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.

Sarah watched from the safety of the kitchen as half a dozen fourteen year olds ran round her garden, shouting and laughing. If someone had told her a year ago that she would be in this position she wouldn't have believed them. After Josh's death she hadn't wanted anyone else to get hurt, so not having friends was simpler. She had business contacts (even if her business wasn't quite the usual type) but that wasn't the same. And now she didn't just have friends, she had family too.

"Is Harry here yet?" Luke said breathlessly, from outside the open back door.

"I'm sure he'll be here later," Sarah said. "Don't you worry about it."

Luke sighed and Sarah smiled at him. She couldn't reassure him any more than that because she just didn't know where Harry was.

He had promised to come to Luke's birthday party, so she had worried when he hadn't turned up. She'd rung his house, but although he had an answer machine he often didn't switch it on. She'd rung his work number and he definitely hadn't been there all day.

His mobile went straight to voicemail. He'd only got one so Sarah could get hold of him any time if she needed to. However, he often forgot about it, so it spent half the time switched off and the other half with a dead battery. He wasn't terribly fond of it either, so no amount of coercion had so far got him to actually use it.

Nat had even gone round to his house to double check he really wasn't there.

She had then offered to ring round the local hospitals but Sarah thought that was a bit much just yet. So far he was only late and there were so many mundane reasons why that might be. In all likelihood he was avoiding her house full of kids and would be over later instead. It's what she would do, given the choice. Not that she begrudged Luke his party, and it was good to see him having fun with other kids, but that many of them was a lot of work.

They all had to be watched in case they completely destroyed her house or garden, and then they needed a constant supply of food and drink. Next year, Georgia would be nearly a year old when Luke turned fifteen. That would make giving him a party a more complicated proposition, so Sarah wanted to indulge him this year. It was his first birthday after all.

For once, all she really wanted to do was rest. She rubbed her fingers across her forehead.

"Everything all right?"

Sarah dropped her hand and turned round to smile at Nat as she came in. "Just a headache." She hated not being able to take any drugs she liked for it. Almost as if she was telepathic, the baby kicked her. Sarah put her hand on her stomach and sighed. She was glad another adult was here to help. Not that Luke would have let Nat miss his party.

Nat frowned at her. "Are you sure that's all? I heard about what happened at the hospital."

Sarah shook her head. Nat's father must have told her. Which she didn't appreciate - she already had enough people fussing over her, she didn't need another one. "I could ask you the same thing." Nat hadn't been out of hospital long.

"It was only a concussion. I've been fine for days."

Sarah didn't point out how lucky she was, and how worried they'd all been, waiting for her to wake up and prove to them she didn't have any brain damage. Nat had been far less worried about having her leg slashed with a knife too. As she pointed out, it wasn't as if she was using it. It had been enough to make Sarah imagine how much worse it could have been.

She closed her eyes, wishing for some peace and quiet, and knowing that it wouldn't come until Luke's party was over.

"Why don't you have a lie down? I'll keep an eye on them. They are fourteen after all, how much trouble can they get into?"

Sarah opened her eyes and gave Nat a look. Which didn't change the concerned expression on Nat's face.

"Well, okay, but you're not so indispensable that we can't do without you for an hour."

She gave in. "I think I will go and have a lie down." Her head was pounding and it was making her feel awful. Georgia's antics weren't helping either.

She could feel Nat's eyes on her as she left the kitchen and headed towards the stairs. As she rounded the corner her vision became unfocused and she stumbled, grabbing onto the banister to stop from falling. Gripping it tightly, she took a few deep breaths and decided the sofa would be closer. If she could just lie down she would feel better, she felt sure.

As she started walking again she found her vision hadn't really improved that much at all. But she was determined to make it to the sofa - just standing by the stairs wasn't going to do her that much good. As she lurched through the door she stumbled into a table. She put a hand out and heard a crash as she knocked the lamp off it.

She looked down, intending to pick it up but that only made her feel dizzy. She felt like she was falling and put a hand out, but there was nothing to hold on to. She dimly heard Nat calling her name, but Nat was too far away and Sarah was too busy concentrating on staying upright and breathing to answer her.

Giving up on the lamp, she took a step towards the sofa but someone had moved her furniture and she couldn't work out where she was any more. The floor wasn't even in the right place and putting her foot down was hard work. Her foot missed and she felt herself fall for real this time.

Then it all went black.

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Fandom: Sarah Jane Adventures | Type: 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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