Team One (With companion Susan Foreman, before the events of "The Unearthly Child")
"Hrumph," the First Doctor huffed. His granddaughter, Susan, was getting busy decorating his ship for a holiday the locals of this primitive planet celebrated- Christmas. She had already asked if she could bring a tree in, and when he had firmly refused, she drew and cut out her own and taped it to the walls of the console room. She had locked herself into her room a few days earlier to work on something called a "present." She was being awfully secretive about it.
Now, she had entered the console room with two small packages crudely wrapped. The Doctor could see some writing on them: one said "To Ms. Wright" and the other "To Mr. Chesterton."
"What are these?" he asked her.
"Presents for my teachers," she answered, continuing to the doors.
"But you're on break," One commented.
"That doesn't mean I can't sneak in and put it on their desks," Susan said offhandedly. One burst with pride at his granddaughter's rebellious streak. Mistaking his pride for curiosity, she continued.
"This one-" she jostled the one for Ms. Wright. "Is for my history teacher. It's a comprehensive book of Earth's history. Of course, it did have a few mistakes, so I corrected them. I hope she'll appreciate that. And the other one is for my science teacher. It's some chemicals that should help him in his experiments."
"What kind of chemicals?"
"Mercury, radium, and plutonium!" Susan said brightly. "Oh Grandfather! I nearly forgot!"
"Hmm? What, dear girl?"
"Your present," she sat the two other packages down and ran back to her room. A few minutes later, Susan returned, carrying another present. This one was wrapped slightly better, with less tears that marked her messing up and repackaging the gift again. The writing on this one said, "For my Grandfather: Merry Christmas and lots of love, Susan." She handed it to him, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and turned and scooped up her teachers' presents before heading out the door.
The Doctor watched her go, before looking at the small prism of a present that she had given him. His first impulse was to fling it away from him, but he found himself tearing the paper apart to see what was inside. It was a book, like the one Susan was going to give to her teacher. But as he flipped through it, the Doctor noticed that it contained no words.
But the cover read, 500 Year Diary.
Team 2 (With companions Jamie McCrimmon and Victoria Waterfield, between the events of the Tomb of the Cybermen and the Abominable Snowmen)
It was Christmas time once more in the TARDIS. Or, it was relative to when Victoria had joined the team. Now the console room was filled with lights, and Jamie had found some ornaments meant for a tree and scattered them all over the console. Currently, the team were each in their own rooms wrapping their presents to each other.
The Second Doctor tied the bow on his last gift and smiled proudly. Time to see how the other two were getting on. The room closest was Jamie's.
"How are you doing with your wrapping?" Two opened the door slightly and peeked in. With a start, Jamie shoved his presents under the bed.
"Doctor, do you ever knock?" his gruff Scottish accent became even more pronounced, but as he calmed down, he smiled. "I guess that you've already finished, huh?" he crossed over to the door and opened it to let his friend in.
"Yes. I was wondering how you and Victoria were doing," the Doctor chuckled. "I suppose that you're not quite ready yet?"
"Give me a few more minutes, and I should be done," Jamie promised. Then he looked back to his bed. "Maybe."
"I'll just go and look in on Victoria. Come find me when you're done." With that, he headed off down the hallway, leaving Jamie to try and figure out how the heck to wrap presents.
Victoria however, had already finished and ran into the Doctor on her way to put the presents under the console.
"Oh!" she exclaimed as they literally ran into each other, causing her to drop everything. Helping her to pick them up, Two noticed one with his name on it. He was so flattered.
"All ready, then?" he asked her.
"Yes! How's Jamie coming along?"
"We'd best give him another hour or two."
An hour or two later, all presents were safely wrapped and under the console. Two turned the main lights off (with difficulty) and turned the Christmas lights on (with even more difficulty), and the team's Christmas celebration was ready to start.
As junior companion, Victoria went first. She picked up Jamie's gift first and unwrapped it. It was a small nutcracker, not much bigger than her hand, but the detail was immaculate. It looked like a small Victorian girl, with a smiling face. However, there was a look in her eyes that suggested that she had seen something sad. Victoria was immediately reminded of her father. Despite this, she loved the little nutcracker enormously and gave Jamie a giant hug. Now it was time to open the Doctor's gift. It was soft and squishy, and when she unwrapped it, it was a small stuffed bear that had once gone by the name of Hi-Fi. She hugged it tight, and whispered its new name: Steven. Thanking her new family profusely, Victoria found herself smiling for the first time since her father died.
