With that, the Time Lord retreated into his TARDIS, followed quickly by his companion. He turned to her with a warm grin. "Now, what do you say? Ice skating on the mineral lakes of Kur-ha. Fancy it?"
Molly grinned back. "Sure!" A sly thought entered her mind, and she smirked as she asked, "Ever skated before?"
He shrugged. "A bit here and there, though not in a few years. Why?"
"Oh, no reason," she lied with a smirk. She couldn't wait to see the look on his face when she demonstrated the skills a childhood of figure skating had left her with.
He started towards the console, but after a moment he turned back to her. "By the way, you'll be needing this." The Time Lord handed her a small silver key.
She looked at it with wonder. "Is this what I think it is?"
He nodded. "TARDIS key. Frequent flier's privilege." The Doctor sobered a moment, a genuinely warm smile on his face as he said, "Thank you."
She smiled back. "You're welcome." After a few moments, she started towards the console, grinning back at the Doctor. "Well come on then! Ice skating it is!"
Adventure and danger and fear could wait for a bit. It was time for the last great Time Lord to have rings skated around him.
SCENEBREAK
The Doctor was careful to make their landing fairly solid, for once. He had a feeling the TARDIS wasn't really in the mood to be jostled around after nearly an hour in what had essentially been an oven. As he finished settling her into position, he told his companion, "Kur-ha is the planet of the Kra, or at least it was a few thousand years ago. Now it's a big ol' melting pot of species, humans just being one of them. The Kra were pretty generous with sharing the planet."
Molly snorted. "Wish I could say the same of humans," she commented drily.
The Time Lord grinned in response. "Yeah, humans always were messy when it came to aliens. Anyway, the mineral lakes stay frozen over all year long, there's a certain catalyst in the lakes that binds the atoms together and keeps them solid despite the temperature."
"So are we going skating in warm weather?" Molly asked dubiously.
"I mean, we could, but I figured a pretty, snowy atmosphere would make a better backdrop," the Doctor replied. His companion seemed relieved somehow. He didn't think much of it. Maybe the thought of ice and warmth was too weird a combination. It was a cultural thing.
The Time Lord finally finished landing his time ship. He threw a quick grin at Molly as he hurried to the door, opening it with a flourish. "Molly Hooper," he said as she stepped past him through the door, "welcome to Han-ra, the capital city of the fourth shining continent of Kur-ha."
Molly let out a soft gasp at the sight that greeted her. As the Doctor stepped out onto the snowy ground of Kur-ha behind her, he couldn't blame her.
White, shining snow was draped over every surface, glittering brightly in the moonlight. The Doctor knew the snow was even brighter and shinier than Earth snow, and it definitely showed tonight. The twin moons, one distant and a royal blue, the other closer and a pale silver, hung in the sky. Snow fell softly through the sky, silent and serene, falling down onto the forest below.
They had landed in the middle of a forest, though it looked a little different than forests Molly would be used to. The trees were short and stout, and bore pale orange leaves that were wide, asterisk-shaped, and the size of one of their heads. They looked just as beautiful as Earth trees all covered in snow.
Molly let out a deep sigh, her breath turning to mist in front of her. "Ah, this feels wonderful," she sighed. She held her arms out, embracing the cold winter air. The companion was still only wearing the jean jacket she'd been wearing on the S. S. Pentallian, but she didn't seem to mind the bite of the chilly air. She smiled, relief heavy in her voice as she said, "I never thought I'd feel cold again. Let's not go anywhere hot again for a while, yeah?"
The Doctor chuckled, but internally he agreed. Having a sentient sun burning him alive from the inside had sort of ruined the allure of warmer climates. "Yeah, volcanoes and beaches are out for a bit." All the same, he was glad to have his long coat back on. It was just a bit chilly.
His companion suddenly deflated slightly, slumping against the Doctor's shoulder. He looked over at her with concern. "You alright there?"
"Yeah," she sighed. "Just been a long day." The Doctor felt a brief flash of guilt. He'd forgotten that she'd nearly died in that escape pod before he'd saved her. As she slumped against him, he put an arm over her shoulders, hugging his friend closer. She'd been through some rough times the last few days, what with nearly burning to death on a spaceship right after nearly being blown up by her psychotic boyfriend, not to mention the whole mess with Sherlock insulting her in every manner possible. She deserved a bit of a rest.
Molly leaned into his embrace, wrapping her arm around the Time Lord's waist. The two began making their way through the snowy forest. As they trudged through the snow, Molly joked lightly, "Couldn't you have parked her a bit closer?"
The Doctor nudged her with his shoulder, giving an offended, "Oi! Insult my driving, will you?" In truth, he'd meant to land them in town, but there was no reason to bring that up. "Nah, this is the scenic route! Better view than you'll ever get in town." He felt a stab of guilt as he remembered her fatigue. "If you're too tired, I can try to land her-"
"No, no, it's fine," Molly assured him. She gave him a grin reminiscent of his own as she said, "Allons-y and all that." He grinned back, suddenly very grateful he'd asked her to come along. The pain of losing Rose was still an ache in his hearts he was sure would never truly leave, but it helped to have a friend to travel with again, even if they could never be what Rose was for him. Maybe it was better that way, that no one try to be the new Rose.
