The Sarah Jane Adventures: Silent Killer

Time Frame: Fifth Season

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended and I make no profit from the following story. The Sarah Jane Adventures is owned by the BBC.

One day after they had stopped aliens from taking over the world Sarah Jane and the children were in her attic. Clyde was drawing, Sky and Rani were catching up on homework, and Sarah Jane was making sure that the aliens had truly left the Earth never to return.

"Hey, Rani, do you have an extra pen?" Sky asked and waited for her older friend to answer which she never did. "Rani?"

Rani continued to study having not appeared to hear her.

"Earth to Rani," Sky teased. "Rani!" she then called out as loud as she could.

Rani finally looked up from her book. "Yeah?"

"Do you have an extra pen?" Sky spoke at a normal volume.

"What?" Rani inquired.

Clyde chuckled. "Rani, stop giving Sparky a hard time?"

Rani didn't reply to him which caused Sarah Jane concern. Since when does she let him get away with something like that? She thought it about it further and also remembered that Rani had also been losing her balance lately sometimes when she walked around.

"Do you have an extra pen?" Sky raised her voice.

Rani nodded and handed her one.

The children's backs were turned to her. Thus, Sarah Jane decided to drop a non fragile cup on the floor knowing that it would be loud but wouldn't break. Sky and Clyde jumped a little; Rani seemed unaffected as she had returned to studying.

Sarah Jane and Clyde exchanged a worried look.

Clyde rose to his feet and then walked over and sat next to Rani. Sarah Jane did the same.

"Rani, are you all right?" Clyde asked.

Rani gave him a confused look. "Can you speak up a little? My ears are still clogged from last week's cold."

"Mr. Smith, I need you," Sarah Jane bellowed and waited for her alien supercomputer to activate.

The Xylok activated in his normal fanfare. "How can I be of assistance, Sarah Jane?"

"Mum, what's wrong?" Sky asked. "Rani's ears will clear up soon."

"Seeing that they should already be clear by now I want confirmation of that," Sarah Jane worried. "Mr. Smith, I need you to run a full medical scan on Rani."

"What did you say?" Rani asked Sarah Jane.

Sarah Jane wrote it down so Rani wouldn't have to struggle to hear her.

"Sarah Jane, don't worry I'm okay. It's really only my left ear that's still clogged," Rani told her.

I want to make certain. Sarah Jane wrote down next and showed it to Rani.

Rani sighed and smiled. "Okay, Mr. Smith, scan away."

Mr. Smith performed the scan and when he was finished he asked Rani. "Rani, has your left ear been hurting at all?" he asked very loudly.

"Yeah, but I'm sure that's part of the after effects of my ears being infected last week. Why do you ask?" Rani inquired.

"Rani, I don't know how to tell you this," Mr. Smith began.

"Then don't tell her. Tell us and we'll tell her," Clyde ordered.

"Clyde, it's okay," Rani said trying to be brave. "Go ahead, Mr. Smith."

"There's a growth behind your left ear right where the nerves connect to your brain," Mr. Smith revealed.

"What do you mean a growth?" Rani demanded. "Do I need to get excess wax cleaned out of that ear or something?"

"Unfortunately it's not that simple, the growth is a tumor," the Xylok answered. "It's benign but if left untreated it can grow large enough to press against your brain and become life threatening. I strongly suggest that you have an MRI and/or a CAT scan done."

No, no, no, no, Sarah Jane kept the thought to herself as she tried to keep herself from panicking.

"Yeah, well just because you're a super alien computer it doesn't mean that you know everything!" Rani shouted. "I probably just need more antibiotics."

"Ssh," Sarah Jane wrapped her arms around her and hugged her. "Everything will be all right."

Rani hugged her back. "But what if it becomes malignant? Or what if it's part of something more dangerous in my body right now?"

"Rani, I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Everything will be all right," Sarah Jane insisted.

They took her to Park Vale Hospital to have the MRI done. Sarah Jane also called Rani's parents and waited for them to show up.

