Fic: Turn Again (4/?)
Jul. 1st, 2009 12:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dbskylerTitle: Turn Again
Rating: PG
Characters: Sarah Jane, Ten, Maria, Luke, Clyde, Alan, the Brigadier, Harry, Capt. Magambo, Ross Jenkins, Rose
Spoilers: Turn Left (and the DW episodes referenced within it) and the first season of SJA
Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction, offered freely. Doctor Who, Sarah Jane Adventures and all characters belong to the BBC.
Summary: Sarah Jane wakes to a world where the Doctor is dead. A missing story from "Turn Left."
Warnings: Should go without saying, but let's be clear: there's character death here, folks. Not my fault; go complain to RTD. But it's all just a canon AU, so don't worry.
A/N: While there’s angst, especially in the first chapter, this story will not be an angst-fest. Promise.
Sorry it's been so long since this was updated! A large portion of this chapter was written during![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fic_rush; many thanks to the great people there for helping me get over my writer's block on this fic.
(Chapter One here)
(Chapter Two here)
(Chapter Three here)
Sarah had never been so glad to see the end of a month as she was to see the end of January. Every day she woke to a world that was wrong. Every day the Doctor was dead, but the sun shone and the newspaper came and people went shopping and got stuck in traffic, and everything was normal except that it wasn't, and no one else seemed to care. The knowledge that the Doctor wasn't supposed to be dead tortured her anew every day, and she didn't know which was worse, the fact that she couldn't do anything about it or the fact that it didn't seem to matter that she couldn't. The one thing that gave her hope was her upcoming meeting with Rose, and by the time February 1st finally arrived, she seriously thought she might have gone mad if she had had to wait even one more day.
It didn't help that a lot of people seemed to think she was mad already. Harry hadn't understood why she'd refused to go to the Doctor's memorial, and she had grown so tired of his repeated attempts to first get her to change her mind and afterwards get her to talk about it, she had resorted to avoiding his phone calls completely. She hadn't spoken to the Brigadier since the night she had made them all go to the TARDIS, but she could easily imagine what he must think of her. Even Alan seemed to believe that there was at least a good possibility that she was simply going through a particularly strong grief reaction. He was just a little too careful in what he said around her, and whenever either the puzzle box or the Doctor came up in conversation, he would make cautiously neutral statements and then change the subject as quickly as possible. Only Maria, Luke and Clyde seemed to fully trust in her sanity, and she didn't know if that was because they had more belief in her, or because it was easier for them to believe in an altered world that didn't seem to have actually been altered. Either way, she was very grateful to at least have their support.
And now February 1st was finally here, and she would meet Rose Tyler at noon, in the park where she had last seen the Doctor alive.
She closed her eyes and lost herself to the memory. If she had agreed to go traveling with him again, would the time disruption have happened? Would he have still died, or could she have found some way to save him? If this was indeed the Trickster's doing as she guessed, had he targeted the Doctor because of her? Was this whole thing her fault?
She stopped herself, and opened her eyes again. All those questions were irrelevant; all that was important was what to do about the situation now. The Doctor needed her, and she was going to get him back. This meeting with Rose today would give her the answers she was looking for; or if it didn't, then she would find something else, another lead to pursue. But she wouldn't give up, no matter how long it took, no matter what she had to do. She would never, ever give up.
Taking a deep breath, she went back to the normal morning routine of being a mother on a school day. No one else seemed to have recalled the significance of it being February 1st, and she was surprised by that but also a little glad. As much as she'd come to enjoy having the three teens with her on investigations, this was one meeting she would rather handle on her own. Not that it seemed to be a problem; no one had so much as mentioned the mysterious note in weeks, and now Luke was getting ready for school as if it were just another Wednesday.
Or so she thought, until while heading out the door he turned around and casually asked if he could go with her to meet "R.T."
"Luke . . . " She struggled with what to say. "I'm sorry, but no, not this time. It's better if I go by myself. And besides, you need to go to school." She tried to put as much motherly authority as she could into that last part, but sensed she was failing at it miserably.
"If the world is wrong as you say, then once the timeline gets fixed, I won't remember today's lessons anyway," said Luke reasonably. "And are you sure you should you be at this meeting alone?"
"Who said I would be there alone?" she asked with a reassuring smile. "I'll be meeting up with an old friend. And that's the truth," she added firmly, because it was. "Now hurry, or you'll be late."
He reluctantly went to the door, and she felt a feeling of relief as she saw it close behind him. Later she called the Headmaster's office just to be sure, and he had indeed gone to school as he was supposed to.
It wasn't until she arrived at the park that she realized she should have asked about Maria, too.
"What are you doing here?" Sarah exclaimed in dismay when the teenager raised herself up from her scrunched position in the back of Sarah's car.
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Maria. "After you turned Luke down, we knew this was the only way. You're just lucky it's not all three of us, but Clyde has a test today and Luke suspected you'd check up on him. Besides, we decided that the more of us who tried to hide, the more likely you'd be to discover us before you got to the park. Now that I'm here, you have no choice but to take me with you."
"I could turn around and drive you straight back to school," Sarah threatened.
"But if you do, you'll miss your meeting," Maria pointed out.
"I could tell you to stay here in the car."
"Then I would just wait a few minutes and follow you."
