Mother's Little Helper (short story)

Mother's Little Helper
Doctor:	Second Doctor
Main enemy:	Old Woman
Key crew
Writer:	Matthew Jones
Release details
Part of:	Short Trips
Release date:	2 March 1998
Short Trips short stories
← Previous	There are Fairies at the Bottom of the Garden
Next →	The Parliament of Rats

Mother's Little Helper was the tenth short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips. It was written by Matthew Jones. It featured the Second Doctor.

Summary

Nanci Cruz was an American living in England who had recently been betrayed by her best friend and her boyfriend. She walked along the street, feeling alone, when a young boy ran into her, knocking her down. He was dressed in unusual clothing, wore a leather box on a strap across his chest, and had golden eyes. He touches her, and her physical pain from the impact and her emotional pain from the betrayal start to fade away. The boy saw someone coming and moved away. Nanci saw a tall blond woman chasing after him.

Nanci was approached by the Second Doctor, who was also looking for the boy. He told her how the boy can take away someone's pain. Nanci found the Doctor irresistable and spent the day helping him look for the boy. They learned he was last seen near a pier. However, when tea time arrived, she had to go home. In bed that night, she realised that she was going to get up to help the Doctor and snuck out to the pier.

She saw the Doctor, the boy and the woman in the ballroom at the pier. The boy was wearing a metallic band around his neck. The Doctor was shielding him from the woman, who held a control box in her hands. Nanci snuck around and tried to help the boy, but the woman saw her. The Doctor got the boy away safely, but the woman punched her unconscious.

The woman offered a deal with the Doctor: Nanci for the boy. They arranged to meet at the shore. However, Nanci was now wearing a metallic band around her neck. The woman sent Nanci to the Doctor but then turned on the band, which began to kill Nanci. The boy came to help her, taking away her pain, and then he channeled it to the woman, who exploded.

When Nanci returned home, she was grounded. She learned that she had to live with her pain. One day she looked out of her window through her telescope and saw the Doctor and the boy playing at the beach. The Doctor turned in her direction and grinned and waved at her.

Characters

• Second Doctor
• Nanci Cruz
• Old Woman
• Boy

References

• Nanci's mother uses a Macintosh computer.

Notes

to be added

Continuity

to be added