Heaven's Light ✿ The Doctor [2]

20- Eye of the Gorgon (pt. 1)

Avery looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, eyes running over the outfit Sarah Jane had lent her. A simple floral blouse and a pair of mom jeans that she belted and cuffed at the bottom to go with her leather ankle boots that she wore the day prior. It wasn't her usual style, she would admit that she much preferred skirts, but she made it work. She pulled the sides up of her hair and tied an elastic around it before leaving the bathroom and heading to the kitchen. Sarah Jane looks at her and smiles, handing her a mug of tea and asking, "Everything fit okay?"

"Yes, thank you." She replied, carefully sipping her tea.

"Finish your tea. Clyde came by and let me know of something that might interest you." Sarah Jane told her before adding, "That is, if you wish to come along."

"What is it?" She inquires curiously.

"How do you feel about ghosts?" Avery's face splits into a grin and an excited glint fills her eyes.

That was how she ended up in the back seat of Sarah Jane's car with Luke beside her as Clyde rambles on, "My nan and Mrs. Randall go way back. She used to live next door until her old fellow died. Nan says there's no way Mrs. Randall sees things or makes things up."

"And it's not just her that's been scared by this ghostly nun? Other residents have seen it?" Sarah Jane asks as they arrive at Lavender Lawns.

"Yeah, always at night, in their rooms."

Not much later, they sat with Mrs. Randall, who was telling them about the nuns, "Nora Connelly saw her first. She'd been to the loo. Oh, dreadful trouble she has with her waterworks. Three or four times every night." Clyde cringes at her words while Avery leans against a nearby wall, trying not to wrinkle her nose, "She comes out of the bathroom and there she is, the nun, by her chest of drawers."

"And what happened?" Sarah Jane inquires.

"Well, she fainted clean away like a schoolgirl. No constitution at all." Mrs. Randall answers as she hands Clyde her tea cup. Meanwhile, Luke's attention is by an old woman in the window, and upon seeing Luke stand, Avery glances around him to look at the old woman curiously, "Surprised, the amount of times she's been married. Since then, most of us have seen her. Them that's not too ga-ga not to notice, anyways."

"Well, thank you for your help, Mrs Randall." Sarah Jane replies, causing Luke and Avery to refocus on the room.

"So, will there be a photographer?" Mrs. Randall asks hopefully, "You wouldn't think it, but I was in all the papers once. Miss Ealing of 1951."

Clyde's face twists into one of slight disgust, causing Avery and Luke to give him amused smiles. Meanwhile, Sarah Jane answers, "Well, it depends. I'll have to talk to the manager first."

"While you do that, I've got a few little jobs for Clyde to do." The boy in question turns sharply, "Your grandma said you wouldn't mind."

Sarah Jane leaves the room, so Avery nudges Luke, "Take a walk with me, Luke?"

"Yeah, sure." He agrees. He offers Clyde a sympathetic clap on his arm before following Avery out of the room.

She and Luke stroll out into the garden, Avery quietly telling him stories of her travels with the Doctor, taking careful effort to only tell the lighter parts. They grow quiet as they notice the old woman from the window muttering to herself as she walks, "The Colonel won't believe us, darling. But who would? Better to keep mum. Sad. Better that way."

She stumbles on the steps and Luke catches her, asking with concern in her voice, "Are you all right?"

"Yes, yes, yes. Quite all right, thank you." She quickly assures as Luke continues to help her down the stairs, Avery moving to walk beside the two of them as the woman continues, "Are you one of the Colonel's chaps?"