I neither own Doctor Who or the Sarah Jane Adventures. Someday, my pretties, someday...
Sarah Jane Smith was used to all manner of things crashing in the back garden. Since last Monday, there had been several Arcadin warriors, who had all gotten lost, a creature with an unintelligible name gabbling something about "long range tramsitters", a fortune-teller from Messaline, a relation of her Star Poet, and a schoolbag she recognised as belonging to one Clyde Langer. She didn't inquire too deeply into the last one.
But, except for the backpack, nothing even remotely human had ever used the back garden as a landing point.
So it was rather a surprise, when, one horrendously humid Friday evening, and Clyde and Luke had gone down to the skate park, Maria appeared at the front door and asked did she know that there was a teenage girl in her back garden.
"What?" Sarah cried, almost tripping over the newly returned K9 in her haste to get out of the door.
Maria was right. Near the back wall was a rather dazed looking girl. She was very pretty, and looking around curiously. Although she seemed human, there was just something about her, a sort of air of strangeness, atypical of the one that always came, bag and baggage, with the Doctor.
Maria was the first to speak.
"Are you alright?" she ventured, nervously coming across the lawn to help her up. It was a good thing she had, as the girl was obviously having a hard time staying up. She nodded, and together the two made their slow progress across the lawn.
Sarah studied the newcomer. She had blonde hair, and looked about the same height as her. She was sure the girl was familiar, but she couldn't remember when or where she had seen her. In fact, she was sure she hadn't seen her at all.
"Are you Sarah Jane?" the girl said, weakly. This made both Sarah and Maria jump.
"How do you know my name?" Sarah asked suspiciously, journalistic instincts coming to the fore. Those eyes, she realised, were awfully familiar.
"Fortune teller-" but the girl didn't finish her sentence. She gave a small gasp and then collapsed onto the floor.
Trying not to panic, Sarah and Maria managed to lift the girl between them into the living room and left her on the couch. All Sarah's hopes of a relaxing Friday evening had gone flying out of the kitchen window.
K9 came into the kitchen.
"Greetings Mistress and Mistress Maria. Unknown female resting in living area."
While Maria bent to talk to K9, Sarah was desperately trying to think where she had seen those brown eyes before.
The answer suddenly came to her. It was frightening, somehow, to think who this girl might be.
"K9,"
she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "Go and perform a
scan of the girl next door. Tell me who her parents
are."
"Affirmative." The robot dog went on his merry way.
Maria knew
better than to ask why Sarah was looking so shocked and pale. Instead
she did what her dad always did when she was upset. "Do you want a
cuppa tea?"
Sarah came back down to Earth with a bump.
"Oh..um..yes," she managed. Her mind was whirring at a ferocious
speed.
It wasn't the only thing. K9 came beetling back into the room as fast
as his batteries would let him.
"Female coming round. Mother unidentifiable, Father identified as Doctor Master."