dbskyler: (mr smith)
[personal profile] dbskyler
Title: How to Save the Planet, with Tea and Cows
Rating: All ages
Characters: Sixth Doctor, Gita Chandra
Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction, offered freely. Doctor Who, Sarah Jane Adventures and all characters belong to the BBC.
Summary: The Sixth Doctor wants to save the planet. Gita Chandra just wants to chat.
A/N: Written to fulfill 2003 for [livejournal.com profile] dw_50ficathon.



The Doctor strode out of the TARDIS, his hands on his lapels, his gaze noble, his visage stern. He opened the door to the flower shop and gave the woman behind the counter his best arched glare.

"Pray, would you be Gita Chandra, the proprietress of this establishment?" he asked.

"Why, yes!" responded the woman, beaming happily. "What can I do for you? Are you here to buy some flowers? I just got in a fresh shipment of lilies, they're in the back, they're lovely. Or considering how much you obviously like color, judging from your coat -- I do too, color is so cheerful, don't you think? -- I could do an arrangement of tulips, or perhaps some mums, or ooh! Sunflowers! Yes, how about some sunflowers?"

"Sunflowers?!" exclaimed the Doctor. "I am not here to make a purchase. You, young woman . . . "

"Young?" she interrupted with a giggle. "Oh, you are a darling, aren't you? Mind you, I was just saying to Haresh the other day about how middle age isn't really middle age anymore, considering how much longer people live nowadays. Why, I saw a program on the telly the other night about a woman who lived to be over one hundred and twenty. One hundred and twenty! Can you imagine it?"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "I can imagine it," he stated. "But as I was saying . . ."

"Oh, yes, sorry. Of course. You wanted to make a purchase. No wait, you said you didn't want to make a purchase. What can I do for you, then? Directions? Change? Although, are you sure you wouldn't like some flowers? I have some lovely lilies in the back, did I mention that?"

"Yes, you mentioned it." The Doctor glared at her again, but the smiling expression of the woman in front of him did not alter at all. "If you would be so kind as to let me speak . . . " he paused.

"Yes, of course."

". . . and not interrupt . . ."

"Oh, I do have a habit of doing that, don't I? Don't mind me, chatter on 'till the cows come home, that's what Haresh always says. Although, where did that phrase come from? Why should cows take a long time to come home? "

"I am not here to talk about cows!" bellowed the Doctor. He gave her one of his fiercest expressions, the one that made even the Daleks move back at least a meter, but Gita did not so much as blink twice.

"Would you like some tea?" she asked instead. "I have a kettle in the back. I find that tea always helps when I've had a hard day, and if you don't mind my saying so, I think you could use a nice relaxing cup."

"Tea?! Tea, my dear woman, tea would be the most ridiculous . . . the worst . . ." The Doctor paused, looking at Gita's stubbornly cheerful face. He wanted to simply throw up his hands and let the planet get destroyed, along with its inhabitants' inane chatter, and their cows, and their tea. Although, come to think of it . . . "Actually, a cup of tea would be nice, thank you."

"Oh, lovely!" she said. "Wait right there, my darling. I'll be back in two ticks." She left the room, and the Doctor quickly searched for the alien device that was about to cause the destruction of the Earth. He found it, and set about deactivating its mechanism. Halfway through the task, he stopped, and looked at it thoughtfully. At that moment, Gita returned with two steaming cups of tea.

"Here we are. Now just relax and let that steep for a moment. Oh, what do you have there?" She looked at the scattered fragments of metal on her counter.

"Nothing," he said, and swept the fragments into his pocket. "If you don't mind my asking, Mrs. Chandra, around how many hours did you spend talking in here today?"

"Today?" asked Gita. "Oh, that's impossible to answer. I like to talk to all of my customers, you know. It's just good business practice to have a nice friendly chat with them. Besides, you never know when something you mention will make someone want to make a purchase. You wouldn't believe how many times I've had people just like you right now, sitting here with a nice cup of tea, and then after they've relaxed and chatted and been around the flowers for a bit, they suddenly think of something they'd like to buy. Speaking of which, have you had a chance to think about those lilies?"

The Doctor smiled. "I would love some lilies, Mrs. Chandra. And here, I'll throw this in for the tea." He took a small crystal from his pocket and handed it to her.

Gita looked at it curiously, turning it over in her palm. "Well, I don't know what this is, but it's broken. See, there's a crack right here down the center."

