rude_not_ginger | Christmas Open Thread

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Christmas Open Thread

•deck•the•halls•

• THE DOCTOR LEARNS THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS •

~•~

Christmas Eve. 2009.

The Doctor loved Christmas! Back when he was a wee Time Lord, the first place he ever landed was London on Christmas Eve. He promised himself he'd never miss another Christmas ever, but that promise went into the same pile as "Lose weight" and "Regenerate a better hairline" and "Stop leaving companions in other universes". But the Doctor had never quite gotten the hang of New Years'. (He once spent several hours commiserating on the similarity between the confusing nature of New Years and Thursdays with one Arthur Dent, who will sadly not be appearing in this piece of narrative. -editor)

But! Through all his travels in space and time, he still hadn't quite figured out what Christmas was for exactly. Except as a yearly excuse for turkey, too much wine, and plum pudding (all of which the Doctor approved of). This year, though, as he strode the streets on this wonderful Christmas Eve, the Doctor decided he would figure out exactly what Christmas was all about.

This may or may not have included use of a intergalactic manipulative detector and a full pack of radio stellar isotopian crystals. Oh, and a cup of hot chocolate. In a festively-coloured cup.

There was a lovely light snow, and the Doctor grinned madly at the stars. Christmas. This year, he was going to figure out what it was all about.

~•~

OOC: Open thread, feel free to tag in as if your character is a passerby or as if your character is a long-standing companion! I'll be working on this thread up until the New Year, most likely! Everyone from any verse (or no verse!) is welcome, just let me know if you'd prefer it from a community or specific universe! And, for this thread, threadhopping is totally welcome!

Happy Holidays, everyone! &hearts

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"Oh my god," she exclaimed, amazed by what she saw. "I had no idea these things could do anything like this!" Nor had she thought such a flimsy child's toy was capable of it either.

"So the creature's through there, is it? I wonder why it's here of all days..."

"Well, it just proves whoever's from here doesn't realize that either," the Doctor said. He gave Donna a smile. "You ever hear little kids saying they can see things through these? Well, they can. They just don't know it."

He reached down to take Donna's hand.

"Let's find out, shall we?"

"I had done, but I never believed them. I mean, they believe in things like the Bogeyman and the Tooth Fairy and neither of those are real," she said, thoroughly convinced that the idea was completely absurd.

"But I'm definitely not going to say no!" she said, smiling right back at him as she took his hand. "Have to help you figure out that meaning of Christmas still."

The Doctor grinned back to her. His best friend, giving up her Christmas to go running around invisible doors with him. Maybe this was the sort of thing Christmas was all about. Just being with the people you loved.

"I'm so glad I met you, Donna Noble," he said.

And with that, he took a step through the hidden door.

That sudden admission caught her off-guard slightly, but she quickly recovered and gave his hand a squeeze as well as bumping his shoulder with her own. She couldn't think of anybody else she'd rather spend her Christmas with, especially if it meant avoiding a day where her mother would lecture her about one thing or another.

"You too, Spaceman," she replied softly before she followed him in.

The room opened up around them. It was wide, like a heated engine room, with non-human electronics plastered up all over. Two robotic dogs sat at either corner, and their ears perked up the moment the Doctor and Donna crossed the threshold.

"Ah," the Doctor said. "On watch."

"Wouldn't happen to have any robotic dog treats in your pockets?" she asked out of the corner of her mouth. She didn't dare take her eyes off either dog.

"Nope," the Doctor said, slowly backing off. "But I've got the next best thing."

He tossed the device towards one dog, and the crystals to the other. The robots went for the shiny, energy-full objects immediately, and the Doctor grabbed Donna's hand.

"Quickly!"

She made a face as the robots eagerly chased after the objects. "No arguments from me!" she exclaimed and burst into a run alongside him, her hand gripping his tight.

The dogs, temporarily distracted, ignored them as they raced past, towards another door, this one clearly visible at the end of the hall. The Doctor pulled out his sonic, pointed it ahead, and then threw the door open for Donna.

He slammed it shut and locked it behind them.

"That'll hold those for a bit."

