Title: Emotional Support for Distressed Time Lords
Author: tromana
Rating: T
Characters: Sarah Jane Smith/Romana II, (brief) Sarah Jane Smith/Ten
Spoilers: Gallifrey Audiobooks, Sarah Jane Adventures
Summary: It was quite accidental that Romana sourced Sarah Jane for respite, too…
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. Good thing for you really.
Beta'd by the wonderful persiflage 1 over on LiveJournal.
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Sarah kicked the tin dog in that affectionate yet annoyed sort of way. Kneeling down to his height, she scratched behind one of his ears before patting him gently on the head.
"You," She smiled. "Should not be breaking down this often. Not since…"
"Need some help?"
She straightened quickly to see a petite blonde in fraying robes already bending down to her precious K9's level. The woman tutted and sighed, before heaving him up and staring at Sarah Jane enquiringly.
"He's not just any robot dog, you know."
"I know," She replied simply.
"Where's your house then? I can hardly work here can I?"
"Just this way," Sarah paused. "Are you sure you can manage with K9?"
"I'm stronger than I look."
Sarah Jane set down the cup of tea carefully beside her and earned a smile of gratitude. Standing at the doorway, she continued to watch the blonde working methodically on K9, stripping back wires and soldering them back together again. The only tool of her own she'd supplied looked remarkably similar to the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, only more delicate, for slender, feminine hands.
"There." The blonde smiled triumphantly, pulling away a thread from her sleeve. "How is that, K9?"
"It is satisfactory, Mistress."
K9 inclined his head at her. As always, the Doctor had seemed to manage to program some level of emotion into the little computer, before trundling the short distance to a thoroughly confused Sarah Jane at the door.
"I should be off now," She stated. "Narvin will be throwing a fit."
"But I don't even know…"
She had already left.
"Who is she K9?" Sarah sighed. "You seemed to know her."
"She is one of my other Mistresses," K9 chirruped. "Romanadvoratrelundar."
"Is there anything easier to refer to her as?" She enquired.
"She will usually answer to Romana."
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"Romana!"
Romana glanced up from the café table and the near-complete device she was working on. How did anyone on Earth know her name?
"Oh," She replied, fixing together one last component. "It's you. I suppose K9 told you my name."
"Yes," Sarah replied. "I'm Sarah Jane Smith, by the way. I assume you're a Time Lord?"
"The President, actually."
"What's the President of the Time Lords doing on Earth?"
"You're rather forward aren't you?" Romana laughed.
"I'm a journalist." She shrugged.
"If you must know, I'm making a sonic lipstick. Tinkering soothes the nerves."
Sarah picked up the now-complete device and admired it. It was a neat device, with a tidy design. Pocket sized and obviously very, very useful.
"Keep it."
"Are you sure?"
"Only if you tell me how you know I'm a Time Lord."
"I know one," She muttered. "He gave me K9."
"Well it seems our mutual friend likes to give away K9 units as parting gifts to women he likes."
Romana stood to leave.
"Braxiatel and Narvin will be at each other's throats by now."
"Keep in touch?"
She simply smiled as she left Sarah Jane standing in the café with a sonic lipstick to learn how to use.
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Romana did keep in touch and Sarah Jane soon amassed a collection of items that she wanted kept safe. Some were obviously just items of sentimental value, others included Janus thorns 'that Leela had been hiding and I don't want her using them on anyone' and a few random artefacts 'of Rassilon'.
However, she had now become a mother. She knew these items were dangerous and Luke, for all his intelligence, was woefully naïve. Who knew what damage the 'Teaspoon of Rassilon' could do on Earth if it couldn't even be left on Gallifrey?
Introducing him to the house proudly, to Mr. Smith and K9, she decided it would be best to neglect that she was in regular contact with such a powerful species just yet.
And there was definitely no way she was showing him the room where she kept all the belongings Romana and the Doctor left with her.
.
"Well, congratulations, I guess."
"Thank you. Luke is wonderful. You should meet him."
The silence was painfully uncomfortable; it was obvious Romana had come here for a reason.
"Are you in contact with the Doctor, Sarah?"
"Yes, why?"
"There's a war coming on my, our planet. According to the Matrix."
Sarah didn't bother asking what the Matrix was exactly, but it was obvious it was nothing to do with the film.
"It's going to cost us greatly. Please don't tell him anything. Don't tell him I'm alive."
She could see the tears gathering in her eyes, but Romana, as always managed to control it.
"He says he's…"
"Don't tell me. Please," Romana whispered. "I have to go now."
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"You and the Doctor!" Sarah snapped. "You just treat me as some kind of… emotional support post for distressed Time Lords!"
"And you do it so well," Romana snapped in return before turning tail.
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"Cup of tea?"
Romana nodded as she walked through the door of 13, Bannerman Road and took off, in Sarah Jane's opinion, the quite ridiculous head-dress. Placing down the steaming mug, Sarah privately noted that Romana needed it. She was looking thinner and more exhausted than she had done so ever since she had first met her.
"You keeping well?"
"How is your son?"
"Romana…"
"Darkel is challenging me openly, as is Lord Matthias. Leela is as erratic as ever. She isn't coping with blindness as well as she thinks she is." Romana's hands shook as she drained the mug.
"And?"
Romana shook her head and took Sarah Jane's mug off her. The last time they had greeted each other, they had landing up screaming at each other, so she didn't want to start on about Pandora. The suds cleaned away the final remnants of tea and felt relatively soothing.
"You should really let me give you some more clothes," Sarah implored. "I hate seeing you in these robes."
"My planet is falling to pieces, Sarah," Romana replied quietly. "I wear this clothing as a mark of respect."
"At all times?"
"Yes."
"You won't even take them off… for a short while?"
Sarah cursed herself for sounding like an immature schoolgirl. She was a grown woman. And well, who knew how old Romana was? Like the Doctor, she had the look of infinity behind those blue eyes. Romana simply arched her eyebrows and smiled at her before taking her hand.
Some time later, they lay quietly in Sarah's bed. Romana's head rested gently on her companion's chest, listening to her singular heart beat. She still shivered slightly as Sarah's fingers ran gently up her bare side, soothing scars from long ago, questions that will remain unanswered.
"How was that?" Romana's voice cracked slightly, unsure, out of character.
"Oh you Time Lords," Sarah muttered. "You always seek reassurance."
She reached up and ran a hand through the blonde hair before guiding Romana to another eager kiss. She wasn't going to let her go anywhere any time soon.
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As the months passed and alien invasions ate up more of Sarah Jane's time, she ached to hear from Romana. She always reacted joyfully when she saw the Doctor, but part of her hoped next time she saw a TARDIS, it would be one where the Chameleon Circuit actually worked. The Doctor always assured her that he was the last, but that didn't stop Sarah Jane wishing this war hadn't cost Romana her life.