SJ Fic: Taking in Strays Ch. 11 - First Day Jitters (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
Author Note: Again my thanks to Spydurwebb for the brilliant beta. I improved! YAY!
"Sausage," Oliver murmured as he returned to consciousness. "Eggs," he sniffed the air. "Toast." He paused again, taking a deep breath. "Smoke." He grinned as his eyes opened fully. "Sarah's making breakfast." He pulled himself from his bed and took yet another deeper breath. "Not enough smoke to be a full on kitchen fire. Better not make her angry going down to check." He whispered to himself. "Better use of your time making yourself presentable." A quick shower, shave and a moment to attempt to tame his hair somewhat with hair product Luke left behind was all the time he allowed himself before he went back to his room with a towel wrapped around his waist.
"Now how did you get there?" Oliver asked as he found his suit hanging on the door. "Freshly pressed too." Warmth flooded him as it was obvious Sarah was taking care of him. The way she might a... "Don't go too fast, old boy, you know she needs time." He made quick work of getting dressed, whistling as he descended the stairs, he finished tying his tie and walked into the kitchen. "We're going to have to go shopping again, I'm afraid. Can't keep wearing the same suit." He grinned and stopped as he took in the entirely domestic scene in front of him as Sarah set out breakfast. Somehow it didn't matter to him that the sausages were a bit dark, as was the toast.
"Well come on," Sarah urged. She turned towards him then moved closer, reaching out to straighten his tie. "Don't expect this every morning. I just thought you might like a jump start on your first day."
"Far cry from when you wouldn't even make me a cup of coffee," he said, amusement lighting his eyes.
"Well, if you listen to my son, you might live to regret eating my cooking." She dusted off his shoulders then pushed him towards a chair at the table.
"It's not the cooking, it's the occasional kitchen fire," he teased. "I'm sure it's fine, Sarah. Sit down and have breakfast with me before I go."
"Oh don't worry, I'm not silly enough to do all this work and not intend to eat as well. I don't like you that much, Oliver." She teased him back and watched as he filled his plate, then watched as he stood, moved to the fridge and stuck his head into it. "Is there a problem?"
"Marmalade," Oliver explained from the depths of the appliance.
"To cover up the dark bits?" She stood and reached into the cupboard, pulling out a new jar.
"It's as good an excuse as any." He grinned at her as he closed the fridge and freed the jar from her grasp. "Your cooking is excellent even with the dark bits, I just like a bit of sweet." He sat down before opening the jar and slathering a fair amount of the marmalade on his toast.
"You don't have to remind me of that." She chuckled as she sat back down in her place and started on her own breakfast.
He started eating with gusto, but as he went to dish himself up a second helping he noticed that Sarah was spending more time watching him than eating. "Did I drop a bit of something?" He looked down at his tie and picked it up to inspect it.
"No," Sarah smiled indulgently at him. "I guess I'm just being silly. I thought you might be nervous this morning."
"Why would I be nervous?" Oliver shrugged as he took a large bite of his toast, chewing and swallowing before he continued. "It's not as though they're Daleks or Cybermen. Just teenage humans," he remembered to correct himself. "I'm human. I can relate to them." He said confidently. "Of course, it's been some time since I was a teenager, or the Doctor was a teenager and I've barely been human two years."
He frowned then rubbed the back of his head. For a moment he looked as though he was going to resume eating, but stopped his sausage halfway to his mouth. "They don't like adults do they? Your lot notwithstanding." He paused, his brain going into overload. "Oh, and what about the teachers?" He stood suddenly and started to pace. "I'll have to work with them for longer than a few days. I've never done that with anyone but the UNIT chaps, or my companions, but then I was the one in charge wasn't I?"
His shoes squeaked on the tile of the kitchen floor, and Sarah could just visualise the path being worn in it. "I'm not good at taking orders. Heaven knows the Brigadier knew that. That's why I left Gallifrey to begin with, too much order, too many rules." His eyes widened. "The Brigadier has always been more of a friend than a boss really. I wonder if Haresh will be the same." His face crinkled as he winced. "Oh and he's our neighbour, and Rani's dad." He palmed his hand against his face. "This could be a complete disaster."
