A/N: This one I thought of this week and was desperate to write so I hope you like it as much as I do. It's set during series four before Emily returns to the Victorian era and so it's before any kind of relationship really develops, just so you know. Anyway, enjoy and don't forget to review.

Oh! A Cooking Magazine!

Matt parked the car and turned to look at Emily, wondering vaguely if he ought to prep her for her first visit to the supermarket before deciding that she could cope. She had after all been in the modern world for two weeks now.

Emily opened the door and, looked left and right like an excited puppy being introduced to its new home, before she stepped forwards. A car swerved around the corner, narrowly missing her, and the bald, angry driver stuck his middle finger up at her.

Emily gasped and said loudly, "Well I never! The cheek of it!"

"Forget about it, Emily," Matt muttered, knowing she was seriously contemplating following the man and 'giving him a piece of her mind' as she called it. It unnerved Matt slightly that he barely knew Emily Merchant and yet he felt like he knew her better than he knew anyone. He knew he was falling for her. For her beauty, her vulnerable side that was so well hidden beneath her hard exterior (something he was sure only he had had the privilege to see) and he knew that he was practically plummeting towards solid concrete for her wit. The very first time he had seen her, just about to go through the anomaly, he had been captivated, entranced by her whimsical speech and her smooth movements.

And now, she was the only person he knew he could trust.

"Come on, we've got shopping to get," Matt said louder and pulled her forwards slightly until she began moving. He stooped to pick up a basket with green plastic handles as they went through the sliding doors at the front of the shop and then continued on, leading the way whilst Emily stopped to look at the flowers displayed by the entrance, as he knew she would.

"Matt, look! Tulips! I love tulips."

"That's great, Emily, but we came here for food, remember?" Matt walked further forwards and down the aisle with the newspapers, not sparing the glossy covered magazines one look. Matt didn't buy magazines. What did celebrity gossip matter to him when it wouldn't help him save the world from the terrifying fate it was getting closer to? He was too busy searching for his weekly paper to notice what Emily was up to, but he looked up at her loud gasp and prudish blush.

"Oh my!"

She was holding one of the magazines in her hands and staring in horror at something written on the cover. Upon closer inspection Matt saw exactly what it was and stifled a smirk. In bold on the cover of the magazine were the words, '101 Sex Tips.' He gently tugged the magazine out of her hands and replaced it on the shelf.

"I don't think you'll like Cosmopolitan. In fact I don't think you'll like any of these magazines," he said, pointing at the women's ones.

She nodded numbly and Matt returned to his search, triumphantly holding the paper aloft when he found it. It was the last in stock and he barely noticed the blurred picture of a Labyrinthodont on the front of the paper. He was too busy staring wide-eyed at Emily getting closer to the men's mags.

She reached out and picked up a copy of 'Nuts' and declared, "Oh! A cooking Magazine!"

Matt looked around desperately, but it was too late. People were already turning their heads to look, drawn by the sound of Emily's voice.

There was only one thing for it. Matt dropped his basket and the newspaper and ran over to Emily. He grabbed the magazine from her hands where she was looking in horror at the naked woman and tucked it to his chest so no-one could see it.

"You're right, Honey. We've been wanting this one all week, haven't we, Dear?" He said loudly to get the attention of everyone else. He pulled Emily tight to his body, one hand on her shoulder and steered her towards the basket. She was too numb to struggle or protest against his terms of endearment or his hand on her shoulder.

"Eh? I could have sworn I saw Gemma Merna…" One middle aged man said in bewilderment.

"Matt? I don't think it's a cooking magazine."

"I know," he hissed as he picked up his newspaper and basket from the floor. "Just play along."

He pulled her out of the aisle, still talking at the top of his voice about what recipes were in the magazine. Finally when they were out of sight and earshot, he deposited the magazine on another shelf.

"I don't think I like magazines, Matt," Emily mumbled in a state of horrified shock.

"Don't worry about it, Emily," he replied, running his hand up and down her arm just as they entered the refrigerated section. "We'll get you some chocolate and then you'll feel better."

"Jess says that chocolate can cure anything…"

"Does she?"

Emily nodded slowly, her mind still struggling to block out the image from the front of the magazine.

"Why don't you ring her and ask her to recommend some?" Matt asked hoping Jess would be able to sort Emily out.

