SJ Fic : A Change for Sarah Jane Smith Ch. 4 - Moving Forward
Title: A Change for Sarah Jane Smith 4/? - Moving Forward
Author: [info]lilahkat
Characters: Sarah Jane Smith, 10, Luke Smith, SJA Gang, UNIT Family, Josh, Nat, The Rani
Rating: M
Pairing: Sarah Jane / 10
Word count: 2209
Disclaimer: It all belongs to the Beeb. I'm just playing in their sandbox.
Summary: In the time vortex, Sarah Jane has no choice but associate with the enemy while the Doctor is left to act as a father figure to Luke.
Authors Note: Thanks to Spydurwebb for the extremely fast beta.
Given that Time Lords didn’t need nearly as much sleep as humans, Sarah had many hours in the day to realize that the Rani wasn’t lying about the chances of her being rescued at random from her TARDIS. “Oh come on,” she complained to the time machine, “I know you lot talk to people other than your Time Lord. You could at least keep me company.” She stroked the wall of the TARDIS and listened for its hum. “Fine then,” she huffed at it. “Be that way.”
“I’m afraid my Type 80 is a bit less personable than the Doctor’s Type 40,” the Rani kept her commentary non-confrontational as she stood in the doorway to the console room.
“So I noticed.” Sarah glared at its walls before turning her gaze nervously to her ‘host’.
“I’ve told you before, Sarah, you’re perfectly safe with me.” The Rani gestured towards the console room and disappeared through the doorway.
Becoming a Time Lord hadn’t changed one thing, her curiosity. Sarah slipped around behind the renegade but stayed well back of the console. “Sarah Jane,” she corrected. “There are not very many people I let call me Sarah.”
“I stand corrected.” The Rani glanced at the woman. “My actual name is Ushas. The Rani is a title I claimed much as the Doctor and the Master did. As you must know, names carry power.”
“No, not really,” Sarah shook her head. “I just don’t like people getting too familiar with me.”
“Because that too, is a form of power you withhold from them.” The Rani inclined her head as she considered Sarah Jane once more. “However, I invite you to call me Ushas. It will be pleasant to hear that name once more.”
“It’s Gallifreyan?” Sarah Jane asked, not certain that she wanted the dubious honour of referring to the renegade Time Lady by her given name.
“It is,” the Rani paused briefly. “It is something that you should learn, given time.”
“Apparently I have the time now.” Sarah sighed and moved slightly closer. “Couldn’t you just,” she stopped to gather her thoughts, “I don’t know , download the information you want me to have?”
“I could,” the Rani agreed, “It isn’t beyond our capability.” She could feel the tension in the room increasing, pushing against the former human’s curiosity. “For some of the information you need, it may be the most expedient method of learning, however there are other things, like the language, that will be better learned in a more traditional manner.”
“I don’t know that I want to learn anything from you.” Sarah remembered who she spoke to and reverted to a more hostile stance.
“So you’ve said.” The Rani knew there would be a back and forth between them for some time. Still, she wanted to keep the other woman listening. “Are you not curious about how I survived the Time War, Sarah Jane? Surely, you must have heard about that from the Doctor.”
“He said everyone died,” Sarah answered reluctantly. “I assume you were off planet, hiding.” Her disdain for that course of action was evident in her voice.
“There was no point in dying, Sarah Jane,” the Rani said, looking back at the other woman. “Not when it was so easy to survive. I found a race willing to give me shelter, one very much like yours. I used a chameleon arch to take their form.” The Time Lady continued her narrative, knowing that so long as the tale held Sarah’s interest, she wouldn’t have to worry about her heir’s attention wavering.
