From the Journal of Sarah Jane

eleventh_doctor asked for working!Sarah. I will try to complete more of these as the day goes on.

“This,” Sarah Jane said contemptuously, gesturing to the rather early eighteenth century wench like costume she wore, “is work?”

“We’re pirates, Sarah Jane.” The Doctor wasn’t dressed much better off, although something about her size(why was it that even female, he – she – had to be taller than her?) made the costume fit better. “Least that’s what we need to be if we’re ever going to get back the treasure of Davy Jones’ locker. You know we can’t leave it in Pirate Sid the Cash-strapped hands!”

Sarah sighed, looking down at the dress again. The corset was too tight, leaving little space to breathe and revealing far more of her bosom than she’d prefer in front of these… well, mangy dogs certainly seemed fitting. And the layers of skirts… Oh, there were far too many skirts given the blazing sun up ahead.

“That’s the part that confuses me, Doctor,” she said after a moment, taking the time first to glare at the first mate who constantly tossed lewd comments her way. “All these other times, we’ve just barged in there without fancy dress. Why now?”

“Sarah, Sarah, Sarah.” The Doctor shook her head. “You should know by now that work needs to be fun. And what’s more fun than this?”

Alien sex pollen

The night glittered with gold. Willow trees swayed in the wind, percussion to a hidden orchestra of frog-like creatures and chirping insects. Moonlight danced along a lagoon. Little pixie like aliens fluttered about, fireflies in the darkness. One pixie, more curious than the rest, had strayed from the group. If this one little pixie were to be given a name, one would find the name of Puck, or Robin Goodfellow as it may be, quite fitting. Yet, Shakespeare had not yet penetrated this vast deepness of space.

Most mischievous of the lot, Puck enjoyed following visitors to Serenada. More than that, he enjoyed playing with those visitors. A trio walked past the lagoon, two bipedals and a hairy beast on all fours. Puck took delight in the golden pollen falling from the trees above and watched as it continued to saturate the clothing (and fur) of the travelers.

They were unaware. He was not.

Puck knew the words. Puck knew the potential the pollen of Serenada’s trees possessed: inhibitions released, desires met. And tonight was a night for mischief. He had always liked mischief.

The night glittered with magic.

In the background, aloof and away from all, a knowing police box stood and watched.

***

“Are you feeling better now?”

The Doctor looked at her. The height difference that had once so existed between them was now little more than normal. It made certain things easier. Studying her eyes, for one, or checking to ensure her ankle was all right. Even in the moonlight, the concern was evident in his cool, blue eyes.

Sarah Jane nodded, smiling softly. She kept her grip on Sawyer’s neck fur. He made a good a crutch as any. The wolf did not seem to mind one bit. He stayed pressed to her side, almost as if trying to make up for the fact she had fallen in the first place. “I am. After all, this planet is far too beautiful to give up for one sprained ankle.”

“So long as you can manage,” he answered softly. “The moment you can’t-”

“I’m fine, Doctor.”

Sarah sighed. She came to a sudden stop, falling to the ground with an undignified snort. Her fingers fiddled with the laces of her boots as she worked to undo them. From the corner of her eye, she saw the Doctor stand next to Sawyer, both watching her with concern. Bloody ankle.

Bloody man.

“If only you could know, the things I long to say.” The words came unbidden. Sarah Jane sang softly as she ran her fingers through ripples in the lagoon. She watched his reflection, unaware that anything could be amiss. “If only I could tell you, what I wish to convey.”

“At least you’re enjoying Serenada.” The Doctor smiled crookedly before he slowly sat down behind her. “All of Orion’s splendor and none of its sadness.”

“ The dreams I can't declare, the needs I can't deny. You'd understand them all if only you would try. All my secrets, you would learn them. All my longings, you'd return them. If only you would notice how I ache behind my smile. I guess you never will, I guess it doesn't show. But if I never find a way to tell you so… Oh, what I would give, if only I knew how.”

The music of the night swelled in crescendo with Sarah’s last few words. She turned to look at her friend. Already he was lost in the solitude of his own thoughts. It made her heart ache as she watched. There was so much, too much, that he had witnessed without her. Oh, how could she ever make it up to him?

Maybe by telling him the truth. It had been bothering her for some time now. Since he welcomed her home again and she had remembered just how wonderful it felt being wrapped in his arms. Sarah had never felt that comfortable around any other man. But how could she tell him? He’d only laugh.

“But if I never find a way to tell you so…” Her voice was barely audible to her own ears. Then she took a deep breath and forced a grin on her face. “Doctor-”

“A dance, Sarah Jane.” She had been cut off. Somehow, in the few seconds that had passed by, he had risen to his feet and was now offering a hand to her. “Can’t you hear it? The sounds of the night? I’ve always wondered what it is about this planet that makes it so enchanting. It has to be the music, clearly so. So a dance. Please.”

