Chapter 7
"Well, here we are." he said as Sarah leaned against her door.
"Yes, here we are." she said looking up into his blue eyes.
"I better let you get some sleep. He placed his arms around her lower back, sliding them up until he reached her shoulder blades. He pulled her into his embrace and kissed her with more passion and love than he thought he would ever be capable of. After what felt like not nearly enough time, he pulled back gazing into her beautiful green eyes.
"Thank you again for another wonderful night. I had a great time." she said, hating to see the night end.
"Want me to tuck you in?" he asked with a sly smile.
"No that's okay, I think I have it covered. I'll see you tomorrow. Have sweet dreams." she said, then reached forward on her tiptoes and gave the Doctor one more quick kiss on the lips. He was still standing there smiling when she shut her door.
"I really need a cold shower now. A Time Lord can only take so much." he said aloud to no one in particular.
The next day was spent wiring and rewiring and doing the same again and again. But he was never able to recreate the accident of last night again, which led him to believe that it was no accident. A Tardis had attempted to or actually had landed on the planet Earth. If it had landed, then it was somehow cloaked. Why would it be cloaked? Earth technology wasn't far enough along to be able to detect a Tardis, so why was it cloaked? He had lots of questions but few answers.
He circled around to the other side of the central console and sent the Time Lords his request. He asked them if they were aware of, or had sent another agent on assignment to the planet Earth. He told them a Tardis was detected on Earth. Did they have any information? If so, why wasn't he alerted since he was the official assigned advocate for the planet Earth? 'There', he had gone through the appropriate channels, which in itself would shock those who knew him, and now all he could do was wait. Waiting was something he was never good at.
Looking up he saw Sarah approaching the console with the manuals and her purse in her hands. She was dressed in a navy blue fitted jacket and pants set with a white blouse and looking very professional. He couldn't help but smile at seeing her looking so well.
"So, are you practicing looking professional or do you have something else in mind?" he said as he approached her and took her face in his hands and gave her a tender kiss.
"I always have that in mind." she said returning his kiss. "But right now I have starting my new job in mind. So do you want to show me to my desk, my chair, my files or my what…" she was cut off when the Doctor moved in for another kiss. "You better be careful, this borderlines on sexual harassment."
"No, you're wrong. It 'is' sexual harassment. Maybe you should start this job another day when I'm feeling a little less likely to sexually harass you." he said moving his hands up and down her arms.
"Will that day ever occur?" she said smiling and leaning in to give him another kiss.
"More than likely no, never ever." he said as he leaned forward and gave her another kiss.
Sarah knew she was fighting a losing battle, but tried again. "Then I guess I'll have to go out there 'all by myself' and wander around till I find what I'm looking for. It may take me all afternoon and probably into the night. So I guess you better not hold dinner for me." she said baiting him, still trying to get her way.
"You're determined to do this, aren't you?" he asked seeing that she was just as stubborn as he was. "If I show you, promise me you won't work all night. Your body still needs rest remember that, okay?" he said looking at her sincerely, hoping to reach her before she taxed her body into a setback.
"I won't do anything to make you unhappy, I promise." she said looking into his blue eyes and smiling her understanding.
"Ohhhhhhh, come on." he took her hand and led her to the Tardis door. As soon as he reached the door he said, "Wait a minute. You can't leave!" he said turning to look at Sarah and coming to a complete stop.
"What? Why not?" she asked.
"Because you don't have a key. How will you get back in? I guess we should go back and discuss this further." he said trying to turn her around, but Sarah was having none of it.
"Oh no you don't. I'll just knock on the door or wait till you show up. I want to start this job, today!" she said refusing to budge.
"Well then, I guess I'll just have to give you one of these." he said reaching into his pocket and placing a Tardis key that was on a long silver chain around her neck.
"You sneak, you had that all along didn't you? Did you honestly think I would cave in?" she asked laughing and looking at the Tardis key and chain. "They're beautiful, I'll cherish them. Thank you so much." she said looking into his eyes and giving him a quick kiss.
"Well I assumed this would eventually come up, and you know me I like to be prepared. So if you're still determined to do this, I'll show you around." he said beaming with the pride she obviously felt at receiving her own Tardis key, but at the same time sad that he would now have to share her with others. He knew he had let himself grow spoiled over the past few weeks having her all to himself.
Sarah could almost read his mind. "Come on. Show me around." she said. Seeing that he wasn't moving she added, "The sooner we do this, the sooner the day ends. The sooner the day ends, the sooner we can have another 'practice' date." she said trying to give him added incentive, which worked.
"Well let's get going then!" he said picking her up and carrying Sarah and the manuals that she carried, through the door.
When they came through the Tardis door and into the Doctor's UNIT laboratory he was saying, "You know I could just carry you around like this all day." He walked to the corner of the lab and said, "That's your desk, now let's go back!" he said twirling Sarah around a few times. When he stopped she started struggling to get down. "Where would you go? To type, to report, huh?" he said when she was standing on her own while he reached forward and tickled her.
"Ah, hum." the Brigadier cleared his throat to get their attention. "If you have a moment Doctor." he said looking at the Doctor and then averting his eyes. On each side flanking him was Sergeant Benton and Harry Sullivan. Each looking down doing everything in their power to control the laughter that was threatening to spill out.
"Yes Brigadier, I believe I have 'just' a moment to spare." he said looking back at Sarah who had positioned herself behind him. "What do you need?"
The Brigadier looked at Sarah wondering how much she should hear.
"Brigadier, I can assure you that anything you say in front of Sarah will stay with Sarah. Isn't that right Sarah?" he asked looking back.
"Yes, of course. But if you want me to leave, I will." she volunteered.
"No that's all right Miss. Smith, if the Doctor trusts you, then so do I." he said as the three men stepped in and shut the door behind him.
"This sounds serious Brigadier. What's going on?" asked the Doctor wondering if it had anything to do with the mysterious Tardis appearance from last night.
"At one fifty nine this morning there was a blip on our radar screens. It was such a small blip that if it wasn't recorded on a written record, the ensign on watch said that he would have ruled it as a figment of his imagination. I know you have scanners in the Tardis. Did you detect anything?" he asked nervously. He was hoping for some downtime with the PM's party coming up in just a matter of weeks.
"Yes, Brigadier the Tardis did pick up something. I'm still not sure what it was, but I am looking into it. Have you had any visual reports?" asked the Doctor hoping for more information.
"Not exactly." said the Brigadier wondering if he should add the information he just received. "However, about forty miles from here at roughly the same time, one of the local farmers disappeared, a 52 year old, Mr. Samuel Elliot. According to the gentleman's wife, Rita Elliot, they heard a disturbance with the animals and her husband assumed a fox was after their stock. He retrieved his gun and left the house. His wife never heard a shot fired and her husband never returned. She called the local police and they searched the farm but found nothing. The farmer as well as his gun had vanished. Do you think any of this has anything to do with both our readings and yours?" finished the Brigadier hoping the three weren't connected.
"It's hard to say Brigadier. I've put a call in to Gallifrey to ask for their thoughts on this. I'll let you know as soon as I know anything. Would you like me to go to the site of the disappearance and take a look around?" asked the Doctor.
"Please Doctor, see if you can find anything." he said, then looked back at Sergeant Benton, "Would you like Sergeant Benton to go with you?"
"No, I think I'll take Sarah. Her interviewing skills may come in handy." he said looking to Sarah who was sitting at her desk. "Ready?" he asked smiling as he retrieved both their coats from the coat rack in the corner of the room..
"Ready." she said as the Doctor helped her on with her coat, then she grabbed her purse, glad to be part of his day.
"Please Doctor, remember to keep this low key, we don't want to alarm the surrounding land owners." he said as he handed the Doctor all he had on the disappearance.
"Understood Brigadier. Harry, Benton good to see you again. Bring your pink slips and we'll have another little game of poker." he said as he took Sarah's hand and they both slipped passed the pair, both smiling.
"Now what was that all about?" the Brigadier asked looking at the two men. Both replied with a shrug of their shoulders as the Brigadier passed them.
The Doctor and Sarah arrived at the secluded farm in about twelve minutes. The Doctor assured Sarah that speed limits were nothing but suggestions for people that didn't have cars with future technology behind them as Bessie did.
"It would certainly be the perfect spot to land in. The closest neighbor has to be twenty miles away." he said as he pulled onto a gravel road near the house with the address the Brigadier had given him. "Ready?" he said as the car came to a halt looking over at Sarah.
"Ready, I'm just going to put my purse under the seat. Do you want me to interview his wife while you have a look around?" asked Sarah knowing that the one thing she could do was keep Mrs. Elliot busy while the Doctor snooped around unaided.
"Yes, and Sarah," he started, frantically looking through his pockets for something, "keep her busy as long as you can.
Sarah started to open the door of Bessie when the Doctor grabbed her arm and took his index finger and gestured for her to remain still. She smiled at him, and waited while he rounded the car and helped her out. "Thank you, I feel like a real lady now. You're going to spoil me you know." she said as he started looking for something in his pockets.
"I take that job very seriously you know, and you 'are' a real lady. Finally!" he said pulling a UNIT identification card in a black leather case as well as a clip on version from one of his enormous pockets. "These are yours, he said to tell you one side had your identification card and the other had your business cards. Sergeant Benton dropped them off early this morning. He said they used a picture from your file, you must have been a very bad girl." he said with a wink and a kiss on her cheek before he took off at a run heading for the barn.
