Meetings

by Type 40 Tardis

After meeting Sarah Jane the Doctor's life is forever changed. Alternate universe and timeline.

5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

He set the book down in the chair and went to the entertainment room. He programmed the popcorn machine and one of the Tardis' many built in food service machines to produce a variety of pizzas at a time that would be determined by whatever the rest of the day held in store for them. He pulled out some soft chenille pillows and blankets in case Sarah would like them. He smiled at the progress he had made and decided he would check to make sure that Sarah was all right.

Sarah was as he had left her, tucked in and sleeping peacefully. He picked up the discarded book and started reading. The next thing he knew, two hours had passed and he was beginning to become bored by, 'The Human Body And The Skeletal System'. "This is wrong! Don't they make anyone check these over before they're published?" the Doctor said aloud.

"Maybe they don't have a genius handy like I do." Sarah replied smiling.

"Did I say that out loud? I'm so sorry Sarah, I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep." he said embarrassed that she had heard his outburst. If she stuck around long, and he hoped she would, he was sure it wouldn't be his last.

"Are you kidding? Go to sleep and miss all this. I don't think so Mister." she said with what the Doctor had come to think of as a smile she had reserved only for him.

"Are you hungry?" the Doctor asked, eager to change the subject.

"No, but I would like something to drink." she said sweetly.

"Of course. I'll be right back." he replied.

"Hey, wait a minute." she said stopping him in his tracks. "Could I please have that bath you promised first?" she asked seeing the hesitation in his face. "I'll be careful, I promise." she said crossing her fingers and using them to cross her heart.

"On one condition. While you take your bath, I get to sit out here and listen, in case you fall or need help, agreed?" he said looking as serious as he possibly could, when he was near Sarah.

"Agreed. But I'll be careful." she promised him.

"Good, then neither of us have anything to worry about." he said with a smile. "Now Princess Sarah, could I assist you in finding something to wear, when my lady is finished with her bath?" he asked while bowing over.

"Well, I had hoped one of the ladies in waiting would hand me some sort of comfortable clothing. Perhaps some royal pants and a royal top." she said in keeping with the pretense. "Can you show me something in a casual, yet comfortable pair of pants and perhaps a top of some kind. Your choice." she said playing along with the game. She didn't care what he picked out as long as she could bathe and get out of these military pajamas.

Let's start with hmm…how about these?" he asked pulling out a pair of beautiful violet jewel toned silk slacks. He brought them to her for inspection and she was almost speechless. They had to be the softest and nicest slacks she had ever seen.

"They're beautiful, thank you." she said in a reverence that let him know how much she appreciated them.

"How about this?" he asked bringing a baby doll type top with quarter length sleeves that ended in a point, as did the bottom of the top. It was also made of silk. It had violet, deep rose and deep blue jewel tones as well.

"Once again you have made the perfect choice. It's lovely." she said with such joy that he feared she might cry.

"You will find an assortment of undergarments," when he said the word undergarments he lowered his head avoiding her eyes, "in several of the drawers in the bathroom. "Before you think I'm strange, I was only filling the list that the Tardis printed out." he noticed Sarah was looking confused, "Things the Tardis said a woman would need." Sarah was definitely looking confused and possibly embarrassed.

"Let me back up." With that he looked up at Sarah who had waved her hand to signify he should continue. When you were in the Bio-Scanner, on your first time in the Tardis, you probably don't remember, anyway the Bio-Scanner gathers any and all information that can be scanned or measured. The Bio-Scanner told the Tardis all your measurement. The Tardis then gave me the sizes to pick out some clothes in the wardrobe room. She then…".

"She?" Sarah asked.

"The Tardis, remember I told you the Tardis is not just a machine but a sentient spirit, if you like. Let me back up a bit farther."

"Now I'm really getting confused." said Sarah wanting to understand.

"The wardrobe room, like many other rooms in the Tardis is cared for and supplied by the Tardis. I'm not really sure how she does it, but she does. She supplies clothes, shoes and everything else you need to dress." he said indicating the bathroom alluding to the undergarments. "When I was there getting clothes for your room, I was going over the checklist the Tardis had provided, when one of the conveyor belts came to life and a container filled with your, er, ah…undergarments. Another one followed that with socks. I just didn't want you to think I'm strange. Well other than the fact that I'm a Time Lord from another planet. But other than that I'm normal, whatever that is. Are there actually any normal people anywhere?" the Doctor started babbling.

"Okay, enough. I give up. First, I don't think you're strange. You're just very thorough, you and the Tardis. As far as normal, I guess it varies depending on your definition of normal." Sarah answered his question with a smile to let him know everything was all right.

"Thank you for understanding. I know that none of this can be very normal for anyone. But thank you for not thinking bad of me. You don't think bad of me do you?" he said with a smile stepping ever closer to Sarah.

"No, I think you are the most amazing person I have ever met and the kindest man I have ever met. Thank you for being so considerate of my feelings. Now, I'm going to take a bath." she said as he lifted her and took her to the bathroom doorway where her crutches were waiting.

"There you go." he said as he carefully placed her on the floor giving her time to arrange her crutches before letting her go. "I'll be right in that chair," he said pointing to the chair he was reading in earlier, "so if you need me just yell, okay?"

"I will. Thank you Doctor." she said softly. They were standing so close that each could feel the other's breath. She slowly leaned back and turned toward the bathroom's open door.

"Wait!" the Doctor said as he retrieved the clothes they had picked out earlier. "I think you might need these." he said stepping in front of Sarah and placing the garments inside the bathroom.

"Yes, they just might come in handy. Thank you Doctor." she said smiling at the Doctor and walking inside the doorway. Once inside she shut the door, leaving the Doctor standing there with a huge smile on his face.

Sarah looked around the bathroom, her eyes wide with wonder. Immediately inside the door was a short hallway, making it easy for Sarah to steady herself on the walls as she hopped further into the room. On Sarah's right was a beautiful large dark wood and black granite vanity with what appeared to be crystal and silver handles. On the far side of the vanity was what appeared to be an antique golden brush and comb matched set. Above it all hung a beautiful Venetian mirror.

Sarah opened two of the three drawers located beneath the vanity to find them filled with a multitude of scented soaps, lotions, sprays, shampoos, conditioners, hair care products along with many other toiletries. In the third large drawer was an assortment of bras and panties. Of course they weren't ordinary undergarments, but the best and most beautiful that Sarah had ever seen. The Tardis has excellent taste, Sarah thought. She selected some to go with the clothes that the Doctor had picked out. In the doors under the sink, Sarah found a blow dryer. He had indeed thought of everything, Sarah thought and smiled. It was wonderful to be cared for. No one had ever treated her this way before. She decided that she could learn to like this.

At the end of the room was a toilet made from what appeared to be the same black granite as the sink, but considering this was the Tardis, it could be stone from anywhere. To Sarah's left was a very large whirlpool tub that was also made of the black granite like material. On a small table that was the same height as the tub were quite a few crystal bottle with different types of bubble baths. On a stool that was located at the foot of the tub were several thick pink bath towels and a thick fluffy bathrobe that was white.

Sarah ran the bath, adding some of the pale blue bubble bath to the very warm water. She removed the UNIT pajamas that she was wearing hoping to never see them again. She retrieved the shampoo and conditioner from the vanity drawers and climbed into the tub carefully avoiding further damage to her hurt foot.

Sarah was never more grateful for a bath in all her life. She allowed the very warm water to relax her. She laid back into the water trying to keep her mind from spinning. The Doctor seemed like such a wonderful person. Did he care for her in the way that she cared for him? Did she even know exactly what it was that she felt for him? One thing she did know was that for her part, she would do anything for him. Did he care for her as a friend or as a woman he might want to get to know better? She thought it was the latter. He seemed to look at her as more than a friend. Still, it had only been two weeks. She was getting ahead of herself. Don't get too attached, she told herself. But she realized it was too late, she was in deep. She looked over at the crystal clock that was on the vanity and realized she had been sitting there for thirty minutes. It felt so good to relax in the tub, but she quickly finished bathing and rinsed off and climbed from the tub.

She put her new bathrobe on while supporting herself on one side of the wall. She quickly dried off while sitting on the stool, discarded the bathrobe and put on the undergarments that she had selected earlier. She removed the blow dryer and quickly dried and then brushed her hair. She finished dressing and hung the robe on the satin hanger that she found on a hook on the back of the door. She turned around to grab her crutches and realized that she had turned too quickly and fell to the floor. Great, another bruise she thought. When she was falling, one of her hands made contact with the crutches and they came tumbling down on top of her as well. She was so dizzy, what was wrong with her?

"Sarah? Sarah are you all right?" the Doctor was yelling, concerned after hearing the crash of her crutches.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just being a klutz. I'm all right." she said, her voice shaky.

"Are you dressed?" he asked.

"Well yes, why?" she asked, the room was still spinning and thanks to her spill, her foot was throbbing.

"Because," she heard the door open, "I'm coming in." he said, while rounding the corner to find her on the floor. "Sarah!" he rushed to her side and held her face in his hands. "What happened? How do you feel?" he asked checking her pulse and placing his other hand on her for head and then cheeks.

