Mr. Smith as Rani grinned at both Clyde and Luke and gave the former a little nudge with his elbow. Oliver spun back to them. "What did you think of Sarah's outfit? Do you think it looks good?"
"It's lovely," Rani smiled. "Did you pick it out for her?"
"Yeah, I did." Oliver beamed for a moment and then turned his attention back to Mr. Smith.
Clyde pulled a face at the idea of picking out an outfit for a girl. Rani smacked Clyde and mouthed back at him that it was romantic. All while Luke tried to size up this human Doctor as a possible father, since Rani seemed to think that he was interested in Sarah that way. At least if how Rani was behaving was any indication.
Somehow without seeing what was going on behind him, Oliver knew the teens weren't paying any attention to him. "As I was saying before, since Sarah Jane and I went out she's been as voracious as a Tenoralian Bog Weevil. Doesn't make sense after she chastised us for that breakfast this morning."
"No more kitchen fires, Lukey-boy." Clyde grinned. "Just get Oliver to whip you up breakfast."
"Something I will be glad to do once we've sorted what's going on." Oliver's voice was velvet over steel. "Mr. Smith, I need you to scan Sarah Jane for any alien influences."
"Do it." Luke confirmed quickly before Mr. Smith could annoy Oliver by telling him he wasn't authorized. Luke stepped up beside Oliver, meeting his gaze. "So something happened between this morning and when you went out with Mum."
"Yes, do it Mr. Smith, or I'll ask K-9." Oliver's eyes narrowed. "There could've been something in the food we ate."
"But why?" Rani asked. "If it were the restaurant, wouldn't they want you all to go back and eat more there? Not just random places at home?"
"Good point," Oliver acknowledged. "But, that assumes we know their motive is just profiting by people overeating on their food." He cocked his head. "Nothing screamed out 'this place is being run by aliens out to make you all obese'. Not that it necessarily would." He rubbed his chin as he continued to think.
"Confirmed," Mr. Smith's voice rang out through the attic. "Sarah Jane appears to be under the influence of a form of alien mind control."
"Oh, Sarah Jane," Oliver shook his head, both worried and wistful. "She's always had trouble with mind control. Hypnotism especially. Well, pretty much anyone who wants to take control. For someone with such a strong will, she's terribly suggestible." He looked at the teenagers. "Remind me to tell you all about the time I had to knock her out and carry her bodily out of a nuclear reactor." He shook his head, "She would've given me grey hairs if I weren't an immortal Time Lord at the time. Of course my first body she knew me in was entirely silver, so I never would have noticed if she had."
"You had to knock her out and carry her out of a nuclear reactor?" Clyde was looking at Oliver as though he was mad.
"Yes. Her mind had been taken over by the disembodied hand of Eldrad," Oliver frowned. "Horrible sort. Although a bit ironic when you think about where I come from." His frown grew deeper. "Come to think about it, best not to remind her where I come from, she probably has issues with disembodied hands now."
"Oh you have got to tell us that story," Clyde grinned. It was going to be fun having someone around to tell them the unvarnished and probably more embarrassing truth about Sarah Jane's travels with the Doctor.
"Once we've got this sorted, Clyde." Oliver grinned mischievously at the boy. "All things in their time."
"How do we break the control on her?" Luke asked urgently.
"For now," Oliver continued to frown. "For now, I'm afraid we don't. First off, we don't want them tipped off that we know what's going on. Secondly, she's our only connection to them." He counted off on his fingers. "Thirdly, a day or two of overeating may make Sarah feel a bit sick, but we won't let anything happen to her." He looked at Luke. "Will we, Luke?"
Something about the way he said Luke sounded like 'son' to the teen's ears and made him warm inside, so even though he didn't like the answer, he agreed. "No. No, we won't."
He was rewarded by a smile that warmed him even more and a quick squeeze to his shoulder. "Good lad."
"Why weren't you affected?" Rani burst out, her mind now mulling the problem over.