Sarah turned around and headed down the path to the Elliot's front door. She rang the bell. A woman who had been crying answered the door. "Yes, can I help you?" she said, dabbing her eyes with a tissue that was in her hand.
"Mrs. Elliot?" Sarah began as the distraught woman shook her head yes. "My name is Sarah Jane Smith, I'm with UNIT," she said holding up her new identification card, "may I ask you a few questions?"
"Anything if it will help find my Samuel. Please come in." she said as she held the door open while Sarah passed through. "Can I get you some coffee or perhaps tea?" she said hoping Sarah could shed some light on her husband's disappearance.
"No thank you. Mrs. Elliot…" Sarah began.
"Call me Rita, please sit down."
"Thank you Rita," Sarah started, as she sat down on the couch next to Rita. "you can call me Sarah. I know this is a terrible time for you and I'm awfully sorry to bother you, but I need to ask you about early this morning. Would you start from the beginning and go over it all again?" she asked watching Rita, a petite brunette in her mid forties dab at her bloodshot eyes again and began.
"It's all right Sarah, I would go over it a million times if it would help bring my Samuel home. Let's see, we were in bed asleep and heard a noise. It was a noise I've never heard before. A kind of wheezing and groaning sound, not human or animal, but more like a machine." she said.
Sarah however had a good idea what that sound was, a Tardis. "At what time did you hear this?" she asked now knowing that somehow, someway, both her experience and the incident in the Doctor's Tardis were irrefutably connected.
"It was shortly before two in the morning. I remember because I looked at the clock as Samuel took his shotgun out of the closet. The animals were making all sorts of noises. Samuel believed a fox was on the property and responsible for upsetting them. He checked to make sure the gun was loaded, which it was, that was the way he liked to keep it. He had a thing about being prepared for an emergency. Then he walked back to the bed and kissed me and told me to stay in the house. He said he would be right back. That was the last thing he ever said to me. I waited thirty minutes and dressed and went outside, but he was nowhere to be seen." she finished the story and started crying once again.
Sarah moved closer to Rita on the couch and put her arm around her to comfort her. "I wish I could say something to make you feel better, all I can do is promise you that we won't quit looking for your husband. Is there anything I can do for you? Maybe call someone for you?" she said knowing how drastically your life can change in the span of one moment from personal experience.
"No, there's no one, it was just Samuel and me." she said looking down at her wedding band and engagement ring. The engagement ring and the band were a matching set. Both rings had small diamonds encircling them with the addition of a larger diamond on the engagement ring.
"That's beautiful, did your husband pick it out for you?" she asked hoping to bring back a happy memory to Rita.
"Thank you. We picked it out together. I said it was too extravagant, but my Samuel said, nonsense we're only going to do this once. Let's do it right." she said smiling briefly, taken back to a happy memory with her husband.
Sarah saw the Doctor through the window waving his hand to signal that he was ready to leave. "You're very lucky, he sounds like a wonderful man. I'm really sorry I had to put you through that again. If there's anything that I can do, please contact me." she said taking out one of her cards and handing it to Rita. "If you think of anything else please call me. Try to get some rest." she said as she patted Rita lightly on the back. "I'll let myself out." she said as she walked to the door.
The Doctor was waiting at the end of the path. "How did it go? Did you find out anything?" he asked anxiously.
"The poor woman is beside herself. But I did manage to find out one thing. The sound she heard was a Tardis materializing. Her description of the sound is exactly the way I would describe it. Did you find anything?" she asked, pleased with herself that she was able to contribute to the Doctor's work in a way other than generating his reports.
"Come here." he said as he took her hand and led her to the barn. They climbed to the top and the Doctor directed Sarah's attention toward the corn field. In the center of the perfectly planted rows was a perfect complete circle. "I walked out there and looked. Currently there's nothing in that spot, but there once was. Something that not only crushed the corn that was planted there, but obliterated the soil so completely that it's nothing but dust.
At the edge of the woods, behind several trees to the left of the barn, a dark single figure waits. Hidden by the shadows he smiles at the thought of his plans and the havoc that they will create. The Doctor will no longer be a problem, soon. He had already started putting his plan in action. He seemingly disappeared behind one of the trees. Then in that spot there's a quick flash of light and he disappeared.
"So what now?" Sarah asked as they headed back to the car.
"We go back to UNIT and check the Tardis for a message from Gallifrey." he said while doubting that Gallifrey would have any more information than he would. No one would legitimately file a flight plan with Gallifrey or be on assignment and kill the people that they were assigned to. They were too far away and too much time had passed for any kind of trace to work.
"And if they know nothing?"
"Then this unfortunately will be one of those times that we have to wait and see if something else happens. And hope we're close enough to catch them." he said. When they reached the car the Doctor opened the door for Sarah and helped her in. "I've been meaning to ask you, how do you feel?" he asked never taking his eyes off of her as he rounded the car.
"I feel fine. Do you know what time it is?" she asked, wanting to include it in her report.
"Of course I do, I'm a Time Lord after all." he answered her and they pulled out onto the main road and he continued to drive in silence.
"I'm pleased that you seem to know the time, now how about sharing it with the rest of the class?" she stated, wondering if he heard her.
"Oh, sorry! My mind just sort of wandered for a few minutes. It's three o'clock." he said as he pulled into UNIT's driveway, stopping briefly at the Guard Shack. "Are you hungry?" he asked wanting to be sure that Sarah ate.
"Yea, a bit. What do you have in mind?" she asked hoping it involved spending time together tonight.
"I was thinking that since we're both exhausted that we would grab something in the Officers' Mess Hall and go see the Brigadier and tell him what we found. Then check in the Tardis for a message from Gallifrey. Then watch some mindless television shows and snuggle up on the couch and talk and just be us. Now don't tell me you're not tired, I know better. How does that sound?" he asked watching her face for any signs of disappointment.
"Sounds great! Are we, I mean am I supposed to eat there? I mean I'm not an officer or anything." she said not wanting to step on any toes.
"You're so much better than an officer." he said as he turned the key, stopping the engine. "You were wonderful today, but then again you're wonderful every day." he said seeing her blushing.
"It must be because all of that wonderfulness is rubbing off from you. I just happen to be the one lucky enough for it to land on." she said smiling at him.
The Doctor got out of the car and walked to the other side to help Sarah out, when he looked up and saw Harry and Benton heading their way.
"So Doctor," Harry began, "have you lost 'your' car to her yet?" he said laughing.
The Doctor's mouth was close to Sarah's ear and he whispered only loud enough for her to hear, "Worse, I lost my heart." then squeezed her shoulders ever so lightly. "No I haven't, yet. But if she plays you two again we'll have to rent a garage to put all the cars in." he said and looked down to see Sarah laughing.
"Where are you the two of you headed, if you don't mind my asking Doctor?" asked Sergeant Benton.
"To the Officer's Mess Hall. Do you two want to come along?" he asked looking at the two while standing behind Sarah with a hand on each shoulder.
"I don't think I'm allowed Doctor, but thanks anyway." said Benton.
"You know he has a point Doctor. I really don't think I'm supposed to be there either. There was something about that in one of those binders of rules and regulations." added Sarah.
"Well if you two aren't allowed then I'm not wanted either!" the Doctor said stamping his foot.
"How about the plain old regular Mess Hall then?" asked Harry trying to appeal to everyone.
"What are they having today?" asked the Doctor while rubbing his hands together.
"I think today's meatloaf day." replied Benton.
"Fantastic! I love meatloaf! Don't you just love meatloaf Sarah?" said the Doctor enthusiastically.
"Oh, well, absolutely, who wouldn't?" she said smiling as he reached forward and took her hand leading the group to the Mess Hall.
"You know," said Harry in a low voice that only Sergeant Benton could hear, "I sometimes wonder if he's all there." he finished pointing to his head.
"And yet," Benton said in an equally low voice, "we're following him!" he said as they tried to catch up with the Doctor and Sarah.
After what the Doctor considered to be a thoroughly wonderful dinner with Sarah and their friends, the Doctor and Sarah checked the Tardis and reported to the Brigadier on their findings.
"Good work Miss. Smith. Thanks to you we now know that a Tardis was used in connection with the disappearance of Mr. Elliot." he said smiling at Sarah. "And," the Brigadier continued, looking to the Doctor, "what did the destruction of that field indicate to you Doctor?".
"It indicates to me that a Tardis landed there. I received a reply to my message from Gallifrey. They have not dispatched a Time Lord, nor were they aware of any Tardis thefts, but that's kind of a sticky point between the Time Lords and me. So we're back to square one, well almost." said the Doctor.
"Do you believe a Tardis was responsible for the destruction in the corn field you discovered?" asked the Brigadier.
"Not the Tardis itself, not under normal circumstances anyway. A Tardis could have been here and gone with no one the wiser. Maybe a few plants crushed. But why would a Time Lord wish to alert so many people to his presence? Why did someone abduct or possibly kill the farmer. We have a lot of questions Brigadier and very few complete answers. Unfortunately there's nothing to do but wait for the next clue to fall into our laps. I'm sorry Brigadier, but right now that's the best I can do."
"Thank you Doctor, I know you'll do your best. I better phone the PM and give him an update. This is terrible timing with the dance only three weeks away. If you find out anything Doctor…."