"I guess I turned around too fast, sorry." she said keeping her eyes closed.

"Come on, let's get you back to bed." He picked her up and carried her back to the bed and set her down. Her face was flushed and her pulse was fast.

"I'm sorry. You're going to think I'm a grade A klutz." she said trying to lighten the situation.

"No, you're just weak. I'm going to run to the kitchen and get you a large glass of orange juice."

"Thank you, orange juice sounds great."

"I'll be right back. Lie still and stay put." he said with a smile, closing the door behind him.

The Doctor decided that he would not only get her some orange juice but some Kersh for the pain he could see in her eyes as he picked her up from the bathroom floor. He filled a large glass with juice and walked down the hallway to the console room. He opened the medical bag he had left on the shelf surrounding the rotor and pulled out the Kersh and filled a syringe with it. He replaced the bag on the shelf, retrieved the orange juice and returned to the hallway heading for Sarah's room.

As soon as Sarah thought the Doctor was far enough away, she let tears fall that she had been holding back since the second she fell. "He's going to think you're a big baby Sarah if you don't get some control over yourself." she said aloud chastising herself. Maybe if she held her foot in mid air for a few seconds it would stop hurting so badly. No, that didn't work. Maybe a pillow placed under her foot would work. No, that didn't work either. She was trying to hatch another plan in her mind, when the Doctor knocked on the door. "Come in." Sarah called, quickly wiping away her tears with her hands.

The minute he looked at her, he knew the pain was worse. "Sarah I brought you something for the pain. You can't honestly deny that the pain is bad, can you?" he asked, trying to get past the usual denial on Sarah's part for her need of medicine. She simply shook her head no.

He set the orange juice on the table next to the bed and repeated this morning's injection a little lower on her arm, seeing that she was bruising from prior injections. He felt sorry for her. Her body was covered in bruises. "Are you okay?" he asked after withdrawing the needle and wiping her arm.

"Yes I'm fine." she said in a quiet voice, hoping her voice wouldn't betray her. "So, is that mine?" she said trying to force a smile hoping to divert his attention from the pain she was in.

"All yours my Princess." he said handing it to her while bowing. When she took it from him, he could feel that her fingers were slightly trembling. "Sarah," he started watching her drink the juice, "I want you to lie back and take a nap.". Then, realizing he was scaring her with his seriousness added in a lighter tone of voice. "You'll want to be rested and ready for a night I've heard called, 'junk food' and movies. If you're rested, that is." he said hoping to make it sound appealing for her.

"That sound great, let's do it now!" she said, the pain medication already blocking some of the pain.

"No, I don't think so." he said with a smile. He took the now empty glass from Sarah and set it on the table. "Lie back. I know the medication has started to take effect, so don't argue. The entertainment room will still be there after your nap. And I'll be in that chair right over there if you need anything." he said helping her to get settled on the pillows and covered with a blanket. "Just sleep." he said quietly and soothingly as she closed her eyes and he brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face.

"Doctor?" asked Sarah.

"What?" he replied in a whisper.

"Thank you." she said in a whisper, then she was asleep.

"You're more than welcome Sarah." he said to her sleeping face in a whisper. He went back to the medical book that he was reading earlier and before he realized it, he too was asleep.

The Doctor awoke to see that Sarah was also just waking. He'd never needed the amount of sleep that he'd had lately. It must be all the stress from his ever changing emotions and the worry over Sarah's health, he thought to himself. "Good evening." he said looking at the clock which read 6:21. "How was your nap?"

"Good. How was yours?" she replied with a smile.

"Very rejuvenating. Are you hungry?"

"Starved, can we start the night of junk food and movies now?" she asked, remembering his exact words.

"Of course. Ready?" he asked walking over to the side of the bed. She shook her head yes enthusiastically. "Put your hands around my neck and we'll be off." he said while bending down to scoop her up in his arms. As she did what he asked, he couldn't believe the happiness he felt. Just to have her look at him, sent a wave of joy through him that he had never experienced before. To have her as close as she was now was pure happiness.

Sarah realized that she was beginning to let her guard down with the Doctor. She had never let anyone get as close to her as she had him. He was so gentle, so caring and so kind. He could spend his time anywhere with anyone, yet he chose to spend it with her. She didn't know how long this would last, but decided that it was worth the disappointment to feel this cared about for any amount of time, regardless how short. She looked into his eyes and thought she could see everything she ever wanted. She knew she must be blushing so she turned away thinking quickly and said, "Should we bring my crutches?".

The Doctor noticed she was blushing and decided not to comment on it, not wanting to embarrass her. "I'll be your crutches, that is if you don't mind." he finished with a big smile.

"No, I don't mind. Thank you for taking such good care of me Doctor. I don't know what I would do without you." she replied, hoping she didn't say too much.

"I'll be here for you as long as you need me. Even if it's forever. Now, let's go to the entertainment room." he smiled at Sarah.

On their way to the entertainment room she asked and he answered questions about the Tardis. When they arrived they could smell the pizza baking and the popcorn popping.

"This is fantastic. How did you know what time to set the timer for? I mean, that's how you did it, right?" she asked trying not to sound too nosey, even though the suspense was getting to her. She couldn't believe everything the Tardis could do.

"Actually I set a timer of sorts, but not the kind you're probably used to. I told the Tardis what I needed and left it up to the Tardis to get started on it when I wanted it." Sarah was looking confused. "The Tardis monitors all activity on board, so when I set the 'timer', what I'm actually doing is to have the Tardis monitor the activity on board with a little more scrutiny than usual. So, when we talked…"

"Oh, I get it. When we talked about being hungry the Tardis picked up on it and started cooking." she finished his explanation with a smile, proud that she was now starting to get a grasp on understanding her surroundings.

"Very good. I'm very proud." he smiled, honestly pleased that she was able to understand the Tardis and not be afraid of it, considering the ordeal that she survived, here in the Tardis' swimming pool. He carefully set her down in the middle of one of the overstuffed couches in the front and put her feet up on a matching overstuffed very large ottoman. "Comfortable?" he asked.

"Yes, very. This is wonderful!" she said watching him walk over to what looked like a snack bar that you would find in a movie theater.

"Pizza with extra pepperoni, pizza with extra cheese and pizza with everything. What can I interest you in today Miss?" he asked with a huge grin.

"I'll have one piece of the pizza with extra pepperoni and one piece of the pizza with extra cheese please."

"And what would you like to drink with that Miss.?" he said still playing along with the game.

"I'll have a soda please."

The Doctor pulled out a tray and placed two plates on top, filling each with pizza and then placed two sodas on the tray. Then he walked over to the sofa and pushed a button on the of the arm on the sofa and a pillow that was now between them lowered to reveal a small table. He placed the tray on the table and they each took a piece of their pizza and ate.

"This is wonderful. The Tardis made this?" she asked.

"Yes. If she has the recipe, she can make anything." he answered. "And don't forget, this is but a small sample of what your people call 'junk food'. This room is packed with anything you could dream of and quite possibly a few things you couldn't." he finished with a smile.

Sarah smiled at that last comment. This room does hold everything she had ever dreamed of. "I'll hold you to it." she said with a shy smile then took a drink of her soda. "So what movie are you showing tonight?" she asked eagerly.

"The movie is your choice." he said with the wave of his hand toward the walls holding the movies. "What would you like to see?"

"I have one in mind, but it's very scary. How do you feel about scary movies?" she asked looking into his eyes.

"I can honestly say, that I think that a really good scary movie is brilliant. If the plot points are put together in just the right order, it can be truly frightening. But to be honest, there are so few that do it truly right." he finished, never taking his eyes from Sarah's.

"You're so right. All right, let's compare notes. On the count of three, let's both say our number one choice. Ready?" he shook his head yes. "One, two, three."

"The Exorcist." they both said simultaneously. They both laughed aloud.

"The Exorcist it is." he said going over to the far wall and climbing a ladder to retrieve the DVD. He removed it from the shelf and placed the DVD into a slot in the Tardis wall to the left of the huge screen. He then returned to the couch. "Ready?" he asked picking up the large remote that he had retrieved from a table at the end of the couch.

"Ready." she said.

The Doctor started the movie. An hour later, halfway through the movie, he noticed Sarah looking away from the screen quite frequently. "Sarah would you like me to sit closer?" he asked.

"Yes." she said quietly looking at the screen.

He rose and sat on the opposite side of the couch scooting till his body was physically touching Sarah's. In the movie the character of Regan was spinning her head around and Sarah turned away, hiding her face in the Doctor's shoulder. She looked up at him with such innocent eyes. "May I?" he asked, raising his extended arm closely behind Sarah's head and shoulders.

"Yes, please." she said in a quiet voice, sitting forward to give him access to her shoulders.

He placed his left arm around her and lightly hugged her. She settled into his embrace and watched the rest of the movie. As the credits were rolling she said, "I think if I watch that movie a hundred times, it will still be scary."

