Sarah blinked. She'd suddenly, for some unknown reason, realised she was in a bustling, sunny city that she didn't recognise, full of technology over a century into her future, and with no sign of the TARDIS. She did, however, locate a bag of jelly babies next to her, which she hoped meant the Doctor would actually turn up.
She wouldn't count on it, though.
More to Sarah's annoyance, she wasn't aware of how she got there, or what she'd been doing before realising she was there, and the only thing she remembered was that she'd been sitting there quite awhile.
She stood up to take a good look at her surroundings. She noticed many people bustling on the footpaths above her, and a few boats chugging contentedly along the river. She saw people. Many people. But no scarf-wearing curly-haired irritating Time Lord in sight.
It seemed like forever, although in reality it was only a few minutes, before a large blue 1950s-style police box materialised. It had a very nice knack for materialising wherever she happened to be, that was a benefit she had to (grudgingly) admit.
Her scarf-wearing curly-haired irritating Time Lord popped his head out of the box.
"Hello, Sarah," he greeted her.
Sarah folded her arms angrily. "What did you do?" she demanded.
"What do you mean, what did I -"
"I don't remember anything!" Sarah yelled angrily. "I've just been sitting here a very long time, and I'd no idea why since I don't even remember how I got here." She paused for dramatic effect before continuing. "And then, while searching for that dratted machine, all I found was a packet of jelly babies!"
The Doctor grinned. "I was wondering if they were going to disappear when I meddled in time," he admitted. He gratefully reclaimed the packet and chose an orange one to eat.
"You meddled in Time?" Sarah demanded angrily.
"You had injuries!" the Doctor protested indignantly. "I had to stop that from happening."
"Didn't you think of asking me?"
"I did!" the Doctor yelled. "I did ask your permission, Sarah, and you said, if memory serves – and it usually does – 'don't forget me'."
"I don't remember."
"Well, you won't remember, will you? I changed everything. You'll just have to take my word for it." He paused. "I don't suppose you remember Atlanta, either," he mused.
"Who?" Sarah asked.
"Nice Australian girl. Although, I don't suppose you would know her because there's no reason for you to have any more..."
Despite the fact he wasn't using complicated technobabble, Sarah still didn't understand him. When queried as to why he asked then, the Doctor grinned and replied, "she's waiting in the TARDIS."
Sarah nodded. "Like Leela?"
The Doctor was surprised by that analogy, quite forgetting that Sarah's memories of the time before the grey city shouldn't have been affected. He was also surprised, however, to find that it echoed his own thoughts somewhat.
"Yes, sort of like Leela."
"I suppose you'll be rushing back to 1976 to drop me back home, then."
"What?" the Doctor asked. "Of course not, you silly girl. I don't intend on heading back to your Earth for awhile yet."
"Then where are we headed?"
The Doctor grinned. "I rather thought the two of you would enjoy a vacation on Florana."
"I've heard that one before."
The Doctor held the door open for her. "I promise you, Sarah, if we don't get to Florana, I'll..."
"Stop wearing that ridiculous scarf?" Sarah asked mischievously.
The Doctor scowled. "All right, Sarah. I promise."
Sarah grinned triumphantly. The TARDIS door closed behind her and the large blue box disappeared, unnoticed by the busy people above.
The Doctor hoped it would actually reappear on Florana. He had no intention of ending his scarf-wearing days, before his next regeneration at least.
