Sarah Jane Adventures: Near Fatal Decision

Time Frame: Fifth Season

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended and I make no profit from the following story. The Sarah Jane Adventures, Doctor Who, and Torchwood are owned by the BBC

"Girl, you shouldn't be doing this alone," one of the girls at school said to Rani. "If Mr. Williams knew you were working on this story he'd take it away from you and tackle it himself or he would insist on partnering with you on it."

"Lisa, it's just an article on alleged steroid abuse," Rani replied. "And I'm not going to tell him until I have something concrete to go on instead of just hearsay."

"Whatever but I still think you're taking an unnecessary risk," Lisa said and walked away as she headed for her next class.

Rani shrugged and continued to go over the notes of what she had so far. Sky sat down next to her.

"What did Lisa mean when she said unnecessary risk?" Sky asked her older friend.

"She thinks that a story I'm working on right now for the school paper is dangerous," Rani replied.

"Well is it dangerous?" Sky questioned.

"Only if I'm not careful, and even then it's probably not as dangerous as Lisa is making it out to be she tends to exaggerate." Rani wrote some more notes down in her notepad.

"Maybe my mum should help you," Sky suggested.

Rani smiled and shook her head.

"What?" Sky inquired.

"Sky, Sarah Jane is one of the top journalists in her field. I'm sure she has better things to do than to help out with a high school article. Besides she's very busy right now."

"She's never too busy to keep her kids out of danger," Sky reminded her.

"Sky, you and Luke are not in danger," Rani retorted.

"You know what I mean, Rani. You, Clyde, and Maria are her kids also."

"I know, but I'm not in danger, Sky, don't pay attention to Lisa she'll just worry you half to death." Rani finished updating her notes.

"At least take Clyde with you when you do the field work on this article," Sky pleaded.

"Clyde's busy with work these days when he's not playing football or helping us out with what we do," Rani said the last part about the aliens.

"Oh please," Sky rolled her eyes heavenward and then looked Rani in the eye. "Clyde would move Heaven and Earth to keep you safe. He's in love with you."

"And I'm in love with him," Rani rose to her feet and started walking home. "But I'm not going to worry him when there's nothing to worry about."

Sky sighed. "If things start to look bad will you please tell Clyde or my mum, so they can make sure that no one hurts you?"

"I will, Sky, don't worry," Rani assured her. Note to self, slap Lisa upside the head the next time you see her for worrying Sky like this, she kept the thought to herself and walked home with her younger friend.

Gita met them outside. "Sky, you're staying with us for a couple of hours. Your mum had to go interview someone and they were only available to do the interview this afternoon."

"Ok," Sky replied and went inside the Chandra home with Rani and Gita. Rani and Sky helped Gita get tea ready while they waited for Haresh to get home from work.

"Lisa Stanley called me before you two got home," Gita said while she prepared the main dish. "Rani, are you working on a dangerous article?"

"It's not dangerous," Rani said. "Not with the way I'll handle it. Lisa's just making a mountain out of a mole hill."

"What's the article about?" Gita asked.

"About half a page long so far," Rani quipped.

"Don't be cheeky," Gita stifled back a laugh. "Tell me."

Rani sighed. "There are rumors going around that some of the athletes at school are using steroids to enhance their performance. I'm just trying to see if it's true or not, and if it is I'll get proof and submit the article to Mr. Williams."

"And you'll be careful while you're gathering this proof?" Gita pried.

Rani nodded. "I promise."

"That's all I ask," Gita said as Haresh walked in.

"Gathering proof for what?" Haresh asked.

Gita brought him up to speed.

"You can go ahead and kill that article," Haresh insisted. "I'll call the police and let them investigate and handle it."

"But, dad, an article like this will look very good on my Uni applications," Rani argued.

Haresh shook his head. "I don't want you working on anything where drugs might be involved. Do you even know if it's true? Do you even know who all is involved? Anytime drugs are involved there's a chance of very powerful and dangerous criminals being involved."

"Haresh, darling, she'll be careful. Rani won't take any unnecessary risks. This is our daughter we're talking about." Gita had him test taste the dish she was preparing.

