Fic: Harry Times
Title: Harry Times
Author: Paranoidangel/paranoidangel42
Beta: hhertzof
Word count: 3600
Pairing: Sarah/Harry
Rating: PG
Summary: Five times Sarah and Harry were happy
Notes: This came about when lost_spook mentioned that I write a lot of angsty Sarah/Harry, so I was determined to write at least one fic where there wasn't any angst at all.
1.
"I'm sorry, Miss Smith, I'll have to keep your pass."
Sarah sat down, surprised. She had been sure the Brigadier would understand. She'd originally come here independently of the Doctor, so why couldn't she stay now that he was gone? Alright, so she'd sneaked in, pretending to be her aunt, but she was hoping the Brigadier had forgotten about that. "How am I supposed to help you if I can't get on the base?"
"We'll call you, if we need a favourable report in the press."
"That's not what I meant."
The Brigadier leaned forward. "Sarah. We just can't allow civilians on the base any more. Orders from above. If it were up to me...." He gave her a sympathetic look.
She nodded, understanding the military mindset all too well - which was why she wanted nothing to do with it. Except for UNIT, of course. She stood up. "Thank you for trying, Brigadier." Although she wondered how much effort he'd put in and whether he'd try again now.
He stood too and shook her hand, giving no hint of any guilt he might be feeling. "Keep in touch, Miss Smith."
Being without a pass meant she was escorted out, although in her case it involved having a friendly chat with Benton as they walked to the front gate. She just wished she'd managed to convince him to let her stay a little longer, but he refused to go against orders. After he left her, she frowned when she saw someone by her car. It wasn't someone in uniform, so that automatically made her suspicious.
It was only when she got closer that she realised who it was: Harry Sullivan. She hadn't seen him since the last time they were on Earth in the present, not long after she'd had to deal with the android version of him. She'd wondered if he'd stayed in UNIT and now she knew. "Harry," she called out to him, cheerfully.
Harry straightened up from where he was peering at her windscreen. "Hullo, old girl."
She rolled her eyes. "I see you haven't changed a bit." Although she wasn't entirely unhappy about it. It was nice to know that some things never changed.
He smiled at her before he said, "Did you know your tax disc's three months out of date?"
"Oh, no." Her shoulders slumped as she checked it to confirm he was right. "I have a pile of post at home that I haven't had the energy to work my way through." She'd only got as far as the final demands, not wanting her electricity to be cut off.
"You can't drive it like that."
She wondered if Harry ever did anything that could be considered breaking the law, even if only a little bit. He'd probably never even had a speeding ticket. But at least you knew where you were with Harry, she supposed. "Harry, the chances of the police stopping me are pretty slim."
"Not the way you drive."
She punched him in the arm. He'd only experienced her driving once.
"Come on, I'll give you a lift home."
She sighed and gave in. She would have argued more, but she didn't have enough money to buy petrol with. At least if she didn't have to make the journey here, she could get everywhere she needed to on the bus. "So what have you been up to while I've been away?" she asked, glaring at him for holding the passenger door open for her.
"I'm still working at UNIT," he replied, if that wasn't obvious. Why else would he be hanging around the base?
"So no plans to go elsewhere?"
He shook his head. "I'm perfectly happy here, why would I leave?"
"You did say you'd like to leave the Navy and have your own practice in the country," she pointed out.
"Maybe one day. But my tour here isn't over and I'm just getting used to dealing with aliens."
Sarah smiled, remembering his reactions to the whole idea. He had improved a lot very quickly. She wondered what it would take for him to leave now. But even after seeing other planets and other times, Harry was still perfectly happy in good old London in the present. She envied him that a little. "It's very good to see you," she said. "I've had such a hard time explaining where I've been."
"I'm glad to see you're in one piece, old girl."
Oh, she hadn't missed that at all. "Don't ever change, Harry," she told him, fondly, thus scuppering her chances of ever getting him to stop calling her that.
2.
Sarah had to remind herself that dinner in a restaurant really did consist purely of foods found on Earth. Which, although boring, meant that nothing was about to kill her. She could have added some excitement to the meal by allowing Harry to order for her, but she wasn't so bored that she needed to get her kicks from a surprise main course. Besides, Harry had already held her chair and poured her wine, she wasn't going to let him get away with doing anything else for her.