Next was Jamie. He chose Victoria's gift first. This too was a nutcracker, but instead of being Victorian, it was a little Scottish Highlander. It carried some bagpipes that looked a lot like his own. Smiling at his little miniature self, he sat it right down next to him and reached for Two's gift to him. It was a snow globe. Jamie was somewhat baffled by it, having never seen one before. In a couple of minutes, he found the wind-up piece at the bottom that played music, and the console room was filled with the tune of "Deck the Halls."
Seeing that it was his turn, Two grabbed his only present. Reading the tag, he found that it was a joint present from both of his companions. Tearing the paper, it was revealed that they had made a gaudy, red and yellow plaid coat. When he looked at them, the both shrugged. Sorry, was what they seemed to say. But the Doctor laughed, and they all dissolved into giggles. Later, that coat would end up in the TARDIS wardrobe, where a newly regenerated Doctor would decide that it was absolutely brilliant.
Team 3 (With companions Jo Grant, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Mike Yates, and Sergeant Benton, between the events of The Three Doctors and Carnival of Monsters)
UNIT was awash in the Christmas spirit. Benton whistled songs as he walked around HQ, Mike made his famous hot chocolate and peppermint drink for the chappies, and Jo tried in vain to try and get the third Doctor to wear a Santa hat. The Brigadier had given up all attempts to get his men into a military-ness mindset again. And he had also succumbed to Jo's attempts to get him to wear a Santa hat.
"Come on, Doctor," Benton was trying to get the Doctor to make it snow like he had the year before.
"No thank you, Benton," the Doctor replied, dropping his straw into a test tube filled with… something. Benton dearly hoped that the Doctor wouldn't drink it. But instead, he merely stirred thoughtfully. "Too many weather disturbances might end up destabilizing the environment."
"Couldn't we just reverse the polarity?" Jo asked, walking into the Doctor's lab.
"I'm afraid not." Benton and Jo groaned in disappointment. Jo recovered quickly and pointed to the test tubes.
"What are these?" she asked. Taken aback, the Doctor stammered for an answer.
"It- it's- it's a," he started. Benton and Jo looked at him expectantly. "It's a partridge in a pear tree," he finally mumbled.
"Really, Doctor?" Jo asked, looking a bit disgusted. "There are better ways to get in the holiday spirit, you know."
"No, it's not a real partridge, I can assure you!" the Doctor looked up from his work in horror at the implication. "It's the first page of the Brigadier's book with all of the lines in it."
Mike had caught that last bit as he walked into the lab. He walked right back out. Better get away while he had the chance. The Brig's temper when one dismembers his books had yet to be matched. And even worse, the book was his daughter Kate's. The Brigadier won't be pleased.
A few minutes later, the Brig strolled in, carrying Kate's Twelve Days of Christmas book. He opened it to the first page, where there was a nice clean cut showing where the Doctor ripped the page out.
"Doctor?" the Brig asked.
"What, old chap?" The Doctor was too busy examining his test tubes to notice.
"Did you rip my daughter's book?" The Doctor looked slightly guilty.
"That was Kate's?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Oh. Terribly sorry Brigadier. I didn't know," the Doctor went back to his test tubes.
"Doctor!" the Brigadier commanded.
"Brigadier!" the Doctor shot back, not even looking away from his examinations.
"Doctor," the Brigadier took a deep breath. "May I ask what you did with the page?"
"It's in here," answered the Doctor. He pointed to his tubes. The Brig laid the book down on a nearby bench, and walked out. When the Doctor heard his lab doors slam shut, he finally looked up.
"Was it something I said?" he asked to Jo and Benton.
The next day, Mike Yates entered the Doctor's lab to see how he was. To his astonishment, the Doctor was gone. But even more surprising was the fact that the TARDIS was still in its usual spot in the corner.
"Has he gone?" Jo asked sadly from behind Mike. Mike scratched the back of his neck, moving to the side to let her into the lab.
"I don't know," he said. "The TARDIS is here, so he hasn't run off yet. But as to where he is…"
"Where who is?" Benton strode in. Looking around, he commented, "Has he gone back to time and space already?"
"But the TARDIS is here!" Jo pointed. Then she had a thought. "But is Bessie?" Jo turned and dashed down the UNIT hallways to see if the Doctor's weird little yellow roadster was still in her usual spot. She passed the Brigadier on her way and filled him in. A few minutes later, Jo, the Brigadier, Mike, and Benton gathered in the Doctor's lab. Bessie was, indeed, gone.
"But where did he go?" Benton asked.
"Right behind you," came a voice from the door. It was the Doctor! Jo ran forward and gave him a giant hug. After she was done, the Doctor pulled out a wrapped present and handed it to the Brigadier.
"I doubt that I can keep this until Christmas, so here's your present now. No, don't open it yet! It's for Kate. A new book." he said. The Brigadier was, for once, speechless.
"Thank you, Doctor," he managed.
