Surprise!

And happy new year! If anyone followed my other story, you'd know I mentioned about another upcoming story and here it it!

Sarah Jane smiled as she stood in the chapel of a lovely Manor house with her fiancé, Peter.

Oh some people said they were too old to get married, left it too late now. But they didn't care, got it organised quickly, she just never expected to have a family at this point in her life. She had definitely left that too late.

But here she was, having been walked down the aisle by her son, Luke, no one else she would rather have walk her down the aisle, well, anyone who was here at such short notice, the Brigadier was in Peru, and the Doctor wasn't the type of man to do weddings.

Not that she even knew how to get in contact with him, sure, Mr Smith had the TARDIS number but the Doctor never seemed to be aware it actually functioned.

She glanced to the front row of seats where Luke sat, besides his friends, of course she had wanted them to all be part of the wedding, Clyde in his own suit, though she hadn't managed to get with out of his trainers, Rani had been one of her bridesmaids, looking lovely in her pink dress, and Thea besides her, the girl looked just as pretty in the same pink dress, her red hair curled over one side, held back by a floral clip. She looked lovely, she knew Thea loved to dress up and she rarely got to do so.

The girl, seeing how she had adopted her as her daughter as she had adopted Luke, had pretty much been her Maid of Honour.

Nothing could spoil today.

"...any person can show just cause or impediment why they may not be joined together," the vicar was speaking, "let them speak now or forever hold their peace..."

The vicars' voice seemed to be drowned out by the sound of a loud wheezing coming from outside the room.

"Thea!" Luke nudged her, seeing her attention shift elsewhere.

She got distracted very easily, her attention always drawn away from something no one else noticed, but at their own mothers wedding, come on, pay attention, focus on the front as they said their vows, not at the door behind them.

"Shh." she hissed, listening to the odd noise.

Oh no. No, no, no. This could not mean anything good.

Suddenly the chapel doors burst open and a tall man with sticky-uppy hair in a blue suit ran the room.

"Stop this wedding now!" he shouted.

"What?" Sarah Jane breathed, looking over.

"Oh, my stars." Theas eyes widened.

"Who the hell is that?" Rani's father demanded.

"I don't believe it..." Luke breathed.

"Who's he?" Rani twisted in her seat to get a better look at the man who actually wanted to stop a wedding.

"Master!" K9 rolled out from under the table he was hidden.

"Don't." Thea warned the dog, sticking her foot out to keep him by her side.

"I said, stop this wedding." the Doctor repeated as a strong wind picked up.

"Alert!" K9 rolled in a cirle, "Alert! Danger, Mistress!"

"Stop!" the Doctor shouted, "Get away from him!"

Sarah Jane looked between him and Peter before trying to move away, but Peter held her arm, "No! Peter, no!"

"Don't be afraid, Sarah Jane," he reassured her, "it's the Angel."

Electricity crackled in the corner of the room before a humanoid appeared before them, with no eyes and sharp teeth, dressed in a large, billowing white robe with a hood.

"The Trickster!" Rani cried.

"Sarah Jane!" Thea gasped, jumping to help move the woman from Peter, but the wind kept her back as she struggled to break through, wanting to help her mum.

"Mum!" Luke tried to reach for her but he too was forced into his seat by the wind, "Mum!"

"Sarah!" the Doctor yelled, struggling against the wind to help his old companion.

"Trickster, let her go!" Thea glared at the being.

"Too late, Time Lords." the Trickster sneered, floating over to Sarah Jane, "You're mine, Sarah Jane Smith. Mine forever."

"Sarah!" the Doctor shouted.

"Doctor!" Sarah Jane reached for him only to disappear with the Trickster and Peter.

"Sarah Jane!" Thea stumbled into the alter as the wind suddenly vanished along with them.

"Sarah!" the Doctor shouted, when the room began to shake, "no!"

Waves of energy appeared over the guests as they too disappeared, leaving the Time Lords, three human teenagers and K9 behind.

"Mum!" Rani cried, as her parents disappeared, "dad!"

"Everyone hold on!" the Doctor yelled.

A bright light filled the room...

~.~

Thea scrunched her face as she woke up, on her side on the floor, an arm over K9, hearing the whir of a sonic, buzzing over her.

