Spoilers: All of everything. Especially "Journey's End."
Disclaimer: Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures and related characters and situations are the property of the BBC. No money changed hands and no copyright infringement is intended or implied.
Author's Notes: This took a long time to finish, but it's sort of my way of dealing with the end of season 4. So that I am not misunderstood, I thought season 4 ended quite well. But it made me sad. And so I wrote my story because it made me feel better. *sniffles*
This story is in continuity with "The People You Meet," but doesn't really have much to do with that story, except that that one establishes that most of these people have met before.
The Doctor knocked on Sarah Jane's door, soaking wet, with a roaring rain behind him. He was still a little bit unsure of what it was that had driven him to come here. He didn't remember setting any coordinates into the TARDIS, but when he'd landed and then seen where he was, he knew he had to speak to Sarah Jane.
The door opened and Sarah's face peered curiously out at him. "Hello! Doctor, this is unexpected. But a good surprise!" Then she got a proper look at him. "Doctor, what's wrong?"
"She's gone, Sarah," the Doctor told her. "Donna's gone. And…I can never see her again."
Sarah blinked at that and then said, "Alright. Come in."
It took a little bit, but Sarah eventually managed to drag the entire story out of him. Donna's change into DoctorDonna had seemed wonderful, but the Doctor wasn't surprised to see Sarah crying when he told her about what he'd had to do to save her life.
"Sarah, it's all gone wrong," the Doctor finally said miserably. "Donna saved every universe there is, and now she can't even remember it. And her family will have to shield her from that for the rest of her life to protect her. Rose is gone, you and Jack and Martha were all set to destroy everything. Maybe I should settle down somewhere. No more TARDIS, no more traveling. I'd never hurt anyone that way."
Sarah gazed at him thoughtfully and finally said, "You need a good night's rest in you. When was the last time you let yourself properly sleep?"
"I don't need as much sleep as you do, Sarah," the Doctor protested ruefully. "Surely you remember that."
"Of course I remember," Sarah returned. "You were busy in the console room once and kept Harry and me awake all night clanging on something, remember?"
"I found you playing very poor chess against one another in the morning," the Doctor said, with the ghost of a smile.
"We'd been up all night. Neither of us were in top form," Sarah shrugged. "But, I also remember that when you finally did ever let yourself sleep, you slept like the dead because you always pushed too hard."
"I've regenerated since then," the Doctor said.
"And yet, you're still the same old Doctor. Bed, now."
And quite against his will, the Doctor found himself bundled into the guest room with a spare toothbrush, a long pair of sweatpants, an old tee shirt, and a very fuzzy memory of when Sarah Jane had become such a force to be reckoned with. But there were several huge windows in his room, and a clear view of the night sky, and the bed was soft and inviting, and Sarah Jane was right when she said that he didn't sleep enough, even for a Time Lord.
So he did exactly as he was told, for the first time in a long time, and went to bed.
He woke the next morning to the sound of feet clattering down the staircase and children's voices.
"They can't be that dangerous, or else we'd all be dead now," argued one voice. He remembered it a bit. Maria?
"There were only one-hundred-thirty-six of them. That writing said millions were coming," another voice—Luke's—replied.
"Either way, I don't like those teeth. Maybe one-hundred-thirty-six can't hurt the world at large, but they certainly almost hurt us!" And that would be Clyde.
The Doctor began to dress in a rush.
Sarah Jane's voice followed them down the stairs. "Whatever they are, whatever they're here for, we find out their goals, and then deal with them appropriately. Clyde, help me carry this."
When the Doctor exited his room, they were all getting ready to pile into two cars and go somewhere.
"Doctor!" Sarah grinned. "You're awake! Why don't you come with us? We can use your help."
The Doctor shrugged, a bit confused, but decided to come along.
