A/N: Sorry sorry sorry! I've had this ready since I posted the last chapter but time got away from me and I ended up a lot more busy than I anticipated. Now, I'm back at work as well so it is all kind of hectic at the moment. As always, I apologise if I have missed any spellings or left a few grammatical errors in there. I promise, a BIG clean up for this whole story is about to commence. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
The trio looked at Kari with shock on their faces. "How do you know our names?" The girl, Rani, asked.
"Oh please, I know everything." Kari told them rather smugly. "I know that the three of you didn't believe Sarah Jane's excuse of a meeting at the town hall and so had Mr Smith track her car, which you then followed. You were worried about her, it's the fifth time this month that she's done something like this, you just want to make sure that she's not getting herself into trouble."
Her eyes locked with Luke's and she saw his face fall a little. "If you're here, then she is in trouble." Kari was actually a little relieved that he recognised her, that he knew her. It meant that somewhere in her future she did meet him.
"Nope. I'm here because I was visiting my brother, Luke. I thought I'd come and surprise Sarah Jane, and give K9 a little check up as well." Kari had to give him that lame excuse, she couldn't very well tell him the real reason. "I am not here because your mum is in trouble." She only wished that it was the truth.
He let out a sigh before turning to his friends. "We better get back, before mum does." It was clear to see that he wasn't fully buying Kari's story, which was totally understandable. It was pretty bad, even by her standards, and she was ashamed of it.
"No, wait a minute. Who are you? Who is she, Luke?" Rani asked, having no reason to trust the woman at all. "I think one of you needs to start explaining."
"I'm Kari, an old friend of Sarah Jane. I travelled with her back in the old days, saw the whole universe with her." At least she will have at some point. right now, her meetings with Sarah Jane were very far and few between, but she couldn't wait for everything to happen.
Rani and Clyde both looked a little shocked. "So you know this Doctor of hers then?" Clyde ask her, as she started walking with Luke and back to the house. "You actually know him?"
She couldn't help but scoff a little. "Of course I know him, he's my husband. Or he will be my husband, right now he's my fiance. Ugh, time travel, really makes my life even more complicated." She had been so close to actually marrying him, and even though she was nervous she had been kind of looking forward to it as well. Now she was disappointed, but if she had to admit it, she was also a little relieved. "Now come on, we can't hang around all day, back home, the lot of you."
A string of questions had been thrown at Kari on the way journey back to the house, and she answered every single one of them as vaguely as she possibly could. In the end they all gave up, which just put an even bigger smile on Kari's face.
"Oh, oh this is brilliant!" Kari called, finally entering the attic. She had always loved the look of it, the whole place just seemed fantastic, and it really was, especially when a metal dog rolled towards her. "Ah, K9! Who's a good boy? You're a good boy." She asked, crouching down and petting the dog.
"Affirmative, mistress Kari." The tin dog replied, his ears twisting wildly on his head. He was definitely a happy dog as far as she was concerned.
"I hope you've been behaving, and playing nicely with Mr Smith." She said, before turning to the supercomputer that was built into the wall. "Nice to see you, Mr Smith."
"Hello, Kari. It is nice to see you as well." A voice called back to her from the computer.
By now, Clyde and Rani were still shocked, while Luke was paying no attention to any of them at all. "Mr Smith, I would appreciate it if Sarah Jane was not informed of my presence. I'm planning a bit of a surprise for her, so I'd rather she didn't know that I'm here just yet. Think you can do that?"
"As you wish, Kari. Will there be anything else?"
"Nope, that's all, thanks." She replied, before turning back to K9. "The same goes for you, mister. Do not let on that I am here, or I'll take you apart, again." The dogs head nodded a little, before it rolled away, clearly a little afraid that she really would take him apart. "Okay, that's all sorted. Time for you to tell me what's been going on around here." It was time to sit down and get serious. Kari knew the danger of what was going on, but she really did have to play dumb this time.
The kids were all quick to jump in and tell her all about where Sarah Jane had claimed to be going, and the fact that she was being so secretive about it all. They were all worried she was going to get into trouble, they were just trying to look out for her.
"He looked really posh. I bet he's called Henry or…" Clyde was stopped by the sound of footsteps heading up the stairs.
A panicked look spread across Rani's face as she looked over at Kari. "She's coming."
