Strange Meeting
Title: Strange Meeting
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairings: Ten, Martha, Sarah Jane
Rating: G
Spoilers: School Reunion, DW S3 up to Blink, SJA S1 up to The Warriors of Kudlak
Summary: The Doctor and Martha deal with four Things and a lizard, and also meet an old friend of the Doctor's.
Disclaimer: I don't even own my brain any more, never mind Doctor Who!
Author Notes: This fic was written for the loves_them_all Companion Love Month to show my love for Sarah Jane. It's dedicated to domsbabygrl who's been egging me on to write another Blink-related fic for a little while.
Beta: ellymelly kindly stepped into the breach for this one.
~~~~~~
Sarah Jane Smith hurried through the busy London streets, aware that time was running short to find the whereabouts of the Things in Richmond Park. Unusually for him, Mr Smith hadn't been able to give her the exact coordinates of their nest, but he had programmed her wrist computer to trace their bio-signature: she just hoped she wouldn't have to scour all 2500 acres of the park for them. The fact that they could blend into their surroundings like Chameleons, meant that she wasn't very likely to spot them just by looking. She sighed and pushed on through the pedestrians, wishing that she didn't feel that she was getting too old for all this. Having Luke, Maria and Clyde in her life had been making her feel younger, their enthusiasm and excitement usually gave her a lift, but today she was feeling every one of her years.
Feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to help, she scolded herself. Concentrate on the task at hand and think of that long, hot bath you can have when you get back home.
She stepped through the Robin Hood Gate, one of several that led into the park, and paused to catch her breath whilst scanning for the bio-signature of the Things. Her wrist computer beeped quietly, directing her off along another path with its steady pattern.
* * * * * *
The Doctor strode through the crowded streets of London like he owned the city Martha noticed as she hurried to match the pace of his longer legs, the quiver of arrows she carried bumping rhythmically against her back. She couldn't help thinking that if she'd seen a man striding down the street with a bow slung casually across his back, she'd have at least stopped to stare, but everyone seemed to be ignoring him. She shook her head, knowing she should be used to this by now: how many times had the Doctor told her that people, especially human beings, only saw what they wanted to see?
He turned, holding out a hand towards her and she glanced up into his face, surprised by the gesture. He gave her a gentle smile.
"It seemed like you were having trouble keeping up with my long legs," he commented.
"Just a bit," she agreed, glad that she didn't sound as breathless as she felt.
"We're nearly there. Unless the Sonic's leading me astray, which it never has yet, they're in Richmond Park." He pointed down the street to where the Ladderstile Gate was clearly signposted.
Martha took his hand and allowed him to pull her through the crowds of pedestrians, and then traverse the traffic as they crossed the road. They'd had to hurry after being delayed by a young woman outside a book and DVD store; she had given the Doctor a purple plastic folder which he'd seemed to think was very important. There hadn't been time to discuss it with the Red Hatching due to start in less than 20 minutes, and them still several streets away from where the TARDIS had indicated they needed to be. As it was, they were only just going to make it in time.
The Doctor continued to hold Martha's hand as they hurried towards Prince Charles' Spinney, the Sonic Screwdriver beeping steadily to indicate they were going in the right direction.
They reached the footpath that cut through the middle of the Spinney and set off along it, Martha eyeing the trees on either side. The Doctor had told her the Things were similar to Chameleons and would be able to blend in with their surroundings, but that didn't stop her looking for them.
Unsurprisingly, she didn't spot the Things, but she did spot someone moving through the trees.
"Doctor." Martha spoke quietly, in case it was a Park official since she knew the Spinney was a restricted area. She'd come to Richmond Park often as a child when visiting her grandparents who'd lived nearby.
The Time Lord looked down at his companion and saw she was staring intently into the trees. "What is it?" he asked softly.
"There's someone in there." She pointed to the figure who was half-hidden amongst the trees, looking up at something several metres above their head. The figure lifted their arm towards the branches, and they both winced as a high-pitched sound assaulted their ears.
"No, no, no!" cried the Doctor, charging forward.
Martha rushed after him, wondering what was wrong, until she saw a four-foot long green and brown creature, with a fierce-looking crest and spikes along its back, fly up into the air from the branches and circle above the figure who she now saw was a woman dressed in brown leather boots, jeans, a white shirt and a suede waistcoat. There was a grey coat rolled into a bundle near the base of the tree, Martha noticed as she raced to join the Doctor.
"Sarah Jane!" cried the Doctor, sounding panicky.
The woman whipped around, pointing a small device at them both which looked, to Martha's eyes, like a lipstick, apart from the red glowing light on the end.
"Martha, quick, shoot it!" shouted the Time Lord as he reached the woman's side and grabbed her, pulling her backwards away from the tree and ignoring her startled cry. "Don't worry about the drug, just shoot it!"
Martha dropped the quiver of arrows off her shoulder, shrugged off her coat, then snatched up the bow which the Doctor had dropped before he grabbed the woman. She nocked an arrow, stood and took aim. A moment later the arrow shot from the bow and hit the creature in the belly, knocking it to the grass.
