Molly found herself in a barely-lit, muggy cell. The only light came from a dim, flickering bulb above her. She was sitting on a hard, cold metal chair right by a table of the same metal. Huddling into a ball and rubbing her arms to create friction, she wondered how she could've gotten herself into this position. Suddenly there was a soft clanking, and as the door opened a beam of light flooded the small cell, partially blinding Molly Hooper.
"Molly Hooper?" A soft, feminine voice came from out of the light.
"Yes.." Molly replied, her timid voice weak with fear as a dark shape formed into the figure of a woman. The woman had blonde hair and a kind face. She carried with her a tray which she set down on the table besides Molly.
"No ones going to hurt you Molly." She said as she sat down across from the curled up woman, pulling her jack around her. "I promise you that once you truthfully answer these questions you'll be released." She smiled and nodded at the tray, which contained steak and mashed potatoes with a cup of milk. "Go ahead and eat. It's not the best, but it's not too bad."
Molly looked down at the tray before glancing back up at the woman. "I'd rather just answer the question ma'am." She said, her voice growing a bit stronger.
"Please, call me Kate." Kate said. "And if you insist, lets get started then. What did you do last night?" She asked, and Molly shrugged, trying not to let her fear take over her.
"Dunno. Went out with some friend from work, went home, watched Glee. Fell asleep. Why?" Molly kept her voice even, trying to make sure it wouldn't betray her. If this was about last night then she had to make sure they didn't know she saw anything.
"You didn't see anything unusual? Anyone unusual?" Kate demanded, staring directly at Molly, who held the older woman's gaze.
"I work at a morgue. You'll have to define unusual." She replied, which made Kate laugh. It was so sudden, so unexpected in the dark cell that Molly smiled.
"You're right. I mean alien, Molly. Some animal or beast or phenomenon that you wouldn't normally see."
"Like what?"
"Like.. I don't know. A leathery beast eating a woman? A blue police box that disappeared into thin air?" Molly froze at this, which was the wrong thing to do. Kate smiled in victory. "You can tell us Molly. Did you meet a man called the Doctor?"
"He called himself John Smith." She muttered, looking away.
"Yes." Kate gave her a sympathetic smile. "He does that."
"Why do you need to know anyway?"
"Because we're curious Molly. We know what you saw that night, we know-"
"Then why didn't you just tell me at the start!?" Molly interrupted Kate, glaring at her. "You could've avoided all this trouble." Kate sighed.
"It's never easy. We have to be careful about how we do things like this, you must understand. We can't just go around asking people if they've seen him. It's bad enough that people see and know that there are aliens out there but to run around saying 'Hello! Ever met a man named the Doctor?'. No no. It's much easier to ease it out of people." She replied, looking older than her looks would suggest.
"Maybe for you. But did you ever stop and think about the people who are affected by it?" Molly asked. "Do you even wonder about it? I mean it's not like I wasn't stressed out enough, but then last night I see a woman get killed, almost get killed myself and then you lot come banging through my door demanding that I go with you! What if someone saw me and thought I did something illegal or wrong? What then?" She stared, unflinching at Kate.
"I've given you all I know." She continued. "I was walking down Turnmill Street when I heard a noise from Benjamin street. I walked down it to see what was going on and saw some.. Monster attacking a young girl under a tree by St. John's Gardens. A man came up, calling himself John Smith and took it away. I went home. I went to bed. I woke up. Went to work. Helped performed an autopsy on the girl. Saw the tooth. Turned it in. Went home. You lot came. Now can I please go home?"
The two women looked at each for a brief moment, just a flicker, before Kate looked towards the guards. "Please escort Miss Hooper back to her house." As if on cue two guards walked out of the door and to her. She looked up at them before glancing back to Kate, who nodded her approval. Molly got up slowly, walking out of the cell and out of the UNIT headquarters.
Still in the cell Kate Lethbridge-Stewart got up slowly, looking down the corridor as the Hooper girl left. She wasn't the first and she wouldn't be the last girl to meet the Doctor accidentally, and Kate hope for her sake that it wouldn't end badly.
Kind of a short chapter, but this felt like the perfect place to wrap it up. The next chapter will be longer, I promise. Reviews are welcome, preferably constructive criticism.