While Sarah Jane and the Rani were somewhere in the time vortex, the Doctor continued to co-ordinate efforts to locate the missing matriarch of his Earth bound family. He hadn’t realized just how important she had become to everyone personally, until she was gone. He paced around the room as he spoke into his mobile. “All right, Turlough. Or should I say Vizlor Turlough. I’m fairly certain you don’t make Sarah Jane call you by your proper title. Yeah, well she is prettier than me, but you haven’t seen me in a while. You trust Jack’s judgement? Well, there’s your first mistake. Alright, if you hear anything. Right, thanks.” He snapped shut his mobile.
“No love?” Clyde asked with a frown.
“He’s going to let us know, but so far,” the Doctor frowned and shook his head in the negative.
“In the past three Earth weeks, I have scanned the databases of over five thousand passing vessels and we have lodged several missing persons reports at various points in time with the Shadow Proclamation.” Mr. Smith’s normally monotone voice seemed to hold a note of sorrow.
“Oy,” the Doctor scowled at the Xyloc driven super-computer. “She’s out there and we’re going to find her.”
“I am merely trying to point out,” Mr. Smith tried again.
“OY!” This time the Doctor’s voice nearly crackled with anger. “She. Is. Out. There.”
Clyde decided distraction was the best option. “So, this Turlough, right? How would Sarah Jane know him?”
“Turlough is the leader of a planet called Trion,” the Doctor continued to scowl at the Xyloc’s supercomputer shell. “They have a habit of dropping their political prisoners here on Earth.”
“So we’re like Australia to them, then?” Clyde asked.
The Doctor grinned and turned towards his young friend. “Yeah, and you need to stop hiding all that clever you’ve got locked up in your head, Clyde Langer.” He tapped the boy’s forehead.
Clyde shrugged. “Yeah, that’s what Sarah Jane is always telling me too.” He paused. “So how are you going to get Luke to go back to Oxford? They gave him time off, but he’s going to have to go back soon or drop out for this semester. Sarah Jane wouldn’t like that.”
“I know,” the Doctor sighed. “I don’t think I can make him go, Clyde. I mean, how do I make him when I wouldn’t be able to make myself.” He thought of Luke, Sarah’s wonderful son camped out in his mother’s room. It reminded him of when he’d had to leave her behind, the hours he’d spent in her room, how he’d had the TARDIS reconfigure herself so that her room was adjacent to his own. Sarah Jane Smith was not easy to get over, no matter what she thought.
“You need to talk to him about it anyway,” Clyde offered. “Even if you don’t intend to make him go back right away, there needs to be a plan.”
The Doctor looked at Clyde in wonder. His advice was practical advice, and the Doctor could almost hear Sarah’s voice behind Clyde’s own. “You’re right, of course. Maybe you could check in with Alan and Nat while I’m with Luke.” The Doctor grinned a little at that. While doing their level best to keep it quiet, it was obvious to everyone that their two resident hackers had grown very friendly, more so than was to be expected given the long distance between them. He was fairly certain that Sarah Jane would be thrilled with that when she returned.
Clyde rolled his eyes, but was thankful for the small bit of positive news that a new couple gave to the group. “At least I don’t have to worry about them kissing.” He pulled a face then headed downstairs towards the lounge where Nat was working.
“Keep searching, Mr. Smith,” the Doctor requested, though his voice held a hint of warning as well, then he moved down the attic stairs to the level where all the bedrooms were. “Luke?” He tapped on Sarah’s bedroom door.
“I’m here, Doctor,” Luke’s voice was quiet and solemn.
The Time Lord pushed open the door and was struck by how exceedingly young Luke looked, curled on his mother’s bed, a stuffed owl cradled in his arms. “I won that for your mum, you know.” He poked the well-worn owl with one finger as he settled beside Luke on the bed. “Took her to a fun fair here on Earth. Back when I was all velvet and ruffles before I was all teeth and curls.” He grinned at the memory. “Tossing darts. Some horrible young fellow,” he smiled and snorted at himself as he fell back into his old pattern of speech then stopped himself. “Your mum’s date stood her up, so I offered to take her. She didn’t want to admit that she wanted someone to win her something, but I was always good at knowing what she needed, even if she didn’t want to admit it.”