"I might not have been the target, or it may not have affected me because I'm part Gallifreyan still," Oliver supposed. "Good question though, Rani."
"Alert, alert." K-9's voice rang out as he hovered up the stairs. "Master, your apparel is emitting some sort of alien signal. Additionally, I detect you are over ninety percent human. Insufficient data on the probability on mostly human version of the Doctor-Master."
"Long story, K-9." Oliver knelt down by the tin dog. "Hello, you. Did you miss me?" He stroked K-9's head then patted it. "Good dog."
"The dog is not much of a watch dog," Mr. Smith commented in a dead pan voice that somehow managed to be snide.
"I did not see you detecting the alien signal coming from the Master's clothing." K-9 chirped back.
"Oy! Don't call me that," Oliver cringed. "Master is fine, just don't put 'the' in front of it." He looked at the teenagers. "Are they always like this?"
"Pretty much, yeah," Clyde smirked. "Tin sibling rivalry. At least they haven't dragged Luke into it with them yet."
Oliver shook his head. "Well at least now we know where we need to go." He looked towards the supercomputer interfaced with the brick wall. "Can you remove the alien signal from my clothing?"
"It will take some time, but I should be able to disrupt the signal," Mr. Smith assured Oliver.
"Good, I don't want to risk that over time it might get to me as well." He went back to the bag and rooted about for his suit. "See what you can do."
"Tea is nearly ready," Sarah called up the stairs. "You lot should get down here."
Oliver sighed. "More food. I'm going to be off eating for days after this."
Summary: When the human Doctor clone finds his way to her door, Sarah Jane finds she's opening her door to much more than the trouble she expects.
Rating: PG
Authors Note: Okay so here I go full fledged into the SJA type adventure. My apologies for what I stoop to in the beginning of this - but Lis Sladen / Sarah Jane Smith was one of my first 'girl crushes' and I couldn't resist. This part doesn't stop at the traditional stop point for the Part One episode, but it did stop at a good point for my writing. That being said it might break into three parts - I don't know yet though.
"Are you sure you don't want any of this dessert?" Sarah Jane asked as she brought the spoon to her lips, swirling her tongue around it, her eyes drifting shut as her face was transformed with pleasure in the dessert.
At times Oliver's human libido was quite disconcerting. It had no sense of appropriate time and place. As it was he struggled with putting aside Sarah's little show with the spoon to concentrate on the more critical issue. For someone who had complained about the amount of food he'd cooked for breakfast, he was beginning to wonder if like the TARDIS, her tiny frame was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. It seemed terribly strange having watched her through lunch put away an appetizer, main course, in additional to stealing chips off his plate and have dessert. It wasn't quite enough to call it to her attention yet. "No, thank you. I take it that it's good?"
"Heaven," Sarah murmured as she scooped the last bit of chocolate out of the bowl and proceeded to repeat the process of molesting the spoon with her mouth. Once again his libido reminded him that another part of his anatomy would like to replace the spoon and he shifted uncomfortably. He lost himself in watching her only to be drawn out of it by the tinkle of the spoon in the bowl. "I suppose that does it then."
Watching as she reached into her purse for her wallet, Oliver frowned a bit. "I feel a bit of a cad with you paying for everything."
"My kept man. Honestly, considering your age and mine most people in here probably think it's the least I can do." Sarah chuckled, "They probably think I hired you."
"Oy!" Oliver's frown turned into a full on scowl. "There's no reason you need to go hiring anyone."
Sarah couldn't help but smile at him being more offended by what could be their perception of her rather than him. When his arm slid around her waist, she jumped slightly and looked up at him with wide eyes. "What's that about?"
He paused while he considered his answer. "You're my friend, Sarah Jane. One of my best friends." He decided with the track of the conversation that mentioning she was one of his oldest friends wasn't wise. "If I can't cuddle you a bit, who can I?"
A bright wide smile covered her face, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. "You're right."
"Course I am," Oliver said. "And next time is my treat." He enjoyed how Sarah fit against him, almost as though she was made just for him.