He found himself bundled into the back of Alan Jackson's car, trying to work out the possible uses for a very homemade-looking piece of equipment. There was a keyboard, several colored buttons, a tiny screen, and a big round thing on one end with a cone facing out attached to the front of that. There was a trigger on the other. It looked like a modified grenade launcher, designed to fit over someone's shoulder with the keyboard just near their hands.
Alan and Maria in the front were discussing dealing with…something in very serious tones.
"'Scuse me," the Doctor said, "but what's going on?"
"Aliens," Alan told him.
Maria twisted around with a roll of her eyes and said, "While we were at school today, Mr. Smith called Sarah. Apparently there's some kind of alien infestation at a bakery in Epsom. When we went there, there were only one-hundred-some-odd—"
"One-hundred-and-thirty-six," the Doctor said with a weary sigh.
"So we did wake you up," Maria said. "Sorry. Anyway, a hundred of them. But apparently they've got more coming. Lots more. None of us are entirely sure they mean any harm, but millions of little aliens invading the Greater London Area, even with the most innocent of intentions, is probably not a good idea right now."
"People are still touchy after the Daleks," Alan answered.
"Wait, you're worried about the aliens?" the Doctor asked in surprise.
"Well, they might not be bad," Maria shrugged. "If they've infested the bakery because they really likethe smell of Earth bread, then they've probably not got any designs on conquering the human race. Unfortunately, between Christmas stars and Sycorax and Daleks and Cybermen and Sontarans… People are pretty scared right now."
The Doctor nodded. "What does this thing do?"
"It's a sonic…widget," Maria frowned. "Sarah Jane has a really cool name for it, but basically it gives off smells that talk to the aliens."
"You said it was sonic," the Doctor frowned.
"They hear by smelling," Alan told him. "Or was it smell by hearing? I can't keep it straight."
"The odors are released by the device, but shaped by sonic waves so that the aliens can 'hear' us. Apparently, it's how they communicate." She paused and then said, "It's also capable of interpreting the scent input it receives, presuming the computer in there gets enough information to work out how their language works."
"An auditory-olfatory translation module?" the Doctor asked, stunned.
"That's what Sarah Jane called it!" Maria was grinning from ear to ear.
"Who built this?"
"Sarah Jane did. She's brilliant!"
"She's a journalist," said the Doctor. He had a feeling the Sarah Jane he'd traveled with would never have managed to build this machine.
Maria grinned. "She's brilliant."
"Yes," the Doctor said, "she is."
They arrived at the West Street Bakery in Epsom and burst into the kitchen in the back. Several small blue creatures, that looked a bit like furry Adipose all looked up curiously. Then they smiled and they stopped looking like Adipose at all.
"Blimey, they've got teeth!" the Doctor exclaimed.
Sarah Jane took the machine from Alan and turned it on, pushed a button, and pulled the trigger. The doctor suddenly smelled vanilla very strongly.
An acrid tang stung the air, rising from the little creatures. Sarah Jane played with one of the settings and the pitch of the machine's whirring changed. The vanilla scent faded.
The disgusting smell disappeared to be replaced with a very strong, very neutral odor.
"Now what?" Clyde asked. "They communicate entirely by smells. How do you smell, 'Hello. What are you, and are you trying to hurt anyone?'"
The Doctor played a hunch. He licked a finger, gave one of the furry Adipose's a good stroke and then licked his finger again. A sharp, citrus odor emanated from the small creature as it glared at the Doctor.
"I think that one smells 'annoyed,'" he offered.
"Let's try…strawberries," Sarah Jane offered. She pushed a button, pulled the trigger again, and the smell of strawberries filled the room. Suddenly the acrid scent was back.
"I think it's too loud," the Doctor theorized. "Try turning it down."
Sarah Jane did so. The acrid scent died down to be replaced by the neutral odor again.
"Now I'm confused," the Doctor sighed.
"So are they!" Luke suddenly burst out. "That bland smell is confusion. We keep giving mixed signals, and they can't figure us out."