"I'll let you know Brigadier. Come along Sarah, let's give the Brigadier some privacy." he said as he reached for Sarah's hand and led her from the room.
Once he had the door closed, the Doctor said, "I thought maybe 'we' could use some privacy too." he said giving Sarah a quick hug. "Want to take a little walk?"
"Sure, are you okay? You seem distracted." she asked concerned for the Doctor.
"I can't get this case out of my mind. The circumstances almost seems familiar but I can't place it." he said unable to get it out of his mind.
"You'll figure it out." Sarah said looking at the Doctor as they walked through the main doors of UNIT, now outside on the grounds.
"It's getting dark out, we better make this a short walk." he said wrapping his right arm around Sarah's back to shelter her as much as possible during the walk.
Thirty minutes later as they were returning up the circular drive, they heard someone running and stopped to locate the sound. It was Sergeant Benton and he didn't look happy.
"Doctor, Miss. Smith, the Brigadier sent me to find you. He wants to see you inside right away." he said as he caught his breath.
"What's wrong Sergeant, did something happen?" asked the Doctor who had turned to Sarah as they now headed back inside.
"You better ask the Brigadier." said Sergeant Benton. "I'm sorry, I'm just following orders. Please," he said now that they had reached the doors, "the Brigadier is waiting for you in his office.".
Hidden by the trees on UNIT's south lawn stood a lone figure dressed in black. He watched both Sarah and the Doctor being led back to UNIT. "It has begun Doctor. Soon you will lose the one thing in your life you cherish the most." he laughed and stepped into what appeared to be a tree and with a flash disappeared.
Sarah and the Doctor looked at one another, then continued their walk to the Brigadier's office. This wasn't good the Doctor thought, but looked down at Sarah and smiled. There was no point in upsetting her yet, he had a feeling there was plenty of time to do that later.
"Sergeant Martin…" the Brigadier began but was interrupted.
"Captain Martin. Listen I know you people have a tendency to stick together, but I have an investigation to head up." said the tall, bald man wearing a black leather trench coat.
"By you people, I'm assuming you mean members of UNIT. I can assure you that no member of UNIT had anything to do with Mrs. Elliot's death." the Brigadier stated. He didn't like this man, he reeked of trouble. This would not go over well with anyone, least of all the Doctor. The Brigadier's musings were disturbed by the sound of his interoffice intercom. "Yes?" he said picking it up.
"The Doctor and Miss. Smith are here Brigadier." announced the secretary.
"Please send them in." he replied.
"Could I leave this out here? I don't even know why I brought it." asked Sarah to the Brigadier's secretary, who took the purse from her and laid it in her desk drawer. "Thanks, I'll get it on my way back out." Sarah said smiling.
The Doctor opened the door and knew that something was wrong the second he saw the Brigadier's face. He placed his hand on Sarah's lower back and allowed her to slip passed him.
"Please have a seat." said the Brigadier, pointing to the two chairs in front of his desk. "Doctor, Miss. Smith this is Captain Martin. He would like to ask you a few questions.
The Doctor had a few questionable things to say but thought better of it when he caught an almost imperceptible nod from the Brigadier meant for him. He looked over at Sarah and smiled trying to give her strength that he suddenly didn't feel. "So, Sergeant…" started the Doctor, but was interrupted.
"Captain! What is wrong with you people, can you not hear?" he exploded.
Good work Doctor, thought the Brigadier. This man was an arrogant, pompous, ass who was obviously trying to make a name for himself. He would do everything in his power to make sure this man didn't use UNIT to do it.
"Mr. Martin," started the Doctor unwilling to give in to this man, "just exactly what can we do for you?" he finished with a smile as he would when trying to placate any five year old.
"What time did you two arrive at Mrs. Elliot's home?" he said taking out his pen and small tablet in a black leather cover.
"We arrived there about two thirty, wouldn't you say Sarah?" he said looking at Sarah hoping to send her an unspoken word of hope.
"Yes, I'd say so." she said smiling at Martin. It was obvious to Sarah that the Brigadier and the Doctor were closing ranks for some reason. She knew the Doctor was protective of her, but the Brigadier's reasoning was still up in the air.
"And what time did the two of you leave Mrs. Elliot, I mean, I'm assuming the two of you left together?" he asked.
"We left about three o'clock." he said looking back at Sarah, more to check on her than to validate a fact. She shook her head in response, to both of his questions and smiled.
"When you spoke to her, were you together?" he asked.
"No, I spoke to her alone. Exactly what's going on?" Sarah asked. He was making her crazy, not getting to the point.
"So you and you alone spoke to Mrs. Elliot?" he asked almost smirking. Sarah shook her head yes in answer to his question. "Was she alive when you left her?" he added as he walked over to the Brigadier's desk sat on the edge and put his face directly in front of Sarah's.
"Of course she was alive when she left. What kind of a question is that?" the Doctor said as he jumped up and got up in Martin's face to see how he liked it.
"If you insist on interrupting, I will take Miss. Smith into custody and ask my questions at the station. Now Brigadier, what do you want to do?" he said laying the responsibility on the Brigadier's shoulders.
"Miss. Smith" the Brigadier began looking at Sarah, "do you want to speak to Mr. Martin now or would you like to obtain council first?" He didn't want this minion to take advantage of Sarah and he knew a lawyer would put Sarah's best interest first.
"I don't need a lawyer, I haven't done anything. Captain Martin I don't mind answering your questions, if you'll answer mine. Did something happen to Mrs. Elliot?" Sarah asked.
"Mrs. Elliot is dead." he said watching Sarah's face gauging her reaction.
"How? Why?" asked Sarah in a shaky voice.
"I was hoping you could shed some light on that Miss. Smith." he said stepping back and looking at the group, pleased with himself. These UNIT people would have to learn the hard way that they weren't above the law.
"How would she know?" said the Doctor as he stepped closer to Martin.
"Are you trying to accuse one of my people of something?" asked the Brigadier, standing himself in case he would have to pull the Doctor from Martin's throat or worse yet, if the Doctor had to pull 'him' off of Martin. Martin was coming dangerously close to being punched by the Brigadier himself. He had also become very protective of Sarah.
"I'm simply trying to determine what Miss. Smith knows. If you don't stop impeding my questioning then we'll 'all' go for a little trip to the station. And I can promise you, it won't be as comfortable for you there." he said pointedly to Sarah.
"Please," she said looking at the Doctor as well as the Brigadier, "let's just get this over with. Please go on." she said turning her attention back to Martin.
"Miss. Smith, you and the Doctor arrived about one?" he asked.
"No we arrived around two thirty." she corrected him as he tried to slip her up.
"That's right, the Doctor just said that didn't he?" Martin replied.
"Maybe you should get 'your' hearing checked Mr. Martin." said the Doctor refusing to address him by his title of Captain.
Martin focused his attention back on Sarah ignoring the Doctor's remark. "When you arrived what happened?" he said preparing to take notes.
"The Doctor decided to look around for any clues to Mr. Elliot's disappearance while I interviewed Mrs. Elliot." she said looking to Martin who used his hand to gesture for her to continue. "I introduced myself and she invited me in. We sat in her living room on her sofa. She told me that she heard a noise about two in the morning. She said the animals were making noises and her husband thought it was a fox. He retrieved a gun, kissed her and told her to stay inside. She never heard a single shot fired and he never came back. She told me she waited thirty minutes before she called the police."
"She started crying and I put my arm around her to comfort her. I promised her we wouldn't quit looking for her husband. I asked her if there was anything that I could do for her and she said there wasn't. I gave her my card and told her if she thought of anything to call me. I saw the Doctor motioning to me at the window so I excused myself and left. The Doctor said he saw something from the upper level of the barn and wanted me to see. So we climbed to the top of the barn where he showed me a perfect circle in the middle of the corn field. We climbed down to the ground, climbed into the car and left." Sarah said telling him the basics, without mentioning the Tardis sound or the obliteration to the field. It's not as if he would know what a Tardis was anyway.
"Doctor, do you have anything to add to that?" he said turning to look at the Doctor.
"No, she left nothing out." he said looking over to Sarah and smiled.
"How did Mrs. Elliot die?" asked Sarah.
"That is confidential Miss. Smith. We're waiting on the report from the autopsy as well as the reports on a few other tests. Excuse me please." he said with a little too much arrogance for Sarah as well as the others. He walked over to the Brigadier's office door and partially opened it and motioned for someone outside to enter.
A uniformed policewoman entered. "Miss. Smith this is Officer Green." he said as Sarah nodded to the policewoman. "Do you live near here?" he asked trying to make this as uncomfortable as necessary for Sarah and the others.
"Yes, why?" she asked in a small voice.
"Are those the clothes that you wore to interview Mrs. Elliot?" he asked Sarah.
"Yes they are, why?" she said, panic starting to find its way closer and closer with each question to the surface.
"Is there anyone who could bring you a change of clothing and shoes? We're going to need those." he said using his hand to point at her clothing.
"I'll get you some clothes." The Doctor said to Sarah gripping her hand with a quick squeeze then turned to look at the Brigadier. "Brigadier, I'll be right back."
"We'll all be right here." he said hoping to convey to the Doctor that he would watch over Sarah. "Miss. Smith you are aware that you don't have to give him your clothes." he said looking at Sarah who was looking more and more like she was going to cry.
