SJ Fic: Life As It Happens Chapter 4/? - Hide and Seek
Title: Life As It Happens Chapter 4/? - Hide and Seek
Author: lilahkat
Characters: Sarah Jane Smith, Duplicate 10 (Oliver), Luke Smith, Clyde Langer, Rani Chandra, K-9, Mr. Smith, Liz Shaw
Rating: M
Pairing(s): Sarah Jane / Duplicate 10
Word count: 3746
Disclaimer: The BBC owns the Universe.
Summary: A high stakes game of hide and seek coupled with a child's illness, could make anyone, even Sarah Jane's behaviour change. Or is it only that.
Author's Note:
Thank you to Sue, Nastasha and Stella for your contributions to this chapter. Without all of you, this wouldn't be half as good as it is.
I apologize in advance to my readers.
This time the sheer terror a mother feels for her son had Sarah Jane arriving at the top of the stairs before Oliver, though he was close behind her. Clyde was crouched beside Luke's prone body and Sarah dropped down as well. "What happened?"
"We were joking and then it was like he just got dizzy and he fell," Clyde swallowed hard.
Sarah Jane reached out and touched Luke's cheek. "He's burning up," her voice was panicked. "He almost never gets sick. The last time was the rakweed. The Bane gave him perfect health."
"I know, Sarah." Oliver caught and held her gaze. "We're going to figure this out. I may not be the Doctor but I have all his memories up until the time we were split apart," he paused. "I'm not going to let anything happen to Luke." He slid his arms beneath the boy. "I need to get his temperature down. Go on upstairs and get Mr. Smith on the case."
"You don't need to be the Doctor, Oliver." Sarah said gratefully, then ran up the rest of the stairs.
For a moment, Oliver stood still watching after her then he sprang into motion again. "Come on Clyde, I need you to run a cold bath for Luke. I'll get him undressed then you're going to need to keep an eye on him while I go see what Mr. Smith has to say on what's going on."
"Right," Clyde moved into the bathroom ahead of Oliver and turned the tap onto pure cold water after putting in the plug.
"Help me with his clothing." Oliver called Clyde back to him. "Mainly his shirt, socks and shoes."
"Not that I want to," Clyde turned his attention to helping Oliver get Luke mostly undressed, " but wouldn't it be better if we completely undressed him?"
"It doesn't really matter for our purposes, Clyde. We just need his temperature to come down. It's dangerously high." Oliver kept his tone neutral, but that in itself told Clyde how bad things were.
"So why bother undressing him at all?" Clyde asked as he helped the older man lift his friend into the cold bath.
"It let me check for rashes," Oliver smiled at the other boy. "I meant what I told Sarah, Clyde. Nothing is going to happen to Luke."
"I know," Clyde nodded at Oliver, "You didn't let anything happen to Sarah Jane either. You've still got the world saving thing going on - even if it's just their worlds."
"My world actually," Oliver admitted softly. "Keep an eye on him, Clyde. I'm going to go up to see what Sarah and Mr. Smith have found."
Oliver raced up the stairs the rest of the way to the attic, pushing open the door and coming in to find Sarah bracing herself against Mr. Smith's console, the hunch of her shoulders immediately putting him on alert. "They won't let me help Luke."
"Who won't?" Oliver's voice became tense with the immediate flare of anger he felt.
"The aliens… The refugees. They say his initial symptoms - going from well to fainting with an intense fever is a childhood disease amongst their people," her eyes were full of the anguish she felt as she spoke. "Their healers may be able to help him but they won't allow me to go with him to Moreton Harwood."
Oliver shook his head, "Because of their fears of females." He breathed out angrily, but couldn't blame the aliens given their circumstances. "I'll go Sarah. I'll go and take Luke to them in Bessie. I'll take K-9 as well, that way we can work with you and Mr. Smith…"
"Sarah Jane," the alien super computer called out, "the ths'Tain have reached orbit and they are scanning for the refugees."
"No!" Sarah called out. "Whatever you have to do, Mr. Smith, do not allow those aliens to find the refugees. They'll destroy them and aside from everything else, they're Luke's best hope."
"Attempting to block their scans," Mr. Smith confirmed his initial actions.
"It's never simple is it?" Oliver scowled.
"I will not be able to assist with the analysis of the disease that is afflicting Luke and hold back the ths'Tain." Mr. Smith added to the conversation. "As well, I will only be able to continue to block their scans for the next 10.35 minutes."
"Mr. Smith, can you duplicate the life signs of the alien refugees?" Sarah Jane asked suddenly.
The supercomputer was silent for a few moments then finally spoke. "I can."
"Can you transmit them through to our mobiles?" Sarah continued as her plan began to form.
"Yes, though to maintain continuous readings I will not be able to transmit to more than two mobiles at once." Mr. Smith warned of his limitations.