Sarah tried to stare the young girl down, but Maria stared back, looking determined. Sarah sighed and gave in. "All right," she said. "I suppose you'd better come along, then."
As she held the car door open for Maria to get out, she expected to feel annoyed. So it took her by surprise to realize that she was also a little relieved to have the company.
* * *
"This is a large park," said Maria as they walked down the path. "Do you know where to go?"
"I have a pretty good idea," Sarah replied. She looked around until she spotted the familiar steps that led up to a hedge-lined, circular space. "This way."
As they climbed the steps, Sarah tried to quell her growing nervousness. What if Rose wasn't there? What if she was there, but said she couldn't help? What if she'd asked Sarah to come today to tell her that the Doctor was irretrievably lost? Then she and Maria reached the top, and there was Rose, standing on the exact spot that had once held a police call box. She was once again wearing a purple top, although this time with a blue jacket over it, and while she looked slightly older, she otherwise seemed the same as when Sarah had last seen her.
Rose smiled at her, a big grin of genuine welcome, and Sarah felt reassured. She smiled back, and then they hugged each other in greeting.
"You know?" asked Sarah as they broke apart. "About the Doctor?"
"I know," said Rose, her smile fading. "But we're going to save him." Then she saw Maria, who had waited off to the side. "You have your own companions now? Who's this?"
Sarah beckoned Maria over. "This is a friend of mine," she said to Rose, "Maria Jackson. Maria, this is . . . "
Rose interrupted, stopping her. "Also a friend," she said. "It's better if you don't know my name."
"All right, I guess." Maria held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, nameless friend."
Rose took the offered hand and shook it. "Likewise. And sorry, but I have to be careful. You never know what the wrong word in the wrong place could do. I'm not even supposed to be here."
"None of us are," said Sarah. "This whole world isn't supposed to be here."
"I know." Rose looked sad for a moment, and Sarah guessed she was thinking about the Doctor. "But it's even more true for me. I was pulled here from another universe."
"What?" Sarah felt startled. "You mean, you're an alternate version of Ro -- of the person I met?"
"No," Rose replied, "it's really me. What do you know about Canary Wharf?"
"More than most people," said Sarah, "but not as much as someone who was there. Which you were, I think?"
Rose nodded. "Yes, I was there. At the end, I ended up in another universe, trapped and unable to get back -- until now. Something's changed," she went on, "something very, very bad. In my universe, the stars are going out. And it's just a matter of time before it starts happening here, and in every other universe, too. The darkness is coming, and all of reality is in danger."
"You said that in your note," said Maria. "The stars are actually disappearing from the sky? All because the Doctor died?"
"All because the Doctor died," Rose agreed. "Which is why we have to change things back to the way they were, the way they're supposed to be. Sarah Jane, I know how to do it -- but I need your help."
"You have it," said Sarah. "How do we save the Doctor?"
"Introduce me to your friends at UNIT. Don't tell them my name, but tell them to give me full access to the TARDIS and their facilities. I'll need a technical team -- people with engineering and theoretical physics backgrounds would be best -- and I'll need equipment, a lot of it. Tell them to set everything up in a new lab that's far away from London. What I have in mind won't be easy or quick to build, but if it works, then it saves us all, including the Doctor."
Maria stared. "You're kidding, right? They're not going to do all that. Have you met UNIT?"
Sarah pulled out her mobile. "Give me five minutes," she said.
* * *
Unfortunately, it took more than five minutes. But Sarah was nothing if not persistent, and it was just a little over an hour later when she and Maria were at UNIT, sitting in a room with Captain Magambo and Private Jenkins. While Sarah had managed to get Maria past security for a second time by invoking the logbook evidence that the teenager had been admitted before, she had been less successful when it came to Rose, and in the end her friend's insistence on maintaining her anonymity had resulted in her being left to wait outside.
But at least she and Maria were here in this office, talking to the right people, and she had been allowed to make her request. However, so far the request had been met with nothing but resistance and skepticism.
"Look, Miss Smith," said Captain Magambo. "You've never been an official part of UNIT, but I'm aware of your history and I know how much assistance you've given us in the past. I would like to help. But you have to understand, you're asking for the impossible."
"What I'm asking," said Sarah, "is for you to save the universe. And all it will take is a little cooperation."
"'A little cooperation,'" repeated Magambo sarcastically. "A little cooperation does not mean embarking on a top-secret project doing whatever a friend of yours tells us to do -- a friend who, by the way, won't even tell us her name. A little cooperation does not mean giving her whatever sensitive equipment she asks for, including access to the TARDIS, and authority over UNIT personnel. A little cooperation does not mean letting her create whatever dangerous device she wishes to create and letting her do whatever she wants with it afterward. And you're asking us to do all this with no evidence that anything is wrong, based only on her word that the universe is in danger?"
"Yes," said Sarah. "Where's the problem?"
"Where's the problem?" asked Magambo incredulously.
"Would you do it for the Doctor?" broke in Maria.
Magambo leaned back. "I'm sorry, I don't understand."
"If the Doctor were here, and he was telling you to trust a friend and do whatever she says, would you?" asked Maria.
Magambo exchanged a glance with Jenkins. "Yes, I suppose I would," she said reluctantly.