"Very good," he smiled and then kissed Gita. "I'm only trying to keep our daughter out of harms way."

"Thank you," she kissed him back. "No, you're making assumptions just like Lisa Stanley. Besides if this rumor is true the kids that are involved will more likely be willing to talk to another kid instead of some undercover cop pretending to be a kid."

Haresh thought it over and then said to his daughter. "Ok, go ahead, but don't do any field work alone. If you get a lead to follow, one of us goes with you. If your mum and I aren't home you get Clyde or Sarah Jane to go with you."

Rani had begun to protest thinking her father was overreacting but knew she wouldn't get out of her house again unless she agreed. "Ok, dad," she lied. Truth was there was no way she would wait around for someone to go with her if a lead came up. She knew how to take care of herself and she wasn't going to let a good lead slip away just because there might be a little danger involved. If I can help save the world from aliens on a near weekly basis I can surely defend myself against drug dealers and drug users. Besides, Sarah Jane is never afraid to do field work alone, and she always lands on her feet, she concluded.

The next day at Park Vale Comprehensive she managed to talk to a few kids who were able to give her some very important information.

"Are you sure the exchange will take place tonight?" Rani tried to clarify the lead.

"I'm pretty sure," one of the kids who had witnessed some of the steroid use told her. "I'll call you later with the location and time."

"Ok, thank you, Matthew," Rani said and gave him her mobile phone number.

Once she walked away Matthew's smile quickly turned into a glare. He called someone using his mobile.

"She fell for it, sir," Matthew told the person.

"Good, and the person who has given her the information she has on us so far?" Alexander Kramer inquired.

"She won't tell me who it was," Matthew informed Alexander.

"Oh she'll be telling me," Alexander boasted as he continued to silently plot.

Later that evening Matthew phoned Rani and gave her the time and location of the meeting. Her parents were out that night having dinner and a movie. Sky and Sarah Jane went to visit Luke at Oxford and were going to bring him home to Ealing for Winter Break. Clyde was on his way to work. Thus, Rani went alone to the meeting place.

"Hey, Sky, are you OK?" Luke asked as they rode in his car back to Ealing. Sarah Jane was behind them in her car.

"I guess," Sky answered.

"What do you mean you guess? Out with it little sis," Luke insisted as he kept his eyes on the road and also an ear on his sister.

"I think Rani has bitten off more than she can chew," Sky said and then brought him up to speed.

Luke mulled over her words and had also begun to worry. "Does mum know about this?"

"No, I promised Rani I wouldn't worry her about it. She's been busy with work," Sky told him.

"She's not busy with work right now," Luke said and phoned his mum.

"What's up?" Sarah Jane asked.

"Mum, can we pull over at the café that's coming up. We need to talk," Luke said.

"But, Luke, our house is five minutes away," Sarah Jane reminded him.

"It's really important and it can't wait," Luke stressed.

"Ok," Sarah Jane said and seconds later the three of them were parked in the café's parking lot and were talking by Luke's car.

Luke told his mum what Sky had told him.

"Mum, I don't like this," he said when he was finished.

"Oh believe me I don't either. Rani, doesn't have nearly enough experience to take on a story like this not on her own anyway. Why wasn't I told? If I hadn't of been able to talk her out of doing the story I could've helped her with it," Sarah Jane was livid as she tried to reach Rani on her mobile.

Rani answered on her way to the location. "Hi, Sarah Jane, I can't really talk right now."

"Tough," Sarah Jane replied. "I know about the story now where are you?"

"Sarah Jane, it's OK I got this besides you're busy with your own articles." Rani glanced at her watch as she hoped she wouldn't be late.

"No, where are you?" Sarah Jane demanded.

"Sarah Jane, I have to follow a lead," Rani replied.

"And they can wait a minute, now where are you?" Sarah Jane stood her ground.

"I'm already there," Rani said and gave her the location once she arrived at the meeting place.

"Are there people around?" Sarah Jane asked as she wrote down the location.

