I'm watching this show for the first time, and I'm only a few episodes into the second season. I'm sure something's wrong, canon-wise, so I'm going to call this slightly-AU. I've loved the dynamics between Sarah Jane and Luke, and I apologize in advance for the shameless fluff. I'm sorry if some of it is too American-sounding, I did my best with the terminology.

This was going to be a one-shot, but I decided to make it two smaller chapters so I could get a feel for what parts people enjoyed. I'm very new to fanfic, so I'm sorry if this isn't that great.

"Luke, breakfast!" Sarah Jane called up the stairs for the third time that morning. "You're going to be late if you don't come down now!"

"Coming, Mum." Luke hastily put his tie on and gave his hair a quick fix in the mirror. He was more tired than usual, and his throat felt odd. He was moving slowly, so it had taken him longer to get dressed than it normally did.

Sarah Jane was refilling her coffee mug when Luke shuffled into the kitchen. He was pale, and his eyes had a weakness to them that make her suspect he wasn't feeling well. "Hmm, looks like today might be a sick day. What's the matter?"

Luke looked confused as he plopped into a chair at the table. "A what?"

Sarah Jane cupped his chin with her hand and studied him closely. "You don't look like you're feeling very well. Do you feel ill?"

"What does that mean?"

"Do you feel different than normal? Do you hurt any place?"

Luke shrugged. "I'm tired, I guess. I'm okay."

Sarah Jane wasn't convinced. Thinking back on the few motherly moments she'd witnessed as a child at a chum's home or with a neighbor her aunt sometimes engaged to stay with her when she didn't feel well and was too young to stay home from school alone, she tried to remember what to do in this situation. Ah, yes, the forehead thing. She moved her hand to his shoulder and placed her other hand on his forehead. She had no experience with sick children, but she didn't think he felt warm. He still didn't look well, and she knew she didn't own a thermometer. This was a moment like several others she'd had recently where Maria's words on Luke's first night resonated with her—'you're a mum now.' Indeed, she was, and she was a mum who didn't know what the bloody hell to do at the moment. "I'll be right back. Don't leave before I come back, I'll drive you to school." She left the house to go over the road and borrow a thermometer.

Luke took a bite of toast, but it hurt his throat to swallow. He wasn't all that hungry, anyway. He quickly dumped the contents of his plate into the garbage and covered it with some paper towels before Sarah Jane got back.

"Oh, Good Morning, Sarah Jane," Gita greeted when she opened the front door. "Rani—"

"No, actually, I just wanted to see if you had a thermometer I could borrow. Luke isn't feeling well, I'm afraid. He doesn't seem feverish, but I'm not sure I have a mother's touch yet in that respect," Sarah Jane admitted.

"Come with me, there's one in the kitchen. Does he have an appetite this morning? Is he sluggish? Are his cheeks flushed?" Gita grilled her as they walked to the kitchen.

"I don't know about his appetite, he had just come downstairs for breakfast when I came over here. He was moving slowly, and his eyes just looked..."

"Weak?" Gita supplied.

Sarah Jane nodded. "Exactly. He said he was just tired, but he loves school and probably doesn't want to stay home."

Gita rolled her eyes. "See if you can get him to rub off on Rani." She pulled a thermometer and a probe cover out of a cabinet. "Here. If he doesn't have a fever, then he could just be getting a cold. Rani complains and tries to get out of school at the first sniffle, so she has to have a fever before I let her stay home."

"Thanks, Gita, I'll bring this back after I take Luke to school or send him back to bed, whatever the case may be. I need to go to the grocery, so I'm just going to drop him off if he's not running a fever. I'd rather him not walk this morning if he's getting ill." Sarah Jane hurried back home and found Luke waiting for her in the kitchen with his backpack over his shoulders. "Hold on, let me check your temperature. Under your tongue," she instructed as she slipped the thermometer into his mouth.

"Wh—nrg—"

"Shh, don't talk until it beeps." Sarah Jane plucked the thermometer out of his mouth after the final beep. "Hmm, no fever, but are you sure you feel well enough to go to school?"

"Yes, Mum, let's go."

A few minutes later, Sarah Jane studied Luke one more time and felt his forehead again before she dropped him off in front of the school. "If you start feeling worse, uh...Tell one of your teachers. They'll tell you what to do."

"Still haven't read that parent guide, huh?" Luke teased. "Bye, Mum."

Later that morning, Sarah Jane wasn't surprised to receive a phone call from Park Vale, informing her that Luke was ill and she needed to collect him. She barely took the time to grab her coat before she rushed out the door.

Meanwhile, Luke was slumped on a bench in the office with his eyes closed, feeling miserable. He really hadn't felt that bad before school, but his sore throat had gotten much worse in the last couple of hours, he had a splitting headache, and he was cold and felt heavy and achy. When Sarah Jane arrived, he could tell it was her that had come through the door without opening his eyes. He could've cried from relief when he smelled her perfume and just sensed her familiar presence. "Mum, I don't feel good," he croaked. Even with his heightened intelligence, he still had the kid-like tendency to say "I don't feel good" despite knowing better.

Sarah Jane cradled him against her side and pressed her hand to his warm cheek for a few moments. "Oh, honey..." His face was flushed, and there was no question of whether he had a fever this time. She put her hands on his cheeks and kissed his forehead. "You're burning up. Let's get you home."

"Sounds good."

Sarah Jane went to the front desk and scribbled her name on Luke's sign-out sheet, then slung his backpack over her shoulder. "I have your bag. Let's go." She put her arm around him as she walked him to her car. "Where does it hurt?"

"My throat and my head are killing me. I hurt all over."