She waved her hand in the direction of the sonic, "stop that."

It turned off.

"Sorry." the Doctor murmured, crouching besides her, "are you alright?" He eyed her.

She was quite a petite girl, with curly red hair that even with the style reached past her chest, with deep brown eyes. She looked rather young, the same as the other kids, an early teenager.

"I'm fine." she nodded, sitting up, absently patting K9s head, seeing the others were still unconscious, clearly they had all been knocked out and being Time Lords they had woken up first. She bet Luke would be next awake. "Thanks for your concern as unnecessary as it is."

"Right. Well, I'm the Doctor." he introduced, holding a hand to help her to her feet.

She got herself up, "I know. You had quite the name back on Gallifrey. It's Thea." She offered after a moment, knowing he'd want to know her name.

"Great name." he smiled.

He had seen her on the video call when the Daleks had invaded Earth, she'd been in the attic with Sarah Jane. He hadn't noticed her at first but once he got that nagging in the back of his head, he'd been interrupted by Davros and hadn't had the chance to speak to her or even ask until the Earth was returned. Sarah Jane had assured him that she was safe and alive. That she was a Time Lord and his mind wasn't playing tricks on him. He just didn't know who she was.

At least he didn't think he did.

"Oh god, I bet they were embarrassing." He groaned, rubbing the back of his neck, thinking all of the embarrassing things Gallifreys High Council could know about him.

"I found them interesting."

"Er, Thea?"

They looked over to see Luke rubbing his head as he slowly sat up. She had to roll her eyes at his impeccable timing. Though it did help to stop what would end up being a very awkward conversation.

"Are you alright?" she asked, cupping his face in her hands.

"I'm fine," he lowered her hands and held them in his. Thea was very protective of him from how they met. He had been created by the Bane, using him to prefect a drink they made called Bubbleshock so they could use it to control all humans. He had woken up in the factory and found her unconscious besides him. She took his hand and hadn't let go since. She was his big sister, they always looked out for each other, "What happened?" he shook his head, gasping as he recalled what had just happened, "mum! The Trickster!"

"Luke, Luke, listen to me." The Doctor cut in, "Everything's going to be all right. I can find Sarah. I can bring her back. I promise. But I need you to be strong for me, just like you were before. I know you can do it."

"Who are you?" Clyde demanded, eying the Doctor with distrust.

"Hello, Clyde." the Doctor beamed, helping the boy up, "And that will be Rani." he smiled as Thea helped the girl to her feet.

"What? How'd you know my name?"

"Wait a moment." Rani frowned, "You must be...the Doctor?"

Clyde eyed him as the Doctor pressed his ear to the floor, seemingly listening to it, "I hope you're as good as Sarah Jane says you are." he remarked.

He wasn't sure what to make of the man, Sarah Jane always spoke about how remarkable he was, but Thea didn't have much of a reaction to him, usually went quiet whenever he was mentioned, like she didn't know what to think of him.

Well, he couldnt blame her as much as the girl knew about him was from what Sarah Jane had told her and the fact that he had been the one to destroy their home planet.

Anyone was well within their right to hate the person who took their home.

"Well, you know journalists," the Doctor shrugged, "always exaggerating. But yeah, I'm pretty amazing on a good day."

"Master, query." K9 rolled over to him, "Where is Mistress Sarah Jane?"

"K9!" The Doctor cheered, petting the dog, "Did you miss me. Did you miss me, eh?"

"Oh, so you both obsess over the dog." Clyde rolled his eyes, recalling all the times Thea got distracted whenever K9 was out.

"I don't obsess." Thea rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.

"A little bit." Rani agreed with the boy.

She pouted at being ganged up on, "I always wanted a pet." she grumbled.

She was never allowed one when she had been a little girl. She understood her parents reasoning, with how much they worked and with her being at the Academy so often, she'd never be around to look after it to play with it. But still. Other people her ages had pets.

"You were never allowed a pet?" the Doctor frowned at her for that.

Despite the fact that his children had been at the Academy he had still allowed them a pet, granted it was just a house cat that didn't need much looking after as other pets, but still. It was there when they came home.

He'd only gotten it for them because they'd ask and they had asked so nicely he couldnt have said no.

Thea shrugged, "my parents worked hard on the council."