"That's fine, Mr. Smith," Sarah assured the Xyloc then turned her attention to Oliver, "You go to Moreton Harwood with Luke. My aunt's old equipment should still be there either in the study or packed in the attic. It may be antiquated but it will be better than nothing." She picked up a piece of paper and quickly wrote out a number on it. "Sir Alistair gave her my number during the entire Bubbleshock mess. She gave me that as a way to contact her if I needed to."
Oliver took the paper and opened it, then grinned. "Liz Shaw. Oh yes, she should be able to help quite a lot." He cocked his head curiously. "What are you going to do?"
"Clyde, Rani and I are going to be killdeer," Sarah grinned.
"Killdeer?" Oliver's brow furrowed then his eyes widened. "No. No, Sarah Jane, you're going to be drawing those alien's attention right down on you."
"And we have no choice," Sarah took Oliver's hand. "Please, between the two of us, you're the one who is more likely to be help for Liz - never mind that the refugees don't want me there. She's not going to be able to come down from the Moon Base, so she's going to need you to be her hands here. It's going to be hard enough with my aunt's equipment." She paused. "We'll be alright. We're going to stay ahead of them and we're going to lead them a merry chase."
After a moment, Oliver nodded. "Course you will. You'll be brilliant. All of you."
"Thank you," Sarah's words were heartfelt. "Mr. Smith, call Rani and get her here. Then start transmitting through Clyde and my mobiles."
"Calling," the computer intoned.
"I'm going to get Luke and K-9 and get going." Oliver held her gaze. "Be careful."
"I will," Sarah nodded.
The former Timelord came down the stairs, coming into the bathroom to find Clyde holding Luke's hand. "He was muttering to himself. Thought it would be better if he knew he wasn't alone."
Oliver nodded. "Good job, Clyde." He didn't want the boy to feel oddly about offering comfort to his friend and taking comfort in return. "Help me get him out of the bath and then get me a blanket and some warm clothing for him as well."
"Right," Clyde agreed as he moved to reverse what they'd just done. "So what was the point?"
"His temperature is down a bit," Oliver confirmed, "which is what we needed. I'm taking him to Moreton Harwood. He's got some sort of childhood disease these aliens get."
"So an outer space version of the chicken pox then?" Clyde looked alarmed. "Doesn't that mean we've all been exposed?"
Oliver scowled. "Damn, you're right. Look, the other aliens…"
"The bad guys," Clyde looked excited now.
"Yeah," Oliver agreed. "They're in orbit now. You're going to go and help Sarah - but I need you to keep an eye on her and Rani alright?"
"Aren't I more likely to be infected?" Clyde frowned.
"Yeah, but you're going to ask Rani to keep an eye on you and Sarah, alright?" Oliver instructed. "Rani's the only one that has the least possible exposure."
"Right," Clyde nodded, then looked down at Luke. "You're going to be alright, Lukey-Boy." He met Oliver's gaze then jogged out of the bathroom.
Oliver heard footsteps a few moments later but instinctively knew from the sound of them that they weren't Clyde. He looked up to meet the eyes of a concerned mother. "How is he?"
"His temperature is down," Oliver assured her, "We'll get him through this Sarah."
"I know," she nodded then knelt down beside Oliver and Luke, running her hand along her son's cheek.
"Wha…" Luke's eyes opened and he looked up at Sarah Jane blearily.
Sarah forced a smile. "See, you should have listened to me about going back to school."
Luke tried to speak, but could only manage a weak nod and pressed his cheek into his mother's palm before his eyes fluttered shut.
"Luke," the distress in Sarah's voice broke Oliver's heart.
He pulled her into his arms and held her tight for a moment. "He's going to be fine, Sarah. I promise you."
"I know," she murmured as she buried her nose into his neck and felt his strong hands rubbing her back soothingly.
They heard K-9 hovering in ahead of Clyde, who carried the requested clothing and blanket, before they saw him. "What has happened to Master Luke?" K-9 demanded.
"That we're going to find out, K-9." Oliver answered the robot dog as he released Sarah from his embrace, "You and I."
Sarah Jane pulled back and stood up, visibly steeling herself. "Give those to Oliver, Clyde and come with me."
"Right," Clyde turned to follow Sarah Jane as she slipped from the bathroom and headed back up to the attic to finish making preparations.
"Keep her safe, Clyde," he said softly so Sarah wouldn't hear as the boy went to go. Clyde nodded quickly then disappeared out the door. Oliver could hear Clyde's footsteps going up the stairs but focused on getting Luke into dry clothing and wrapped in the blanket.
Luke moaned unintelligibly once again. "It's alright, son." Oliver said reassuringly, wanting the boy to know he was with him. "We're going to get you fixed up." He slid his arms beneath the slight form of the boy then lifted him up and headed down the stairs. "K-9 and I are going to take you to Moreton Harwood."
"Mum?" Luke managed to force out.
"She's going to do what she does best." Oliver assured the boy as he carried him out to Bessie.
Rani crossed the road just in time to see Oliver pulling out and putting Bessie into high gear, regardless of the speed limits. She came to the front door just as it swung open to reveal Sarah Jane and Clyde.
