2x03 "School Reunion"
I walked with the Doctor into the middle school classroom. We were going to be teaching physics… well he was. I was horrible at school, just barely passing with acceptable grades. It wasn't that I was stupid it was just that no one seamed to teach me in a way I could understand. Maybe that's why I liked to listen to the Doctor. Because even if I didn't know exactly what he was talking about it, he said it in a way that made it slightly easier to understand. I stood beside the Doctor as he put his bag down on the teacher's desk and faced the class. "Good morning, class. Are we sitting comfortably?" he grinned.
The Doctor scrawled the word 'physics' in capital letters on the whiteboard and underlined it. "So. Physics." He replaced the cap of the dry erase marker and chucked it down on the desk. "Physics. Eh? Physics. Phyyyyyyyysics. Physics! Physics. Physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics." The class looked at him, trying to hide their smiles and laughter while I smiled and snickered openly. The Doctor turned to give me a look and I quickly rose my hand to cover my mouth so the students wouldn't see me smile and laugh. He sniffed purposefully as he turned back. "I hope one of you is getting all this down. Um, okay - let's see what you know. Two identical strips of nylon are charged with static electricity and hung from a string so they can swing freely. What would happen if they were brought near each other?" Holy crap I know that! But then, this is a school for middle school kids or whatever they call it here. A boy in the front row rose his hand. "Yes - uh, what's your name?"
"Milo," the boy said.
The Doctor smiled, "Milo! Off you go."
"They'd repel each other because they have the same charge," he said.
The Doctor nodded, "Correctamundo!" He paused slightly. "A word I have never used before and hopefully never will again." He glanced at me, clearly wanting to know if he would ever say it again. I shook my head, no not to my knowledge. The Doctor turned back to his class. "Question two - I coil up a thin piece of micro wire and place it in a glass of water. Then I turn on the electricity and measure to see if the water's temperature is affected. My question is this; how do I measure the electrical power going into the coil?" Milo's hand shot into the air again. "Someone else." No one bothered to raise their hand. "Nope... ? Okay, Milo - go for it."
Milo put his arm down and answered, "Measure the current and PDs in an ampmeter and a voltmeter."
The other pupils, and me, watched him impressed. The Doctor nodded. "Two to Milo! Right then, Milo, tell me this; true or false - the greater the dampening of the system, the quicker it loses energy to its surroundings."
"False," he answered.
"What is a non-coding DNA?" the Doctor asked.
"DNA that doesn't code for a protein."
"Sixty-five-thousand-nine-hundred-and-eighty-three times five?" the Doctor asked. Oh my god, my head hurts!
"Three-hundred-and-twenty-nine-thousand-nine-hundred-and-fifteen," Milo answered. I turned my attention from Milo, child with the super-brain, to the other students. Some looked rather impressed with Milo's knowledge, while others looked just plain disturbed. I was a little on the fence right now, I knew how Milo got his knowledge and that disturbed and disgusted me. While the knowledge in and of itself was amazing. With that kind of knowledge, one would actually understand every word the Doctor said without getting lost.
"How do you travel faster than light?" the Doctor asked, finally wanting to see how much Milo truly knew.
"By opening a quantum tunnel with an FTL factor of 36.7 recurring," Milo answered.
The Doctor's jaw dropped. He was silent for a long while until I nudged him. "Umm… Mr. Smith," I used the name he chose even though I still though he should have chosen David Tennent. The Doctor focused his attention on me. "I understand your amazed at how much Milo knows… but you still have a class to teach."
The Doctor nodded. "Right." He clapped his hands. "So…" and off he went on with what seamed to be a never ending supply of things for a Physics class to do. Lucky me, I got to spend the rest of this class and the next three listening to him talk. I was never really introduced, I just kind of sat in the back of the class, pretending to write notes. But rather I wrote down everything that I could remember about this 'episode' for when the Doctor asked later. And he would ask later.
-x-x-x-
It finally came time for lunch, the time where we would be seeing our other cohort. Miss Rose Tyler! I walked beside the Doctor as he moved along the lunch line with the children and filled his tray. He turned towards me, "Are you sure your not hungry?"
I smiled at him. "I already told you. I have three reasons for not eating. One; I'm seriously not hungry. Two; I don't eat school food. And three; there's no way in fucking hell," I ignored the look one of the lunch ladies gave me for swearing, "I am not going to eat this food knowing where it came from. Just like I wont let you eat it."
"And you still wont tell me why," he reminded. The Doctor smiled at Rose, who had the unfortunate job of being an under cover lunch lady. Well it wouldn't be that unfortunate if this wasn't dealing with aliens. Rose spooned mashed potatoes onto his plate and gave him a dirty look. He just smirked at her before moving on. I gave her a weak smile and mouthed 'sorry' to the blonde.
The Doctor led me over to the table of his choice. He made to eat one of the fries – CHIPS! – and I grabbed the fry from his hand, putting it back on the try. "You eat that and I will take that fork on your plate and stab you with it."
Rose came over just now and began to wipe down our table. "Two days," she growled.
"Sorry, could you just- there's a bit of gravy," he pointed to a spot on the table with the fork I had just threatened him with. Rose wiped the table. "No, no - just there." Rose then wiped up the gravy spot that was actually on the table.
"Two days, we've been here," Rose said.
The Doctor shrugged, "Blame your boyfriend, he's the one who put Faline and I onto this. And you were the one that wanted to join in. And he was right. Boy in class this morning - got a knowledge way beyond planet Earth."
"I told you," I said. "Why is it you don't seam to want to listen to me?"
The Doctor gave me and almost dear in headlights look, "I listen to you."
"It took me two hours to convince you to listen to Mickey," I reminded him. He didn't want to seam to believe that what Mickey was saying was true. I didn't really blame him seeing as Mickey wasn't his type of companion, but he was mine. Once I started screaming at him to listen to him then he finally took the time to listen to me about the situation.
Rose made to reach for one of the fries and I quickly grabbed her hand. The blonde sighed and pulled her hand back, "Right sorry. It's just they look so good."
"I know that," I said. "They have to look good and taste good for the kids to eat them." I looked around. "Its really sickening to see them eating the food here." Rose sat down beside me.
The Doctor then too, looked around the lunchroom. "It's very well behaved, this place." Rose and I nodded. "I thought there'd be happy-slapping hoodies. Happy-slapping hoodies with ASBOs. Happy-slapping hoodies with ASBOs and ringtones." He stared at Rose and I impressively. "Yeah? Yeah? Oh, yeah! Don't tell me I don't fit in."
I rolled my eyes, "You're a moron."
The Doctor made to retort but another lunch lady… probably the head lunch lady came over to our table. She turned to Rose, "You are not permitted to leave your station during a sitting."
Rose stood, "I was just talking to this teacher and his aid."
The Doctor smiled at the lunch woman and waved, "Hello." I just gave a smile.
"He doesn't like the chips," Rose said quickly.
The head lunch lady looked almost insulted, "The menu has been specifically designed by the headmaster to improve concentration and performance. Now, get back to work." She left our table and I shivered. Way too creepy for words.
