URGENT NOTE: As you may know, the BBC starts shooting the 50th anniversary special this week. If you'd like to see a proper tribute to Sarah Jane in the special, please consider signing the petition at www dot ipetitions dot com / petition/sarah-jane-smith-dr-who-tribute (automatic link removed because we don't want to break any rules) and passing it on to any groups you belong to. If we all pass it on, we can make a difference! Time (ironically) is of the essence! Thanks!
This story is a sequel to "Unfinished Business", in which ... well, if you're going to read it, head off now, so we don't spoil it for you. Still here? OK, then. In "Unfinished Business," the Doctor came back to Sarah Jane just before he regenerated, and wound up turning her into a Time Lord, er, Lady. Thrilled at the prospect of not watching her wither and die, he proposed. Now they're getting married.
For those who keep track, this is (obviously) AU. In addition to fixing The End of Time, there is no Luke, and the Sarah Jane Adventures haven't happened.
We hope you like it.
The Doctor hung by his knees and reached for the temporal converter. 'One day,' he thought, 'I should restructure this so I can reach that without doing my Krillitane impression.' Still, even hanging upside down he was in a great mood. Tonight was the wedding rehearsal, and his and Sarah Jane's friends would start arriving any minute. Already Martha had been here for a couple of days, helping Sarah with the last minute arrangements. Who knew there was so much to be done?
He tightened the last bolt and just hung there for another minute or two, marveling at his good fortune. For almost two centuries he'd bemoaned the fact that getting more involved with Sarah Jane would ultimately lead to heartbreak. Now his own regeneration, the worst moment of this life, had led to Sarah's becoming a Time Lord, and instead of losing her - or his life, for that matter - they were getting married. Inside, he let out a little cheer for the thousandth time in a month. Sarah should be awake by now, he thought, climbing down. Time to go get a good morning kiss.
Martha found herself caught up in the pervasive feeling of ... she could only describe it as "glee". She and Sarah Jane had spent the last few days getting ready for the wedding, and it hadn't even felt like work. More like a giant party that she was glad to be in on. Which it is, she reminded herself as she headed off to the kitchen for breakfast. "Good morning, Sarah Jane, all ready for the big day tomorrow?" she smiled excitedly.
Sarah was already up, dressed and making breakfast. "I hope so," she answered her. "It's a mixed blessing isn't it? I can't wait to marry the Doctor, but I'm terrified of the ceremony itself. I mean, what if I trip walking down the aisle, or the Brigadier gets stuck in Peru again, or Jack loses the ring, or... Oh, I really have to stop thinking this way," she laughed nervously at herself.
Martha put a reassuring arm around her. "It's all going to be fine, don't worry. Let's face it, nothing ever goes smoothly with the Doctor around, but it always works out all right in the end. And that's all you can hope for, right?"
"Right, hopefully everything that can go wrong will go wrong at the rehearsal tonight," said Sarah with her fingers crossed. "Oh, Goodness look at the time, I'd better finish breakfast. If I know the Doctor, and I do, he's starving right now. Watch, you'll see, in just a few moments, he'll come barging through the door and declare he's starving to death and that he's going to collapse if he doesn't eat soon. Then he'll smell breakfast and sit as close to the oven as he can watching it cook, asking every few minutes if it's ready yet," Sarah laughed as she pictured him. She was glad some things never changed. Five minutes later she had popped breakfast into the oven. Then she sat down to rest and sip her tea while she waited for it to cook.
A few moments later, the door burst open and the Doctor strode in. "Ah, Sarah," he said, standing her up, kissing her and then swinging her around. "If I don't get some breakfast soon, I'm absolutely going to collapse. Ooooh, what smells wonderful?" he asked, as he set her down and parked a chair outside the oven door, then sat astride it, staring at the oven's contents. "And how long until it's ready?"
Sarah's eyes twinkled with laughter as she looked over at Martha. "Bananas Foster French Toast Souffle. I haven't made it for you in a while, but today is special, so I went out of my way a bit. It'll be ready in about fifteen minutes. Hope you can hold on till then. Of course," she started giggling at him, "if you can't, I'll simply let you collapse 'til it's done. Then I'll just have to wave it under your nose 'til you come to."
He smiled at her. "Fifteen minutes, eh?" And with that, he did an exaggerated pratfall off the chair, sprawling himself over the kitchen floor.
Sarah's giggling turned into a hearty laugh. "You idiot, what am I going to do with you?"