"I beg to differ Brigadier." he said as he was handed a legal document from the policewoman. "She has no choice. We obtained a court order for the clothes," he said looking at the Brigadier enjoying his discomfort and then turned to Sarah and finished, "and anything else I want."
After several uncomfortable minutes spent in silence the door was opened and closed as the Doctor came back with a pair of jeans, a top and a pair of tennis shoes. He looked at Sarah and could see how close she was to breaking down. He hated this man for what he'd done to Sarah and if it was the last thing he did, he would make him pay, and pay dearly.
"I'll take those." the policewoman said taking the clothes and shoes from the Doctor's hands.
"Everyone outside except Officer Green and Miss. Smith please." he said as he held the door open as the Doctor and the Brigadier filed passed. He took one more look at Sarah and snickered before closing the door.
"Miss. Smith please remove all your clothes, undergarments, shoes and all of your jewelry. I'll log it on this form and then you'll sign it and keep a copy." she said as she put on a pair of latex gloves and opened a large plastic bag that Sarah assumed must be used to collect evidence. She noticed that Sarah was just standing there. "Well, get started." she said in a hateful way. Why was it these military organizations thought they were special and above the 'regular' police and their procedures?
Sarah told herself that she could do this. She was stronger than them because she had the truth on her side. But all the same, it did nothing to comfort her as the policewoman watched her remove her clothes bit by bit till she was completely naked. The police woman refused to give her the clothing till she was completely naked. She redressed in the clothing the Doctor had brought her as quickly as possible. She felt as though she could collapse. She told herself to hold it together, God knows she didn't need Martin to read anything into a show of weakness on her part. She had given the Doctor the Tardis key to keep for her during their walk, when a dog she had petted had looped his foot in the chain and pulled the catch loose. At least that idiot Martin wouldn't get his greedy little hands on that. She looked at the policewoman who was pushing a paper in her face to sign. She quickly read it over, making sure that it was indeed what they said it was. She signed the paper and was given the copy. The policewoman sealed the original in a smaller plastic bag, and then placed it in a pocket on the front of the larger plastic bag with Sarah's clothes.
The policewoman said, "Stay here." as she walked out the door. She had no more than made it through the door before Martin was back. On his heels were the Doctor and the Brigadier, both looking Sarah over to check on her the second they returned.
"Miss. Smith don't leave the country and don't leave the general area, since UNIT isn't exactly in the heart of any city." he said with a smirk as he turned. He went to the door and looked back at Sarah. "I'll be in contact, 'soon'." he leered and slammed the door.
The Doctor had her in his arms immediately. Now that Martin was gone, Sarah was finally letting her body do as it wished. The Doctor not only felt her trembling but she was shaking so hard it was easily seen. "Are you all right?" he said as he helped her sit in a chair that the Brigadier had brought forward.
"I'm fine. I just don't understand how they could be going after me like that. I didn't do anything. I didn't murder Mrs. Elliot. She was fine when I left her." Sarah said trying to hold back the tears that now were pouring out.
"Don't worry Miss. Smith. We'll get to the end of this. That man is a pompous ass who is trying nothing more than to make a name for himself." the Brigadier said as he squatted in front of Sarah. She looked as if she were about to faint. "Would you like some water?" he asked and she shook her head no. "Why don't you go get some rest? If I hear anything, anything at all, I'll let you know." he said, wishing she didn't have to suffer like this.
"The Brigadier's right, let's get out of here. Let's go back to the Tardis and put on a movie and just relax, get your mind off all of this." he said as he took his hands and rubbed them up and down her arms. He was worried about Sarah, she seemed to be on the verge of shock. "Come on." he said as he put his arm around her back and helped her up, supporting her on his arms. She was still shaking and he was afraid she couldn't stand on her own. They walked to the door with the Brigadier opening it for them. "Thank you Alistair." the Doctor said looking at the Brigadier.
"You're welcome. Take care of her, she's my only chance of ever getting a proper report out of you." he said smiling at Sarah trying to make her smile, which he did, if only briefly.
"Goodnight Brigadier." he said as he slowly led her away.
Once outside the office, the Brigadier's secretary had gone home for the weekend and Sarah had forgotten about her purse. Both she and the Doctor slowly headed for the Tardis.
Lurking in a hallway around the corner from the Brigadier's office was a man dressed in black standing in the shadows. "It seems you have forgotten something Miss. Smith." the dark figure said looking at Sarah's purse in his hands. "Do you feel the pressure yet Doctor? It will only get stronger. Which of you will break first, you or your little primate?" he said then stepped further back into the darkness. There was a flash and he was gone.
The Doctor and Sarah walked in companionable silence back to the Tardis. The Doctor unlocked the door and ushered Sarah inside. He walked beside her only stopping when they arrived at her bedroom door. "Sarah I don't want you to be alone. How about a movie or television or, well anything you want, what do you want to do?" he said holding her by both her arms.
"I just want this day that started out so good and turned so awful to end. I'm just so…so…tired. I cannot believe how fast this went bad. I'm sorry, this isn't your problem and I don't mean to whine." she said while failing at her attempt to hold back her tears.
"You have no reason, absolutely 'no' reason to apologize. Do you hear me?" he said while taking her chin in his right hand bringing her face up to his. "You're not whining and you're not in this alone. I will do everything in my power to find the truth. I promise you that I will never give up on you. I've never broken a promise to you yet have I?" he said while she shook her head no. "And I never will. Now the only question is, what do you want to do tonight? We're going to focus on one thing at a time. The first being, what do we do tonight?" he said trying to get through to her.
"I just want to climb into bed and cover my head." she said hoping he would just let her succumb to the depression and panic that was taking her over.
"I will do anything for you, anything. But I'm not going to leave you alone tonight. I will climb into that bed with you if you want, but I won't let you do it alone. Sarah," he said trying to catch her eyes, "I'm in this for the long run. What happens to you happens to us. Now, what do you want to do?" he asked with a smile.
"You're not giving up are you?" she asked trying to pull off a convincing smile. He shook his head no. "I really have absolutely no idea what 'I' should, sorry 'we' should do." she said shaking her head and throwing her arms up in the air.
The Doctor knew she was very close to a breakdown and he was determined to help her avoid it. "How about a movie, popcorn and lots and lots of chocolate?" he said while trying to pull her from the doorway.
"All right let's see a movie." she said, relenting to his pressure.
He took Sarah's hand and led her to the entertainment room. As they walked he took his free hand and rubbed her lower back in what he hoped was a comforting way. When they arrived they were met by the aroma and sound of popcorn popping. "See the Tardis wants to make you feel better too." he said, giving her a quick squeeze.
"Do you know what you'd like to see?" he asked Sarah who was sitting down on the couch.
"No, you can choose." she said.
"All right, how about something funny, how about Dr. Dolittle and if you want Dr. Dolittle Two?" he asked. Sarah was sitting on the couch but her mind was a million miles away. He removed the movies and put them in the slots of the Tardis' DVD player and walked over to sit by her on the couch. "Sarah? Sarah? Sarah?" he said when she finally looked at him.
"I'm sorry. Is the movie ready?" she asked trying to avoid the subject of anything except the movie.
"Sarah, tell me what you're thinking. There's nothing you can say to me that I don't want to hear. Maybe it would help, please Sarah talk to me." he pleaded.
"There's nothing to say, really. You were there, I just can't stop thinking about it. That poor lady died and I was the last one to talk to her. They think I killed her. Me, a killer! How do I defend myself against this? I can't even begin to know how." she said as she covered her face with her hands and cried.
The Doctor leaned over and wrapped his arms around her, holding her as if to shield her from anything that could potentially hurt her. "You killed no one. Chances are the last person to talk to her was her killer. But because of your visit today, she knew that someone on this world other than herself was trying to find out what happened to her husband. You gave her some peace of mind. And as for that idiot Martin thinking you killed her, he'll be proven wrong. I as well as the Brigadier will do everything in our power to prove him wrong."
He kissed Sarah's forehead and continued, "But tonight, I want you to just relax. Your body is still recovering from everything you've been through. So let's watch this totally bad, stupid, mindless movie and forget about anything that exists outside of this room. Now what can I get you? Soda, popcorn and candy, candy, candy and more candy." He said as he tickled her in the ribs.
As soon as her laughter subsided, she said, "Did you say something about candy?" The Doctor jumped up from the couch and pulled her to her feet and took her over to the counter to choose the candy that she wanted. "Let's watch the movie." she said after they were once again seated on the couch.
As they were waiting for the second movie to load the Doctor looked over to find Sarah looking at his hand as it held hers. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm wondering how I became lucky enough to have you in my life. Someone up there must be watching over me." she said, pointing up with her finger.
"I'm the lucky one. Do you know that I'm four hundred fifty years old and have waited all of that time for you to come along? I would still just be going through my life without really living it, without really feeling it, without having someone in my life to hold and love." Did he really say that out loud? He just told her that he loved her. He looked into her beautiful green eyes and knew that she had heard him.
"Are you sure? I won't harbor any bad feelings against you if you want to run. I know this sounds cliché, but I love you enough to let you go. I won't drag you down with me. To know that I had caused you even a moment of grief would destroy me. Please think about what I'm saying." she said with all the sincerity she could muster.
"You love me? Did I hear that right? You love me!" he said beside himself with joy.
"Yes I love you, with all my heart and all my soul, always." she said it with so much conviction that he thought he would melt.
