You'll Never Walk Alone
Summary: Alan Jackson doesn't know what to think about aliens and the universe. So he speaks to the one person who has seen it all. Sarah Jane/Alan. A little fluffy, and some spoilers for SJA's 'The Lost Boy.'
a/n: I love SJA so much and am a big fan of Sarah Jane/Alan, so I do apologise if you are icked out by that, but it is my chosen pairing for this story. I wrote this ages ago and it's not my best piece of writing but I wanted to share it with you anyway. R&R, x
******
Maria Jackson had said goodnight to her father, Alan, and headed up to bed, leaving him sitting in the dim light of the living room. He had seen the moon almost crash down on the Earth today. It has been a terrifying ordeal for all of them. Alan got up and he paced the room a few times, trying to think how aliens and other life forms from outer space were possible. He sat back down and he ran his hands over his face. He could have lost Maria if it hadn't been for one person. Sarah Jane Smith. When he first met her, he didn't like her. She was … frosty. But Alan had grown to tolerate her, and then like her. A lot. If it wasn't for her, the world would have ended quite a few times by now. Then he thought of his ex-wife Chrissie, who had had Sarah Jane arrested. He couldn't believe that. The harmless woman who lived across the street had been arrested. Alan rubbed his eyes. It was getting late. He got up and headed over to the window to shut the blinds. He looked over at Sarah Jane's house. A light was on in her living room. Alan moved quickly to the front door and walked across the street to her house. He knocked on the door. It was answered by Luke.
"Hello, Mr Jackson," Luke said, as polite as ever. Alan smiled.
"Is Sarah Jane there? I wondered if I could see her?" Alan said. Luke smiled and nodded.
"She's in the attic. Just go up. I was about to lock up for the night," Luke said. Alan nodded his thanks and headed upstairs towards Sarah Jane's attic. He got to the door and knocked softly before heading in. Sarah Jane looked towards the door and smiled when Alan entered.
"Alan, what a pleasant surprise," she said, getting up. "It's a bit late. I thought you'd be snuggled up in bed." Alan smiled.
"I was just thinking about what happened today," he said, looking towards Mr Smith, Sarah Jane's computer. Sarah Jane noticed what Alan was looking at.
"Alan, I must thank you. If it wasn't for that computer virus, Mr Smith would have destroyed the world," she said.
"I have a new purpose now, Sarah Jane," came the voice of Mr Smith. Sarah Jane smiled.
"Yes, you do. To save the world," she said. "Goodnight Mr Smith."
"Goodnight, Sarah Jane," he said, and the computer closed over and the wall went back to normal. Sarah Jane turned back to Alan.
"As I was saying, thank you," she said, touching his arm gently. She moved over to sit on the couch at the back of the room. She patted the seat next to her and Alan went to sit down beside her.
"There's no need to thank me, Sarah Jane. You've saved the world hundreds of times. And you thank me for one thing? I should be thanking you – for everything," he said. Sarah Jane smiled. She put her hand over Alan's for a moment.
"I prefer people not to know what I do. You, Maria and Clyde are an exception. Because I care about you three so much, I thought it would be easier with your help," she said. Alan sat back a little, Sarah Jane's hand still covering his own.
"How did you discover these aliens?" he asked. Sarah smiled a little and sighed.
"I used to travel through time and space with a man called the Doctor. He was a truly fascinating man. I cared about him so much. He took me places I would only have dreamt about. The universe is beautiful, Alan. I just wish I could be out there again," she said.
"Why aren't you still out there?" he asked.
"The Doctor was called back to his home planet, Gallifrey. Humans weren't allowed there at that time. So he dropped me back on Earth. It was thirty years until I saw him again. So strange yet I felt like I had been with him all my life," she said. Alan turned his hand round underneath Sarah Jane's and linked fingers with her.
"You'll see him again," he said, softly. "Did you love him?" Sarah Jane looked away for a moment.
"It's hard to put into words what I feel for the Doctor. I wouldn't have called it love, but it wasn't far away," she said, looking down at her hand in Alan's. They sat in silence for a few minutes. But it was a comfortable silence. Only the humming of Sarah Jane's computers could be heard and the sound of Luke closing his bedroom door downstairs.
"Tell me about some of the things you saw. I'd like to hear about some of your adventures," he said. Sarah Jane smiled.
