Author's Notes: Well, here's more. I haven't quite decided how far I'm
going to go with this. I pretty much just write it when I'm feeling down.
Thanks for the reviews thusfar folks. Ta for now.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot: I don't own Doctor Who. Please don't smite me
Beeb.
Why? Chapter 2: The Next Morning.
Sarah Jane woke up to find herself tucked comfortably into her bed. A form loomed to the left of her and she slowly turned over to see what it was.
'Oh, the Doctor' she thought offhand. Then she paused, remember the events of the previous night, and how she fell asleep in his arms. 'Oh no..'
At the moment he was strung over a chair, lanky limbs hanging akimbo, head tucked down so that his chin rested on his chest. His eyes were closed, and his curly hair nearly covered them. Sarah Jane just watched him for a few minutes, enjoying seeing him not fully alert and painfully enthusiastic. There were few times she saw him sleep, when not hit on the head by someone. A smile graced the edges of her lips and wavered a second as she realized she hadn't had her normal nightmares. 'He must have been here all night. Watching over me.'
When she looked back at him, his head was tipped up a bit, and his eyes locked on hers.
All chipper, without the slightest hesitation, a sultry voice said "Good morning. Feeling better?" He grinned his trademark toothy grin and moved a bit closer to the bed. She shied back from him and he stopped advancing.
"No nightmares last night."
"Nooooooo, I took care of that!"
"Will you be here every night?" she asked quickly.
A moment of pause. "Sarah Jane, if you stay with me here, in the TARDIS, I can be at your side every night for the rest of eternity." He grinned again. "And that's a long time!"
"Trying to bait me are you Doctor?" A little push, just to test him.
"Of course not! Just trying to preserve my interests with a bit to spare."
Sarah Jane looked down knowingly. "Ooooh, I see."
The Doctor bit back his usual reply of "not yet you don't." A silence ensued. He pressed on. "Would you like to continue talking?"
"No thank you, I'd rightly like some breakfast. Then I'd like a nice long hot bath."
"Then perhaps a walk?"
"Yes, of course."
"Good then, I'll get us breakfast. What would you like?"
She closed her eyes and imagined what would taste best right now. "Mmmmmmmm, how about tea and bacon and eggs and toast?"
He grinned. "Sounds very nice! One large order of all of that coming up!" With that comment he gracefully leapt up from his chair and pivoted, his scarf and coat tails flapping out behind him. The door shut and Sarah Jane began to get out of bed, lowering her feet one at a time. The door snatched open and a mop-topped head poked through, "Would you like marmalade with that?"
With a flourish she hopped out of bed and mock-bowed. "Oh yes please!"
He shut the door again and this time Sarah Jane locked it. The last thing she needed was for him to walk in on her changing.
With a yawn she noticed that she was still in her clothes from last night. 'Good' she thought, 'I'm glad he didn't try and put me in my pyjamas like a parent would. *That* would have been most humiliating.'
Stretching, she shucked off her rumpled clothes and put on some light temporary clothes. This was the most refreshed she had felt since they left Earth in the early 1900s. Almost a full night's sleep and no nightmares, no illusions or tremors. The knot in the bottom of her stomach was almost unraveled.
'Now comes the problem of speaking to him. How can he help me? Will the help be worse than the pain I'm in now?'
"Doubtful" Sarah Jane muttered to herself. Fully clothed again, she put on socks to keep her feet warm and padded to the door of her room. Pausing before opening the door, she could hear his deep voice heartily singing some foreign song. She had the funniest mental image of him dancing as well, but couldn't bring herself to fling open the door to find out. He was the Doctor; he'd never do something as silly as. Oh wait, yes he would. Would he?
She stifled a laugh as she slowly opened the door. She walked down the corridor and there he was, floppy hat and all, sitting down at one end of the communal breakfast table. He had coaxed about 5 servings of *everything* from the food machines, and silverware to boot.
"Goodness Doctor this is a feast! Much more than I could ever eat!"
"What Sarah, are you insulting me, I quite intend to eat what you don't, you know!"
