Hey guys and girls! Here's another AU story with my OC Melanie Hannigan. This idea was given to me by time-twilight so a big thanks goes to her.

A thanks also goes to frosty600 for giving this chapter a read.

A big thanks goes to SaberbladePrime who had also read this chapter and for giving me the title for the story.

19 year old Melanie briefly paused in her jam on her acoustic guitar when she heard a knock at the door. "Come in!" she called. The brunette smiled when she saw Sarah Jane step in "hey Sarah", she greeted.

"How many times have I told you Ellie, you are allowed to call me mum", Sarah Jane said reminding her.

"I know, sorry. It just still doesn't feel right, you know? Even though I've lived here for three years", Melanie confessed.

"I know", Sarah Jane said. She understood why it didn't feel right to Melanie. The teenager had explained when Sarah Jane had first adopted her, she didn't want to betray her own mother by calling someone else mum. Despite the fact that Charlotte had passed away when Melanie was a child. Sarah Jane wasn't going to keep pushing the whole 'call me mum' thing. She was going to leave it to Melanie to decide if and when she was ready.

"Whats up?" Melanie asked.

"It's almost time to head to Deffry Vale", Sarah Jane replied.

"Is it? I thought the meeting is at 2?" Melanie asked.

"That's in 15 minutes", Sarah Jane said. Melanie glanced at the clock by her bed and saw that she was right.

"So it is. Huh, I hadn't noticed", Melanie said setting her guitar down, leaning it against the wall. She then pulled on her brown ankle boots and pink cardigan before grabbing the camera that was hanging on a hook on the back of her door. The two brunettes then left the house.

~Deffry Vale High~

"My improvements aren't confined to the classroom. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. We've introduced a new policy. School dinners are absolutely free, but compulsory. Do try the chips", Mr Finch said to both brunettes as he led them down a flight of stairs.

"Oh, I'd love to. Thank you!" Sarah Jane said politely "And it's got to be said, the transformation you've brought about is amazing. I mean, maybe you're working the children a little bit too hard now and then…"

"But good results are more important than anything", Melanie pointed out.

"Exactly. You're a young woman of vision, Miss Hannigan", Mr Finch said.

"Oh, I can see everything, Mr Finch. Quite clearly. How about you Miss Smith?" Melanie glanced at Sarah Jane.

"Yes I can", Sarah Jane agreed.

~Staff Room~

The Doctor was sitting on a desk eating a biscuit while a teacher paced up and down talking. "Yesterday, I had a twelve year old girl give me the exact height of the Walls of Troy… in cubits"

"And, it's ever since the new headmaster arrived?"

"Finch arrived three months ago. Next day, half the staff got flu. Finch replaced them with that lot", Mr Parsons nods over to where a group of smart looking teachers were standing. The Doctor looked over his shoulder at them.

"Except for the teacher you replaced, and it was plain weird, her winning the lottery like that", Mr Parsons continued.

"How's that weird?" the Doctor asked.

"She never played! Said the tickets were posted through their doors at midnight", Mr Parsons explained.

"Hmm. The world is very strange", the Doctor said popping another biscuit in his mouth trying not to smile as he was the one behind it.

Mr Finch then enters the Staff Room followed by two brunettes. One of which was very familiar to him. His former companion Sarah Jane Smith. The other brunette standing beside Sarah Jane was a lot young, probably about Rose's age. As he looked at her, a sudden warmth flooded through his chest followed by a gentle tug of his hearts. The Doctor knew what that meant, he'd had lessons on it when he was at the Academy. Those two sensations only happened when you found your Bonded. But she couldn't be…could she? It only ever happened between Time Lords and Ladies as far as he knew. He'd never heard of Bonding between a Time Lord/Lady and a human…yet he got both of those tell-tale sensations just looking at the young brunette.

He'd always wanted to meet his Bonded. She would be for him and him alone. And they'd be connected in the heart, mind and soul. The prospect of being that connected with someone excited him. It had been the one thing during the war that had kept him going. Gave him hope. And then he destroyed that hope in his actions that ended the Time War.

But if these sensations where real and not something he was imagining because he still yearned for that connection…then maybe just maybe there was hope after all.

"Excuse me, colleagues. A moment of your time", Mr Finch called bringing the Doctor out of his thoughts "May I introduce Miss Sarah Jane Smith and Miss Melanie Hannigan. They're writing a profile about me for the Sunday Times", Mr Finch explained "I thought it might be useful for her to get 'a view from the trenches', so to speak. Don't spare my blushes" and with that he left.

Sarah Jane and Melanie headed over to Doctor. "Hello", Sarah Jane greeted.

"Oh, I should think so!" the Doctor said cheerfully unable to take his eyes off of Melanie. Yes, he was happy to see his former companion but his potential Bonded caught his attention just a little bit more.

"And, you are…?" Melanie asked. The Doctor heard an American accent when she spoke.

"Hm? Uh, Smith. John Smith", the Doctor replied.

"John Smith? I used to have a friend who sometimes went by the name", Sarah Jane remarked.

"It's a very comment name", the Doctor said with a shrug.

