"It's a magic flower," he said conspiratorially. "It will stay alive permanently, even after you grow up and come back here."
"Ooh, I love flowers," her eyes were big and smiling now with anticipation. "What color is it?"
"You pick," he said, holding out his hand. "Come on, we'll go to the garden."
She took his hand and walked along with him. Her little legs had a hard time keeping up with his long striding ones. She let go of his hand and stood, glaring at him impatiently with her arms crossed. He kept walking. "Humph humph," she said loudly, waiting for him to notice her.
He turned and looked at her, trying not to laugh. "Yes?"
"You walk too fast." She shook her finger at him, then ran up to him. She placed her hands on her hips, tapping her foot. "I'm way smaller than you, you know."
"Yes, you are," he said, smiling. He held out his arms for her to be carried.
She reached her arms up to him as he picked her up. She looked into his eyes again, then put her hand on his cheek. "I know who you are now," she said, looking at him with a satisfied smile.
He raised an eyebrow. "Oh you do, do you?"
She shook her head up and down affirmatively. "Yes, I didn't recognize you right away because you're dressed different. You're the handsome prince that's supposed to come and marry me. My Mommy told me about you."
"Ooh," he said, nodding knowingly, amused at this obsession of hers with marrying him. "I didn't know she told you about me." He opened the door to the garden and stepped into it with her. Later, she would love the garden, and why not? It opened out to a great expanse, the way the console room opened out from the police box, making it seem even more spacious than it was. The most wondrous plants grew all around, and he set her down so she could look. "Look, but don't touch," he said.
"Oh, it's ever so much bigger than our garden at home," she said. She began to run all around with a look of sheer delight on her face. She stopped after a while and started looking at all the different flowers. She did this for a long time, turning to him and asking him the name of this one and then that one. Occasionally she'd bend down and sniff a flower if it caught her eye. As she bent down to examine a particularly fragrant bloom, she caught something's eye instead. Not aware of it at first, she sensed something, and then as she saw it. She started screaming as if the devil himself was standing before her, and ran towards the Doctor.
He was there instantly. "What's wrong?" he asked, kneeling down beside her.
She grabbed his hand and started tugging on it. "Run away quick, there's a giant bug eyed monster over there!" She pointed over at the direction she had just been in. He was pretty sure there weren't any bug-eyed monsters in the TARDIS -- well, no giant ones, at least. "Hang about, let's see it." He looked more closely at where she was pointing, and a tiny eye-stalk popped up behind a lush red bloom. "Norman," he scolded, "behave yourself." A small mass of blue and green tentacles scurried off. He turned back to Sarah Jane with a big reassuring smile for her. "Don't worry, he won't bother you."
Sarah Jane watched him as he headed out of the garden. "Do you know him? Is he magic too?"
The Doctor chuckled at her characterization of the tiny alien. "I suppose you could say that."
Sarah Jane went back to looking over the flowers. Finally after about an hour, she stopped cold in her tracks. "Oh my, this one is the most beautiful one of all! What's it called, please?" she asked as she bent over to smell it.
He smiled. Some things never changed. These had always been her favorite flowers, by far. "That is a Metebelis Angel," he said, kneeling down next to her. "And it blooms as long as the person who planted it is alive."
"Did you plant it?" she asked, still smelling the heavenly odor it gave off.
"I did," he said."Then I never want to pick it," she said standing up solemnly.
"Ah, but that's what's magical about it," he said. "Even after you pick it, the bloom will stay fresh as long as I'm alive. So you'll always know that I'm out here waiting for you."
She smiled happily at him. He was used to that smile; it was the exact same smile of sheer joy that she had given him in the past whenever something unexpected and marvelous would happen to them. She ran to him and threw her arms about him. "You're wonderful."
He held her and buried his face in her shoulder just as she buried her face in his. She was so happy, even in the face of what had just happened to her. She'd lost nearly everyone in her life in one fell swoop, but she could still appreciate beauty and wonder. He was grateful for the reminder, and he wanted to see her happy again. Feeling tears welling up for him, he held her for another minute, waiting for it to subside. Finally, he took a deep breath and set her down.
"I'm hungry," she stated simply, as only a child could.
"That's right, I promised you some chocolate covered cherries," he said, keeping his voice even. "And you should probably have some lunch."
This time she didn't wait, and held her arms up to him. She put her head next to his as he picked her up. She rubbed his cheek with her hand slowly. "You're very lonely and sad, and I don't ever want to leave you."