She kept her remark and examined the spread in front of her. Fried tomatoes, fried mushrooms, eggs, bacon, sausage, a pot of tea, lots of pieces of toast and a jar of marmalade. Everything for a proper fried breakfast. In about 5 times as much the amount there should be for the two of them.
Sarah Jane slid into the chair and the two of them ate in companionable silence. They broke it every once in a while to exchange witty remarks and debate where they should go next. She was all for taking a holiday. He conceded the point and said he would suspend them in the vortex for the time being. Sarah Jane sniped a joke about how he would be illegally parking in time and space.
"It's only for a bit Sarah, and besides, in the vortex, time and space might as well not exist! We're outside them, around them, but not part of them anymore. In the vortex we don't age!"
Sarah put her cup of tea down. "You mean to say that we don't age at all during our travels?"
He sputtered. "No, no, it's just that while we're in flight in the vortex we don't. As soon as we land the natural time stream catches up with us. It's the difference between standard universal time and relative time!" The Doctor waved his hands about as if all of it made perfect sense.
She was in awe. "I hadn't realized."
He flashed an abashed boyish smile. "Ooooh there are lots of things about 'all of this' you haven't realized yet Sarah Jane! You just have to see what's out there, the infinite possibilities."
"Possibilities for what though?" Her mind was racing, looking forward but seeing only what she had left behind for the moment: pain, fear, destruction. All of their adventures were spent saving one group from another, aiding the poor and helpless. What could be left?
He jumped up from his chair and started striding towards the console room. "Possibilities for fun, adventure, excitement, thrill and serenity!" He twirled about suddenly, grinning from ear to ear, one hand on the top of his head, the other waving about madly in the air, "For love and joy and everything your Earth Romantics wrote about. And if you hang onto that very well we might move into things Transcendental!" This last part he promised solemnly. A quick wink, and he disappeared round a corner.
Sarah Jane was left sitting there with the remnants of their breakfast. Slowly but surely the Doctor had devoured much of the food in front of them. 'His metabolism must be under his control. He never eats like this normally. or at least in front of me.'
She rose and cleared the plates, cleaning the table, and returning to her room to grab a towel and her bath items. Throwing her robe over her shoulder, she made her way to the bathroom and started filling the tub, adding some bath salts for aroma. 'I'm going to enjoy this!' Her day felt different already. She was looking forward to something, but she didn't know what. A part of her mind already knew that she would have to talk to the Doctor some more, about her "problems," but for now she wasn't worried about it.
Removing her clothes she slid into the bath, the suds in the deep basin bathtub coming up to her neck. She sighed and struggled to keep from slipping under from relaxation. Washing herself quickly, she did her normal toilette and yawned, wondering how much longer she should stay in. Something made her pause. A noise? She sat still in the bath so that the water would stop splashing. The noise was louder.
"sarah jane?"
'Oh, it's him.' "I'm in the bathroom!" she called out. "I'm taking a b--- "
The door flew open. "Oh! There you are!" He took in the fact that she was bathing. "Oh.. There. Hello!"
Sarah Jane glared at him, still up to her neck in suds, nothing showing, but peeved that he had interrupted her zen bath. "Yes?"
A little embarrassed, "Weeeeell, I was just going to tell you that we're stably parked in the vortex now and everything with the TARDIS looks fine. The old girl sends her greetings." Eyes wide with amusement he smirked.
"That's very nice then, now leave me to my bath."
"What then! I'm the Doctor you act as though I've----"
"I don't care *what* you've seen, you better clear out of this bathroom!"
The Time Lord harrumphed, grumbled, then turned and left. "Yes ma'am!"
Sarah Jane got out of the bath and made sure her back was to the door (just in case), drying herself off quickly and dressing even faster. A few minutes later she came out of the bathroom with her hair combed out, perfectly groomed. She shook out her hair and debated whether or not to blow dry it. 'Nah, too much trouble!'
The Doctor was waiting for her outside her room, casually sitting, legs crossed at the ankles. His arms were crossed over his stomach and he just looked up as she came out of the door. Turning his head sideways, he asked congenially, "Ready to go?"
Looking down the hall and wondering what was beyond the narrow portion she knew, she nodded. Then he was beside her, and they started walking.
