A/N: Hi there Whoufflepuffs! I've been working on this for a few days. I'm relatively pleased with what I've written, since I've been out of amuse since I finished my Will/Tessa story "Bless the Broken Road" (If you're a fan of the Infernal Devices, please check it out and review). So, any sort of feedback would be lovely! Thanks a bunch! =)
"Doctor? I think it's about time we go grocery shopping?" Clara called out to her husband.
The Doctor poked his head into the TARDIS kitchen, "What's that, Clara?"
A tiny brunette head appeared under the Doctor's, "Yeah, what's that, mum?"
Clara laughed, shaking her head, "Mum says we need to go grocery shopping. There's a tin of Jammy Dodgers and a juice box in the cupboards." She opened the cabinets to show off the empty shelves for emphasis.
"Ooh, what kind of juice box? Is it apple? I love apple!" 5-year-old Ellie bounded into the kitchen excitedly, scrambling for a chair so she could reach the juice box.
"It's grape, love." Clara said, lifting her little girl off the chair and settling her on her hip.
"Oh," Ellie sighed dejectedly and dropped her head, "I don't like grape."
"I do!" The Doctor came into the kitchen and lifted the small juice box to his mouth. Upon seeing Clara and Ellie's looks, he said, "What? I happen to like grape. It reminds me of the bitterbimbs on Gallifrey."
Clara shook her head, "Silly man. Go get some shoes and we'll head out." She places Ellie back on her feet and the little girl ran out of the kitchen, followed by her father.
Clara could hear The Doctor carefully reminding Ellie how to tie her shoes. They had been trying to tech her for months now, and every so often Ellie managed to tie a perfect bow, but most of the time she became too bored with the task and left her laces loose.
"Aw, El, you can't leave the laces loose. You'll never be able to keep up!" Clara could hear the Doctor mutter.
"Why not?" Ellie questioned. Clara could hear The Doctor spluttering for an answer.
"Erm…well…I dunno, alright El? Tie your laces and we'll be off."
A moment later Ellie was standing by the door shouting, "Muuuummm! Daaaadddd! I'm readyyyy!"
"I've split the list in half, I think we can do this a bit faster if we split up. What do you think, Doctor?" Clara was saying as she handed The Doctor a slip of paper.
"I can definitely handle this. Don't you worry Clara!" The Doctor took his list and push cart, and began down the nearest aisle.
"Oh, dear." Clara sighed and looked down at Ellie, "Whenever your Dad says something like that, he most definitely can't handle it."
Ellie kicked the toe of her (untied) sneaker against the floor, smiling a bit, "Dad's mad, isn't he?"
Clara smiled, "Only in the best of all possible ways, love. Now, come on then, we don't want your mad, old dad beating us to the checkout queue, do we?"
"No!" Ellie exclaimed, "Let's go." She followed Clara down the aisles, pushing a kid sized shopping cart into the backs of Clara's legs with every step.
"Ouch, Ellie, love, why don't you walk next to me?" Clara suggested, rubbing the back of her leg.
"Okay, Mum." Ellie happily pushed her cart to the side and began grabbing at the various bottles Clara pointed to.
Clara and Ellie had reached the end of their list without hearing any major disasters. Clara shared a conspiratorial look with her daughter,
"What do you say? Did we manage to have a trip without Dad causing a massive disaster?"
Ellie giggled, "I hope so! I'm still not allowed to take Dad to the toy shoppe on Eldoraxos II!"
Clara shook her head, "That one was a mess, wasn't it?"
Ellie was about to answer when a large crash cut her off. Clara's eyes widened in shock.
"Oh no," Clara turned the cart to push it towards the noise, "Ellie, follow me, darling!"
Ellie tried to keep up with her mother's frenetic pace, but lagged slightly behind, her tiny cart rattling with it's various cans and boxes.
