Rating: PG
Beta: by hhertzof
Spoilers: SJS audios Buried Secrets and Fatal Consequences, mentions of something in SJA
Summary: At last, Sarah finds out what Harry was doing when he went missing. She might wish she hadn't, though.
Notes: First there was Dream a Little Dream, then there was the prequel, The Last Dinner, then I wrote a sequel, The Scottish Cottage. This is the sequel in what is now looking suspiciously like a series.

Sarah woke up, opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before establishing this was not her bedroom and went back to sleep.

The next time she woke up the room was the same, but this time she stayed awake to examine it more closely. The walls were an off-white that was probably described by Dulux as 'apple' or something similarly overly descriptive. Through the open door she could just about see a corridor with similarly coloured walls, and echoes of footsteps and doors closing. The other door in the room presumably led to the bathroom.

It was not difficult to deduce, given the last thing she could remember, that this was a hospital room. Not least because when she turned her head she felt something pull slightly that must be a tube or wire of some kind.

There was a comfortable chair over in one corner, which Josh was sitting in. She wondered how long he had been there, since he looked as sound asleep as she had just been. She hated to disturb him, but she wanted to know what was going on while she was still awake. "Josh?"

He instantly jerked awake, focused on her and smiled before coming over to her bedside and sitting in the hard, faded red chair next to it. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

She still felt comfortably numb from sleep, so she settled for, "Tired. What are you doing here?" He was supposed to be going to Switzerland.

"Nat told me you were ill when I rang." Typical Josh, Sarah thought, can't stay out of contact for two minutes. "So I had to come back."

"I don't..." She hadn't been here that long, had she? "I wasn't that bad." Admittedly she hadn't entirely believed Harry when he told her that, but it wasn't like she was at death's door or anything.

His expression turned serious, though. "You lost a lot of blood - internal bleeding. Then you got an infection, or something, and..." His eyes bore into her as if he could assess whether she was well just by looking.

"Oh." That explained why Josh was here. She reached out a hand to take one of his. At that he smiled at her again. She wondered just how much Harry knew at the time. Just what had happened in that house anyway? "Where's Harry?"

Josh shook his head.

She frowned. "What?"

"Um, well, the thing is..." His hand slipped out of her weak grip

It could only be bad. She tried to sit up, but the pain that suddenly struck her stomach forced her to give up and flop back on the bed, breathing heavily from the effort.

"I'll see if you are allowed out of bed, so I can take you to him."

"Josh!" But he was already out the door. Why wouldn't he tell her what was wrong with Harry? He hadn't even been injured. They'd all been safe once Nat got there, hadn't they?

She attempted to sit up again, more carefully this time, and actually managed a sitting position, although she had to grit her teeth to achieve it. She swung her legs slowly over the side of the bed, but then had to stop to catch her breath. Just sitting up shouldn't make her feel like she'd just run a marathon. The sheets had fallen away as she moved and when she looked down she noticed there was a widening patch of red around her middle.

As she was trying to work out what to do about this, thinking being more difficult that she remembered, Josh came back in. He saw the same thing she did, without her having to point it out. Not long after that she was fussed over by nurses and forced to enjoy the blissful numbness that came with local anaesthetic as she was stitched back up again. Although that was followed by a talking to by a stern, young doctor, and orders that she was not to get up. She did get to spend the day high on morphine, though, so it wasn't all bad. Not least because she couldn't quite remember why she cared about anything any more.

The night brought her dreams with ever worsening scenarios involving the deaths of first Harry, then Nat and River too, so she was restless by the time Josh visited again the next morning. At least this time he came armed with a wheelchair and a nurse to help her get in it. She hated having to be pushed along and treated as if she couldn't do anything for herself, no matter how true that was, until she thought of Nat, and reminded herself at least this would only be temporary.

Despite being up one flight and down the corridor, Harry's room looked exactly like hers and he was asleep in the bed in the middle of it. "What's wrong with him?" she asked Josh as they approached the bed.

"No one knows." He parked her next to the bed. "There's no reason the doctors can find for him not to wake up."

