London, England

Tegan Jovanka was a thoroughly self-sufficient young woman, a licensed small-plane pilot, a stewardess, and world--not to mention galactic and temporal--traveler. She was independent...usually. And fully capable of taking care of herself...normally. The few occasions where she found herself in need of rescuing of one kind or another were exceptions. Minor interruptions of her life. Temporary, quickly gotten over and quickly gotten through.

Until now.

Not that this was any sort of "normal" rescue situation; oh no, not in the least. Not when her very sanity was at stake. And it was at stake, even more so now than when she had been possessed by the Mara. She could almost feel her grasp on reality slipping through her fingers as she babbled some nonsense about not having fun and bolted like a lunatic, running away before the Doctor or Turlough had a chance to say something to make her change her mind. It happened that quickly; everything came to the boiling point at that moment. The only person who could rescue her this time was herself.

But a hasty decision breeds a hasty regret, as Aunty Vanessa used to say. Even though the regret came hard on the heels of the decision, it was a moment--a lifetime--too late. Second thoughts caused her to run back to the TARDIS, just in time to see it disappear out of her life, no doubt for good this time, and with it any chance she had of setting things right.

Tegan stood numbly for a long moment, staring at the empty space in front of her with no idea where to turn. Home, when her mind began functioning again, was her first impulse. But home presented problems of its own; it had been months since she'd actually been on Earth in her own time and place. There were simply too many things she'd have to explain--and too many things she couldn't explain. Not to her parents, who had been upset enough with her for wanting to become an air hostess, and then for committing the unforgivable crime of simply dropping that ambition and flitting off hither and yon and no good explanation for almost three years. Foolish career choice or not, at least air hostessing was a job. Roaming about like a vagabond was not high on their list of ambitions for their only child. They would never understand, never be willing to understand, especially since she couldn't tell them the truth. No, home was definitely out, at least for the time being. Even her grandfather mightn't understand. Maybe she'd be able to go back to them later, when she had things better sorted out...

The problem still remained, however; if not home, then where? It was while she was casting about desperately in her mind for a solution that she remembered Sarah Jane Smith, whom she'd met so briefly, along with the confusing array of past Doctors and other companions at the Tomb of Rassilon. She lived near London, had given Tegan her address and phone number, telling the younger woman to knock her up whenever she decided to "come back to Earth". Did she still have it...yes, there, tucked with the little bit of money she always carried along with her passport and driver's license in the little pocket inside the top of her skirt. She headed towards the building she'd so recently occupied, to find a phone.

oOo

Sarah Jane came at once, all indignant sympathy. Left her without so much as a suitcase of souvenirs, had he? Typical. She bundled Tegan into her small car, talking all the while, never seeming to mind or even notice Tegan's silence, never asking what had happened, giving the younger woman time to slowly adjust to the thought of once again living a normal life without the Doctor. Something she'd had to do herself in the not-so-distant past.

It wasn't until they reached the house Sarah Jane shared with her Aunt Lavinia that Tegan felt the numbness in which she'd been encased since watching the TARDIS vanish begin to crack. Sarah Jane hadn't stopped talking the entire trip, her words flowing over Tegan soothingly, giving her the comfort of companionship while at the same time allowing her to let go, howsoever temporarily, of her problems and simply sit, quietly, without thinking.

But by the time the car and Sarah Jane both shut down, at roughly the same moment, the numbness had finally worn off, and all the tension and anger came boiling out. She couldn't stop it, not any of it. Not the tears or the self-recrimination, and certainly not the fear and confusion.

The two women sat in the car for almost half an hour. Sarah saw her Aunt Lavinia peering out between the curtains in the front window once, after a few minutes had passed, but she simply nodded at Sarah's "later" wave and disappeared from view again. Tegan didn't even notice.

Sarah sat very still after Tegan had finally talked herself out, trying to absorb all the implications of what she had been told. "Well," she said finally, "there's no possibility of harboring any illusions about life being uncomplicated when the Doctor's involved, is there?" She smiled wryly. "I'm not going to tell you not to worry, everything will work out, because I've no guarantee it will. But," she added "I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Thank you," Tegan replied with heartfelt gratitude. She seemed to relax a little in the cramped seat of the car. "If you couldn't--well, I honestly don't know where else to go. Home just doesn't seem...possible, right now."

Sarah patted the younger woman's shoulder sympathetically at the note of wistfulness that entered her voice. "Well, if they don't know what you've been up to these past few years, I can certainly see why. But for right now,' she added, "I think my Aunt Lavinia is going to absolutely die of curiosity if we don't go into the house." She smiled at the doubtful look Tegan cast upon the front door. "Don't worry; my aunt is a very understanding woman. Plus she knows all about my traipsing about the universe with the Doctor, so she's safe to tell everything." She opened her door handle and led Tegan into the house.