South Croydon

It was obvious from the moment they stepped out of the TARDIS that something was wrong. They emerged into a small, inviting kitchen garden behind high stone walls, facing a back door that gaped open enough for the light wind to catch it and bang it against the doorframe. The Doctor caught it in one hand, his shoulders tense, but Ace didn't have to ask if Sarah or the aunt she lived with might have just gone into the house for a moment and left the door open against their return. It was too near dark, evening shadows lengthening across the ground as they stood, motionless, on the back steps. There was no sign that anyone had been working, no secateurs lying about, no tools of any kind, and the enthusiastic insect life buzzing about made it a foregone conclusion that trips into the house, no matter how brief in nature, would include a firm pull on the door to keep the garden pests out of the larder.

Speculation ended as the Doctor suddenly plunged into the gloom of the interior, neither speaking nor looking to see if either of his companions followed. Ace had a sickening feeling she knew what to expect, and almost told Kyris to go wait in the TARDIS. Not that he would have listened; he was right behind his father, as determined as the older Time Lord to find out the truth as quickly as possible. Ace felt the same way herself; she was hard on his heels but wishing mightily for a weapon of some sort as her eyes adjusted to the darkened interior. That, she realized, was the other thing that had been itching her subconscious; the house was completely dark, at a time when any sensible person had lit a lamp or two. And if the occupants had gone out, they'd certainly been careless in leaving the back door open. There was no sound from the telly, no radio, only the sound of her own breathing and the light footsteps of her two companions as they headed for the stairs leading to the second floor.

Ace paused before following, her eyes caught by a square of white against the darkness of the table. It was a piece of paper wedged under a stoneware salt shaker. Sarah Jane's name was printed neatly on the outside, and she hesitated only a moment before unfolding it, squinting to read it in the fading light from the window. It was a note from the aunt, telling Sarah Jane she'd been invited to a friend's for the week and wouldn't return until the following Saturday. No telling when it had been written, but Ace didn't think it had been read. She hoped the aunt, Lavinia was her name, hadn't been interrupted on her way out the door and had made it safely to her week in the country.

Ace also hoped Sarah's aunt wouldn't be coming home to a tragedy, but experience and instinct both told her not to hold her breath on that one. She tucked the note into a pocket as she hurried after the other two, treading as noiselessly as possible on the wooden stairs, keeping to the side closest to the wall both out of a desire to be quiet and in case of ambush.

A sudden cry from upstairs caused her to abandon this tactic as she sprinted up the remainder of the steps. She skidded to a halt in front of a half-open door as someone suddenly snapped on a light, blinking in the unexpected brightness. When her eyes had adjusted, she cautiously pushed the door open, and found exactly the sight she'd dreaded.

Sarah Jane lay on the floor, half-way beneath her bed. There was blood everywhere. Copious quantities splashed on the floor and small braided rug, drenching the furniture and walls, matting and staining her dark brown hair like a color job gone horribly wrong. Kyris was crouched next to his father, his face furrowed in concentration as he reached to gently probe the wound on her head. Sarah Jane's moan of pain startled an exclamation out of Ace. "Oy! She's still alive!"

The Doctor, who knelt on Sarah's other side, nodded, never removing his eyes from his former traveling companion. "Ace, there's a phone book in Sarah's purse with a number that just says Harry. Find it and call Dr. Sullivan immediately." He looked up, finally, but not at her, his eyes intent on Kyris. "Can you help me? We need to keep her alive long enough for the ambulance to get here."

Kyris nodded, seeming to understand immediately what the Doctor wanted, all resentment pushed aside in the midst of the crisis. Ace longed to stay and see what they were about, but she had to call Harry. Time was of the essence; she was amazed that the other woman was still alive after losing so much blood.

She raced out of the room, the murmur of voices fading as she headed back down the stairs with Sarah's purse in one hand. She threw on the light and dug furiously for the address book, dumping everything on the floor for the sake of expediency. The book tumbled out, and she grabbed it, flipping through the pages for the listing the Doctor had assured her would be there.

Ace she shifted restlessly from foot to foot after dialing the number, willing Harry to pick it up. As soon as she heard his voice, she broke into a jumbled explanation, staying on the phone only long enough to hear Harry's assurances that he was on his way before slamming it onto the receiver and sprinting back up the stairs. "He's on his way, is there something I can do?"

Ace stopped in the doorway, staring at the strange tableau in front of her. The Doctor and Kyris had pulled Sarah Jane out from beneath the bed, exposing the full extent of the damage the Master had done to her. Ace sucked in her breath at the sight. Not that she hadn't seen her share of death, but never had she been faced with such casual brutality, such careful attention to an assurance that the victim suffered. She felt a little sick, but was too astonished by what the Doctor and Kyris appeared to be doing to allow herself to give in to a momentary weakness.