That was enough of an answer. Her parents were constantly at work in the Citadel and rarely at their family home and with her at the Academy it was pointless having a pet when no one was around to look after it or play with it.

At least that had been their excuse, she knew it was because a pet would distract her from her studies.

"Repeat." K9 spoke, cutting in before the Doctor could ask if he knew her parents, "Whereabouts of Sarah Jane? Where is she?"

"Where are we?" Clyde asked, peering out the window seeing nothing but a white light. Luke and Rani moved to stand on either side as Thea and the Doctor followed behind.

"There's been a dimensional shift." the Doctor explained, "Time's moved on but us, and this entire building, we've been left behind."

"There's nothing out there." Rani breathed.

"I said all along, I knew there was something wrong about all of this." Clyde shook his head. He had said it and none of them believed him, Thea had gotten a little suspicious when they saw Peters house was empty and seemingly not lived in for a long time, but she had ignored it all and he actually started to think something had taken control over her, but she didn't want to say her concern to Sarah Jane, not when they'd not seen her so happy. He wanted Sarah Jane to be happy, but the wedding happened too quickly for his liking and then when she ordered Mr Smith to shut down, well, she had giving him the task to watch K9 and he'd been distracted with the dog.

After all, they were just kids, what did they know?

He turned to the Doctor, it didn't seem like a coincidence he had just turned up to see Sarah Jane get married, "and what exactly is going on?"

"I'll explain later." the Doctor waved off as Thea winced. That was the worst thing to say as instantly all three humans began to speak over each other. He turned to Thea who just sighed heavily as their rapid fire questions, "are they always like this?"

"Yes." she nodded, moving her fingers to her lips and whistling loudly, the three teenagers instantly falling silent. "I have them well trained."

The Doctor smirked at her, seemed the kids did things like this at lot, clearly Thea was the one in charge, "eldest sibling?" he guessed.

Speaking from experience he knew the oldest child tended to be the bossiest.

"Only child." She corrected quietly.

Well, she had been on Gallifrey, but here on Earth Luke was pretty much a little brother. And Sarah Jane had adopted them both, so technically he was.

"Sorry." he winced.

He realised once he spoke that his words probably weren't the best to say, giving the circumstances, giving that even if she had had siblings they would be dead.

"Right," he spun to the kids, "Here's the answer to all your questions. Yes, that was the Trickster. Yes, we're trapped. Yes, I'm the only one who can get us out of the trap. Yes, I'm going to bring Sarah Jane, and your mum and dad, and all the others back safe, but I can't do any of it without you."

"You need us?" Clyde raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Just like Sarah Jane needs you." he nodded.

"Just another typical Saturday." Thea commented making Luke laugh. These alien invasion really did seem to be coming a weekly occurrence.

"My mum and dad, where are they?" Rani asked quietly.

"Just go along with him, Rani." Luke told her softly, "I saw him save the world."

"You helped me save the world, Lukey boy. You and Thea."

"And in the end it was all down to K9." Thea crouched and petted the dog, who wagged his tail at the petting.

"And K9," he agreed, "Right. Come on, we can use the TARDIS." he ran off only to stop and look back at them, "I assume Thea told you what the TARDIS is?" they nodded, "And, allons-y!"

They ran out the chapel and into the reception area.

"You okay?" Luke asked as he and Thea ran behind the others.

"I think so." she mused, "not sure. Ask me again when the Tricksters dealt with and we know mum is okay."

"You think she isn't?"

"I'd feel much better seeing her."

Her words were enough for him to know that right now Sarah Jane was alright, though the still should worry, "Me too." He smiled, taking her hand.

"Come on K9." She called as they followed the Doctor into the empty reception area.

"Oh, no, no, no, no." The Doctor groaned to the empty space, obviously where the TARDIS had been, but no longer was, "It was there. It was right there. Wait, wait, wait." They listened as the TARDIS engines sounded.

"That noise." Rani gasped, "I've heard it before."

"Outside the restaurant." Thea nodded, recalling hearing the noise after they'd followed Sarah Jane on her date. She had thought she had imagined it. Mr Smith hadn't picked up any traces of Artron energy, but she knew the noises a TARDIS made.

"That was me," the Doctor ran his hands through his hair, "trying to break through. Got knocked back by the Trickster."