As the Doctor and the Brig were being sentimental, Jo snuck into UNIT HQ to grab her Santa hat. Sneaking up behind the Doctor, she slipped it onto his head. And he didn't throw it off.
Team Four (With companion Leela, between the events of The Talons of Weng-Chiang and Horror of Fang Rock)
"Doctor, I've been reading," Leela said, entering the TARDIS console room. She never ceased to be amazed at how the dimensions were bigger within, but she had nearly given up asking why. The Fourth Doctor shushed her with his finger and moved around the softly humming console. His twenty-three foot long scarf dragged on the floor behind him.
"What have you been reading about?" he whispered.
"Old Earth customs," she whispered back.
"Good," the Doctor whispered again. He moved back towards the console, and Leela followed him.
"Why are we whispering?" she asked in a soft voice.
"Why not?" the Doctor said in his regular, booming voice. Leela decided that she liked him whispering.
"Anyway, I've been reading about old Earth customs, and I found one called 'Christmas.' What is 'Christmas?'" she asked in her regular voice. The Doctor thought for a moment.
"It's a holiday. To the humans who celebrate it, it's a time for peace and goodwill towards all people. A time for family, if you will," he finally responded.
"Family…" she mulled the thought over. "Have you ever celebrated Christmas before, with your family?"
"Depends on your definition of family," the Doctor answered. "In the conventional sense of being with children and parents, I've only celebrated it once."
"And in the nonconventional sense?" Leela asked.
"How do you mean?"
"Celebrating it with people who are not your children or parents."
"Only twice," the Doctor cleared his throat. "Now, where do you want to-"
"I could celebrate with you," Leela offered. "It'll be fun."
The Doctor looked at her for a moment before breaking into one of his giant smiles.
"Yes, I think I'd like that," he said. With a smile, Leela ran off to her room to prepare for her first Christmas.
"And I think that I know where we're going," the Doctor said to himself.
A few hours later, the TARDIS had landed at a secret spot, and the Doctor and Leela had each chosen gifts and wrapped them. The Doctor opened the TARDIS doors to reveal a bright winter wonderland. Snow danced all around them, and straight ahead was the largest tree that Leela had ever seen. And she had seen some pretty big trees. Noting her outfit of leather skins, the Doctor took off his scarf and draped it around her to keep her warm. Smiling with gratitude, Leela lead the way to the giant tree.
There, they crouched under the magnificent branches that were so thick, there was no snow under them. They placed their presents under the tree, and began to tell each other stories. They started off as real, but soon evolved into a game of "Who Can Tell The Weirdest Stories." Finally, they remembered their gifts.
As usual, the companion went first. Leela was amazed to find that she was amazed at getting Jelly Babies. But the Doctor had another, real, gift underneath his coat. Despite his reservations about her knife, it was a new sheath for it. Leela happily traded the two.
The Doctor then opened his gift. It was a compass, with a beautiful, exotic wood for a base and many fine, gold parts making an intricate design beneath the arrow. Expressing his sincerest thanks to Leela, the Doctor made as if to return to the TARDIS. But Leela just sat in wonder at the world around her, and the Doctor decided that they could stay a while longer. The wind sang through the trees, creating a lovely melody, and it snatched up the snow and made many beautiful designs in the air. It was most certainly the most beautiful place to celebrate Christmas.
Team Five (With companions Tegan Jovanka and Turlough, between the events of King's Demons and The Five Doctors)
Vvvooorrrppp, vvvooorrrppp. A 1960's police box landed in a stretch of dead land filled with barbed wire and craters. Out of it walked the Fifth Doctor and his companions Tegan and Turlough.
"Hmm," was all the Doctor said when he saw the landscape.
"Is this the Eye of Orion?" Tegan demanded.
"No," the Doctor answered.
"It's Earth again, isn't it?" Turlough groaned.
"It seems to be. What do you make of the landscape?" the Doctor prompted his friends.
"Something bad's happened," Tegan felt a little bit worried that something might have happened to her planet while she was gone. The Doctor bent down to examine the ground.
"We're in No Man's Land. So this must be the first World War," he deduced.
"Oh, dear, a war," Turlough said, though Tegan suspected that he was just saying that to get back into the TARDIS. "Why don't we go somewhere safer, like another planet?"
The Doctor ignored him. "What do you hear?" he asked Tegan. She shrugged.
"Nothing mu- hang on!" she ran forward, and the Doctor dashed forward to stay with her. Sighing with defeat, Turlough hurried to follow them.
After a few dozen meters, Tegan halted and motioned for quiet.
"Stille Nacht…"
"Holy Night…"
"They're singing!" she proclaimed, turning to the Doctor. To her and Turlough's amazement, the Doctor was smiling.