Rani was about to answer but let out an ear piercing scream instead and then the line went dead.

"Rani!" Sarah Jane shouted.

"Mum?" Luke worried. "What happened?"

She gave Luke the location, dialed 9-9-9 and then got her in a car and sped toward the location.

Luke and Sky got in his car and followed his mum.

"When we get there stay in the car," Luke ordered his sister. "We don't know yet what we'll find when we get there."

Sky nodded as she worried about Rani.

Rani was lying on the ground trying to get to her feet but couldn't at the moment. The object that Alexander had used to strike her in the head with had been too powerful.

Alexander knelt down beside her as he browsed through the notepad she had brought with her. "If you don't want to get worse," he said as he smashed her cell phone. "I suggest you give me your source."

"Never," Rani growled at him.

He punched her in the face a few times. "What was that?"

She let out a scream from the pain. "I said never."

"Rani, come on just tell him. Things will go a lot easier for you if you do," Matthew advised.

"Go to hell," she glared at Matthew for his betrayal.

Alexander hit her in the head again with the heavy and powerful object. He then took out a knife and stabbed her with it driving it deep into her side. "If you don't want to die a slow and painful death tonight you better start talking," he hissed in her ear.

Suddenly the sounds of screeching tires and slamming car doors were heard. Also, sirens started to fill the night air.

"Get away from her! Leave her alone!" Sarah Jane shouted as she aimed her sonic lipstick at Alexander and fired.

Matthew and Alexander quickly fled the scene in Alexander's car, Alexander dropped Rani's notepad as they fled. Sarah Jane used her sonic lipstick which took out their tires and the engine. Thus the two thugs fled on foot.

Sarah Jane almost went after them but then she remembered why she was there in the first place. "Rani," she worriedly called out and then rushed to and knelt at her side.

"It was a setup," Rani said as she winced in pain. "Obviously," she then cried out from the pain.

Sarah Jane frantically checked her over while tears welled in her eyes. "Rest assured they will not get away with it, and you're going to be fine."

Luke ran back to his car and grabbed as many clean towels as he could he then returned to his mum and Rani.

"Luke, wait what's going on?!" Sky shouted, got out of the car, and then followed him.

Luke's eyes welled with tears when he noticed the stab wound, the head wounds, and the bleeding from his mate's other facial injuries. He and his mum quickly used the towels as they attempted to get the bleeding under control.

"Ok, Rani, who do I have to kill?" Luke quipped trying to keep his tears from falling. He had also been trying to get her mind off of the pain.

"Luke," Rani chided.

"Hey, you don't have a big brother do that so it's up to Clyde and me," Luke gently told her as he tended to the stab wound and his mum tended to the head wounds and other injuries.

Rani tried to laugh but it came out as a scream instead.

Sky hugged her, "Sh, it's OK, you're going to be OK."

"Sky, what are you doing here? Go home, I don't want you to see me like this," Rani said starting to sound out of it.

"I'm not going anywhere," Sky said as her tears of worry and fear fell. "Don't you go anywhere either."

"I won't, honey," Rani said as she had begun to lose consciousness.

"Rani," Sarah Jane looked into her eyes and her worry increased when she noticed that her young friend was starting to pass out. "Come on look at me, keep your eyes open. Besides you have a lot of explaining to do. Why didn't you tell me about the article?"

"You were busy," Rani answered.

"For the record, don't ever let that stop you from telling me anything ever again," Sarah Jane lectured.

"Ok," Rani started to drift off.

"Wait, I'm not finished yet," Sarah Jane said. Oh please let this work. She's lost too much blood. She has to stay awake. "Rani, you're very brilliant at everything you do, but you are not ready to take on an article this serious and dangerous at least not yet. You still need those journalism lessons from me."

"Yeah no kidding," Rani replied. She also tried to say something else but it came out garbled.

"Rani?" Sky looked up from hugging her.

"Rani, can you hear me?" Sarah Jane's tears threatened to fall when she no longer had seen recognition in Rani's eyes. "Rani," she called out.

Rani's head tilted as her eyes closed to the world around her.