"Everything is shut off in the kitchen, Sarah Jane." Clyde advised.
"Get into the car," Sarah's tone was short. "We need to get moving."
"Why?" Rani looked concerned.
"Moving target," Clyde looked skyward, worried that there would be bolts coming from the sky.
"Moving target?" Rani's eyes now widened.
"Yeah, we're pretending to be the refugees and being really obvious about it." Clyde opened the passenger side door and pulled the seat forward to let Rani in. "Hopefully we'll last long enough to let Oliver come up with a cure for whatever it is Luke's got."
"And what happens after that?" Rani asked as she leaned forward while Clyde slid into the car and pulled the door shut.
"No idea, Rani." Sarah Jane said as she backed the car down the drive and into the street. "We're making this up as we go along."
The teens shared a glance and shook their heads. When weren't they making things up as they went along?
Once Oliver was outside of London, he engaged the alien technology in the car and kicked it into overdrive, cutting down the time to arrive at Moreton Harwood.
"Master Oliver," K-9 spoke up. "Master Luke's life signs are stable but his body temperature is rising again."
"We're here," Oliver tore into the driveway and brought the car to a sudden stop in front of the door. He jumped out and slipped around to the other side - Bessie's door-less sides making it much easier to free Luke from the car and carry him inside, K-9 rolling along behind them.
The healers met them at the door. "Welcome Oliver. Your mate contacted us. We are prepared for your cub." The tiger striped cat creature reached out with a soft paw to touch Luke's cheek. "We have cooling units that we use for our younglings with the disease."
"Our cub," Oliver stressed, annoyed that Sarah Jane couldn't be here even if he understood the why and how of the situation.
"Of course, forgive us." The healer went ahead of Oliver opening the blanket like device so that Luke could be set in it. "Our females do not claim the cubs in our society, except in legends."
"Yes," Oliver sighed, "I'm sorry. It's just, he's our only cub." He reached out and stroked Luke's hair.
"This disease is not often fatal," the healer tried to be reassuring. "We would offer the medicines that we use - but we do not think they would be appropriate for your species."
"And it's not going to be fatal this time," Oliver sprang into action, shedding his jacket. "That is why K-9," he gestured at the robot dog, "is going to analyse your medicines, while I go rooting about to find Lavinia's old virology equipment and then K-9, I'm likely going to need your assistance to set up a link with the Moon Base if I can convince Liz to help out."
"Affirmative, Master," K-9's antennae swivelled as his attention focused on the alien healer. "Please bring me samples of your medicines for chemical analysis. I will continue to monitor Master Luke's life signs."
"Good dog, K-9." Oliver grinned, liking the loyalty that his old friend showed his son.
Leaving Luke in K-9's capable care, Oliver started poking his head into each door, hoping to find the equipment still set up. When he found a room that was still firmly locked, he grinned. "A habit of a lifetime that I would have had if I had Sarah Jane Smith as a ward." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and focused it on the lock. There was a click and the door swung open to a fully equipped if somewhat dusty lab.
"I'm going to need some volunteers to clean up the laboratory," Oliver came out and addressed the healer. "Very carefully, mind you."
"I will have my apprentices see to it," the alien began to speak to his subordinates in their own language.
"It's the room at the end of the hallway, past the kitchen that way," Oliver pointed towards the lab, "and what have you found, K-9?"
"All available medicines are only usable for supportive treatment," K-9 advised. "Several are not safe for use on human species however we have administered those that would be beneficial. Master Luke is currently stable and his body temperature, while high, is within acceptable limits."
"Right, time to call in the big guns." Oliver said as he pulled out his mobile and the paper that Sarah had written Liz's number on. He dialled her number quickly and couldn't suppress his grin when he heard her voice.
"Liz Shaw." A slightly annoyed sounding Liz echoed through the mobile's speaker. "I do hope you realise that you're interrupting an important experiment."
"Well, I wouldn't have contacted you if it wasn't life or death." Oliver said sounding bemused. "I'm certainly not looking to have you make me a cup of tea or hand me a test tube."
"Oliver Smith then, I presume?" Liz sounded vaguely smug knowing she would have shocked the man on the other end of the phone. "News like you does travel quite quickly in the circles Sarah Jane belongs to."
Oliver shook it off and sighed. "Not entirely certain Sarah is ready to come out about us to everyone yet."
"I was sworn to secrecy, but I wouldn't count on it remaining a secret for very long - and Sarah Jane should know that." Liz assured him. "So what is this matter of grave importance?"
"Luke. Sarah Jane's son has contracted an alien virus from some refugees." Oliver breathed out a bit unsteadily.
"That's the boy that she found at that soda plant that the Bane were running? I thought he was engineered for perfect health." Liz scowled. "Of course, there's no telling what mischief an alien virus could get up to. Or alien bacteria for that matter. Do you know what it is?"
