Sarah Jane Smith pulled the belt of her dressing gown tighter across her stomach and padded out of her bedroom.
It was late. When she'd first cracked her eyes open to look at the clock next to her bed, she'd seen that it was 2:45. She'd groaned inwardly. I should be asleep, she'd chided herself, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Just another part of getting older, I suppose.
It was true. Sarah Jane was not a young girl anymore. She was older than she cared to admit, but she was in good shape for her age. She'd never taken up smoking or drinking, and she'd gotten plenty of exercise in her youth and even now. Every time she visited her GP she got positive reports.
What had awoken her of course, had been a dream. It had been a dream, hadn't it? She'd been fast asleep, and she'd heard a familiar sound, a sound that tugged at her heart strings and filled her with joy and adrenaline. The familiar vwrop vwrop vwrop of the TARDIS engines grinding. A glance out the window, however, had left her with nothing but empty disappointment. The yard was empty. No TARDIS. No Doctor.
As she made her way down the hall toward the stairs, she passed her son Luke's room. Sky's room, she corrected herself. Even after two years with Sky, Sarah Jane still thought of the room as Luke's. She'd never expected to have a son, let alone a son and a daughter.
Sarah Jane cracked the door open and peered inside. The room was dark, but the curtains were parted slightly and sliver of bright white light from the full moon outside spilled in and illuminated Sky's sleeping form. Her chest rose and fell evenly.
The girl was fourteen now, yet when she was asleep, she looked just as young and innocent as she had the first time Sarah Jane had laid eyes on her.
A smile tugged at the corners of Sarah Jane's lips. "Sleep well, sweet Sky," she whispered before gently easing the door closed behind her and continuing her journey.
Once in the kitchen, Sarah Jane got herself a glass of water and took a sip. The icy coldness felt good on her dry throat. Truth be told, it was a bit warm in the house. She loosened her dressing gown a bit and opened the door that led out to the back garden.
The gentle night breeze washed over her and soothed her immediately. It was almost summer, and the days were getting warmer. The nights should be cooler, but this night was unseasonably warm. Not a problem, though. Sarah Jane could just go out and sit at the table in the garden and cool down for a bit before she attempted to go back to bed.
She crossed the lawn, her slippered feet not making a sound on the lawn. With a contented sigh, she sat down in a chair and leaned her head back. The breeze ruffled her dark, shoulder-length hair. Sarah Jane took another sip of her water.
"Hello, Sarah," a deep, gruff Scottish voice said, breaking the silence.
"Oh, my!" Sarah Jane propelled herself to her feet, her hands flying to her heart. Through her dressing gown, she could feel her heart hammering away. "Who are you?" she demanded. "How do you know my name?"
"It's me, Sarah." The man stepped out of the shadows and the moonlight lit up his face. He was a tall man, with a shock of tidy grey hair. His face was aged and his eyes burned intensely.
Even though she didn't recognize the face or voice, Sarah Jane certainly recognized the eyes. "Doctor?" she asked, hope making her voice soft and gentle.
"Yes," the Doctor said, eying her.
"Oh, Doctor!" Sarah Jane's face lit up with a brilliant smile and for the slightest second, she looked exactly as she had all those years ago when they'd first met. That had been many faces ago for the Doctor.
Sarah Jane stood and crossed the distance between her and the Doctor quickly. She threw her arms around him and squeezed tightly. "I'm not….actually….a hugging person," the Doctor croaked, his breath short from the constriction.
Sarah Jane pulled back and laughed. "You've changed your face again," she noted.
"Nothing new there," the Doctor grumbled.
"You just can't keep a face, can ya?" she teased.
The Doctor's hard face lightened with a smile. "You know me better than that, Sarah."
She nodded. "You're Scottish now?"
"Figured I'd give it a try. Still not ginger, however."
"I quite like it," Sarah Jane admitted. "I don't like it when you look younger than I do. People start thinking I'm your mum."
"Oh, Sarah," the Doctor said, eying her warmly. "You'll always be young to me."
Sarah Jane blushed, staring down at her feet. "I'm an old woman, Doctor."
"You're only as old as you allow yourself to be."
It was quiet for a moment as both old friends tried to think of something to say. Finally, Sarah Jane found her confidence again. "What brought you here?" she asked, hugging her arms over her chest. "It's the middle of the night and I'm in my dressing gown, I hope it's not an alien invasion or something."
"No," the Doctor answered. "But even if it were, a dressing gown would be fine. Clara wore hers at Christmas.
"Clara?" Sarah Jane asked gently. She knew that the Doctor had had companions since she'd left the TARDIS, she'd even met a few of her successors.
"She's my…."
"Companion? Assistant?"
"I prefer to think of her as my carer," the Doctor said.
"Carer, I quite like that."
"But to answer your question, I'm not here to whisk you off on some wild adventure."
"Oh, no?" Admittedly, Sarah Jane's heart fell a bit. She missed the thrill of travelling through time and space.
"No, I just stopped by….to catch up."
"In the middle of the night?"