What happened to him to put him in a coma? She leaned closer and whispered "Harry, it's Sarah. Wake up." There was no response at first, but just as she was about to sit back, she saw his eyes moving beneath his eyelids. "He's dreaming," she said, half to herself. "Is that normal?"

"I don't know." Josh's voice came from close by one shoulder.

She turned to face him. "What happened after Nat arrived, did she tell you?"

"A little. Basically, they just put you in her car and took you off to hospital - the one round the corner from where you were, not this posh one you're in now."

She grinned at that.

Undeterred, he continued, "When she got there she discovered Harry was like this."

That didn't make any sense. She reached out a hand to Harry's shoulder and tried talking to him again. "Harry, you have to wake up and tell me what's going on so I can fix it." She still only really knew the gist of what was going on - to solve this she would need more details. The ability to walk would probably help too, but at least that only required time.

There was no change in Harry, but then if the doctors didn't know what was wrong with him, chances were she wouldn't be able to wake him up either. Although it had seemed to work before, back in the kitchen, when she was injured. She sighed and kissed his cheek before turning back to Josh.

"There was someone else with us. An alien, River."

He nodded. "She's fine, Nat has her."

"Good." That was something at least - and his replies had confirmed Nat was alright too. There had been more aliens in the house, though. What had happened to them? Harry might know - he had chosen to rescue River after all. She looked back round at him and sighed because he was still in no state to give her any answers.

As she turned away again, she spotted something out of the corner of her eye and she pressed her hands into the armrests to lever herself up for a closer look. There was a drop of blood in one ear. She'd seen that before, and recently.

"Has he bled from the ears or eyes at all?" she asked Josh.

"I think so, occasionally. The doctors couldn't find anything seriously wrong though, to cause it." He shrugged.

On its own, it probably wasn't that serious, but Sarah had seen someone dead with the same symptom. It didn't mean she knew what was going on yet, but at least she had a fair idea who would. "I need to speak to River." Except that it wasn't that simple. "I also need someone who knows sign language and about the existence of aliens." That was something of a tall order, she knew, but there must be someone in NATO or UNIT who knew it and she was sure Nat would be able to track them down.

"I'll speak to Nat." Josh was obviously thinking along the same lines as she was.

He took hold of her wheelchair, but before he could move her very far she said, "No. I want to stay with Harry."

He sighed. "Fine. I'll be back."

He was, although she wasn't sure how long he'd been gone because she had fallen asleep. Which she discovered was an uncomfortable thing to do in a wheelchair.

"Nat and River will be here tomorrow," he said, as he took her back to her room.

She sighed, but had to accept it - it was better than nothing after all.

Once she was back in bed she felt more restful, although not tired yet. Although that could be due to the nap she'd just had. "So what did you get up to in Switzerland?" she asked Josh.

"I wasn't there long."

"Sorry." She felt guilty, although he didn't have to come back just for her.

He shook his head. "My mother was pleased to see me - she practically didn't let me out of her sight for the first few hours I was there."

Sarah smiled along with him.

"But my stepfather offered me a job. It's based in Switzerland, but with a fair bit of travelling."

"That sounds right up your street." He'd get to used to flying, eventually, but she thought it would suit Josh to have a job that didn't involve spending too much time in one place.

"Yeah." He didn't sound that enthusiastic, though.

She frowned. "So what's wrong?"

"I'd have to live in Switzerland," he said with a sigh.

She reached out a hand to take one of his. "I managed alright before I knew you, I'll manage once you're gone. You're not that indispensable, you know." She smiled.

He returned the smile. "I told him I'd think about it."

"Good." She squeezed his hand. "Nepotism can get you a long way if you just know how to use it." After all, it was through pretending to be Aunt Lavinia that had got her into UNIT in the first place.

~*~*~

When Josh came back the next day and they went through the whole complicated process of getting her out of bed without dislodging essential wiring and into the wheelchair. Sarah was already sick of it, and it was only the second time they'd done it. Nat, River and Mike were already waiting in Harry's room when they got there.

Sarah was surprised to see Mike there, since as far as she knew, Nat hadn't spoken to him about the existence of aliens. Although if River was living with her, perhaps she'd had to. She wondered how Mike had taken it. She couldn't tell just by looking because he sat in the corner, hiding behind River, whether by accident or design, she didn't know.