"Then trust Sarah Jane," said Maria. "Trust that she knows, as well as the Doctor did, what needs to be done. Trust that she knows that the world is wrong. Trust that when she says the universe is in danger, it is."
Magambo looked uncomfortable.
"Captain," said Sarah, "I can guess what you're thinking. I know you've probably heard from the Brigadier about me, and I know he's probably told you that I'm suffering from delusions because of my grief over the Doctor. But I swear to you, I'm not. What I'm telling you is the truth."
"Actually," said Magambo, "Sir Alastair told me that he believes every word you say, and so should I." She paused. "If I do this, I'm putting my career on the line."
"Does it matter?" asked Jenkins suddenly. "She says the universe depends on it, and I believe her, too."
Magambo was silent for a long moment. "Let's go meet this mysterious friend of yours," she said then. "It seems that the facilities of UNIT are at her disposal."
* * *
After the arrangements with UNIT had all been made, Sarah, Rose and Maria found a private spot nearby to say farewell.
"I'm not sure when I'll get pulled back to the other universe, but it ought to be soon," said Rose. She hesitated. "What are your plans for next Christmas?" she asked, sounding almost casual.
"What?" said Sarah. "Why? That's months from now; I don't have any plans."
"Not you," said Rose. "I was talking to Maria." She turned and took the teenager's hand. "Do you have any plans for next Christmas? Any trips around then for you and your family?"
"I don't know," Maria replied, nonplused. "Like Sarah Jane said, that's months and months from now. I don't think my Dad's made any plans yet."
"I think he should make some," said Rose. "It's a good time of year to get out of the London area. You should go north -- to Edinburgh, maybe, or someplace like that. Invite your close friends, and make a party out of it."
"Okay," said Maria uncertainly. "I'll tell my Dad."
"Good." Rose released her hand and looked up into the sky. "Shouldn't be long now before I disappear."
Sarah wanted to ask Rose what that had been about, but something in her friend's demeanor warned her to let it alone. Instead, she asked, "Just one more thing before you go, then. While you're busy building this device with UNIT, what can I do to help?"
"You'll know when the time comes," said Rose. "There's only one thing for you to do right now."
"What?" asked Sarah.
Rose was still looking up into the sky. "There's this hospital called Royal Hope. Just keep an eye on it, that's all. Monitor it for plasma coils, that sort of thing."
"Why?" asked Sarah. Rose remained silent, so she tried again. "What's at Royal Hope Hospital?"
Rose's eyes stayed on the sky. "Something necessary," she replied.
Sarah grew suspicious. "You know something," she said. "This universe-hopping that you're doing, it's given you a view into the future, hasn't it?" Rose didn't answer, but Sarah wasn't surprised. "All right, so you can't explain, fine, I'll go along. Just tell me one thing, and then I won't ask any more questions." She paused, and took a deep breath to keep her voice from breaking. "Do we manage to save the Doctor?"
"I don't know," Rose responded softly. "I hope so. I hope it will all be worth it." Abruptly she turned and enveloped Sarah in a strong hug. "Goodbye, Sarah Jane."
Startled, Sarah tried to hug her back, but by the time she had put her arms around her, she was gone.
* * *
Sarah went back to her life and did what she was least best at: she waited. It was frustrating, but not only was there nothing else for her to do for the time being, it seemed to be the best way to help the situation. It bothered her to leave everything up to Rose, but she had to accept that Rose had access to knowledge that she didn't have, and she knew enough about the dangers of time travel to realize that sometimes it was necessary to leave things alone and let history take its course. They already had one time disruption to deal with, after all; she couldn't risk another. Not with the Doctor's life -- and the fate of reality itself -- at stake. The only thing she made sure to do was have Mr. Smith monitor Royal Hope Hospital for anything out of the ordinary, and she instructed him to especially check for plasma coils on a regular basis.
Otherwise she went back to her usual activities, tracking down aliens and helping them, or stopping them, and she ignored the wrongness of the world around her and tried to pretend that everything was fine. She took phone calls from Harry again and touched base with the Brigadier, but she stayed away from Captain Magambo and never asked about the secret project that Rose was working on with the TARDIS. Neither Harry nor the Brigadier ever mentioned the project either, and she wondered if that was because they were being discreet or because they didn't even know about it in the first place. If she hadn't been so worried about the Doctor, it would have made her smile to think that there was a secret UNIT project that Maria knew about but they might not. Sometimes, it was almost enough to make her smile anyway.
She still carried the puzzle box with her wherever she went, and she slept with it by her side. Its glow had become a promise that although the world was wrong, someday it would be put right; although the Doctor was dead, they were in the process of saving him. She might be doing nothing now, but she knew she would have her part to play before the end. A part that would involve Royal Hope Hospital, where she would know what she had to do.
It came sooner than she expected.
Mr. Smith picked up the presence of plasma coils building up around the hospital, so she set off to investigate. Luke, Maria and Clyde came with her as they normally did. Sarah wondered if she was being rash in allowing the teenagers to accompany her, but so far there was nothing terribly alarming about the situation, and she saw no particular reason to exclude them. Besides, how did she know that whatever was going to happen didn't require the teenagers to be there as well? So she let them come, and Alan saw them off, waving goodbye as he watched them drive away in her car.