"I love you with everything that I am and everything I hope to be. We love one another and I won't give that up, I can't. Promise me that you'll do everything in your power to stay with me." he said as he sat her on his lap looking her squarely in the eyes.
"I promise, but unfortunately it's not up to me." she said as she looked into what she believed were the deepest and most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen.
"This is a night to celebrate our love for one another, and I'm not going to allow that idiot Martin to ruin it. Now since we've told each other how we feel, that leaves us with a little problem." he said trying to hide a smile.
When she saw him trying not to smile, Sarah knew this wasn't anything serious, which was good since she didn't think she could take anything else tonight. "So what is the problem?"
"Well before, we were having 'practice dates' and we were strictly amateurs. Now that we've admitted our love for one another, that shoots us straight ahead to the majors. Now, we're professionals." he said, still not believing all that had transpired in the last twenty four hours.
"So, now that we're professionals, I guess we should act the part. How do you think we should do that?" Sarah asked with newfound hope after his vow of love for her.
"Well I happen to know of a little shindig that's being thrown for UNIT. I was hoping that I could show you off, that is 'if' you want to go with me." he said with his most pitiful puppy dog sad face.
"Are you sure it's a good idea with everything else that's going on right now? Don't get me wrong, I would be honored to be your date to this 'shindig', but don't you think you should check with the Brigadier first?" she said, wondering if she would be in jail by the time this event rolled around.
"The Brigadier won't be upset, he knows I'm not going to ask 'him' as my date." he said doing his best to cheer Sarah up.
"Very funny!" she said.
"The dance is on November 26th. Can I tell everyone that you're going with me? Can I? Can I? Can I?" he said practically jumping up and down on the couch with Sarah still in his lap.
"Yes, though what I'm going to tell all the others that already asked me I have no idea!" she said watching him go from angry to laughing in just a few seconds.
"You are terrible!" he said as he reached out and tweaked her nose. "I'm afraid the only way to make it up to me is with a kiss." he said as Sarah leaned forward and kissed him with all the passion she had in her heart. She kissed him so deeply that both only separated when they needed air.
The Doctor lifted Sarah, sitting her back down on the couch next to him before laying her on her back as he climbed alongside her and continued the kiss. He slipped his arms under her shoulder blades and cradled her as he kissed her collar bones then her neck, kissing up one side then the other, paying special attention to her ears, which made Sarah giggle. He then lifted her head higher, kissing every portion of her face and mouth that he could reach. He pulled back from Sarah's face and asked, "Are you okay? Am I moving too fast for you?"
"No, everything is perfect, you're perfect. This is perfect!" she said as she looked deeply into his eyes as he once again started kissing her.
He stopped to look into her beautiful green eyes. He was learning that they could read each other well. What he saw was Sarah fighting the details of today's events from coming to the forefront of her mind. Feelings that were trying to steal her happiness. "I have an idea. Why don't you let me sleep with you tonight?" he asked and noticed that Sarah was starting to tense up. "No, no, not that way. Just sleep. I want to hold you and be there for you the second you need me, 'if' you need me."
"Really, that's not necessary. Not that I'm saying I don't need you, I'll always need you. But I'm so exhausted that with everything that's going on, I'll probably go right to sleep. I'll be fine." She tried to convince him, but the Doctor wasn't buying it.
"Then just do it to prove me wrong. If you don't let me, I'll just stay the entire night outside your door on the cold and hard floor. Maybe the hum of the Tardis will help me fall asleep, I'm sure I'll feel it through the floor. I'll probably get a backache, but that's okay. I don't want you to worry or think that you're responsible for that. Don't you worry about my discomfort for one minute, I don't need much." he said carrying on for her benefit, all the time with his most sad and pitiful puppy dog face.
"I don't want you to do that. Since you're not going to give up and I'm too tired to argue. Let's go." she said as he stood, reaching down to help her to her feet.
They held hands as they walked back to Sarah's room. When they approached her doorway the Doctor said, "I'll be right back. I'm going to take a quick shower. Will you be okay?" he asked trying to search her eyes for the truth.
"That sounds like a great idea. I think I'll have one too. I'll leave the door open. You don't have to knock." she said, looking more and more to the Doctor as if she would fall down if she didn't lay down soon.
"I'll be right back." he said as he gave her cheek a quick kiss and quickly went to his bedroom down the hall. He showered and changed in what he imagined must have been record time. He entered Sarah's room to find that she was still in the shower. He walked to the bed and turned down the sheet and blankets. He adjusted the belt of his robe and was just about to sit down and wait on Sarah when she came through the bathroom door.
"You are really fast." she said smiling at the Doctor.
"Come over here." he said as he took one of her hands and led her to the bedside. "You trust me don't you?" he asked Sarah.
"With my life." she replied.
"Good, let me take your robe." he said taking it and laying it over the upholstered bench that was at the end of Sarah's bed. He walked back to her side, moved the pillows that were on the side of the bed closest to Sarah and said, "Lay down on your stomach." Sarah did as she was told. "Just try to relax, just let your mind go." he said as he started to massage Sarah's back, arms and legs. Her muscles were tied in knots. He massaged all the stress away from them, one by one. When he had reached the bottom of her legs, he could hear her taking deep and even breaths. She was asleep for what he hoped would be many hours to come.
He picked up a pillow that had been discarded at the foot of the bed and brought it up to place under Sarah's head. He carefully lifted her upper body off the mattress and inserted the pillow under her head. He covered her up with a sheet and a blanket, turned out the light and then laid down beside Sarah and went to sleep.
The next week went by slowly and stressfully. Sarah had been interviewed four times at UNIT and three times had been taken to the police station. She was on autopilot now, simply trying to breathe and get through the day. On top of everything else, her purse had turned up missing over the last weekend. The Doctor was taking her for a walk just to get her out and away from UNIT. On the way back to UNIT, Sarah realized that she hadn't checked her cell phone for messages since this whole nightmare had started. When she checked in her lower desk drawer she discovered it was also missing. The Doctor had reported it to the Brigadier. Just one more thing to go wrong. The Doctor knew that she hadn't been eating and she was on an every other night sleep schedule. Since this tragedy began, he had been spending every night with Sarah in her bed. She had only a few nightmares, mostly because she rarely slept.
It was five thirty in the afternoon on Friday, but as far as Sarah was concerned it could have been five thirty in the morning. She had lost all track of time. She was so very tired, but she wasn't able to turn her mind off. How did that woman die, who could have killed her and for what reason? The police weren't giving her any information and it was looking more and more like she was their one and only suspect. She thought that if she went over the information that she had enough times, the answer would come to her.
"Sarah? Sarah? Sarah, can you hear me?" the Doctor said as he squatted at her feet. He had been watching her zoning in and out and staring at nothing but air for hours now, and he was worried.
"I'm sorry, can I do something for you?" she asked trying to put forth a believable smile.
"Everyone has gone home. Why don't we get into the Tardis and I'll run a hot bubble bath for you. It will help you relax and hopefully you'll get some sleep tonight. How does that sound?" he asked, wanting to get Sarah into the protection of the Tardis. He wasn't sure why, maybe it was the stress, but he didn't feel she was safe here.
"It sounds great. I just need to shut down the computer and then we can go." she said as she hit the necessary buttons, then closed the lid on the laptop and went to put it in her desk, stopping when they heard footsteps.
Behind them, the Brigadier and Captain Martin walked through the door. The Brigadier cleared his throat so that the Doctor and Sarah would immediately be aware of their presence.
The Doctor looked up, he was prepared for the Captain's next visit thanks to some information he was able to dig up. "Listen, if you're here to interrogate Sarah again, you can forget it. I've talked to quite a few people about this little vendetta you seem to have against UNIT and Sarah. And I'm aware that in a few short months, you'll be running for office. You are not going to use Sarah to help increase your votes. Were you aware Brigadier, that his father once worked for UNIT, albeit a very short time? Something about suspected treason wasn't it? He worked here for a total of five days." the Doctor told the Brigadier. Meanwhile Martin looked as if he would have a stroke if he weren't allowed to kill the Doctor to shut him up.
"Is that so Doctor? Well, after some revenge are you Mr. Martin? You know, if I can substantiate everything the Doctor has said, I think the Prime Minister should be informed that you are not interested in this case, but only interested in settling the score on your father's behalf and making the upcoming election go your way." the Brigadier stated looking down at Martin and making him uncomfortable, which delighted him after everything he had put all of them through in the last week. "So Mr. Martin," the Brigadier still refused to call him Captain, "do I make the call to the PM or do you look for the real killer?".
"I'm not trying to settle anything on my father's behalf!" Martin stated loudly, knowing he was fighting a losing battle.
"Well then I guess I'll be placing that call to the PM. It seems a shame to disturb him at the height of the weekend, but you leave me no choice." said the Brigadier as he walked over to Sarah's desk and picked up the phone.
"All right, stop. I can't rule her out as the killer but I will look for other leads. But if anything turns up pointing to her, anything," Martin shoved his finger at the air in Sarah's direction, "the next person that takes this case will prosecute her and this time she'll go to prison. And if she did it, I will connect all the dots and lock her cell door myself." Martin said as he slammed out of the Doctor's Lab.
The Brigadier and the Doctor were ecstatic now that they knew Martin would look for more suspects and clues and give them time to prove Sarah's innocence. Sarah had been seated during the whole exchange saying nothing. "Sarah, it's going to be all right." the Doctor started, knowing she was more than likely too exhausted to fight for herself. Sarah was lifting the laptop to place it in its drawer. The Doctor took it from her shaking hands anxious to get her into the Tardis, settled in and asleep. The Doctor opened the drawer and put the laptop in and shut it.