In between the waiter bringing out their food they'd reminisced about the amazing things they'd seen. It might not be the best conversation to have in a public place, but for now it was all they had in common. And Sarah wanted to remember how real it was and not how dreamlike it was starting to become in the face of bus tickets and burst pipes.
"I wish we could see that future," Sarah said, when their coffee arrived and they'd run out of old times to talk about.
Harry shivered. "I'd rather not see an empty Earth again."
"It wasn't empty the first time," she pointed out, but it was eerie enough as it was. She much preferred London filled with people, not fields. "No, I want to see humans build spaceships and go into space."
He frowned. "You do remember the moon landing, don't you?"
She was half-tempted to pour the milk over his head for being so obtuse, but settled for adding some to her coffee instead. "It's not the same. They had to wear spacesuits and live in zero g. Nerva Station was just like being on Earth, only we were in orbit around it."
"It would be something worth seeing," he agreed. "But I'm afraid the chances of you living thousands of years are small." He grinned and had a sip of his coffee to cover it.
"Only small?" she teased, smiling. "I'll take any chance, no matter how small." After all, you never know. Scientists might discover the secret of eternal life. Or the Doctor might come back and take her to the near future, rather than the distant future. She tried not to dwell on that last thought.
Harry smiled back and shook his head. "Ever the optimist."
If only he knew. She sighed and played idly with the empty sugar sachet.
"What's wrong, Sarah?" he asked softly.
He was so content that she wasn't sure he'd understand if she explained it to him. But then, it wasn't as if there was anyone else she could tell. She dropped the sachet back on the table. "You know how going back to work after a good holiday is really depressing?"
He nodded.
"I feel like that, only it's not getting any better." It probably didn't help that she wasn't going to work on a regular basis. Writing about ordinary events seemed so unimportant after the the things she'd seen, but having very little to do only gave her more time to think.
He took her hand. "In that case, I think we had the holiday of a lifetime. Maybe we'll never do anything like that ever again, but we're luckier than most of the other people on this planet."
She didn't feel lucky, but she hadn't expected Harry, of all people, to look at it like that. She studied him closely, wondering if there was only a part of the real Harry he allowed people to see.
He frowned at her. "What is it?"
She shook her head and smiled. It was hardly something she could explain to him and she was sure that if she tried he would just tell her she was imagining things. So instead she squeezed his hand and said, "I never thought of it like that. Thank you."
"That's what I'm here for."
And, as it turned out, to refuse to allow her to pay the bill.
3.
Harry leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Aren't you supposed to be writing?"
Sarah looked guiltily down at the empty page in her notebook. She was here to review the concert. It wasn't quite what she was used to, but it paid the bills and she did enjoy listening to music. The magazine had given her two tickets, so she'd brought Harry along. She'd deliberated about who to bring, wondering how she'd managed to lose touch with all her friends, but in the end she'd decided that the problem wasn't that Harry had become the focal point of her social life, but that she was unexpectedly enjoying his company. They'd been out together a few times now and she had a vague idea he appreciated classical music, so inviting him made sense.
The concert was only an amateur affair, but she'd got caught up in the music and forgotten what she was here for. When she still hadn't written anything by the time the interval started, Harry went off for ice creams and returned with a programme as well. "Here," he said, passing the programme over. "If you forget to write in the second half at least you have something to start with."
"Thank you." She smiled at him, touched by his thoughtfulness.
Although she managed to write a couple of sentences while she had been waiting for Harry during the interval, she didn't manage to expand on any of them during the second half. So when Harry dropped her off at her flat she asked him, "Will you come in and help me think of something to say?"
"I don't think I'll be much help," he grumbled, but came in all the same.
He'd taken her coat, despite it being her flat, and then offered to make them coffee, which left her along in the living room with her notebook. There was nothing else for it, but to find a few sentences to sing the praises of the soloists. At least until Harry reappeared in the doorway.
"Do you have any coffee?" he asked.