Rose then made her away from the table. "Rose," I said catching her attention. "I'll buy you proper food after school, okay?" The blonde smirked and gave me thumbs up as she left. I turned to the Doctor and said, "You too."
Our attention was then turned to another teacher, Mr. Wagner, approach a girl sitting a few tables away. "Melissa," the girl looked up. "You'll be joining my class for the next period. Milo's failed me... so it's time we moved you up to the top class." My hand moved into the Doctor's as the teacher turned his attention to anther student that wasn't eating the fries. "Kenny? Not eating the chips?"
"I'm not allowed," Kenny answered. Bravo to Kenny's mom!
The teacher turned his attention to another child, "Luke – extra class. Now." The teacher then left with several of the children following him.
The two of us followed the movement with our eyes. There was a silence between us before the Doctor asked, "They're safe, right?"
I nodded, "For now. It's a good thing that Mickey was able to contact us and tell us about this." The Doctor sighed and I laughed. "No way am I letting you live that down Doctor. You should trust me more often."
"It's not you, it's him," he told me.
I rolled my eyes. "Ten, that barely makes sense. All Mickey did was remind me what was next and when it was set during." I smiled and laced our fingers. "And I promised you a surprise that I'm positive you'll like."
"Which I really want you to tell me," he reminded me.
I laughed and shrugged, "I know."
-x-x-x-
I sat beside the Doctor as he 'worked' on his class assignments and nibbled on a biscuit. I didn't pay much attention to the teacher talking to the Doctor. No one seamed to want to even look at me. I suppose it might be because of the way I dressed; black converse, darkwash skinny jeans stained in bleach, and a vanilla colored tank top under a leather suit jacket. I thought I looked pretty nice, but apparently it wasn't to these teachers. I kept myself busy by looking over what would happen this 'episode'. The more I thought about it, the more I remembered. I kept my eyes on my notepad, which I stole from the classroom the Doctor was using, as the teacher spoke. "But yesterday, I had a twelve-year-old girl give me the exact height of the Walls of Troy... in cubits," he said. My eyes widened. Holy shit. I know that these kids are smart, and I know why. But hearing about it is so surprising.
"And, it's ever since the new headmaster arrived?" the Doctor asked. Yes, ever since Anthony Head arrived. Well, that's not his name but rather that of the actor that played him. I only remember that because he was Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Uther on Merlin. Ya, I watch too much tv; especially BBC.
The teacher nodded, "Finch arrived three months ago. Next day, half the staff got flu. Finch replaced them with that lot." He nodded towards the group of smart looking teachers. The Doctor looked over his shoulder at them and I quickly glanced at them. Its kind of creepy knowing that they're the evil aliens that looked like bat-gargoyle things. "Except for the teacher you replaced, and that was just plain weird, her winning the lottery like that."
I smirked as the Doctor asked, "How's that weird?"
"She never played!" the teacher said. "Said the ticket was posted through her door at midnight."
The Doctor popped another biscuit into his mouth and we both shared a look, trying to hide our smiles. "Hmm! The world is very strange."
"Excuse me, colleagues - a moment of your time." We all turned to Mr. Finch, aka Anthony Head. I smiled when I saw who stood beside him and immediately had to cover my mouth with one hand and pinch my leg with the other to keep from jumping up and calling her name. I'm so excited to be meeting Sarah Jane Smith, the one companion that always meant the most to me, and probably the most to the Doctor. I glanced at the Doctor to see him just staring at her with wide eyes. "May I introduce Miss Sarah Jane Smith. Miss Smith is a journalist, who's writing a profile about me for the Sunday Times." Sarah Jane smiled at all of us. I felt kind of bad that she didn't know who the Doctor was at the moment, but she would and I couldn't wait for that. I saw the Doctor's face as the corners of his mouth began to turn upward in a smile. "I thought it might be useful for her to get 'a view from the trenches', so to speak. Don't spare my blushes." Mr. Finch then left.
Sarah Jane caught the Doctor's eye and approached him. "Hello!" she said with a smile.
"Oh, I should think so!" the Doctor said with his brilliant smile.
"And, you are... ?" Sarah Jane asked.
The Doctor couldn't take his eyes off her. I can tell that I'm a jealous person, but for some reason involving Sarah Jane I didn't feel that way. I knew they had a past and I almost knew that she would stay here, and then I would give her Jack and my number so if she needed anything then we could contact each other. "Hm? Uh, Smith. John Smith."
Sarah Jane tilted her head slightly, "John Smith? I used to have a friend who sometimes went by that name."
The Doctor smiled, "Well, it's a very common name!"
I could see her eyes glaze over slightly as she remembered her Doctor. "He was a very uncommon man." I snickered and Sarah Jane turned her attention to me. "Oh, hello," she said. "You are?"
I smiled at her and stood. "I'm Faline Marks." I nudged the Doctor's side. "I'm his teaching assistant. I kind of wish he taught me in school, then I might have passed my Science class the first time." I shrugged. "But then of course my last science teacher and I bonded over…" I didn't want to give anything away so I said. "My favorite tv show, it's basically my life." The Doctor smiled at me, knowing exactly what I'm talking about. "And…" I trailed off. "I'm rambling." I looked to Sarah Jane's smiling face. "I never ramble," unless I'm tipsy then I ramble. I hit the Doctor's shoulder. He pouted and made a soft 'ow', because I didn't hit him that hard. "I hang out with you way to much." I then turned to Sarah Jane and said, "He rambles, and he's rude. Well, rude to anyone but me, because he knows that I wont let him get away with it."
The Doctor placed his hand on my shoulder. "Rambling," he told me.
I placed my hands over my face, took a deep breath, and then removed my hands smiling at Sarah Jane. "I'm sorry. I'm just really happy to meet you, and I'm going to sit down and shut up now." I sat down in my chair and began to go through my note again. Or rather I pretended to. I wanted to listen to the Doctor talk to Sarah Jane.
Sarah Jane smiled at the both of us. "Well, it's nice to meet you!"
The Doctor smiled back at her and said, "Nice to meet you! Yes! Very nice! More than nice - brilliant!"
A flash of something, I would like to say remembrance, flashed across her face. "Um... so, um, have you two worked here long?"
"No! Um, it's only our second day," the Doctor told her.
Sarah Jane then went into; well the best thing to call it is Detective mode … or maybe 'Doctor' mode. "Oh, you're new, then? So, what do you think of the school? I mean, this new curriculum?" Sarah Jane didn't seam to notice the endless smile the Doctor was giving her. "So many children getting ill - doesn't that strike you as odd?"
The grin never left the Doctor's face as he said, "You don't sound like someone just doing a profile."
She shrugged, "Well, no harm in a little investigation while I'm here."
"No. Good for you." Sarah Jane walked off to talk to some of the other teachers. Clearly the Doctor was proud of her because as he continued as she walked away. "Good for you. Oh, good for you, Sarah Jane Smith."