Luke nodded slowly. “She trusted you, Doctor, no matter what. You were always special to her.”
“Oy, none of that past tense,” the Doctor tapped his arm. “I am going to get your mum back here. If she were gone, I mean really gone, I’d know.” He tapped his temple. “Up here. She’s out there, Lukey-boy.”
Luke nodded. “I’m not going back to school, Doctor. Not until Mum is home.”
“You know that’s not what your mum would want, right?” The Doctor’s tone held no judgement. Luke nodded once more. “All right, I’m not going to force you. Still, I think if we haven’t found your mum by the time your next semester starts then you should go back.”
“No,” Luke shook his head. “I won’t.”
“Look, Luke.” The Doctor paused and licked his lips. “I’ll make you a deal. If we haven’t found your mum before your next semester, you go on back to University.” He took a deep breath, knowing he was about to offer to exile himself. “I’ll stay here, at least until she’s home safe and sound, then even beyond that if she wants me.”
Luke’s gaze came up to the Doctor’s, widening for a moment as he realized how much it cost the Time Lord to offer that. Considering going back to University and continuing on if his mum weren’t back by then seemed unthinkable, but he knew the Doctor was right. She’d want him to carry on. “Doesn’t the universe need you, Doctor?”
“I reckon it can wait a little while.” The Doctor reassured Luke. “It’s like I told her back at the non-wedding. She’s important and not just to me.” He reached up and ran his hand over Luke’s hair.
“I wish,” Luke started.
“So do I sometimes,” the Doctor cut him off already knowing what the boy would say. “Let’s just concentrate on what we can do.” His nose wrinkled. “Like the fact that you need a shower.” He plucked the owl toy from the Luke’s arms. “Now you leave Owlie here and go deal with that terrible pong. I won’t even tell your mum if you use her bathroom.” He ruffled Luke’s hair again. “Off you go now.”
As the Doctor left the room, he found Wilf standing outside it. “You’re lucky I’m the one who came up to find you, son. After that, Jo would be back to thinking you were the lad’s dad without a doubt.”
“Bringing us more food?” The Doctor looked at the other man in amusement.
“Freezer’s so full, I don’t think your Sarah Jane’ll have to cook for months when she gets back.” Wilf had the same unconditional belief in the Doctor that Sarah did. “Plus Jo’s got some sort of mushroom stew on the table. Says it doesn’t freeze well.”
“Doesn’t Jo have a husband and grandchildren that should be driving her around?”
“Off saving the world aren’t they?” Wilf frowned. “Can’t help but think that’d be my Donna,” his words trailed off.
“It’s better the way it is, Wilf. Donna did more than her share already.” The Doctor shook his head. “You wouldn’t want her to be stuck like the rest of my companions are.”
“Stuck? When I was here the other day, they didn’t look stuck. They looked like a family, Doctor.” Wilf scowled at the other man.
“A family because they have no choice. Because of my interference their lives stalled out,” the Doctor spat.
“Now you’re talking about her, aren’t you?” Wilf read between the lines. “You think that boy in there isn’t enough for her?”
“Don’t get me wrong. Luke is everything I’d expect from Sarah Jane’s child.” He sighed. “It’s just she deserves so much more than just him. He deserves more.”
“So, when she gets back, you make sure she gets what she deserves.” To Wilf it seemed all too simple. “That they both get what they deserve.”
“I should have offered to leave Handy with her,” the Doctor said with a slight smile.
“You’re rubbish on your own,” Wilf said with a smile. “And it’s obvious that you’ve been a father before. From what you’ve told me about your Sarah Jane, she’s clever enough to share you with the universe. In fact from the stories I’ve been hearing, you’d probably have to share her just as much with the world. Two peas in a pod, the pair of you.”
“She’s my best friend,” the Doctor admitted. “Donna came close though. Donna and Sarah Jane would have got on like a house on fire you know. If they'd had time to get to know one another, that is. Neither one of them took me seriously.”