She opened her mouth to tell him where it was before she realised he wouldn't find any there. "I think I've run out."
"Never mind, it doesn't have to be coffee."
He wasn't gone nearly as long this time before he came back, holding a tea bag. "Were you saving your last tea bag for something in particular?"
"Tea?"
He rolled his eyes. "Perhaps some hot milk instead. I'll turn the kettle off."
She had been intending to go shopping, but there was always something else more important to do. Tonight she had to get this review written, but the pressure she once used to enjoy being under now hindered her ability to write anything at all. Consequently, she hadn't managed to write any more before Harry returned. All she really wanted to do was to enjoy the rest of the evening, but she had invited him in because she knew he wouldn't let her until she'd done some work.
"What do you have so far?" he asked, putting two mugs down on the coffee table.
She showed him her notebook. "They looked very smart and sounded very professional," she summarised.
He nodded. "The audience seemed to enjoy it too. And I don't think they were all relatives of the orchestra."
She smiled. "Perhaps I'll leave that second bit out." She wrote and then paused, unable to think of anything else, so drank some of her hot milk, allowing Harry to do her thinking for her.
"What were you thinking about while they were playing?"
That was a good question. It was usually the first thing she wrote about, even if the paragraph got moved later. She was getting sloppy, waiting for an adventure. "I was watching how serious they looked and how hard they were concentrating. And how the music made me feel like I was on another world." They had played some of the The Planets Suite.
"I'd say Holst was imaginative chap. Or else the Doctor once took him on a tour."
"I wouldn't put it past him," she said, smiling. The Doctor wasn't a suitable subject for the review, but she wrote the rest down. She used to be able to do this on her own once, she just needed to be able to get back into the habit.
"I should go," he said, once they'd finished their milk and she had plenty of notes to write a glowing review from. "I have an early start in the morning."
She was disappointed he wasn't staying longer, but she couldn't argue with his reasons, so saw him to the door.
"Thank you for inviting me," he said as he put his coat on.
"I enjoyed your company."
He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek as was his habit at the end of an evening. But she turned her head so their lips met instead. She wondered for a moment if he'd pull away, but after a short hesitation, he kissed her back. And when they stopped he was smiling just as much as she was.
4.
"You really can cook," Sarah exclaimed over a roast dinner that was cooked to perfection.
"You needn't sound so surprised." Although Harry didn't sound too upset at her reaction.
"You just don't strike me as the type of man who can cook." Given Harry's views on what women should and shouldn't do, she was amazed he knew how to turn the oven on. "But I'm learning you have hidden depths."
He shook his head. "I'm just plain old Harry Sullivan."
Harry Sullivan he was, but plain he clearly wasn't. "Where did you learn?"
"At sea. I was friends with the chef. I saw him often, dealing with burns on his staff," he added with a smile. "It made a change from feet."
She frowned. "Feet?"
"A lot of standing up and wearing the same shoes all the time," he explained. "I think I saw the feet of every sailor on board in the space of six months."
"And there I was thinking your job was all glamour." She smiled.
"That's not the worst part. That's dealing with sea sickness."
Sarah made a face. "You'll put me off my dinner." Although it didn't done anything of the sort - it was too good not to eat. "I should let you cook more often," she said, thinking of the simple food she cooked that involved as little effort as possible.
"Better than that, I should teach you. After all, we can't have me being better at cooking than you, can we, old girl?"
She stuck her tongue out at him. He'd only eaten her cooking once and it wasn't that bad. She just hadn't learnt the art of finishing it all at the same time, so it ended up half burnt and half undercooked. But it wasn't too inedible and she'd never got ill from her own cooking. She didn't really need someone to teach her any more than she already knew, she just needed more practise. When she didn't get caught up in her writing and forgotten she'd got something in the oven or a saucepan boiling dry.
While they ate she considered Harry. He'd seem so ordinary when they first met, especially in comparison to the Doctor. But now Harry was here and the Doctor wasn't and she was learning all sorts of unexpected things about him. He supposed he was learning the same about her, although in her case she wasn't sure they were good things. It made her wonder what he saw in her.