"Temporal schism is preventing TARDIS materialisation." K9's stated.

"Wait a minute. That's the TARDIS?" Clyde stared at the blue police box slowly materialised into view, crackling with energy, "It's just a wooden box."

"It's a disguise." Thea explained, "meant to blend it. Why is it a phone box? That sticks out a bit doesn't it? What's wrong with the Chameleon Circuit?"

The Doctor ignored her, not wanting to go into details of how he had broken the Chameleon Circuit, as he watched the TARDIS slowly appear, "Come on, you can do it." The Doctor moaned, jumping on his feet, "More power. Come on!" Only for the TARDIS to fade from view, "Ok, got no TARDIS. It can't materialise here until time moves forward."

"What, so we're trapped here, wherever this is?" Rani inquired.

"No. Because what have I got? I've got K9."

"Affirmative." The metal dog nodded his head.

"And I've got you three. And Thea."

"Any friend of Sarah Jane is a friend of mine."

"These are my friends." Thea deadpanned, "get your own."

"You got a bit of an attitude haven't you?" He asked her.

She crossed her arms, "Sarah Jane called it teenage rebellion just...a few centuries late."

"If you don't mind me asking," he began, "how old are you?"

"It's rude to ask a lady her age." She replied stiffly as the Doctor rolled his eyes.

Stubbornness, it was a natural Time Lord trait.

"But where is this?" Clyde cut in, hoping to get them back on topic, they all knew that Thea could have a temper and the Doctor was getting quite personal, and as much as Thea was happy to share her personal life it was only when she wanted to not when someone's was trying to press, especially when family was in danger. "What's happened to the rest of the world?"

"Our present location nowhere, no when." K9 stated.

"No when?" Luke frowned.

Thea frowned at the clocks on the wall, ticking one second on a loop, "we're in a loop. 23 seconds and 23 minutes past 3 o'clock."

"And we're caught inside it." The Doctor nodded, "In this one second."

"But again, where is Sarah Jane?" Clyde asked.

"I think she's right here." The Doctor murmured.

"So we've been kept behind in this second." Rani followed.

"Affirmative Mistress Rani." K9's nodded.

"But the rest of the world, Mum and Dad and everyone else, they've moved on from here, forwards in time. Why has the Trickster trapped us here?"

"Because we're the ones who stop him." Thea murmured.

"Exactly!" he snapped his fingers at her.

"So we're hostages?" Rani guessed, "He can use us to get at her."

"We've met the Trickster before," Clyde remarked, "but we've never found out who he is. All we know if that he messes with timelines and messes with Thea's head."

"I, er, I'm quite sensitive to timelines." Thea explained as the Doctor gave her an odd look.

"You're inspired." He stared at her.

She shrugged, "fine line between madness and genius."

"You held a grudge for weeks." Clyde continued.

"I don't hold grudges."

"You held a grudge against that."

"Right, so, anyway," the Doctor continued slowly, "The Trickster is a creature from beyond the universe. Forever trying to break in to our reality, manifest himself. He's one of the Pantheon of Discord."

"That's a good name for a band." Clyde nodded.

"Yeah, actually, not bad."

"It sounds like a rock band." Thea agreed. She couldn't deny that most of her music taste she got from Clyde, much to Sarah Janes dismay as she occasionally blasted some screamo late at night, but she did also enjoy Sarah Jane's classics.

"He's an eternal exile, who exists to wreak havoc." The Doctor continued, "But we can fight him, the five of us. And we can win." In his pocket his sonic screwdriver beeped as he pulled it out, "Oh! Ha, that's it. A time trace. Just a hint of Sarah Jane. Ooh, she's close." He jumped onto the sofa, sonic close to his ear as he listen.

Rani shivered suddenly, rubbing her arms and looking around, "What was that? Felt like someone just walked over my grave."

"Oh, oh, oh, she's here!" The Doctor announced, "She's here! Sarah!"

"Sarah Jane." Thea corrected quietly, "She doesn't like being called Sarah."

She really didn't, anytime someone got her name wrong or just missed off Jane she always corrected them, it was especially tiring considering how many times Rani's mother constantly called her Sarah.

"She does by me."

That made a lot of sense actually, Sarah Jane didn't like being called Sarah by anyone because the Doctor used to call her it. This way she wasn't caught in the past after her abandoned her in the other side of the country.