"Now shoot it with a drugged arrow before it can get up!" shouted the Doctor, tossing Martha a small pot he'd pulled from his coat pocket.
"Doctor, what are you doing?" asked the woman. She sounded quite annoyed, Martha noticed even as she was dipping the tip of a second arrow into the pot and preparing to shoot the creature as it lay on the grass a few yards away. It was struggling to move and Martha felt vaguely guilty about having to shoot it a second time, but she knew they needed the Things to be unconscious: they simply weren't equipped to carry four conscious creatures back through the streets of London to where the Doctor had left the TARDIS.
She fired the drug-tipped arrow and a few moments later the creature's struggles stilled as the drug took effect.
There was an enraged shriek in the branches above their heads and they all looked up to see a second Thing fly up from the nest.
"Martha!" called the Doctor, in a worried tone.
"On it," she called back, already pulling out another arrow.
She pushed aside the questions that had sprung to mind about what the woman was doing here, concentrating instead on lining up the third arrow and shooting the Thing. It joined its fellow, crashing down to lie in the grass with its wings half furled.
* * * * * *
Sarah Jane watched in amazement as the young woman with the Doctor shot two of the Things, her arrows flying straight and true to their targets. The Doctor's sudden appearance had startled her badly, as had the creature's appearance: she hadn't expected it to react so badly to the Sonic Lipstick since Mr Smith had told her the frequency he'd given her would stun the Things.
The Doctor broke in on her reverie. "Just what did you think you were doing Sarah Jane?" he asked, his voice unexpectedly harsh and sharp.
She looked up into his dark, stormy face and felt her anger rising at his tone. "I was doing what I always do," she answered, her voice just as sharp, "taking care of things here on Earth."
"I thought you knew better than to take on aliens without back-up," he said.
She was about to snap back when she realised that he sounded afraid. She reined in her temper and responded quietly. "I didn't want to bother UNIT," she said, "and the children are at school."
"Children?" asked the Doctor, as if he wasn't sure he'd heard her properly. "What children?"
Oh! She'd forgotten that he didn't know about her teenage helpers. "Um, maybe we should talk about this afterwards?" she suggested cravenly.
He gave her a look which promised a very long conversation afterwards, and she cursed herself and him for making her feel like a naughty schoolgirl.
"So who's your friend?" Sarah Jane asked, by way of distraction, which seemed to work.
"Oh! Yes, sorry. Sarah Jane meet Martha Jones, Martha this is Sarah Jane, she used to travel with me."
"Hello." Sarah Jane offered her hand, assessing the young woman before her.
"Hello." Martha shook hands, just as frankly assessing the older woman, and the Doctor was suddenly reminded of cats or dogs sizing each other up. He remembered that last time he'd introduced a current companion to a Sarah Jane, and was pleased to see that neither Martha nor Sarah Jane appeared hostile at meeting the other. But then Martha was very aware she was not his first travelling companion. He winced inwardly as he suddenly remembered telling Martha that she wasn't replacing Rose; he'd been supremely tactless, saying that when Martha had only just joined him.
He pushed those thoughts aside, then cleared his throat and both women turned towards him. "We need to deal with the rest of the Things," he said, pointing up at the nest in the branches above them.
Sarah Jane glanced at Martha, then looked back at the Doctor. "OK."
He took her arm and guided her further back from the tree, Martha following, then aimed his Sonic Screwdriver at the nest.
"Ready?" he asked Martha.
She drew another arrow from the quiver, dipped the tip into the pot, then fitted it to the bow.
"Ready," she told him.
He flicked a switch on the Sonic Screwdriver and it emitted a burst of high-pitched noise that made both women wince slightly, but Martha's hands remained steady as she braced herself to make her shot.
Another Thing shot up out of the nest, then dropped towards them and Martha let the arrow fly, hitting the creature in the centre of its chest before it crashed to the grass unconscious. The Doctor looked over to where Martha stood with another arrow already waiting and set off the Sonic Screwdriver again.
As soon as the fourth Thing was unconscious the Doctor filled a net that he'd given Sarah Jane to hold. The creatures were heavier than she'd anticipated and she realised that she was lucky that the Doctor and Martha had arrived when they did. She felt irritated with herself for not doing her research properly before setting out today and wondered if the Doctor thought less of her as a result.
She watched as the Time Lord gave Martha a boost up into the tree, the young woman apparently uncaring about the fact that she was wearing a skirt rather than trousers.
"There are six eggs," Martha called down quietly from her perch alongside the nest.
Sarah Jane watched the Doctor as he anxiously watched his companion carefully putting the eggs into a small leather bag that he'd given her, which she then lowered down to him. She felt a small stab of jealousy at their easy familiarity and friendship, even though she knew that she'd had that same kind of friendship with the Doctor in the past.
First Rose, now Martha, she chastised herself. Sarah Jane Smith, you're too old to feel such petty emotions. She made a silent resolve to get to know Martha better; she hadn't had the chance to get to know Rose properly, and she hoped that this bright and daring young woman wouldn't meet a similar fate.