"Maybe things are finally starting to turn around." said the Brigadier smiling at Sarah.
"That 'would' be nice wouldn't it?" said Sarah as she and the Doctor were walking closer to the Brigadier.
They started walking through to the inner room in the Doctor's lab, where the Doctor kept the Tardis parked when they heard footsteps and the sound of Martin arguing with one of the cleaning crew.
"I told you that I lost my cufflink somewhere here, and I'm not going till I find it!" he said, clearly mad and upset. Martin rounded the corner to the lab to see the Brigadier and the Doctor staring hatefully at him with Sarah between them. "I'll only be here till I find my cufflink, it's a family heirloom." Martin was on his hands and knees looking around on the floor. But unlike the story he had given them, his intent was much different.
Late last night he had received a phone call at home on his cell phone. The caller had said he was an employee at UNIT who had information on a murder he was investigating. The caller refused to give his name and when he tried to trace the call on the cell phone, his service said there was no call listed. It made no sense, but on the chance the caller's information proved to be true, he had invented this little scenario.
The caller had said 'they' meaning the Doctor, Brigadier and of course Miss. Smith herself were hiding the evidence. Evidence that had not been made public, yet somehow he knew. He claimed he had overheard the trio talking about what to do with the evidence. Apparently they were going to destroy the evidence tonight after everyone had left. He had hoped to walk in and find them doing just that, destroying the evidence. As luck would have it, he had arrived too early. The caller said it could be found in Miss. Smith's purse on the floor under the main large workbench located in the center of the room.
Martin lowered himself to the floor as he crawled to the workbench, and just as the caller had said there it was. He started the setup he had invented. "Miss. Smith," he said raising his head up looking directly at Sarah, "didn't I hear someone say that you lost your purse?"
"I thought you were here to look for your family jewels, not to question Sarah." the Doctor stated.
"A cufflink! What I'm trying to say is that a purse is under here. I'm assuming it belongs to Miss. Smith." he said as he pulled it out.
"My purse!" started Sarah. "How did it get under there?" said Sarah moving forward to retrieve it.
The Brigadier and the Doctor exchanged a quick glance, both wondering the same thing, both sensing something was wrong.
Martin had opened the closure on the purse before retrieving it from under the workbench so that when he handed it to Sarah the contents fell to the floor. And just as the caller said, the evidence to prosecute Sarah would present itself. Onto the floor fell a wallet, a small notebook, a pen, a compact, a lipstick and a gauze wrapped item that seemed to be stuck together with a red substance. A red substance that everyone in the room knew was blood.
The Doctor and the Brigadier sprang forward watching this nightmare play out, neither able to stop it. The Doctor pulled Sarah back as soon as he reached her.
"What do we have here?" Martin asked, as if he didn't know. He pulled two exam gloves from his coat pocket, something most active police investigators kept handy. He quickly put them on and opened the wrapped small parcel. He did it slowly to torment and enhance the distress of all involved to the full extent. As his captive audience watched, he pulled back the last layer to reveal the contents. It was a decaying finger with a large diamond ring still attached. "Is this yours Miss. Smith?" he asked, looking into Sarah's shocked pale face.
The second Sarah saw the contents of the gauze she no longer had control over her body. The last sensation she felt was dizzy, after that she had none. Her mind had completely shut down. It had finally arrived at the point of no return. She was safe now. She could hear nothing or feel nothing. There was finally peace.
The Doctor felt Sarah sway on her feet. "Sarah!" he said as he lifted her from her feet. The Brigadier pulled a chair over and the Doctor set her down on it. "Sarah can you hear me?" asked the Doctor. Her eyes were open but it was obvious that she wasn't able to respond.
"How convenient Miss. Smith. But it won't work. Sarah Jane Smith you are under arrest for the murder of Rita Elliot as well as the further charge of robbery after the fact. Or was that the reason Miss. Smith?" he asked Sarah. He took out his cell phone and called the station. "This is Captain Martin. I need a car at UNIT as well as a female officer. You'll be bringing in a Sarah Jane Smith to process for the murder of Rita Elliot. Please start the paperwork and," he stopped and met the Doctor's eyes, "get a cell all warmed up for our guest." He closed the connection and smiled at the Brigadier and the Doctor.
But Sarah heard none of it. She simply sat in the chair with the Doctor supporting her. "It's all right Sarah. You're going to be fine." he said while rubbing up and down on her arms which had turned cold as ice.
"You can't take her out of here in this condition. She needs a doctor." stated the Brigadier walking over and standing in between Martin and Sarah. He had become very protective of Sarah since she had arrived and joined his staff.
"She will be checked at the station as soon as she is booked and processed. That is, if she hasn't given us her confession by then." Martin's phone rang and he backed up and stood next to the doorway to the lab. As he answered the phone he watched the trio carefully.
"Can he do this?" asked the Doctor, unable to believe how quickly everything had happened.
"Unfortunately yes. The only way UNIT can take over this investigation is to prove that it's under our jurisdiction. If we can prove it is…" the Brigadier started.
"So the only way to stop him is to solve this case ourselves." the Doctor said trying to take it all in and formulate a plan.
"Which is where this all started. If we can find the real killer…"
"Or prove that an alien influence is involved in this, UNIT could take over the case." said the Doctor.
"Yes, but neither of us can stop what happens next." the Brigadier said as uniformed male and female officers arrived at the door followed by Sergeant Benton.
"Brigadier, what's going on?" Benton asked, startled to see Sarah in such a condition and the Doctor and Brigadier looking so upset.
"Excuse me." said the female officer stepping in front of Benton. "Please put your arms behind your back she said to Sarah. Sarah didn't respond and the Doctor didn't move from her side.
"She can't hear you!" the Doctor practically spat at the officer.
"Fine. Please back away from the suspect Sir." said the male officer approaching the Doctor.
The Brigadier and Sergeant Benton looked at each other, knowing that this was going to be dreadful without their intervention. Both stepped forward toward the Doctor. "Doctor, we will find a way to stop this. But to do that, we have to let them do this." he said placing his hands on the Doctor's shoulders. "We'll be right behind her. I promise you Doctor. She'll be all right. I don't think she's even aware of what's happening. Come on." he said pulling the Doctor back as the officers moved forward.
The Doctor felt as if he were in a surreal dream. He was being moved back away from Sarah as the officers moved in. The officers stood her up and held her hands behind her back then placed her in handcuffs. This couldn't be happening! Thankfully he supposed, the drama was lost on Sarah. She had her eyes open and she was walking where they led her, but she wasn't cognitive of any of it. The Brigadier was saying something about small blessings, but he wasn't listening. He had to find a way to get Sarah back. They followed the officers and Sarah through the base to the waiting police car. An officer was behind the wheel and the two that were with Sarah climbed in the back with her, one on each side. The car turned on its lights and siren and pulled out fast, disappearing quickly.
"A bit of overkill don't you think Martin?" asked the Brigadier.
"Not in the least. She could come back to life in a fury at any time. Who's to say she wouldn't harm one of the officer's or even herself? By the way, it looks like you've lost track of…." Just then a blur of a yellow car flew passed the small group.
"Benton?" the Brigadier said looking around, and was surprised when the Sergeant pulled up in one of the UNIT Jeeps. "Good work." he said as he climbed in the Jeep and Benton quickly pulled out.
"The Doctor may be in an adjoining cell by the time we get there. You know Benton, I've observed the Doctor under many stressful situations. Situations involving things most people only see in their nightmares. But I've never seen him like this. He's always supported us, now we need to support him." the Brigadier said taking out his cell phone. "Gerald, I need some information. I need everything you can find out on a Captain Martin, he's with the main downtown precinct. I also want to know everything that precinct has on a murder of a Mrs. Rita Elliot. I need this information yesterday and I need to keep this between the two of us. Encrypt everything you find and send it to Sergeant Benton. He'll pass it on to me. Thanks Gerald, I appreciate this." the Brigadier said as he hung up. "Gerald is very good at what he does. If there's something to find, he'll find it. Benton drop me off in front of the station and head back to UNIT and wait by the computer." he finished, feeling better that he was able to hopefully help the Doctor and Sarah.
"Do you think he'll find anything today Sir?" Benton asked as he turned yet another corner so fast that the Brigadier had to grab onto the dash.
"He's good Benton. There will probably be a file waiting for you when you return. By the way, use the Zeta code to read the file."
"Do you think this is necessary, the scrambling I mean Sir?"
"That Martin is out for blood. He may have my files subpoenaed, but I doubt he's smart enough to have yours." the Brigadier said smiling at Benton.
"Do you want me to bring the files to you at the station?"
"Yes and locate Dr. Sullivan. Fill him in and bring him with you. I'll need all the help I can with the Doctor." said the Brigadier as the Jeep slowed to a halt in front of the police department.
"Sir, tell the Doctor…" Benton started, then looked down unable to finish.
"I will Benton." he said closing the door of the Jeep and then patted the side of the Jeep sending it on its way.
As Benton pulled out of the station's circular driveway his cell phone rang. "Benton." he said answering it.