Sarah hugged Nat in greeting, and Nat said, "Sorry I haven't been here sooner. I'm so glad you're okay."

Sarah smiled reassuringly at Nat as she positioned herself in the doorway - the room not really being big enough for this many people. Sarah turned to Mike. "Good to see you again."

He nodded, but didn't look very comfortable, which went some way towards answering her question.

Nat explained Mike's presence when she told them that his sister was deaf. Sarah wondered how long Nat had known, but it explained why River was staying with Nat, if Mike could communicate with her. Although Mike would be the more obvious choice, he lived too far away and it wasn't really fair to confront someone with the existence of aliens by making him live with one - and one who was so obviously alien too. At least the Doctor could pass for human, if an eccentric one.

Mike was quick to get down to business. "What did you want to ask River?"

Josh stood beside Nat, as River moved closer to the bed. Sarah watched her and waited until she turned back to them. "Do you know what's wrong with Harry?"

Mike repeated her question, with sign language. He needed confirmation of River's reply though. "The bad people put dreams into his head." He frowned as he said it.

It made sense to Sarah, since Harry had said they were telepathic. She wondered if they had been the cause of his nightmares, but she could ask him that later. Hopefully. "How do we stop them?"

River had obviously learnt something about human speech and body language, because she shook her head.

That wasn't the answer Sarah was looking for and certainly not the answer she needed.

"Why are they only doing it to Harry?" she asked instead. "Why not me?"

"They try but there's a block in your mind."

There was nothing specific she was doing to keep telepathic invaders out. Or nothing she knew she was doing, at least. She'd had her mind invaded while travelling with the Doctor, but not since. When she thought about it, not at all since the Doctor was last in it during that business with Eldrad, which gave her an idea. "Is it something to do with the Doctor?"

"She doesn't know," Mike told her, but then River went on to say more. "But she thinks she can use it to help Harry."

Sarah almost leapt up in excitement, but pain held her back. "How?"

An extended conversation went on between Mike and River. Sarah's attention wandered to Nat, who was looking at Mike with a concerned expression on her face. Sarah really wanted to get her on her own to find out what was going on.

Eventually Mike replied. "I think..." He sighed. "The way I understand it, is that she can extend the block from you to him to keep the bad people out of his head. But it's risky and she's not sure if it will work."

Risk never stopped Sarah from doing anything and she'd far rather do something than nothing. So she gave her consent. She was slightly disappointed when all River did was touch first Sarah's forehead, then Harry's. Sarah didn't even feel any different afterwards.

She was about to complain it hadn't worked when she heard movement from the bed - Harry was stirring. Sarah called his name and he opened his eyes to focus them on her.

"You're alright," he said.

She smiled. "Thanks to you. How are you feeling?"

He frowned. "Tired."

"Then go back to sleep."

His eyes drifted closed as she brushed her fingers over his cheek.

"Thank you," she said to River.

River reached out a hand to touch Sarah's knee, which she supposed meant 'You're welcome'.

"I should take River home," Nat said quietly, coming further into the room.

Sarah nodded and touched her arm. "How's Mike taking all this?" she whispered.

Nat's eyes flicked over to where Mike now stood with one hand protectively on River's shoulder. "He's just a bit overwhelmed, I think."

Sarah could remember feeling a little like that herself, even though it was long ago now. And, technically speaking, in the Middle Ages.

"Are you going to be alright?"

Sarah nodded. "I have a whole staff of nurses looking after me, as well as Josh. I think I'll be fine." She could understand Nat wanting to be here, but Sarah wasn't the only person who needed looking after. Not that long ago, River had been in bed with flu.

Nat smiled. "I'll come back and visit when I can," she said, before she left with Mike and River.

Sarah hoped she wouldn't be in here for much longer anyway. She certainly didn't feel that ill any more.

With something more like peace and quiet restored, she yawned. The drugs were making her tired and her head foggy.

"Back to bed for you," Josh said.

"Josh--" She started complaining, but he grabbed her wheelchair and she didn't have the strength to stop him.