I stood up and nudge his side. He looked down at me and I nodded back to Sarah Jane. "And that's why you need to visit your companions after your done with them." If the situation permits it of course. With a situation like Donna's I understand why, but the Doctor should go to see them. The bell rang and he took my hand, pulling from the teacher's lounge and into the hallway's sea of students. I can tell that the Doctor was thinking about what I said, knowing that on some level I was correct.
-x-x-x-
It was the middle of the night as the Doctor opened the fire door and enter the school, holding the door for me as we were followed by Mickey and Rose. Rose looked around and said, "Oh, it's weird seeing school at night. It just feels wrong."
I shrugged, "Not so much." She turned to give me a look. "My cousins did a lot of plays and musicals. So I was there until ten at some points."
We made our way down the corridor. "When I was a kid, I used to think all the teachers slept in school." I shivered, they did! Its alright though, thankfully I told the Doctor a few of my notes from earlier.
"All right, team," the Doctor said. "Oh, I hate people who say 'team'. Um... 'gang'. Um... 'comrades'. Uh... anyway, Rose, go to the kitchen and get a sample of that oil. Mickey, the new staff are all Maths teachers, go and check out the Maths department. Faline and I are gonna look in Finch's office. Be back here in ten minutes." He made his way towards the stairs, pulling me along by my hand.
We made it to the top of the stairs and went down the dark corridor. At the sound of screeches and flaps in the distance I flinched away from the noise and moved towards the Doctor. He kissed the top of my head and held me for a moment before dragging me along to find the source of the noise. Really? Do we have to? Well, I guess we do but… that doesn't mean I'm not terrified.
We continue to make our way down the hall, only to end up down the corridor where the TARDIS is parked. My hand tightened in the Doctor's as the door to the TARDIS opened and Sarah Jane came out. The Doctor stopped the two of us as the older woman turned to see us standing there in the darkness. Like that's not creepy.
"Hello, Sarah Jane," the Doctor said quietly.
"It's you," she whispered. "Oh... Doctor..." A smile started to spread across her face as she made her way towards us. "Oh, my God, it's you, it's... it's... you've regenerated."
The Doctor smiled, "Half a dozen times since we last met."
"You look... incredible," she said.
"So do you," the Doctor told her. And she did. Sarah Jane looked amazing, for her age.
"I got old," she said. Sarah Jane edged around him, staring at him. "What're you doing here?"
"Well... UFO sightings, school gets record results - I couldn't resist. What about you?"
"Same," she added. The two laughed for a moment. Sarah Jane's smile faltered and she sounded close to tears when she spoke again. "I thought you'd died. I waited for you and you didn't come back, and I thought you must've died."
"I lived," the Doctor said, his voice darkening as he continued, "Everyone else died." My hand tightened in the Doctor's to let him know that he wasn't alone.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
I could hear the pain in his voice as he said, "Everyone died, Sarah."
Sarah Jane shook her head and then whispered in disbelief, "I can't believe it's you." The moment they were having was cut off by the sound of Mickey screaming. Sarah Jane smiled and said, "Okay! Now I can!"
We shared a smile; well the Doctor and Sarah Jane shared a smile before we ran down the corridor towards the source of the scream. We almost ran into Rose, who came from a converging corridor. "Did you hear that?"
I rolled my eyes and said, "Ya Rose. Your boyfriend screams like a girl."
The blonde pushed me slightly before she noticed Sarah Jane, "Who's she?"
I smiled and said, "Sarah Jane Smith!"
Sarah Jane gave me a look but I just smiled at her as she and Rose shook hands. Sarah Jane wore a strained smile as she said, "Hi. Nice to meet you." She turned to the Doctor and said, "You can tell you're getting older - your assistants are getting younger."
I laughed and said, "So are his regenerations." I looked the Doctor over quickly, "He looks in his late thirties at the oldest. The next one will be even younger." I paused, "And Rose isn't his traveling buddy. I am." The idea that I was the Doctor's companion hadn't seamed to process into Sarah Jane's mind as she started at me for a moment.
During that moment the Doctor took my hand and pulled me away down the corridor. We finally found Mickey in one of the science classrooms, on the floor. He was surrounded by almost fifty vacuum-packed rats. Mickey lifted himself up saying, "Sorry! Sorry, it was only me. You told me to investigate, so I - I started looking through some of these cupboards and all of these fell out of them."
The Doctor bent down and picked up a few of the vacuum-packed rats to examine them. Rose looked down at them, refusing to touch them. "Oh, my God," she said, "they're rats. Dozens of rats. Vacuum packed rats."
The Doctor gave Mickey a look, "And you decided to scream."
I shrugged, "I would have screamed."
The Doctor glanced at me while Mickey argued, "It took me by surprise!"
"Like a little girl?" the Doctor asked almost joking with him.
I smirked as Mickey argued, "It was dark! I was covered in rats!"
"Nine, maybe ten years old. I'm seeing pigtails, frilly skirt."
I pushed the Doctor's shoulder and said, "That jumped passed rude and went to mean." I then leaned forward and whispered, "Even though it's kind of true." He smirked at me.
"Hello," Rose said gaining our attention. "Can we focus? Does anyone notice anything strange about this? Rats in school?"
Sarah Jane rolled her eyes, "Well, obviously they use them in Biology lessons. They dissect them. Or maybe you haven't reached that bit yet. How old are you?" The last question was also directed at me. I really don't think that she has much to say about age though. I've seen pictures of her when she first met the Doctor. She didn't look much older then Rose and I.
Rose, not being the type to just lay down and take anything, snapped back, "Excuse me, no one dissects rats in school anymore. They haven't done that for years. Where are you from, the dark ages?"
The Doctor quickly said, "Anyway, moving on." I could tell that both Sarah Jane and Rose wanted to continue their argument, but settled for giving each other the dirtiest looks. "Everything started when Mr Finch arrived. We should go and check his office."
I groaned as we all followed him down the corridor. "Do we have to?" He gave me a look. "I can just tell you what's in there without us having to go into the lions den, so to speak." My voice was low enough that only the Doctor heard me, not that I was hiding this from anyone I was just seriously freaked out and didn't want to be much louder then a whisper.
"You know that's not how you do things Faline," the Doctor said.
I sighed, "I know. I just really don't want to get anywhere near the office. It's really freaky." The Doctor didn't say anything else, only wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close enough to kiss the top of my head.
There was a slight silence before I hear Rose say to Sarah Jane, "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but who exactly are you?"
Sarah Jane introduced herself, a little snippy. "Sarah Jane Smith. I used to travel with the Doctor."
"Oh! Well, he's never mentioned you," Rose said. I rolled my eyes. My god, it's not like she's actually around to know… but she's still kind of right. The Doctor never mentioned Sarah Jane.
The Doctor glanced back at them, "Oh, I must've done! Sarah Jane! Mention her all the time." He glanced at me and I shook my head to tell him Rose was right.
Rose pretended to think about it. "Hold on… sorry… never."