"I think you're right. Do you feel up to a double feature?" he asked reluctant to give up the embrace he was so comfortable in.

"Definitely, but let's choose a comedy now. Is that all right with you?"

"Of course. Do you have something in particular in mind?" he asked, turning his head to the side still not ready to give up his embrace of Sarah just yet.

"Well…do you have Animal House?" she said wishing he didn't have to get up.

"I have everything." he said rising from the couch and climbing the ladder to retrieve the DVD.

You indeed have everything, the entire package thought Sarah, smiling to herself.

He placed the DVD in the slot and walked over to Sarah and retrieved the remaining trash from the pizza and drinks. "What about some more food?" he asked with a smile, trying to encourage her to eat.

"Maybe some popcorn and another soda." she said not really hungry but wanting to munch on something, realizing it was nervous energy. The Doctor is just about perfect, Sarah thought. Please don't let this be a dream, she said to herself.

"Don't forget candy. I hear it's not really junk food unless you throw in some chocolate. What can I interest you in? he said with a smile while filling a large bucket with popcorn and two sodas.

"Something that's just plain chocolate."

"Dark, white or milk?" he asked spreading his hands.

"Dark please." she said suddenly hungry at the mention of chocolate.

He lifted the tray and carried it over to the couch. The Doctor sat next to Sarah after handing her the drinks. He placed the popcorn and candy between them and then took his drink back from Sarah. "Thank you." he said looking deep into her green eyes. He didn't want to turn away from her and she seemed to feel the same way. "Well…I guess we should start the movie." he said reaching across her for the remote. He started the movie and settled in to enjoy such a normal moment in such a less than normal place, for Sarah in any case.

As the movie was winding down to its conclusion, he noticed Sarah was having an ever increasing problem holding her eyes open. As the credits rolled by, he noticed that Sarah had fallen asleep. He looked at the clock on the wall showing Earth time. It was 1:45 AM, the latest she had been up since he had known her. It was the latest in any case that she had been up that she wasn't wracked in pain. He used the remote and stopped the film. He carefully moved the drinks and the popcorn with his free hand. His other hand was still supporting Sarah's sleeping form. He carefully slipped his free hand under her legs and lifted her up.

"Hey, what's going on? Is the movie over?" Sarah asked in a mournful yet sleepily way.

"Yes, but don't worry. It won't be our last movie. Go back to sleep." he said quietly. She laid her head back against him and closed her eyes.

They arrived at Sarah's room and he quietly slipped her into her bed. He covered her with a blanket and started to slip from her room.

"Doctor?" she said facing the door.

"What?" he said with a smile.

"Thank you for such a wonderful night." she said with a smile that warmed his hearts.

"You're most welcome Sarah. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." she said and closed her eyes.

He stood outside the door to her room. If things went badly in the next few days, at least they would have this perfect night to remember. She couldn't leave him, could she? He would have to make her see that the here and now was all that was important, only now. He walked the short walk to his bedroom and took a hot shower and went to bed. Hopefully tomorrow would sort itself out.

The Doctor woke early, Sarah and the day to come was the first thing on his mind. He checked to make sure she was asleep, which she was. He decided to let her sleep as long as her body would let her.

The display on the Console had been acting up, so he used his burst of nervous energy to fix it. It was a simple fix, just a shorted wire to replace. He couldn't get Sarah off his mind. This would be a test of his patience. He knew that once he heard of the terrible things her parents had done, it would take every ounce of strength he had to stop himself from killing them. Sarah must never know this. He looked at the display he just fixed. He punched a few buttons to display the Earth time of, 7:32 AM. He decided to go and check on Sarah.

Sarah was awake, just. She rolled over in bed and thought about last night. It was the most perfect date, scratch that, 'night' she'd ever had. She'd had dates before, but not like last night. She knew that even though the Doctor hadn't termed it a date, that's what it was. Come on Sarah, snap out of it. This could never last. Not once he knew everything. Nobody in their right mind would. Her own parents had told her how disgusting she was.

From the other dates she'd been on since she turned eighteen, the consensus was that her parents were right. She told herself that turning eighteen would not only announce to the world that she was an adult, but that she was a brand new person with a clean slate, a certified adult. That's when she allowed herself the luxury of starting to date. But she couldn't have been more wrong. All the dates had one thing in common. They each pretended to be someone that truly wanted to know her. The problem was their definition of 'know' translated into they wanted, no expected sex. The last one had tried to force her, but thanks to a little birthday gift to herself, he received a little pepper spray instead of a goodnight kiss.

That was last year. So at twenty three years of age, she decided that she would never date again. But then her life was turned upside down again and she met the Doctor. He had made her hopeful again. A feeling she told herself that she didn't need. But he made her so happy. She knew that this one would hurt once it was over. Why did she have to think so much? Why? She heard a knock on her door.

"Sarah? Are you awake?" asked the Doctor.

"Yes, I am. You can come in." she said trying to turn her mind off. He looked serious, this couldn't be good. "What's wrong?" she asked with a look of worry on her face.

"I'm sorry. First things first. Do you want some breakfast?" he asked sorry that she was able to read him so well.

"No thanks, my stomach's all nervous. But don't let me stop you from having some." she said with a smile she didn't feel. "So what's wrong?"

"I want to start helping you sort out your past today." he said. It was the hardest thing to say to someone that you didn't want to hurt. The past was a funny thing. It was usually either unbelievably tragic or unremarkably boring. In Sarah's case it was the former. "Will you let me?" he asked approaching her slowly.

"You know, I had a feeling when I woke up that this was going to be a bad day. I promised that I would let you and I never go back on my word. When do we have to start?" she asked with her head bowed.

"Whenever you're ready. Is there anything I can do to make this better for you?" he asked concerned for her.

"No. Do I have time for a shower?" Sarah asked sadly.

"Yes, of course. Let me help you." he said reaching out to steady her as she stood up.

"I'm fine. If you'll hand me the crutches, I'll be fine." she said, suddenly wishing she were anywhere but here.

"Sure." he said handing her the crutches. He knew she was trying to pull back to protect herself. It was one thing she was the best at. He decided that he would let her know that he was there for her. "Where would you feel the most comfortable doing this? Confronting your past I mean." he stumbled. He couldn't help feeling as if he were knocking the air from her.

"It doesn't matter, I suppose." she said looking down.

"There is a place in the Tardis that I haven't shown you yet. It feels as if you're outside in the open air. It was originally set up as a place to grow plants from different planets. A controlled place where they could get just the right amount of sun and….what's wrong?" he stopped when she started to smile.

"It sounds like the perfect place. Maybe if I get just the right amount of sun and whatever, I'll be perfect." she said trying to let him off the hook for feeling bad. She could see it wasn't his problem, and yet he had taken it on as if it were his own.

"Sarah," he said placing his hand under her chin, "you 'are' perfect right now. Don't you see that?" Sarah shook her head no. "And that's why we need to get to the bottom of all this. So that 'you'll' know how perfect you really are. Have a good shower. I'll wait here till I know you're out, okay?" he asked, leaning forward and kissing her gently on the forehead.

"Sure, see you in a bit." Sarah replied as she entered the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, Sarah yelled through the door to the Doctor, "I'm out.".

"I'm going to check on a few things in the console room, I'll be back soon." the Doctor yelled through the door.

An hour had passed and the Doctor decided that he had put this off long enough. He knocked on Sarah's door to find it was partially open and she was waiting for him in the chair he had slept in before. She was looking through the medical books that he had left there.

"So, you like to read about the human circulatory system, the respiratory system and the nervous system?" she asked while reading from the titles one by one.

"Like would be a strong word. But just between you and me, I didn't want Harry Sullivan to think he knows anything more about the human body than I do. How could I go on teasing him if he knows more than I do?" he said in such an honest way that it made Sarah laugh.

"Somehow I don't think that would be a problem. So we really have to do this?" she asked nervously.

"I'm afraid so." he said helping her to stand as she reached for her crutches. "Listen, it's quite a distance to the garden. Why don't you let me carry you?" he asked, his mind reasoning that she would be exhausted after today. He also knew that this might be the last time she would let him help her. He hoped it wouldn't, but just in case.

"Sure, if you're positive you don't mind." she said, wondering if he would feel the same way about her after today.

They wound their way deep inside the Tardis, taking so many turns that Sarah had now lost her way. She told herself that she trusted the Doctor, but still she felt her old companion panic creeping in.

The Doctor felt her muscles tighten the further they went. "We're almost there." he said trying to relax her. Instead her muscles seemed to tighten further.

Up ahead there was a set of double glass doors. Each had an intricate pattern of stained glass. As they approached, the doors automatically opened for them.

Even though Sarah knew it was impossible, there seemed to be a sky and a sun. She must have looked her question for the Doctor said, "The sky and sun are an illusion. But then there are a lot of things that you can't touch that you know are there. Like faith and hope. You can't touch them, but if you believe, they are always there for you. I hope that you know that I'll always be there for you Sarah." he said stopping at a large expanse of what Sarah imagined might or might not be Earth grass.