~*~*~

The next day started off Josh-free. Sarah was sure he had better things to do than keep her company. However, his absence, coupled with the doctors stepping down her painkillers, meant that she could think more clearly, so was bored. She had a television and the nurses were good on bringing her newspapers when she requested them, but there was only so long Sarah Jane Smith could do nothing and she'd reached that limit. She badly wanted to get out of here and go home but the doctors were insisting on another week. It was almost enough to make her wish she was in an NHS hospital - she was sure they'd have had her out of there by now, needing the bed.

Her day was livened up, though, when Harry came by to see how she was, looking as if nothing had happened to him.

"I spoke to your doctor," he said, sitting in the seat next to her bed, in which she was sat propped against the pillows. "I wish I'd been able to get to the lab, where the first aid kit was."

She took hold of his hand. "You did everything you could." She knew that a clean bandage would have been better, but if a tea towel had saved her life she was hardly going to complain.

He examined her hand as if it was the most interesting thing in the room. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

She shook her head. "You're forgiven. I mean, since you saved my life." She smiled, remembering them having this conversation before, a few months ago, only in reverse.

He smiled too and looked back up at her.

"Although," she began, slowly, "if you want to do something to show how sorry you are, you could get me out of here."

He gave her a look.

"They want to keep me in here for a week, Harry. I won't last that long!"

He sighed. "I'll see what I can do." He, of all people, ought to know how much she hated being idle.

By the time he came back, she was leaning over the side of the bed, rummaging in the drawers of the bedside table for her clothes.

"What are you doing?" He unceremoniously took her shoulders and put her back in bed, and he was too strong for her to resist. "You'll break your stitches. Again."

She scowled at him, although it was really Josh she wanted to berate for telling on her, assuming it was him and not one of the nurses.

"I've got you a compromise," he said, ignoring her expression and sitting back down. "You can go home in a day. If you're good and do as you're told. And as long as I can stay in your spare room: you're not well enough to be on your own."

She could manage another day if she had to. "It's a deal." They shook hands on it.

~*~*~

Harry was predictably over-protective, both on the way to her flat and once they got there. She kept quiet after the first complaint, when he told her if she didn't like it he'd take her straight back to hospital. It was definitely good to be home - at once she felt less constricted, as well as missed: K-9 never left her side from the minute she came through the door.

Harry wanted her to go to bed, but she had no intention of coming home just to stare at the ceiling, the same as she had in hospital. So they compromised and she lay on the sofa. At least that way she could question Harry.

"Do you know what happened at the house the day I was stabbed?" she asked.

He winced. "As far as I can tell, the bad people killed River's mother, Queenie, and kidnapped the rest. River..." he sighed. "River doesn't know about her mother yet."

"Poor thing," Sarah said, with feeling. It must be hard enough just trying to live on a strange planet full of people who don't know you exist. "But can't she speak to them telepathically?"

"She's tried but it won't work. The bad people are probably blocking her."

She nodded. It made sense. "Do you know what they're after?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "I wish I did. But now River is the ruler of the Nomads she's in even more danger."

She rose her eyebrows.

"It's a matrilineal succession," Harry explained. "So the rule passes from mother to daughter."

"I know what matrilineal means. I just didn't know you did." She bit her lip to keep from smiling.

He gave her a look. In reply she plucked one of the cushions from beside her and threw it at him. He caught it easily and made to throw it back before he realised he couldn't. She stuck her tongue out at him and they both laughed.

~*~*~

That night she dreamed of the alien with the scalpel. He came at her slowly, holding it out in front of him. It seemed to grow in size and as hard as she tried, she couldn't move. As he advanced on her he morphed into Mike, who shouted about her making his life crazy. Somehow, that was scarier.

Harry shook her awake. Her fear from the nightmare still lingered and she grabbed hold of him; he put his arms round her in return. She must have cried out, she thought. She would have expected K-9 to get here quicker than Harry, though, but she hadn't heard the sound of his motors from the hall where he was guarding her door. After a couple of minutes she regained her composure, shoved her dream to the back of her mind and lay back down.

Harry didn't leave as she expected, but stayed where he was sat on the edge of her bed. "Sarah," he began, "what exactly did River do to you in hospital, just before I woke up?"