The Doctor never lost confidence, never panicked, so Oliver's display had mesmerized her. It only served to remind her that this wasn't the Doctor, this was Oliver. Her very human Oliver. That thought shook her a bit, but the meltdown going on in front of her forced her to not bother considering it too long, but instead to focus on him. She stood and positioned herself in front of him, "Oliver." She said once then realized he wasn't really seeing her. "Oliver," she repeated.
She reached out and stopped his pacing by settling her hands on his chest. She could feel his heart pounding in his chest. "I want you to breathe, before you pass out." She paused waiting to see if he responded, then breathed her own sigh of relief when he did. "In. Now out," she encouraged, repeating her words until his breathing fell in line with them. "Good. Now, you're going to be fine. I've known you for a long time."
She reached up to caress his cheek with one hand while keeping her other hand over his heart. "You can do whatever you set your mind to. You'll be a wonderful teacher and while I can't guarantee that every one of your students is going to adore you the way we do, I would be willing to wager more of them will than won't. You'll run interesting experiments, within reason to entertain them while you're teaching them. I know you can do it." She paused making certain he was seeing her now. "This panic, it's just a reaction. A normal human reaction." She emphasized the word 'human', wanting it to get through to him. "You're just not used to it."
Sarah's gentle voice and touch finally reached him. He felt his heart beat slowing and his confidence returning with her faith in him. "You all live with this all the time?" He shook his head in wonder.
"It's not always so bad," Sarah admitted, but didn't take her hands away from him. "It's completely natural when you're about to do something new."
Oliver nodded then caught sight of the clock on her wall. "Oy! That's something I'll never get used to." He was suddenly moving again, making his panic attack seem a thing of the past as he moved out of the kitchen.
"What's that?" Sarah followed him, a slight smile on her face. Human or not, he could still change tracks at the speed of light.
"Losing track of time. It's unnatural!" Oliver complained.
Sarah laughed. "Poor Oliver, so human," she teased.
"No need to be insulting." He took on a superior air just to poke at her.
"I thought you might need this." Sarah lifted a leather case that she'd dug out of the odds and ends she'd had stored in the attic and held it out to him. "You're going to need something to carry your papers in."
Oliver took the bag a bit hesitantly. When he'd taught at Deffry Vale, little details like this hadn't mattered because it was a means to an end, not a real job. Not his real job. He ran his fingers over the leather. He was really going to do this. Taking a deep breath, he beamed at Sarah. "Thank you, Sarah." Then he leaned in quickly and brushed his lips over hers. "Time to get going. I'll see you in time for tea tonight, dear."
The kiss caught Sarah off guard, but his playful almost married couple banter at the end had her scowling at him. "Now don't you go getting any ideas. If you want a proper tea you're going to have to make it, for both of us!" She called out the door, but the smile slowly crept back and stayed as she watched him start Bessie and wave before pulling out of the drive. She found herself waving back as she leaned against the door frame and felt the flush of warmth that came with knowing he was coming home to her tonight.
The drive to Park Vale was short enough that it was hardly worth the effort of driving Bessie there, but as he parked the little car he was glad he had. "Good girl," he smiled as he patted the dash. "This won't be so different from working with UNIT will it?" Sadly, Bessie couldn't whisper in his mind the way the TARDIS could, but there was an odd sort of comfort to having her there. He looked up at the school building and steeled himself. "Won't do to have another panic attack when Sarah's not here to bring you out of it," he mumbled. Still, he could almost hear her telling him to breathe and had to smile as he obeyed her instructions, realising that Sarah was with him as well. "Right then." He pulled the case off of the passenger seat and made his way to the school entrance before he could think about it too much.
The halls of the school were already thrumming with energy and life as he made his way through them. His discomfort faded completely as he dodged the many bodies moving around him and felt the contagious energy causing a smile to come to his face. "Oliver!" He heard Rani's voice above the sounds of mobiles going off, locker doors being slammed shut and footsteps running down the halls.