"Act like everything is normal, remember, I am not here." Kari told them all, before slipping something over her neck and quietly backing away and towards the wall. She just hoped that this was going to work, that Sarah Jane was not going to spot her.
The door opened a few seconds later, and the woman in question stepped into the attic. "What are you all doing up here?" She asked, obviously suspicious of their presence there. Plus, it didn't help that they were mostly sitting in the dark.
"Well, the exams are coming up, so we've got to work." Kari was impressed with the pretty valid and believable excuse that Clyde had come up with.
It was Rani to speak next, backing up Clyde's story. "Luke's helping us revise. Did you have a good evening?" But Sarah Jane wasn't listening to her, she had seen that Mr Smith had been called out, and so her suspicion grew.
It seemed that the hidden Kari was the only one who had noticed. "Yeah, how was the… er, meeting?" Clyde asked her, looking up from the textbook he had been pretending to read.
Sarah Jane folded her arms across her chest and looked at the trio, a rather displeased look on her face. "Nothing special. Why is Mr Smith still out?"
Before any of them could answer, the computer was speaking. "Information. Sarah Jane's car is now parked outside the house." Kari wanted to let out a groan as she carefully shuffled along the wall, trying to find a darker spot to hide in.
"What? Mr Smith?" The tracker was now showing on the screen, and the three culprits quickly hid their faces. Even they knew that they had been rumbled.
"Oh, hello, Sarah Jane. I have been tracking your position as instructed by Luke." The game really was up now that the computer had told her exactly what they had been up to.
Clyde was the first to react, and obviously he went straight for Mr Smith. "Big mouth!" He shouted towards the computer. "You did that on purpose."
The woman was less than impressed. "K9, what have they been doing?" She asked the robotic dog, hoping to get a few more answers.
"I have been instructed to withhold information." Kari couldn't help but smile he was telling the truth, but he wasn't giving up anything. She was pretty grateful for that, because she didn't want Sarah Jane to know she was there, not yet at least.
"What was your exact instruction?" Sarah Jane asked, causing Kari to freeze up for a moment. This was it, this was when everything could fall apart and she could be found out in an instant. She couldn't have that, and secretly prayed that the tin dog that the Doctor loved so much would not mention anything about her.
"Mistress Rani instructed me not to relay the information that you were followed to your assignation." Kari still held her breath for a moment more, hoping that he wasn't about to say anything else.
She was lucky, Rani quickly stood up and glared at the robot dog. "The gob on you!" Clearly she wasn't happy that the computer and the dog had told on them all, but Kari was just pleased they hadn't mentioned her.
There was a look of horror and shock on Sarah Jane's face as she looked to the trio. "You've been spying on me?"
"We were worried." Luke admitted, getting up from where he had been sitting and approaching his mother. "When you've kept something secret before, it's always been a disaster."
Kari couldn't help but run her hand down her face, that was not the right thing to say. "Does that give you the right to poke into my private business?" Sarah Jane told them all, before the anger started slipping away. "Oh, I was about to tell you anyway."
The tenseness in the air was fading fast, and Kari couldn't help but smile at that. "So, who's the lucky fellow then?" Of course it would be Clyde that jumped in first and asked that question. Kari knew that he was probably one of the most inquisitive human children that she knew, alongside Rani.
Finally, the woman gave in and started to tell them. "His name is Peter Dalton. And yes, he's very lucky, and rather marvellous."
"Ooh, where did you meet him?" Rani said, fishing for more information. They had never know Sarah Jane to be in any kind of relationship, not ever. All the knew is that she spent many years travelling the universe with the Doctor and his Angel. There was never a man on the scene.
But Sarah Jane wasn't ready to give up anything else, at least not yet. "Oh, no. That's all. End of discussion. You two, home. Luke, bed, I'll be in to say goodnight. Go on, off. Off!" She said, standing at the door and waiting for them all to pile out of the attic. Once they were all out, she looked around the room, as if she were forgetting something, or missed something, before she sat down in front of K9. "I should be angry. Why am I not angry?"
"Mistress, I detect you are experiencing a heightened emotional state. Alpha waves high, heartbeat fast, increased serotonin." He replied, having scanned the woman that was sitting there.