She frowned, wondering why he was asking this now. Although since she was already awake and in need of something to take her mind off her nightmare, she didn't mind that much. "I think the Doctor put a block in my mind after Eldrad got in there, to stop anyone else from doing the same." Over the years she'd told Harry of the adventures she and the Doctor had had after he left. "It meant the aliens couldn't get into my head the way they did yours and Miriam's." Given what she'd seen, she guessed they killed Miriam and put Harry in a coma the same way. "River extended it from me to you."

"I think," he said slowly, "she did more than that. Whether by accident or design, I don't know."

She lifted herself up on her elbows. "What do you mean?"

He expertly propped her pillows up behind her, so she was more comfortable. She wondered where he'd learnt that - she had thought it was something only nurses knew. "I mean I knew you were having a nightmare because I felt it too."

"What do you mean, felt it?" She was beginning to wonder if the middle of the night wasn't the best time to have this conversation.

"I've felt like there's been something at the back of my mind since I woke up. When I was asleep tonight I felt fear and I knew it wasn't mine. I think there's a telepathic link between us."

Her eyes widened. She didn't want anyone to know her thoughts, and certainly not Harry.

"Don't panic," he said.

It was dark, how could he know she was panicking?

"Seriously. That's not helping."

She tried to calm down, but it wasn't easy, especially when he had just confirmed it. She was suddenly glad her sleep in hospital had been dreamless and she'd mostly been too dosed up to think properly.

"I'm just getting feelings really, not thoughts. So your secrets are safe with me."

"You're the one with secrets," she muttered.

If he heard her, he gave no sign. He just said, "Go back to sleep," made sure she was lying down and tucked her in before he left.

She sighed and hoped for no more dreams tonight.

~*~*~

They quickly settled into some sort of routine, where Harry nagged (or at least, that's what Sarah complained he did) and she resisted all attempts at his nursing as best she could. He tried being secretive about what he was up to, but he hadn't reckoned on K-9, and it didn't take Sarah long to find out Harry was using Josh to try and find out where the bad people were hiding, as NATO had been quick to guard the ship once they discovered it was unoccupied. By the sound of it, Josh wasn't having much success.

Sarah begged to be allowed to help at least once a day. Initially Harry had agreed that she could once she was off the painkillers. At once she tried not taking them, but since he could tell exactly how much pain she was in, she had to admit defeat on that point. It didn't stop her from asking, just in case he'd changed his mind. Eventually his replies just consisted of "No," and her question was more a routine than a desire to know the answer.

A breakthrough, of some sort, came when Harry put a suit and tie on one morning.

"Where are you going?" Up until now he'd not let her do much for herself, so had never left her alone in the house for more than an hour at a time. A suit suggested he was going somewhere special, so wouldn't be back for a while.

"Trial," was all he said, but there could only be one he meant. "I'm trusting you to behave and take your pills when you should." He put on his jacket and pulled down the cuffs of his shirt to meet his wrists.

She rolled her eyes. "I'll be a good girl."

He was out of the door before she could ask again why she couldn't attend. She felt like she'd done nothing but ask questions these past few days, which wasn't that unusual, but she was getting increasingly frustrated by him sidestepping answering them, all because she was still a bit 'delicate'. However, she realised this was an opportunity to do whatever she wanted.

Once it was not quite so early in the morning, she tried ringing Nat, but got no answer. She considered calling Mike, but she might not be the best person for him to talk to.

She did get a status report from Josh, when he eventually listened to his voicemail and called her back. All that told her was that he had nothing concrete yet and was being forced to spend the day dealing with his father's estate - something which he had repeatedly complained that he was unequipped to do. Which was probably why he'd put it off for as long as possible. The trials of being a millionaire's son, she thought, with a smile. At least she hadn't had quite so many of those problems when Aunt Lavinia died.

So much for rebelling. There wasn't even any housework to do, she was that desperate to find something to do that she wasn't supposed to.

As she'd guessed, Harry was out all day and by dinnertime she was wondering whether to start cooking or not. As she thought it, she laughed. She'd suddenly become a housewife, spending her day cleaning and waiting for her husband to get home from work, so her life could start. She was hungry, though, so she started dinner anyway.