"Hello Rani!" Oliver twisted this way and that as he made his way to where Clyde and Rani waited. "Clyde! This is a bit different from Deffry Vale. Less orderly."
"Don't let Captain Bligh hear you say that. He'll want to know what they were doing different." Clyde smirked and was rewarded with a punch to his shoulder from Rani.
"Ah well, it was being run by big bat people using the children's souls to solve the godmaker. Sort of drained the energy of the place." He rocked back on his heels. "I like this better." He looked around, taking in his surroundings, especially making note of the artwork on the walls. This place wasn't sterile. "Much, much better."
"Well you'd best get to the office, before Dad decides you're not coming." Rani smiled as she nodded towards the door in front of them. "Allons-y and all that, right?"
"Right." Oliver's eyes narrowed. "Did Sarah call you?"
"Why would she do that?" Rani denied, but grinned. "In you go." She reached up and turned him by the shoulders, pushing him towards the door. "She says she's not making tea tonight, but she might be convinced to order in." She added as he pushed open the door and skidded through.
"Oy." Oliver scowled back over his shoulder as the door closed, but both Rani and Clyde were on the other side of the glass waving at him before walking away.
"Oliver." Haresh's voice drew his attention back to what he was meant to be doing. "Good morning."
"Yes, very good." Oliver turned his attention completely to Haresh. "Good morning to you too."
Haresh regarded him for a moment. He realised instantly that this Doctor of Sarah Jane's could exhaust him just with how much energy he seemed to have continuously. "I have to say your references were definitely glowing, though they asked that since you're obviously visiting Sarah Jane, you might spare them a few minutes."
"Ah well, already had tea with the Brigadier. As for the rest of them," Oliver wasn't really sure what he was going to do about the rest of them, however he'd already opened the barn door and let the horse out, "I'm certain we'll catch up with one another eventually."
"Well, let's get your paperwork done, then at the break I'll introduce you to your new colleagues and we'll get you started familiarizing yourself with your curriculum so you can take on your new class." Haresh led Oliver back to his own office where various pieces of paper were set out.
"Dreadful dull stuff," Oliver observed as Haresh explained each of the forms he was signing.
"Unfortunately necessary," Haresh agreed with a slight smile. It was obvious that Oliver wasn't much for formality. Normally it would have bothered him but he found himself liking Oliver.
"That's the last of it," Oliver said in relief as he stacked the papers and pushed them back to Haresh.
"It is," Haresh smiled. "Let me formally welcome you to the staff. Why don't I show you around the school and we should be back at the teacher's lounge in time for first break."
They strolled the halls at a leisurely pace, with the classes already in, there wasn't the press of bodies from earlier. Oliver taking in the information that Haresh supplied him at different points, but his own ideas kept bubbling to the surface. "I'm fully qualified for any of the sciences, though biology really isn't my cuppa, bit of..." He dropped off, thinking. "Well, I used to know this woman," he shuddered. "Bit of a mad scientist, sort of turned me off of the life sciences track. Chemisty, physics, I definitely prefer them." Haresh found himself mesmerized by Oliver's continuous soundtrack. "Oh, Luke was telling me that lunch time science club was a bit of a wash. I was thinking, we could have a robotics club instead. Still lots of science and maths, but everyone loves robots."
"Yes, I can see where that might be more popular than pure science," Haresh smiled slightly, caught up in the other man's enthusiasm.
"Oh and Sarah was telling me about that new block you lot had built a couple of years ago. You know with a little bit of work, that odd empty spot that those blighters padded their bill with," Oliver remembered the cover story that had been given to explain the empty rooms the Slitheen had left in schools across the globe. "With a bit of ingenuity it could be turned into a first rate workshop."
"Well we'd just been using it for storage," Haresh acknowledged, while noting that Oliver referred to Sarah Jane as simply Sarah. He imagined that Oliver didn't get the same reaction that Gita did to that. "But you're right, they could be easily converted. You wouldn't be interested in taking on some computing option courses as well?"
