Christmas Open Thread

[rude_not_ginger]

•deck•the•halls•

• THE DOCTOR LEARNS THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS •

~•~

Christmas Eve. 2009.

Comments

[quitehomoerotic]

"Snow," Jack said, warming his hands on the paper cup between his fingers.

He took a sip before going on. "There's never snow here, not at Christmas. Not like this. But this," he pointed at the falling white dots as though the Doctor needed directing to what he was talking about, "this is nice. Picturesque. Like one of those old post cards."

[rude_not_ginger]

"It's not bad," the Doctor said, more interested in the screen in his hands than the pretty world outside. "Snow. Snow's part of Christmas, isn't it? Figured I'd land us somewhere where there was definitely snow, definitely working lights, definitely no alien attacks."

A pause.

"Well, I'm pretty sure on the last, at least."

[quitehomoerotic]

"Well, in theory, I guess. You always get those news reports betting on the likelihood of a 'white Christmas'. Rarely happens though and oh really you should know better than to say something like that."

He took another sip and looked over at the Doctor and his contraption. He motioned his cup out towards him.

"What are you doing with that thing anyway?"

[rude_not_ginger]

"Yeah, but I just look for weather reports on the 26th. There are plenty of inauthentic snowfalls after the discovery of atmospheric excitation, but I wanted something authentic. A real Christmas."

He looked at the screen and snorted. "Psychic excitation."

Which was a very technical way of saying 'not a whole lot'. He had no idea what to look for, exactly, to fit the meaning of Christmas. Such a silly thing to try to find, but he'd looked for stranger over the years.

[powered_otaku]

"I suppose I am in a similar situation. After all, not being Christian, I suppose the whole 'true' meaning of Christmas is lost on me. New Year's, on the other hand, is very simple."

He blows a bit on the hot chocolate. He always has lots of little marshmallows in his.

[rude_not_ginger]

"Don't even have Christianity on my planet."

The Doctor absolutely approves of the excessive marshmallows. He has plenty in his, too. Unfortunately, juggling the crystals, detector, and chocolate has become a bit of a struggle.

"Well, New Years' is important to any time traveler like you and I," the Doctor said, gently nudging Hiro with his shoulder. "But little holidays for people like you and me, that's difficult."

[powered_otaku]

"I suppose the best one can do is to make their own meaning for it? My people just like the general fun and games of it - giving presents, having a family dinner. I suppose what I like is the general hopeful feeling of the season."

He holds his hand out to take whatever the Doctor needs to hand him to prevent him from dropping anything.

"Quite true. When you see so many spectacles and festivals, everything else seems to get lost."

[rude_not_ginger]

"I'm not so much a fan of a family dinner," the Doctor admitted. "But yes, the feeling of the season, the way everything seems to buzz with a sort of energy."

He glanced back down at the machine in his That's what I want to figure out. What is it that makes this season different from every other season.

[marthajonesmd]

Martha ran to catch up with the Doctor - she'd invited him home to dinner with her family, but he had, perhaps wisely, declined, so she'd told him she'd meet back up with him later. And, well, it was later, and here she was, cheeks flushed with happiness (and perhaps some wine, followed by spiked eggnog), and sporting a festive Santa hat perched at a jaunty angle on her head.

She also had a present for him from her mum - two presents, actually, because Francine had also been full of the Christmas spirit (more spiked eggnog). Which, all right, didn't really qualify as much of a benefit, but Martha was chalking it up in that category anyway.

"You ever go Christmas carolling?" she asked him as she caught up with him, her breath making little white puffs in the air.

[rude_not_ginger]

"Christmas caroling?" the Doctor cringed at the very idea.

He did feel pretty relaxed from the number of glasses of eggnog and rum he'd let intoxicate him while he was building the bits of technology he had in his hands. But the very idea of caroling?

"Have you heard me sing in this incarnation?"

[marthajonesmd]

She rolled her eyes as she tried to tug the hat down to cover her ears. "I'm not going to make you carol - and, no, I haven't heard you sing, actually - it was just a simple question. My family used to do it every Christmas Eve, with some of my mum's family. Except then one Christmas, Mum found out about Annelise, so she spent the entire time I was home on break trying to chuck things at Dad's head. Haven't done it since." Martha shrugged it off. "C'mon, caroling. Singing songs in the snow, hot cocoa, that sort of thing. Haven't you had a festive incarnation, Doctor?"

[rude_not_ginger]

"I'm festive!" the Doctor protested. He gestured to his form. "I regenerated on Christmas this time around. I think that's about as festive as you can get. Sort of like sharing a birthday with a religious figure on your planet."

Not that he was being impossibly egotistical or anything.

"Religious at all, your family? I've never asked."

[best_served_hot]

"You know, there's an easier way to go about finding out the true meaning of Christmas, my dear Doctor. It may terrify you though, it involves conversation," the Master began, leaning closer as he lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.

"Something you do with actual people."

He pulled his gloves out of one pocket, taking his time and fixing them on snugly.

[rude_not_ginger]

"Wasn't aware that was a specialty of yours," the Doctor said, raising a skeptical eyebrow. He looked back down at his gadgets, figuring they'd be a bit more bish-bosh at finding the things he needed to than any conversation might.

"Besides, people around this time are busy being with their families. Conversation's not the first thing on their minds. Probably not even the twenty-fifth thing on their minds."

[best_served_hot]

"Right, because the only reason I got so high up in politics was by smiling and waving and killing off all the competition systematically," the Master said with a roll of his eyes; even if it were partially true.

At least about the killing.

"There's some people that aren't home with their families. Carolers and people looking for donations. A few churches hold services if you want to go wave that thing around at the choir while they sing of the virgin birth," he told him, sarcasm lacing his tone at the last part.

[rude_not_ginger]

"Poor Mary," the Doctor said with a sympathetic sigh. "So misunderstood."

He shook his head, but pressed a few buttons on the device in his hand, then juggled it around to get his hot chocolate again. Delicious.

"Did you have a public Christmas?" he asked, sounding fairly unimpressed. "A big, present-laced publicity stunt?"

[alicecarter]

Alice hated Christmas. She always had, really. All of those adverts about families and togetherness just rubbed her the wrong way, and her mum was lapsed Catholic anyway, and no one hated Christmas more than lapsed Catholics. They'd done the Christmas thing, but it always seemed like the two of them were faking it.

For Stephen, Alice had done her best to fake it. And she'd been mostly succesful. This year, she didn't have to try.

...which didn't at all explain why it was that Alice was standing on a street corner next to a red bucket, waving a bell and wearing a Santa cap.

"Donate today," she said, doing her best not to sound put out. "Feed the homeless."

[rude_not_ginger]

The Doctor spun around at the voice. Perfect! A person wearing a Santa cap, being particularly festive with a bell. She was proabably just the right sort of person to ask about Christmas!

He slipped up next to her and fished out a two-pound coin. He wasn't entirely sure what year it was from, but he doubted the donations would care.

He dropped it in. "Hello," he said. "Mind if I ask you a question?"

[alicecarter]

"The donations go the local homeless shelter," Alice answered, having already memorized the informational pamphlet. "It provides three meals a day to anyone who asks, and a hundred and eighty beds, for whoever gets there by ten o'clock. We don't administer any sorts of medication, nor do we use your donation to buy clean needles. If you have any further questions about where you donation goes to, I can give you a number to call."

People got particular about their pocket change. Even on Christmas Eve.

[rude_not_ginger]

"That's...good to know," he said, a little stunned by the by-wrote response.

"I actually wanted to ask you a question about Christmas." He gave the woman a wide smile. She would know, wouldn't she?