They arrived at the hospital entrance and were about to go in when she saw a figure standing off to the side, a figure with blonde hair and a blue jacket over a purple top.
The figure shook its head as they drew close, then pointed a finger at Sarah.
"Who's that?" said Luke. Sarah glanced at him, and when she glanced back, Rose was gone.
"Okay, that was creepy," said Clyde.
"Why was she here?" asked Maria. "What did she mean by pointing at you?"
Sarah had stopped dead, staring at the space where Rose had vanished. "I think the three of you had better wait outside," she said slowly.
"No way, we're going in," said Clyde. "I'm not going to let some weird disappearing woman tell me what to do."
"You've always said that no matter what happens, or how bad things get, it's better if we deal with it together," said Luke. "We should deal with this together."
Sarah looked at him, then she turned to Clyde, who nodded. Finally, she looked at the third member of her team.
"I agree," said Maria. Then she smiled. "And if you try to tell us to wait here, you know we'll just follow you in."
"True," said Sarah. She took in a deep breath, as if she had decided something. "Together, then."
And the four of them entered the hospital.
* * *
"Over here," said Sarah, striding briskly down the corridor as she monitored the readout in her watch. "Yes, there's definitely an alien here somewhere." She came to a juncture, then paused, gazing in both directions. She flipped the readout screen closed again. "Lost the signal. Wait, I know." She went back to a door they had just passed; a sign labeled it "Medical Records." Drawing out her sonic lipstick, she gave the lock a quick burst and opened the door, waving the others inside. "Start looking through these files. See if you can find any patients who've been admitted in the last few days with unusual symptoms. I'll be back in a minute."
She stepped out into the corridor, closing the door behind her. Then she found the nearest nurse's station and told the person there to call security, because she had just seen three teenagers break into the records room.
She watched the resulting commotion from the sidelines, careful to remain out of sight as security officers escorted the three struggling teens out. When they went down the stairs, she found a window, and eventually she was able to see Luke, Maria and Clyde come out the front door and get bundled into a waiting police car.
As she watched the car drive off, it started to rain.
* * *
Sarah struggled with the MRI machine, desperately searching for some way to shut it down. Dizzy with oxygen deprivation, she traced the power supply to the proper cable, then fumbled out the sonic lipstick and aimed it as well as she could while the room seemed to spin around her.
There was a surge, and then the spikes of energy died away and the machine became silent at last.
Peaceful. Everything was peaceful.
After a moment, Sarah tried to stir herself, tried to get back to her feet, but she wasn't sure which direction her feet were in anymore, and anyway, it was far too nice to lie here collapsed upon the floor. She idly wondered how much oxygen was left in what her body was still trying to breathe in, but she knew the answer: not enough.
This was it, this was what Rose had known would happen. At least Luke, Maria and Clyde were safe. As for herself, it was okay. She had shut down the MRI; she had saved the Earth. Pity that so many people had died, though. There was one person in particular who had helped her with the plasmavore -- Martha Jones, her name had been. In another life, she could have become a friend.
In another life, all this might have gone completely differently.
Her vision darkened and her eyes closed, although she wasn't sure which one of those two had come first. The dizziness grew, and she noted with abstract interest that she wasn't even trying to breathe anymore.
It didn't seem very important.
Then she was falling, dropping through empty space, and there was a darkness, and next a light, but she was still falling, plunging to oblivion, then something reached out and caught her.
No, not something. Someone.
Arms were around her, steadying her onto her feet.
She opened her eyes, and saw the very last person she had expected to see.
"Hullo, Sarah Jane," said the Doctor. Then he smiled.
---------
tbc . . .
(Chapter Five here)
Rating: PG
Characters: Sarah Jane, Ten, Maria, Luke, Clyde, Alan, the Brigadier, Harry, Capt. Magambo, Ross Jenkins, Rose
Spoilers: Turn Left (and the DW episodes referenced within it) and the first season of SJA
Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction, offered freely. Doctor Who, Sarah Jane Adventures and all characters belong to the BBC.
Summary: Sarah Jane wakes to a world where the Doctor is dead. A missing story from "Turn Left."
Warnings: Should go without saying, but let's be clear: there's character death here, folks. Not my fault; go complain to RTD. But it's all just a canon AU, so don't worry.
A/N: While there’s angst, especially in the first chapter, this story will not be an angst-fest. Promise.
Sorry it's been so long since this was updated! A large portion of this chapter was written during
fic_rush; many thanks to the great people there for helping me get over my writer's block on this fic. (Chapter One here)
(Chapter Two here)
(Chapter Three here)
Sarah had never been so glad to see the end of a month as she was to see the end of January. Every day she woke to a world that was wrong. Every day the Doctor was dead, but the sun shone and the newspaper came and people went shopping and got stuck in traffic, and everything was normal except that it wasn't, and no one else seemed to care. The knowledge that the Doctor wasn't supposed to be dead tortured her anew every day, and she didn't know which was worse, the fact that she couldn't do anything about it or the fact that it didn't seem to matter that she couldn't. The one thing that gave her hope was her upcoming meeting with Rose, and by the time February 1st finally arrived, she seriously thought she might have gone mad if she had had to wait even one more day.
