Chapter Two
1999, Twenty four years later
Elisabeth Baker looked in the full length mirror in her bedroom. Everything her students and colleagues had said was true; she really didn't look forty eight. She brushed her long hair and pulled it back, securing it with pins and affixing it into a bun. She could see the reflection of the alarm clock in the mirror. Six forty five already. She had fifteen minutes before she absolutely had to leave for the college. She glanced back at her reflection and for just a split second, she saw a different reflection. Her hair was down, shorter and curly. It hung loosely about her shoulders. She was dressed in a long white lacy Victorian style dress. What was that? Elisabeth shook her head furiously and looked back into the mirror. The mysterious reflection was gone. In its place was her reflection. She scrutinized at her appearance and tucked a stray hair into her tightly gathered bun. Then she straightened her conservative blue suit and fluffed her white shirt's cotton ruffled collar.
"What was that all about?" she asked herself aloud. Elisabeth backed away from the mirror and grabbed her purse that was on the chest of drawers by her bedroom door. As she left the room she pulled the door closed behind her, hesitating only briefly to glance at the mirror. She headed into the kitchen and grabbed a cup of coffee from the coffee maker. Elisabeth looked out the window above the sink and was greeted by two deer grazing in her pasture behind the house. She smiled at them as they took in her presence. Most of the deer that came by seemed to know that she meant them no harm and were almost friendly.
Elisabeth looked up at the clock on the wall and did the same thing she had done for the last twenty four years, on weekdays anyway and headed for the refrigerator to pack her lunch. She knew she could eat in the school's cafeteria with the other teachers but found that she was usually too shy to feel comfortable in their presence. She preferred to eat in her classroom where many of her students would come by for help with her class or just to talk. According to gossip she'd overheard, she was apparently the students' favorite teacher. Maybe they felt at ease with her because she looked so much closer to their age than the other teachers or maybe it was because she listened to their problems and didn't lecture them. In either case, they made her job enjoyable.
Today was Friday and as she headed to the door she wondered what she would do with her weekend. Probably the same as usual, she'd tidy the house, do laundry, read and take a walk in the woods behind her house. She turned and locked her door before heading out to her car. She smiled as she climbed inside her brand new 1999 deep sapphire blue Mazda Miata convertible. Her old car was a 1975 black MGB Roadster convertible. She had nursed it through a blown head gasket and a bad transmission and put up with it all the other times it had left her stranded. But when the motor threw a rod that was it. Elisabeth knew it was time to say goodbye to her beloved car. It was odd; she could almost remember another car she'd once owned, a small yellow car. But that was silly; she'd never owned a car before the black convertible.
She patted the leather steering wheel. "Well, it's just you and me now old girl." She frowned after saying that. The phrase 'old girl' stuck with her. Why? It was as if it were a long lost memory, just out of her reach. There was a tap at the window and she jumped.
"Everything all right Elisabeth?" the tall man dressed in sweat pants and a tee shirt asked. He brushed his brown hair now peppered with bits of grey from his eyes.
Elisabeth rolled down the window. "Oh Mike, you gave me a fright." Elisabeth exclaimed as she stared at the man standing next to her car.
"Sorry, I was out for a jog. You've been sitting in your car since I rounded the bend back there." He pointed behind him. "I thought maybe you were having car trouble."
"Hopefully those days are behind me. That's why I bought her." Elisabeth said rubbing the wheel with affection. She smiled at Mike. She liked him, always had. She met him well over twenty years ago now. It wasn't long after moving here. They'd exchanged small talk and in all that time, they had never really probed too deeply into each other's personal business. A time or two he'd even fixed her plumbing. It's funny she thought, she had his cell phone number but wasn't sure she ever knew his last name. Then just as suddenly as the thought occurred to her, it was gone.
Mike Yates could see a momentary confusion cross her face then disappear. He'd seen it happen before. "On your way to school Elisabeth?" He was always momentarily panicked that he'd slip up and call her Sarah.
"Yes I am Mike." She looked at her watch and said, "And unfortunately I'm running late. Do you need a lift?"
"No, I'm good just out for a run. Be careful and have a good day Elisabeth." Mike said as he backed away from the car.
"I will. You have a good day too." Elisabeth said as she rolled up the window and pulled away.