Sarah Jane couldn't help but chuckle a little. "K9, always the romantic." She said, kissing the dog on the head before getting up and heading to the door.
"Affirmative."
Kari was actually relieved what the door clicked closed and she was left up in the attic with a talking computer and a robotic dog. "Thanks for not giving me away, lads. I really appreciate it." She told the pair, slipping the chain off from around her neck. "Now, come here, K9, and let me give you a check up. Been a bit of a while since you've have an upgrade I bet."
She knew it was going to be a long night, and even longer until she could reveal herself to Sarah Jane. Tinkering with K9 gave her something to focus on, as well as someone to talk to. Kari had been a little nervous at first, when she had realised that she was with Sarah Jane, when she knew what was coming next, but that all quickly faded when she remembered who was behind it all.
All that had been so long ago for her now, but she would never forget it, she couldn't. There were times when she would close her eyes and parts of it would flash at the front of her mind, and she hated it. It scared her, it really scared her sometimes. She wasn't about to let that beast destroy the life of someone she cared about.
That was why she knew she had to stay, and she had to keep herself hidden for now. Sarah Jane couldn't know she was there, then he would know she was there, and the game would be shifted. No, she had to wait until the last minute.
Kari heard a familiar grinding sound, the sound that she loved so much. But it was stuttering, and only she knew why. "Come on, Sexy, you can do it." She muttered to herself, before noticing something slightly strange about her hands. "Oh, so you're homing in on me." There was a soft golden glow around her hands, and she knew exactly what it was. "It's okay, I know you'll bring him here eventually." After one more grind, the sound faded and she was left with silence all around her.
Instead, she immersed herself into tinkering around with K9. There was nothing else to do, and Kari was really starting to understand how much the Doctor hated waiting. It was boring, there was nothing for her to do and every time someone came up into the attic, she had to quickly hide. She even hid from Luke, Clyde and Rani, making them think that she had just disappeared.
It wasn't too bad being invisible, but it did get rather lonely. She had sat there and listened to Mr Smith and K9 bicker with each other, and that had been the highlight of her day. In the end she decided to just sneak out of the house, and take a wander around. She still had her special key around her neck, so she was still pretty much invisible to everyone. At least it meant that Kari could get some fresh air and stretch her legs.
It was a few days later when she was walking back along Bannerman road that she noticed Clyde and Rani both watching whatever was going on at Sarah Janes. She watched the pair of them run across the road and over to the house, just as the postie went back to their van. Kari knew what was going to happen now, and she knew it was time to join in.
"Oh, hi, Sarah Jane. Is that your new man?" She heard Clyde ask as a black Mercedes pulled up just behind where the woman was standing, holding a large box that had just been delivered.
"What are you doing here?" Sarah Jane asked them, a small hint of panic in her voice. Before the kids had a chance to reply, a noise came from the box, and it was almost dropped.
To make it even more interesting, a man dashed out of the car, a bunch of red roses in his hands, and approached Sarah Jane. "Hello, there! These are for you."
It was a bit of a struggle, she couldn't take the flowers while holding onto the box. "Oh, thank you."
"Everything all right?" Sarah Jane nodded at him, and Kari just found it amusing how awkward the whole situation was. Then her heart sunk. Sarah Jane had finally found someone, and that person was about to be ripped away from her. It was unfair.
"Oh, thanks for looking after that for me." Rani said, taking the box from the woman. "Come on, Clyde." She added, turning around and heading back to her own house across the road, taking him with her.
Kari quickly followed them, knowing that trouble was about to start, especially when the box decided to move a little more. She ignored Rani's mum, who dashed out of the house to get a peek at Sarah Jane's new man. She sat herself down on the sofa and waited for Rani and Clyde to come back, keeping her eyes on the box the whole time.
"Okay, he looks all right." Clyde said, before hearing a noise come from the box. "Did that just move again?"
Kari decided that it was time to make her presence known. "Looks can be deceptive, Clyde, you know that." She announced, taking the key off from around her neck. "And yes, that box did just move."
"Blimey, where did you come from?" He asked, jumping back a little.
She shook her head at him. "Wrong question, Clyde. I've been here the whole time, you just haven't noticed. The question you should be asking is, what is in that box?" Just as she said that, an eye popped out of the box, an eye on a very long stalk. "Guess we're about to find out."
