Yours Is No Disgrace

Author's Notes: Dedicated to Pearl and Warinbabylon - as well as the Tom who lives in my head. This is a sequel to 'Eclipse' as well as being a re-write of the TV episode 'Deadly Assassin'.

Chapter One

You and I can change the world;
The more we live, the more we learn, the more we know.

"Doctor! Doctor!" Sarah Jane called to the near-comatose man in her arms, desperate for him to acknowledge her, to reassure her that he was all right.
"No...no!" He moaned, stirring restlessly. Sarah didn't know what to think. First that split second of confused silence from him, then he had moved, announcing that he had to return to Gallifrey...not too long after that, he had suddenly jerked, began staring into space as if looking at a vision only he could see. Then he had cried out and crumpled to the floor as though struck by an unseen force. The echoes of his pain tore through their strange emotional link, leaving her with a terrific headache and a terrible sense of foreboding.
Sarah had run to his side, terrified for him, fearing there was something very wrong.
"Doctor, please, tell me what's wrong!" She fretted. His brilliant blue eyes flicked open,
"The President...someone's going to kill the President..." He gripped her hand tightly in his, as if drawing strength from her presence.
"What?" Sarah gasped. The Doctor hauled himself to his feet with some difficulty and stared at the central console.
"We've arrived." He whispered. Then he turned to stare at her. "Sarah, "He said with utter seriousness, "I need you to stay here in the TARDIS."
"But Doctor..." she objected automatically, but the words died in her throat as she saw the look in his eyes, they were desperately concerned ...almost fearful. He was afraid for her. "Please, Sarah. This is very important. Gallifrey is a very dangerous place just now. I want you to go as far into the TARDIS as you can and find a place to hide."
The look in his eyes convinced her to do as he asked. She looked at him, throwing her arms around his neck.
"Please be careful, Doctor." She said into his neck. He returned her embrace just as fiercely.
"I will."

##########

The waiting was awful.
Sarah crouched in a small space deep inside the TARDIS, hearing only the rapid sound of her breathing as she waited and worried.
The Doctor was such a...a little boy sometimes. She knew his propensity for striding boldly into dangerous or even deadly situations. He could have gotten hurt, or arrested or....
She deliberately quashed that line of thought, trying to concentrate on the positive... but it wasn't really working so well. Sarah found herself wringing her hands as in her mind's eye, she saw the Doctor in over a dozen creatively perilous situations, most drawn from memories of their time together.
He had been gone for a long time now...or perhaps her perception of time had been skewed by her desperate worry for him. Hah, time in the home of the Time Lords...the thought struck her as almost funny, but she quickly stifled her laughter when she heard soft footsteps coming down the corridor. She held her breath for a moment, until she felt a tickle of...something run across her mind. She could feel something that was as quick and bright as a flash of lightning, yet was overlain by the wisdom of a whole lifetime. Sarah ran from her hiding place, straight into the Doctor's arms.
"Sarah, didn't I tell you to stay hidden?" He asked in mock severity. Sarah just smiled up at him.
"I knew it was you." She said softly. The Doctor looked mildly surprised by that statement, but gently took her hand and led her back to the console room and began fiddling with the controls. Sarah took a seat in one of the elegant Edwardian wing chairs as she watched him work.
"How did you get away from those guards?"
"Hmm? Oh, I created a diversion." He said nonchalantly.
"My, aren't we blasé." She replied with a faint smile, though she could tell he wasn't really listening as he muttered to himself, battling valiantly with the TARDIS controls until he let out a triumphant "Ah ha!" and the monitor cleared to reveal a fairly young-looking Time Lord who identified himself as working for Public Register Video.
'Probably the local equivalent of the Evening News.' Sarah thought to herself.
The commentator droned on, his dull, monotone voice speculating about the possible identity of the new President when suddenly the Doctor laughed.
"I knew I'd seen him before - it's Runcible. Runcible the Fatuous."
"You know him?" Sarah queried.
"Oh, I did once. He was one of my classmates at the Academy. And a more boring, pedantic individual you have never met."
Then the monitor view seemed to switch of its own accord, suddenly showing an outside view of the TARDIS...and a group of guards attaching some strange objects to the Police Box's surface.
"What are they..." Sarah never got to finish her sentence as she was overwhelmed by the agonising sensation of being torn apart by some unseen force. She tried to scream, but couldn't. There was so air to carry the sound...and her vocal chords had already gone...she was floating in an airless void. Emptiness surrounded her, filled her, swallowed her, dragging her inexorably towards insanity...
But through it all she could still feel the nova-bright sparkle of the Doctor's presence, offering her a lifeline.
Then, as abruptly as it had begun, it was over, and Sarah found herself once again inside her own skin, sprawled ungracefully on the floor of the TARDIS console room. The Doctor's body covered hers; trying to offer whatever protection he could to her more fragile form - however futile it was. She could feel his alien coolness even through the layers of clothing that separated them. Their eyes locked, and for just an instant she could read the tides of emotion in them, the uncertainty, but still the unshakable determination, deep affection and pride. She inhaled, wanting to kiss him, but not knowing yet how that gesture would be received, not here, not now...
Then he found his voice, and the spell was broken.
"What a way to travel..." He said, picking himself up and moving back towards the console.
"Where are we?" Sarah asked in a shaky voice, "And what on Earth just happened?"
"Well, it looks like the TARDIS was matter tranducted into the Museum."
"Museum?" She asked him, but the Doctor didn't answer her, instead grabbing her arm and almost dragging him towards the door.
"Come on, we have to stop them from killing the President! We might not have much time left!"
Relieved to finally be included, but at the same time fearful for both their safety, Sarah followed him. At least she might be able to keep an eye out for him...

End of Part One