I sighed, "Rose. Will you stop picking on Sarah Jane?" I turned to them, walking backwards. My hand was in the Doctor's to make sure I didn't fall. "I'm sorry to tell you that you have been never mentioned up until this point." I smiled, "But you will be important, Sarah Jane. And just because you weren't mentioned doesn't mean that your replaced or forgotten." I turned back around and the Doctor squeezed my hand telling me I said the right thing.
-x-x-x-
The Doctor used the sonic screwdriver to unlock the door to Mr. Finch's office. I stayed away from the door, not wanting to be anywhere near the room. "Maybe those rats were food," the Doctor said.
Rose frowned, "Food for what?"
The Doctor opened the door and peered inside. There were strange noises coming from inside the room, but I still didn't move to look inside. I could see that the Doctor was looking right where I had told him to; up. "Rose..." the Doctor said. "You know you used to think all the teachers slept in the school... ? Well... they do."
Mickey turned on his heel and made his way away from the door after seeing what was inside. "Now way!" Sarah Jane and Rose quickly left as well.
It took a moment for the Doctor to actually leave, shutting the door behind him. He turned to me and quietly asked, "Do you know what they are?"
I shook my head as I took his hand, "No." We quickly made our way down the hall behind Sarah Jane, Rose, and Mickey. "You said something about that alien changing so much to adapt to their surroundings through the years you aren't entirely sure what they are seeing as you haven't seen them in a pretty long time… so that might help narrow it down."
"It does," he said.
The five of us burst through the front doors of the school. Mickey gasped out, "I am not going back in there. No way."
"Those were teachers!" Rose gasped out in shock.
"When Finch arrived, he brought with him seven new teachers, four dinner ladies and a nurse. Thirteen. Thirteen big bat people. Come on." The Doctor made his way to go back inside. I quickly grabbed his arm, holding on tight.
"Don't!" I said quickly. I didn't want him to go in there. The TARDIS was safe for now. She wouldn't be bothered by the alien bats.
The Doctor turned to me and said, "I need the TARDIS. I've got to analyze that oil from the kitchen."
Sarah Jane spoke so suddenly that I let go of the Doctor's arm, "I might be able to help you, there. I've got something to show you!" Sarah Jane took the arm of the Doctor that I released and pulled him excitedly in the direction of the parking lot. I frowned slightly. What was she so happy about? OH! I rushed after them.
Sarah Jane was opening the back of her car. Inside was something covered with a green blanket. The Doctor pulled off the blanket to reveal K9. Yay! The Doctor, delighted, cried out, "K9!" He turned slightly to Rose, Mickey, and I. "Faline Marks, Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith - allow me to introduce K9- well, K9 Mark III to be precise."
Mickey and Rose glanced at each other with an 'it's a tin dog' sort of expression. "Why does he look so… disco?"
I turned to Rose quickly and said, "Don't diss the robot dog."
"Listen," the Doctor said with passion, "in the year five thousand, this was cutting edge!" He turned to Sarah Jane, "What's happened to him?"
"Oh, one day, he just... nothing!" I glanced at the older woman and could tell that it had hurt her when K9 stopped working and I understood. K9 was pretty much her only connection to the Doctor. If the Doctor were to leave me right now I would cling to anything that connected me to him too.
"Well, didn't you try and get him repaired?" the Doctor asked.
Sarah Jane rolled her eyes. "Well, it's not like getting parts for a mini-metro! Beside, the technology inside him could rewrite human science. I couldn't show him to anyone!"
The Doctor then began to coo at K9, "Ooh, what's the nasty lady done to you? Eh?"
Mickey stared at the Doctor while Rose rolled her eyes. The Doctor stroked K9 making coo-ing noises. Sarah Jane threw both Rose and I what can only be called as a triumphant glance.
"Look," Rose said with a slight… okay heavy growl, "no offense but could you two just stop petting for a minute? Never mind the tin dog, we're busy!"
The Doctor closed the back of the car, grinning. He turned to me and smiled, as I smiled back at him. Until my smile dropped. His, too, dropped but then he understood. I pulled my vibrating phone from my back pocket. I looked at the picture on the phone and then chosen name 'Answer Me Kitten'. I quickly answered the phone. "Hello!" I said with a smile.
"I see you," the voice on the other end said.
My smile fell slightly as I spun around. I quickly spotted the very familiar van. "You know, I used to freak out one of my classmates like that." I turned away from the van, not wanting the others who were waiting for me by the doors to Sarah Jane's car to see who was inside. "Only I said I was outside her window watching as she slept." CJH laughed on the other end of the line. "So why is it you called me?"
"I came by to check on the school. We were getting readings, but I saw you here with the Doctor. So I had to call you."
I smiled. "Ya, we're taking care of it. So there's no need to worry about it." I saw Rose waving me over, clearly they wanted to leave right now and just wanted me to just talk in the car. I made my way to the car and sat in the back with Rose and Mickey. I sat right behind the Doctor. "As you can see I'm in the car, so I get to be cryptic now."
CJH laughed. "That you do." He paused. "Who was that other woman? I know its not Jackie."
The car drove past the truck and I barely glanced at it, not wanting them to look too. "Like Jackie would be helping us this late at night when its not life or death." Rose nudged me with a smile. She knew that what I was saying was true. "Anyways, her name is Sarah Jane Smith. An… old friend of our mutual acquaintance."
"That wasn't very cryptic," CJH told me.
I glared slightly. "Don't ruin this for me!" I met the Doctor's curious eyes in the rear view mirror and I smiled at him. "Anyway, since you know all is going well on my end. How are you and your Scooby gang?"
"We're all doing well. Nothing to worry about. If anything happened then I would have called you," he told me.
"You better. I call and give you information all the time, you better do the same." I paused and then quickly said, "Oh! And you better tell me anytime anyone else joins your buddy list."
"Buddy list?" he laughed.
"Shut the hell up. No one wants you input," I told him. I was seriously irritated he kept laughing at me. The Doctor kept staring at me and for some reason I felt so guilty for not paying attention to him and all my attention was on CJH. "Hey, I'm gonna go. I'll talk when all is good and done."
"Alright, bye Kitten," he said.
"Bye," I told him, hanging up the phone.
"Who was that?" Mickey asked, leaning forward to see me, seeing as Rose sat between us.
I smiled, "Mutual friend."
-x-x-x-
I sat in a 'Chip Shop' as Rose and Mickey had told me, playing Angry Birds on my phone. The Doctor and Sarah Jane were sitting at the table closest to the window, chatting and laughing while the Doctor tried to fix K9, who was sitting on said table. I didn't want to intrude on their time alone as they talked about the past, just like I wouldn't intrude when the Doctor and River talked about their past in the future… unless I was part of said past which I hope to be. Rose and Mickey were by the counter talking to one another quietly about what I could only assume to be Rose's issues with Sarah Jane. Which I kind of didn't get. In the show she didn't like Sarah Jane because Rose felt that the older woman was a threat to her love interest… but Rose isn't in love with the Doctor. I was… so what was the matter?
Rose came up beside me after ordering her 'chips' and offered me some. I smiled at the blonde. "Thanks Rose," I said taking a few fries. I watched her for a moment before asking, "Why do you hate Sarah Jane?"