A few seconds later, and a second eye had popped out as well. "It's alive." Rani announced, as the creature started to break out of the box even more.
"Let's just hope it's harmless." There was a little bit of panic in his voice, and for good reason, as the box basically exploded and pieces of foam packing flew everywhere.
Kari couldn't help but grin like an idiot. "Oh, now the fun begins. I hope you're both up for a run." The both looked at her as if she were crazy, but soon understood what she meant when she slipped the key back over her neck and bolted out the door, just moments after the strange creature had rushed out as well.
Everything seemed to be getting out of control, K9 was outside scanning the area, having detected that there was an alien on the loose, and Rani and Clyde were trying to figure out where the little beasty, who looked a bit like a giant slug, had gotten to. Kari was just standing there now, gazing over at Sarah Jane, at the smile that was on her face. It really did break her hearts to know what was going to happen.
It was only when Clyde and Rani rushed past her that she remembered that there was an alien on the loose that they really needed to catch. "Come back here!" Clyde cried, trying his best not to lose the thing.
"Keep running, you two! That thing is a magnet for trouble!" Kari shouted, catching up to them, and bolting past them.
"Us? From what Sarah Jane told us, it's you and that Doctor of yours that attracts trouble the most." Rani called, pushing herself even hard to keep up.
Kari couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Oh, you have no idea how true that is. Now come on, we need to catch that thing and send it back home."
Half an hour later, and the three of them were bundling into the attic, a metal dustbin that seemed to have a life of its own was with them. In the end, Clyde had to sit on it while Rani called up Sarah Jane. "We've got it! But what is it?" She called down the phone, while Kari stood there trying her best not to laugh.
"Travast Polong. Not evil, just trouble. I saw him on eBay, the seller had no idea what he was. Turns out he was in his dormant cycle."
"And he would choose today to wake up." Well of course he would, where would the fun be if he had stayed dormant until Sarah Jane had returned from her meal with Luke and Peter?
"Get Mr Smith to open up a link to Prolongus and they'll transmat him home."
But Rani had been one step ahead, but only because Kari had already told them what the little monster was and where it had come from. "Already on it."
"Prolongus receiving now. Earth transmitting now." Clyde, who had been sitting on the lid of the bin to try and keep the thing in there, quickly jumped up and ran over to where Kari and Rani were standing be the supercomputer. He made it out of the way just as the transmat activated and sent the Travast Prolong home.
"Problem solved." Rani said in relief. "You have fun, right?"
Kari just couldn't shift the grin that was on her face. "Oh, that was fun." She sighed as Rani ended the call with Sarah Jane. "Most fun I've had since I've been here."
"Yeah, exactly how long are you going to be here for?" Clyde asked her, watching as she went and made herself comfortable on the worn sofa that was sitting in the attic.
She shrugged her shoulders at him. "No idea. However long I fancy really. Why, you already bored with me and want me to go?" There was no way she was leaving, even if they wanted her to. All she had to do was slip the key back on and disappear. Kari would still hang around, of course, but they just wouldn't know that she was there.
"No, that's not what he's saying, is it, Clyde?" Well, it was clear to see who was in charge between those two. "The thing is, we don't really know you, do we? Okay, so you're an old friend of Sarah Jane's, and Luke knows who you are."
"Go on then, ask away." Kari ended up saying, knowing what was running through their heads. "You want to find out all about me, all you have to do is ask."
The pair of them jumped at that chance, Rani sitting down next to her on the sofa while Clyde grabbed the wooden chair that was at the desk and dragged it over to where the ladies were sitting. "How do you know this Doctor bloke?" Clyde asked before Rani had a chance to say anything.
"I told you, he's my future husband. We were so close to getting married, we'd decided on the guests, he'd picked his best man, all that was left was for me to go dress shopping." Kari told them, before letting out a sigh. "And then I was dragged away. Again."
"Yeah, but how did you meet him?" It seemed that Rani was rather interested in knowing it all as well.
A groan slipped passed Kari's lips. "Oh, that one is a long story. Could take a few years to explain it all. Let me just give you the short version. I was in an alternative universe, yes they do exist, no you can't go there because the walls to the worlds have closed. The Doctor landed in my garden after tracking something, I ended up going with him." There was so much that she was missing out, but she really didn't feel like explaining it all, she wasn't even sure that she could. "Next question."