"And then what?" she asked, taking that moment to catch her breath. "Have you got any other devices in there you wouldn't be too sad to use as dog nibbles in case they break through?"

Then another thought occurred to her. "Doctor, are you feeling any of those psychic disturbances here?"

The Doctor took in a breath. He had his sonic, he could sacrifice that if he absolutely had to, and Martha's mobile, and---

Wait.

He closed his eyes and concentrated. "It's very faint," he said. "Maybe we're standing in the eye of the storm."

"Really?" she asked, an eyebrow shooting up. "Why would an alien bother with another area of low psychic disturbances when we're supposed to be getting closer to it? Do aliens really bother with safe areas for other species when they're being guarded by robotic dogs?"

The Doctor had to accept Donna's logic. Why block off an area that was seemingly not part of their plan?

"Humans!" the Doctor said. "You lot can't hear it, but you do have a tendency to stumble into trouble without meaning to." He gave Donna a pointed look, and then continued, "You hide a room, you put up barriers to keep out the alien life wandering around, yeah, but then when it comes down to it, a human could just as easily stumble in here. Hence, the dogs."

He turned around and peered into the darkness. "The question is, where are we?"

She was sure that look was meant for all those times she herself had stumbled into trouble, whether she meant to or not, and she merely returned that look with a not-so-amused one of her own. "I think we would have seen or heard something about shop girls disappearing or turning up with robotic dog bites on their rumps."

But at the Doctor's question, she merely shrugged and pulled the map out of her pocket. "Something tells me it's not on this," she said, waving it about. "But go on, what kind of alien is highly psychic but bored enough to construct a robotic dog? Next thing you're going to tell me is that they're named something ridiculous like K-9 or something."

The Doctor glanced back to Donna, but said nothing. Well, taking her to see Sarah Jane and her dog was off the list for next Christmas, then. He inwardly pouted. K-9 was clever! Wasn't it?

"Well, building robots is an excellent diversion if you're bored. But who would be powerful enough to create this but have no desire to take over the planet? It's just waiting, ripe, here for the picking."

There was no question in her mind that the Doctor himself must've built a robot or two in his time--he did have that sonic screwdriver, after all. Even he must get bored every now and then. Lord knows she did on occasion.

"Oi, I'll thank you not to talk about my planet as if it were an apple in some galactic tree." But she fell silent, thinking about his question. Surely, it can't have been there for the Boxing Day sales. "What if the alien was here for a similar reason you are? To discover what Christmas is all about? Only, it landed here in the middle of a busy shop and was scared out of its mind?"

That was something that hadn't even occurred to the Doctor. "Well, from eighty billion lightyears away, I imagine Christmas looks even more confusing than it does from closeup," the Doctor agreed. "Might not have meant any harm."

He nodded to Donna. He really was glad she was here. She was brilliant. "Right! Only one way to find out. We need to communicate with it."

"Right, then," she agreed, steeling herself. The expression on her face grew determined as she looked ahead. She was ready for anything! Butterflies seemed to flutter in her stomach, the excitement of the situation taking hold of her again. Felt that way meeting any new alien creatures these days. Couldn't help it!

But then she turned to him and asked, curiously, "How are we supposed to do that? I'm not psychic."

"No," the Doctor said. "But you are human, and you're empathic enough that if you reach out psychically, and as long as it's benign, it will reach back."

He gave her a smile. "And I'll be here to help."

She smiled weakly back at him, even as a small part of her mind told her he was probably just humouring her and there was no way she'd really be able to help like that. Funny how the voice sounded a bit like her mum... Still, she had to try.

"I know," she said, nodding. "I'll need as much help as I can get. Can't even guess a single number right for the lottery drawing half the time."

The moment she closed her mouth, she began to think about a message she wanted to send to the creature. She had no idea how it all worked and reasoned that maybe it was like how someone might rehearse what they're going to say to someone inside their head before letting the words come out.

"Erm, hello? You don't have to be afraid; we're not going to harm you," she thought, keeping her inner voice gentle and calm.

Continued: http://rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com/287751.html

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Christmas Open Thread

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