"From what she told me, he was a very uncommon man", Melanie informed him. Sarah told her about me? Wonder what she told her? the Doctor thought.

"So, um, have you worked here long?" Sarah Jane asked getting down to business.

"Not long. It's only me second day", the Doctor replied.

"Oh, so you're new then? What do you think of this school? I mean this new curriculum?" Sarah Jane questioned.

"And doesn't it strike you as strange that so many children are getting ill?" Melanie added.

"You two don't sound liked you're just doing a profile", the Doctor remarked with a grin.

"Well, no harm in a little investigation while we're here", Sarah Jane informed him and Melanie nodded in agreement with her.

"No. Good for you", the Doctor said. He watched the pair walk off and a proud smile appeared on his face. "Good for you. Oh, good for you Sarah Jane Smith", he said to himself. He was very proud of her. She was investigating, doing what they used to do when she was his companion.

And Melanie…what were the odds that the young woman who appears to be his Bonded was working with his former companion? That made him curious. Melanie Hannigan herself made him curious. He really hoped that he would see her again.

Later…

Sarah Jane and Melanie crept up to a window where the older woman undid the latch. After checking to make sure the cost is clear, the pair climb through the window into the class room. They quietly made their way to the Headmaster's office. While Sarah Jane was picking the lock, she and Melanie hear a bang followed by a screech. "Uh Sarah… I think we need to run", Melanie said as the sounds got louder and closer.

"My thoughts exactly", Sarah Jane agreed and they ran back down the corridor away from the noises. As they were running, they heard another screech forcing them to change direction, taking them down a different corridor.

"Let's hide in here", she suggested opening the door to a storage room. They entered only to find a police box sitting there. "Is that the TARDIS?" Melanie asked as Sarah Jane stared at it.

"I think it is", Sarah Jane replied. If the TARDIS was here that meant the Doctor was here too. Was it that teacher John Smith she spoke to earlier? Or was it one of the other teachers? She was broken from her thoughts when a male voice spoke behind them.

"Hello Sarah Jane"

Sarah Jane and Melanie turned around to see the Physics teacher, John Smith standing there. "It's you", Sarah Jane breathed, staring at the man. Seeing both him and the TARDIS made her realise that he was the Doctor. "Oh…Doctor…"

Melanie's eyes widened at that. The amazing man who'd been a big part of her adopted mother's life and in a way a part of her life was standing right in front of her. Once again she got a gentle tug at her heart and a pleasant warmth blossomed in her chest when she looked at the Doctor. What did this even mean? she thought still confused about these sensations

"You're the Doctor?" she asked.

The Doctor nodded "I am", he confirmed.

"I can't believe it. After all those stories…" Melanie shook her head still in awe of seeing the Doctor "you look different", she remarked remembering how her mother described the Doctor she'd been travelling with.

"Remember what I told you about Time Lord's and how they can change if they're seriously hurt. And the name of the process…."

"Regeneration!" Melanie said suddenly remembering.

"Sarah Jane told you all about me?" the Doctor asked. He was both surprised and pleased that brunette whom he was pretty sure was his Bonded now, judging by the way the warmth had come back into his chest upon meeting her again, knew so much about him. She must be a very close friend of his former companion and extremely open minded.

"Yep. Mum has told me a number of your adventures", Melanie replied. The Doctor did a double take when she mentioned the word 'mum'. Sarah Jane couldn't help but smile as Melanie's use of the word mum.

"You're a mum now?" he asked Sarah Jane.

"Yes I am", Sarah Jane said proudly "I adopted this one three years ago". She put an arm around Melanie.

"She's pretty cool. Probably the best adopted parent in the world", Melanie declared. While it was hard to call her mum, though sometimes she would just say it without thinking, Sarah Jane was a pretty awesome adopted parent.

"Oh I wouldn't go that far Ellie", Sarah Jane said though secretly she was a bit pleased by her declaration. She knew Melanie was extremely grateful for what she did three years ago, and had thanked her often, it was nice to hear her say that she thought she was 'cool'.

"But it's true! You are the best adopted parent in the world", Melanie insisted "and anyone who says otherwise will get slapped by the smelliest fish I can find". Sarah Jane couldn't help but laugh at that.

"You better make sure you don't fish slap the wrong person, it might get you into trouble", Sarah Jane said sternly.

"If they're mean about you, then they get fish slapped, regardless of who they are", Melanie said. Despite everything she'd been through and the manner in which she'd met Sarah Jane, Melanie was not a violent person. It just wasn't in her nature. However, she was pretty protective about her loved ones.

The Doctor watched the banter going on with a smile on his face. It was nice to see that his former companion had managed to move on from travelling with him, even going as far as having a family. If anyone deserved to be a mum, adopted or otherwise, it was Sarah Jane Smith. "So what brings you to the school?" Sarah Jane asked the Doctor, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Well…UFO sighting…school gets record results. I couldn't resist", the Doctor replied "What about you two?"

"The same", Sarah Jane agreed and the trio shared a laugh. Their laughter was abruptly cut off when a scream sounded. The Doctor and Sarah Jane share a grin. This was just like old times!