Hello, one and all. This is the first chapter of what I hope will be my first episode length fic involving the Doctor and Sarah Jane. I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed and/or favourited my other stories, it's been hugely encouraging!
This is actually set at a real place that I went to when I was 17; if anyone's interested you can PM me and I'll tell you its real name so you can look it up online and see some pictures.
As always, everything is owned by the BBC.
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The Wolves of Beddhafn – Chapter 1
The TARDIS landed with a shudder while Sarah Jane braced herself against the railings.
"Where are we Doctor?" she asked as he examined the console.
His furrowed brow belayed his confusion; he had been aiming for renaissance Italy.
"Wales, by the looks of it. Twentieth century, late 1970s" he answered, continuing to murmur to himself, or rather, to the TARDIS "now just why have you brought us here, old girl?"
"Well," said Sarah with confidence; Britain in her own time seemed less than threatening; "there can't be anything too bad out there, can there?"
The Doctor quirked an eyebrow and headed over to the door, opening it with a flourish.
"After you then, Sarah."
Sarah stepped out of the TARDIS to be greeted with a forest carpeted with pine needles. The dark blue sky overhead suggested a late spring evening. Cautiously she took a few steps forward, long experience of travelling with the Doctor making her wary of what could be lurking behind any tree or thicket. The Doctor followed behind at her shoulder as they advanced, the softness of the ground cushioning his footsteps so he moved almost silently.
"Aha!" he suddenly exclaimed, making Sarah jump in surprise.
"What?" she asked, giving him a smack on the arm.
"Over there" he gestured with his left arm, waving over to the side.
Sarah followed his gaze and realised with surprise that they were not more than twenty feet from a gravel path which led up to what looked like the back entrance of a country manor house. The Doctor immediately headed in that direction with long bouncy strides while Sarah jogged along behind him. The path was on a fairly steep slope, heading up to the manor in one direction, and down through the woods in the other. A sharp curve where it turned to the right downhill made it impossible to see where it led in the other direction.
The Doctor shrugged and headed up to the back door of the manor. Outside on the door step was a metal grate serving as a doormat come bootscraper covered in smears of mud and dirt. He shooed away a toad from the ground beside the step with his foot so he could peer through the tiny window to the side of the door. Sarah, pressing her face to the glass in the door, could see a cloak room full of hanging cagoules and sou'westers and stacked wellington boots. She tried the handle and the door swung open; they were greeted with the overwhelming smell of damp clothes and many bodies.
"Gosh, it smells like the changing rooms at school," she complained, holding an arm over her nose.
"School?" questioned the Doctor, his head on one side. "Of course!"
He swung on his heel and headed back out of the door, Sarah following on his heels as he skirted the path round the side of the building. A field off to their left was full of sheep, just visible in the gathering dusk. As they turned the corner round to the front Sarah could see a gravel drive leading up to what must have once been a rather grand entrance, beautifully lit by the orange of the setting sun which reflected off the windows. They ascended the few wide steps up the front doors. To the right was a brass plaque which read "Beddhafn Field Studies Centre".
The Doctor squared his shoulders and pressed the old fashioned doorbell next to the plaque. After half a minute they could hear bolts being slid back and one of the doors swung aside to reveal a red haired man with a short beard, wearing a checked shirt and v necked jumper.
"Can I help you?" he enquired, giving the Doctor a confused look.
"Doctor Smith" said the Doctor, holding up the psychic paper for the man to inspect. "Are you in charge here?"
"Professor Carter" answered the man, putting just the slightest emphasis on the first word. "I'm the Centre Manager here, yes."
The Doctor held out his hand and shook Professor Carter's vigorously.
"My associate, Miss Smith" he said gesturing to Sarah Jane. "No relation" he added as an afterthought.
The professor eyed Sarah Jane with sharp brown eyes and she twitched under his gaze. He tore his eyes from her and turned back to the Doctor.
"Forgive me, but we weren't expecting anyone," he began.
"Of course, of course. We're here to inspect the premises. All field centres accommodating students who are under the age of 18 are to be reviewed." The Doctor gave the other man a winning smile. "Jelly baby?" he asked holding out the bag.