He carefully set her on the ground. "Where do we start?" asked Sarah, now committed to seeing this through.

"It depends on you." he said looking at Sarah.

"I don't understand." she said looking at him to help her comprehend.

"You could 'tell me' everything you remember or you can let me into your mind and 'show me' the way. Sarah, I know it's not going to be easy either way. The longer way is the first, the shorter way the second. Do you want to ask me anything?"

"I know that I can trust you. I don't know how I know it, but I do. So let's go for the shortest way. They both will end the same way."

"Sarah this isn't the end. I will still feel the same way about you. You know that don't you?" he said, taking Sarah's hands in his own.

"I know that you believe that, but I won't hold you to any of this." she said avoiding looking into his eyes.

"Sarah trust me. If you've never trusted anything or anyone before, trust in me." he said with as much encouragement and compassion as possible. "Tell me you believe me, not just because I'm asking you to, but because you truly believe me."

"I believe you." she said looking in his eyes.

"Let's go." he said, and in a flash of what seemed like lightening he was inside Sarah's mind.

"This way." Sarah said taking his hand and pulling him along the dark hallways they were in. Light bulbs hanging by old stripped wiring were swinging back and forth holding bulbs that had burnt out long ago, only the occasional flicker of light from the few left working, lighted their way. It was dark and cold. The smell was a mixture of urine, unwashed bodies and filth. They wound round and round the hallway till they reached the top. There was a door with trash coming out from underneath it. Sarah was walking through it with her head bowed, embarrassed. He squeezed her hand and she looked back at him. He smiled at her, encouraging her. She continued on.

They went into a dark and dirty room. It wasn't just dirty, but filthy. The air was thick with cigarette smoke and the smell of garbage and rotten food. There was a large dirty wooden box on the floor, the kind that furniture would be shipped in, he imagined. As they came closer to the box he could see something inside it. It was a baby, a girl. She was naked and dirty. Several drunken men were circling it. The baby looked up and started crying. He looked up when he felt Sarah's eyes on him, she was crying. It was obvious, this baby was Sarah. On the far wall of the room was a door, a door that seemed to beat and move with a pulse of its own.

She pulled him from this room passed the pulsating door to another room. Time had changed as had the apartment. There were three couples in the room, one which he recognized from the other room. They were experimenting with a variety of drugs. There was a small child, a girl in the room. She was holding her arm which had a crude wood board tied to it with several belts. She was dirty, her clothing nothing more than filthy rags, her hair matted and she was incredibly thin, obviously malnourished. One of the couples staggered over to the little girl and were pulling her into another room. They yelled at her that she was worthless and only good for one thing. She screamed while the others laughed. This room as the other, also had a pulsating door. It seemed the pulsing was stronger than before, the Doctor noticed.

Sarah pulled him through room after room. Each scene much the same as the last, the only changes were the growth of the little girl and the ever increasing pulsation of the door. Until she came to the final room. A group of people were on one side of the door in various stages of intoxication. Some clothed, some naked. There was a dirty table in the center of the room, covered with many different types of drug paraphernalia. In a small room off the main room was a door, locked with a padlock. Behind it was a ten year old girl. She was thin, too thin, dressed in a ripped tank top and shorts. She was dirty and had a look of terror in her eyes. She was chained to a pipe. She had several pieces of metal silverware trying to engage the lock that held her chains. She successfully broke through the lock and freed herself. She stopped to pull up a loose board from the floor. Hidden inside was a small dirty once white toy bear. A toy the Doctor recognized as the same one he had removed from under the seat of Sarah's car.

She put a jacket on that was too big for her, stuffing the toy inside an inner pocket on the jacket and climbed out the window stopping to take one more look at the pulsating door in this room. She was four stories up, but her determination to run was strong. She jumped to a tree limb that was close to the building. She made it and climbed down the tree, disappearing into the night.

Sarah walked on, pulling the Doctor through the wall and through what appeared to be a rundown part of town. The little girl could be seen going through garbage cans looking for food and clothes. And there, next to the dumpster was a door, pulsating like the rest. She pulled his hand and they walked onto another street. This street was different than the other. The sky was a little less dark he noticed. He saw a large building ahead with the word 'Library' inscribed in stone. A young girl of perhaps twelve years of age walked inside. They followed her. She walked up to the desk and an older woman smiled and took her to a room in the back. The girl was dressed in worn and torn clothing, but he could definitely see that it was Sarah. The sparkle in her green eyes was the same.

The older lady showed her to a table with what appeared to be school books. The older lady sat down with her and started teaching her. She looked as if she were teaching her to read. Sarah who loved books, hadn't been able to read until such a late age. Once again, as in all the rooms before, was a pulsating door. She pulled his hand and led him from the room.

Sarah had taken him to another official looking building. They went through a door marked 'Testing Do Not Enter'. He followed her through the door to find a teenage Sarah sitting at a desk. He looked at Sarah and then looked back to see the scene had changed. He was now looking at the girl, who was now receiving a diploma and smiling. Ahead of the girl was the same pulsating door.

Sarah again pulled him to another room and found a now older, possibly seventeen year old girl going to a school, possibly a college. He watched the clock on the wall change from day to night and the teenager switched from student to janitor. She mopped the floor. Even here, the ever present pulsating door existed.

She pulled him to another room, this one was a large hall with commencement exercises underway. He saw a teenage Sarah, younger than the other graduates walk across the stage to receive her diploma. At the center of the stage was the pulsating door. She walked passed it and started to smile, when she suddenly looked back, saw the door and then lowered her head. When she exited the stage, several older women and an elderly man came up to her and hugged her. One he recognized was the older woman from the library and he assumed the others were her teachers. He felt the love they had tried to give to Sarah. The love that she couldn't accept, out of fear it would be taken away. He could see that in Sarah's mind, it was better to feel nothing than to be hurt.

She pulled him down the now dark hallway they were in. She looked back at the Doctor and caught sight of the area behind him. In his head he heard her yell, "Run!" He looked behind him and saw the pulsating door was approaching them at great speed.

"Sarah stop! What is it?" he said looking behind him. When he looked back at Sarah he saw real fear in her eyes. "Sarah, we have to face it." he said trying to pull her forward.

"No, I can't face it! It will consume me!" she yelled, jerking free of his grip and falling to the ground. She looked behind him and screamed. The door was casting a huge shadow over both Sarah and the Doctor. It blocked out all the light and tried to take away the air. Sarah was screaming hysterically. Without the light, the Doctor momentarily lost sight of her. After feeling around blindly, the Doctor finally found her. He reached out and held her, trying to shelter her from whatever was trying to attack her.

Slowly there was silence. Sarah was still trembling and he was still wrapped around her. "Sarah, I want you to open your eyes." She shook her head no. "Sarah this will never end if you don't face this. I'm right here with you. I will not let anything hurt you. You believe that don't you?"

"Yes." she said in such a quiet voice that the Doctor barely heard her.

"Look up at the door Sarah, look up." he said holding her tightly.

When Sarah raised her head up and looked at the door, it dissolved away. There were countless people where once the door had stood. They circled the Doctor and Sarah each shouting countless obscenities at her. One he assumed was her mother, shouting at her, telling her how she ruined her life. Telling her how she tried to abort her and Sarah couldn't even die right. Then her father, or who he assumed was her father, started yelling at her. He told her how stupid she was and how she would never be worth anything. Then one by one, countless people added their voices to the mob. Each screaming at Sarah how worthless, ugly, pathetic and how unloved she was. Her father and mother jumped to the front of the crowd, each adding more atrocities to the list.

The Doctor could hear Sarah's thoughts. She wished she had died. She had cheated death many times before ever meeting the Doctor. The Doctor was shocked to discover this. She was so much stronger than he had known. She had also suffered more abuse than he had originally thought. His ability to hear her thoughts was starting to fade. She was starting to withdraw into herself. He had to pull her out of this and get her back on track or as she feared, she would be lost, consumed by this evil.

"Enough!" he shouted at the crowd. "She is a beautiful, wonderful human being. If she never does a single thing after today she will be worth more than a million of you put together. You only say terrible things to her because you lack the ability to love and the ability to make something of your own lives. You are nothing but miserable excuses for human beings. You aren't fit to carry her trash. You have so little of a life because you made it that way. That was your fault, not Sarah's. She has worked hard to get to where she is today. I'm sure she's worked harder than any of you ever had to work, to be the person she is today. She is beautiful, caring, intelligent and worthy of more than any man could ever give her. From this day forward you will leave. Leave Sarah alone to live her own life, to find the joy and peace she so desperately deserves. You will no longer torment her and cast a shadow over everything she does! From this point on you will be dead to her. You will no longer have the ability to cheat her out of enjoying her life!" he stated, yelling at the top of his lungs.

He looked down at Sarah to find her staring ahead with her mouth open. He turned back to face the crowd, only to find them gone. There was nothing but a blue, sunny sky and Sarah sitting at his feet on a patch of grass. He knelt down in front of her and took both of her hands in his and said, "Ready to leave?".