Rose looked surprised. "What?" she asked.
"Why don't you like her?" I repeated. "I know its not because your jealous like in the show… so why?"
There was a long silence between the two of us, the only interruption was Mickey reaching over and stealing some fries… chips… whatever. "I guess its because she's stealing him from you." I covered my mouth to keep from laughing. "What?" Rose asked quickly.
"Rose," I said after I calmed down. "I'm not worried about Sarah Jane. When it comes down to it, she has a life here now. Not one that can be thrown away like yours or mine. She has someone who depends on her and she wont give that up." I smirked, "Plus… I know what's going to happen. So I'm not worried." I glanced at the Doctor and Sarah Jane. "This is good for the both of them, seeing one another and having the chance to talk about the past, things that I can't talk to about because I don't know them."
"Miss," the man behind the counter called out to me.
I rose and walked over to him, taking the two cups of tea that I already paid for. I smiled at him saying, "Thank you." I brought the two cups of tea over to the Doctor and Sarah Jane. "Tea," I said to them taking the two of them out of their conversation of Sarah Jane disliking the fact that the Doctor shows all his companions such amazing things and then dropping them off back home without any final words and the hope that he'll come back.
"Thank you," Sarah Jane said taking one of the cups.
"Thanks," the Doctor said, taking the cup and quickly kissed my lips. That was something I hadn't been expecting, neither had Sarah Jane whose eyes widened at the sight of the Doctor kissing me.
Sarah Jane turned to me slightly, "You were there for Christmas?"
I nodded taking a seat on the table across from them. "Yes. So were Rose and Mickey…" I kept myself from mentioning CJH. I didn't need Sarah Jane asking questions that might give away his identity to the Doctor when he wasn't ready. There was a slight moment before I said; "You weren't the only one that couldn't make it to the spaceship on Christmas."
Sarah Jane and the Doctor both frowned at me and asked together, "Who?"
I smiled and told them, "Someone that Sarah Jane will be told about and someone the Doctor already knows."
There was a long silence. Neither knew how to respond to that. Sarah Jane was clearly curious about who I was talking about and the Doctor was confused on who I could be talking about. I just smiled at the two of them. There was no way either of them was going to get the answer out of me anytime soon. Sarah Jane turned to the Doctor who turned his sonic back on and returned to repairing K9, "It wasn't Croydon - where you dropped me off, it wasn't Croydon!"
The Doctor looked to her confused, "Where was it?"
The older woman glared as she said with irritation, "Aberdeen."
His eyes widened as he realized what she said was true, "Right." He paused. "That's next to Croydon, isn't it?" Sarah Jane smiled and shook her head. At that moment, K9 sprung to life. "Oh, hey! Now we're in business!"
The Doctor leapt to his feet and stood in front of me so K9 could see him. I stood and walked around him slightly. "Master!" the robot dog cried.
"He recognizes me!" the Doctor said, ecstatic.
"Affirmative," K9 said with a slight nod.
The Doctor turned to Rose, "Rose, give us the oil."
Rose quickly pulled the jar with the yellowish oil from her pocket and handed it to me. I opened the top and held it out to the Doctor knowing that he was either going to touch it or eat it. He always seamed to do that. Rose quickly spoke up when the Doctor moved to dip his finger in, "I wouldn't touch it, though, that dinner lady got all scalged."
"I'm no dinner lady. And I don't often say that." The Doctor dipped his finger into the oil and moved it over to K9, careful not to get any on my hand holding the jar. K9 push out a sensor for the Doctor to smear it onto, which he does. "Here we go. Come on, boy. Here we go." I quickly put a lid onto the substance and handed it to the Doctor, who put the jar into his pocket.
"Oil," K9 said."Ex- ex- ex- extract ana- an- analysing..."
Mickey grinned, "Listen to it, man! That's a voice!"
Sarah Jane turned and glared at him, "Careful! That's my dog!" Mickey looked sheepish for saying something against the dog. I rolled my eyes, moron.
"Confirmation of analysis," K9 told us, "substance is Krillitane Oil."
The Doctor's eyes widened, "They're Krillitanes."
Rose frowned and asked, "Is that bad?"
The Doctor nodded, "Very. Think of how bad things could possibly be, and add another suitcase full of bad."
"And what are..." Sarah Jane said, "Krillitanes?"
"They're a composite race. Just like your culture is a mixture of traditions from all sorts of countries - people you've invaded or have been invaded by, you've got bits- bits of Viking, bits of France, bits of whatever - the Krillitanes are the same. An amalgam of the races they've conquered. But they take physical aspects as well. They cherry-pick the best bits from the people they destroy." The Doctor turned to me. "That's why I didn't recognize them. The last time I saw Krillitanes, they looked just like us except they had really long necks. That's what you were talking about."
I nodded, "Ya. Exactly. I just didn't remember their name for the life of me. Be surprised I remember that, I never really liked this episode other then Sarah Jane and K9." I smirked, "And you teaching Physics."
"Episode?" Sarah Jane asked clearly confused. My eyes widened. FUCK! I wasn't planning on dropping the bomb like this so suddenly. I wanted to ease a bit more into it like I did with Rose, Mickey, and Jackie. "What are you talking about?"
I sighed and said, "Another time." I told her, brushing it off. Sarah Jane and I would have a very long talk about what's going behind the curtain but at the moment it wasn't the most important thing.
"What're these Krillitanes doing here?" Rose asked taking the attention from me to the situation at hand.
I looked on as the horrible truth hit the Doctor, "It's the children. They're doing something to the children."
-x-x-x-
I stayed back with Rose and the Doctor as Mickey and Sarah Jane hoisted K9 into the back of Sarah Jane's car. I knew that at the moment it was Mickey's realization that he was our 'Tin Dog'. I felt bad about that, Mickey was one of my favorite companions… well after Rory because truthfully no one can top Rory… other then Donna. But that's because Donna's the Doctor-Donna… hmmm… will she be the Doctor-Donna? What would happen to Duplicate Ten? Would there be a Duplicate Ten? Would I be around for that?
"Faline?" the Doctor's voice hit me and I turned to face him. "You okay?" he asked.
I nodded, "Ya. I was just thinking a bit too far ahead, I guess. My train of thought just jumped the tracks and derailed for a moment." I smiled at his worried look. I leaned up slightly and kissed the Doctor. "I'm fine, promise."
The Doctor nodded, giving my hair a slight pet. Rose came up beside us, looking at the Doctor for a long moment. "How many have there been, travelling with you?" the blonde asked suddenly.
We were both shocked at her question. The Doctor then asked, "Does it matter?"
"Yeah, it does, if Faline is just the latest in a long line," Rose said.
I sighed, "Rose…"
"She's not," the Doctor said sounding angry and hurt that Rose would even suggest such a thing. He looked at me for a long moment, not saying anything. I just smiled at him.
Rose didn't say anything in return for a long while before she came back with, "She better not be." Rose then left the two of us.
"Doctor," I started but he cut me off.