"Let me put you on speaker phone. I'm certain K-9 has more data for you, Liz." Oliver said as he pressed the speaker button and knelt beside K-9. "K-9, I'd like you to meet Liz Shaw."
"Greetings, Mistress Liz." K-9's ears swivelled. "Master Luke has contracted an alien virus." In rapid fashion he began to provide all the data he'd derived from his scans of his young master.
"Very interesting and helpful friend you have there, Oliver." Liz commented. "Though I really want to know what you and Sarah Jane are playing at. It was bound to happen sooner or later. She isn't the Doctor and, frankly, neither are you."
"I know, I know. I promise we'll be more careful in the future." Oliver said defensively. "If you'll just help us this time."
"No you won't and neither will Sarah Jane." Liz sighed. "Any more than Alistair would. Do you have access to a lab? I can't come down there you know. And can your friend create an uplink with my network here?"
"K-9?" Oliver grinned, certain that K-9 wouldn't have any problems with that.
"Creating uplink now, Master." K-9 confirmed.
"Well, that was quick," Liz commented. "Now I don't suppose you have a lab do you?"
"Actually, we're at Sarah's Aunt Lavinia's old house." Oliver grinned.
"Thinking ahead, at least you're doing something right." Liz said. "Alright, you're going to need to take blood samples and I hope her equipment won't be too antiquated. Or that we'll need fluids other than blood. Call me back when you've done some base analysis. I'm going to see if I can use your friend's uplink to focus a transmat link."
"Brilliant, Liz. Did I ever tell you how brilliant you are? Of course, I didn't. But you were. You are." Oliver grinned.
"Yes, yes. I'm brilliant. It would mean more if you weren't saying it when you needed my help." Liz sounded vaguely amused. "Get to work."
"Right. Right." Oliver nodded and clicked off the phone. "You heard the woman, K-9. Allons-y!"
Meanwhile Clyde began to worry about Sarah Jane as they drove in no particular direction except in the opposite direction from Moreton Harwood.
Sarah Jane leaned into the horn, "Get out of the way." She scowled at the car in front of her, then tapped the hands free button and dialled Mr. Smith. "Mr. Smith, what are those things doing now?" The tone as she said 'things' made both Clyde and Rani look at each other in apprehension.
"If you are referring to the ths'Tain, they are tracking your movements. I have amplified the life sign traces that the mobiles are transmitting so they will focus on your location rather than Moreton Harwood." Mr. Smith advised.
"Good," Sarah snapped. "Let me know the instant anything changes, Mr. Smith, and I mean anything." There was an undercurrent of distrust in her voice.
"Of course, Sarah Jane," Mr. Smith responded, but there was a tone in his voice that communicated his concern as well.
"Uhm, Sarah Jane," Rani leaned forward. "I think we have to stop for petrol."
"What?" Sarah glared at the girl for a moment causing her to shrink back then the traffic began to move and her eyes moved to the dash where she saw the petrol light had lit. "Damn it." She slammed her fist against the console then scanned for the nearest station. She crossed traffic aggressively then pulled into the pump. "You," she focused on Clyde almost snarling, "get out and fill the tank."
"Right," Clyde agreed quickly and slid out to do what Sarah Jane said.
Once Sarah left the car and went into the station to pay, Rani leaned the passenger side seat forward so she could lean out the window. "Clyde, this is more than just stress about Luke."
"I know. I know." Clyde agreed as his eyes went to the station but finished pumping and hung the nozzle. "She's not acting like herself. She's aggressive. Almost scary."
"Really scary." Rani swallowed hard. "Do you think it's what Luke has? Maybe we should call Oliver."
"Doesn't make sense. It's not the same symptoms." Clyde shook his head then saw Sarah Jane coming back. "Get back in," he hissed at Rani as he moved to open the passenger side door.
Sarah glared at both of them. "Talking about me are you? You can get out whenever you want. I don't need either of you."
"No, we're coming with you." Clyde met her gaze and didn't flinch. After a moment, Sarah Jane nodded then turned her attention to pulling out of the station.
There was a sudden flash of light and an armoured insectoid lizard creature appeared to the side of their car. This wasn't as surprising to the occupants of the vehicle of the car as it might have been, what did surprise them was instead of driving away as quickly as they could, Sarah Jane aimed the car at the alien and accelerated.
"NO!" Clyde yelled out as he reached across and yanked on the steering wheel, causing the car to veer away from its target.
Sarah Jane slammed on the breaks as the alien transmatted away. "Why did you do that? The thing got away."
"Can you hear yourself Sarah Jane?" Clyde asked as calmly as he could manage. "There's always a better way, yeah?"
For a moment the expression on Sarah Jane's face was unchanged, then her eyes widened and her expression became stricken. "Oh my… I don't know what's happening." She shook her head. "It's like I can't think."
"It's going to be okay, Sarah Jane." Clyde touched her shoulder reassuringly as he took the mobile that wasn't being used to transmit the alien life signs and dialled a familiar number. As soon as Oliver picked up he spoke. "Oliver, its Clyde. I think we've got a problem."