"How old are you? I mean, you said you travelled with Sarah Jane back in the old days, so how old does that make you?" Clyde certainly wasn't going to be shy about asking questions, and Kari really needed to think carefully about her answers.
In truth, she didn't know how old she was now. "Old enough. When I met the Doctor I was in my twenties, let's just say that was a long time ago now." She really did wish she knew how long she had been travelling with him for, then she might be able to work out how old she was now.
"You're not human." It was more of a statement from Rani than a question, but she still felt that there was a need to answer her.
"Nope, I'm not human. I'm a Time Lady, if that helps." She really wasn't sure what else she could add to that.
They actually spent a good hour or so asking her question after question, they even ended up going back to Rani's house, until her mum started asking who Kari was and what she was doing there. That was when Kari decided it was time to disappear once more. She knew that she only had to wait a few more days for a little more excitement, but it just seemed to be dragging on forever. Kari was getting more and more anxious now.
She spent the nights wandering around, hiding in the shadows and keeping an eye on Sarah Jane's house. She just didn't want her presence to be noticed by certain beings, that was why she was so glad that she still had her TARDIS key, that she still had her perception filter, and that it still worked. It was the only thing that was really protecting her now, and she really needed that.
A few days later, and she had snuck into Rani's home when Clyde had arrived. She sat herself down at the table while Clyde done some poking around, like she knew he would, and Rani pour out two drinks.
"What are you doing?" She asked him, putting the drinks down on the table and looking at the computer screen.
"Just being nosy. Looking up Peter's gaffe. 120 Christchurch Walk, W4." He told her, before pulling up a picture of it.
"Nice place." Rani commented, looking at the rather posh and large house that was filling up the computer screen.
But there was something that Clyde had noticed that bothered him. "That's weird. There's a 'for sale' sign. And newspaper in the windows. It looks empty." He was getting a really bad feeling about it as Rani pulled her chair around the table to get a better look at the screen.
"That picture could have been taken months back."
Clyde disagreed. "No, no, look. It says three weeks ago." Something really didn't sit right with him, and Kari was pretty glad to see that he was showing concern and interest. It was a relief for her to know that Sarah Jane had such good people around her, even if they were just children still, they were good people.
"I'll ask Sarah Jane." Unfortunately, Rani seemed a little less bothered by it, and that just made Clyde even more annoyed.
"But Luke told me that she'd never been to his place." No, it really didn't sit right with him, it was definitely something to worry about as far as he was concerned. "Let's go round there."
Rani looked at him with a hint of shock and surprise on her face. "Are you joking?"
"We'll just have a look." Clyde protested, not willing to back down. Kari was on his side, she wanted to go to his house herself, see what she could pick up. She wanted to be a part of it all as much as she could. She wanted to help.
There seemed to be a moment where Rani was thinking about it. "Oh Clyde, Peter is not an alien."
"I know, K9 scanned him." He said, clearly a little embarrassed to admit that. "But Sarah Jane's loaded, right? All this money from her aunt, the house, what if he wants to get his hands on it?" They were all valid points, and Kari would have rather it was one of those things than the truth.
"He's a partner in a law firm. He earns thousands." Rani reminded him, trying to explain that it wasn't money the man was after. "I know why you're doing this. You don't want things to change. Neither do I. But Sarah Jane's happy. Isn't that important?"
It was, of course it was, it was what all of Sarah Jane's friends wanted for her. "Yeah. And I want her to stay happy." There was still that look in Clyde's eyes, the look that said he wasn't giving up.
"You're not the only one." Kari suddenly said, taking off her chain with the key hanging on the end. "All I have ever wanted is for Sarah Jane to be happy." She told them, before letting out a sigh. "Look, I haven't been totally honest with you. Luke said that because I was here, Sarah Jane was in trouble. I said that wasn't true, and it's not, but something is brewing, I can feel it. Something is going on and it all centres around her."
"Will you stop doing that, you're going to give me a heart attack." Clyde told her rather dramatically, placing his hand over his heart. "How long have you been sitting there for?"
Kari just looked at him. "Long enough. You're right, Clyde, something really isn't right with that house, so we need to go and investigate. Isn't that what you guys do? Investigate?" She knew she had them hooked with that, there was no way the pair of them would just sit there and ignore it now.