"I don't age," he said. I furrowed my brows… ummm… what? "I regenerate. But humans decay. You wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone who you—" He stopped in the middle of saying something.
"Someone who you can what?" I asked him.
The Doctor stared at me intensely, as if willing me to understand. Remember Ten, I always understand. "You can spend the rest of your life with me." He paused. "But I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on. Alone. That's the curse of the Time Lords."
"Time Lord," a voice said in the background. I recognized the voice as the Doctor and I spun to see Mr. Finch… aka Anthony Head… and another Krillitane in its natural form on the roof. The Krillitane screeched and swooped down at us, well mostly me. It seamed to glare at me as it swooped down. We ducked, but then it just flew away.
"Was that a Krillitane?" Sarah Jane asked as she and Mickey came over from the car.
"But it didn't even touch her," Rose said as the Doctor took me into his arms, "it just flew off! What did it do that for?" The Krillitane flew into the night screeching.
-x-x-x-
I pulled the Doctor to the side as we all made our way from store down the street from where we had stayed, early in the morning before school. I hardly slept a wink last night, the only think keeping me awake was the large Monster Energy drink I had in my hand. The Doctor had to hold me the whole night to keep me from shaking. I was terrified about what the Krillitane wanted from me. The Doctor frowned at me. "What is it?" he asked.
"K9 is going to be destroyed," I told him. "You have to find a way to fix him or make a new one or something. I don't know how one would go about dealing with a robotic dog. But he has to stay with Sarah Jane. Okay?"
It took him a moment to soak in what I told him but the Doctor nodded. "Alright. I'll download his memories as soon as possible. Fix a few of the glitches that he still had when I gave him to Sarah Jane."
I smiled at him, kissing him softly. "Thank you."
The Doctor smiled down at me, his arms wrapped securely around my waist. "Your welcome."
-x-x-x-
The school bell rang and the children flocked towards the building. The five of us stood outside the school waiting as the Doctor paused before giving instructions. "Rose and Sarah, you go to the Maths room," I smiled when he said 'Maths', that was just too cute. "Crack open those computers, I need to see the hardware inside. Here, you might need this." The Doctor gave Sarah Jane his sonic screwdriver. "Mickey - surveillance. I want you outside."
Mickey frowned, "Just stand outside?"
Sarah Jane tossed him her car keys, "Here, take these - you can keep K9 company."
"Don't forget to leave the window open a crack," the Doctor joked.
Mickey frowned, clearly not seeing the joke coming, "But he's metal!"
The Doctor gave him a look, "I didn't mean for him."
"What're you and Faline gonna do?" Rose asked.
"It's time we had a word with Mr. Finch," he said. The Doctor and I had discussed this last night. I wanted to join him as long as he was practically glued to my side. I really didn't like the idea of being cornered by whichever Krillitane swooped at me.
-x-x-x-
I clutched the Doctor's hand as he pulled me into the room holding the school swimming pool. Mr. Finch waited for us on the other side of the room. The Doctor tightened the grip on my hand slightly and asked, "Who are you?"
"My name is Brother Lassa. And the two of you?" Mr. Finch asked.
"The Doctor," he said, not bothering to introduce me. If didn't bother me at all, he was protecting me. I could tell from the way he used his body to partway shield me from Mr. Finch. "Since when did Krillitanes have wings?"
"It's been our form for nearly ten generations, now," Mr. Finch explained. "Our ancestors invaded Bessan. The people there had some rather lovely wings. They made a million widows in one day, just imagine."
"And now you're shaped human," the Doctor said.
Mr. Finch smirked looking straight at me, "A personal favorite, that's all."
I felt the Doctor's muscles tense when Mr. Finch looked right at me. "And the others?" the Doctor asked.
"My brothers remain bat form. What you see is a simple morphic illusion. Scratch the surface and the true Krillitane lies beneath." We began to walk slowly towards the same side of the pool. Damn it! Why? "And what of the Time Lords? I always thought of you as such a pompous race. Ancient, dusty senators, so frightened of change and... chaos." What the hell man? Don't diss the Time Lords! "And of course - they're all but extinct. Only you. The last."
"This plan of yours – what is it?" the Doctor asked.
Mr. Finch tilted his head slightly. "You don't know," he said.
"That's why I'm asking," the Doctor said.
We were now facing each other. The Doctor and I verses Mr. Finch. "Well, show me how clever you are. Work it out." Mr. Finch turned to me. "Or have her tell you." I kept myself from showing my shock that he knew. Rather I tried to look confused. And I was, how the hell could he know?
"If I don't like it... then it will stop." The Doctor knew not to even hint at the idea that I knew things I shouldn't so he said nothing.
Mr. Finch considered what the Doctor told him, "Fascinating. Your people were peaceful to the point of indolence. You seem to be something new. Would you declare war on us, Doctor?" He turned to me. "Would you let him, Faline?"
I flinched when he used my name and he smirked. The Doctor was quiet as he answered, "I'm so old, now. I used to have so much mercy." The Doctor continued to stare at Mr. Finch. "You get one warning. That was it." The Doctor made me turn and had me walk in front of him as we began to walk away from Mr. Finch.
"But we're not even enemies. Soon... you will embrace us." I felt the Doctor stop but didn't turn back like he did. "The next time we meet, you will join with me. I promise you." Mr. Finch walked past us with a knowing smile on his face, directed at the Doctor.
The Doctor then turned back to me. "Do you have any idea what he's talking about?"
I shook my head, "No."
-x-x-x-
The Doctor and I made our way towards the computer room that Rose and Sarah Jane had been assigned to. We made it into the room only to see and hear Sarah Jane and Rose laughing madly. "How's it going?" he asked. The two looked at the Doctor and I, well mostly the Doctor, before bursting into laughter. The Doctor, being as oblivious as he is, asked, "What? Listen, I need to find out what's programmed inside these." The two took no real notice to him and continued laughing hysterically, Rose pointing the sonic screwdriver at him. The Doctor was genuinely confused as he asked, "What? Stop it!"
I snickered and said to the two laughing blondes, "I have asked if he wants a moment alone with her before." The two turned their attention to me, still laughing. "He was even more confused then he is now." All three of us laughed. The Doctor really didn't understand we were making fun of him for stroking the TARDIS when, to everyone but the Doctor and I, she was just a TARDIS and not a living entity.
The Doctor turned to me and said, "Faline don't encourage them!" That caused us to laugh even harder.
Our laughter, however, was broken by the loud speaker. "All pupils to class immediately. And would all members of staff congregate in the staff room."
Not too long after students began to file into the computer room we were occupying. Rose jumped into action, "No, no - this classroom's out of bounds. You've all gotta go to the South Hall. Off you go, South Hall!" The children listened and made their way out of the classroom causing Rose to quickly shut the door.
The Doctor quickly made his way around the room, sonic screwdriver clenched between his teeth, as he ripped handfuls of wire out of a computer and hung them around his neck. He ran his sonic screwdriver along the back of the computer. "I can't shift it," the Doctor said.
