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Chapter 44 - My Sara Gene

Rose walked into the hospital room.

The Doctor followed her, but hung back towards the door. The little girl was tiny. She wasn't as dark as Melissa had been, but he defiantly noticed what Rose had spoke about. She looked just like Melissa. Just a smaller version. Her hair was wild and curly. She looked taller than Tony, but was very thin. He wondered if it had to do with her recent time she had been on her own. His heart ached for her, knowing how scared, lonely and hurt she probably was.

Rose was amazing. As he watched her and couldn't help but smile. She sat on the edge of the bed and asked the small girl if she knew who she was.

"Hi, Rose." Sara said and smiled. "What did you do to your hair?"

Rose smiled at her. "I have been blond for a long time, I thought I'd try something new. Do you like it?"

The little girl ran her hand through Rose's hair and nodded.

"I'm so sorry I'm late getting to you. Are you alright?" Rose asked her.

"Yes. I'm just want to leave here. They keep sticking me." Sara pointed at an IV that was in her arm.

Rose turned and looked at the Doctor who was already walking over to look at the IV. He ran his sonic screwdriver over to scan the little girl.

"It is really too big for her little arm. Is it sticking you now?" he asked her.

She nodded that it was and grimaced.

"Well, we can't have that. You don't really even need it anymore, anyway." he told her. He put on some gloves and looked around for a cotton ball.

Rose assured Sara. "Don't worry, he's a Doctor. Best one in the universe. You are lucky he's here."

The Doctor smiled at Rose. "Yeah, don't worry Sara. This will feel weird, but it will make it stop sticking. Don't watch me. Talk to Rose."

Sara looked at Rose, "Did my mum call you?"

The Doctor felt his heart ache at those words. He gently took out the IV and covered the opening with a cotton ball. "Rose, can you find me a bandage?"

Rose stood up and looked around. "I'll have to ask a nurse for one. I'll be right back." Rose walked out of the room.

The Doctor held the cotton ball in place as he sat next to Sara.

"Doctor?" Sara asked.

The Doctor moved to where she could see him better. "Yes, ma'am."

"Are you Rose's Doctor?"

He smiled. "Yes, I'm Rose's Doctor. I honestly don't think I ever been called that before."

"My mum told me stories about you." Sara said. "To help me go to sleep at night."

"She sounds like a great one. Your mum. What sort of stories did she tell you?"

"She told me that you had a box where you could travel to the stars and stop bad dreams from happening." Sara told him.

He smiled at her. "Yep. I don't have my box anymore, but I do stop bad dreams."

She told me you chased scary monsters, and that they were scared of you." Sara told him.

He nodded and laughed under his breath. "That's true. I've not met a monster yet that isn't scared of me. No matter what they might say."

Rose came back in the room and handed the Doctor the bandage. The Doctor saw Jake's back as the door closed. The Doctor thanked Rose, and put the bandage on Sara's arm.

"There." he pulled it up to his mouth and kissed it. "All better? No more sticking?"

Sara's lit up as smiled and nodded that it was an improvement.

Jake popped his head in. "Rose, there is a man here with some paperwork. He needs you."

Rose turned and smiled at the Doctor and Sara. "Would it be alright if I left you two here for a bit?"

"Sure. We're fine." The Doctor agreed.

"Yeah." Sara said as she looked back at the Doctor. Rose smiled and walked out of the room.

After a few moments, Sara spoke again. "So, you are a Doctor?"

"Yes. My name is Doctor Johnathon Smith." he held his hand out to her.

She looked at him for a moment, then decided he must be alright if he was with Rose. "I'm Sara Saroyan." She shook his hand.

He stood up asked if it was alright if he sat at the end of her hospital bed. She nodded that it was, so he lay across the end of it to see her face as they spoke.

"So. Miss Sara. Are you alright? Hurt anywhere?" he asked her.

"Can you make my chest stop hurting?" Sara asked him.

"Where does it hurt?" he asked her.

She pointed at her heart. It made his heart ache.

"No. I can't. But, it will feel better after a while." he told her softly.

"I don't think it will ever feel better." Sara shook her head.

"Oh, it will. Trust me. I had that same pain myself."

"Why? Did your mum and dad die, too?" she asked him.

He nodded at her. "Yes, they did. My entire family died. I lost everyone and was all alone for a long time. Just like you."

Sara looked surprised.

"But, I think you are a lot braver about it than I was. I still can't talk about it." he told her.

The Doctor reached in his pocket and handed her a lollipop. He unwrapped his lollipop and put it in his mouth.

"Rose gave me these sweets. They seem to help when my heart starts to hurt. Try it and see if it helps yours."

Sara picked up the sweet, unwrapped it and put it in her mouth.

"Does it help?" he asked her.

She looked up at him and smiled. "A little bit."

"What did they tell you, sweetheart? About your mum?"

"She was in a car crash. And she died." Sara said.

The Doctor nodded. "Well, that's the truth. That's really what happened. She loved you so very much. I'm sure she didn't want to leave you."

"How do you know that?"

"I'm a Doctor! I know a lot of stuff! But, I also know that no parent ever wants to leave their child. Not ever. They love them like nothing else they have ever loved in their life." he said as he looked away.

"You look sad. Is your family really dead, too?" Sara asked him.

He looked back at her.

"Well, I'm not as sad as I used to be. Rose, helped me. She put back all of the pieces that I felt had broken apart. She's amazing. I bet she could probably help you, too." he told her as he patted her foot.

"How?" Sara asked as she pulled her lollipop out of her mouth to look at it.

"Well, for starters, she can take care of you. Make sure you are alright. You won't have to be alone anymore. She can love you. She can teach you everything you need to know to become as amazing of a woman as she is. As your mum was."

Sara smiled around her lollipop.