"Yes, but are they really gone?" she asked unsure that they could be gone after being her torturers for twenty three years.

"Yes they are really gone."

"I don't know how to thank you." she said reaching forward and hugging him as if it would be her last.

"You already have." he said holding her tightly. "You should be very, very proud of yourself. You were the one who faced it all again. You were the one who opened the door. You are undoubtedly the bravest person I know." She smiled a small, tired smile at him. He could feel the sheer exhaustion in her body. "Let's go back."

She looked into the Doctor's eyes and volunteered, "You don't have to let me live here. I won't blame you if you want to find someone else to be your assistant, I understand. Now that you know everything, I know this was more than you bargained for".

"Are you still trying to get out of working at UNIT? And with the Brigadier so looking forward to his reports, purchase orders in triplicate and let us not forget the inventory log." he said smiling with a finger in the air. "You know, you're going to give me a complex." he said while smiling. "I won't force you to do anything. But I'm hoping you'll stay. Who's going to keep me company if you leave? Who's going to laugh at my jokes?" he said with a grin. Then he placed his hands gently under her cheeks and said, "Please don't leave. If you think you can't say yes today, then promise me you'll at least think about, okay?"

"Okay." she started to get up and almost fainted.

"It's all right. You're exhausted. It's expected after everything you've been through today. Let's get you to your room." he said as he carefully lifted her and carried her out of the garden and through the myriad halls in the Tardis. When he arrived at Sarah's room he looked down to find her sleeping. He gently laid her on her bed and tucked her in. He walked over to the chair and picked up one of the books he was reading, reluctant to leave her till he knew she was all right. He read for the better part of an hour till he too was overtaken by sleep.

The two slept all afternoon. Sarah rolled over in bed and was trying really hard to wake up. She felt as if she had been hit by a truck. She had been asleep for hours and was still exhausted. Her eyes caught movement in the room and looked to see the Doctor asleep in the chair. She couldn't believe he was still here. He's probably just looking for a nice way to let me down easy. But what if he wasn't? What if he wanted to continue whatever it was that they had started? The things he said about her in the garden were wonderful. She had never thought anyone would ever stand up for her like that. When the voices left and it was just Sarah and the Doctor, she thought she felt something. Something like a tickle in the back of her consciousness. Something she could feel, but not quite touch. Was it the Doctor? It must have been, she'd never felt anything like it before.

The Doctor awoke to see Sarah staring up at the ceiling deep in thought. He watched her carefully, hoping she wasn't counting the time till she could leave him. Still, to be her friend he would have to give her the option of leaving. He never wanted to hold her back from anything. Too many people had already done that, he wouldn't add to the count. He noticed that she was looking at him.

"Hi! You know you really didn't have to babysit me, I'm fine." she said, secretly glad that he stayed.

"I know. I just wanted to assure myself that you were okay. Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm just tired." she said with a sigh.

"Of course you are. You went through something that was extremely hard and very intense. I'm very proud of you. You've shown great courage." he said praising Sarah with a big smile.

"Thank you but I'm not sure I deserve all your praise, you did quite a bit yourself you know." she said looking at him and then looked down at her hands in front of her. "I'm afraid to ask this, but what's next?"

"Next, you take it slow. You're still recovering from your injuries and the things you went through today will probably affect your energy level for a minimum of three days. Things that happened may pop up from time to time over the next few months. When they do we'll deal with them. In the meantime, you go on living."

"Pop up, how?" she asked, concerned she might lose control.

"A memory or something someone said to you in the past or maybe even a nightmare may come up." He left the chair he was sitting in and approached Sarah saying, "Don't worry we'll face it together, regardless of what it is. Okay?" he said with his most trusting look.

"Are you positive you want me here?" she asked almost dreading what the answer would be.

"I'm afraid you're stuck with me. Is that all right with you?" he asked her.

"I'd have to be a fool to let you get away. I mean…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply…could you please forget that?" she stammered, her face red with embarrassment.

The Doctor could do nothing but smile. "Sarah, you only said what I wanted to hear. Does that scare you? If it does, please tell me and I'll…" he stammered.

"And you'll what, go back in time before we met? I'm sure that you could and probably should. But I'm hoping you won't. I've never felt for anyone before what I feel for you." she said hoping her admission would result in one from him.

"I have feelings for you too Sarah. Feelings that I've never felt for anyone, not even on Gallifrey. If you're frightened by this please tell me now, I don't think I could take it if I walked in here one day and you were gone." There, he'd done it. Put all his cards on the table. She was smiling, that had to be good.

"You understand it will take a lot of time before I can…before we can…." Sarah explained.

"I will never ask for anything you can't or shouldn't do. I'm crazy about you." he said putting the palm of his hand on the back of her head. Not only the package you're wrapped in, beautiful as it may be." he said watching her blush.

"Thank you, I couldn't ask for anyone better. You are everything to me. It's all happened in such a short time, it amazes me." she said followed by a yawn. "Excuse me." she said covering her mouth.

"I want you to get some sleep. When you wake up, we'll get something to eat and then I have to examine your foot with the scanner and I need a blood sample." She started to say something in protest, then he said, "Do it just to please me." and the objection died on her lips.

"Thank you for taking such good care of me." she said as he tucked her in and sleep came to her. He smiled at her and left the room to arrange for dinner and get the supplies he needed to examine Sarah.

The Doctor picked up his medical bag and went to the Tardis' infirmary. He felt he was so close to a 'normal' life, whatever that was. Normal on Gallifrey meant you selected someone with the same genetic makeup and marry. Marriages were contracts, simple and clear, mere business contracts. No emotions and no romance. And after a predetermined time as outlined in the marriage contract, each person would give a 'sample' that would garner a progeny. That among many other reasons was why he had never fit in. He was an outsider there, he always had been. Most on Gallifrey didn't even have a sense of humor, much less 'his' kind of humor.

Earth on the other hand was a breath of fresh air. When the Time Lords had assigned him Earth as one of the projects they so often dumped on him, a price for his freedom they called it, he was overjoyed. Their technology may be a bit backward, but what they lacked in technology they made up for in countless other ways by simply being human.

He turned his attention back to the project at hand. He gathered the syringe he would need to get Sarah's blood sample. He also gathered a variety of antibiotic before placing them in the bag and left the room, heading for the Tardis' kitchen.

When he arrived at the kitchen he decided what they would have. He programmed the Tardis' kitchen to prepare steaks, baked potatoes and salads. Then adding a last minute item, ice cream with chocolate hot fudge sauce. He smiled, picked up his bag and left to check up on the console room.

Everything was as it should be, thought the Doctor taking a spin around the central console. He looked at the time display on the console. It had only been thirty minutes since he left Sarah. She would definitely be sleeping longer than that after this morning's attack on her psyche. He decided to take a walk around UNIT to pass the time.

He closed the Tardis door behind him, carefully locking it. He walked through one of the many corridors inside UNIT. Every open door and window he passed showed virtually the same scene, soldiers working, each to his or her own specialty. He heard laughter up ahead. As he approached he heard Sergeant Benton saying he was hoping to ask someone special to the upcoming dance. He heard one of the men reply that Benton was probably bringing his sister again. That produced another round of laughs.

The Doctor stuck his head in the door and saw that not only was Sergeant Benton in the room but Harry Sullivan was also there. "Perfect, you're both here. Could I have a word?" he said pulling his head back out of the door.

Sergeant Benton and Harry Sullivan both looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and left the room. Once outside, Benton asked, "What's up Doctor?".

"I just thought it sounded like you two might want to take a break from your friends."

"I was ready to leave. They are ruthless in their kidding. I'm afraid to go to this affair alone now." Harry said looking back at the room.

"Well we're in trouble, because we don't have even the prospect of a date." added Benton.

"I think I may have an idea." said the Doctor. "Harry if you're not too picky, personality wise I mean, you could ask Miss. Acrims."

"Miss Acrims? Are you kidding? She has a real thing for you. She asks me every day if I've talked to you. I think she has it in her mind that you're asking her." Harry told the Doctor.

"Well if you handle it right and let her know that I'm asking Sarah…."

Both men stopped walking and looked at the Doctor who hadn't stopped. "What?" he said turning around. "I admit she might say no but…did I say something wrong?"

Both men looked at each other. "When and how? I mean, it's none of our business." Benton started and then both men looked at each other again.

"But, when did all this happen?" asked Harry finishing Benton's intended question.

"You're right it isn't any of your business, but Sarah and I have feelings and that's all I'm going to say. So are you going to ask Miss. Acrims to the dance Harry?" he asked Harry who was looking dumbfounded.

"Yes, I guess I will." Harry mumbled. "Well that's taken care of me, what about Benton here?" asked Harry with a louder voice.

"Well, don't you have any connections with single nurses in your Sick Bay Harry?" asked the Doctor trying to get the conversation off of Sarah and himself. If it were only up to him he would shout from the rooftops about his relationship with Sarah, but she needed to be involved in the decision as well.

"I know you'll find this surprising Doctor but I've never been the kind of person that fellow workers spill their life stories to, so to speak." Harry replied.

