Author's notes: Hope you enjoy this...

Disclaimer: I don't own Sweeney Todd, its plot or its characters.

Chapter 9 – Nothing's Gonna Harm You

I made up with Nelly. Well, we pretended that nothing had happened. We also had a good friendship, and we didn't want that to be ruined.

It was a couple of days after Primrose Hill, and when I walked into the shop in the morning, I noticed something about Sweeney. He was just staring out of the skylight, not even turning to greet me. I walked up to him, to see his eyes almost glazed over with emotions. I decided it was best to ignore him.

A couple of hours later, Nelly walked in.

"I brought you some breakfast!" she called, happier than ever since her business started booming.

She set the tray down on the dresser, and looked at me, wondering what was wrong with Mr Todd.

"He's been like this all morning," I whispered. "He hasn't moved, hasn't spoken."

"Mr T, can I ask you a question?" She asked. It was as good an idea as any.

"What?" he muttered after a couple of seconds.

"What did your Lucy look like?" That wasn't such a good idea. He paused. "Can't really remember can you?" Nelly said sympathetically, walking towards him.

"She had yellow hair…"

"You've gotta put these times behind you now," she begun. Although she didn't seem like she was going to tell him our very big secret, I had my suspicions. "She's gone. We could have a life, us two," seeing my warning glare, she added. "Not just us, Sarah and Toby too. Maybe not like you remembered, maybe not like I imagined, but we could get by. Life is for the alive my dear."

Sweeney turned to face her. He looked at me desperately. Luckily, we were both saved when Anthony ran through the door.

"Mr Todd!" he gasped. "He has her locked in a mad house."

"Johanna?" He asked, moving for the first time.

"Fog's Asylum," he informed us. "I've circled the place a dozen times, it's a fortress, there's no way in!"

"I've got him," he said, a smile creeping across his face. "We've got her."

"Mr Todd?"

"Where do you think the wigmakers of London go to obtain their hair? Bedlam, they get it from the lunatics at Bedlam."

Mr Todd seemed almost frightening, and would do if you had just met him, as he planned this out.

"I don't understand," said Anthony.

"We shall set you up as a wigmaker's apprentice," Sweeney told him. "That will gain you access. Then you take her! Now go, quickly, go!"

Anthony smiled, before rushing off.

"There you go Mr T!" I cried. "You'll have Johanna by the end of the day."

He nodded, before turning to Nelly.

"Fetch the boy."

"Don't you think you should leave the boy out of this?"

He glared at her, and she did as she was told.

"What are you going to do to him?" I asked nervously.

"I'm not going to hurt him, so don't worry."

He sat down at the dresser and pulled out a pen and a piece of paper. I watched him write (in surprisingly neat handwriting) a letter to the Judge, telling him that Johanna would be at the shop that night, and that he hoped Turpin would forgive him. I smiled – the plan was perfect.

Toby arrived just as he finished the letter. Mr Todd turned to him.

"Do you know where the Old Bailey is?"

"Yes sir, not that I've ever been there…"

"Take this there, seek out a Judge Turpin. Repeat that?"

"Go to the Old Bailey, find Judge Turpin."

Mr Todd nodded and handed him the letter.

"Put this in his hands, and only his, understand?"

"Yes sir. While I'm out, do you mind if I stop by the grocer's-"

"No. You are not to stop, you are not to speak. You are to take this to Judge Turpin. Now go."

I followed Toby out of the door and handed him a penny.

"Why don't you by yourself some toffee?" I told him.

"But Mr Todd said-"

"Don't worry about what he said. He won't find out. Off you go!"

"Thank you!"

I chuckled as he ran off, with a grin on his face a mile long.

I helped Mr Todd for the rest of the afternoon, but it was quite quiet. When it came to opening time for Nelly, I went to help her. To my surprise, Toby still wasn't back. Mrs Lovett hadn't seen him since this morning.

I changed into my new dress, stunning crimson with black lace flowers embroidered all over. I let my hair down again, and received many compliments.

It was very busy, the busiest it had been since the re-opening. Nelly and I were swept off our feet, rushing around, serving pies and drinks. Luckily for Nelly, Mr Todd didn't have any more customers.

When Mrs Lovett's finally closed, we went to relax in her sitting room. We had a drink together, and it wasn't long before she fell asleep. I settled down on a chair and started to read a book of hers I found lying around.

About an hour later, Toby arrived.

"Got some toffees?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Saved one for you," he smiled, offering me the last (rather sticky) toffee in the paper bag. I thanked him, and eat it, my teeth sticking together with every bite.

"Where you been, lad?" Nelly asked, almost crossly. She was never cross with Toby. "We had quite the rush at dinnertime."

"Mr Todd sent me on an errand," he explained. "And on the way back, I stopped by the workhouse. And I was thinking, but for you, I'd still be there now. Seems like the Good Lord sent you for me."

"Ah love; I felt quite the same way."

I watched the sweet scene before me. A stranger could easily believe they were mother and son.

"Listen to me, please," his voice became desperate now. "You know there's nothing I wouldn't do for you, say if there were something bad around…only you didn't know it."

"What are you talking about Toby?" I asked him gently.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is…I won't let anything harm you, either of you. I might not be smart, but I ain't dumb. And being clever ain't like being true."

"What is this nonsense?" Nelly muttered, standing up and admiring her curls in the mirror.

"Just things I've been thinking…about Mr Todd."

Both Nelly and I froze, looking at each other in fear.

"You believe me, don't you?"

"Of course love," she said, a forced smile on her face. "Now how about I give you a nice shiny new penny, and you get us some more toffees. You didn't save one for me!"

He smiled and nodded, but stopped when he saw the purse Nelly had pulled out.

"That's Signor Pirelli's purse!"

"No it isn't! Just something Mr T bought me for my birthday."

"That proves it ma'am, we've gotta find the Beadle and get the law here!" he cried, tugging on Nelly's hand.

She pulled him onto a chair, and hugged him tightly.

"Hush now darling, you're not going anywhere. How could you think such things about Mr T, when he's been so good to us? Come on love, nothing's gonna harm you."

She hugged him tightly, making me wonder if she had ever been a mother. It was believable.

"Funny, we should be having this little chat right now," she started, looking at us both. "Because, you know I keep saying that I'll let you come into the bakehouse with me? Well, no time like the present, eh?"

We followed her into the bakehouse. I had my suspicions about what she was going to do, but you could never tell for sure with Nelly. We walked down the stone steps, leading up to the large metal bakehouse door.

"I feel bad for you, having to go up and down these steps," he said.

"Well, that'll be your job now," she replied.

"Yes ma'am."

She opened the door, and let us in. The bakehouse was horrible, and smelt vile. This was obviously due to the rotting bodies, which she'd done a good job of hiding. It was dark and quite empty, with just a grinder and an oven.

"Quite a stink, ain't there?" noticed Toby.

"Those grates down there lead to the sewers," she explained, pointing to the metal grates, where a different smell was coming from. "This is the oven. Twelve at a time. Always make sure the door's shut properly."

I nodded, playing along and Toby went over what she had just said.

"This is the grinder. Pop in the meat," she demonstrated. "Give it a good grind, and the meat comes out here."

Toby had a go, repeating what she had just told him.

"That's my boy," she said, patting him on the back. "I'm just gonna pop in on a Mr T for a minute, back in two shakes, alright? Come with me please, Sarah."

"Mind if I have a pie while I wait?"

"As many as you like son," she answered, smiling sadly.

Together we walked out, locking the door behind us. She blinked back tears, and then said:

"We have to warn Mr T."

Author's notes: Last chapter and epilogue, coming up! Please review x