“Should they have?” Wilf asked with a grin.
Author: [info]lilahkat
Characters: Sarah Jane Smith, 10, Luke Smith, SJA Gang, UNIT Family, Josh, Nat, The Rani
Rating: M
Pairing: Sarah Jane / 10
Word count: 2209
Disclaimer: It all belongs to the Beeb. I'm just playing in their sandbox.
Summary: In the time vortex, Sarah Jane has no choice but associate with the enemy while the Doctor is left to act as a father figure to Luke.
Authors Note: Thanks to Spydurwebb for the extremely fast beta.
Given that Time Lords didn’t need nearly as much sleep as humans, Sarah had many hours in the day to realize that the Rani wasn’t lying about the chances of her being rescued at random from her TARDIS. “Oh come on,” she complained to the time machine, “I know you lot talk to people other than your Time Lord. You could at least keep me company.” She stroked the wall of the TARDIS and listened for its hum. “Fine then,” she huffed at it. “Be that way.”
“I’m afraid my Type 80 is a bit less personable than the Doctor’s Type 40,” the Rani kept her commentary non-confrontational as she stood in the doorway to the console room.
“So I noticed.” Sarah glared at its walls before turning her gaze nervously to her ‘host’.
“I’ve told you before, Sarah, you’re perfectly safe with me.” The Rani gestured towards the console room and disappeared through the doorway.
Becoming a Time Lord hadn’t changed one thing, her curiosity. Sarah slipped around behind the renegade but stayed well back of the console. “Sarah Jane,” she corrected. “There are not very many people I let call me Sarah.”
“I stand corrected.” The Rani glanced at the woman. “My actual name is Ushas. The Rani is a title I claimed much as the Doctor and the Master did. As you must know, names carry power.”
“No, not really,” Sarah shook her head. “I just don’t like people getting too familiar with me.”
“Because that too, is a form of power you withhold from them.” The Rani inclined her head as she considered Sarah Jane once more. “However, I invite you to call me Ushas. It will be pleasant to hear that name once more.”
“It’s Gallifreyan?” Sarah Jane asked, not certain that she wanted the dubious honour of referring to the renegade Time Lady by her given name.
“It is,” the Rani paused briefly. “It is something that you should learn, given time.”
“Apparently I have the time now.” Sarah sighed and moved slightly closer. “Couldn’t you just,” she stopped to gather her thoughts, “I don’t know , download the information you want me to have?”
“I could,” the Rani agreed, “It isn’t beyond our capability.” She could feel the tension in the room increasing, pushing against the former human’s curiosity. “For some of the information you need, it may be the most expedient method of learning, however there are other things, like the language, that will be better learned in a more traditional manner.”
“I don’t know that I want to learn anything from you.” Sarah remembered who she spoke to and reverted to a more hostile stance.
“So you’ve said.” The Rani knew there would be a back and forth between them for some time. Still, she wanted to keep the other woman listening. “Are you not curious about how I survived the Time War, Sarah Jane? Surely, you must have heard about that from the Doctor.”
“He said everyone died,” Sarah answered reluctantly. “I assume you were off planet, hiding.” Her disdain for that course of action was evident in her voice.
“There was no point in dying, Sarah Jane,” the Rani said, looking back at the other woman. “Not when it was so easy to survive. I found a race willing to give me shelter, one very much like yours. I used a chameleon arch to take their form.” The Time Lady continued her narrative, knowing that so long as the tale held Sarah’s interest, she wouldn’t have to worry about her heir’s attention wavering.
While Sarah Jane and the Rani were somewhere in the time vortex, the Doctor continued to co-ordinate efforts to locate the missing matriarch of his Earth bound family. He hadn’t realized just how important she had become to everyone personally, until she was gone. He paced around the room as he spoke into his mobile. “All right, Turlough. Or should I say Vizlor Turlough. I’m fairly certain you don’t make Sarah Jane call you by your proper title. Yeah, well she is prettier than me, but you haven’t seen me in a while. You trust Jack’s judgement? Well, there’s your first mistake. Alright, if you hear anything. Right, thanks.” He snapped shut his mobile.
