Chapter Four
The Piccadilly Italian Restaurant was in the theater district of Piccadilly on Great Windmill street. The exterior of the restaurant was made of dark stone with a rectangular neon sign and an Italian flag above the door. Inside was white wood walls with dark wooden paneling. There were wooden tables with wooden high backed chairs and along the wall were booth seats with dark red padding. There was Italian memorabilia on the walls along with some signed photos of celebrities who had eaten there in the past. When they went inside, they heard Italian music piped in from an overhead sound system and the smell of spaghetti and garlic bread hung in the air, making Sarah Jane's mouth water and bringing back her appetite for the first time in a few weeks. The Doctor held her hand while the waitress found out the number in their party and led them back to the back to one of the tables with booth seating. The Doctor pulled out a chair for Sarah Jane and she sat down. The Doctor sat down beside her while the teens slid into the other side of the table. Jack pushed a nearby table up to theirs after Mickey, Rose and Amy sat down beside the teens and he sat down with Martha in the chairs. The waitress came to give them their menus and take their drink orders. The teenagers ordered tea while everyone else ordered wine. The Doctor leaned in to Sarah Jane after the waitress left.
"I have some more of the medicine in my pocket, just in case. Let me know if you need any more of it," he said.
Sarah Jane nodded and the Doctor squeezed her hand.
"So how are you paying for this?"Sarah Jane asked. "You don't carry any money."
"I'm paying for it," Jack said, waving his hand dismissively. "Order whatever you want, it's on me."
Sarah Jane nodded and opened her rectangular menu, gazing down through the choices while everyone else did the same. Jack glanced at the Doctor.
"So, Doctor, how did you regenerate this time?" he asked.
The Doctor continued to study the menu while he told them briefly what happened. Everyone listened intently while he talked and they studied their menus. When the Doctor got to the part where he told them he came to check on every one of them, Jack, Martha and Mickey glanced at each other.
"Hold on, that day in the warehouse with the Sontaran...," Martha said.
"Yup, that was me coming to say goodbye and it's a good thing I got there in time or I would have been saying goodbye to you and your husband," the Doctor said.
"And the day you saved Luke?" Sarah Jane said.
"Yup, that was when I came to see you and Luke."
"And I'm guessing the day you came into the bar…"
"Yup," the Doctor said to Jack. "How'd it go with Alonzo?"
"Didn't last," Jack said, shaking his head. "He's a nice guy but he's not Ianto and we decided just to be friends. I think It'll be a long time before I really commit to someone the way I did with Ianto."
The Doctor nodded.
"I understand, I thought it might be best if you had someone," he said. "I didn't think it was good for you to be alone."
"Which is why I decided to come back to my team," Jack said. "You felt the same way though? That's why you have Rory and Amy now?"
"Yup, got bored being with myself. Amy traveled with me first and then Rory joined us," the Doctor said.
"And… do you like traveling with him?" Jack asked Amy and Rory.
"I love it," Amy said.
"I'm growing to love it, it takes some getting used to," Rory said.
"I was the same way, I met him when I was working as a journalist and it took awhile to adjust but once I got used to it, I loved it! One of the highlights of my life," Sarah Jane said.
The waitress came back with their drinks and took their orders. The teenagers ordered spaghetti and garlic bread, Sarah Jane ordered salad and veal, Jack ordered ravioli, Martha ordered fettuccini alfredo, Amy, Rory and Mickey ordered lasagna and the Doctor ordered chicken tetrazzini with garlic bread. They gave their menus back to the waitress and she walked away.
"Before we begin, might I propose a toast?" Jack said, raising his wine glass. "To Sarah Jane, a lovely and wonderful woman. I only wish I'd gotten to know you better but I know my life has been made better by you being in it. Cheers, beautiful Sarah."
Everyone clinked glasses together and drank while Sarah Jane blushed and smiled at that.
"Can I make a toast?" Luke said. "Mum, you are fantastic. You're the best mum in the world and I'm so glad you rescued me from the Bane and made me your son. I'm proud to be your son and I always will be."
Sarah Jane's eyes glistened with unshed tears as everyone clinked glasses again.
"I'd like to make a toast," Rory said. "Um…I haven't known you for very long and I consider it a shame that I got to meet you now when you're at the end of your life since I now know that you're a warm and loving and wonderful woman and I'm going to miss you, Sarah Jane."