"Do you know what today is?" he asked them. Both shook their heads "no."
"Christmas Eve, 1914! We're on the Western Front!" he said joyfully.
"And what does that mean?" Turlough looked like he couldn't care less about being here.
"The Germans and the English had a temporary truce," the Doctor explained. "Because tonight is a holy night. They played football together, and exchanged pleasantries and gifts."
"But they had to keep fighting the next day?" Tegan asked. The Doctor shook his head.
"Come on! Let's join the truce!" he hopped off. In the distance, a soldier peeked over his trench- the Doctor identified him as German. Seeing the Doctor striding towards him, the soldier quickly dropped down again.
"Nein, nein!" the Doctor called out. "Ich will einen Weinachtsfrieden! Bitte?"
Thanks to the TARDIS translation circuits, Tegan and Turlough could understand him perfectly: "No, no! I want a Christmas truce! Please?"
The Doctor unfurled the Panama hat that lived in his pockets and waved it like a flag. "Weiss Fahne!" White flag. It took a little bit of persuading on the Doctor's part, but the soldier eventually exited his trench. As a present, the Doctor plucked his celery from his lapel and handed it to the man.
"Turlough?" he called.
"Yes, Doctor?"
"Go get the English to come up."
"Right," Turlough muttered as he turned and trudged across No Man's Land.
A few minutes later, hesitant English and Germans were chatting to each other in their native tongues and exchanging small gifts of tobacco, cigarettes, and chocolate. The Doctor and Tegan got roped into trying to explain what Tegan was doing there, and why they were all dressed so weirdly. Turlough got invited to play a football game by a German soldier named Arzt. To his astonishment, he found himself accepting.
The day passed quickly, and soon it was time to head back to the TARDIS.
"Frohe Weihnachten! Merry Christmas!" the Doctor wished the men.
"Auf Wiedersehen!" came the German reply.
"Goodbye!" came the English.
And when the team reached the TARDIS, Turlough looked back, where he could still see some men waving to them, and others had started another football game. He decided that maybe Earth wasn't all that bad, though he'd still like to leave.
Team Six (With companion Peri Brown, between the events of Timelash and Revelation of the Daleks)
"Where to now, Doctor?" came the harsh American accent of Perpugilliam Brown, the Sixth Doctor's travelling companion.
"Wherever the winds of time take us, Peri," the Doctor responded.
"Or whenever, too," Peri smiled. The Doctor smiled back.
"Or whenever, yes," the Doctor said. A small silence filled the console room.
"Doctor?"
"Peri?"
"Could we take some time off?" Peri dared to ask.
"Time off? Time off? What have we been doing for how long?" the Doctor looked incredulous.
"Sorry, Doctor, I didn't know that Shock-eye who wanted to eat me and Morlocks who also wanted to eat me counted as time off. My bad," Peri's voice was thick with sarcasm.
"I'm sorry! Did you have anything in mind?"
"Christmas, Doctor, Christmas! I'd like to celebrate Christmas! I know you may not know what it is, but for me it's a very important holiday!"
"Okay," the Doctor thought for a while, scratching his very curly blond hair. "How about 25 December, 2048?" he offered.
"2048? Why then?" Peri asked.
"Because it's 2 to the eleventh power! One of the golden numbers, in my opinion! And it's the one closest to your own time!" the Doctor announced.
"And it's in the new millenium, too!" Peri looked excited. "It's perfect, Doctor! Let's go!"
The Doctor set the coordinates, and off they went. Peri disappeared for a while, so the Doctor suspected that she was up to something. Something good, if he was right. Good like a present. No, that's just wishful thinking, Doctor. She'd never get him a present.
Finally, they arrived. They were in Piccadilly Circus, in London, England.
"Where are we?" Peri asked. The Doctor told her, and she gave him a big hug to his surprise. "Thank you, Doctor! I've always wanted to come to London! Well, when it's not being overrun with Cybermen, that is!"
"You're welcome. And now," the Doctor said, gently pulling his companion off of him. "Christmas shopping!"
The pair spent the better part of the day window shopping, occasionally dashing into stores while the other's back was turned to buy something for them. When the sun had nearly touched the horizon, the Doctor and Peri decided to return to the TARDIS.
"You first, Doctor," Peri gave her bag to the Doctor. Neither had bothered to wrap their presents because, they'd agreed, they'd just rip the paper off a few minutes later. The Doctor reached into the bag, and came out holding another little cat pin. He happily traded the one on his lapel for this one. There were other things in the bag too- a small bobble head penguin affectionately dubbed "Frobisher," a small pocket watch with pretty blue and gold paint and a delicate silver chain, and a comic book.