It didn't help that a lot of people seemed to think she was mad already. Harry hadn't understood why she'd refused to go to the Doctor's memorial, and she had grown so tired of his repeated attempts to first get her to change her mind and afterwards get her to talk about it, she had resorted to avoiding his phone calls completely. She hadn't spoken to the Brigadier since the night she had made them all go to the TARDIS, but she could easily imagine what he must think of her. Even Alan seemed to believe that there was at least a good possibility that she was simply going through a particularly strong grief reaction. He was just a little too careful in what he said around her, and whenever either the puzzle box or the Doctor came up in conversation, he would make cautiously neutral statements and then change the subject as quickly as possible. Only Maria, Luke and Clyde seemed to fully trust in her sanity, and she didn't know if that was because they had more belief in her, or because it was easier for them to believe in an altered world that didn't seem to have actually been altered. Either way, she was very grateful to at least have their support.
And now February 1st was finally here, and she would meet Rose Tyler at noon, in the park where she had last seen the Doctor alive.
She closed her eyes and lost herself to the memory. If she had agreed to go traveling with him again, would the time disruption have happened? Would he have still died, or could she have found some way to save him? If this was indeed the Trickster's doing as she guessed, had he targeted the Doctor because of her? Was this whole thing her fault?
She stopped herself, and opened her eyes again. All those questions were irrelevant; all that was important was what to do about the situation now. The Doctor needed her, and she was going to get him back. This meeting with Rose today would give her the answers she was looking for; or if it didn't, then she would find something else, another lead to pursue. But she wouldn't give up, no matter how long it took, no matter what she had to do. She would never, ever give up.
Taking a deep breath, she went back to the normal morning routine of being a mother on a school day. No one else seemed to have recalled the significance of it being February 1st, and she was surprised by that but also a little glad. As much as she'd come to enjoy having the three teens with her on investigations, this was one meeting she would rather handle on her own. Not that it seemed to be a problem; no one had so much as mentioned the mysterious note in weeks, and now Luke was getting ready for school as if it were just another Wednesday.
Or so she thought, until while heading out the door he turned around and casually asked if he could go with her to meet "R.T."
"Luke . . . " She struggled with what to say. "I'm sorry, but no, not this time. It's better if I go by myself. And besides, you need to go to school." She tried to put as much motherly authority as she could into that last part, but sensed she was failing at it miserably.
"If the world is wrong as you say, then once the timeline gets fixed, I won't remember today's lessons anyway," said Luke reasonably. "And are you sure you should you be at this meeting alone?"
"Who said I would be there alone?" she asked with a reassuring smile. "I'll be meeting up with an old friend. And that's the truth," she added firmly, because it was. "Now hurry, or you'll be late."
He reluctantly went to the door, and she felt a feeling of relief as she saw it close behind him. Later she called the Headmaster's office just to be sure, and he had indeed gone to school as he was supposed to.
It wasn't until she arrived at the park that she realized she should have asked about Maria, too.
"What are you doing here?" Sarah exclaimed in dismay when the teenager raised herself up from her scrunched position in the back of Sarah's car.
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Maria. "After you turned Luke down, we knew this was the only way. You're just lucky it's not all three of us, but Clyde has a test today and Luke suspected you'd check up on him. Besides, we decided that the more of us who tried to hide, the more likely you'd be to discover us before you got to the park. Now that I'm here, you have no choice but to take me with you."
"I could turn around and drive you straight back to school," Sarah threatened.
"But if you do, you'll miss your meeting," Maria pointed out.
"I could tell you to stay here in the car."
"Then I would just wait a few minutes and follow you."
Sarah tried to stare the young girl down, but Maria stared back, looking determined. Sarah sighed and gave in. "All right," she said. "I suppose you'd better come along, then."
As she held the car door open for Maria to get out, she expected to feel annoyed. So it took her by surprise to realize that she was also a little relieved to have the company.
* * *
"This is a large park," said Maria as they walked down the path. "Do you know where to go?"
"I have a pretty good idea," Sarah replied. She looked around until she spotted the familiar steps that led up to a hedge-lined, circular space. "This way."
As they climbed the steps, Sarah tried to quell her growing nervousness. What if Rose wasn't there? What if she was there, but said she couldn't help? What if she'd asked Sarah to come today to tell her that the Doctor was irretrievably lost? Then she and Maria reached the top, and there was Rose, standing on the exact spot that had once held a police call box. She was once again wearing a purple top, although this time with a blue jacket over it, and while she looked slightly older, she otherwise seemed the same as when Sarah had last seen her.
Rose smiled at her, a big grin of genuine welcome, and Sarah felt reassured. She smiled back, and then they hugged each other in greeting.
"You know?" asked Sarah as they broke apart. "About the Doctor?"
"I know," said Rose, her smile fading. "But we're going to save him." Then she saw Maria, who had waited off to the side. "You have your own companions now? Who's this?"
Sarah beckoned Maria over. "This is a friend of mine," she said to Rose, "Maria Jackson. Maria, this is . . . "
Rose interrupted, stopping her. "Also a friend," she said. "It's better if you don't know my name."
"All right, I guess." Maria held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, nameless friend."
Rose took the offered hand and shook it. "Likewise. And sorry, but I have to be careful. You never know what the wrong word in the wrong place could do. I'm not even supposed to be here."