"K9?" he glanced at the dog.

"Scanning, Master." He replied.

"Doctor!" Sarah Jane's voice echoed around them, "Doctor!"

"Mum." Luke gasped, "That was her."

"K9, isolate time trace." Thea knelt before the dog.

The Doctor smirked at her. He was just about to say the same thing. Seemed she was quite a clever girl.

"Affirmative." K9 nodded.

There was an echo of the parlour doors slamming shut.

"Temporal schism divided in two, Mistress."

"Yes, of course." The Doctor nodded, "We're trapped here in 3:23:23. And Sarah Jane's trapped too, just in another second."

"Hold on." Clyde crossed his arms, "You said you'd explain later. Well, it's later. Please explain."

The Doctor stared as all three humans folded their arms at him as he turned to Thea, "are they usually like this?"

"Yes." she nodded, crossing her own arms, "What? Can't handle a few questions from a couple of kids?"

The Doctor shook his head, focusing again as the four continued to look expectantly, "The Trickster doesn't want us helping Sarah, so he's separated us, trapped us in two different seconds." He held the sonic up as it beeped again, increasing as he aimed it upstairs, "Oh, oh, she's upstairs. Come on. Luke, K9, watch for the TARDIS, you see it coming back, shout the place down."

"Orders accepted, Master." K9 answered.

"You three with me. Spit spot."

"Oh, hold on." Thea took her heels off, setting them on the reception desk and running up the stairs bare foot.

"Really?" Rani rolled her eyes.

"I am not risking spraining my ankles by running in heels."

"Then why didn't you wear flats like I did?"

"I like to feel tall." She defended.

"Are all you Time Lords full of so much energy?" Clyde groaned.

"Shut up."

~.~

"How did we end up here again?" Rani complained as the group found themselves running back into the chapel.

"It's a spatial loop mixed up with a temporal loop." Clyde answered smugly.

Thea smiled at him, "How did you work that one out?"

"Well, we've been doing this for a while now. I have taken notes."

"You are full of surprises."

This was one of the many reasons she loved humans, they were just so surprising! They barely knew anything about other planets or space and time travel and yet they so easily picked things up and tried to follow along. Of course there were a lot of times when she went rambling on about something and even Luke struggled to keep up. Luke usually ended up being the one to translate her technical babble into simpler words for them to understand, other times she simplified his words for them.

"Come on, come on, come on, Sarah." The Doctor murmured, "Let me find you."

"Sarah Jane." Thea corrected, it was just natural now for her to correct the woman's name if she wasn't around to do so herself, even if he claimed he was allowed to call her just Sarah.

"Hang on, though." Rani frowned, "This is mad. The Trickster, he's this all-powerful immortal who wants to cause chaos throughout the stars, and he wants Sarah Jane to get married. What does he get out of that?"

The Doctor scanned around with the sonic, "She's here. If I can narrow the link ratio."

"Doctor." The raspy voice of the Trickster spoke making them all look over as he appeared before them in his usually black robes.

"Ah. You look better in black." The Doctor greeted, "Or is white the new black?"

"At last. Doctor. I could feel this moment reverberating back through the ages. The meeting of the Pantheon of Discord and the last of the Time Lords."

"I've known the legends of the Pantheon since I was a little boy. I've fought your shadows and your changelings. I never thought we'd actually meet."

"And I know the legends of the Doctor. The man of ice and fire, who walked among gods, who once held the Key to Time in his hands. Now he is surrounded by children."

"And yet we've still defeated you twice in the past." Thea countered, glaring at him. She knew the Trickster knew what she was, he just never seemed to care that much. Apparently the Doctor has a much bigger name than herself.

"Which reminds me, you're looking a bit lonely for a Pantheon." The Doctor remarked.

"I embody multitudes." He replied, "And who are you, the man who has lost everybody, to talk to me of loneliness, when the Gate is waiting for you?"

"What do you mean?" He frowned.

"Sarah Jane Smith is my prize. Even you, Doctor, didn't realise how wonderful she is."

"What do you want with her?" The Doctor glared.

"What I always want from any of those I visit. Her agreement. Goodbye, Doctor." He vanished again.