"My mate needs an MRI," Clyde blurted out at the nurses desk.

"And are you a doctor?" the nurse challenged.

Sky shook her head at Clyde. "No he's not but she needs a doctor," she then proceeded to voice Rani's symptoms.

The nurse checked both of Rani's ears. "They don't appear to be infected. Does your left ear hurt, love?" When Rani didn't reply she asked her question louder.

"Yes and it's clogged. I can barely hear anything right now," Rani replied.

"Are her parents here yet?" the nurse asked Sarah Jane.

"No, but they'll be here any minute. They don't have to be here for a doctor to start checking her over do they?" Sarah Jane worried.

"Of course not, but it'll be at least fifteen minutes until a doctor can see her anyway." The nurse then processed Rani's information.

"We'll have the results of the MRI in a couple of days," Rani's doctor told her and her parents.

Haresh sighed. "Will you please put a rush on that?"

"I'll do what I can," the doctor assured him. "But relax even if this is an Acoustic Neuroma," he began about the possible brain tumor type that might have inflicted Rani. "More times than not they are benign and it's very rare for them to become malignant or return as malignant. Also, it's not going to become large enough in the next couple days to become life threatening."

"Do I at least get to miss school the next couple of days?" Rani tried.

"You'll be fine at school," her doctor answered.

"Well we're keeping her home anyway," Gita replied.

"You don't need to write a note I'm the head master at her school," Haresh said. "Now, Dr. Williams, if you were still in school would you be able to concentrate knowing that you possibly had a brain tumor?"

But it is a brain tumor, just get cutting already and get this thing out of me, Rani fretted silently to herself.

"No I wouldn't be able to concentrate," he then wrote a note excusing Rani from school. "Just because you're head master doesn't mean the school board won't question your motives if you don't have this."

"True," Haresh conceded and then they took Rani home after Dr. Williams had given and inserted a hearing aid for Rani's left ear so she wouldn't have to struggle to hear people any longer.

Two days later the results came in and Doctor Williams had called Haresh and Gita in first.

"The tumor is an Acoustic Neuroma as I suspected however it's grown too large for Gamma Knife treatment so I'll have to operate to remove it with Microsurgery and we need to schedule the surgery as quickly as possible." He then continued. "If we wait within one month it will be large enough to press against her brain which can lead to life threatening complications."

"How long will she need to be in the hospital?" Gita asked. "More importantly how risky is the surgery?"

"Normally she'll need to be here three to five days but we can always extend that it all depends on her recovery. All patients recover at their own rate, and we'll need to keep her in ICU for at least the first night after surgery to monitor her."

"ICU?" Gita fretted.

"It's just a precaution," he assured Gita and Haresh.

"How risky is the surgery?" Haresh restated one of his wife's questions.

"With any kind of surgery there are risks involved especially when it comes to the brain," he replied before he went over all of the risks with them.

"So in short the cure can wind up being worse than the tumor, and if you don't operate we can lose her anyway even with it being benign if it grows large enough to press against her brain," Gita said near tears.

Dr. Williams sighed and nodded.

"Oh my God," Gita's tears began to fall.

Haresh hugged her and gently said to her. "Get it all out, love, get it all out." His own tears fell and he wanted to make sure that Gita and he were all cried out before they told Rani so they could be strong for her.

Two hours later Rani walked into Sarah Jane's attic and sat down next to her on the sofa.

"So, what did Dr. Williams say?" Sarah Jane asked.

"You know that Gamma Knife treatment that he and Luke were so excited about because there are barely any complications from it?" Rani began.

Sarah Jane nodded.

"I get to have the microsurgery instead since the tumor is too big for the simple procedure. My parents are checking me into Park Vale hospital Thursday night and the surgery is scheduled for Friday morning at 9AM," Rani told her. "Sarah Jane, I'm scared, what if something goes wrong?"

"Oh, Rani, nothing is going go wrong. You're going to be just fine," Sarah Jane assured her and hugged her.

Rani hugged her back and cried in her arms.