"None of us are," said Sarah. "This whole world isn't supposed to be here."
"I know." Rose looked sad for a moment, and Sarah guessed she was thinking about the Doctor. "But it's even more true for me. I was pulled here from another universe."
"What?" Sarah felt startled. "You mean, you're an alternate version of Ro -- of the person I met?"
"No," Rose replied, "it's really me. What do you know about Canary Wharf?"
"More than most people," said Sarah, "but not as much as someone who was there. Which you were, I think?"
Rose nodded. "Yes, I was there. At the end, I ended up in another universe, trapped and unable to get back -- until now. Something's changed," she went on, "something very, very bad. In my universe, the stars are going out. And it's just a matter of time before it starts happening here, and in every other universe, too. The darkness is coming, and all of reality is in danger."
"You said that in your note," said Maria. "The stars are actually disappearing from the sky? All because the Doctor died?"
"All because the Doctor died," Rose agreed. "Which is why we have to change things back to the way they were, the way they're supposed to be. Sarah Jane, I know how to do it -- but I need your help."
"You have it," said Sarah. "How do we save the Doctor?"
"Introduce me to your friends at UNIT. Don't tell them my name, but tell them to give me full access to the TARDIS and their facilities. I'll need a technical team -- people with engineering and theoretical physics backgrounds would be best -- and I'll need equipment, a lot of it. Tell them to set everything up in a new lab that's far away from London. What I have in mind won't be easy or quick to build, but if it works, then it saves us all, including the Doctor."
Maria stared. "You're kidding, right? They're not going to do all that. Have you met UNIT?"
Sarah pulled out her mobile. "Give me five minutes," she said.
* * *
Unfortunately, it took more than five minutes. But Sarah was nothing if not persistent, and it was just a little over an hour later when she and Maria were at UNIT, sitting in a room with Captain Magambo and Private Jenkins. While Sarah had managed to get Maria past security for a second time by invoking the logbook evidence that the teenager had been admitted before, she had been less successful when it came to Rose, and in the end her friend's insistence on maintaining her anonymity had resulted in her being left to wait outside.
But at least she and Maria were here in this office, talking to the right people, and she had been allowed to make her request. However, so far the request had been met with nothing but resistance and skepticism.
"Look, Miss Smith," said Captain Magambo. "You've never been an official part of UNIT, but I'm aware of your history and I know how much assistance you've given us in the past. I would like to help. But you have to understand, you're asking for the impossible."
"What I'm asking," said Sarah, "is for you to save the universe. And all it will take is a little cooperation."
"'A little cooperation,'" repeated Magambo sarcastically. "A little cooperation does not mean embarking on a top-secret project doing whatever a friend of yours tells us to do -- a friend who, by the way, won't even tell us her name. A little cooperation does not mean giving her whatever sensitive equipment she asks for, including access to the TARDIS, and authority over UNIT personnel. A little cooperation does not mean letting her create whatever dangerous device she wishes to create and letting her do whatever she wants with it afterward. And you're asking us to do all this with no evidence that anything is wrong, based only on her word that the universe is in danger?"
"Yes," said Sarah. "Where's the problem?"
"Where's the problem?" asked Magambo incredulously.
"Would you do it for the Doctor?" broke in Maria.
Magambo leaned back. "I'm sorry, I don't understand."
"If the Doctor were here, and he was telling you to trust a friend and do whatever she says, would you?" asked Maria.
Magambo exchanged a glance with Jenkins. "Yes, I suppose I would," she said reluctantly.
"Then trust Sarah Jane," said Maria. "Trust that she knows, as well as the Doctor did, what needs to be done. Trust that she knows that the world is wrong. Trust that when she says the universe is in danger, it is."
Magambo looked uncomfortable.
"Captain," said Sarah, "I can guess what you're thinking. I know you've probably heard from the Brigadier about me, and I know he's probably told you that I'm suffering from delusions because of my grief over the Doctor. But I swear to you, I'm not. What I'm telling you is the truth."
"Actually," said Magambo, "Sir Alastair told me that he believes every word you say, and so should I." She paused. "If I do this, I'm putting my career on the line."
"Does it matter?" asked Jenkins suddenly. "She says the universe depends on it, and I believe her, too."
Magambo was silent for a long moment. "Let's go meet this mysterious friend of yours," she said then. "It seems that the facilities of UNIT are at her disposal."
* * *
After the arrangements with UNIT had all been made, Sarah, Rose and Maria found a private spot nearby to say farewell.
"I'm not sure when I'll get pulled back to the other universe, but it ought to be soon," said Rose. She hesitated. "What are your plans for next Christmas?" she asked, sounding almost casual.
"What?" said Sarah. "Why? That's months from now; I don't have any plans."
"Not you," said Rose. "I was talking to Maria." She turned and took the teenager's hand. "Do you have any plans for next Christmas? Any trips around then for you and your family?"
"I don't know," Maria replied, nonplused. "Like Sarah Jane said, that's months and months from now. I don't think my Dad's made any plans yet."
"I think he should make some," said Rose. "It's a good time of year to get out of the London area. You should go north -- to Edinburgh, maybe, or someplace like that. Invite your close friends, and make a party out of it."
"Okay," said Maria uncertainly. "I'll tell my Dad."
