Rating: PG
Pairing: Sarah/Harry
Beta: hhertzof
Spoilers: None
Summary: Sarah’s pregnant, Harry’s the father, see the title for an idea of what happens next.

Sarah woke to the heavenly smell of tea. It was the best way of waking up, she decided, but still only managed to open one eye, which showed her that Harry was fully dressed and putting a mug on the bedside table. She opened the other eye and smiled up at him.

"There's breakfast too, if you get up."

She yawned and reached for the mug. "Where are my clothes?" She couldn't see them from her vantage point.

They turned out to be on a chair on the other side of the room and Harry deposited them in a pile on the end of the bed. She did not remember either of them putting anything there at all the previous night, but then she had been preoccupied at the time. Harry had a tendency to fold her clothes as he took them off, which drove her mad. The last time she had managed to distract him enough to stop him was probably when the baby was conceived.

"I have to go to work, but I can drop you off on the way. Some of us have to be in at a set time." He smiled when he said it, and disappeared, presumably back to the kitchen.

The tea was just the right temperature and she took a few fortifying sips to wake her up enough to consider getting up. She wondered how many clothes she could put on without getting out of bed and began her now-morning ritual of dressing without looking at herself. Even afterwards she found that not looking down was generally a good thing.

Once the ritual was through for another day, at least until she got home and had time to shower, she headed for the kitchen, mug in hand. True to his word, Harry had made her some toast, which he left her to eat while he went round the flat, getting ready to leave. By the time he came back, car keys in hand, she had finished her slice and her tea. He had obviously waited till the last possible moment to wake her up. She had been tired, so was not going to complain.

"Ready?"

She nodded.

The drive home was in silence. Sarah looked out the window at the lucky people who went to work every morning at 9 o'clock. Once she and Harry would have chatted happily but things had got more tense lately. Nothing had been quite the same between them since she told him about the baby.

It did not help that she often woke in the night with his arm around her and his hand on her stomach. It was happening too often lately for her liking. Last night, as usual, she had removed it, hoping not to wake him but he had shifted away from her without comment. He had not said anything any other time either but that was unlikely to last.

It would be easier, she thought, if they could conduct their relationship down the phone line. Except that she had not paid her bill, so if she wanted to ring anyone she had to go down to the telephone box on the corner, as long as she had enough change. She sighed. It was obvious they were both just going through the motions without any real heart in it but neither of them had done anything about it yet.

Once they were at her flat he turned the ignition off and opened his door.

"You don't have to see me inside," she said.

"I should. What if you had been burgled in the night?"

"I've got nothing to take."

"Hmm," he said, and got out of the car.

She followed him, trying to work out what to say that would dissuade him without making him think she had something to hide and get suspicious. The trouble was that Harry was forever the gentleman, so there was no good way of stopping him, short of knocking him out. Which would just create more problems than it solved.

He turned to her, frowning. "I don't see your car."

Sarah acted as if putting her key in the lock took all her concentration. She considered telling him it was there, he just missed it, but then he would only look for it on the way out. "It's in the garage," she said instead.

He accepted that but did not leave straightaway, once she was inside. "What are you not telling me?" he asked, standing with his arms folded and she went on the defensive.

"Nothing."

"Sarah."

"You're going to be late for work."

"I don't think they'll mind that much, just this once."

He stared at her and she fiddled with one of her rings. She did not know how he had worked it out but then she had been lying to him for so long she had started to forget what she had told him. Obviously, he had not.

"You've either got very tidy or you've sold half your stuff. Did you ever get paid?"

She gave in. "Okay, fine. I lost my job. Are you happy now?"

"No. Sarah, you promised to tell me if you needed anything. I could have helped you, if only you'd asked."

"I'll get another job, I'll be fine. I can deal with this on my own."

"And you've done so well so far."

"I'd say I have. I've got enough money to eat and a roof over my head."

"Only because you've let me pay for every dinner we've had together. Don't think I didn't notice. It's not just yourself you have to look after, there's a baby to worry about too."

She raised her voice because he just did not seem to be listening. "What does it matter? It's not our baby, it's someone else's."

He went quiet and looked away. Sarah shuffled her feet awkwardly. She had not said anything she did not mean, it was not her fault if he did not like it.

He put his hand in his pocket and dug some notes out of his wallet, slapping them on the table by the door. "Here. The baby needs to eat, even if you don't think you do." He turned and left her flat.

She stayed where she was until she heard his car leave. After which she picked the money up, putting it in her purse. She might have refused it out of pride but she told herself he would have forced it on her either way, so she might as well save herself the trouble. Then she went to have a shower and put Harry out of her mind.

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Fandom: Doctor Who | Type: Character: Harry Sullivan, Character: Sarah Jane Smith, Length: Long story, Pairing: Sarah/Harry, Series: Soap Opera, Type: Het | Link

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