"Thank you, Peri," the Doctor said. "Your turn!" He tried to hand her his bag, but she refused.
"No, Doctor. All of this-" she waved her hands about to indicate the TARDIS. "Is good enough. And you stopping all of our adventures to celebrate an Earth holiday is a good present too. Thanks a lot, Doctor," Peri said. And she meant it. But the Doctor kept insisting that she take it, so she eventually caved in with curiosity. When she pulled out the present, it was a small, plushie reindeer with big, adoring button eyes. Peri fell in love immediately.
The rest of the night passed in stories and eggnog (and maybe landing on a snow covered planet to have a snowball fight…) But as Peri tucked herself into bed after their long day, she couldn't help but feel happy. Happy that she was a traveller through time and space. Happy that she was out doing good. But she was even happier that she and her best friend, the Doctor, could take a moment or two and relax, ready to enjoy the universe they so frequently saved.
Team Seven (With companion Ace McShane, after the events of Survival)
The Seventh Doctor and Ace had been stuck in one place for a whole week. A. Whole. Week. Ace was going crazy. Of course, it was her fault. She had gotten something stuck inside the console, and the Doctor couldn't figure out how to get it out. So they sat. And played spoons. And played chess. Well, the Doctor played the spoons and chess. Ace was just bored.
"Ace!" the Doctor exclaimed while he was poking around. "Do you know what today is?"
"No. What is it?" she asked.
"Christmas," he responded.
"Oh," Ace sounded disappointed.
"What's that voice for?" the Doctor asked, sitting down next to his young companion.
"I thought that you'd say, 'Today's the day we get unstuck,'" Ace said.
"And?" the Doctor prompted. Ace sighed. She couldn't hide anything from the Professor.
"I've never really liked Christmas," she confessed. "My mum would always invite the whole family over, and they'd always try to tell me what to do, what not to do, scold me on my school grades…" Ace trailed off.
"I see," murmured the Doctor. "But they're not here, are they?" There was a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
"No…" Ace was confused. "Why?"
"So we can have Christmas your way," the Doctor responded.
"But Professor, we can't even move! We're stuck here!"
"Nonsense! We're only as stuck as we think we are!" The Doctor suddenly stood up, and held out his hand to help her do the same. She took at, and he yanked her up. The travellers began to chat while on their way to the console room.
"What would your ideal Christmas be?" the Doctor asked. Ace knew that he was just looking for conversation to cheer her up, so she went along.
"For starters, I wouldn't get a tree. I'd get something that wouldn't shed hundreds of tiny needles. Like… like a TARDIS! I'd get a Christmas TARDIS! And I wouldn't get any presents. Instead, I'd travel the universe, trying to make it good. And I wouldn't invite anybody, except my family."
"Your family?" Seven glanced at his companion in confusion.
"Yeah, you and the TARDIS," Ace looked a little bit sheepish, but the Doctor felt very humbled.
"Thank you," he said as they arrived at the console room. He immediately set to fixing the console again.
"What about your perfect Christmas?" Ace asked.
"Oh, some chess, you know. And travelling. And I'd invite my family, too."
"Your family?"
"You and the TARDIS. Who else?" the Doctor smiled. "Hang on-" he wrenched his arm up, and something flew. Ace dove to catch it.
"Professor?"
"Ace?"
"It's that thingamabob that I got stuck!" Ace said. The two turned back to the console, where the Time Rotor was already starting to slide up and down. After a moment of silence, the Doctor turned to his companion.
"Why don't we celebrate Christmas our way? With a Christmas TARDIS, some chess, and an awful lot of travelling?"
Ace smiled. "Sounds wicked, Professor!"
Team Eight (With companion Grace Holloway, somewhere after the events of The Enemy Within)
Grace was having a lovely Christmas. Christmas 2000. It had been nearly a year after she had last seen the Doctor. So much had happened. Like getting a dog (his name is Bowman), getting a new job, and completely missing the the best friend she had ever had. That friend was the Doctor, by the way. Her Christmas tree twinkled serenely, and she raised a glass of wine to her lips. All of a sudden, a wheezing, groaning noise echoed throughout her house.
Vvvooorrrppp, vvvooorrrppp.
Grace stood straight up. Her drink sloshed and spilled, but she didn't mind. Why would she when a blue box was materialising in her living room?
When the box was fully corporeal, Grace blinked a few times. It couldn't be… the TARDIS? To strengthen her thought, the doors to the box opened, and out walked the Eighth Doctor.
"D-Doctor?" Grace asked.
"You've got a stain," the Doctor pointed to where her drink spilled.
"Doctor!" Grace set down the rest of her drink and hugged her friend. "How are you?"
