Scared of the Dark

by Part of the Queue

SarahJane Adventures. Luke, the first night of the rest of his life. Luke and SarahJane. Spoilers of pilot episode, Invasion of the Bane. 420 words.

Title: Scared of the Dark
Author: Part of the Queue
Summary: Luke, the first night of the rest of his life.
Length: 420 words.
Characters: Luke, Sarah-Jane.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, etc, etc.
Notes: Some mild spoilers for Invasion of the Bane. Completely un-beta-ed.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scared of the Dark.

He was scared the first night, in that house, with the painted walls and soft furnishings and the alien artefacts in the attic. The light that had made things so bright earlier had faded, and he was alone for the first time since he had found his awareness.

The dark was nothing new; he'd lived most of his life tied to a metal slab with his eyes closed. What was new, were the thoughts that ran across his mind. Pictures and words and sounds and smells and tastes, and everything that he had experienced in his few hours of consciousness. He had lived within himself, not being able to sense anything, not being aware of anything, being blank. And now, he could hear the cars on the street outside the house, he could smell the mustiness of the unused blankets Sarah-Jane had used to make up a bed for him in the spare room, he could still taste the beans and toast he had eaten for tea, could feel the food settling in his stomach.

And the thoughts in his head took these sensations, took the new awareness he had gained, and took the experiences of his few hours, and made pictures in his mind, and embellished them, made them less real and more real at the same time. The beep of the digital clock at his bedside became the ring tone of a mobile phone, the hissing of the pipes and the radiator became the releasing of gas from a bottle of BubbleShock, the mattress he lay on became hardened steel, the bus coming to a stop down the street was suddenly the Bane Mother hanging from the ceiling, and the footsteps coming up the stairs were Mrs Wormwood stalking across a concrete floor towards him, remote in hand as she pressed the button.

The pain that had flared in his chest disappeared as the pictures faded, and an echo in the room told him he had cried out as he had shot up from his pillow. A soothing voice and a gentle touch at his shoulder dispelled the pictures further, and the woman to who they belonged made the bed dip as she sat beside him. The cheeks that he had not noticed were damp, were wiped dry by kind hands, and warm arms encircled him and pulled him close as his breathing slowed enough that he could hear the words being murmured in his ear.

"You're safe, Luke, you're okay".

You don't need to be scared anymore.