"Don't see why not," Oliver grinned. Feeling in his element here, so much he could teach and do, where being not quite a Time Lord wouldn't matter. "Might as well make myself useful."
Useful on the way to indispensable, Haresh thought to himself. Still he couldn't complain. If Oliver's enthusiasm was contagious, Park Vale would do very well indeed. "As promised, now I'll introduce you to some of your colleagues." He pushed open the lounge door. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to our newest staff member. This is Doctor Oliver Smith, he'll be taking on A level physics and chemistry. Possibly maths as well." There was a murmur from the assembled group.
"So long as I'm not stepping on anyone's toes," Oliver said amiably as he began shaking the hands of the various instructors who stepped up to introduce themselves.
"Oh I can't imagine you would be," A young, attractive blonde stepped into his view, her lashes fluttering over her cornflower blue eyes. "Deirdre Callum," she held out her hand.
"Nice to meet you." Oliver shook her hand, but his attention was elsewhere.
Haresh couldn't help but smile slightly. It was gratifying to see that Oliver wasn't distracted by a pretty face. In the last couple of years on Bannerman Road, he'd gotten to like Sarah Jane very much, and after the business of her aborted wedding the year before last, he didn't like the idea of her being hurt again. Especially since her friend Oliver was definitely the sort to attract female attention.
"Hallo," Oliver moved to a corner of the room where an older woman had her nose buried in a book. "Oliver Smith," he held out his hand.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance." The voice came from behind the large, leather bound book, but no hand appeared to shake his.
Undeterred, he slid his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels, as he cocked his head to examine the book as much as he could from a distance. "That's an interesting looking read." There was something here, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it.
"Oh, don't mind Vicki," Deirdre sidled up to Oliver once more. "She's our librarian."
The bell sounded, announcing the end of break. The woman with the book stood, completely ignoring Oliver and Deirdre as she slipped from the lounge. "Perhaps we could," Deirdre started, but with the sound of the bell Oliver's attention was back on Haresh, even as his eyes tracked the other woman leaving.
"So, curriculum then." His attention was never on the girl.
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
Author Note: Again my thanks to Spydurwebb for the brilliant beta. I improved! YAY!
"Sausage," Oliver murmured as he returned to consciousness. "Eggs," he sniffed the air. "Toast." He paused again, taking a deep breath. "Smoke." He grinned as his eyes opened fully. "Sarah's making breakfast." He pulled himself from his bed and took yet another deeper breath. "Not enough smoke to be a full on kitchen fire. Better not make her angry going down to check." He whispered to himself. "Better use of your time making yourself presentable." A quick shower, shave and a moment to attempt to tame his hair somewhat with hair product Luke left behind was all the time he allowed himself before he went back to his room with a towel wrapped around his waist.
"Now how did you get there?" Oliver asked as he found his suit hanging on the door. "Freshly pressed too." Warmth flooded him as it was obvious Sarah was taking care of him. The way she might a... "Don't go too fast, old boy, you know she needs time." He made quick work of getting dressed, whistling as he descended the stairs, he finished tying his tie and walked into the kitchen. "We're going to have to go shopping again, I'm afraid. Can't keep wearing the same suit." He grinned and stopped as he took in the entirely domestic scene in front of him as Sarah set out breakfast. Somehow it didn't matter to him that the sausages were a bit dark, as was the toast.
"Well come on," Sarah urged. She turned towards him then moved closer, reaching out to straighten his tie. "Don't expect this every morning. I just thought you might like a jump start on your first day."
"Far cry from when you wouldn't even make me a cup of coffee," he said, amusement lighting his eyes.
"Well, if you listen to my son, you might live to regret eating my cooking." She dusted off his shoulders then pushed him towards a chair at the table.
"It's not the cooking, it's the occasional kitchen fire," he teased. "I'm sure it's fine, Sarah. Sit down and have breakfast with me before I go."
"Oh don't worry, I'm not silly enough to do all this work and not intend to eat as well. I don't like you that much, Oliver." She teased him back and watched as he filled his plate, then watched as he stood, moved to the fridge and stuck his head into it. "Is there a problem?"