"Yeah, sorry. The timing's a bit off." The Doctor ran a hand through his hair to hide his embarrassment. Even after hundreds and hundreds of years travelling in the TARDIS, he had still not mastered the navigation systems.
"Is she being difficult again?" Sarah Jane commiserated.
"Always."
Sarah Jane motioned toward the chairs. "Would you like to sit?" she offered.
"I suppose."
They sat down side by side. "All right, Doctor?" Sarah Jane took in his dark jacket and white shirt. He looks like a magician, she noted quietly.
"Wonderful, Sarah," the Doctor answered. "And you?"
"No complaints."
"How's….it's Luke, isn't it? I'm not good with names."
"Yes. He's great. Almost done with university. He's got another year left."
"Where's he studying?"
"Oxford." Sarah Jane beamed with pride. "He's going to be a scientist."
"Good for him."
"I'm very proud."
"With Luke gone at Oxford you must be lonely…"
"Actually, I'm not. I have a daughter now. Her name is Sky."
"Sky?"
The Doctor felt a weight lifted off his shoulders. He'd been worried that Sarah Jane was alone once more. It had been nagging at him for quite some time.
"Yes. She's a wonderful girl. You'll have to meet her some time. She's brilliant."
"I'd expect nothing less from your daughter."
Sarah Jane laughed. No matter how long she and the Doctor were apart, whenever they got together, it was as if they'd never left each other's side. "So, where's Clara?"
"Oh, she's in the TARDIS. Taking a bath."
"I'd love to meet her."
Just then, a young woman with dark hair and a full, elfish face came out of the bushes. She looked oddly familiar. Had Sarah Jane seen her before? "Doctor?" she asked. Sarah Jane noted that she had a northern accent. Blackpool?
"Ah, Clara." The Doctor stood up.
"I came out of the bath and you were gone. I thought you'd gone off on some crazy adventure without me," Clara said, hands on hips.
"Clara Oswald, may I present…"
"Sarah Jane Smith," Sarah Jane said, standing up. She held out her hand.
"Nice to finally meet you!" Clara exclaimed, shaking Sarah Jane's hand. "I've heard so much about you!"
"Oh?" Sarah Jane asked innocently. She met the Doctor's gaze and shot him a grin.
"The Doctor mentions you all the time."
"He does?" She chuckled. "Say…have I…seen you before?" She couldn't place it, but Sarah Jane swore she'd seen Clara before…
"Oh, yeah." Clara shuffled her feet and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I stopped by once."
"Stopped by? Here?" Sarah Jane scrambled back through her memory. When had that been?
"Clara?" the Doctor shot Clara a quizzical look.
"It was after we split up," Clara confessed, looking at the Doctor. "I was missing you and trying to adjust to normal life again. I thought I'd find one of your former companions and it would help me. I came here once, about eight months ago…" Clara turned to Sarah Jane. "You were in rush to get somewhere. You had a group of kids with you."
"Rani, Clyde, and Sky," Sarah Jane said, nodding. "I remember now. You wanted to talk to me."
"Yes." Clara chuckled. "Sorry."
"Don't be. I know how hard it is. Going back to ordinary life."
"Thankfully it didn't last."
"Yes."
Any further conversation was halted by a gregarious yawn from Sarah Jane. "Excuse me," she said, covering her mouth.
"Well, Clara, we'd better be going." The Doctor moved toward Sarah Jane.
"Oh, no, stay, please!" Sarah Jane begged. "It's fine!"
"You're tired, Sarah. Another time."
The Doctor leaned in and kissed the top of Sarah Jane's head. "Promise?" she asked.
I promise." The Doctor gave her a quick hug.
"It was nice to meet you, Sarah Jane," Clara said, hugging her, too. "Really."
"Yes, it was. I hope we'll be able to get to know one another better next time."
"I hope so." Clara shot her and grin and started to make her way back to the TARDIS.
Sarah Jane followed them behind the bushed so she could catch a quick glimpse of the TARDIS. There it was. The exterior had changed slightly, but it was pretty much the same.
Clara opened the TARDIS door. "Bye, Sarah Jane," she said, waving.
"Goodbye, Clara!"
The Doctor paused in the doorway. He exhaled and turned back around the face his old friend. "Until the next time, Sarah," he said.
"Goodbye, Doctor." Sarah Jane could feel tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. No matter how many times she said goodbye to the Doctor, it always hurt. It brought back memories of the when she'd decided to leave his side all those years ago.
"Don't forget me." His grin was impish. She'd said that to him when they'd said goodbye.
"Never. I never could." The tears were blurring her vision now.
"Neither could I."
With one last grin, the Doctor stepped into the TARDIS. A few seconds later, she heard the vwrop, vrwop, vwrop again. The TARDIS started to dematerialize. A wind kicked up and blew Sarah Jane's hair back.
Within a minute, the blue police box that was the TARDIS was gone and the night was still once more.
Sarah Jane watched for a minute, before she started back toward the house. Even if it hurt, a visit from the Doctor was always welcome. "Goodnight, Doctor," Sarah Jane said as she opened the door to the house. "Sweet dreams."