"Well, I remember a nurse named Miss. Winters, she was one of Sarah's nurses. She seemed nice. Do you know if she's seeing anyone?" asked the Doctor of Harry.

"I doubt it. The day you met her was her first day at UNIT, she keeps mostly to herself. She's nice, but quiet. Why don't you try and ask her Sergeant?" Harry said looking at Benton.

"It sounds like a marriage made in heaven. Do let me know when you set the date." said the Doctor while looking at Benton with a huge smile as they continued their walk down the hallway.

"Ah, Doctor." said the Brigadier who they met at the corridor's junction. "I'm sorry, if I'm interrupting…."

Both Benton and Harry managed to look guilty as if they had been caught playing hooky by the teacher.

"No Sir. We were finished Sir." said Sergeant Benton standing at attention with a less formal Harry standing next to him.

"Very well, dismissed." the Brigadier said saluting them.

"Good luck gentlemen!" the Doctor shouted after both men who turned in response and rolled their eyes once they were passed the Brigadier.

"You know sometimes Alistair, I think you like putting a scare into them. I like that about you." the Doctor said falling into line walking beside the Brigadier.

"Well…anyway." the Brigadier said, knowing he was honestly caught. "How is Miss. Smith?"

"Recovering nicely." the Doctor stated with a huge smile on his face. A smile that the Brigadier noticed was a borderline blush.

"So things have moved forward I gather?" he asked.

"Yes, I believe you could say they have. Let me ask you about this little shindig of yours. You say it's going to be formal?" he asked. In his mind he knew that if it weren't for his feelings for Sarah, he would never want to be involved in this little event. But he wanted, yes he told himself, 'he wanted' to show Sarah off.

"Yes formal. The women will be in long dresses. The men in dress uniforms and tuxedos." he stopped walking and looked at the Doctor. "So what do you want to know, really?" he asked trying to read the Doctor.

"Why Alistair I don't know what you're asking." he said as they reached the Brigadier's office. The Brigadier opened the heavy wooden door and ushered the Doctor inside closing the door behind them.

"All right Doctor. I can assume you're still intending to bring Miss. Smith to this affair, correct?"

"Yes, that's correct. I just want to make sure everything is perfect. I don't want to embarrass Sarah, that is if she says yes to my invitation." the Doctor said hoping he didn't sound as desperate for the information as he felt.

"All right Doctor. The particulars are, it is a fancy dress affair, the men are going to be in dress uniforms or tuxedos, the women who are ranking members of UNIT will be in dress uniform, and the women who aren't will be in formal long dresses. There will be a band and dancing. There will also be a sit down dinner. This will be a hush hush affair due to the nature of UNIT. It will start at…" he stopped to look down at a file on his desk with the information on it, "7:00 PM and end at a time to be determined, but I assume will be sometime after midnight. Is there anything I have forgotten?" he asked putting back the file and looking up at the Doctor.

"No Alistair, that about sums it up." said the Doctor.

"You know Doctor, I hope you find what you're looking for. I really do." he said locking eyes with the Doctor.

"I think I have, but I guess all I can really do is my very best. I know that Sarah cares for me. I guess I just have to wait and see where that leads." the Doctor said looking vulnerable.

"You know Doctor when I met my wife, I knew then that she was the one. We had a short romance before we married. That was thirty years ago. It happens, but the most important thing I can tell you is to become friends first. A good wife is a wonderful thing, but a good friend who is also your wife is rare. I am very lucky in that way. I know you didn't ask, and I would appreciate it if you didn't share this information with the men… but it's something I thought you should know." the Brigadier said hoping he was helping his friend.

"I appreciate the advise Brigadier and I agree with you. I'm going to take it as slow as I can. As for friendship, I think that Sarah and I are well underway on that front. I better get back to check on her. Thank you for the advise Alistair. And don't worry, I won't give away your secrets. It's best to keep the men on their toes, eh Brigadier?" he said standing and then saluting the Brigadier. He left feeling as if he and Sarah were well on their way to a long and wonderful relationship.

He arrived back to the Tardis to find Sarah on her crutches waiting for him in the console room. "Sarah, you shouldn't be out of bed and wandering around by yourself." he said concerned for her safety. "What happened, what's wrong?" he asked when he looked at her and noticed the frightened look in her eyes.

"Nothing, I just missed you." she said trying to cover up what had happened.

"Something's wrong, I can see it in your eyes. Did you have a nightmare?" he asked placing his hands on her arms and bending down to look her in the eye.

"It was nothing, just a stupid dream. So where did you go?" she asked still trying to change the subject.

"For a walk. Tell me about your dream." he said and then he noticed that her hair was damp around her face. He placed his hands on both cheeks and then her forehead. She was hot to the touch. "Sarah how do you feel?" he asked now worried.

"I'm just a little tired, that's all and…." she said suddenly wishing she had never left her room.

"And what Sarah tell me, it's important?"

"My lower back and my sides hurt. It's probably because I've been in bed so much. It's nothing." she said reluctantly.

He took her hands one at a time and placed them on his arm to steady her, he then discarded the crutches to the side. He smiled at Sarah in an attempt to ease the tension of the situation. He hoped she didn't feel scolded, but she didn't know how delicate her body was right now. "Put your hands around my neck." he said as he lifted her up. He walked over to the central console and said, "Sarah can you reach that bag for me?". She lifted it up and set it on her lap. "Hold onto it for me. I want to check you over."

"Do you really have to?" she asked. Why was it getting so hard to focus she wondered?

"Yes I really have to." he said in a lighthearted way, not wanting to frighten Sarah. He noticed that her pupils were dilated. She seemed to be in a haze, fading in and out. "Here we are." he said walking through the door of Sarah's room.

He placed her on the bed, taking the medical bag off her lap and getting the Gallifreyan scanner out. He checked the readings. Her temperature was 103.1°, her pulse was fast and her respiration was shallow. "Sarah, I need to look at your foot now." he said looking up after he spoke to see that she was out of it again. He carefully removed the sock that was covering her foot. He was relieved, the swelling was almost gone and the bruising was healing nicely. The injection site on the bottom of her foot was healing nicely. No clotting as well, wonderful he thought after checking.

That meant that the problem was more than likely the effects of the Gallifreyan machine he had used to cleanse her blood. He knew the machine would be hard on her kidneys but he thought they were past the point of encountering problems due to the machine's use. He was wrong. He put her sock back on her foot and took the syringe from the bag. "Sarah? Sarah can you hear me?" he patted her cheeks but couldn't elicit a response. He quickly removed the blood from her arm and placed a bandage over the injection site. He laid Sarah back on her bed then took the syringe and ran through the Tardis to the infirmary.

He placed the sample into the Tardis' main medical computer. The results were bad, both her kidneys were shutting down. But the biggest problem was her blood was no longer filtering what was left of the parasite. With her kidneys in such a state, he didn't dare put her through the ordeal of using the Gallifreyan machine again. He looked at the display, noting Sarah's blood type of O Negative. He pulled the cell phone the Brigadier had given him from his pocket and called the other phone. He had left it with Harry when he had taken Sarah to the Tardis.

"Sick Bay, this is Miss. Acrims how can I help you?" she said, grinning from ear to ear seeing from the caller ID that it was the Doctor. She had been hoping he would call since she snagged the phone from Dr. Sullivan while he wasn't looking.

"This is an emergency. I need to speak with Dr. Sullivan." he said hoping that the base had enough blood on hand.

"Why Doctor, this is Nancy. You must remember me, I was taking care of your patient. So what is such an import…?" she started but was cut off by the Doctor.

"I really don't have time for this!" he said in a loud voice that bordered on a yell. "Now please find Harry Sullivan!" he yelled.

Harry had been walking by and heard someone yelling on the other end of the phone. He should have guessed. That phone had disappeared two days ago. She was probably hoping he would call and it looked as if she had gotten her wish. "Is that the Doctor?" he asked stepping up behind Nancy Acrims.

"Why a…yes it is." she stammered, upset that he had taken the phone so quickly.

"Doctor, what's wrong?" he asked knowing that if the Doctor was yelling at a nurse, no matter how annoying the nurse might be, something was seriously wrong.

"Harry, do you have enough O Negative blood for a transfusion?" he asked while walking through the Tardis halls on his way back to Sarah.

"Yes, why? What's wrong?" he asked worried now.

"It's Sarah. Her fever's back and from the blood test I just ran, it seems her kidneys are shutting down. The machine I used on Sarah bought her some time, but her kidneys aren't strong enough to continually filter the parasite from Wogg 5 out. She's going to need a blood transfusion. Can you help?" he asked, desperate to save Sarah.

"Yes of course. Where do you want to do it?" Harry asked, hearing the worry in the Doctor's voice.

"I'll bring her to you. Get everything ready." he said now running through the Tardis.

"Bring her to the room she was in before. I'll have everything waiting." he said, already gathering equipment and getting several nurses attention. He closed the phone and placed it in his pocket. He turned to the two nurses that were standing by his side awaiting orders. Mrs. Speary get room five ready for a transfusion. The patient will be here in about two minutes. He turned to Miss. Winters who was standing behind the nurses' station and said, "Get enough O Negative blood for a transfusion and bring it to room five. He turned to go to room five himself and was stopped by Miss. Acrims.