"Why are you doing this, Harry?" she asked, putting her knife and fork down.
"Because you complained about always going to the same restaurants."
She shook her head, although that was a valid complaint. Harry seemed quite happy going to the same restaurant every Friday and eating the same thing and he'd been surprised when she'd said she wanted a change. "No, I mean why are you always doing so much for me?"
"Because you needed me," he replied and then, as if he was embarrassed by that show of emotion, he picked up both of their empty plates and took them into the kitchen.
Sarah followed him and leant against the door frame, watching him.
"I know I'll never measure up to the Doctor," he said, with his back to her, as he piled their plates in the sink. "But I hope I can show you there's life here on Earth too."
"There is, Harry," she said softly, and put a hand on his shoulder to turn him to face her. "Thank you," she said.
"For dinner?"
She shook her head. "For being there when I needed someone."
He had to wait until she'd finished kissing him before he could reply with, "My pleasure."
5.
"You know you really should leave this sort of thing to UNIT," Harry said, crouched beside her.
"And what are UNIT doing about it?"
"Nothing," he admitted. "They can't be everywhere and a Sontaran sighting in Sussex was more urgent."
Sarah gave him a look, considering he'd just answered his own question.
He sighed. "Come on then."
She smiled and they went opposite ways around the warehouse.
"You shouldn't be here," she said to the blue-skinned aliens, as she stood in the doorway with her arms folded. Telling them off always worked for the Doctor. Well, it was always the first thing he tried anyway.
"One human isn't going to stop us," one of them said to her and then went back to his packing.
They were, as far as she could tell, trading in weapons. Earth had enough problems as it was without adding ray guns into the mix. Especially when they looked more like water pistols than guns that could kill people.
She made a face at them dismissing her so quickly. It was just as well she had a backup plan. "Oh, I am going to stop you," she continued. The one who'd spoken to her made a noise dismissing her, but at least it covered the sound of the one at the back falling. "And you'd much rather I did because if you ignore me, then you'll have to deal with UNIT."
That did give him pause, she was glad to see. "What will they do?"
She wasn't sure exactly, but she wasn't going to let the aliens know that. "Lock you up, confiscate your weapons and send you home," she replied, in a confident tone.
"Your world doesn't have spaceship technology."
Sarah shrugged. "Then you'll sit in a cell and rot."
She thought for a moment that she might be getting through to him, but then Harry failed to catch one of the aliens he'd stunned before it fell. The one Sarah was talking to whirled round, a weapon in his hand trained on Harry. He was at least the only one left standing, but it still gave Sarah a fright.
"Harry!" she shouted, but he'd already seen, dropped his stun gun and put his hands up.
"Easy now," he said. "There's no need to shoot. I'm sure we can resolve this peacefully."
Sarah had a stun gun of her own tucked in her waistband - weapons that only stunned she was perfectly happy for UNIT to use. But she couldn't risk firing it in case the alien's finger twitched on the trigger.
"You killed them," the alien said.
Harry shook his head. "They're only stunned. See for yourself."
Harry looked very calm, Sarah noticed, as the alien bent to check the one lying nearest to him. Her heart was racing and her mouth was dry. Even though the Doctor wasn't around to get them out of trouble, Harry didn't seem to be scared for his own safety, but she was. Especially when Harry took the opportunity to kick the alien in the head.
"Sarah!" he shouted.
She got the message and while the alien was recovering, and not quite pointing his gun at Harry, Sarah pulled out her stun gun and shot him. She breathed a sigh of relief when he went down without a fuss. Then she ran over to Harry and hugged him hard. With her head near his shoulder she could hear his heart beating as fast as hers.
"Now we turn this over to UNIT?" he asked.
She nodded. "They have the equipment and manpower to lock them up," she conceded. "How long will they be unconscious for?"
"Oh, several hours, don't worry."
"Good," she said and kissed him, hard.
"I think," he said, when she let him go, "that you enjoyed that far too much."
She shook her head. "No, I think I enjoyed it just the right amount. But you didn't have to come."
"Someone has to keep an eye on you," he grumbled half-heartedly.
Maybe he was right, but on balance, she was glad that Harry was that someone.
