The S.S. Thrill Ride

[Susan Foreman]

She wafted, unsure. Despite his rather cold words, she knew that Alec wanted her company. (Well, she was hoping that; her telepathy never really worked with other Time Lords.) She bit her lip as he turned away from her, readying the TARDIS for the next trip. And then there was Sarah – good, kind Sarah – who her grandfather was fond of. If she left, then Sarah went to the man in the bar and changed the timeline up again. Her shoulders dropped as she contemplated which was more important to her: her friendship with this man or the very timeline that she’d worked to preserve.

She had probably damaged it even further by her antics, but she tried not to think about that.

“You’re welcome,” she said lamely, unsure of why the man was thanking her. Feeling a hand grab hers, she turned towards Sarah, head tilted.

“Susan, don’t go with him,” Sarah insisted, making up Susan’s mind for her. She nodded, stepping towards Sarah, feeling a trifle lost. “He’s not ready for you. I am, don’t leave me here.”

Not ready for me?

She glanced back to Alec, wondering exactly when he’d be ready for her. She pushed the thought from her mind and turned back to Sarah, nodding. “I came here for you. Why would I go with anybody else?” she asked, smiling.

[The Second Doctor]

Golden eyes seemed to grow darker and darker as time progressed. Time-translate chose what time it was. But right now, nothing could make the pain of being unsure speed up. Alec was used to it by now. He'd watched his house burn down, slowly... Slowly... As his mother, father, brother, and sister all burned up in it without a chance of escape. He'd watched as his entire world fell into chaos and war consumed his species. He'd shed tears as the Moment crushed the great civilization. Now, Susan made a decision he admitted was pretty tough. Sarah, or Alec. Timelord, or human. Good, or questionable.

“Susan, don’t go with him,” Sarah insisted.
Alec wasn't surprised. Humans had clinging tendencies.

“He’s not ready for you. I am, don’t leave me here.” Sarah continued.

Oh what does she know? he thought.
"That's a matter of opinion." he muttered in Sarah's general direction.

The Timelord continued his bored gaze down at the console, trying his best to act like he didn't care, despite how much he really did.
"Make a choice Susan. A friend like Sarah, or someone like me."

“I came here for you. Why would I go with anybody else?” she asked, smiling in a way that made Alec feel nautious.

There. He wasn't even an 'anybody else' any more. If one were to gaze upon the Timelord's face, it was as if a balloon had been drained of all air and lay limply, dejectedly. But he couldn't have expected anymore out of Susan. He considered the chameleon arch, just so he could start over. No Tardises, no Timelords, no Susan.

But he couldn't. He had a to-do list.
"I would've made the same decision if I were in your place." he claimed, looking back at Susan.

His eyes glazed over.
A body, limp on the ground, gun in hand. It was him. Then him again, firing bullets, but at who? Then finally a doll. Why would he see this? A secret, a doll, yes, but some else, something cruel, clever, something... Demonic.
His eyes rolled back in place.

Susan probably didn't notice, if she did she probably thought he was a nutter. He had seen through time. How could the Nostrovite have caused this? He was eager to find out. He wasn't going to bother saying goodbye if she wasn't.

[Sarah Jane]

Susan's words were as comforting as a warm sweater, and a small sigh of relief escaped Sarah. When the Time Lady slipped her hand into Sarah's, Sarah did not grip it life and death tight as she had Susan's sleeve a moment ago. She smiled back at the smile Susan flashed her.

The Dark Lord was a nutter all right. When his eyes rolled back that moment, Sarah put some guts behind her tug and did her best to get Susan fully out of the strange TARDIS. To hell with polite, she just pulled. She had nothing to say to the Dark Lord though, determined as she feels, Sarah is as unwilling to argue with either of them at this point. She was as reluctant to join the argument with Susan and the Dark Lord as she was to stand between the Doctor and the Master. All she knew how to do was to get her away from him.

Way in the back of her mind, she wondered if her gutters were clean.

[Susan Foreman]

There. She’d made the choice. She’d done it quickly, like tearing off a band-aid that had melded to the skin. She turned back to Alec, to remind him once more to find her one day. When she saw his eyes, however, she stopped in her tracks. Susan attempted to walk back to him, shake his shoulders and make him stop… doing whatever it was that was unsettling her so much. But Sarah pulled her back strongly. Susan stumbled backwards, flailing slightly as she stepped out of the TARDIS still disguised as a refrigerator.

“I’ll see you around, Alec. I’m… sorry. Okay? I’m really sorry,” she insisted, closing the door before he snarked back a reply at her. She turned back to Sarah.

“Would you like me to clean your gutters?” she asked, raising her eyes to Sarah’s and smiling gently.

ooc| sorry it’s so short…

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[Sarah Jane]

When she tugged hard, Susan stumbled a little and Sarah steadied her at the shoulder. The angst between this pair was breaking her heart, but deep down she felt as though Alec would be a danger to the Time Lady who had come looking for her. Quite frankly, she was biased against the Dark Lord since he'd sent her brownstone to whatever sterile rock that had been. Not to mention casually condemning her to her doom.

A wave of relief washed over her as she got Susan those few precious steps outside the TARDIS. She was almost afraid to look at Susan's face, wondering if the Time Lady would blame her for this unsuccessful attempt at reconciliation. Instead, that pale exotic face was open to her. even smiling.

"I try to let the bad guys do my dirty work." Sarah replied with a grin. "But it might be a good time to see of the ice cream in the icebox melted while I was unconnected from the grid by light years. Do you like pistachio?"

All the while, she kept the Dark Lord's TARDIS in the corner of her eye. She would not relax until it was gone.

[Susan Foreman]

Susan lifted her eyes to Sarah, a small smile gracing her face as the woman offered ice cream. “Pistachio?” she asked, appearing to mull it over. “Perhaps I do. Should we also watch cheesy dramas and boo the men?” Susan suggested, the smile widening as she leaned against Sarah’s counter. “Perhaps take a long stroll on the beach and talk about how the Doctor has mistreated us? Abandoned us?” she asked lightly.

She shouldn’t stay much longer. If she turned Sarah against the Doctor – unlikely due to their past relationship, but still nonetheless possible if Susan manipulated Sarah’s thoughts on accident – then that could mess the future up. It could turn the future even darker than if Sarah had died too early. She sighed, caught between a rock – having to abandon Sarah like the Doctor had – and a hard place – possibly affecting the future. Again.

“Actually,” she said, slipping an arm over Sarah’s shoulder in a friendly manner. She kissed the woman’s cheek. “Instead of just watching movies and then having to stay on Earth and stagnate until the Doctor comes for you on a whim,” she suggested smoothly, “how about I take you somewhere? Far away from Earth?”

[Sarah Jane]

Susan's pain ran deep. Deeper than her own. For once she had no words of comfort. What could someone say to all that?

When her new friend made her offer, six different emotions crossed her face in five seconds. She landed on an ear to ear grin.

"I'd love that. I think I'm ready to take on the Universe." She put a hand on Susan's shoulder and steered her in the direction of her house.

"But this time, I'm going to pack a suitcase"

The End (or perhaps, The Beginning).