The Doctor looked at her and thought about how she'd have to deal with the troubles of life soon enough; why rush it? Besides, he didn't want the day to end any more than she did. "Why not?" he said, pulling a lever on the console to stop them from arriving in South Croydon. Then he stared at the console, his brow furrowed. "But where, that's the question," he muttered.

He needed to take her somewhere totally safe. Somewhere nothing bad could happen, where no one would be mean to her, or to anybody else.

"Only one solution," he said, holding out a hand to her.

She took his hand and smiled. "What's that?"

He started walking away from the door. "We go to the one place where there are absolutely no boneheads. You, my dear, should pick a room to be yours when you're here."

Sarah Jane's eyes grew large and her mouth dropped open. "A room of my own? For real?"

"For real," he said, smiling at her enthusiasm. Of course, she already HAD a room in the TARDIS, but that hadn't happened for her yet. He chuckled to himself, remembering how she had picked a room deep in the bowels of the TARDIS, but that over first couple of years the TARDIS had gradually moved it closer and closer to his bedroom until they were next door to each other. "Ready?"

"Oh yes, you just bet I'm ready," Sarah Jane exclaimed. She held her arms up to him to be picked up.

He picked her up and set her on his shoulders. "All right, tell me where you want to go. You can pick a room, and then we'll go shopping to decorate it."

Sarah Jane looked around, "there's just so many doors, are they all empty rooms?"

"No, they're not all empty, but you can look around and pick one that you like and if it's available, it's yours." He set her down gently. "Go, explore to your heart's content till you find the one special room that you can call your own."

Sarah Jane ran from door to door, opening one after another, poking her head in and surveying each one and giving the Doctor her opinion of it. "This one is a funny color, I don't like it," she shook her head and ran to the next door. "This one is too small, I can't play in it." The next room had a ceiling that she thought was too tall, another was too cold. "I feel like Goldilocks," she said turning to him. "I haven't seen one room yet that's just right. How many rooms do you have?"

"No idea," he said. "The TARDIS is so big inside that even I haven't seen all of it. Come on this way," he said, "I think you'll find something you like." He led her down a long corridor and around several curves.

Sarah started searching through the rooms again. The first two didn't appeal to her, but when she saw the third room, she let out a happy yelp. "This is it, this is my room. Oh Doctor, it's beautiful, I love it. Can I really have it?"

He smiled. Of course. He patted the TARDIS affectionately at the timey-wimeyness, then crouched down to her level. "Yes, Sarah Jane, you may have it."

She ran into the room and spun around in it with her hands outstretched. "This is a room that a princess would live in. Look at the pink roses on the wall paper and the green and gold painted trim. What can we put in it?" she asked as he walked slowly into the room.

"Anything you want," he said. "Ready to go shopping?"

"Yes, where are we going, Secaro? They have lots of wonderful things there."

"They do, but they also have the occasional bonehead, and I promised you no boneheads today. So we'll do the next best thing. Do you remember the boot cupboard?"

"I think so," she nodded. "It's the one with all the pretty clothes in it, Right?"

"That's right. It also has lots of other things." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Ooh, like what," she grinned at him and wiggled her eyebrows too, only in Sarah's case, she ended up wiggling her eyebrows and blinking.

"You'll just have to see," he said, laughing as he led her back to the boot cupboard and opened the door. "Try the trunks," he said. "And there's an odd trap door here and there." He pulled up a section of floor.

"Are they full of pirate treasure? I hope there's something that a princess could use in them," she said, straining to look into the chest the Doctor was opening.

"Well, there aren't any pirates involved, but I'm sure there's treasure." He reached down and started pulling out boxes and bags and blankets. Must be the "B" chest, he thought. "What kinds of things do you want in your room?"

"Can I have anything at all I want? Aunt says it's rude to ask for too much of something." She looked up at him sweetly crossing her fingers behind her back.

The Doctor was tall enough that he could see her crossing her fingers. "This is one place where you can have absolutely anything it is within my power to give you."

The pair of them spent the next few hours together while Sarah Jane picked out furniture and accessories for her new room. When she was done, the Doctor took her back and helped her decorate. The "Princess" room, as Sarah called it, had a bed, a dresser, lights, throw rugs, and a toy chest.

Along with the toys that the Doctor had gotten her on Sacaro, there was also a huge collection of alien odds and ends that struck Sarah's fancy, both rare and ordinary. A Ronderian spoon served as the center of a mobile the Doctor had made for her out of trinkets and such; a Pabberli hairclip was balanced by a crystal so rare that had anyone from the worlds of the Unddara sector known he had it they'd have ended millennia of wars amongst themselves to unite in order to get it back. But to Sarah they were all just objects d'art, worthy of her attention merely because they were "pretty".

She was hugging her Doctor doll as she surveyed the results of their work. "It's perfect. I bet even a real princess doesn't have a room this lovely. Thank you Doctor," she said as she gave him a big hug.

"You're welcome," he said, hugging her back. She was so happy, it almost broke his hearts. He sat on the daybed they'd added and sat her on his lap. "Listen, I just want you to remember, no matter where you are, this place, this safe place, where you can play and be yourself, and not worry about anything, this place will always be here for you, waiting. Even if you're far away and can't be here. Can you remember that for me?"

She nodded and put her head on his shoulder. "I always remember everything we do and say when we're together. Then when I'm sad I think about you and them and I feel better."

He hugged her again and didn't say anything for a moment. What was there left to say, really? Finally, he picked her up. "All right then, I think it's time for that birthday party of yours, how about you?"

Sarah Jane was sitting on the Doctor's shoulders once more when he rang the doorbell at Lavinia Smith's house.

Lavinia opened the door, smiling at them. "Ah, I see our two adventurers are home at last, and just in time." She looked up at Sarah Jane. "My, how you've grown since the morning. Are you ready to have your party now, my big tall birthday girl?"

"I didn't grow at all Aunt. The Doctor grew. He grew a new head and it's me. He's a two headed monster now. Grrrr," she giggled as she held her hands up as if in attack.