Author: Paranoidangel/paranoidangel42
Beta: hhertzof
Word count: 3600
Pairing: Sarah/Harry
Rating: PG
Summary: Five times Sarah and Harry were happy
Notes: This came about when lost_spook mentioned that I write a lot of angsty Sarah/Harry, so I was determined to write at least one fic where there wasn't any angst at all.
1.
"I'm sorry, Miss Smith, I'll have to keep your pass."
Sarah sat down, surprised. She had been sure the Brigadier would understand. She'd originally come here independently of the Doctor, so why couldn't she stay now that he was gone? Alright, so she'd sneaked in, pretending to be her aunt, but she was hoping the Brigadier had forgotten about that. "How am I supposed to help you if I can't get on the base?"
"We'll call you, if we need a favourable report in the press."
"That's not what I meant."
The Brigadier leaned forward. "Sarah. We just can't allow civilians on the base any more. Orders from above. If it were up to me...." He gave her a sympathetic look.
She nodded, understanding the military mindset all too well - which was why she wanted nothing to do with it. Except for UNIT, of course. She stood up. "Thank you for trying, Brigadier." Although she wondered how much effort he'd put in and whether he'd try again now.
He stood too and shook her hand, giving no hint of any guilt he might be feeling. "Keep in touch, Miss Smith."
Being without a pass meant she was escorted out, although in her case it involved having a friendly chat with Benton as they walked to the front gate. She just wished she'd managed to convince him to let her stay a little longer, but he refused to go against orders. After he left her, she frowned when she saw someone by her car. It wasn't someone in uniform, so that automatically made her suspicious.
It was only when she got closer that she realised who it was: Harry Sullivan. She hadn't seen him since the last time they were on Earth in the present, not long after she'd had to deal with the android version of him. She'd wondered if he'd stayed in UNIT and now she knew. "Harry," she called out to him, cheerfully.
Harry straightened up from where he was peering at her windscreen. "Hullo, old girl."
She rolled her eyes. "I see you haven't changed a bit." Although she wasn't entirely unhappy about it. It was nice to know that some things never changed.
He smiled at her before he said, "Did you know your tax disc's three months out of date?"
"Oh, no." Her shoulders slumped as she checked it to confirm he was right. "I have a pile of post at home that I haven't had the energy to work my way through." She'd only got as far as the final demands, not wanting her electricity to be cut off.
"You can't drive it like that."
She wondered if Harry ever did anything that could be considered breaking the law, even if only a little bit. He'd probably never even had a speeding ticket. But at least you knew where you were with Harry, she supposed. "Harry, the chances of the police stopping me are pretty slim."
"Not the way you drive."
She punched him in the arm. He'd only experienced her driving once.
"Come on, I'll give you a lift home."
She sighed and gave in. She would have argued more, but she didn't have enough money to buy petrol with. At least if she didn't have to make the journey here, she could get everywhere she needed to on the bus. "So what have you been up to while I've been away?" she asked, glaring at him for holding the passenger door open for her.
"I'm still working at UNIT," he replied, if that wasn't obvious. Why else would he be hanging around the base?
"So no plans to go elsewhere?"
He shook his head. "I'm perfectly happy here, why would I leave?"
"You did say you'd like to leave the Navy and have your own practice in the country," she pointed out.
"Maybe one day. But my tour here isn't over and I'm just getting used to dealing with aliens."
Sarah smiled, remembering his reactions to the whole idea. He had improved a lot very quickly. She wondered what it would take for him to leave now. But even after seeing other planets and other times, Harry was still perfectly happy in good old London in the present. She envied him that a little. "It's very good to see you," she said. "I've had such a hard time explaining where I've been."
"I'm glad to see you're in one piece, old girl."
Oh, she hadn't missed that at all. "Don't ever change, Harry," she told him, fondly, thus scuppering her chances of ever getting him to stop calling her that.
2.
Sarah had to remind herself that dinner in a restaurant really did consist purely of foods found on Earth. Which, although boring, meant that nothing was about to kill her. She could have added some excitement to the meal by allowing Harry to order for her, but she wasn't so bored that she needed to get her kicks from a surprise main course. Besides, Harry had already held her chair and poured her wine, she wasn't going to let him get away with doing anything else for her.