"Good." Rose released her hand and looked up into the sky. "Shouldn't be long now before I disappear."
Sarah wanted to ask Rose what that had been about, but something in her friend's demeanor warned her to let it alone. Instead, she asked, "Just one more thing before you go, then. While you're busy building this device with UNIT, what can I do to help?"
"You'll know when the time comes," said Rose. "There's only one thing for you to do right now."
"What?" asked Sarah.
Rose was still looking up into the sky. "There's this hospital called Royal Hope. Just keep an eye on it, that's all. Monitor it for plasma coils, that sort of thing."
"Why?" asked Sarah. Rose remained silent, so she tried again. "What's at Royal Hope Hospital?"
Rose's eyes stayed on the sky. "Something necessary," she replied.
Sarah grew suspicious. "You know something," she said. "This universe-hopping that you're doing, it's given you a view into the future, hasn't it?" Rose didn't answer, but Sarah wasn't surprised. "All right, so you can't explain, fine, I'll go along. Just tell me one thing, and then I won't ask any more questions." She paused, and took a deep breath to keep her voice from breaking. "Do we manage to save the Doctor?"
"I don't know," Rose responded softly. "I hope so. I hope it will all be worth it." Abruptly she turned and enveloped Sarah in a strong hug. "Goodbye, Sarah Jane."
Startled, Sarah tried to hug her back, but by the time she had put her arms around her, she was gone.
* * *
Sarah went back to her life and did what she was least best at: she waited. It was frustrating, but not only was there nothing else for her to do for the time being, it seemed to be the best way to help the situation. It bothered her to leave everything up to Rose, but she had to accept that Rose had access to knowledge that she didn't have, and she knew enough about the dangers of time travel to realize that sometimes it was necessary to leave things alone and let history take its course. They already had one time disruption to deal with, after all; she couldn't risk another. Not with the Doctor's life -- and the fate of reality itself -- at stake. The only thing she made sure to do was have Mr. Smith monitor Royal Hope Hospital for anything out of the ordinary, and she instructed him to especially check for plasma coils on a regular basis.
Otherwise she went back to her usual activities, tracking down aliens and helping them, or stopping them, and she ignored the wrongness of the world around her and tried to pretend that everything was fine. She took phone calls from Harry again and touched base with the Brigadier, but she stayed away from Captain Magambo and never asked about the secret project that Rose was working on with the TARDIS. Neither Harry nor the Brigadier ever mentioned the project either, and she wondered if that was because they were being discreet or because they didn't even know about it in the first place. If she hadn't been so worried about the Doctor, it would have made her smile to think that there was a secret UNIT project that Maria knew about but they might not. Sometimes, it was almost enough to make her smile anyway.
She still carried the puzzle box with her wherever she went, and she slept with it by her side. Its glow had become a promise that although the world was wrong, someday it would be put right; although the Doctor was dead, they were in the process of saving him. She might be doing nothing now, but she knew she would have her part to play before the end. A part that would involve Royal Hope Hospital, where she would know what she had to do.
It came sooner than she expected.
Mr. Smith picked up the presence of plasma coils building up around the hospital, so she set off to investigate. Luke, Maria and Clyde came with her as they normally did. Sarah wondered if she was being rash in allowing the teenagers to accompany her, but so far there was nothing terribly alarming about the situation, and she saw no particular reason to exclude them. Besides, how did she know that whatever was going to happen didn't require the teenagers to be there as well? So she let them come, and Alan saw them off, waving goodbye as he watched them drive away in her car.
They arrived at the hospital entrance and were about to go in when she saw a figure standing off to the side, a figure with blonde hair and a blue jacket over a purple top.
The figure shook its head as they drew close, then pointed a finger at Sarah.
"Who's that?" said Luke. Sarah glanced at him, and when she glanced back, Rose was gone.
"Okay, that was creepy," said Clyde.
"Why was she here?" asked Maria. "What did she mean by pointing at you?"
Sarah had stopped dead, staring at the space where Rose had vanished. "I think the three of you had better wait outside," she said slowly.
"No way, we're going in," said Clyde. "I'm not going to let some weird disappearing woman tell me what to do."
"You've always said that no matter what happens, or how bad things get, it's better if we deal with it together," said Luke. "We should deal with this together."
Sarah looked at him, then she turned to Clyde, who nodded. Finally, she looked at the third member of her team.
"I agree," said Maria. Then she smiled. "And if you try to tell us to wait here, you know we'll just follow you in."
"True," said Sarah. She took in a deep breath, as if she had decided something. "Together, then."
And the four of them entered the hospital.
* * *
"Over here," said Sarah, striding briskly down the corridor as she monitored the readout in her watch. "Yes, there's definitely an alien here somewhere." She came to a juncture, then paused, gazing in both directions. She flipped the readout screen closed again. "Lost the signal. Wait, I know." She went back to a door they had just passed; a sign labeled it "Medical Records." Drawing out her sonic lipstick, she gave the lock a quick burst and opened the door, waving the others inside. "Start looking through these files. See if you can find any patients who've been admitted in the last few days with unusual symptoms. I'll be back in a minute."
She stepped out into the corridor, closing the door behind her. Then she found the nearest nurse's station and told the person there to call security, because she had just seen three teenagers break into the records room.