"Her agreement." The Doctor breathed. What could the Trickster get from Sarah Jane getting married? "The power of words. She says I do, and. Yes, that's it!"

"That's what?" Clyde shook his head.

"She promises to love and honour her husband, the wedding ring goes on and then she's agreed to it. She's totally under the Trickster's power. Marital bliss."

"She forgets all about this." Thea continued, eyes wide, "She starts living a new life."

"Forgetting about her old life protecting the Earth." Rani gasped.

"And the planet's wide open, so aliens can barge in."

"Without Sarah," the Doctor shook his head, "without you lot saving the world from your attic in Ealing, there'll be chaos and destruction. Meat and drink to the Trickster."

"As if she's gonna say yes." Clyde scoffed.

"She will for us, though." Thea murmured.

"TARDIS!" The Doctor cheered, hearing the TARDIS wheezing into existence, "Beautiful. Yes! It's homing in on me. Emergency program, protecting the pilot. Of course. Partial materialisation."

"What's happening?" Luke gasped as he ran in with K9 having heard the noise to see the TARDIS slowly trying to materialise again.

He held the group back as energy streamed around the box, "Look, that's pure Artron energy. TARDIS power. Equal and opposite to the Trickster's power."

"That's how we can fight him!" Thea cheered.

The TARDIS fully materialised and the Doctor ran in, his hand out, helping Thea in, the girl leaning out to reach for Clyde's hand to help him in as Rani and Luke made a link chain.

Only for the wind to increase, slamming the doors shut, sending Thea stumbling back on the grating, and Clyde into the TARDIS doors.

"No..." She breathed.

"Thea." The Doctor called, already at the console and piloting them, "your help would be useful right now."

"No! We have to go back! We can just leave them behind. I won't abandon them!"

He swallowed, "Right now our best chance is to stop Sarah Jane from saying I do. I promise you won't abandon them, Thea. But your help would be appreciated. Your mum needs you."

"I don't know how to pilot." She admitted.

She had passed her TARDIS tests, but it had been a very up to date TARDIS and had a console set for only one pilot, while the Doctor was set for six. She rolled her eyes at that. The man was apparently a genius and yet when he left Gallifrey he stupidly took the oldest TARDIS and the worst one he could drive.

~.~

"Sarah Jane!" Thea yelled as the TARDIS materialised in the next second where Sarah Jane was trapped with Peter.

"Thea!" She gasped as the girl jumped out of the TARDIS and ran over to the woman, desperate to not abandon her if the TARDIS suddenly left again.

She felt like she abandoned the others, she wouldn't abandon the woman who saved her life.

"Got to be quick." The Doctor called, not daring to leave the TARDIS, knowing the old girl wouldn't last much longer, "The TARDIS can't stabilise."

"Clyde is keeping the Trickster busy," Thea added, "he got zapped with Artron energy we...they got left behind." She murmured.

Stars, she should have ensured they got in the TARDIS first. At least then she would have been left behind with them.

"Oh, those three are just brilliant." He grinned, "Just the best!"

"Doctor, what can I do?" Sarah Jane cried, "If I say no, we're trapped here forever. If I say yes, I condemn the world to the Trickster. Either way I lose. There's no way out."

"It all rests with you, Sarah." He told her Solemn, "Your greatest challenge. The hardest thing you'll ever face in your life."

"What is it? Tell me what I've got to do."

"You've fought the Trickster before. You know how he operates, how he can be defeated." He glanced to the side, to Peter.

"Oh, no." She shook her head, tears in her eyes at what he meant, "No."

"I know you're a good man, Peter. I'm so sorry."

There was a scream and Clyde and the Trickster appeared, hands locked, Artron energy cackling around them both.

"Clyde!" Thea shouted in horror.

"I can't hold it." The boy grunted before collapsing.

"No, no, no..." She rushed over to him.

"Doctor!" Sarah Jane shouted as the TARDIS dematerialised again, "Clyde, no." She knelt down besides the boy as Thea rested his head on her lap, "is he okay?"

"He will be." She nodded, running her hands through his hair.

"Peter, I do love you," Sarah Jane promised the man, "but the Doctor's right. There is another way out."

"Do not listen to her lies." The Trickster hissed.

"Your accident. He can only talk to people who are about to die. He comes to them in that final moment. He gives them back their life."