"I second that," Amy said.
"Thank you," Sarah Jane said as they clinked glasses.
They drank and then everyone looked at the Doctor. They laughed when the Doctor feigned confusion.
"I'm sorry, is there a fly on my nose or something," he said before he gave them a grin. "Ah well, you want me to make a toast to this marvelous woman beside me. But…really, what words would suffice for Sarah? You have made me proud, my Sarah Jane. Not only were you a wonderful companion but you went beyond that and made a real difference in the world and you fulfilled all my expectations and then some. I will truly miss you, my shining star, but I also count myself lucky that I knew you and got to run alongside you and fight monsters together. I love you, Sarah, and I always will."
"Thank you," Sarah Jane said in a choked voice as they clinked glasses.
The Doctor patted her shoulder while Sarah Jane wiped tears from her eyes. Then suddenly, she froze when she heard someone fart behind her.
"Agatha, honestly," she heard a man say.
There was no movement for a few seconds and then Sarah Jane began to shake with silent laughter while everyone else shared a gleeful look. The Doctor cleared his throat and hid his smile as he picked up his wine glass and took a drink.
"Well, that's one of the things I will not miss after I die," Sarah Jane said softly while everyone snickered.
"Nah, better out than in, I always say," Jack said before he picked up his wine glass.
"And if my time in Torchwood is any indication, there were a lot of times it needed to come out," Martha said softly.
Everyone snickered when Jack shot her a look.
"Just watch yourself from now on, Jones, I might send a silent but deadly one your way," he said.
"It's Smith now, love, and bring it on," Martha said. "I can take whatever you dish out."
"Just wait, it'll come when you least expect it," Jack said before taking another sip of wine.
"Anyway, switching to another subject," the Doctor said while everyone else giggled.
"I'd like to say something and I hope it's not too morbid," Sarah Jane said.
"Yes?" the Doctor said.
Sarah Jane took his hand.
"I don't want to go back to hospital, I was wondering if perhaps I could come with you and die onboard the TARDIS? I won't be around much longer but I would rather die with you nearby than with a bunch of nurses and doctors."
"Of course you can," he said. "And all of you are welcome to stay with us so we can all be there at that moment. What about burial though?"
"Did you have anything in mind?" Sarah Jane asked.
"Well, if Luke is going to be with me, I was thinking cremation and I could put your ashes in an urn and let him have it," the Doctor said.
"I'd love that but…would that be okay with you, Luke?"
"Yeah, I'd love to have mum's ashes with me," Luke said.
"Okay, so I'll contact the Shansheeth and have them come and…"
Luke, Clyde and Rani giggled when Sarah Jane shot him a dirty look.
"Don't let those vultures anywhere near me," she said while the Doctor gave her an innocent look. "You let those bird brains handle my remains and my ghost will come back and make you regenerate!"
"Now, I must remind you that was a rogue batch of Shansheeth, they're not all bad," the Doctor teased.
"I don't care. I want you to handle my remains, not those overgrown scavengers," Sarah Jane said while the Doctor patted her hand.
"Sorry, who are the Shansheeth?" Amy said.
Sarah Jane told them about the Shansheeth and what happened to her, the Doctor, the teenagers, Liz and Santiago while the others listened in a fascinated silence. While she was talking, their food came and Sarah Jane stopped talking while the waitress served them their meals. While she looked at her veal, the Doctor leaned over.
"Are you alright? Do you need any more medicine to keep your food down?" he asked.
"No, I think I'll be alright," Sarah Jane said.
"Just let me know, I'm Doctor Feelgood tonight, you know."
He grinned when Sarah Jane giggled at that. She started to cut up her veal but the Doctor's words made her giggle again and the Doctor hid another smile behind his wine glass.
"Is something the matter, Sarah?" he asked her while everyone else chuckled.
"Just have an image of you standing in some dark alley wearing a dirty trench coat with your drugs in your hand asking people if they want a fix, that's all," Sarah Jane said.
"Wow, now I have an image of that too," Jack said while the others laughed. "Doctor Drug Dealer, there's one for the books."
"I'm just telling Sarah that if she needs a fix, I'm her supplier."
Now everyone had the giggles which made the Doctor smile. He leaned over to Sarah Jane.
"If you're going to go, my Sarah, you are going to go with a laugh and a smile, that's for sure," he told her before he gave her an affectionate kiss on the cheek.