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.

It was a few months later when the time came around again for Sarah and Harry's annual dinner. While they ate they talked of their old adventures with the Doctor; Harry related a story of a work colleague who was getting married, along with accompanying soap opera stresses; and Sarah told of her own stress buying a house big enough to hide the new computer and the alien artifacts she somehow kept acquiring.

It was just nice to go to dinner with Harry and have him actually be there. So she put off the questions she really wanted to ask until they had coffee.

"How are you, Harry?" she asked, as he pushed over her cup and poured his own. "I mean, really."

He sighed and sat back in his seat, looking at her. "I'm getting there."

She leant forward, not expecting the truth from him. "Really?" She didn't disbelieve him, just hoped for more details.

He took a sip of his coffee before sitting back up and resting his arms on the edge of the table. "They did nothing to me."

She gave him a look and he smiled at her, before clarifying. "I mean, they kept me somewhere where there was nothing to see and nothing to hear. Enough of that and you go mad after a while."

"Oh, god, Harry." She reached out and took his hand.

"The men just fed me occasionally. But the aliens were constantly in my mind so I was never quite sure what was real and what wasn't. All I did know was that if I stayed where I was I would be safe."

"I'm sorry, Harry. I wish I'd got there sooner."

He shook his head and squeezed her hand.

Her coffee tasted bitter in her mouth and she couldn't finish it, she was too preoccupied picturing what Harry had gone through. They sat in silence after that, Harry not volunteering any more information. She felt guilty enough to let him pay, although he sighed at her lack of argument on that front.

He offered her his arm as they exited, which she took and let him walk her to her new car. "Nice car," he said.

She smiled and ran a finger along the door where she'd scratched the paintwork when pulling into the driveway slightly too fast, thinking that she must get round to touching it up sometime. "I like it."

"It's very you."

She passed her keys between one hand and the other, not wanting to let Harry go just yet.

"Same time next year?" he offered.

She nodded and reached up to kiss him on the cheek. "If you need me..."

"I know where you... ah, never mind, I'll find you."

She smiled. She hoped this move would be the last for a while, now that she had K-9 and Mr Smith looking out for her.

As she drove off, she remembered she meant to ask Harry about Torchwood, now she'd had the opportunity to do some research of her own. Never mind, she thought, she could just use it as an excuse to call him in a few weeks, to make sure he was still okay. She smiled, already thinking about her next investigation.

Share this post

• 

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

Leave a Reply

If you haven't commented here before your review will be moderated and I have to approve it before it shows up. If you give your email address my reply will be emailed to you (check your spam folder if you're using hotmail or yahoo).