The Doctor turned to him, eyebrow raised. "You're a sharp one."
"So, we know confused, annoyed, and 'turn it down.' This may take some time," Sarah muttered.
The Doctor inhaled through his nose, taking in each smell as deeply as possible. Then he snapped on his spectacles and examined Sarah Jane's machine before twitching several knobs on it.
"Try it now."
Sarah Jane pulled the trigger again. The machine emitted a complex series of smells on a carefully patterned series of sonic waves. The little blue creatures all jumped together and emitted a faintly metallic smell.
"Surprise?" asked Alan, bemused. A rapid fire series of smells flicked through the air, then the machine rumbled and a series of numbers appeared on a small screen on the side, strategically placed along a display of a wave.
"It's receiving their message, but it doesn't understand what they're saying," Clyde guessed.
"Let's keep them talking then," the Doctor shrugged. He and Sarah tried several different sequences before the translation machine's screen began to tentatively translate certain sequences. After a few moments, the original single line separated out into several, and the humans watched a rather befuddled conversation taking place.
THESE CREATURES ARE APPARENTLY UNABLE TO SPEAK.
THEY UNDERSTOOD OUR MESSAGE TO THEM IN THEIR PLACE OF GATHERING WELL ENOUGH.
THAT WAS WRITTEN, NOT SPOKEN.
AND THEIR MACHINE SPEAKS ONLY GIBBERISH. PERHAPS THIS WAS NOT A GOOD CHOICE OF PLANET.
THE SHIP ONLY NEED BE HERE FOR A DAY. WE ONLY NEED HARVEST A LITTLE OF OUR FUEL. AND THEIR PLANET IS THE RICHEST SOURCE OF IT FOR MANY GOLBACTS.
"What's a 'golbact?'" Maria asked.
"Based on the context, I'd say it's a unit of distance," Luke supplied.
"Now we've got the language," the Doctor grinned. "Who programmed this?"
"Mr. Smith. He's very good."
Alan chuckled. The Doctor and Sarah Jane set up a sequence of smells and Sarah pulled the trigger again. The machine spoke. Hello. We are humans from Earth. If we understand correctly, are you making a pit stop?
The aliens jumped again and the metallic smell filled the air. The machine's screen read "!!!." Then a set of smells so confusing rose from the group and finally one alien stepped forwards.
WE ARE … OUR PEOPLE ARE NOMADIC. DO YOU MEAN STOPPING AT A PIT OR STOPPING IN A PIT? AND WHY WOULD YOU EXPECT US TO DO EITHER?
"What are they then?" the Luke frowned.
"The blue, furry, smell aliens," the Doctor shrugged. "Their language is entirely smells. There's probably no way to accurately translate it. And…can I take him with me?" The Doctor gave Luke a huge smile.
"Maybe in a few years," Sarah laughed before typing in a new message and pulling the trigger again.
We apologize. It is a figure of our speech. We meant to ask have you stopped here for maintenance of some kind?
OUR SHIP IS LOW ON FUEL. YOUR PLANET IS RICH IN THE RESOURCE WE REQUIRE. OUR SHIP IS IN ORBIT AND WE NEED NOT TAKE MUCH, BUT WE FELT IT WOULD BE COURTEOUS TO ASK PERMISSION. WE HAVE BEEN TRYING UNSUCCESSFULLY TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR LEADERS FOR SEVERAL OF YOUR DAYS NOW.
"How long has it been since the Dalek invasion?" the Doctor asked, leaning towards Clyde.
"About three weeks," Clyde answered.
What is it that you need?
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU CALL IT. WE CALL IT THIS.
Suddenly all of them thought of sunny days on a tropical beach somewhere, but without any of the unpleasant smells of stagnant ocean water or fish. Just clean salt ocean.
"Salt water? They want salt water?" Maria blinked.
Clyde shrugged. "We've got plenty of that."
