CHAPTER ONE
DECEMBER 1982
Virologist Lavinia Smith wrapped up her phone call with her agent in regards to her next lecture tour. She was slated to leave for West Germany in less than a week for a month long engagement across western Europe to support her latest work involving an outbreak of erythema infectiosum. She hated the thought of being away yet again for the Christmas holiday, especially as her only relative, her niece Sarah Jane Smith, was actually supposed to be home.
It was unusual for Sarah to stay put for very long, but the last few weeks, her freelance work kept her closer to home. During that time, Lavinia noticed that Sarah seemed almost melancholy. She wondered if it was because of the upcoming holidays, or whether it was something else.
Lavinia walked into the room she and Sarah used as an office and watched as Sarah sighed and just stared absently at her typewriter. 'You know, Sarah Jane, it works much better if you actually put your fingers on the keys.'
Sarah looked up and smiled. 'Really? I've been doing it wrong all these years. I always thought the words just appeared if I thought about them hard enough.'
Lavinia laughed and sat down in the chair closest to Sarah and turned to her niece, concern etched on her features. 'I'm worried about you Sarah.'
'Oh, why?'
'You've just been out of sorts the last couple of months. I was wondering if you needed to take a holiday.'
Sarah went back to staring at her typewriter and the blank sheet of paper inside it. 'It's possible, I suppose.'
'Sarah, dear, you went from travelling all over the world all the time to staying fairly close to home soil the better part of the last year. I can tell you miss it. There's an emptiness in your eyes I haven't seen in a long time.'
Sarah looked down. 'I suppose you're right, but what I really miss, I can't ever get back.' She sighed. 'Truth be told, I'm not sure I would want it back.'
'Meaning?' Lavinia asked.
'Meaning it was eye-opening and taught me so much, but it was also dangerous.' She reached out and put her hands on the keys, clicking a handful of them to string at least two words together. 'Maybe I do need a holiday. Something warm and relaxing where I can just spend my days in the sun lounging by a pool.'
Lavinia smiled, 'Actually, now that you describe it, Sarah Jane, maybe we both need a holiday. I tell you what, when I get back from that European tour, you and I should spend some time someplace warm, wouldn't you say? In fact, you pick the destination, then get my agent to arrange all the details.'
Sarah smiled. 'Sounds good to me.'
They both sat in silence, each of them pondering their idea of a relaxing holiday when the doorbell rang. Lavinia stood up. 'I'll get it. You go back to concentrating on that blank piece of paper you're staring at so intently.'
Sarah laughed as Lavinia headed out of the room.
Lavinia made her way to the door and opened it. On the other side was a tall man dressed in a long burgundy coat, complete with an impossibly long burgundy scarf. He ran a hand through his curly brown hair and smiled broadly. 'Oh hello. I was wondering if you'd seen my dog around anywhere?'
Lavinia politely shook her head. 'No, I'm sorry, I haven't seen or heard any dogs around here in quite some time.'
The Doctor gave her an odd look. 'Are you sure, about a half metre tall, made of metal, answers to "K9"?'
Before Lavinia could answer, K9 rolled towards the door. 'Master,' he acknowledged.
The Doctor brushed past Lavinia with a curt, 'Excuse me.' He knelt down in front of K9 and patted his head between his ears. 'K9, good to see you, I need your help.' He stood up again, 'Come on, boy, to the TARDIS.'
'Negative, Master.'
The Doctor spun back around. 'Negative?' he questioned before getting aggravated. 'Negative!'
'My directive is to remain with the Mistress.'
'But I'm the one that programmed you with that directive.'
'Affirmative, Master. You also programmed that it could not be countermanded.'
The Doctor reached out to kick K9, but the dog rolled backwards, causing the Doctor to miss him. 'You stupid metal mutt!'
'Excuse me,' Lavinia started, but the Doctor held up a hand to silence her. She quickly put her hands on her hips, 'Now just a moment. You can't come barging into my house and act like you own the place.'
'That's what he does, Aunt Lavinia.' Sarah's soft voice startled them both as they turned to face her. She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe. 'I'll take care of this,' she said to her aunt.
Lavinia saw a spark of determination in Sarah's eyes that she hadn't seen in a while. 'As you wish, dear.' She squeezed Sarah's arm as she headed back towards the interior of the house.
Sarah looked at the Doctor, but said nothing. She took in his appearance and noted the difference from the last time she'd seen him. For a start, his outfit was different. Similar to what she remembered, but noticeably different. His long jacket was now burgundy, with a burgundy shaded scarf, still impossibly long, but not in the varied colours. Gone were the waistcoat and the tie. His hair was lighter and the curls were not as tight. His face seemed more lined than she remembered, and his eyes, while just as blue, didn't sparkle with the life she remembered.
The Doctor had hoped he could grab K9 for the computation he needed, then return him to Sarah Jane without her seeing him. Not that he minded seeing her, but it did bring up feelings and questions that he didn't particularly want to get into. Nevertheless, Sarah now stood leaning against a doorframe, arms crossed, looking every bit as he remembered her. He could tell a short amount of time had passed. Her hair was cut differently and her clothes seemed more modern to Earth, but other than that, she looked exactly the same. He finally found his voice, although it came out much lower and softer than he might've intended. 'Hello, Sarah Jane.'
'Insulting my dog, Doctor?'
'I apparently programmed him to follow instructions, something he actually manages to do, as opposed to most of my companions.'
Ignoring the Doctor's comment, Sarah pushed herself off the doorframe and walked over to K9, kneeling next to him and patting him on the head. 'Good dog.' She finally turned to the Doctor, but didn't stand up. 'Trying to take K9 back?'
'I need his help.'
'Why?'
'I need to get some calculations to take with me to Logopolis. They'll then help me with the block transfer computation to finally fix the chameleon circuit.'
She finally stood up. 'Why now?'
'I'm not sure being so conspicuous is a good thing.'
Sarah laughed. 'Since when?' She gestured towards his apparel. 'That makes you stand out. Not many people care to carry off a scarf that's twice as long as they are tall. The burgundy is different though.'
'Sarah,' the Doctor chided.
'Why are you really here? You can do computations with any computer. Why K9? Why here, why now?'
'Sarah.'
She walked over to stand in front of him. 'So we've established that you haven't forgotten my name. That's a good start.'
The Doctor, not knowing exactly what to say to her, closed the distance between them and without a word, he quickly took her face in his hands, locking gazes with her. In that moment, so many things passed unsaid between them.
Sarah would've shrunken back from the intensity of his gaze, but she felt permanently rooted to the spot. The years they'd been separated seemed to melt away in a moment. As his thumbs traced across her cheekbones, her eyes closed as she took a deep breath, getting lost in his caress.
Sarah reached up and put a hand on his chest and took a step back to pull herself together. 'Doctor,' she said softly.
Reluctantly, he let his hands fall to his sides. 'I never forgot, Sarah,' his voice was soft and gentle as he finally answered her unspoken question.
She looked into his eyes and was about to say something when a large explosion from outside shattered the windows, put out the lights and shook the ground hard enough to cause them both to fall.
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