The Doctor held the bag of eggs out for Sarah Jane to take, his eyes still on Martha above him, watching as she slipped round the branch on which she sat, to swing gracefully down towards the Time Lord. He reached up and caught her around the waist, then lowered her to her feet.
"OK?" he asked anxiously.
"Piece of cake," Martha answered, grinning up at him, clearly amused by his concern.
He gave her a quick hug, then turned to Sarah Jane and took the bag of eggs from her, slipping it into his coat pocket.
"Show off," teased Sarah Jane.
He raised his eyebrows at her, attempting to look stern. "I seem to remember you being a bit more respectful last time we met."
She laughed. "Me respectful? Are you sure?"
He grinned. "Well now you mention it, no."
He picked up the net full of Things and slung it over his shoulder. "Right, we've one more item to take care of, then we can head back to the TARDIS." He looked at Martha. "You OK carrying the bow and the arrows?"
She nodded.
"I can carry something," Sarah Jane offered quickly.
The Doctor grinned. "That's my girl." He handed her the bow as Martha shouldered the quiver of arrows again.
Sarah Jane grinned back, slinging the bow across her back, before turning to Martha.
"So where did you learn your archery skills?" she asked curiously.
"My school's Sixth Form had an archery club," Martha answered. "I was a member for two years, and I've never really lost the knack."
"My Maid Marion," the Doctor said, teasingly.
"Actually I'd rather think of myself as Xena," Martha answered. Sarah Jane gave her a puzzled look. "I guess you've not seen 'Xena: Warrior Princess' on the TV?"
"No," answered Sarah Jane. "I missed that."
Martha gave a shrug. "It's not important." She turned to the Doctor. "Whereabouts is the lizard?"
"Down this way," he said, pointing back out the way they'd come, "and over to the right." He strode off, apparently oblivious of the weight of the net he carried.
"Lizard?" Sarah Jane asked.
"Apparently it arrived with the Things," Martha answered. "He didn't explain it in great detail."
"He's never been very good at explaining in detail," Sarah Jane answered, "except when it was technobabble."
Martha laughed. "That's not changed," she assured the older woman. "What he did say though, was that the lizard and the Things were being transported on a ship that got lost on the way to their home planet Conolophus, so they've settled on Earth instead. But if the eggs hatch, the Things will wipe out all the trees in Great Britain, then spread out and eventually consume all the world's trees. That's why we had to capture them."
Sarah Jane raised her eyebrows. "Oh! I just knew they were alien and thought they should be sent home."
"Do you do that a lot, send aliens back home?" the younger woman asked curiously.
"When I can, if they're not trying to invade or destroy the world."
"Yeah, those are the tiresome ones," Martha said.
"So how did you and he meet?" Sarah Jane asked as they stepped out onto the path and set off in the Doctor's wake.
"My hospital got transported to the Moon and he was a patient there."
"Oh yes, that business with the Judoon," Sarah Jane said knowledgeably.
Martha gave her a startled look. "You know about that?"
The older woman nodded. "Mr Smith told me."
"Mr Smith?"
Sarah Jane blushed slightly, to Martha's surprise. "My supercomputer, it's called Mr Smith."
Before Martha could respond, the Doctor turned and called back to them both. "Are you coming then?"
The two women hurried to catch him up, sharing a quick grin as they did so.
The Time Lord was standing at the edge of the garden known as the Isabella Plantation; it had been one of Martha's favourite places to wander as a child.
"The lizard's in there," he said quietly.
"How big is likely to be?" asked Martha.
"Big-ish," he answered, rather evasively it seemed to the two women, who shared a knowing look behind his back.
"Come on then," Sarah Jane said, moving ahead of the others, "let's find it, then we can go and have a nice cup of tea."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Martha commented, moving past the Doctor and walking beside Sarah Jane, who was following a signal on her wrist computer.
"Nice gadget," she commented admiringly.
"The Doctor made it for me," Sarah Jane answered, "and the Sonic Lipstick."
"He is a bit of a geek, isn't he?" laughed Martha.
The older woman joined in her laughter, neither of them aware of the scowling Time Lord behind them who suspected they were laughing at his expense.
They reached a stream and Sarah Jane's wrist computer started beeping more loudly, causing both women to stop and look around for any sign of the lizard. The Doctor came up behind them, put down the net of Things, then rested each hand on one of their shoulders, looking between them at the bank of the stream.
"Can you see it?" he asked softly, staring intently at a group of rocks on the nearside of the stream.
"No," answered Sarah Jane just as Martha breathed a yes.
"There," Martha told her, pointing.
There was a flicker of movement and then Sarah Jane could see the lizard too; a brown-grey coloured creature with a long tail. She gasped as she realised it was nearly as big as the Things.
"How are we going to capture it?" she asked the Doctor quietly.
"Same way as before," he answered, even as Martha was unslinging the quiver of arrows and pulling off her coat.
Sarah Jane struggled with the bow, not realising the string had caught in her coat and Martha went to help her, lifting the bow free.
