Last minutes of your life

Sarah, The Hand of Fear, the TARDIS, The Doctor and all that jazz belong to the BBC. Not me. Yet.

DOCTORWHODOCTORWHODOCTORWHODOCTORWHODOCTORWHODOCTORWHO

"Forget it. I'll have the sonic screwdriver."
"And boy am I sick of that sonic screwdriver," Sarah Jane said, as she angrily slapped it down into his hand. Still freezing cold from Kastria and still a bit woozy from the hypnotism, she was now sitting on the floor of the console room, passing tools to the Doctor, who was busy trying to fix something. She was still wearing his jacket.

Then something snapped. The Doctor wasn't listening to her. She had been hypnotised, unconscious, stuck, lost, injured or in severe danger more often than she could count in the last three years or so. No wonder Harry had decided to bail out when he did.

"I'm going to pack my goodies, and I'm going home," she said, in a vain bid to get him to listen to her.

No response.

"I said," she started again, her voice angrier than ever, " I'm going to pack my goodies and I am going home!"

No response.

"Right!" Sarah stood up, and stepped over the Doctor's feet. "Excuse me!"
Off she went, out the door and down to her room. When she arrived, she flung stuff into her case, and picked up her white fluffy jacket, a blanket, a flower, a tennis racket (why did she even have that with her?) and her cuddly owl, and marched away back to the control room.

The Doctor looked unusually grave, as she announced her presence by clearing her throat.

"I've had the call from Gallifrey, " he said.

"So?"
"So I can't take you with me, you've got to go."
What!

"I was only joking," Sarah protested. Which was the truth after all. "I can't miss Gallifrey!" Then a thought occurred to her. "Hey, you're not going to regenerate again are you?"

He looked sadder than she'd ever seen him. That was not good. Did that mean her life, as she knew it was going to end?
Sarah tried the only angle that she hoped was now the case. "You're playing one of your jokes on me just to get me to stay."
He shook his head.

Ten minutes later, the TARDIS landed.

She ran over a couple of last minute checks. "And I'll give your love to Harry, and the Brigadier, oh and I'll tell Professor Watson that you're alright!" She would go and see Harry and the UNIT team soon as. And she would go and see Professor Watson and apologise for all the trouble.

'We've landed Sarah," the Doctor said.

"Where," she asked, hoping against hope for the first time in her life that they were not where they were meant to be.

"South Croydon. Hillview Road to be exact. "
"That's my home!" Sarah gasped, torn between well-hidden anguish at having to leave and fondness for the faithful ship. Perhaps she was saddened to such an extent that they went right to South Croydon. It was possible; the TARDIS was very fond of Sarah.

Sarah handed the Doctor his jacket, slipped her own on, and picked up her belongings, and turned to the Doctor.

"Don't forget me," she said.

He grinned back. "Oh Sarah, don't you forget me."

She turned to go. "Bye Doctor."
At the top of the steps, an inspiration occurred. "You know, you were right. Travel does broaden the mind."
The Doctor smiled. It was exactly the sort of thing he expected from his Sarah Jane, and letting her go like this was torture. "Yes. Till we meet again, Sarah."

You stupid timelord! Slap me, kiss me, drag me back, do anything to keep me here! I don't want to leave! Please, Doctor!
She wanted to scream that at him, but had to content herself with a small smile, and stepped out of the door.

The first thing Sarah Jane noticed as the TARDIS (and indeed, a part of her life) vanished, was that she was not in Hillview Road. And she was prepared to bet x amount of money that it was nowhere near South Croydon.
"Damn," thought Sarah.