The Doctor and The Nightingale {1}

school reunion 3.3

"I thought of you on Christmas Day" Sarah Jane said to The Doctor. "This Christmas just gone? Great big spaceship overhead. I thought, oh yeah, bet he's up there"

"Right on top of it, yeah" The Doctor said.

"And Rose?"

"She was there too"

"What about you Nova?" Sarah Jane looked to her. "Where were you during Christmas? Were you with The Doctor?"

"No" Nova answered, shaking her head. "Tate and I had dinner with his mother, then we went to this extravagant Christmas party hosted by one of our friends"

"How long have you been travelling with Tate?" 

"Since I regenerated and came to Earth about a year ago. My Tardis landed in front of his house. He let me stay with him for a couple days, and then to show my thanks for his hospitality, I decided to take him on a trip. I never really travelled with anyone before. I usually liked to do my own thing" Nova smiled as she remembered the first trip they took. "I remember I first took him to see his parents get married. I remember the smile he had on his face, and I knew at that moment, I needed a friend"

The Doctor watched with a smile as she talked about Tate. He noticed the sad smile that appeared on her face. "I desperately needed a friend. He's the first friend I've had since the..." The Doctor knew what Nova was talking about. Nova sighed, letting the sad thought slip from her mind. "I'm thankful for Tate. He's my best friend and I don't know what I'd do if I lost him"

Sarah Jane smiled and placed a hand on Nova's arm. "It sounds like you got a good deal with Tate. And now, you've got The Doctor and Rose by your side"

Nova smiled as she looked over at The Doctor, who was still smiling at her. "That I do" The Doctor leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. 

Sarah Jane's heart warmed at the sight of them. Then a sort of sad smile appeared on her face. "Did I do something wrong?" She asked The Doctor. "Because you never came back for me. You just dumped me"

"I told you. I was called back home and in those days humans weren't allowed" The Doctor explained.

"I waited for you. I missed you"

"Oh, you didn't need me. You were getting on with your life"

"You were my life. You know what the most difficult thing was? Coping with what happens next, or with what doesn't happen next. You took me to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, you showed me supernovas, intergalactic battles, and then you just dropped me back on Earth. How could anything compare to that?"

The Doctor stopped working on K9 to look at Sarah Jane. "All those things you saw, do you want me to apologise for that?"

"No, but we get a taste of that splendour and then we have to go back" 

"Look at you, you're investigating. You found that school. You're doing what we always did"

"You could have come back"

"I couldn't"

"Why not?" The Doctor didn't answer as he went back to working on K9. Sarah Jane continued. "It wasn't Croydon. Where you dropped me off, that wasn't Croydon"

"Where was it?" The Doctor asked.

"Aberdeen!"

"Right. That's next to Croydon, isn't it?" Sarah Jane gave The Doctor an amused smile and shook her head. K9 then came back to life. "Oh, hey. Now we're in business" The Doctor got up from his seat and walked round to the front of K9.