Who: Doctor and Ned What: Doctor goes to the pie shop on a mission When: Jan 2 Where: Madison Valley Tea House Rating: Low Status: complete matchup
The new year always came with some interesting things - it was one of her favourite holidays even if it meant she was another year older with all the hardships she carried secretly within her too. Today, the Doctor had gotten a few more presents for the new year and while she appreciated them all, there was one she couldn’t really do much with - a pear pie.
She walked into the place where the pie had apparently been purchased holding onto the pie still in its packaging. She walked right up to the counter and placed the pie on it. “Excuse me. I was hoping I could exchange this pie for something else.”
--
The holidays had been a very busy time for the pie-making side of the tea shop and, as much as he loved baking, Ned was looking forward to the lull that the new year would undoubtedly bring. He had a lot of business things to do and, in fact, had a bunch of papers spread out on the back counter when the bell rang and he turned to greet a customer.
A customer who immediately confused him by asking to exchange a pie. This was a first and Ned had no idea what to say. “Uh, sorry, we can’t accept a pie in return,” he said. “Is there a problem with it though? I’d be happy to replace it free of charge.”
He hoped there was nothing wrong with the pie.
***
It wasn’t a bad looking pie, not at all, it was just what the pie was made of. “It’s just what’s inside of it, you see.” The Doctor explained it like obviously the man in front of her would look at the pie and understand her meaning. “I mean. It’s pears.” And pears were the worst.
Since she couldn’t return it, she considered the pie and then the man. “Don’t suppose you know someone who likes pears for some reason you could give this to?” It was still food, after all, and she didn’t want it to go to waste unless it had to.
--
Ned did not understand what was wrong with pears and he shook his head, still very confused by this whole interaction. “You could leave it on one of the tables in the gathering area,” he said, gesturing outside the shop to the area of the community center where people tended to congregate. “I’m sure someone would be happy to enjoy it.”
Hopefully there was nothing wrong with the pie and she wasn’t some kind of crazy person who was trying to poison people or anything.
“What kind of pie would you like as a replacement?” he asked.
***
“Anything but pear.” It was an easy answer. “Oh! Do you have elderberry pie? I don’t suppose you make pies with jelly babies. Probably not. Too sweet. There’s a thought though, if you’re ever wanting to experiment.”
It might not be everyone's taste, but definitely better than pears.
"You know what? Why don't you pick one out. You seem like a smart man." She smiled widely, not hint that anything she said was strange.
--
“I’m not sure what jelly babies are,” Ned admitted. “And, no, sorry, I don’t have elderberry. I do have a mixed berry that includes blueberry, strawberry, and raspberry though. Or I have a banana cream pie that’s my other special today.”
He was super curious about what her problem was with pears though he was too polite to ask.
“My name’s Ned,” he said.
***
“Mixed berries sound good. But so does the banana cream. How about both? I’ll pay for the other.” She could already hear Jack happy with her decision. She might not be as good at remembering to bring food to the TARDIS for everyone like Clara had, but she had her moments.
“I’m the Doctor. Nice to meet you, Ned. Always a pleasure to meet a baker. Love bakers.”
--
Nodding, Ned headed to the back to grab one of each pie and bring them to the counter to box for her. “Pleasure to meet you, too, Doctor,” he said. “What are you a doctor of? And would you like some tea?”
It was a lot easier to talk to people in the context of work than it was in social situations for Ned.
***
“Oh, I’m not.” She continued to smile like that would help in her answer. “Just the Doctor. And I’d love tea. Haven’t met a tea I didn’t like.” She paused, her expression turning a little more seriously. “Well, except pear tea. That would be a travesty now wouldn’t it?” Come to think of it, she had never actually tried pear tea, but she was sure it was disgusting.
--
Ned was pretty sure they didn’t have any pear tea. “Are you allergic to pears?” he asked. That would explain her strong aversion to them. “How about a nice Earl Grey? Seems to be a popular choice.” It was one that he’d grown rather fond of during his time here.
Her answer about just being the Doctor puzzled him a bit, but he shrugged it off. There were a lot of things in this town that he didn’t understand and he wasn’t even going to try.
***
“Earl Grey sounds wonderful.” The Doctor had had a lot of teas in her life time. “And no, not allergic. It’s just that pears taste like pears. Have you ever had one?” She made a face. “And the consistency. Even the skin. Not like an apple. And the shape too.” Really, she had her former self to thank for the aversion considering he basically willed it as he regenerated. Some of her regenerations had liked pears quite a lot, actually. “Maybe one day I’ll change my mind, but for now, best to avoid them.”
--
Some people just didn’t like some foods. Ned understood that and he nodded at her explanation as he prepared a cup of Earl Grey for her. “I can’t say I’ve ever had an issue with pears,” he admitted. “Though I can understand why they aren’t for everyone.” Or at least he could understand that everyone had different taste buds. “What do you do here in town?” he asked.
***
“I work at the genealogy place. If you’d ever like to know more about where you come from, stop by and I’ll give you a test for free.” She was probably not supposed to do that, but, well, that was the Doctor, really. “I like to run experiments too, but the dome makes the readings quite hard sometimes.” Magic made for some wacky stuff.
--
“What kind of test?” Ned asked. He would love to know more about where he came from. Or, more accurately, how he’d ended up with his special gift. Has either of his parents had something like it? What was the source of his ability? On the other hand, he might not really want those answers. What if he found out something he didn’t like? “And what kind of experiments?”
***
She tilted her head to the side. “Well, let’s see. Some tests will tell you what your ancestry is. Some will look at your DNA to see if you have anything hereditary. There’s a couple more too. Depends what you want, really.” Her head straightened. Sometimes she did some extra tests that were TARDIS specific, but not for everyone. “Oh, you know, some of the dome’s integrity, others on the physical laws here - they aren’t exactly like regular Earth’s, you know. They come off like them to the untrained eye, but there’s deviations. Think it’s how we end up in 1980s or older or younger and all those interesting happenings.”
--
Ned had to admit he was curious. “I’d love to hear more about that sometime,” he said. “And, yeah, I might be interested in learning more about my history.” It would be scary in a lot of ways, but he’d been here for nearly a year and his curiosity was starting to win out over his fear. Especially after meeting people like Death and Kenny. “I’ll stop by and visit. I’ll even bring pie. Not pear.”
***
“Wonderful!” The Doctor was happy. “It was nice to meet you, Ned. And thank you for the tea and the pie that I’m sure will be very delicious. You have a good day now.” She gave him one last smile was picking up the tea and the pie and then headed on her way.