Author: lilahkat
Characters: Sarah Jane Smith, Duplicate 10 (Oliver), Luke Smith, Clyde Langer, Rani Chandra, K-9, Mr. Smith, Liz Shaw
Rating: M
Pairing(s): Sarah Jane / Duplicate 10
Word count: 3746
Disclaimer: The BBC owns the Universe.
Summary: A high stakes game of hide and seek coupled with a child's illness, could make anyone, even Sarah Jane's behaviour change. Or is it only that.
Author's Note:
Thank you to Sue, Nastasha and Stella for your contributions to this chapter. Without all of you, this wouldn't be half as good as it is.
I apologize in advance to my readers.
This time the sheer terror a mother feels for her son had Sarah Jane arriving at the top of the stairs before Oliver, though he was close behind her. Clyde was crouched beside Luke's prone body and Sarah dropped down as well. "What happened?"
"We were joking and then it was like he just got dizzy and he fell," Clyde swallowed hard.
Sarah Jane reached out and touched Luke's cheek. "He's burning up," her voice was panicked. "He almost never gets sick. The last time was the rakweed. The Bane gave him perfect health."
"I know, Sarah." Oliver caught and held her gaze. "We're going to figure this out. I may not be the Doctor but I have all his memories up until the time we were split apart," he paused. "I'm not going to let anything happen to Luke." He slid his arms beneath the boy. "I need to get his temperature down. Go on upstairs and get Mr. Smith on the case."
"You don't need to be the Doctor, Oliver." Sarah said gratefully, then ran up the rest of the stairs.
For a moment, Oliver stood still watching after her then he sprang into motion again. "Come on Clyde, I need you to run a cold bath for Luke. I'll get him undressed then you're going to need to keep an eye on him while I go see what Mr. Smith has to say on what's going on."
"Right," Clyde moved into the bathroom ahead of Oliver and turned the tap onto pure cold water after putting in the plug.
"Help me with his clothing." Oliver called Clyde back to him. "Mainly his shirt, socks and shoes."
"Not that I want to," Clyde turned his attention to helping Oliver get Luke mostly undressed, " but wouldn't it be better if we completely undressed him?"
"It doesn't really matter for our purposes, Clyde. We just need his temperature to come down. It's dangerously high." Oliver kept his tone neutral, but that in itself told Clyde how bad things were.
"So why bother undressing him at all?" Clyde asked as he helped the older man lift his friend into the cold bath.
"It let me check for rashes," Oliver smiled at the other boy. "I meant what I told Sarah, Clyde. Nothing is going to happen to Luke."
"I know," Clyde nodded at Oliver, "You didn't let anything happen to Sarah Jane either. You've still got the world saving thing going on - even if it's just their worlds."
"My world actually," Oliver admitted softly. "Keep an eye on him, Clyde. I'm going to go up to see what Sarah and Mr. Smith have found."
Oliver raced up the stairs the rest of the way to the attic, pushing open the door and coming in to find Sarah bracing herself against Mr. Smith's console, the hunch of her shoulders immediately putting him on alert. "They won't let me help Luke."
"Who won't?" Oliver's voice became tense with the immediate flare of anger he felt.
"The aliens… The refugees. They say his initial symptoms - going from well to fainting with an intense fever is a childhood disease amongst their people," her eyes were full of the anguish she felt as she spoke. "Their healers may be able to help him but they won't allow me to go with him to Moreton Harwood."
Oliver shook his head, "Because of their fears of females." He breathed out angrily, but couldn't blame the aliens given their circumstances. "I'll go Sarah. I'll go and take Luke to them in Bessie. I'll take K-9 as well, that way we can work with you and Mr. Smith…"
"Sarah Jane," the alien super computer called out, "the ths'Tain have reached orbit and they are scanning for the refugees."
"No!" Sarah called out. "Whatever you have to do, Mr. Smith, do not allow those aliens to find the refugees. They'll destroy them and aside from everything else, they're Luke's best hope."
"Attempting to block their scans," Mr. Smith confirmed his initial actions.
"It's never simple is it?" Oliver scowled.
"I will not be able to assist with the analysis of the disease that is afflicting Luke and hold back the ths'Tain." Mr. Smith added to the conversation. "As well, I will only be able to continue to block their scans for the next 10.35 minutes."
"Mr. Smith, can you duplicate the life signs of the alien refugees?" Sarah Jane asked suddenly.
The supercomputer was silent for a few moments then finally spoke. "I can."
"Can you transmit them through to our mobiles?" Sarah continued as her plan began to form.
"Yes, though to maintain continuous readings I will not be able to transmit to more than two mobiles at once." Mr. Smith warned of his limitations.
"That's fine, Mr. Smith," Sarah assured the Xyloc then turned her attention to Oliver, "You go to Moreton Harwood with Luke. My aunt's old equipment should still be there either in the study or packed in the attic. It may be antiquated but it will be better than nothing." She picked up a piece of paper and quickly wrote out a number on it. "Sir Alistair gave her my number during the entire Bubbleshock mess. She gave me that as a way to contact her if I needed to."