"What do you mean?" Peter frowned.

"We went to your house." Thea murmured. "It was empty, months of unopened post."

"Why did you never let me see your house?" Sarah Jane asked, "You died in that accident, Peter. But he needed you, so he kept you half alive. And if we got married the bargain would be complete. He would bring you back to life."

"Your love brought me back to life." Peter smiled lightly, taking her hands in his, "How can that be wrong, to save a life?"

"Look at this," she gestured to the unconscious Clyde in Thea's arms, the girl silent, her head low as she tried to give them as much privacy as she could, "this is what he'll do to millions of people unless, unless you break your deal with him."

"But I'll lose you. I'll die. I don't want you to be alone."

"I love you but I can't love you. You said you'd do anything to save me. If you love me, you know what you have to do."

"No." The Trickster glared.

"You got one thing exactly right." Peter stood before the Trickster, "Sarah Jane and I, we were made for each other. We're the perfect match. And I know what she would do."

"But I chose you because you didn't have the strength."

"You really don't know my Sarah Jane, do you? She gave me the strength. And I withdraw my agreement."

"No!" He yelled as he disappeared.

"So, here I go." He breathed, "I wish I'd always known you."

"I love you, Peter." She sniffled.

"And I love you, Sarah Jane Dalton." He smiled down at her as he slowly faded in a shower of sparks as the Doctor, Luke, Rani and K9 ran in.

"Mum." Luke rushed to her side.

"Luke." She wept for her lost love, "Thea," She hugged the two of them as Rani knelt by Clyde, "Oh, Doctor."

"My Sarah Jane." He smiled proudly, "You did it. The trap's broken. Time's moving forward again, we're going home."

A strong wind picked up again and the same bright light filled the room...

~.~

...and they all appeared back in the altar with the rest of the guests in their seats, the only thing changed was that Peter was no longer up with Sarah Jane.

"Where's the Doctor gone?" Luke hissed, seeing the other man was missing.

"Gone." Thea whispered. She leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes. She couldn't even find it in her to be upset, she wasn't even surprised. She knew he wouldn't have stuck around, it wasn't his style.

"That all really happened, didn't it?" Rani frowned.

Clyde glanced at his hand, there was still a bit of energy left over, "Yeah." He would confirm with Thea later if that was actually safe. He really hoped it wouldn't make him sprout another head or something.

"Affirmative." K9 nodded.

"I'm sorry, everybody." Sarah Jane faced the guests, "I'm afraid the wedding is cancelled." And walked back down the aisle alone, dropping the bouquet of flowers as she went.

~.~

The four kids slowly entered the attic to see Sarah Jane out of her dress, sitting on the steps before Mr Smith, K9 next to her.

"Mum, are you all right?" Luke asked.

"I'm going to be fine," she told them, managing a small smile, "I've got you, haven't I?"

"I can't believe the Doctor ran off like that."

"But how are you now?" Thea asked, sitting down next to her, getting the feeling Sarah Jane would want anything else but to talk about the Doctor.

"How are you?" She returned.

It didn't slip past any of them how she hadn't answered her, "It's you were worried about, mum."

"Sudden disappearing acts." Sarah Jane sighed, avoiding the question, "That's the Doctor all over."

"Sarah Jane, escalation of temporal flux." Mr Smith called.

"Temporal flux escalating." K9's agreed.

A light wind picked up as a low wheezing sounded and the TARDIS materialised into the attic.

"Doctor." Sarah Jane gaped.

"What do you take me for, Sarah?" He replied, looking rather insulted they thought he had just gone like that, "Just thought I'd go the quick way. Ooh, I like it in here."

"You came back..." Thea blinked.

"I always come back."

"Really? Sorry," She shook her head, "its just..."

She had heard the rumours on the council about the man. The only time he came back was pretty much when a TARDIS farmer had managed to hijack his TARDIS or the council sent a message threatening him to come back. And even then he left as soon as he could, seeing him disappear once the Trickster had gone, she hadn't expected to see him again so soon.

"Can we have a look?" Rani asked quickly.

"What, in the TARDIS? My TARDIS!" he raised his voice making Rani look embarrassed for asking before he grinned, "Course you can, yeah."

