To all the wonderful people who are following my other fic, I promise I am working on the next chapter. But… I was lying in bed at about 2am this morning while torrential rain and a four year old boy (who appears to need substantially less sleep than the average person – sigh) kept me awake, and this just popped into my head.
A Souvenir
Sarah Jane Smith stood in her attic, waiting for the blue box that was fading in and out of focus to solidify before her. It was early morning and she had been fast asleep but the sounds of dematerialisation had woken her instantly and she had dashed from her bedroom pausing only to pull on a thin summer robe over her nightclothes. It wasn't particularly cold but she stood on the balls of her feet on the uncarpeted floor, wishing she'd thought to put some slippers on.
She had seen the Doctor several times in the past couple of years, and while every visit still filled her with a sliver of trepidation as to what to expect (would he have regenerated? Would he be injured, or upset, or angry? Was there yet another alien threat to the Earth to be contended with?), they had almost fallen back into the easy camaraderie that had marked their friendship all those years ago. She finally felt at peace with the fact that, for her, he would always, eventually come back.
The TARDIS became quiet and the door eased open, revealing the same shock of brown hair she had become acquainted with. The Doctor stepped out and paused to lean his tall, pinstriped form on the doorframe before giving her an easy smile.
"Hello, Sarah Jane."
"Hello, Doctor."
They regarded each other for a moment before simultaneously stepping into an affectionate hug.
"So what is it this time Doctor?" Sarah asked with a quirk of her eyebrow, leaning back slightly so she could look up at him.
"What?" he asked in mock indignation, "can't a traveller pop in to see his best friend now and again?"
"I suppose so," she agreed, stepping back. "I'll put the kettle on, shall I?"
The Doctor opened his mouth to speak and then paused, giving her an odd look. His eyes quickly flicked down to her chest and back again.
Sarah hugged her robe around herself, feeling suddenly exposed.
"What?" she asked.
He reached out and gently ran his fingers along the shoulder of her robe, before determinedly moving her arms to her sides and starting to untie the cord.
"Doctor, what on Earth are you doing?" she exclaimed as he opened the robe to reveal the shirt she was wearing underneath.
"Well," he said with an amused smile, "this certainly looks familiar!"
Sarah realised with sudden shock what he was referring to and felt her cheeks turn scarlet. She glanced down at the ruffled shirt that was several sizes too big and tried to sound nonchalant.
"Oh, this? It was just… what I had to hand."
The Doctor chuckled.
"I wondered where that had gone."
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Thoughts are always welcome!