He felt so hesitant, felt as if his hearts were leaping out of his chest as he waited for her answer. The Doctor had no jelly baby to offer, nor any tom foolery to make the moment what she might expect. She seemed so accepting of his new self, but at times he found himself doubting. When he felt her hand slide in to his, however, all doubt was erased. The Doctor smiled broadly and helped her to her feet.

He swept her into a waltz, holding her waist lightly as they began to dance along the water’s edge. Two smiling faces stared at each other. The reeds chimed in the wind as fairy light began to play around them.

“ Dancing is a language that is felt instead of heard,” the Doctor began. It was an explanation of each step, of the dances he had learned while a part of Arthur’s court. “You can whisper, sing, or shout without so much as a word. Tell your body what to do. See how much a single gesture can reveal. And every little step, every single step, is one step closer to saying what you feel.”

Sarah followed his steps without hesitation. It took a little bit of effort to try not to take the lead. Quickly enough, though, she couldn’t tell who led or who followed. The dance became a partnership, a partnership that led them twirling and gliding along the lagoon.

“And every little step, every single step,” Sarah whispered as they entered a small grotto, “is one step closer to being understood.”

The dancing stopped.

A light breeze ruffled their clothing, twisting Sarah’s skirt around her ankles and creating playful ripples in the Doctor’s sleeves. She stared up into his eyes, brown gazing at blue, both sets lost to the world around them. At the edge of the lagoon, Sawyer howled. Moonlight snuck in through the cavern entrance, bathing them both in its glow. A ring of fireflies danced around them.

And a disembodied voice, somewhere among the winds, percussion, and strings of nature, began to sing:

“ Yes, you want her. Look at her, you know you do. Possible she want you, too, there is one way to ask her. It don't take a word, not a single word, go on and kiss the girl! Sha la la la la la, my oh my, look like the boy too shy, ain't gonna kiss the girl. Sha la la la la la, ain't that sad, ain't it a shame, too bad, he gonna miss the girl. Do what the music say, go on and kiss the girl. Go on and kiss the girl, you gotta kiss the girl, go on and kiss the girl…”

The music seemed to soften and the world seemed to disappear as the Doctor leaned downward. Sarah Jane closed her eyes and tilted her head upward. Their lips met and time stopped.

“Go on and kiss the girl.”

Her lips parted to allow his tongue to enter. His arms wrapped around her waist and she placed hers around his neck to steady herself. All those words she had meant to say came spilling out in the kiss. To Sarah’s utter surprised, those sentiments were returned.

Clothes melted away as a new dance started. The Doctor gently lowered Sarah to the floor. She looked up at him as he knelt above her, looking for a sign. Sarah Jane nodded. Their lips met again. Limbs tangled and hearts beat loudly, all three. Sweat mixed and the music gave way to a different melody. Pants and groans and whispers of need.

And when he entered her, she finally admitted aloud that she loved him. The Doctor smiled and buried his head in her neck as they continued their dance. They continued until neither was left wanting, until both were spent.

He took her into his arms after, wrapping his shirt messily around them both. She settled her head against his chest and hummed contently. There would be no need to return to the TARDIS tonight. There would be no need for any more words tonight, either. Just blissful sleep. And the promise of a new day, started together rather than apart.

From the sidelines, on his perch atop the head of a very annoyed wolf, Puck clapped and laughed with high-pitched glee. The golden pollen worked every time. “He kissed the girl!”

[ooc: merlin_doctor and Sawyer borrowed with permission of mun. song lyrics in italics from Broadway’s “The Little Mermaid.”]

Devil's Advocate

"What about this one?"

Sarah Jane stopped the trolley short as the Doctor jumped in front of her with a box of Fruit Loops. She couldn't figure out why her friend had been so insistent in joining Luke and herself in a shopping trip at the local Tesco. The Doctor didn't usually enjoy domestic. Sarah had just written it off as yet another quirk with this regeneration. The Eleventh, if she counted correctly. And the first female Doctor she had ever met. While just as daft and brilliant as all her other selves, there was something different about this Doctor.

She had been stopping by quite often now, ever since Sarah had randomly met her while running from a Slitheen. Rather much like the Doctor, she usually showed up at the worst of times. Rather unlike the Doctor, she had also taken an interest in Luke that almost bordered on motherly. It honestly drove her quite insane.

"It only has 9 calories of fat. And look, Luke," the Doctor continued, now shoving the cereal box in the boy's face. She tossed back her scarf, smiling far too brightly for Sarah's taste. "A toucan! I had one of those once, you know. Such a good friend, that bird --- much more willing to listen to me than your mum ever was."

Luke blinked, reaching one hand forward towards the box curiously. "I've read about them. It--"

"Doctor," Sarah Jane spoke up, interrupting her son. She held out a hand for the box and when the Doctor so eagerly handed it to her, she placed it on the closest shelf rather than in her trolley. "I know you've been going through my cupboards. You should realize by now that I don't approve of such cereals."

