Sarah Jane Smith was standing in her kitchen pouring herself a cup of tea when she heard it. A rough heaving and grinding noise, coming through the open window just to her left. Her mind froze. She knew of only one thing in the entire universe that made that sound. The TARDIS, materializing. Here. In her back garden. Now.
The teacup crashed forgotten into the sink as she raced for the door.
By the time she'd made it around the house and into the garden the blue time ship had already fully coalesced into its familiar, solid form, crushing her newly planted petunias. Ignoring a faint twinge of annoyance she trotted briskly towards it, a smile on her lips, shading her eyes against the glare of the late summer sun. It had been over a year since their meeting at the Deffrey Vale school yet, despite the unexpectedly welcome presence of Luke and young Maria Jackson in her life, not a day went by when she didn't miss him fiercely.
Before she could knock on the wooden paneling the door opened under her hand, and a slight figure stood framed in the entrance.
Sarah looked into the face of a stranger. A youngish man dressed in Edwardian clothes, with a long, lean face, a square chin, an impish smile and a mop of unruly curls that cascaded down over his high, old-fashioned collar. But his eyes, a brilliant azure blue – she knew those eyes. They were eyes that had seen the wisdom of the universe, the fall of civilizations and the infinity of stars. He'd regenerated again, but it was still him.
"Hello, Sarah Jane."
It was him. Though she didn't recognize the voice, its tone was one she could never mistake for any other. No one else had ever said her name quite like that.
"Doctor," she breathed, unable to keep from beaming in delight.
Further greeting died on her lips when he suddenly sagged to his knees and pitched face forward into the grass at her feet.