The Story of Sally Armstrong (Doctor Who)

Chapter 25

"So, that's why you can't trust men?" the woman asked. She was sitting across from Sally at a cute little table, sipping her tea.

She, of course, couldn't tell this woman the full story, how she had been hanging out with and helping a homicidal alien that had such low self-esteem that just telling him she was done traveling after he attempted to kill her caused him to feel betrayed. No, she made it sound like a bad break up. Oh, if only, Sally thought.  

"Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but I really can't trust any man," Sally said, before taking a sip of her own tea. "I know it sounds silly, but I just." She paused watching some birds wounded around them. "You know, I think that may be a nightingale." Trying to steer the conversation in another direction.

The women broke a piece of her scone off, throwing it in the general direction of the birds. "I'm sorry, I can see this is making you uncomfortable. You said your boss may be traveling soon and wanted you to come along with him. Why don't you do that? I think it will be good for you to get away." The woman's smile seemed comforting to Sally somehow. She always gave her the impression of a kind soul, like she was Mary Poppins and had her best interest at heart.

"Oh, I don't know about that. I don't think I..." she gave the women a look. "Do you really think it would help?" She thought about what that would mean, and whether having the Doctor around might actually help.

"I need you to do me a favor first." The woman began to write something down on a piece of paper, then handed to Sally. Sally looked at her, confused by what it said. "That's the address of a prison. There is a woman there who has had some nasty luck lately, and she is going to need a friend if she's going to survive the next few months. I need you to give her something that may help her." The women handed her something that looked like a thin silver watch. "It will put a small force field up around anyone who wears it. After she does what she needs to do, she will need somewhere to stay. Her name is Lucy Saxon. You're not going to like her, I can tell you that right now, but I think you two will have a lot in common and should both be able to help one another out."

The woman smiled at her as Lucy looked at the paper. Sally had become so interested in the paper she didn't notice the women getting up and started to walk away until she heard her call out. "Have fun on your trip, Mrs. Armstrong. Do try and be careful... There are a lot of nasty people out there."