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"Sugar Rush"
RATING
: G.FEEDBACK
: I'm always eager to hear your views so contact me and let me know at tanyajoy74@hotmail.comDISCLAIMER
: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC and since they, in their infinite wisdom, have decided to do nothing with him I thought I'd have a go. Katie is my creation and cannot be used without the author's permission. This is an exercise of love and no money is being made from it. Oh, and since Terry Nation holds the tight reins on the Daleks he must never be told that I was playing around with them, okay?* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The apartment block corridor was strangely empty for that time of night. One of the light bulbs blinked and flickered for a second before dying. Noises could be heard from behind each closed door - the muted conversations of a dozen different television channels occasionally interspersed with the raised voices from the occupants. There was nothing to indicate that this wasn't a night just like all the other three hundred and sixty four.
The door to the stairwell opened and a man looked out. He glanced along the empty corridor before disappearing again. "It's alright," his voice could be heard. "The coast looks clear enough."
He emerged fully this time, followed by a young woman. Both were strangely dressed for this time period. "It doesn't seem to have arrived here, yet," the man was saying.
"Good," his friend replied. "Let's hope it bypasses this floor altogether. By the way any particular reason why you chose the thirteenth floor?"
"Did I?" the man replied a little too innocently. "Maybe I'm hoping it's superstitious."
His friend snorted, "Fat chance of that, I'm guessing."
The man indicated the corridor. "Let's see what we can find here."
As both of them moved quietly away they failed to hear the muted ping that indicated they were not going to be alone for much longer.
The squat metallic creature glided smoothly from the plush depths of the elevator and began moving along the carpet. It's prey, blithely unaware, stood at the end of the corridor. Ten feet, five feet, almost there now.
It's plunger hit the man in the back causing him to leap forward - inadvertently knocking his companion, her petticoats flying, to the floor. "Oh my hearts," he exclaimed.
"EX-TER-MIN-ATE!" the creature rasped before collapsing into a fit of giggles.
"Very funny," the Doctor said as he helped Katie to her feet. "I almost had a spontaneous regeneration, thanks to you."
The little Dalek's plunger, complete with a paper bag swinging from the end, waggled up and down in time to the laughter.
The Doctor just shook his head. "Why don't you start down there." He pointed to the end of the corridor.
"Okay," a little girl's voice issued from the depths of the Dalek. The costumed child proceeded to bump her way gently along the corridor's walls, her little feet just barely visible.
"So, that was a Dalek," Katie said, as she brushed down her dress.
"No, that was a child in a Dalek costume." The Doctor corrected her. He shook his head again.
"The Daleks have almost enslaved the Human race countless times and yet you can still dress your children up like them for fun."
"What can I say?" Katie said. "It's a classic case of 'humans can't live with them and the place would be boring without them'."
"So true," the Doctor grinned at his friend. "Will we still try this end?"
"Sounds like a plan," Katie replied. She picked up her shepherd's crook and gestured towards the Doctor. "Don't forget your ears."
This was the first time Katie had seen the Time Lord in something other than, what she was beginning to think of as, his customary clothing. He stood before her wearing sheepskin boots, tan trousers, a sheepskin over-coat and a white tee shirt. He pulled out a pair of felt ears stapled onto a headband and settled it over his curls before straightening the placard hanging about his neck that simply read 'SHEEP'. "I don't know why I couldn't be Bo-Peep," he complained. "I've got the legs for it."
"The dress didn't fit and besides you're the one that always gets lost, remember?" she said.
"I do not!" He protested, loudly.
Katie just rolled her eyes and made her way to the nearest door. She knocked and waited. Before too long it opened and an old man looked out.
Katie held up a plastic bag and gave her best smile. "Trick or treat?"
The man looked over at the Doctor who just grinned and said, "Baa."
The old man snorted in disgust and slammed the door.
"Well," the Doctor grumbled. "That was rude."
"Maybe he ran out of chocolate," Katie said. "Let's try another door."
Several slammed doors later and the bag was still empty. An increasingly annoyed Doctor kicked at the wall. "Honestly," he shouted. "All the work I do for this planet and what do I get? Not a gumdrop, that's what!"
The little Dalek wandered past them; her bag was brimming with enough sugary goodies to put a dentist's four children through college. She bumped her plunger against the door Katie and the Doctor had just tried. When a harried mother opened the door the Dalek just shouted, "EX-TER-MIN-ATE!"
The mother smiled and dropped a few toffees into the Dalek's bag.