"Marmalade," Oliver explained from the depths of the appliance.
"To cover up the dark bits?" She stood and reached into the cupboard, pulling out a new jar.
"It's as good an excuse as any." He grinned at her as he closed the fridge and freed the jar from her grasp. "Your cooking is excellent even with the dark bits, I just like a bit of sweet." He sat down before opening the jar and slathering a fair amount of the marmalade on his toast.
"You don't have to remind me of that." She chuckled as she sat back down in her place and started on her own breakfast.
He started eating with gusto, but as he went to dish himself up a second helping he noticed that Sarah was spending more time watching him than eating. "Did I drop a bit of something?" He looked down at his tie and picked it up to inspect it.
"No," Sarah smiled indulgently at him. "I guess I'm just being silly. I thought you might be nervous this morning."
"Why would I be nervous?" Oliver shrugged as he took a large bite of his toast, chewing and swallowing before he continued. "It's not as though they're Daleks or Cybermen. Just teenage humans," he remembered to correct himself. "I'm human. I can relate to them." He said confidently. "Of course, it's been some time since I was a teenager, or the Doctor was a teenager and I've barely been human two years."
He frowned then rubbed the back of his head. For a moment he looked as though he was going to resume eating, but stopped his sausage halfway to his mouth. "They don't like adults do they? Your lot notwithstanding." He paused, his brain going into overload. "Oh, and what about the teachers?" He stood suddenly and started to pace. "I'll have to work with them for longer than a few days. I've never done that with anyone but the UNIT chaps, or my companions, but then I was the one in charge wasn't I?"
His shoes squeaked on the tile of the kitchen floor, and Sarah could just visualise the path being worn in it. "I'm not good at taking orders. Heaven knows the Brigadier knew that. That's why I left Gallifrey to begin with, too much order, too many rules." His eyes widened. "The Brigadier has always been more of a friend than a boss really. I wonder if Haresh will be the same." His face crinkled as he winced. "Oh and he's our neighbour, and Rani's dad." He palmed his hand against his face. "This could be a complete disaster."
The Doctor never lost confidence, never panicked, so Oliver's display had mesmerized her. It only served to remind her that this wasn't the Doctor, this was Oliver. Her very human Oliver. That thought shook her a bit, but the meltdown going on in front of her forced her to not bother considering it too long, but instead to focus on him. She stood and positioned herself in front of him, "Oliver." She said once then realized he wasn't really seeing her. "Oliver," she repeated.
She reached out and stopped his pacing by settling her hands on his chest. She could feel his heart pounding in his chest. "I want you to breathe, before you pass out." She paused waiting to see if he responded, then breathed her own sigh of relief when he did. "In. Now out," she encouraged, repeating her words until his breathing fell in line with them. "Good. Now, you're going to be fine. I've known you for a long time."
She reached up to caress his cheek with one hand while keeping her other hand over his heart. "You can do whatever you set your mind to. You'll be a wonderful teacher and while I can't guarantee that every one of your students is going to adore you the way we do, I would be willing to wager more of them will than won't. You'll run interesting experiments, within reason to entertain them while you're teaching them. I know you can do it." She paused making certain he was seeing her now. "This panic, it's just a reaction. A normal human reaction." She emphasized the word 'human', wanting it to get through to him. "You're just not used to it."
Sarah's gentle voice and touch finally reached him. He felt his heart beat slowing and his confidence returning with her faith in him. "You all live with this all the time?" He shook his head in wonder.
"It's not always so bad," Sarah admitted, but didn't take her hands away from him. "It's completely natural when you're about to do something new."
Oliver nodded then caught sight of the clock on her wall. "Oy! That's something I'll never get used to." He was suddenly moving again, making his panic attack seem a thing of the past as he moved out of the kitchen.
"What's that?" Sarah followed him, a slight smile on her face. Human or not, he could still change tracks at the speed of light.
"Losing track of time. It's unnatural!" Oliver complained.
Sarah laughed. "Poor Oliver, so human," she teased.