Oddly enough, it didn't take them that long to get to the house, the reason being that Kari had already planned their trip there, and had a cab ready to drop them off at the corner. She was prepared to get them in through the front door, but Clyde made them all climb in through a window.
"Whoa, this place is creepy." Clyde announced, helping Rani through the window and glancing around the room they were in. "It's freezing."
It wasn't just freezing, the whole place reeked of death, but Kari didn't bother to mention that. "Look at this place, everything is covered, boxed up, ready to be shipped out." She told them, wandering through the house. There was plastic coverings everywhere, protecting the items that were still in the house. "There are many things that can be explained quite easily, simple reasons. But how do you explain this?" She asked, pointing to the door and the large mound of post that had started piling up.
"Okay, I admit, you were right. This is weird." Rani had finally seen the light, and realised that something wasn't right, that there was something they were missing.
"Oh, this isn't even the worse of it." Kari warned them, before her skin started to burn a little. She glanced at her hands, and noticed that there was a rather strong red glow around them. That could only mean one thing.
Clyde and Rani backed away from her a little. "What the hell was that?" Rani shouted, looking at her with a hint of fear.
Kari had to close her eyes and take a deep breath. "That was the start. It's started, he's made his move." She told them, before opening her eyes. "Now it's time for me to make mine. Oh, he is playing with the wrong person. No one, absolutely no one, messes with my friends and gets away with it." That burning sensation, she knew what that was from, it was from the ring that now resided on Sarah Jane's finger, her engagement ring. "Time to go."
The three of them were silent as they made it back to Bannerman Road. Kari was filled with anger, anger at the person who was playing with her friends life, with her feelings. She was not going to allow it, she couldn't. She only calmed down when they were closer to the house, and she slipped the key back on.
Clyde and Rani charged into the attic, with Kari slipping in behind them. Sarah Jane and Luke were standing there, happy, and apparently waiting for them. "Hey, I've just been telling Luke. I've got some big news. Wonderful news. Peter and I, we're getting married."
"What?" Clyde asked her in utter shock.
"Well, you don't have to look so pleased. I know it's a bit of a shock, but Peter's got it all planned."
Now it was Rani's turn to not be impressed. She had listened to what Kari had said, she was on her guard. "I bet he has."
But there was a confused look on Sarah Jane's face. "What do you mean?"
Rani knew that they had to come clean, that they had to tell her the truth, about where they had just been and what they had found out. The only thing they couldn't tell her about was who else had been with them. Kari was adamant that it wasn't time for her to know she was there. "Sarah Jane, we went round to Peter's house."
Of course, Sarah Jane was horrified by what she had just heard, but so was her son. "You did what?" Luke couldn't believe that his best friends would go behind his back and do something like that.
"There's nothing there. It's empty." Clyde knew she was going to take some convincing, Kari had warned them as much, that she wasn't likely to believe them, that she would come up with something else, maybe even tell them that he didn't live there.
Confusion filled Sarah Jane's face at that piece of information. "What? What do you mean?" But then she twisted the ring on her finger a little, just like Kari used to do with hers when she first put it on. Kari saw it glow red, and she felt the anger bubbling inside of her again, and her own hands took a slight red glow as well. "I know it's empty. He doesn't really live there. His firm got him a flat in London, nearer the office."
But there were some who still weren't convinced, such as Clyde for instance. "And you've been there?" There was doubt written all over his face as Kari's words rang through his head, telling him not to trust everything he hears or sees, that gut instinct was a good thing.
"Plenty of times." Sarah Jane told them happily. "Oh, I should be angry with you, breaking in there. It's what I'd do, isn't it?" She said, wandering around and over to where they were standing. "Oh, look at you. I've made you all so suspicious. But this is a happy thing, and I want you all to be part of it. It isn't the end of the world. So thanks, but there's no need to sneak around or worry about anything."
The look on Rani's face was just as grim as Clyde's. "So when's the wedding?" She asked, obviously trying not to get excited. Kari could see that there was a smile trying to work its way onto her face.
"End of next week." Sarah Jane announced, surprising everyone in the room, all except that one person who was hidden in the shadows.
"Next week?"