Sarah Jane frowned, "I thought the sonic screwdriver could open anything!"
I shook my head, "Not a deadlock seal… or wood."
The Doctor nodded to me, telling me I was correct. "There's gotta be something inside here," he said. "What're they teaching those kids?" He looked straight at me.
I shook my head, "I'm not sure. I know that it isn't something that can be let to happen."
"You wanted the program – there it is," Sarah Jane said from behind me. I turned only to see every computer monitor displaying some sort of code, including the large screen at the front of the room.
The Doctor stopped, staring at it, "Some sort of code…" He continued to stare, taking in the code, before his eyes widened and mouth slightly dropped open. "No... no, they can't be..."
I frowned, "Can't be what, Ten?"
"The Skasis Paradigm," he told us. "They're trying to crack the Skasis Paradigm."
Sarah Jane looked just as confused as I was, "The Skasis what?"
"The…" he paused, "God-maker. The universal theory. Crack that equation and you've got control of the building blocks of the universe. Time and space and matter, yours to control."
"What, and the kids are like a giant computer?" Rose asked.
"Yes," the Doctor answered. I flinched. I didn't like the idea of children being used for something like that… though this isn't as bad as the children that would have died during Children of the Earth on Torchwood. The Doctor walked past me as he paced back and forth, working it out. "And their learning power is being accelerated by the oil! That oil from the kitchens, it works as a- as a... conducting agent. Makes the kids cleverer."
Rose frowned, "But that oil's on the chips. I've been eating them."
I quickly turned to her, shocked. "Rose! I told you not to!"
"I couldn't help it!" she said. "Besides, I know you. You wouldn't let the kids continue to eat them if it were really harmful."
I stayed quiet knowing she was right. Children were my weak spot more then anything, just like the Doctor. The Doctor quickly asked Rose, "What's fifty-nine times thirty-five?"
"Two thousand and sixty five," she answered without thinking. The Doctor gave her a look that read, 'that says it all'. "Oh my God…" Rose said.
Sarah Jane looked confused, "But why use children? Can't they use adults?"
The Doctor shook his head, "No, it's gotta be children. The God-maker needs imagination to crack it. They're not just using the children's brains to break the code... they're using their souls."
My eyes widened when I saw Mr. Finch walk into the room. Before I could tell the Doctor Mr. Finch spoke, "Let the lesson begin." The Doctor turned to face him. Mr. Finch began to approach us slowly. "Think of it, Doctor - with the Paradigm solved, reality becomes clay in our hands. We can shape the universe and improve it."
"Oh yeah? The whole of creation with the face of Mr Finch. Call me old fashioned, but I like things as they are."
"You act like such a radical, and yet all you want to do is preserve the old order. Think of the changes that could be made if this power was used for good."
"What," the Doctor asked skeptically, "by someone like you?"
Mr. Finch shook his head, "No... someone like you." The Doctor was silent, clearly that wasn't the answer he was expecting. I don't think it was the answer that any of us were expecting. "The Paradigm gives us power, but you could give us wisdom. Become a God. At my side. Imagine what you could do - think of the civilizations you could save. Perganon, Assinta... your own people, Doctor. Standing tall. The Time Lords... reborn."
The Doctor still said nothing, staring into Mr. Finch's eyes and not looking away. "Doctor," Sarah Jane said, "don't listen to him."
Mr. Finch turned to myself, Sarah Jane, and Rose. "And you could be with him throughout eternity. Young... fresh... never wither, never age... never die." He turned back to the Doctor, "Their lives are so fleeting. So many goodbyes. How lonely you must be, Doctor. Join us."
The Doctor had a faraway look in his eyes… he was clearly so tempted. "I could save everyone…"
"Yes," Mr. Finch said.
"I could stop the war," the Doctor whispered.
A small smile graced Mr. Finch's lips. Sarah Jane quickly spoke, desperate to change the Doctor's mind, "No. The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss - they define us as much as happiness or love." Mr. Finch closed his eyes. "Whether it's a world, or a relationship... everything has its time. And everything ends."
The Doctor didn't move or say anything. After a few moments I stepped towards him. I placed my hand on his arm. "Ten," I said softly. His chocolate eyes shifted to me. "I've seen what can happen if a few of the things he said comes to pass. Later on it will pan out okay… but right now?" I paused. "No one can handle what's to come if it comes now. Please Doctor." We can't have the Time Lords come back. I don't want them to be like they are during the Master's return.
The Doctor kept staring at me for a few more seconds. Everything that Sarah Jane and I said seamed to sink in. He gritted his teeth, picked up a chair, and hurled it through the large screen displaying the code, which smashes. "Out!" he called to Sarah Jane and Rose as he grabbed my hand and pulled me from the room. I was pulled down the corridor and stairs where we met up with Mickey and the little boy that didn't eat the 'chips', Kenny.
"What is going on?" Mickey asked.
There was no chance to answer as three Krillitanes half flew, and half groped their way down the corridor towards us. There was a tug on my arm as the Doctor pulled me in the opposite direction. I glanced back to see the Krillitanes separated at the end of the corridor and only one was following us. I looked back to see us run into the mess hall. We ran forward and tried the doors on the other side, but they were locked. FUCK! What else can possibly shit the bed? The Doctor released my hand to reach into his pocket for his sonic screwdriver, just as Mr. Finch burst through the doors followed by several of the Krillitanes. Damn me and my mental thoughts.
"Are they my teachers?" Kenny asked.
The Doctor nodded, "Yeah. Sorry."
Mr. Finch turned to the other Krillitanes and said, "Leave the Doctor alive. As for the others... you can feast." The Krillitanes swooped down on us. I screamed slightly, but at least I wasn't the only one. I was the closest to the Doctor so I stayed by him as he used a chair to try and beat them away. We were only against them for a few of the longest minutes of my life before one of the Krillitanes was hit with a beam of red light and it fell to the floor, dead. K9 made his way into the room as Mr. Finch roared with rage.
"K9!" Sarah Jane cried.
"Suggest you engage running mode, mistress." K9 told her.
"Come on!" the Doctor grabbed my hand and all of us ran from the mess hall. K9 shot at the Krillitanes again and again. "K9, hold them back!"
"Affirmative, master. Maximum defense mode!" K9 said back.
The Doctor came to the door and made sure all of us got through first. "Come on!" he said as we went past him. The Doctor slammed the doors shut behind us and locked it with his sonic screwdriver.
-x-x-x-
We made it to the Physics classroom where the Doctor suddenly spoke, knowing what was going on now. "It's the oil. Krillitane life forms can't handle the oil! That's it! They've changed the physiology so often, even their own oil is toxic to them. How much was there in the kitchens?"
"Barrels of it," Rose told us.
We all jumped as the Krillitanes started to pound at the locked door, their claws ripping holes in it. "Okay," the Doctor said. "We need to get to the kitchens. Mickey—"
Mickey cut him off. "What now, hold the coats?"
The Doctor gave him a look, "Get all the children unplugged and out of the school." He gave a slight pause. "Now then, bats, bats, bats, how do we fight bats?"