"Look out!" shouted the Doctor suddenly.
They both turned just as the lizard sprang at them. Sarah Jane immediately pushed Martha out its path, but she wasn't quick enough to move aside herself and the lizard hit her full force. She yelled out in surprise and fright as the creature knocked her off her feet and into the stream.
Martha immediately scrambled to her feet, and quickly fitted an arrow to the bow and sent it whizzing through the air to strike the lizard in the back of the neck. The Doctor dragged Sarah Jane from the stream as Martha fitted another arrow, just in case it wasn't going to stay down.
The Doctor pulled off Sarah Jane's coat and waistcoat, then wrapped her in his long coat.
"I know it's too big," he told her, "but it's better than wearing too many wet clothes."
She nodded, shivering.
"We need to get Sarah Jane somewhere where she can change into dry clothes," Martha told the Doctor anxiously.
"I know." He pulled his Sonic Screwdriver from his pocket and fiddled with the settings for a moment; the next moment the familiar wheeze of the TARDIS' engines sounded behind them.
Martha gaped at him, astounded. "How did you do that?" she asked.
"Later," he answered, guiding Sarah Jane towards the doors. "Get her to the med bay," he said, "and I'll get the Things and the lizard inside."
Martha led the older woman through the corridors to the Med Bay. "You get out of those wet clothes," she said, "and I'll fetch you some dry ones." She handed over a towel.
"Thanks."
"Thank you," Martha answered, "if it hadn't been for you, it would have been me who was wet and shivering."
"Fair's fair," Sarah Jane said as she began unbuttoning her shirt, "you saved me from the first of the Things."
The young doctor nodded, then hurried to the wardrobe, wondering if they had anything that would fit the older woman. As she stepped through the doorway, she immediately noticed a rack of clothes that looked a suitable size.
"Thank you," she said softly to the TARDIS, patting the wall, before grabbing jeans, shirt, sweater and underwear. She carried everything back to the med bay where Sarah Jane was wrapped in a towel and huddled in a chair.
"Here you are," Martha said. "I'll let you get dressed while I see how the Doctor's getting on, then I'll come back and check you over." She put the clothes down on the nearest bed.
"Thanks."
"Welcome." The younger woman hurried out and down the corridor towards the Control Room. She met the Time Lord coming the other way, now dragging the net full of creatures behind him.
"Need a hand?" she asked.
He shook his head. "I'll manage," he told her, "the TARDIS has rearranged her corridors so the pens are close. You look after Sarah Jane for me please."
"OK."
* * * * * *
Twenty minutes later, the Doctor tapped on the door of the med bay and Martha opened it with a smile.
"Come in," she told him.
"How are you?" he asked Sarah Jane.
"Fine," the older woman assured him.
"Good. Why don't we go and have some tea, and we can talk?"
The two of them agreed, and they headed to the kitchen where the Doctor insisted they take a seat whilst he made the tea; he found a tin of biscuits and told them to help themselves.
A few minutes later they were settled around one end of the kitchen table, Martha between the Doctor and the older woman.
"So Sarah Jane Smith, tell me about these children who help you."
She took a breath, gathering her thoughts, then explained about the arrival of Maria Jackson, across the road and the almost-simultaneous attempted invasion by the Bane. She told them about finding 'the archetype', as the Bane called Luke, and how she'd adopted him rather than let the authorities get hold of him. She also talked about the Slitheen at Luke and Maria's school, and how they'd become friends with Clyde, another boy at the school and all three had helped her see off the Slitheen. She then told them about the Gorgon, and the business with children being kidnapped from Combat 3000 in order to serve in an alien war.
She watched the Doctor's face as she recounted her tale, and saw admiration and pride for her in his face.
"My Sarah Jane," he said, when she'd finished speaking. "I might have known you'd end up emulating me."
"So you're not angry with me?" she asked.
He shook his head. "I can't really blame you for carrying on the things we did when we travelled together," he said. "Besides, it's good to know there's someone I can trust on Earth, looking out for people." He couldn't help thinking that if anyone from Torchwood had known of Luke's existence, that young man would be a lot worse off than he was now.
"I'd like to meet your teenage team," he said, "but first, we have to get the Things and the lizard to their home planet." He looked at her speculatively. "Fancy a trip?"
Sarah Jane looked thoughtful for a moment, then grinned. "Why not?" she asked. "But just the one trip, there and back."
The Doctor gave her a big, beaming smile. "Definitely," he said, standing up and pulling her into a hug, lifting her up off her feet in the process.
He set her down again. "Right, let's get the TARDIS on the way to Conolophus!" He disappeared through the door and Sarah Jane turned to Martha.
"You don't mind me tagging along, do you?" she asked, remembering Rose's initial reaction to their meeting.
The young doctor shook her head and smiled. "Not if it means I've the chance to get the low down on him."
Sarah Jane laughed and put her arm around Martha. "I've a feeling you and I are going to be friends."
They headed towards the Control Room and Martha wondered if the Time Lord knew just what he'd let himself in for.