She'd just put the potatoes on when Harry came back. Sarah came out of the kitchen to meet him. "So, what happened?" she asked eagerly.

He ignored her question. "Why are you out of your wheelchair?"

"It doesn't hurt that much." She was going to have to start walking again at some point and it was so much easier to get around without it.

He hung his jacket up before he turned back to her. "That's not the reason why. Do you want to break your stitches again and end up back in hospital?"

She folded her arms and raised her chin. "I won't. I'm getting better." She was determined not to have him make a big deal of this.

"Not if you keep doing things like this you won't. Now, sit down!" His last words were said in a military bark that she'd heard at UNIT before, although not from him. She'd never even heard Harry raise his voice.

Wide-eyed, she sat down slowly on the sofa.

He stood watching her and he looked like he was going to say something else. Then he reconsidered and stalked into the kitchen.

She was too shocked at what had just happened to move at first. She half-expected him to come out and apologise for his tone, but he stayed in the kitchen. Eventually she reached for the remote control and switched on the television to cover the silence that had descended on her flat like a bad fog.

Sarah didn't feel any more comfortable when Harry did appear.

"I need to check you haven't done any damage," he said.

She lay on the sofa and let him change her dressing, not moving or making a sound, even when he poked at her wound and made it hurt.

"I'm sorry," she said, in a small voice, when he had finished and she was sitting up again.

He sighed and sat on the nearby armchair. "I'm not, if it gets you to see sense for once in your life."

"I won't do it again."

"Good." He stood up. "Dinner's ready."

~*~*~

The atmosphere in Sarah's flat was still tense until the next day, although it helped that there was more activity. First, Nat came round in the morning with River.

"Can she stay with you?" Nat asked. "I don't have any way of communicating with her."

"What about Mike?" Sarah asked. He seemed to be communicating well with her, from what Sarah had seen.

Nat turned away and fussed with the slightly ill-fitting clothes River wore, but not before Sarah saw there were tears in her eyes.

Harry tactfully took River away to the spare room, for which Sarah was grateful. This telepathy thing had some uses after all.

Sarah manoeuvred herself closer to Nat. "What's wrong? I thought everything was going well between you."

Nat shook her head. "It was. But then I had to tell him about aliens, which he had trouble believing at first. And yesterday's trial was the last straw."

Sarah frowned. If she hadn't been allowed in, how had Nat or Mike? "Why, what happened?"

Nat sighed. "I never told you, but NATO knew I'd hacked in to find out where Harry was."

"Mike did."

Her head snapped up. "He did?"

"He thought I knew. Don't blame him." Sarah put a hand on Nat's arm.

Nat took a deep breath. "They took my computers away; I haven't been allowed to use one since they charged me. And then my trial was yesterday."

Harry went to a trial yesterday. Sarah didn't believe in coincidences, and there was no way Harry had been at a different trial the same day Nat's was. Which begged the question, what was he doing there?

"It was just a formality really," Nat continued, "since I pleaded guilty. Sentencing's not till next week."

"Oh, Nat, I'm so sorry. It's my fault, if I hadn't asked you to--"

"That's why I didn't tell you, I knew you'd blame yourself." Nat took Sarah's hand. "But it's not as if I didn't know what I was doing."

Sarah sighed - she knew Nat was right. It didn't help her feelings of guilt though. "What are they going to do to you, do you know?"

Nat shook her head. "Harry spoke up for me. But it doesn't really matter, since no one's ever going to want to employ me again."

Sarah had plenty of money from Aunt Lavinia's inheritance, and Josh wasn't short of a bob or two, but Nat wouldn't accept handouts, even from them. "Harry spoke up?" That explained why he had gone, but not what he had been there for.

"Well, he said since it was for his benefit and all." She shrugged.

Sarah smiled, although she wondered how Harry had known about it, since she hadn't discussed this with him. Had Mike spoken to Harry? "And then Mike left?"

Nat nodded.

"I'm sorry. I thought he loved you."

Nat put a hand up to her mouth. "So did I. I mean, he was perfectly supportive yesterday and everything."