To be continued. If it should be.. Please review, I'd like to know if it's going somewhere.
Why? Chapter 2: The Next Morning.
Sarah Jane woke up to find herself tucked comfortably into her bed. A form loomed to the left of her and she slowly turned over to see what it was.
'Oh, the Doctor' she thought offhand. Then she paused, remember the events of the previous night, and how she fell asleep in his arms. 'Oh no..'
At the moment he was strung over a chair, lanky limbs hanging akimbo, head tucked down so that his chin rested on his chest. His eyes were closed, and his curly hair nearly covered them. Sarah Jane just watched him for a few minutes, enjoying seeing him not fully alert and painfully enthusiastic. There were few times she saw him sleep, when not hit on the head by someone. A smile graced the edges of her lips and wavered a second as she realized she hadn't had her normal nightmares. 'He must have been here all night. Watching over me.'
When she looked back at him, his head was tipped up a bit, and his eyes locked on hers.
All chipper, without the slightest hesitation, a sultry voice said "Good morning. Feeling better?" He grinned his trademark toothy grin and moved a bit closer to the bed. She shied back from him and he stopped advancing.
"No nightmares last night."
"Nooooooo, I took care of that!"
"Will you be here every night?" she asked quickly.
A moment of pause. "Sarah Jane, if you stay with me here, in the TARDIS, I can be at your side every night for the rest of eternity." He grinned again. "And that's a long time!"
"Trying to bait me are you Doctor?" A little push, just to test him.
"Of course not! Just trying to preserve my interests with a bit to spare."
Sarah Jane looked down knowingly. "Ooooh, I see."
The Doctor bit back his usual reply of "not yet you don't." A silence ensued. He pressed on. "Would you like to continue talking?"
"No thank you, I'd rightly like some breakfast. Then I'd like a nice long hot bath."
"Then perhaps a walk?"
"Yes, of course."
"Good then, I'll get us breakfast. What would you like?"
She closed her eyes and imagined what would taste best right now. "Mmmmmmmm, how about tea and bacon and eggs and toast?"
He grinned. "Sounds very nice! One large order of all of that coming up!" With that comment he gracefully leapt up from his chair and pivoted, his scarf and coat tails flapping out behind him. The door shut and Sarah Jane began to get out of bed, lowering her feet one at a time. The door snatched open and a mop-topped head poked through, "Would you like marmalade with that?"
With a flourish she hopped out of bed and mock-bowed. "Oh yes please!"
He shut the door again and this time Sarah Jane locked it. The last thing she needed was for him to walk in on her changing.
With a yawn she noticed that she was still in her clothes from last night. 'Good' she thought, 'I'm glad he didn't try and put me in my pyjamas like a parent would. *That* would have been most humiliating.'
Stretching, she shucked off her rumpled clothes and put on some light temporary clothes. This was the most refreshed she had felt since they left Earth in the early 1900s. Almost a full night's sleep and no nightmares, no illusions or tremors. The knot in the bottom of her stomach was almost unraveled.
'Now comes the problem of speaking to him. How can he help me? Will the help be worse than the pain I'm in now?'
"Doubtful" Sarah Jane muttered to herself. Fully clothed again, she put on socks to keep her feet warm and padded to the door of her room. Pausing before opening the door, she could hear his deep voice heartily singing some foreign song. She had the funniest mental image of him dancing as well, but couldn't bring herself to fling open the door to find out. He was the Doctor; he'd never do something as silly as. Oh wait, yes he would. Would he?
She stifled a laugh as she slowly opened the door. She walked down the corridor and there he was, floppy hat and all, sitting down at one end of the communal breakfast table. He had coaxed about 5 servings of *everything* from the food machines, and silverware to boot.
"Goodness Doctor this is a feast! Much more than I could ever eat!"
"What Sarah, are you insulting me, I quite intend to eat what you don't, you know!"
She kept her remark and examined the spread in front of her. Fried tomatoes, fried mushrooms, eggs, bacon, sausage, a pot of tea, lots of pieces of toast and a jar of marmalade. Everything for a proper fried breakfast. In about 5 times as much the amount there should be for the two of them.
