A Tear For
Sarah Jane
This tribute to Elisabeth Sladen was an exercise in stretching my writing skills. I wrote this straight from my head to a forum quick reply box and posted, so my apologies if it isn't up to the usual brilliant standard of other stories featured on here, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.
The skies over London were overcast and threatened rain, almost as if the Earth itself knew what had been lost and the rain was its tears. It was outside the church where mere months earlier, people had said their last goodbyes to the Brigadier, that another funeral service was getting ready to take place as people dressed in black waited for the hearse to arrive.
As Luke, Rani and Clyde stood, dressed sombrely in black, they reflected on the last few weeks. She'd been fine, a bit more tired than usual perhaps, but otherwise just her usual, positive self, young far beyond her years and yet here they were. It was only after she'd passed away suddenly that Mr. Smith, the alien super computer in the attic, had revealed how long he'd known something was wrong, how she'd ordered him to keep the information to himself and how she wanted whatever time they had left to be as normal as possible.
Although they all suffered, it was Luke in particular that was hit the hardest. He'd been so busy at Oxford that despite his super human intelligence, he hadn't known...h ow couldn't he have known?, his own mother.
He was stirred from his thoughts by the hearse arriving, the wreath spelling out the words "Sarah Jane".
Luke had one last look around and shook his head, "he should be here" he said, a hint of anger clear in his voice
"Maybe he doesn't know mate" Clyde replied, putting his hand on his shoulder, but Luke shook it off
"No, she was there for him, when everyone said he was dead, she was there for him and he can't be bothered to be there for her, the Time Lord thinks he's too good for us mere humans" Luke said, his voice almost at a shout.
Clyde looked over at Rani, who was shaking her head
"Leave him" she mouthed, understanding Luke's grief.
In truth, it had been more than a surprise to all of them that the Doctor still had not shown his face. For almost all of her adult life, Sarah Jane had been devoted to the Doctor, he'd meant the world to her and she was genuinely grief stricken when UNIT had so insisted that he had finally died, that regeneration had finally eluded him and yet here and now, he was no where to be seen.
As they removed Sarah Jane's coffin from the car, the skies overhead darkened and a quiet rumble of thunder sounded over their heads as they entered the church.
There wasn't a particularly large gathering and that only highlighted the fact the Doctor seemingly hadn't bothered to show up. There were representatives of UNIT there in recognition of Sarah Jane's work in defending the Earth against alien threats. Captain Jack Harkness, formerly of Torchwood, had come back to Earth, though he wouldn't say how he'd known what had happened and K9, a robot dog that had once travelled with the Doctor but in recent years had been living with Sarah Jane, was hidden nearby.
The vicar began the service and Luke stood to read something he'd prepared.
"Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone for coming, it means a lot. As most of you know, Mum wasn't biologically my Mum, but in every other way, she was the best Mum you could have. She cared for me, loved me and looked after me and I never felt anything but her son...and I was...am... ...am proud to be her son.
Many, many years ago, Mum met a man who changed her life. He took her to wondrous places, she met people she never could have imagined and he gave her a new perspective on what it was about humanity that should always be celebrated, respected and most of all, protected.
It would be easy to put everything Mum was down to him, to say that he was what my Mum became, but I don't believe that. He might have shown her new places, new people, but my Mum was a warm, loving and caring person and that wasn't him, that was her, Sarah Jane Smith and because of her, the world is a better place.
I'm gonna miss her, more than I could ever describe, and I know Clyde, Rani and Maria, who can't be here today, feel the same way, and anyone who knew my Mum and hears of her passing will feel the same way. I love you Mum" Luke finished.
The rest of the service progressed and it would be remembered as suitably beautiful for such a beautiful person, but high above them in the clouds over London, the thunder cracked louder and louder, as lightning suddenly lit up the sky, only for it to suddenly darken again and it wasn't long before the rain began to pour, as the world mourned the loss of Sarah Jane.
When the service was over, the attendees offered their condolences to Luke in particular, Capt. Jack saying she was one of the most amazing women he'd ever met and he'd known a few, before disappearing as suddenly as he'd appeared nearly an hour earlier.
As they approached the old, varnished doors of the church, Luke, Rani and Clyde hung their heads, tears for Sarah Jane in their eyes, as the absolute end drew ever nearer and despite the heavy rain outside, none of them gave it a second thought.
It was, though, as they approached the double doors that Rani looked up.
"Luke, look" she said, tapping him on the arm, causing him to look up also.
"...It's him, I mean, they're him" Luke said
At the end of the path stood three, large, blue police boxes. Lining the path from the Church to the road, three men stood sombrely, their right hands held in their left.
Rani pulled out a book, in which were stuck photos of various ages and which identified the men as the 3rd, 4th and 10th incarnations of the Doctor, the latter a Doctor they'd met before.
As the coffin passed the 3rd and 4th Doctors, they bowed their heads in respect until it reached the 10th Doctor, who sniffed and wiped his eyes with his sleeve, before giving a slight smile and saying "Goodbye Sarah Jane"
Luke, despite his previous anger, managed a smile.
"Thank you for coming" he said, sincerely
"We had to be here, to say goodbye to my...our Sarah Jane" the 4th Doctor said, to agreeing nods from the 3rd and 10th Doctors.
Of course, it was amazing they'd come. They'd risked the stability of the timeline to bring their Tardises to the same point in space and time to pay their respects to his mother, but from Luke's perspective, they were the echoes of men, some long succumbed to the miracle that was Time Lord regeneration.
So he wasn't there, for whatever reason, he wasn't and Luke wondered whether, now his mother had passed away, he'd ever see the Doctor again.
But, just as they approached the end of the path, a new sound gradually joined the chorus of rumblings and crackings above them. It was the sound of Tardis engines and Luke, Rani and Clyde watched as a forth Tardis materialised next to the other three, this one a much more vibrant shade of blue, with white trimmed windows and a St. John's Ambulance logo on its door.
When it had fully materialised, a sudden flash of bright white light shot from the lamp and tore into the sky and within seconds, a gap in the clouds opened up, allowing bright, golden sunshine to shine down on Sarah Jane's coffin.
The door squeaked open and the 11th Doctor stepped out, tweed jacket, braces, bow tie and all. The 3rd, 4th and 10th Doctors looked at each other and back at him, none of them recognising the man that had stepped out of their Tardis.
The 11th Doctor approached Luke,
"Hi, I'm sorry I'm late, she's a Type 40 Tardis, though I'm glad to see I got here on time" the 11th Doctor said quietly, looking at the other Doctors
"It's ok, I'm just glad you made it, she would have wanted you here" Luke replied
"Sarah Jane was a truly amazing woman, the best of humanity, I'll remember her for as long as I live" the 11th Doctor said
"Coming from you, that means a lot. Erm, we have to go" Luke replied
"Of course"
The 11th Doctor stood aside and watched the funeral procession make its way towards the hearse. The unusual sensation of déjà vucame over him, as his former incarnations remembered watching what he was watching right now, each with their own thoughts and feelings becoming his own. He looked at the 3rd Doctor and then back at the funeral procession as it reached the hearse
"A tear, Sarah Jane?...Most definitely" the 11th Doctor said, a single tear falling from his right eye, falling to join the puddles of rain at his feet.
THE END
This story is the property of JW2006. Doctor Who, UNIT, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood, The Characters Mentioned, The Tardis and Tardis Interior/Exterior are (c) BBC.