"We need most of it," Luke pointed out, "but unless their ship is unreasonably enormous, I doubt they'll need so much that we can't spare it."
"And oceans aren't considered the property of any specific nation. Technically, they wouldn't even be stealing," Maria said, reasonably.
Sarah and the alien hashed out the details of the request, and as it turned out the aliens only needed about ten tons. When Sarah explained that they could simply take it, the alien was delighted.
YOU SEEMED QUITE WORRIED WHEN YOU ENTERED HERE. WHAT IS YOUR CONCERN?
The Doctor's face fell. Sarah programmed in her response quickly.
This planet has suffered a great deal recently at the hands of unfriendly visitors from other worlds. The Daleks attempted to kill us all, the Sycorax tried to take us over… It's a long list. We weren't sure if you were friendly. And if you were friendly, we weren't sure you'd be safe if anyone else found you.
There was a deep, sweet smell that filled the air and finally the lead alien responded. WE HAVE HEARD OF THESE CREATURES OF WHOM YOU SPEAK. THEY ARE QUITE VILE. WE OFFER OUR SORROWS THAT YOUR PLANET HAS ENDURED THESE THINGS AND OUR THANKS AT YOUR CONCERN FOR OUR WELFARE.
It was only a few moments after that that they all piled back into the cars and were returning home. And the Doctor watched as Luke, Maria, and Clyde made it back to school in time for their last few classes.
"It must be odd for them. Going to school every day and coming home to save Earth in the afternoons," he mused.
"And home for supper each night," Sarah grinned. Then she looked a bit more serious. "Oh, Doctor, if only it were ever so simple."
The two of them walked back to the kitchen and the Doctor sat down at the table. "I should have come back for you, Sarah. I don't know why I didn't."
Sarah looked at him and then sat down across from him and looked straight into his eyes. "Doctor, I forgive you. I refuse to hold this over your head forever."
The Doctor sighed. "I just don't know if I can go on anymore. I never seem to do any good."
"You did good today. We never would have managed to communicate so quickly without you. And Doctor, my son would be dead but for you. Maria and Clyde along with him," Sarah said.
"I only gave them a ride," the Doctor protested.
"A ride in the TARDIS with the Doctor that they've heard all the stories about. They were talking about that for weeks." Sarah reached out and laid her hand on his. "Doctor, I wish with all my heart, that things would come out perfectly for you just once. You see so much of the worst of the universe. It seems like you should be able to see the best."
"A day where everybody lives," the Doctor whispered.
Sarah Jane smiled. "Or a day where nobody is in danger to start with."
"Like today?" he asked, smiling impishly.
Sarah gave him a rueful look. "That sounds so arrogant, but yes. Doctor…don't give up."
"I can't go on, Sarah. I can't. I have nothing left," he said.
"Then travel with me a while," Sarah said, and she looked nervous for the first time that day. "Granted, my life is much slower than yours, and my house is exactly as big on the inside as it ought to be, but…Doctor you need to rest. And knowing you, you could never take a strict vacation. Things around here are never dull for too long. Stay. Stay and pretend to be one of us humans with the tiny little minds that you like so well."
His first impulse was to say no. He was a Time Lord, not a houseguest!
On the other hand, his mind argued back, the two didn't have to be mutual exclusives, and there was nothing wrong with a little vacation every once in a while. And it would give him a chance to get to know the children he'd given a lift to. But mostly, he was tired and he missed Donna. And Sarah was offering him a chance to rest without going stir-crazy. Besides, he'd never had one of his companions invite him to travel with them before. It was really sort of…nice.
"I…I'd love to," he said. He'd meant it to sound upbeat, but even he knew he only sounded broken. But the smile she gave him was just as bright as it would have been if he'd been his usual babbling self.
Give it time, Doctor, he told himself. Everything got better with time, right? Maybe he would, too. At the very least, spending time with Sarah Jane promised to be interesting.