It seemed Sarah Jane had anticipated some kind of protest to the timing of the wedding. "Well, at my age, why wait?" Yes, it was a pretty good excuse, and Kari really could understand why she didn't want to wait, but it was still wrong.
Lucky for her, Clyde was there to speak his mind for her. "You what? That's mad."
"Peter had it all on standby." Sarah Jane told them, still beaming away, her happiness just radiating off her. "A nice hotel in the country. You're all invited. And you, Luke, you can give me away."
Things were starting to go off topic, and Kari just wished that someone would bring up the most important thing, that this was all way too fast. Lucky for her, Clyde still had his sense. "Don't you think it's a bit fast?"
"Oh, you're telling me, I've got so much to arrange. A lot of changes." Sarah Jane announced, twisting that tree diamond ring around on her finger once more. As with before, it glowed red, and as with before, Kari felt her anger stirring once more. She knew that cause of it, that stupid ring that her friend was wearing.
"Sarah Jane, anomaly detected." Mr Smith called, getting everyone's attention.
But the response that she have been given wasn't. "That reminds me. First big change. Mr Smith, commence deactivation program." The three youngsters looked on in shock, wondering why she would do that, why she would deactivate Mr Smith.
"But Sarah Jane, I have detected an impulse registering…" His protest was not to be.
"Initiate total deactivation, Mr Smith. Protocol five." She said, her voice a little stronger, firmer. Sarah Jane was making a point, not just to Mr Smith, but to her little band of friends as well.
"Complying. Goodbye, Sarah Jane." The computer closed back into the wall and shut off. Mr Smith was gone.
Clyde, was the first person to jump in, he seemed to be the only one who hadn't lost any sense. Luke had been dragged in, and Rani was well on her way as well. But not Clyde, he was stronger than that, and Kari admired him for that. "No, Sarah Jane! He was trying to tell us something."
"The world can look after itself. I'm busy with something normal for a change, and I don't want anything, any of this getting in the way." Kari really wanted to step out and show herself, but it wasn't time, she had to wait.
That was when Luke realised something, something that he hadn't bothered to ask his mother about before. "You haven't told Peter about our thing, what we do?"
"Why should I? Perhaps I never will. Perhaps that's the solution." It was understandable, her life was complicated enough, and who would really believe her if she told someone about it? It was something that you had to see to believe, but by doing that she knew she could lose Peter.
"What? I don't like this." Clyde still hadn't lost his voice, and Kari was secretly cheering him on.
"I know what'll stop you worrying, Clyde. You can dog sit for me. You can look after K9." Those would be the words that turned Clyde, and Kari knew it all along. It was only a matter of time before Sarah Jane had a hook on him as well, and that was the metal dog that she loved so much.
"What? What, really? What do I say to my mum?" Even he seemed surprised at that announcement, and in that surprise he forgot all about everything else that was going on.
"Oh, come on, Clyde Langer, when have you ever been short of excuses? Oh, and Rani, keep Saturday free. Dress shopping. You're going to make a lovely bridesmaid."
"You're on! And there's that wedding fair." Rani had been sucked in too far now as well, the only one left with the sense to realise what was going on was Kari.
There was a huge smile on Sarah Jane's face, it was pure joy and happiness. "I know. And your mum can do the flowers, before she asks. Right, come on, everybody out. Things to do. Come on." She ushered the children out of the room, and stood by the door, ready to close it for the final time. "And goodbye to all that."
Now it was Kari's moment. "Is that goodbye to me as well, Sarah Jane?" She asked, stepping out of the shadows, having taken the key off a few moments ago. "I was a part of that life, does that mean you want me out as well?"
A/N: Again, I am sorry for how long I left this for considering I have plenty of chapters sitting here and ready to be posted. I will try to do better in future, honestly.
Anyway, I really do hope that you all enjoyed this chapter, I know there are a few of you out there who guessed where she was heading and all of that, and I know some of you have never actually seen the Sarah Jane Adventures. But that's okay, I'm sure you can still enjoy this episode.
As always, a massive thank you to everyone who has taken the time to leave a review, you guys really are totally awesome. It means a lot to hear from you all, because I love my readers. A big hello to all the new readers that have just joined us as well, HELLO!
Right, I'm going to leave it there for now, no time to sit here and ramble on. Until next time...
Pippa.