"Dr. Sullivan I would be honored to help with the case the Doctor's bringing in. What would you like me to do?" she said with one of the most phony smiles he had ever seen.

"Miss. Acrims I would like you to go to the records room and get the accident reports for last six months. The Brigadier wants a comparison report and I need that information before I can file one. Thank you so much." he said quickly, not giving her time to say anything to the contrary. He turned away and saw the Doctor running into the Sick Bay with Sarah in his arms unconscious. "We're ready for her." he said taking the Doctor's bag from his hand underneath Sarah's back.

"Doctor how wonderful to see you again." Nancy Acrims said to the Doctor, only to have him sidestep and go around her without acknowledging her presence. "That's all right Doctor. You'll see me later." she said in a low voice to herself. She turned and left to go to the records lab to retrieve the reports that Dr. Sullivan requested.

The Doctor raced to the bed and carefully laid Sarah down. Her face was once again damp from the fever. Miss. Winters stepped forward with the intravenous catheters which the Doctor took and placed first in Sarah's left arm to deliver the Byplane.

"What is that?" Harry asked, watching the Doctor draw the injection from the bottle.

"It's name is Byplane. It was developed on Gallifrey about fifty of your Earth years ago to fight infection in vital organs. It's very strong, but it also works very fast." said the Doctor. He didn't want to use this drug. But he knew that an Earth equivalent or anything close to it didn't exist.

"Is it dangerous?" Harry asked concerned for Sarah's safety.

"As I said it's a very strong drug. We need to monitor her heart continuously." He looked up in time to see that Miss. Winters was flipping the switch of the monitoring equipment that she and Mrs. Speary had attached to Sarah. "Thank you." he said to both nurses. Both simply nodded their heads in reply.

The Doctor moved to Sarah's other side to start the blood transfusion, after which he stepped back and let out a long breath.

"Doctor, is there anything I can do?" Harry asked concerned for both the Doctor and Sarah.

"I wish there were Harry, I really wish there were. Thank you for getting everything together so quickly."

"Of course, anytime. She's really been through a lot." he said walking over to Sarah's bedside watching the nurse wiping Sarah's face with a cool towel.

"Too much. I really thought we had beat the odds. I should have been more thorough." he said angry with himself.

"Doctor, you are the most thorough person I know. Nothing gets passed you. Don't beat yourself up. You've done all you can. We just have to wait now. Why don't you go for a walk and I'll stay with Sarah." Harry said trying to be helpful. The Doctor looked like he was on the verge of collapsing.

"No, I want to be here in case she wakes up. But thank you Harry." he said. He felt like every one of his 450 years right now. In all that time he had never felt for anyone the way he felt about Sarah. She had to be all right.

A knock was heard from the door and Miss. Acrims popped her head in. Harry was on his feet immediately trying to head her off. The Doctor didn't need to deal with her right now. "Let's talk out here." Harry said moving forward till she didn't have a choice other than to move back. "What is it Miss. Acrims?" Harry asked after they were safely outside Sarah's door.

"Dr. Sullivan one of the men are on their way in from a training exercise. The Sergeant that called thinks the man broke his leg. If you need me to assist with the Doctor's patient, I am available." she said, still determined to get to the Doctor.

"No, actually you're not available. Come along Miss. Acrims. Let's get room twelve ready for the soldier on the way in." he said as he walked towards room twelve. "Come Miss. Acrims." he said when he realized she was standing still and looking towards Sarah's door.

"Doctor?" Sarah said in a whisper.

The Doctor was by her side in a second. "Yes Sarah, I'm here. How do you feel?" he asked watching the monitors' displays over the head of her bed.

"Tired, where am I?" she asked unable to remember what had happened.

"You're in UNIT's Sick Bay. Do you remember anything?" he asked trying to not sound as panicked as he felt.

"I had a nightmare and I was hot. My dream was about that…Averian. But it wasn't a dream. I remember, I remember what he said to me. When he hurt my foot." she said and she started to cry. The monitor attached to her heart made a warning sound indicating her heart rate was increasing.

"Sarah, it's all right. Don't think about that right now. We'll talk about it later. Right now I want you to just relax and clear your mind. Can you do that for me?" he asked. He had to get her to be calm. One of the side effects of the Byplane was increased heart rhythm and possible heart attack. She shook her head yes. "Good girl. I want you to close your eyes." he said as he reached for the cold towel the nurse had just wrung out and slowly wiped the perspiration from her face. "Sleep Sarah, just sleep." he said as she started to drift back to sleep. He looked up at the display to see that her heart rate was back to normal.

He stood up and stepped away from Sarah's bed, pulling the big chair that he had used previously next to her to wait it out.

After a long night and several intravenous bags later, morning had finally come. The Doctor sat in the chair after checking Sarah's vitals and watched her sleep. They were lucky, her temperature was only a little above normal. Her color was good. Her heart rate was excellent. And he was thinking of taking Sarah back to the Tardis as soon as he used a bit of Earth technology, an ultrasound to check on Sarah's kidneys. He had given her a total of four doses of the Byplane. If the ultrasound showed that her kidneys were still not functioning well, he had at least bought them some time to find another option. But he was hoping that the drug had worked. He just didn't feel comfortable giving her more.

He looked down from the displays to see Sarah looking at him. "Good morning! How do you feel?" he asked reaching out to gently hold her hand.

"I'm not sure, weird I guess." she said noticing the Doctor's look of confusion. "I feel kind of detached from my body. I mean I feel it of course. It just feels sluggish. Does that make any sense?" she asked.

"Yes it makes sense. Do you remember everything?" he asked trying to fill in the missing pieces for her if necessary.

"Most of it. Can we go back to the Tardis now? I promise I'll stay in bed this time." she said trying to bargain her way out of the Sick Bay.

"As soon as I arrange for an ultrasound. I want to check your kidneys. If they look good, then I'll be happy to take you to the Tardis." he said with a smile, now that Sarah was looking and feeling better.

"And if they don't?" she asked knowing she wouldn't be happy with his answer.

"Then we explore other options." he answered her.

"What other options?" she asked determined to find out all she could.

"Let's wait till it happens, 'if' it happens." he said putting his finger to her lips to stop any further questions.

Harry opened the door to see the Doctor silencing Sarah, "Well, I thought I would stop by and see the patient. And how are we doing this morning?" he said smiling at both the Doctor and Sarah.

"This part of the we wants to get out of here. It's nothing personal Harry, I just want out. As for that part of the we, well I'm sure he'll tell you." Sarah said smiling at the Doctor.

"This part of the we wants to use your ultrasound machine." he said smiling at Harry.

"Ultrasound?" he said looking at both the Doctor and Sarah. "You're not, I mean the two of you aren't…?" he said looking at the two in shock.

Both the Doctor and Sarah looked equally confused and then it hit both at the same time. "No!" they both said in unison.

"Well good. I mean if that's what you want, I mean…that's perfectly okay. It's just that, well…I was just, ah…." stammered Harry.

"Let's put him out of his misery Doctor. It was funny at first, now it's just kind of sad." said Sarah laughing.

"Agreed. Harry you really must get your mind out of the, what is it you humans say?" he looked at Sarah for help.

"Gutter." she replied filling in the missing word.

"That's right, gutter. Thank you Sarah. Get your mind out of the gutter Harry. I simply want to look at Sarah's kidneys. I'm assuming you do have one." he said to a now embarrassed Harry.

"Have one what? Oh yes, the ultrasound. I have one, I mean the base has one. I could have one of the technicians run a scan for you if you wish." he said trying to redeem himself.

"No that's all right. I can do it myself." he said not wanting to relinquish control of Sarah's medical care to someone who might not be as gentle as he would be.

"I'll have one of the nurses set it up. When would you like to use it?"

"Yesterday." replied Sarah.

"You know I could arrange that." the Doctor said to Sarah.

"How about a month ago?" she said and he shook his head yes. "How about a year ago?" she asked again.

"I could take you back to the invention of the ultrasound and do it then. How about that?" he said showing her that he could argue this further than she could.

"How about scanning it a hundred or even a thousand years from now?" she said showing him that she could keep an argument going too.

"If you two are finished." Harry said stepping closer to the two folding his arms in front of his chest. "I can have it ready in thirty minutes. Will that do or are you two going to continue debating this? I only have thirty years till retirement you know." he said looking very stern as if he were a school teacher reprimanding two children.

"That will be fine Harry. And we're both sorry. Aren't we Sarah?" he said looking back at Sarah giving her a wink.

"Oh yes, we're very sorry Dr. Sullivan. We'll try not to let it happen again Sir." said Sarah formally and hung her head as if shamed.

"You two are incorrigible. I have to attend to other cases, cases where I'm 'really' needed." he said playing along with them, but not letting them know it. He left the room and stopped outside the door. Those two were indeed perfect for each other.

