Inspired by Rani's situation in Lost in Time which I thought mirrored the Doctor's situations
Sarah Jane never spoke much about the Doctor. What was there to say? It was too much to even being to explain. A man of that many years had too many stories to tell, and perhaps too many horrors to share. So Rani never pressed. What was Sarah Jane's was Sarah Jane's. She had no right to pry.
But now, in historical London, she couldn't help but wonder about this Doctor who she had met only twice. This mysterious bloke who could change his face and had a remarkable machine and touched so many lives. Except sometimes he didn't. And she wondered, is this what the Doctor felt like when he was pressed against that door in the UNIT base, believing that he had doomed his beloved companions. Did he feel helpless, useless? Hopeless?
Because that was how she felt, sitting in front of Lady Jane Grey and speaking to her as if they were old friends. And even though Rani was the one running around saving 21st century Earth from aliens, this simple girl was about to die in 16th century England. This girl who was, at heart, just like herself. And her death would inspire millions.
Oh how Rani wished she could truly save Jane. If this was the time travel that she had always dreamt of after meeting the Doctor, then she didn't want this. If all there was to offer in the end was hurt and sorrow, then was it worth it? She didn't understand why the Doctor kept traveling when all it brought was pain.
Then the thought occurred to the young woman. Maybe it was all the Doctor knew now. The adventure, the sorrow, the running away. Maybe after all this time there was nothing left for him but time and space. And with that thought, as Rani took the blade that almost killed Jane, she stopped being envious of that traveling lifestyle. What she had, the things she held most dear, were enough already.