Mike stood there watching the car get smaller as it drove down the little gravel country road. He pulled his cell phone from his zippered back pocket and pulled out the antenna. He punched in the same number he'd been calling from one phone or another for the past twenty plus years. He held it to his ear and waited. On the second ring, it was answered.
"Yates report." the Brigadier said as he sat back in his leather chair. He was now in fact a Brigadier General and near retirement.
"The subject seemed to be fine Sir." Mike said as he unconsciously stood at attention.
"Seemed to be, explain." the Brigadier commanded.
"When I approached her, she was sitting in her car lost in thought. So lost in fact that she wasn't aware I was beside her till I knocked on the car window."
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news Mr. Yates but we 'all' get lost in our thoughts." the Brigadier said as he rocked back in his plush leather office chair.
"I realize that Sir. But it wasn't just then. She seemed to slip away again when we were talking." Mike offered.
"Do you think there's a problem?" the Brigadier asked as he leaned forward.
"Not yet. But I believe it might be a good idea to close ranks around her and check in with her a bit more often." Mike replied as he looked up and down the road. They had specifically chosen this house for its location. The Doctor wanted Sarah to have privacy and a peaceful environment. There were only three houses located on this road. Mike's house was at the beginning of the road with Benton's house located at the end of the road. Sarah's house could be found at the center of the road. Between the two of them, they could 'accidentally' run into Sarah for a quick check without drawing too much attention to themselves.
"All right Mr. Yates. Check back again soon." the Brigadier sighed. He'd promised the Doctor that Miss. Smith would be watched over and protected and she had. But he was about to retire and he was worried. He knew his replacement had recently taken over Unit. He'd known her all her life. It was his daughter, Kate Stewart. He'd let her in on his secret a few years ago and she was surprisingly accepting. Kate had been raised around the Doctor and Sarah Jane. He was a beloved uncle that she had loving memories of and Sarah Jane was someone she'd truly admired and looked up to. She knew of the Doctor's and Miss. Smith's sacrifices and all that they had done to protect the Earth and all of its inhabitants.
There was a buzz from his office phone and he picked it up. "Yes?" he said to his secretary. He listened a moment and smiled before saying, "Send her in." He replaced the phone on the receiver as his door opened.
Kate Stewart walked into the room. She was tall, slim and dark blonde, the updated image of her mother, Doris. He stood and crossed to her slowly, his age beginning to slow him down. "Kate my dear, what brings you here?"
"I'd hoped to take you to breakfast Dad." Kate smiled at her father. It hurt her seeing him having to slow down. Still, when she thought of him her thoughts didn't project a picture of an older man with grey hair but the picture from her childhood, her father standing tall in his dress uniform with his jet black hair standing at attention.
The Brigadier looked thoughtful. "Your timing is good Kate. I was going to call you later." the Brigadier said as he pulled a chair out for his daughter, ever the gentleman.
"Is something wrong?"
"Wrong no, I just think the time has come for me to begin to hand off the Doctor's project to you. I still expect to be kept in the loop and any permanent decisions will still be mine, but I think that you should start to handle the weekly reports from the field." he explained.
Kate knew it was difficult for her father to hand over this project to her. This was a promise he'd made years ago to the Doctor. The Doctor had trusted him implicitly with protecting Sarah Jane Smith. The Doctor deserved anything that Unit could do for him and so did Miss. Smith. She as well as the Doctor was responsible for saving the Earth many times over. "Dad, I realize how important this is, not just to the Doctor but to you as well. You can count on me."
"I know I can Kate. Have I told you lately how proud I am of you?" the Brigadier asked, the smile on his face glowing with pride.
"Only every time we're alone together." Kate responded. "So, I guess we better review the reports and get me up to date."
"Yes, I guess we should." the Brigadier said as he crossed the floor and moved a picture aside on the wall behind him, revealing a safe. He kept all the files in it regarding 'the Doctor project' as he liked to think of it. He turned the dial of the safe to the correct combination and opened the door. He pulled out a stack of compact disks. He took the stack and handed them to Kate. "This is every scrap of information we have on Sarah Jane Smith aka Elisabeth Baker. This is twenty four years worth of information. For now you'll have to use my laptop to view the information. They cannot leave this office till you have a safe installed in your office. I've already arranged for a safe to be installed over the weekend. I'll make the file transfer on Monday with an armed guard myself. I'll contact Benton and Yates over the weekend and fill them in." He sat back down in his office chair. "Come in on Monday early so we can transfer this without a full staff of prying eyes. The compact disks as well as the contact phone will be transferred to your office."
