*Bing a ding* There were more customers coming in.
The Doctor had been trying to live with the Ponds again after the failure of when the Cubes invaded earth. Now this time he was helping Mr. Blank, the owner of Mr. Sweet's Candy Store. Mr. Blank's sister had won the lottery (even though she had never purchased a ticket) and Mr. Blank was helping her move to a new mansion. The Doctor had gleefully stepped up to take care of the store while Mr. Blank was away.
The store was set just between a flower shop and a bookstore, on Galiphrey Ave. Inside it had pastel yellow walls with a picture of a clown holding balloons on the wall facing the tea and coffee machines. There were a couple tables and chairs scattered around, but the main attraction was the stand in the middle of the store holding what seemed to be all the candies in the world, and some that seemed to even be from other planets.
"Be there in a min'!" came a shout from the back, then a crash.
"Take your time! We're just browsing!" Chloe's mum yelled. Then in a quieter voice, "Go on, honey. Find something you like." Chloe's mother walked over to the counter and started peering in looking at the chocolate truffles, while Chloe was ogling at the rock candy.
The Doctor sauntered over from the back and straightened his bowtie. He was wearing a lavender button up with vertical darker purple stripes. "'ello there, I'm the Doctor. How can I help you?" Chloe toddled over to counter and looked up at the funny man in the bowtie. "You're not Mr. Blank. Where's Mr. Blank?"
"He had to go visit his sister. I'm here to help him with his store."
"Will you still give me a lolly?"
"Certainly!" The Doctor turned with a flourish to face the shelf behind him. Reaching into a container filled with brightly colored candies he grabbed two, and handing one to the little girl he reached out and tapped her lolly and his lolly together in what he had dubbed a "Candy Cheers".
Turning to the girl's mother he stuck the candy in his mouth. "And what can I get for you two ladies?" he asked in a slightly garbled voice. Chloe's mum looked down inside the counter at the candy. "I'm not sure. What would you recommend?" she asked, smiling at the odd man. "Well, there's rather a lot I would recommend actually." He sauntered over to the stand in the middle of the room and picked up a orange box filled with what looked like pink butter inside it.
Chloe stood up on her toes to peer inside the box. "What is THAT?"
The Doctor straightened up and assumed a look that appeared like he was about to address the whole country. "THAT would be N'Bazlon. Very rare thing. You spread it on anything you like, and it assumes a flavor that would compliment it. Example; you spread it on an apple, you get honey. You spread it on a strawberry you get banana. You spread it on a banana you get peanut butter. You spread it on peanut butter you'd get pickle. No wait, forget that last one."
Chloe giggled, then stuck her finger in the odd paste. "What would you get if you put it on your finger?"
"I dunno actually. Never tried it. You tell me!"
Chloe's mum grabbed the little girl's hand before she could cram it in her mouth. "WAIT! It sounds….dangerous." She eyed the Doctor warily. "Where's it from?"
The Doctor suddenly looked shy. It would be rather difficult to explain it came from the planet Prod Fallapax which was several galaxies away. "Welll, erm…..Japan. No, Russia. Err…"
"Just what I thought." She grabbed the box and flipped it around looking for any sort of legible writing on it. "What's all this scribble?" It looked like someone had dipped a fly in ink and set it on paper.
"It tastes good, though!" Chloe's mother whipped her head around to see her daughter had managed to get the paste in her mouth and all over the area surrounding it.
"I SAID NOT TO EAT IT! It could be dangerous! Come with me right now." Chloe was scooped up in her mother's arms and carried out of the store. "I'M REPORTING YOU TO HEALTH AND SAFETY!" was the last the Doctor heard from her.
The Doctor regarded the pair inquisitively, then shrugged and picked up the box the woman had dropped on the floor. There was still plenty of N'Bazlon in it. He walked over to the cash register and dropped in a couple pounds in coins to pay for the pink paste, then walked into the back to see if there was any peanut butter.