It was December 23rd. After the turbulent days of the year, that neared its end, all people at U.N.I.T were grateful for the few peaceful days during the Christmas holidays. The Brigadier had agreed to host a Christmas Party at the Headquarters - to celebrate these special days, to think of all the people they had lost and having a look back at what they had gained and learned in the past twelve months.
John Benton let his gaze wander around the decorated room. The facilities had turned from a dull military canteen into something festive and cosy. Soldiers, employees and friends of U.N.I.T. were sitting around the tables enjoying themselves. Even the Brigadier seem to allow himself a little bit of Christmas feeling. The Captain knew that some of his mates had bet on him getting drunk and dancing on the table - but he had known Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart for far too long to know that he wouldn't fall in such a disgrace.
The only exception was U.N.I.T.'s own special Christmas Grinch who had decided to sit on the table which was located farthermost from the Christmas tree. Everyone who bothered to pay attention had learned sooner or later that she just doesn't care for company. She had declined each invitation for the Christmas games they were playing. Whenever someone got lost near her table and felt obliged to wish her a Merry Christmas, her lips formed a sad smile that made John's heart sink. There was nothing left of the Christmas spirit that had kept her dancing around the canteen last night as she hummed Silent Night and decorated the tree. Instead it was obvious that she felt sad to the bottom of her heart.
At first John thought that she might feel unwell and he was about to ask the surgeon officer to have a look at her. But then he remembered a conversation he had accidentally overheard between her and the Doctor the night before. He was on his way to ask her if she wanted to join the celebration together with him, but he was too late.
While the Doctor helped her to place the Star on top of the Tree she asked him to join her. He had agreed, evidently delighted. John didn't know what they had agreed as he felt bad to eavesdrop them any further and had left. The only thing he knew for sure was that the Doctor hadn't shown up until now.
Meanwhile, someone had exchanged the long-playing record and instead of the traditional Christmas songs something else had begun to play. Two of Bentons mates pushed a table to the side and began to dance a fast twist to the amusement of the other guests. John smirked at their show as well, but he turned around and decided to have another try on cheering up Sarah-Jane, if this was possible.
"Hello Old Girl, mind some company?" He replaced her empty glass with the new one he brought with him. A gentle smile laid on his lips even though he was certain that Sarah-Jane wouldn't respond to it.
"Oh Shush, will you? Don't call me that", she said and reached for the Glass. "Thank you."
Because she hadn't denied his request, he sat down next to her and pointed out the two men who were still making fools of themselves while dancing, bumping lightly against her shoulder. "Look over there. Malcolm and Charlie got potty already. I think Tom's wife has a camera with her - they will be embarrassed once the pictures get developed." He tried to distract her and John was sure that he saw a very faint smile on her lips before she turned to her glass again, but he also noticed how she looked towards the Main entrance door for a moment.
"Do you want to dance? I bet we are better than those two lads", he offered but she shook her head.
"Sorry John. Maybe another time." This time she was smiling at him, but it wasn't the kind of smile he had hoped to see. "Don't let your fun get spoiled by me. I will be going home soon anyway. I guess I have ruined the festive feeling enough already."
"Come on, you did such an awesome job with the decoration. I am happy you are here and I guess the others are too. Why don't you try to take part - at least a little bit?", John tried to encourage her.
Sarah-Jane raised her glass and drank instead of giving him an answer. She also decided to keep her eyes down at the table instead of meeting John's gaze again. He sighed quietly and watched the crowd starting to dance while he remained seated next to her. At least she seemed a little bit more relaxed than before, but he really missed the chatty Sarah-Jane. If the Doctor would have shown up he wouldn't have gotten a quiet moment with her, but he had to admit that he wished that this stupid Alien would have done what he had promised yesterday.
John's head rested lazily on his left hand, his elbow on the table and his feet were bobbing up and down to the beat of the music. He would love to dance but he just didn't want to leave Sarah-Jane alone with her sorrows again.
"What is that?", John had been observing Sarah and soon he had realized that her left hand held something she was turning around on her lap. He couldn't really see it as it was on lap under the table.
She looked down and opened her hand for a moment to reveal a nicely wrapped gift. "Nothing." Sarah said with no emotional expression as she put it back under her coat that laid between John and her.