In between the waiter bringing out their food they'd reminisced about the amazing things they'd seen. It might not be the best conversation to have in a public place, but for now it was all they had in common. And Sarah wanted to remember how real it was and not how dreamlike it was starting to become in the face of bus tickets and burst pipes.
"I wish we could see that future," Sarah said, when their coffee arrived and they'd run out of old times to talk about.
Harry shivered. "I'd rather not see an empty Earth again."
"It wasn't empty the first time," she pointed out, but it was eerie enough as it was. She much preferred London filled with people, not fields. "No, I want to see humans build spaceships and go into space."
He frowned. "You do remember the moon landing, don't you?"
She was half-tempted to pour the milk over his head for being so obtuse, but settled for adding some to her coffee instead. "It's not the same. They had to wear spacesuits and live in zero g. Nerva Station was just like being on Earth, only we were in orbit around it."
"It would be something worth seeing," he agreed. "But I'm afraid the chances of you living thousands of years are small." He grinned and had a sip of his coffee to cover it.
"Only small?" she teased, smiling. "I'll take any chance, no matter how small." After all, you never know. Scientists might discover the secret of eternal life. Or the Doctor might come back and take her to the near future, rather than the distant future. She tried not to dwell on that last thought.
Harry smiled back and shook his head. "Ever the optimist."
If only he knew. She sighed and played idly with the empty sugar sachet.
"What's wrong, Sarah?" he asked softly.
He was so content that she wasn't sure he'd understand if she explained it to him. But then, it wasn't as if there was anyone else she could tell. She dropped the sachet back on the table. "You know how going back to work after a good holiday is really depressing?"
He nodded.
"I feel like that, only it's not getting any better." It probably didn't help that she wasn't going to work on a regular basis. Writing about ordinary events seemed so unimportant after the the things she'd seen, but having very little to do only gave her more time to think.
He took her hand. "In that case, I think we had the holiday of a lifetime. Maybe we'll never do anything like that ever again, but we're luckier than most of the other people on this planet."
She didn't feel lucky, but she hadn't expected Harry, of all people, to look at it like that. She studied him closely, wondering if there was only a part of the real Harry he allowed people to see.
He frowned at her. "What is it?"
She shook her head and smiled. It was hardly something she could explain to him and she was sure that if she tried he would just tell her she was imagining things. So instead she squeezed his hand and said, "I never thought of it like that. Thank you."
"That's what I'm here for."
And, as it turned out, to refuse to allow her to pay the bill.
3.
Harry leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Aren't you supposed to be writing?"
Sarah looked guiltily down at the empty page in her notebook. She was here to review the concert. It wasn't quite what she was used to, but it paid the bills and she did enjoy listening to music. The magazine had given her two tickets, so she'd brought Harry along. She'd deliberated about who to bring, wondering how she'd managed to lose touch with all her friends, but in the end she'd decided that the problem wasn't that Harry had become the focal point of her social life, but that she was unexpectedly enjoying his company. They'd been out together a few times now and she had a vague idea he appreciated classical music, so inviting him made sense.
The concert was only an amateur affair, but she'd got caught up in the music and forgotten what she was here for. When she still hadn't written anything by the time the interval started, Harry went off for ice creams and returned with a programme as well. "Here," he said, passing the programme over. "If you forget to write in the second half at least you have something to start with."
"Thank you." She smiled at him, touched by his thoughtfulness.
Although she managed to write a couple of sentences while she had been waiting for Harry during the interval, she didn't manage to expand on any of them during the second half. So when Harry dropped her off at her flat she asked him, "Will you come in and help me think of something to say?"
"I don't think I'll be much help," he grumbled, but came in all the same.
He'd taken her coat, despite it being her flat, and then offered to make them coffee, which left her along in the living room with her notebook. There was nothing else for it, but to find a few sentences to sing the praises of the soloists. At least until Harry reappeared in the doorway.
"Do you have any coffee?" he asked.