"It's Harry. I just returned from Bristol and the guard at the gate said all hell just broke loose. Then I went inside and the place is deserted. The Brigadier was supposed to have a meeting with me, and the Doctor and Sarah are gone too. I tried to call the cell phone but no one answered. What's going on?" Harry asked as he finally finished and took a breath.
"That Captain Martin showed up and found Sarah's purse in the Doctor's Lab."
"Good, at least that's one less thing for Sarah to worry about." stated Harry. He was getting worried about Sarah.
"No, it's not good! Apparently the person that killed Mrs. Elliot removed one of her fingers. A finger with a ring on it."
"Oh, lovely. But what does that have to do with Sarah?" Harry interrupted.
"If you'd quit interrupting me, I'm getting to that." said Benton, aggravated with the whole turn of events.
"Fine, continue." said Harry sitting down on a stool in the Doctor's Lab.
"Where was I? Oh, yes. When Captain Martin found the purse under the Doctor's workbench…" Benton could hear Harry starting to say something and then stop himself. "Captain Martin was crawling around on the floor in search of a cufflink he supposedly dropped and saw the purse laying under the workbench. As Martin handed the purse to Sarah it opened and the contents fell to the floor. The finger was one of the things that fell out of the purse." Benton listened but couldn't hear anything on the other end. "Hello? Harry are you still there?"
"Yes I'm here. You said not to interrupt you, so I'm not."
"Well that's about it anyway. You should have seen the Doctor. I've never seen him like that. He went all quiet. We had to pull him away from her." said Benton frowning at the memory.
"What about Sarah? How did she take it?"
"The Brig said that when the finger was unwrapped, oh yea, it was wrapped in some gauze. Anyway, when the finger was unwrapped Sarah kind of swayed on her feet. The Doctor had her sit down and she just kind of zoned out." said Benton.
"What do you mean zoned out?" ask Harry now really concerned for Sarah's health.
"Her eyes were open, but it was like she wasn't inside. She wouldn't respond to anyone and the Brig said her skin was cold to the touch."
"She's more than likely in shock." added Harry.
"The Doctor and the Brigadier told them she needed medical care and they said they would have someone look at her, 'after' she was in jail. It was awful Harry. They stood her up, pulled her arms behind her back, handcuffed her and took her away. I felt so sorry for her, her and the Doctor." added Benton.
"She should have been given medical care first. This is outrageous. Where is the Doctor and Brigadier now?" asked Harry.
"The Doctor took off in Bessie like a bat out of hell following the police car. The Brig and I followed him in a Jeep. They're all at the main downtown precinct. I'm on my way back to UNIT now. I'm going to get some information to take to the Brigadier. He wanted me to contact you, fill you in and bring you to the station. He's worried about Sarah's health and what the Doctor might do."
"I'll meet you at your desk. I'm going to grab a few things in case they let me examine Sarah. Those idiots, they should have taken her to a hospital not a jail." said Harry, now walking towards the Sick Bay.
"I know. I'm almost to the gate. See you in about fifteen minutes." Benton said and then closed the phone. This was going to be one hell of a weekend, he thought shaking his head.
When the Brigadier entered the station it was apparent things weren't going well. The Doctor was in a shouting match with several officers and Sarah was nowhere in sight. The Brigadier walked over to the Doctor's side and attempted to calm him. "Doctor, I need to speak with you 'now'!" he said in such a commanding tone that even the police officers around the Doctor stopped and stood at attention. The Brigadier grabbed the Doctor's arm and pulled him toward a row of seats.
"Alistair, I know you're trying to help. But right now the only thing I'm interested in is seeing Sarah." he said starting to get up.
"Doctor," the Brigadier started as he pulled his eccentric friend back into the chair, "I need you to listen to what I have to say. You need to calm down, not just for your sake but for Miss. Smith's sake as well."
"What I 'need' to do is get Sarah medical help." said the Doctor as he ran a hand through the mass of unruly brown curls on his head.
"I'm working on that. Sergeant Benton is at UNIT even as we speak. And as soon as he gets there, he'll bring Dr. Sullivan here. I'm working on finding out everything we can about that snake Martin, and the case the police have against Sarah." the Brigadier said trying to calm his friend.
"What I don't understand is how Martin got authority from the Crown Court without the evidence he collected tonight." said the Brigadier looking puzzled.
The Doctor looked up to see both Harry and Sergeant Benton coming through the door. The Brigadier looked to see what had captured the Doctor's attention and turned to find Benton standing behind him with a smile on his face.
"Well don't just stand there, report!" said the Brigadier making more than a few heads turn in their direction. "On second thought, let's step outside." the Brigadier stated as the group of four men walked outside and into the lot. "Now, go ahead Sergeant."
"The report you sent for states that our Captain Martin is a bit of a loose cannon. He is one write up away from a firing. The last big case he investigated was dropped due to insufficient evidence. It was just the latest in a long line of bad calls on his part. But the best news is, Martin didn't get the Crown Court's approval for this arrest." said Benton smiling.
"So he falsely arrested Sarah?" asked the Doctor with a note of hope in his voice.
"But why would he go through the trouble of bringing her in then?" asked the Brigadier bewildered.
"Because in the past when he did it, the people he brought in were actually guilty and assumed…" started Benton.
"Assumed that he had found enough evidence to convict them." continued the Brigadier.
"And confessed. And since they confessed their solicitors never bothered to see whether or not they were improperly seized." finished Benton.
"Good work Benton. Now we need to find a solicitor." stated the Brigadier.
"Already taken care of. Here he comes now. I hope you don't mind, we went to school together." said Harry as a rather distinguished looking man of Harry's age approached. He was wearing a navy blue suit and by the look of it, had very expensive tastes. "Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Doctor this is Michael Bracken." he said as each shook hands with Michael. "I've already filled him in on everything we know. I know I should have asked for permission to show him that file Brigadier, but I didn't want to waste any time." explained Harry to a thoughtful Brigadier.
"I'll let it go this time. 'If' your friend can free Sarah."
I've copied the notes over so that it looks as if I have been digging and found the information myself on the way here. That way neither you or your mystery investigator will look involved."
"Can we please get started? Now!" said the Doctor as he walked away from the group and walked back into the police station.
As the group started to follow him someone called out to Michael. "Michael!" said a heavy set bald man as he walked across the lot toward the group. "This better be good. My wife was looking forward to a dinner out this evening. I promised her this would be quick so she insisted on coming. Don't keep her waiting Michael. You know what she's like." said the gentleman as he placed his hand on Michael's shoulder.
"I don't want to keep that lovely woman waiting even one second. But the amount of time she waits is up to you. I just want three minutes of your time to look over this file and two minutes to listen to what I have to say. Any time you spend after that, you can blame on me. I'll even pay for you and your lovely wife's dinner." Michael said as he walked past the Brigadier, the Doctor, Sergeant Benton and Harry. As he passed he looked at the group and winked.
The men walked to the corner of the room and sat down. Each knowing that Sarah's fate was now in the hands of virtual strangers. Harry did his best to reassure the others of Michael's power of persuasion. He could tell quite a few stories about Michael that in better times would have them rolling in the floor in stitches. He decided it would be better to save the stories for another time. The pair had talked for five minutes before leaving the room and going further into the police station. Five minutes more had passed and the Doctor was looking like he could jump out of his own skin.
Suddenly there was a scuffle down the hallway. Two officers, one on each side of Martin were dragging him kicking and screaming from the building. They could just make out what he was saying. "This isn't over, it's far from over. I'll make you wi…." And just as suddenly as he appeared, he had disappeared.
The men walked over to the hallway to see if they could catch sight of Michael. What they saw was so much better. Michael was walking down the hall to meet them. It was an image the Doctor would never get out of mind. Sarah was walking beside him, but she was still on autopilot. Her eyes remained fixed, her hair spilling forward, covering part of her face and the color of her skin had gone paler, if that were even possible.
The Doctor ran forward with Harry close behind. When he reached Sarah, he scooped her up in his arms. Harry was shining a small pen light that he carried with him into her eyes. "Here pupils are non responsive." He reached into the medical bag he was carrying and pulled out a thermometer. "Her temperature is 97.1°. We've got to get her back to UNIT." said Harry.
"Doctor, let me take the two of you in my car, it's warmer." Michael said, shocked at Sarah's condition, the result of that idiot Martin.
"Let's hurry." said the Doctor holding Sarah tight against himself. She had started to shiver. They were at the car in a matter of seconds. The Doctor handed Sarah over to Harry to hold while he climbed in the car in preparation to take her from him. As soon as she was in, Harry jumped into the front seat to allow Sarah as much room as possible for comfort.
The ride was fast and quiet. Michael was focused on driving as fast as he could while staying on the road. Harry was reaching in the back taking Sarah's pulse in her ankle every few minutes. The Doctor was holding Sarah as tight as he could, wrapping her in his coat and keeping his lips at her temple so that she could somehow feel that he was there taking care of her.
Once they arrived at UNIT, the Doctor thanked Michael profusely and excused himself. He and Harry ran through the base with Sarah in the Doctor's arms, anxious to get her the proper medical care she should have already been given. Once they reached the Tardis, the Doctor had Harry take his key to open the door. They quickly entered and the Doctor and Harry walked as quickly as they could to Sarah's room.
Harry pulled back the covers on her bed. The Doctor laid her down and removed her shoes and covered her up. "Let's put another blanket on her." said Harry knowing this could be a long night.