"WISE-CHOICE-HUMAN," the Dalek intoned. "THE-EM-PER-OR-DALEK-WILL-BE-PLEASED."
With that the little girl wandered her way back towards the elevator.
Katie, noting the Doctor's darkening expression, hurriedly started dragging him down the corridor. "Maybe we could try another floor," she said.
"A Dalek," the Doctor spluttered. "They gave candy to a Dalek over me?"
"A simple misunderstanding. Let's go down. I'm sure the kid hasn't been there, yet."
Katie spied the stairs and pushed the dejected Time Lord into them.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
In the end the Doctor decided to leave that particular apartment block altogether. Daleks, he explained, travelled in large groups, especially if there was an Emperor Dalek about, and it would be better to try their luck some place else.
"This is very cool," Katie said as two vampires chased Frankenstein's monster up the street, followed by a dejected looking Marilyn Monroe and a Pizza Hut boy. "I've never done this before. We just don't have Halloween in Australia, not like this anyway."
"Yes," the Doctor grinned at a passing parent. "I admit that I've always managed to miss this whenever I visit Earth. I'm glad I talked you into going."
"What do you mean talked me into going? I talked you, remember?"
The Doctor sniffed. "No, I don't."
"Whatever," Katie placed the shepherd's crook about the Doctor's neck and gently tugged him forward. "Let's try over here."
"I'm not leaving without something," the Doctor stated.
"Fine, fine. Let's hook up with a group maybe people will be more inclined to give us stuff if we look like we belong to a bunch of kids."
"You know," the Doctor said as they walked down the street. "This would be the perfect time to invade Earth. I mean who would question a bunch of aliens with ray-gun's like those over there." He pointed to a group of identically dressed aliens who were running down the street towards them.
Katie looked from the aliens to the Doctor. "You don't think -," she began with a worried look.
The Doctor shook his head. "Oh no, I'm sure its all on the level." A squad of uniformed soldiers rushed past them in hot pursuit of the aliens. "See, perfectly normal."
"You don't want to make sure?' Katie asked.
"No. That'll teach 'em not to give me sweets," the Doctor said.
"Really?"
"Alright, fine," the Doctor tucked his ears into a pocket with a sigh. "If it'll make you feel better then lets go look." He starting trotting away down the street.
"Hey, wait for me," Katie tucked her crook under one arm, hitched her petticoats up around her knees and followed the Doctor.
She finally found him about ten minutes later stretched out full length on the slope of a hill peering down onto a High School football field. He looked back when he heard Katie's stumbling footsteps and gestured for her to get down. "I thought you said you were fit," he hissed at her.
Katie bit back a rude retort and crawled towards him. "I thought you were waiting for me," she answered.
The Doctor pulled an old fashioned retractable telescope out of his pocket and peered through it. "Well, well, well," he muttered.
"What, what, what?"
He handed Katie the telescope. "Look for yourself."
Katie looked through the eyepiece. All she could see was dark trees. "What? I can't see a thing."
The Doctor leaned across and pointed the telescope towards the field. "Try now."
"No, still nothing."
He adjusted the 'scope again. "Now?"
"Uh?"
"Do you even have your eye open?" he asked.
Katie turned and glared at the Doctor before looking through the eyepiece again. She moved the telescope a fraction to the left and exclaimed. "Oh wow, is that a spaceship?"
"Where?" the Doctor grabbed the telescope back and peered through it. "So it is."
"What were you talking about then?" Katie asked.
"I was talking about the aliens down there," he explained, gesturing blindly downwards as he peered through the telescope some more.
Katie squinted down towards the field. She could just make out a group of people huddled about a large bonfire. Another group was standing nearby and even from this distance Katie thought they looked threatening. "So is this some sort of vanguard for an invasion force?" she asked.
"I don't know," the Doctor replied. "Why don't you ask those nice men standing behind us."
Katie turned her head to find three men in military uniforms standing behind her. They all held large nasty looking rifles and the leader gestured with his to indicate he wanted them to rise. Katie jumped up, startled, and threw her hands into the air. She had seen this sort of thing in the movies but she never thought it would happen to her. "Oh crap," she muttered.
The Doctor quietly collapsed his telescope as he rose, tucking it into a pocket. "I couldn't have put it better myself," he said.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Let me get this straight," Katie was saying as they were herded, arms in the air, down the hill and towards the field. "This sort of thing happens to you all the time?"
"I'm afraid so," the Doctor replied.