"There have been quite a lot of adventures. Anything in particular you'd like to know about?" she asked. Alan shrugged his shoulders.
"Anything."
******
It had to be a good hour later when Sarah Jane stopped telling Alan about her adventures in time and space. He sat there, eyes wide with excitement as she finished telling the story.
"That all sounds incredible, Sarah Jane," he said. "You must miss it."
"I do, but I need to be on Earth. The Doctor is out there saving other time zones and planets, and I am here, defending the Earth. He probably has some other companion now. He takes on a few. Last time I met him, he had a woman named Rose Tyler with him. She was so young," she said. Alan thought for a moment.
"Rose Tyler? She was on the news. Said she died. But no one knows how," he said. Sarah Jane looked up.
"Yes, I heard. She was on Torchwood records. I noticed them on day when I went to Torchwood Cardiff. She was only a young woman," she said, sighing deeply. Alan moved closer to Sarah Jane and put his arm around her shoulders.
"I told her that if she ever needed me, she would know where to find me. I wish I had seen her again before she died," she said. She played with the material on her dressing gown for a moment as she and Alan sat in silence again. Alan sat forward and he pulled Sarah Jane into a hug. Sarah sighed deeply again and hugged him back.
"I'm here for you if you ever need someone to talk to," Alan said. He felt her smile against his shoulder.
"Thank you, Alan. That makes me feel a lot better," she said. She pulled back from the hug and kissed him gently on the cheek. Alan looked at Sarah Jane before leaning in and catching her lips in a kiss. Sarah Jane didn't know how to react for a few moments but before long she was kissing him back, eagerly. She moved closer to him a little, not really realising that that's what she was doing. Alan wrapped his arms around Sarah Jane, kissing her back hungrily. He suddenly pulled back.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that," he said, standing up. Sarah Jane stood up too.
"No Alan, it was fine. Honestly," she said. Alan looked back at her, his cheeks slightly red from the little blush he had gotten. She smiled at him. She reached out and took his hand. He was much taller than she was, so she put one hand behind his head and pulled him down to kiss her again. Alan let himself get lost in the kiss, his hands running round her back to pull her closer. Her body pressed up against his and she sighed gently against his lips.
"Sarah Jane," he whispered. She pulled back and leant her forehead against his.
"Stay with me tonight," she whispered. Alan smiled.
"Alright."
******
Maria Jackson dialled Luke's number into her mobile phone and called him. He answered after a few rings.
"Luke, its Maria. Have you seen my dad?" she asked.
"He came over here last night. He was talking to Sarah Jane in the attic, and I didn't hear him leave," he said. Maria hung up without saying goodbye and she pulled on her shoes before running over to Sarah Jane's house. Luke answered the door and let her in. They both headed upstairs. Maria tried the attic door but it was locked.
"Dad? Sarah Jane? You in there?" she shouted.
In the attic, Sarah Jane nudged Alan gently.
"Looks like we have company," she said. Alan sighed and he leaned over to Sarah Jane.
"They can wait a little while longer," he said with a smirk before he leaned down to kiss her. Sarah Jane smiled and kissed him back.
"Come on. We better let them know we are in here. I'll do it. You get dressed," she said, pulling on her Alan's t-shirt and her pyjama bottoms. She went to the door and unlocked it. She opened it to reveal Maria and Luke standing there.
"Sarah Jane, have you seen my … hey, that's Dad's t-shirt," she said. Sarah Jane smiled and blushed a little. Maria noticed and she smiled. She went into the attic and noticed her Dad looking for his t-shirt.
"Are you two …? She began and Sarah Jane nodded. Alan noticed that Sarah Jane was wearing what he was looking for. He turned to Maria.
"I'm sorry I didn't leave a note or anything to tell you where I would be," he said. Maria couldn't stop smiling.
"That definitely OK," she said. Alan turned back to Sarah Jane. He picked up his jumper and pulled it on. He leaned into Sarah Jane and kissed her.
"See you later then," he said. "And keep the t-shirt. It looks great on you." Sarah Jane blushed again and they shared one more kiss before Alan left with Maria. Sarah Jane sat down on the couch again. Luke sat with her.
"I've never seen you this happy before," he said. She smiled and hugged Luke.
"I've never been this happy since I was with the Doctor. That was a long time ago. But now, at this very moment, I am the happiest I have ever been."