She opened her mouth to tell him where it was before she realised he wouldn't find any there. "I think I've run out."
"Never mind, it doesn't have to be coffee."
He wasn't gone nearly as long this time before he came back, holding a tea bag. "Were you saving your last tea bag for something in particular?"
"Tea?"
He rolled his eyes. "Perhaps some hot milk instead. I'll turn the kettle off."
She had been intending to go shopping, but there was always something else more important to do. Tonight she had to get this review written, but the pressure she once used to enjoy being under now hindered her ability to write anything at all. Consequently, she hadn't managed to write any more before Harry returned. All she really wanted to do was to enjoy the rest of the evening, but she had invited him in because she knew he wouldn't let her until she'd done some work.
"What do you have so far?" he asked, putting two mugs down on the coffee table.
She showed him her notebook. "They looked very smart and sounded very professional," she summarised.
He nodded. "The audience seemed to enjoy it too. And I don't think they were all relatives of the orchestra."
She smiled. "Perhaps I'll leave that second bit out." She wrote and then paused, unable to think of anything else, so drank some of her hot milk, allowing Harry to do her thinking for her.
"What were you thinking about while they were playing?"
That was a good question. It was usually the first thing she wrote about, even if the paragraph got moved later. She was getting sloppy, waiting for an adventure. "I was watching how serious they looked and how hard they were concentrating. And how the music made me feel like I was on another world." They had played some of the The Planets Suite.
"I'd say Holst was imaginative chap. Or else the Doctor once took him on a tour."
"I wouldn't put it past him," she said, smiling. The Doctor wasn't a suitable subject for the review, but she wrote the rest down. She used to be able to do this on her own once, she just needed to be able to get back into the habit.
"I should go," he said, once they'd finished their milk and she had plenty of notes to write a glowing review from. "I have an early start in the morning."
She was disappointed he wasn't staying longer, but she couldn't argue with his reasons, so saw him to the door.
"Thank you for inviting me," he said as he put his coat on.
"I enjoyed your company."
He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek as was his habit at the end of an evening. But she turned her head so their lips met instead. She wondered for a moment if he'd pull away, but after a short hesitation, he kissed her back. And when they stopped he was smiling just as much as she was.
4.
"You really can cook," Sarah exclaimed over a roast dinner that was cooked to perfection.
"You needn't sound so surprised." Although Harry didn't sound too upset at her reaction.
"You just don't strike me as the type of man who can cook." Given Harry's views on what women should and shouldn't do, she was amazed he knew how to turn the oven on. "But I'm learning you have hidden depths."
He shook his head. "I'm just plain old Harry Sullivan."
Harry Sullivan he was, but plain he clearly wasn't. "Where did you learn?"
"At sea. I was friends with the chef. I saw him often, dealing with burns on his staff," he added with a smile. "It made a change from feet."
She frowned. "Feet?"
"A lot of standing up and wearing the same shoes all the time," he explained. "I think I saw the feet of every sailor on board in the space of six months."
"And there I was thinking your job was all glamour." She smiled.
"That's not the worst part. That's dealing with sea sickness."
Sarah made a face. "You'll put me off my dinner." Although it didn't done anything of the sort - it was too good not to eat. "I should let you cook more often," she said, thinking of the simple food she cooked that involved as little effort as possible.
"Better than that, I should teach you. After all, we can't have me being better at cooking than you, can we, old girl?"
She stuck her tongue out at him. He'd only eaten her cooking once and it wasn't that bad. She just hadn't learnt the art of finishing it all at the same time, so it ended up half burnt and half undercooked. But it wasn't too inedible and she'd never got ill from her own cooking. She didn't really need someone to teach her any more than she already knew, she just needed more practise. When she didn't get caught up in her writing and forgotten she'd got something in the oven or a saucepan boiling dry.
While they ate she considered Harry. He'd seem so ordinary when they first met, especially in comparison to the Doctor. But now Harry was here and the Doctor wasn't and she was learning all sorts of unexpected things about him. He supposed he was learning the same about her, although in her case she wasn't sure they were good things. It made her wonder what he saw in her.
"Why are you doing this, Harry?" she asked, putting her knife and fork down.