"There is," confirmed the Doctor. "Made by you. The sound waves of your voice created a frequency modulation that built up over time, and eventually overloaded its energy matrix. So, it seems that I unexpectedly have some free time." He leaned back and sipped at his tea. It really was quite good. "Shall we drink tea and have a friendly chat?"

Gita smiled, and passed him the sugar.

(no subject)

Date: 2013-11-17 12:01 pm (UTC)
paranoidangel: PA (Default)
From: [personal profile] paranoidangel
I love the Doctor trying to get a word in edgeways, and that it's Gita's chatter that has accidentally saved the world.

(no subject)

Date: 2013-11-17 11:44 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dbskyler.livejournal.com
Glad you enjoyed it! Originally this was going to be part of the same fic as "That One Time Gita Chandra Saved the Earth with Roses" -- I was going to have Gita keep on accidentally saving the Earth in multiple ways -- but I was having trouble writing other ways beyond these two, so I decided to stick with these, separate them, and make them into two different fics. Which also meant I could use them to fulfill two years over at [profile] dw_50ficathon. : )
Edited Date: 2013-11-17 11:44 pm (UTC)

(no subject)

Date: 2013-11-17 03:07 pm (UTC)
clocketpatch: A small, innocent-looking red alarm clock, stuck forever at 10 to 7. (Default)
From: [personal profile] clocketpatch
Six and Gita is an unexpected but amazing combination. The world isn't prepared... (but it is save, luckily)

(no subject)

Date: 2013-11-17 11:49 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dbskyler.livejournal.com
I first got the idea of putting Six and Gita together ages ago -- in my head, it was "the Irresistible Force meets the Immovable Object" -- but I couldn't quite make it into a fic until I came up with the "Gita accidentally saves the Earth" theme.

(no subject)

Date: 2013-11-17 03:47 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] honeynoir.livejournal.com
Oh, this is fabulous! The characterisation is spot on!

(no subject)

Date: 2013-11-17 11:59 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dbskyler.livejournal.com
Oh, thanks! This was my first time writing dialogue for Six, but he was a lot of fun to write for!

(no subject)

Date: 2013-11-17 06:16 pm (UTC)
thisbluespirit: (dw - Six & Peri)
From: [personal profile] thisbluespirit
Oh, very good - and Six has finally met someone who talks more than he does? ;-)

(no subject)

Date: 2013-11-18 12:09 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dbskyler.livejournal.com
Amazing, isn't it? But I suspect that Jo could beat both of them -- or maybe that's Katy Manning. ; )

(no subject)

Date: 2013-11-18 01:44 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com
I see you got it done, lol!! And I have another awesome fic to distract myself with! *Beams* Will be reading soon!

(no subject)

Date: 2013-11-18 01:58 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dbskyler.livejournal.com
LOL, actually no, this is a different fic (I had two open claims). The one I've been struggling with is Fourth Doctor, for 1976. But I've made a lot of progress on it, and it should be ready to post soon.

(no subject)

Date: 2013-11-18 02:00 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com
Two is better than one as far as I'm concerned!! And ohh, FOUR!! Love a good Four!

*Waits patiently*

(no subject)

Date: 2013-11-18 02:17 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dbskyler.livejournal.com
I didn't say it was going to be any good, I just said it was going to exist! Don't make me worry about it being good!

I took it on because no one had claimed the Fourth Doctor! We had every other Doctor covered except him. Well, I couldn't let that happen, so I claimed a year for him, even though I didn't have an idea for a fic. But now I have a draft. Which . . . may or may not be any good. But it has existence!

(no subject)

Date: 2013-11-18 02:22 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com
Ohh, stop that!! I have read your work before. My expectations are that it WILL be good, because how can it not be? I am a Reader, therefore, I am always right.

You will see the difference when I post my Sam Jones nonsense for Eight. Tis ridic surely *sniffs*

HOW COME NO ONE CLAIM? That is so weird! I mean, I know why I didn't (cause I know I can't write him worth a tinker's dam), but that's just...weird. He's in good hands though. No worrying - more writing!!

*SQUISH*

(no subject)

Date: 2013-11-22 03:38 pm (UTC)
liadt: Samurai Sanjuro smiling (DW Joanna Lumley)
From: [personal profile] liadt
Yay! I liked Gita picking out most suitable flowers for the DW. Sunflowers of course:) And tea!

(no subject)

Date: 2013-11-23 04:35 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dbskyler.livejournal.com
I think Six and sunflowers would go well together. :D

Profile

dbskyler: (Default)
dbskyler

November 2022

S M T W T F S
  12345
6789101112
1314 1516171819
20212223242526
27282930   

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags