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UNIT’s press liaison was loved by the entire staff. That in itself was an understatement. The men and women working at the unified intelligence taskforce absolutely adored Sarah Jane Smith. The woman was kind, outspoken, and extremely good at her job. She had recently returned from a… minor leave of absence let us say. Nevertheless, she was back at it and doing better than ever. Her skill level was only increasing and her writing skills were blossoming into something remarkable. Most of the opinion pieces she submitted to local newspapers printed them right away. She even got a piece or two into much bigger papers. Sarah Jane was beginning to appear on editor’s radars.
Despite all this, she remained with her feet firmly planted at UNIT. She still needed the support of her friends to keep her going. It had been a rough four years, but things were looking up now (mostly due to their assistance if she were honest). The relationships she had with the four closest to her had evolved in many ways over the duration she had been earthbound after travelling with the Doctor. Most of the casual hookups and meetings she had with them fizzled out, having become much too preoccupied with her work to need that sort of distraction any more.
Sarah Jane would wonder if that's why Harry had gotten up the courage to ask. One chilly January afternoon he asked her to drink after work; “a proper date” he called it. Sarah didn't think she had much to lose, so she said yes. She supposed all of… this could be traced back to that day.
She said yes again. And again. And again.
It was nice, being with Harry. He was easy going, easy to talk to, easy to please. She liked the ease of him. There was never a tug from him in any direction really. When he asked her to be his girl a month later she said yes before she could stop herself.
Months passed by without much of an event otherwise. Her weeks became clockwork. Do her job, go out for drinks with everyone on Fridays, stay with Harry when the weekend comes. He kept her bed warm and a smile on her face. Under all that “drab old fashion talk” as she put it, there was a kind and funny man who could understand the hole the Doctor left. After all, he had experienced it too.
She was content with him. Happy. She should be happy. There wasn't a reason not to be.
He was a good man who had a stable income. He could support her if she flopped in journalism. He was stable.
She was increasingly restless.
As the months passed it all sort of became a blur. Things were nice, but monotonous. Objectively, everything was fine. Sarah Jane was fine. Harry was doing quite well for himself. He was getting job offers away from UNIT left and right. He had been debating a few, but inevitably elected to stay at the taskforce. That's where his friends were. That's where Sarah Jane was. He had every reason to stay
---
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗺’𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁
𝗠𝘆 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘁
December came faster than expected. The Brigadier had authorized an early Christmas party before many of the officers went home for the holiday season. It was much better than Sarah Jane had been expecting. He was hosting it at his new house, and things were beautifully decorated. The boys seemed more cheery than usual, she noted, but that possibly had something to do with the brandy and scotch being passed around the room.
The hour grew later, and she was having a marvelous time. The house was filled with the sounds of laughter and stories being told with a good amount of vibrato. Sarah Jane had been in the middle of crossing towards the dessert table in hopes of scoring a chocolate biscuit, fiddling with the hem of her green sweater as she did. It was nearly midnight, and the room grew quiet.
“Sarah,” Harry began, making her turn with a quick inhale. She still wasn't too fond of Just ‘Sarah” anymore.
“Mmm?” Glancing around at everyone, she noticed a peculiar look on their faces. Her face scrunched up as she did. She continued looking down at the garment, “What? Did I spill something on my sweater?”
“Well, Old Girl, there's been something on my mind lately,” he offered a hopeful smile. “And I figured with spirits up so high- well I just can't keep it in any longer.”
“Harry-” her eyes widened as the realization began to dawn on her. “Harry don't-”
“Now listen, I know it's been a long few years, but we’ve been through so much together. I figure it's time we make things official.” He got down on one knee then, about to continue. She stepped back, causing him to falter.
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀
𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗶 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻
𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀
“Sarah Jane Smith,” It seemed nothing was going to completely discourage him from any of this. “Would you do me the honour of becoming my wife? Will you marry me?”
She froze, not knowing what to say. This isn't happening- was it? She had to be dreaming or gone mad because this definitely isn't happening. The room was dead silent in anticipation, and Sarah Jane never thought that silence could be so goddamn loud.
“I.. Harry, I… I'm sorry but I-” she drew a breath, feeling every set of eyes on her. She couldn't meet Harry’s gaze. “No.”
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗴𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀, 𝗜 𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁
𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀
“What?” a veil of confusion swept over his face. “Old girl what do you mean by that? Don't you want to-”
“I said no.” she seemed to finally regain control of her extremities. “I'm sorry I just-” she glanced around the room, and then down at him. “Im sorry everyone. No.”
She had never bolted for a door so fast in her entire life. Sarah Jane grabbed her coat off the hook near the door, but didnt even get it on until she was halfway down the driveway. She wrapped an arm around her abdomen feeling sick. Had that really just happened..?
𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗜 𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴
𝗟𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴
𝗖𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴
𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀
She called a cab down the street in a phone booth in front of a pub, and went back to her flat, still shrouded by that dead silence which had left a sharp ringing in her ears.
The events played out over and over in her head until she found herself sitting in the bottom of her shower, arms wrapped around her knees. Hot water cascaded over her shoulders, yet she barely noticed, too wrapped up in her thoughts to have the ability to pay it any mind.
How long had he knelt there like that? What would everyone think of her? Why in god’s name did she say no?
This isn't happening. This couldn't have happened. She loved Harry! She did.
She thought she did.
Did she?
God- did she? Was that what this was all about? Did she still have feelings for… no. No that wasn't it. It couldn't be it. She was with Harry and he… he was gone.
He’s gone, Sarah. He’s gone, He’s gone. He’s gone. Why can’t you get a grip on yourself!? Harry is good for you. Harry loves you. He does. This is what you need to— no— have to do. She would repeat those things to herself over and over until the water ran cold and she was forced to get out.
If you had asked her a week ago if she wanted to get married she would have said yes with no hesitation. But… feelings were fatal, weren't they.
𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆, 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄
𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆, 𝘀𝗼 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗼
𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿
𝗧𝗶𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲’𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂
Sarah Jane didn't go back to work for a week. She had only managed to answer one of Harry’s calls. That's how she ended up with quite a few boxes on her doorstep. He had told her he had accepted a surgeon job overseas. In a faint voice she replied that she was happy for him.
At some point, she knew, she would have to go back. Alistair had been ringing her phone on a near daily basis checking in on her. She answered sometimes. Others she was too preoccupied wallowing in her feelings to have the energy to pick up the phone. He still cared about her though all of this mess, and she had to take that as a good sign. He always said that he wanted the best for her. That was her lifeline as she walked through the familiar sterile halls, she made her way to the familiar door of the Brigadiers office.
She knocked, and opened the door slowly at his word.
“Sarah Jane,” he offered a pitying smile. “How are you?”
Sarah gave a sad smile in return, lingering in the doorway. He had always had her back on things. ‘No matter what’ he had told her a long while ago. She sighed softly, “I have something for you.”
“Oh? Would you like to share, then?”
Crossing to his desk, she slid a letter over the wooden surface towards him. “I resign. This is my notice.”
“What?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and opening the letter. “Sarah Jane, surely you needn’t do this. Nobody will hold anything against you, I assure you. Not on my watch.”
She shook her head. “It's not that, well, that's not the only thing. If you'll see the letter- I got the job.”
“You did? My, you did. Congratulations.” He grinned, then straightened. “Though I'm sad to see my favorite press liaison leave me. Are you sure there's nothing I could do to get you to stay?”
“Thank you, Alistair. I appreciate it. Things have just… lined up. I take it as a sign,”
“I suppose it is,” he replied. “Now then, let's get things in order Ms. Smith...”
The paperwork didn't take very long to do at all. She could tell Alistair was reluctant to sign her off duty for next week, but he did it nonetheless. He could never deny Sarah Jane anything she wanted.
“𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱’𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱,“ 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱
𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱
𝗦𝗵𝗲’𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘂𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝘀𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗱
Sarah Jane could have sworn she heard whispers behind her as she walked towards her office. It was a good distance away in another wing. They were probably talking about her, and about what happened. In such a small facility things like...that would spread like wildfire. She would be too, if she were in their place. They wouldn't, couldn’t, understand. They didn't know what she felt. They hadn't fallen for a ruddy time travelling alien, and they weren't still, somehow, hooked on him five years later. If they asked for an explanation, Sarah Jane couldn't give one. She barely understood it herself.
Feeling pity for Harry, she didn't press him. She let him contact her at his own pace. He did once or twice before he left, but she couldn't find it in herself to ask to fix things. He deserves someone who could love him back in the same capacity. He didn't deserve her and all of her pent up issues.
He could find someone else. Someone better. Someone who could really truly love him, not just be content with his presence.
—-
A week later, she had received a call from her Aunt Lavinia. She was asking for Sarah Jane to return home quickly. She wouldn't be home in time to meet her new ward, David, and she needed Sarah Jane to pick him up from the train station.
Sarah Jane sighed softly into the phone. Picking up a pencil, she hummed softly. “Alright then. What's the date and time..”
She would go to distance herself from UNIT for a while. She was hoping they would just let her move on with her life. Thinking about facing any of them anymore made her stomach turn. She was hopeful to just escape the stress of it all in her new job.
Unfortunately, life is never really that easy. You try to escape, and then you get sent a robot dog in the post, and a cult starts trying to capture people in your hometown. Sarah Jane decided to do the best thing she could. Keep going.
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝘆
𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