Oliver took the paper and opened it, then grinned. "Liz Shaw. Oh yes, she should be able to help quite a lot." He cocked his head curiously. "What are you going to do?"
"Clyde, Rani and I are going to be killdeer," Sarah grinned.
"Killdeer?" Oliver's brow furrowed then his eyes widened. "No. No, Sarah Jane, you're going to be drawing those alien's attention right down on you."
"And we have no choice," Sarah took Oliver's hand. "Please, between the two of us, you're the one who is more likely to be help for Liz - never mind that the refugees don't want me there. She's not going to be able to come down from the Moon Base, so she's going to need you to be her hands here. It's going to be hard enough with my aunt's equipment." She paused. "We'll be alright. We're going to stay ahead of them and we're going to lead them a merry chase."
After a moment, Oliver nodded. "Course you will. You'll be brilliant. All of you."
"Thank you," Sarah's words were heartfelt. "Mr. Smith, call Rani and get her here. Then start transmitting through Clyde and my mobiles."
"Calling," the computer intoned.
"I'm going to get Luke and K-9 and get going." Oliver held her gaze. "Be careful."
"I will," Sarah nodded.
The former Timelord came down the stairs, coming into the bathroom to find Clyde holding Luke's hand. "He was muttering to himself. Thought it would be better if he knew he wasn't alone."
Oliver nodded. "Good job, Clyde." He didn't want the boy to feel oddly about offering comfort to his friend and taking comfort in return. "Help me get him out of the bath and then get me a blanket and some warm clothing for him as well."
"Right," Clyde agreed as he moved to reverse what they'd just done. "So what was the point?"
"His temperature is down a bit," Oliver confirmed, "which is what we needed. I'm taking him to Moreton Harwood. He's got some sort of childhood disease these aliens get."
"So an outer space version of the chicken pox then?" Clyde looked alarmed. "Doesn't that mean we've all been exposed?"
Oliver scowled. "Damn, you're right. Look, the other aliens…"
"The bad guys," Clyde looked excited now.
"Yeah," Oliver agreed. "They're in orbit now. You're going to go and help Sarah - but I need you to keep an eye on her and Rani alright?"
"Aren't I more likely to be infected?" Clyde frowned.
"Yeah, but you're going to ask Rani to keep an eye on you and Sarah, alright?" Oliver instructed. "Rani's the only one that has the least possible exposure."
"Right," Clyde nodded, then looked down at Luke. "You're going to be alright, Lukey-Boy." He met Oliver's gaze then jogged out of the bathroom.
Oliver heard footsteps a few moments later but instinctively knew from the sound of them that they weren't Clyde. He looked up to meet the eyes of a concerned mother. "How is he?"
"His temperature is down," Oliver assured her, "We'll get him through this Sarah."
"I know," she nodded then knelt down beside Oliver and Luke, running her hand along her son's cheek.
"Wha…" Luke's eyes opened and he looked up at Sarah Jane blearily.
Sarah forced a smile. "See, you should have listened to me about going back to school."
Luke tried to speak, but could only manage a weak nod and pressed his cheek into his mother's palm before his eyes fluttered shut.
"Luke," the distress in Sarah's voice broke Oliver's heart.
He pulled her into his arms and held her tight for a moment. "He's going to be fine, Sarah. I promise you."
"I know," she murmured as she buried her nose into his neck and felt his strong hands rubbing her back soothingly.
They heard K-9 hovering in ahead of Clyde, who carried the requested clothing and blanket, before they saw him. "What has happened to Master Luke?" K-9 demanded.
"That we're going to find out, K-9." Oliver answered the robot dog as he released Sarah from his embrace, "You and I."
Sarah Jane pulled back and stood up, visibly steeling herself. "Give those to Oliver, Clyde and come with me."
"Right," Clyde turned to follow Sarah Jane as she slipped from the bathroom and headed back up to the attic to finish making preparations.
"Keep her safe, Clyde," he said softly so Sarah wouldn't hear as the boy went to go. Clyde nodded quickly then disappeared out the door. Oliver could hear Clyde's footsteps going up the stairs but focused on getting Luke into dry clothing and wrapped in the blanket.
Luke moaned unintelligibly once again. "It's alright, son." Oliver said reassuringly, wanting the boy to know he was with him. "We're going to get you fixed up." He slid his arms beneath the slight form of the boy then lifted him up and headed down the stairs. "K-9 and I are going to take you to Moreton Harwood."
"Mum?" Luke managed to force out.
"She's going to do what she does best." Oliver assured the boy as he carried him out to Bessie.
Rani crossed the road just in time to see Oliver pulling out and putting Bessie into high gear, regardless of the speed limits. She came to the front door just as it swung open to reveal Sarah Jane and Clyde.