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairings: Ten, Martha, Sarah Jane
Rating: G
Spoilers: School Reunion, DW S3 up to Blink, SJA S1 up to The Warriors of Kudlak
Summary: The Doctor and Martha deal with four Things and a lizard, and also meet an old friend of the Doctor's.
Disclaimer: I don't even own my brain any more, never mind Doctor Who!
Author Notes: This fic was written for the loves_them_all Companion Love Month to show my love for Sarah Jane. It's dedicated to domsbabygrl who's been egging me on to write another Blink-related fic for a little while.
Beta: ellymelly kindly stepped into the breach for this one.
~~~~~~
Sarah Jane Smith hurried through the busy London streets, aware that time was running short to find the whereabouts of the Things in Richmond Park. Unusually for him, Mr Smith hadn't been able to give her the exact coordinates of their nest, but he had programmed her wrist computer to trace their bio-signature: she just hoped she wouldn't have to scour all 2500 acres of the park for them. The fact that they could blend into their surroundings like Chameleons, meant that she wasn't very likely to spot them just by looking. She sighed and pushed on through the pedestrians, wishing that she didn't feel that she was getting too old for all this. Having Luke, Maria and Clyde in her life had been making her feel younger, their enthusiasm and excitement usually gave her a lift, but today she was feeling every one of her years.
Feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to help, she scolded herself. Concentrate on the task at hand and think of that long, hot bath you can have when you get back home.
She stepped through the Robin Hood Gate, one of several that led into the park, and paused to catch her breath whilst scanning for the bio-signature of the Things. Her wrist computer beeped quietly, directing her off along another path with its steady pattern.
* * * * * *
The Doctor strode through the crowded streets of London like he owned the city Martha noticed as she hurried to match the pace of his longer legs, the quiver of arrows she carried bumping rhythmically against her back. She couldn't help thinking that if she'd seen a man striding down the street with a bow slung casually across his back, she'd have at least stopped to stare, but everyone seemed to be ignoring him. She shook her head, knowing she should be used to this by now: how many times had the Doctor told her that people, especially human beings, only saw what they wanted to see?
He turned, holding out a hand towards her and she glanced up into his face, surprised by the gesture. He gave her a gentle smile.
"It seemed like you were having trouble keeping up with my long legs," he commented.
"Just a bit," she agreed, glad that she didn't sound as breathless as she felt.
"We're nearly there. Unless the Sonic's leading me astray, which it never has yet, they're in Richmond Park." He pointed down the street to where the Ladderstile Gate was clearly signposted.
Martha took his hand and allowed him to pull her through the crowds of pedestrians, and then traverse the traffic as they crossed the road. They'd had to hurry after being delayed by a young woman outside a book and DVD store; she had given the Doctor a purple plastic folder which he'd seemed to think was very important. There hadn't been time to discuss it with the Red Hatching due to start in less than 20 minutes, and them still several streets away from where the TARDIS had indicated they needed to be. As it was, they were only just going to make it in time.
The Doctor continued to hold Martha's hand as they hurried towards Prince Charles' Spinney, the Sonic Screwdriver beeping steadily to indicate they were going in the right direction.
They reached the footpath that cut through the middle of the Spinney and set off along it, Martha eyeing the trees on either side. The Doctor had told her the Things were similar to Chameleons and would be able to blend in with their surroundings, but that didn't stop her looking for them.
Unsurprisingly, she didn't spot the Things, but she did spot someone moving through the trees.
"Doctor." Martha spoke quietly, in case it was a Park official since she knew the Spinney was a restricted area. She'd come to Richmond Park often as a child when visiting her grandparents who'd lived nearby.
The Time Lord looked down at his companion and saw she was staring intently into the trees. "What is it?" he asked softly.
"There's someone in there." She pointed to the figure who was half-hidden amongst the trees, looking up at something several metres above their head. The figure lifted their arm towards the branches, and they both winced as a high-pitched sound assaulted their ears.
"No, no, no!" cried the Doctor, charging forward.
Martha rushed after him, wondering what was wrong, until she saw a four-foot long green and brown creature, with a fierce-looking crest and spikes along its back, fly up into the air from the branches and circle above the figure who she now saw was a woman dressed in brown leather boots, jeans, a white shirt and a suede waistcoat. There was a grey coat rolled into a bundle near the base of the tree, Martha noticed as she raced to join the Doctor.
"Sarah Jane!" cried the Doctor, sounding panicky.
The woman whipped around, pointing a small device at them both which looked, to Martha's eyes, like a lipstick, apart from the red glowing light on the end.
"Martha, quick, shoot it!" shouted the Time Lord as he reached the woman's side and grabbed her, pulling her backwards away from the tree and ignoring her startled cry. "Don't worry about the drug, just shoot it!"
Martha dropped the quiver of arrows off her shoulder, shrugged off her coat, then snatched up the bow which the Doctor had dropped before he grabbed the woman. She nocked an arrow, stood and took aim. A moment later the arrow shot from the bow and hit the creature in the belly, knocking it to the grass.