Martha was stunned. Everyone she knew had always been so reverential towards the Doctor. She couldn't believe the way Sarah treated him, the way she'd been treating him ever since Martha had come back to help her. But then Martha had never seen him acting this way before, either. She had to admit he had apparently been behaving like a totally different man ever since Sarah Jane came back into his life. She had never seen him as happy as he was with her around. They were good for each other. Anyone could see that. "Boy, if I had known that all I had to do to get your attention was not take you so seriously, I'd have changed the way I think about you ages ago Doctor." She smiled at him fondly.
Sarah looked over at Martha. "Oh Martha, don't tell me you've been acting as if you're in awe of him all this time?"
Martha looked at the Doctor, who was still pretending to be out cold, and shrugged. "Well I have always been in awe of him. I mean he's a genius, and he's from another planet, and he's hundreds of years old, and he..."
Sarah placed a hand over Martha's mouth gently. "Oh please, whatever you do, don't start talking like that in front of him. He'll start to believe you, and then he'll start acting all serious and pompous about himself. I'll have to train him all over again."
"Oi," the Doctor said indignantly, not bothering to get up, "I resemble that remark."
"Oh yes you do," laughed Sarah even more, if that was possible. "Almost ready to be fed now?" She headed over to the oven to check on her souffle. "Looks like you only have a few more minutes to go." She moved over to let him look at it. "It's starting to poof up and I know how much you like to watch when it does."
"Ooo," he said excitedly, scrambling up so he could stare into the oven.
Sarah just chuckled and sat back in her chair.
Martha sat down next to him and watched the Doctor's child-like fascination with the souffle as it started rising.
"Allllmoooost done..." the Doctor said. "It's getting all fluffy."
She nodded and then looked back at the Doctor as he shouted, "That's it, the timer went off, it's ready Sarah Jane. Come take it out now, I'm starving."
Martha had to laugh at him.
Sarah took the souffle out and waited for it to cool down enough to cut. Then she scooped out the softest part of the souffle onto a plate and placed it in front of the Doctor. She put some out for Martha and then fixed a plate for herself. "If you think he's funny now, Martha, wait a few more months until we celebrate the Americans' Thanksgiving Day, otherwise known in the TARDIS as 'The Great Turkey Massacre'." Sarah Jane looked over at the Doctor, as his eyes suddenly began to glaze over.
"Mmmmmm..." he said, " turkey turkey Turkey TURkey TURKEY! I LOVE TURKEY!" He propped himself up on his elbows. "We should invite Martha and Mickey to come back and spend a few days with us that month," he said happily, shoving a large forkful of souffle into his mouth. "So what about it, Martha," he said, mouth still full. "Would you and Mickey like the two of us to come back for you when we decide it's Thanksgiving?"
Martha couldn't help but laugh. "I think I'll have to talk to Mickey about it first, thank you, but I have to warn you we may have other plans."
"Of course," Sarah Jane laughed. "If you're both free though, we'd love to have you come for a visit, especially if you're hoping we'll be serving turkey."
"TURKEY!" the Doctor burbled, happily devouring the souffle.
"Down boy," laughed Sarah Jane as she put more souffle on his plate. She'd expected the Doctor to be happy - she'd have been crushed if he wasn't - but this was over the top, even for him.
Before he could say anything, they heard footsteps and Jack Harkness stepped into the kitchen, a very stunned Alonzo Frame in tow.
"Well Martha," said Sarah. "Looks like the wedding guests are starting to arrive. Can you hold down the fort a while till I finish up a few last minute things?"
Martha smiled. "Absolutely."
"Thanks Martha." She walked up to Jack and gave him a quick hug. "Hello Jack and friend. Nice to see you both. Please forgive me for leaving just as you arrive, but I'm afraid I've got so much to do before the wedding that I may be up all night. "
Jack returned her hug, then held her out at arms length. "Don't rush off, sister, somebody owes me an explanation here. You look, uh ... different somehow." He recovered his composure. "You look even more amazing than I expected, if I may say so. Is there something you need to tell me?"
"Ah yes," the Doctor said, standing to meet them. "Sarah's a Time Lord."
"Actually, I prefer Time Lady, but yes, it's true," smiled Sarah happily.
Jack's smile didn't waver, but his eyes screamed confusion. "How is that possible?"
"Well," said the Doctor. "Right after I left you - Oh, hello, Alonzo, so good to see you - I went to see Sarah Jane to say goodbye before I regenerated, but I waited too long. I wound up blasting her with 500,000 rads of radiation, then sending my regeneration energy into her. The energy built her back up as a Time Lord, so rather than both of us dying, neither of us did. Simple."
"Of course," Jack said, shaking his head. "Simple." He decided not to ask why the heck the Doctor hadn't mentioned that he was on the verge of regenerating when Jack had seen him last. "Alonzo Frame, I'd like to introduce you to my family."