Title: Not Just A Fairytale Romance
Chapter: Four
Pairing: Sarah Jane/(older)Maria
Rating: General
Chapter Summary: Clyde finally gets some answers, Sarah Jane reflects upon the revelations
Chapter Four
Luke knocked gently on the attic door a second time.
"Mum?" he asked as he tentatively pushed it open
"Come in Luke." Luke walked over to the settee with two mugs of tea. Clyde followed behind him.
"Are you both alright? You've been up here for hours"
"We're fine Luke." Sarah Jane replied. Clyde hovered in the background bouncing on the balls of his feet with excitement.
"Are you really Maria? What's the future like? Has something really awful happened? When did you learn to ride a motorbike? What are we doing in your time? Which year are you from?"
"Hey! Enough of the questions Clyde, Maria's had a long day." Sarah Jane warned.
"Sorry Maria." Clyde looked a little sheepish, but still remained excited.
"It's alright Clyde, if I was in your position I'd have lots of questions too. I can't answer everything, but I'll tell you what I can." Maria took a sip of her tea and smiled affectionately at the pair. Clyde and Luke took a seat on the floor in front of her and listened intently.
"Yes, I'm really me. I'm from 2031, so I'm 37 years old right now. I learnt to ride after I came back from America. Dad wasn't keen and neither was Sarah, although that hasn't stopped her riding pillion - more than once."
"If you think you're ever getting me on that thing..."
"That's what she said at first."
"Sarah Jane a biker-chick!? I can't believe it!" Clyde was enjoying Maria's tales from the future.
"This is proper sci-fi!" he exclaimed. Maria laughed gently.
"It's not all good Clyde, that's why I'm here. We have some unpleasant aliens to deal with." Sarah Jane was relieved Maria hadn't said 'kill' as she was still more than a little apprehensive about that.
"But there's time for that tomorrow. You're both working hard and are very successful in your jobs. You both still have an active role in alien adventures."
"Are we married yet? Do we have kids?" Maria snorted with restrained laughter; Clyde wouldn't know how prophetic his words would be. Sarah Jane gave Maria a quizzical look.
"I can safely say that you're married but don't have any children."
"What about you Maria? What are you doing? Are you with anyone? What about Mum? What's she like in 2031?" Maria's smiled faded slightly, but only Sarah Jane noticed.
"I'm very happy Luke, so is your Mum." Maria felt tears stinging at her eyes and she looked to Sarah Jane in a silent plea.
"Right you two, off to bed. I think Maria's had quite enough tonight. I'm sure we could all do with some sleep." Luke and Clyde shuffled out of the attic with mumbled 'goodnights.' Clyde even surprised Maria with a peck on the cheek. Maria collapsed back onto the settee, let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes.
"Are you alright Maria?"
"I'm just drained, that's all."
"Come on, let's get you settled in the spare room." Sarah Jane reached out a hand to help Maria up. Maria got to her feet and found herself incredibly close to the other woman. There was an odd moment of tension before Sarah Jane looked away and headed out of the attic, followed closely by Maria.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
To Maria's surprise she slept quite soundly that night. It was probably because it was the first in over three months that she hadn't had to look over her shoulder every five minutes. She was exhausted from the time travelling and from having to tell Sarah Jane a lot of very emotionally draining history. It was difficult to be in such close proximity to the woman whom she had first fallen in love with and not be able to touch her in the way that she so desperately needed to. Just a hug of reassurance or a gentle but passionate kiss to say everything was going to be alright. This Sarah Jane was reserved and cautious, just like the one Maria had initially met when she had moved into Bannerman Road.
Sarah Jane, on the other hand, barely slept at all. All of the incredible things that Maria had told her about were swirling around her head in an endless loop.
A mother....she was going to be a biological mother to a little girl, and Maria was the other parent. All nappies and teething and crying. And first steps, first words, unconditional love, and an unbreakable bond. A little girl that was both her and Maria; inquisitive and beautiful and smart. A daughter created by love and friendship and with just a little help from science.
A lover...she was going to be someone's lover, something she had long since given up on. Her work saving the Earth took up far too much of her time and even if someone had understood it, they'd probably have had a difficult time with the number of times she put her own life in danger. But Maria understood everything without question, she always had. Sarah Jane openly acknowledged that she and Maria had always shared a kind of chemistry, never thinking that one day it might turn into romantic love. Being in the presence of this adult Maria who was so worldly and sure of herself, Sarah Jane could certainly see that she was exactly the sort of woman she could fall in love with.
A young-old woman...she was going to live to be 160 years old? Now that one really did her head in. Sarah Jane couldn't even begin to imagine it. Yet at the back of her mind she knew that Maria had been right. She had already noticed things about herself that she didn't understand. Most people joked that they wanted to live forever, or at least look young into their old age. After meeting Jack Harkness and witnessing such sadness in his eyes, the point was really driven home to Sarah Jane that immortality was something more of a curse than a blessing. But Maria had said that she was not immortal, just aging slower than usual. She would see Maria, and Luke and Clyde grow old and die. She might even see her own daughter pass on before her. It was a difficult thing to face up to, but what choice did she have? If her life was going to be a lengthy one anyway, then she may as well take the chance and find happiness along the way. That was if she was indeed happy. There was still something Maria wasn't telling her, something she was holding back. Why didn't her counterpart know about the baby yet? Maria was more than three months along, would be noticeably pregnant to someone that close to her. Thinking about it, it was more what Maria wasn't saying that bothered her more.
Sarah Jane hadn't even wanted to begin to think about the Nyladrones and what Maria had asked her to do. That was a discussion they would be having first thing in the morning and in no uncertain circumstances was Sarah Jane going to let any weaponry be used. That was another thing about this Maria that didn't add up. She would never have suggested such a thing to her before. How bad was it going to get for this compassionate and caring individual to start making those sorts of suggestions? Sarah Jane rolled over in her bed and sighed deeply, this was going to be a very long sleepless night.