Sarah Jane hugged her closer and did everything she could to calm and comfort her. She also stayed calm and covered up the fact that she was frightened out of her mind.

Sky and Clyde walked in home from school while Sarah Jane was still calming her down.

"Rani, what's wrong?" Sky asked as she sat down on the other side of her and hugged her.

"They have to do the microsurgery," Sarah Jane told Sky and Clyde.

What? No, Clyde kept the frantic thought to himself. "When will you be admitted and when is the surgery?"

Rani told him as she dried some tears from her eyes.

"I'll be there then," Clyde promised.

"You have school Friday morning," Rani reminded him.

"I don't care; you're more important," Clyde insisted.

"Clyde's right," Sky said and locked eyes with her mum.

Sarah Jane sighed and then said. "You two are not missing school Friday. You can come to the hospital after school is over with. I'll call you the minute she gets out of surgery."

"I won't be able to concentrate at school," Clyde argued. "I'll be too worried about our girl here."

"So will I, mum," Sky pouted.

"Clyde, I can't speak for your mum, so she'll obviously have to okay it. Sky, you can stay home from school Friday," Sarah Jane assured her daughter and then focused on Rani. "Are you going to be okay?"

Rani nodded. "I'm still a little scared, but yeah."

"I know," Sarah Jane gently said. "And that's normal, but everything will really be all right."

"Got that straight," Clyde also assured Rani. "We're not going to let anything happen to you."

Not long after a group hug occurred.

"Mum, she's going to be all right. We're not going to lose Rani," Luke tried to ease Sarah Jane's fears as they spoke in video chat.

"I know and hey it could be a lot worse. It could have been a malignant tumor," she sighed before continuing. "But, Luke, it's still dangerous with or without surgery."

"I know it is but Rani will be okay she's young and strong, and I'll be home by Thursday night," Luke assured her.

"What about your exams?" Sarah Jane worried.

"I'll take them early and if my professors don't let me then I'll take them after break," he answered.

"As long as it will be all right, Luke, Rani will understand if you can't get here till Saturday."

"My heart won't understand," Luke admitted. "She's one of my best mates, and she would be there for me."

Sarah Jane smiled. "Understood," she replied.

"Are you going to be okay?" Luke asked her.

"Of course I will be," Sarah Jane tried to front.

Luke sighed. "I'll be a video call, phone call, text message, and email away if you need to talk again before Thursday."

"I'll be here if you need to do the same, I love you." Sarah Jane said.

"I love you too," Luke said before they both signed off.

"I'm sure going to miss a lot of school," Rani pointed out.

"You won't get too far behind and I'll make sure that your teachers work with you when you do return to school," Haresh assured her. "Your health comes first above everything else. Please always remember that."

"I will, Dad, that one time you caught me smoking was the first and last time. Those things were nasty," she said about trying cigarettes with one of her mates back in Danemouth. A look of guilt then came across her face. "You don't think that's what caused this?"

"Oh, honey, no. It could've been caused by anything but definitely not that." He puts his left arm around her. "One lone cigarette wouldn't cause a tumor. This is not your fault."

"Then whose fault is it?" Rani pondered.

"Nobody's," Gita said as she joined them and sat down on the other side of her. "Sometimes things like this just happen and it's not anyone's fault."

"Your mum is right," Haresh said. "What's most important right now is getting you better again, and not rushing your recovery."

"What makes you think I'll try to rush my recovery?" Rani wondered.

"Because you are our daughter," Gita pointed out. "Trying to get out of bed too soon after being sick or hurt is in your blood."

Rani laughed but then went serious again. "I'm sorry for putting you both through this," she said about the tumor, the surgery, and the dangers involved.

"Come here," Gita reached out for her and hugged her. Rani hugged her back. "You're not putting us through this. Like I said sometimes things like this just happen no matter how much we don't want them to. Right now I'm just so relieved that it's not malignant and that it can be removed before it becomes deadly."

"As am I, love," Haresh piped in. "I know you'll have a long recovery but you're going to be all right." He hugged his daughter and she hugged him back.

-to be continued