Christmas Open Thread

[rude_not_ginger]

•deck•the•halls•

• THE DOCTOR LEARNS THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS •

~•~

Christmas Eve. 2009.

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[galeforcehero]

Dorothy had a dog. A dog wearing a red bandanna around his neck on a leash. The dog was doing that curious dog thing, where they appear to human beings to be smiling, with their mouths open and their little doggy eyebrows lifted in apparent joy. His jaunty walk added to this appearance-- apparently, the dog likes snow just fine without any added protection on top of his own fluffy coat.

Dorothy was not quite so comfortable, but that's why the good lord made sheep: so people could make warm clothes out of them. She was suitably bundled in an emerald green colored peacoat, a grey knit hat perched on top of her head, and a matching scarf wrapped around her throat. Her smile was not nearly as wide as her dog's, but it was there nonetheless, especially as she stopped to bump shoulders with the Doctor.

"Cold as heck out here! Don't tell me you don't feel it." The dog sits obediently between the two, wagging his fluffy tail through the snow.

[rude_not_ginger]

"I feel it," he said. "It's just not quite..." He made a face. "Heck-level for me. I spent a week on the Ood Sphere. Very little is heck-level after that."

The Doctor was not particularly fond of the dog, but he did like how it liked Dorothy, and therefore he couldn't think to tell her she couldn't have it. He just worried it would wee on the TARDIS at some point, and then they'd have some serious argument over it.

But, that worry would be later. "Christmas, though! I love Christmas!"

[galeforcehero]

If there was one thing Dorothy knew how to do correctly, it was train a damn dog. She was by no means a dog whisperer or anything, but she knew how to assert authority, and canines tend to understand that better than most people do. Although to be fair, she was half sure the Doctor only let her keep him because she'd have pouted about it for days if he hadn't.

"That surprises me, honestly," she said. She could see her breath, and it made her shiver. "Why are you so fond of Christmas? Doesn't something awful always happen?"

[rude_not_ginger]

"Well, when I first stole the TARDIS, the very first place we landed was Christmas Eve, in London. I'd never been off-world before, and it was everything I could've possibly wanted in a new world."

He grinned madly over to Dorothy. "Strange sights, odd smells, and snow falling from the sky. I'd never seen anything like it."

It was one of the reasons he'd always loved London, too. The first place he'd visited, and it hadn't let him down, not even a little bit. He sighed, happy and nostalgic.

[galeforcehero]

"Odd smells? You callin' my planet smelly?" She playfully poked him in the side with her elbow. "I can understand the feeling, though. Green grass, white snow, Christmas lights everywhere. Must have felt like magic."

There was a small chance she was being hyperbolic there, but it was equally as likely that she was dead serious. After all, she was the one, between the two of them (three, if you count the dog) who knew what magic actually felt like. Maybe it felt like Christmas.

[rude_not_ginger]

"It did," the Doctor said. "And I fell in love with Earth."

He grinned up to the sky, where the snow fell into his hair, cold and wet. It was wonderful.

"And I don't fall out of love easily."

[galeforcehero]

Dorothy smiled at him-- she couldn't help it, the look in his eyes could pretty much melt even the most frozen of hearts-- and turned her face to the sky as well. The snow blowing through the path of a nearby streetlight's beam looked like a million tiny feathers in a cyclone.

"That's what you tell me."

The dog lets out a bark here, just one short sharp one, which draws a quietly forceful scolding from Dorothy. He promptly quiets and goes back to watching the snowfall.

"We really need to find a name for him, y'know."

[rude_not_ginger]

"Don't even think about naming him Christmas," the Doctor said, firmly. "He needs something dignified, and yet doggie."

He thought for a moment, and then grinned. "Mickey?"

[galeforcehero]

"Too mousey." While it's a sad thing that Dorothy's never met poor Mickey Smith, and she'd probably like him if she had, it was in his best interests that her latest dog does not end up named after him. The Doctor would never let him forget about it.

"What about Rex? Rex is a good dog name." She looked down at the mid-sized shepherd dog, who looked up at her, smiling and wagging his fluffy tail. "Maybe Elvis."

[rude_not_ginger]

"Oh, I like Elvis," the Doctor said. He knelt down, looking at the dog and sighing. It was cute, but he couldn't help but think that no dog would enjoy a life on the TARDIS. Cats, sometimes. but only for a while.

"Something intellectual. Like Socrates." He paused, considering Dorothy's taste. "We could nickname him Socks."

[galeforcehero]

The nameless dog smiled up at the Doctor, in his happy doggy way, and licked him. It licked him lots. Dorothy continued on, as if it wasn't even worth mentioning.

"More like Diogenes," she muttered, tapping her chin absently. "What about an astronomer? Or an astrophysicist or something? If we absolutely have to take the science route."

[rude_not_ginger]

"The sheer number of germs you're sharing with me is disgusting," the Doctor told the dog, though he didn't even try to push it away, he just pat its head.

A name wasn't that important, it was just a sweet pet. Made the Doctor smile, even though he was working very hard on his most grumpiest face.

"I'm sure we'll work something out," he said. He grinned. "Who's a good boy?" he said to the dog.

[galeforcehero]

Woof, the dog replied. He would like the Doctor to know that he is, in fact, a very good boy. A very good boy that deserves a treat, yes?

"See? You like dogs. You always act like you don't like dogs, but you like dogs. And he likes you. They're just like children, only dogs will actually do what you tell 'em."

[rude_not_ginger]

The Doctor looked up to Dorothy with mock skepticism. "Are you sure we're ready for that sort of responsibility?"

[galeforcehero]

"Well, I am. You probably won't ever be."

Dorothy gave the Doctor her most matter-of-fact look.

"That's alright, though, plenty of dogs live in single-parent households."

[rude_not_ginger]

The Doctor scratched behind the dog's ear. "You hear that? I'm not grown up enough to take care of you. She's so mean." He grinned back to Dorothy, then straightened, focusing again on the device in his hand.

"So! We'll have Rudolph here lead the way, shall we?"