"I'm sorry, honey, I should've trusted my instincts and kept you home this morning." She tossed his bag into the back seat and made sure Luke was buckled in before she started the car. "I bought some medicine and things at the grocery this morning, but I may need to take you to the doctor tomorrow. Your symptoms sound like Strep Throat, but I'll have Mr. Smith scan you in case you picked something up from our 'visitors' last week." She'd wanted to take care of him the old-fashioned way, but Mr. Smith could tell her whether it was something human or otherwise that was ailing him.

When they got home, Sarah Jane ushered Luke up to the attic. "Mr. Smith, I need you!" She waited impatiently through the ridiculous fanfare that preceded his arrival. "I need you to scan Luke, please. He's fallen ill."

Mr. Smith analyzed Luke. "He appears to have become a host for a bacterial parasite that preys on humans. It will multiply within him and take over his healthy cells, unless either his immune system can defeat it or he receives aid from a foreign agent."

Sarah Jane rolled her eyes. "So, basically he has an infection and needs an antibiotic."

"Well, anyone could make it sound boring, Sarah Jane. I apologize, but I forgot to mention that he also appears to have cervical lymphadenopathy."

Her eyes widened. She had no idea what that was, but it didn't sound good. "He has what?!"

"Swollen lymph nodes."

"Oh, shut up, Mr. Smith!"

After leaving the attic, Sarah Jane put clean sheets, pillows, and blankets on the sofa while Luke changed into his pajamas. By the time she'd changed into more comfortable clothes, herself, he was coming downstairs. He gave her a confused look. "I don't think I've ever seen you in sweatpants in the middle of the day. It's not even the middle of the day yet." He turned toward the kitchen, but Sarah Jane steered him toward the living room. "I wanted some juice."

"I'll get it." She led him to the sofa and tucked him in, making sure the telly remote was within reach. "Find something to watch on the telly, and I'll get some medicine for you." She came back a couple of minutes later with a glass of juice and placed a couple of caplets in his hand. Once he'd taken them, she settled beside him on the sofa and propped his pillow against her lap. He'd found a movie, and she brushed her fingers through his hair as he watched it. Moments like this were what came to mind the times she'd longed for her own children in the past.

"You don't have things you need to do?" Luke murmured. He wasn't complaining, by any means, this felt amazing.

"It'll keep. I think I'm due for a lazy day on the sofa."

"Is this part of the 'sick day' thing?" he asked, remembering her comment that morning.

"Precisely. You are not to lift a finger. Mum will be right here to get what you need. Anything else you want?" Luke shook his head. "All right. It's close to lunchtime, I'll see about getting you some soup."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "You're not cooking, are you?"

"Don't be ridiculous. We'll order in."

Soon after lunch, Luke started to get off of the sofa, and Sarah Jane pulled him back down. "What do you need? Let me get it for you."

"I'm going to the loo, unless you can wee for me, Mum."

"Oh. Sorry. No, I don't suppose I could." One good thing about getting a child as a teenager was that at least she didn't have to deal with toilet-training or being woken up in the middle of the night to change a wet bed and child even after they were trained. She'd have been nicer and more patient about it than her aunt had been, but it was still something she was okay with missing out on.

After a cozy afternoon of Luke napping on and off and Sarah Jane reading and trying to keep her son comfortable, she ordered in more dinner for herself and warmed up leftover soup for Luke. He'd claimed he didn't want anything, but she hoped he'd eat a little bit. He'd perked up a little bit after the medicine kicked in, but it seemed to be wearing off. She felt him shiver, so she adjusted his blanket over him and tucked it more tightly around his shoulders. "Is that better?" Luke nodded. She smoothed his hair back and held her hand to his forehead. "Hmm, I should probably check your temperature." She retrieved the thermometer she'd bought that morning and held it under his tongue. Still too high, just as she suspected. "I'll give you some more medicine before you go to bed, and I'll ring my physician in the morning."

A couple of hours later, she gave Luke more medicine and led him upstairs for bed. While he was in the bathroom getting ready for bed, she straightened his unmade bed and made sure his phone was within reach. "Ring me if you need me," she instructed as she tucked him in. His voice wasn't much more than a whisper with his sore throat, and she probably wouldn't hear him if he tried to call out for her during the night. "If you wake up and feel worse or can't go back to sleep, your phone's right here. I'll come to you." She smoothed is hair back from his face and kissed his forehead. She remembered being ill as a young girl and feeling too bad to fall asleep. She'd wished her aunt would come sit with her during those long nights, even as a teenager. Luke seemed so helpless, and she couldn't bear to leave him by himself.

"Mum..." he mumbled.

"I'm right here, honey. I won't leave until you're asleep." Sarah Jane brushed her fingers over his warm cheek and patted his back when he tossed and turned and tried to get comfortable again. He finally managed to fall asleep, and she put a glass of water beside his bed in case he woke up thirsty during the night before turning in, herself.

The next morning, it was after 10:00 by the time Luke trudged downstairs. Sarah Jane was sipping coffee on the sofa and watching the news. "Morning, darling, how are you feeling?"

"Awful." Luke slumped against her and lay on her shoulder.

"I can see that." She draped a blanket over him and wrapped her arm around him, pressing her cheek to his forehead. "You still feel hot. I'm seeing you to the doctor this afternoon, okay?" Luke barely grunted in acknowledgment and pulled the blanket more tightly around his shoulders. He couldn't get warm and everything felt heavy, and he'd only gotten out of bed because he was bursting for the loo. His throat felt like it was on fire. Once he'd gotten out of bed, it was worth it to take the extra energy to go downstairs, where there was medicine and a mum to help him feel better.