Sarah Jane slid into the chair and the two of them ate in companionable silence. They broke it every once in a while to exchange witty remarks and debate where they should go next. She was all for taking a holiday. He conceded the point and said he would suspend them in the vortex for the time being. Sarah Jane sniped a joke about how he would be illegally parking in time and space.
"It's only for a bit Sarah, and besides, in the vortex, time and space might as well not exist! We're outside them, around them, but not part of them anymore. In the vortex we don't age!"
Sarah put her cup of tea down. "You mean to say that we don't age at all during our travels?"
He sputtered. "No, no, it's just that while we're in flight in the vortex we don't. As soon as we land the natural time stream catches up with us. It's the difference between standard universal time and relative time!" The Doctor waved his hands about as if all of it made perfect sense.
She was in awe. "I hadn't realized."
He flashed an abashed boyish smile. "Ooooh there are lots of things about 'all of this' you haven't realized yet Sarah Jane! You just have to see what's out there, the infinite possibilities."
"Possibilities for what though?" Her mind was racing, looking forward but seeing only what she had left behind for the moment: pain, fear, destruction. All of their adventures were spent saving one group from another, aiding the poor and helpless. What could be left?
He jumped up from his chair and started striding towards the console room. "Possibilities for fun, adventure, excitement, thrill and serenity!" He twirled about suddenly, grinning from ear to ear, one hand on the top of his head, the other waving about madly in the air, "For love and joy and everything your Earth Romantics wrote about. And if you hang onto that very well we might move into things Transcendental!" This last part he promised solemnly. A quick wink, and he disappeared round a corner.
Sarah Jane was left sitting there with the remnants of their breakfast. Slowly but surely the Doctor had devoured much of the food in front of them. 'His metabolism must be under his control. He never eats like this normally. or at least in front of me.'
She rose and cleared the plates, cleaning the table, and returning to her room to grab a towel and her bath items. Throwing her robe over her shoulder, she made her way to the bathroom and started filling the tub, adding some bath salts for aroma. 'I'm going to enjoy this!' Her day felt different already. She was looking forward to something, but she didn't know what. A part of her mind already knew that she would have to talk to the Doctor some more, about her "problems," but for now she wasn't worried about it.
Removing her clothes she slid into the bath, the suds in the deep basin bathtub coming up to her neck. She sighed and struggled to keep from slipping under from relaxation. Washing herself quickly, she did her normal toilette and yawned, wondering how much longer she should stay in. Something made her pause. A noise? She sat still in the bath so that the water would stop splashing. The noise was louder.
"sarah jane?"
'Oh, it's him.' "I'm in the bathroom!" she called out. "I'm taking a b--- "
The door flew open. "Oh! There you are!" He took in the fact that she was bathing. "Oh.. There. Hello!"
Sarah Jane glared at him, still up to her neck in suds, nothing showing, but peeved that he had interrupted her zen bath. "Yes?"
A little embarrassed, "Weeeeell, I was just going to tell you that we're stably parked in the vortex now and everything with the TARDIS looks fine. The old girl sends her greetings." Eyes wide with amusement he smirked.
"That's very nice then, now leave me to my bath."
"What then! I'm the Doctor you act as though I've----"
"I don't care *what* you've seen, you better clear out of this bathroom!"
The Time Lord harrumphed, grumbled, then turned and left. "Yes ma'am!"
Sarah Jane got out of the bath and made sure her back was to the door (just in case), drying herself off quickly and dressing even faster. A few minutes later she came out of the bathroom with her hair combed out, perfectly groomed. She shook out her hair and debated whether or not to blow dry it. 'Nah, too much trouble!'
The Doctor was waiting for her outside her room, casually sitting, legs crossed at the ankles. His arms were crossed over his stomach and he just looked up as she came out of the door. Turning his head sideways, he asked congenially, "Ready to go?"
Looking down the hall and wondering what was beyond the narrow portion she knew, she nodded. Then he was beside her, and they started walking.
To be continued. If it should be.. Please review, I'd like to know if it's going somewhere.