"And you just happened to forget mentioning this in our initial meeting?"
"Well you never asked -"
"Keep quiet." The leader of the soldiers barked from behind them.
"Americans," the Doctor snorted. "All talk and rude actions." He stumbled forward courtesy of a rifle in the back. "Careful," he complained, tugging on the sheepskin jacket. "This is pure wool."
"I said shut up!" the soldier ordered.
Katie increased her pace. These soldiers seemed a bit on edge and, in her limited opinion, there wasn't a worse combination than nervous dispositions and semiautomatic firearms. "Where are we going?" she worked up the courage to ask.
"I'd say we're off to see the aliens," the Doctor replied. "I hope they're friendly, or at least friendlier than this lot."
The Doctor was saved from another sharp encounter with a rifle when they reached the bottom of the hill. They were pushed towards the centre of the field where a command post had been set up. One of the soldiers with them hurried ahead and disappeared into a tent. He soon reappeared with two other soldiers in tow.
The Doctor and Katie were halted in front of the new men.
"What have we here?" the senior looking one of them asked.
"Well," the Doctor stepped forward. "This is Bo Peep, say hello," Katie dutifully waved. "And I'm one of her lost sheep."
"Trick or treaters?" the senior officer looked past them to ask the soldiers.
"We found them spying on the hill, sir," the young Corporal replied.
"Listen, Brigadier," the Doctor began.
"Major," the senior soldier absently corrected.
"Alright, Major it is then. Why were your men chasing aliens on Halloween?"
The Major refocused his gaze on the Doctor. "I'm sorry, sir, but what you just witnessed was a re-enactment of the Roswell crash. We are in fact a performing troupe who were hired to entertain the kids."
"Oh, of course," the Doctor slapped his forehead. "You're just playing soldiers and those aliens are just actors," his tone of voice turned serious. "And I'm just a Time Lord in sheep's clothing. No wait I am a Time Lord in sheep's clothing so try again, Major, and this time get it right."
Christ, thought Katie, this could get nasty real quick. I'm way too young to be a friendly fire statistic!
"Listen, sir," the Major said. "I don't know who you think you are-"
"No, you don't," the Doctor snapped back. "But since I'm in such a good mood I'll tell you. I am the Doctor, Scientific Advisor for UNIT. You have heard of UNIT, haven't you?" he watched the men around him as the words sunk in. "And I know the makings of an alien invasion when I see one and believe me, gentlemen, you have one here."
The Major absently stroked his moustache. "If you are who you say you are it'll have to be confirmed." He indicated to his sidekick, "Lieutenant get onto Geneva."
The other senior officer snapped a salute and jogged back towards the command tent.
"Of course," the Doctor said. "And while you 're doing that I can help."
"Sir," the Corporal stepped forward. "This is highly irregular. Protocol on the matter dictates -"
"Yes, no need to quote chapter and verse to me, son," the Major said. "But if this fellow is UNIT's advisor then protocol tends to go right out the window when he's around."
The Doctor smiled and whispered to Katie. "Isn't it nice to be famous?"
"Infamous more like," Katie replied.
The Doctor chose to ignore that comment and moved closer to the Major. "So, what seems to be the problem?"
The Major sighed and indicated for the Doctor to follow him. "Every year this happens," he began. "These aliens turn up to steal candy."
"What?" the Doctor stopped walking suddenly, causing Katie to bump into him. "They steal candy?"
The Major nodded. "It seems sugar is a narcotic to these people. Highly addictive and fatal if taken in high enough doses."
"It's a drug?" Katie asked, keen to be included in the conversation.
"Better than cocaine is to us," the Major confirmed. "Your average bag of sugar would fetch millions on their black market. About fifty years ago their government contacted ours and informed us that 'Sugar Lords' were landing on our planet. Plantations around the world were attacked. It took a hell of a lot of influence to keep this out of the press, let me tell you."
"Fascinating," the Doctor said. "Please, continue."
During this time their walk had taken the group closer to the captives. Katie watched as one of the aliens snorted some grainy sugar up its nose. A second one was rolling along the ground frantically trying to wrestle a hard-boiled sweet off another.
The Major noted Katie's horrified expression. "These are just junkies," he explained to her. "The Sugar Lords use them as ground troops. They risk their lives to pay off debts while the big fish sit in orbit waiting."
"Why don't you just blow the ships up?" Katie asked.