"Well if that's going to be the case, we're going to have to find you gainful employment." Sarah teased, "Then you can help with the electric bills. I have no doubt you'll be as hard on them as Luke was." She pulled a bill from her wallet to pay the waiter, then accepted back her change.
"No, no doubt about that at all." He grinned at her as they walked from the café towards her car. From what she'd said it didn't sound as though Sarah Jane had any intention of turning him out after all. "So back home then?"
"Yes," Sarah agreed with a nod, more than a bit thrilled at Oliver calling her house 'home', "As soon as we stop for some petrol."
"You find the station and I'll do the filling," Oliver offered, nearly forgetting about his concerns for the moment.
"Good plan." Sarah slid into the driver's seat and waited for him to join her. They pulled into the station a few minutes later, the pair of them sliding out of the car in unison to carry out their self appointed tasks.
As Oliver filled the car, he patted its side. "You're a good car aren't you? Admittedly, you're not yellow and you're not nearly fast enough." He cocked his head. "Wonder if she'll let me tinker with you then?"
"No, I will not," Sarah said, smiling as she approached the car. "I wasn't certain if you still liked this or not." She held out a bottle of ginger beer.
"Not as much as I used to, but I do remember you don't like it much," Oliver said with a chuckle.
"No, can't stand the stuff still." Sarah shuddered dramatically. "That's why I got myself lemonade and a bag of crisps."
"You're still hungry?" Oliver asked in shock as he watched Sarah slide into the driver's side of the car. "Perhaps you really are like the TARDIS."
"Oh don't be silly, I just have the munchies." Sarah ripped open the bag of crisps, and slipped her hand inside to retrieve one.
Oliver moved to the passenger side and slid back inside, opening his bottle of ginger beer and taking a drink but never taking his eyes off of Sarah as she consumed the bag of crisps and a bag of jelly babies, not bothering to offer him a single one, before polishing off a Cadbury chocolate treat. By the time they reached Bannerman Road, Oliver's concern had grown to outright worry.
Another distraction sat in the driveway with three teenagers leaning against it talking. A bright yellow VW Beetle. "Luke!" Sarah Jane called out as she came out of her car and made a bee-line for her son.
"Mum," Luke wrapped his mother in a hug. "K-9 and I decided to come up for the weekend."
"Oh, I like this car." Oliver was fascinated. He was half inside the driver's side window, inspecting the dashboard curiously.
"Mum had it redone for me to take to Oxford." Luke looked at Oliver curiously, then at threw his mother a questioning glance. "I thought you all said the Doctor had changed."
"I have apparently, but haven't met up with him yet. Probably won't be pleased to see me either," Oliver said from within the car. "But that's the other me. The Time Lord me. I'm the human me."
"He can explain it to you." Sarah shook her head and smiled. "I'm going to go in and make us all a proper tea then."
"Mum, don't set the place on fire, please." Luke looked after her in concern.
"I managed on my own for better than thirty years, Luke Smith, and I've managed since you went off to Oxford," Sarah huffed. "A couple of incidents in the kitchen doesn't make me incompetent."
"The colour is brilliant," Oliver interjected. "I mean really brilliant." He ran his hands along the car's hood appreciatively.
"I should have known. From stroking bits of the TARDIS to stroking a car." Sarah shook her head. "It must be a man thing." She squeezed Luke's shoulder. "Go ahead and show him your car, Luke. Oliver is going to be staying with us."
"Oliver?" Luke looked even more confused.
"Yeah, she means me," Oliver acknowledged. "That's the name I picked." He watched as Sarah went into the house.
"It's always been that colour. Even when Mum was driving it." Luke said, moving to Oliver's side.
"Well your mum always did have brilliant taste." Oliver pulled himself out of the window of the Beetle and looked towards the house once more. "All right you lot, with me. We need to get everything out of the car."