"Now shoot it with a drugged arrow before it can get up!" shouted the Doctor, tossing Martha a small pot he'd pulled from his coat pocket.
"Doctor, what are you doing?" asked the woman. She sounded quite annoyed, Martha noticed even as she was dipping the tip of a second arrow into the pot and preparing to shoot the creature as it lay on the grass a few yards away. It was struggling to move and Martha felt vaguely guilty about having to shoot it a second time, but she knew they needed the Things to be unconscious: they simply weren't equipped to carry four conscious creatures back through the streets of London to where the Doctor had left the TARDIS.
She fired the drug-tipped arrow and a few moments later the creature's struggles stilled as the drug took effect.
There was an enraged shriek in the branches above their heads and they all looked up to see a second Thing fly up from the nest.
"Martha!" called the Doctor, in a worried tone.
"On it," she called back, already pulling out another arrow.
She pushed aside the questions that had sprung to mind about what the woman was doing here, concentrating instead on lining up the third arrow and shooting the Thing. It joined its fellow, crashing down to lie in the grass with its wings half furled.
* * * * * *
Sarah Jane watched in amazement as the young woman with the Doctor shot two of the Things, her arrows flying straight and true to their targets. The Doctor's sudden appearance had startled her badly, as had the creature's appearance: she hadn't expected it to react so badly to the Sonic Lipstick since Mr Smith had told her the frequency he'd given her would stun the Things.
The Doctor broke in on her reverie. "Just what did you think you were doing Sarah Jane?" he asked, his voice unexpectedly harsh and sharp.
She looked up into his dark, stormy face and felt her anger rising at his tone. "I was doing what I always do," she answered, her voice just as sharp, "taking care of things here on Earth."
"I thought you knew better than to take on aliens without back-up," he said.
She was about to snap back when she realised that he sounded afraid. She reined in her temper and responded quietly. "I didn't want to bother UNIT," she said, "and the children are at school."
"Children?" asked the Doctor, as if he wasn't sure he'd heard her properly. "What children?"
Oh! She'd forgotten that he didn't know about her teenage helpers. "Um, maybe we should talk about this afterwards?" she suggested cravenly.
He gave her a look which promised a very long conversation afterwards, and she cursed herself and him for making her feel like a naughty schoolgirl.
"So who's your friend?" Sarah Jane asked, by way of distraction, which seemed to work.
"Oh! Yes, sorry. Sarah Jane meet Martha Jones, Martha this is Sarah Jane, she used to travel with me."
"Hello." Sarah Jane offered her hand, assessing the young woman before her.
"Hello." Martha shook hands, just as frankly assessing the older woman, and the Doctor was suddenly reminded of cats or dogs sizing each other up. He remembered that last time he'd introduced a current companion to a Sarah Jane, and was pleased to see that neither Martha nor Sarah Jane appeared hostile at meeting the other. But then Martha was very aware she was not his first travelling companion. He winced inwardly as he suddenly remembered telling Martha that she wasn't replacing Rose; he'd been supremely tactless, saying that when Martha had only just joined him.
He pushed those thoughts aside, then cleared his throat and both women turned towards him. "We need to deal with the rest of the Things," he said, pointing up at the nest in the branches above them.
Sarah Jane glanced at Martha, then looked back at the Doctor. "OK."
He took her arm and guided her further back from the tree, Martha following, then aimed his Sonic Screwdriver at the nest.
"Ready?" he asked Martha.
She drew another arrow from the quiver, dipped the tip into the pot, then fitted it to the bow.
"Ready," she told him.
He flicked a switch on the Sonic Screwdriver and it emitted a burst of high-pitched noise that made both women wince slightly, but Martha's hands remained steady as she braced herself to make her shot.
Another Thing shot up out of the nest, then dropped towards them and Martha let the arrow fly, hitting the creature in the centre of its chest before it crashed to the grass unconscious. The Doctor looked over to where Martha stood with another arrow already waiting and set off the Sonic Screwdriver again.
As soon as the fourth Thing was unconscious the Doctor filled a net that he'd given Sarah Jane to hold. The creatures were heavier than she'd anticipated and she realised that she was lucky that the Doctor and Martha had arrived when they did. She felt irritated with herself for not doing her research properly before setting out today and wondered if the Doctor thought less of her as a result.
She watched as the Time Lord gave Martha a boost up into the tree, the young woman apparently uncaring about the fact that she was wearing a skirt rather than trousers.
"There are six eggs," Martha called down quietly from her perch alongside the nest.
Sarah Jane watched the Doctor as he anxiously watched his companion carefully putting the eggs into a small leather bag that he'd given her, which she then lowered down to him. She felt a small stab of jealousy at their easy familiarity and friendship, even though she knew that she'd had that same kind of friendship with the Doctor in the past.
First Rose, now Martha, she chastised herself. Sarah Jane Smith, you're too old to feel such petty emotions. She made a silent resolve to get to know Martha better; she hadn't had the chance to get to know Rose properly, and she hoped that this bright and daring young woman wouldn't meet a similar fate.