"Two reasons," the Doctor replied. "One I'm sure the ships are cloaked and the military don't have the kind of capability to detect them, yet. The second is it would be hard to explain away the fiery remains of a spaceship as it crashes into Earth as just the reflection of Venus or on marsh gas."
"Luckily for us," the Major took up the narrative. "Those lot upstairs have only have a three-day window of opportunity to land on our planet. If we can keep them from stealing sugar for another night then they'll give up and go home empty handed."
"Yeah, but, why here and why Halloween?" Katie asked.
"Because our sugar plantations are now so heavily guarded that it's not profitable for them to attack," the Major said. "So instead they wait till now and wander the streets begging candy from the public."
The Doctor shook his head. "Who would question a three foot alien with a bag knocking at your door?"
"Nobody this time of the year," the Major replied.
"Are you for real?" Katie asked.
"I'm deadly serious," the Major replied. "We have engaged in friendly relations with these aliens. We've agreed to keep their scum from stealing our sugar and in exchange they promise to give us technological advancements for our military."
The Doctor frowned. "I'm not sure I like the thought of the military with more advanced weaponry. You humans are too trigger happy as it is."
"Us humans?" one of the soldiers said.
The Doctor ignored him and stared out over the drugged out aliens. "Oh what I wouldn't give for a quiet night," he said to himself. "Just one."
The Doctor was staring moodily off into the distance so Katie decided to insinuate herself into the conversation. "Don't these aliens have some sort of vaccine for the sugar? Or a detox program?"
"I wouldn't know," the Major replied. "That's not my department."
"Oh," Katie said. "So how many aliens do you have running around?"
"Well, we estimate about thirty to a landing pod, like this one," he pointed towards a grubby, squat vessel to the left of them. It was the same ship that Katie had spotted on the hillside. "Our radar boys only detected one ship coming down in this vicinity. So counting the ones we have here, about another fifteen or so."
"One of them wasn't dressed up as a Dalek, was it?" Katie asked, thinking of the little girl and her bag full of candy.
"Good lord, I hope not," the Major replied.
"Well then," the Doctor turned around beaming. "We'd better get onto them."
"We what?" Katie asked.
"We'd better go find the poor devils," the Doctor explained. "Go round 'em up, safe and sound," he leant closer to Katie. "Make sure nobody gets hurt."
"Oh, right. So much for the quiet night," Katie complained.
"Buck up, Katie, its our job to help the less fortunate." The Doctor's mood had mercurially changed from depressed to hyperactive again. "And besides I bags anything we confiscate."
Katie tutted. "Typical," she said.
The Doctor turned to the soldiers. "Does that sound fair to you, Major? We help you and in return we get some sweets?"
"Well," the Major uhmed and ahhed for a few minutes. "It's not normal procedure but I don't see why not."
"Splendid," the Doctor beamed and rubbed his hands together. "Well in that case we'd better get started then."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Katie found herself once again hugging the ground and peering through the Doctor's telescope. "You know," she whispered to him. "If I knew we were gonna be crawling about the damn place I'd have worn something more practical."
"Sshh," the Doctor hissed back. "They might hear us."
The 'they' in question were two aliens who were at this very minute walking down the street inspecting their swag of goodies.
The Doctor spotted something one of the aliens was holding. "Ooh," he said. "A 'Mars Bar' I definitely want to catch these two."
"Should I be worried about you?" Katie asked. "I mean are your people addicted to sugar, too?"
"Of course not," the Doctor said. "I just have a sweet tooth that's all."
Katie continued to stare at him not entirely convinced.
"Really" the Doctor continued. "I'm about as addicted to sweets as you are."
"Oh, well in that case," Katie said returning to stare at the aliens. "We're in big trouble cause I live for chocolate."
The Doctor grinned and patted Katie in the back before crawling backwards to some soldiers. "We'll grab these two when they walk pass us," he instructed them.
The three soldiers nodded at the Time Lord as they tightened their grips on their respective weapons.
"No hurting them now," the Doctor shook a stern finger at the soldiers before moving away. He heard one of them grumble something about 'civilians' but chose to ignore it. Wiggling his way back to Katie's side he peered through his telescope once more.
"How are we gonna do this again?" Katie asked.
"Well, when they walk under that tree over there," the Doctor pointed out to a spot about a hundred metres in front of the aliens. "We'll drop a net onto them."
"Oh, is that safe? I mean won't we get reported to the RSPCET, or something?"
The Doctor frowned at the acronym. "The what?" his expression then cleared. "Oh, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Extra Terrestrials," he nodded. "Very cute."