"No, no, no, no, no," Sarah Jane's tears began to fall as she and Sky tried to bring their good friend around.

Luke started crying as well.

The police and paramedics arrived at that point. The police took statements while the paramedics tended to Rani.

Sarah Jane spotted something lying on the ground and picked it up. She recognized Rani's notepad right away and also recognized the handwriting as she began to read through it. This story isn't going to go unfinished and I will get to the bottom of this, she fumed as she watched the medics working on Rani.

Luke and Sky hugged her as they watched the medics as well. She hugged them back.

"Hey, Langer, you have a phone call," his boss told him.

"I thought you didn't like us taking calls while we're on the clock," Clyde pointed out. "You don't even let me turn on my mobile while I'm in here." He then got a good look at the older man. "What?"

"Clyde, it's an emergency," his boss told him. "Your mate Luke is on the phone."

Clyde quickly took the call. "Luke, what's going on? Is it my mum?"

"No, Clyde, your mum is fine, it's Rani," Luke replied.

Clyde looked like and felt like he had just been punched in the gut. "Luke, stop playing. If Rani put you up to this tell her she's is so not funny right now."

Luke wiped some escaping tears from his eyes. "Rani can't talk right now, mate."

"Why not?" Clyde asked.

"Clyde, she's badly hurt," Luke answered and then told him the rest.

Guilt washed over Clyde and nearly consumed him at that point as he remembered the phone conversation he had with Rani just before he arrived at work that evening.

"Please skip work and come with me," Rani had pleaded with him. "You know just in case it is a setup."

"Rani, I'd love to but I really can't. What about Sarah Jane or your parents?"

"Sarah Jane and Sky are at Oxford visiting Luke and bringing him home for winter break, remember? My parents are out on a date."

"A date? Seriously?" Clyde chuckled.

"Yes a date, now come on wouldn't you'd rather come with me and protect me tonight. We can have our own private date afterwards."

"That sounds very tempting, but I can't miss work tonight, Rani, I'm sorry. Why don't you call Matthew back and tell him that you can't show up tonight," Clyde suggested.

"I can't do that," Rani explained why she couldn't.

"Rani, I really don't like the idea of you going alone," Clyde worried.

"So come with me," Rani tried again.

"I can't." He arrived at work. "I have to go now. I love you and please stay home."

"I love you too, but I can't. I'll stop by the shop on the way back from checking on the lead," she said and then had hung up with him.

His mind returned to the present.

"I'll be right there," Clyde's voice choked up as tears of fear, guilt, and worry welled in his eyes.

"Clyde, do you need a ride to the hospital?" his boss asked him.

"Thank you but I'll walk it's not that far," Clyde said as he clocked out. "I don't know when I'll be back."

"It's OK, lad, take as much time as you need," his boss said.

Clyde thanked him and then left for the hospital.

Sarah Jane got a look at him once he arrived and wondered why there was guilt in his eyes and on his face. She decided to ask about that later and hugged him instead.

He hugged her back. "How's Rani?" he asked his voice hoarse from crying.

"We don't know yet," she said through her own tears. "She's still being tended to."

"I'm sorry, I should've been with her tonight," Clyde said through his tears.

"Clyde, you didn't know," Luke reasoned.

"Yes I did," Clyde confessed. "But I was more concerned with missing work when I should have been with Rani instead," he then told them about the phone conversation.

Sky let loose on him at that point as she punched and kicked him.

"She called you, you could've been there in time to protect her, and you went to work instead!" Sky raged. "If Rani dies I'll never forgive you, Clyde!"

"Sky, stop it," Luke pulled her away from his best mate. "It's not Clyde's fault, Rani shouldn't have gone alone, but it's not her fault either. The only people to blame are the ones who set her up in the first place."

Sky got loose from Luke's grip, glared at Clyde, and then walked away.

Sarah Jane sighed. "You two stay here," she said and went after her daughter.

"Sparky's right it is my fault," Clyde said to Luke. "If I had been there…"

"Clyde, they probably would've waited for another time to strike out at her. Those men obviously want to kill that story she's working on," Luke pointed out.