"If you want to help with the investigation, take your mind off it..."

"Thanks." Nat smiled. "But I need some time to think at the moment."

Sarah nodded and moved to hug Nat. Which turned out to be tricky when they were both in wheelchairs. Although since that made Nat laugh, Sarah didn't mind so much.

~*~*~

"Thank you," Sarah said to Harry, when he emerged from the spare room after Nat left.

"For what?" He went into the kitchen and put some sheets in the washing machine. Sarah was tempted to ask him what he was doing, but since he had been so keen to do her washing recently, she was not going to do anything to stop him.

"Speaking up for Nat."

"Oh, well, she did do it for my benefit after all." He poured some of the washing powder over the side of the drawer and onto the floor.

She opened a drawer by the sink and handed him a cloth. "But you didn't have to."

"Don't mention it." Sarah knew he meant that literally too. So she dropped the subject and said, "No, in the washing machine," when he tried to give her the dirty cloth back. "Has River has recovered from her flu?"

"All she really needed was a little time. Except..." He shut the washing machine door, leaned back against it and sighed. "I had to tell her about her mother."

"Is she all right?"

He shook his head. "She'll come out when she's ready."

Since he showed no signs of doing it, Sarah turned the washing machine on, wondering how he managed while he had banned her from doing any of this. He gave her a smile after she'd done it, and she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and it was just because she was watching that he was doing it all wrong.

When they went back into the lounge and shut the kitchen door on the sound of the washing machine, River was stood in the middle of the room, looking lost.

Harry asked River if she was alright. River's reply was slow in coming and Sarah was just frustrated that she couldn't understand it. "How long does it take to learn sign language?" she whispered to K-9, who was loitering not far from her, as usual.

He whirred before saying, "I believe she said she was fine."

It was loud enough for Harry to hear and he turned round to K-9. "You understand sign language?"

"Yes, master."

"That's great!" Harry grinned. "K-9, stick close to River."

"Yes, master."

"Traitor," Sarah muttered with a smile, as K-9 affectionately nosed River's leg.

~*~*~

The second excitement of the day came in the afternoon with Josh.

"Have you decided about Switzerland?" Sarah asked him.

"Not yet. And don't you start," he continued, correctly interpreting Sarah's look, "I've had enough of that from my parents."

So she just smiled at him and didn't say anything, even though she was wondering why he couldn't just make his mind up one way or the other, given the length of time he'd had to think about it.

"I actually came to give Harry this." He passed Harry a file, which he opened and looked through.

Since they were both standing up, this was going on over her head, which was frustrating. Harry sighed and handed her the file, not even looking at her.

"Anything concrete?" Harry asked.

"Nothing that stands out. It could be any of them or none of them."

"What are they?" Sarah asked, looking through the print-outs, each of which detailed a different location along with a list of rumours and sightings that had led to it being included.

Harry answered her. "Possible locations for the bad people to be hiding. I've had Josh working on them."

"So that's why you haven't visited," Sarah said to Josh, with a smile.

"Sorry, SJ." He grinned back.

"Don't call me..." She broke off as she looked at the last sheet of paper.

"What is it?" Harry peered over her shoulder.

"Don't you recognise this place?" She passed the paper up to him.

He frowned for a minute. "Yes! It's where you were held when you were kidnapped."

She nodded. "There's a connection, they must be there."

"Not necessarily."

"It can't just be a coincidence, it must be because they're there."

Harry gave in. "All right. I'll check it out later. But keep looking, just in case," he said to Josh.

Josh nodded, and Sarah gave the file back to Harry before turning to Josh. "Now, Josh, I haven't seen you for ages. You will stay for a cup of tea, won't you?"

"How did you know that was what I was intending to do?" He grinned at her.

"I'll put the kettle on," Harry said.

Sarah smiled, and they spent a pleasant afternoon discussing the intricacies of Josh's job offer, her injuries, the case, and Nat.

~*~*~

Sarah had fully expected Harry to go to the house on his own, or perhaps take River with him, but he actually wanted Sarah there. She was pleased, until Harry told her it was entirely because he didn't trust her. They left River in the care of K-9, and Sarah sulked all the way there. Once they got there, though, the adrenalin hit and she was too wound up to sit still any longer.

