Sarah Jane Smith was well aware that she was thought insane by almost everyone. She was not surprised by people's reactions to things that weren't what they perceived to be the status quo. She wasn't surprised by the people who said she was mad, or that they couldn't possibly have seen what she (and they, to some extent, even if unconsciously) knew they had.
She wasn't surprised by Kelsey's immediate denial of everything and anything alien or even strange. She wasn't annoyed by the same people who refused to acknowledge the existence of life on other planets gossiping about her, and saying she was mad and strange and different.
What did surprise her, though, was when people like Maria Jackson or Rani Chandra or Clyde Langar not only accepted the existence of Slitheen and Star Poets and Bane and evil-clowns-from-outer-space but kept coming back for more. She found it even more surprising when they defended her from gossip and the cruelty of strangers. Maria had told her that she thought Sarah Jane was 'a bit glamorous' a day after moving in across the street from her! Sarah Jane had been flattered and awkward and surprised.
Then Maria had moved to America and Sarah Jane couldn't help but wonder if getting Maria away from the aliens and Sarah Jane's influence had influenced Alan Jackson's willingness to take the job in America. And if secretly it was too much for Maria and she had wanted to leave.
And then Rani and her parents had moved in across the street and she had figured that it was extremely unlikely that the new girl would be as inquisitive or accepting as Maria had been. And then she had gone over to 'say welcome to the neighbourhood' and to check for alien gadgets or radioactivity or something and Gita said that Rani was a wannabe journalist and she couldn't help but feel a bit... hopeful. And cautious. She hadn't wanted to let Maria into her life and her heart and she had and even though she knew it was illogical and silly but she had felt a bit betrayed by the way Maria had quickly decided to leave Ealing, and Sarah Jane and Luke and Bannerman Road behind.
And it hurt.
So she told Luke and Clyde to steer clear of the new girl and to not mention anything about aliens and she specifically told them to keep Rani out of trouble. The whole clown debacle was pretty much the only time Sarah Jane was willing to admit that she had been wrong- if Rani had stayed 'out of the action' (as Clyde put it later) they never would have gotten rid of Spellman- she herself never would have thought of telling jokes.
She couldn't help but like her new friends' perspicacity and persistence. Good qualities in a journalist, qualities she herself shared, much to the consternation of almost everyone she had ever met.
And then there was Luke. She still hadn't got over the rush of strangeness that she got every time she introduced Luke as her son. A mix of excitement, happiness, and panic. She had given up any thoughts of having a family years ago, and now... she was a mother.
Not a biological, mother, but-well, she had never been keen on breastfeeding, anyway. And especially not looking after a baby or a toddler. She had always been useless with children, especially the young ones. Teenagers, yes. Helpless infants-she wouldn't know where to start! There was far less guesswork involved in raising a teenager (even one created by aliens, like Luke) then there would be in raising an infant, who couldn't tell her how it was feeling, except by crying. Which isn't actually very helpful.
Sarah was snapped out of her reverie, her thoughts scattering, by the phone ringing loudly from its place on the desk. She stood up hastily, moving quickly over to the desk so as to catch the phone before it stopped ringing. Out of habit, she checked the caller ID. Maria calling. She pressed the accept call button. "Hi Maria, how are you?" As Sarah Jane and Maria chatted, she realised that, although her life was by no means what anyone would call normal, it was hers, and it was perfect for her.