"No need to be insulting." He took on a superior air just to poke at her.
"I thought you might need this." Sarah lifted a leather case that she'd dug out of the odds and ends she'd had stored in the attic and held it out to him. "You're going to need something to carry your papers in."
Oliver took the bag a bit hesitantly. When he'd taught at Deffry Vale, little details like this hadn't mattered because it was a means to an end, not a real job. Not his real job. He ran his fingers over the leather. He was really going to do this. Taking a deep breath, he beamed at Sarah. "Thank you, Sarah." Then he leaned in quickly and brushed his lips over hers. "Time to get going. I'll see you in time for tea tonight, dear."
The kiss caught Sarah off guard, but his playful almost married couple banter at the end had her scowling at him. "Now don't you go getting any ideas. If you want a proper tea you're going to have to make it, for both of us!" She called out the door, but the smile slowly crept back and stayed as she watched him start Bessie and wave before pulling out of the drive. She found herself waving back as she leaned against the door frame and felt the flush of warmth that came with knowing he was coming home to her tonight.
The drive to Park Vale was short enough that it was hardly worth the effort of driving Bessie there, but as he parked the little car he was glad he had. "Good girl," he smiled as he patted the dash. "This won't be so different from working with UNIT will it?" Sadly, Bessie couldn't whisper in his mind the way the TARDIS could, but there was an odd sort of comfort to having her there. He looked up at the school building and steeled himself. "Won't do to have another panic attack when Sarah's not here to bring you out of it," he mumbled. Still, he could almost hear her telling him to breathe and had to smile as he obeyed her instructions, realising that Sarah was with him as well. "Right then." He pulled the case off of the passenger seat and made his way to the school entrance before he could think about it too much.
The halls of the school were already thrumming with energy and life as he made his way through them. His discomfort faded completely as he dodged the many bodies moving around him and felt the contagious energy causing a smile to come to his face. "Oliver!" He heard Rani's voice above the sounds of mobiles going off, locker doors being slammed shut and footsteps running down the halls.
"Hello Rani!" Oliver twisted this way and that as he made his way to where Clyde and Rani waited. "Clyde! This is a bit different from Deffry Vale. Less orderly."
"Don't let Captain Bligh hear you say that. He'll want to know what they were doing different." Clyde smirked and was rewarded with a punch to his shoulder from Rani.
"Ah well, it was being run by big bat people using the children's souls to solve the godmaker. Sort of drained the energy of the place." He rocked back on his heels. "I like this better." He looked around, taking in his surroundings, especially making note of the artwork on the walls. This place wasn't sterile. "Much, much better."
"Well you'd best get to the office, before Dad decides you're not coming." Rani smiled as she nodded towards the door in front of them. "Allons-y and all that, right?"
"Right." Oliver's eyes narrowed. "Did Sarah call you?"
"Why would she do that?" Rani denied, but grinned. "In you go." She reached up and turned him by the shoulders, pushing him towards the door. "She says she's not making tea tonight, but she might be convinced to order in." She added as he pushed open the door and skidded through.
"Oy." Oliver scowled back over his shoulder as the door closed, but both Rani and Clyde were on the other side of the glass waving at him before walking away.
"Oliver." Haresh's voice drew his attention back to what he was meant to be doing. "Good morning."
"Yes, very good." Oliver turned his attention completely to Haresh. "Good morning to you too."
Haresh regarded him for a moment. He realised instantly that this Doctor of Sarah Jane's could exhaust him just with how much energy he seemed to have continuously. "I have to say your references were definitely glowing, though they asked that since you're obviously visiting Sarah Jane, you might spare them a few minutes."
"Ah well, already had tea with the Brigadier. As for the rest of them," Oliver wasn't really sure what he was going to do about the rest of them, however he'd already opened the barn door and let the horse out, "I'm certain we'll catch up with one another eventually."
"Well, let's get your paperwork done, then at the break I'll introduce you to your new colleagues and we'll get you started familiarizing yourself with your curriculum so you can take on your new class." Haresh led Oliver back to his own office where various pieces of paper were set out.