Luke looked at Clyde and Rani, but the three of them didn't question, instead just following Oliver to Sarah's car. "What's the matter, Doctor?" Clyde asked, taking in the concern in Oliver's face.
"Sarah's the matter. Since we went to lunch, she hasn't stopped eating or thinking about eating," Oliver said as he began to pull the bags out of the car, putting them into the teen's arms.
Clyde shrugged. "What's the matter with that? She always eats like a bird. Don't see how she doesn't waste away to nothing."
"You mean she doesn't eat like a teenage boy," Rani rolled her eyes. "Course she's not going to. She looks amazing, she doesn't need to eat more."
"Like Rani said," Oliver nodded and scooped up the refuse from Sarah's junk food eating spree.
"She ate that?" Luke's brow furrowed and Oliver nodded. "That's not like Mum," the younger man agreed. "Mr. Smith?"
"I was thinking K-9, but why not, might as well avail myself of all the amenities." Oliver followed the youngsters in the door and towards the stairs, until he noticed Sarah's cardigan hanging near the door and back tracked long enough to grab it. They all trotted up to the attic and looked at Oliver expectantly as they stood in front of the Xylok's home in the wall. "Right then," he cocked his head. "Abra-cadabra? Hocus pocus? Expecto Patronus? Olly olly oxen free? No?" He sighed, "You'd think it would be something less… demeaning." He took a deep breath. "Mr. Smith, I need you."
Clyde, Rani and Luke all grinned at one another as the alien super computer made its appearance with typical fanfare. "Hello," the computer paused. "You are not Sarah Jane."
"And thank Rassilon for that." Oliver shook his head.
"You are not Gallifreyan," Mr. Smith added.
"Yes, yes. Well aware." Oliver sighed then continued on at ninety miles an hour. "All right I'm just going to explain this once. The Doctor had a meta-crisis. Donna Noble and, well, I suppose, I got caught up in it too. I was a hand that had been cut off from the Doctor some time ago. I grew out of the meta-crisis but since Donna was human, I ended up being a human version of the Doctor with just a little Gallifreyan thrown into the mix, although not enough to really make much of a difference." He paused for breath. "So is that all clear?"
It was obvious by the look on Luke's face that it wasn't, but he was willing to take some things on faith, since his mum was letting the human Doctor stay here with her.
Oliver continued, "Excellent, now Sarah Jane and I went shopping..."
Rani cut him off. "You look really good, by the way, Doctor." Rani grinned. "Very dishy."
"You think so?" Oliver looked down at himself. "I let Sarah dress me, so," he turned towards Mr. Smith as Rani grinned at both Clyde and Luke and gave the former a little nudge with his elbow. Oliver spun back to them. "What did you think of Sarah's outfit? Do you think it looks good?"
"It's lovely," Rani smiled. "Did you pick it out for her?"
"Yeah, I did." Oliver beamed for a moment and then turned his attention back to Mr. Smith.
Clyde pulled a face at the idea of picking out an outfit for a girl. Rani smacked Clyde and mouthed back at him that it was romantic. All while Luke tried to size up this human Doctor as a possible father, since Rani seemed to think that he was interested in Sarah that way. At least if how Rani was behaving was any indication.
Somehow without seeing what was going on behind him, Oliver knew the teens weren't paying any attention to him. "As I was saying before, since Sarah Jane and I went out she's been as voracious as a Tenoralian Bog Weevil. Doesn't make sense after she chastised us for that breakfast this morning."
"No more kitchen fires, Lukey-boy." Clyde grinned. "Just get Oliver to whip you up breakfast."
"Something I will be glad to do once we've sorted what's going on." Oliver's voice was velvet over steel. "Mr. Smith, I need you to scan Sarah Jane for any alien influences."
"Do it." Luke confirmed quickly before Mr. Smith could annoy Oliver by telling him he wasn't authorized. Luke stepped up beside Oliver, meeting his gaze. "So something happened between this morning and when you went out with Mum."
"Yes, do it Mr. Smith, or I'll ask K-9." Oliver's eyes narrowed. "There could've been something in the food we ate."