"I won't let you down Dad, you or the Doctor." She looked deeply into her father's eyes to make sure he understood her sincerity. "You still haven't heard anything from him yet?"
"No not from him. But in true Doctor fashion, I have heard 'of' him. He's still protecting the Earth, still getting into trouble and getting things sorted out. He would contact us if he had any information. That much I know. He won't risk Sarah's life. The Time Lords were very explicit in their intentions. Till he can get them to change their minds he won't go near her."
"Have you seen her?" Kate asked. She knew her Dad always had a soft spot for Sarah Jane.
"Not personally, no." He took one of the disks from Kate and put it in his laptop. After opening it and searching through a few files, he brought up a picture on the screen and smiled. "This is what she looks like now. This was taken last week." He turned the screen toward Kate.
"That's amazing. She looks just the same as I remember her when she came to my birthday party when I was ten. Her hair style is very different, more reserved but still definitely her."
"The Doctor said he was able to slow down her aging to help her survive till they could be together again. But you're right, she looks just the same. Let's hope you're not having this same discussion with whoever takes over for you." He sat back in his chair and sighed.
"We can only hope Dad, not only for our sakes but for the Doctor's and Sarah's sake as well."
Elisabeth pulled into the college parking lot and pulled into a faculty only marked space. She grabbed her bag and opened the door. Bright sunshine greeted her as well as the sounds of students arriving. She looked around her and smiled. Trinity College was a small community college but it was able to boast that it had the highest graduation rate in the country. Elisabeth liked to think it was in some small part because of the level of dedication that she and the other teachers gave the students.
As she walked across the lot she was greeted by a group of students. "Good morning Miss. Baker." Sandy, a petite blonde greeted her.
"Good morning Sandy." Elisabeth replied. "Are you looking forward to the weekend?"
"I'm looking forward to lunch more so." Sandy answered bringing a snicker to the other students' faces.
"And why is that? Is something going on I don't know about?" she asked with a puzzled look on her face.
"Maybe, have to wait and see." The group of students smiled and moved as one away from Elisabeth.
Elisabeth smiled and shook her head. No matter how many years she'd seen students come and go, the one thing that remained a constant were her students' puzzling little secrets. Elisabeth climbed the stairs to the science building. When she reached for the door it was opened for her. She looked up and smiled as she recognized the face. It was a visiting government inspector. She'd made his acquaintance years ago when she'd first moved to the area. "Good morning Harry."
Harry Sullivan smiled at her. 'God she was still just as beautiful as she was over twenty years ago,' he thought. "Good morning Elisabeth. How are you this fine day?"
"I'm fine and how are you?" Elisabeth asked the tall greying curly haired man.
Harry ran his hand through his hair and answered, "Apparently I'm getting a bit absentminded." He lied, he'd been watching for her arrival using a security camera so he could be at the door when she approached it. "I've forgotten my laptop in the car."
"It can happen to anyone. Do you need any help?" Elisabeth was looking at him and just for a split second she saw Harry standing before her, but younger. His hair was brown and curly and he wore a navy blue jacket, some type of military uniform jacket. Then just as quickly as it happened, it was over.
"Elisabeth, Elisabeth are you all right?" Harry asked concerned. He saw her eyes glaze over and for just a split second he saw recognition in her eyes. He'd need to report this to the Brigadier, no, not the Brigadier. He'd received the call this morning that starting next week Kate Stewart would be taking over the assignment. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of someone other than the close knit group of friends taking over protecting Sarah. Sure Kate was the Brigadier's daughter and he'd known her most of her life, but still…
"Yes, sorry just thought of something I need to do." she lied. "I'm sorry Harry but I must get to class. Maybe I'll see you later and we can catch up." Elisabeth said and then slipped into the building.
Harry stood in the doorway and stared after her. Something was up, he wasn't sure what, but something was definitely up.
Elisabeth made it through her morning classes and the lunch bell had just rung when a large group of students piled into the room. As soon as they were inside, they all called out excitedly. "Miss. Baker! Miss. Baker! Miss. Baker!"
Elisabeth looked up from the book she had just opened, startled. "Whoa, everyone calm down. What is going on? Has something happened?" she asked her eyes wide.