Clara finally came to a stop three aisles down. She stood at the entrance to the snacks aisle, mouth gaping open and eyes wide. Ellie came to a stop a few moments later, but was more vocal about her reaction.
"JAMMY DODGERS! This is brilliant, Daddy!" She squealed, running into the sea of fallen biscuit boxes. The Doctor, naturally, was smack in the middle of the chaos.
"Erm, hullo, love. Finished your list then?" The Doctor smiled a bit sheepishly.
Clara gaped at her husband, unable to form words for a moment, "Doctor, what on Earth happened?"
Ellie, by now, had made her way into the middle of the boxes and was beginning to stack them into a fortress around her body. "Mum, it's obviously a sweets miracle."
Clara shook her head, but when the Doctor began to laugh, she couldn't keep a straight face. She giggled maniacally, that is, until she actually saw The Doctor's cart. It was filled to the brim with boxes of Jammy Dodgers and several other biscuit brands.
"Doctor!" Clara exclaimed, "All you picked up were Jammy Dodgers?"
The Doctor, sobering up a bit, looked over at his cart, as if confused, "Oh, yes. Hmm…it does seem that I picked up a few tins of Jammy Dodgers."
Clara threw her hands up, "Oh for Rassilion's sake! I supposed I should have expected this." She laughed lightly, the absurdity of her situation finally catching up with her.
The Doctor stood up from the floor, dusting off his trousers, "Shall we get on with it then?"
"Yes, and fast! I'm sure someone will be coming by to yell at you any moment." Clara laughed and lifted Ellie out of her box fort. "Miss Ellie, haven't we taught you better than this?"
Ellie giggled, and buried her face in Clara's hair, "Sorry, mum. But it was Jammy Dodgers!"
"Well then, you're just going to have to watch the carts, while I help Dad pick up all these Jammy Dodgers." Clara laughed, placing their daughter back on her feet.
"Yes, Mum!" Ellie gave a mock salute, something she picked up from her Dad, Clara noted, and ran over to place a small hand on each cart.
"Don't you worry, Clara! I'll sonic this up straight away." The Doctor exclaimed, whipping out the screwdriver and hitting the button, causing the device to emit its usual green light.
"Doctor!" Clara lunged forward, almost knocking the screwdriver out of her husband's hands, "You can't use the sonic in an Earth supermarket!"
"Well how are these boxes supposed to get back on the shelves?" The Doctor asked, looking rather confused.
"We're going to have to pick them up by hand." Clara sighed, and then frowned as another voice joined the conversation.
"What the bloody hell happened here?" A bald man with a rather red face was shouting, hands on his hips.
Clara assumed this many was the store's manager, "I'm so sorry. I…erm…my husband had a…difficulty…with the display."
The manager, whose nametag read Andrew, was not pleased with Clara's admission. "I take it your husband has difficulty in many aspects of life." He sneered, shooting a look at the Doctor. His purple coat, vest, pocket watch and bowtie making him look rather eccentric, Clara realized.
Before she or the Doctor could open their mouths, a tiny voice cut in, "My dad's spectacular! He's betterer than you!"
Clara smothered a laugh and the Doctor looked rather proud as Andrew whipped around to look at Ellie. She was scowling at the man. She didn't exactly understand why Andrew's words had been nasty, but she understood the tone.
"See to it that this is picked up. And then I'll ask you to leave and not return." The store manager with the red face scowled once more and stomped off.
The Doctor frowned, "Sorry 'bout that, love. I suppose we'll have to find a new grocers." He apologized as they began picking up the boxes.
"Oh, we'll just add it to the list." Clara winked. The Doctor grinned back, tossing a box onto the very messy pile they had made.
"Mum?" Ellie called from her position at the carts.
"Yes, love?" Clara asked.
"Are we still going to take Dad's cart of Jammy Dodgers with us?" Ellie poked her lip out into a pout and blinked her eyes.
Clara and The Doctor shared a look and a laugh while Ellie asked, "What's so funny?"