Kyris knelt by Sarah's head, cradling her face in his hands, his own face raised to the ceiling with a look of intense concentration. The Doctor held one of Sarah's hands in both of his, as if comforting her, but his full attention appeared focused on whatever it was Kyris was doing.

Ace sucked in her breath in a startled gasp as Sarah twitched, then went rigid, her face distorted. The younger woman was certain she was witnessing the reporter's death, but couldn't pull her eyes away. Then, amazingly, she saw one of the raw wounds on the other woman's chest seem to pull in on itself, virtually disappearing before Ace's disbelieving eyes. She dragged her gaze back to the Doctor, but he hadn't moved, hadn't stopped staring at Kyris. Who, Ace noted, was starting to sweat, shaking as if at some tremendous effort, although he was as unmoving as his father. But when she returned her gaze to Sarah Jane, it was like looking at a different woman. The wounds were closing, not all of them, and not all the way, but as if they were healing in fast-motion photography, stopping the bloodloss, twisted limbs straightening, a horrid gash on her forehead closing almost completely. The color started to return to her face, and suddenly she was breathing, great, ragged gasps for air, punctuated with moans that told Ace Sarah Jane was still far from well.

But she was much closer to it than she had been only moments before, enough to allow Ace a cautious hope, hope that the ambulance would be doing more than just carting away a corpse. She opened her mouth to ask what had just happened, but closed it again as someone else spoke.

"Doctor, is it really you?" The voice was soft, raspy, barely a whisper, but still a voice. Sarah Jane's voice. Ace felt relief flooding her. The other woman would live.

"Hallo, Sarah Jane, yes, it's me," the Doctor murmured, patting her hand gently. "Don't try to talk right now, you've been hurt. The ambulance is on its way, and the UNIT doctors will take excellent care of you. Harry Sullivan's in charge of the surgical unit, so you know you'll be in good hands."

"Doctor, it was the Master," Sarah Jane whispered, tears springing up in her eyes. She didn't even try to blink them back, just let them fall as she struggled to speak. The Doctor wiped them gently away. "He wanted to know about Susan, who she was and where she was..."

"It's all right, I already know," the Doctor replied. "Don't worry about it."

"I didn't know where she was," Sarah Jane continued in the same raspy voice, as if she didn't hear him. She sucked in a deep, shuddering breath as the tears continued to fall. "I told him she was on Earth, at the end, to make him stop." With a sudden surge of strength she half-lifted herself from the floor, clutching his jacket with bloody hands. The Doctor held her shoulders as Kyris, caught by surprise, lost his balance and his hold on her. "He said he would hurt the Brig if I didn't tell him what he wanted to know," she whispered, her voice raw and urgent. "So I said she was on Earth, and he said that was a start, and then he--"

The sobs started in earnest then, just as Ace heard the unmistakable wail of sirens approaching the house.

oOo

Ace stared after the retreating ambulance. Sarah Jane was in critical condition, Harry had decreed, but would live. Ace had allowed herself a brief, relieved cry, while the Doctor, beaming, awkwardly patted her shoulder and Kyris stood stoically in the background. Harry hadn't asked any questions, and the ambulance drivers, while obviously unsure of what was going on, had done their jobs quickly and efficiently. Sarah would live, but the Doctor's expression hadn't boded well for the Master. He and Kyris were heading for the TARDIS, eyes and minds firmly on the future, and Ace hurried to join them.

"How did you do that?" she demanded as soon as she caught up to them, reaching out to touch Kyris on the shoulder. "Is that a Time Lord thing, or something to do with E-Space? I've never seen anything like it, have you, Doctor?" The words tumbled over each other, but Ace was too amazed to even think of slowing down. Too amazed, and too relieved that this had turned out well. As well as it could.

"It's a very rare ability, the healing touch," the Doctor replied when Kyris merely shrugged. "Maybe one Time Lord in a hundred thousand has it in some form or other." He fumbled wearily at the TARDIS lock, sparing a moment to "tch" at his bloody fingers.

"But not like this," Ace guessed, looking from one to the other. "Not this strong."

The Doctor shook his head when it became clear that Kyris wasn't going to answer. "No. Not this strong. Not outside of myths and legends so old that Time Lords can't even pin down their origins closely enough to confirm or deny the stories." Kyris hurried into the TARDIS without looking back.

Ace couldn't let it go. "How did you know?" She reached out and grabbed the Doctor's arm. He stopped fidgeting with the key and looked at her over his shoulder. "You knew, didn't you, that he could do it? You didn't even have to ask. How did you know?"

"I just did." The Doctor stared at her until she released his shoulder, then followed his son into the TARDIS, Ace right on his heels.