"I'm fine, how are you?" he asked. Ever the gentleman.
"I'm- I'm good," Grace stammered. "You haven't changed one bit!"
The Doctor laughed. "Neither have you! Oh, hello there," he bent down and petted Bowman. "Who are you?"
"That's Bowman," Grace answered for her puppy. The Doctor looked up at her.
"You named him after me?" he asked. Grace nodded.
"I couldn't call him 'Doctor,' could I?"
"No, no, I suppose not," the Doctor shoved his hands into his pockets, and silence overtook Grace's house.
"Oh!" Grace suddenly remembered. "I have a present for you!"
The Doctor blinked. "For me?"
"Stay here for a moment! Don't move!" The Doctor was torn between not moving at all and diving inside the TARDIS very quick to grab her present. He decided to get her present. Just as he exited the TARDIS, Grace returned.
"Here," she said, handing him his present. The two happily traded, and they unwrapped at the same time.
"'The Time Machine,'" Grace read the title of the book the Doctor had given her.
"H.G. Wells," the Doctor said. "I knew him once."
"Well, I hope you like my gift," Grace laughed.
"Why?" the Doctor looked down at the gift in his hands. It was "The Time Machine," by H. G. Wells. The Doctor laughed.
"Great minds think alike!" he chuckled. When the two had quit their fit of laughter, the Doctor's face became grave.
"You're sure you don't want to travel with me?" he asked Grace. She shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Doctor. Are you sure you don't want to stay here with me?" she offered. But she knew what his answer would be. "It was nice to meet you again," she held her hand out for a handshake. She was slightly surprised when the Doctor scooped her into a massive hug.
"Merry Christmas," he said.
"You too," she answered. They pulled apart.
"Come again next year?" Grace asked. The Doctor smiled.
"If I'm lucky." With that, he disappeared into that marvelous blue box, and faded into the Time Vortex. As Grace thought about his visit, suddenly her Christmas seemed that much better.
Team Nine (With companion Rose Tyler, between the events of Father's Day and The Long Game)
"Where to next?" the Ninth Doctor asked Rose. She smiled.
"Anywhere!"
"Are you sure? Cos last time you said that, we ended up somewhere nasty," the Doctor warned. Rose shuddered. She didn't even want to think about that adventure. But she persisted, and the Doctor set some random coordinates. Off they went.
Thunk. The two rushed out the door, expecting to see anything- except Rose's mother.
"Rose!" Jackie Tyler said, dropping all of her bags and rushing forward to give her daughter a hug.
"Mum!" Rose tried to mask her surprise. Jackie pulled back and regarded Rose.
"Just in time for Christmas, just like I asked," she wiped away a tear that was threatening to form.
"Erm…" stammered Rose. "Yeah, yeah! Merry Christmas, Mum." She kicked the Doctor's shins.
"Ow! Merry Christmas, Mrs. Tyler," he said. She turned toward him, as if just noticing that he was there.
"Doctor," she said, neither warmly nor cooly.
"Hello!" he waved and put on his best smile. She stared at him a moment longer, and then her face split into an identical grin.
"Well, come on you two! It's Christmas. We shouldn't dilly about out here forever- it's freezing!"
She was right. The Doctor could see his breath. He and Rose happily agreed to go with Jackie.
Five minutes later, Jackie had a roaring fire going, and the three were sitting in front of it drinking hot chocolate. The Doctor counted five marshmallows in his mug. The house was mostly quiet- its occupants were busy staring at the fire. After ten minutes, Rose started to get uncomfortable, so she looked outside the window.
"Look, it's snowing!" she pointed. The Doctor and Jackie craned their heads to see.
"Oh, it is!" Jackie said. "Well, what do you think, Rose? Presents now or later?"
Rose thought a moment. "Now."
Jackie ruffled her daughter's hair before getting up to fetch their presents. Rose sighed and looked at her friend.
"I feel horrible. She makes us hot chocolate and gets presents, and we didn't even think about coming to say hello," she said. The Doctor set down his hot chocolate (the words on the mug read "Bad Wolf") and was about to respond when Jackie returned.
"Here, Rose-" she held out a little box that was neatly wrapped, and Rose took it. When she unwrapped it, she let out a small gasp and held it up. It was a delicate silver chain, and on it hung a small, golden heart.
"Oh, Mum, you shouldn't have," Rose felt her heart leap into her throat. She leaned over to give her mother a hug.
"Open the heart," Jackie whispered in Rose's ear. When they pulled apart, Rose did just that. On one side of the locket was the likeness of Rose's father Pete, and the other was a picture taken when Rose had been just born. It showed Pete holding her, and Jackie fawning over the both of them. Despite her parents' problems, they both seemed to be smiling and laughing. Tears began to fall down Rose's face.
