Diet Cookies

"What is this?" The Doctor asked, wrinkling his nose at the glass Sadie had set on the table in front of him. He tapped the side of the glass, causing the ice inside to shift and clink against the sides. "This isn't proper tea. Tea is supposed to be in a mug, with steam coming out from the top. Not in a glass, with ice in it!" Sadie rolled her eyes.

"Doctor, I've told you a million times already, this is tea, it's just different than what you're used to. It's sweet tea. And it's the only kind I have, so it's either that or nothing."

"Tell me again why I decided to come back here with you?" The Doctor was almost pouting. He stuck a finger into the amber liquid, stirring idly. Sadie shrugged and went back to her mixing bowl and baking pan.

"Beats me." Sadie began methodically dropping spoonfuls of dough onto the pan, judging distance carefully. "You're the one that said something about having tea."

"I did want tea," The Doctor stated. "Just not this kind of tea." He pulled his finger from the glass and touched it to the tip of his tongue. "Although…it's not half bad…but I wonder…"

"Told you!" Sadie slid the now full pan into the oven and set the timer. "So what do we do now while we wait for these to bake?" The Doctor wasn't listening. He had pulled his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and was fiddling with the settings on it, a curious look on his face. "What are you doing?"

"Trying something," he answered. He pressed the side of the screwdriver to the glass in front of him. Sadie watched as it lit up and soon the tea inside the glass began to bubble. The Doctor grinned. "That's it, just a little more…" Then, without any warning, the glass shattered and tea flew in every direction. Sadie screeched and tried to duck, but it was no use. There was tea everywhere.

"Good job, genius," she quipped, heading for a towel. The Doctor licked his lips.

"Y'know, maybe this sweet tea isn't so bad as is, after all." Sadie returned and began wiping up the mess as the Doctor collected the glass shards to throw away. "Sorry about the mess."

"Don't worry about it."

"You think I could have another glass of tea?" The Doctor asked hopefully.

"On one condition."

"What's that?"

"Don't try to heat this one." The timer on the oven began beeping loudly. Sadie grabbed an oven mitt and tossed it to the Doctor. "You get the cookies out of the oven and I'll get some tea for both of us."

A few minutes later, the two were sitting across from each other at the table, a large plate of cookies and two glasses of tea sitting between them.

"I still don't understand why we couldn't just go somewhere and buy tea," The Doctor said. Sadie sighed.

"Because you never have any money on you, and I didn't have any either. This is free, and I needed to come back here anyway, preferably when my mom wasn't around to make a fuss. This is the perfect time. Besides, homemade cookies are the best." Sadie carefully chose a cookie from the plate and broke it in half, watching the steam escape before taking a bite. The Doctor picked up a cookie as well and took a bite. Sadie's face quickly twisted in confusion. She swallowed hard and then made a face. The Doctor was giving his cookie an odd look.

"Yuck!" Sadie exclaimed, taking a sip from her glass to get rid of the horrible taste in her mouth. "These are-"

"Terrible."

"Yeah, exactly. Something must have went wrong," she said. "But I don't know what. I know I did everything right…" The Doctor sniffed at his cookie, and nibbled a small bit of it.

"Tastes like something's missing…the sugar, I think," he said, taking another small bite. "Yep, it's the sugar." Sadie's cheeks tinged pink.

"I must have misread the recipe or something," she muttered, staring at her cookie. "I just remembered, I think I have twenty bucks stashed away in my sock drawer. What do you say I go get it and we…"

"I'll get the TARDIS going," The Doctor said, dropping his cookie back onto the plate and getting to his feet. Sadie headed for her bedroom. A quick search revealed the hidden money, and she stuffed it in her pocket. On her way to the door, she noticed something sitting on the table in front of the cookies. She stepped into the kitchen to see what it was.

A small white card was propped up against the edge of the plate, bold black letters on it declaring 'Grandma Sadie's Brand New Diet Cookies – No Sugar Added! Try One Today!'.

"Hey! That's not funny!" Sadie yelled. She heard familiar giggling coming from elsewhere in the house, and then a door slam. Sadie grinned and headed for the door herself. The Doctor was definitely going to pay for this one.


Notes: This is based on a true story. I was thinking of it earlier and thought it'd be a nice one shot deal. I also really wanted to do the whole Doctor/Sweet Tea thing, just because. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! :)