He walked towards the nursing station and found Mrs. Speary working. "Aren't you working the wrong shift?" he asked confused.

"We occasionally trade shifts to help each other attend functions. If this is a problem, perhaps you should speak to the Brigadier." Mrs. Speary said formally. She didn't understand why a physician would be interested in the time of day she worked. He should be glad she was here at all. She chose the military for one reason, structure. She detested informality, which lately seemed to run in abundance here. "Is there something you need Dr. Sullivan?" she asked hoping he would simply go away.

Why did he always feel that he was working for her, Harry wondered? "I need you to bring an ultrasound machine to room five and assist the Doctor if needed." he said and turned and walked away, glad to be leaving her behind.

Wonderful, just what I needed, she thought. The Doctor. Why did they allow this civilian to treat another civilian here? She understood that his little tart was a journalist no less, the scum of the Earth. What was the Brigadier thinking? Of course the Brigadier was no better, treating this Doctor as if he were royalty. No one knew anything about this man, just that he was a scientific advisor for UNIT. She would do as she was told, 'just' as she was told. She wouldn't be one of the ones who seemed to fall under this Doctor's spell. She was told he was charming. From what she saw he was better described as Bohemian, she thought as she went to retrieve an ultrasound machine.

Two hours later, Sarah had convinced the Doctor to return her to the Tardis. As the Doctor was getting Sarah settled into her room she was curious. "So what's the problem with that nurse? I mean I've covered a few high society events and I doubt the Queen herself would have been as snooty as Mrs. Whatever Speary. I didn't like the way she treated you at all." protested Sarah.

The Doctor was flattered at the attention and the fuss Sarah was making over him. Flattered was maybe the wrong word, loving it would be more accurate. "Well, Sarah I wouldn't worry about it. You know what they say, the higher they are the harder they bounce. At least that's what I think they say anyway. Or maybe it was the rooster crows at two. No that's not it. Maybe it was time flee, no that can't be it."

"All right, I get it already. I'll let it go, but if she and I ever cross paths again…well, you're very important." Sarah defended him.

"Important maybe, very important, who's to say?" he said smiling at Sarah.

"I say. You're important to me and I know you're important to everyone on this entire planet, if they only knew what you've done for them." Sarah said while the Doctor took a seat in the large chair near her bed.

"Well as long as I'm important to you, that's all that counts. Now, enough of nurse whatever. The real question is what can I get you for lunch?" he said rubbing his hands together.

"I'm not very hungry. I just don't have an appetite, really." she said trying to convince him.

"Sarah…I just can't let you pass up every other meal. You need to eat a minimum, did you hear that word? A minimum of three meals a day. You've lost what I would estimate at least ten pounds since I've known you. Is it the food because all you have to do is ask? I'll get you anything your heart desires." he said finishing with a smile. Sarah dropped her head. "Sarah, what's wrong? Whatever it is I can fix it. Tell me." he said rising and sitting beside Sarah on the edge of her bed. He placed his left hand under her chin, lifting her face so that he could see her eyes. "Please. You know you can tell me anything, don't you?" he pleaded.

"Yes, it's just…I mean, I just…." she started looking into his eyes. "Never in my life have I had three meals a day. My body isn't used to it. In fact since I've been on my own, I'm the healthiest I've ever been."

"Sarah I know you think you were healthy when our paths crossed but…" he started.

"Okay, I know I had a little cold when I first came here." she said, but stopped when she looked at his face and he started shaking his head no. "Well, maybe it was a touch of the flu." she tried again, only to be stopped by his objection again.

"Sarah, if we hadn't met…well let's just say we wouldn't be having this conversation." he said in such a serious tone that it scared Sarah.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her panic level starting to rise.

"Sarah, when we met you had pneumonia. You were about twelve hours give or take an hour from death. I know you've been taking care of yourself for a long time and I'm not trying to trivialize a moment of it. If you hadn't gotten out when you did, you could easily have died at their hands." he said speaking of her parents. But there are hundreds of people that die every year from exposure and you were almost one of them." he said seeing the shock of this revelation in her face.

"Your body needs to have something to fall back on in case you get sick. You've more than likely never had that advantage. You've seen firsthand how disastrous it can be." He could see she was taking this as a personal reflection of herself and that's not what he intended. "Listen," he said taking one of her hands into both of his, "I know that you've done the best you could do. You are an amazing individual. You are bright, intelligent, courageous and beautiful to boot." he said eliciting a small smile from her. "You have raised yourself without an adult into a wonderful human being. The only thing you got wrong was nutrition. Do you know how exceptional that makes you?" he said as she blushed and lowered her head. "That makes you a hundred times smarter and a hundred times more accomplished than quite a few snobby people who will remain nameless. You are perfect Sarah. But I want you to eat! I want you to eat something for lunch and something for every meal. Even if you don't eat very much at first, I want you to eat something. And before you know it you'll 'want' to eat every meal." he said hoping he was getting his point across without scaring her off. "I just want you to have a healthy life. Will you do it for me, please?" he asked, giving her a playful pout.

Sarah listened to everything he had to say. She wasn't aware she had started out so ill. It scared her to think that she had almost died by her own hand. She was having an increasingly harder time with every word that passed to keep the panic down as well as the contents of her stomach. She had been this way for years. She would let the stress pile up until she couldn't hold it back anymore and then be sick. She would then sleep and start fresh again. Unfortunately the talk of meals was doing nothing to stop her stomach from forming its own protest. "I'm sorry." she said as she jumped out of bed and hopped on her good foot, passing the Doctor and making it to the bathroom just in time. Thank you, she said to her body for not collapsing on her while trying to make it to the bathroom.

Sarah could hear water running at the sink. In a few seconds she felt the Doctor's hand on her back. "Here," he said handing her a cup of water, "rinse your mouth out with this."

"Thank you." she said wanting to give her body a moment of peace and quiet to hopefully stop any further developments. She could hear the water running again and when it stopped the Doctor returned with two towels. One he held on the back of her neck and the other he carefully wiped her face with. "I'm really sorry, I can't control anything, anymore it seems." she said, tears starting to form.

"Nonsense, you've been through a lot lately. I don't think you've stopped to think about all you've undergone over the past two weeks. Not only has your body been seriously ill, but you've confronted a past that very few would have survived, much less lived to face. Most people will never have so much thrown at them in as short a time span as you have. You have nothing to apologize for. If anyone should apologize it should be me. I should have approached you differently about this. I am very proud of you and the progress you have made. I mean it." Sarah couldn't hold the tears back any longer. Sarah could feel the Doctor's hand on her back, lovingly rubbing it in an attempt to comfort her.

"Do you think you're done?" he asked as she shook her head yes. "I'm going to help you to stand and once you're up I want you to put your hands around my neck, okay?" he asked and Sarah shook her head yes. "All right here we go." he said while helping her to a standing position. Once standing, he lifted her up and carried her back to her bed. As he helped her to settle in comfortably, he looked at her face and smiled. She was trying to act as if she were fine, but he knew differently. "I'm going to go get you some crushed ice with a some soda, it will help calm your stomach, okay? And in the meantime maybe it might help to have some of your things with you to make this a little more like home." he said retrieving a small box from the closet with Sarah's iPod, books and under it all was her stuffed and less than white bear. That's what he thought she might really want to feel comfortable, but knew that if he offered it to her alone she would be embarrassed. "I'll be back in a few minutes." he said placing the box on the bed beside her.

"Thank you, for everything." Sarah said with a smile as he quietly left the room. She looked through the box, picking out the iPod she had received as payment for helping an acquaintance set up his website. He had just bought it and decided it was much too foolish a toy for someone setting up a serious business, that's how he phrased it anyway till he realized he had stuck his foot in his mouth. Sarah loved and treasured it. She continued to look through the box and found Snowy, her one and only toy. This bear was tough, just like her, she thought. She didn't remember where he had come from, only that she had owned him for as long as she could remember. He had survived because she had hidden him whenever adults were around. He had survived homelessness with her and now he had survived an alien attack. She held him and found the comfort she so desperately needed.

The Doctor went into the kitchen to pick up the cola and ice for Sarah. He wondered if she had found her bear yet. She needed something that she could hold onto, he wished it were him but the time wasn't right and he didn't believe Sarah was ready. On the surface she seemed fine to the casual observer, but just below the surface was a little girl hiding from the pain. Until she felt safe and comfortable enough to let him help her carry the load, he would have to be patient. The Doctor knew he would wait regardless of how long it took, and would do his best to not pressure her so that her body would heal. On returning with the cola and ice back at Sarah's room, he lightly tapped on the door. There was no answer. He stuck his head inside the door and found Sarah asleep.

The Doctor moved the box to the floor beside her bed and turned out the small lamp beside her bed. Then he pulled the blanket over her. When he did, she rolled over in her sleep and pulled her hand that had been under the pillow partially out. He could just make out the legs of the small bear that he had found hidden under the seat in Sarah's car. Glad that she was able to take comfort from it, he left the room leaving the door partially open in case Sarah had a nightmare or needed him.