Katie grinned back. "I thought so. So is it? Safe, I mean?"
"Of course. As you're about to see."
The aliens walked under the tree just as the two of the soldiers, who had been perched in its branches, dropped a large cargo net onto them.
The Doctor was up onto his feet and running in the alien's direction before Katie even had a chance to realise they were caught
"Aha," he was shouting with glee. "Steal candy from children, will you?"
The noise of the capture was so loud that an old woman poked her head out of a window to see what the entire ruckus was about. What she saw was five uniformed men dragging what seemed to be a couple of kids into an unmarked black van, while two strangely dressed people followed.
"I'm calling the police," she yelled out at them.
"No need," the man in an overcoat and unruly curls turned to yell back at her. "It's a Citizen's Arrest. They egged my house."
The old woman didn't seem to believe his story. "You can't just kidnap people off the street, you know. I'm calling them, right now." She slammed down the window.
"Quick," the Doctor jumped into the van. "Let's get out of here and don't spare the gas pedal."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The van took the corner a bit too sharply, causing Katie to be flung across onto the Doctor's lap. "Jeez, where the hell did these guys learn to drive, anyway?" She said.
The Doctor righted his friend and continued his survey on the accumulated candy. "If we were being shot at you'd be glad they couldn't drive in a straight line."
"Still," Katie muttered. "They're not driving in Beirut now."
"Here," the Doctor handed Katie a chocolate bar. "This will make you feel better."
"Cheers." Katie took the proffered bar and started to unwrap it. A muffled whimper from one of the aliens made her look up. It's big orange eyes stared imploringly from the chocolate to Katie. "Crap, I can't eat this now," she said. "Make it stop staring at me like that."
The Doctor, his nose still buried in the candy bag, just plucked the chocolate from Katie's hand and dropped it into one of his pockets. "Don't tease the aliens," he said.
"But you gave it to me."
"We're coming on to Base Camp in five minutes." One of the soldiers told the Doctor.
"Good, good. Let me know when we're there," he replied absently.
Katie watched the Time Lord as he continued his inventory. "How could someone be addicted to sugar?" she asked him. "I mean it doesn't make sense."
The Doctor finally looked up. "Well, it makes about as much sense as being addicted to synthetic drugs or alcohol."
"But that's different."
"How exactly?"
"I dunno," Katie shrugged. "It just is. I can't see junkies bopping little old ladies over the head for their life savings just so they can go out and buy a bag of sugar."
"You're just projecting your human preconceptions onto an alien species," the Doctor said.
"Are you always this preachy?" Katie wanted to know.
"No," the Doctor smiled. "Sometimes I'm positively sermonious."
"I don't think that's a real word."
"I'm sure it is somewhere," the Doctor said. "You must understand that different metabolisms respond to different things. I mean take Time Lords and aspirin, for example."
"What about them?"
"An aspirin to you means nothing but to a Time Lord, well-"
"Well, what?"
"You don't want to know,"
Katie thought for a minute. "So what do you do if you get a headache?"
"I get over it," the Doctor replied succinctly.
The van slowed as the driver ground his way through some gears. The soldiers' walkie-talkies muttered quietly to themselves occasionally breaking out into loud squawks whenever some poor unfortunate failed to immediately follow orders. The aliens huddled together under the netting were looking thoroughly miserable.
"What will happen to them?" Katie asked, indicating their captives.
"I don't know," the Doctor replied. "The soldiers won't hurt them but I can't say the same for these so called 'Sugar Lords'."
"It's not fair," Katie said feeling sorry for the poor junkies.
"The universe isn't fair, Katie. That's why I'm here," he noted Katie's questioning look. "To make things fairer," he explained.
Katie grinned. "Good," she said. "Any chance we can help these guys?"
The van screeched to a halt. "We'll see," the Doctor said as he opened the back doors and jumped out.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Hours later and the moon had set. What had started out as a fun adventure had slowly turned into grim reality as Katie stood to one side and watched the soldiers herding the pitiful junkies into their grubby pod. The aliens didn't want to go as they pleaded for asylum in their own language.
Finally the last of them was pushed aboard and a soldier fastened the outer hatch before walking away from the ship.
Katie wandered over to where the Doctor and the Major were talking. "Now what?" she asked reaching into one of the Doctor's pockets and, after a few false starts, retrieving the chocolate bar.
"Now they go home," the Major said.
"Nobody seemed all that keen to leave," Katie pointed out. "What if they refuse to budge."