"Look for him in the TARDIS, I bet you find him there." John said straight ahead.
"This isn't meant for the Doctor", Sarah-Jane said and turned around. A faint shadow of red appeared on her cheek, showing the first emotion besides sadness since the beginning of this evening. Realizing it herself she bit her bottom lip. "And I am not waiting for the Doctor", she was slightly pouting now as she added a little bit more quieter: "The TARDIS isn't here anyway. He has left."
"Okay." John stood up. "We'll make a deal. I'll go outside for a moment to catch some fresh air and until I return you can think about whether I should come with you to search for him. We can ask him why he didn't show up when he had agreed to before."
Sarah-Jane looked up in surprise. "How did you know?"
He raised his hand. "Doesn't matter. I do. So give it a thought. We can also stay here, but then you have to agree to a dance", John winked at her and turned around to walk towards the door. The Journalist snorted and followed him with her gaze.
When John stepped outside in the cold Winter's night he shivered and put his hands deep inside the pockets of his coat. Behind the closed door he could still hear the music and laughter from his mates and friends but outside it was more quiet. He looked up into the clear night sky which showed the lights of a dozen stars and he wondered to how many of them the Doctor had taken Sarah-Jane.
Something bothered him as he aimed to enjoy a few quiet moments and he lowered his gaze to look around the yard he was standing in. A few lights were installed on the walls of the buildings nearby. At the end of the brick floor courtyard he saw someone sitting on the stump of the old oak that had been logged last fall. The faint moonlight let him see merely the silhouette of the person but he identified him anyway. His white hair shimmered slightly and stood out against the black coat he was wearing. The Doctor had a unique presence that couldn't mistaken for someone else.
Benton snorted in disbelief and anger as he realized that Sarah-Jane was drowning in her sadness inside while he was sitting right outside the door.
Within a few steps John Benton approached the Doctor and reminded himself that he didn't know what had happened. Sarah-Jane had mentioned after all that the TARDIS was gone earlier.
"Good Evening Doctor," John said and bobbed up and down on his feet. It was cold outside and it would surely be snowing during the night. "Beautiful night, isn't it?"
The man sitting in front of him turned around. "Indeed it is. You can even see Lapetus from here. Can you see the bright light between 5522 Sceptri and 4134 Chitra II?", he asked and pointed at the sky.
John looked in the mentioned direction, but he couldn't differentiate between the millions of stars up in the sky. He was sure that Sarah-Jane would have been able to. He continued to gaze at the sky for a few more moments before he responded. "Have you been visiting it with Sarah-Jane?"
Again the Doctor turned around. "No, what you can see is the last light of a burned star. Buried in oblivion."
"Not a big deal with a time machine to get back to when it still existed," John said and met the eyes of the Doctor. "She has been waiting for you the whole evening, you are aware of that?"
"Yes. But I am sure she had a great evening without me", the Doctor responded and he seemed to really want to believe what he was saying.
"I wouldn't describe it like that. I would rather say she is very sad." While he was not holding back how upset he was that Sarah-Jane felt the way she did, the Doctor raised his eyebrows in surprise. "She was really looking forward to it I guess, but ever since we started she has been sitting in one corner." John shrugged as he went on: "You left with the TARDIS earlier Sarah-Jane mentioned. She hasn't expecting you to come here anymore, but that hasn't helped her to revive her christmas spirit."
The Doctor looked down at his hands and John saw that he fumbled with a gift which he tried to hide from his view. It was wrapped clumsily and also the ribbon made it clear that the Doctor himself had laid his hands on this task. "I was on Tarandi VII to get her this. But I got involved in something over there and on my way back the TARDIS brought me back too late. I suppose that after being late, it would be better not show up with an unreasonable excuse and this." He held up the gift which was just big enough to cover his palm.
John smirked as he realized this ridiculous situation, created by their own U.N.I.T. Alien and his companion. He also realized that Sarah-Jane hasn't checked his whereabouts after the party has started. Maybe too afraid to see that he was still absent.
"Why don't you come in with me. We just started dancing and I am sure she would love to join you, Doctor."
"I will talk with her tomorrow", he said and got up.