"Okay…" Matt pulled out his mobile phone and searched for Jess' number in his phones book before dialling it and handing it over to the brunette still tucked into his side.

He took his arm away and wandered over towards the take away dishes to see if there was a good curry he could get for Emily. He was sure she wouldn't have ever had one before.

"Hello? Matt?" Jess asked at the other end of the phone when no-one said anything.

"Jess…" Emily said.

"Emily? Is that you?"

"Yes, it is. Matt wants to know what chocolate to get," Emily said, her voice sounding incredibly small. That coupled with her unfocused eyes made a strange picture which caused anyone walking down that aisle in the supermarket to swerve to avoid going near her.

"What? Where are you, Emily?" Jess asked, not quite understanding why Matt wanted to know what chocolate she usually bought.

"In the supermarket."

"Does Matt want the chocolate for you?" Jess asked, still trying to determine a picture of what was going on. It was like asking a child questions and Jess could feel her voice taking on that patronising tone that a stranger would use with a small child.

"Mm hmm."

"Emily, are you okay?"

"Ye-No," she replied, making a small choking sound mid-sentence as she changed her mind.

"What's happened?"

"Magazines…"

At the other end of the phone, Jess turned to look at Abby in confusion. Abby shrugged her shoulders and leaned closer to the phone to hear better what the Victorian woman was saying.

"Magazines?"

"Dirty magazines," clarified Emily, with a disapproving shake of her head. It was a disturbing memory she was going to have for life.

"Can you put Matt on the phone?"

Emily handed the phone to Matt, who leant his head against his shoulder to free his hands.

"Hello?"

"Matt, why is Emily talking about dirty magazines?" Jess demanded, sounding highly amused.

Matt shot a glance at Emily who was simply waiting by his side with the same blank look as before. "She may have picked up a copy of 'Nuts'," he replied.

"Ohh. That's what happened. I haven't been able to get any information out of her. It was like talking to a brick wall. Why do you need to know what chocolate to buy?"

"I thought it might help perk her up," Matt said, feeling slightly helpless.

"I think she needs a paper bag more than that, Matt!" Jess said jokingly.

"You're not helping, Jess! I don't know what to do!"

"Alright. Get her a selection box of Thornton's, some of the ones with strawberry fillings ought to do it. Take her home, run her a bath, and give her some alcohol for the love of God."

"Thanks Jess. You're a life saver," Matt said, releasing a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"I don't think she was in danger of death but I know what you mean. I'll see you tomorrow," she replied before hanging up.

"Come on, Emily," Matt murmured as he put his phone back in his jeans pocket. But the only way to get her to move was to pull her by the hand, so they walked around the shop, Matt towing Emily slightly until they got to the chocolate. Matt grabbed the biggest box of Thornton's he could find and threw it into the basket and then hurried to the alcohol aisle. But that was where it got harder. He had no idea what Emily would like to drink. She'd be used to wine and possibly champagne, he thought, but anything else was unlikely. In the end he picked up a bottle of wine and a bottle of peach snapps that he could mix with the lemonade he had in the fridge at home in case she wanted something sweeter.

After that he dragged her to the till and paid the woman the thirty pounds and then gave Emily a carrier bag to carry, took one himself and pulled her by the hand from the shop.

Thankfully, getting her into the car turned out to be easier than Matt had thought it would be. She seemed to be regaining her senses slightly and was able to get in without Matt telling her to, although he did have to do her seatbelt.

Matt drove away slowly, continually shooting anxious glances at Emily all the way back to his flat.

When they got home, he unlocked the door and led her in. He sat her on the sofa and left the shopping in the kitchen before going to run the bathwater. When the white china bath was filled halfway, even topped with some bubbles, he returned to the living room where Emily was still stiffly sitting on the sofa, looking as if she hadn't moved at all. He grabbed the chocolates and poured some of the wine into a glass for her and took those through to the bathroom.

"Emily, come here a minute," he called, wishing she would come. He was in luck and she shuffled into the bathroom in a few minutes. "I've, erm, run a bath for you and got you something to drink and a little treat." He held the chocolates up so she could see them and then stood from his kneeling position by the bath.

He slipped past her and only hoped she would be able to undress herself, before collapsing on the sofa.

"I'm never taking her shopping again," he mumbled into the cushion his face was planted in.