"Of course, there's a quilt in the chest at the foot of the bed." he said holding Sarah's left hand, never taking his eyes off her. After removing the quilt, Harry looked up to find the Doctor checking Sarah's heart with a stethoscope.
The Doctor stood and looked unhappy. He then checked her pulse. "How is she?" asked Harry.
"Her respiration is slow as is her pulse." he said as he removed a thermometer from the bedside drawer. He read the display and frowned. He looked at Harry and said, "It's 97°, it's going down." He looked over at Sarah whose eyes were still open and unseeing. He had to do something, but what? He had to make her feel safe enough to want to come back to him.
Harry's cell phone rang. Harry answered it right away. "Brigadier, no, no real change."
"That's it! No change, that's what Sarah needs. No change. I think I know how to get through to her." said the Doctor, now hopeful for the first time this evening. "Harry, I can't begin to tell you how much I, we appreciate your help. But I need to try something. Could you maybe fill in the others, in person." he said trying gently to get Harry to leave the Tardis.
"Sure, I'll be here all night. Call me if you need anything, anything at all." Harry said, then realizing he was still on the phone said, "Sir, I'm sorry. I'm on my way out." he said as he closed the phone and slipped out of the room and left the Tardis.
The Doctor felt guilty for getting rid of Harry, especially since he had been so helpful in obtaining Sarah's release. But he needed to be alone with Sarah for this to work.
The Doctor removed his shoes and slipped under the covers with Sarah. He reached over and turned down the lights. "It's all right Sarah, I'm here. You're going to be all right. I'm not going to leave you Sarah. I'm going to stay right here and love you till my hearts stop beating. You're in the Tardis. Nothing can hurt you, you're safe." The Doctor kept repeating himself over and over. After about thirty minutes, he felt her eyelashes tickling his collarbone as she drifted off to sleep, soon her eyelashes fluttered as she dreamed. The Doctor smiled to himself. This was a good step, a step in the right direction. He could feel her temperature rising and her heart beating a little faster. The stress finally caught up with the Doctor and he succumbed to sleep as well.
After eight hours of uninterrupted sleep the Doctor awoke to the sound of the Cloister Bell. He quickly looked at Sarah, seeing that she was completely unconscious. He rose from the bed as quickly, yet as quietly as possible so he wouldn't disturb her. He closed the bedroom door behind him and ran as fast as he could to the console room. As soon as he reached the main console, he stopped the Cloister Bells' ringing . The quiet was now as disturbingly loud as the previous intensity of the bells, he thought as he checked the displays.
Not completely trusting what he read, he threw the switch to open the door and stuck his head outside to see for himself that they hadn't moved. Satisfied with that, he returned to the display to see if he could locate the other option that now presented itself, another Tardis. Once again, the Tardis had detected another Tardis however the contact was so brief that a point of origin wasn't possible. He quickly sent a brief message to Gallifrey to update them of the new information, knowing they wouldn't be any help but covering all the bases anyway. Somehow this was all connected to Sarah. But how?
He quickly walked back to her bedroom and opened the door. The bed was empty. He walked towards the bathroom, the sounds he heard spoke volumes. Sarah was sick. When he reached her she was attempting to get up, but didn't quite make it. She fell back to the ground.
"Sarah, it's all right. I'm here." he said as he reached her. He picked her up and sat her on a stool near the vanity. He retrieved a cold washcloth for her face. When he turned to wipe her face, he was shocked by what he saw. Sarah's face was bright red. Bright red in the shape of a hand print. You could actually see all five fingers and the palm.
The Doctor backed up till his body connected with the vanity preventing him from retreating further. He did this to her. Martin had hit Sarah when she wasn't even able to say her own name, much less give him the information he wanted. Even now, he could see it was going to be a nasty bruise. His mind was spinning. First he would take care of Sarah and get her settled in bed. Second, he would get Harry to stay with her and watch over her. And third, he would find Martin and kill him. To hell with the Time Lords and all their lofty ideals. This monster had hurt Sarah, 'his' Sarah. For that, he would pay.
"What's wrong? What is it? You're scaring me." Sarah said as she attempted to rise to her feet, failing and falling back to the stool with the mirror just out of reach.
"It's all right. Nothing's wrong. You know me, I'm just a worrier. Your face is a little red, that's all. Let's get you back to bed." the Doctor said as he leaned forward and picked Sarah up. It was taking every bit of control he had to stay calm. Sarah didn't need to see him flip out. "How do you feel?" he asked trying to focus his attention on her reply.
"My face is a little sore, I must have somehow bumped it. I'm tired, that's all." she said, as the Doctor placed her back in her bed. "I need to know." Sarah said looking into his eyes.
"Need to know what?" he asked as he smoothed the blankets and tucked her in. He was trying to focus on anything, anything other than what that monster did to Sarah.
"I've lost time again. I remember being with you and the Brigadier in the lab, then something happened. When I try to focus on it, it's as if the memory is gone. I know that something happened, but what?" she asked as the Doctor walked to the bathroom. Judging from the sounds coming from the bathroom, he was cleaning up. "Doctor? Doctor, what's going on? Tell me! Doctor!" she shouted trying to get his attention.
The Doctor appeared at the bathroom door with his head hanging down. "Sarah, maybe it's best if you don't…" he started.
"Doctor, please tell me. I need to know. You know I'll find out. Would you rather it come from you or…?" Sarah said, now really worried. What could have happened to make the Doctor react this way? It must be bad, really bad.
"Sarah please…" he started, looking up into her eyes. Her right eye now looking darker than it had just a few minutes ago. He would kill Martin.
"If you won't tell me, I'll ask the Brig." Sarah said as she swung her feet over the side of the bed.
"No!" the Doctor shouted as he moved with determination toward Sarah.
The effect was the same as a punch in the stomach for Sarah. She stopped in mid air, afraid of the Doctor for the first time.
The Doctor saw the look on her face. The look of fear. Fear that he had placed there. He had frightened her. "Sarah, I'm so sorry." he said as he fell to his knees at the side of Sarah's bed. "I never ever wanted to frighten you. I swore that I never would. Please forgive me. I'll tell you everything you want to know. Please understand that this is killing me. Say you forgive me, not because I'm asking you to, but because you really do forgive me." the Doctor finished with tears in his eyes.
It broke Sarah's heart to see him like that. "I forgive you, I mean it." she said as she took his head in her hands and leaned forward and kissed the top of his head. She lifted his head till his face was opposite hers. "What happened?"
The Doctor told Sarah the whole story, being careful to pause and allow Sarah time to absorb parts of it before moving on. At the end, the Doctor debated on telling Sarah of her abuse at the hands of Martin. He decided that there was no way out of it, considering the first time she looked in a mirror it would be evident to her. After telling her, he retrieved a hand mirror from her vanity and allowed her to see herself.
"Oh, no!" Sarah said as the tears fell across her red and starting to bruise cheek. After putting the mirror down, the Doctor took his handkerchief and carefully dabbed the tears from her face, for the first time noticing a small cut at the corner of her lip. "Promise me," Sarah begged, "promise me you won't do anything to him.".
The Doctor rose and returned the mirror to the vanity. "Stay put." he said pointing his finger at Sarah. "I'll be right back. I'm going to run to the Infirmary and get some ointment for your face. It will cut down the pain significantly." he said as he left the room.
Sarah knew he was beyond mad, he was furious. How could she stop him from doing something he would later regret? Or maybe he wouldn't. For the first time, Sarah realized that she was living with a virtual stranger. He loved her, she knew that. Beyond that, all she knew was what he told her.
Something flashed before her eyes. A snippet of a memory. Was it a memory? She saw someone in her mind's eye. No face, just someone in black, all black. He said, "The Doctor is manipulating you.". He said more but it was gone. Why would he tell her that? She could hear it repeating itself in her mind. An undertone, something lying under her thoughts. Something in the background. Part of her mind was telling her the Doctor loved her and only wanted what was best for her. But this new information was fighting for a foothold too. Should she tell the Doctor? Something in her mind screamed no! When she tried to focus on telling the Doctor, the pain was unbearable. When she told herself to keep this new information hidden, the pain went completely away.
As the Doctor entered Sarah's room he noticed the look of confusion on her face. "Sarah, are you all right?" he asked concerned.
"Yes, I'm fine. Is that the ointment?" she asked anxious to get his attention elsewhere.
"Lay back and I'll apply it." he said. Something was wrong. In the short period of time since he had left her, something changed. Sarah was subdued. "Are you all right?" he asked again.
"Yes, do you have plans today?" Sarah asked.
Plans, oh yes he had plans. He would start by killing Martin then…this didn't make any sense. One minute she was desperate to stop him from killing Martin and the next she didn't care. Maybe he should take her to the Infirmary and scan her. Maybe she hit her head and she has a concussion. "A few. What are you going to do today?" the Doctor asked, playing along to see where this would go.
"I thought I would read a book, maybe take a walk later." she said, hoping for some time alone.
"Do you think that's wise? Going out I mean. You're still in shock." he said hoping she wouldn't fight him on this.
"I'm fine. But I think I'll take a nap now." Sarah said and rolled over without another word.
The Doctor stood beside the bed in shock. Something was wrong, very wrong. It seemed as if she was trying to get rid of him. He went to the console room and refined the circuit to transmit movement inside the Tardis to a portable monitor he had in his laboratory outside the Tardis. Sarah was up to something and he wasn't sure it had anything to do with her injuries.