The Doctor held the bag of eggs out for Sarah Jane to take, his eyes still on Martha above him, watching as she slipped round the branch on which she sat, to swing gracefully down towards the Time Lord. He reached up and caught her around the waist, then lowered her to her feet.
"OK?" he asked anxiously.
"Piece of cake," Martha answered, grinning up at him, clearly amused by his concern.
He gave her a quick hug, then turned to Sarah Jane and took the bag of eggs from her, slipping it into his coat pocket.
"Show off," teased Sarah Jane.
He raised his eyebrows at her, attempting to look stern. "I seem to remember you being a bit more respectful last time we met."
She laughed. "Me respectful? Are you sure?"
He grinned. "Well now you mention it, no."
He picked up the net full of Things and slung it over his shoulder. "Right, we've one more item to take care of, then we can head back to the TARDIS." He looked at Martha. "You OK carrying the bow and the arrows?"
She nodded.
"I can carry something," Sarah Jane offered quickly.
The Doctor grinned. "That's my girl." He handed her the bow as Martha shouldered the quiver of arrows again.
Sarah Jane grinned back, slinging the bow across her back, before turning to Martha.
"So where did you learn your archery skills?" she asked curiously.
"My school's Sixth Form had an archery club," Martha answered. "I was a member for two years, and I've never really lost the knack."
"My Maid Marion," the Doctor said, teasingly.
"Actually I'd rather think of myself as Xena," Martha answered. Sarah Jane gave her a puzzled look. "I guess you've not seen 'Xena: Warrior Princess' on the TV?"
"No," answered Sarah Jane. "I missed that."
Martha gave a shrug. "It's not important." She turned to the Doctor. "Whereabouts is the lizard?"
"Down this way," he said, pointing back out the way they'd come, "and over to the right." He strode off, apparently oblivious of the weight of the net he carried.
"Lizard?" Sarah Jane asked.
"Apparently it arrived with the Things," Martha answered. "He didn't explain it in great detail."
"He's never been very good at explaining in detail," Sarah Jane answered, "except when it was technobabble."
Martha laughed. "That's not changed," she assured the older woman. "What he did say though, was that the lizard and the Things were being transported on a ship that got lost on the way to their home planet Conolophus, so they've settled on Earth instead. But if the eggs hatch, the Things will wipe out all the trees in Great Britain, then spread out and eventually consume all the world's trees. That's why we had to capture them."
Sarah Jane raised her eyebrows. "Oh! I just knew they were alien and thought they should be sent home."
"Do you do that a lot, send aliens back home?" the younger woman asked curiously.
"When I can, if they're not trying to invade or destroy the world."
"Yeah, those are the tiresome ones," Martha said.
"So how did you and he meet?" Sarah Jane asked as they stepped out onto the path and set off in the Doctor's wake.
"My hospital got transported to the Moon and he was a patient there."
"Oh yes, that business with the Judoon," Sarah Jane said knowledgeably.
Martha gave her a startled look. "You know about that?"
The older woman nodded. "Mr Smith told me."
"Mr Smith?"
Sarah Jane blushed slightly, to Martha's surprise. "My supercomputer, it's called Mr Smith."
Before Martha could respond, the Doctor turned and called back to them both. "Are you coming then?"
The two women hurried to catch him up, sharing a quick grin as they did so.
The Time Lord was standing at the edge of the garden known as the Isabella Plantation; it had been one of Martha's favourite places to wander as a child.
"The lizard's in there," he said quietly.
"How big is likely to be?" asked Martha.
"Big-ish," he answered, rather evasively it seemed to the two women, who shared a knowing look behind his back.
"Come on then," Sarah Jane said, moving ahead of the others, "let's find it, then we can go and have a nice cup of tea."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Martha commented, moving past the Doctor and walking beside Sarah Jane, who was following a signal on her wrist computer.
"Nice gadget," she commented admiringly.
"The Doctor made it for me," Sarah Jane answered, "and the Sonic Lipstick."
"He is a bit of a geek, isn't he?" laughed Martha.
The older woman joined in her laughter, neither of them aware of the scowling Time Lord behind them who suspected they were laughing at his expense.
They reached a stream and Sarah Jane's wrist computer started beeping more loudly, causing both women to stop and look around for any sign of the lizard. The Doctor came up behind them, put down the net of Things, then rested each hand on one of their shoulders, looking between them at the bank of the stream.
"Can you see it?" he asked softly, staring intently at a group of rocks on the nearside of the stream.
"No," answered Sarah Jane just as Martha breathed a yes.
"There," Martha told her, pointing.
There was a flicker of movement and then Sarah Jane could see the lizard too; a brown-grey coloured creature with a long tail. She gasped as she realised it was nearly as big as the Things.
"How are we going to capture it?" she asked the Doctor quietly.
"Same way as before," he answered, even as Martha was unslinging the quiver of arrows and pulling off her coat.
Sarah Jane struggled with the bow, not realising the string had caught in her coat and Martha went to help her, lifting the bow free.
