Rating: PG
Pairing: Sarah/Harry
Beta: hhertzof
Spoilers: Invasion of the Bane
Summary: Sarah attempts to get used to the relationships she has with her children.

"Hey, concentrate on doing the high bits," Sarah said, feeling she was dealing with two children already, as Harry and Luke paused in their task to flick paint at each other. Well, Luke flicked the paint, Harry sneaked around to brush the paint on Luke, instead of the walls. As the room was only small, she got spattered a little in the process too. Although she had already managed to get plenty of paint on herself without their help.

"Sorry," they chorused, sounding contrite enough, and going back to their jobs - at least while she was looking.

She had to hid her smile because in truth she was glad they were getting on. It was good for Luke to have friends, whoever they were, but he was in need of a father figure. It probably helped Harry as well, that he got to be someone's father, since Nat wouldn't let it be her. They got on well enough, but they had soon discovered there were some topics it was best not to discuss.

There was quiet for a few minutes before the phone rang. "I'll get it," Sarah said, even though leaving the two of them in the room alone could well lead to carnage. Hopefully they'd feel guilty enough that they would behave while she was away.

It was Nat calling. "I've got a lead," she said. "That old warehouse, it's definitely there, I'm sure of it."

They had been working on this for the past week, so it was typical they would get a breakthrough when she took a day off to decorate. Although it would probably end up requiring more than just a day at the rate they were going, and they still had Luke's room to go. It was Sarah's way of ensuring Luke wouldn't be too jealous of the baby. She had been meaning to do it ever since she gave him the spare room, though. "That's great. I'm in the middle of painting Georgia's room at the moment, but--"

Nat cut her off. "Why don't you carry on painting? I'm not doing anything much at the moment; I can go."

Now that Nat had done her part of the job, it was time for Sarah's input, just as it always had been. Although now she had Luke and Maria to back her up, rather than Josh. "Don't be silly. I can leave Luke and Harry to finish off." Nat was her research person, always had been, and she was good at it.

"You're supposed to be resting."

Sarah rolled her eyes. She had heard enough of that lately to last her a lifetime. "I'm pregnant, not ill!"

"From what I heard, you're both. What about your high blood pressure?"

She was immediately on the defensive. "Who's been telling you tales?" She didn't really need to ask because it could only be Harry. Although she didn't know why he'd told Nat.

"What makes you think I can't do it?"

Sarah hesitated. Nat didn't have the same experience of dealing with the bad guys and getting out of danger. The occasions when she had, it generally turned out badly. Like when Josh had died. She had to admit that part of her reluctance was because she didn't want anything to happen to Nat, especially now that Josh wasn't around to protect her. But then, she also didn't want anything to happen to Georgia either, particularly before she was born.

When she didn't answer, Nat carried on putting her case forward. "My wheelchair goes just as fast as you can run. And it doesn't get tired either."

Sarah sighed and admitted defeat. "Just be careful."

When she put the phone down she turned to see Harry standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. "I just came down for more paint," he said. "I didn't mean to overhear."

Sarah shook her head. "Why did you tell Nat I had high blood pressure?"

"Because it's true."

That didn't answer her question, and he knew it. She gave him a look.

Harry straightened up. "And because I thought you might listen to her. It'll only get worse if you don't stop to rest occasionally."

She gave a short laugh. "I'll just tell the aliens they can come back and try conquering the Earth after the baby's born, shall I?"

"Now you're being silly."

Maybe the way she said it, she was, but it was still the truth. The world still needed saving, whether she was in a position to do it or not. "So you'd rather Nat got hurt than I did?"

"No, but from where I'm standing what difference does it make which daughter I lose?"

Now he was being silly. "She's not your daughter. I mean, biologically she is, but according to the law we aren't her parents. She's Nat Redfern now, not Elizabeth Sullivan."

"And that's supposed to make a difference to the way I feel about her?"

She bit her lip. It certainly didn't make a difference to her. Although her feelings for Nat were confused by Nat being her friend already.

He sighed. "You can't go and confront people when there is such an obvious way of hurting you or the baby. Maybe you could get away with it now-" she had started wearing maternity clothes but the bump wasn't that obvious yet- "but what about in a couple of months?

She threw her hands up. "Fine, you win."

He shook his head. "It's not about winning."

She turned her back on him, trying to remind herself it wasn't him she was angry at.

Harry came up behind her and put his hand gently on her shoulder. "This baby is going to change your life. You're going to have to accept that."

She choked back a response about not wanting the baby because it wasn't true. The trouble was she liked her life the way it was. But then she had changed it for Luke, she would just have to do it again. "I know. I just need some time to get used to it." She looked at him over her shoulder and he nodded.

"I ought to go and see what Luke's up to." He went back upstairs.

She spent a minute trying to compose herself and telling herself not to worry before going back to the painting with a smile on her face, mainly for Luke's benefit.

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Fandom: Sarah Jane Adventures | Type: Character: Harry Sullivan, Character: Luke Smith, Character: Nat Redfern, Character: Sarah Jane Smith, Length: Long story, Pairing: Sarah/Harry, Series: Soap Opera, Type: Het | Link

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