He stepped aside to allow the kids to run in, all looking around in awe. Thea slowly followed them, glancing at the Doctor as though she needed her own expectance to enter as he smiled down at her.

"Oh, wow!" Clyde exclaimed, "It really is, isn't it? It's bigger on the inside."

"It's beautiful." Rani breathed, resting a hand on a support beam.

"Transcendental dimensions." Luke grinned.

"Wow, what does this do?" Clyde asked, gesturing to a button on the console.

Thea peered over his shoulder, "no idea."

"I thought you said you passed your TARDIS exams."

"Yeah and you pass your maths exams, still doesn't mean I know what I'm doing."

"Hey, don't touch." Sarah Jane called, before one of them accidently pressed a button that would blow up the planets core, "You came all that way for me."

"You're so important." He told her, "Not just to me. The Trickster wanted to end your story, but it goes on. The things you've done, Sarah, they're pretty impressive, but, oh, the things you're going to do."

"The future." Luke cut in, "How about we could go for a ride?"

"Or back. To the dinosaurs, yeah?" Clyde wondered.

"Another planet?" Rani suggested.

"No way." Sarah Jane shook her head, "For one thing, you were grounded by the Judoon. And your parents would never forgive me. Go on." Luke, Clyde and Rani left the TARDIS as Thea hovered awkwardly by the doors.

"Is this the last time I'm ever going to see you?" Sarah Jane asked, not wanting the real answer but wanting an answer anyway.

"I don't know." He admitted, "I hope not."

"Just…drop by on occasion." She offered.

She knew neither of them would say it, Time Lords seemed to be a rather stubborn species as a whole. But she knew he and Thea would need to sit down and talk one day. They needed to talk about what happened and where to go next. They were the last of their people. They shouldn't just pretend the other didn't exist.

"Goodbye, Doctor," she smiled lightly, "until the next time."

"Don't forget me, Sarah Jane."

"No one's ever going to forget you." She turned and left the attic, she sent Thea a look, that she knew Thea was staying behind, she just needed a moment alone with the man.

"So…" the Doctor began slowly, drawing the word out as he tried to think of what to say.

"Sarah Jane told me what you did." Thea told him, "about the Time War and Daleks." She swallowed, "with the Time Lock."

She closed her eyes, refusing to let herself cry in front of him, not because she was embarrassed to cry. No, she was fine with crying in front of strangers if she felt like it, but if she cried now he would probably think it was because of him and she didn't know how he would react to it. Best keep the tears in right now.

"The less I know the better. She told me you did it for a reason and if she says that there wasn't another way then I guess it really was Gallifrey or the universe."

"Right." He swallowed, "Yes, right, well, you saw how bad it got I..." he took a breath, "How did you survive?"

"By leaving Gallifrey before the war ever began." She said simply as he looked at her, "I left Gallifrey the day I graduated. You're not the only one who can run away, Doctor. I stole a shuttle and ended up here so Sarah Jane adopted me."

She couldnt really remember much of what happened. One moment she had left Gallifrey in a shuttle and then she had woken up in the Bane factory with Luke standing over her and they'd both ran off until they met Sarah Jane.

"That's my Sarah Jane." The Doctor smiled fondly.

"She's amazing." Thea agreed, "I understand why you love humans so much, they really are...amazing." she smiled, thinking of her friends just outside those doors. "I should..." She turned back to the doors.

"You could stay." The Doctor called as she headed out. She paused and looked back, "There's plenty of room and honestly, I could do with the company."

She smiled sadly, "no thank you, Doctor. But I have your number should I change my mind." She offered, "and you know where I am if you ever want to stop by for tea and cake." She left the suggestion open as she stepped back out into the attic.

"You stayed behind?" Clyde gaped, "why?"

"You humans might have a habit of running off with stranger but I do not." Thea joked, poking his side.

"All of time as space."

"Sometimes there's more adventure down here then there is up there, Clyde."

"Well, you were right." Clyde remarked as the TARDIS dematerialised from the attic, "He is amazing."

"And so are we." Sarah Jane agreed as the group embraced.

And so we finally meet Thea. I imagine her to look similar to Francesca Capaldi and cannot wait to get to know her more.

Hopefully now I have an actual functioning laptop I should be updating a bit more regularly.

Hope you enjoyed and if you did leave a review :)