"But why?" Rani asked. "If it were the restaurant, wouldn't they want you all to go back and eat more there? Not just random places at home?"
"Good point," Oliver acknowledged. "But, that assumes we know their motive is just profiting by people overeating on their food." He cocked his head. "Nothing screamed out 'this place is being run by aliens out to make you all obese'. Not that it necessarily would." He rubbed his chin as he continued to think.
"Confirmed," Mr. Smith's voice rang out through the attic. "Sarah Jane appears to be under the influence of a form of alien mind control."
"Oh, Sarah Jane," Oliver shook his head, both worried and wistful. "She's always had trouble with mind control. Hypnotism especially. Well, pretty much anyone who wants to take control. For someone with such a strong will, she's terribly suggestible." He looked at the teenagers. "Remind me to tell you all about the time I had to knock her out and carry her bodily out of a nuclear reactor." He shook his head, "She would've given me grey hairs if I weren't an immortal Time Lord at the time. Of course my first body she knew me in was entirely silver, so I never would have noticed if she had."
"You had to knock her out and carry her out of a nuclear reactor?" Clyde was looking at Oliver as though he was mad.
"Yes. Her mind had been taken over by the disembodied hand of Eldrad," Oliver frowned. "Horrible sort. Although a bit ironic when you think about where I come from." His frown grew deeper. "Come to think about it, best not to remind her where I come from, she probably has issues with disembodied hands now."
"Oh you have got to tell us that story," Clyde grinned. It was going to be fun having someone around to tell them the unvarnished and probably more embarrassing truth about Sarah Jane's travels with the Doctor.
"Once we've got this sorted, Clyde." Oliver grinned mischievously at the boy. "All things in their time."
"How do we break the control on her?" Luke asked urgently.
"For now," Oliver continued to frown. "For now, I'm afraid we don't. First off, we don't want them tipped off that we know what's going on. Secondly, she's our only connection to them." He counted off on his fingers. "Thirdly, a day or two of overeating may make Sarah feel a bit sick, but we won't let anything happen to her." He looked at Luke. "Will we, Luke?"
Something about the way he said Luke sounded like 'son' to the teen's ears and made him warm inside, so even though he didn't like the answer, he agreed. "No. No, we won't."
He was rewarded by a smile that warmed him even more and a quick squeeze to his shoulder. "Good lad."
"Why weren't you affected?" Rani burst out, her mind now mulling the problem over.
"I might not have been the target, or it may not have affected me because I'm part Gallifreyan still," Oliver supposed. "Good question though, Rani."
"Alert, alert." K-9's voice rang out as he hovered up the stairs. "Master, your apparel is emitting some sort of alien signal. Additionally, I detect you are over ninety percent human. Insufficient data on the probability on mostly human version of the Doctor-Master."
"Long story, K-9." Oliver knelt down by the tin dog. "Hello, you. Did you miss me?" He stroked K-9's head then patted it. "Good dog."
"The dog is not much of a watch dog," Mr. Smith commented in a dead pan voice that somehow managed to be snide.
"I did not see you detecting the alien signal coming from the Master's clothing." K-9 chirped back.
"Oy! Don't call me that," Oliver cringed. "Master is fine, just don't put 'the' in front of it." He looked at the teenagers. "Are they always like this?"
"Pretty much, yeah," Clyde smirked. "Tin sibling rivalry. At least they haven't dragged Luke into it with them yet."
Oliver shook his head. "Well at least now we know where we need to go." He looked towards the supercomputer interfaced with the brick wall. "Can you remove the alien signal from my clothing?"
"It will take some time, but I should be able to disrupt the signal," Mr. Smith assured Oliver.
"Good, I don't want to risk that over time it might get to me as well." He went back to the bag and rooted about for his suit. "See what you can do."
"Tea is nearly ready," Sarah called up the stairs. "You lot should get down here."
Oliver sighed. "More food. I'm going to be off eating for days after this."