"Stay there," Harry told her in no uncertain terms, and she didn't dare disobey.

She watched as he walked boldly up to the empty house next door with the sold sign, then just before he reached the front door he stepped over the short wall and crept along the front of the house they were there for. It was just as well it was dark, she thought, because he did look suspicious.

He peered in through the front window before stepping back and then falling to the ground.

"Harry!" Sarah shouted, not that he could hear her from a car parked on the other side of the road. She bit her lip as she anxiously waited to see if he would get up. She saw him move, after what seemed like an eternity, but he didn't stand up, just rolled over.

It was no good, she couldn't just sit there any longer. She flung open the car door, but discovered when she got out that she couldn't move as fast as she would have liked. When she got to the house she knelt down beside Harry and called his name. She was glad to see he had his eyes open and had no visible injuries.

"We have to go," he said, as he took her hand to help himself sit up.

"Are they here?"

"Yes, we have to go." He shook his head.

"No, we have to... ow." She stood up too quickly and put a hand against her stomach.

Harry stood beside her, one hand still in hers. "No, you're in no condition..." he gasped and put a hand up to his head.

She frowned and was about to ask what the matter was when she realised she could feel it too. It was a pounding in her head and a high-pitched sound. It seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere. Her legs wobbled and would no longer support her, and she fell back to the ground along with Harry.

"Come on," he managed, and started to crawl, pulling her along with him.

The constant noise in her head made her limbs shake and she had to concentrate on every movement she made. Inch by inch they made their way along the front garden and to the pavement where it suddenly, miraculously stopped. Sarah collapsed face down on the concrete, panting, and it was a few minutes before she could sit up enough to see that Harry was also just recovering.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Some sort of defence." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "We have to go back, get through it somehow."

"And how do you intend to do that? You couldn't even walk." He helped pull her slowly up to a standing position.

Her stomach twinged but it wasn't that painful. "I couldn't beforehand."

Harry gave her a look.

She sighed. "All right, but now they know we know they're there. So they'll move somewhere else."

He nodded. "So we need a plan and fast. But we need to get home first."

Sarah couldn't disagree with that. It didn't seem like much of a victory this time when Harry let her walk to the short distance to the car without comment, although he kept a grip on her elbow the whole time. Once inside Harry hunched over the steering wheel, gathering himself enough to drive. Sarah looked at him, worried. He'd presumably had the same thing happen to him twice, so had come off worse than her.

"I'm alright," he said, before she could say anything. He sat up and wrapped his hands round the wheel carefully. He didn't look at her.

They drove home in silence, as Sarah fretted and tried to work out how to get through that defence.

"It was some sort of telepathic attack," Harry said, even though she hadn't spoken.

"I thought I had a block."

"So did I."

She sighed. "Can River help us?"

"I'll ask, but I doubt it. Their telepathic powers grow as they get older, and River's still young yet. She wasn't strong enough to stop them getting to me in hospital."

She nodded; it made sense.

"How about K-9?"

She frowned. It seemed unlikely that a robot dog would have a defence against a telepathic attack.

"You never know."

They clearly knew each other too well, Sarah thought, since Harry must have been responding to her silence. "I'll ask."

Back at home, questioning revealed K-9 could indeed put up a telepathic barrier for a short period of time, which was good because Harry's guess was right and River couldn't. It made Sarah wonder how many other things K-9 could do that she wasn't aware of and whether this was just a feature of the new version the Doctor had given her.

She expected them to go out again straight away, but Harry had other ideas.

"Come on, old girl," he said when she protested. "What are we going to do when we get in there?"

She had to concede the point on that one, although since she still knew very little about these aliens, it would be hard for her to know what to do. So she had no choice but to sit and listen as Harry called various people, but the trouble was it was too late at night to get hold of people who worked office hours, more or less. Eventually they had to call it off until the next day and they went to bed.

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Fandom: Doctor Who | Type: Character: Harry Sullivan, Character: Josh Townsend, Character: Nat Redfern, Character: Original, Character: Sarah Jane Smith, Length: Long story, Series: Dream, Type: Gen | Link

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