"Dreadful dull stuff," Oliver observed as Haresh explained each of the forms he was signing.
"Unfortunately necessary," Haresh agreed with a slight smile. It was obvious that Oliver wasn't much for formality. Normally it would have bothered him but he found himself liking Oliver.
"That's the last of it," Oliver said in relief as he stacked the papers and pushed them back to Haresh.
"It is," Haresh smiled. "Let me formally welcome you to the staff. Why don't I show you around the school and we should be back at the teacher's lounge in time for first break."
They strolled the halls at a leisurely pace, with the classes already in, there wasn't the press of bodies from earlier. Oliver taking in the information that Haresh supplied him at different points, but his own ideas kept bubbling to the surface. "I'm fully qualified for any of the sciences, though biology really isn't my cuppa, bit of..." He dropped off, thinking. "Well, I used to know this woman," he shuddered. "Bit of a mad scientist, sort of turned me off of the life sciences track. Chemisty, physics, I definitely prefer them." Haresh found himself mesmerized by Oliver's continuous soundtrack. "Oh, Luke was telling me that lunch time science club was a bit of a wash. I was thinking, we could have a robotics club instead. Still lots of science and maths, but everyone loves robots."
"Yes, I can see where that might be more popular than pure science," Haresh smiled slightly, caught up in the other man's enthusiasm.
"Oh and Sarah was telling me about that new block you lot had built a couple of years ago. You know with a little bit of work, that odd empty spot that those blighters padded their bill with," Oliver remembered the cover story that had been given to explain the empty rooms the Slitheen had left in schools across the globe. "With a bit of ingenuity it could be turned into a first rate workshop."
"Well we'd just been using it for storage," Haresh acknowledged, while noting that Oliver referred to Sarah Jane as simply Sarah. He imagined that Oliver didn't get the same reaction that Gita did to that. "But you're right, they could be easily converted. You wouldn't be interested in taking on some computing option courses as well?"
"Don't see why not," Oliver grinned. Feeling in his element here, so much he could teach and do, where being not quite a Time Lord wouldn't matter. "Might as well make myself useful."
Useful on the way to indispensable, Haresh thought to himself. Still he couldn't complain. If Oliver's enthusiasm was contagious, Park Vale would do very well indeed. "As promised, now I'll introduce you to some of your colleagues." He pushed open the lounge door. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to our newest staff member. This is Doctor Oliver Smith, he'll be taking on A level physics and chemistry. Possibly maths as well." There was a murmur from the assembled group.
"So long as I'm not stepping on anyone's toes," Oliver said amiably as he began shaking the hands of the various instructors who stepped up to introduce themselves.
"Oh I can't imagine you would be," A young, attractive blonde stepped into his view, her lashes fluttering over her cornflower blue eyes. "Deirdre Callum," she held out her hand.
"Nice to meet you." Oliver shook her hand, but his attention was elsewhere.
Haresh couldn't help but smile slightly. It was gratifying to see that Oliver wasn't distracted by a pretty face. In the last couple of years on Bannerman Road, he'd gotten to like Sarah Jane very much, and after the business of her aborted wedding the year before last, he didn't like the idea of her being hurt again. Especially since her friend Oliver was definitely the sort to attract female attention.
"Hallo," Oliver moved to a corner of the room where an older woman had her nose buried in a book. "Oliver Smith," he held out his hand.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance." The voice came from behind the large, leather bound book, but no hand appeared to shake his.
Undeterred, he slid his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels, as he cocked his head to examine the book as much as he could from a distance. "That's an interesting looking read." There was something here, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it.
"Oh, don't mind Vicki," Deirdre sidled up to Oliver once more. "She's our librarian."
The bell sounded, announcing the end of break. The woman with the book stood, completely ignoring Oliver and Deirdre as she slipped from the lounge. "Perhaps we could," Deirdre started, but with the sound of the bell Oliver's attention was back on Haresh, even as his eyes tracked the other woman leaving.
"So, curriculum then." His attention was never on the girl.