He smiled back at her. "And if you want, I could help. Maybe we can help one another. I figure, I am probably one of the only people on this planet than can tell you that I know how you are feeling right now, and mean it. If you need me, I can be there for you. Maybe over time, both of our hearts will stop hurting. At least as much as they do now. What do you say? Could you help me?" he asked her.

She nodded her head. "Alright, Doctor Smith." she said.

"Nah, call me Doctor. Everyone does. Would that be alright?"

She smiled and nodded.

"Okay, now. Another important question. How old are you, Miss Sara?"

"Four and a half." she told him.

"Okay. Four and a half." he said, "What's your middle name?"

"Well, what's yours?" she asked him.

He laughed at her. He was thrilled that she seemed to like him.

"Well, ma'am. I have two middle names. Alexander and Storm."

She looked surprised at him. "Your name is Storm? Really?"

He nodded. "Sure is."

"Your mum named you that?" she asked.

He shook his head and laughed. "No, someone else did. I'll tell you the story sometime. That's another thing about me. I love to tell stories. And I know some great ones I can tell you. Help you sleep at night."

She smiled at him.

"So what is it? Sara what?"

"Sara Genevieve." she said.

His eyes lit up. "Oh! That's a brilliant name! You should keep that one!"

She laughed at him and covered her face up with her hands.

He laughed back at her. "My Sara Gene! Genie!"

"My Dad called me Genie!" she giggled.

"Would you rather me call you that? Which do you prefer? I prefer to be called 'Doctor' instead of 'John'." He looked at her seriously. "I mean, really. Do I even look like a John?"

She laughed at him. "You are silly."

He laughed, "Yeah, people tell me that. So, what will it be?"

"Sara Gene is okay. Or Genie." she shrugged.

He patted her foot, "Alright. That's settled, then."

She laughed at him as Rose walked back in the door.

"You two seem to be getting along, well. I'm sorry about all of that paperwork. Ugh. I feel like I've signed my name a million times."

"What is your name, Rose?" Sara asked her.

Rose looked confused.

"She means your middle name, dear." the Doctor clarified. "We are talking about our names. This lovely, young lady's name is Sara Genevieve."

Rose smiled with understanding. "Marion. Rose Marion Tyler."

The Doctor pointed at Rose. "Yes, but my Rose will soon be Rose Marion Smith. We are getting married."

Genie smiled at him. "I like Tyler better than Smith."

He laughed at the little girl. "Oh, Rose Tyler. This one is so cheeky! She's only just met me and is already teasing me about my name. You should have heard what she said about 'Storm'. But, she's decided that she'd rather be called Sara Gene or Genie. Alright, love?"

Rose nodded as she smiled. "That's completely fine."

The Doctor turned his head back around to smile at Genie. "My Sara Gene. You are brilliant, you are."

Genie covered her face and laughed at him.

Rose smiled at them. She was so happy they were already getting along. It was such a terrible situation, but they seemed to have bonded instantly.

The Doctor patted Genie's foot. "Well, I suppose the question is, when can we get you out of here?"

Rose looked at him. "They said she can leave as soon as the IV comes out."

The Doctor rubbed his beard. "Well, I took it out already."

He looked at Genie. "Would you like to come back with us? Let us take care of you? Be part of our family?" He made a look of disgust. "I'm going to warn you. Your grandmother might smother you with kisses. We might have to pull her off of you. Your grandfather will defiantly buy you too many toys. And your... well...uncle is nearly your age and is a scary football referee."

"Can I bring Toby?"

"Who's Toby?" the Doctor asked her.

"My teddy bear."

The Doctor smiled. "Of course. We'll go back to your flat, and get whatever you like. Then we'll go back to where we are staying. Is that alright? We travel a lot. Do you like to travel? We are even riding the bullet tomorrow!"

Her eyes lit up. "Really?!"

"I know. I can't wait, either!" he told her.

He jumped up off the bed and clapped his hands together. "Okay, let me go find some doctor to get us out of here. We have things to do!"

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The doctors at the hospital assured them that they wouldn't let it leak to the gossip papers about Genie. Apparently, they felt as though she had been through enough already in the past week. Or maybe it was the fear of the Oncoming Storm's threats. Rose didn't see it, but Jake said it was something to behold.

Rose helped Genie get dressed and then they introduced her to Jake.

Rose told her, "In our family. We have a lot of friends that help keep us safe. You're going to meet a lot of people in the next few days."

She nodded.

Rose realized that they were planning on using the gizmo to pop back with Sara. How were they going to explain this without scaring her? Luckily, the Doctor was already one step ahead of her.

The Doctor explained to Sara, "Okay, something your mum might not have told you about me. I'm a wizard. In some of the fairy tales you know, I'm the wizard they talk about in the story."

Sara shook her head and laughed. "Wizards aren't real."

He laughed at her. "Oh they are! I can't wait to read you a book about it!"

He held his arms out, inviting her to let him hold her. She climbed into the Doctor's arms.

"Yeah, you are a bit smaller than Tony." he said as she got fully into his arms.

He looked over at Jake. "We're going to her flat, getting some stuff, then back to the White House. Alright?"

"Right, Doc'." Jake agreed.

"Wait, and let us go first. I don't want to scare her." the Doctor told Jake.

He turned to look at Sara. "Okay, this is going to feel strange. Like you get mushed and then stop really fast. But, you are alright. And we're with you. We're not leaving you alone. Do you believe me?"

"Yes." she seemed excited.

It made the Doctor laugh. "You like adventure, Genie?"

"Yes!" she laughed.

"Oh boy, did you end up in the right family, then. Alright, close your eyes. I'm going to do my best magic trick. One ... two... "

They disappeared in puff of smoke. And just like that, Sara Genevieve was part of the family.

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