"Everything is shut off in the kitchen, Sarah Jane." Clyde advised.
"Get into the car," Sarah's tone was short. "We need to get moving."
"Why?" Rani looked concerned.
"Moving target," Clyde looked skyward, worried that there would be bolts coming from the sky.
"Moving target?" Rani's eyes now widened.
"Yeah, we're pretending to be the refugees and being really obvious about it." Clyde opened the passenger side door and pulled the seat forward to let Rani in. "Hopefully we'll last long enough to let Oliver come up with a cure for whatever it is Luke's got."
"And what happens after that?" Rani asked as she leaned forward while Clyde slid into the car and pulled the door shut.
"No idea, Rani." Sarah Jane said as she backed the car down the drive and into the street. "We're making this up as we go along."
The teens shared a glance and shook their heads. When weren't they making things up as they went along?
Once Oliver was outside of London, he engaged the alien technology in the car and kicked it into overdrive, cutting down the time to arrive at Moreton Harwood.
"Master Oliver," K-9 spoke up. "Master Luke's life signs are stable but his body temperature is rising again."
"We're here," Oliver tore into the driveway and brought the car to a sudden stop in front of the door. He jumped out and slipped around to the other side - Bessie's door-less sides making it much easier to free Luke from the car and carry him inside, K-9 rolling along behind them.
The healers met them at the door. "Welcome Oliver. Your mate contacted us. We are prepared for your cub." The tiger striped cat creature reached out with a soft paw to touch Luke's cheek. "We have cooling units that we use for our younglings with the disease."
"Our cub," Oliver stressed, annoyed that Sarah Jane couldn't be here even if he understood the why and how of the situation.
"Of course, forgive us." The healer went ahead of Oliver opening the blanket like device so that Luke could be set in it. "Our females do not claim the cubs in our society, except in legends."
"Yes," Oliver sighed, "I'm sorry. It's just, he's our only cub." He reached out and stroked Luke's hair.
"This disease is not often fatal," the healer tried to be reassuring. "We would offer the medicines that we use - but we do not think they would be appropriate for your species."
"And it's not going to be fatal this time," Oliver sprang into action, shedding his jacket. "That is why K-9," he gestured at the robot dog, "is going to analyse your medicines, while I go rooting about to find Lavinia's old virology equipment and then K-9, I'm likely going to need your assistance to set up a link with the Moon Base if I can convince Liz to help out."
"Affirmative, Master," K-9's antennae swivelled as his attention focused on the alien healer. "Please bring me samples of your medicines for chemical analysis. I will continue to monitor Master Luke's life signs."
"Good dog, K-9." Oliver grinned, liking the loyalty that his old friend showed his son.
Leaving Luke in K-9's capable care, Oliver started poking his head into each door, hoping to find the equipment still set up. When he found a room that was still firmly locked, he grinned. "A habit of a lifetime that I would have had if I had Sarah Jane Smith as a ward." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and focused it on the lock. There was a click and the door swung open to a fully equipped if somewhat dusty lab.
"I'm going to need some volunteers to clean up the laboratory," Oliver came out and addressed the healer. "Very carefully, mind you."
"I will have my apprentices see to it," the alien began to speak to his subordinates in their own language.
"It's the room at the end of the hallway, past the kitchen that way," Oliver pointed towards the lab, "and what have you found, K-9?"
"All available medicines are only usable for supportive treatment," K-9 advised. "Several are not safe for use on human species however we have administered those that would be beneficial. Master Luke is currently stable and his body temperature, while high, is within acceptable limits."
"Right, time to call in the big guns." Oliver said as he pulled out his mobile and the paper that Sarah had written Liz's number on. He dialled her number quickly and couldn't suppress his grin when he heard her voice.
"Liz Shaw." A slightly annoyed sounding Liz echoed through the mobile's speaker. "I do hope you realise that you're interrupting an important experiment."
"Well, I wouldn't have contacted you if it wasn't life or death." Oliver said sounding bemused. "I'm certainly not looking to have you make me a cup of tea or hand me a test tube."
"Oliver Smith then, I presume?" Liz sounded vaguely smug knowing she would have shocked the man on the other end of the phone. "News like you does travel quite quickly in the circles Sarah Jane belongs to."
Oliver shook it off and sighed. "Not entirely certain Sarah is ready to come out about us to everyone yet."
"I was sworn to secrecy, but I wouldn't count on it remaining a secret for very long - and Sarah Jane should know that." Liz assured him. "So what is this matter of grave importance?"
"Luke. Sarah Jane's son has contracted an alien virus from some refugees." Oliver breathed out a bit unsteadily.
"That's the boy that she found at that soda plant that the Bane were running? I thought he was engineered for perfect health." Liz scowled. "Of course, there's no telling what mischief an alien virus could get up to. Or alien bacteria for that matter. Do you know what it is?"
"Let me put you on speaker phone. I'm certain K-9 has more data for you, Liz." Oliver said as he pressed the speaker button and knelt beside K-9. "K-9, I'd like you to meet Liz Shaw."