Clyde complained about it every time he stayed overnight, deciding that Sarah Jane's company was much more acceptable than his own mum's. Not that it ever changed her mind. She was determined to raise Luke with as much of a normal life as possible for the two of them. Ruining your health with improper breakfasts was not normal in Sarah's opinion. And Luke never complained. He didn't seem ever to mind.

"Toucan, Sarah Jane! And absolutely no cholesterol! You can't ask for more than that." The Doctor blinked, smiling prettily at her. She pulled out a paper bag of jelly babies from her coat pocket, offering one to Luke before popping another in her mouth. "Or we could just buy more jelly babies and give him that for breakfast. Only 335 kilocals. Absolutely a brilliant way for a growing boy to start his day."

The Doctor was absolutely mad! Sarah Jane sighed, coming close to glaring at her. She noticed Luke blink in confusion from the corner of her eye and sighed again. She placed a hand on Luke's shoulder. "Would you mind fetching the eggs, Luke?"

He nodded and began to walk away before turning around for a moment. He looked far too earnest for Sarah Jane's liking. Luke hesitated for a moment and then spoke. "Maria said her parents rowed a lot before they split up. Don't go, Doctor? Mum really does like having you around. So do I."

"See?" The Doctor said smugly after Luke had wandered down another aisle. "Luke needs a second mum. And I can't think of anybody better to fill that role than me. And don't tell me you can, Sarah Jane. Because that's completely untrue. I am your best friend, after all. I can help raise him! It'll be an adventure!"

For a few seconds, Sarah wouldn't believe her own ears. The Doctor despised domesticity. She had seen him frown every time she suggested they go to Aunt Lavinia's for Christmas Day meal back when she had travelled with him. But now, now that she had found a way not just to interfere in her life again but that of her son's? Oh, of course the Doctor would stick about. If just to remind Sarah Jane what she couldn't have anymore. Not with this whole gender change.

"Luke doesn't need two mums! He has me!"

She was close to yelling and, at the very least, her words earned a strange look from a passing elderly lady. Sarah Jane felt herself flush in embarrassment. She hadn't meant it like that. The Doctor was a woman now. Gender swaps had ruined everything. But still, only the Doctor ever knew how to properly get her this riled up.

"You're nothing but the Devil's advocate right now, Doctor. Picking arguments with me over every single way I'm raising my son. I promised Luke a normal life, you see. You said there were wonders on Earth to explore when we said goodbye and that's exactly what I intend to keep showing him. Instead you keep filling him – and Maria and Clyde, might I add! – with stories about places he won't get to because I'm only human! And that's exactly what he is. He doesn't need another mother, let alone a Gallifrian one who knows nothing of human customs! I made a promise and unlike you, I keep my word."

There. Sarah Jane had said it all. She took a deep breath, trying to regain her calm. Tesco wasn't the place for a row like this but she couldn't help it. Luke didn't need someone who would keep disappearing. And neither did she for that matter.

When there was no response, she began to busy herself with finding a proper cereal brand off the shelf. Sarah had never blown up at the Doctor like this before. She had always been too infatuated when she was younger and then, when they met again, she fancied herself as too mature. The silence lingered. With every passing moment of no response, she began to feel more and more guilty. The Doctor hadn't stormed away, not yet anyway. The only footsteps she had heard were those of pesky eavesdroppers hurrying away from the other end of the aisle, presumably from a stern Doctor's glare.

Finally, Sarah forced herself to look up. What she saw hurt even more. She had never seen this sort of look of disappointment or hurt on his - her, she corrected herself – face before. It was as if she had kicked a puppy dog that had only wished to befriend her. Instantly, Sarah Jane felt horrible. She needed to do something that she had always been loath to do: apologise.

"I suppose trying Fruit Loops for a week won't hurt him," she said quietly, still not quite meeting the Doctor's eyes. "At the very least, it's quite the step up from candy for breakfast."

The Doctor smiled. It was a bright smile, one that seemed not to take into account any of their previous argument. "I knew you'd see reason! Now we just need to get him a proper toucan to keep him company at breakfast time!"

Then, before Sarah had the chance to respond, the Doctor pulled her in for a tight hug. She had to smile despite the mild awkwardness she felt; and in the end, it wasn't as horrible to hug a female Doctor as Sarah Jane would have thought. She leaned her head against the Doctor's chest (who would always be taller than her, wouldn't she?), not caring at all what any passing busybody thought.

When they pulled apart, she laughed and smiled. "Luke's not allowed to start calling you mum yet, though. Not unless you really do start sticking around more."

The Doctor shrugged, reaching for the box of cereal and throwing it in the trolley. "I've always wanted to be called Auntie! Auntie Doctor: has sort of a ring to it, don't you think?"

She had to agree. Considering everything, Auntie Doctor didn't sound so awful after all. Luke would be lucky to have someone so special in his life. As it was, Sarah felt honoured to have her best friend back again, no matter the shape or form. Sarah Jane was very lucky indeed.


[ooc: based on roleplay with eleventh_doctor]