"Are Matthew and the other guy in jail?" Clyde inquired.

"They got away, the police are still looking for them and Rani is being guarded by the police until they're in jail." Luke put a hand on Clyde's left shoulder. "Rani's going to be all right."

"What happened to my baby?" The boys heard a voice behind them. They both turned around and had seen Gita and Haresh standing there.

"Answer me," Gita spoke again. "Who hurt my Rani?"

Luke got her sitting and as gently as he could he told her what had happened.

"She promised me she wouldn't do any field work alone," Haresh said in a stunned and devastated tone. "Please tell me that her injuries are minor enough for me to ground her, and just give a good talking to."

Clyde turned away unable to face Rani's father.

"Luke, how bad are her injuries?" Gita inquired as tears welled in her eyes.

Luke's face clouded over. "I'm not a doctor; I'm not sure."

"Luke, please tell us," Haresh pleaded with him.

Luke told them everything which caused Gita's tears to fall and for Haresh's eyes to well with tears.

Haresh sat with his wife and hugged her while his tears began to fall, both feared that they would lose their little girl.

Sarah Jane and Sky returned a few minutes later.

Sky hugged Clyde. "I'm sorry; I know how much you love her. I shouldn't have blamed you."

Clyde hugged her back. "It's OK, Sparky."

"Why would she blame you?" Haresh inquired through his tears.

Clyde sighed and looked at the bottom of his shoes. "I let Rani down tonight," he said and told them the rest.

"Clyde, did you hit Rani in the head?" Haresh questioned.

"No," Clyde replied.

"Did you punch her in the face or stab her?" Haresh then asked.

"Color that under never," Clyde stated.

"Then stop blaming yourself," Gita said through her tears. "Rani should have stayed home when you told her that you couldn't come along. And the thugs who hurt her should've never laid a hand on her."

"Mr. and Mrs. Chandra," Dr. Jason Adams walked into the waiting room.

"That's us," Gita said. "How's my daughter?"

"Not good I'm afraid, we have to operate to repair damage to her abdomen caused by the knife wound and she sustained massive brain trauma," Jason replied.

"How massive is the brain trauma?" Haresh asked. "And how bad is the damage to her abdomen?"

"Her abdomen was cut up badly from the stabbing we can repair it but it'll will be at least three months before it completely heals," he paused before continuing. "Her skull is fractured in three places, her brain is swelling, and it's in danger of hemorrhaging. Her brain is also very badly bruised and there might be brain damage as well. We'll know more once we're able to get the brain swelling to go down. We'll need to operate to put pins possibly plates in to mend the fractures and to stop the brain swelling."

Rani's loved ones let his words sink in as all of them wished that they were just having a bad dream and that they would wake up and she'd be OK again.

"Is she awake yet?" Clyde was the first one to speak.

The doctor shook his head. "She's in a coma, and if she weren't in one already we'd probably have to induce a coma due to the nature of the brain trauma. She wouldn't be able to handle the pain otherwise even with pain medication. Once she's out of surgery that will change but for right now I know it sounds weird but it's not good if she wakes up before then."

"You're right it does sound weird," Gita replied as more tears fell from her eyes. "But after surgery she'll come out of the coma right?"

"That's what we're hoping for," Jason said and once he got the consent for surgery he and the neurosurgeon rushed Rani to emergency surgery.

One hour later Alexander Kramer walked into his study.

"It's done," he said to a figure that had their back turned to him. "The girl is badly injured and will most likely die, and you were right Ms. Smith's sonic lipstick packs a punch."

"Her death is not important to me," the figure spoke. "Let Rani Chandra be. It's Sarah Jane that I'm after. Now that her young friend is out of commission for probably a long while, Sarah Jane will want to make sure that the story Rani started to work on is finished. She'll want to get to the bottom of this, and once she does she'll fall right into our hands, and the Doctor will not be far behind." He laughed evilly as he turned around to face Alexander. "And then the Doctor will regret the day that he ever met me," the Master boasted.

-to be continued