"Thank you, Mum," she wiped away her tears and hugged her mother again. As Rose was putting the locket on, Jackie grabbed another present and handed it to the Doctor. It was a plain red tie, and looked as if it would be better as a present for a pin-stripe clad businessman instead of the Doctor.
"I know that you don't wear ties," Jackie started. "But that doesn't mean you won't someday."
Expressing (somewhat reluctant) thanks, the Doctor glanced at Rose. "Thanks for the gifts again, Mrs. Tyler-"
"Jackie," Jackie interrupted.
"Jackie," the Doctor corrected himself and continued. "But we… haven't got anything for you."
"That's okay. My Rose is here, and that's a present all by itself," Jackie smiled. "And as for your gift, Doctor, just promise me that nothing will happen to her during your little adventures, okay?"
Looking Jackie straight in the eye, the Doctor said, "I promise." Though he wasn't sure that he could keep it. Absorbed in these thoughts, the Doctor literally fell over with surprise as Jackie hugged him. Rose joined the pile, and soon the inhabitants were rolling around trying to get each other off. When they all succeeded, they looked out the window again. The snow was coming down harder. Jackie looked back at the two travellers.
"Stay the night. Please?" she asked. The Doctor and Rose happily accepted.
Team Ten (With companion Martha Jones, between the events of 42 and Human Nature)
"Get down!" the Tenth Doctor screamed as he tackled Martha and sent them both flying out of the way of a blast of fire.
The dragon that was chasing them stepped forward menacingly. It was just opening its mouth for the kill when Martha stood up and yelled, "Wait!" All movement and sounds stopped. After a moment, the Doctor struggled to his feet. The dragon sneered at the two, but did not attack.
"Martha, what are you doing?" the Doctor hissed in her ear.
"Saving our lives," she whispered back. "Hopefully."
"Why should I wait?" the dragon roared. "You two, puny humans, dare to steal my gold, my eggs, my glory!"
"But that's just it! We weren't doing that!" Martha shouted back. "Why would we steal what's yours?"
"It's Christmas! The time of greed! And now, you must die!" the dragon stamped its foot, and the shockwaves knocked Martha to the ground. Amazingly, the Doctor kept his balance.
"It's Christmas?" he looked shocked. "Really?"
"Yes," the dragon growled, but it looked confused. Why was this little man so amazed that it was Christmas.
"I should have guessed," the Doctor mumbled, and rubbed the back of his neck. "My Christmases never go well. No! Don't come closer!" he brandished his sonic screwdriver threateningly as the dragon tried to get nearer. It just laughed, and grabbed the Doctor in its large paws.
"Oomph," the Doctor said as he was lifted into the air.
"Stop it!" Martha screamed as the Doctor rose to mouth-level.
"Get your friend to be quiet," the dragon snarled at the Doctor. "I won't harm you. Yet."
The Doctor's hearts hammered in his chest. "It's Christmas, you say?" he asked.
"Yes."
'A time for… greed and lust?"
"Yes!" The Doctor grabbed onto one of the dragon's claws for dear life as the paw flew around in a frenzy. When the dragon finally calmed down, the Doctor shouted down to Martha.
"Did you hear that? A time for greed and lust?"
"I did," Martha was very confused now.
"Care to tell or old friend what Christmas really is a time for?"
"Other than greed and lust?"
"Yes! Now!" the Doctor yelled as he was brought closer to six-foot-tall teeth.
"Where I come from, Christmas is a time for love and family!" Martha shouted. "If that's true, which it is, why would we try to steal your eggs- your family?"
"Because you're humans. You're evil," the dragon blinked. But it didn't sound very sure of itself.
"And the people down in the villages probably think that you're evil, too," the Doctor jumped in. "How many of them have you eaten?"
"Enough. But they were trying to steal my children."
"And you were eating theirs," the Doctor let the statement hang in the air. The dragon remained silent. It glanced back towards its eggs.
"Dragon," the Doctor started carefully. The head snapped around and fixed him with a burning glare. "I've had a thought. Because it's Christmas, why don't you head down to the local village and take part in the festivities? It'll show them that you're not evil, and then maybe they'll stop trying to steal your eggs."
"Maybe…" the dragon murmured. It slowly lowered its paw, and the Doctor hopped out when he was low enough. Martha ran forward and gave him a massive hug. Seeing them and their happy relationship, the dragon strode out of its cave, opened its wings, and flew towards the nearest village. The TARDIS team watched it go.
"But what if they hurt her?" Martha asked the Doctor. "You know, get scared?"
"Well, it is Christmas," the Doctor said, linking his arm with his companions and turning towards the little blue box standing at the back of the cave. "Somehow, I don't think they'll be able to bring themselves to hurt such a magnificent creature."
Team Eleven (With companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams, between the events of A Christmas Carol and The Impossible Astronaut)
"We could head to Paris," the Eleventh Doctor asked hopefully. "And see the Mona Lisa! Oh, I have fond memories of Mona. Did you know that she was the nastiest person ever and loved little cream cakes? And that her portrait's a fake?"
Amy and Rory rolled their eyes. The Doctor had been doing this for hour now- presenting them with options for a honeymoon to replace the last one.
"Doctor, honestly, it's okay," Amy tried to say. But the Doctor would have none of it.
"Oh, France is very pretty. Have you ever been to France? Maybe we can catch La Fête des Lumières! That's always spectacular!"
Rory's patience finally wore out. "Yeah, sure. Paris. It's perfect."
The Doctor smiled. "Paris it is, then!" He flicked a few switches, and off they went.
There was a distinct chill in the air when they arrived. Amy went right back into the TARDIS to get some warmer clothes on. When she returned, they were ready to explore.
Eleven pointed out the Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower, though Amy and Rory didn't need him to do so. The treesome took pictures and laughed at Rory's poor French. Amy however, spoke it like a native.
"It was my best subject in school," she admitted to the Doctor.
Finally, they agreed that it was time to eat. They sat at one of the Eiffel Tower's restaurants, and the Doctor ordered some fish fingers and custard. Rory stared at him.
"Really, Doctor? We come to Paris, the city of fine cuisine, and you order fish custard?"
"Why not? And it's also Christmas. I should be able to order what I want," the Doctor sniffed. Amy and Rory gaped.
"It's Christmas?" Amy asked.
"Yes."
"You should have told us earlier. We could have done some shopping," Rory said.
"Well, what are time machines for, you idiots?" Amy asked. They quickly paid, and ran back to the TARDIS. A moment later, the sun was high in the sky over Paris on Christmas. The Doctor bid his friends a happy Christmas and went one way, and the Ponds went the other.
The first shop the Doctor came across was a ring shop. Inside were some very beautiful twin rings of sterling silver. Bonus, they were very inexpensive too. Good for the Doctor, who had next to nothing. Already finished with his shopping, the Doctor was satisfied that he had gotten the perfect gifts and headed back to the TARDIS.
The Ponds however, could not find the gift for their friend. Soon, they forgot altogether and had fun exploring Paris. The sun nearly touched the horizon again, and they realized that they had not gotten anything for the Doctor. But it was too late, and they had to return before their past selves could travel back.
Safely in the golden console room, the Doctor decided that it was time for gift-giving. He presented his gifts, and was met with two red-faced but extremely grateful companions.
"Doctor…" Rory started.
"Yes?" the Doctor asked.
"We… didn't get you anything. We're sorry."
"Don't be," the Doctor replied. He didn't sound mad.
"What? You- you're not angry?" Amy asked.
"Why should I be? I bet that you two had fun, wandering around, and that was really the point of all of this. And expecting something from you, well, that's just not Christmas," the Doctor's eyes twinkled good-naturedly. "But I do want something."
"What?" Amy was scared that he would scold them.
"Fish custard."
Amy could do that.
Team Twelve (With companion Clara Oswald, between the events of Time Heist and The Caretaker)
Silent Night
The Twelfth Doctor and Clara walked together under a brilliant moonlit sky. Their footsteps creaked as they broke the new, sparkling snow. Not a word was spoken between them.
Holy Night
They came upon a tree. It was even taller than the tree the Doctor and Leela had taken refuge under, many years before. The Doctor patted his pocket and felt the reassuring strength of his diary, the same one that his granddaughter had given him. Clara took his hand, and they ducked underneath the tree limbs.
All Is Calm
The Doctor took out his watch, a small pocket watch with pretty blue and gold paint and a delicate silver chain. It still worked. Clara held her new present lightly in her hands, and the bear which had once been called Hi-Fi and Steven was now named Victoria. Her other gift, a book by H.G. Wells, sat on her lap.
All Is Bright
A bowl of fish fingers and custard sat between the two, as a reminder of days past. Clara looked up, through the branches of the tree, and pointed. The Doctor could just make out a shooting star. Normally he would have called it a comet, but for this night, a shooting star seemed more accurate. Sitting in silence, the Doctor remembered all of his past Christmases, with all of his old friends, but he pushed those memories away in order to see his new friend, gazing in wonder at the beautiful planet around her. Sensing the Doctor looking at her, Clara smiled, and hugged him as if to thank him for everything. And he didn't throw her off.
"Merry Christmas, Clara Oswald," the wind sang.