She watched the resulting commotion from the sidelines, careful to remain out of sight as security officers escorted the three struggling teens out. When they went down the stairs, she found a window, and eventually she was able to see Luke, Maria and Clyde come out the front door and get bundled into a waiting police car.
As she watched the car drive off, it started to rain.
* * *
Sarah struggled with the MRI machine, desperately searching for some way to shut it down. Dizzy with oxygen deprivation, she traced the power supply to the proper cable, then fumbled out the sonic lipstick and aimed it as well as she could while the room seemed to spin around her.
There was a surge, and then the spikes of energy died away and the machine became silent at last.
Peaceful. Everything was peaceful.
After a moment, Sarah tried to stir herself, tried to get back to her feet, but she wasn't sure which direction her feet were in anymore, and anyway, it was far too nice to lie here collapsed upon the floor. She idly wondered how much oxygen was left in what her body was still trying to breathe in, but she knew the answer: not enough.
This was it, this was what Rose had known would happen. At least Luke, Maria and Clyde were safe. As for herself, it was okay. She had shut down the MRI; she had saved the Earth. Pity that so many people had died, though. There was one person in particular who had helped her with the plasmavore -- Martha Jones, her name had been. In another life, she could have become a friend.
In another life, all this might have gone completely differently.
Her vision darkened and her eyes closed, although she wasn't sure which one of those two had come first. The dizziness grew, and she noted with abstract interest that she wasn't even trying to breathe anymore.
It didn't seem very important.
Then she was falling, dropping through empty space, and there was a darkness, and next a light, but she was still falling, plunging to oblivion, then something reached out and caught her.
No, not something. Someone.
Arms were around her, steadying her onto her feet.
She opened her eyes, and saw the very last person she had expected to see.
"Hullo, Sarah Jane," said the Doctor. Then he smiled.
---------
tbc . . .
(Chapter Five here)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 03:35 am (UTC)I'm glad you got the kids out of there, and nice touch with the Doctor at the end.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 11:30 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 09:31 am (UTC)I've just re-read the whole of this since it had been a while since your last update. I was trying not to cry too much...
I'm intrigued by the fact that you've tweaked canon since in the TL version of events at Royal Hope, the teenagers died as well as SJS.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 12:04 pm (UTC)But I doubt I will take the time to go into all of that in the story, so if my saving the kids is seen as AU by readers, that's okay too.
Many apologies for the long delay on this chapter, and thanks for coming back and taking the time to re-read!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 12:10 pm (UTC)Ah! Fair enough. I confess I've not re-watched the ep lately and I remembered them showing pics of the three teenagers as well as of SJS on the news report, so insofar as I remembered it at all, I remembered them dying...
But I doubt I will take the time to go into all of that in the story, so if my saving the kids is seen as AU by readers, that's okay too.
Heh.
Many apologies for the long delay on this chapter, and thanks for coming back and taking the time to re-read!
No apologies needed - sometimes other things get in the way. It's funny - I only thought a couple of days ago (while reading weimlady's fabby Ten & SJS series on Teaspoon) that you hadn't updated this lately - and I wondered if you would! Guess you must have 'heard' me! :D
One of these days I may even get around to writing my abandoned TL-based story (I dropped out of tardis_bigbang because all my Who plot bunnies went on an extended vacation. Now they're back with a vengeance, but I'm writing an AU Martha/Nighy!Eleven! *rolls eyes*)
PS Mind if I friend you as a fellow SJS fan?
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 01:30 pm (UTC)That's probably true for most people. I don't think my story stands up on its own without "Turn Left" -- people have to have seen it to get what's going on -- but hopefully it's not necessary to remember the episode in detail. My upcoming big challenge is to make what happens next intelligible to people who haven't seen "Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane," since I don't think I can assume the same degree of familiarity with that as I can with "Turn Left." We'll see if I pull it off . . .
No apologies needed - sometimes other things get in the way.
It took me by surprise, actually, but yes, I went through a period of huge burn-out and block on the fic. But I get really disappointed when authors abandon fic, and while I know no one starts out expecting to abandon and I have sympathy (and now some empathy) for authors who end up doing that, I was and am absolutely determined to see this through to the end, no matter how long it takes. Hopefully things will go quicker now that I've finally worked through the block.
my Who plot bunnies went on an extended vacation. Now they're back with a vengeance
Follow those plot bunnies! The TL story will wait until you're ready for it.
Mind if I friend you as a fellow SJS fan?
Of course not!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-03 01:34 pm (UTC)Ah! Yes, that is probably true - that fewer people are familiar with SJA. I LOVED 'Whatever' (not so fond of 'Temptation', mind!)
It took me by surprise, actually, but yes, I went through a period of huge burn-out and block on the fic. But I get really disappointed when authors abandon fic, and while I know no one starts out expecting to abandon and I have sympathy (and now some empathy) for authors who end up doing that, I was and am absolutely determined to see this through to the end, no matter how long it takes. Hopefully things will go quicker now that I've finally worked through the block.
Ack! Being blocked on a fic is horribly painful! I shall keep my fingers crossed you're through the block.
Follow those plot bunnies! The TL story will wait until you're ready for it.
I think I will get to it eventually...
Of course not!
Thank you!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-11 07:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-14 02:26 am (UTC)