After a bit of walking in circles trying to find their way through the trees, the travelers finally managed to find their way to Han-ra. Except, it didn't seem like the great capital city the Doctor had promised. Instead, it was a picturesque little town with a cheerful little sign that said "Welcome to Ree-na." Molly threw the Doctor a dry look. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Um. Well. Maybe I got the steering a bit off."
"Just a bit," Molly said lightly. After a moment, she broke out into a grin, laughing lightly. "You really can't drive that ship, can you?" The Time Lord just grinned sheepishly at her. She shook her head, chuckling, "Alright, as long as we still get to skate, I don't care. Picturesque works as well as big city."
"Oh yeah, the mineral lakes are spread out all over the planet," he assured. "Most cities are based around them."
The two made their way into the little town. As they walked under the arch into the small collection of houses, the Doctor noticed red and green lights strung up along the roofs and fences. Everywhere he looked, lights and decorations, and even the occasional pine tree. Molly had clearly noticed too. She looked around with wide eyes, turning to the Doctor with a confused air. "Is it some sort of festival or something?"
The Doctor swallowed hard. "No. I'm pretty sure..." Just to be sure, he turned to one of the people milling about, a creature with a jackal-like head and a third eye. "Excuse, remind me, 'cause I'm an idiot, what day is it?"
The creature looked at him strangely for a moment before replying in a voice like a growl, "Where've you been mate? It's Christmas, innit?" The creature shuffled away, leaving the Doctor with that cold pit in his stommach.
Molly grinned brightly. "They still celebrate Christmas in the future?" she asked eagerly.
"Some of them do, yeah," the Time Lord answered absently. His mind wasn't really on his companion or the little town on Kur-ha. It was in an estate in London, England, with a warm, laughing family at a Christmas dinner table, wearing a ridiculous paper crown and watching a certain pink and yellow human grin that tongue-in-teeth grin at him.
Molly's grin faltered. She looked at the Doctor with that warm, sad look of hers she always had whenever she realized something was wrong. "What is it?" she asked softly.
The Time Lord hesitated. He really hated talking about Rose and her family now that they were gone. But Molly was looking at him with that totally non-judging look of hers, the one that invited him to spell out all his troubles and get nothing but a warm hug in response. Reluctantly, he told her, "It's just, the last time I did this, Christmas, was with Rose." Well, that wasn't entirely true. Technically his adventure with Donna Noble had been on a Christmas. But that was less Christmas and more crazy spider aliens trying to eat all of London.
Sad understanding glowed in her eyes. She reached for his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "If it's too much, we can leave," she offered. "Er, I mean , if you want to."
He wanted to. She had offered, after all, and he desperately wanted to escape. But he had promised Molly a trip to Kur-ha, and with everyone else letting her down in her life, he couldn't just go back on his word. Besides, this wasn't a proper Christmas, not really. This was just ice skating with a friend on a day that happened to be Christmas.
Giving her hand a grateful squeeze, he told her, "Nah, it's fine." He gave her a small half-grin when she looked unconvinced. "C'mon, I promised you skating, so skating it is!"
SCENEBREAK
Molly had been a bit worried about having to deal with low-quality rental skates, but it turned out that futuristic figure skates fitted themselves perfectly to the person wearing them. The companion couldn't hold back a smirk as she and the Doctor approached the ice. She made sure not to seem too balanced on her blades as they made their way over. She didn't want to give away her skills until the right moment.
The former skater couldn't hold back a gasp of awe at the sight of the ice. The ice rinks she had been familiar with as a child hadn't been pure white, like most people would think. Instead, they were a mix of blues and grays and browns that somehow combined to make sleek, shiny ice. But this was completely different. The ice in front of her was jet-black, shining and glittering with silver and white sparkling lights. It was the strangest and most beautiful thing she'd seen in all her travels. "It's beautiful," she breathed.
The Doctor looked pleased at her words. He always looked happy whenever she showed wonder or awe at where he'd taken her. That was why he'd brought her along, she figured. She still didn't understand that he'd brought her because of her. He pointed at the surface, explaining, "The chemicals that keep it frozen year-round give it that color. Can you see the minerals shining underneath?" She could. They shone like stars trapped beneath the ice.
The Time Lord stepped shakily onto the ice, holding out a hand to help Molly on. She held back an amused smirk as she took the offered hand and stepped onto the ice. The feeling of having ice under her blades felt immediately familiar and comforting. She had always loved this sport, even as an adult with far less time to devote to it. Of course, she couldn't let the Doctor know that yet, so she forced herself to walk towards him awkwardly like a beginner. "Thanks," she said with a grin.
