This was meant to be a follow up to my fic 'anticipation', although I think it works as a oneshot. On it's own I think it could work for the third Doctor too. On that note, I'd really like to give writing three/Sarah a go if anyone wants to give me a prod.

The prompt for this (thanks to Spydurwebb) was 'nervousness', although it didn't go that way at all in the end, hence the different title. Ho hum. Maybe next time!

All owned by the BBC, nothing is mine etc.

A Further Study

Sarah really ought to go to bed. Instead she snuggled deeper into the sofa cushions. She lay on her side on the couch in the TARDIS library while the Doctor reclined in the corner, sitting at an angle to give her a little more space to stretch out. His legs were outstretched and his ankles crossed, a copy of Grey's Anatomy in his lap. It was one of his favourites, he had said, and Sarah had idly wondered if he studied other alien species in the same depth he studied humans. It had been a tiring day and this was as close as he usually got to resting.

They had kissed precisely three weeks, two days and one hour ago - by Sarah's personal timeline as least. In the TARDIS it could have been a century ago or a millennium, tomorrow or a year ahead given that they were floating in the vortex where time was fluid and meaningless and everything happened now and never and forever.

It had been awkward at first. Stutters and blushes and backing away from each other to return to the task at hand under the mistletoe in that unremarkable office block, while the world continued around as them as though nothing had happened. And they had continued too, the only difference being that the Doctor had kept his distance just a little more than usual, an infinitesimal amount that Sarah felt rather than saw. She missed his hand on her back, his arm around her shoulders and it had struck her that she hadn't realised how much he touched her until he stopped. And now that she had the memory of his hand holding her face, and his lips on hers to torture herself with, the lack of contact had become agonising.

Today though, she had been in danger again and his protective, possessive side had reared its head. The tribe they had stumbled upon in a deep forest on a primitive planet had been ferociously patriarchal and they had seen Sarah as a prize to be forcibly taken. The Doctor had pulled her roughly into his side and had had to virtually claim her as his mate in order to get her away from them. He had kept her close even after they had escaped the village and half carried her back to the TARDIS despite the fact that she was perfectly capable of walking. Her feminist principals rebelled against his chivalry, but a deeper, more basic part of her was deeply moved by the way he could become so caveman like, instinctively protecting her. It was a part of him that she didn't see often, but she had discovered she rather liked being claimed.

Once he had set them to float in the vortex they had retired to the library, something she had noticed the Doctor only really did after something particularly shook him. Sarah had long ago given up on her own book and laid down to rest, ignoring the Doctor's half hearted murmurings that she'd be better off in her bed. She ignored him, knowing that the fact he was still sitting next to her rather than off tinkering with the TARDIS was more indicative of his concern for her than of his own fatigue.

He was so close. The top of her head was no more than a whisker away from his thigh. His hand was resting on the back of the sofa and she willed him to move it, to touch her. She was tired, and aching, and fighting to stay awake but she knew that to move now would be to break this fragile spell, end this comfortable, peaceful moment of domesticity and companionship. If she just stayed still, the irrational part of her mind told her, they could stay in this reverie together forever. They would never have to discuss their kiss, he would not have to skirt around the issue and she would be able to continue imagining it might happen again.

She was just starting to drift off into sleep when she felt it, the tiniest whisper of a touch, the very tips of his fingers grazing over the sensitive part of her side between her shoulder and underarm. So light she wasn't even sure it was real; she wondered if he had been able to hear her thoughts, if she'd been mentally screaming at him to touch her.

She shifted slightly in order to ascertain if she was imagining things, trying to make the movement seem like a natural change of position. It was pointless really to try and feign sleep really. His superior senses would almost certainly be able to tell her exact level of wakefulness, especially if he did, as she suspected, have his hand on her. For a moment she fancied she could feel his amusement at her pretence through his fingertips, his nerve endings somehow transmitting his moods through to hers.

She risked opening her eyes a sliver to take him in. From where she was lying she could see the heavy textbook in his lap, his large, gentle hand holding it open. She wondered vaguely if he was planning another experiment; if he deemed that his last had been a success or not. His fascination with her species seemed to know no bounds and he never seemed to tire of learning more about them. He shifted slightly and then she was certain she felt the definite pressure of his hand, tracing a figure of eight on her side. She closed her eyes again and concentrated on the sensation of his fingers slowly stroking up and down her side, from shoulder to hip. His hand paused when he reached the ridge where he could feel her bra through the tight jumper she wore. Sarah felt her muscles tense at the unfamiliar contact. It was no different to him touching her back or shoulder when escorting her through a door or helping her over rocky ground, she reasoned to herself; but the feel of him touching her underwear, acknowledging that it was even there, was a change that seemed so intimate, the quantum leap between a friend's touch and something an established lover would do. The Doctor slowly started to trace the outline of her undergarment with forefinger and thumb, running them along the top and bottom of the strap where it sat under her arm, pinching them together to lift the fabric slightly before letting it flick back into place. Sarah was suddenly finding it rather hard to breathe. The Doctor's fingers tightened as he sensed her change in mood, and he flattened his palm against her side, sliding it down to sit in the curve of her waist.

"The human female," he murmured softly, finally breaking the silence, "has wider hips than the male in order to facilitate childbirth"

Sarah's minded skittered over his meaning; perhaps he had been reading his textbook rather too often.

His hand travelled downwards, soft and hesitant, finding the hem of her jumper and gently pushing it up to allow his fingers to touch her bare skin. His touch was cool but it set Sarah's nerve endings on fire. His hand curved around her hip, the smallest finger just barely finding its way under the waistband of her jeans.

"Often," he continued, "the curve of the hip is attractive to human males, who at a basic level see it as a sign of fertility"

His hand moved upwards again, sliding into the dip of her waist and up towards the back of her bra again, tracing it in the same way as before, without the barrier of her jumper.

"It's not just human males who find it attractive, Sarah"

Sarah's eyes flew open and she turned her head to look up at him. He was still staring resolutely at his book, but his furrowed brow indicated he was having to concentrate just a bit too hard. It occurred to her that he hadn't turned the page since sitting down. She bit the bullet and rolled over, moving up so her head was on his thigh. He kept his hand on her as she moved so it came to rest on her front, against her ribs, his thumb just brushing the underside of her breast. He finally turned away from his book and met her gaze, his eyes dark. His hand stroked her side again and a tiny smile graced his lips.

"What?" she whispered

"I think it's time I took you to bed, Sarah"

Any thoughts? Reviews really do make my day!