"Greetings, Mistress Liz." K-9's ears swivelled. "Master Luke has contracted an alien virus." In rapid fashion he began to provide all the data he'd derived from his scans of his young master.
"Very interesting and helpful friend you have there, Oliver." Liz commented. "Though I really want to know what you and Sarah Jane are playing at. It was bound to happen sooner or later. She isn't the Doctor and, frankly, neither are you."
"I know, I know. I promise we'll be more careful in the future." Oliver said defensively. "If you'll just help us this time."
"No you won't and neither will Sarah Jane." Liz sighed. "Any more than Alistair would. Do you have access to a lab? I can't come down there you know. And can your friend create an uplink with my network here?"
"K-9?" Oliver grinned, certain that K-9 wouldn't have any problems with that.
"Creating uplink now, Master." K-9 confirmed.
"Well, that was quick," Liz commented. "Now I don't suppose you have a lab do you?"
"Actually, we're at Sarah's Aunt Lavinia's old house." Oliver grinned.
"Thinking ahead, at least you're doing something right." Liz said. "Alright, you're going to need to take blood samples and I hope her equipment won't be too antiquated. Or that we'll need fluids other than blood. Call me back when you've done some base analysis. I'm going to see if I can use your friend's uplink to focus a transmat link."
"Brilliant, Liz. Did I ever tell you how brilliant you are? Of course, I didn't. But you were. You are." Oliver grinned.
"Yes, yes. I'm brilliant. It would mean more if you weren't saying it when you needed my help." Liz sounded vaguely amused. "Get to work."
"Right. Right." Oliver nodded and clicked off the phone. "You heard the woman, K-9. Allons-y!"
Meanwhile Clyde began to worry about Sarah Jane as they drove in no particular direction except in the opposite direction from Moreton Harwood.
Sarah Jane leaned into the horn, "Get out of the way." She scowled at the car in front of her, then tapped the hands free button and dialled Mr. Smith. "Mr. Smith, what are those things doing now?" The tone as she said 'things' made both Clyde and Rani look at each other in apprehension.
"If you are referring to the ths'Tain, they are tracking your movements. I have amplified the life sign traces that the mobiles are transmitting so they will focus on your location rather than Moreton Harwood." Mr. Smith advised.
"Good," Sarah snapped. "Let me know the instant anything changes, Mr. Smith, and I mean anything." There was an undercurrent of distrust in her voice.
"Of course, Sarah Jane," Mr. Smith responded, but there was a tone in his voice that communicated his concern as well.
"Uhm, Sarah Jane," Rani leaned forward. "I think we have to stop for petrol."
"What?" Sarah glared at the girl for a moment causing her to shrink back then the traffic began to move and her eyes moved to the dash where she saw the petrol light had lit. "Damn it." She slammed her fist against the console then scanned for the nearest station. She crossed traffic aggressively then pulled into the pump. "You," she focused on Clyde almost snarling, "get out and fill the tank."
"Right," Clyde agreed quickly and slid out to do what Sarah Jane said.
Once Sarah left the car and went into the station to pay, Rani leaned the passenger side seat forward so she could lean out the window. "Clyde, this is more than just stress about Luke."
"I know. I know." Clyde agreed as his eyes went to the station but finished pumping and hung the nozzle. "She's not acting like herself. She's aggressive. Almost scary."
"Really scary." Rani swallowed hard. "Do you think it's what Luke has? Maybe we should call Oliver."
"Doesn't make sense. It's not the same symptoms." Clyde shook his head then saw Sarah Jane coming back. "Get back in," he hissed at Rani as he moved to open the passenger side door.
Sarah glared at both of them. "Talking about me are you? You can get out whenever you want. I don't need either of you."
"No, we're coming with you." Clyde met her gaze and didn't flinch. After a moment, Sarah Jane nodded then turned her attention to pulling out of the station.
There was a sudden flash of light and an armoured insectoid lizard creature appeared to the side of their car. This wasn't as surprising to the occupants of the vehicle of the car as it might have been, what did surprise them was instead of driving away as quickly as they could, Sarah Jane aimed the car at the alien and accelerated.
"NO!" Clyde yelled out as he reached across and yanked on the steering wheel, causing the car to veer away from its target.
Sarah Jane slammed on the breaks as the alien transmatted away. "Why did you do that? The thing got away."
"Can you hear yourself Sarah Jane?" Clyde asked as calmly as he could manage. "There's always a better way, yeah?"
For a moment the expression on Sarah Jane's face was unchanged, then her eyes widened and her expression became stricken. "Oh my… I don't know what's happening." She shook her head. "It's like I can't think."
"It's going to be okay, Sarah Jane." Clyde touched her shoulder reassuringly as he took the mobile that wasn't being used to transmit the alien life signs and dialled a familiar number. As soon as Oliver picked up he spoke. "Oliver, its Clyde. I think we've got a problem."