Of course there was no trace of Tegan or Nyssa, but I had to look. I was able to find a squarish impression among the bluebonnets that must have been where the TARDIS had stood. There were two patches of tall grass that were likely candidates for "crime scene" but neither revealed anything useful; it had rained since I'd been nabbed.
Officer Ramirez had told us, before responding to a call, how to find the junk yard, so that's where we headed, only to find that the TARDIS wasn't there. The proprietor let us use her phone and we called around to establishments she recommended, until we found it, back in Fredericksburg, and set off in that direction. We found it closed, and worse, a tall barbed-wire fence surrounded the lot. I could see the TARDIS but could not reach her.
"Now what?" I muttered, not sure the fence would support me and concerned about its daunting barbs.
"I've got a saw in the trunk," said Lisa. "It wouldn't be a fast way to get in but I don't see either of us climbing this."
"If we can find a spot that's already weak…." I started exploring for existing holes in the fence and found a tiny one. Lisa called from around the corner:
"Here!" She ran back to her bug and popped the hatch, fetched a pretty flimsy-looking hand saw and walked carefully back to the hole she'd found, where by now I was waiting.
"Would you like me to…." I began, but she shook her head and started sawing away.
"You can keep a lookout, Doctor."
I didn't know what good keeping a lookout would do, since we were out in the open, albeit to the side, which was still exposed. It was getting dark so maybe we wouldn't be noticed, except that even a hand saw makes a racket against metal. Two boys, apparently brothers, both young teens, did come by and observe us with moderate interest. "Whatcha doin'?"
"Nothing," I said, truthfully, since it was Lisa sawing away at the fence. The boys laughed and moved on.
Night had fallen by the time Lisa broke through, and now we had a hole that each of us could crawl through, with great care not to rip our clothes or, worse, our skin. This being accomplished, I made a beeline for the TARDIS with Lisa close behind, and used my key to let us in. Lisa peeked in first, then stepped in, herself, and struggled to maintain her composure. At last she said, "This is amazing!" Then she added, "You weren't kidding that you weren't kidding."
"It's not the kind of thing I tell, or show, just anybody," I admitted, "but you've been really nice. I am not sure what I would've done without you."
"Wait, you're kicking me out? This is goodbye?"
"No!" I said, a little louder than necessary. "But wait here a moment. Oh, and, um, don't touch anything. I won't be but a moment."
I left the console room and headed toward the store room where I keep my treasure chest, but before I could find it I knocked on Tegan's door. Nyssa opened it and then cried "Doctor!" and within moments both of them were hugging me and jumping up and down like children. "We were so worried!"
"We thought you were dead!" cried Tegan. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine now," I told them, disentangling myself from their embrace. "We actually have a visitor in the console room. Her name is Lisa and it's thanks to her I am here. Can you go welcome her while I get something I need, and then we can take off?"
"Take off? Is she coming with us?" Tegan was confused.
"I'll explain later."
"I'll make some tea," decided Tegan, and Nyssa went off toward the console room. I found the right store room (after a couple of false starts) and therein found the bookcase with three books, only one of which hid some Earth cash. I pulled out all the American bills I could find and stuffed them into my breast pocket, next to some pizza. When I arrived in the console room I offered cold pizza to everyone, and had two slices myself.