Professor Carter hesitantly reached out and took one without taking his eyes away from the Doctor's face.
"Well, I suppose… you'd better come in."
Sarah followed the Doctor into a large entrance hall. The walls were panelled with dark wood and the floor was carpeted in a thick patterned rug which stretched almost from wall to wall, leaving a few inches of polished wooden floor around the edges. The wide staircase immediately in front of them was carpeted in the same thick rug, and turned back on itself as it rose to the first floor. Sarah gazed upwards at a chandelier that hung from the ceiling two storeys above on a long chain. To their left was a small sitting room full of armchairs, with a television on a wheeled metal stand at the far end next to a fireplace. To their right was a dining room with eight tables on either side, each seating six. An aisle down the middle of the room ended at a door at the far end which Sarah guessed led into the kitchen. She wandered away from the Doctor who was talking with, or rather at, the befuddled looking professor and peered through another door to the left of the staircase which opened on to another, smaller set of stairs which led down to the basement. She could hear the sounds of laughter and conversation flowing from below and the distinctive clacking of snooker balls.
"Well, I suppose it's settled" said Professor Carter and she turned back to the two men.
"The students are all on free time now," he continued, turning slightly to include her in the conversation. "But you are more than welcome to observe them tomorrow once they're back in the labs."
"We'll be staying here then?" Sarah asked, aiming her question at the Doctor rather than the professor.
"Yes, I think so, seeing as we arrived so late" the Doctor nodded, "traffic, you know." he added giving the professor an exaggerated eye roll.
"Yes, well" the professor agreed, throwing a confused glance out of the window which afforded an unobscured view of the deserted road leading up to the equally empty duel carriageway just visible in the distance.
"Let me show you to a room" said the professor, leading the way to the stairs. "I'm afraid we've only the one free, I hope that's alright"
"I'm sure that'll be fine" answered the Doctor, glancing over his shoulder to playfully wink at Sarah who rolled her eyes at his suggestiveness.
"Would you like help with your…bags…?" the professor asked, trailing off as he realised neither of them were carrying anything.
"They're in the car, I'll fetch them later," was the Doctor's airy reply, and Sarah giggled at the professor's obvious bemusement, since they clearly hadn't parked a car anywhere near the house.
The professor gave his head a shake and fell into his role as centre manager as they reached the first floor.
"These are the boys' rooms" he said, sounding more confident now he was back on familiar ground, and gestured down the corridor which stretched away to the left side of them. "They sleep eight to a room, and the bathroom is at the end. Girls are upstairs in the old servants' quarters. The rooms are much smaller so they're accommodated in fours. We've space for just under a hundred pupils at a time."
He turned to the right and led them away from the boys' area down an identical corridor to the right of the stairs.
"These are the rooms for the centre staff and teachers visiting with their pupils." he said. Each room had a small wooden plaque with the name of a tree painted on it. At the very end was a room marked with 'Ash'. The professor reached for the handle and swung the door open to reveal a long narrow room. It had obviously once been a larger bedroom which had been partitioned into two and the width was such that all the furniture had been lined up on one side, leaving just enough room for one to pass by. A huge chest of drawers was nearest the door, then a desk with a single chair, and then a set of bunk beds next to a bay window with heavy curtains that stretched from floor to ceiling and shutters that when closed would separate the alcove from the rest of the room.
"Bunk beds?" Sarah raised her eyebrows at the Doctor, who was, naturally delighted with the arrangement.
"Bagsie I top bunk!" he called, jumping up in one bound and bouncing on the edge of the mattress.
The professor cast a dubious glance at Sarah and wisely decided to leave them to it.
"Breakfast is at seven thirty" he said, "lessons start at nine in the old stable block down the forest path."
"Thank you" answered Sarah, ignoring the Doctor who for reasons best known to himself, had rolled onto his front and was now hanging the top half of his body off the bed so he could inspect the underside of the mattress. The professor nodded and backed out of the room, shutting the door firmly behind him.
"So," said Sarah, turning back to the Doctor who turned his upside down head to grin at her. "What are we doing here then?"
"I've no idea" answered the Doctor happily. "But I'm looking forward to finding out!"
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Worth continuing? Your thoughts are always welcome.