Sandy stepped forward making herself the group's representative. "Miss. Baker, we have amazing news. Remember when you taught us all about Moonbase Alpha?"
Elisabeth shook her head up and down trying to figure out what had the group so excited. "Yes but what does this have to do…?"
"Because Moonbase Alpha has been allowing a select group of teachers to visit the base on occasion," she looked back at her fellow students, "and we all nominated you to visit the base." Sandy smiled as did all those with her.
"Well, I'm very touched. That's very sweet of all of you." Elisabeth said. She couldn't believe her students would go to so much trouble to do something so remarkable for her.
"But I haven't told you the best part yet." Sandy was now literally bouncing up and down in excitement.
"And what is that?" Elisabeth asked smiling.
"They picked you!" Elisabeth stared at her. "Did you hear me Miss. Baker? They picked you. You're going to the Moon!" All the students packed in the room began talking at once, almost drowning each other out.
Elisabeth stared at the group. She realized she should say something but words failed her. She was going to the Moon. It was odd; it didn't feel like this was something new. It shouldn't feel that way. She'd never gone…well…anywhere. She'd never even been abroad. It felt exciting sure, but a new experience, no. She'd have to mull that thought over later. The group was attempting to tell her something.
"Everyone please be quiet. Who has the book?" Sandy almost yelled to be heard over the other students and looked through the crowd as even more students piled into the room. From the back of the group she could see a thick book being passed from student to student. When it finally reached Sandy's hands, she turned to face her beloved teacher.
"Miss. Baker this book is full of the six hundred and forty two letters that were written to the Commander of Moonbase Alpha asking that you be admitted to the visiting teacher program. I made a copy of each letter we sent and put them in a book for you." She hesitated and looked back at the group to find that many were in the same state she was in. Many in the crowd had tears in their eyes. "We just want you to know how much you mean to us. You're always there for us and you never judge or lecture us like some of the other teachers. You always give us great advice and for that, we thank you. We love you Miss. Baker!" Sandy came behind the desk and placed the large book on Elisabeth's desk and hugged her.
The crowd closed in on Elisabeth, each wanting to let her know how special she is. Elisabeth was beyond words as her eyes filled with tears. "I…I…I don't know what to say." she admitted honestly.
Tom, a tall red headed boy pushed his way through the group. "Miss. Baker, you're going to need this." He handed Elisabeth a smaller red binder with the Moonbase Alpha logo on it. "This has your tickets and all the information you'll need about your trip. Congratulations Miss. Baker." he said as he extended his hand.
"Thank you Tom." Elisabeth said as she clasped the boy's hand with both of hers. "This is all so wonderful. I can't thank you all enough."
"You've always spoke of space and space travel with such passion Miss. Baker. So when we found out that they had started this program, it seemed so perfect for you. So you'll go?" Sandy asked excitedly.
"Of course I'll go. This is so very wonderful. When do I leave?" Elisabeth asked as she opened the red binder.
"That's the thing Miss. Baker." Tom started, "You leave on September eleventh."
"September eleventh! That's today." She looked at the ticket in front of her for verification. They were right. The shuttle leaves at 6 P.M. tonight. "I have so much to do." she said in a panic. "Sandy, I need a favor. Can you have that student teacher fill in for me? He's in the teacher's lounge waiting for something to do. He was going to help me next week anyway." She stood up and opened her top drawer and pulled out her lesson plan and purse. "Tell him everything he needs to know is in here. And tell him he needs to take over my three afternoon classes. Apologize for my abruptness please." She laid the lesson plan book on the desk. She took a deep breath and then blew it out and then laughed as she picked up the students' letters and the Moonbase Alpha book. "I'm going to the Moon!" she told the crowd loudly. The group cheered as they made a path for her to leave. Elisabeth shook as many hands and hugged as many of the girls as she could before leaving.
As she ran out the door and headed for her car, she mentally made a list of everything she'd need to take. Elisabeth climbed in her car and rubbed the leather steering wheel. "Well old girl," she began and then stopped. There it was again, that odd feeling after hearing the words 'old girl'. They seemed to echo in her head but in a male's voice this time. The voice was comforting and soothing to her soul. Just those two words and she was immediately calmed. Shaking her head to bring herself back to the moment she continued, "I'm going to the Moon." She turned the key and pulled quickly out of the parking lot.