Christmas Open Thread

[rude_not_ginger]

•deck•the•halls•

• THE DOCTOR LEARNS THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS •

~•~

Christmas Eve. 2009.

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[forever_noble]

She was busy blowing into her own cup of cocoa as she carefully made her way over to him, the heat from the cup warming her chilled fingers. It figured she'd leave her mittens in her other winter coat, though it did make ringing up home a great deal easier. Never could manage to press the right numbers while wearing those things. Couldn't help smiling though; she was in good company and, if the first sip was anything to judge, she had a good drink to top it all off. Now if she could only think of a gift for him.

"Glad to see you're grinning," she said, lightly bumping her shoulder against his. "D'you realise we could have a right and proper Christmas this time? No robot Santas or chases in taxis, and no particle things pulling me into the TARDIS? Not that Mum will have us round for dinner. Doesn't exactly trust you still, or so Gramps--" She cut herself off, finally noticing the device.

"Doctor," she said a little pointedly as her enthusiasm started to wane. "We are going to have a proper Christmas? Aren't we?"

[rude_not_ginger]

"Course we are," the Doctor said, distracted by the buzzing and whirring of the device in his hands. "I've got you a present and everything."

Not that his bigger-on-the-inside pockets would give that away.

"But! The important thing about this Christmas is finding out the real meaning of Christmas and----" He made a face. "That's awful. Terrible! I can't believe it!"

[forever_noble]

Well, hearing he'd already gotten her a gift made her feel like a right old cad. When did he find the time for that?! Though she knew a tailor who did rush jobs. The Doctor could do with another kind of suit, she thought...

"The real meaning? Who are you, Charlie Brown?" But her frown grew more concerned a second after that outburst. "What's the matter?" she asked, peeking at the noisy device.

[rude_not_ginger]

The Doctor turned from the device, looking at Donna very, very seriously.

"You have more marshmallows in your hot chocolate than I do. It's terrible. Awful!"

[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.

[marco_innocent]

The little angel of death in human form looked up at the Doctor curiously, the cup of hot chocolate in his own hands looking big compared to his hands. He was as small as a child, but it was obvious by his eyes that he was much much MUCH older then that.

Maybe even older the the Doctor himself? No one knew that other then Marco himself.

"You are very sparingly clothed for such a cold night, sir" He said kindly, his cup filled with not only hot chocolate, but also big amounts of marshmallows and cream.

Snow was gathering in his heavy blonde curls, and his brown one brown and one blue eye looked up at the Doctor. "You should at least get a hat and gloves".

He looked the man in the eyes, and being who he was, he saw the numerous times he had died, and the ways he was going to die. But not being a human, meant that collecting his soul, was not Marco's job.

[rude_not_ginger]

"Well, it's not that bad for me," the Doctor said, distracted by his own hot chocolate and the device in his hand. He spared a quick glance over the rim of his glasses at the boy, and then looked back to his device.

Wait.

He looked back over his glasses again. The boy looked familiar, in the eyes. Very familiar. Like...someone he'd met before. But that wasn't possible, the Doctor didn't know this boy at all.

"Sorry. Merry Christmas," he said, feigning a wide smile.

[marco_innocent]

Marco, or Azriel as his name actually was, smiled wide back. "Your.. device, what does it do to make you so interested that you don't even see where you are going?" He looked at him mildly.

[rude_not_ginger]

"Oh, it's----"

He looked down at the device and tried to figure out how, exactly, to explain it. Or even if he should.

"Complicated. Finding a bit of Christmas cheer. Quite literally, actually!"

[unit_girl]

It was strange being back in London, never mind at Christmas. And it was snowing, which really didn't help convince the people that needed to be convinced that global warming was real. Personally, after spending her time living in a hot country, Jo would much rather it was at least ten degrees warmer, so was bundled up in so many layers she wasn't sure where she was any more.

Since she was keeping her head down out of the snow and hurrying along to keep warm and get out of the cold, she didn't see the man going in the opposite direction until she bumped into him.

"Oh, I am sorry."

[rude_not_ginger]

"That's all right," the Doctor said, just catching his device before it tumbled into the snow. He really needed to invest in a utility belt of some sort, this was getting a bit ridiculous.

"Sorry, could you direct me to Queen street, I---"

Which was when he noticed the face of the woman he was speaking to. Jo Grant! Surely, it was Jo! He couldn't stop his wide grin.

[unit_girl]

Jo frowned at the way he suddenly stopped and grinned, it was disconcerting. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure which one that is."

He had some sort of technology that, just for a moment, reminded her of the Doctor's lab back at UNIT all those years ago. She couldn't believe he wasn't cold, but there were some people who seemed quite happy wearing very little.

"Are you all right?" There was something up, she was sure of it.

[rude_not_ginger]

"Sorry, no! Yes! Perfectly all right," he said. "Just...excited for the season. Merry Christmas."

He couldn't possibly figure out a way to continue talking to her without looking like some sort of bizarre, frightening man. Maybe just saying hello, getting directions where he needed to go, and saying 'goodbye' would be enough.

Which was when the crystals in his hand started to get hot. Very hot. The Doctor let out a small cry of pain and dropped them, where they sizzled, bright red in the snow.

"Now, that wasn't supposed to happen."

[fromheavencame]

[Have a companion!Gabriel]

It had been almost a year now, since he had met the Doctor. He'd come across the TARDIS and the Doctor one snowy evening in New York, and now they were back, in front of Rockefeller, Gabriel with his head tilted upwards to stare at the large tree.

Christmas was the only time from his childhood that he actually had truly good, good memories. It was the time that his mother would make about him, which is what made it good. She'd spoil him, essentially. Not only on Christmas morning, but throughout the entire holiday season. They would bake together, decorate the tree, go skating and so on. But what made it so special was that it was the time where she wouldn't nag him about having to do better with whatever he was doing. There wasn't school work to pressure him about as there was the rest of the year, even in summer as she pushed him to take extra classes from a young age. No, Christmas was about him, as he was, which was part of why he loved it

[rude_not_ginger]

"Well, that tends to happen with me and companions, you might want to get used to it," the Doctor said with a sniff. He did like Gabriel's mood since they'd arrived. It helped the Doctor focus on finding the Christmas spirit out there.

What was it that made his companion smile so widely? What was it in the air that made the whole season different? He'd find out!

[fromheavencame]

"But your companions are normally girls. That...makes more sense," Gabriel replied as he wrinkled his nose ever so slightly, and then shrugged it off. "Does that mean you'd like to go for a sleigh ride, though?"

He cast a glance over at the other man and quirked his brow ever so slightly in question, a grin still ever so slightly on his lips. "We can, if you want."

[rude_not_ginger]

"Well, depends on what time you're traveling to. By the 51st century, the whole notion of sexuality is completely abandoned. Everyone's up for grabs. Literally, in some areas of the universe. Lost my last good suit to that sector of space the last time I landed there. Whew."

He turned to Gabriel and gave him a nod. "We'll see, we'll see." Which meant 'absolutely, just need to find one!' in Doctor-speak. "Still got some readings to take in."

The device gave a small, irritated beep.

"Huh."