“No love?” Clyde asked with a frown.
“He’s going to let us know, but so far,” the Doctor frowned and shook his head in the negative.
“In the past three Earth weeks, I have scanned the databases of over five thousand passing vessels and we have lodged several missing persons reports at various points in time with the Shadow Proclamation.” Mr. Smith’s normally monotone voice seemed to hold a note of sorrow.
“Oy,” the Doctor scowled at the Xyloc driven super-computer. “She’s out there and we’re going to find her.”
“I am merely trying to point out,” Mr. Smith tried again.
“OY!” This time the Doctor’s voice nearly crackled with anger. “She. Is. Out. There.”
Clyde decided distraction was the best option. “So, this Turlough, right? How would Sarah Jane know him?”
“Turlough is the leader of a planet called Trion,” the Doctor continued to scowl at the Xyloc’s supercomputer shell. “They have a habit of dropping their political prisoners here on Earth.”
“So we’re like Australia to them, then?” Clyde asked.
The Doctor grinned and turned towards his young friend. “Yeah, and you need to stop hiding all that clever you’ve got locked up in your head, Clyde Langer.” He tapped the boy’s forehead.
Clyde shrugged. “Yeah, that’s what Sarah Jane is always telling me too.” He paused. “So how are you going to get Luke to go back to Oxford? They gave him time off, but he’s going to have to go back soon or drop out for this semester. Sarah Jane wouldn’t like that.”
“I know,” the Doctor sighed. “I don’t think I can make him go, Clyde. I mean, how do I make him when I wouldn’t be able to make myself.” He thought of Luke, Sarah’s wonderful son camped out in his mother’s room. It reminded him of when he’d had to leave her behind, the hours he’d spent in her room, how he’d had the TARDIS reconfigure herself so that her room was adjacent to his own. Sarah Jane Smith was not easy to get over, no matter what she thought.
“You need to talk to him about it anyway,” Clyde offered. “Even if you don’t intend to make him go back right away, there needs to be a plan.”
The Doctor looked at Clyde in wonder. His advice was practical advice, and the Doctor could almost hear Sarah’s voice behind Clyde’s own. “You’re right, of course. Maybe you could check in with Alan and Nat while I’m with Luke.” The Doctor grinned a little at that. While doing their level best to keep it quiet, it was obvious to everyone that their two resident hackers had grown very friendly, more so than was to be expected given the long distance between them. He was fairly certain that Sarah Jane would be thrilled with that when she returned.
Clyde rolled his eyes, but was thankful for the small bit of positive news that a new couple gave to the group. “At least I don’t have to worry about them kissing.” He pulled a face then headed downstairs towards the lounge where Nat was working.
“Keep searching, Mr. Smith,” the Doctor requested, though his voice held a hint of warning as well, then he moved down the attic stairs to the level where all the bedrooms were. “Luke?” He tapped on Sarah’s bedroom door.
“I’m here, Doctor,” Luke’s voice was quiet and solemn.
The Time Lord pushed open the door and was struck by how exceedingly young Luke looked, curled on his mother’s bed, a stuffed owl cradled in his arms. “I won that for your mum, you know.” He poked the well-worn owl with one finger as he settled beside Luke on the bed. “Took her to a fun fair here on Earth. Back when I was all velvet and ruffles before I was all teeth and curls.” He grinned at the memory. “Tossing darts. Some horrible young fellow,” he smiled and snorted at himself as he fell back into his old pattern of speech then stopped himself. “Your mum’s date stood her up, so I offered to take her. She didn’t want to admit that she wanted someone to win her something, but I was always good at knowing what she needed, even if she didn’t want to admit it.”
Luke nodded slowly. “She trusted you, Doctor, no matter what. You were always special to her.”