I watched as Kenny made his way over to the fire alarm, he used his elbow to break the glass and set it off. I smiled at him, "Bravo Kenny!" the Doctor flung the door open. The Krillitanes, who were wailing at the shrill sound, were too far and in too much distress to hurt us. We all made our way past them as quickly as possible.
As we made our way down the corridor K9 emerged from a doorway. "Master!" he cried.
"Come on, boy! Good boy," the Doctor told the robotic dog as we ran down the hall. K9 trundled along behind us. Mickey cut away from us to get the children out.
The Doctor, Sarah Jane, Rose, K9, Kenny, and I finally reached the kitchens. The Doctor immediately held his sonic screwdriver to one of the oil barrels. "They've been deadlock sealed!" he cried. "Finch must've done that - I can't open them."
K9 spoke up from beside me. "The vats would not withstand a direct hit from my laser. But my batteries are failing."
"Right. Everyone out the back door. K9, stay with me," the Doctor ordered. Sarah Jane, Rose, and Kenny ran out the backdoor. The Doctor looked to me, "Faline-" he started.
"I know," I stepped forward and I kissed him. When I pulled back I said, "Remember to save him, Ten." He nodded. I knelt beside K9 and stroked his head. "Goodbye K9. Good boy." I then stood and ran out of the kitchens through the backdoor.
I joined up with Sarah Jane, Rose, and Kenny. "Come on!" I said to them urgently. "We have to go!"
"What about the Doctor and K9?" Sarah Jane said.
I turned to her and said, "Doctor said to go. So that's what we're doing!"
Speak of the devil and he shall appear. The Doctor came up behind me and sealed the door. "Where's K9?" she asked him calmer then with me.
"We need to run," he told her grabbing onto my hand. Wow, I just noticed how much the two of us ran holding hands. Well, I guess that's just us. Like how some couples can barely stop kissing each other, we hold on like it could kill us if we let go. And with the Doctor… it just might.
"Where is he?" Sarah Jane cried not moving. "What've you done?" I grabbed onto her hand and pulled her with the Doctor and I as Rose and Kenny obediently followed.
We joined up with the mass of children as the kitchen explodes. I stayed with the Doctor and Sarah Jane as Rose ran into Mickey's arms and Kenny joined the other children. I ignored what they said, but it was hard to ignore them chanting Kenny's name for some reason or another.
Sarah Jane looked completely distraught and the Doctor quickly apologized, "I'm sorry."
Sarah Jane quickly covered with, "It's all right. He was just a... daft metal dog. Fine, really." There was a pause before she burst into tears. The Doctor wrapped his arms around her comfortingly. I kept watching him until he turned to me. I can tell he knew the question I wanted to ask. He nodded his head slightly and I smiled. K9 was saved in a way and that made me feel so much better. Even though the Doctor was going to do it anyways… well… I'm having a moment!
-x-x-x-
I sat at the pilot seat, watching the monitor. I was waiting for Sarah Jane to show up so she could get her surprise, which sat on the other side of the TARDIS. I jumped up when she came into view. "She's here!" I said happily to the Doctor who just came from the kitchen for some odd reason. I didn't want to ask. I ran out the doors and rushed the older blonde. I hugged her. "Hi Sarah Jane!"
The woman laughed and hugged me back, "Hello Faline." The two of us silently bonded over… well nothing really. Sarah Jane just really seams to like more for no reason at all.
"Cuppa tea?" the Doctor asked as the two of us made our way to the TARDIS doors. He stepped aside to let Sarah Jane walk through the doors. I followed behind smiling as she looked at the interior, wide-eyed. The Doctor shut the doors behind us.
"You've redecorated!" Sarah Jane said slightly surprised.
"Do you like it?" he asked her.
She looked around, "Oh, I, I do. Yeah. I preferred it as it was, but uh... yeah. It'll do!"
"I love it," Rose said coming from one of the corridors. She had been looking around again with Mickey.
Sarah Jane smiled at the younger blonde, both on better terms. "Hey, you - what's forty seven times three hundred and sixty nine?"
Rose shrugged, "No idea. It's gone now - the oil's faded."
"But you're still clever," I told her. "You have to be to hang out with this weirdo." I pointed to the Doctor over my shoulder.
"Weirdo, huh," he said. He then wrapped his arms around me and lifting me. I screamed as he did so. Everyone laughed and the Doctor chuckled in my ear.
When I was close enough to the Doctor's ear I said, "Ask Sarah Jane."
The Doctor placed me down, his arms wrapped around my waist as he looked to Sarah Jane. Everyone calmed down from laughing when he asked, "Um - we're about to head off, but... you could come with us."
Sarah Jane shook her head, "No... I can't do this anymore." The Doctor and Rose's smiles faded slightly. Sarah Jane enthusiastically said, "Besides, I've got a much bigger adventure ahead! Time I stopped waiting for you and found a life of my own."
"Can I come?" Mickey asked. We all looked to him quickly and confused. "No, not with you, I mean... with you." He gestured to the Doctor. "'Cause I'm not the tin dog. And I wanna see what's out there."
Sarah Jane smiled and said, "Oh, go on, Doctor. Sarah Jane Smith - a Mickey Smith. You need a Smith on board!"
The Doctor smiled, "Okay then, I could do with a laugh."
I smiled, "Good because Rose is coming too." The Doctor frowned at me. "Well if Mickey's coming we have to have his sexy blonde." I winked at the blonde who smiled flirtatiously back. We were so weird.
"Well, I'd better go," Sarah Jane said.
I rushed over and hugged the woman. "Bye!"
Sarah Jane smiled at me and said, "Take good care of him."
"I will," I told her.
The Doctor came forward and held the doors open for Sarah Jane, who stepped out of the TARDIS for the last time. The Doctor followed her and they stood outside for their final goodbyes. I closed the doors, keeping Rose and Mickey from ruining their moment. They were outside for a while before the Doctor came back inside. He smiled at me and said, "Lets show Sarah Jane her surprise."
Within minutes we had the TARDIS running and we left, leaving Sarah Jane with K9. The best thing that we could have given her.
END
A/N: I'm sorry this took me so long. Up until now I've had at least two chapters typed up in advance. And I have to have the want to write to actually write. I know I'm making up excuses for my neglect to the story. However, this is IMPORTANT. Updates will be changed from every Friday to the last Friday of every month to give me enough time to get through the chapter. I will not give up this story. It means too much to me because Faline is basically me, her likes and dislikes… family life… jokes… reactions… all match mine. I'd like to think that (if I didn't die within the first adventure with the Doctor) I would be the same. (Though I have to say that the only thing Faline and I are the same in in the looks department is that we're brunettes and have light eyes.)
Anyways… I'm sorry the update date has changed but know that I will never give up this story and hope to catch up to "real time" soon.
DEDICATION: This chapter is dedicated to Elisabeth Sladen, who for those who don't know portrayed Sarah-Jane Smith.
Rest in Peace Elisabeth.
Feb. 1, 1946 – April 19, 2011.