"Because you complained about always going to the same restaurants."
She shook her head, although that was a valid complaint. Harry seemed quite happy going to the same restaurant every Friday and eating the same thing and he'd been surprised when she'd said she wanted a change. "No, I mean why are you always doing so much for me?"
"Because you needed me," he replied and then, as if he was embarrassed by that show of emotion, he picked up both of their empty plates and took them into the kitchen.
Sarah followed him and leant against the door frame, watching him.
"I know I'll never measure up to the Doctor," he said, with his back to her, as he piled their plates in the sink. "But I hope I can show you there's life here on Earth too."
"There is, Harry," she said softly, and put a hand on his shoulder to turn him to face her. "Thank you," she said.
"For dinner?"
She shook her head. "For being there when I needed someone."
He had to wait until she'd finished kissing him before he could reply with, "My pleasure."
5.
"You know you really should leave this sort of thing to UNIT," Harry said, crouched beside her.
"And what are UNIT doing about it?"
"Nothing," he admitted. "They can't be everywhere and a Sontaran sighting in Sussex was more urgent."
Sarah gave him a look, considering he'd just answered his own question.
He sighed. "Come on then."
She smiled and they went opposite ways around the warehouse.
"You shouldn't be here," she said to the blue-skinned aliens, as she stood in the doorway with her arms folded. Telling them off always worked for the Doctor. Well, it was always the first thing he tried anyway.
"One human isn't going to stop us," one of them said to her and then went back to his packing.
They were, as far as she could tell, trading in weapons. Earth had enough problems as it was without adding ray guns into the mix. Especially when they looked more like water pistols than guns that could kill people.
She made a face at them dismissing her so quickly. It was just as well she had a backup plan. "Oh, I am going to stop you," she continued. The one who'd spoken to her made a noise dismissing her, but at least it covered the sound of the one at the back falling. "And you'd much rather I did because if you ignore me, then you'll have to deal with UNIT."
That did give him pause, she was glad to see. "What will they do?"
She wasn't sure exactly, but she wasn't going to let the aliens know that. "Lock you up, confiscate your weapons and send you home," she replied, in a confident tone.
"Your world doesn't have spaceship technology."
Sarah shrugged. "Then you'll sit in a cell and rot."
She thought for a moment that she might be getting through to him, but then Harry failed to catch one of the aliens he'd stunned before it fell. The one Sarah was talking to whirled round, a weapon in his hand trained on Harry. He was at least the only one left standing, but it still gave Sarah a fright.
"Harry!" she shouted, but he'd already seen, dropped his stun gun and put his hands up.
"Easy now," he said. "There's no need to shoot. I'm sure we can resolve this peacefully."
Sarah had a stun gun of her own tucked in her waistband - weapons that only stunned she was perfectly happy for UNIT to use. But she couldn't risk firing it in case the alien's finger twitched on the trigger.
"You killed them," the alien said.
Harry shook his head. "They're only stunned. See for yourself."
Harry looked very calm, Sarah noticed, as the alien bent to check the one lying nearest to him. Her heart was racing and her mouth was dry. Even though the Doctor wasn't around to get them out of trouble, Harry didn't seem to be scared for his own safety, but she was. Especially when Harry took the opportunity to kick the alien in the head.
"Sarah!" he shouted.
She got the message and while the alien was recovering, and not quite pointing his gun at Harry, Sarah pulled out her stun gun and shot him. She breathed a sigh of relief when he went down without a fuss. Then she ran over to Harry and hugged him hard. With her head near his shoulder she could hear his heart beating as fast as hers.
"Now we turn this over to UNIT?" he asked.
She nodded. "They have the equipment and manpower to lock them up," she conceded. "How long will they be unconscious for?"
"Oh, several hours, don't worry."
"Good," she said and kissed him, hard.
"I think," he said, when she let him go, "that you enjoyed that far too much."
She shook her head. "No, I think I enjoyed it just the right amount. But you didn't have to come."
"Someone has to keep an eye on you," he grumbled half-heartedly.
Maybe he was right, but on balance, she was glad that Harry was that someone.