"Look out!" shouted the Doctor suddenly.
They both turned just as the lizard sprang at them. Sarah Jane immediately pushed Martha out its path, but she wasn't quick enough to move aside herself and the lizard hit her full force. She yelled out in surprise and fright as the creature knocked her off her feet and into the stream.
Martha immediately scrambled to her feet, and quickly fitted an arrow to the bow and sent it whizzing through the air to strike the lizard in the back of the neck. The Doctor dragged Sarah Jane from the stream as Martha fitted another arrow, just in case it wasn't going to stay down.
The Doctor pulled off Sarah Jane's coat and waistcoat, then wrapped her in his long coat.
"I know it's too big," he told her, "but it's better than wearing too many wet clothes."
She nodded, shivering.
"We need to get Sarah Jane somewhere where she can change into dry clothes," Martha told the Doctor anxiously.
"I know." He pulled his Sonic Screwdriver from his pocket and fiddled with the settings for a moment; the next moment the familiar wheeze of the TARDIS' engines sounded behind them.
Martha gaped at him, astounded. "How did you do that?" she asked.
"Later," he answered, guiding Sarah Jane towards the doors. "Get her to the med bay," he said, "and I'll get the Things and the lizard inside."
Martha led the older woman through the corridors to the Med Bay. "You get out of those wet clothes," she said, "and I'll fetch you some dry ones." She handed over a towel.
"Thanks."
"Thank you," Martha answered, "if it hadn't been for you, it would have been me who was wet and shivering."
"Fair's fair," Sarah Jane said as she began unbuttoning her shirt, "you saved me from the first of the Things."
The young doctor nodded, then hurried to the wardrobe, wondering if they had anything that would fit the older woman. As she stepped through the doorway, she immediately noticed a rack of clothes that looked a suitable size.
"Thank you," she said softly to the TARDIS, patting the wall, before grabbing jeans, shirt, sweater and underwear. She carried everything back to the med bay where Sarah Jane was wrapped in a towel and huddled in a chair.
"Here you are," Martha said. "I'll let you get dressed while I see how the Doctor's getting on, then I'll come back and check you over." She put the clothes down on the nearest bed.
"Thanks."
"Welcome." The younger woman hurried out and down the corridor towards the Control Room. She met the Time Lord coming the other way, now dragging the net full of creatures behind him.
"Need a hand?" she asked.
He shook his head. "I'll manage," he told her, "the TARDIS has rearranged her corridors so the pens are close. You look after Sarah Jane for me please."
"OK."
* * * * * *
Twenty minutes later, the Doctor tapped on the door of the med bay and Martha opened it with a smile.
"Come in," she told him.
"How are you?" he asked Sarah Jane.
"Fine," the older woman assured him.
"Good. Why don't we go and have some tea, and we can talk?"
The two of them agreed, and they headed to the kitchen where the Doctor insisted they take a seat whilst he made the tea; he found a tin of biscuits and told them to help themselves.
A few minutes later they were settled around one end of the kitchen table, Martha between the Doctor and the older woman.
"So Sarah Jane Smith, tell me about these children who help you."
She took a breath, gathering her thoughts, then explained about the arrival of Maria Jackson, across the road and the almost-simultaneous attempted invasion by the Bane. She told them about finding 'the archetype', as the Bane called Luke, and how she'd adopted him rather than let the authorities get hold of him. She also talked about the Slitheen at Luke and Maria's school, and how they'd become friends with Clyde, another boy at the school and all three had helped her see off the Slitheen. She then told them about the Gorgon, and the business with children being kidnapped from Combat 3000 in order to serve in an alien war.
She watched the Doctor's face as she recounted her tale, and saw admiration and pride for her in his face.
"My Sarah Jane," he said, when she'd finished speaking. "I might have known you'd end up emulating me."
"So you're not angry with me?" she asked.
He shook his head. "I can't really blame you for carrying on the things we did when we travelled together," he said. "Besides, it's good to know there's someone I can trust on Earth, looking out for people." He couldn't help thinking that if anyone from Torchwood had known of Luke's existence, that young man would be a lot worse off than he was now.
"I'd like to meet your teenage team," he said, "but first, we have to get the Things and the lizard to their home planet." He looked at her speculatively. "Fancy a trip?"
Sarah Jane looked thoughtful for a moment, then grinned. "Why not?" she asked. "But just the one trip, there and back."
The Doctor gave her a big, beaming smile. "Definitely," he said, standing up and pulling her into a hug, lifting her up off her feet in the process.
He set her down again. "Right, let's get the TARDIS on the way to Conolophus!" He disappeared through the door and Sarah Jane turned to Martha.
"You don't mind me tagging along, do you?" she asked, remembering Rose's initial reaction to their meeting.
The young doctor shook her head and smiled. "Not if it means I've the chance to get the low down on him."
Sarah Jane laughed and put her arm around Martha. "I've a feeling you and I are going to be friends."
They headed towards the Control Room and Martha wondered if the Time Lord knew just what he'd let himself in for.