“Oy, none of that past tense,” the Doctor tapped his arm. “I am going to get your mum back here. If she were gone, I mean really gone, I’d know.” He tapped his temple. “Up here. She’s out there, Lukey-boy.”
Luke nodded. “I’m not going back to school, Doctor. Not until Mum is home.”
“You know that’s not what your mum would want, right?” The Doctor’s tone held no judgement. Luke nodded once more. “All right, I’m not going to force you. Still, I think if we haven’t found your mum by the time your next semester starts then you should go back.”
“No,” Luke shook his head. “I won’t.”
“Look, Luke.” The Doctor paused and licked his lips. “I’ll make you a deal. If we haven’t found your mum before your next semester, you go on back to University.” He took a deep breath, knowing he was about to offer to exile himself. “I’ll stay here, at least until she’s home safe and sound, then even beyond that if she wants me.”
Luke’s gaze came up to the Doctor’s, widening for a moment as he realized how much it cost the Time Lord to offer that. Considering going back to University and continuing on if his mum weren’t back by then seemed unthinkable, but he knew the Doctor was right. She’d want him to carry on. “Doesn’t the universe need you, Doctor?”
“I reckon it can wait a little while.” The Doctor reassured Luke. “It’s like I told her back at the non-wedding. She’s important and not just to me.” He reached up and ran his hand over Luke’s hair.
“I wish,” Luke started.
“So do I sometimes,” the Doctor cut him off already knowing what the boy would say. “Let’s just concentrate on what we can do.” His nose wrinkled. “Like the fact that you need a shower.” He plucked the owl toy from the Luke’s arms. “Now you leave Owlie here and go deal with that terrible pong. I won’t even tell your mum if you use her bathroom.” He ruffled Luke’s hair again. “Off you go now.”
As the Doctor left the room, he found Wilf standing outside it. “You’re lucky I’m the one who came up to find you, son. After that, Jo would be back to thinking you were the lad’s dad without a doubt.”
“Bringing us more food?” The Doctor looked at the other man in amusement.
“Freezer’s so full, I don’t think your Sarah Jane’ll have to cook for months when she gets back.” Wilf had the same unconditional belief in the Doctor that Sarah did. “Plus Jo’s got some sort of mushroom stew on the table. Says it doesn’t freeze well.”
“Doesn’t Jo have a husband and grandchildren that should be driving her around?”
“Off saving the world aren’t they?” Wilf frowned. “Can’t help but think that’d be my Donna,” his words trailed off.
“It’s better the way it is, Wilf. Donna did more than her share already.” The Doctor shook his head. “You wouldn’t want her to be stuck like the rest of my companions are.”
“Stuck? When I was here the other day, they didn’t look stuck. They looked like a family, Doctor.” Wilf scowled at the other man.
“A family because they have no choice. Because of my interference their lives stalled out,” the Doctor spat.
“Now you’re talking about her, aren’t you?” Wilf read between the lines. “You think that boy in there isn’t enough for her?”
“Don’t get me wrong. Luke is everything I’d expect from Sarah Jane’s child.” He sighed. “It’s just she deserves so much more than just him. He deserves more.”
“So, when she gets back, you make sure she gets what she deserves.” To Wilf it seemed all too simple. “That they both get what they deserve.”
“I should have offered to leave Handy with her,” the Doctor said with a slight smile.
“You’re rubbish on your own,” Wilf said with a smile. “And it’s obvious that you’ve been a father before. From what you’ve told me about your Sarah Jane, she’s clever enough to share you with the universe. In fact from the stories I’ve been hearing, you’d probably have to share her just as much with the world. Two peas in a pod, the pair of you.”
“She’s my best friend,” the Doctor admitted. “Donna came close though. Donna and Sarah Jane would have got on like a house on fire you know. If they'd had time to get to know one another, that is. Neither one of them took me seriously.”
“Should they have?” Wilf asked with a grin.