John couldn't help thinking of him as a silly bloke, as he saw that the Doctor was backing away. The one man who doesn't fear any monstrous creatures seemed to be afraid of facing his own Companion. "That won't solve anything. I suggest you go inside and get her to smile again, Doctor."
Turning around the Doctor stayed quiet, looking from John to the gift in his hands and then to the building from where the music could still be heard. "She might not accept my apologies tonight."
"At least you would have tried?" John smiled encouragingly and nodded in the direction of the door. "And if she doesn't accept your apologies, show her Leprechaun II or whatever you have called the planet. She likes those kind of things."
"Lapetus." The Doctor corrected him and walked past him towards the door. He reminded John slightly of a dog who had been scolded by it's master sent off into the corner.
He didn't look back to where John was still standing but sensed that he was still looking at him. The Doctor was wondering why he had decided to stay outside in the first place while he knew at the same time that he would only make the situation worse. He had the very best intention of showing Sarah-Jane in the traditional way of her kind that he cared for her. But now he felt like he was nervous to see her reaction.
He stopped in front of the door and looked through the window but was unable to see more than the backs of some of the guests. The Doctor was about to reach out for the door knob when it was opened from the inside. He stepped back to let, whoever wanted to get outside, open it completely and couldn't suppress his surprise when he realized who stepped out into the night. Dressed only in a green dress with her coat hung over her arm, Sarah- Jane hesitated as well and looked at her companion with widened eyes.
"I am late," The Doctor managed to say and gave her a warm smile. The effect it normally had on her didn't seem to work tonight. The expression on Sarah-Jane's face changed from astounded to a mix of hurt and anger. He suddenly felt at a loss for words to to express how sorry he felt.
"Close the door!" Someone shouted from inside. "We want the winter to stay outside the door."
Sarah-Jane moved aside and closed the door behind her, but her eyes hadn't left the Doctor. "Well, I am going home."
"Sarah," he raised his hands in a descriptive gesture, but still the words seemed to fail him. "I am sorry, my dear."
"That's it? I am sorry that it was more interesting to leave with the TARDIS?" She crossed her arms in front of her chest and tried to hide that she had begun to shiver while the cold night air crawled up her legs.
The Doctor shook his head slightly. "You must be cold," he said and took off his own coat to put it around Sarah's shoulders before he picked up the more uncomfortable topic again: "That was not my intention. I was late picking up what I thought would be a suitable gift for you. But yes, I got involved in something and wasn't back in time." He held up the gift. "I hadn't even got the chance to wrap it nicely while the TARDIS decided to take me home on an uncomfortable ride."
Sarah-Jane looked at the gift and then at the Doctor. "I was waiting for you the whole evening," she said. Her voice was shaking but not from the cold.
"I wasn't expecting to spoil your evening. I thought you would still have a good time without me." He reached out to embrace her. "Oh Sarah, I didn't intend to upset you. I am very sorry about that."
"Excuse me, would you mind letting me pass?" A voice interrupted them and as they both looked up, they recognized John who pointed out towards the door. "I didn't want to interrupt, but you are completely blocking the way."
Sarah-Jane was blushing and wanted to step away from the Doctor, but he kept holding onto her tightly as he stepped back together with her. They let John pass and even if he was smirking, he didn't look at the pair next to him. Benton opened the door and took the step over the threshold when he finally turned around to look at them and nodded upwards before he continued to walk inside.
When the door closed behind him, Sarah-Jane and the Doctor who still clung onto each other looked up to see a mistletoe over the doorframe which she had put there herself this morning.
"It's getting cold." She looked back at the Doctor and pulled his coat closer around herself.
"We can go inside," he suggested.
Sarah-Jane smiled. "I already said goodbye to them. But if you don't mind you can join me to cap the christmas evening nicely at my house. But I am afraid that I don't have such an impressive Christmas Tree though."
"I believe that the person who brought christmas to a military canteen must also have a nicely decorated christmas tree at home." The Doctor offered her his arm and she accepted it. "Don't trivialise it before I see it my dear."
"The top is missing, I couldn't reach it."
"We accomplished this task before, we will be able to do it a second time," he smiled and Sarah-Jane chuckled as they walked towards her car.