"They don't have any choice, look." The Major indicated the pod that began emitting a whining noise.
"It's preparing for take off," the Doctor noted.
All the soldiers started running backwards as the rumbling noise increased and Katie began to feel a shaking sensation run up her legs from the ground. "Are we safe here?" she asked.
"Perfectly," the Major replied.
"Oh, that's a relief," Katie said not entirely convinced.
"The mother ship is calling them home," the Major said.
The Doctor snorted and muttered, "Mother ship, and I thought Katie watched too much television."
The whining noise became deafening and just when Katie thought her eardrums were about to burst there was a brilliant flash of light and the pod was gone. "Wow," she breathed.
"Return to sender," the Doctor said. He then pulled his jacket collar upright, struck a pose and in his best Elvis voice said," Thank you, thank you very much."
"Yes well, I believe congratulations are in order," the Major said.
"Congratulations," the Doctor replied shaking the soldier's hand.
Katie said nothing as she stood there staring up at the night sky. She felt deflated and a little sad. They hadn't helped the aliens at all, just packed them up and sent them home. The equivalent of sweeping them under the rug and hoping that no one would notice.
One of the soldiers came walking over carrying three canvas bags full of sugary sweets.
"As our agreement, Doctor," the Major said.
"Good, good," the Doctor said as he took the bags. "Well I won't keep you, I'm sure you'd like to get your men out of here before anyone notices."
"Indeed," the Major replied. "It was an education working with you, Doctor, you too Ms Peep." He turned to Katie.
"Huh, oh sure thing. Nice knowing you." Katie replied absently.
The Major saluted sharply before turning and walking away to where his men were already packing up tents and storing them onto jeeps. Basically removing any sign that they were ever there, one was even putting out the bonfire with a large fire extinguisher.
Katie returned her gaze to the stars and sighed.
"Chocolate bar for them," the Doctor's voice said quietly behind her.
"Huh?" she turned to look at him.
"Your thoughts," he explained.
"Oh." Katie looked skyward again. "We didn't really help them, Doctor, did we?"
The Doctor dropped the bags onto the ground and slung one arm about her shoulders. "We can't save them all."
"Why not?"
The Doctor hugged her tightly for a moment. "Let's go back to the TARDIS. I'll make you a nice cup of tea."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The night was old and streets were quiet now. Devoid of happy children and harassed adults the place seemed quite depressing. Or maybe that was Katie's mood colouring her thoughts.
When they reached the TARDIS the Doctor shifted the bags to one hand and dug out his key. Handing it over to Katie he said, "Would you do the honours?"
Katie took the key and inserted it into the lock. Opening the door she preceded the Doctor inside.
"You know," he said as she headed for the armchairs. "I must get around to giving you your own key." He dropped the bags next to the console and started flipping switches.
The blue column on the console started to rise and fall as the TARDIS 's hum deepened to indicate flight. The Doctor disappeared into the depths of the machine returning about ten minutes later wearing his customary clothing and carrying a tray. Putting it down on the small table he walked behind the occupied chair. Katie tilted her head back to see what he was doing. Reaching into a pocket he produced another key on a frayed piece of red wool and held it out in front of her. "For you," he said.
Katie looped the wool over her head and tucking the key into her dress.
Moving back around the chair the Doctor poured Katie a cup and handed it over.
"Cheers," she said a bit listlessly.
Taking his own tea he walked back to the console. Resting the cup on the polished mahogany he inspected the readouts. "Ask me where we're going," he said.
"Considered it asked," she said with a little bit of her former good humour.
The Doctor smiled. "I thought we'd go see Tanulos."
"Where?" Katie picked up her cup and strolled over to the console.
"Tanulos," the Doctor replied. "A nice planet from what I've heard. Curious people live on it, though. It seems they are addicted to sugar."
"They are?"
"Yes, I obtained the planet's location from our friend the Major. You know I never did get the rest of his name."
Katie's whole demeanour picked up. "You mean we're going to help them after all?"
"Of course," the Doctor's tone of voice seemed to ask 'did you ever doubt me?' "Just because we couldn't help those poor unfortunates on Earth doesn't mean we can't find a solution for the planet."
Katie gave a whoop of joy.
"I do believe you suggested a 'detox program'?"
"Thank you," Katie gave her friend a fierce hug.
"You're welcome," the Doctor rested his chin on the top of her head. "Maybe we can't save the whole universe, Katie, but it doesn't mean we can't try."