"No problem at all, Molly Hooper." The Doctor tried to push himself forward with a long, graceful stroke, only to pitch forward with a very undignified yelp. Molly couldn't hold back the laughter this time as he fell forward onto the ice, his legs flying up behind him, slamming back down onto the ice.
He seemed unhurt, but his pride definitely seemed wounded as he glared back at Molly. "Just getting my sea legs back, that's all," he informed her a little irritably.
She raised an eyebrow. "Is that the best excuse you've got?" she challenged. She was feeling unusually bold. Mostly because she knew she could skate circles around the lanky Time Lord any day of the week.
The Doctor let out a huff as he got shakily back to his feet. "OI, I'll have you know, Miss Hooper, that I skated in the 2789 Winter Olympics." His brow furrowed. "The judges kicked me off the ice, but ah well."
Molly let out a sharp laugh at that one. "Was it 'cause of the coat or the gangly legs?" The Doctor seemed surprised at her bold tone, so unusual for her. She smirked as she said, "I bet you I could've done better."
The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "Very well, Molly Hooper. Let's settle this now. If you can skate to that fence," he pointed to the small wooden fence outlining the rink, "before me, I'll let you pick the next... three places to visit."
Molly's eyes sharpened with interest. Oh, this was just too good to pass up. "Promise?"
"Promise," he said smugly. "But if I win, you don't complain about my driving for the next three trips." He seemed totally confident in his ability to win this little contest. He was definitely in for a rude shock.
No sooner had the Time Lord said "Go!" then Molly took off, waking up her rusty muscles and putting everything she had into going forward. She left the utterly bewildered Time Lord in the dust, easily reaching the fence in a few moments. Just to show off, she did a couple of fancy three-turns and rockers, even throwing in a Double Salchow for good measure, enjoying the dumbfounded expression on the Doctor's face. It was nice being the one astounding him for once.
SCENEBREAK
The Doctor was delighted often, intrigued by new things, angered, startled, enraged. One emotion he didn't often experience was good old-fashioned bewilderment. But now Molly Hooper had gone and tromped all over his expectations again. She was gliding expertly across the ice, twirling and jumping and dancing with a freedom and grace he'd never seen from her before. It suited her well.
The companion glided gracefully back to him, radiating smugness. After a few moments, commented weakly, "Now that's just cheating."
She narrowed her eyes. "Oi, you came up with the terms, not me. You better pay up, mister."
The Doctor couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, fine you win." Curiosity floated into his thoughts. "You never told me you figure skated."
Molly shrugged. "It never came up." He felt a pang of sympathy for his companion. She honestly seemed to think her life wasn't worth bringing up, that things that interested her weren't worth talking about. He wished he could help with her low self-esteem. Just taking her places in the TARDIS didn't seem to be enough, but maybe getting her to talk would help.
"What made you start skating?" he asked curiously.
Molly's eyes took on a sad gleam. "Some girls in my grade at school were doing it, and it sounded like fun. My... my dad thought it'd be good for me to have something fun to do after Mum died." She wore a soft, sad smile as she spoke of her father. "He always came to every practice. Never mattered that I wasn't ever going to skate professionally and that it was just for fun. He was always supportive."
The Doctor smiled warmly. "Sounds like a great man," he commented.
She sighed. "Yeah." Her expression grew solemn as she told him, "He died right before I went to university. He and I did everything together. I never felt more alone than when after he died. But earlier today, on that escape pod, I got to call him. That phone you gave me, I used it to call him. Just for a little while. I couldn't tell him what was happening or how he was going to die. But for a little bit, I got to hear his voice again."
Without warning, she pulled the Time Lord into a tight hug, burrowing her head into his shoulder. In a muffled voice, she said, "Thank you for that . Thank you, Doctor." The Doctor wobbled uncertainly for a moment, then felt warmth in his hearts as he returned the hug. He understood now, more than ever. He was broken and battered, but Molly was too. She had her own scrapes and scars, and her own demons to face. Both of them had loves that they couldn't have, and both of them had pasts that were less than pleasant. But, more than he had ever realized before, they had begun to heal each other. He was slowly starting to heal from the pain of losing Rose, and Molly was beginning to see her own worth and just how extraordinary she could be.
He wasn't okay enough yet for a proper Christmas, but that was okay. It was Christmas enough just to have two friends skating on a mineral lake on the far-off planet of Kur-ha. And maybe there were no gifts or trees or shopping, but that was okay too. He had given her a mineral lake to skate on, and she had given him the reassurance that his efforts to help her really were working, and that he had managed to give her a gift far more precious than anything wrapped up with a bow. It was unconventional, but do was their friendship, and their wacky life on the TARDIS. He wouldn't have it any other way.
It wasn't the Christmas anyone would've thought of, but it was the Christmas both of them had needed.
It is 1:20 AM on Christmas Eve, and after a long day I don't think I am capable of rational, coherent thought. So let me just say Merry Christmas, and I apologize that this isn't the newest chapter of TSWS.